The tea room, the silk and bamboo fluttering far away, looking out from the door of the tea room, it seems that you can see the magnificent stone city of the Hongdao Hall in the blue sea and blue world.

The tea room is still small and exquisite, with simple calligraphy and paintings hanging on the walls of the tea room, and flowers in the room, which looks elegant and quiet.

A dignified old man knelt on the tatami mat, gently brushing the foaming tea with a round bamboo brush, his hands were extremely white, giving people a feeling of stability, modesty and strength.

The old man was Tokugawa Saiaki, the lord of the Mito Domain, and was a powerful figure in the Hitotsubashi faction, which pursued a policy of seclusion of the country, and Tokugawa Saiaki entered the shogunate to participate in the shogunate when the American ships came to the country, and resigned because he felt that the treaty between the United States and the United States was humiliating and humiliating.

Nowadays, Emperor Xiaomei is an out-and-out hardliner, almost identical to the Manchu hardliners, who insisted on closing the country to the outside world, and was extremely dissatisfied with the shogunate's signing of a treaty of trade with the United States.

At the end of last year, Tokugawa Ieda died of illness, and he had no heirs, and the battle for the shogun's heir was even more between the Shogunate and the Shogunate's founding faction.

The Emperor Shoyi faction advocated the succession of Yoshiki Ichibashi of the Tokugawa Ichikawa Ichibashi family, and it was also known as the Hitotsubashi faction.

The founding faction supported Tokugawa Yoshifuku of the Tokugawa family as the successor to the shogunate, and the samurai of the shogunate also supported Tokugawa Yoshifuku. And with the full support of the shogunate Daiji Ii Naobu, Tokugawa Keifuku finally ascended to the position of shogun at the end of last year and changed his name to Tokugawa Ieshige.

And now, Jing Yi Naobi has launched a comprehensive suppression of the Zunwang Yiyi faction, known as the "Anzheng Prison" in history, and the struggle between the two sides has gradually entered a white-hot stage.

At this moment, no one expected that the Chinese mission appeared in the port of Nagasaki, and with it, there were three ironclad ships full of artillery, which were larger than the Chinese gunboats of the Americans a few years ago, and there was a kind of unprovoked coercion.

At present, there are only two wooden steamships in the country, one Hamin Maru, which was bought from the Dutch not long ago, and the most basic warships were used as training ships at the Nagasaki Naval Training Center, with six guns and a displacement of 600 tons, and their combat effectiveness was negligible compared with the Chinese [***] ships. The other Wailin Maru, which is also a rudimentary-class warship for practice, is probably used for transportation.

As for the rest of the gunboats, most of them are still in the style of the last century, and the wooden sailing ship is tied with a few guns, even if it is a gunboat, compared with the gunboats of the Chinese, I am afraid that the waves of other ships can overturn the wooden gunboats of our own side.

When the news reached Edo and Kyoto, the entire country was in an uproar.

Just twenty years ago, the Chinese suffered a crushing defeat to Xiyi, which also made the shogunate who heard the news know that Xiyi was powerful, and as soon as the American ships arrived, the shogunate quickly signed a treaty of trade with it, and the Anglo-French alliance also greatly supported the purchase of horses from China when the shogunate was fighting against China. But in the past two years, I heard about the civil war between the north and south of China, the reform of the military system of the Southern Dynasty, and the military strength, it seems that I have heard that there have been killed and injured samurai in the Ryukyu area, but it is only a rumor, but why did the gunboats suddenly arrive in Nagasaki?

You must know that just a month ago, the shogunate was preparing to send an envoy led by the "Imperial Kanding" Nerisuke Shichiro to Guangzhou on the merchant ship Chitose Maru to inspect trade and explore China's reality. Nowadays, it is said that in China, it is the most important time to discuss China, and there are advocates of "respecting the British and asserting theories", "Manchu Qing classics", "conquering the Qing Dynasty, Manchu and Han classics", and so on, and whether it is to maintain friendship with China to resist the Xiyi or to take the declining Manchu Qing and its protectorate Korea as the goal of expanding the territory, it is necessary to go to the pulse of the sick and thin camel of the China No. 1.

But now, on the contrary, the Chinese arrived in Nagasaki first, and the ships were strong and sharp, and in the Osumi Strait, quietly moored, like three huge and unfathomable dark clouds, weighing heavily on the hearts of the great elders and daimyo in their own country.

Tokugawa Saiaki seemed to be in a good mood, he held the teacup, slowly put the brewed tea in front of Matsudaira Yoshinaga opposite, and said with a smile: "Are you really willing to drink the tea made with these blood-stained hands?" ”

Matsudaira Yoshinaga was the lord of the Echizen domain, and he also supported the Hitotsubashi faction, that is, the daimyo who believed in the seclusion of the country and the king of the country.

Matsudaira Qingyong smiled slightly and said, "Although I don't want to admit it, your tea is the best, how can I resist drinking it?" ”

Both of them burst into laughter.

The arrival of the Chinese is tantamount to casting a curse on the founding shogunate Elder Ii Naobi, who has just barely escaped from the vortex of the Yumei Peace Treaty, but is now about to deal with the giant ship of the Chinese.

If Jing Yi Naobi agrees, he will inevitably set off an even more powerful campaign in China, and if he does not agree, how can the Chinese's threat of force solve this chess game?

"What do you think of this Master Zhang Youcun?" Tokugawa asked.

Matsudaira Yoshinaga's secret agent, who had just returned from Nagasaki and described in detail what he had seen, took a sip of tea, and his face became solemn: "It would not be a blessing for our country if the Chinese officials were as enlightened as he was. ”

Tokugawa Qizhao sighed softly, turned his head to look at the blue sky and the extreme west behind the Hongdao Pavilion, and said, "It seems that we have to prepare early." ”

…… Tokugawa Qizhao overlooks the extreme west of a quaint cornice wooden building, through the openwork window lattice can see the fragrance of osmanthus outside the window.

Ye Zhao sat behind the wide table inlaid with gold and jade, and in front of the table, four ministers stood solemnly, Li Jianchen, Minister of Justice, Suna, the chief of patrol, Mao Changxi, Minister of Health, and the chief of staff of the Qian's Prince's Mansion, plus Minister Bakeshi, Minister of Yulinwei.

Ye Zhao received a telegram from the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces in Guangzhou this morning, in which the Empress Dowager of the Two Palaces said that after receiving a report from local officials in Hunan, the officers and men of the Fifth Town of the Pingyuan Army often secretly went to braids, and there were not a few who committed the crime, and Prime Minister Wang thoroughly investigated the matter.

The two palaces also specially instructed Ye Zhao that the matter was serious, and it should be strictly investigated and handled, and it should not be tolerated.

The fifth town, all of which are the old departments of matchmaker Guangxi, most of them have cut their braids when they rebelled in Guangxi, and now they have changed to new military uniforms, and they comb braids in the back, which is really inconvenient, but it is not deliberately reckless.

Ye Zhao also knew that the earliest braids in the history of the Qing Dynasty started from the New Army, also because it was too inconvenient to wear a military hat and braids.

In fact, this matter has nothing to do with Li Jianchen, Mao Changxi, and even Suna, but Ye Zhao summoned them, and the three of them didn't know what they meant, in fact, this matter should be said to be simple and simple, and sent a document to Lord Su in the fifth town, so that Lord Su would investigate thoroughly, as for how to deal with the person who cut the braids, whether to deal with it strictly or forgively, it is up to the prince to decide.

The four of them circulated the telegram, and they all secretly observed Ye Zhao's face, but they really couldn't see the prince's joy and anger.

"Tell me, what should I do about this?" Ye Zhao lightly patted the telegram on the table and said to Baksh: "Bakshi, you speak first. ”

Yibaksh means, this group of daredevils naturally cut off their heads, but the fifth town is under the command of Lord Su, and almost all of them are Lord Su's old department, so it's not easy to say, take a step forward, bow down, ponder and say slowly: "According to the foolish opinion of the slave, maybe it's just hearsay, and Lord Su found out." ”

Ye Zhao nodded slightly, and looked at the other three, Suna saw that the prince's eyes swept around his face, his heart suddenly suddenly, hurriedly came out of the ranks, bowed down and said: "The slave feels that this matter is very strange, Hunan officials, why don't they go through the Government Council, the Prime Minister, the Regent, and go directly to the two palaces, and look at the slaves, most of them are framing Lord Su, this wind cannot last long, and they should be taken down for the crime of trespassing." ”

Li Jianchen was silent.

Mao Changxi frowned slightly, his lips moved, and finally swallowed the words into his stomach.

Ye Zhao waved his hand and said: "What you say is not right, it is the right thing to give the two palaces, I am in Nanjing, is it just for the emperor and the two palaces?" ”

"Yes, yes." Suna hurriedly said yes twice and retreated.

The light in Mao Changxi's eyes flashed, but he hung his head, looking cautious.

Ye Zhao pondered for a while and said, "Suna, Bakshi, you all tried on the new military uniforms, to be honest, what do you think?" ”

Bakshi and Suna were both stunned, looked at each other, Bakshi bowed and said: "When the slave wears a military hat, he really feels a little awkward, and the braid is not coiled on his head, and it is not difficult to sprinkle it down, how uncomfortable it is to wear." ”

Ye Zhao nodded slightly, and said: "The Northern Army of the bandits, the combat power is not strong, it is because our Pingyuan Army has won a hundred battles, but if it encounters a British and French strong army, the slightest inconvenience may accumulate into a catastrophe for the entire legion, alas." He sighed deeply as he spoke, but naturally he didn't have to say it deeply, he didn't have to say a lot of things by himself, and if he said it well, someone would naturally come to help him.

However, even if it is just to cut the braid of the new army, it is also an earth-shattering change, and naturally it cannot be achieved overnight, it must be slowly ventilated and slowly build momentum.

The four of them didn't understand what the prince meant for a while, but they could see that the prince didn't plan to investigate the matter of the braids of the soldiers in the fifth town.

Ye Zhao turned to Mao Changxi again and asked, "How is the epidemic situation in various places?" "War, will inevitably bring infectious diseases, the Ministry of Health organized three prevention and control teams, in the south of the country to investigate, in fact, the current Western medicine is quite underdeveloped, even if penicillin is Ye Zhao drummed out, can not be mass-produced, other medicines are even poorer, is to many diseases are actually helpless, many times on the contrary Chinese medicine is better, but Chinese medicine has always been complacent, some doctors master apprentices from generation to generation, each will be their own prescription as a baby, the result is not as good as a generation, Not to mention the doctor you encounter, you don't know if it's a miracle doctor or a miracle stick.

In any case, among the physician employees of the Ministry of Health, the proportion of Chinese and Western medicine is about the same, and Ye Zhao also hopes that both Chinese and Western medicine can develop with good surnames.

"Ming said that the lower official will present the form to the prince." Mao Changxi said respectfully.

Ye Zhao nodded slightly, now the Ministry of Health is actually extremely important, in the provinces of the Southern Dynasties are promoting clean water, vaccination, new midwifery and other propaganda, these low-cost means, but will bring a significant reduction in mortality, hygiene habits, how can it not be a kind of popular science?

(To be continued)