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Kyoto is the capital of Japan, located in the southern part of Japan's main island of Honshu, from 794 AD, Emperor Kanmu in order to reform the government, the capital of the country from the mountain city of Nagaoka (that is, the western suburbs of Kyoto City) moved here, hoping to obtain peace, auspiciousness, tranquility and peace, named Heiankyo, since then truly opened the Heian period in Japanese history.

The outstanding feature of the architecture of the old castle of Kyoto is that it is very similar to the Luoyang Castle and Chang'an Castle of the Tang Dynasty in China, because Heiankyo was founded during the Tang Dynasty in China, and China and Japan had close exchanges. Kyoto is divided into two parts, Tokyo and Xijing, Tokyo imitates Luoyang, and Xijing imitates Chang'an. In the center of the north of the castle is the palace where the imperial family is located, and outside the palace is the imperial castle used for government offices, and outside the imperial castle is the capital city where ordinary officials and commoners live. The whole city covers an area of about 20 square kilometers, is rectangular, the streets are vertical and horizontal, symmetrically intersecting, and the shape is like a chessboard, so the Japanese always like to call Kyoto "Luoyang" and "Los Angeles".

The emperor is the ruler of Japan, at least nominally. The current emperor is Emperor Hitotaka, who is already the 120th emperor of Japan. In Japan, the emperor is called the descendant of the gods, and in the minds of ordinary Japanese, the emperor has a high status, almost like a god. However, since the establishment of the shogunate, the emperor has only become a nominal symbol. The power of Japanese rule fell into the hands of the shogun. From the original Kamakura shogunate. To the later Muromachi shogunate, the wise shogunate, in the current Edo shogunate. Over the centuries. The Emperor of Japan has become a puppet completely, and everything needs to be done according to the will of the shogun. The emperor has completely become a puppet.

Of course, the emperor was not willing to be reduced to a puppet, and in the history of Japan, there were many emperors who tried to ask the shogun to control and regain control of Japan. However, these efforts have failed. And those emperors. None of them ended well, either living a life of being watched for life, or directly losing their lives for various reasons. The emperor was in the hands of the shogun. It's like a puppet.

The current Emperor, Emperor Hitotaka, is also a person who is not willing to be lonely. He was bent on overthrowing the rule of the shogunate and restoring the glory of the Imperial family. In particular, the Tenpo reform carried out in the Edo shogunate not only did not make the shogunate prosperous. On the contrary, it made the shogunate even more declining. Emperor Hitotaka thought his chance had come. When the Chinese Emperor Long Yufei ascended the throne, he even sent people into the Japanese mission to China, and did not hesitate to sow discord between China and Japan, in order to use the hand of China to destroy the Edo shogunate, so as to gain an opportunity.

There is no doubt that Emperor Hitotaka's plan succeeded. Half a year later, the Chinese army set foot on Japan and launched a fierce attack on the Edo shogunate. Emperor Hitotaka believed. The Edo shogunate must not be able to withstand the attack of the Chinese. After the destruction of the Edo shogunate, he will appear as a savior. Negotiations with the Chinese side, even if it costs a lot of money, will seek the understanding of the Chinese side. So as to keep Japan. At that time, the ruling power of Japan will return to his hands. Although this would bring a lot of disaster to Japan, Emperor Renxiao believed that as long as he could take back the right to rule Japan, he would have to get everything he wanted.

It's just that Emperor Hitoko doesn't seem to have thought about why China would let Japan go. His wishful thinking will eventually come to naught.

When the Chinese* army attacked Edo, Emperor Hitotaka kept an eye on the situation in Edo. Although Japan is now under the rule of the Edo shogunate, there are still many people who are loyal to the emperor. For example, the four powerful feudal domains in southern Japan, the Choshu Domain, the Satsuma Domain, the Tosa Domain, and the Hizen Domain, had a very close relationship with the Imperial Family. It was precisely because of the support of these powerful feudal clans that Emperor Hitotaka had the courage to calculate the Edo shogunate in order to regain control of Japan. Otherwise, there was not enough strength, and if Emperor Hitotaka did not want to die, he would have to obey the Edo shogunate.

The latest news on the battlefield in Edo was delivered by the samurai loyal to Emperor Hitotaka in carrier pigeons, and was delivered to Kyoto as soon as possible, and handed over to the emperor. The lords of the four great feudal clans also secretly came to the imperial palace in Kyoto as early as the Chinese* army attacked Edo, and they would make the best judgment according to the development of the war situation to determine when to launch an attack on the Edo shogunate.

These four feudal lords were Shimazu Saiko, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, Mori Keikin, the lord of the Choshu Domain, Toyotomi Yamauchi, the lord of the Tosa Domain, and Nabeshima Shigeshige, the lord of the Hizen Domain. In addition, the patriarch of the Onodera family, who had always been loyal to the emperor, Onodera Jiro, also rushed to the Kyoto Imperial Palace.

Emperor Hitotaka is forty-four years old this year, but he looks relatively old, which is probably related to his long depression. As the nominal supreme ruler of Japan, he was oppressed by the shogunate, which shows how unsatisfactory Emperor Hitotaka was. Today, however, Emperor Nintaka had a smile on his face, and his whole person seemed to be several years younger.

"Good news, everyone! The Chinese have already broken through Edo. Tokugawa Iekei's defeat was defeated, and he has now fled to the Kanto Plain. The Chinese will definitely continue to pursue him. The defeat of the Edo shogunate by the Chinese is just around the corner! Emperor Hitoyo laughed.

"Congratulations to His Majesty the Emperor, His Majesty will soon be able to regain power in Japan!" Onodera Jiro immediately knelt on the ground and said hello to Emperor Nintaka. For the sake of Emperor Hitoko's plan, he could even sacrifice his own son.

The lords of several other powerful feudal clans also congratulated the emperor. However, it is not a taste in the heart. After all, those killed by the Chinese are all Japanese. And now they are celebrating the defeat of the Chinese by the Japanese, which seems to be something wrong!

Emperor Hitotaka did not notice the strangeness of these feudal lords, but fell into his own longing. He believed that after the destruction of the Edo shogunate by the Chinese, no force in the whole of Japan could threaten him anymore. When the time comes, he will become the real ruler of Japan. He will recreate the glory of the Japanese Imperial Family.

"Lords, I think you should go back and prepare your army. After the Chinese have completely defeated the Edo shogunate, we should immediately send troops to attack the lords of the clan who have finally come to the shogunate. The Edo shogunate has already recruited a large number of troops in order to confront the Chinese, and these lords, now when their strength is weak, is the best time for us to attack them. Emperor Hitoko urged.

"Your Majesty, I have ordered my army to begin preparations. As soon as the defeat of the Edo shogunate is confirmed, the army of the Choshu domain will immediately attack! Mori, the lord of the Choshu Domain, said. Why not attack the feudal lords loyal to the shogunate and at the same time expand the power of the Choshu domain? Although these feudal lords were loyal to the emperor, they were also not averse to expanding their power.

The other feudal lords also had the same attitude. It would be great if they could expand their strength.

"Your Majesty, there were still many neutral feudal lords before, but now that the Edo Shogunate has been defeated, those neutral feudal lords will definitely change their attitudes. We should immediately send people to contact those feudal lords and win them over. Onodera Jiro said.

"Yes, these neutral feudal lords are also important. Ono-kun, you send people to contact those feudal lords, as long as they can be loyal to me and the Imperial Family, their previous sins can be forgiven. Emperor Hitoko said.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" Onodera Jiro said. The Onodera clan didn't have much power in the local area, but if they could co-opt those neutral feudal lords, they would be able to increase the strength of the Onodera family. After all, in such troubled times, mastering military power is an important guarantee to ensure the longevity of a family.

"There is one more important aspect that we don't seem to have taken into account." Shimazu Saiko, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, said.

"In what way?" Emperor Hitotaka asked.

"Chinese! The attitude of the Chinese. If the Chinese are willing to support us, then we will be able to easily replace the Edo shogunate and gain the rule of all Japan. However, if the Chinese oppose us or even do not hesitate to use force against us, we will face a huge crisis. Shimazu said.

"Yes, Your Majesty. The support of the Chinese is crucial. Mori Keiko, the lord of the Choshu Domain, also said. Although the strength of the four powerful feudal clans is not small, if compared with the shogunate, there is still a big gap. The shogunate gathered so many troops that could not defeat the Chinese, but was defeated by the Chinese, which shows that the strength of the Chinese * army is much stronger than that of Japan. If the Chinese oppose the emperor's control of Japan, no matter how hard they try, it will be useless. In the face of absolute disparity in strength, any effort is futile.

Emperor Hitoko's face suddenly became solemn. Using the Chinese to eliminate the Edo shogunate was a strategy he had long thought of. But how can the Chinese support him? He hadn't figured that out yet.

"Your Majesty, I think we should send someone to Edo to meet the Chinese and ask them to support us. Japan is too small and barren, far less rich than China, and the Chinese will certainly not look at Japan and will not leave Japan. If we give the Chinese a little benefit, or even show our surrender, the Chinese will certainly not embarrass us. Onodera Jiro said.

Emperor Renxiao nodded, China has been the ruler of East Asia for thousands of years, and the Chinese have always lived as the suzerainty of East Asian countries. If he could submit to China in exchange for domination over Japan, Emperor Hitotaka felt that it would be acceptable.

"Onodera-kun, as my messenger, rush to Edo to meet the Chinese!" Emperor Hitotaka ordered. (To be continued......)