Chapter 187: The Meiji Restoration of the Wakoku Kingdom (1)

In his dealings with the Japanese state, Li Hongzhang's strategy of contacting and containing, eliminating future troubles, and always being at peace can be described as tactful; However, at this moment, the Japanese kingdom is also undergoing great changes unseen in 3,000 years.

On July 8, 1853, Brigadier General of the United States of America, Matthew Murphy. Perry arrived at the port of Uraga in Edo Bay with four warships and threatened to open fire without opening the country.

Tokugawa Iekei, the shogun, was terrified and said: Four ships, fully loaded with sixty-three huge cannons, and one salvo is enough to bombard the port of Uraga; If the kingdom is not opened, it will be destroyed.

Masahiro Abe, the first seat of the old school, said: Since the Edo shogunate took power alone, it has closed the country for 200 years, and the peace has been maintained for a long time, and people do not know what is going on.

Tokugawa Iekeido: My soldiers, although it is impossible to defend against foreign enemies, there is indeed a certainty of civil strife. The opening of the country must be postponed until the beginning of next year.

The Tokugawa family gasped wildly, and everyone hurriedly helped them to the dormitory. The Tokugawa family was unable to find a good solution, and died at the end of the month. The prince Tokugawa Ieda was appointed as the general of the Seiyi as usual.

Masahiro Abe sighed: General Zhengyi is weak by nature and is unable to decide on military affairs. It's hard for us to be alone.

The elders seconded.

Masahiro Abe also said: Today's changes are unprecedented, and we really have no good way to deal with them, so we can only open up our voices, listen to the opinions of the people, and quickly summon the lords of the various feudal domains to discuss the establishment of the country or the destruction of the country.

At the beginning of October, the forty-one feudal lords gathered in Edo.

Tokugawa Saiaki, the lord of the Mito Domain, flatly refused, claiming to destroy the bell and cast cannons, and swore to die; Fourteen feudal lords, including Shimazu Saibin, lord of the Satsuma domain, Yamamoto Hall, lord of the Tosa domain, Date Munejo, lord of the Uwajima domain, and Matsudaira Yoshinaga, lord of the Fukui domain, seconded the proposal.

The lord of the Hikone Domain, Ii Naobi, fought for the founding of the country with an unscrupulous army; Among the forty-one feudal lords, only Matsudaira Yoshiho, the lord of the Aizu domain, and Matsudaira Yoriyin, the lord of the Takamatsu domain, supported Ii Naobi.

The lord of the Choshu domain, Mori Kekin, and other ten feudal lords were noncommittal.

Whether the feudal clans are different or not, there are different opinions, and the Tokugawa family, the shogun, is determined to be in turmoil, and he ordered the first Abe Masahiro to deal with it properly.

Masahiro Abe received the order and quickly summoned Tokugawa Saiaki, the lord of the Mito Domain, Shimazu Saibin, the lord of the Satsuma Domain, Matsudaira Keinaga, the lord of the Fukui Domain, Naobi Ii of the Hikone Domain, Hotta Masamu, the lord of the Sakura Domain, Mori Keiko, the lord of the Choshu Domain, and Yamochido, the lord of the Tosa Domain, to discuss with the powerful clans.

Jing Yi said straightly: The Meiyi ship is strong and the artillery is huge, our country is bordered by the sea on all sides, the coastal armament is relaxed, and the battle will be defeated; It was expedient to receive the book in Uraga first.

Tokugawa Saiaki said: Expediency is only for a while, not for the long-term; Why don't we work together to strengthen coastal defenses and fight to the death?

Hotta Masamutsu said: Ten years ago, due to the opium trade, the Qing Dynasty and England fought a fierce war on the sea frontier, and finally ended up with an indemnity and ceded land; How is my country's combat strength better than that of the Qing Dynasty?

Shimazu Qibin said: Sitting in a well and watching the sky, closing the country is by no means a long-term strategy. Colonization and prosperity, enriching the country and strengthening the army, can consolidate the foundation of the world. For the time being, we will be hypocritical and wronged, and we will seek perfection through compromises; Secretly build ships and train troops, waiting for an opportunity.

The shogunate elder Nakamakino Tadamasa said: Our country is surrounded by the sea on all sides, and the coast is loosely armed, so it is expedient to accept the book in Uraga first.

Matsudaira Keiji: The top priority at the moment is to consolidate coastal defense, and the Mito Domain is a coastal area that is worthy of a heavy responsibility.

Masahiro Abe: The lord of the Mito Domain, Tokugawa Saiaki, took office as a coastal defense, which can be described as suitable for both people and land; I will report to the general and Yucheng about this matter. Shogun, and then they can participate in the discussion of state affairs, and foreign daimyos, feudal lords, samurai, and even commoners can also submit proposals; From now on, all feudal clans will be exempted from paying tribute to the shogunate; The previous ban on the construction of large ships was repealed on the same day.

When the lord of the clan heard this, he went away happily, and Masahiro Abe privately called Shimazu Saibin, the lord of the Satsuma domain, and said: The general of the Seiyi is not good at state affairs; We must plan ahead.

Shimazu Qibin said: General Zhengyi can marry the little girl Atsuhime within the year, and if he gets a son in the coming year, everything will be fine!

Masahiro Abe; If you want to hurry, you can't reach it, take precautions, and we will plan with all our hearts to promote the situation of the water to come into being.

March 1854, Matthew. Perry reinstated seven warships to knock on the level; The Tokugawa family, the shogun, thought about it for a long time, and finally signed a pledge and agreed to open the port of Shimoda and Hakodate.

Within a few days, warships of the Netherlands, Russia, Britain, and France opened the road one after another, and signed a treaty with the aid of the Czech Republic. In the months that followed, all kinds of people appeared in full costume.

Haiphong hung Tokugawa Qi Zhao saw that he hated his life, and he was so annoyed that he resigned in anger.

Masahiro Abe, the first seat of the old middle school, advised: The imperial court Taige Eagle Si Zhengtong master of the country was the main man, and His Majesty the Emperor Xiaoming had no objection; We must follow the trend. However, the country was suddenly opened, and the various feudal domains were chaotic and noisy; If you are stubborn, who will clean up the mess?

Tokugawa Qi Zhaodao: The shogunate elder Matsudaira Noritsu, Matsudaira Tadayu and Ii Naobi belonged to the same founding faction, and the Kanagawa Treaty was signed. I am single-minded, the corpse is a vegetarian meal, how can I not retreat?

Masahiro Abe: The general of Zhengyi is weak and ignorant of ideology and politics; Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, the world has been in chaos, and in the long run, the country is in danger.

Tokugawa Qi Zhao said: Since the last year of the Yiyi ship knocking on the customs, the dispute between the Yiyi and the founding of the country has been endless; Now that the country has been founded, the general trend has been established, and we are holding the power of a faction and retreating as an advance.

Masahiro Abe: The lord is weak and the minister is strong, and the heroes are everywhere, which is not the blessing of the country. If you retreat bravely from the rapids, the founding faction will no longer be constrained, and then it may be like a rolling wave that overwhelms the mountains and seas, and there is no way to stop it.

Tokugawa Saiaki said: We must not allow them to make waves, I will, immediately remove Matsudaira Chengquan and Matsudaira Tadayu from their posts, so as to stop their momentum, what does Abu-sama mean?

Abe Masahiro said: The grass people are punished by Zang, and they can't come arbitrarily, and the second shogunate is also in the middle. If this situation is solved, only the strong urge to recruit the general to marry the daughter of Shimazu Qibin, the little woman into the Olympics, the pillow wind is leisurely, and the above is promoted, and the name is justified.

Tokugawa Qizhao said: Ermatsuna is arrogant, and the country has no peace, so please get rid of it immediately.

Masahiro Abe: There is no excuse for the sin you want to add, and wait for the best opportunity.

The following year, Masahiro Abe was appointed to the shogun and dismissed Matsudaira Nori and Matsudaira Tadayu from their positions as shogunate elders in the name of incompetence.

The leader of the founding faction and the lord of the Hikone domain, Ii Naobi, angrily denounced Masahiro Abe for his reckless actions.

Masahiro Abe: What I do is for the national economy; If the country can flourish, I can also go to work, and the two elders are also in the middle!

Jing Yi said directly: As the saying goes, a gentleman has no jokes! If Lord Abu goes, who will be up to the task?

Masahiro Abe: The lord of the Sakura Domain, Hotta Masamu, is a daimyo of the Pedigree, who is well versed in Western studies, and especially hates to close off the country, and the position of the first seat of the old middle school is none other than him.

Ii Naobi said: Hotta Masamu once served as the shogunate's old middle, and he made remarkable achievements in politics, and now he is the first in the old middle, and he is familiar with the road.