Edo Castle, Shogun's Palace.

The old middle Matsudaira Yasuei hurriedly walked into Tokugawa Iemo's dormitory, as soon as he entered the door, he noticed that the atmosphere in the room was unusually dull and depressing, Ieshige was half-crooked on the collapse, Sakai Tadashi and Inaba Masashi were kneeling in front of the couch, all silent, seeing him come in, the three of them looked at him together.

Matsudaira Yasuei hurriedly took a few steps forward, bowed down and said: "Lord, my subordinates have already seen Lin Haoran, the shopkeeper of Yuanqi's branch in Edo, Yuanqi's grain and oil firm refused to accept banknotes because of the depreciation of banknotes, and the issue of 200 million banknotes was spread by someone, and a little financial common sense knew that this was absolutely impossible...... ”

Before he finished speaking, Masami Inaba interrupted him and said, "Where did the rumors come from?" Yuan Qi refused to accept the banknotes, and in just half a day, rumors spread all over Edo, who else but Yuan Qi? As he spoke, he bowed to Jiamao and said, "Lord, Yuan Qi is unpredictable and can no longer have illusions. ”

"Lord." Sakai Tadanori also bowed and said: "As a last resort, we must not take the initiative to provoke a war, and the top priority at the moment is to stabilize the situation as soon as possible, protect all the industries and personnel of Yuanqi in our country, and avoid further expansion of the situation." ”

"Yuan Qi has put the knife on our neck!" Inaba Masami gritted his teeth and said, "You still fantasize about avoiding war? ”

"As long as war does not break out, we must do our best!" Sakai Tadanori-for-tat, "Even if we have the blessing of the gods, we will not be able to win this war, and once we are defeated, we will follow in the footsteps of Korea!" ”

Seeing this situation, Matsudaira Kangying knew that the two of them were on the bar again, one was the main battle, the other was the main peace, in all fairness, he was also in favor of the main peace, and the gap with the Qing army was too big, so big that it was desperate, once the war started, there was no hope of winning, and he groaned slightly, and then he slowly spoke: "If Yuan Qi is planning to go to war, we have no choice, but at present, Yuan Qi has not declared war, Yuan Qi's personnel in our country have not been evacuated on a large scale, and our relationship with Yuan Qi has not reached the point of breakdown."

If the situation further expands and causes heavy losses to Yuanqi's property and casualties in our country, it will be tantamount to forcing Yuanqi to go to war. ”

Seeing that there was another one who couldn't figure it out, Inaba Masashi was secretly annoyed, and said in a deep voice: "Yuan Qi captured and stationed troops in Satsuma, Choshu, and Fukuoka, and refused to withdraw his troops after signing the treaty, and then this series of things happened, this is clearly to launch a full-scale invasion, do you have to let Yuan Qi take the lead?" ”

Sakai asked rhetorically, "How can we prepare for this?" ”

Inaba Masashi said without thinking: "Promote the combination of public and military forces, unite all forces to unite with the outside world, only in this way can we hope not to be annexed!" ”

Hearing this, Sakai Tadanori sighed lightly and said, "Allowing Yuanqi to capture the three feudatories in the southwest and signing a treaty with Yuanqi to lose power and humiliate the country, now the paper money guaranteed by the shogunate's credit and vigorously promoted has depreciated sharply, and it has become waste paper almost overnight.

Today's shogunate is already the target of public criticism, and the whole country is condemning, can the combination of public and military forces be promoted at this time? Can we unite the forces that hate us to the bone, join forces with us to fight against foreign enemies? ”

"There is a saying in the Qing Kingdom, 'There are no eggs under the nest.'" Inaba Masashi said slowly: "Under the huge pressure of the country, nothing is impossible, I believe they will all focus on the overall situation." ”

"Who is the main merchandise? Gong (Imperial Court) or Samurai (Shogunate)? Sakai Tadashi said in a deep voice: "With our relationship with Yuan Qi, with our current situation, it is unlikely that we will be dominated by the martial arts, right?" ”

"You ——!" Inaba Masashi was annoyed, and it was really too damning to ask in front of Tokugawa Iemo, but he quickly suppressed the anger in his heart and said in a deep voice: "The combination of public and military forces, joining forces with the outside world, is naturally dominated by the strong!" ”

This is a bit far-fetched, several people in the room know that if they really want to be a combination of public and military, it is definitely dominated by the imperial court, after all, the current situation of the shogunate is a little embarrassing, Tokugawa Ieshige's lips moved, and in the end he didn't say anything, let him hand over the full strength of the shogunate, he was a little unwilling, that meant the end of the Tokugawa era that ruled the Wakoku country for hundreds of years, and he didn't want to become a sinner of the Tokugawa family.

After pondering for a long time, he said: "Make two preparations, not only to prevent Yuanqi from going to war, but also to try your best to avoid war, to suppress the riots with all your might, and to protect the property and personal safety of the Qing people. ”

"Yes." Sakai Tadashi hurriedly bowed and said.

But Inoye Zhengsi hesitated and said: "Lord, the depreciation of paper money, the people are already dissatisfied, and if it is forcibly suppressed, I am afraid that it will cause greater turmoil, after all, there are still people behind the scenes." ”

Jia Mao glanced at him and said, "Didn't you just say that there are no eggs under the nest?" ”

With the order of Tokugawa Ieshige, the shogunate army and the local feudal armies quickly dispatched to suppress the riots and strictly protect the property of all Qing people, and the situation changed suddenly.

Maguan, Chunfan Building.

After reading the stack of telegrams in his hand, Yi Zhishu smiled, "Although Tokugawa Ieshige is young, he is also bold. As he spoke, he handed the telegram to Zhao Liewen, then lit a cigarette casually, and slowly paced to the window to look at the scenery outside the window.

After reading the telegram, Zhao Liewen said: "Tokugawa Ieshige is doing this to try his best to avoid giving Yuan Qi an excuse to start a war....... what should I do next?" ”

"Wait ——。" Yi Zhizhi said slowly.

Waiting? What are you waiting for? In the current situation, the Wa State will definitely try its best to control the situation and not give Yuan Qi an excuse to raise troops, so what's the point of waiting? After pondering for a while, he still didn't understand, so he said, "What does the big shopkeeper want to wait for?" ”

"Masami Inaba has left Edo." Yi Zhizhi said thoughtlessly.

Zhao Liewen also noticed this information, and immediately nodded and said: "As an old middle school, Inoye Zhengsi can only go to Kyoto to ...... when he leaves Beijing and Shanghai at this time." ”

"Yes, Tokugawa Ieshige is preparing for both." Yi Zhi nodded and said, "While trying your best to appease us, you will contact the Wa King." ”

Zhao Liewen muttered: "In this way, aren't all our calculations failing? ”

"It's not a complete failure." Yi Zhizu said slowly: "The shogunate actively protects the property and personal safety of Yuan Qi in the Japanese kingdom, and on the other hand, it is extremely unpopular to suppress the domestic riots. has been completely isolated. ”

After a slight sigh, Zhao Liewen said: "If the shogunate takes the initiative to promote the combination of public and military forces....... ”

"The newly enthroned Meiji Wa King, although young, is not a fuel-efficient lamp." Yi Zhizu sneered: "The shogunate took the initiative to promote the integration of public and military forces, and he will inevitably take the opportunity to put forward harsh conditions, such as the return of the ...... of the main government.

This is unacceptable to the shogunate, and no one will give up power in their hands easily! This is especially true when the shogunate occupies absolute power! ”

Zhao Liewen said tentatively: "Next, how does the big shopkeeper plan to act?" ”

"Riots are easy to suppress, but the financial collapse cannot be recovered in a short time, the paper money is invalid, and the Japanese state will return to the previous state of monetary chaos, and it will be worse than before.

Yi Zhishu said slowly, knocked the cigarette ash lightly on the ashtray on the coffee table, and sat down and said: "There is also the problem of food, at the moment it is not in stock, to prepare for the war, it is necessary to reserve a large amount of grain, the shogunate, the imperial court and the daimyo in various places will step up the purchase of grain, and the food will be even more scarce."

Financial chaos, the cut off of commerce, and famine, if the Wa Kingdom wants to stabilize, it is impossible, it will only become more and more chaotic, and we will spread some sensational news, such as the current Meiji Wawang is a fake ........ ”

Hearing this, Zhao Liewen couldn't help laughing and said: "The king of the Japanese is fake, that is the crime of bullying the king, and it can be justified in the conquest, no wonder the big shopkeeper plans to let the Eight Banners New Army fight in Kyoto, and besides, the king of the Japanese is fake, and the combination of public and military forces cannot be implemented." ”

Yi Zhishu said with a smile: "The important thing is the attitude of the shogunate, if you fight Kyoto, most of the shogunate will not move, so that we can achieve the goal of dividing and annihilating." ”

Although the riots in Edo, Nagoya, Osaka, Kyoto and other places were vigorously suppressed, the situation of paper money could not be reversed, and the Yuanqi grain and oil firm still refused to use paper money and insisted on gold and silver transactions.

Just when the shogunate was anxious about this, a shocking rumor suddenly spread in Edo, Osaka and other places that the newly enthroned Meiji Heavenly King was fake, and the real Meiji Heavenly King, that is, Prince Muhito, had been assassinated, and the current false Heavenly King was the descendant of Prince Mitsura, the 11th prince of the Southern Dynasty Emperor Kokaigo.

Rumor has it that Prince Muhito was strictly educated in the deep palace and was right-handed, but after succeeding to the throne, he became left-handed; Prince Muhito is thin and weak, but after succeeding to the throne, he became a tiger's back and bear's waist, Prince Muhito's handwriting is clumsy, but after succeeding to the throne, his handwriting is comparable to that of a generation of calligraphers.

Even the name of the fake king was revealed, and Omuro Innoyu, a descendant of Prince Mitsura, the 11th prince of Emperor Kogo, had been hidden in Hagi by the Mori clan.

There are even rumors that the cause of death of King Xiaoming has also been analyzed in detail, and it is directly selected that King Xiaoming was assassinated, the purpose is to exchange the tanuki for the prince!

This rumor spread quickly, and at first no one dared to discuss it publicly, only in private, but the more the rumor was said, the more true it became, and the people were already very interested in the secrets of the royal family, and the number of people who talked about it gradually increased.

Edo, Shogun's House.

Listening to Sakai Tadanori relayed this rumor, Tokugawa Ieshige struggled to sit up from the bed, King Komei is indeed a strange death, the Kyoto Imperial Court publicly said that King Takamei died of smallpox, in his opinion, this is simply impossible, why hide it? Could it really be that he died in an assassination? Also, this Meiji Heavenly King is also a fake? He hadn't seen Prince Muhito for two years.

Seeing that he was silent, Sakai Tadanori said softly: "Whether the rumors are true or not, this is a good thing for the lord. ”

Tokugawa Ishige glanced at him and said, "It can't be a rumor you spread, right?" ”

Hearing this, Sakai Tadashi hurriedly bowed down and said, "Even if my subordinates have great courage, they don't dare to fabricate and spread such rumors. After a pause, he continued: "Judging by his subordinates, it should be spread by Yuanqi. ”

Tokugawa Ieshige said softly: "Yuanqi wants to fight Kyoto? After a pause, he muttered, "After beating Kyoto, the next one should be Edo." ”

"Sovereign ——。" Sakai Tadanori hesitated and said, "My subordinates don't know whether to say it or not. ”

"Say ——。" Tokugawa Ieshige has a weak way.

"The gap between China's military strength and economic strength and the Qing State is too great, and if Yuanqi wants to attack in an all-out way, we are simply powerless to resist ......." Sakai Tadanori said boldly at first glance: "Even if the public and military forces are combined and all forces are united to resist, it is nothing more than more killings." ”

Speaking of this, he still hesitated before continuing: "Kyoto is where the imperial court is located, and the king of heaven is the symbol of our country...... Surrender again would save at least millions of people. ”

Hearing this, Tokugawa Ieshige's face was a little ugly, and he slowly lay on the soft cushion without saying a word, for the Japanese state, the Qing country is undoubtedly a behemoth that they look up to, and the territory, population, military, economy, and other aspects of the two countries are not at the same level.

If the Qing Dynasty is determined to provoke a war and a full-scale invasion, there is no need to fight this battle at all, the loss is certain, and there will be no miracles, even if there is a divine wind blessing during the war, it is impossible to change the outcome of the war, and the current Qing navigation technology and naval fleet are far from being comparable to the Mongol period.

Surrender? It sounds harsh, but it is undeniable that this is indeed the wisest choice, judging from the Qing army's thirst for killing in Changzhou and Satsuma, surrender can undoubtedly save the lives of millions of people, not to mention the current shortage of food, war together, I don't know how many people will die?

After a long time, he said softly: "What good is the outbreak of war for Yuan Qi?" ”

Hearing this, Sakai Tadashi couldn't help but be stunned, indeed, provoked a war, the fight was full of devastation, what good can Yuanqi do? Yuanqi monopolizes the commerce and trade between the two countries, banks and firms are all over their country, and there are many other industries, once a war breaks out, Yuanqi will inevitably suffer huge losses, why provoke a war?

After a slight hesitation, he said, "What does the lord mean, Yuan Qi is just bluffing?" ”

Is this posture a bluff? Tokugawa Ieshige slowly closed his eyes, it was precisely because Yuanqi had too many interests in the Wa Kingdom that he never thought that Yuanqi would provoke a full-scale war, but judging from the current situation, war seems to be inevitable, Yuanqi is determined to annex them, once the war breaks out, what will be the situation?

After a long time, he opened his eyes and said softly, "Let's wait and see." ”