Meiji Emperor Muhito is now very depressed. Pen @ fun @ pavilion wWw. ｂｉｑUｇE。 ｉｎｆｏ

He was not as gentle and elegant as the emperors of the past, and his interest in horseback riding was almost fanatical.

The year before last, there were 51 horseback rides in one year. Sometimes in the inner court, sometimes to the horse farm.

He has a total of four favorite horses, named "Jinhua Mountain", "Canghai", "Yoshino", and "Hinatsuru". Every time he finished riding, he held a banquet in the tea room of the Royal Garden. Usually the retainers were summoned and given wine to accompany them.

Only in September of this year he did not ride a horse because Emperor Meiji was suffering from beriberi.

In this day and age, beriberi is a common disease (and before the advent of vitamin synthesis, there was little that could be done about it). The patient has weakness in both legs, and in severe cases, it is difficult to walk and even stand. Modern medicine has identified the cause of this disease as a lack of B vitamins in food. Reasonable diet can be prevented; Take vitamin B and it will be cured). Because the Emperor's meals are extremely luxurious, the skills of the imperial chefs are among the best in the country. However, they lacked knowledge of nutrition and only tried to do what they liked, so the emperor was partial to eating and eating and his nutrition was not complete.

Last year, the emperor rode 88 times throughout the year, 37 more than the previous year. From March to June of this year, I hardly ever rode a horse, because the disease had recurred. On horseback riding days, he usually starts at three or four o'clock in the afternoon, and often plays until six or seven o'clock.

And just this year, Hirobumi Ito, who is the official secretary of the interior, suddenly proposed to resign.

After the failure of the Korean adventure, under the auspices of Hirobumi Ito, Japan no longer acted rashly, but concentrated on development, so that Japan's economy flourished day by day, and the living standards of the people also greatly improved. Hirobumi Ito became a meritorious man and has always been particularly favored by the emperor. Why did you resign when your career was going well?

The reason is this: Ito Hirobumi has something to pay homage to the emperor, and he has not been given time many times. Emperor Meiji went to work on weekdays from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. sharp. In this short period of less than two hours, the emperor always talked with the chief attendant, the attendant, and others. As a minister and a member of the Senate, you will either waste time waiting for a long time to meet the emperor with important state requests, or you will not be able to meet him at all. After many times, Ito Hirobumi couldn't bear it anymore and submitted his resignation in anger.

The chief attendant is the Tokudaiji Temple who has served the emperor for many years, and the attendant is Motoda Nagatomi. The Japanese are very particular about family identity, these two are famous nobles, and they don't take Ito Hirobumi in their eyes at all, in their eyes, Ito Hirobumi is just the son of a pawn in Choshu, what's the big deal! In particular, Motoda Yongfu, who has been known for his talent since childhood, is a generation of scholars. At the age of 72, he is recognized as a noble person, so he is qualified to serve as the emperor's teacher. In front of him, Hirobumi Ito was too tender in comparison.

On several occasions, knowing that the secretary of the Imperial Household, Ito Hirobumi, asked to face the saint. The waiter deliberately embarrassed this prosperous official a little, and said slowly: "It's talking, let him wait a while." ”

The ministers also had their opinions, and suggested that morning office hours should be allocated to ministers and councillors in the future. In the afternoon, it will be distributed to the attendants and attendants, so as not to delay the handling of state affairs. But the two men defended: "It was as if we were in the way of His Excellency Ito's visit, which was really a surprise to us. Our work is nothing more than a matter in the inner court, and we try to be as careful as possible not to interfere with the affairs of the state. However, when we respond to His Majesty's inquiries, depending on the content, it sometimes takes a long time. In the future, it would be advisable to set aside as much time as possible for the interview. ”

Although the words were sincere, the situation did not improve much. Ito Hirobumi's request to meet the emperor was often blocked.

Ito Hirobumi realized: The problem is not only with these two internal officials, but also with the emperor himself.

That's true. It turned out that he was appointed as the secretary of the palace (concurrently), which was last spring. But before this decision was made, the emperor had dissented. There's nothing wrong with Hirobumi Ito being recognized as a first-rate talent of our time; But he's a little too Westernized. From the cabinet system and laws to the uniforms, etiquette, food, and living habits of officials, he advocated total Westernization. If this reform continues, I am afraid that even the ancient rituals and traditions in the court will have to be changed one by one. If you take a deeper look at it, the problem is serious - will the emperor be reformed or not!?

Of course, the old school could not accept it, and the emperor himself would not be happy. So I had planned to let someone else be the secretary of the palace. After consulting with important ministers, everyone put state affairs first, or did they say that this position was none other than Hirobumi Ito, and it was difficult for anyone else to do it. In the end, a decision was made to appoint Hirobumi Ito as the secretary of the Imperial Household.

Hirobumi Ito believed that the emperor was always like this, and that he would delay the affairs of the state. So he wrote a letter to the Imperial Minister, Minoru Sanjo, and expressed his heart directly: "The emperor goes to work at ten o'clock and leaves work at twelve o'clock. During this period, there was absolutely no talk with Tokudaiji Temple and Motoda, summoning ministers, and councillors. The documents played by the cabinet are also rarely seen. It is true that Tokudaiji and Motoda are loyal people, but they do not understand politics, economics, and the general trend of the world, and they are at best simple moralists. Just sitting and talking with such a person would put the future of the imperial kingdom in jeopardy. I hope that Your Excellency will be tactful and that it is a blessing to change the current practice......"

But in his own letter, he was not at all tactful. It is inconceivable in Japan today to be so merciless and merciless, and to directly point out the "supreme" fault. But Emperor Meiji still swallowed this bitter medicine and rejected Ito Hirobumi's resignation, and Wen Yan made a retention.

Soon after, Nagafu Motoda and Minoru Sanjo died.

And in May of this year, a major event occurred that shocked the whole of Japan, and that was the "Otsu Incident".

The Russian Crown Prince Nikolai has come to Japan for a visit, and the whole country of Japan is busy receiving it, but it is afraid that it will be a little careless.

The Russian crown prince arrived in Kobe on the 9th and transferred to Kyoto by train. After staying for two days, take a rickshaw to Otsu.

Russia has always attached great importance to Japan, an ally in the East, and this time the Russian crown prince came to visit in order to strengthen the alliance between the two countries.

The crown prince first drank tea, went shopping, and soaked in hot springs. He arrived in the ancient city of Kyoto, where the scenery was beautiful and the cultural charm was very deep, and the crown prince was never tired of it, and took a few retinues to shop, drink, and watch Japanese girls on the street all day long. On the 11th, the crown prince wanted to go out to play again, so he took his entourage and walked away. Among them was the Greek prince Georgi, who saw a man selling bamboo sticks and thought it was a novelty, so he bought two and held them. Then these people got into the rickshaw and continued to browse, when they were talking and laughing, the crown prince suddenly felt a sharp pain in the back of his head, and looked back to see "a Japanese policeman's scary face", the policeman held a saber and slashed at the crown prince, the crown prince was immediately shocked, but after all, he had received military training, and his skills were quite athletic, so he immediately jumped off the car and ran all the way, and when he ran to an alley, he was really tired, and stopped to gasp, at this time Georgi also ran over out of breath, With a proud face, he said, "Your Highness, don't ...... Don't run...... I've taken that Japanese cop ...... Restrained! ”

The crown prince Daqi: "Do you know martial arts?" The Japanese police can't stop it? ”

Georgi smiled and said, "I knocked him down with this bamboo cane!" ”

The crown prince finally put his mind at ease, and at this time, the accompanying doctor also rushed over to help the crown prince bandage his wounds. This was the "Otsu Incident" that shocked Japan and Russia. Later investigations revealed that the Assassin's name was Tsuda Mizo, a policeman appointed by the Japanese government to be responsible for the security of the Russian Crown Prince, but this person was a Japanese who hated Russia extremely.

The murderer was caught red-handed. After interrogation, Tsuda Sanzo confessed that this operation was planned and carried out by himself, and no one instigated it.

When asked about the reason for the assassination of the Russian crown prince, Tsuda Sanzo believed that Japan has now become a vassal of Russia, especially in order to build the Trans-Siberian Railway, Russia recruited a large number of laborers in Japan, and many of these people were buried in foreign lands after going to Russia, and a large number of Russians in Japan married young Japanese women as wives, so that Japanese men could not find wives and have no children, and in the long run, Japan would be extinct. In order to show his loyalty to the Japanese imperial family and out of anger at the weakness of the Japanese government, Tsuda Sanzo carried out a frenzied assassination of the Russian crown prince.

The Russian crown prince was helped into a nearby shop and temporarily bandaged for first aid. After returning to the prefectural government office for a short rest, he returned to Kyoto and stayed at the Tokiwa Hotel, where he was re-treated. Fortunately, the injuries were not severe, and the flesh was cut without touching the skull. But the murderer's murderous heart was extremely obvious, and the crown prince learned from the pain and couldn't help but be afraid.

As soon as the Otsu incident spread, it immediately shook the whole of Japan. In order to appease the anger of the Russian people, the Japanese tried to comfort the crown prince. Officials at all levels and various organizations have sent representatives one after another to offer condolences and present condolences to them. Over the course of several days, the Russians received items filled with 16 large wooden crates, which were piled up on the warship. There were more than 10,000 letters of condolence and telegrams from all sides. For this reason, many schools announced a day off, and Shintomiza, Kabuki, stopped performing. The brothels in Yoshiwara, Shinagawa and other places also stopped singing and dancing music performances.

The Continent Aki Brothel came forward to unite with the owners of the various landlords, intending to jointly present a letter of apology to the Russian crown prince. But some people think it is inappropriate, saying that it is a person who practices such a lowly profession to do this, but it is very disrespectful to the crown prince. So it was waived.

There is also a 27-year-old woman from Fangzhou, Yuko Hatakeyama, who is willing to represent the sincerity of the people to apologize. The crown prince was asked to visit Japan as originally planned, and then she committed suicide herself. There are many people who praise her as a martyr, and in this atmosphere, the whole Japanese people are willing to do something about this incident.

The Japanese government was even more scared at the time. The crown prince was assassinated, and the murderer turned out to be a policeman on duty, and he couldn't explain it in any case, and he couldn't shirk responsibility. If Russia wants to go to war and take the opportunity to demand huge compensation, this is undoubtedly an excellent excuse.

Emperor Meiji hurriedly convened an imperial council to discuss the aftermath.

First of all, if the crown prince of Russia returns home early in anger, it is likely that the situation will not be good. There will certainly be obstacles to future diplomatic relations between Japan and Russia. Therefore, I decided that I would have to try to save it no matter what, and I would like to ask you to travel according to the original schedule. Emperor Meiji ordered the Minister of the Interior, Hirobumi Ito, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Masayoshi Matsukata, to accompany him at all times.

Emperor Meiji himself then visited the Tokiwa Hotel in Kyoto. I made a special trip to visit a foreign imperial family, which had never been done before Japan was founded.

Soon, the Empress of Russia sent a telegram asking the prince to return to the country as soon as possible. The tone of the telegram was very urgent and harsh, probably due to the insensitivity of the message, the Empress did not know that the Assassin had been arrested on the spot, she was not familiar with Japan, and she felt as if her noble son was alone surrounded by a group of wild men. In order to alleviate his mother's concerns, the Russian crown prince decided to return home by warship from Kobe. Emperor Meiji immediately said that he would personally accompany the crown prince on the same train to see him off in Kobe.

Emperor Meiji not only went to Kobe to see him off, but also accepted the invitation of the Russian crown prince to visit the Russian warship. As for whether it would be possible to board a Russian warship, the Japanese side was very confused, but it could not refuse. Even if it is the "Hongmen Banquet", you have to go hard. The Japanese personnel who accompanied the Russian warship were all determined to see death as if they were home.

Emperor Meiji was invited to visit a Russian warship, scheduled for noon on May 19.

In the end, it was determined that the emperor's entourage was Prince Nohisa of Kita-Shirakawa Palace, and below the prince were the Imperial Household Secretary, Daisuke of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the chief of staff of the Guards Division. And none of the government ministers such as Hirobumi Ito, Masayoshi Matsukata, and Shigenobu Okuma boarded the warship. The main consideration is that if the emperor is kidnapped by Russian warships and the important government officials are hijacked together, the Japanese state will be paralyzed and scattered!

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Koukoukoukoukou (to be continued.) )