Chapter 58 2. Articles of Association

When the breath of autumn dyed the sky of the Seto Inland Sea day by day, the war was over. Sakamoto Ryoma was in Shimonoseki at this time.I have to get back to Nagasaki as soon as possible.Although he thought so in his heart, he couldn't go back. One day, he was standing on the second floor of Dr. Itosuke's house at Amitabha Temple in Shimonoseki, looking out at the sea. "This is really a strange thing. Choshu won the battle, the shogunate's prestige has been discredited, and the current situation is undergoing tremendous changes. But I have returned to the original point again." He said to his comrade Mutsu Yonosuke.

Ryoma was right.As soon as the Shogun War was over, the Unity, which had been obtained through untold hardships, was returned to the Changzhou Naval Bureau as agreed, and left away from Ryoma.The scene of fighting against the shogunate fleet on this ship is like a dream now. "Mutsu, the Kameyama Trading Company without a ship is too weird." Ryoma's Kameyama Trading Company has three businesses: one is trade, the other is shipping, and the third is to crusade against the private navy of the shogunate.In such a peculiar association, there is not even one of the most critical ships, which really makes people laugh.Since there is no ship, there is no way to return to Nagasaki, the base.

"Even eating is a problem." This is no joke.Ryoma's trading company has gradually expanded in size, and now there are at least fifty people including the water man and the fire man, and he must ensure that these people have food.In fact, right now at the Amitabha Temple boat trip to Dr. Itosuke, there are 20 people including the captain Kanno Kakuhei who are doing nothing all day long, but three meals a day are indispensable for these people.Those who stayed in the Nagasaki base had nothing to do.The five hundred shi of rice that Changzhou sent to Satsuma before and was rejected finally fell into Ryoma's hands, and now the rice can be used for a while.But what about the future?Without a boat, everything is out of the question.

"It's almost the stuff of a burlesque." "how you said that?" "Win the battle and lose everything." "Well, there is always a way." Changzhou people also feel that Longma is too pitiful.Gui and others said: "Sakamoto is in a difficult situation now. If my fan doesn't help me, wouldn't I be an ungrateful person? The Sakamoto alliance facilitated by Sakamoto and the Western-style weapons he bought for us are to guarantee our victory this time." He also personally led the fleet to contain the shogunate fleet in the strait, which played a great role in our army's landing on the Kokura Domain. Ryoma contributed a lot to this victory!"

But the Changzhou Clan has just spent a huge amount of military expenditure, and it is unrealistic to ask them to buy a steam ship for Ryoma, they cannot afford such a dangerous game. Changfu once made specific suggestions to Ryoma. "My fan wants to secretly support your business company." Ryoma refused.His self-esteem would never allow him to become a vassal of the Changfu now. "Sakamoto Ryoma is a ronin of the world, let's maintain the status quo." At this time, Sakamoto Ryoma has indeed gradually become the world's Sakamoto Ryoma.Although he temporarily lived in the inn in Maguan, there was an endless stream of guests who came to visit him every day, and not only the feudal vassals from the two prefectures of Sa and Chang came, but also patriots from other feudal clans rushed to ask for a meeting.The inn he stayed in was so full of people, that even the dormitory Fujihei and others who had just returned from an investigation in Kyoto happily joked, "Should we collect the shoe fee?"

The boat shop Ito's, located in Amitabha Temple in Maguan, is a large merchant with a storefront of more than 36 meters wide.One day, a strong man who spoke Edo dialect but had a Hizen accent came to his door. "Excuse me, is Mr. Sakamoto there?" "Who are you?" asked the maid. The young samurai laughed happily and said, "I am Noboru Watanabe from Hizen Omura. No, please tell him that I am Watanabe from the Edo Military Training Center. Once you say it, he will understand." Ryoma was on the second floor at this time. "Oh? Watanabe from the military training hall?" He was a little surprised, and couldn't help but think of his Edo school days, with a feeling of nostalgia in his chest.The training hall is the martial arts gym of Saito Yakuro, and Katsura Kogoro used to be the coach there.At that time, the instructor of the Saito Martial Arts Academy was Katsura, the instructor of the Tsukiji Clam Riverbank Momoi Haruno Martial Arts Academy was Takeshi Hanheita, and the instructor of the Otsuchi Chiba Martial Arts Academy was Sakamoto Ryoma. These three martial arts gyms were all well-known in Edo. of.In the martial arts competition held in the Tuzhou Mansion of Kayye Bridge, the three of them once competed for the reputation of their respective vassal states and schools.

After Gui resigned from Saito Wukan as the head coach and returned to the feudal clan, the Omura feudal clan Noboru Watanabe took over.He and Ryoma had met on various occasions when they were practicing martial arts together in Edo, but they never saw each other again. Longma heard that after he returned to the feudal clan, he traveled all over Kyushu, competing with people everywhere, and finally won the reputation of the first Kungfu in Kyushu.Since then, Watanabe Noboru and his elder brother Watanabe Kiyoshi have worked in the Omura Domain in Kyoto, and under the influence of Katsura Kogoro, they have gradually started activities as volunteers.

One summer evening, Watanabe, who was already a little drunk, was walking on Iidegawa Road, and two newly selected team members followed. In order to get rid of them, Watanabe turned into a tailor shop that he had a good relationship with, and asked the shopkeeper for water.When he walked out of the shop with a few bowls of water, the stalker was still on the street.In desperation, Watanabe had no choice but to go all the way to Kitano Tenmangu on purpose, and walked through the shrine, when the sky was already dark. "Watanabe!" After leaving the shrine, a voice came from behind.It was too late to say it, but Watanabe quickly turned around, drew his sword and slashed at the opponent.Immediately, one person lay dead on the path, while the other fled for his life quickly...

When Watanabe and Ryoma met, they were very excited. "Is Watanabe-kun still practicing swordsmanship?" "No, recently I've started to imitate Sakamoto-kun and Katsura-kun, and I'm busy with state affairs, so I don't have time to practice swords." "Have you seen Gui?" "Of course I've seen it. It's still old friends." Watanabe Noboru said.Although he and Gui come from different feudal clans, they have formed a deep friendship. This may be because the two had previously studied together in the martial arts school and had a deep friendship as classmates.

Watanabe went on to say that when the shogunate asked the Omura clan to send troops to attack Changzhou, he persuaded the lord and the elders of the clan and finally refused to send troops. "This is the merit of practicing swordsmanship." "Exactly. If I hadn't entered Mr. Saito Yakuro's school, I wouldn't have met Katsura-kun. It is because of Katsura-kun that I can now go all over the world for the king's affairs. By the way, I heard that Sakamoto-kun is not there now either. You're practicing swordsmanship, but you're sailing a warship, aren't you?"

Wherever Watanabe went, people could be heard talking about Ryoma leading the Changzhou fleet to destroy the shogunate fleet at sea. "Naval battles are hard, aren't they?" "Where. Warship combat is the same as swordsmanship, and requires the same keen intuition. This is the same as when you killed two Shinsengumi soldiers in Kitano Tenmangu." "Just one." Watanabe felt a little embarrassed, "Everyone says Sakamoto-kun is the admiral of the Seto Inland Sea, what are you doing now?" "Idle." Longma picked his nostrils with a bored expression. "how do I say this?" "The most important thing, I don't have it here." "You mean money?" "That's one aspect. The key is that there are no boats." "This is really surprising. Wouldn't it be nothing in this way?" "That's right." "Sakamoto-kun," the Hizen Omura vassal suddenly burst into laughter, "you are amazing, Sakamoto-kun! You have no boat or money, yet you can still sit here, looking at the sea of ​​Shimonoseki, and picking your nostrils at the same time." "However, I have brains." Ryoma suddenly thought of a brilliant idea.In the past few days, the solution that he couldn't think of after thinking about it, came to mind while chatting with Noboru Watanabe. "Watanabe-kun, let's form an alliance of Kyushu feudal clans!" "Hey hey!" Noboru Watanabe was amused by Ryoma's big words. "Watanabe-kun, what are you laughing at?" Ryoma himself also found it funny, so he laughed. "The Kyushu feudal alliance is simply impossible to realize. It is a well-known fact that the Kyushu feudal clans have had a very bad relationship since their own Kanggong." "However, if we continue to hate each other, Japan will perish. Because this time the shogunate fought with Choshu, all the feudal clans in Kyushu sided with the shogunate. Of course, the Chikuzen Fukusen Kuroda family and the Hizen Saga Nabeshima family maintained But they don't have a good opinion of Changzhou. Now Changzhou has won. If we can take advantage of this opportunity and let the feudal clans of Kyushu form a multi-vassal alliance, the success of the revolution will be just around the corner!" In fact, Ryoma believes that judging from the current situation, it is impossible to directly launch a war against the shogunate, so an alliance of feudal vassals should be created as a preparation for the shogunate.Xixiang and others also had the same idea. The alliance of feudal lords was established as an official institution of the country, the representatives of the alliance were summoned to Kyoto, the parliament was convened in the presence of the emperor, and the resolutions of the coalition government were adopted to manage the state affairs.The coalition government will be the only transitional regime until a revolutionary government is established.The reason for saying this is because the Tokugawa shogunate has lost its ability to command daimyo, and its international diplomatic capabilities are also very lacking, so it is absolutely impossible to entrust Japan to the shogunate. "The Kyushu vassal alliance, including Changzhou, will become the cornerstone of the coalition government." "This is really a great wish!" Watanabe said with a smile, "But I just appreciate Sakamoto-kun's bragging skills." "Don't look down on people." Long Ma was a little unhappy. "But the feudal lords of Kyushu are destined to hate each other. Mr. Sakamoto is a Tosa, and he will not understand this." In the early days of the establishment of the Tokugawa Shogunate, they racked their brains to think about how to govern Kyushu well.Because in Japanese history, Kyushu is like a powder magazine.It was after the loss of Kyoto that the Heike received support from Kyushu, and was able to launch the final decisive battle at Tanpu.Takashi Ashikaga lost power for a time, and after being exiled to Kyushu, he gathered various local forces, made a comeback, defeated Masanari Kusuki in the decisive battle in Minatogawa, Hyogo, and regained power. For Ieyasu, Kyushu is also a headache.Especially the Satsuma Shimadzu family, the loser of the Sekihara War, may do unexpected things at any time.Therefore, Ieyasu spent a lot of effort in configuring the daimyo, deliberately arranging them to restrain each other and inciting them to resent each other.This situation has gradually become a tradition. "How many domains are there in Kyushu?" "Thirty-four domains." The relatively large domains include Satsuma Shimazu's 770,000 koku, Higo Hosokawa's 540,000 koku, Chikuzen Kuroda's 520,000 koku, Hizen Nabeshima's 357,000 koku and Chikugo's Ma's 210,000 stone and so on. "Let's do it! Watanabe-kun, will you help me with the Omura clan?" "Of course it is obligatory! But are you sure of success?" "certainly." Watanabe Noboru didn't believe it. "It will take at least half a year just to lobby the feudal clans of Kyushu." "I won't lobby them." Ryoma didn't really believe in the power of words.Even if you win the opponent in an argument, it is often only a temporary effect. "I want to lure him with benefits." "Benefit?" "All the hustle and bustle in the world is for profit. I will first set up a trading company for the alliance of Kyushu feudal clans in Shimonoseki." Ryoma began to explain his idea, which is exactly what he is best at saying about joint-stock companies. First of all, Satsuma and Changzhou acted as initiators to persuade three or two big vassals.Almost all the vassals are suffering from lack of finances, so they should be very happy to join in.After the Dafan joins, other small and medium-sized feudal states will also rush to request to join. "There's no need to worry about persuasion. They'll come in droves." "I see." "The current situation will change because of interests, but not because of disputes. As long as the Kyushu Company is established, the relationship between the Thirty-Four Domains will naturally improve. On the basis of this commercial association, it will gradually integrate into the nature of politics. Before long, a grand alliance throughout Japan will be established, and this alliance will run the country. The shogunate will collapse on its own." "No need to start a war?" "Yes, it would be great if war could be avoided. My fellow countryman, Shintaro Nakaoka, and others have been saying that there is only one war for the Restoration. However, if this form is extended to the world, there will be no shogunate vassals at all. It is necessary." Watanabe left after appreciating the idea of ​​this vassal alliance trading company.However, Ryoma's ideal had germinated in the evening. "The lord of Sazhou, the five generations of retainers, came to visit." Hearing the report, Ryoma felt a little funny. "Look, here we come." Saisuke Godai, a member of the Satsuma domain, probably came to Shimonoseki to find out about the situation of the Choshu domain after the Shogunate War. As a result, he met Noboru Watanabe by chance, and hurried over when he heard that Ryoma was going to establish a trading company. Benefits are such a big charm.Economics shakes the foundations of the era, and politics follows.Ryoma grasped this truth with his incredible intuition. It was really exciting to meet Saisuke Godai.For some reason, Ryoma and this so-called most maverick vassal of the Satsuma domain always miss meeting each other by accident. Saisuke Godai sat down opposite Ryoma.Although he is not tall and tall, he has a broad forehead, a pair of sword-shaped eyebrows that are heroic, and slender and delicate eyes that reveal intelligence and wisdom.About the same age as Ryoma. What a good man, I didn't expect there to be such a man in remote Satsuma.Ryoma looked a little dazed. "I heard that you are considering establishing a company." Saisuke Godai said slowly.He is also a foreign affairs officer and a trade officer in Satsuma Domain, so he is particularly sensitive to such topics and information. The experience of the five generations is very interesting.He was born in a sergeant's family, and his father was the former feudal lord Shimazu Qibin, a world-renowned enlightened confidant of the lord-this is the greatest luck of the five generations of Saisuke.When he was fourteen years old, Qi Bin ordered him to copy a map of the world.He drew two, one dedicated to the feudal lord, and the other one hung in his room, where he looked at it tirelessly every day.It can be said that this incident laid the foundation for him to grow into a person with a keen sense of international affairs in the future. At the age of twenty, Godai began to serve in the feudal clan, and was then selected by the Satsuma clan to study at the Nagasaki Naval Training Institute established by the shogunate.Compared with Ryoma, he can be said to be of orthodox origin. In the second year of Bunjiu, Ryoma left the vassal, and Saisuke Godai arrived in Shanghai on a shogunate ship in this year, going overseas for the first time in his life.At this time, Ryoma, who fled from the domain, was still wandering in the deep mountains of Tosa and Iyo.In contrast, the Five Dynasties who were born in the enterprising Dafan and were the children of a senior sergeant have already opened their eyes. When the British-Saint War broke out, Goshiro was on a steam ship in Kagoshima Bay, so he was captured along with the ship and people.Through that period of captivity, he had a deeper contact with the British. After returning to the domain, he became the foreign affairs officer of the Satsuma domain. He explained to the vassal state the benefits of trading with foreigners. After obtaining permission, he immediately carried out frequent trade activities in Nagasaki without telling the shogunate.In the first year of Qingying, the Satsuma clan sent overseas students to Britain without telling the shogunate, and he went to London together as the guardian of 14 international students.Among these international students are Terashima Sonore who became Minister of Foreign Affairs after the Restoration, Minister of Education Mori Yurei, and first-generation Bank of Japan President Shigetoshi Yoshihara. After Wudai sent the overseas students to the University of London, he immediately spent 10,000 pounds to buy a large number of textile machinery and 2,800 rifles.Then he traveled to Belgium, Prussia, Holland, France and other countries, witnessed the modern industry transitioning from "handicraft industry" to "manufacturer industry", and returned to Samo in February this year.In other words, he just returned home.Although Longma always said that he regards the world as his home, he has never even been to Shanghai.In contrast, Saisuke Godai seems to have grown a pair of wings. "I've always wanted to ask after meeting you. Please tell me about the Western Company." Five generations happily came to Ryoma one by one.Ryoma always liked to hear this kind of topic, clapping his hands, nodding his head, and laughing, he had a great time hearing it. Shimonoseki Amitabha Temple, where Ryoma temporarily lives, has an entire market facing the sea.There are both boat shops and the largest fish market in Changzhou.The fish unloaded from the boat to the shore are all freshly caught from the sea, so everyone said: "The fish in Amitabha Temple is famous for its deliciousness." So many restaurants were built around the fish market. When it's time to light the lanterns, the lanterns hanging under the eaves of these restaurants will light up, and there will be an endless stream of guests coming to drink. "Excuse me for being rude." Saisuke Godai said, "I want to have a chat with Sakamoto-kun at the restaurant Yusong tomorrow about the Kyushu feudal alliance company. I don't know what Sakamoto-kun wants?" Ryoma said sadly, "I don't have any money." "No, please leave this matter to me. I will also contact Mr. Gui and others in Changzhou." After Wu Dai finished speaking, he left. Ryoma called Mutsu Yonosuke and others to discuss it.Each feudal clan provided funds and ships, and Kameyama Trading Company was responsible for the operation and management. "This is really a unique and wonderful idea in the world!" Everyone said in unison. "It's a pity that we have no money. We can only borrow old hens from other people's houses to lay eggs." Longma was really unwilling.He has a lot of good ideas, but he can't realize them. Even the expenses for convening the representatives of the various feudal clans have to be raised by the Satsuma clan, which is really useless. "Money, money, money, I'm afraid there are few people in the world who know the value of money as much as I do, but I'm actually penniless." "You can't have both the fish and the bear's paw, that's really true." "No, there's no need to worry. Sooner or later, the fish and the bear's paw will come. If God doesn't give me money, Japan will be hopeless." "Sakamoto-kun," Kanno Kakuhei said with a bitter face, "it's better not to talk about money all the time. We understand your true meaning, but everyone in Tosa seems to misunderstand you deeply. " "That's true." Ryoma smiled. "When I left the feudal clan, I shouted that I would die for the country, but now I run around the world doing what businessmen do. It's no wonder they think so. Even my sister wrote to me An angry letter, asking if I left the domain to make money." This letter from Otome was used by Ryoma to throw away after blowing his nose, but he wrote back anyway.He felt that if even his sister misunderstood him, he would not be able to bear it. After the sun went down, Ryoma was still unkempt, dressed in rags, with a big knife stuck in his waist wantonly, and took Mutsu Yonosuke, Kanno Kakuhei, Nakajima Sakutaro, Nagaoka Kenkichi and others to the restaurant Uosong and go. Ryoma and his party walked on the narrow road. "Look at the prosperity of Shimonoseki Amida Temple Town." Ryoma turned back and said to Mutsu. "There are prostitutes, alcoholics, businessmen, politicians, and wanderers like us. Sooner or later, Shimonoseki will become the second Osaka." Ryoma boldly predicted. A group of people walked into Yusong.The store sells fish in the front hall, and the backyard is the guest room for banquets. A rustic garden has been built, with stone lanterns placed in the garden, and several maple trees, podocarpus and arrow bamboos are planted, adding to the A bit of style. "Oh, I'm late." Ryoma and others entered the room.Fortunately, everyone has not arrived yet, and the meeting has not yet started. After Ryoma took his seat, Katsura Kogoro, one of the representatives of the Choshu Domain, who was sitting across from him, smiled at him.A fat and fair Changzhou vassal who was sitting next to Gui came to Ryoma.The Sendai platform on his body rustled. "A few days ago, I had the honor to meet Mr. Sheng at Miyajima in Aki." He said to Ryoma. This person is Hirosawa Bingsuke.He went to Miyajima as a plenipotentiary envoy of the Choshu clan during the truce negotiations between the shogunate, and met Katsu Kaishu, the representative of the shogunate, at Daiganji Temple, where the shogunate was negotiating. "Master Sheng is really an admirable person. Although he is a representative of the shogunate and holds a high position such as the fifth rank of the warship, he only wears a black coat with two collars, a small kura hakama, and even a Not even a follower." This is Mr. Sheng's strategy.Ryoma found it quite interesting.Sheng will often deliberately do something to surprise the other party.In this case, he probably deliberately dressed up as a poor scholar, catching the envoys of the Changzhou Domain by surprise and allowing the negotiations to proceed smoothly. "Saying these things in front of Sakamoto-kun seems like polite words, but a person like Katsu-sama is really unique in this world!" "Not only in this world, but since ancient times, there is only one person. In this troubled world, there is still Mr. Sheng. If you think about it this way, Japan can be reassuring. He is such a character." "However, I heard that he has withdrawn from the cabinet." "what?" Ryoma's fate can be described as fickle, and it seems that his teacher Katsu Kaishu is also like this. After a while, everyone arrived.In the Satsuma domain, there are five generations of Saisuke, Choshu liaison officer Kuroda Ryosuke, Hizen Omura domain has Watanabe Noboru, Bungoka domain, Tsushima domain, Satsuma domain and Satuhara, etc., a total of 12 or 3 people. Except for the Satsuma, Changzhou and Omura domains, other domains should not be taken lightly, Ryoma thought.In order to find out the situation in Changzhou after the Shogun War, the neutral domains in Kyushu selected smart people and sent them to Shimonoseki.These people are not patriots. Moreover, it is reasonable that Fushan, Kumamoto, Kurume, Saga and other great feudal clans did not send anyone.Without exception, these big feudal clans were all afraid of the shogunate. Even before the Shogunate War started, the Futong and Kumamoto feudal clans began to suppress the nobles in the feudal clan, fearing that the shogunate would be unhappy.Not a single person of lofty ideals survived in the Fukuoka Domain.It is absolutely impossible for this kind of vassal to send people to Changzhou. Even so, now that Changzhou has won, they must have been greatly shaken.Longma thought, as long as his plan spreads in the world, they will definitely be moved by it.Because if this plan is compared to medicine, it is an easy-to-drink medicine for the Saba faction and the neutral faction, and it has the sweetness of benefits. The meeting finally started.Ryoma was not good at greeting, so the young Mutsu Yonosuke spoke on his behalf, and Nagaoka Kenkichi, who was also a member of the trading company, explained the proposal.After the explanation was finished, someone asked questions and everyone discussed. Finally, when the topic was almost exhausted, Wudai Caisuke said: "My fan agrees." Gui and Guangze from Changzhou also agreed.The rest of the people said: "This is a very good plan. However, it is inconvenient to make a statement before the next person sees it. After returning to the domain, I will send a reply." "It makes sense." Ryoma finally spoke.Then he took his pen and ink and wrote a charter.Ryoma first wrote down the words "Protocol". There are six Articles of Association, the general idea is as follows: Everyone circulated the charter and agreed with it. The cost of fish floss was finally paid by the Satsuma clan. At this time, the consciousness of the vassal state emerged.People from Changzhou said: "If it turns into drunken words from the Satsuma people, it will be bad." Therefore, they insisted on paying back the salute to Satsuma.In particular, Katsura Kogoro used to spend a lot of feudal fees in Edo and Kyoto to communicate with people from various feudal vassals, and he was a little too cautious in this regard.So, on the second day, a thank-you banquet was held at a restaurant called Wengtei under the management of the Changzhou Clan. The Satsuma people, Ryoma and members of the trading company participated, and Watanabe Noboru, a member of the Omura Clan, was invited as a guest. Before the banquet began, Guangze Bing Assistant from Changzhou knelt down and saluted, and greeted him: "We will not talk about business at the banquet tonight. Please open your minds, and you will not rest until you are drunk!" As soon as the words fell, a large group of geisha swarmed in, picked up wine pots, and poured wine for them. In the past few months, Ryoma has been engaged in naval battles and trying to save the business of the trading company. He has hardly had a few days of peace, and he is already extremely tired. "In that case, let's have a drink tonight!" He never refused to come, pouring the wine poured for him by the geisha into his mouth one after another.It's ridiculous to get yourself drunk with other people's wine.However, now it is imperative.When the trend of the times starts to favor me, I will use the money from the business company to make Sazhou and Changzhou people drink until they vomit blood! There were twelve geisha, all of them were beauties, and there seemed to be hundreds of flowers blooming at the banquet. After the seats gradually became chaotic, these geisha naturally gathered around Ryoma, singing and dancing to make a scene. It seems that this guy is very popular among women.Gui thought.Gui once had an affair with Jisong in Sanppongi, Kyoto, and he is a serious and dignified man.As for Satsuma's five generations of Caisuke, a pair of slender and delicate eyes that even men can fall in love with, are naturally very attractive.However, these two people always exude a cold aura, far less popular with geisha than Ryoma.And when it comes to Hirosawa Hirosuke, the geisha call him "Mr. Baifugu" in private, which is completely inconspicuous. Satsuma's Kuroda Ryosuke is a drunk lunatic.Although he drinks a lot, when he is half drunk, his eyes start to straighten, and sometimes he yells at the geisha, so he is not popular at all. Among the handsome men in the room, Ryoma is considered the most mediocre one, and he is not slovenly.But he was somehow popular with women. There must be something likable about Ryoma.And in this group of men who have no specialties, only Ryoma is proficient in various skills, and his skills even make the geisha pale in comparison. While Ryoma was drinking and making noise, Gui walked up to him and whispered, "I heard that Nakaoka Shintaro is here." "Oh? When did you arrive?" "I just came back from Kyoto yesterday, and I live in the Baishi Mansion in Maguan." "Call him here." Ryoma hadn't seen Nakaoka for several months. In the past few years, Nakaoka Shintaro has been running around, busy with King Qin. Ryoma and Nakaoka are from the same town, and Nakaoka was dumbfounded at first.This person has a meticulous mind, a keen insight into the current situation, and quick actions. His expectations have never failed.His character is higher than Katsura Kogoro of Changzhou, and Changzhou Fan recognizes him very much.For Changzhou, Nakaoka is a great benefactor.After Nakaoka left Tuzhou, he expected: "Only Changzhou is the hope leading to the new era." After that, he has fought bravely in the domestic and foreign affairs of the Choshu Domain until now. He participated in the Gamyumon Incident, and after the battle, he worked hard to overthrow the Saba faction in the Choshu Domain.Every time he sneaked into Kyoto, he did a lot of work to restore Changzhou's popularity.Not only that, he also worked with Ryoma to establish the Saga Alliance and finally put it into practice, and in the just-concluded Shogun War, Ryoma undertook the naval battle, and he joined the army and personally participated in the capture of Kokura Castle. battle.Afterwards, he traveled all over Kyushu, striving to create public opinion in favor of Changzhou.He has also kept in touch with the five ministers of Dazaifu, running around for their return to Kyoto.Nakaoka also went to Kyoto and discovered the genius Iwakura Gushi.This time he returned to Maguan. He is simply an iron man!Long Ma thought. It can be said that Nakaoka was born at an untimely time, but he was born in the Tosa clan where the stubborn Saba faction controlled the power. He was reduced to a rogue and had to go alone in the world.However, in terms of talent and strength, he has more perseverance and patience than Katsura from Changzhou and Ichizo Okubo from Sazhou who are in the big feudal clan and can control the feudal administration. He is also superior in character and talent.It's a pity that he came from a bad background, Long Ma sighed secretly. A man does business like a rider rides a horse.Ryoma sometimes thinks so sadly.Even a master of equestrianism will not be able to perform well if he is riding an old and useless horse.And those riders who are not very good at riding can gallop thousands of miles as long as they ride a horse.The Choshu Domain of Katsura and Hirosawa, and the Satsuma Domain of Saigo, Okubo, Godai, and Kuroda are all good dogs who travel thousands of miles a day.As for the Tuzhou ronin Nakaoka Shintaro, he doesn't even have a horse at all.He ran around the world with just a pair of feet.A man's luck or misfortune lies in whether he can get a good horse.Ryoma is also a person who left the feudal domain, but unlike Nakaoka, he is building his own Tiandi Kameyama Trading Company with his own strength.This is the difference between the two ways of doing things. "Call Nakaoka." After saying that, Ryoma immediately opened the inkstone box and began to write a letter, so that someone could give it to Nakaoka. Ryoma was drunk, and the words of this extremely unrestrained man became extremely interesting. He even started with such words.He was very happy about the "female army roaring". It means that there are a large number of geisha, and there are not a few glamorous ones. The military discussion should mean that there are too many playboys like Gui, Hirosawa, and Godai. It means, please actively participate in this wine war. "Even the written words are drunk." Mutsu Yonosuke took the letter to the entrance, and handed it to the dormitory Fujihei who was eating and drinking in the hut next to the entrance. Fujibei rushed into the darkness. The maid raised the lantern and tried to catch up, but was stopped by Mutsu. "Outside, you can't see your fingers!" "It's okay, that person can see it." He couldn't say that Fujibei had been a thief before. After a while, Fujibei returned to Weng Pavilion with Nakaoka Shintaro. Nakaoka opened the latticed door and entered the house, and the vassals applauded and welcomed him. "How's the situation in Kyoto?" Someone asked.Nakaoka smiled and said: "Changzhou's unexpected victory shocked the imperial court that was previously controlled by the Saba faction. We should really take this opportunity to turn the court into the Qinwang faction's world. Because of this defeat, the support for the shogunate has become more and more stubborn. It can be said that it has become crazy. The Aizu domain has expanded the subordinate Shinsengumi and instructed them to patrol the streets day and night. It is a miracle that I came back safely this time. .” Nakaoka sat down beside Ryoma. "Long time no see." Nakaoka said with a smile as he took the wine glass that Ryoma handed over.His face was tanned on the way. "Ryoma." "Ok?" "Kenji Ando has passed away." "Oh?" In this troubled world, people no longer have the strength to be shocked by someone's death. "It seems that you don't know yet. Eight Tushu feudal vassals and a group of Shinsengumi fought at the Sanjo Bridge in Kyoto." Nakaoka heard about the commotion while lurking in Kyoto. It was a moonlit night.The west bridge head of the Sanjo Bridge is where the Shogunate Town insists on posting bulletin boards.A notice was posted on the bulletin board to the effect that Changzhou people are enemies of the imperial court.If they sneak into the city, they must not conceal or hide. Since Changzhou defeated the shogunate army, the morale of the feudal clans in Kyoto was greatly boosted, and more and more people began to shout: "Small that bulletin board!" Many people dived in the middle of the night, pulled out the bulletin boards, and threw them into the Kamo River.The shogunate had to put up the notice board again and again. Finally, the Aizu Domain, the guardian of Kyoto, was cornered. "This is related to the prestige of the shogunate!" So he ordered the Shinsengumi to kill the perpetrators. The Shinsengumi quickly came up with a plan, ordering team members Hashimoto Kaisuke and Kanuchi Kaoru to disguise themselves as beggars and patrol around the bulletin board day and night to check for information; , Merchants, and offices lurk and wait for news. Two days passed. On the night of the third day, Miyagawa Sugoro, the only sergeant of the Tosa domain, was drinking at a restaurant in Gion Maruyama, and when he was getting drunk, he said, "That bulletin board is too bad." That's right!" Then, a group of people walked out of the restaurant together to remove the sign, and Kenji Ando was among them.He is a villager from Kuman, Tosa County, and he has been in and out of the Sakamoto family in Kochi Castle since he was a child, so he met Ryoma.In addition, there are Fujisaki Yoshigoro, Matsushima Kasuke, Sawada Jinhei, Okayama Shinroku, Hayakawa Yasutaro, and Nakayama Kentaro, a total of eight people. It was almost midnight when they walked across the three bridges wearing high-tooth clogs and hula-la.The moonlight was so bright that it shone like daylight. Suddenly, the beggar at his feet stood up and ran away, but no one paid attention to it.Miyagawa and Fujisaki stepped over the wooden fence and pulled out the notice board, and threw it over the bridge railing into the river. "Shogunate bastard!" Miyagawa laughed loudly, and everyone was about to leave.Twelve people including Harada Sanosuke, who had been waiting at the office in the north of Pontocho, rushed to the scene along the Takase River at this time, shouting: "Where are you going!" They surrounded eight Tosa vassals. Everyone in Tosa drew out their swords together, and the two sides fell into a fierce melee in an instant. The Shinsengumi has long been familiar with raiding and killing, and their tactics are ingenious. They form groups of two or three, staring at one person and launching attacks from all directions. Miyagawa and the others are not idle people either, they are a group of fifty people known as the Tosa Domain, they escorted the Yamatoko Hall to and from the Tokaido, it can be said that they are a group of desperate guys. Sparks flew every time the weapons of the two sides collided, shouts pierced the night air, blood spattered, and men fell one by one. "I swear revenge on Ikedaya!" The people of Tuzhou pounced on the Shinsengumi like evil spirits, and the scene was creepy.The corpses of the comrades who died in the Ikedaya Incident in the first year of Yuanji were buried in the unowned cemetery of Sanyuan Temple on the east side of the bridge. At first, the Tuzhou side had the advantage despite having fewer people, but fatigue gradually hit them.Tuzhou people's swords are too long. Although it is powerful to swing the long sword majestically to drive away the enemy, it will soon tire you.After the scuffle, the use of long knives by the Tuzhou people stopped abruptly. Not long after, twelve people led by Tadao Arai, the supervisor of the Shinsengumi, also rushed over from the wine shop east of the Takase River, and all of them drew their knives together, forming a pincer attack on the Tuzhou people. Not only that, the ten people directly led by Isamu Kondo also rushed from the east end of the bridge. "It seems that the general situation is over." Kenji Ando, ​​who was covered in blood, shouted when he saw this.他一边向同志们大叫撤退，一边抡起手中的三尺长刀砍倒了新选组的一个人后，奔到车道上。 新选组大石锹次郎等十人追了上去。谦次举起刀，对同伴们连连喊道：“我来殿后！我来殿后！” 谦次倚靠在柳树上迎敌。然而不知为何，新选组并没有追上来。谦次一路逃到了河原町的土州藩府旁边，自知身负重伤，没有复原的希望了，便在门前切腹而死。 藤崎吉五郎当场死亡。其余每人都负了伤，不过总算没有性命之虞。 只有宫川助五郎头上吃了三刀，昏倒在桥上，成了俘虏。他在昏迷中被抬到了新选组驻地，意识清醒后每天都在不停地咆哮，对于审讯，他不予理睬。宫川性情刚毅，近藤不忍杀他，把他关进大牢。 原来安藤和藤崎都牺牲了。龙马手中的酒杯在空中停留了片刻，一脸沉痛。安藤才二十五岁，而藤崎年仅二十二。 “都去了。”中冈的声音十分低沉，“细想起来，文久三年在武市家结成的土佐勤王党所剩无几了。唯一活下来的，龙马，就是龟山商社的同志了。” “不，我这里也失去了许多人。望月龟弥太、北添倍摩等人战死在池田屋，池内藏太等溺亡大海，就连近藤长次郎都切腹而死。屈指算来，也没剩下几个人了。” “必须尽快推翻幕府。”中冈说，“否则土州的有志之士都会拋尸沟渠。龙马，再也不能慢吞吞地坐以待毙了。” “是啊。”龙马一口气喝光了杯中酒。“可是中冈，着急也于事无补。推翻幕府是需要时间的。” “在这期间，坂本君要做生意赚钱吗？”激进的武力革命论者中冈慎太郎略带讽刺地问道。 “是的，钱。”龙马用手比出一个圆。“就是钱。想要不花一分钱就推翻幕府，中冈，那是妄想。幕府不会如此轻而易举地葬送。” “萨摩和长州有钱。” “萨摩和长州确实有钱。但是我们土州人不能总是寄人篱下，借用萨长之力来成就事业吧？正是出于这个原因，我才想成立一个'土州浪人藩'，它的基石就是龟山商社。” "I see." 龙马的想法和抱负中冈已经听过多遍，所以他连忙认可。或许他是不想再听龙马长篇大论一番。“不过，”中冈说，“我将釆取其他方法。我要说服土佐，像文久三年时那样，建立起萨长土联盟。” "Are you sure?" 只要有容堂这位“英明”的君主做统帅，土佐藩绝不会轻易参加革命这种冒险事业。 “这个嘛，据说现在风向多少有所改变。原因就是在幕长战争中长州意外取胜，在土佐藩担任重要职位的顽固之人陷入了大大的恐慌。”土佐为了获知萨长的情况，已经派遣使者到鹿儿岛，想方设法接近中冈。“总之，乾退助、谷守部等人现在急于想接近你我。”善于敏锐捕捉时机的中冈慎太郎已经下定决心开始针对土佐藩做工作，可惜龙马对这些并不感兴趣。