Chapter 62 6. Sea aid team

For the next three days, Ryoma Sakamoto went out to meet Shojiro Goto as soon as the evening came. On the third day, Goto said helplessly, "I am helpless. Do you hate returning to Tosa so much?" "You can put it this way." Ryoma rubbed his chin and smiled bitterly, "There is no one in the world who is more free than a ronin. Goto-sama, you have never been a ronin, so you don't know the benefits of this situation." "But haven't you ever been an official? Being an official has its own benefits." "You don't know my character yet. You should take a good look at whether I am a person who can be in the officialdom."

Goto wanted to bring Ryoma and everyone from the Kameyama Trading Company into the feudal kingdom, give Ryoma a corresponding salary and status, and cultivate them into a major force in the feudal clan.In this regard, Ryoma is probably holding the mood of "don't misunderstand the person".Now that things have happened, even if he is treated like an old man to pick him up, he will only feel that this is an insult to Ryoma Sakamoto, who has ambitions for the world. "I'm not a vassal official." Longma responded casually, but he was thinking about strategies quickly in his mind.Goto's suggestion of being an official is very boring, but there is another cooperation, that is, the operation of the trading company.If the relationship with the Tosa domain can be strengthened, it will definitely be a lot easier to run a trading company.

"Goto-sama, my thoughts..." Ryoma began to explain his grand plans.He wants to own a fleet and calm the world.Secondly, this fleet has remained independent from beginning to end, and all funds rely on usual trade and transportation. "Sakamoto-kun, do you have ambitions in politics?" "Huh?" Ryoma looked at Goto, really surprised.He always thought that Goto was a magnanimous person. Since he made such a guess, it seemed that he was nothing more than a bureaucrat in the end.Ryoma was somewhat disappointed. "No." Ryoma pulled the brazier to his side.In order to save Japan from danger, he really wanted to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, but it was difficult for him to make him the head of the new regime established later. "I have even bigger ambitions."

"tell me the story." "After the turmoil in Japan subsides, I will leave this country and lead the fleet to sail in the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. I will accomplish a great cause worldwide." "Huh?" Goto opened his eyes wide.He didn't expect that there are still people in Japan who dare to boast so much, it's just like a dream.In the face of this grand dream, the dispute between Qin Wang and Zuo Mu quickly shrank to a small scene, not to mention his suggestion that Ryoma return to the vassal, and the latter was humble and pitiful in comparison.

Ryoma racked his brains, trying to make Goto's proposal beneficial to both himself and Tosa.After a long time, he said, "Goto-sama, what do you think of this?" He took out the pocket paper, licked the tip of the pen for a while, and wrote a few large black characters in ink: Sea Aid Team. "Assist the Tosa clan from the sea. By establishing a navy and developing maritime trade, the sea aid team will help the Tosa domain, but Tosa also needs to assist the sea aid team." "So, the two are equal and help each other?" Goto is a very smart person.He smelled equality from the word "aid".

"Yes, it is equal." "In this way, Ryoma, with all due respect, don't you have equal status with the lord...?" "That's natural." This sentence can be described as earth-shattering, and such words are really treasonous for a samurai. "It is said that in the United States, the status of a woodcutter and the president is the same. I just want to make Japan a country like that." "Dragon, Ryoma, keep your voice down!" Even Goto, who has always been fearless, couldn't help turning pale when he heard Ryoma's words.The argument of King Qin's downfall alone will be regarded as a chilling and dangerous thought in all feudal clans. Ryoma dares to go further and say that everyone is equal!

"Ryoma, you... you are a traitor. According to what you said, don't you even recognize the emperor?" "It's useless to argue about these things at a time like this. After all, all people are created equal. I want to change this world into a world where everyone has equal rights." "You want to overthrow the shogunate for this reason?" "It goes without saying! Just overthrowing the Tokugawa family is meaningless." "Do you want to overthrow the daimyo?" "It will happen when the time comes. Of course, the Tosa feudal lord will also be overthrown. At that time, there will be no more feudal lords, family elders, and sergeants in the world."

"You, you bastard... In this way, Ryoma, your so-called King Qin is all lies? Now you keep saying that you want to be King Qin, and sooner or later you will even overthrow His Majesty the Son of Heaven. Do you think so?" Goto gets his first glimpse of the difference between Ryoma and the other Kings of War.And Ryoma didn't even confide the secret thoughts in his heart to his comrades. Once they did, they would definitely kill Ryoma.Ryoma began to feel that perhaps only Goto Shojiro would understand him. At this time, Ryoma has entered a lonely situation. In short, the opinions of the two are quite different.Goto wants to put the sea rescue team mentioned by Ryoma under the control of Tosa, and Ryoma wants to cooperate as an equal.Still, both men are good at compromise.

"The shape of the bun doesn't matter, as long as both sides can eat the stuffing," Ryoma said. "Exactly." Goto Shoujiro nodded and said yes, "But, can this kind of bun be made?" "It can't be done." The two talked about this, drank a few more glasses of wine, and then broke up. Ryoma returned to Tosaya in Nishihama Town, gathered all the people in the company, and talked about his meeting with Goto. "I object." The first person to speak was Mutsu Yonosuke from Kishu. "I object. Our trading company should be independent from the world, and must not be reduced to a vassal of the Tosa clan. We will become Tosa's tools because of this."

"You're right." Ryoma said, "But our ideals can never become a reality. Looking at the actual situation now, business has become so difficult. Mutsu-kun, let's put our ideals behind us first. Put it aside. What we need now is a stopgap." Although Mutsu was not convinced, he did not refute. Not only Mutsu, but everyone else's face is not very good-looking. "In the West, there are laws, which are used to manage the country. Not only the country, but also when a trading company wants to cooperate with other trading companies, it will also formulate legal documents. This time, as long as Tosa and our trading company formulate legal documents and abide by each other, we will We can ensure our independence, and we will not be annexed by the Tosa domain in the future. How? Can you leave this matter to me?"

Now that Ryoma had spoken, the subordinates could not say anything more, and the matter was decided in this way. Ryoma immediately selected Kenji Nagaoka, a scholar in the agency, as an assistant in drafting the contract.Kenkichi Nagaoka is one year older than Ryoma.He was born in the family of a rural doctor in Urado, Tosa, and studied Western medicine at the Ogata Koan private school in Osaka.Later, he came to Nagasaki and studied further with the famous Siebold. He was deeply loved by his teacher and even taught Japanese to Siebold's son Alexander.Later, he was suspected of being a Catholic, so he returned to the feudal kingdom, hiding in the mountains and forests, depressed all day long.Later, at the invitation of Ryoma, he came to Nagasaki again and became a secretary of a trading company. That night, Ryoma and Kenkichi worked together to draw up what he called a legal contract.On the second day, when the draft was drawn up, Ryoma went to see Goto with the draft. Ryoma didn't say much, just handed the draft to Goto himself, and left quickly. "Sir, why didn't you give an explanation?" On the way back, Nagaoka Kenkichi asked with some dissatisfaction. "If I explain it, my words and attitude will eventually become sincere. This is what I'm afraid of." Back at Tosaya, Ryoma was sitting in the front hall drinking tea, never expecting a sudden visit from a rare visitor.The person who came had sharp eyes, a tanned face, full of energy, and a radiant look. It was Shintaro Nakaoka. Well done, well done!Ryoma was immediately elated, and at the same time, a new plan came to his mind: If only the sea aid team would be biased, it would be better to establish another land aid team, and the captain would let Shintaro Nakaoka do it.In this way, there are ronin associations on both land and sea.As for the capital cost, it will be financed by Tosa. "Ryoma, don't come here without any problems." Nakaoka sat down abruptly and began to take off his shoes.The boy brought a basin full of water. "Come and wash you, little one." He wanted to wash Nakaoka's feet.Generally, even inn maids don't wash guests' feet, but this is a custom in Nagasaki.The world says that there is no place that offers hospitality like Nagasaki. "Thanks. I prefer to do it myself." This is also Nakaoka's style.He likes to be self-reliant in everything, even mending clothes by himself.He washed his feet carefully, wiped them clean, took off his coat, dusted off the dust, and put it on again.He did this with great care, yet with great dexterity. "Hungry." Nakaoka finished packing and said. "Understood. I'll ask someone to prepare food for you." Ryoma said excitedly.The greatest joy in life is to be reunited with a friend who has been in love for a long time, he thought to himself. Communication, and both of them have very keen senses, and they can even appreciate the indescribable deep meaning hidden in each other's words. "Tosa is changing little by little," Nakaoka said.He has been in Kyoto, devoted himself to persuading Tosa officials, and came to Nagasaki after he achieved success.Ryoma described how Goto got close to him.The ideas of the two coincided again, which was really interesting. When Ryoma said "Land Aid Corps", Nakaoka, a passionate man who had endured countless baptisms in the flames of war, instantly guessed what Ryoma was going to say. "That's it." Nakaoka said. "Huh? After hearing these few words, you know what I'm going to say?" "understood." "What an odd man." "That's true." Nakaoka said Tosa's words in a serious voice. "I've been thinking day and night, racking my brains, thinking about what to do with this world. I'm thinking in the shadows of swords and swords, I'm thinking in the hail of bullets, I'm thinking about it when I travel to every corner and meet the generous, worried and indignant people from all over the world. Now I'm There is only one thing in my heart. So you only said these three words, and my heartstrings naturally resonated." "Ok." Longma didn't drink, he drank honey water.Nakaoka didn't drink alcohol either, just drinking tea.For them, perhaps revolution is more intoxicating than fine wine. "Now, how to deal with the current situation? I finally have an idea about this: there is only one war." "There is only one war." Nakaoka repeated.Since Anzheng, ideas of saving the country have emerged one after another.The theory of respecting the king, expelling barbarians, and founding the country... However, they have come to an end, and they have reached the point where ideas alone cannot save Japan.There is no other way but to overthrow the Tokugawa shogunate, the source of all evil.Of course, there are compromises, such as the integration of public and military forces.However, this kind of thinking seems safe, but in fact it can only confuse people and make this world more chaotic, which can be said to be the source of all evils.Now there is only one battle.The only way out is to overthrow the shogunate by military means.This is Nakaoka's claim. "This is the answer I found after running through swords and swords. Ryoma, what do you think?" "What Brother Nakaoka said is absolutely true," Ryoma said.He couldn't help admiring Nakaoka Shintaro's sharpness.He was in awe, but at the same time he thought that there is definitely not only one way in the world.There are hundreds of roads, but Nakaoka blindly believes that there is only one road.I am afraid that sooner or later I will part ways with him like this.However, until the fall of the shogunate, I should be on the same path as this person.He was thinking like this in his heart, but he didn't say it, he just nodded and echoed Nakaoka's sharp words. "Will the base camp of the Sea Aid Team be located in Nagasaki?" "After all, this place is the center of trade." "I will set up the headquarters of the Land Aid Corps in Kyoto. As long as Kyoto is occupied, why worry about major events in the world?" Nakaoka understood the Land Aid Corps as a force that launched a coup d'état. During this period, Ryoma was very busy with the company's business, and lived in Nagasaki almost all the time.Compared with Ryoma, Nakaoka Shintaro's running is amazing. "There is somersault cloud in Zhonggang." All the people with lofty ideals talked about him like this. This time he went to Nagasaki after going to Kyoto, Shimonoseki, Dazaifu, Kagoshima, Hizen Omura and other places.During this period, he met a boat, took a boat, rode a horse, visited the ministers sent by King Qin and the core figures of various feudal clans, and quickly created a revolutionary atmosphere.It can be said that he has gradually become a major hostile force of the shogunate in the world.During his running around, he also wrote articles several times.In his theory on the reform of the vassal regime submitted to the Tosa clan, he cited the repulsion of barbarians and revolutionary events in modern Western history as examples, and at the same time strongly advocated that the vassal state should develop a military strength sufficient to be independent from the control of the shogunate.This article had a considerable influence on Tosa's establishment of a new direction. In short, he argued that the only way was to wage a revolutionary war.In addition to fighting, or fighting.For this, all the sharp weapons of civilization must be mastered. Times are changing dramatically.Nothing had the greatest impact on the change of the times than the death of Emperor Xiaomei. On the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month of this year, the Emperor developed a high fever. At first he thought it was a fever caused by a cold.The imperial doctor used sweating medicine for him, so he sweated a lot.But by the fourteenth, the high fever still persisted, and the typical smallpox symptoms began to appear on the fifteenth. Previously, a child of a close attendant had suffered from smallpox, and the emperor had worried about being infected. It seemed that his premonition had come true.On the seventeenth, the emperor's face was swollen, he felt vomiting repeatedly, his throat was extremely thirsty, and he kept coughing up phlegm, and he lost his appetite. Finally, at midnight on the twenty-fifth night, he drove the crane back to the west. Emperor Xiaoming can be said to be the most powerful samurai at the end of the shogunate, and he strictly abides by laws and regulations.Since Yasuo, the shogunate has formulated strict prohibitions in order to limit the activities of the imperial court, and even stipulated that "the emperor only needs to focus on ancestor sacrifices and learning and singing", which can be described as watertight.Japan's political and military affairs were "appointed" by the emperor to be in charge of General Ruzheng Yi.Once appointed, the Emperor will not interfere.Emperor Xiaoming abided by this rule.Unlike some of his ancestors, Emperor Go Toba and Emperor Go Daigo, he was bent on overthrowing the samurai regime. He never thought about it, and even attracted the resentment of those ministers and people with lofty ideals. Now that the emperor is dead, the court is bound to change.The ministers sent by King Qin will definitely raise their heads again. "The situation will be reversed." Nakaoka foresees. Ryoma learned this fact from Nakaoka Shintaro. "There is nothing more heart-wrenching than this." Nakaoka, an emotional man, burst into tears as he told Ryoma the news. He is a village chief.The village chiefs of Tosa are different from the village chiefs of other feudal clans. They have held a critical attitude towards the feudal state since the end of the Bakumatsu period, and they have developed the idea of ​​King Qin early on. alliance. The basic idea of ​​this secret alliance is: "The samurai are indeed the subordinates of the feudal lord. However, the peasants are the subjects of the emperor and are definitely not the private property of the feudal lord." This can be said to be a kind of liberal civil rights thought.Under the guidance of this idea, the village chiefs repeatedly rebelled against the vassal state, and at the end of the Tokugawa period, several influential figures were born from it.Among them are the leader of the Tianzhu group, Yoshimura Tootaro, and this Nakaoka Shintaro. In Nakaoka's blood flow the ideas inherited from his ancestors. "Although the vassal state allows me to call my surname with a sword, I am not a subordinate of the lord. My only master is the emperor." This is his true thought.This can be said to be the representative thought of Tosa Ronin and the village chief.This kind of thinking is particularly strong in Nakaoka, so the death of Emperor Xiaoming made him very sad.Even so, as a revolutionary, Nakaoka Shintaro still maintains a calm head. "With all due respect, the emperor's return to the west may make Japan usher in the dawn after a long night," he said. "Dawn will surely come." Ryoma said unexpectedly calmly.Indeed, when Ryoma was young, he had the same enthusiasm for the emperor as Nakaoka, and his political ideals were similar to Nakaoka’s. He believed that the sole emperor should be what Japan should look like in the future. Interested. "It is true that Japan should be unified under the Emperor, but the sacrifice and bloodshed caused by this unification revolution is by no means for the Emperor, but for the thousands of people in Japan." In the words of the later Meiji era, Nakaoka was an imperialist, and Ryoma was a civil rights advocate.The reason why Ryoma is called a miracle in the history of the Restoration is precisely because he had dreamed of a republic and had the idea of ​​freedom and civil rights before the crusade against the shogunate. "Ryoma, we're going to be busy in the future." Nakaoka regained his composure, "Let us join hands and bring Japan out of this long night. In order to accomplish this great cause, we must go through fire and water and die." .” The times are changing, the dams have broken, and the torrents are overflowing the mountains, and no one knows how and where the flood will flow. The emperor has collapsed, and the young emperor is on the throne.Before that, there was the death of the general Jia Mao, and Qingxi inherited the position of general.These changes happened almost simultaneously, and even farmers and merchants felt the atmosphere: times have changed.This "worldly atmosphere", in Ryoma's favorite term, is "fortune".If the flood of "fortune" can be skillfully guided, it may be possible to achieve the miracle of restoration. The reason why Tosa, who had been stubbornly insisting on the samurai before, panicked must be because he really felt the change of the times.Only young people can feel this kind of change.And these young offspring are young bureaucrats who are deeply loved by the old feudal court.Goto Shojiro, Kantuisuke, Fukuoka Fujiji, Tani Moribe, Sasaki Sanshirō, etc., although there are only a few, they are enough to dominate public opinion in the feudal domain.Naturally, Nakaoka's persuasion also played a great role in prompting them to change.After deciding on the new direction of the Tosa Domain, they made up their minds to use Ryoma and Nakaoka as pioneers.Regarding the establishment of the Sea Aid Team and the Land Aid Team, the vassal state readily agreed, and it could even be said that the vassal state was begging. Prior to this, the crime of leaving the feudal domain of the two must be pardoned.The matter was handled with lightning speed, and Nakaoka had just left Nagasaki when Goto Shojiro notified Ryoma. When the two were pardoned, their father and brother were also specially summoned to the feudal hall, while the two parties who had left the feudal clan received copies of the pardon documents. What bullshit are you talking about!Ryoma looked at the copy in the inner hall of the Tosaya, crumpled it up and threw it away.The strange arrogance revealed in the paper made him angry.Deep in the hearts of the young high-ranking officials who deal with Ryoma, there is still discrimination, and they even have a monkey-playing mentality towards Ryoma. Ryoma is busy with various affairs, and the days are hurriedly spent in various trivial matters.In a blink of an eye, the dry Nagasaki also ushered in the misty season.One day in March of the third year of Qingying, Ryoma received news that Fukuoka Fujiji was coming to Nagasaki from Kochi. That evening, the sunset glow on Mount Inasa was brilliant and misty.Fukuoka will come on the Tosa Clan's steam ship, the Butterfly.The purpose of his trip is to establish the rules of the Haiyuan team. Fukuoka is a nasty guy, Ryoma said.However, in order to avoid irritating the comrades in the club, he did not show this emotion.In his memory, Fukumon Fujiji was a slim young samurai who was quite learned. When Ryoma hadn't left the feudal domain, he was about to walk up the Harimaya Bridge with his friends, but was stopped by Fujiji who passed by. "Hi!" Fujiji tapped the bridge railing impatiently with his fan. "Why didn't you salute?" What he meant by this was that when you countrymen met a sergeant, you even wanted to walk over without paying attention, what a shame!His frivolous pale face at that time is still engraved in Ryoma's memory until now. Ryoma's friend nodded quickly to salute, but Ryoma pretended not to hear and walked over. Later, Ryoma asked his friend who that person was. "Fukuoka Fujiji who lives in Xiguang Alley." My friend said unwillingly.About Fukuoka Fujiji, Ryoma only remembered this. Fukuoka Fujiji's family is a branch of the old Fukuoka family, and Fujiji is a distant relative of Miss Tianzuru.Ryoma's family, the Sakamoto family, have been descendants of the old Fukuoka for generations, so the two are not unrelated.Maybe Fujiji still thinks that Ryoma can be regarded as a person under the rule of his family. Fujiji is now the servant of the young feudal lord Fengfan, and he has won the trust of the old feudal lord. Although he is young, he is very majestic and full of style. Fujiji arrived in Nagasaki two days later. There were ten people in his entourage, including Yataro Iwasaki. "Call me Sakamoto." Fujiji sent someone to find Ryoma. But those sent out soon returned. "Ryoma said, if there is anything, please go to him." "What?" Fukuoka Fujiji looked disgusted.However, his task is to "use Ryoma", so he can't get angry at this time. "I'll call on him tomorrow morning." He sent envoys again. A entourage at the side persuaded: "Although these people are countrymen, many of them have been sacrificing for state affairs. It is because of these achievements that Tuzhou is famous today. At present, the vassal state is thinking Taking advantage of that reputation. It's obviously a selfish idea. So please keep that in mind and don't hurt them." The meeting to formulate the team rules the next day was held in the study room of the Nagasaki wealthy businessman Eishiro Kosone, who was staying at Ryoma. As for the arrangement of the seats, it is natural that Fukuoka Fujiji, the servant of the feudal lord, is in the top seat.A group of sergeants sat in a row beside him, and even Yataro Iwasaki sat in the upper seat.Not long ago, Yataro, who was born as an underground ronin, was promoted by Goto Shoujiro and obtained the status of sergeant. Now he has been promoted to Nagasaki left-behind residence. Ryoma and others were arranged in the next seat.The other twenty-eight people in the club sat in a row densely, and the seating was quite disorganized.Thinking that "members of the trading company must breathe together and share fate", Ryoma called all the free members over, and he sat cross-legged at the end of the line, stroking his chin. "Everyone in the society is equal." This is the rule established when the society was formed. When Ryoma manages the company, equality is the principle everywhere, the accounts are open, and the expenses are evenly distributed.He himself is no exception.For example, each person can receive three or two cents of the salary subsidized by the Satsuma clan every month, and he will never have one more cent. This is unprecedented in the current samurai group.It is also a ronin association, a conservative Shinsengumi that maintains law and order under the Tokugawa system. Although it is also a collection of like-minded people, there are differences in job levels.Mandatory management with job levels may refer to the model of the French Army.Ryoma's trading company is completely different.At first glance, it even looks like a group of rabble, with no rules and no rules.Naturally, their identities are not high or low, and even the captain is appointed temporarily every time.So they never arrange seats in order, but sit randomly. Ryoma said: "I'm not familiar with making rules. These people are experts." He pushed Nagaoka Kenkichi and others to the front, and he retreated to the back. As a result, Fukuoka Fujiji and the others naturally had to negotiate with Nagaoka and the others, but he always felt that Ryoma sitting in the back was watching everyone present and it was difficult to negotiate. It's hard to handle, and Fujiji thought so several times.Long Ma, the key figure, hides behind the crowd and refuses to show his face, so it is very inconvenient to communicate. "Ryoma, are you listening?" he yelled once.Long Ma picked his nostrils behind the human wall, and only responded with a "hmm". Nagaoka is knowledgeable, while Mutsu is thoughtful and good at debating. Nakajima Sakutaro can see through the other party's mind and skillfully induce them, and the sergeants are forced to retreat steadily.As a result, the Haiyuan team's team rules only made some rhetorical changes, and Fukuoka Fujiji had to accept the plan proposed by Ryoma's side as it was.The Haiyuan team rules consist of five rules. The first article stipulates that only those who leave the domain are qualified to join the team, so as to ensure the independent personality of the sea aid team.Article 1 also clarified the purpose of establishing the Sea Aid Team: dedicated to transportation, development, price difference trading, and supporting the local domain. Article 2 stipulates that all matters in the team shall be dealt with by the captain, and the team members shall not deliberately violate them.If he commits riots and causes false harm, Captain Xu will punish him to death. In addition, another item was set up, which cleverly stated the relationship between the Tosa clan and the sea aid team: not attached to the clan, but secretly belonging to the Nagasaki official. Even though it is written like this, the officer stationed in Nagasaki has no command over the sea rescue team, but assists them.For example, when there is a deficit in the operation of the Haiyuan team, the captain will apply to the Nagasaki resident officer, and he will fill the deficit (according to Article 5 of the team regulations). If the Sea Aid Team becomes a subsidiary organization of the Tosa Domain at this time, it will be difficult to justify the Echizen, Satsuma, and Changzhou Domains that have been providing assistance before, not to mention that the Sea Aid Team still intends to let these powerful domains continue to be their shareholders. . After the negotiation of the team rules, Fukuoka Fujiji asked the most critical thing: "What about the boat?" The matter was settled in five minutes.In the end, the Satsuma domain guaranteed the 12,000 taels of loan borrowed from Oura Kei, and the Tosa domain repaid it on its behalf. At this point, the conclusion of the treaty between the Kameyama Trading Company and the Tosa Domain was completed, and the Kameyama Trading Company was renamed the Sea Aid Team.After the incident, Mutsu Yonosuke said to Ryoma several times: "The mood has become very strange." Ryoma immediately understood what he meant.But he thought it was troublesome, so he didn't make a sound.Mutsu muttered several times before Ryoma asked him what he meant. "My current state of mind is like a woman who has been living a poor life alone for many years suddenly found an old husband." "The woman's mood must be half relieved and half bored." When Ryoma said this, Mutsu couldn't help but burst out laughing.