I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Hisamitsu Shimazu believed this was intolerable, so he dispatched nine highly skilled domain soldiers, instructing them: "Do not attack everyone, only those from your own domain."

As a result, the leaders of the "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians" faction in the Satsuma Domain were wiped out in one fell swoop.

Hisamitsu Shimazu ordered the massacre of members of his own domain who were "revere the emperor and expel the barbarians"... His decisiveness and cruelty shocked the world.

This incident is known to the world as the "Terataya Incident".

The owner of Teradaya is named Otose, a charming mature woman in her early thirties.

After the "Teradaya Incident," she calmly and collectedly ordered the servants to replace the damaged tatami mats and paper doors and wash away the bloodstains on the floor. Her composed and unhurried demeanor left a deep impression on people, making her a true heroine.

Hisamitsu Shimazu, through a series of iron-fisted measures, completely seized control of Kyoto's security, and the entire city came under the influence of the Satsuma Domain.

Subsequently, Shimazu Hisamitsu proposed to the Imperial Court that another imperial envoy be dispatched to Edo to thoroughly explain the court's intentions. He also presented his own conditions in order to negotiate with the Edo authorities again and clarify the Kyoto leadership.

The imperial court approved the case and dispatched a man named Ōhara Takatoku to Edo. To protect him, Shimazu Hisamitsu personally led 1000 domain soldiers to Edo.

As a result, a conflict unfolded in Edo between the shogunate and the imperial court, which was backed by the Satsuma forces.

On June 7, 1862, Ohara Takatoku, Shimazu Hisamitsu, and 1000 soldiers from the Satsuma Domain arrived in Edo.

At the suggestion of Hisamitsu Shimazu, Takatoku Ōhara, representing the Imperial Court, put forward the following conditions:

First, in order to discuss the matter of expelling the barbarians, Shogun Tokugawa Iemochi must come to Kyoto and discuss the issue with the Imperial Court.

Second, the Five Elders were appointed (the Shimazu clan of Satsuma Domain, the Mori clan of Choshu Domain, the Yamauchi clan of Tosa Domain, the Maeda clan of Kanazawa Domain, and the Date clan of Uwajima Domain). Political affairs required decisions to be made at a meeting of the Five Elders.

Third, he reformed the shogunate's politics and promoted the expulsion of foreigners. However, this could not be done by relying on the shogunate's cabinet members, so he appointed Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu as the shogun's assistant and Matsudaira Haruaki of the Fukui Domain as the chief of staff.

[Note: General's Assistant: A position held by a general in his youth, acting on his behalf to carry out administrative duties. Similar to "Deputy General"]

[Note: President of Political Affairs: A position established to assist the Shogun in handling political affairs both inside and outside the Shogunate, equivalent to a senior official.]

Regarding the first request, since the third shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu went to Kyoto, no shogun has gone to Kyoto to pay homage to the emperor, which is why Tokugawa Iemochi was sent to Kyoto.

Regarding the second request, the five proposed elders were all powerful tozama daimyo. Shimazu Hisamitsu's original intention was to elevate the status of the Satsuma Domain and weaken the authority of the shogunate.

As for the final third requirement... the Satsuma Domain has always belonged to the "Hitotsubashi faction," and Hisamitsu Shimazu himself is a staunch member of the "Hitotsubashi faction."

That's why he insisted on promoting Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi to the position of Shogun's assistant and promoting Haruaki Matsudaira, who was also a staunch member of the "Hitotsubashi faction," to the position of President of Political Affairs.

The first two demands were easy to agree to, but the third demand was met with strong opposition from the "Nanki faction" of the shogunate cabinet and the women of the inner palace.

Yoshiki Hitotsubashi's biological father was the late former lord of the Mito Domain: Tokugawa Nariaki.

Tokugawa Nariaki believed that the women of the Ooku were too extravagant and wasteful, so while he was still alive, he strictly demanded that the women of the Ooku be frugal and thrifty, which made him collectively disliked by the women of the Ooku.

Under the influence of the saying "hate the house because of the crow," the women of the inner palace deeply disliked Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu.

Hisamitsu Shimazu had anticipated that the shogunate would not readily agree to these three demands, which is why he brought 1000 domain soldiers and cannons with him.

After lengthy discussions and wrangling, the shogunate finally compromised, especially by deciding to accept Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu as the shogun's assistant.

Thus, Yoshinobu Hitotsubashi, who had previously remained silent and dormant, began to step onto the political stage.

文久二年（1862）7月6日，一桥庆喜就任将军辅佐。7月9日，松平春岳就任政事总裁。

With Yoshiki Hitotsubashi's rise to power, the confrontation between the "Nanki faction" and the "Hitotsubashi faction" entered a new and more intense phase.

On the other hand, the confrontation between the "public-military alliance faction" and the "respect the emperor and expel the barbarians faction" is becoming increasingly fierce.

After the failure of the "Distant Maritime Strategy", the Choshu Domain, which had been quiet for a while, made another move.

The Choshu Domain completely changed its previous policy, shifting from a "government-military alliance" faction to a "revere the emperor and expel the barbarians" faction that fully complied with the imperial court's wishes and resolutely pursued expulsion of the barbarians. It advocated for the extensive use of radical expulsionists, the abrogation of all treaties signed with various countries, and a return to a policy of national isolation.

In order to regain political dominance, Choshu's attitude has become increasingly radical.

In early August of the second year of Bunkyū (1862), when Shimazu Hisamitsu was away from Kyoto and had personally led his troops to Edo, the lord of the Chōshū Domain, Mōri Takachika, displayed a tough stance.

He pandered to the imperial court, advocated extreme anti-foreign sentiments, and championed "Changzhou's support for the imperial court."

As a result, the patriots who had previously appeared to have been driven out or wiped out by Shimazu Hisamitsu, as well as the lower-ranking samurai and ronin who had hidden away, all believed that "a wise master had been welcomed."

So they gathered in Kyoto and established connections with the samurai of Choshu, and the whole of Kyoto was filled with calls to respect the emperor and expel the barbarians.

Just over a month ago, Kyoto, centered around Satsuma, reached a consensus on the theory of the union of the court and the military. However, a dramatic reversal has occurred in the blink of an eye, and the theory of the emperor's supremacy and the expulsion of foreigners, centered around Choshu, has begun to spread.

Hisamitsu Shimazu returned to Kyoto on the 7th of the intercalary 8th month.

At that time, the number of people advocating the expulsion of foreigners, centered in Choshu, continued to grow, and people supported this proposition.

Hisamitsu Shimazu was deeply shocked by the sudden 180-degree change in the previously suppressed situation in Kyoto.

However, it is already very difficult to suppress the current situation again.

Furthermore, Shimazu Hisamitsu believed that the shogunate had accepted all his conditions and that the situation in Kyoto would soon improve, so he temporarily disregarded the situation in Kyoto.

On the 23rd day of the intercalary 8th month, he left Kyoto and returned to Satsuma—subsequent events proved how wrong his thinking was at that time.

Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu and Matsudaira Shungaku, who are highly regarded by the "Hitotsubashi faction," are indeed quite capable.

After assuming the positions of general's assistant and political president respectively, they spearheaded and implemented a series of reform measures with swift and decisive action.

First, in order to highlight the majesty of the imperial court, the previous rule of referring to the palace as "the General's Palace" was abolished, and it was directly called "the Palace of the South".

Second, the nine gate guards of the Kyoto Imperial Palace, who were previously appointed by the shogunate, were now under the command of the imperial court. In other words, the imperial court could use the guard forces stationed in Kyoto, such as those from Satsuma and Choshu, without the permission of the shogunate.

Third, since the daimyo proposed to visit Edo every two years to explain the financial difficulties, it was changed to once every three years.

Furthermore, there was no longer any need to force the feudal lords to leave their wives and children as hostages in their Edo domains, so they were allowed to return to their respective domains.

In addition, many of the elaborate formalities that the shogunate had set up to demonstrate its authority were abolished.

While Edo was steadily implementing numerous reforms, Kyoto... was becoming increasingly chaotic.

After the Choshu Domain openly declared its support for the Emperor's Revelation and Expulsion of the Barbarians movement, patriots who advocated for the Emperor's Revelation and Expulsion of the Barbarians, scoundrels who wanted to profit from the chaos, and spies of the "Kōbu-Ura-Tai" faction flocked to Kyoto.

Brutal assassinations continued day and night in the streets and alleys of Kyoto.

Outstanding swordsmen of the "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians" faction, such as Tanaka Shinbei and Nakamura Hanjiro of the Satsuma Domain, Okada Izo of the Tosa Domain, and Kawakami Gensai of the Higo Domain, assassinated supporters of the "Kōbu Gatai" faction.

On July 20, 1862, Shimada Sakon of the Kujo family was murdered, and his head was displayed at Shijogahara. The assassin was said to be Tanaka Shinbei, a master of the Jigen-ryu school of martial arts.

This is the beginning.

As a result, assassinations of members of the "public-military alliance" and the founding faction continued to occur.

On August 27, Nagano Shuzen, a close confidant of Ii Naosuke, was murdered.

On the 20th of the intercalary 8th month, Honma Seiichiro, a proponent of expelling foreigners in Echigo, flattered the government and amassed wealth. For this act of betrayal, he was poisoned and killed by Tanaka Shinbei and Okada Izo.

On the 29th of the intercalary 8th month, Bunkichi, the arresting officer responsible for escorting those who advocated expelling foreigners in the Ansei Prison, was strangled by Okada Izo.

[Note: The Ansei Purge: A political event in which Ii Naosuke persecuted members of the Hitotsubashi faction after becoming a senior official, implicating more than 100 people.]

On September 23, four people, including Yoriki and Doshin, from the Kyoto Town Magistrate's Office, who were known as "demon" in the Ansei Prison, were killed.

On October 9, Hiranoya Juzaburo, Senbei, and other merchants were found dead in the streets for seeking illicit profits in their trade.

On November 15th, the body of Murayama Takashi, the concubine of Nagano Shuzen, was left exposed on the street of Sanjo Street. On the same day, Murayama Takashi's son was also murdered.

Thus, the atrocities committed by the "Respect the King and Expel the Barbarians" faction continued to expand and spread.

From initially only killing nobles and warriors of the "Gongwu Heti Faction," the perpetrators now target even ordinary people and defenseless women. Even a single wrong word or a simple dislike can lead to death.

The cabinet ministers of the shogunate collectively believed that the bloodshed in Kyoto must be quelled as soon as possible.

Therefore, on the first day of the intercalary eighth month, the shogunate decided that the position of Kyoto Shojidai (Kyoto Castle Governor) was far from sufficient. The position of "Kyoto Shugo" (Kyoto Governor) was created, with the authority to command the Kyoto Shojidai, Osaka Castle Governor, and nearby daimyo. Matsudaira Katamori, the lord of the Aizu Domain, was entrusted with this important task and asked to quell the unrest in the Kyoto region.

Speaking of Matsudaira Katamori, Aoto had quite a connection with him.

In the first year of the Man'en era (1860), Matsudaira Katamori, who was staying in Edo due to his attendance at the senjin ceremony, funded a swordsmanship competition that was only open to beginners in swordsmanship in order to encourage young samurai to actively practice martial arts. Seito won the championship in this competition.

Matsudaira Katamori's calm and capable demeanor left a deep impression on Aoto.

The Aizu Domain, with its loyalty and formidable strength, is arguably the most reliable and trustworthy ally of the current shogunate.

Matsudaira Katamori, who was appointed to the post in a time of crisis, personally led 1000 Aizu Domain soldiers south to Kyoto and set up his headquarters at the Komyoji Temple in Kurotani. Under the name of "Guardians of the Royal Castle," he officially confronted the "Revere the Emperor, Expel the Barbarians" rioters.

Although Shimazu Hisamitsu left Kyoto, the Satsuma Domain's influence did not withdraw from Kyoto, and thousands of Satsuma Domain soldiers remained stationed there.

Thus, a vibrant scene of "three kingdoms standing side by side" and all things flourishing appeared in a corner of Kyoto.

The "Revere the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians" faction, along with court nobles who advocated for the same principles, formed an alliance and indirectly gained control of the Choshu Domain within the imperial court.

The "Kōbu-tō" faction, loyal to the shogunate, and the Aizu Domain.

The Satsuma Domain, also a "public-military alliance" faction, only cared about its own interests.

The three forces, each with their own ulterior motives, are locked in a standoff.

The air in Kyoto was thick with the smell of gunpowder; the situation was on the verge of exploding.

Anyone with eyes to see can see that the shogunate's power in Kyoto seems too weak, and Matsudaira Katamori alone cannot hold the line.

Therefore, just recently, a cabinet minister of the shogunate proposed: send another strongman to lead troops westward to pacify the capital region!

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There are a whopping 9000 words today! And the plot is absolutely packed in! Even if you used a press, you couldn't squeeze out a single drop of water! Since I started writing, I still...

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This chapter is really important. It not only summarizes the major events that have occurred in the past year and eight months, but also lays the groundwork for the plot that follows. If you don't understand and thoroughly study this chapter, you definitely won't understand the story that follows.

Chapter 490 Moo Moo Radish! Charge! [6200]

Aoto's answer naturally disappointed Echigoya Bunzaburo and the others.

However, the people present were all elites who had been navigating the ruthless business world for many years. Even if they were unhappy, they did not let it affect their outward harmony.

They all appeared perfectly normal, without showing the slightest negative emotion.

"Alas...a chaotic world!"

Someone sighed.

Another person picked up the teacup, a smile plastered on their face, and respectfully said to Qingdeng:

"Lord Tachibana, at this critical juncture of life and death, we still have much to rely on capable people like you and Lord Katsu!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the others started croaking like frogs after a rain.

“That’s right! Lord Omiya is right!”