"If there are any major changes, report to me immediately."

Shannan Keisuke: "Yes!"

At this time, Qingdeng finally opened the envelope, took out the white letter paper, and unfolded it with a "huh".

The neat yet wild font...is exactly Hijikata Toshizo's handwriting.

Hijikata Toshizo is still in charge of the recruitment work in the Edo area.

He regularly sent letters back to Qingdeng to report on the latest recruitment progress.

Qingdeng swept his eyes and read ten lines at a time.

Not long after, his brows were furrowed into the character "Chuan".

When Shannan Jingshu saw this, he immediately asked:

"Aoto, what's wrong? Did something go wrong with the recruitment matters on the Edo side?"

Qingden shook his head gently.

"No, the recruitment went smoothly."

"From the flag warriors to the common people, they all enthusiastically joined the army."

"In order to compete for the only quota, there were even many fights."

"The reason why I look sad is, if nothing else, because of the British fleet that is now approaching Edo."

"This letter this time is different from searching."

“In this letter, the Turkish side reported in detail the movements of the British fleet that came to demand compensation.”

"The nine British ships docked in Edo Bay never wanted to leave."

"John Neil, the acting minister of the British Empire, made harsh words: If the shogunate does not pay 100,000 pounds in compensation for the 'Naumai Incident', it will let Edo burn."

"Three days ago, they fired several cannons into the sea, scaring the whole city of Edo into panic, and huge riots broke out in Edo Town."

"According to what Hijikata said, people in Edo are now in panic."

"All sorts of random rumors are spreading in the streets of Edo."

"Those who could afford to leave Edo fled Edo overnight, dragging their families with them."

"Those who were unable to leave Edo anxiously prayed for the British ships to leave as soon as possible."

"See for yourself."

After saying that, Qingden turned the letter in his hand upside down and passed it to Shannan Keisuke.

After Shannan Keisuke reached out to take it, he hurriedly read it, and then, like Ayoto, his expression was dominated by solemnity.

Shannan Keisuke, who was always gentle and gentle on weekdays, gritted his teeth for a rare moment and showed indignation.

"The British side is really bullying people too much..."

"What does the 'raw wheat incident' have to do with us?"

"There is always a wrongdoer and a debtor, so the shogunate doesn't need to be responsible for the 'raw wheat incident' at all, right?"

Qingdeng sneered:

"The Kingdom of England is a pirate country that makes its fortune by invading and plundering."

"They are used to being pirates. Now they are just doing their old job and want to take this opportunity to extort more money."

The Raw Mai Incident - This incident was entirely Satsuma's fault and had nothing to do with the shogunate.

This was the second year of Wenjiu (1862)...that is, last year.

The founder of Satsuma, Shimazu Hisamitsu, personally led 1,000 feudal troops east to Edo, and "admonished" the shogunate to accept the following three conditions:

First, in order to discuss the matter of repelling the foreigners, General Tokugawa Iemo must come to Kyoto to discuss the issue with the imperial court.

Second, set up the five elders (the Shimazu clan of the Satsuma clan, the Mori clan of the Choshu clan, the Yamauchi clan of the Tosa clan, the Maeda clan of the Kanazawa clan, and the Date clan of the Uwajima clan). Political affairs need to convene a meeting of the five elders to make decisions.

Third, reform the shogunate politics and promote the fight against the barbarians. However, we cannot rely on the shogunate cabinet to carry out this task. Therefore, Yoshiki Hitotsubashi was appointed as the assistant to the general, and Matsudaira Harugaku of the Fukui Domain was appointed as the political president.

Coming to Edo with 1,000 feudal soldiers... Shimazu Hisamitsu showed a tough attitude.

It's called "admonition", but it's actually "admonishment for soldiers".

Shimazu Hisamitsu led his troops eastward. To be serious, it was an outright rebellion!

The shogunate could use this as an excuse to remove the fiefdom of Satsuma, or even call on the vassals to launch a "War of Conquest of Satsuma".

However, the Satsuma of today is no longer the Satsuma of the past.

After the vigorous reforms of Tenjoin's adoptive father...the former lord of Satsuma, Shimazu Saibin, Satsuma has been completely transformed.

It gave rise to advanced equipment and technologies such as steam engines and precision machine tools, built a large number of modern industries, and also had the ability to independently manufacture guns, cannons, and ships.

Frankly speaking, if they really want to go to war with Satsuma, which has achieved "semi-modernization", the shogunate has no certainty of victory...

At the time of internal and external troubles, the shogunate was really unable to antagonize the powerful Satsuma, so it could only nod and accept all of Shimazu Hisamitsu's conditions.

The political goal had been achieved, and the satisfied Shimazu Hisamitsu led his troops to withdraw from Edo and embarked on the road to return to the domain.

History has proven time and time again: when you feel secure and high-spirited, you will always encounter unexpected disasters.

Sure enough - as soon as Shimazu Hisamitsu left Edo, something unexpected happened.

On September 14, when Shimazu Hisamitsu's team passed through the raw wheat village of Kanagawa, an accident happened.

On this day, four British people were riding horses on the Tokaido Road in Shengmai Village.

Among them were merchant Charles Richardson, his clerk Clark, and a pair of British merchants, Mr. and Mrs. Marshall.

On the way, they happened to encounter Shimazu Hisamitsu and his team, and the feudal lords lined the entire road.

According to custom, if civilians encounter the daimyo's troops, they must kneel down and give way.

However, these four British people refused to comply no matter what, so they were considered to be rude to Shimazu Hisamitsu.

During this time, Mrs. Marshall's horse was suddenly frightened and rushed into the honor guard - the already extremely tense atmosphere suddenly broke out.

Narahara Yoshi of the Shimadzu Guards immediately pulled out his knife and cut Charles, and the guard who came next very kindly explained his mistake.

In addition, other men - Mr. Clark and Mr. Marshall - were also seriously injured.

Only Mrs. Marshall was unscathed.

As soon as this incident came out, it immediately shocked the whole country.

The whole incident was a complete man-made disaster, entirely caused by Satsuma.

The relationship between this incident and the shogunate is like the relationship between a seal and a leopard - bird feathers have nothing to do with it.

However, the British side was unreasonable.

It claimed compensation from the shogunate and Satsuma at the same time, and the lion opened its mouth and demanded 100,000 pounds in compensation from the shogunate.

In order to prevent the shogunate and Satsuma from denying it, it also sent a fleet very considerately.

Those nine British warships have been anchored in Edo Bay for many days.

In the meantime, the shogunate has sent many groups of personnel to negotiate with the British, expressing feelings and reasoning.

Although the shogunate had shown sincerity, the British always had only one response: either give money! Or wait to be bombed!

Qingdeng let out a breath, leaned to the side and leaned on his elbow.

"It can't go on like this."

"If there is really a barrage falling into Edo, it is no joke..."

Today's Britain is not the crotch-pulling "big bang" of later generations.

Britain in the 19th century was the real British Empire!

Spread weapons all over the world and beat whoever you want.

What's more, this era is not as good as modern times.

Although the "Law of Nations" similar to international law has been born, humanitarian concepts such as "prohibition of mass murder" and "prohibition of attacks on civilians" have not yet become popular.

Nowadays, Western countries will not cut off the fuse of artillery for reasons such as "international publicity".

In other words - if effective measures are not taken as soon as possible, the nine British ships in Edo Bay will really bombard Edo!

Only in Edo was this place, it was impossible for Aomori to watch it suffer.

Because he has too many relatives and friends living in Edo.

Boss Kiryu, Kondo Shusuke, old servant Kubei...

Under the gun, all living beings are equal.

He is as strong as Boss Kiryu, but he is only a mortal body, not common among ordinary people.

After being bombarded by naval guns, there was no other consequence except turning into ashes.

"...There is nothing we can do."
To be continued...