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Edo is located at the mouth of the Sumida River, and was named after the gateway to the river. After Tokugawa Ieyasu established the shogunate here, he began to build the city on a large scale, and it still has a five-story six-story castle tower.
The castle tower is the tallest and most important type of Japanese castle. It has the functions of observation and command, and is also one of the symbols of ruling power in the feudal era.
For decades, the Tokugawa shogunate used the power of the entire Japan to develop Edo, and built Edo Castle, which is about 9 miles from east to west and about 8 miles from north to south. It is surrounded by inner and outer moats, and the outer moat has a circumference of about 32 kilometers. There are two layers of city walls. There are 20 watchtowers and 36 gates in the city, as well as the Honmaru, Ninomaru, Sannomaru, and Nishinomaru palaces.
A large number of unproductive samurai families multiplied here, and merchants, craftsmen, and servants who served the samurai class also poured in as townspeople. Edo Castle had caught up with Kyoto and became one of the largest cities in Japan, with a population of over 300,000.
Most of the houses in the city are made of bamboo and wood, and are stacked up one after another. The streets are narrow, making fires very easy to cause.
The ronin rebellion a few days ago burned down four streets at once. If it hadn't rained heavily, the entire Edo Castle would probably have been burned down.
Since then, the city has been under martial law at dusk, with soldiers patrolling and not allowing people to go out. The music and singing in the Kabuki theaters that used to be heard after dark are no longer heard. As soon as night falls, there is dead silence, with few other sounds except the footsteps of patrolling soldiers and the barking of dogs.
But for a large city with a population of over 300,000, long-term martial law will have a huge impact on people’s livelihood. It cannot continue for long, otherwise how will the people survive
Relaxation of martial law is necessary.
However, martial law had just been relaxed over the past two days, and the ronin hiding in the city were causing chaos again. That night, a granary in the south of the city suddenly caught fire, and nearby houses were also affected, causing chaos.
Wei Zhengdao, the Qin ambassador to Japan, was on his way to a kabuki performance at a geisha. He happened to be passing by and his carriage was hit, several of his attendants were injured, and the ambassador himself was robbed of his belongings and suffered internal injuries.
When the Tokugawa shogunate learned that the Qin envoy was injured, it was shocked. On the one hand, it dispatched tens of thousands of troops to quell the riot and put out the fire, while on the other hand, Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu personally went to the embassy to express their condolences.
The embassy was already in a state of emergency. Not only had the shogunate further strengthened its defenses, but it had also surrounded the embassy tightly. Torches were blazing, lighting up the nearby streets.
The Qin military attaché of the embassy also piled up sandbags in front of the door, and more than a dozen Qin soldiers were fully armed and patrolling vigilantly.
Lu Zhi, who was in his twenties, wore the seventh-rank official robe of the Qin Dynasty and received the two as the embassy counselor.
After exchanging greetings, seeing that Lu Zhi looked solemn and gloomy, Bao Ke Zhengzhi hurriedly asked: "Counselor Lu, how is Ambassador Wei's injury? Can we visit him?"
Hoshina Masayuki was about fourteen years old and of short stature. Lu Zhi looked at him and Sakai Tadakatsu and said indifferently, "Thank you both for coming to visit us this evening. I really don't deserve it. Our ambassador is seriously injured and is receiving treatment from a doctor. I'm afraid it's inconvenient for you to meet with us."
Sakai Tadakatsu stepped forward and saluted, saying with concern, "This time the rebellion was very sudden, and Ambassador Wei was injured. On behalf of the General's Office, we deeply apologize. We have brought the best doctor in the General's Office, hoping to do our best to help Ambassador Wei. I also hope that Counselor Lu will allow us to visit Ambassador Wei."
"Please wait a moment, both of you." Lu Zhi said and turned to go inside.
Seeing his attitude, Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu felt that the situation was becoming more serious.
When the two countries reached an agreement to send envoys to each other, there was an agreement that the host country had the obligation to guarantee the safety of the other country's embassy. The ambassador himself had judicial immunity, and if the ambassador was insulted and harmed, it would be regarded as a humiliation and harm to his country.
Now Wei Zhengdao was attacked in Edo and was seriously injured. If this matter is not handled properly, it is very likely to arouse the wrath of Daqin.
The Qin Dynasty today is not the Ming Dynasty. They not only have a strong army, but also a terrifying navy and advanced firearms. They defeated the combined fleet of the Netherlands, Britain, Portugal, and other countries, and destroyed many countries in Southeast Asia.
The North Sea Fleet, the East Sea Fleet, the South Sea Fleet, the Ocean-going Fleet, any one of them could make the already troubled Tokugawa Shogunate suffer.
Considering this, Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu could not help but feel worried.
After a while, Lu Zhi came out and bowed to the two of them, saying, "Please come in, both of you."
"Thank you, Counselor Lu, for your care."
Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu said something politely, then followed Lu Zhi into the backyard of the embassy with light steps.
In Wei Zhengdao's bedroom, an embassy medical officer was treating Wei Zhengdao's injuries. Wei Zhengdao was lying on the bed with his upper body naked and several bruises on his body. Just when Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu entered the room, Wei Zhengdao coughed violently several times and blood flowed out of his mouth. The medical officer hurriedly caught the blood with a handkerchief, and the whole handkerchief was immediately stained red, which was shocking.
"Ambassador Wei!"
"Ambassador Wei, go and treat Ambassador Wei..."
Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu were shocked and called out to the two doctors who came with them. They rushed forward to check on the injuries. Wei Zhengdao glanced at Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu and then fainted.
"You two please go out first and let the medical officer give first aid. I hope the ambassador will be safe and sound..." Lu Zhiqing solemnly invited Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu to the front hall.
He didn't even serve tea, and said directly: "You two have seen it, Ambassador Wei was injured like this, it is really regrettable. Ambassador Wei represents the dignity of our Great Qin, and now the dignity of Great Qin has been seriously insulted and hurt.
Last time, our Daqin merchants suffered great losses in their goods, which we could still regard as an accident. But now so many days have passed, and not only has the shogunate failed to control the situation in Edo, but I have also heard that the shogunate intends to adopt a policy of appeasement and pardon the rebellious ronin, which finally led to such a tragedy.
The ambassador was attacked in Edo. This is a serious challenge to our Great Qin. The ambassador's safety cannot be guaranteed, let alone ordinary Great Qin merchants? This official has urgently reported to Nanjing, requesting that our Great Qin naval fleet come to Edo to protect our Great Qin people from evacuating Japan..."
"Counselor Lu!"
"We understand Counselor Lu's feelings. The General's Office was indeed responsible for failing to provide adequate protection for Ambassador Wei during the attack. We are deeply sorry for this. We hope Counselor Lu can understand this. We will immediately order the expulsion of all ronin from Edo and strengthen the protection of the embassy and Daqin merchants..."
Before Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu could finish, Lu Zhi interrupted them and said, "Everything can be done once, but not twice. The first time we believed that the shogunate could suppress the rebellion and ensure the safety of the people of Daqin. However, now, even the ambassador was attacked and seriously injured, and his life or death is uncertain. How can we trust the shogunate to guarantee our safety again
I have already sent someone to deliver this urgent report. I hope that before the arrival of the Qin navy, you two will try your best to provide the necessary protection for the people of Qin and ensure the safety of their lives and property.
The rebellion has not yet subsided, and the fire in the city is still spreading. I have to go and gather the Daqin merchants in the city to evacuate to the embassy for refuge. I really don't have time to entertain you two. I believe you two are very busy now, so I will not keep you two any longer."
Lu Zhi rudely ordered them to leave, then took a few fully armed military officers and quickly left the embassy by car, heading for the port area where Qin merchants liked to stay.
Hoshina Masayuki and Sakai Tadakatsu had no choice but to leave. Along the way, the two of them rode in the same car and urgently discussed countermeasures. Hoshina Masayuki said with a worried look on his face: "Boss, how do you think Daqin will react this time?"
Sakai Tadakatsu snorted coldly, "I have been advocating to expel the ronin in the city before. If you had listened to me, why would you have come to this? I heard that the Emperor of Great Qin once said: Those who offend Great Qin will be punished no matter how far away they are. This time the Qin envoy was seriously injured in Edo. The Emperor of Great Qin will definitely be furious. I am afraid that sending a fleet is inevitable."
Hoshina Masayuki was usually obsessed with Shintoism and had little ability to handle affairs. After hearing what Sakai Tadakatsu said, he was a little panicked and asked repeatedly: "How should the elder respond? What if the emperor of the Qin Dynasty vents his anger on the general's mansion?"
"This incident was caused by Abe Tadayuki, and he must take all the responsibility."
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.(To be continued..)
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