Chapter 567 - Gion Blood War (II) (1/2)

Chapter 567 Gion Blood War (II)

s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi and Gabriel were attempting to work out a major deal.

While the feudal lords were still bickering if they should make Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu carry out the Taisei Hokan and hold him responsible for the series of mistakes he committed before, s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi had made a decision to overthrow the shogunate in Kyoto. His main purpose was to come to Kyoto to meet up with Okubo Tos.h.i.+michi and Saigo Nakamori and cook up a plan to overthrow the shogunate.

To travel from Edo to Kyoto, they first needed to deceive Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu. After that, they would use force to detain him. Be that as it may, Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu had always been very cautious, and he might just see through their plan. If he traveled to Kyoto, he would be protected by his soldiers all the time, not to mention how influential and powerful the Shogunate was in Kyoto. Forces like Gosanke, Sesisanke, s.h.i.+nsengumi, Kyoto Mimawarigumi and various ronin groups took the shogunate’s side. And if Choshu and Satsuma Domain soldiers came to Kyoto, Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu would certainly be alerted. There was a high chance a fierce battle would break out between them.

This was not what s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi and Okubo Tos.h.i.+michi wanted to see. The two still hoped to complete the exchange of power through a court coup. This was to protect and preserve j.a.pan’s Genki. However, the feat would require more manpower to be achieved, which meant they needed to send these people into Kyoto without the shogunate’s knowledge.

So, in the end, they decided to place their hopes on Gabriel, a French businessman.

s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi had started to contact and cooperate with Gabriel as early as the time Choshu Domain were reforming and strengthening their military-he knew Gabriel had a lot of connections—his hands deep in the business of cotton yarn, iron cannons, and matchlock guns. Even the two new battles.h.i.+ps, one being the infamous Heis.h.i.+n-maru that s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi bought was made possible by Gabriel. Since he was French, few dared to inspect the cargo on his vessels.

s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi hoped to order a batch of weapons from Gabriel and secretly transport them to Kyoto aboard a cotton vessel. At the same time, a three-hundred-man samurai squad would serve as the secret weapon against Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu—these would be transported to Kyoto through the cargo s.h.i.+p as well. To make it possible, Satsuma and Choshu Domain were willing to fork out ten thousand koban.

Gabriel, however, did not immediately agree. It was a businessman’s nature to go after more profits, and there were no exceptions when it came to that. Unfortunately, Gabriel turned out to be the stereotypical industrialist with voracious greed. His business in j.a.pan over the years had made him a lot of money-the reason why he was inclined to give careful thought before accepting s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi’s proposition.

At the same time, Gabriel and other Western businessmen silently observed the civil war in j.a.pan. To protect themselves from the barbarians, the United Kingdom, America, France, and the Netherlands launched a retaliatory attack on s.h.i.+monoseki. That said, most foreigners still tried their best to avoid getting involved in a j.a.panese civil war.

A good example would be when s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi defeated the shogunate during the second Choshu expedition-Western nations merely observed them from the beginning to end. Judging by the current situation, both the shogunate and the Tobaku had an equal chance to claim victory. Tobaku supporters were known for their a.s.sa.s.sinations of westerners, but they had changed over time, and they were the ones that opened up j.a.pan for westerners to do business. Meanwhile. The shogunate led by Tokugawa Yos.h.i.+n.o.bu was just the opposite. Having previously cooperated with westerners, they now wanted to lock down the country, preventing them from entering j.a.pan. For these reasons, the Western countries had no intention to support either of the two.

Such a political investment was precarious. If it failed, the next ruler would treat the investors as the enemy. On the other hand, it could also be extremely profitable. Although Gabriel didn’t say yes to the deal, he didn’t explicitly refuse it as well—an indication that s.h.i.+nsaku Takasugi should increase the amount of koban offered.