6000】

Turning back time a little bit -

In the first year of Wanyan (1860), August 28, morning——

Edo, Edo Castle, Black Academy——

Cicada——! Cicada——! Cicada——!

The distant wind brought the chirping of cicadas that came and went.

Wearing the most solemn but unflattering formal attire of a samurai: Aoshinobu, sitting boredly on the side of Edo Castle's Black Academy.

My waist and legs, which were aching from sitting, felt like numbness constantly flowing through them.

In order to reduce the burden on his waist and legs, Qingden had to bend his back slightly and put his whole body's weight on his right leg to give his left leg a temporary rest.

When his right leg is almost overwhelmed, he will shift his body's center of gravity to his left leg, and switch to his right leg to rest... Qingdeng just keeps alternating his center of gravity on his legs.

——It’s so boring to death...

Qingdeng raised his head in boredom and looked at the scenery outside the window and the room he was currently in. It was so spacious that any words he said could be echoed.

——Why hasn’t the general come here yet... How long do you have to wait for me?

Since the end of the fireworks display, Qingdeng has been preparing for today's "visit to the city".

The stipulated time for the interview is 10 o'clock in the morning on August 28th... But from entering Edo Castle to meeting the general, there are a lot of complicated procedures to go through.

So, "get dressed and go out at 9 o'clock, and meet Tokugawa Iemo on time at 10 o'clock"... This kind of thing will never happen.

In order not to be late, today, when it was still dark, Qingnobo, with the help of his old servant of the Tachibana family, Kyuubei, put on a formal attire embroidered with the Tachibana family's crest: the gentian leaf.

Kubei cried excitedly while helping Aoto get dressed.

You can't blame Kubei for being sentimental.

The family title was promoted from "imperial family" to "banner", and was also summoned by the general - in the view of the martial arts family in this era, this was a great honor.

While Jiubei was weeping, he said to Qingden with excitement: "Young Master, if I see your current achievements, I will be very proud!"

The old protagonist—Aoden’s father: Tachibana Takayuki.

The person who came to pick up Qingdeng came very early.

Just when the sky had just begun to show a hint of morning color, several young warriors wearing exquisite ceremonial attire appeared outside the gate of the trial defense hall, carrying a rather gorgeous sedan.

In order to show his respect for Aoto and his expectation for today's meeting, Tokugawa Iemoge specially gave an explicit order: to use a sedan to take Aoto Tachibana into the city!

The general sent a sedan chair to take his ministers into the city... This is not a particularly unusual thing, so there is no need to make a fuss.

Under the watch of Kyuubei and other relatives and friends, Aomori got into this gorgeous sedan and officially set off for Edo Castle.

By the way--one of the people who came to see Qingden off was the General Secretary.

It was really hard for Souji, who was always a sleepyhead, to get up before it was even bright.

But Souji still withstood the heavy mental attacks from "Sleepy Man", straightened his body, and crawled out of bed with zombie-like cold movements.

When he, Kubei, and others stood outside the gate of the Imperial Guard Hall to watch Seito leave, Souji slumped his head, shoulders, and waist as if his entire upper body had no bones.

A pair of beautiful eyes were half-closed the whole time, their eyelids were constantly fighting, and their little head was shaking bit by bit due to sleepiness...

Even though Souji's look of being sleepy and ready to collapse at any moment was a bit funny... But Aoto was very moved when he saw it.

It was because of him that the Souji stood so energetically under the calm sky - thinking of this, Qingden's cheeks burst into laughter unconsciously.

…

Since the founding of the Edo shogunate, it has been stipulated that the 1st, 15th, and 28th of each month are the general days for climbing the castle.

Officials of a certain level and above are required to wear formal attire on these three days and go to Edo Castle to see the general and say hello to him.

For example, Aoto's superior and senior, Hideyuki Arima, was able to touch the threshold of participating in this activity.

On the 1st, 15th, and 28th of each month, Arima has to go to the city with the rest of his colleagues.

Due to his family background and lack of official rank, Ayoto had never even entered Edo Castle before, let alone even approached it.

From not even being qualified to get close to being summoned by the general... For those who are in the "ditch" but longing for the "moonlight", this is undoubtedly another story that can make them a hundred times more energetic and excited. Inspirational story.

After riding a sedan through a certain gate of Edo Castle, Ayoto immediately opened the sedan window and looked at the scene outside the sedan with the mentality of appreciating places of interest and historical sites.

Regarding the scenery of Edo Castle, Ayoto's first impression was - it is truly a "military castle" that deserves its reputation...

Edo Castle is not so much a "grand palace"... it may be more accurate to call it an "iron-walled military fortress"!

According to statistics, Edo Castle has one large castle tower, 21 towers (watchtowers), 28 Tamon (longhouses in the castle), 99 castle gates, and numerous imperial palaces and warehouses.

Outside Edo Castle is a wide moat.

After crossing the moat, there is an amazingly large outline.

Passing through the outer perimeter, and further inside is the core area of ​​Edo Castle: the inner perimeter.

There is a small moat between the inner and outer walls: the inner wall serves as a barrier.

Such a fortress... is simply a nightmare for the attacker!

Edo Castle is located in the center of Edo.

Therefore, if you want to attack Edo Castle, you must first use a fierce street battle to capture the vast Edo city, which can accommodate a million people.

After completely controlling the Edo city and town...the real nightmare came.

After painstaking efforts to capture the city of Edo, they were surprised to find that they had to break through another moat that diverted water from the Kanda River and other large rivers before they could truly launch an attack on Edo Castle.

After finally filling up the moat with soil, we finally rushed into Edo Castle, but we were surprised to find that there was still an outer wall that needed to be breached.

Once they broke through the outer perimeter, there was still a moat... that is, the inner wall was waiting for them.

And there is an inner wall behind the Uchibori... There are Sannomaru, Ninomaru, and Honmaru in the inner wall...

Whether it is the outer or inner outline, the architectural layout is large and complex, almost like a maze, and it is possible to get lost even with a map.

Without the use of firearms, a new dimensionality-reducing strike weapon, and only using cold weapons... without an army of tens of thousands and sufficient supplies, it is simply impossible to defeat a military fortress of this level.

The inner outline of Edo Castle is designed in the shape of a "の" character. It is mainly composed of the Honmaru, Ninomaru, Sannomaru, Nishinomaru, Fukigami Court and Momiji Mountain. According to the Uzumaki-style design, the layout is cleverly arranged on the right.

Vortex rotates.

Momiji Mountain - As the name suggests, it is a beautiful place where the mountains are covered with red leaves in autumn. Its function is somewhat similar to the "Imperial Garden" where the general and his family members went to relax.

Toshogu Shrine, dedicated to the first shogun of the Edo shogunate: Tokugawa Ieyasu, was built on Momiji Mountain. The purpose was to allow Tokugawa Ieyasu to quietly watch over the entire Edo shogunate and the entire river on the towering Momiji Mountain.

household.

Fukiage Imperial Garden - with a total area of ​​130,000 tsubo (429,000 square meters), it was originally owned by Owari, Kii, and Mito, the three feudal lords who were collectively known as the "Three Imperial Households" and had the closest relationship with the Edo shogunate.

Land for upper house furnishing.

However, after encountering the Meiretsu Fire (1657) that burned two-thirds of Edo to scorched earth two hundred years ago, Fukiage Otei was reorganized into a fire eradication area. There were also teahouses, flowerbeds, horse farms, and iron bars.

The artillery range was used as a courtyard. The general would handle government affairs or watch sumo wrestling matches here.

Nishinomaru - the imperial palace (the former general who conquered the barbarians or the father of the general), where the general's children live.

Sannomaru - has no special function, mainly used to protect the defense zone of Ninomaru and Honmaru.

Ninomaru - the former shogun's main room, side room and the residence of his biological mother.

The so-called "X no Maru" is a special architectural term in ancient Japan.

Castles in ancient Japan were generally composed of multiple layers. They were called X-no-maru from the outermost layer inwards, with Honmaru being the core main city.

The castle tower, which is used to view the enemy's situation, command troops, and is also one of the symbols of governing power, is often built in Honmaru.

The Honmaru in the inner outline of Edo Castle consists of two parts: the "Tenshukaku" and the "Honmaru Palace".

From the appearance, the castle tower of Edo Castle has 5 floors. If the underground floor is included, there are 6 floors in total. Unfortunately, this magnificent castle tower has already been destroyed in the Meiretsu fire.

Honmaru Palace is Edo Castle... no, it is the core of the entire Edo shogunate! It is not only the political center of the Edo shogunate, but also the residence and office of the current shogun.

Honmaru Palace is divided into 3 areas.

The first area is "Ooku" located on the north side of Honmaru Palace, which is the shogun's harem. The shogun's main room, side rooms and the place where his children live.

Of course, the general's biological mother and adoptive mother are also eligible to live in Da'ao.

For example, the now famous Tianzhang Courtyard is located in Daao.

It is strictly forbidden for any male except generals to enter Da'ao. If you want to keep cats, dogs and other pets in Da'ao, you can only keep females.

There were no eunuchs in ancient Japan, so the people who were responsible for serving the general's family in Da'ou were all women.

The second area is "Zhong'ao", which is the residence and official residence of the general. It is convenient for the general to conduct government affairs here. The location is between "Biao" and "Da'ao".

Finally, there is the "Omote" located on the south side of Honmaru Palace, which is the front hall. It is the place where the general meets with ministers and holds various ceremonies.

"Table" has such an important position. In order to clarify its functions, it is naturally divided into different areas.

On the east side there are rooms for the main bureaucrats of the shogunate headed by Lao Naka, while on the west side there are the Ohiro Room, White Shoin and Black Shoin, which are used to hold major activities.

New Year's homage to the shogun, the shogun's announcement of government decrees, the publication of samurai's laws and other official activities of the shogunate will all be held in Ohiro Room.
To be continued...