ps: Please do not subscribe to this chapter yet, it is a placeholder. The previous chapters have been fixed up to Chapter 526, and progress is being made little by little.
While Tokugawa Ienari was troubled by the father and son, Kōkaku and Kan'nin, refusing to adopt surnames, they too were equally troubled by the Shogunate's series of actions.
It was evident that the Shogunate's "Myōji Yōryōrei" (Surname Permitting Order) had effectively garnered popular support. Those "Wanu" (a derogatory term for Japanese people) who had previously lacked surnames were now extremely grateful to Tokugawa Ienari. Coupled with the Imperial Court's sluggish response to handling lepers, Kōkaku and Kan'nin's reputation plummeted. There were even shouts demanding Kōkaku's abdication.
Of course, if it were merely calls for Kōkaku's abdication, it wouldn't be much of an issue. After all, there were precedents for Japanese Emperors abdicating, and if Kōkaku abdicated, Kan'nin would succeed him, making Kōkaku the Emperor Emeritus of Japan.
However, the crucial point was that some people were already calling for Tokugawa Ienari to ascend the throne!
The thought of such a terrifying scenario made Kōkaku unable to stop shaking his head, trying to drive the image from his mind. He then looked at Kan'nin with a sense of urgency: "Has there been any news from Tenjiku (India)? Have any of the samurai sent to Tenjiku returned to defend the throne?"
Kan'nin shook his head slightly: "There is no news yet. After all, Japan and Tenjiku are separated by a vast distance. It's uncertain if the messengers have even reached Tenjiku yet."
Receiving this answer, which was both expected and yet not what he hoped for, Kōkaku sighed again, his face etched with dejection and helplessness.
Japan, after all, was not Great Ming.
Kōkaku had heard from envoys to Ming that if the Ming Emperor wanted to command an army thousands of miles away, the time from the Emperor issuing an edict to the army receiving the order would not exceed one hour at most.
Even if the army commanded by the Ming Emperor was stationed in a territory not bordering Great Ming, the time from the Emperor issuing the edict to the army receiving the order and reacting would undoubtedly be countless times faster than any other country in the world.
For instance, if the Ming Emperor wished to command the Ming garrison in Kyushu Island, he would only need to issue an edict in the capital. Messengers from the Korean Province and Shandong Province would immediately relay the news to the Kyushu garrison, saving the time it would take for messengers to travel from the capital to those provinces.
In a constantly changing battlefield, even being a mere quarter of an hour faster in message transmission could determine the outcome of a major battle, let alone several days!
To give a simple example:
Suppose the Ming Emperor suddenly decided to attack Japan, and the army's advance was like a broken bamboo. If Japan happened to plan to delay time through a feigned surrender.
Under normal circumstances, the commanding general who received Japan's surrender would first issue a ceasefire order and relay the news of Japan's impending surrender back to Great Ming. Only after the Ming Emperor and the court's high officials made a decision could the commanding general proceed with the next steps, whether to fight or talk. From Japan to the Ming capital, wouldn't a round trip take about a month? Wouldn't Japan then have gained a month's time?
But now, that wouldn't be the case. When Japan made a move of feigned surrender, the time it took for the news to reach the Ming capital was merely the time for the messenger to travel from the Japanese coast to the coast of the Korean Province or Shandong Province. The entire process might not exceed two days. Are two days and a month the same thing?
However, Kōkaku also understood clearly that Great Ming was Great Ming, and Japan was Japan. Great Ming could rely on telegraphs to shorten the time for message transmission, while Japan, without telegraphs, had no possibility of emulating it.
While feeling envious, Kōkaku also couldn't help but feel a bit of resentment.
Although I usually refer to myself as the Emperor behind closed doors, I have always been a dutiful subject to your Great Ming Emperor!
Now, your Great Ming ambassador to Japan is colluding with that traitor Tokugawa Ienari, defecating on my head. Do you, Great Ming Emperor, bear no responsibility?
As the saying goes, anger arises from the heart, and wickedness follows. The more Kōkaku thought about it, the more displeased he became, naturally thinking of ways to vex Great Ming.
After pondering for a moment, Kōkaku instructed Kan'nin: "Find people from Kōga and tell them to arrange for some men to impersonate samurai from the Shogunate and go to Ming."
Kan'nin was startled and quickly advised, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! The current Ming is not what it used to be, nor is the current Japan. The court and the Shogunate are currently engaged in a fierce struggle. If Japanese pirates appear on the waters of Ming, I fear..."
Kōkaku snorted and raised his hand to signal Kan'nin to be quiet: "When did I say I would send pirates to Ming?"
Kan'nin was immediately stunned.
To say that Kan'nin understood Kōkaku's thoughts as well as if he were his蛔虫 (stomach worm) would be a bit of an exaggeration. However, Kan'nin was, after all, Kōkaku's son. And Kōkaku did not hide his hatred for Great Ming in front of Kan'nin. Thus, Kan'nin could naturally guess some of Kōkaku's ideas.
Moreover, from the perspective of the Crown Prince of Japan, Kan'nin also wished he could cause trouble for Great Ming. Originally, Kan'nin was the Crown Prince, but now he had become the Prince, which was equivalent to being demoted a rank for no reason. Who wouldn't hate Great Ming for that?
However, Kan'nin couldn't think of any good way to vex Great Ming, including the pirates he had just mentioned.
What is this?
This is useless! It's like being too late to even eat hot excrement!
After thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution, Ishikawa Iin bowed to Kōkaku and said, "May I ask Your Majesty, Tottori Domain..."
Kōkaku seemed to be suddenly awakened. He uttered a couple of "oh ohs" and then looked at the assembled daimyo and asked, "Does anyone here have a good solution?"
As Kōkaku's words fell, the assembled daimyo and lords adopted the demeanor of keeping their eyes focused on their noses and their noses on their mouths. No one answered Kōkaku's question.
This was not the script they had agreed upon!
Or rather, the problem facing the Imperial Court of Japan was no longer how to deal with lepers, but how to cope with the large number of civilian patients pouring in from the Shogunate. Tokugawa Ienari, that bastard, since he dared to drive lepers near Tottori Domain to Tottori Domain, it meant he dared to drive civilian patients from more domains to domains that were close to the court.
When a large number of civilian patients flooded into domains close to the court, it would be followed by huge shortfalls in grain and medicinal materials, as well as safety hazards.
The more he thought about it, the angrier Kōkaku became. He wished he could kill that bastard Tokugawa Ienari immediately. This was a typical case of walking the path of the Imperial Court of Japan, leaving the court with no path to follow!
However, Ishikawa Iin continued, "I believe that instead of responding passively, why not... why not proactively accept the civilian patients from the Shogunate?"
The other daimyo and lords also turned their attention to Ishikawa Iin.
On the contrary, Kōkaku slammed the table and shouted, "Quiet everyone! Ishikawa-kun, continue!"
After pondering, Kōkaku gritted his teeth and said, "I will find a way to solve the grain problem. You just need to do a good job of treating those lepers."
However, what Ishikawa Iin and Tōdō Takayoshi did not expect was that Kōkaku would actually wave his hand and smile, saying, "No, we've overcomplicated this matter."
Hearing Kōkaku say this, the assembled daimyo and lords were even more bewildered.
However, compared to the confusion of Ishikawa Iin and Tōdō Takayoshi, Kan'nin had figured out Kōkaku's strategy.
For the current Imperial Court of Japan, whether it could solve the problem of leprosy was not that important, as it was an obviously unsolvable problem.
Compared to that, how to compete with the Shogunate for popular support and win over more Japanese civilians and outcasts to the court was more important. Taking Kōkaku's strategy as an example, the biggest benefit of this strategy was to divert the young and strong people of Japan by taking advantage of Great Ming's need for a large number of laborers and supervisors.
As is well known, whether it is a regular army or a rebel army, the main force must be composed of the young and strong. As long as a large number of young and strong people are diverted, it basically means that the greatest source of instability has been resolved. Even if Kōkaku let the remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled people lie down and wait for death, they could only lie at home and wait for death, with no other choice.
The second benefit was that it could gain some reputation for the court and Kōkaku. Tokugawa Ienari, as the Shogun, only drove away the civilians and outcasts under his rule when facing leprosy, while the Japanese Imperial Court and Kōkaku, who had been suppressed by Tokugawa Ienari, were trying to find a way out for the Japanese civilians and outcasts. In contrast, the difference was clear.
After Kan'nin explained a few things, Ishikawa Iin and Tōdō Takayoshi, as well as the other daimyo and lords, also reacted.
However, understanding Kōkaku's tactics was of no use. Kōkaku's promises, no matter how good, were still promises. Even if this old coffin-bearer found a way to export labor and supervisors to Great Ming, that would be in the future. But the civilians and outcasts driven by the Shogunate were in front of them, and the consumption of supplies and medicine for each domain was real!
The leader of the Ikeda family of Tottori Domain, the first to suffer, Ikeda Yoshio, even cried out, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! I know of Your Majesty's deep love for the people, but Tottori Domain is ultimately a small domain. Not to mention whether the grain can be supported, managing the good and the outcasts from the Shogunate is beyond our capabilities!"
Tōdō Takayoshi also bowed and said, "Adding a cup of water to a basin will not cause it to overflow, but filling a cup with a basin of water will surely cause it to overflow. Now, if we only calculate by the number of good people and outcasts, then Tottori Domain is like a cup, and the Shogunate is like a large basin. Tottori Domain cannot bear it!"
Even Ishikawa Iin, who had initially proposed to accept a large number of good people and outcasts from the Shogunate, also sided with Ikeda Yoshio and Tōdō Takayoshi: "Your Majesty, please reconsider! This approach is too risky!"
However, Kōkaku had a grim expression and coldly snorted, "Do I not know that doing so is risky? But now the Shogunate is powerful, with vast amounts of land and samurai and ashigaru in its hands. The domains in the Kinai region are adjacent to those domains that are close to the Shogunate. If we simply continue to defend, how long can we hold on?"
Ishikawa Iin and Tōdō Takayoshi, along with the other daimyo and lords, really wanted to crack open Kōkaku's dog's head and see what was inside his skull.
Because they couldn't defend, they would directly play to win by accepting the civilians and outcasts driven by the Tokugawa Shogunate?
This is utter nonsense!
Especially Kōkaku's so-called strategy of reputation, which Ishikawa Iin considered to be the most nonsensical of all nonsenses.
Because Tokugawa Ienari would not allow Kōkaku to buy his reputation. As long as Tokugawa Ienari's brain was not completely foolish, he would definitely cause trouble as soon as Kōkaku started buying his reputation.
In fact, most of the power in Japan was now in the hands of the Edo Shogunate. If Tokugawa Ienari was determined to block information or even smear Kōkaku, Kōkaku's envisioned scene of "all the people flocking to him" would only remain a pipe dream. In fact, he might even be cursed by those short, ugly commoners and outcasts of Japan.
At that time, let alone competing with Tokugawa Ienari by buying his reputation, Kōkaku would be considered fortunate if he wasn't overthrown and killed by those short, ugly people of Japan, implying his ancestors' virtue was profound!
After Ishikawa Iin and Tōdō Takayoshi subtly advised him, Kōkaku had to abandon the idea of attacking Tokugawa Ienari through reputation.
Kōkaku had a grim expression and frowned, "Since we cannot accept the good people and outcasts driven by the Shogunate, won't the Shogunate win without fighting?"
As Kōkaku's words fell, the assembled daimyo and lords fell into a state of conflicted silence again.
Things had returned to the starting point. Not accepting the good people and outcasts driven by the Shogunate meant that the court and the daimyo and lords close to the court could only respond passively. They could no longer gain the reputation they could have earned, but they still had to prepare the required medicinal materials, doctors, and grain.
If this problem could not be solved, the Shogunate would not even need to drive lepers to make the court a mess. At that time, Kōkaku would also lose without fighting.
While Kōkaku and his son, Ishikawa Iin, Tōdō Takayoshi, and the other daimyo and lords close to the court were greatly troubled, Tokugawa Ienari was so excited that he wanted to sing. Just by driving away some outcasts before the court could, he could make Kōkaku and his son flustered. Was there a more cost-effective business in the world than this?
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Heavenly Emperor's Noble Lineage reminds you: Remember to collect after reading.