Leprosy was called a disease of the poor, not just because impoverished regions had more cases.
Before sulfonamides ushered in the antibiotic era, leprosy had afflicted the world for over three millennia. The peripheral nerve damage caused by the disease led to lifelong disabilities, inflicting immense losses on patients and their families. Its high contagiousness also placed a significant burden on regions and nations.
The daimyo of Washigu were not particularly wealthy to begin with. Asking them to choose sides might have been manageable, but to solicit their time, money, and vast human and material resources to help Mitsuhito or Tokugawa Ienari solve the leprosy problem…
In any case, neither Mitsuhito nor Tokugawa Ienari held much confidence.
Upon returning to the Washigu royal palace, Mitsuhito dismissed all guards and attendants. Frowning, he said to Hirokonohito, "Pack your things and leave Kyoto."
Hirokonohito understood Mitsuhito's thoughts.
As the saying goes, Shen Sheng died within, while Chong Er prospered outside.
The killing intent on Tokugawa Ienari's face that day had been palpable. If Tokugawa Ienari truly lost his mind, Mitsuhito and his son risked being wiped out in one fell swoop.
If Hirokonohito had fled Kyoto earlier and sought refuge with a daimyo loyal to the Washigu royal family, it could have placed a constraint on Tokugawa Ienari and, to some extent, ensured Mitsuhito's safety.
However, Hirokonohito gently shook his head and sighed, "Where else can I go?"
Glancing around the palace, Hirokonohito's face was etched with despair. "Though Washigu is vast, there is no place for my family to take refuge. The only way forward, I fear, is to surpass Tokugawa Ienari, or perhaps to secure the throne."
Mitsuhito could not help but sigh heavily. "The logic is sound, and I understand it perfectly. But… but you saw what happened today. Although Chen Yan appeared fair and just, he was, in fact, biased towards Tokugawa Ienari. If he truly intended to be impartial, he should have reported Washigu's affairs to the Ming Emperor, or directly extinguished Tokugawa Ienari's ambitions. Yet, he proposed this method of competing in leprosy governance. This…"
With another long sigh, Mitsuhito forced himself to rally, looking at Hirokonohito. "Since you are unwilling to leave, then do not leave. But now that things have escalated to this point, how can the court possibly defeat Tokugawa Ienari?"
Questioned by Mitsuhito, Hirokonohito also felt a sense of helplessness.
Beyond the fact that Chen Yan, the Ming envoy to Washigu, had already chosen to favor Tokugawa Ienari, the more critical issue was the unequal distribution of resources between the shogunate and the court.
If the shogunate controlled seventy percent of Washigu's resources, the court's resources might not even reach thirty percent. Their influence over the regional daimyo was even more vastly disproportionate.
Under these circumstances, Hirokonohito genuinely could not fathom how they could defeat Tokugawa Ienari.
As for forcing a draw, since Chen Yan had already chosen to favor Tokugawa Ienari, a draw would be meaningless.
After pondering for a while, Hirokonohito's eyes suddenly lit up, and he spoke with renewed confidence, "Although we do not have absolute certainty of defeating Tokugawa Ienari, we can find ways to make Tokugawa Ienari fail."
Mitsuhito blinked in surprise and asked, "What ways?"
Hirokonohito stood up, pacing slowly as he organized his thoughts. "To govern leprosy, the most stable method is to first curb its spread and then mobilize a large number of physicians and medicinal supplies."
"In terms of physicians and medicinal supplies, we cannot match Tokugawa Ienari. To curb the spread of leprosy, we are also unable to match Tokugawa Ienari. This is our disadvantage, and also Tokugawa Ienari's advantage."
"However, there are many avenues for manipulation here."
"For instance, to stop the spread of leprosy, Tokugawa Ienari must confine those lowlifes. We can completely send people to cause trouble for Tokugawa Ienari; we'll send people to instigate those lowlifes to escape."
"For instance, as soon as Tokugawa Ienari wants to mobilize physicians and medicinal supplies, we will send people to burn down Tokugawa Ienari's medicinal stores, and we can also send people to kill some physicians."
"In this way, Tokugawa Ienari naturally will be unable to curb the spread of leprosy, and it will also expose his incompetence. We will then win without fighting."
As Hirokonohito spoke with increasing excitement, Mitsuhito became more animated.
What time was it?
It was the time for the spring harvest!
If Tokugawa Ienari intended to confine the lowlifes in the areas under his responsibility, it would inevitably affect their farming and labor. This meant their livelihoods would be impacted. Even if Tokugawa Ienari were willing to pay money from the shogunate to purchase grain, it would be useless. Judging by the speed of leprosy's spread, the half of Washigu's territory that Tokugawa Ienari was responsible for would soon be teeming with lepers. How much grain could Tokugawa Ienari buy for them? No matter how rich Tokugawa Ienari was, he couldn't sustain it!
The more Mitsuhito thought about it, the more excited he became. He couldn't help but pick up on Hirokonohito's train of thought and said, "Even if it's not good to cause trouble for Tokugawa Ienari, it's fine. We can directly bribe some already infected people and have them sneak into Tokugawa Ienari's territory. In this way, Tokugawa Ienari is bound to fail!"
However, after a moment's thought, Mitsuhito became worried. After all, if he could scheme against Tokugawa Ienari, couldn't Tokugawa Ienari also scheme against him?
Yet, Hirokonohito shook his head. "It doesn't matter whether Tokugawa Ienari schemes against us or not. As long as we scheme against him, that's enough. The court itself does not control much territory, and its governance may not yield significant results. Therefore, as long as Tokugawa Ienari's performance is not better than ours, it will suffice."
As long as Tokugawa Ienari could not solve the leprosy problem in his territory, it naturally meant that Tokugawa Ienari's abilities were not significantly superior to Mitsuhito and his son.
Moreover, because the shogunate and the court possessed unequal resources, as long as Tokugawa Ienari did not achieve a resounding victory, it would be considered a failure!
Having figured all this out, Mitsuhito, who had been feeling stifled all day, felt a sense of clarity. He laughed and said, "Yosh! As expected of Washigu's Crown Prince, you go ahead and do it. After this matter is concluded, I will abdicate the throne to you."
However, as he spoke, Mitsuhito's expression darkened again. "Why do you think all of this happened today?"
Hirokonohito, who had been immersed in the sweet anticipation of succeeding to the throne, was slightly taken aback and shook his head. "I don't know."
Mitsuhito glanced at Hirokonohito and snorted. "It's just the two of us father and son now. Why are you still playing dumb? Remember, all of this happened because of the Ming people. Washigu's current strength is inferior to the Ming, so we can only endure their oppression."
"But!"
Mitsuhito gritted his teeth and said, "Does the Central Plains have dynasties that last three hundred years? Since the Tang Dynasty, whether it was the Song, Ming, or even the Qing, their national fortunes lasted at most around three hundred years, and at least a little over a hundred years. Although the current Great Ming is overwhelmingly powerful, how many years of national fortune does it truly have?"
"Washigu is different."
"Since Emperor Jimmu's reign, Washigu has existed for over two thousand years, with one hundred and eighteen emperors. If your plan succeeds this time, you will be the one hundred and twentieth emperor of Washigu, and it will be passed down through generations without change."
"In the future, whenever there is an opportunity…"
Mitsuhito's expression became increasingly ferocious, like a vengeful spirit crawling out of hell, his voice turning particularly grating. "Whenever there is an opportunity, we must retaliate fiercely, making those Ming people pay for their current actions!"
Hirokonohito nodded heavily and replied, "Hai! I will remember it well!"
…
While Mitsuhito and Hirokonohito were contemplating how to deal with Tokugawa Ienari and firmly remembering their hatred for the Great Ming, Tokugawa Ienari went to the Ming Embassy in Kyoto to meet Chen Yan.
Or rather, Tokugawa Ienari was there to be reprimanded.
Chen Yan took a sip from his teacup, spat out a tea stem, and then looked coldly at Tokugawa Ienari. "General Tokugawa, your shogunate has greatly disappointed this envoy. A matter that could have been resolved directly has been botched like this!"
Tokugawa Ienari dared not argue, only bowing deeply and replying, "Hai! It is Ienari's incompetence!"
Chen Yan snorted again, put down his teacup, and retorted, "Where is your incompetence?"
Being asked this by Chen Yan, Tokugawa Ienari became somewhat bewildered. Yes, he was incompetent, but where was his incompetence? Was it not directly drawing his sword and killing Mitsuhito that showed his incompetence? Or was it allowing the envoys to Washigu to commit seppuku that showed his incompetence?
Seeing Tokugawa Ienari's bewildered look, Chen Yan let out a cold laugh. "Your incompetence lies in misjudging the timing! I ask you, which fool arranged the timing for you, insisting on launching the action only after this envoy arrived? And which fool gave you the idea to have those envoys commit seppuku?"
Tokugawa Ienari quickly and honestly replied, "It was Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban. They said that the seppuku of the envoys to Washigu would highlight Mitsuhito's incompetence, and only after Ambassador arrived would it be appropriate for him to preside over the matter for Ienari!"
As soon as Tokugawa Ienari finished speaking, Chen Yan slammed the table and shouted, "Utterly foolish! And it is precisely because of your foolishness that those envoys sacrificed themselves in vain!"
Tokugawa Ienari became even more bewildered.
Regarding the timing, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't say much, as the timing was ultimately up to Chen Yan. But how could the matter of the envoys be wrong?
After all, Mitsuhito's side also had envoys to Washigu committing seppuku. If their side had no one to do so, wouldn't it appear as if Mitsuhito was using the seppuku of his envoys to highlight the General's incompetence?
Chen Yan glanced at Tokugawa Ienari and asked, "What, can't you figure it out?"
Tokugawa Ienari honestly bowed his head and replied, "Hai! Ienari is foolish. I beg Ambassador to enlighten me!"
Chen Yan let out a cold laugh. "If you weren't foolish, you should have attacked Mitsuhito before this envoy arrived. Then, would your pro-shogunate envoys have needed to die? If you weren't foolish, you should have made preparations in advance and not given Mitsuhito an opportunity to retaliate. But you insisted on waiting until this envoy was present before launching the attack. The result was giving Mitsuhito time to react, allowing him to counterattack."
Tokugawa Ienari bowed his head heavily again, admitting his fault. After saying "Hai," he tentatively asked, "Then what should we do now? If Mitsuhito and Hirokonohito are determined to cause trouble for Ienari, I'm afraid Ienari…"
Chen Yan shook his head slightly. "It's not 'if,' it's 'certainly.' Currently, your shogunate has the advantage in Washigu's situation. Mitsuhito and his son have no chance of winning against your shogunate through fair means, so they will inevitably try their best to cause you trouble."
Tokugawa Ienari became even more anxious and asked, "Ienari…"
Chen Yan snorted again. "What, do you hear grasshoppers chirping and stop farming? Since you know they will cause you trouble, don't you know to make preparations in advance and publicly execute those you capture?"
After saying this, Chen Yan picked up his teacup and took a sip before continuing, "In the end, it all comes down to my previous statement – it depends on who can solve the leprosy problem. So, no matter what Mitsuhito and his son do, your task is to respond while also handling the leprosy issue well."
Tokugawa Ienari felt a sense of helplessness.
Tokugawa Ienari knew very well that these issues seemed like no problem in Chen Yan's mouth. If Chen Yan were to handle them, they truly wouldn't be problems, because Chen Yan had the Great Ming behind him. Whether it was the manpower needed to guard those lowlifes, or the physicians and medicinal supplies required, none of it was an issue. If Chen Yan needed ten thousand people to guard the lowlifes, the Great Ming could easily dispatch one hundred thousand; if Chen Yan needed a thousand physicians, the Great Ming could easily dispatch ten thousand; if Chen Yan needed ten thousand pounds of medicinal supplies, the Great Ming could easily dispatch one hundred thousand pounds.
Because the Great Ming had a population of five hundred million, even if one in ten thousand people were physicians, the Great Ming would have a full fifty thousand physicians!
Because the Great Ming's territory was vast, its homeland and overseas territories could collect immense amounts of medicinal supplies!
But that was the Great Ming, not Washigu.
While it was easy to dispatch personnel to guard those lowlifes, where could Washigu find so many physicians and medicinal supplies?
The more Tokugawa Ienari thought about it, the more aggrieved he felt. He couldn't help but say in a low voice, "Ambassador, please forgive me. Washigu is a small country with a sparse population. It is likely impossible to deal with Mitsuhito when solving the leprosy problem?"
Upon hearing Tokugawa Ienari's words, Chen Yan forcefully suppressed the urge to burst into laughter and heavily put down his teacup, snorting coldly, "How foolish are you?"
(End of this chapter)