From the current situation, it seems that if the father and son pair, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, were to pay a "slight" price, they could mess up all of your efforts. No matter how much you try, you can't completely prevent the father and son from causing trouble, yet Chen Yan not only doesn't comfort you from your perspective but repeatedly calls you foolish?
Tokugawa Ienari suddenly felt as wronged as a child being inexplicably reprimanded by an adult.
Feeling deeply wronged, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't help but act stubborn and directly argued with Chen Yan: "Mr. Ambassador, while Washoku (Japan) may not be large, it is not small either. Even though Ienari controls the Shogunate, I cannot completely lock down the entire Washoku, let alone completely prevent the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, from making trouble?"
Chen Yan glanced at Tokugawa Ienari and scoffed, "Do you mean to say you are not foolish?"
Tokugawa Ienari wanted to say he wasn't foolish, but he didn't have the courage to defy Chen Yan. He could only say aggrievedly, "Please, Mr. Ambassador, enlighten me?"
Chen Yan then said with a blank expression, "Is your biggest problem now to guard against the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, sending people to cause trouble for you? Then you must think carefully, what are the prerequisites for them to send people to cause trouble for you?"
"For them to send people to cause trouble for you, they must first send people over, and after sending them, these people must be able to blend into your crowd."
"The simplest way to deal with this situation is to organize peasant associations like Da Ming. Take the lead and work together with the people of Washoku. As soon as you see unfamiliar faces, grab them quickly. Those sent by the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, will naturally find it difficult to succeed."
"All you have to pay is a little reward money, understand?"
Tokugawa Ienari was overjoyed, even wanting to kowtow to Chen Yan and shout "Father still loves me!" three times.
However, after a second thought, Tokugawa Ienari hesitated.
Emulating Da Ming's organization of peasant associations seemed easy when Chen Yan said it, but implementing it in Washoku would be incredibly difficult, because the problems were entirely different!
What was the situation when Da Ming organized peasant associations? It was because the current Emperor of Da Ming rebelled, and for every region he conquered, he would publicly try corrupt merchants and local tyrants, thus winning the support of the people. Subsequently, through land redistribution and other measures, the local populace spontaneously supported the peasant associations.
But what about Washoku? Washoku's biggest corrupt merchants and local tyrants were in two groups: one was the Washoku royal family led by the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, and the other was the Edo Shogunate!
Below the Washoku royal family and the Edo Shogunate were a large number of daimyo who were attached to them, below whom were many samurai, then ronin, and further down were commoners. Below the commoners were many outcasts.
To establish peasant associations in Washoku, which group should Tokugawa Ienari try to win over?
The Emperor of Da Ming could certainly win the support of ordinary people because all the commoners in the Central Plains at that time were oppressed by the Manchu banners. In Washoku, above the ordinary people were ronin and samurai, and below them were outcasts. It was problematic to try to win over any of them!
Win the support of samurai and ronin? Samurai looked down on ronin, and ronin disliked samurai. Win the support of ordinary commoners? Commoners could still bully outcasts.
Win the support of outcasts? The outcasts of Washoku were numb to the bone. If they weren't walking dead, they were practically close to it. They had no intention of resisting, unlike the Central Plains where there was over a hundred years of history of opposing the Qing and restoring the Ming.
In fact, the outcasts of Washoku were very similar to the Dalits in India, belonging to the "untouchables." They were mostly prisoners of war, criminals, prostitutes, and some Ainu from the north. Their official titles in Washoku's household registration were "Eta" and "Hinin," and the discrimination was open and aboveboard.
Among them, "Eta" were mainly involved in carrying corpses on the battlefield, slaughtering livestock, funeral industry workers, and leatherworkers – those people typically associated with blood, filth, and death. "Hinin" were mostly prostitutes, criminals, and mountain people.
Moreover, at this time, Washoku's social classes and occupations were clearly defined.
For example, after the Sengoku period, even if many samurai had no battles to fight and couldn't even afford to eat, they were unwilling to work or learn a trade, because their status as samurai prevented them from engaging in manual labor.
For the outcasts, their occupations were often passed down from father to son, and their marriages were also resolved within the outcast community. They lived on the outskirts of forests or in desolate areas separated by rivers to avoid displeasing other noble people.
Similar to the "untouchables" in India's caste system, these "untouchables" in Washoku were forbidden from marrying commoners and could not participate in normal social activities. In rainy weather, they were not allowed to use umbrellas, and when speaking, they had to cover their mouths and noses to avoid "polluting the environment" with their "filthy breath." Even when they worked as servants and were cleaning, they could only do so backward – to sweep away their footprints, because the short and stout people of Washoku believed that stepping on the path walked by an "outcast" would contaminate them and even bring misfortune.
If an outcast worked in the home of a commoner, they generally had to bring their own food bowls. If they touched the bowls and chopsticks of the commoner, the owner would surely smash and bury the "polluted" containers used by the outcasts.
Furthermore, in Washoku's law, "outcasts" were only recognized as seven-tenths of a person. The lives of seven outcasts were equivalent to one commoner. Especially the samurai, when they encountered an "outcast" they disliked, they often killed them as they pleased. This was also a way for the samurai of Washoku to test their swords – how many people they could cut was called "kandō-giri" (all-cuts), used to determine the quality of their katana.
In other words, if Tokugawa Ienari wanted to win over commoners, he would be antagonized by the samurai and ronin classes. If Tokugawa Ienari wanted to win over the "outcasts," he would probably be antagonized even by the commoners of Washoku.
In fact, even Tokugawa Ienari did not consider the "outcasts" of Washoku as human beings, let alone as objects to win over, nor did he see them as the main force for establishing peasant associations.
After thinking for a long time and not figuring out which side to win over, Tokugawa Ienari simply explained the current situation of Washoku to Chen Yan and then tentatively asked, "Please, Mr. Ambassador, guide me. Who should I rely on to establish peasant associations?"
Chen Yan glanced at Tokugawa Ienari and asked, "Do you want to win over commoners? Or samurai? Or ronin?"
Seeing the slightly mocking expression on Chen Yan's face, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't help but ask, "Shouldn't it be commoners or samurai?"
Chen Yan shook his head slightly and said with a cold laugh, "Samurai with masters are called samurai. Samurai without masters are just ronin. Samurai value loyalty to their masters. The number of ronin is far less than that of samurai. Who can you rely on? As for those commoners... as long as the outcasts of Washoku still exist, they will not dare to resist the samurai and ronin!"
Chen Yan's words left Tokugawa Ienari completely dumbfounded.
Tokugawa Ienari knew very well that what Chen Yan said was true, but precisely because it was true, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't figure out which class of people to win over.
Seeing that Tokugawa Ienari was still acting like an idiot, Chen Yan simply scoffed and said, "I remember that Heshen and Zhongtang of the Great Qing often said a famous saying: 'To save the people, first save the officials.' If you can't even save the officials, who do you expect to help you save the people?"
Tokugawa Ienari became even more bewildered, because Chen Yan's words seemed reasonable, but upon closer examination, they felt somewhat off – why didn't Da Ming win over those corrupt merchants and local tyrants, but instead eliminated them?
Chen Yan picked up his teacup, took a sip, and savored the tea aroma before patiently guiding Tokugawa Ienari, "Actually, your best choice is to win over those ronin and commoners, because ronin hope to find masters, and commoners are the largest group in Washoku. They also hope to change their social class and advance further."
"However, there is no time left, because you have never tried to win them over before. Now, if you try to win them over rashly, firstly, it will be difficult to gain their trust, and secondly, it will offend those daimyo and samurai."
"Therefore, your only choice now is to win over those daimyo, because winning over the daimyo is equivalent to winning over the samurai. With samurai in hand, you can use them as the foundation for the peasant associations, and naturally, you can disregard those ronin and outcasts. You also won't need to worry about people sent by the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, to cause trouble, because those samurai will solve the problems for you, understand?"
Tokugawa Ienari was overjoyed and bowed his head, saying, "Hai! Ienari understands. Thank you, Mr. Ambassador, for your guidance!"
Chen Yan then smiled and nodded, saying, "You must know that a peasant association is just a name, or a symbol. You can use the daimyo as the foundation for the peasant associations, let them manage things downwards, and thus weave a network over the areas you govern, preventing people sent by the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, from infiltrating."
At this point, Chen Yan suddenly chuckled and said meaningfully, "When I was studying in the Central Plains, I saw a record in historical books about Emperor Xiaowu of Han. At that time, the Han Dynasty's national strength was stronger than the Xiongnu, so Emperor Xiaowu said: 'The situation of offense and defense is reversed. If the bandits can go, I can also go!'"
Tokugawa Ienari's heart stirred slightly. He looked up at Chen Yan and asked expectantly, "What does Mr. Ambassador mean?"
However, Chen Yan did not answer Tokugawa Ienari's question. Instead, he picked up his teacup and said to Tokugawa Ienari, "Here, have some tea."
Seeing that Chen Yan was already signaling him to leave, Tokugawa Ienari, who understood some Central Plains culture, did not dare to waste more of Chen Yan's time. He immediately bowed his head and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Ambassador. However, Ienari still has to go back to arrange matters for the envoys to Ming and the daimyo, so I will not delay Mr. Ambassador's time further!"
After Tokugawa Ienari discreetly left, Qian Chuan, who had been eavesdropping in the adjacent room for a long time, pushed the door open and walked in. He then looked at Chen Yan with a strange expression and said, "You have given Tokugawa Ienari some excellent advice."
Chen Yan chuckled and said, "As the saying goes, 'short of breath from taking bribes, soft-handed from receiving gifts.' Since I have taken his silver mines, I naturally have to consider him a bit."
Hearing Chen Yan's shameless statement, Qian Chuan's face was full of question marks – could a human being say such a thing?
After thinking about it, Qian Chuan simply suggested, "Shall I send people to add more fuel to the fire?"
Chen Yan shook his head slightly and said, "This fire is burning about right. If you add more fuel, it's easy to burn too much – we want to make Washoku chaotic, not completely destroy it."
Qian Chuan couldn't help but pout, "You told Tokugawa Ienari that the situation of offense and defense is reversed, aren't you aiming to destroy Washoku?"
Chen Yan smiled and shook his head, denying Qian Chuan's statement, "It won't be completely destroyed, because they will compete, compete to be dogs of Da Ming, compete to sell Washoku, until there is nothing left to sell. That is when they will be completely finished."
Qian Chuan was slightly stunned, then realized, "Are you planning to let them fight each other? But what if Tokugawa Ienari sends people to cause trouble for the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren? Or, how do you know that Tokugawa Ienari will definitely not win?"
Chen Yan shook his head again and smiled, "Whether Tokugawa Ienari will send people to cause trouble for the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, is hard to say. But I can be sure that even if Tokugawa Ienari sends people, it will be of no use, because the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, will not seriously try to govern leprosy from the beginning. They will only hope to drag Tokugawa Ienari down with them."
Seeing Qian Chuan looking confused, Chen Yan slowly began to explain, "Although the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, are the Lord and Crown Prince of Washoku, they are only nominal. The real power is actually in the hands of the Shogunate. You should know this, right?"
Qian Chuan thought to himself, you're looking down on me a bit – my brain might not be as good as you scholars, but when it comes to being well-informed, perhaps a hundred of you combined can't match even a minor officer under me, Qian!
Chen Yan naturally saw the unconvinced expression on Qian Chuan's face, but Chen Yan didn't care. He just smiled and said, "Since the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, have no soldiers or power, it is naturally impossible to solve the problem of leprosy. And if they cannot solve the leprosy, it means that Guangge Jianren is likely to lose his position as the Lord of Washoku. Therefore, the only thing the father and son, Guangge Jianren and Kuangong Huiren, can do now is to send people to cause trouble for Tokugawa Ienari, so that Tokugawa Ienari's side also cannot govern leprosy, thereby preserving the position of the Lord of Washoku in an equally bad situation."
Qian Chuan stared dumbfounded and said, "This... this is just dragging each other down to be worse, isn't it?"
Chen Yan burst out laughing.
Being worse?
Isn't the essence of this world about being worse?
Back then, Da Ming and the Great Qing competed to be worse. Now, the countries on this small planet, except for Da Ming, were also competing to be worse. At most, the forms were slightly different.
(End of this chapter)
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