Howard glanced down at Tojo Kojiro and snorted, "Who is this?"
Tojo Kojiro's face instantly turned ashen.
In Tojo Kojiro's eyes, while he certainly didn't have the guts to look down on Liu Dingxing, the commander of the Ming Dynasty's East Sea Fleet, he absolutely did have the guts to look down on the managers of the British and Dutch East India Companies, and he had a lot of them.
However, Tojo Kojiro never in his wildest dreams expected these foreigners with blonde hair and blue eyes to speak the official language of the Ming Dynasty!? Could it be…
As Tojo Kojiro's expression shifted uncertainly, Liu Dingxing smiled and said to Howard and Overstraten, "This is Tojo Kojiro, the commander of the five thousand mercenary troops sent by the Edo Shogunate of Japan.
After saying this, Liu Dingxing instructed Tojo Kojiro, "Tojo, from now on, you will be in charge of matters here with General Manager Howard and Director Overstraten." Tojo Kojiro immediately stood at attention, bowed, and said, "Hai! Tojo understands, please rest assured, Commander!"
After Liu Dingxing nodded, Tojo Kojiro turned his gaze to Overstraten and Howard and said, "I, Tojo Kojiro, am here. Please take care of me!"
Overstraten and Howard were a bit bewildered by Tojo Kojiro's overly subservient attitude. They exchanged a few polite compliments with Tojo Kojiro until a friendly atmosphere was established among the three. Howard then said to Liu Dingxing, "Thank you for all your trouble with this matter. Please convey my regards to your Emperor."
Liu Dingxing nodded and said he would, but inwardly he thought, "You think you're worthy? Even if you want to express gratitude to my Ming Emperor, you should at least be on the level of George III or Louis XVI. What right do you merchants have?"
After everyone disembarked and Liu Dingxing led the Ming fleet away, Howard said to Tojo Kojiro, "This matter will still trouble you."
Tojo Kojiro shook his head and asked Howard and Overstraten, "Where are those Indian fools gathered? I need precise intelligence to launch an attack on them as soon as possible." Howard couldn't help but remind him, "Those diaper-wearers are not to be trifled with. They also have flintlock guns and a small number of cannons, and they are very numerous. They might not be as easy to deal with as you imagine."
However, Tojo Kojiro did not appreciate Howard's reminder. Instead, after glancing at Howard with disdain, he said with fervent conviction, "Fighting for the Emperor of the Great Ming is the lifelong dream of all Japanese samurai, and they are willing to sacrifice their lives!
Therefore, I don't care how many of those Indian fools there are, nor do I care what kind of equipment they have. You just need to tell me their exact location, and the rest will be handled by our Great Japanese Auxiliary Army!
Speaking of which, Tojo Kojiro sneered, "Even if I can't kill all those Indian fools, you don't need to worry. Our Great Japanese will send more auxiliary troops until they are all wiped out!"
Hearing Tojo Kojiro's bloodthirsty declaration, Howard and Overstraten couldn't help but exchange a look of consternation.
Does this guy have a problem? Howard couldn't help but remind him again, "If the goal is just to wipe out those diaper-wearers, I believe the strength of our English East India Company and Dutch East India Company would be sufficient. However, the Great Ming Empire, England, and
What we need are laborers, so…"
Upon hearing Howard's words, the dismissiveness that Tojo Kojiro had just suppressed resurfaced.
At first, Tojo Kojiro thought Howard was just a barbarian who could speak the official language of the Great Ming, so he no longer treated him as a barbarian. Especially Howard's attitude when speaking with Liu Dingxing, a commander of a certain division of the Ming Dynasty's East Sea Fleet, made Tojo Kojiro mistakenly believe that Howard was a spy controlled by the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard.
But now it seemed that this guy was probably just a half-baked individual, and his mastery of the official language of the Great Ming might not even be as good as his own, a Japanese slave. Thinking this, Tojo Kojiro couldn't help but sneer, "I, of course, know that the Great Ming needs laborers. But, you, must understand, to catch laborers, you must first defeat them. To disperse those Indian fools, the best way is to first find where they are gathered, then charge in, kill those who resist first, and then support a few who dare not resist to carry out the task of capturing laborers." After speaking, Tojo Kojiro cast another disdainful glance at Howard and Overstraten, mocking, "You definitely haven't read the 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms,' a military classic. Otherwise, you probably would have already resolved the matters in India."
Howard was startled and asked, "What 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'?"
Tojo Kojiro's disdain deepened. He said,
"This military secret, even if I were to show it to you, you probably wouldn't understand. Never mind, you should still tell me where those Indian fools are gathered. The rest will be handled by our Great Japanese Auxiliary Army."
Howard and Overstraten were once again bewildered by Tojo Kojiro's attitude. When Liu Dingxing was still present, what was this short, stout fellow's demeanor?
He was more obedient than a dog!
Look at his loyal appearance then, standing beside Liu Dingxing like a dog wagging its tail madly to please its master. When facing others, he would bare his teeth, as if ready to pounce and tear them apart.
And what was his attitude later?
After Howard said a sentence in the official language of the Great Ming, this short, stout fellow stopped baring his teeth and even had a hint of friendliness in his words.
Now, he had suddenly changed his demeanor again, as if returning to his contemptuous attitude towards everyone.
Was it because Liu Dingxing had already left?
After thinking for a long time without any conclusion, Howard and Overstraten simply stopped thinking about it and told Tojo Kojiro the gathering places of the Indian diaper-wearers.
Howard and Overstraten also wanted to see if this short, stout fellow Tojo Kojiro had any real ability or was just bragging.
The facts proved that Tojo Kojiro was not bragging. After obtaining the gathering locations of the Indian fools, Tojo Kojiro directly led a group of Japanese auxiliary troops to attack. When facing the Indian 'third brothers,' the Japanese dwarves, with their seven-tenths bestial nature fully preserved, erupted with infinite combat power.
As Tojo Kojiro said, fighting for the Emperor of the Great Ming was the ultimate dream of all Japanese samurai, and they were willing to sacrifice their lives.
Therefore, after paying the price of hundreds of short, stout dwarves being killed, the 'third brothers' gathered in the Calcutta region were completely scattered. And these Japanese dwarves did not fail their inherent seven-tenths bestial nature; they used methods like "kill all, burn all, loot all." They also captured a few 'third brothers' who dared not resist, and supported them in establishing an Indian Co-Prosperity Society, and then began using the Indian Co-Prosperity Society to capture the fleeing Indian fools.
This miraculous scene directly stunned Howard and Overstraten.
Howard had also supported puppet regimes before, but the puppet regimes Howard supported were unwilling to help Howard and the others recruit laborers. On the contrary, the Indian Co-Prosperity Society, supported by this short, stout fellow, was incredibly diligent in recruiting laborers, almost as if loyalty was written on their faces.
Unable to figure out what was going on, Howard and Overstraten found Tojo Kojiro, intending to seek advice from this dwarf.
After hearing their questions, the contempt on Tojo Kojiro's face became even more pronounced. "Who did you support?"
Howard glanced at Overstraten, signaling him to answer.
Although Overstraten was displeased, he honestly replied, "Of course, we recruited Kshatriyas. They are the official class. Shouldn't we use them to control those diaper-wearers?" Tojo Kojiro coldly sneered, "The highest caste in India is Brahmin. You actually went and supported Kshatriyas? If that's the case, then your failure is only natural."
Howard quickly asked, "Natural what? Natural what?"
Tojo Kojiro did not answer Howard's question but continued on his own, "To deal with these diaper-wearers, of course, you must control the Brahmins.
To control the Brahmins, you must find their weaknesses. For example, some Brahmins are afraid of death, some Brahmins like money and beauty, and some Brahmins care deeply about their families.
Believe me, as the highest-ranking Brahmins, they will certainly not want to lose everything they currently possess—therefore, as long as you threaten them and their families with being reduced to Dalits, these Brahmins will naturally not cause any trouble.
Once the Brahmins are controlled, the Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and Dalits, who are lower in rank than them, will naturally not be able to stir up any trouble.
Of course, if there are a few Brahmins who would rather die than yield, then I have no good solution. The only way is to send them to meet their Lord Shiva.
Howard asked blankly, "It's that simple?"
Tojo Kojiro sneered, "What else? You have only tried to control the Kshatriyas, who hold political and military power, from the beginning, but you never thought that Brahmins, who are monks, can control the Kshatriyas more easily.
Therefore, even though you acknowledged the caste system in India, acknowledged the status of Brahmins, and indeed ruled some Indian fools through the Kshatriyas, those Brahmins did not attach themselves to you because of this, which is also the reason for your failure." Howard couldn't help but exchange glances with Overstraten after Tojo Kojiro's words. Had they overcomplicated things, or were these short, stout fellows truly so formidable that they had grasped the crux of the problem?
Seeing that Howard and Overstraten still seemed unconvinced, Tojo Kojiro said, "Coincidentally, we are going to clear out Banmowola Village tomorrow. You two can also come along and see." Howard and Overstraten exchanged glances and then nodded in agreement.
Banmowola Village was an unremarkable small village in India. If there was anything special about this village, it was that there was a Ming Dynasty merchant living there, and the Ming Dynasty's Embroidered Uniform Guard had also visited this village and taken away the Brahmin monks residing there.
However, Tojo Kojiro did not know about the Ming Dynasty merchant living there, and neither did Howard and Overstraten.
Therefore, when Tojo Kojiro brought Howard and Overstraten to this small village, Tojo Kojiro directly ordered his subordinate Japanese auxiliary troops to act according to the old routine. The old routine meant first driving all the Indian 'third brothers' to an open space, then Tojo Kojiro would give a speech, and then he would have a good talk with the local Brahmin monks. If the conversation went smoothly, the rest would fall into place. If the conversation did not go smoothly, Tojo Kojiro would eliminate the disobedient Brahmin monks and then find a new Brahmin monk.
Of course, it was also possible to designate a Kshatriya among the present Indian fools to become the new Brahmin and then continue the previous routine. The problem was that there were no Brahmin monks left in this village, and what was more, there was a Ming Dynasty merchant living in this village. When the Japanese dwarves once again burst into Guan Sheng's home and were about to drive everyone in Guan Sheng's family out of the village, Guan Sheng, who had been as timid as a dog when facing the Embroidered Uniform Guard, erupted. Guan Sheng, holding his large Guan Dao, pointed at the dwarves holding samurai swords and sneered, "I am truly unlucky. Previously, the Embroidered Uniform Guard came to my door, and I couldn't afford to provoke them, so I had to endure it. But I never expected you short, stout fellows to dare to come to my door? Come on, either you cut me down today, or this lord will cut you short, stout fellows down!"
In fact, the reason Guan Sheng could still hold his large Guan Dao and shout at these dwarves was not because he was particularly brave, but because his attire and the first two sentences he cursed in Chinese had made these dwarves who rushed into his house somewhat at a loss.
Who would have thought that there would be a Ming Dynasty merchant here? More importantly, they had barged into the home of this Ming Dynasty merchant.