Even when compared to the Great Ming, the territory of Tianzhu was not particularly small. If Tianzhu were to be taken, the land area of the Great Ming's core territory would not double, but at least it would increase by another fifth.
One-tenth of one is not much, but what about one-tenth of one hundred?
Moreover, Tianzhu had quite a few mineral deposits, was adjacent to the Great Ming's core territory, and possessed nearly two hundred million laborers. Therefore, from any perspective, the Great Ming had reason to completely take over Tianzhu.
Of course, there were many ways to take over Tianzhu.
One method was to directly march troops in and then migrate people. Another method was to have the English and Dutch East India Companies, along with the short, squat倭国 (wōguó) people, cooperate in recruiting laborers. Once the land was cleared, the Great Ming could then take over the ready-made territory.
Zhu Jinsong chose to take over the ready-made territory.
The laborers were recruited by the English and Dutch East India Companies and the short, squat倭国 people. Although they were working on Great Ming territory, they were labor dispatched from countries like England, France, and the Netherlands, and supervised by the short, squat倭国 people. Therefore, the Great Ming could stand cleanly on the dry shore without getting their hands dirty.
The only problem was that the savages in Tianzhu were not willing to be recruited as laborers.
Although the English and Dutch East India Companies, along with the short, squat倭国 people, devised a plethora of convoluted methods to solve this problem, even specifically leaving behind a few laborers for propaganda purposes, the savages of Tianzhu were only slow-witted, not entirely foolish. The methods employed by the East India Company and the short, squat倭国 people could, at most, fool some of the Tianzhu savages, but it was impossible to fool all of them.
Therefore, resistance became inevitable.
There is an old saying in the Central Plains: "A cornered dog will jump over the wall; a cornered rabbit will bite."
No matter how much the "Third Brothers" enjoyed their non-violent, non-cooperative ways, when faced with the threat of utter annihilation, they ultimately displayed some mettle and clashed head-on with the English and Dutch East India Companies and the short, squat倭国 people.
This clash, however, exposed the shortcomings in the military strength of the English and Dutch East India Companies and the short, squat倭国 people.
Of course, insufficient troops were not a major problem. After all, the equipment of the English and Dutch East India Companies and the short, squat倭国 people was far more advanced and reliable than that of the Third Brothers. If they could choose the correct tactics, it would still be enough to teach the Third Brothers a lesson.
The problem lay with the short, squat倭国 people.
In the eyes of the short, squat倭国 people, they were the dogs of their Great Ming father, and they had come to Tianzhu to recruit laborers for their Great Ming father. If they couldn't properly suppress and torment those laborers, wouldn't that be a disgrace to their Great Ming father?
It was unbearable!
With the idea of never allowing their Great Ming father to lose face, even if it meant death, these short, squat倭国 people, when faced with unfavorable battle situations, would let the English and Dutch East India Companies retreat first, while they themselves stayed behind to cover the retreat.
Furthermore, these short, squat倭国 people would even launch suicidal counter-charges against the Third Brothers, completely disregarding their own lives.
The result was that the number of short, squat倭国 people began to dwindle.
After hundreds of battles, large and small, the original hundred thousand short, squat倭国 people had been reduced to just over twenty thousand. In terms of numbers, they could no longer maintain an advantage over the English and Dutch East India Companies!
The person wearing the flying fish costume sighed slightly and said, "Your Majesty is right. If used well, these short, squat倭国 people are indeed first-class dogs. However, their brains are a bit insufficient."
Jiang Xinlong sneered and said, "Then do you remember what His Majesty also said, that these short, squat倭国 people are the most likely vicious dogs to bite their master?"
The person in the flying fish costume said indifferently, "As long as they are useful dogs now, if they dare to bite their master later, they can be directly beaten to death and eaten. It's no big deal."
Hearing this, Jiang Xinlong nodded directly and said, "In that case, I will find time to write a letter to Tokugawa Ienari, asking him to bring some more倭国 auxiliary troops."
The person in the flying fish costume grunted, rising from his chair, and said, "By the way, our Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot will help that art student set up an Austrian version of the Directorate and Guard. However, you don't have to expect us to teach them any real skills."
Jiang Xinlong let out a scoff and, as he stood up to see the person in the flying fish costume out, said, "Teach them real skills? Are you crazy or am I crazy? If they were to learn your skills, wouldn't those savages tear a hole in the sky!"
After a moment's thought, Jiang Xinlong added, "Make sure to send people to keep a close eye on Tokugawa Ienari. Be careful that this dog doesn't have a sudden whim and develop any inappropriate ideas?"
…
Tokugawa Ienari's head did not have a whim.
However, precisely because Tokugawa Ienari's head did not have a whim, he harbored a peculiar thought: the倭国 homeland had only a few islands. Compared to his Great Ming father, let alone compared to his Great Ming father's lieutenants, such as the "Sand Goose," England, France, and the "Silly Eagle," the environmental conditions of倭国 were not good.
Coincidentally, Toujō Kojirō, whom Tokugawa Ienari had dispatched to Tianzhu to recruit laborers, sent back word that the territory in Tianzhu was vast, the local savages were stupid, lazy, and extremely weak, with a situation where about ten million people were ruling over more than a hundred million cattle.
倭国 certainly did not have the qualification to compete with his Great Ming father for ownership of Tianzhu, but if it could obtain the Great Ming father's permission, could 倭国 migrate some倭奴 (wōnú) to Tianzhu?
Following the glorious tradition of Iibe, Watanabe, and Matsushita in 倭国, as long as his Great Ming father allowed 倭国 to migrate a few commoners to Tianzhu, those few倭国 commoners could spread their branches and leaves there, and it was not impossible for them to even form a nation.
Toujō Kojirō's proposal greatly appealed to Tokugawa Ienari.
After being moved, Tokugawa Ienari directly went to Emperor Kōmei – Kan'nin.
Tokugawa Ienari first paid his respects to Emperor Kōmei respectfully, and then got straight to the point, saying, "I hope Your Majesty will issue an order to conscript some倭国 women to marry our 倭国 samurai and then have them accompany the army to Tianzhu."
"Of course, before that, Your Majesty must also write a memorial to the Great Ming, explaining the current situation of our 倭国 and requesting the Great Ming Emperor to permit our 倭国 to send the wives of some samurai to join the campaign."
Upon hearing Tokugawa Ienari's statement, Emperor Kōmei was both bewildered and angered, yet also tinged with a third of secret joy.
Bewildered because Tokugawa Ienari inexplicably came to him and made such a bewildering request.
Angry because Tokugawa Ienari, the Shogun, completely disregarded him, the Emperor of 倭国, addressing him as "Your Majesty" as per the Great Ming's regulations, and even demanding that he write a memorial as a subject.
Yes, in the exchange of documents between two countries, an equal exchange is called a "state letter." A superior bestowing something is called a "directive letter" or "official document." A subordinate respectfully submitting something is called a "memorial" or "petition."
Tokugawa Ienari's direct request for him to write a memorial indicated that this bastard Tokugawa Ienari did not consider him the Emperor of 倭国 at all, but rather saw him as a subject of the Great Ming!
Especially since Tokugawa Ienari used the phrase "request the Great Ming Emperor to permit."
This made Emperor Kōmei unable to accept it.
One must remember that the first sentence of the state letter written by Empress Suiko and Prince Shōtoku to Emperor Yang of Sui was: "The Son of Heaven born from the sunrise respectfully addresses the Son of Heaven born from the sunset."
Thinking of Empress Suiko back then and then looking at himself, Emperor Kōmei felt a pang of pain!
The third of secret joy was still due to Tokugawa Ienari's request.
Look, although you, Tokugawa Ienari, are quite powerful in our 倭国, writing a memorial to the Great Ming Emperor still requires me, the Emperor, to do it. You, Tokugawa Ienari, are simply not qualified enough!
More importantly, after hearing Tokugawa Ienari's request, Emperor Kōmei also had some inappropriate thoughts – since 倭国 was going to send samurai to Tianzhu, did that mean that he, the Emperor of 倭国, could also arrange for some people loyal to him there?
According to the glorious tradition of Iibe, Watanabe, Matsushita, and Tanaka in 倭国… if the number of people loyal to him increased, could he directly command Tianzhu?
Upon imagining this beautiful future, Emperor Kōmei pinched his throat and said, "Alright."
Tokugawa Ienari immediately felt a bit disgusted.
Having interacted with many Great Ming officials like Jiang Xinlong, and even having been received by Emperor Zhu Jinsong in the capital of the Great Ming, Tokugawa Ienari now felt from the bottom of his heart that the etiquette of the Great Ming was truly high-class and refined, while the so-called etiquette of 倭国 was simply pretentious nonsense.
Especially after attending the Great Ming's grand court and witnessing the Emperor of the Great Ming's ceremonies and majesty, looking back at the ridiculous etiquette of 倭国's Heavenly King, such as "when a noble person speaks, it is like a crane's cry," made Tokugawa Ienari feel a sense of nausea.
Then Tokugawa Ienari bowed slightly to Emperor Kōmei and said, "Please Your Majesty write the memorial now. I will wait here."
Hearing Tokugawa Ienari say this, Emperor Kōmei's face immediately turned as ugly as if he had eaten three jin of rotten dog feces.
It wasn't that Emperor Kōmei couldn't write Chinese characters or didn't know how to write a memorial, but as the "last Emperor" of 倭国, Emperor Kōmei ultimately was unwilling to personally write this memorial.
Emperor Kōmei had originally planned to have someone write a so-called memorial after Tokugawa Ienari left, and then use the imperial seal after reviewing it, as long as it passed muster.
But now Tokugawa Ienari demanded that he write the memorial himself. Wasn't this clearly intended to annoy him!
Thinking of this, Emperor Kōmei couldn't help but feel unhappy. Then, thinking about how the Edo Shogunate refused his request to bestow the posthumous title of Retired Emperor upon his biological father, Prince Kan'nin, Emperor Kōmei felt even more displeased.
Emperor Kōmei's expression sank, and he stared intently at Tokugawa Ienari, saying, "Do you have to write it now?"
Tokugawa Ienari also stared back at Emperor Kōmei without courtesy and said, "Of course. The samurai are ready to fight for the Great Ming Emperor!"
Emperor Kōmei was even more displeased, let out a cold laugh, and said, "倭国 samurai are to fight in a foreign land for the Emperor of the Great Ming. How ridiculous!"
Tokugawa Ienari also let out a cold laugh and stared at Emperor Kōmei, saying, "Does Your Majesty perhaps want to rebel?"
Emperor Kōmei became even angrier. He slammed the table in front of him and shouted, "Tokugawa Ienari! You are the Shogun of 倭国, not the Shogun of the Great Ming! In the eyes of the Great Ming people, you are nothing more than a dog that can be called and dismissed at any time!"
Tokugawa Ienari suddenly lost the desire to argue further with Emperor Kōmei.
What was the point of arguing with a dying person?
After a moment's thought, Tokugawa Ienari simply stood up and said to Emperor Kōmei, "Please Your Majesty enjoy your life for the next few days—what you just said was full of resentment and disloyalty. If…"
He paused and then added, "Or, perhaps Your Majesty can sincerely repent in the memorial?"
Being told this by Tokugawa Ienari, Emperor Kōmei suddenly realized that he was already the last "Emperor" of 倭国 and the first "Heavenly King" of 倭国.
Within the Imperial Palace of 倭国 where he resided, there were likely many people bought over by the Great Ming. What if what he had just said reached the ears of the Great Ming Emperor…
Like an old dog whose bones had been removed, Emperor Kōmei collapsed to the ground, his gaze towards Tokugawa Ienari filled with both hatred and pleading: "I, I will write the memorial now, alright?"
Tokugawa Ienari, who had intended to leave in a huff, stopped and cupped his hands towards the capital of the Great Ming, then let out a cold laugh and looked at Emperor Kōmei mockingly, "Why does Your Majesty go from being arrogant to being submissive?"
"Before, Your Majesty never called yourself 'I,' but just now, Your Majesty called yourself 'I' so smoothly!"
Emperor Kōmei's hatred deepened, but after being the Emperor under the Shogunate for so many years, Emperor Kōmei still possessed some depth of calculation.
Therefore, Emperor Kōmei skillfully hid the hatred in his eyes, only showing pleading: "I will write the memorial now, sincerely repent, and beg for the forgiveness of His Majesty the Great Ming Emperor, alright?"
Tokugawa Ienari let out another cold laugh and said, "Whether it is good or bad is naturally up to Your Majesty to decide. As a Shogun, I am merely a running dog of His Majesty the Great Ming Emperor, how dare I interfere with Your Majesty's decision?"
"However, as the Shogun of 倭国, I must ultimately advise Your Majesty to be wise and adapt to the times!"
Emperor Kōmei's heart sank even further into despair. He no longer cared about being an Emperor or not. He suddenly flipped himself up from the ground and shouted, "Someone, quickly prepare brush, ink, paper, and inkstone for me!"