Howard and Overstratten, of course, had no idea they had just brushed past the gates of hell.
Having lost face with the Ming merchants, Tojo Kojiro felt nothing was amiss, even considering it natural.
When these short, squat fellows found themselves unable to provoke others, they would meekly retract their fangs and claws, behaving more obsequiously than dogs.
The crucial point was that Howard and Overstratten had witnessed this today, which greatly displeased Tojo Kojiro, even making him want to get rid of Howard and Overstratten to keep today's secret. If not for Howard mentioning that the English and Dutch East India Companies possessed trade permits from the Great Ming, Tojo Kojiro might have already erupted. This was very much in line with the characteristics of the Japanese.
Oblivious, Howard continued, "This mission is actually far less simple than we imagined. The whole of India has over two hundred million diaper-heads. Recruiting all these diaper-heads as laborers is not something that can be accomplished in a day or two."
Upon hearing this number, Tojo Kojiro could not help but ask with a smug expression, "How much? Two hundred million?"
How many people were there in the entire country of Japan? At most, slightly less than forty million. The figure of two hundred million clearly exceeded Tojo Kojiro's imagination.
Howard stated, "Two hundred million. Calculated your way, it's twenty *wan* ten thousand. The entire India has over twenty *wan* ten thousand diaper-heads. Only a very small portion are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas. Over two hundred million are Shudras and Dalits. Those Shudras and Dalits, even though living is difficult, still dream of being reborn into the higher caste of Brahmins. They don't—"
Tojo Kojiro didn't care what these Indian barbarians thought. He was just troubled about how to turn these over two hundred million Indian barbarians into laborers. Although hunting dogs didn't need to consider the thoughts of their prey, only needing to faithfully complete their master's orders, with over two hundred million prey, wouldn't the hunting dogs be worked to death?
Thinking of this, Tojo Kojiro said with a dark expression, "It seems my five thousand samurai are not enough. I should request tactical guidance from the Japanese mainland and mobilize more samurai to India."
Howard nodded and said, "Yes, this is why our progress is so slow. After all, that's two hundred million diaper-heads, possessing absolute numerical superiority. Whether it's us, England, the Netherlands, or France, or even your Japan, it will be difficult to handle so many diaper-heads. Even if we join forces, it will be very difficult."
Tojo Kojiro grunted and, after some private calculation, asked, "How many more people can your English and Dutch East India Companies mobilize?"
Howard shrugged. "Our country… We have already mobilized all the personnel we can. After all, we in England and France are still busy dealing with the Habsburg family, and we don't have surplus personnel to dispatch."
Upon hearing Howard say this, Tojo Kojiro couldn't help but curse "Baka!" in his heart. "Restoring the country? Such a trivial matter as restoring the country actually delays the progress of the Great Ming father recruiting laborers? The conscience of these barbarians is truly rotten!"
With a cold snort, Tojo Kojiro arrogantly declared, "Our Japan will at least mobilize another ten thousand samurai to India. I hope you two can also mobilize some more personnel." He then couldn't help but add a hint of threat: "Regardless of your situation in Europe, here in India, you absolutely cannot delay the Great Ming's labor recruitment because of our reasons."
Howard and Overstratten no longer had the nerve to argue with Tojo Kojiro on this matter. They simply exchanged a look and agreed.
Tojo Kojiro then said, deliberating, "Our Japan will mobilize another ten thousand samurai, making a total of fifteen thousand samurai along with those I brought. You two companies have over six thousand people now. If we can mobilize another ten thousand, we will have over thirty thousand troops in total."
However, as soon as he finished the figure of over thirty thousand, Tojo Kojiro couldn't help but be a bit dumbfounded. In the face of that vast and despairing number of twenty *wan* ten thousand, what difference did ten thousand or thirty thousand make? Even if these over thirty thousand people were equipped with the best weapons, the opposing twenty *wan* ten thousand would still be holding outdated matchlock guns. As long as these over twenty *wan* ten thousand people united as one and charged at them fearlessly, victory would only belong to the other side. Especially with the temptation of upgrading their caste system. Tojo Kojiro was indeed arrogant, but he wasn't stupid. Thinking of himself being swamped by the Indian barbarians, Tojo Kojiro couldn't help but let out a roar.
After some thought, Tojo Kojiro asked Howard and Overstratten again, "Do you have detailed history of India? Or, do you know if there are any famous heroes in India's history? What kind of people were their emperors throughout the dynasties?"
Howard and Overstratten were asked by Tojo Kojiro, appearing completely bewildered. After a long while, Howard finally said, "The history of the diaper-heads... is actually like myths and legends. There are no serious historical records like those of the Great Ming."
Tojo Kojiro thought to himself, "Isn't this bullshit? There is only one Great Ming father in this world, and the rest are barbarians. What history could barbarians have? Even Japan, which is deeply influenced by the Central Plains, its historical records are still like myths and legends!"
Howard continued, "As for their historical heroes... I'm very sorry, I really can't think of any heroes in their history, unless you count their myths." At this point, Howard couldn't help but curiously look at Tojo Kojiro and ask, "Why are you asking this? Do you have any plans?"
Tojo Kojiro grunted and said, "Of course. To recruit all the Indian barbarians as laborers, we must first break them apart so they cannot unite."
Howard said, "Haven't you already supported some Brahmins?"
Tojo Kojiro shook his head and said, "If the number of Indian barbarians were only tens of millions, then supporting some Brahmin monks would indeed be possible. But with the number of twenty *wan* ten thousand… to be frank, if any other Brahmins step forward to oppose, those Indian barbarians will waver, and they might rally around those Brahmins to oppose us. In the face of twenty *wan* ten thousand, we, including the Brahmins we support, are simply not enough. The ultimate outcome would only be failure. If this delays the Great Ming's labor recruitment, we would have no way to atone for our sins."
Howard asked, "Then what do you intend to do?"
Tojo Kojiro chuckled coldly, his expression grim, and said, "Of course, we will destroy their history, blacken their heroes, and let those Indian barbarians attack their historically renowned monarchs themselves, let them attack their heroes themselves. This alone is not enough. We must also portray your English East India Company, their Dutch East India Company, and our Japanese samurai as great heroes who rescued the Indian barbarians, so that all Indian barbarians will acknowledge us from the bottom of their hearts. Of course, the most important thing is to establish the image of the Great Ming as paradise, so that they sincerely recognize that working as laborers in the Great Ming is better than staying in India, and that they all want to go to the Great Ming to work."
Howard was startled and asked, "But the methods we used to recruit laborers before…"
"That's not important," Tojo Kojiro waved his hand and said. "From now on, we will change all our previous practices. Let the India Co-Prosperity Society come forward. Not only will we no longer forcibly apprehend laborers, but we will also help those Indian barbarians establish a new order and give them a better life. As long as the Indian barbarians in the areas we have already occupied believe that the India Co-Prosperity Society is good, then Indian barbarians in other areas will gradually develop the same idea. Coupled with our efforts to publicize the benefits of the Great Ming, those Indian barbarians will definitely cry and beg to go to the Great Ming to work as laborers. As for the past… let's just push a couple of scapegoats out to take the blame, say that the past was all due to miscommunication and misunderstandings. From now on, together with those Indian barbarians, we will build the India Co-Prosperity together."
As for pushing out a couple of scapegoats, Howard and Overstratten had no psychological pressure. After all, they were people who had reached the position of General Manager of the East India Company. They not only saw such things often but had also personally handled many of them. It was not a big deal at all. The only problem was, were these Indian diaper-heads really that easily fooled? You couldn't just believe whatever the short, squat fellows said, could you? Moreover, even if this method was reliable, it depended on who was using it. If the Ming government used this method, then of course there would be no problem. But if the English and Dutch East India Companies, and these short, squat fellows from Japan, used this method… What if the Indian diaper-heads were truly fooled and then wholeheartedly followed and engaged in this "India Co-Prosperity"? What would the Emperor of the Great Ming think? What would the Great Ming court think? This was bringing disaster upon themselves!
After some thought, Howard still advised, "Let's think of other methods. Although the method you proposed has a great possibility of being feasible, don't forget, the diaper-heads here are all to be recruited to work in the Ming country as laborers. If they are going to follow us and engage in some 'India Co-Prosperity'…"
Tojo Kojiro waved his hand and said, "Sir, you misunderstand my meaning. The so-called co-prosperity is only limited to a small area, such as the towns near Bumavala Village. We can completely recruit some Indian barbarians to build cities, pay them wages, and provide them with food. Give those Indian barbarians some hope, let them know that under the management of the India Co-Prosperity Society, even as laborers, their lives will be better than before. Combined with methods like destroying their history and blackening their heroes, those Indian barbarians will be completely divided and will never be able to unite again."
Howard and Overstratten were once again shocked by Tojo Kojiro. In terms of the time they arrived in India, Howard was the earliest. Although Overstratten arrived later than Howard, he still arrived much earlier than Tojo Kojiro. Yet, in just a few days, they hadn't even come up with any reliable solutions, while Tojo Kojiro, who arrived last, had thought of so many. After a long silence, Howard tentatively asked, "Tojo, where did you learn all this? Did you perhaps study at a school in the Great Ming?"
Tojo Kojiro looked at Howard with the eyes of someone looking after an intellectually disabled person and retorted, "Are such simple things worth specifically learning? Besides, as an ordinary Japanese samurai, how could I be qualified to study at a school in the Great Ming? And why would the schools in the Great Ming teach such simple things?" A hint of longing appeared on Tojo Kojiro's face, "If I can complete the task of recruiting laborers well this time, I should have the opportunity to study at a school in the Great Ming, right? Wouldn't that be a wonderful thing?"
However, Howard and Overstratten didn't think Tojo Kojiro was bragging. Overstratten might not be very clear, but Howard, who had been to the Great Ming and even had a conflict with the vanguard of the Great Ming, understood the Great Ming somewhat and was well aware of the ferocity of the Great Ming army. After some thought, Howard asked again, "Tojo, you haven't answered my question yet—where did you learn these stratagems?"
Tojo Kojiro chuckled and said, "These things are sold freely in bookstores in the Great Ming. As long as you want to learn, you will surely be able to learn them."