ps: Do not subscribe! Continue to occupy the pit... Today my son also started a high fever, reaching 40 degrees at one point. Damn their bloodthirsty mothers, they actually said it was just a common cold with their eyes open!
Seeing that a group of prominent figures had already fallen into the trap, Tokugawa Ienari said with a smile, "I am naturally honored and grateful that everyone is willing to support Ienari. As you all know, the competition this time is about how to control leprosy. The shogunate alone is truly insufficient."
However, just as Tokugawa Ienari was waiting for these daimyo to proactively offer help to the shogunate, Shimazu Hisamitsu, the head of the Satsuma domain, who was distantly related to Tokugawa Ienari, jumped out first and said with a frown, "I already said earlier that we will respond to the general's call and do our best to help the general control leprosy, but should the general not also give us a promise?"
Tokugawa Ienari was furious and could not wait to draw his sword and kill Shimazu Hisamitsu.
As the saying goes, sing according to the mountain you are on. From the perspective of the shogunate general, Tokugawa Ienari certainly did not wish for Emperor Kōkaku and his son to do anything to overthrow the shogunate, nor would he support Emperor Kōkaku and his son in reclaiming the power of the daimyo. If power had to be reclaimed, it should be reclaimed by the shogunate.
But from the perspective of a "quasi-Japanese Emperor" who was about to usurp the throne, Tokugawa Ienari naturally wished to reclaim the power of the daimyo immediately, and preferably even to consolidate the power of the Japanese imperial court into his own hands as a "quasi-Japanese Emperor."
Now that Shimazu Hisamitsu was asking Tokugawa Ienari to give a promise to the lords and daimyo present, it was naturally equivalent to directly touching Tokugawa Ienari's reverse scale.
Suppressing the urge to immediately draw his sword and kill Shimazu Hisamitsu, Tokugawa Ienari said with a forced smile, "The Tokugawa family has held the shogunate for so many years, and you all know how we have treated the lords and daimyo. I believe you are all aware of this."
"However, since everyone wants Ienari's promise, then Ienari hereby promises all the lords and daimyo: as long as the imperial court's idea of overthrowing the shogunate, abolishing domains, and establishing prefectures is dispelled, Ienari will guarantee all the interests of the lords and daimyo. If I break my promise, then let me, Tokugawa Ienari, die with arrows piercing my heart, and may I not return to the embrace of Amaterasu Omikami after death!"
"But," after making the promise, Tokugawa Ienari cast a cold glance at the lords and daimyo present and said coldly, "if I find out that any lord who agreed today to do his best to help the shogunate actually slacks off, then do not blame Tokugawa Ienari for turning his back on you!"
"At the very least, I can guarantee that even if this effort fails completely, Ienari can deal with those treacherous villains before the Emperor finally abolishes the shogunate."
The lords and daimyo present were awestruck, and each of them chuckled and said, "What is the general talking about? Now that we have responded to the shogunate's call, we are naturally standing with the general, so how could we slack off?"
"General, please be at ease. If we slack off, we are harming ourselves. We understand this principle, and no one will be so short-sighted."
Shimazu Hisamitsu also said with a smile, "Our Satsuma domain has always been on good terms with the shogunate, and we are also in-laws for many years. Naturally, we will do our best to help the general. The reason I asked the general for a promise earlier was just to reassure everyone present. I hope the general will not misunderstand."
Tokugawa Ienari let out a cold laugh and ignored Shimazu Hisamitsu's nonsense. Instead, he directly began to give orders to the lords and daimyo: "I have already consulted with Ambassador Chen Yan, the Great Ming ambassador to Japan. Ambassador Chen said that to solve leprosy, the first key is to completely cut off its transmission. Otherwise, no matter how many doctors and medicines are invested, it will be of no avail."
"And to completely cut off the transmission of leprosy, it requires the joint efforts of the lords and daimyo present. Send out your respective samurai and ashigaru to seal off those places where there are leprosy patients. Entry is allowed, but exit is not."
As soon as Tokugawa Ienari finished speaking, the lords and daimyo present were in a state of confusion.
Were there any fools among the many people present?
Yes, but not many.
Many lords and daimyo had already understood the implied meaning of Tokugawa Ienari's words.
Tokugawa Ienari's mention of consulting with Ambassador Chen Yan, the Great Ming ambassador to Japan, did not merely express that he had learned methods for managing leprosy, but also that he had gained Chen Yan's support and had sufficient confidence to deal with Emperor Kōkaku and Prince Kōnomiya, which also served as a reassurance to the lords and daimyo present.
In fact, the lords and daimyo present had indeed felt a lot more relieved when they learned that Tokugawa Ienari had Chen Yan's support behind him. Although Chen Yan had proposed during the Aoi Matsuri that Tokugawa Ienari and Emperor Kōkaku should compete, and there was indeed some support for Tokugawa Ienari, could the situation then be compared to the current situation?
Do not forget that during the Aoi Matsuri, several envoys to the Ming had committed seppuku to make their intentions clear, some supporting Tokugawa Ienari and some supporting Emperor Kōkaku. Therefore, Chen Yan's proposal for Tokugawa Ienari and Emperor Kōkaku to compete in managing leprosy might not necessarily mean he supported Tokugawa Ienari, but rather was more likely for the sake of Japan and those envoys, with some ambiguity. However, by giving Tokugawa Ienari advice on managing leprosy, this was no longer ambiguous but a concrete expression of support.
But while feeling relieved, these lords and daimyo could not help but feel a pang of annoyance.
The lords and daimyo present did not doubt the solution proposed by Tokugawa Ienari.
In fact, the lords and daimyo present were also well aware that the most effective way to completely cut off the transmission of leprosy was complete blockade.
Countless plagues, such as smallpox, throughout history had already proven this. The only consequence of not completely blocking it was endless spread, followed by infecting more people, killing more people, and causing greater losses.
But could leprosy be the same?
This thing does not kill people!
Although it could not be said that this thing was a common cold, its lethality was actually about the same. It mostly affected the common people and the lowborn. Let alone the lords and daimyo present, even the samurai were rarely affected.
And Tokugawa Ienari's proposal to seal off villages with patients and completely cut off the transmission of leprosy would directly affect the income of the respective lords and daimyo!
As the saying goes, you sing according to the mountain you are on, and your position determines your thoughts.
For the lords and daimyo present, it was no problem for everyone to contribute some money to support the shogunate. It was even no problem to send out samurai and ashigaru to directly help the shogunate rebel. But to affect everyone's income and rule...
Upon thinking of this, the lords and daimyo present directly turned their gaze to Shimazu Hisamitsu, hoping that Shimazu Hisamitsu would once again jump out and be the first to act.
However, to the disappointment of these lords and daimyo, Shimazu Hisamitsu did not jump out to object this time but chose to feign deafness and muteness.
Tokugawa Ienari naturally saw the conflicted gazes of the lords and daimyo, and he also understood what they were conflicted about.
Suppressing the anger of wanting to draw his sword and kill them, Tokugawa Ienari said with a forced smile, "Ienari knows that this request is indeed a bit difficult, but Ienari is not an unreasonable person and knows your difficulties."
"How about this: as long as you cooperate well with the shogunate to complete the blockade this time, the quotas for dispatching envoys to the Great Ming in the future will be distributed to everyone. Furthermore, the taxes to be levied next year will be reduced by another 10% as compensation. How about it?"
After receiving the promised benefits from Tokugawa Ienari, the lords and daimyo present breathed a sigh of relief and patted their chests to pledge their loyalty to Tokugawa Ienari: "General, please rest assured, we will send people to blockade tomorrow and ensure that it will not affect the general's plan."
"Let alone the general giving us compensation, even if the general did not, we would still cooperate well with the general, as this is also for ourselves."
"The general is so dedicated to those common people and lowborn, it is truly moving!"
"..."
Tokugawa Ienari naturally did not care about the flattery of these lords and daimyo.
After secretly recording this account, Tokugawa Ienari continued, "The second key is to mobilize doctors and medicines from various places and have them go all out to treat those leprosy patients who have already fallen ill."
"Regarding this point, the shogunate will mobilize all the doctors and medicines that can be mobilized now. Ienari will also seek help from Ambassador Chen. This time, we will not only invite more famous doctors and physicians from the Great Ming to Japan to help treat those leprosy patients, but we will also import a batch of medicines from the Great Ming as reserves."
"Ienari also hopes that the lords and daimyo can send out their respective doctors to treat those patients who have already contracted leprosy before the famous doctors and physicians from the Great Ming arrive, and they can also learn from them when the famous doctors and physicians from the Great Ming arrive."
"In addition, I need the lords and daimyo to take out some of the medicines they have in reserve and sell them to those who have already contracted leprosy, and also allow those good citizens who have not yet contracted leprosy to reserve some medicines."
This is where the real distribution of benefits begins.
First, seal off the villages where leprosy has already spread, and then have these lords and daimyo sell medicine to the sick patients. Can the medicine be sold cheaply?
As for whether the good citizens who have not yet contracted leprosy will spend money to buy it from these lords and daimyo, and at what price they can buy it, there are many things to be said about this.
The blockade formed by the cooperation of Tokugawa Ienari and the lords and daimyo will prevent everyone from buying it. Then, the lords and daimyo will each send out their trusted subordinates to sell it.
There are also some operational procedures in between, such as creating rumors out of thin air, a general atmosphere of panic, and taking advantage of the situation to loot. With various chain tactics, there is no fear that the good citizens and lowborn will not fall for it.
The lords and daimyo present naturally knew the benefits of this, but these benefits were not enough to impress the lords and daimyo present – these benefits were only visible benefits, and they were only temporary benefits. What truly moved the hearts of these lords and daimyo were the two true, long-term benefits hidden beneath the surface.
The first true, long-term benefit is that Tokugawa Ienari promised to let the doctors under the lords and daimyo learn from the famous and good doctors from the Great Ming. This is an invisible, but most important benefit, because no matter who you are, you cannot live without getting sick once in your life, and sickness cannot be separated from doctors.
It is not that the existing doctors in Japan are incompetent, but rather that they are useless. Even the lords and daimyo now do not rely on the original doctors of Japan for treatment. Instead, they like to find doctors from the Great Ming to treat them. If they cannot find doctors from the Great Ming in their own territories, they are even willing to travel to Kyoto, Edo, or even Kyushu Island to find doctors from the Great Ming to treat them.
In the eyes of these lords and daimyo of Japan, if the skill levels of doctors are ranked from lowest to highest, then it is their respective territories, then Edo and Kyoto, then Kyushu Island, and then the Great Ming. The most top-tier is definitely the capital of the Great Ming.
These lords and daimyo of Japan also know very well that with their social status, let alone the top doctors in the capital of the Great Ming, even the famous and good doctors in various prefectures of the Great Ming would not be accessible to them. Being able to see a doctor in Kyushu Island would already be the highest treatment they could enjoy.
Now that Tokugawa Ienari said he would invite famous and good doctors from the Great Ming, these lords and daimyo naturally had to seize this opportunity. Even if they couldn't keep a few famous and good doctors, at least they could let the mediocre doctors under them learn more skills, which could serve as a means of self-preservation.
As for the second equally invisible and intangible benefit, it is even more important.
By cooperating with Tokugawa Ienari to complete the blockade and cooperate with Tokugawa Ienari to treat those leprosy patients, although this process would bring Tokugawa Ienari the most fame, these lords and daimyo could also gain a part of it.
The importance of fame might not have been known to these lords and daimyo before, but as books from the Great Ming gradually flowed into Japan, these lords also gradually realized the benefits of fame.
Even if a family has declined, their descendants will be so destitute that they will have to beg for food, but they can still get two more bowls of rice than beggars with worse reputations!
(End of this chapter)