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The number one hundred and seventy-three was precisely the number of male members of the Hu family within the nine kinships and three generations under the Great Ming Law. The greatest confidence Hu Yan had in repeatedly provoking the Zhu Emperor was precisely because the Hu family had only seventy-three members in Songjiang Prefecture, while the remaining one hundred had already left the Great Ming.
The Zhang Xijin family situation was similar. They had only left some secondary branches in the Great Ming, with the core members of the main lineage having left the Great Ming long ago. Some had gone to Sha'e, while others had gone to Xi Kunlun and Europa.
Never put all your eggs in one basket; this was a common tactic used by the great families of the Central Plains.
For example, Sun Bin and Pang Juan were from the same school but served different countries, while the Zhuge of Langya placed bets on three families simultaneously.
Although the methods employed by the Hu Wen Hong father and son and the Zhang Xijin father and son were not the same as those of Sun and Pang, nor comparable to the Zhuge of Langya, the fundamental principle was the same.
For the Hu and Zhang families, the loss of dozens or even hundreds of clan members was not a significant problem. As long as the plans of the Hu Wen Hong father and son and the Zhang Xijin father and son succeeded, the benefits the Hu and Zhang families would gain far outweighed the lives of a few clansmen!
However, when the Zhu Emperor personally stated the number of one hundred and seventy-three members of the Hu Wen Hong family and their destinations, Hu Yan completely lost his composure. The reason the Hu and Zhang families dared to incite a large number of scholars to weep at the palace gates and even to incite all scholars in the Great Ming to cause trouble was because the true core clan members had dispersed overseas, possessing the foundation to make a comeback!
The expression on the Zhu Emperor's face gradually turned ferocious: "You thought that since your Hu and Zhang families' clan members had all fled overseas, I would have no immediate solution to deal with you? You thought I would care about my reputation and would not directly execute the nine generations of your Hu and Zhang families?"
Without looking back, he commanded, "Send someone to bring back all the members of the Hu Wen Hong and Zhang Xijin families. They can accompany Hu Yan on his way!"
Ke Zhiming immediately bowed and complied, while Hu Yan seemed to have had his sinews and bones pulled out, collapsing directly onto the ground.
The Zhu Emperor let out a cold sneer.
If ancestral law were strictly enforced, wouldn't his own children only be able to serve as soldiers like himself, and wouldn't his parents and relatives have to bear heavy taxes?
As the saying goes, even ants wish to live. The short and stocky people of Wa Country naturally did not wish to sit idly by.
Wasn't this a vicious cycle?
Tokugawa Ienari was no longer worried about whether he could solve the leprosy problem, nor did he care if he could replace Kōkaku-tennō as the new Ten'ō. Tokugawa Ienari was even more concerned about how the Emperor of the Great Ming would deal with Wa Country if the shogunate failed to complete the blockade and the leprosy entered the Great Ming. xxs1
The vassal states like Joseon, Burma, and Nan Yue, which had long since disappeared from history, were probably the warnings of Wa Country?
The more he thought about it, the more his head hurt. Tokugawa Ienari simply looked at Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban and others and asked, "Do you have any ideas about the problem of the samurai and ashigaru not cooperating?"
Upon being asked this by Tokugawa Ienari, Watanabe Uemon, Matsushita Ichiban, and others felt a bit of a headache.
As envoys who had studied in the Great Ming, Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban knew about the military system of the Great Ming. They knew that the Great Ming used soldiers from different regions, meaning soldiers from Shandong would be assigned to garrisons in any other administrative division, but absolutely not to garrisons in Shandong. Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban also knew that this was the best way to solve the problem.
Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban also understood clearly that although the answer from the Great Ming was right before their eyes, this assignment could not be directly copied.
This was because the armies of the Great Ming were controlled by the Five Military Commissions, not by any single general or noble. The administrative commissioners of various regions also did not have the power to interfere with garrison matters. However, the samurai of Wa Country belonged to the daimyo, not the imperial court or the shogunate. The ashigaru also belonged to the feudal lords, not the imperial court or the shogunate.
If all the samurai and ashigaru belonged to the imperial court of Wa Country, the imperial court would have likely eliminated the shogunate long ago.
Conversely, if all the samurai and ashigaru belonged to the shogunate, the shogunate would have likely eliminated the imperial court of Wa Country long ago.
Further deduction proved: If the shogunate wanted to reclaim the samurai and military power from the local feudal lords and daimyo, those feudal lords and daimyo would likely throw their support to the imperial court of Wa Country.
Therefore, this matter also fell into a vicious cycle.
After a long silence, Watanabe Uemon frowned and said, "If the current samurai and ashigaru cannot complete the blockade, why doesn't Your Excellency the Shogun recall the samurai from Tianzhu? Their families have already gone with them to Tianzhu, which means they will have no worries."
However, as soon as Watanabe Uemon finished speaking, Matsushita Ichiban could not help but retort, "To recall the samurai from Tianzhu, one must first conscript a group of samurai from Wa Country to go to Tianzhu. This will also greatly reduce the number of samurai and ashigaru that the shogunate can directly control, making it even more unfavorable for the shogunate, right?"
Matsushita Ichiban's analysis directly plunged Watanabe Uemon and Tokugawa Ienari into silence.
In Wa Country, those who did not know Chinese characters and could not speak fluent Ming Mandarin would be collectively ridiculed by all nobles, feudal lords, and daimyo.
In other words, those feudal lords and daimyo were considered elites in Wa Country. How could they not see through the deception of Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin?
However, in reality, they were also fooled by Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin.
"With the title of the Emperor of the Great Ming in front of them, no one in Wa Country from top to bottom now believes Inu Kai Wen Hong is wrong, so no one will doubt whether other things he says are true or false."
"The situation for Nojiri Nishi Kin is similar. On the surface, they are both completely considering Wa Country and the people of Wa Country. Many feudal lords and daimyo have already been fooled by them."
Kōkaku-tennō was somewhat dumbfounded, even not daring to believe what he heard.
This could also work?
The Emperor of the Great Ming could call on the people of the Great Ming to give more eggs to the children of the Great Ming because the Great Ming was currently draining the entire world for resources, and with the supply of resources from the entire world, there would be no shortage of eggs.
The Emperor of the Great Ming could promote the rural doctor plan in the Great Ming because the Great Ming had enough scholars, and the Central Plains had always had the tradition of being either a good minister or a good doctor. Many scholars who did not achieve success in their studies indeed chose to become doctors, so the Emperor of the Great Ming could do this.
But what did Wa Country have?
With Wa Country being so poor, why could it make commoners and pariahs give eggs and duck eggs to their children? Would they use air?
The rural doctor plan was the same. The scholars in Wa Country were inherently few, and their medical skills were passed down like witchcraft. They even wanted to implement a rural doctor plan?
Go to hell!
The more he thought about it, the angrier Kōkaku-tennō became. He simply snorted and said, "Send someone to tell those feudal lords and daimyo who are loyal to the imperial court, and tell them that all difficulties are temporary. As long as the threat of the shogunate is resolved, Wa Country will one day be able to let its children eat eggs and duck eggs, and have doctors in every village, just like the Ming."
...
While Kōkaku-tennō and Hiro-no-miya Hiroshi were troubled by Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin, Tokugawa Ienari and the entire shogunate were also distressed by Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin.
Moreover, just like the problem that troubled Kōkaku-tennō, Tokugawa Ienari knew very well that Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin were both spokesmen promoted by Ming merchants. He also couldn't find a way to deal with them. After all, to put it nicely, Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin were spokesmen; to put it bluntly, they were dogs.
As the saying goes, to beat a dog, you must look at its owner. Tokugawa Ienari had a thousand and one ways to kill Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin, but he had absolutely no way to deal with the Ming merchants behind them.
Or it could be said: Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin were dogs to the Ming merchants, and weren't those Ming merchants fattened pigs raised by the Great Ming imperial court?
To beat a dog, you have to look at its owner. Do you not have to look at the owner to slaughter a pig?
Don't be foolish, slaughtering a pig is an even greater sin!
Tokugawa Ienari knew very well that if he dared to touch those Ming merchants today, the Great Ming's garrison in Wa Country would tear down the entire shogunate tomorrow to avenge those "pigs."
At that time, perhaps his and Kōkaku-tennō's heads would be displayed on the Jingguan for the wind to dry.
Thinking of the terrifying existence of Jingguan, Tokugawa Ienari could not help but sigh and say, "Ambassador Chen, Ambassador Chen, you have given me a very difficult problem!"
Of course, Chen Yan, the ambassador of the Great Ming to Wa Country, was currently sleeping with a geisha from Wa Country and was not at the shogunate at all. Therefore, Tokugawa Ienari was only venting his anger towards Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban and others.
If they wanted the feudal lords and daimyo to cooperate with the shogunate to complete the blockade of leprosy, those feudal lords and daimyo pretended to be deaf and mute until Tokugawa Ienari, the dignified Shogun, offered conditions before agreeing to cooperate.
Seeing that they had obtained the cooperation of those feudal lords and daimyo, the blockade of leprosy was about to be completed, but Inu Kai Wen Hong and Nojiri Nishi Kin jumped out again!
Thinking of the countless difficulties they would face next, Watanabe Uemon could not help but exchange a glance with Matsushita Ichiban, and then bowed to Tokugawa Ienari and said, "Your Excellency the Shogun, Wa Country is at everyone's mercy now, and the shogunate is also at the mercy of those feudal lords and daimyo. It is time for a change!"
When he heard that the shogunate was at the mercy of those feudal lords and daimyo, Tokugawa Ienari was greatly enraged. However, after hearing the phrase "it is time for a change," Tokugawa Ienari's anger completely dissipated.
If Tokugawa Ienari only wanted to be the Shogun, then Watanabe Uemon's words would be very objectionable. The shogunate being at the mercy of feudal lords and daimyo implied the shogunate was incompetent? Wasn't this indirectly saying that Tokugawa Ienari, the Shogun, was incompetent?
But Tokugawa Ienari was no longer satisfied with just being the Shogun; he had already set his sights on the throne of the King of Wa Country.
For Tokugawa Ienari, who wanted to become and felt he was about to become the King of Wa Country, Watanabe Uemon's words were worthy of consideration.
The Emperor of the Great Ming could command and be obeyed, and could establish and abolish dynasties. Didn't Tokugawa Ienari want to truly control Wa Country and become the ruler of Wa Country, second only to heaven?
Vaguely guessing some of Watanabe Uemon's thoughts, Tokugawa Ienari suppressed his excitement and asked in a deep voice, "Mr. Watanabe, what do you mean by that?"
Upon hearing the words "Mr. Watanabe," Watanabe Uemon's slightly apprehensive mood immediately stabilized.
After all, as an envoy who had studied in the Great Ming, Watanabe Uemon certainly knew that his words were objectionable. However, the fundamental reason why Watanabe Uemon spoke such objectionable words was that he was gambling, gambling that Tokugawa Ienari wanted to become the true ruler of Wa Country!
Suppressing his excitement, Watanabe Uemon bowed his head and said, "Your Excellency the Shogun is well-read and knowledgeable. You must know about the enfeoffment system that was implemented in the history of the Central Plains?"
Tokugawa Ienari hummed and looked at Watanabe Uemon with great curiosity, asking, "The enfeoffment system? Isn't that what our Wa Country is currently using?"
Watanabe Uemon said "Hai" and bowed his head, "Yes, what our Wa Country is currently using is indeed the enfeoffment system used in the history of the Central Plains, but not entirely."
"Compared to the enfeoffment system used in the history of the Central Plains, what our Wa Country is currently using also includes the military governorship system of the Great Tang period, the military commissioner system of the Song Dynasty, and even some of the Wei Suo system of the Ming Dynasty."
"However, whether it is the enfeoffment system, the military governorship system, the military commissioner system, or the Wei Suo system, they have all become history. What the current Great Ming uses is completely different from previous dynasties."
"Your Excellency the Shogun, times have changed. Since the Great Ming can make changes, our Wa Country should also make changes."
Tokugawa Ienari became more and more certain of his guess. Watanabe Uemon was saying these things mainly because he disliked those feudal lords and daimyo and intended to promote Wa Country to enter the true system of prefectures and counties, or rather, a system of centralized imperial power. And under a system of centralized imperial power, who would benefit the most?
It was neither those feudal lords and daimyo, nor those samurai, ronin, commoners, or pariahs, but the King of Wa Country, or rather, the future King of Wa Country, Tokugawa Ienari!
Tokugawa Ienari had to take a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and said, "The power of the Great Ming is evident to all. How can our humble Wa Country, a mere territory, dare to be compared to the Great Ming?"
After quietly observing Tokugawa Ienari, Watanabe Uemon then performed a kowtow, bowing deeply, and said, "For the sake of Wa Country's society, for the sake of the ten thousand people of Wa Country, please Your Excellency the Shogun make a decision soon and establish the national system!"