ps: Please do not subscribe to this chapter for now, it is a placeholder. Chapter 521 has been fixed.
Kōkaku was sitting stupidly on the throne, his mind in disarray as if trampled by tens of thousands of alpacas, while Ishikawa In, Tōdō Takayoshi, and the other feudal lords looked at Kōkaku as if he were an idiot.
What is this?
This is utter uselessness, too slow to even eat hot shit!
After thinking for a long time and coming up with no solution, Ishikawa In bowed to Kōkaku and said, "Your Majesty, the Tottori Domain..."
Kōkaku seemed to be suddenly awakened, muttering "oh oh" twice before asking the assembled feudal lords, "Do any of you lords have a good solution?"
As Kōkaku finished speaking, the feudal lords and daimyo present adopted a demeanor of observing their noses and noses, their noses their hearts, and no one answered Kōkaku's question.
This was not the script they had agreed upon!
Or rather, the problem facing the倭国 imperial court now was no longer how to solve the problem of lepers, but how to deal with the large number of civilian patients flooding in from the shogunate.
Since Tokugawa Ienari, that scoundrel, dared to drive lepers from the vicinity of Tottori Domain to Tottori Domain, it meant that he dared to drive civilian patients from more domains to domains that were close to the imperial court.
When a large number of civilian patients flooded into domains close to the imperial court, this would be followed by huge shortfalls in food and medicine, as well as hidden dangers to security.
The more he thought about it, the angrier Kōkaku became, wishing he could kill Tokugawa Ienari, that scoundrel, immediately – this was a typical move where the shogunate walked the path of the倭国 imperial court, leaving no path for the court, damn it!
Kōkaku swept his gaze over the feudal lords and daimyo present, his face grim, and said, "Matters have come to this, do none of you lords have any solution? If so, wouldn't the imperial court be defeated without a fight, and the shogunate win without a fight?"
Ishikawa In and Tōdō Takayoshi exchanged a subtle glance, bowed slightly, and said, "We report to Your Majesty, we believe that since the Tokugawa clan has already made this move, the Tottori domains must not use the same tactic."
Kōkaku thought to himself that this was useless talk – since Tokugawa Ienari had made the first move, the imperial court naturally could not use the same tactic. Otherwise, what would the common people think? What would the samurai think? What would the ambassador of Great Ming stationed in倭国 think? What would the Emperor of Great Ming think?
Ishikawa In continued, "We believe that instead of passively responding, it would be better... it would be better to proactively accept the civilian patients from the shogunate?"
As soon as Ishikawa In finished speaking, the feudal lords and daimyo present erupted, and even Tōdō Takayoshi, who had been on the same side as Ishikawa In, became agitated: "Gaba! Ishikawa-kun, has your brain been damaged by drinking?"
Ikeda Yoshio, the leader of the Ikeda family of Tottori Domain, said sarcastically, "If Ishikawa-kun is willing to accept civilian patients from the shogunate, our Tottori Domain can not only support you with a batch of medicine and doctors, but we can even send the patients of Tottori Domain to you."
The other feudal lords and daimyo also turned their attention to Ishikawa In.
On the contrary, Kōkaku slammed the table and shouted, "Quiet everyone! Ishikawa-kun, please continue?"
Ishikawa In responded with a "ha-yi" and continued, "Your Majesty, the contagiousness of leprosy is indeed strong, and its impact on the various domains is indeed great, but leprosy is not necessarily fatal – the more civilians we receive, the fewer civilians there will be in the shogunate. One or two domains may not be much, but when all the lepers in倭国 are driven by the Edo shogunate to the imperial court's jurisdiction, and when all the lepers in倭国 know that following the imperial court means survival, then whether we can cure leprosy or not is irrelevant. When the entire倭国 is alienated from the shogunate, even the Emperor of Great Ming will have to consider whether it is right or wrong to hand over倭国 to a shogunate that does not care about the lives and deaths of its people?"
Kōkaku nodded thoughtfully, but Ikeda Yoshio snorted and said, "Ishikawa-kun is right, but please tell me, Ishikawa-kun, what will we use to support so many civilians? Can the imperial court provide so much food now?"
Ishikawa In was suddenly dumbfounded, and even Kōkaku, who had been thoughtful, stopped thinking – as Ikeda Yoshio said, it was easy to deal with the shogunate by accommodating the lepers driven by the shogunate, but what would those lepers driven out of the shogunate's territory eat and drink? Tokugawa Ienari would not kindly arrange food and drink for them!
After thinking secretly, Kōkaku gritted his teeth and said, "I will find a way to solve the problem of food. You only need to do a good job of treating those lepers."
Ikeda Yoshio was greatly alarmed and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please reconsider! Even if the problem of food and drink for those lepers can be solved, who can guarantee that there are no people sent by Tokugawa Ienari to cause trouble among those civilians? Even if only one in ten thousand people is determined to cause trouble for the imperial court, the plan of the feudal lords to block lepers will be greatly disrupted!"
Tōdō Takayoshi also bowed and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please reconsider! As the saying goes, there are a thousand days for a thief, but not a thousand days for a guard. If lepers from the shogunate are accepted without distinction, then the traitor Tokugawa only needs to send a few loyal soldiers among them, and the imperial court will no longer be able to control those lepers, which will inevitably become a disaster later!"
After persuading Kōkaku, Tōdō Takayoshi then looked at Ishikawa In and said, "Ishikawa-kun! Your method is indeed a good method, but our food shortage is too great to fill, and we simply cannot accept so many lepers!"
Ishikawa In's expression was uncertain. After hesitating for a long time, he could only sigh helplessly and said to Kōkaku, "We report to Your Majesty, it is my fault for thinking too simply. Please Your Majesty reconsider."
However, to Ishikawa In and Tōdō Takayoshi's surprise, Kōkaku smiled and waved his hand, "No, we have overcomplicated this matter."
Seeing that Ishikawa In, Tōdō Takayoshi, and the other feudal lords and daimyo were all bewildered, Kōkaku continued, "If the imperial court takes over the civilian patients driven by the shogunate, then the shortfalls in food, medicine, doctors, etc., would be enough to crush the imperial court. However, what if Great Ming takes over those patients? Let alone just a few domains, even all the patients in the entire倭国 combined might not pose much pressure on Great Ming, right?"
Kōkaku's words made the assembled feudal lords and daimyo even more stunned.
No one doubted the strength of Great Ming, but everyone doubted Kōkaku's brain – even if Great Ming was powerful, it couldn't solve leprosy for倭国, could it? After all, this competition was initiated by the ambassador of Great Ming stationed in倭国. If they helped Kōkaku solve the problem of lepers, wouldn't that be considered biased? Wouldn't this competition become a futile effort?
Just as the feudal lords and daimyo were racking their brains, Kōkaku said with a sly smile, "Great Ming's homeland currently needs a huge number of laborers and supervisors, and among the commoners and outcasts driven to me by the traitor Tokugawa, many are not sick at all and can be sent to Great Ming, India, or the Ottoman Empire as supervisors and laborers."
Ishikawa In and Tōdō Takayoshi were even more bewildered – even if Great Ming needed more supervisors and laborers, it would only need young and strong ones, and they wouldn't want the old ones, right? The key issue was, how many young and strong people could倭国 dispatch? Even if a large portion of the young and strong could be dispatched, the problem of leprosy would still not be solved, would it?
However, compared to the bewilderment of Ishikawa In, Tōdō Takayoshi, and the other feudal lords, Kōgū Keijin had figured out Kōkaku's game.
For the current倭国 imperial court, whether or not the problem of leprosy could be solved was not that important, because it was an obviously unsolvable problem.
Compared to that, how to compete with the shogunate for the hearts and minds of the people, and let more倭国 commoners and outcasts lean towards the imperial court, was even more important.
Take Kōkaku's strategy as an example. The biggest advantage of this strategy was that it could divert the young and strong people of倭国 by taking advantage of Great Ming's need for a large number of laborers and supervisors.
As everyone knows, whether it is a regular army or a rebel army, its main force must be young and strong. As long as a large number of young and strong people are diverted, it basically means that the biggest unstable factor has been resolved. Even if Kōkaku lets the remaining old, weak, sick, and disabled people die obediently, they can only lie at home and wait to die obediently, with no other choice.
The second benefit was to gain some reputation for the imperial court and Kōkaku – Tokugawa Ienari was a sham shogunate general, who only drove away the commoners and outcasts under his rule when faced with leprosy, whereas the倭国 imperial court and Kōkaku, who had always been oppressed by Tokugawa Ienari, were trying to find a way for the倭国 commoners and outcasts to survive. The contrast was stark.
After Kōgū Keijin explained it a few times, Ishikawa In and Tōdō Takayoshi, along with the other feudal lords and daimyo, also reacted.
In simple terms, Kōkaku knew that he could no longer completely solve leprosy, and he was at a disadvantage in the competition with the shogunate. Therefore, he intended to strive for a good reputation of "loving the people as his own children" and to overwhelm the Edo shogunate through public opinion.
However, understanding Kōkaku's tactics was of no use – no matter how good Kōkaku's promises were, they were still promises. Even if this old coffin lid found a way to export laborers and supervisors to Great Ming, that was a matter for the future. However, the civilians and outcasts driven by the shogunate were right in front of them, and the consumption of supplies and medicines by each domain was also real!
Ikeda Yoshio, the leader of the Ikeda family of Tottori Domain, who suffered the most, even cried out, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please reconsider! I know Your Majesty's intention to love the people, but Tottori Domain is after all a small domain. Not to mention whether the food can be supported, just managing the good and outcast people from the shogunate is beyond our capability!"
Tōdō Takayoshi also bowed and said, "Your Majesty the Emperor, please reconsider! Adding one more cup of water to a wooden basin will not overflow, but filling a basin with water in a cup will definitely overflow – now, if we simply calculate the number of good and outcast people, Tottori Domain is like a cup, and the shogunate is like a large basin. Tottori Domain absolutely cannot bear it!"
Even Ishikawa In, who had initially proposed to accept a large number of good and outcast people from the shogunate, stood with Ikeda Yoshio and Tōdō Takayoshi, saying, "Your Majesty, please reconsider! This approach is too risky!"
Kōkaku's face was grim, and he snorted, "Do I not know that doing so is risky? But now the shogunate is powerful, and a large amount of land and samurai and ashigaru are in the hands of the shogunate. The Kinai domains are adjacent to those domains that are close to the shogunate. If we simply maintain our defenses, how long can we defend?"
Ishikawa In and Tōdō Takayoshi, along with the other feudal lords and daimyo, wanted to knock open Kōkaku's dog head and see what was in his skull.
Because they couldn't defend, they would directly gamble and accept the civilians and outcasts driven by the Tokugawa shogunate?
This was goddamn nonsense!
Especially Kōkaku's so-called play of reputation, which Ishikawa In considered to be nonsense among nonsense.
Because Tokugawa Ienari would not allow Kōkaku to buy fame – as long as Tokugawa Ienari's brain was not too stupid, he would definitely cause trouble at the moment Kōkaku began to buy fame.
In fact, most of the power in倭国 was now in the hands of the Edo shogunate. If Tokugawa Ienari was determined to block information or even smear Kōkaku, Kōkaku's envisioned scene of "all people following him" would only be a mirage, and he might even be cursed by the short and ugly commoners and outcasts of倭国.
At that time, let alone using the method of buying fame to compete with Tokugawa Ienari, if Kōkaku was not overthrown and killed by the short and ugly people of倭国, it would be considered that his ancestors had profound virtue!
After Ishikawa In and Tōdō Takayoshi had indirectly persuaded him, Kōkaku had to give up the idea of attacking Tokugawa Ienari through reputation.
Kōkaku's face was grim, and he frowned, "Since we cannot accept the good and outcasts driven by the shogunate, won't the shogunate win without a fight?"
When Kōkaku finished speaking, the assembled feudal lords and daimyo once again fell into a state of纠结 and silence.
Things had returned to the starting point – not being able to accept the good and outcasts driven out by the shogunate meant that the imperial court and the domains close to the imperial court could only passively respond. The reputation they could have gained was now gone, but the medicine, doctors, and food that needed to be prepared were still needed, and they couldn't be less!
If this problem could not be solved, the shogunate would not even need to drive away lepers to make the imperial court overwhelmed, and Kōkaku would still lose without a fight.
When Kōkaku, his son, and Ishikawa In, Tōdō Takayoshi, and the other feudal lords and daimyo close to the imperial court were deeply troubled, Tokugawa Ienari was so excited that he wanted to sing – just by driving away some outcasts before the imperial court could make Kōkaku and his son flustered, was there any more cost-effective business in this world!
(End of this chapter)
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