Needless to say, the envoys sent to the Great Ming from the Japanese nation, or even just grabbing any fool, would know that Guangge Jianren would never willingly relinquish the throne. Even if it were merely the nominal Heavenly Emperor, Guangge Jianren and his royal lineage would still enjoy the treatment due to them. If he were to directly abdicate, Guangge Jianren would lose not only the throne, nor just break the eternal lineage, but more importantly, he would lose substantial tangible benefits.
Therefore, the difficulty of the three refusals and three acceptances lay precisely, as Matsushita Ichiban had stated, in Guangge Jianren's utter unwillingness to willingly abdicate.
More importantly, for Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban and others to force Guangge Jianren to abdicate, the prerequisite was that Watanabe Uemon and the others could successfully meet Guangge Jianren, and moreover, they would need to possess sufficient strength to threaten Guangge Jianren.
So the problem arose: Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban were originally low-ranking nobles who were not highly regarded, or even envoys from commoner origins. The difficulty they faced in meeting Guangge Jianren was far greater than seeking an audience with Tokugawa Ienari. If they could not meet Guangge Jianren, they could not force him to abdicate.
Watanabe Uemon could not help but frown, saying, "If we cannot see him, then we can never make him perform the three refusals. If so, then we should persuade the Shogun to agree to let the Heavenly Emperor go on tour?"
After Watanabe Uemon finished speaking, the envoys present all frowned.
Persuading Tokugawa Ienari to agree to Guangge Jianren's tour was no less difficult than persuading Tokugawa Ienari to directly don the imperial yellow robe. Although the Heavenly Emperors of Japan often served as mascots, the ceremonial specifications for these mascots on tour were by no means small. Every tour, if not overtly ostentatious, at least incurred considerable expense. Although the Tokugawa Shogunate had cut most of the money for the salaries of supervisors and auxiliary troops, Tokugawa Ienari had instead used this money for infrastructure construction, making it truly difficult to squeeze out more funds for Guangge Jianren's tour.
This was a vicious cycle, wasn't it?
However, as the envoys frowned, Matsushita Ichiban, known for his wisdom, shook his head slightly and sighed, "To have the Heavenly Emperor go on tour is actually not as difficult as we imagine. The difficulty lies in our ability to 'persuade' the Heavenly Emperor to abdicate."
Watanabe Uemon's heart leaped with joy, and he asked, "Let's not consider our current strength for now. Tell me how we can arrange for the Heavenly Emperor to tour, or rather, how can we have a chance to see the Heavenly Emperor?"
Matsushita Ichiban nodded and replied, "It is naturally impossible for just a few of us to arrange for the Heavenly Emperor to tour. But don't you forget, besides us, there is another group of students who lean towards the Heavenly Emperor, the anti-Shogunate faction. We just need to subtly leak some wind to them, letting them know that the Heavenly Emperor's tour is a great opportunity to win popular support. I fear they will scramble to arrange for the Heavenly Emperor's tour."
The joy on Watanabe Uemon's face immediately vanished.
Compared to having the Heavenly Emperor abdicate to Tokugawa Ienari, it was the anti-Shogunate envoys who gave Watanabe Uemon and the others more headaches. Watanabe Uemon and his faction believed that the Heavenly Emperor was a sinner hindering Japan's development, while the anti-Shogunate envoys believed that Tokugawa Ienari was Japan's greatest powerful minister.
...From the perspective of the anti-Shogunate envoys, the current state of Japan was completely one where the ruler was not a ruler and the minister was not a minister. Guangge Jianren, as the Heavenly Emperor, held no power and was constantly controlled by Tokugawa Ienari. This was the root cause of Japan's current predicament.
As such, the anti-Shogunate faction that supported Guangge Jianren and the Shogunate faction that wanted to promote Guangge Jianren's abdication naturally wished for the other side to perish first. Watanabe Uemon was even unwilling to use the anti-Shogunate faction to achieve his own goals.
Seeing Watanabe Uemon's gloomy expression, as dark as rotten dog feces, Matsushita Ichiban could not help but softly persuade, "Watanabe, our most important task now is to meet the Heavenly Emperor and then 'persuade' the Heavenly Emperor to abdicate to the Shogun, not to argue with those idiot anti-Shogunate faction members. As long as the matter of the Heavenly Emperor's abdication is successful, those idiot anti-Shogunate faction members will only have a path to ruin."
After Watanabe Uemon nodded, Matsushita Ichiban tentatively asked, "If the Heavenly Emperor can tour, and we can also see the Heavenly Emperor, how do you plan to persuade the Heavenly Emperor to abdicate to the Shogun?"
Watanabe Uemon let out a cold snort and said, "It is naturally impossible for just a few of us. But there are more than just us in Kyoto. Compared to us, or rather, compared to the entire Shogunate and the Imperial Court, Kyoto has the most commoners."
Matsushita Ichiban frowned slightly and asked, "Commoners? Even if we can persuade those commoners, what then? The Imperial Court will not care about them, and the Heavenly Emperor will not care about them either."
Watanabe Uemon shook his head slightly, "Of course the Imperial Court and the Heavenly Emperor will not care about those commoners. In their eyes, those commoners are merely servants or even slaves. But they cannot ignore the attitude of the Great Ming. If there is a Ming envoy present during the Heavenly Emperor's tour, and those commoners, in the presence of the Ming envoy, beg the Ming envoy to uphold justice for them, demanding that the Heavenly Emperor abdicate to the Shogun, I fear that both the Heavenly Emperor and those idiot anti-Shogunate faction members will be in a difficult position."
Matsushita Ichiban frowned, "The Heavenly Emperor and the idiot anti-Shogunate faction members indeed cannot ignore the Ming envoy. But the Great Ming, our father, has always been detached from worldly affairs. A mere commoner of Japan wanting to change the Heavenly Emperor is an internal matter of Japan. How can the Ming envoy interfere?"
However, Watanabe Uemon let out a cold laugh, "Of course the Ming envoy will not interfere in Japan's affairs, but it is not necessarily that we need the Ming envoy to interfere."
Under the confused gazes of the Shogunate envoys, Watanabe Uemon grinned menacingly and revealed his plan: "We all know that as long as the Ming envoy does not interfere in this matter, the strength of just us few is naturally insufficient to 'persuade' His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor to abdicate to the Shogun. Those commoners are even less capable of 'persuading' the Heavenly Emperor; no matter how many commoners there are, it is useless."
"However, if a large number of commoners kneel before the Ming envoy and beg the Heavenly Emperor to abdicate, and request the Ming envoy to uphold justice, it will create an illusion for the Heavenly Emperor – that the Great Ming is very likely to support the Shogun, and the Heavenly Emperor will thus suspect the Shogun's loyalty."
"The Shogun, facing such suspicion, will inevitably go to the Heavenly Emperor's palace to meet the Heavenly Emperor to resolve the misunderstanding. And what we need to do is, before the Shogun enters the Heavenly Emperor's palace, to present the Shogun with the imperial yellow robe."
...As Watanabe Uemon finished speaking, the Japanese envoys present were instantly stunned.
It had to be admitted that Watanabe Uemon's scheme was indeed very operable. This scheme could not be said to be completely copied from the Chenqiao Mutiny, it could only be said to be an identical operation.
Back then, Zhao Da also grumbled that he did not want to be emperor and that he had to live up to Chai Shi's trust in him, but he could not resist his generals insisting on draping the imperial yellow robe on him, could he?
The only difference between the two was that Zhao Da grumbled at Chenqiao Post Station whether to be emperor or not, which was a problem. But Tokugawa Ienari might not have any desire to become the Heavenly Emperor at all.
But then again, who cared how many bowls of noodles Liu Zi ate?
Those who wronged Liu Zi actually knew better than Liu Zi about his being wronged!
To put it bluntly, whether Tokugawa Ienari had the desire to become the Heavenly Emperor was not important. What was important was that the Shogunate faction envoys wished for him to become the Heavenly Emperor, and Guangge Jianren and the Shogunate faction envoys also believed that Tokugawa Ienari had the intention of becoming the Heavenly Emperor. That was enough.
...
Japan was not large, and Kyoto was even less so. If one were to fart in the east, it would directly stink to the west, at least news would spread quickly.
The news of Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban persuading Tokugawa Ienari to establish himself quickly spread throughout the city. The anti-Shogunate envoys who supported Guangge Jianren naturally also received relevant news.
As a result, the anti-Shogunate envoys, who were already dissatisfied with the Shogunate, became even more agitated.
"These bandits have received the nation's grace but do not think of repaying it, and now they have disloyal hearts. How are they different from beasts!"
"Tokugawa Ienari is a national traitor! His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor is controlled by this scoundrel, unable to pacify the ancestral temple above, nor govern the country below. This is our shame!"
"This time, we must execute these bandits to rectify the national foundation!"
"..."
After the voice of someone in the crowd who clamored to execute the national traitor fell, the anti-Shogunate envoys present fell into a strange silence.
Executing the national traitor, whom were they executing? Was it Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban, or Tokugawa Ienari?
It was easier to execute Watanabe Uemon and Matsushita Ichiban. One could even take a samurai sword and go to fight them, and openly decide life and death with them.
But what good would it do to execute them?
If Watanabe Uemon was executed, Watanabe Uemon would appear. If Matsushita Ichiban was executed, Matsushita two nights, three nights would emerge.
To solve the predicament of the Heavenly Emperor being unable to govern, the only way was to execute Tokugawa Ienari, or to completely abolish the Shogunate, return all power to the Imperial Court, and hand it over to His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor.
The problem was, how could Tokugawa Ienari be so easily executed?
Let alone the strict security of the Shogunate, even if Tokugawa Ienari could be directly killed, the consequences of retaliation from the Shogunate afterward were something these envoys could not bear. What if the Shogunate, in a fit of rage, decided to kill the Heavenly Emperor?
For these anti-Shogunate envoys who were loyal to the Heavenly Emperor, this was the most unacceptable consequence.
It was like being afraid to throw the rat for fear of breaking the dish.
After a long while, the leader of the anti-Shogunate faction, Envoy Minamoto Masayoshi, said in a deep voice, "Since those idiot pro-Shogunate faction members want to persuade His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor to tour, let us fulfill their wish. We will also persuade His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor to tour."
...Another anti-Shogunate envoy, Fujiwara Yasutsugu, was immediately startled, "Are you crazy? You know what those idiots are up to. If His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor tours, they will incite a large number of lowly people to demand that Tokugawa Ienari be replaced as the new Heavenly Emperor in front of the Ming envoy. At that time, won't it put His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor in a dilemma?"
The other anti-Shogunate envoys also expressed their opposition.
"Indeed, although those lowly people incited by the pro-Shogunate idiots deserve to die, killing them would put His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor in a position of inhumanity. If we don't kill them, they will become even more presumptuous. This is definitely not a good idea!"
"Do you want to kill people in front of the Ming envoy? In that case, how will the Great Ming regard His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor, and how will the Great Ming regard our Japanese nation?"
"..."
Seeing the anti-Shogunate envoys chattering and arguing, Minamoto Masayoshi decisively slammed the table and shouted, "All of you shut up!"
Only when the crowd quieted down did Minamoto Masayoshi say in a deep voice, "Those idiot anti-Shogunate faction members can incite the lowly people to act in front of the Ming envoy. Can't you also incite those lowly people to act in front of the Ming envoy?"
"Fujiwara, please try to win over some commoners. Have them immediately step forward to cry and complain in front of His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor and the Ming envoy when both are present, narrating the Shogunate's unrighteous and unjust actions to the Ming envoy, enumerating their crimes of disrespecting the Heavenly Emperor, and requesting the Ming envoy to uphold justice."
"Tell them that if they cooperate, we will memorialize His Majesty the Heavenly Emperor to allow them to have their own surnames."
"So-ga, go and gather the samurai of various families. We must provide guard duty when the Heavenly Emperor tours, to guard against those mad dogs from the Shogunate making a desperate move."
"And Inoue, please prepare a divine object for me. I need to visit the Ming envoy in Kyoto. You fools, to resolve the Edo Shogunate, the attitude of the Ming envoy is crucial, yet not one of you has thought of it!"
Speaking of this, Minamoto Masayoshi suddenly laughed again, "Fortunately, those idiot anti-Shogunate faction members are as foolish as you. If they had seized the initiative, I fear the situation would be very unfavorable to us."
Being called idiots by Minamoto Masayoshi, the envoys present did not seem to have any objections. Even if they did, they could only suppress them. After all, Minamoto Masayoshi was surnamed Minamoto. In Japan, where status was divided by surnames, the surname Minamoto itself represented social standing.
After secretly denying his own statement of being an idiot in his mind, Fujiwara Yasutsugu said, "If we allow those commoners to have their own surnames, won't that give them a chance to become nobles?"
Minamoto Masayoshi was stunned at first, then became furious, "Baka! Fujiwara-san, you have truly disappointed me too much! Allowing those commoners to have their own surnames, what does it cost you? Will you allow them to be surnamed Minamoto, or will you allow them to be surnamed Fujiwara? Even if you give them a chance to become nobles, they are not nobles!"
After thinking for a moment, Minamoto Masayoshi added, "Of course, just these verbal benefits may not be enough to win over those commoners, as those commoners' vision is not far-reaching; they will not recognize the benefits of having a surname. Therefore, we also need to give them some tangible benefits, such as distributing some rice balls and sake to them."
Heavenly Emperor's Noble Lineage reminds you: Remember to collect after reading.