ps: This chapter is temporarily unavailable for subscription as preceding chapters are being revised. Revision has reached Chapter 542!
Some guys on a certain forum once famously said: "Take a gamble, a bicycle becomes a motorcycle; take a bet, a bicycle becomes a Land Rover."
As everyone knows, the elders on the 'Quit Lust Bar' have shouted their slogans countless times without completely quitting toilet paper, and the elders on the 'Quit Gambling Bar' have chopped off their hands countless times but still haven't quit gambling. Not only did they not quit, but they gambled and lost more.
Xu Zhendong and Hu Yan are now like those elders in the 'Quit Gambling Bar.' However, while the elders in the bar gambled with money, Xu Zhendong and Hu Yan were gambling with their lives, the lives of their nine generations and three generations of relatives behind them.
If there's any further difference to be found, it's that Xu Zhendong intends to stop, or at least surrender and cut their losses by half—I can die, I accept my fate, but I hope it doesn't affect my nine generations and three generations. Hu Yan, on the other hand, is like a gambler who has lost all his senses, with no intention of stopping. Instead, he wants to bet more chips, but his chips are the lives of more students.
The other students in the tent are the same; they can only choose to bet with Xu Zhendong or bet with Hu Yan, with the stakes also being their own lives, or the lives of their nine generations and three generations behind them.
As for whether everyone can safely pass through this calamity today...
Anyone with a slightly normal brain wouldn't think this matter could be resolved peacefully today.
After another period of silence, Xu Zhendong, while staring fixedly at the tent entrance, said coldly, "Hu Yan, if you want to get out of this tent today, don't blame me for killing you first!"
Hu Yan was furious. He originally intended to rush out of the tent to attack the guards. However, the pain in the corner of his mouth kept reminding him that he was no match for Xu Zhendong. If he truly angered Xu Zhendong, Xu Zhendong might very well kill him.
The killing intent in Xu Zhendong's eyes was not concealed at all.
But, Hu Yan is much like his father, Hu Wenhong. Both are the type of people whose bones are soft but whose mouths are hard. Even if their bones were burned to ashes, their mouths would still remain. Although he didn't dare to confront Xu Zhendong directly again, he had the courage to mock him, and had a lot of it.
After a moment's thought, Hu Yan sneered and said to the students behind Xu Zhendong, "The situation is now that rebelling means death, and not rebelling also means death. Are you all willing to sit here and await death in this tent?"
Xu Zhendong glared fiercely at Hu Yan and said angrily, "If you say one more word of nonsense, I'll kill you first!"
As Xu Zhendong finished speaking, the students who had already decided to accept their fate, and were willing to sacrifice their lives to gamble for a glimmer of hope for their families behind them, also glared angrily at Hu Yan. They looked as if they would attack Hu Yan if he uttered another word of nonsense.
Silence fell upon the tent once more, but this silence did not last long before it was broken by shouts of battle.
Not far outside the tent, people were already shouting slogans like "Clear the King's Surroundings" and "Restore Ancestral Laws." Following this, the sound of swords cutting through the air could be heard. To avoid friendly fire, the soldiers of the First Division of the Imperial Guard did not use firearms but instead used swords and sabers, which were almost obsolete.
However, the result was exactly as Xu Zhendong had said earlier; this was a massacre.
Although the students who rushed out also carried ceremonial swords or sabers, their advantage in weaponry was not too significant. The same swords and sabers wielded by different people produced completely different effects in terms of lethality.
When students wielded swords and sabers, they often aimed for the neck or shoulders, as these areas were easier to reach. However, the Imperial Guard soldiers using swords and sabers would aim directly for vital areas like the neck or heart, as these were fatal points.
Although the students had received some military training, the intensity of their training was far inferior to that of the Imperial Guard. Coupled with factors such as formation coordination and command, the students could only fight and retreat. If it weren't for the fact that the students knew there was no turning back, they would have long since thrown down their weapons and surrendered.
Therefore, the shouts of battle from outside the tent ended shortly after they began.
Xu Zhendong stood by the tent entrance, suppressing his unease, and said sternly to Hu Yan and the students behind him in a low voice, "Did you hear that? Those outside shouting and fighting are probably fools who were tricked by Zhang Xijin's son. Listen to how many shouts they made?"
Silence fell upon the tent once again, but just as Hu Yan was about to speak, the sound of slightly disordered and heavy footsteps could be heard from outside the tent, followed by the voices of some clearly identifiable Imperial Guard soldiers.
"Hurry up and get someone from the Five City Patrol to help clean up."
"Bring water to wash it down first! Damn it, if there's still a smell of blood tomorrow morning, I'll hold you all accountable!"
"Brothers, get ready! If one tent of these idiots acts foolishly, there might be a second tent. We absolutely cannot let them escalate the situation!"
"Pay attention to those quieter tents. We must not let those fools disturb the other students inside!"
"Damn it, they don't study properly, they don't live their lives properly, but they have to be dogs for those wealthy merchants. Aren't they despicable!"
"..."
After the footsteps and voices outside the tent gradually faded away, Xu Zhendong first glanced at Hu Yan and the other students, then gave a self-deprecating laugh and muttered, "Despicable? Yes, truly despicable!"
The students sitting behind Xu Zhendong had pale faces, all looking relieved. Their gazes towards Xu Zhendong's back were full of gratitude, while their occasional glances towards Hu Yan were filled with hatred.
If looks could kill, Hu Yan would have been riddled with holes and dead by now—if Xu Zhendong hadn't stepped forward to expose Hu Yan's trickery, all the students in this tent would have been persuaded by Hu Yan and followed him to attack the Imperial Guard.
Hu Yan's complexion was also not very good.
Although he had long anticipated all of this, when Zhang Xijin's son led dozens of students to attack the Imperial Guard, and everything returned to calm in less than the time it takes to smoke half an incense stick, and the Imperial Guard even started looking for people to clean up, Hu Yan's heart couldn't help but pound.
According to Hu Yan's plan, even if only students from one tent rushed out to attack the Imperial Guard, the Imperial Guard would be stretched thin. It was even possible that due to the chaos, they would directly attack all the students, slaughtering everyone present.
The result?
In less than the time it takes to smoke half an incense stick, all the students who ran out of the tent to proactively attack the Imperial Guard were dead.
Hu Yan was shocked, and Xu Zhendong also coldly glanced at Hu Yan.
With such limited ability, they still want to cry at the palace gates outside the Forbidden City and force the emperor to restore ancestral laws?
Or perhaps, it's easier to kill them!
Just as Hu Yan was feeling uneasy, a person's voice was heard from outside the tent: "As long as they don't cause trouble, leave them be for now. If this tent also causes trouble, then kill them all directly. We'll send a notification to their hometowns afterward, requiring local officials and garrisons to cooperate in apprehending them."
Old Master Chen and Old Master Hu and others looked at Qi Feng, who was speaking eloquently, with blank expressions, unable to believe that these words came from Qi Feng's mouth.
Old Master Hu's eyes lit up, and he asked, "The person you're talking about, is it Zhang Wenhong of the nearby prefectures and territories?"
In essence, Japan, which is praised to the heavens by countless incurable patients, is much like India. India has castes, and Japan also has social strata.
For example, why do ronin samurai who have lost their masters remain ronin instead of finding a job?
This also means that if Tokugawa Ienari wants to complete the blockade, he must first deal with the ronin.
The feudal lords of Chikuzen, Chikugo, Buzen, Bungo, Hizen, Tsushima, Hyuga, and others also responded accordingly, while other feudal lords and daimyo could not help but frown.
These geographical differences naturally led to unbalanced development among the various domains. Some domains were relatively prosperous, while others were extremely poor.
The difference in wealth directly reflected the number of ronin in each domain.
The poorer the domain, the more ronin it had.
More importantly, Satsuma Domain and the feudal lords of Chikuzen, Chikugo, and others all share a common designation: the Kyushu domains.
These domains were originally based on the island of Kyushu. Satsuma Domain even sent troops to conquer the Ryukyus, forcing the King of Ryukyu to pay tribute to Japan.
To say they were resigned is certainly not true. Shimazu Hisamitsu and the feudal lords of Chikuzen and Chikugo had also considered resisting, or at least finding a better place.
Then Shimazu Hisamitsu and the others quickly moved to Ezo, completely ceding the island of Kyushu.
If they obey their feudal lords and ignore Tokugawa Ienari, how will the shogunate think? If they constantly hinder and bicker with each other, how will they ever clear out the ronin?
This was even more unacceptable to the feudal lords than directly supporting Tokugawa Ienari with money!
After Tokugawa Ienari finished speaking, the feudal lords present breathed a sigh of relief while also feeling a bit suspicious.
As everyone knows, Tokugawa Ienari's biggest flaw, besides his lechery, is his greed. The rapaciousness of his sons and daughters is entirely inherited from Tokugawa Ienari.
Matsudaira Nobunobu immediately became vigilant.
Tokugawa Ienari, however, was inwardly resentful.
On the other hand, Tokugawa Ienari intended to use the feudal lords to pressure the imperial court. If Mitsukoto Emperor and Prince Naruhito, those worthless brats, dared to send people to cause trouble in Tokugawa Ienari's territory, Tokugawa Ienari planned to first kill a few minor feudal lords and daimyo in the surrounding prefectures, causing chaos in the territories of Emperor Mitsukoto and his son.
As for sending ninjas or some patients infected with leprosy to cause harm in the territories of Emperor Mitsukoto and his son, Tokugawa Ienari did not have such an idea for the time being.
Because the current situation was clearly in Tokugawa Ienari's favor, and the possibility of his successful ascension was high. Tokugawa Ienari, who had already begun dreaming of becoming a national leader, naturally did not want leprosy to spread in the vicinity of the capital. After all, no matter how much of a poverty disease it was, the transmission rate of leprosy was evident. No one could guarantee they would escape it.
Unfortunately, Tokugawa Ienari's well-laid plans have now been disrupted by those two worthless brats, Shimazu Hisamitsu and Matsudaira Nobunobu.
Tokugawa Ienari was inwardly resentful, but he forced a smile and said, "Then it's settled. For those who cause trouble in the region, vigorous suppression is essential. If you are unable to handle it, you can always send people to the shogunate for help. Do not force yourselves."
After the feudal lords expressed their thanks, whether willingly or unwillingly, Tokugawa Ienari changed the topic and began to talk about his previous experiences in Great Ming. "You all know that I, Ienari, have visited Great Ming before and stayed there for a considerable period of time."
The feudal lords and daimyo present were somewhat bewildered, not knowing what this worthless brat Tokugawa Ienari wanted to say next.
Tokugawa Ienari continued on his own, "When I was in Great Ming, the deepest impression I had was the knowledge of the Ming people. Even young children could read a few characters, and even the elderly from the Qing Dynasty could mostly write their names, not to mention the young people."
The feudal lords and daimyo present were still bewildered. Great Ming was the superior nation, the father of Japan. Wasn't this natural?
Tokugawa Ienari looked at the bewildered feudal lords and daimyo and couldn't help but sigh, "Our Japan has always been known as the 'Little China of the Eastern Seas,' and looking at the entire small broken ball, it can be considered a direct son of the Great Ming Empire. Yet, Japan has very few literate people, and is filled with illiterate ignoramuses. How can this be a worthy response to the great kindness Great Ming has shown to Japan?"
Shimazu Hisamitsu tentatively asked, "What does the General mean?"
Tokugawa Ienari did not directly answer Shimazu Hisamitsu's question, but instead clapped his hands and ordered outside the door, "Bring it here!"
When the attendant entered with a tray, Tokugawa Ienari pointed to the items on the tray and said, "This is the Japanese steam engine made by Shiba Kōhan of our Japanese envoys to Ming, imitating the Great Ming's steam engine. If we can reproduce and produce more of it, our Japan can also have its own steam engine."
"Unfortunately, Shiba Kōhan is ultimately just one person. It's fine for him to imitate one steam engine, but if he has to imitate more things, he will be unable to do so."
"Therefore, our Japan still needs to increase the number of envoys to Ming."
"I am telling you all this today so that you can be mentally prepared. You will each select suitable candidates from your domains to study in Great Ming. Each domain is limited to three people, and another two will be selected from the commoners within your domains. Thus, each domain will have a total of five envoy positions to Ming."
After Tokugawa Ienari finished speaking, the feudal lords and daimyo present became excited.