The Wa people indeed have all sorts of flaws.
For example, most of the Wa people are one-track minded, or rather, utterly obstinate.
This is probably related to the environment in which the Wa people grow up from childhood – the fisherman's son can only become a fisherman, the farmer's son can only continue farming, and the noble's son will remain a noble.
The Wa people grow up in such a rigid, even stagnant, and inflexible environment from childhood, so most of them are brainless individuals. The only thing the bottom-level Wa people can boast about is craftsmanship, while the slightly better Wa people are left with only the spirit of servitude.
Furthermore, these Wa people are always prone to insubordination, and distorting the commands of their superiors is a traditional skill for them. It's even a specialty of theirs to secretly cause a major commotion to force the hand of their superiors.
What's more, these Wa people truly lack humanity – if one were to say they retain seven parts beastliness, it would be an insult to beasts, and to say they possess three parts human likeness would be a naked defamation of humanity.
If one were to consider these aspects alone, the Wa people are truly unqualified to serve as auxiliary troops for the Great Ming army. If one were to add their short stature, they would likely be too embarrassing even to serve as cannon fodder for the Great Ming army.
But!
No matter who it is, they must admit that an army that is single-minded, fierce, and inhumane is absolutely the best choice for auxiliary troops – coincidentally, these Wa people are fierce enough, and when their master is strong enough, these Wa people are quite loyal and will bare their teeth and bite at any moment!
Even more crucially, Zhu Jinsong's plan for the Wa people is that of a rag – to be used and discarded, without any heartache when thrown away.
In other words, Zhu Jinsong intends to entrust all the dirty and arduous work that incurs infamy to the Wa people. Once the Wa people have shed their last drop of blood for the Great Ming and lost their utility value, they will be disposed of like a worn-out rag.
Black-hearted?
If an emperor is not black-hearted and ruthless enough, it only means that this emperor is not qualified enough.
Zhu Jinsong said with a smile, "Even if we don't consider future conflicts with other countries on this small globe, we must also consider the issues with India and the Ottoman Empire – once India is dealt with, the Ottoman Empire will be next."
"If it weren't for these short and squat Wa people, who would recruit laborers for me? Would it be your cabinet? Or the Ministry of Revenue? The Ministry of Works? Or perhaps the Ministry of War? The Five Chief Commanderies?"
As he spoke, Zhu Jinsong couldn't help but smile and shake his head, saying, "Agree to the requests of Tokugawa Ienari and Kan'nin, and allow their Wa women to accompany the Wa samurai and rōnin to India, so that they may prosper and multiply."
Zeng Cheng immediately bowed in assent, then tentatively asked, "Then, regarding Tokugawa Ienari and Kan'nin..."
Zhu Jinsong knew what Zeng Cheng meant – since Kan'nin had said, "The samurai of Wa must fight in foreign lands for the Emperor of Ming," it indicated that Kan'nin harbored resentment.
And Tokugawa Ienari's plan to have Wa women accompany Wa samurai and rōnin to India also indicated that Tokugawa Ienari had his own little schemes in mind.
If Kan'nin and Tokugawa Ienari were not taught a lesson, what would the other Four Great Benefactors of this broken pot think? What would the other countries of this broken pot think? What would the chickens, ducks, geese, and dogs think?
Zhu Jinsong smiled and shook his head, tapping the table with his finger, and said, "Send someone to reprimand Kan'nin and Tokugawa Ienari, and hold their tutor, Matsudaira Sadanobu, responsible."
Zeng Cheng and the others found Zhu Jinsong's decision difficult to comprehend.
The so-called holding the tutor responsible meant that Kan'nin and Tokugawa Ienari, these two foolish individuals, had failed to study well and understand the principles of loyalty and filial piety, and the responsibility lay with the teacher who taught them. In the entire Wa country, the most suitable person to bear this blame would be Matsudaira Sadanobu, the Shogunate's advisor, acting Junior Major Captain of the Left Imperial Guard, and Governor of Echizen.
The problem was that Matsudaira Sadanobu was not only the Shogunate's advisor but also an extremely typical "pedantic scholar"!
In 1790, during the fifth year of the Great Ming's Holy Emperor, Matsudaira Sadanobu formulated the "Prohibition of Heterodox Learning," reiterating Neo-Confucianism as the "orthodox learning" and prohibiting all "heterodox learning" outside of Neo-Confucianism. At that time, the famous Japanese political thinker Hayashi Shihei was disciplined, and his work "A Discourse on Maritime Affairs" was listed as a banned book.
In addition, Matsudaira Sadanobu firmly implemented the policy of "prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce."
Unfortunately, Matsudaira Sadanobu perfectly embodied the saying that ideals are plump, but reality is gaunt.
Matsudaira Sadanobu's reforms failed to revitalize the rural economy of Wa, nor did they halt the development of the commodity economy. They even incurred dissatisfaction from merchants, upper-class samurai, and the general populace, leading Matsudaira Sadanobu to resign from his overt Shogunate posts in the eighth year of the Holy Emperor and completely retreat into the shadows.
It could be said that Matsudaira Sadanobu, solely by his own efforts, managed to drag the timeline of Wa's progress backward by more than ten years!
Therefore, Zeng Cheng and the others could not understand why Zhu Jinsong chose to eliminate Matsudaira Sadanobu instead of supporting him to further harm Wa.
Regarding the doubts of Zeng Cheng and the others, Zhu Jinsong chuckled and said, "You all only see one aspect of Matsudaira Sadanobu harming Wa, but have you not seen Matsudaira Sadanobu's policies of rewarding samurai for studying literature and practicing martial arts, banning private courtesans and geishas, and prohibiting certain literature and mixed-gender bathing?"
While the prohibition of certain literature could be seen as Matsudaira Sadanobu's determination to be irreconcilable with gambling and drugs, and the banning of private courtesans and geishas, as well as mixed-gender bathing, could be seen as Matsudaira Sadanobu having learned three parts humanity and possessing some sense of shame, the encouragement of samurai to study literature and practice martial arts was Matsudaira Sadanobu's path to destruction!
Why encourage the samurai of Wa to study literature and practice martial arts?
Would anyone believe the nonsense that Matsudaira Sadanobu encouraged the samurai of Wa to study literature and practice martial arts so that they could serve the Great Ming?
Zhu Jinsong certainly did not believe it.
In the final analysis, Matsudaira Sadanobu was still a Wa person, and furthermore, an elite among the Wa people with discerning vision. This fellow ultimately still inclined towards Wa!
Moreover, Emperor Kōkaku Kan'nin lacked deep schemes, and Shogun Tokugawa Ienari, although somewhat intelligent, was at odds with Kan'nin. Yet, these two controlled the entire Wa country – the harm they inflicted upon Wa was absolutely far greater than that of a mere Matsudaira Sadanobu.
Therefore, eliminating Matsudaira Sadanobu to preserve Kan'nin and Tokugawa Ienari naturally became a logical course of action.
…
Zhu Jinsong's decision was soon brought back to Wa by Zheng Jiangfu.
"His Majesty the Emperor of Great Ming has granted Wa's request, permitting Wa women to travel to India with their husbands."
After reading Zhu Jinsong's decree, Zheng Jiangfu frowned and said to Tokugawa Ienari, "However, His Majesty is very displeased with Wa's manipulative behavior, and the various elders in the court are clamoring to replace the Wa Emperor and Shogun with someone more honest and obedient."
"Fortunately, the Shogun has been respectful to the Great Ming thus far, and has contributed somewhat to the recruitment of laborers in India this time. His Majesty, being benevolent and kind, has decided not to pursue the responsibility of the Shogun and Emperor Kōkaku, but to resolve the issue by holding the tutor responsible."
At this point, Zheng Jiangfu sighed as if lamenting and said, "Shogun, if you have any thoughts in the future, you can discuss them with me first, or directly submit a memorial to His Majesty the Emperor of Great Ming. Please refrain from playing these petty tricks anymore."
Although Tokugawa Ienari knew he would not die from the moment Zheng Jiangfu began reading the decree of the Emperor of Great Ming, he still broke out in a cold sweat – he got lucky this time, but what about next time?
After careful consideration, Tokugawa Ienari cupped his hands towards Zheng Jiangfu and said, "The reason for my little schemes was entirely to ensure that the samurai would recruit laborers for the Great Ming more diligently in India, with no divided loyalty!"
Zheng Jiangfu nodded with a smile, inwardly despising Tokugawa Ienari's shameless statement while secretly feeling fortunate to have a good ancestor –
If his ancestor had not been a compatriot brother of Lord Guo and had not consistently supported Lord Guo's rebellion against the Qing, he himself might not have obtained official positions and titles in the Great Ming today; if he did not have official positions and titles in the Great Ming, how could Tokugawa Ienari, as the Shogunate, be so humble before him?
As Zheng Jiangfu was inwardly complaining, Tokugawa Ienari continued with a fawning smile, "If it were not for Zheng-sang's assistance this time, I fear I would have narrowly escaped death. Such great kindness and virtue, I truly do not know how to repay Zheng-sang."
Repay?
He probably wishes he could kill me immediately!
Zheng Jiangfu muttered inwardly, but his face was filled with a smile, "What are you saying, Tokugawa Ienari? Jiangfu is merely a minor baron with little influence in the Great Ming. The fact that the Tokugawa Shogun has been able to escape unharmed this time is entirely due to His Majesty the Emperor's magnanimity and kindness. How dare Jiangfu claim credit?"
Yes, these words were quite polite, but they completely dodged Tokugawa Ienari's tactic of not knowing how to repay the great kindness and virtue.
Seeing that Zheng Jiangfu was not accepting his overtures at all, Tokugawa Ienari couldn't help but curse Zheng Jiangfu as a scoundrel in his heart – Zheng Jiangfu, Duke Zheng, still has Wa blood in his veins!
Helplessly, Tokugawa Ienari could only continue with a fawning smile, "I hope Zheng-sang can speak more favorably of Wa before His Majesty the Emperor of Great Ming in the future."
Zheng Jiangfu nodded with a smile and said, "Do not worry, Shogun Tokugawa. Jiangfu has this under control."
After casually agreeing to a few things with Tokugawa Ienari, Zheng Jiangfu took out a letter from his embrace and handed it to Tokugawa Ienari, saying, "This letter is from Governor-General Jiang, the Great Ming's Governor of Kyushu Island, who entrusted me to deliver it to the Shogun."
Tokugawa Ienari was taken aback and asked, "A letter written by Governor-General Jiang to me?"
Zheng Jiangfu nodded and said, "Yes, although Governor-General Jiang has been transferred back to the Great Ming, he said he has always remembered his friendship with Shogun Tokugawa – in fact, if it weren't for Governor-General Jiang speaking favorably of Shogun Tokugawa before His Majesty this time, it is likely that..."
Tokugawa Ienari's heart immediately warmed. He took the letter from Zheng Jiangfu's hand and slowly began to read it.
"My dear brother Ienari, greetings: Your elder brother was shocked to hear... it is better to speak directly, remember, remember. Furthermore, your elder brother is also writing this letter to make a request, hoping that my dear brother will not refuse..."
The letter written by Jiang Xinlong to Tokugawa Ienari first told Tokugawa Ienari that in the future, if he had any thoughts, he could discuss them with Zheng Jiangfu or write to him, or even directly speak to the Emperor of Great Ming. He must never again resort to such petty tricks – this was undoubtedly considered care.
And after the care, Jiang Xinlong then changed his tone, stating that he needed a few Wa samurai, those who were particularly ruthless but also exceptionally obedient. He needed them to help an art student sent by the Habsburg family establish a factory and guard in Austria.
At the same time, Jiang Xinlong also stated that this matter would not harm Wa, because these Wa samurai would receive guidance and training from the Great Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guard, and upon their return to Wa, they could serve as assistants to Tokugawa Ienari.
After reading the letter, Tokugawa Ienari said to Zheng Jiangfu, "I am aware of Governor-General Jiang's request and will immediately dispatch the corresponding personnel."
Zheng Jiangfu asked with great curiosity, "May I know what Governor-General Jiang wrote in his letter?"
Being asked this by Zheng Jiangfu, Tokugawa Ienari's heart stirred, and he smiled and said, "It seems Zheng-sang doesn't know what was written in this letter?"
Zheng Jiangfu shook his head and said, "How would I know the contents of the letter Governor-General Jiang wrote to Shogun Tokugawa?"
Hearing Zheng Jiangfu's answer and carefully observing Zheng Jiangfu's expression, which did not seem feigned, Tokugawa Ienari became even happier in his heart – Zheng Jiangfu did not know what Jiang Xinlong wrote in his letter? This meant that Jiang Xinlong probably did not consider Zheng Jiangfu as one of his own!
If...
If the Great Ming had only given Zheng Jiangfu a dispensable title, but did not consider Zheng Jiangfu as one of their own, did this mean that Wa could strive to win over Zheng Jiangfu, striving to make Zheng Jiangfu lean towards Wa?
It's not that they wanted Zheng Jiangfu to cause trouble in the Great Ming, but once Zheng Jiangfu leaned towards Wa, Wa could use Zheng Jiangfu to learn about the dynamics of the Great Ming.
Thinking further, what if Zheng Jiangfu gained real power or even a crucial position in the Ming Dynasty in the future?
If nothing else, since Zheng Jiangfu was currently affiliated with the Great Ming's Governor-General's office in Kyushu Island, Tokugawa Ienari had a thousand and one ways to make Zheng Jiangfu achieve sufficient meritorious service, and then have him gradually ascend to higher positions in the Great Ming court!
Of course, it was not enough to just have ways to promote Zheng Jiangfu to higher positions – if he couldn't find a way to control Zheng Jiangfu, wouldn't his efforts to help Zheng Jiangfu ascend the ranks become utterly foolish!?
With this thought, Tokugawa Ienari looked at Zheng Jiangfu with even more burning eyes, "Zheng-sang, you have been to the Great Ming this time, and you have not returned to Wa for over a year, have you? The cherry blossoms of Wa have already bloomed..."