Dominate the Country

[Thanks to ‘wq007_007’ for the 1000-coin reward]

Edo, the heart of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Yoshida Masakazu dragged his tired body back home, holding a small rice bag in his hand, which contained two liters of grain, and the bottom of the bag looked like a small melon. This was his day's pay, which was not white rice, or even brown rice, but a mixture of wheat, millet, barnyard grass and taro.

It was all he got for a day's hard work!

In the middle and late 18th century of the Western calendar, the population of RB, which had been peaceful for a hundred years, was growing rapidly, and the number of families in the samurai class was also rising in a straight line, but the number of samurai did not see the slightest increase, and the salary was discounted by the financially tight shogunate and various feudal domains.

Based on a salary of 50 koku, a family of five would certainly be richer than a family of ten. Yoshida Masakazu was a poor lower-level samurai whose family had a population explosion.

He and his younger brother Yoshida Masahira were the only laborers in the family. One of the other two brothers had died, and the other had gone to Nagasaki and had not been heard from for two years. But the Yoshida family still had seventeen people. The two brothers had twelve children together, and these were already alive. They also had an elderly mother!

The poor life was about to break Yoshida Masahiro's spine.

The Yoshida family's sixty-stone salary now only gave them less than thirty stones of rice each year, which was the family's biggest source of income and the main source of expenditure within a year. For a large family of seventeen people, how could they live in a big place like Edo?

As early as twenty years ago, the armor and samurai swords of the Yoshida family were pawned by Yoshida Masahiro's father. This is a very common thing in RB today. As early as decades ago, many retainers and samurai in the RB domains and even the Tokugawa shogunate itself had to pawn their weapons and horse gear in exchange for money to supplement their family expenses due to poverty. But even so, many people still found it difficult to make a living. By this time, the entire samurai class was in decline, morale was low, and they were in irreparable poverty. From the shogunate and the various feudal domains to all samurai, poverty was common knowledge among the Japanese.

Moreover, the shogunate and the feudal lords under the financial crisis also forcibly implemented salary reductions, so some people said that the retainers were "as cruel to their masters as to their enemies", and some even estimated that "there were few retainers who were willing to serve their masters".

Yoshida Shoichi's loyalty to the Tokugawa shogunate was as pitiful as the food he had. Since the Japanese samurai abandoned farming, there were many young samurai and lower-level samurai who only served for one year and did not care about their masters. There was also a prevailing trend of serving in place of others, and the number of middle and low-level hereditary retainers in the feudal domains was decreasing. Tang Feipeng clearly wrote in his report to Xiao Jian that the structure of Japanese officers and soldiers was transitioning from a master-servant relationship to an employment relationship, which was the most direct phenomenon of the collapse of its subordinate military system.

After returning home, Yoshida Masakazu saw several children playing and frolicking at the door of the house, and a sincere smile appeared on his tired face.

"Father is back..."

"Uncle is back..."

The children of the Yoshida family surrounded him and hugged Yoshida Masakazu back home. The eldest daughter in the room hurriedly poured a glass of water and took away the rice bag that Yoshida Masakazu had placed beside him. Not long after, Yoshida Masakazu also came back. He was shorter than his brother and not as strong as Yoshida Masakazu. He could only buy one liter and five he of food with his daily wages.

Three liters and five he of food was certainly not enough for the whole family, even though the children of the Yoshida family were not very old. The missing part was made up by the family's rice. In addition, people could not only eat dry rice. No matter how simple it was, there had to be miso and salt. So for the Japanese people of this era, soy sauce mixed with rice was a delicacy, just like the bowl of 'lard mixed with rice' that Dong Wei had eaten!

Like China, the poor people in Japan had no entertainment at night. Just like poor Chinese people are reluctant to light a lamp at night, so are Japanese people. But today, Yoshida Masahei did not go back to his room to lie down after dinner, or hug his wife to do exercise, but quietly touched Yoshida Masahiro.

The two brothers got up and walked outside the house. Yoshida Masahiro whispered a few words in Yoshida Masahiro's ear. Yoshida Masahiro's face changed slightly, but immediately turned into determination. The two brothers walked out of the house and hurriedly walked towards a house not far away with two wind-killing lanterns hanging at the door. This family is also a samurai, but the conditions of this family are much better than those of the Yoshida family. In addition to the two wind-killing lanterns at the door, there are two servants waiting. After entering the door, the yard alone is larger than the entire Yoshida family.

When Yoshida Masahiro and Yoshida Masahiro were brought into the house by the servants, they found that there were already 20 to 30 people gathered in the whole house. They were all poor lower-class samurai like the Yoshida family.

Another quarter of an hour of waiting, and everyone who should come came. Aoki Chuichi's sharp eyes swept over all the people present. His ancestors were small families in the Tokugawa shogunate, with a salary of 400 koku, and they had been involved in business very early. Although they were looked down upon by countless samurai families at the beginning and regarded as despicable scum, time was on the side of the Aoki family. Looking at this town now, among the samurai families that have not yet fallen into poverty, the Aoki family has the lowest salary, but lives the best and richest. In this town, many families with higher salaries than the Aoki family have already fallen into the dust.

The reputation of the Aoki family has become worse in recent months, because Aoki Zhongyi has a deep connection with Tang Feipeng's business, and RB's domestic impression of China has been very unfavorable recently.

Relying on their strong strength, the Chinese forcibly seized the fruits of the Matsumae Domain's century-old development, and very domineeringly built a city named "North Sea" in Ishikari Bay. In addition, they insulted the emperor and the entire Kyushu Island samurai. The latter insulted the entire RB. Although the RB samurai in this era have no real respect for the emperor. But this kind of insult to national character and dignity caused many people's impression of China to quickly turn bad.

The Aoki family is naturally a fish in the pond.

However, Aoki Chuichi is very courageous. In the past six months, he has not shown any intention to draw a clear line with the Chinese. Now Aoki Chuichi has been rewarded. This is why Yoshida Shoichi seemed a little hesitant after hearing Yoshida Shohei's words. But the heavy burden on the family and the poor life made him give up everything.

"The reason why I called everyone here today is very simple. You must have heard the news that the Chinese want to recruit samurai in RB. The incompetent rice bugs in the shogunate have not been able to come up with any definite conclusions for such a long time. , even if it is firm opposition. This makes me very disgusted." The meaning of Aoki's words is that the shogunate's "hesitation" is clearly attributed to the fear of China's powerful power. He paid careful attention to everyone's expressions as he spoke. After seeing that everyone below him had no major reaction to his remarks criticizing the shogunate just now, Aoki Chuichi breathed a sigh of relief. That's good. "The Tokugawa shogunate cannot provide everyone with a stable and prosperous life. The superiors who should have the dignity of a samurai have to dedicate their dignity and physical strength to lowly businessmen and even farmers in order to prevent their families from going hungry. And to be a good man When the opportunity appears in front of all warriors, they must close the door.

Without Chinese recruitment, could the Tokugawa shogunate solve the problem of poverty among all samurai? They can keep every warrior's family from going hungry, and can a doctor come to diagnose and treat them when they are sick? Can they? "

There was silence in the hall, but Aoki Chuichi clearly saw everyone clenching their fists tightly. No matter how humble a person is, they still have dignity, let alone these people who come from a samurai family? Take Yoshida Shoichi for example. He was wantonly insulted by the foreman when he was unloading goods at the dock today. Just by using force alone, given him a knife, he could kill ten foremen. No, even without a knife, he could kill five foremen. But today, Yoshida Shoichi can only put all his dignity in his pocket, otherwise he will not get his wages today and will have to find a new job tomorrow.

"You have only heard that the Chinese want to recruit samurai in RB, then do you know the price the Chinese offer?" Aoki Chuichi said in a seductive voice, and then he looked at everyone's eyes from underneath as expected. I saw desire in it.

"Two stones of rice. Every warrior who joins the Chinese security team can receive the basic military salary of two stones of rice every month. If you kill the enemy and make meritorious service during the crusade against the Nanyang natives, you can also get military points. , these points can be exchanged for everything you want. Polished rice, white noodles, salted fish, dried meat, gold, silver, and even permanent residence in China!”

Aoki Chuichi looked at the surprised faces of everyone below and smiled proudly, "Yes, it is Nanyang. The deployment area of ​​the security team is in Nanyang, not China itself. You are RB people, who would think that you Can you easily set foot on Chinese soil to fight or perform missions? "

"If you want to join the Standing Team, you must accumulate enough military merit in Nanyang. Otherwise, you can only be a tourist, see all around China, and leave the land of China within the specified time limit."

Aoki Chuichi revealed two words in his heart, the security team and the support team. The former will be deployed in Nanyang, and the combat targets will only be indigenous people who are worse than the Ezo people. Only if they are selected for the latter, will they be transferred to China to fight or perform tasks.

Although Aoki Chuuichi didn't say how much the military salary of the 'Comfort Force' was, Yoshida Shoichi and others knew with their toes that it must be higher than the military salary of the security team. The security team's military salary is two stones of rice a month.

"To tell you the truth, I just obtained the right to form a security team from Mr. Tang." This is the 'reward' Tang Feipeng gave him, an opportunity to change the future destiny of the Aoki family. If Chuichi Aoki can recruit twenty or thirty samurai, he can become a squad leader; if he can recruit eighty or ninety samurai, he can be a captain; if he can recruit more than three hundred samurai, he can become a captain. , he will become the captain of the security team.

Aoki Chuichi's eyes will not be fixed on the squad leader who went to get it. He wants to become one of the first batch of captains of the security team. This goal must be achieved. He hopes that one day he can become a Chinese and serve in the Tokugawa Shogunate. There is no bright future for the Aoki family under his rule. And Aoki Chuichi can speak fluent Chinese. He also read the "Three Character Classic" and the "Four Books and Five Classics". And these people in front of him are his squad leader and squad leader.

"Every samurai who joins the security force can first apply for military pay for three months to one year. If you are injured, disabled, sick, or die in battle in Nanyang, you will all receive a large pension. Only for the security force Please take a look at the pension standards.”

Aoki Nakaichi waved his hand, and two servants immediately handed out a printed standard form of pension to everyone present.

Half an hour later, Aoki Nakaichi watched everyone leave. Tang Feipeng gave him this right and this opportunity, "I must seize it."

Even if such recruitment did not get the permission of the shogunate, so what? In order to seize this opportunity, Aoki Nakaichi can give up everything his family has in RB.

"Master, we should leave."

The carriage is ready, and after sending people away, Aoki Nakaichi will also leave this place quickly. After all, he dare not guarantee that there are no brains among the twenty or thirty people he has found, and they are still loyal to the Tokugawa shogunate; nor dare to gamble on the reaction of the Tokugawa shogunate.

"Let's go."

Aoki Nakaichi boarded the carriage. He did not look back at the ancestral home of his family. Because he had made up his mind long ago, even if he gave up all the honors and status of the Aoki family in RB, he would not watch the opportunity slip away from his eyes.

"If things really develop in the worst case scenario..." In the carriage, Aoki Nakaichi, who was leaning against the wall of the carriage, clenched his fists tightly. Everything he lost now was nothing, because he would definitely be able to take it all back in the near future. As long as he could raise a "big team", it would be a sure thing for the Aoki family to obtain Chinese nationality. Would the Tokugawa shogunate dare to deal with a Shangguo person unscrupulously at that time?

He thought of everything he saw in Fuzhou, such a powerful army, such a powerful navy, with only the army in that place, they could directly conquer Edo and directly destroy the foundation of the Tokugawa shogunate's rule over Japan. The Chinese were much stronger than the incompetent shogunate.

Aoki Nakaichi didn't think he was a traitor to Japan at all. From the Tang envoys to the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, there were many Japanese who died for the Chinese. Yes, his family was a hatamoto samurai family of the shogunate, and the samurai creed also required samurai to be absolutely loyal to the monarch. The monarch could not be the monarch, but the minister could not be the minister. However, the Aoki family started to engage in business early. Can such a family still be considered samurai? Even among the many families in the town, how many people still regard the Aoki family as samurai, rather than lowly merchants?

Even if the Aoki family is still a samurai, it is not a "samurai" whose words and deeds are a model for the samurai of the time. Compared with a samurai, Aoki Chuichi is more of a businessman. Compared with the samurai creed that he thinks is like a fool, he believes more in Confucianism: the etiquette of being a minister is not to make remonstrances. If you don't listen to the three remonstrations, you should flee; the son's service to his parents is to cry and follow the three remonstrations. If the father is not kind, the son is not filial; if the brother is not friendly, the younger brother is not respectful; if the husband is not righteous, the wife is not obedient.

Compared with the samurai creed of RB, Aoki Chuichi recognizes this set of Confucianism more. The monarch and the minister have corresponding obligations.

The Tokugawa shogunate was so incompetent that even the salaries of the ministers could not be paid on time and in quantity. This was the fault of the monarch. How could such a shogunate be worthy of serving by Aoki Chuichi?

In Aoki Chuichi's opinion. He is just fighting for his own legitimate interests. It is the incompetent and corrupt Tokugawa shogunate, those damned Kyushu daimyo, and the cowardly emperor who blocked his way forward.

Blame them for their incompetence!

They did the first day, why can't I do the fifteenth?

If all the samurai in RB really respect the samurai creed and are wholeheartedly loyal to their monarch, then why are there the Honnoji Incident and the Battle of Sekigahara? What did the Tokugawa shogunate rely on to get the position of shogun?

The ruthlessness of the RB Warring States Period and the bloody history of killing are evidenced by it, but it is not a set of "Hagakure" by Yamamoto Tsunetomo and a so-called samurai creed that can cover everything.

Matsunaga Danjo rebelled and killed the regnal Shogun Yoshiteru; Saito Yoshitatsu killed his father Saito Dosan; Imagawa Yoshimoto, in order to inherit the position of head of the family, killed his second brother and all his supporting retainers after the death of his eldest brother;

If everyone adheres to the samurai creed and is absolutely loyal to their monarch, will such a thing still happen? Even the shogunate will not appear, right? Because the head of RB is the emperor, not the shogun. Since so many big men cannot be loyal to the samurai creed, Aoki Chuichi asked himself, as a small man, what else can't he let go of?

Your own interests are the highest!