When Yoshikawa Hiromasa and his son Yoshikawa Hiroka walked out of the Ninomaru Entrance Omoto Gate, the Maori retainers who had left with them began to disperse. If Honmaru was the residence of the lord and his family, then Ninomaru was the residence of the lord and his office, and Sannomaru was the residence of important samurai.

Therefore, Ninomaru and Honmaru almost only have one passage, and they are heavily guarded. However, the atmosphere of Sannomaru is much more relaxed, not only are there more roads and leisure facilities, but even there are many fewer guards.

Yoshikawa Hiromasa, who was walking briskly along the way, slowed down his pace after passing through the Omote Imperial Gate, and deliberately chose a relatively secluded forest path to leave, away from the crowds on the main road.

After stepping onto the forest path covered with yellow leaves, and causing the retinue samurai to move away from their father and son a little, Yoshikawa Hiromasa blamed his son: "How dare you say that in the palace just now, you really think so?" Or do you just want to block others? ”

With his hands in his sleeves and his eyes squinting to enjoy the "rustling" sound of clogs stepping on the dead leaves, Hiroka Yoshikawa replied nonchalantly to his father, "Naturally, I really think so." The current situation is very clear, and if we compromise with the shogunate while the family still has strength, we can still retain some power after the war, but the longer it drags on, the less chips we have in our hands, and the lower the value of the existence of the Mori family, and the more stringent the conditions put forward by the shogunate. ”

Yoshikawa Hiromasa silently walked forward for a while, and then sighed and said: "Your idea is good, but let the head of the family leave the life and future of their family to others to decide, even if the other party is Daming, it is difficult to reassure and relieve." ”

Yoshikawa Hiroka, who was walking behind his father, pursed his lips, obviously not agreeing with his father's opinion, and then said: "Before and after the Battle of Sekigahara that day, didn't they hand over the lives and future of their family to others? The Zong family has always been this stinky problem, and they can never see the general trend clearly, but they are just cold to the little scraps that others put in front of them. To paraphrase a sentence in the Ming market, they just don't hit the south wall and don't look back, and they don't die until they reach the Yellow River. ”

Yoshikawa Hiromasa subconsciously stopped his pace, so that Yoshikawa Hiroka almost bumped into it, and before he could complain, his father returned to nature and walked forward, "Everyone regards us as a member of the Maori family, but after all, we are not in the Maori family now, and sometimes we should avoid suspicion, and it is better for you to bury these words in your stomach in the future." And what you said may not be correct, surrendering to the Osaka Governor's Office is simple, but who knows if the Osaka Governor's Office will make harsher demands than the Shogunate.

What the Ming people often talk about is not my race, and their hearts must be different? Our roots in the Yoshikawa clan are in Iwakuni, in Choshu, if the Choshu Mori family is gone, will there still be the Yoshikawa family? ”

Yoshikawa Hiroka immediately retorted dissatisfiedly: "What my father said is too narrow, when I studied at the Daming Military Academy on the first day, the first lesson I learned was world geography. I still remember my teacher saying that most of the places on this map may not be accessible in our lifetime, but that doesn't stop us from keeping the whole world in our hearts.

If we don't have the heart and courage to accommodate the whole world, then our vision and pattern will never be able to break through the local part and look at the whole picture, and then the plans we make will be full of flaws. Although the roots of the Yoshikawa clan are in Iwakuni and Choshu, if even the whole of Japan cannot control their own destiny, how can the small Choshu domain and our Iwakuni control their own future? ”

Yoshikawa Hiromasa finally couldn't help but stop, looked back at his son and said seriously: "Then why do you think that the Akito will be able to give Japan freedom?" In the days when you returned to Japan, you couldn't see that there were more and more Ming goods on the streets, but there were very few handicrafts produced in Japan itself, and many farmers and craftsmen lost their jobs and became homeless on the streets.

There are only a few kinds of goods that Japan can export, but the Ming goods that pour into Japan are more and more day by day, and if this continues, just to fill the gap in the payment of imported goods from the Ming Kingdom, Japan's wealth will almost be consumed. For such a Japan, can Ming really let go and return to freedom? ”

Yoshikawa Hiroka said unmoved: "Father is right, the current Japan is very painful, especially the people at the bottom feel unbearable, because the Ming Dynasty is lying on the corpse of the old Japan and sucking blood."

However, this was the only way for the birth of new Japan, and it was precisely because the Ming people opened the door to our country that the invincible Tokugawa shogunate could now retreat to the east, allowing the feudal clans to begin to accumulate financial resources. The ideas, culture, machines, goods, and news from the Ming Dynasty were changing the people and samurai of Japan, making them open their eyes to the world beyond Japan.

In the past, we often thought that the Tang Dynasty was the world, and the Central Plains was the only source of civilization. But in fact, this is not the case, and it is said that the American continent to the east of Japan is larger than the Central Plains, and after crossing the American continent, there is another ocean, and on the other side of the ocean is the country of what we call the Southern Barbarians.

In the south of the Ming Kingdom, after crossing the Strait of Malacca, there is an ocean, the north of this ocean is the westernmost part of the Asian continent connected with Europe, and the area is also not less than the Central Plains where the Ming Dynasty is located. To the east of this ocean is the Tianzhu Continent as the Ming people say, and it is also the place where the Buddha was born. To the west of this ocean is a huge land of black people...

Relative to Japan, Daming is a giant. But compared to the world, the Ming Dynasty is like a comparison between the Choshu Domain and the whole of Japan. Just as the Choshu Domain required Iwakuni to make sacrifices, the Ming Dynasty also needed sacrifices from Japan. However, the conquest of Japan was not all that the Ming Dynasty was aiming for, and the Ming Dynasty aimed at the world's continents that were richer than the Japanese archipelago.

Just as the Choshu Domain could not conquer the whole of Japan on its own, the Ming Dynasty was also unable to conquer the whole world with the power of a single country. Then the Ming Dynasty will naturally let Japan, Korea, and other subject countries that belong to the same cultural circle become their helpers, and let us control some areas that are not important and rich enough for them, and this is the return of the price that Japan is paying now. The Philippine colonization has been a good proof of this.

If we can't even endure this pain, how can we gain the trust of the Ming Kingdom? ”

Looking at his high-spirited son at this time, Yoshikawa Hiromasa not only shook his head, but since he stayed in Beijing for a few years, Yoshikawa Hiroka seemed to be less reserved and forbearing, which was what he was quite worried about. After thinking for a while, he said to his son in a serious tone: "No matter what big things you want to do, you must save your life first." The situation in this family is so complicated, it would be wrong to say more, I have seen that you should follow Kumagai Motogo straight to the Shimonoseki area for a few days..."

Although Yoshikawa Hiroka didn't agree with his father's opinion, he was really tired of staying in Hiroshima Castle, and it was a good choice to go to Shimonoseki, so he quickly agreed.

Hiroshima Castle, built at the mouth of the Ota River, is not a castle with a four-square rule, and because the designers who built the castle designed the city according to the size of the sandbar, it looks like a carp jumping ashore from a distance, so it is also called Koi Castle. Of course, some locals say that because Hiroshima Bay was called "Ko Yi" in ancient times, "Ko Yi" is pronounced the same as the Japanese "Koi", so it is called Koi Castle.

After being renovated by Fukushima, Asano, and Mori, Hiroshima Castle has become a sturdy castle. However, when Yoshikawa Hiroka and Kumagai Motonao left Hiroshima Castle with their men, his expression was a little dismissive for the castle.

Kumagai Motonao noticed his expression, as the staunchest supporter of the Yoshikawa family and related by marriage, Kumagai Motonao has always been extremely casual in front of Yoshikawa Hiroka. Therefore, he couldn't help but ask him: "What, do you think there are any flaws in this city?" ”

Yoshikawa Hiroka, who was riding on a horse, shook his head and said: "Although Licheng is strong enough in Japan, this design is acceptable to deal with the Japanese daimyos, but if you want to use it to resist the artillery of the Ming people, I am afraid it is not qualified." Moreover, no matter how strong the city is, there will eventually be a way to conquer it. If my family wants to rely on this fortified city in exchange for the last hope, I think it may become a cocoon..."

When Yoshikawa Hiroka and others went to the Shimonoseki area, an evacuation was also underway at the junction of Aki and Bigo countries, in the Onomichi area near the Seto Inland Sea. Hayashi Anmichi, a senior investigator of the Social Research Department dressed as a Japanese businessman, stands on the edge of the pier and looks out to sea, and in front of him is the famous Onomichi waterway in the Seto Inland Sea area, from which you can quickly reach Osaka, Shikoku, Kyushu and other places by boat.

Although the weather today is not very good, and it is still drizzling, it is not a big problem for boaters who are skilled in the Seto Inland Sea. When Lin Andao was watching the beautiful scenery of the Seto Inland Sea under the rain curtain and the misty rain, the subordinates who received the personnel on the boat trotted to him and said: "Report to the lord, except for the three people who failed to arrive in time and the two people who could not rush back because of accidental casualties, 24 of the 29 people who participated in the observation operation this time have returned. Are we going to wait? ”

Lin Andao turned to look at the road behind him, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Then wait for the time of the three incense, and if you haven't rushed back, then leave a message and let them evacuate with a backup plan." ”

After this subordinate left, the cronies who held the umbrella for Lin Andao couldn't help but complain: "Why is it not allowed to kill a few leaders of the rebels who are venerable to the king, in that case, the rebels will not only be completely dispersed?" ”

Lin Andao glared at him and said, "We are not assassins, and we must not kill people unless we are forced to do so." We were sent here to observe and record how these people assembled, formed mass organizations, and incited or coerced ordinary people to participate in violent activities, and how ordinary people changed from forced to spontaneous in the process. As for the victory or defeat of the shogunate army and the rebels, it is not in our consideration. ”

"But what's the use of recording these things?" The cronie asked, puzzled.

"Now that we know how mass movements can turn into violent sabotage groups, we can reverse these experiences and use them to quell the various mass movements that have emerged in the country. This will minimize the destructive power of the mass movement, how can this be useless..."

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