After walking out of Osaka University, Yoshikawa Kosuke couldn't help but stop and look at the building behind him, and said with regret: "It's a pity, if the court of the Ming Dynasty was full of scholars like Zhang Tianru, life in Japan would be better." ”

After many long talks with Zhang Pu, especially today's exchange on land reform policy, Yoshikawa Kosuke realized that the other party was not a real reformer, but a Confucian and Mencian disciple dressed in a reform coat.

Unlike the atmosphere of innovation and enlightenment he felt from the Ming Emperor and Ye Yuxuan, the purpose of this one who agreed with social reform was to restore society to the ideal society in the minds of the gentry in the past, that is, the so-called rule of antiquity.

If he had not been exposed to the reform policies of the Ming Emperor and had experienced the experience of working beside Ye Yuxuan, Yoshikawa Kosuke might have thought that the kind described by Zhang Pu: the emperor ruled by the arch, the small people lived a self-sufficient life in the countryside, and the pastoral society where the old and the dead did not get along with each other was very beautiful.

But after this experience, Yoshikawa realized that such a small-scale peasant society was not in line with the development trend of the world. The Edo shogunate tried to establish a small-scale peasant society with clear hierarchies and hereditary succession, but under the strong ships and cannons of the Ming and the Southern Barbarians, the shogunate, which seemed to be extremely powerful in the eyes of the Japanese, was beaten to its knees and begged for mercy.

The shortcomings of the small-scale peasant society were immediately apparent at this moment, and if you wanted to live an idyllic life without any quarrel with the world, you had to entrust the safety of the country to God. This kind of pastoral life could have been maintained without foreign invasion, but once a powerful enemy had set their sights on Japan's wealth, it would no longer exist.

Emperor Ming has a saying, this is a world of the jungle, all countries in the world are competing for prosperity and strength, and any country trying to live a stable life behind closed doors is isolating itself from the forest of the world's nations.

How to compete for prosperity and power, the Ming Dynasty has set a best example for Japan, opening up the sea to the outside world, and internally breaking the system of the four peoples and allowing class flow between the four peoples.

And Yoshikawa Kosuke also saw with his own eyes that when foreign merchants relied on their privileges to plunder the wealth of Japan in these years, the places where they could still live were the heavenly lords of the Toyotomi shogunate such as Osaka and Nagasaki under the administration of the Ming Governor's Office. The reason why the peasants in these heavenly domains are doing well is because the governor's office implemented land reform on the heavenly domain at the beginning, and all the land of the Toyotomi family was redeemed and bought into the peasants, and those retainers directly under the Toyotomi family were changed from the land grant system to the annual salary system.

Through this series of reform policies, not only did the economy of Toyotomi become the most developed region in Japan, but the power of the Toyotomi clan completely overwhelmed the Makushita feudal domains. Perhaps these officials from the Ming Dynasty just wanted to use Japan as a testing ground for reform, but for Yoshikawa Kosuke, it was a free compulsory teaching that allowed them to understand how to develop their own economy and military construction.

The vigorous economic development of the Toyotomi Tenryō is clearly in stark contrast to the lifeless appearance of the other feudal domains in Japan. The pleasure-loving lords and the traditional high-ranking samurai have become the biggest obstacles to Japan's prosperity and strength. Some comrades of Yoshikawa Kosuke and the Koya Association began to realize that the only way out for Japan to get out of its current predicament was to break the shogunate system of government and comprehensively imitate the Ming Dynasty for reform.

But if the shogunate is targeted from the beginning, I am afraid that there will be a big internal struggle within the Koyakai itself. Not everyone who joins the Koya Society is for the revival of Japan, and some people are just disgusted with the privileges of foreigners in Japan. The idea of using the slogan of honoring the king to unite the disaffected people throughout Japan, and then using this power to achieve his own political ideals, was one of Yoshikawa's increasingly mature ideas.

From this point of view, a series of ideas and concepts put forward by Zhang Pu have gathered a large number of people's hearts for the Xingya Association, which is also the reason why Yoshikawa Kosuke has not exposed him although he has seen through the essence behind Zhang Pu's ideas.

"Your Excellency, please get on your horse." Yoshikawa Kosuke's entourage stood behind him and gently woke him up. Yoshikawa Kosuke turned around, got on his horse with the help of his entourage, and walked slowly towards the yamen where he was.

When Kosuke Yoshikawa arrived at the office, the other four commissioners were already waiting for him in the meeting room. After Kosuke Yoshikawa entered the meeting room, he ordered the miscellaneous servants to withdraw from the outer room.

As the outside room and the door closed, Kosuke Yoshikawa, who was kneeling on the tatami mat, said to his colleagues: "I think everyone has already understood the news from the Philippines. I wonder what you think about this? And then how do we report to the Elder on duty? ”

Yodowa Musashi, the commissioner of the temple, was the first to respond: "What is there to consider about this, the Japanese who went to Luzon were all agricultural workers who had signed contracts with the Four Seas Trading Company. This matter should naturally wait for Da Ming to speak first, and we can follow Da Ming to show our attitude..."

The military commissioner, Hirano Goro, immediately interrupted him dissatisfiedly and said, "What are these words, these natives are hurting us Japanese, and they haven't stopped yet, so we should naturally respond immediately." It's just a matter of looking at the faces of the Nanyang people, do we even have to look at the faces of the Nanyang natives now? ”

Junichiro Noma and Shinko Mizuno hurriedly persuaded the two, and Mizuno Shingu said to Kosuke Yoshikawa at this time: "Yoshikawa has always been Governor Ye's deputy, and now he is also Governor Zhou's favored assistant. Although we were in charge of the administration and foreign affairs of the Taiko shogunate, the opinion of the governor was still very important to the shogunate. I would also like to ask Yoshikawa to talk about the possible reaction of the Ming Dynasty to the Luzon incident, and the extent to which we will not invite the interference of the Governor-General. ”

The other three commissioners suddenly fell silent, and waited with Mizuno Shinko for Yoshikawa Kosuke's speech. Yoshikawa Kosuke lowered his head and thought for a while before he said to the four colleagues: "The Luzon incident has nothing to do with the Shogunate, and the Governor will not interfere with the decision of the Shogunate. What's more, Governor Zhou has just arrived, and he hasn't even been able to figure out his own power, let alone have more rights and wrongs.

As for the reaction of the Ming Dynasty, it should actually be seen as what the Ming side expects from Japan to react to the Luzon incident. Yes, it was not only our indentured workers sent by Japan who were harmed in Luzon, but also the property of the Four Seas Trading Company, that is, the property of the Ming Dynasty overseas.

We waited patiently, and we would inevitably wait for the Ming Dynasty to negotiate with Manila, and at that time we would naturally speak out much more calmly. But have you ever thought that Manila will still need to care about our reaction at that time? They will only consult with the Ming and put aside the losses of Japan.

If Japan wants to take back the rights that are currently occupied by foreigners, and to formally become a member of ASEAN and gain the right to speak on international affairs, it is necessary for other countries to realize that we are a normal country. What is a normal country, and using its own strength to defend its own interests is a normal country.

Therefore, we should speak out before the Ming Dynasty and make representations to Manila, and then prepare to use force to protect the safety of Japanese nationals, which is the response that a normal country should have. ”

There was silence in the meeting room, except for Mizuno Shinko and Hirano Goro, who were calm, and the other two commissioners were frightened by Yoshikawa Kosuke's words. After coming over for a while, Yodovu Musashi said with a red face: "Are you crazy? What strength does Japan have now to fight? If it causes the Ming Dynasty to be dissatisfied with Japan, do you want the ASEAN Association to have another war against Japan? ”

Goro Hirano, who was in charge of the military, said to Yoshikawa Kosuke seriously: "I support Yoshikawa's proposition that negotiations should be made before using force. We have formed five standing divisions and naval units, not to deter incompetent feudal lords at home. ”

Mizuno Shinko hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Now there are more and more unemployed vagrants who have fled from various domains to the Heavenly Domain, and there are fewer and fewer new fields available for development in the Heavenly Domain. For now, exporting labor abroad is the best way to eradicate these homeless riots. But if we can't protect the interests of the diaspora overseas, then the road will be blocked, and the military will have to use it for internal repression. Instead of letting them kill each other at home, it is better to try their luck overseas. As long as Da Ming does not stand on the opposite side of us, this battle can still be fought. ”

Kosuke Yoshikawa then spoke: "In order to develop the domestic industry and mining industry and prepare for the cause of immigration to overseas, I previously issued a treasury bond of 1.5 million Daming Yuan in Daming through the relationship of Governor Ye. Now it seems that this money could be used for the war for the time being.

As long as we can win this war with Manila, I can assure you that it will not be like the previous war with the Dutch, where we will pay but not gain. Think about it, Luzon alone has far more land suitable for cultivation than the Osaka Plain. If we were victorious, why couldn't we cede a piece of land from the Spaniards to Japan? ”

Junichiro Noma saw that the three commissioners had already expressed their attitudes, and finally changed his wavering position and said, "If Yoshikawa has such a certainty, then I am also willing to support it." ”

Yodo-Atsumi Musashi saw that the general trend had gone, and he softened, but he was still not optimistic about Yoshikawa's adventure plan, so he said tactfully: "Lord Satsuma has just passed away, and Lord Mitsuhisa is still handling the handover affairs in the domain. Due to the previous conflict with the citizens of Osaka, Tadahiro was forced to return to Kumamoto to recuperate. The Lord of Choshu also focused only on the affairs of the feudal kingdom. The two elders on duty in Osaka now, Mitsumasa-sama, are still too young, and Tadayi-sama has never had any opinions, will they really unify our plan? ”

Yoshikawa Kosuke smiled and said: "Naturally, the five elders have the final say on small matters, but this kind of major matter related to the future of Japan, how can a few elders be able to act arbitrarily." The task of convincing the two elders is to be entrusted to me. Now, however, I would like to ask you to submit to my arrangements and begin to proceed with the preparations for war. ”

Under Yoshikawa's strong suppression, Yodowa Musashi finally stopped putting forward any opinions. Kosuke Yoshikawa quickly assigned the task of raising funds and promoting the war to the citizens of Osaka in order to incite the people of Osaka to the war awareness. Yoshikawa and the other two ministers formed a war group and began to prepare for the war in the Philippines.