Chapter 762: Japan? That never existed (Second update, please subscribe)

The Ming Emperor has arrived in Japan!

The British and American devils were defeated without a fight by the mighty Ming Dynasty!

In fact, although he was in Kyushu, Saigo Takamori had been paying attention to the changes in the situation in Tokyo.

After learning that his brother Saigo Congdao was coming back, he knew that Congdao must have a mission.

He was a rebel, but his brother was still a senator in the government.

He remained an important figure in the Satsuma domain's court.

Saigo Takamori had a very complicated mood when he saw that the British and American troops withdrew because Japan was a vassal state of the Ming Dynasty. He did not resign because of the failure of his expedition to Korea. He supported the invasion of Korea to solve the livelihood of the lower-class samurai, but he also opposed it because of Japan's own interests. He did not want to be controlled by the great powers. The United States supported Japan's invasion of Korea, but once Japan invaded Korea, it would mean that it would be controlled by the United States.

Although his mentality is complicated, one thing is certain: the situation he least wants to see has now occurred - Japan is under foreign control.

The United States is a great power, but what about the Ming Dynasty?

It’s also a foreign country!

Although this foreign country has very close relations with Japan.

"What!"

Saigo Takamori said in surprise.

"Two hundred thousand... He, he wants to recruit two hundred thousand Japanese samurai!"

The news brought by Saigo Takamori made Saigo Takamori extremely excited.

"Yes, the Ming Dynasty is now one of the great powers of the world and wants to open up colonies around the world, so the Ming Emperor is preparing to recruit 200,000 Japanese samurai. The salary of the recruited samurai will be based on the treatment of a sergeant, which is 300 taka per year."

"What!"

Saigo Takamori opened his eyes wide again.

"Everyone is paid the salary of a sergeant! 300 taels a year! How is this possible?!"

300 taels a year!

It seems like a lot, but in fact it is not much at all. In terms of rice, about 1 koku is equal to 2.5 taels, which is 120 koku. According to the average price of 2 yuan per koku of rice imported from Burma, Saigon, Siam and other places by the Ming Dynasty, it is 240 yuan, and that is for polished rice. What is the salary of Japanese samurai?

brown rice!

"And it's all polished rice. In addition, there will be corresponding salary and support rice. Basically, 500 taels should not be a problem!"

500 taels a year!

"five hundred!"

Saigo Takamori looked at his fingers. What could he say? He had always been fighting for the interests of the lower-class samurai. Unlike most people, even after he was in a high position, Saigo was extremely concerned about the livelihoods of the lower-class samurai. He was also very generous and magnanimous. Whenever a Satsuma samurai came to him, if he could not solve their personal problems, he would let them take money from the cash box at the door.

But this didn't help many people at all, and he was even accused of buying people's hearts. Even the reason why he rebelled was because the government suppressed the lower-class gentry, leaving them in a state of poverty and lack of food and clothing.

But now the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has begun to recruit the samurai who have been abandoned by the Emperor. Faced with such favorable conditions, how could those warriors not be tempted?

"Brother, I remember you said that since the day when samurai appeared, samurai were loyal to their lords, and their lords gave them salaries. In the old days, no matter who the feudal lord was, the vassal relationship never changed. But after the return of the land, the samurai nominally belonged to the emperor, but it was only in name. For the sake of profit, the emperor could abandon all samurai overnight and turn them into ronin."

Looking at his eldest brother, Saigo Tsongmichi spoke directly.

"Are samurai without their lord still samurai? Of course not! They are just a bunch of ronin!"

Ronin!

Saigo Takamori's heart trembled slightly. How could he not know that the Japanese samurai had become a group of masterless ronin since their military privileges were revoked? Aren't ronin without a master like them, without food and clothing?

But...My Lord.

Suddenly, Saigo Takamori seemed to understand what Congdao meant.

"Cong Dao, what you mean is that we regard the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty as our Lord! He is the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty! We are Japanese!"

Saigo Takamori deliberately emphasized the four words "Emperor of the Great Ming Dynasty".

"Brother, throughout history, the only warrior is the lord!"

Saigo Jōmichi answered directly,

"We are from Satsuma, they are from Choshu, and some are from Sendai. We say we are Japanese, but in our hearts we only care about the interests of our own domain, Japan..."

Pursing his lips, Saigo Tsongmichi said.

"Japan no longer has an emperor! Even if there is one, for thousands of years, the emperor has only been in the palace. The samurai are loyal to their lord, the strong. The emperor has never been the lord of the samurai, and Japan has never been a country of samurai!"

Isn't Japan a country of samurai?

This sentence may sound a bit awkward, but it is the truth. For thousands of years, Japanese samurai have only been loyal to their lords. In the "Bushido", loyalty to their lords is the first priority. Not to mention loyalty to Japan, there is no loyalty to the shogunate. Today's Japanese cannot understand the concept of a country at all. Samurai care more about fighting for the interests of their domains, not the country.

Country...is just an empty name.

"A samurai has only a lord, not a country!"

Why did Saigo Tsumichi say this? Because when he was in Tokyo, he accepted a new concept. Who proposed this new concept? Of course, it was proposed by Emperor Zhu, and it was perfected by the Japanese themselves. There was no need for the future Governor's Office to promote it. The samurai would promote it themselves.

Why do they do this?

Of course, it was to find a reason for himself to defect to the Ming Dynasty.

Just like the "Five Virtues Theory" that some scum in China came up with, it is essentially an excuse for those guys to justify their surrender. Now the Japanese samurai also need to find an excuse for their actions.

What excuse is most appropriate?

Of course, it is the "no-country theory". Samurai have no country, which means that they do not need to be loyal to Japan. Even if they are loyal to the various feudal domains, it is because of the lord, so they only need to be loyal to the lord.

How to assimilate the Japanese?

If you want to assimilate a country or a nation, then the easiest way is to start from the ideology. At this time, Japan has not yet formed a true national concept. This is just right, so we can completely deny Japan as a country.

Samurai are the social elite of Japan. If they all agree with the "no state theory", then naturally there will be no country of Japan. Without this country, there will be no Japanese people, only various feudal domains.

Then what?

Of course, we have to look for evidence from history to prove Japan. No, it should be said that the islands of Japan and China are of the same language and race. Theoretically and historically, we start from the same time, thus completely denying the existence of Japan and the Japanese.

Saigo Jōdō's words were like thunder, exploding in Saigo Takamori's ears, shocking him so much that he could hardly speak. He just stared at Jōdō with his eyes wide open.

"From the Tao, you, you..."

"Brother, you used to say 'if the internal dike is insufficient, the external dike can make up for it'. You used to support the conquest of Korea, and you wanted to solve the livelihood of the lower-level samurai by conquering Korea. But what can samurai without a lord do even if they conquer Korea? Can they get new privileges and new resources from it? In the end, the resources in the occupied area will still belong to the new dignitaries and landlords, and have nothing to do with the lower-level samurai, because they are just ronin, and no one cares about the rights of ronin. But it's different for the lord. The lord must consider the interests of the samurai. After all, the samurai are subjects."

"But, from the Tao, will His Majesty of the Ming Dynasty become the lord of the warriors?"

Saigo Takamori raised his head and asked directly.

"If they are only employed for a few years, once the war is over, they will be left with nothing to eat or wear, just like they are now."

In response to Saigo Takamori's question, Saigo Jōmichi spoke seriously.

"So, big brother, you have to go to Tokyo, meet the Emperor, and present the Japanese samurai books to the Ming Emperor!"

(End of this chapter)