"But father, whether it's Tokugawa Ieyasu or Shimazu Yoshihisa..." Kuroda Nagamasa took a deep breath and said: "If you become a man of the world with the support of the Tang people, who in Japan will be convinced?"
"Convinced? Is this important?" Kuroda Ruishui sneered: "Let me ask you, is Tokugawa Ieyasu really convinced by His Highness Taikaku? But even if he is not convinced, it will affect his public expressions like His Highness Taikaku. Are you loyal?"
"These...these two things are not the same." Kuroda Nagamasa was speechless for a moment.
"What's the difference? This is the same truth!" Kuroda Rushui taught him a lesson: "In the face of absolute strength advantage, no matter whether you are convinced or not, you have to kneel down and call yourself a humble minister.
As for what Tokugawa Ieyasu and Shimazu Yoshihisa think...hehe, what do you think they can think? They were able to surrender to His Highness Taige back then, but now that someone more powerful than His Highness Taige is standing in front of them, do they dare not to surrender? What a joke! "
Kuroda Nagamasa's eyes gradually lost their luster, and he said blankly: "If this is really the case, what will happen to our Kuroda family?"
Kuroda Rushui was silent for a moment, and said slowly but firmly: "I am a veteran of His Highness Taige, and I never plan to have any other masters in this life."
"Father!" Kuroda Nagamasa was shocked, thinking that his father was planning to die for his loyalty to Taige, and hurriedly said: "The Kuroda family and the children are indispensable for your guidance!"
"I didn't say that I wanted to go with His Highness Taige." Kuroda Rushui calmly seemed to be saying something that had nothing to do with him: "I have been ordered to become a monk by His Highness Taige. Naturally, there is nothing for a monk. I should find a secluded place." I quietly practice meditation in the barren mountains and pray for blessings for the world."
It turns out that was the case, Kuroda Nagamasa breathed a sigh of relief. It doesn't matter if you become a monk or a cultivator, as long as you are not loyal to His Highness. But as mortals are still there, asking for advice or something is nothing.
However, Kuroda Nagamasa immediately remembered that there was something more important, and asked hurriedly: "What should the child and the Kuroda family do?"
Kuroda Rushui asked in surprise: "What can you do? Lead the Kuroda family to continue to be enemies of the Ming army, and then let the 140,000 stones of Nakatsu be reduced to ashes? You must be loyal to His Highness Taikaku and drag the Bunzen people into the flames of war. Will they be killed by the extremely powerful Ming army?"
"What my father said is true, but after all, the Bunzen Kingdom was given by the Taikou..."
"His Highness Taiko gave me the Toyozen Kingdom, and the reason is that I have contributed to His Highness Taiko's great cause." Kuroda said calmly: "But His Highness Taiko ordered me to become a monk, which represents the past. The kindness and merit have all been offset. As for you, your 140,000 shi from Fengqian was left to you by your father and me, so what does it have to do with His Highness Taige?"
This statement couldn't be more clear. Kuroda Nagamasa didn't want to care whether this was true or not. At least he knew that this was the best way out for the Kuroda family from a profit perspective, so he breathed a sigh of relief again after hearing this.
However, Kuroda Nagamasa soon became a little angry and said: "But father, it is too much to allow our Kuroda family to be subordinates of the Shimazu family! The Shimazu family is nothing more than a country bumpkin on the border of the Western Kingdom, so why should he oppress us?" Himeji’s famous Kuroda clan? I’m not convinced!”
Kuroda Nagamasa’s words are not without purpose. Japan has had various chains of contempt since ancient times, and they are indispensable in all aspects, from family status to region.
For example, Kanto was a frontier in ancient Japan. It got better after entering the samurai era, but progress was limited. Historically, it was not until Tokugawa Ieyasu established the Edo shogunate that a new era of Japan centered on Edo was formed. After the Meiji Restoration, "Tokyo" was born, and later the Tokyo metropolitan area was formed, and Kanto became a first-class region.
Before that, "Kansai" was the core area of Japan, and the arrogant and xenophobic representatives of the Kansai region would first recommend Kyoto.
As the capital of Japan during the Asuka to Muromachi Shogunate period, Heian-kyo (the Japanese nicknamed Little Changan), Kyoto people have always flaunted their noble blood. After all, they are "people with imperial roots."
In Japan during this period, Kyoto's status was equivalent to Chang'an and Luoyang in China, which were the eastern and western capitals of the Tang Dynasty. Even though it began to decline in the Edo period, Kyoto people still have their own arrogance.
In Japan before the Edo period, Kyoto culture was a culmination of ancient Japanese culture, painting, literature, and economy. In modern terms, it was very "culturally rich."
At this time, the Warring States Period had just ended, and the chain of contempt was still very strong. Generally speaking, it was a chain of contempt that spread out in circles with Kyoto as the center. To the west, Kyoto despises Osaka, Osaka despises Kinki, Kinki despises Chubu and Chugoku (Sanin Sanyo), and these two in turn despise Shikoku, Kanto, Tohoku and Kyushu.
In other words, Kyushu Island is at the bottom of the chain of regional contempt in Japan, and the Shimazu family Satsuma Domain at the southernmost tip of Kyushu Island, needless to say, is of course the bottom of the bottom, and any lower will be Most of the ghost places that go directly to the underworld are no better than Ezo (Hokkaido).
And what is the family background of the Kuroda family? Kuroda Yoshizu's father is Kuroda Shitaka, the lord of Himeji Castle in Harima Province, his mother is the adopted daughter of the castle lord Kodera, and his wife is the daughter of Kushibashi Isada. It can be said that the whole family is a master of the castle lord level.
Himeji Castle here is not simple. It belongs to Kinki geographically, which is the core area of the contempt chain. It is a big city second only to Kyoto (Osaka was built by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, which is a later thing) one.
Moreover, the city itself is a large city. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi became a general under Oda Nobunaga, he was ordered to attack the Mori family. His home city at that time was Himeji Castle. Therefore, large-scale construction was carried out, making Himeji Castle's status even more important. . Incidentally, it was during this period that Kuroda Asui joined Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
All in all, when the Kuroda family faced the Shimazu family, they considered themselves city dwellers and regarded the Shimazu family as country people. Although in theory, the Kuroda family's ability to be a castle lord was compared to those of two countries (Satsuma, Okuma, etc.) In fact, the Shimadzu family (part of Hinata) is much worse, but they can't stand their high spirits.
This is like a certain period of time in China in later generations. Regardless of their status, artists from Hong Kong will always be ranked near the top when they appear together with mainland artists. When did this change? After the mainland's economic level has improved significantly, the country's image has become better and better, and its international status has become higher and higher.
The current Shimadzu family has actually improved a lot economically, mainly due to the glass industry. As a characteristic industry tailor-made for the Shimadzu family by Gao Pragmatic, the Shimadzu family now relies on glass product processing, and its financial income has increased significantly compared with ten years ago - of course, it also owes Jinghua a lot of money.
However, limited by the times, this improvement is not yet fully known to all of Japan, so people from other places still view the Shimadzu family as country bumpkins.
Faced with his son's dissatisfaction, Kuroda Rushui did not answer immediately, but thought deeply. After a long time, he said: "There is a saying in the Tang Dynasty: success depends on heaven, and planning depends on people. Under the current circumstances, opposing Gao Nanning's proposal is tantamount to seeking death. No matter what ambitions the Kuroda family has, they must first ensure Can continue the family name.
Han Xin can endure the humiliation of his crotch, but you can't bear to call Shimazu Yoshihisa "Lord"? What's more, the Lord may not need to scream for long. "
Kuroda Nagamasa was surprised and said: "What do you mean by what father said?"
"Although I don't know how many powerful names Gao Nanning has won over in Japan, the Narita family is watching over the Tokugawa family, so shouldn't there be a family watching over the Shimadzu family as well? Now Gao Nanning asked me The Kuroda family is subordinate to the Shimazu family. On the surface, it strengthens the Shimazu family, but in fact, I'm afraid it's not like placing a chess piece next to the Shimazu family to contain it."
"Chess piece?" Kuroda Nagamasa frowned and seemed to dislike this positioning.
Kuroda Rusui, however, was very discerning. He glanced sideways at his son and said, "What's wrong with the chess pieces? In Gao Nanning's eyes, Bunzen's 140,000 shi can be used as a chess piece, which is pretty good. Do you still think you can become a chess piece?" A chess player?"
Kuroda Nagamasa thought that the main combat strength of the Japanese navy had been defeated by Gao Pragmatic in the First World War (this was a misunderstanding. Although the losses of the Japanese navy were large, they were obviously not completely collapsed), and there was no doubt about the strength of the Ming army. , and even the Sea Trade Alliance alone is far from what the Kuroda family can match. In this way, it doesn't seem so harsh for my father to say that the Kuroda family is just a chess piece.
Kuroda Nagamasa sighed slightly, but nodded and said: "Okay, the chess pieces will be chess pieces, but since my father emphasized that people make decisions, I think he must have some advice. Please tell me clearly."
"Since you have decided to surrender, you must do it thoroughly and let your lord know two things about you." Kuroda said calmly.
Kuroda Nagamasa sincerely asked for advice: "My child is stupid and I don't know what the problem is. Please ask my father for advice."
"What other two things are important to the lord as a subject? They are nothing more than loyalty and competence. All you have to do is embody these two values at any time, in any place, and in any event."
"Father, does your so-called lord mean Shimazu or..."
"How can it be Shimazu? It is naturally Gao Nanning." Kuroda Ruishui snorted: "How can Shimazu be worthy of the loyalty of my Kuroda family! I, Kuroda Ruishui, am loyal to Guanbai in the past and Taige today. Naturally, the person you want to be loyal to in the future should be the number one person in Japan - he will not be Tokugawa Ieyasu, let alone Shimazu Yoshihisa. Only Gao Nanning will be the real person in power behind the 'people of the world'! "
If he were not loyal to Shimazu Yoshihisa but to "Tang Prime Minister" Gao Nanning, Kuroda Nagamasa's resistance would no longer exist. He breathed a sigh of relief and said: "What my father said is absolutely true. The Kuroda family will never change its family. If it wants to change... then it must be the one with the most authority!"
Kuroda Rushui nodded with satisfaction and said: "Since you agree, then go and reply to Gao Nanning."
"Yes, father, I will send someone to Sichuan right now." Kuroda Nagamasa responded immediately.
However, Kuroda Rushui glared at him: "Have you forgotten what I just said? I don't send someone to go, you go there yourself!"
"Ah, yes, yes, thank you father for reminding me. I will go to meet Gao...to meet my lord in person."
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Thanks to book friend "Cao Mianzi" for your reward and support, thank you!
Thanks to book friends "Cao Mianzi", "Old West of Altay", and "Ling Qi Zhao Bi Xin" for their monthly support, thank you!
ps: There is only so much content in this chapter, and it was finished in 3k, but according to my usual habit of 4k for a chapter... let’s just say I owe 1k today, and I will make up for it later when the amount of content is appropriate.
