Only now did Ii Naotora truly believe what Ii Naomasa said.
The saint really loved Ii Naomasa and wanted to give her a divine seed and include her as a divine descendant. Otherwise, just defending Naoyoshi Hanzawa would be enough to make Ii Naomasa unable to turn around for the rest of his life.
Seeing his adopted daughter still looking stunned and unconvinced, Ii Naotora couldn't laugh or cry, and could even feel the helplessness of the saint.
While he was thankful, Ii Naotora was also thinking about how to enlighten his adopted daughter so that she would not be stupid.
"Zhizheng."
"Hi."
"Do you know how deeply the saint loves you?"
"Of course I know, and I am willing to dedicate everything to the saint."
Ii Naotora stared into Ii Naomasa's eyes and said slowly.
"No, you don't know. You are so well protected by the saint that you don't understand the nature of the Wu family or the dangers of the world.
Think about those people at the banquet just now. Do you know how indifferent they were five or six years ago when the Jingyi family faced the disaster?
The Ono family, as the elder of the Ii family, betrayed his master's family and took refuge with the Imagawa family. He killed two generations of Ii family governors, took away Ii Valley Castle, and almost led to the extinction of the Ii family.
Today, the Jingyi family is full of friends and allies, but just a few years ago, I lay awake every night, fearing that the Jingyi family would no longer exist when I opened my eyes."
Naomasa Ii gritted his teeth and asked.
"Since these people are unreliable, why are you so polite to them?"
Ii Naotora sighed.
"Why should I be rude to them? It's the nature of the Wu family to add beauty to the cake and add insult to injury. The Wu family loves strength and values courtesy over righteousness. Everyone is like this. Who can look down on whom?
There are two reasons why the Jing Yi family was able to escape from death and still enjoy the grand occasion today.
First, His Highness Tokugawa made great use of me after he took over the Tojiang Kingdom, making the people of Tojiang willing to get close to the Ii family.
Secondly, your status in the Shiba family has been rising steadily, which has made the Toe family take a high look at the Ii family.
But you should never be deceived by their good-natured appearance. If the Ii family weakens again, most of them will immediately change their faces."
Naomasa Ii sighed.
"The Wu family's moral principles are indifferent and the order of the Wu family does not exist. This is a stubborn disease in troubled times, so it is even more necessary to reverse this wrong social atmosphere."
Ii Naotora shook his head and said.
"We talk about righteousness, but our hearts are all about interests. This is the normal state of politics.
If you are unwilling to accept reality and insist on persisting, the saint may not be able to protect you in the future.
If, according to you, His Highness Tokugawa puts me in a position of great importance, I should be loyal to her and follow her lead?"
Ii Naomasa was stunned and nodded.
"This is how a ruler and his ministers behave, only then can they implement the principles of the Wu family."
Ii Naotora smiled bitterly.
"Then if there is a conflict between the Shiba family and the Tokugawa family, do you want me to help Shiba or Tadokawa?"
Ii Naomasa was stunned again and said hesitantly.
"No way? I think His Highness Tokugawa is very respectful to saints..."
Ii Naotora interrupted.
"So I said that you were protected too well by the saint, and you don't understand the rules of the game of Wu family politics at all.
The world is not black and white. Politicians do not make choices because they like it. When water flows downward, it always chooses the direction of least resistance. No one can truly go against the will of heaven.
Why did His Highness Tokugawa re-appoint me? Because she felt that as a male, I could not threaten the Tokugawa family's rule in the Tokugawa Kingdom, so she supported me to lead the Tokugawa people.
If I were a warrior with prestige, or a powerful male warrior like a saint, how could His Highness Tokugawa be so polite to me? Isn't she afraid of the hidden danger of having a big tail?
Just because I couldn't threaten her, she made me the leader of Yuanjiang, and because you are a high-ranking member of the Sibo family, she respected me extraordinarily.
But if one day, there is a rift between the Spode and Tokugawa families, I will be the biggest hidden danger to the Tokugawa family, and I am afraid that I will die without a burial place."
Ii Naomasa was frightened.
"No, the Tokugawa family has no reason to oppose the Shiba family, and His Highness Tokugawa has no courage to confront the saint."
Ii Naotora smiled bitterly.
"Of course I know how big the strength gap is between the saint and His Highness Tokugawa. I am just reminding you and hope you will be more sensible.
Wu family politics does not distinguish between right and wrong, only interests. The saint should have taught you this, right?
But you were born in the direct line of Sibo, you took control of supervisory responsibilities early on, and you hold a high position of authority. No one dares to offend you, so you don't understand the complexity of government affairs.
The saint treats you with deep affection and love, allowing you to grow up without any worries, and you can assume the high position of the Sibo family at a young age.
You are indeed very smart and have done a lot for the saint, but your journey has been so smooth and you have never experienced any hardships or hardships."
Ii Naomasa was silent for a long time and said bitterly.
"Am I really naive?"
Ii Naotora did not answer directly, but just changed the topic.
"Do you know where the four nuns who were scared away by Hanzawa Naoyoshi are now?"
Ii Naomasa shook his head numbly.
"have no idea."
Ii Naotora pointed to the direction and said.
"It's right in Hamamatsu Castle."
Naomasa Ii almost jumped up.
"It was His Highness Tokugawa who took them in? Why? His Highness Tokugawa also wanted to intervene in the affairs of the eight states?"
Ii Naotora grabbed his adopted daughter and said helplessly.
"Sit down first and don't get excited. As long as the saint is here, the sky will not fall."
Naomasa Ii reluctantly sat down, but his expression remained solemn and he said solemnly.
"Father, you don't know something. This major corruption case in Guanbazhou has a wide range of implications. Almost everyone in the Wu family ethics promotion committee has been tainted by the cause and effect, and the middle and lower classes in Guanbazhou are also panicked.
The cause of everything was the absconding of these four nuns. They should have taken away important accounts, which are conclusive evidence.
But I didn't expect that they would actually escape to the Tokugawa family."
Naomasa Ii smiled and said.
"Don't even think about it, where can these four nuns run to when they are desperate?
As soon as they ran away, the Wu Family Giri Promotion Association was put on a fire. Many people in Kanto wanted to kill them and silence them, and burn all the accounts with a fire.
Therefore, they cannot stay in Kanto and must stay far away.
The Hokuriku Road trade route is inextricably linked to the Samurai Giri Promotion Association. If they cannot leave, they can only seek refuge on the Tokaido Road.
Their only way to survive is the saint. It is better to hope for mercy from others than to be merciful by the saint, so they wander around the East China Sea Road, hoping to wait for an opportunity to meet the saint to express their love.
It's just that they were unlucky and were caught by His Highness Tokugawa.
The Tokaido trade route has been planned for two years, but Sakai Port has always been pushy and perfunctory, and still maintains the operation of the Hokuriku Road trade route.
His Highness Tokugawa proposed to the sage to reopen the Tokaido trade route. He had been looking forward to it for two years. Naturally, he felt angry. However, Takada Haruno of Sakai Port refused to let go and did nothing about it.
The major corruption case of the Samurai Giri Promotion Association is implicated in Sakai Port, so it is impossible for the flow of large sums of money in Sakai Port to bypass Takada Haruno.
His Highness Tokugawa captured the four nuns, which gave him the leverage to talk to the saint, put some pressure on Sakai Port, and forced Takada Yono to relent."
Ii Naomasa snorted.
"These four nuns are certainly to blame for the corruption in Guanbazhou. However, His Highness Tokugawa only cares about his own selfish interests and only wants to use them to negotiate terms with the saint. It's really...hum..."
Ii Naotora shook his head and said.
"Zhizheng, I will teach you another lesson today on behalf of the saint.
In fact, the saint doesn't care about major corruption cases at all. How can there be any corruption in Guandong? Isn't it just internal fighting?
The Kanto warriors only rely on mountains to eat mountains, water to eat water, and do things like plucking feathers when geese pass by.
There are three million koku in food stamps in the accounts of the Wu Family Yili Promotion Association. The money and food are flowing like water passing through the hands of these people. How can they not think about it?
Before the saint used them, he didn’t know what kind of people they were? Of course the saint knew!
No one is wiser than a saint. A saint knows better than you and me what the virtues of the Wu family are. How could we not have thought that there might be problems with the accounts?"
Ii Naomasa was stunned for a moment by what his adoptive father said, and murmured.
"Since the Wu Family Ethics Promotion Association is so important, it should employ loyal people..."
Ii Naotora interrupted.
"There are hundreds of thousands of Kanto warriors, how many loyal people are there?
Even if there were still loyal and righteous people among the Kanto warriors, they were all wiped out in a hundred years of chaos.
What are troubled times? Rituals have collapsed, morals have declined, and order has ceased to exist. How can the Kanto samurai family survive in troubled times for hundreds of years and have any loyal people in the true sense?
Even if he knows that they are all bastards, the saint still has to hold their noses and use them. He can't push the land of the eight states out and hand it over to others, right?
Everyone is greedy, which means no one is greedy, so I say there is no corruption, only infighting.
Naoyoshi Hansawa, a foreign samurai warrior with no roots in Kanto, took less than a year to tear off the fig leaf of the entire Kanba Province and turn it upside down. Do you think it's normal?
Although I don’t know the specific inside story, I can guarantee that there must be someone in Kanto secretly helping Hanzawa Naoyoshi and adding fuel to the flames.
Hanzawa Naoyoshi has been used by others, and you have also been used by others. Your so-called loyalty and righteousness are just political tools for others to fight among themselves.
In fact, the sage understands everything, but he has to figure it out slowly.
If enough loyal people can be promoted in Kanto, what else will the saint do to recruit foreign students, recruit blue-clad people, and look forward to the next generation?
Just because there is no one to use it and it has to be used, the saint can only be confused.
The sage has always been well aware of the mess in Kanto. Why do you need you to act as a hero, and why do you need Hanzawa Naoyi to investigate Kanto?
Originally, everything was hidden under the table. Even if we knew there was a latrine underneath, it would just stink up the latrine and we would have to wait for this generation to get rid of it and then slowly clean it up.
But it would be better for you to just send someone to blow up the toilet! If I were a saint, let alone Naoyoshi Hanzawa’s head, I would even want to chop off your head!
Zhizheng, the saint really loves you and is really protecting you, you should be more careful and don't cause trouble for the saint anymore."
Naomasa Ii was stunned by his adoptive father's heartfelt words and was speechless for a moment.
This is why the person closest to me would educate her with all his heart and soul, and tell her everything in detail. Others would not explain it in such detail and clearly.
However, these words also made Naomasa Ii, who upholds loyalty and is in charge of supervision, somewhat subvert his outlook and look confused.
Are you really wrong?
Young people such as ourselves, Naoyoshi Hanzawa, Yua Kito and others who are obsessed with justice, righteousness and righteousness, are we really wrong?
Is this world supposed to be filthy? Should the stench of filthiness be covered up under a whitewash and pretend not to know?
After a long while, Naomasa Ii sighed.
"I am very grateful to my father for his thoughtful words.
But if young people think like this, then the world will really be over.
We hope to follow the saints and build a beautiful new world. If we compromise with the dirty old world in front of us, wouldn’t our life be a joke?
Yua Kito is dead, and Naoyoshi Hanzawa is waiting to die. I can accept that they died for their ideals, but I cannot tolerate them becoming a joke.
Someone has to speak up for them. Even if it is for the future of the Sibo family and a better social atmosphere in the Sibo world, I must stand up.
This is my love for the saint, and I will not allow this dirty old world to tarnish the saint’s new world!"
Naotora Ii looked at his adopted daughter with firm eyes and was speechless.
Ii Naomasa's stubbornness gave the saint a headache and his adoptive father a headache, but they could not completely deny Ii Naomasa's ideas.
The true growth of a child is from discovering the ugliness and filthiness of the world, but still loving and embracing the world, hoping to make the world a better place.
In a sense, both Yoshihiro Shiba and Naotora Ii are not as good as Naomasa Ii. Young people like Naomasa Ii who insist on justice are the driving force of social progress.
Shaking his head, Ii Naotora said.
"I have all the good things to say, it's up to you whether you listen or not. I'm getting old too, and it's up to you to decide on this family fortune. You can do whatever you want."
Looking at the gray hair on his adoptive father's temples, Ii Naomasa felt a little guilty, lowered his head and was silent for a moment, then couldn't help but say.
"The major corruption case of the Wu family's moral promotion association is so intense, but in your opinion, father, you downplay it, as if you don't care at all."
Ii Naotora smiled.
"I said, no one is wiser than a saint.
The Saint is invincible and has dominated the world for ten years. The land of Guandong has long been conquered. As long as the Saint is around, there will be no trouble in Guandong.
It's nothing more than some money and food being moved around. Whether it's moved to each family's own warehouse or embezzled to Sakai Port, who dares not to return it with just a word from the saint?
Since there is no loss of money or food, what big thing can happen?"
What Ii Naotora didn't know was that the large amount of money and food that had been misappropriated to Sakai Port had been accepted by Takada Haruno and could evaporate without a trace at any time.
As a traditional martial artist, she didn't realize that this huge storm had just begun.
In fact, even Spo Yiyin himself did not clearly realize the seriousness of the problem and thought that everything was under control.
At this moment, Ii Naomasa is more concerned about whether he can save Hanzawa Naoyoshi.
There is little sense of justice in troubled times. Although Hanzawa Naoyoshi's approach is radical, he is a righteous person recognized by Ii Naomasa. It is really unbearable to see her lose her life like this.