"That's right. How could there be a shortage of people around the saint? It was my fault.
Like the woman I met at the gate of the hospital just now. She seems to be both talented and beautiful. What is her name... um, Sarei Matsukami?"
Yoshigan glanced at Date Masamune. She had an innocent look on her face and put her finger on the corner of her mouth as if she was reminiscing. She really acted like that.
It was rare to see Date Masamune, a woman who was soft on the outside but strong on the inside, feel anxious, jealous of others, and worried that she would fall out of favor, which made Yoshigan feel even more funny.
The more she acted like this, the more Yiyin wanted to tease her, so he laughed.
"Saei Matsukami, she is not a woman, she is a honeypot, yes, she is simply a honeypot."
Yoshigan deliberately expressed admiration to arouse Date Masamune's jealousy, but at the moment he forgot what a terrifying tiger this weak woman in front of him was.
This joke was deeply remembered by Date Masamune. God knows how much trouble it would bring to Matsukami Sarei.
Taking a deep breath, Date Masamune's smile became a little stiff.
Yiyin waved his hands and said.
"I'm not kidding you anymore. He's just a newcomer. He's a new Warrior Ji who graduated from the military academy. He's a very hard-working young man. Don't think too much about it."
At this time, Date Masamune had controlled his emotions, relaxed his expression, and nodded following the saint's wishes.
"Of course I know that the saint is joking and cannot be taken seriously."
Yoshigan smiled and passed away, but Date Masamune couldn't let it go.
Hard-working young people, if you work harder, you should be on the holy couch, right?
Date Masamune didn't know it at this time, but Matsukami Sarei had already ascended the holy couch and successfully followed his own path.
But one day, she will know.
———
Winter has passed and spring has come, and the new spring’s Great Congress of All Representatives of the United Front is being held again.
The familiar United Front members no longer need the saint to do anything deliberately. They deal step by step in private, vote by show of hands, and applaud.
Five adhere to the rules and act accordingly, and the SPO Fed will move forward steadily.
The second batch of trainees of the Academy of Armed Forces has graduated, and fresh blood continues to integrate into the Shiba ruling group, bringing new vitality to the provisional shogunate.
The internal integration of the Shiba family is on the right track, and the Ichijo family is not idle either.
Kuroda Takataka followed Hideyoshi Ichijo's wishes and built a new castle in Hizen Province. It was also Hideyoshi's new residence, Nagoya Castle.
Before Takaka Kuroda could finish the work, Ichijo Hideyoshi was already eagerly preparing for his own conquest of the peninsula.
While communicating with the families under her command, she allocated military strength, accumulated military supplies, and built warships.
On the one hand, he asked the clan of Tsushima Island to serve as a diplomatic bridge and submit credentials to the monarchs and ministers of the peninsula.
The Zong family could not dissuade him, so they had no choice but to use their own connections to send letters to the peninsula.
In the certificate of credence, Ichijo Hideyoshi identified himself as the island nation's Guanbai, hoping that the peninsula's monarchs and ministers would allow the island nation's troops to pass through, and invited the peninsula's monarchs and ministers to conquer the 400 states of the Tang Dynasty together and share the heavenly kingdom.
The monarchs and ministers of the peninsula, who had always been respectful to the Celestial Empire, were almost stunned when they saw the certificate of credence. They were incredulous at the arrogance displayed by Ichijo Hideyoshi.
Therefore, the monarchs and ministers of the peninsula not only issued an early warning to the Celestial Empire, but also sent people to the island country to inquire about Ichijo Hideyoshi's identity and strength.
On the Chinese side, the Wanli monarchs and ministers were currently fighting a twenty-year counterattack in the Ming-Burma War, and at the same time they were also fighting the Ningxia Campaign to suppress the Mongolian rebellion.
When they heard that the island country was raising troops to invade the peninsula to attack the Chinese dynasty, the officials of the Ming Dynasty did not pay attention to it. They just regarded it as nonsense and shelved it in the cabinet.
The peninsula's spies in the island country reported that Ichijo Hideyoshi was not the supreme ruler of the island country, but could only be regarded as a prince who suddenly rose up, which also made the peninsula kings and ministers breathe a sigh of relief.
This Hideyoshi pretended to be too scary, it turns out he was just an arrogant maniac.
The monarchs and ministers of the peninsula laughed at An Xin for a few times, then continued to lie down, and then something happened.
Unable to get a response from the peninsula's monarchs and ministers, Ichijo Hideyoshi became furious and formally raised his troops to conquer the peninsula.
The peninsula has been at peace for a long time, civil and military forces have been active, and the country's eight branches of military equipment have been relaxed. More than 400 counties are almost undefended.
The only people in the Beiying who had some combat power were also keeping an eye on the Jianzhou Jurchens in the north, cooperating with the Celestial Empire's occasional raids on Liaodong, supporting the weak and weakening the strong, and maintaining a relative balance.
Facing the unexpected army of the island country, the peninsula was like a defenseless and innocent boy, with no preparation or ability to resist.
At this time, in the crisp autumn weather, the Sibo family was still celebrating the birth of the saint's fourteenth and fifteenth daughters.
Hideyoshi Ichijo had already moved into the unfinished Nagoya, and issued a mobilization order to his samurai daimyo to officially conquer the peninsula.
The entire Nishijima Kingdom samurai family took action. This year they borrowed a large amount of food stamps from Shiba Dokura to purchase military supplies from the Tokugawa territory.
A large amount of materials from Shiba's territory were exported from the Tokugawa territory and transferred to the West Island countries. The shortage of supply greatly stimulated the production of the East Island countries, and the economy developed rapidly.
In East Taiping and West Taiping, the economic level of the two worlds is getting bigger and bigger, and the gap in people's livelihood between the east and west of the island country is also getting wider and wider.
People's hearts are further divided, and the wealthy people of the East Islands are increasingly looking down on the poor and lunatic Western countries who are militaristic. This also lays the groundwork for the future breakup and war between the East and West Island countries.
This year, the West Island Country was preparing for war, while the East Island Country was producing, and both sides were in peace.
In the spring of the following year, Hideyoshi Ichi, who felt that everything was ready, officially invaded the peninsula. The history of the island country has now entered a different river, parted ways with its original history, and has changed since then.
———
In midsummer, the weather is getting hotter.
In this chaotic era where order has not yet been restored, human life is like grass and grass. As the saying goes, there is wine today and you are drunk now. Worry tomorrow and worry tomorrow. The idea of enjoying yourself in time is everywhere.
As the war subsided, Kinki's economy has slowly recovered in recent years. With more money and food in hand, the material and cultural needs of the samurai family have also increased.
Life in this world is nothing more than eating, drinking and having fun, and a woman’s greatest pleasure is never separated from a man.
Killers and men's men are the two oldest professions. With the rise of Kinki Taihei, certain professions also emerged.
Tobita Shinchi is located in the Osaka Plain, between Sakai Port and rocky mountains, at the intersection of Settsu, Kawachi, and Izumi.
After Tsuneki Ikeda was killed in battle, Hideyoshi Ichijo had taken Settsu Kuni into his arms, but her strategy was to the west, and she was unwilling to have an unexpected conflict with Shiba's group, and she had deep restraints on her subordinates.
The Settsu people on the north bank of Yodogawa stopped eating, and Ishiyama's retainers did not dare to make any mistakes. Therefore, the two countries on the south bank and Izumi and Kawauchi had the upper hand.
Taking advantage of the opportunity that Miyoshi Yoshitsugu and Hatakeyama Takamasa were on the wrong team, Hosokawa Fujitaka removed these two thorns in his side and finally brought both Izumi and Kawachi into the sphere of influence of the Izumi-Hosokawa family.
Coupled with the Sakai Port Customs Office gifted by the saint, Hosokawa Fujitaka temporarily controlled the Yodogawa water transportation, and the wealth of the Hosokawa family made others jealous.
The Nitta enclave was under the control of the Izumi Hosokawa family. This place of feasting, entertainment and extravagance brought a lot of wealth to Hosokawa Fujitaka.
At this time, the work of the Provisional Shogunate had only begun for two years, and many government affairs were still being adjusted.
There is both cooperation and competition among the five major principles. Everyone hopes that their scope of authority will be larger without infringing too much on the interests of others. This leads to the emergence of a large number of ambiguities.
There will never be a vacuum in power. If there is a loophole in the official system, someone will fill it.
Although the Nitta enclave is making a lot of money every day, it does not need to pay heavy taxes because it is in a blank area managed by the temporary shogunate.
Since Guan Zhong of the Chinese Dynasty pioneered the system of official men and women, the management of men and women has been regarded as two categories: officials and civilians, and has become a major tax category.
Two years after the rise of Feitian Xindi, the number of wandering men was thousands, and professional ranks such as Taifu, Gezi, and Duan were even formed.
However, the provisional shogunate was unable to establish the kannansho system and levy taxes on meat. It could only drink some soup and water in drinks and shops. It was really unbelievable.
This is because the Izumi-Hosokawa family operates through the Grand Council and has always blocked the passage of the Kanonomasa system.
Of course, this is not just selfishness of the Izumi-Hosokawa family. In just two years, high-level samurai families have become proficient in using the grand review system to benefit their own families and allocate territory to collect money.
The stench of boiled freedom is already brewing in the big dye vat of the Great Review, and we don’t know what it will look like in the future.
But at this time, no matter how foul-smelling the Grand Council system was, it was more advanced than the original political system of the Wu family, and it was enough to ensure that Sibo theocracy ruled the island country for many, many years.
In the hot summer, Feitian Xindi becomes lively in the evening.
Wealthy businessmen from Sakai Port, nobles from Kyoto, samurai warriors with stable wages in Shiba's establishment, and all kinds of small groups with money and leisure would come to the Nitta Enclave in search of happiness.
Through the exchange of cups and cups, network resources, group consensus, and mutual appeals for help all have their own answers.
In human society, the cost of gaining trust between people and reaching consensus in communication may be far greater than imagined.
The prosperous Xintian enclave is like the Yellow River Road in old Shanghai. Not a single big yellow croaker is steamed in vain, and not a big lobster is grilled in vain. These are all sunk costs that must be paid.
In order to ensure the prosperity of the Nitta Enclave, the Izumi Hosokawa family even arrested the illegitimate male Masaru in the Nitta Enclave and used it as loose tea in the name of being unethical.
The highest-ranking Taofu class are handsome men with high emotional intelligence who are proficient in tea ceremony, shamisen, and Japanese singing. They have become the lubricant for high-level samurai's social negotiations. These men are called oiran among the people.
Some oirans have unique vision and are willing to invest in some potential young Ji warriors, provide free venues, and even pay money to help Ji warriors.
———
It was night, Akari came outside the verandah, and a young bald man who had been waiting for a long time quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Master Akari, you are finally here. My husband has been waiting impatiently for a long time. He started putting on makeup in the afternoon. Before your time came, he forced me to wait here."
The little boy had a bitter look on his face, but his facial features were delicate and there was already a hint of professional charm in his brows and eyes.
These little boys around ten years old are called little bald boys, and they are all raised as servants in the verandah. They have been familiar with it since childhood, and most of them will stay here when they grow up.
When they reach fifteen or sixteen, they will be qualified to sit and drink with them. After seventeen, they can spend the night and follow the path of their predecessors, using their attitude and body to make women feel happy.
Akariyu pinched her bald cheek, waved her hand and said with a smile.
"I made an appointment with a friend today and will go see Qingye later. You should go back first."
Akariyu is the sixth seat of the first class of the Academy. It is a holy sword group that was given swords by the saint himself. After graduation, he stayed in the Academy to lead newcomers. He has achieved outstanding results and is well received.
Excellent Ji warriors like her are potential stocks in the eyes of the courtesans, and some of them will take the initiative to become lovers.
What's more important is that she is young and beautiful, and she is more attractive to Yu Nan than those older women with high positions.
And that infatuated Mr. Aoba is one of the lords of Tobita Shinchi, only a few dozen among thousands of wandering men, one in a hundred.
After sending the reluctant little bald man away with a few words, Ming Li walked quickly inside, ignoring the rouge, gouache, and alluring charms along the way. He walked straight to a room, opened the door and entered.
There were already several young Ji warriors drinking in the room, but they didn't see Yu Nan accompanying them. They probably wanted to talk privately and didn't want outsiders to be present.
Several people looked up and saw Akariyu, they all smiled, and one of them shouted.
"Senior Akari is late again, come on, come on, I'll give you this drink first!"
Akariyu glared at the laughing Ji warrior and cursed with a smile.
"Matsumoto Xiang, are you itchy?
Don’t think that now that you have graduated and obtained the second chief’s holy sword, you can show off in front of me!”
Matsumoto Xiang curled her lips, pointed at Matsukami Sarei who was smiling silently next to her, and said.
"I'm not doing it for myself, I'm grieving for Ms. Matsugami.
Matsukami Sae has so many things to do every day, she rarely has time to come to the party, but Akari-senpai is still late, which is really inappropriate!"
Akariyu snorted, sat down, picked up the wine flask and filled up a glass, apologizing to Matsukami Sarei.
"I'm really sorry for keeping Matsukami Hime waiting for so long.
The juniors of the third batch of students have just entered school and have too many trivial matters, so they are late."
Matsukami Sarong smiled, raised her wine glass to indicate a drink, and said.
"Akari-hime is so polite. In fact, I have just arrived."
Akari has a very bad temper outside. Although she is only the sixth graduate of the academy, she is the only member of the first Holy Sword Team who remains in the academy. She is a stern yet caring senior instructor in the eyes of the younger generation.
Teaching knowledge and solving doubts, teachers have had a unique social status since ancient times. Although she is more upright in daily life, no one cares about her. On the contrary, her reputation is higher because of her honesty.
But in front of Sarei Matsukami, the first chief, Akari Yuya did not dare to make any mistakes.
During the year that Akari was brought up by the army of apprentices, Matsukami Sarei had established a firm foothold in the Tongxin Secretariat and became the second secretary after Tachibana Kanade, the saint's favorite minister.
Even though she is just a secretary, because she always stays with the saint and serves him all the time, most of the affairs of the Shiba family cannot be hidden from her eyes.
In addition, after ascending to the holy couch, the favor of the saint has become more and more important. Even Ii Naomasa is kind to this newcomer, has great trust, and has entrusted many important matters to her.
There is someone in the eyes of the saint, and there is a position in the eyes of the chief of the Tongxin Secretariat. Matsukami Sarei is now very popular. She is regarded as the idol of the students by the two-time graduates of the academy. She is already a real big shot.