different warring states of japan

Chapter 2239 Finale 35

A garden somewhere in Tokyo.

Honjo walked on the porch with a sullen face, and the servant of this courtyard was leading the way.

He is a local councilor in Murakami City, Niigata Prefecture. It takes him eight hours to get to Tokyo by car, and eight hours of precious time are wasted on the road.

Moreover, this time he came to Tokyo secretly, and he was unable to take the more comfortable and convenient JR, so he was naturally quite resentful.

The servant stopped in front of him, bowed slightly to him, and opened the door.

Councillor Honjo's pupils shrank slightly, and all his previous dissatisfaction was forgotten.

There was a long table in the room, and both sides of the table were already full of people, yet they seemed clearly separated.

On the left are familiar faces that Honjo knows, people from 20 cities, 6 towns and 4 villages in Niigata Prefecture, all of whom are well-known local politicians.

On the right, although Honjo didn't know many of them, the ones sitting in the front were frequent guests on TV and were politicians from Kanagawa Prefecture who had considerable influence in the island country.

Niigata Prefecture? Kanagawa Prefecture? How did these two get mixed up?

Honjo was confused, but he didn't dare to act rashly at this moment. Fearing that he would be impolite, he carefully found a seat that was not too close to the front and sat down.

It seems that the matter to be discussed at this secret meeting is bigger than I thought.

At the head of the long table sat two beautiful girls in traditional kimonos on either side.

One is older and the other is younger, they are Mei Uesugi and Yumi Hojo.

After the servant bowed and closed the door, Uesugi Mei said.

"It looks like everyone is here."

The big guy sitting in the front row on the Kanagawa side frowned slightly and asked.

"Miss Hojo, may I ask what the old master wants us to do here?

He should be very clear that we are all people of status and our time is very precious.”

Hojo Yumi smiled slightly, knowing that the other party was taking advantage of her seniority and looked down on a junior like her.

Although Hojo Yumi is still a high school student, she is not a political newcomer after awakening her past life memories, and is naturally immune to this set of tricks, she said.

"If you don't want to listen, you can leave at any time. Grandpa arranged this party for me, but it is entirely my own idea.

Not only you, but everyone here can leave at any time. Of course, you need to take the documents in front of you with you."

Honjo looked down at the desk and saw a document in front of him, with it addressed to Congressman Honjo himself.

I glanced at Hojo Yumi who was talking with a smile. She seemed to be the eldest daughter of the Hojo family. She seemed to be in high school, right?

The relationship between Niigata Prefecture and Kanagawa Prefecture can't be said to be bad, but it can't be said to be good either.

Both sides are major agricultural counties, and the Uesugi family and the Hojo family, the big bosses behind them, have always been competing with the Agricultural Cooperatives. Naturally, the politicians they support through political donations are not close to each other.

You know, the relationship between these local celebrities and politicians is not just a simple relationship between investors and investees.

After the Restoration of Imperial Rule, daimyo from all over the island nation handed over their power, but the deep-rooted influence of these families in the local areas could not be eradicated; they simply continued to exist in a different form.

Relationships that have been maintained for hundreds or even thousands of years through land, connections, blood ties, etc. will eventually continue in new ways in the new era.

If legislators really want to betray the interests of local groups, they will lose their foundation and be quickly abandoned by the political circle. This is the rule of the game.

The old man who led the questioning stared at the documents on the table, not knowing whether he should open them.

Although Hojo Yumi kept saying that it had nothing to do with her grandfather, if it weren't for the old head of the family's strict demands, how could so many councilors have taken a seven or eight hour drive overnight to Tokyo?

Just as Kanagawa was hesitating, Uesugi Mei spoke coldly.

"Open them all and take a look."

Honjo opened the file without hesitation. Unlike in Kanagawa, Uesugi Mei had inherited most of the power of the Uesugi family, enough to intimidate the Niigata area.

Honjo, who was supported by the Uesugi family to become a member of the Murakami council, must give face to Uesugi Mei. This has nothing to do with age, but the charm of power.

But even though he knew that things wouldn't be easy today, Honjo was still shocked when he opened the file.

There were sounds of flipping pages of books at the table, and from time to time there were sounds of people gasping for air. The old man from Kanagawa spoke again.

"Excuse me, Miss Hojo, is this your idea or the old master's?"

Hojo Yumi looked at the old man and said calmly.

“Mr. Daidoji, all the information here about the Prime Minister’s internal transactions is true and credible.

So does it matter whether this is my idea or Grandpa's idea?"

Daidoji pointed at the documents and said.

“If that’s what the old patriarch meant, I hope to talk to him in person.

If this is your own idea, Miss Hojo, then I will take my leave now."

Mei Uesugi glanced at Hojo Yumi and said.

"I heard that Mr. Daidoji has a good relationship with the Prime Minister, and now it seems to be true."

Daidoji said solemnly.

"I admit that I have some dealings with the prime minister, but more importantly, why should we overthrow him? Regardless of whether we can overthrow him, why should we do this meaningless thing?

The Prime Minister has worked hard to govern the country and can be considered the most ambitious national leader in the past 20 years. The island nation's economic recovery needs him, and we should not jump out and make things worse at this time.

If you want to do something, you will inevitably make mistakes. No one is perfect. Considering the overall situation, we... "

Hojo Yumi picked up the teacup and slammed it on the table, causing the tea to spill and drip onto the expensive tatami. "That's enough! I'm not negotiating with you, please understand this, Lord Daidoji.

You have also seen today's financial turmoil, with currency devaluation, government bond plunge, futures markets in chaos, stock market circuit breakers, and severe impact on imported goods.

The interests of the farmers' cooperatives have been damaged. This year has been a year of major disasters, and many places have suffered reduced production and poor harvests.

Many farmers borrow money from banks for fertilizers, pesticides and feeds, and they don’t know whether they can pay it back by the end of the year.

At this critical juncture, the Prime Minister still insisted on forcing currency depreciation, further raising the prices of imported agricultural materials.

You say the Prime Minister is an ambitious man who is willing to do things, but what about the people who are sacrificed by his policies? The farmers are so innocent!

Mr. Daidoji, do you dare to repeat what you just said to those farmers who have suffered serious losses and may even go bankrupt and commit suicide by the end of the year because they cannot repay their loans?

Before you speak for the Prime Minister, please know your position! Who helped you to become a member of parliament? Who supported you to enter the parliament step by step with one vote after another?

Shame on you! If you can't represent their interests, don't sit in the seat they gave you as a member of parliament!"

Hojo Yumi's outburst surprised everyone.

Mei Uesugi, who seems difficult to talk to, has been watching coldly from the sidelines from beginning to end, while Hojo Yumi, who looks easy to bully, is able to turn the tables and scold the veteran Daidoji.

Daidoji's face turned blue and red. He was also an important person. How could he bear being scolded like a grandson by a girl who was still wet behind the ears?

Just when Daidoji was about to get angry, the sound of Uesugi Mei clapping came from the side. At this moment when you could hear a pin drop, the applause seemed particularly harsh.

Mei Uesugi said coldly.

“Everyone here is a talent raised by Niigata and Kanagawa. You must not forget your roots, otherwise it will chill people’s hearts.

For thousands of years, we have taken root and grown in the land of Kanto and have survived storm after storm. The interests of all of us are the same, and we will not allow outsiders to sabotage us.

I admire the Prime Minister. He has the courage to reform the economy, but reform requires sacrifice and our interests must not be sacrificed.

And those who follow the Prime Minister and attack their own people will no longer be our brothers and sisters and are not worthy of our respect.

Mr. Daidoji, do you think what I said makes sense?"

The pressure instantly came to Daidoji, and Honjo, who was sitting in the back, suddenly discovered that the members of parliament invited today were all from the ruling party's prime minister's faction.

The Agricultural Cooperatives don’t care who becomes prime minister, and local nobles don’t care about party disputes. Local supporters only look at the hometown, not the faction. No one cares whether you are the ruling party or the opposition party, they only care whether you are a local party.

With the urbanization construction, the population of the island country is rapidly concentrated in Tokyo. Except for a few large cities such as Osaka and Kyoto, the active population in most areas has been siphoned off by Tokyo.

Although places like Niigata and Kanagawa are stubbornly conservative, their agricultural population is stable enough to serve as the base for local councilors.

On one side are the loosely atomized individuals in the city, and on the other side are the rural alliance groups with close local ties. If these local bigwigs are really angered, even Congress will be shaken.

Looking at Daidoji who had calmed down and remained silent, Uesugi Mei said coldly.

“It’s not that the Uesugi family masters and the Hojo family masters don’t want to meet you, but they have more important work to do now.

The Agricultural Cooperatives are working to put pressure on the Ministry of Agriculture, hoping to gain a positive attitude from the bureaucrats in the Ministry of Agriculture.

Therefore, we also need your support. The Prime Minister who has committed evil deeds must be taught a lesson. This will also serve as a warning to all those who are willing to reform and not to have bad intentions towards us.

Here I hope that you will think carefully about who you are, who you should help, and who you should oppose?

If there is still someone who refuses to repent, please believe me, I will never let him go.

That’s all I have to say. Thank you again to all the seniors for taking the time out of your busy schedule to attend the meeting. Thank you very much.”

Uesugi Mei and Hojo Yumi bowed together in thanks. All the councillors present had serious expressions and seemed to be thinking about something. They were even much slower in returning the greetings.

---

At the end of the party, everyone left, leaving only the two girls of Uesugi and Hojo. Hojo Yumi looked at the empty long table and sighed.

“They probably never dreamed that we were making such a fuss just for the saints.”

Mei Uesugi glanced at her and said.

“First of all, they couldn’t have failed to think of it.

Don't underestimate these politicians. They have very sharp ears and noses and can quickly figure out the cause and effect.

But it’s good this way, it lets them understand how powerful we are, and they will be more comfortable using us in the future.

Second, don’t call him a saint, he is no longer a saint, he is just my useless fiancé.”

Hojo Yumi narrowed her eyes.

"I never said I would give the saint to you, don't think too much about it."

Mei Uesugi smiled domineeringly.

"Let him go? Did I ever tell you that I need him to? He is mine, he should have been mine!

As for you, you should think about what to do in the future. Da Dao Temple has great authority. If you humiliate him in public today, he will not act as if nothing happened."

Hojo Yumi stared at Uesugi Mei.

"You don't need to worry about this. Once we have avenged the saint, we will go our separate ways, each with his own methods. I will not back down."

Mei Uesugi snorted, stood up and left.

"Okay, I've been displeased with you for a long time. I've tolerated you for a lifetime, and I'm not going to tolerate you any more in this lifetime."

(End of this chapter)