The Han culture is spreading strongly in Southeast Asia

Chapter 576: Yamagami-kun, is that you?
Yamajiro really cherished this opportunity. In Japan, where the class structure was almost completely solidified, it was extremely difficult for a young man from a castle town to become a samurai.

His elder brother Taro obtained a Chinese identity through seeding and prepared to go to Southeast Asia with his family to farm. The neighbors all said that Taro was very smart and it was worth it.

But Yamajiro felt a little uncomfortable. He didn't want to use the Chinese identity and surname obtained in this way.

He hoped to get a Chinese surname from the emperor, uh, that's still too exaggerated, he hoped to get a way to use it without having to cross the lineage.

There were bursts of gunfire, and Yamajiro and his men became more and more excited as the battle went on, because the shogunate army stationed in Kyoto was obviously in poor condition, and the intensity of their resistance had dropped significantly compared to a dozen days ago.

Originally, dozens of these cannon fodder-like members would die in battle every day, but in the past two days, there have been no casualties.

"It's time to eat, it's time to eat!"

Yamajiro was delighted. Eating was always his favorite thing, so much so that even the mention of the word made him feel happy.

"Wow, what a delicious meal today! Roast pork from China, Wu-style roast pork at that, sweet and refreshing!"

Yamajiro has been a rescue team member for almost a year. Not only has his accent changed, but his knowledge has also increased a lot.

He couldn't help swallowing twice, and said to his comrades around him: "The taste of this country is really great.

But you country folk haven't tasted anything this good, so be careful not to get sick. Let me pick it out first. I've already gotten used to it, and I'm almost Chinese, haha."

He's quite experienced. Yamajiro recalled the incident half a year ago when he was almost dragged to death. This half-true and half-false statement was surprisingly very true.

However, just when he was about to take a large portion of Wu's Roast Pork, that is, the honey-like braised pork from the Jiangnan region, a figure walked towards him.

Yamajiro's heart was pounding. The Shimazu clan of Sadowara Domain was the most trusted by the country because they surrendered quickly and resolutely.

Among these 20,000 to 30,000 volunteer soldiers, the small Sadowara domain produced hundreds of officers and was also in charge of logistics, so it was very powerful.

Yamajiro was from Satsuma Domain, to be more precise, he was from Sadowa Castle in Sadowa Domain Headquarters. His family could not make ends meet, so he secretly ran to the castle town of Kagoshima to do hard labor and struggle to survive.

He doesn't have a surname either. The "yama" in Yamajiro is not a surname, but refers to the fact that his family came to Kagoshima from a mountainous area like Sadowara.

"I see desire in your eyes, just like when I left Sadowa and begged for food all the way to study in Kyoto." Saigo Kichibei looked at Yamajiro and whispered.

Under the guidance of Gomakujisai, a samurai of the ancient school of Confucianism in the Sadowara domain, Saigo found the best executor as described by Shimazu Tadamichi.

There were many people with experiences like Saigo Kichibei in Satsuma Domain. After years of education, these people yearned for knowledge. Many of them devoted all their efforts to learning and seeking knowledge. However, most of them died in poverty, even those who came from high-ranking samurai families.

But it was also these people who made continuous progress from generation to generation and gave birth to the only explosive growth of the Japanese in history, the brilliant Meiji heroes.

"Sir!" Yamajiro felt that Saigo Kichibei's words carried an indescribable magic. He fell to his knees on the ground with a plop and looked at Saigo Kichibei.

Saigo Kichibei nodded, "Indeed, you are a Japanese like me, unwilling to die in poverty and lowliness for the rest of your life."

Yamajiro felt a numbness all over his body and could not help but nod. He did not want to come into contact with the words poverty and lowliness even for a moment again.

"Now, I have become the imperial guard of His Majesty the Great Emperor. I will immediately enjoy endless wealth and glory, and a future that is ten thousand times stronger than that of the Kingdom of the Rising Sun. Do you know why?" Saigo Kichibei continued to ask.

"Because the shogunate bullies us Satsuma people, and because of the emperor's benevolence, he will not take care of lowly people like us, so this is happening." Yamajiro answered softly. This was the standard answer at this time.

“Yes, and no.” But Saigo Kichibei shook his head, “Jiro, even if the shogunate didn’t bully us, and the emperor was a hundred times more benevolent than he is now, it would still be useless.

Because Japan is too poor, it is impossible for every capable person to live a good life.

But the Great Kingdom of China is different. They have endless good land to occupy and endless barbarians to conquer. They can allow everyone, even if they have no talents, to live a good life as long as they are loyal to the Great Emperor.

"That's great, this is really great." Yamajiro suddenly felt like he had discovered a new world.

"Sir, is this the Great Chinese Country? No wonder Toyotomi Kanpaku wanted to give it a try even if he didn't want to rule the country."

At this time, most Japanese people regarded Toyotomi Hideyoshi as a clown who was ignorant of the immensity of heaven and earth. It was a miracle that he could think of swallowing up China with Japan.

Therefore, most people disapproved of the continental war launched by Toyotomi Hideyoshi and believed that it was impossible to achieve.

"The Chancellor's attempt failed, but another path is possible. That is to take the initiative to surrender to His Majesty the Great Emperor and serve as his lackey."

Saigo Kichibei began to be tempted. Of course, it was impossible to leave such a big thing entirely to Shimazu Tadamichi.

People like Saigo Yoshibei, who have become members of the nobility and have entered the emperor's inner court and consider themselves the emperor's samurai, must ensure that everything goes smoothly.

When Saigo Kichibei finished speaking, Gomaku Chisai, who had brought him with him, immediately said, "The great emperor is rich in the world, able to make the best use of people's abilities, and the people are prosperous. You have seen this, right?

The high-quality white rice, fat and sticky roast pork, and delicious roast bird and fish that you have eaten in the past year are all gifts from the great emperor.

Only His Majesty the Great Emperor can allow even a lowly country boy like you to eat food comparable to that of a great nobleman."

Yamajiro nodded and said, "Sir, how can a lowly person like me serve the emperor and become his lackey?"

"Hahaha!" Saigo Kichibei laughed loudly. The person recommended by Shimazu Tadamichi was indeed suitable. He was ambitious and sensible.

"Today, there is a man who has usurped the title of emperor, sullying the great emperor's reputation and becoming the greatest obstacle to the advancement of my thousands of Japanese warriors.

Yamajiro, do you have the heroic spirit to serve the great emperor and remove the mountain that weighs on the warriors of the world?" Saigo Kichibei shouted, and his words, like a demonic sound, entered Yamajiro's mind.

"The Sadowara clan will establish a branch in Aceh, Southeast Asia, named the Aceh clan. This will be the qualification for a future 3,000-koku magistrate of the Aceh clan. Yamajiro, do you want to become a hatamoto?"

It was really a stingy. The Sadowa clan of the Shimazu clan took 600,000 koku of Zhixing from Moshibu as the price for killing the emperor, but when it came to the actual executor, they only gave 3,000 koku.

However, only the Japanese understand the Japanese best. As soon as Gomakujisai mentioned the price of 3,000 stones, blood instantly rushed to Yamajiro's head, and he felt his whole body boiling.

It's not that what was given was too little, but that it was too much. Yamajiro never dreamed that the emperor's life was worth enough to allow a lowly person to directly possess the rank of 3,000 koku.

"Hai, Yamajiro is willing. Yamajiro is willing to become a hatamoto samurai of Aceh!"

However, after shouting, this ambitious Japanese man made his last request.

"Sir, although all the hatamoto samurai are of the nobility, I still want a nobility surname."

Saigo Kichibei thought about it for a while and suddenly remembered a joke the emperor had played on him. At that time, he didn't understand what it meant, that the best foot soldier in Japan's iron cannon should be named Yamagami.

But now, why do they seem to fit together inexplicably?

"Jiro, if you can decide to complete this mission, then now you can have a Chinese surname - Yamagami."

Saigo Kichibei pulled Yamajiro up from the ground, explaining, "Although this is a Japanese surname, there are also names like Tono and Aragaki in China.

Furthermore, the surname on this mountain will be one created by the Great Emperor specifically for the loyal and righteous men of the Japanese Chinese race."

After hearing this, Yamajiro knelt down again and kowtowed to Saigo Jibei, "Sir, I agree. From now on, I will be called Yamagami Jiro!"

. . . .

Kyoto, Kyoto Division Daijinya.

The current Kyoto Shoshidai was named Makino Sadanaga, the lord of the Echigo Nagaoka domain, a hereditary daimyo of the shogunate.

Xiyi Chengzai, who had already accomplished a coup, looked at him coldly, "Denyang, I have lived in Kyoto for ten years, but Denyang is far less familiar with it than I am. There are also many warriors outside who are familiar with Kyoto.

Furthermore, the shogunate's army had suffered a crushing defeat at the Yodo River. The Tokugawa family's rule could no longer be maintained by force. However, as long as the shogunate could understand who was the true ruler of the world, perhaps there was still a chance of survival."

When Makino Sadanaga looked at Saiei Seisai, he couldn't help but tremble twice. He was very familiar with Saiei Seisai. After all, he was a very influential Confucian warrior in Kyoto.

But precisely because of this, Makino Sadanaga found it very magical to see the guy who used to be very peaceful and had a bit of a scholarly temperament, now using a sword to overthrow his superiors.

"Can the shogunate still exist? Will His Majesty the Emperor retain the shogunate?" Makino Sadanaga asked with a trembling voice.

Upon hearing this, Xi Yi Chengzai was filled with contempt. It was true that those who eat meat were despicable. The top leaders of the shogunate had not even seen the way out. Why didn't they realize that these people were so stupid before?

"There's an old Chinese saying, 'Absorbing matter is like sucking a lot of things.'" The shogunate certainly had a chance to exist, and the Echigo-Nagaoka clan also had a chance to exist.

But no matter what the great emperor chooses, thunder and rain are all his grace, and a lowly person like me dare not speculate.

But I know that if you don't make a decision, you will definitely lose your life today."

Makino Sadanaga trembled even more violently. He mustered up his last bit of courage, looked at Xiyi Chengzai fiercely but with a weak heart, and shouted:

"You only control me in this room; the warriors outside will not listen to your instigation.

I let you in because I trusted you, you treacherous villain, believe it or not, if I give the order, you will die here!"

"Hahahaha!" Xiyi Chengzhai laughed loudly, "Dianyang, before I die, I will definitely take you with me.

Don't try to scare or impress me with words. The emperor is rich and powerful. A fool as bold as Shimazu Tadamichi can get hundreds of thousands of stones of land. A man like Saigo Kichibei can become a retainer of the emperor. Why can't I?

Now, I just lack an opportunity for promotion!"

When Xi Yi Chengzai talked about the opportunity for promotion, his eyes were fixed on Makino Sadanaga's neck.

Makino Sadanaga's legs went limp, his knees trembled, and he knelt back on the tatami.

After more than ten seconds, he finally knelt down straight and took out the Kyoto Soshidai gold seal he was carrying.

"Makino Sadanaga is willing to respect the king and repel the barbarians, and be loyal to His Majesty the Great Emperor of China."

"Hahahaha, Yoshi!" Xi Yi Chengzai snatched the golden seal of Kyoto Soshidai, picked up the pen and started writing and drawing on the official document, and then quickly pressed the golden seal.

"Your Highness, since you are willing to respect the king and repel the barbarians, then don't be indecisive. Now take these orders to cease resistance and follow me out to control the armies."

After saying that, Xi Yi Chengzai grabbed Makino Sadanaga's slender wrist, and then said to the people around him.

"Go tell Sadohara Wakadono Tadamichi that now it's their turn to act."

(End of this chapter)