Volume 2: Soaring! The Overlord of the Region Chapter 281: Yoshinao without Suppression
"Your Excellency Date Gon-chūnagon."
"Hi, Your Highness, I am Date Masamune, here to see you."
"My father has just passed away. I am still young and need your experience to guide me. If you don't mind, please take on the position of the shogunate's boss."
“Oh~~!”
When the figures of the Three Gods of Tensho gradually dispersed and disappeared, the daimyo and hatamoto who were paying homage had just raised their heads and stood up, and Tokugawa Yoshinao, who was sitting high on the main seat in the shrine hall, directly invited Date Masamune to serve as the leader of the shogunate.
The daimai, also known as the dailao, is the highest political position in the shogunate, similar to the prime minister in the Tang and Song dynasties of China. What's more amazing is that the position of daimai is a quota: only one person can hold it, and he is the legal sole prime minister!
And Date Masamune? He was a daimyo in the northeastern region of Japan. He was born in the late Warring States period. When he was young and swept across northeastern Japan like a raging storm, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had already established his rule in central Honshu, the core of Japan.
Whether in the 16th, 17th or 21st century, the northeastern region of Japan is a sparsely populated and relatively economically backward region of the country. When a strong man appeared in the central part of Honshu Island, the daimyo of the northeast were powerless to resist. Therefore, facing Hideyoshi who was at the peak of his power, Date Masamune had no choice but to surrender.
Afterwards, facing Tokugawa Ieyasu who quickly took over the world, Date Masamune had no choice but to surrender.
However, as the most capable among the many daimyo in Japan, this man's ambition has never been extinguished. A popular saying about him is: It's a pity that he was born 20 years later, otherwise he would have competed with Oda Nobunaga. What would he have to do with Toyotomi and Tokugawa?
Tokugawa Yoshinao took over at the age of sixteen. Although he had an excellent performance in the Battle of Osaka and the three gods appeared at this time... but no matter what, among the many daimyo in Japan, the Date family poses the greatest threat to the shogunate .
But the new shogun actually invited Date Masamune to be the head of the shogunate? How could this be possible? When the Omi-no-tsukoshi was alive, he was strictly guarded against and suppressed.
"It is my honor to serve His Majesty. I accept this position with great trepidation and will serve the shogunate with all my heart!"
"Yoshi! From now on, I will trouble you, Mr. Chunagon."
After a slight twitch of his lips, Tokugawa Yoshinao immediately said: "Honda Masazumi, Ii Naotaka, Sakai Ieji!"
"Hi Yi!"
"Please serve as my Laozhong (similar to the cabinet ministers of the Ming Dynasty) and take charge of trade, military affairs, and people's livelihood."
"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. We will do our best to serve you!"
"Yagyu Munenori!"
"Your Highness, I am here."
"After returning from Liaodong, I have gained more experience as a councilor. I need your wisdom and martial arts, so please serve as my side servant (secretary general)."
"Hi! I accept this position with great trepidation."
"Honda Tadamasa, Yagyu Kanbei, Sakakibara Tadatsugu, please serve as my wakanenyoshi (the shogun's direct hatamoto and samurai manager). Fujido Sado no Kami?"
"Your subordinate Fujido Takatora is here."
"The Sado no Kami is highly respected, please do not despise me and serve as the shogunate's koshaban (similar to the Ming Dynasty's Minister of Rites, but Japan did not have an imperial examination system, and its functions were more reflected in the interactions between the shogunate and the imperial court, and between the shogunate and the daimyo)."
"Hi, I happily accept this position."
"Hattori Hanzo!"
“Haha~!”
"The previous generation of Hanzo made great contributions to his father's career. I hope that your generation of Hanzo can also make amazing achievements. Today I will increase your territory by 3,000 koku, and you will be responsible for recruiting more ninjas for me. In addition, to make it easier for you to do your work, I will officially appoint you as the shogunate's chief of intelligence."
"Your Highness is so kind that I am deeply moved! Please rest assured, Hattori Hanzo's name will never be humiliated by me. Your Highness' ears and eyes will definitely hear and see everything!"
Next, Tokugawa Yoshinao kept calling out different people's names and gave them various positions such as magistrate (functional bureau), machiya (local city chief in the shogun's direct territory), etc.
The whole process was extremely smooth without any pause.
Such a process was extremely shocking to everyone present.
The Tokugawa shogunate had just been succeeded by the second generation of shoguns at this time. Previously, Ieyasu had been in charge. As a former Warring States daimyo, Ieyasu's establishment of the shogunate organization was imperfect, and in many cases it was still following the old path of the Warring States period.
However, the Tokugawa family was the leader of the country after all, and its duties and functions were very different from those of an ordinary daimyo. Therefore, in recent years, people of insight throughout Japan have realized that the shogunate's institutions should be further improved.
Today, as soon as Tokugawa Yoshinao came to power, he quickly improved all the offices, and the responsibilities of each position were very clear. Compared with the Ming Dynasty at that time, the new offices of the shogunate already had things like the cabinet, the Imperial Household Department, the six ministries, and the governor's office. The national institutions of the entire shogunate were basically complete.
What impressed everyone most was the new general's skills.
In the whole of Japan, there are actually only two most respected outer daimyo: Date Masamune and Todo Takatora. The former had seen the majesty of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in his prime, while the latter had worked hard for Oda Nobunaga.
However, Tokugawa Yoshinao directly arranged a high-ranking position for Date Masamune, thus completely tying this ambitious and capable strongman to his side.
As for the fact that the boss has great power? Ha, look at the elders below. They are all hereditary retainers of the Tokugawa family. What use can a boss like you have?
As for Todo Takatora? The old-fashioned navy that Japan had accumulated for hundreds of years was destroyed in one day, and its reputation has been hit to the bottom. Giving you a ceremonial position at this time is already a respect for the elderly!
In short, after all the positions were assigned, the entire shogunate framework evolved directly for a hundred years!
Amazing, the remarkable Lord Yoshinao.
"Gentlemen, in addition to the above job assignments, I have two more important things to announce to you."
"Your Highness, please give your instructions."
"First, strictly implement the system of visiting the emperor. The daimyo from all regions must live in Edo for at least half a year and accept tasks assigned by the shogun's family. Visiting the emperor is the daimyo's obligation to the shogun, and all expenses must be borne by the daimyo himself. In addition, the wives of the daimyo must settle in Edo.
Secondly, three years ago, after my father granted the general the territory of Kazusa, he established Kazusa School in Kazusa, which has more than 300 students. Now, the family will invest 10 million silver dollars to expand it into Edo University, with the general personally serving as the president of the university. Scholars and famous samurai from all walks of life will be recruited to this university to cultivate the best talents in Japan. Therefore, after the university is built, the daimyo of each place must at least send their eldest son to study in this school, and everyone is also welcome to send more children to study in the school. From now on, anyone who fails to successfully graduate from this university will not be allowed by the shogunate to inherit their father's territory!"
