"Oh, that's right." Ueyu, who was leading the way, suddenly said to Ogata behind him, "Mashima-kun, before we get to the house, there is something I need to remind you of in advance."
"Hmm?" Ogata asked, "What's the matter?"
"A while ago, our Shirobei Club hired a new teacher."
A look of disdain slowly emerged on Guasheng's face.
"This new teacher is called Takigawa Heiichiro. He's a pretty annoying guy. To be honest, I really hope he can leave Ruya."
"Oh?" Ogata raised his eyebrows. "Is he a bad teacher?"
"No."
Guasheng shook his head.
"In terms of education, he is a very outstanding person."
"Takigawa is the eldest son of the Hatamoto-Takigawa family."
"Although the Takigawa family's annual salary is only 3,000 koku, and it is not considered the top family among the hatamoto, it can still be considered a descendant of a famous and prestigious family."
"He studied under Shunsui Aioi, a famous sinologist in Edo. It is said that he had a great talent and attainments in sinology and was often praised by Shunsui Aioi."
"At the same time, he was also studying Mugai-ryu swordsmanship at the Aki Sword Hall in Edo, and just received the Mugai-ryu Menkyo Kaiden certificate last year."
"He is a man of both literary and martial arts, and he is also a good teacher. After he came to teach in the Liuwu, many prostitutes told me that he can teach well."
After listening to Uesugi's introduction to Takigawa, Ogata was secretly amazed.
Not only was he of hatamoto origin, he also had a certificate of kendo menkyo kaiden, and he also studied under a renowned scholar, with considerable attainments in the most mainstream disciplines of the era - according to Uesugi's description of this Takigawa, this Takigawa was the standard tall, rich and handsome man of the Edo period.
During the Edo period, when the hierarchy was strict, the samurai class was also divided into different levels.
Hatamoto, also known as Hatamoto samurai, were samurai directly under the Shogun, the supreme ruler of the shogunate.
He was a direct vassal of the shogunate and had the power to meet directly with the shogun.
He was considered the highest-ranking samurai in the Edo period, except for the shogun and daimyo.
Among the hatamoto, they are still divided into different levels.
The lives of some hatamoto were not comfortable, with annual salaries of less than 500 koku.
However, some hatamoto lived a wealthy life, with annual salaries of thousands of yuan.
The Takigawa family, where Takigawa was born and who had an annual salary of 3,000 koku, was probably of middle status among the hatamoto.
It is neither the top family among the hatamoto, nor the bottom family among the hatamoto.
Thinking of this, Ogata suddenly recalled that Shimada Katsurokuro seemed to be from a hatamoto family in Edo.
Ogata remembered that Shimada said that the family he came from had an annual salary of 9,000 koku.
This level of salary is enough to support a small-scale private army.
The annual salary of the hatamoto samurai would not exceed 10,000 koku, so the family that Shimada came from should be considered the top one among the hatamoto.
However, Ogata didn't know much about Edo, and had no idea about the strength rankings among the powerful families in Edo.
Therefore, Ogata was not clear about the status of the Shimada family, to which Shimada came from, in Edo.
"From your description, it seems that Takigawa is a qualified teacher, capable and good at teaching." Ogata said, "He has a bad personality. Does that make you dislike him?"
"That's right." Uesugi nodded, "Takigawa's personality... I'm really not used to it."
"I don't know how to describe Takigawa's personality."
"I have a question." Ogata asked at this time, "Since Takigawa is from a hatamoto family with an annual salary of 3,000 koku, he should not be short of money, right? Then why did he come to teach in Tsumuga?"
"This is one of the reasons why I hate Takigawa." Uesugi raised the corner of his mouth and sneered, "The purpose of that guy coming to stay in the house is not simple at all."
"He's totally here for someone."
"Someone? Who?" Ogata asked puzzledly.
"Who else could it be?" Guess laughed again, "Of course it's for Fuujiya-taifu."
"Furin-taifu?"
"Didn't I tell you just now? Fuu Ling Taifu is very studious. She comes to the Ruya every day to study and practice calligraphy."
"That Takigawa probably heard from somewhere that Furin-no-Taikoo went to Tsumiya every day, and in order to get close to Furin-no-Taikoo, he accepted Tsumiya's job offer and became a lecturer here."
"Does he want to pursue the oiran? He has quite an ambition." Ogata couldn't help but sigh a little.
Oiran are like superstars of this era, and only those who are either rich or noble have the opportunity to come into contact with Oiran.
Fengling Taifu must have met and known countless dignitaries in her daily life.
Takigawa, who was from a hatamoto family - and it wasn't a top-notch hatamoto family at that - might not be worthy of Furin-taifu's attention.
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Ueyu immediately responded:
"In my eyes, Takigawa is just ungrateful. Furin-no-Taiko doesn't seem to like Takigawa very much, but Takigawa still keeps trying to curry favor with Furin-no-Taiko."
At this point, Guasheng sneered again.
After clearing his throat and looking forward a few times, Guasheng pointed his finger forward.
"Okay, enough small talk. Mashima-kun, look ahead. The house in front is the stay house."
Ogata looked forward - in front of him stood a seemingly ordinary house with a lantern hung on each side of the door, with the two powerful Chinese characters "留屋" written on each lantern.
After untying the Daishakuten from his waist and holding it in his right hand, Ogata followed Ueo through the door of the Tsuchiya.
Uesugi led Ogata to take off his shoes in the ground, walked through a short corridor, and stopped in front of a large paper sliding door.
Before entering the room, Xu Fang heard the chattering voices of women coming from the room.
Hearing this voice, Guasheng smiled and muttered:
"It seems we have arrived at the right time. They should have finished their classes and are resting now."
"If they are in class, we cannot go in and drink tea, as it will disturb their class."
Guasheng smiled faintly when he heard the chattering and laughter in the room.
However, after hearing the sound in the room, Ogata showed a strange expression.
Because in addition to the chattering of the girls, Ogata also heard some... voices that were quite familiar to him.
Guasheng slowly opened the wooden door in front of him.
After the door was opened, the first thing that caught Ogata's eye was a fairly spacious room.
The room was neatly arranged with about 30 low black tables.
There are pens, ink, paper and inkstones on all the tables.
The most eye-catching sight in this room is naturally the more than 30 prostitutes who are taking classes in this room.
Now should be the break time after class.
Some prostitutes were still sitting behind the desks, reading books or practicing calligraphy.
Some prostitutes gathered together and chatted.
Some of the prostitutes hung their heads, nodding, as if they were taking a nap.
However, nearly half of the prostitutes gathered around the only young man in the room.
The young man sat at the northernmost end of the room, with a desk similar to a lecture table in front of him. His desk was more spacious than the desks used by the prostitutes to place their pens, ink, paper and inkstones.
Judging from his appearance, this young man should be about the same age as Ogata, around 20 years old.
He has a clean, neatly shaved head.
In this era, being able to have a hairdo is a symbol of status.
Ronin basically do not have bangs on their hair, because they often wander around, have no food to eat, and basically do not have the time to take care of their hair.
Therefore, a samurai who can have a topknot basically means that he is not a ronin, but a person who has the leisure time to shave his head.
The young man's clothes were as clean and tidy as his hair.
He has a handsome appearance, with a scholarly look between his eyebrows.
From the appearance, this young man is impeccable and is the type that many girls should admire.
Even without anyone introducing him, Ogata knew that this young man should be the Takigawa Heiichirō that Uesugi had mentioned to him.
At this moment, Takigawa was holding a thread-bound book with two big Chinese characters "The Analects" written on the cover.
Takigawa just held the copy of "The Analects" and read it.
"The Master said, 'How small is the talent of Guan Zhong!' Someone asked, 'Is Guan Zhong frugal?' He said, 'Guan has three wives, and he does not take care of official affairs. How can he be frugal?'..."
Takigawa was kneeling behind the "lectern" and reading "The Analects of Confucius".
More than a dozen prostitutes sat around him, casting various looks of admiration, surprise, etc. at Takigawa.
Being able to read "The Analects of Confucius" is not a big deal.
Educated children of military families could basically read the Four Books and Five Classics without any obstacles.
In the Sakakibara Sword Gym where Ogata used to practice sword, many of his fellow disciples came from families that were not wealthy, just like Ogata himself, due to their low status, but they could basically read the Four Books and Five Classics.
They could not afford to attend the school established by the Hirose domain specifically for the children of samurai, but they could still afford to attend the terakoya schools run by temples.
Before Ogata traveled to the Edo period, "Hara Ogata" also completed his basic education in a temple run by a temple in the Hirose domain.
If Takigawa was reciting The Analects in Japanese, it would not be surprising, and it would not have attracted so many prostitutes to gather around him and listen to him read.
The reason why Takigawa was able to attract so many prostitutes to gather around him and listen to him read was entirely because he was now reciting chapters from "The Analects of Confucius" in Chinese.
Before the demise of the Edo Shogunate and the start of Japan's Meiji Restoration and comprehensive Westernization, Sinology, headed by the Four Books and Five Classics, had always occupied the most mainstream position in Japanese academia.
If you have profound attainments in Sinology, you will be looked up to by others.
Therefore, if you can speak fluent Chinese, it is also something worth boasting about.
The familiar voice that Ogata heard outside the door just now was the Chinese voice spoken by Takigawa.
After nearly a year and a half in the Edo period, Ogata couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity when he heard Chinese, which he hadn't heard for a long time.
Takigawa speaks Chinese fairly fluently.
But the accent is not good.
There is no "r" sound in Japanese like there is in Chinese.
Therefore, when Japanese speak Chinese, they always do not distinguish between r and l.
The most typical example is that when Japanese people speak Chinese, they always pronounce "日本" as "立本".
The accent Takigawa uses when reading Chinese is a very typical "Japanese accent".
Therefore, the only evaluation Ogata could give of the Chinese spoken by Takigawa was that it was "quite fluent".
As for the accent... Ogata can't say much about it.
However, Takigawa's fairly fluent Chinese was more than enough to fool people who didn't understand Chinese at all.
When Ogata and Ueo opened the door, they immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the room.
Takigawa's reading also came to an abrupt halt.
After raising his eyes to see who the person who pulled the door was, Takigawa immediately put down the Analects in his hand, smiled faintly, and said to Guase:
"Good morning, Miss Guasheng."
"Yeah." Guasheng nodded expressionlessly, "Good morning."
It seemed that Takigawa had no intention of greeting Uesugi in a friendly manner. After a simple greeting, Takigawa ignored Uesugi, and Uesugi ignored Takigawa either.
"Ms. Ueyu." At this time, a girl sitting closest to Ueyu and Ogata asked, "Who is this samurai?"
"This is Majima Goro-kun who just joined our Shirobei Club today."
Uesugi turned slightly to reveal Ogata standing behind her.
As Uesugi was introducing Ogata, Ogata bowed and greeted everyone in the room.
"I'm currently taking Mashima-kun to familiarize myself with the layout of Yoshiwara. When I got near the Tsumuga house, I felt a little thirsty, so I came here to drink some tea."
Everyone in the room seemed to be used to Guasheng's behavior of coming here to drink tea for free.
Hearing what Ueki said, a girl who seemed to have a good relationship with Ueki smiled and said to him in a friendly tone:
"Xiao Xiu, since you like the tea we leave so much, why don't you buy some and make it yourself?"
"Because buying tea costs money, but drinking tea here is free." After answering in a half-joking tone, Ueyu led Ogata to a corner of the room.
In the corner of the room there is a small table, on which is placed a large teapot and a large number of teacups.
Guasheng picked up the big teapot without hesitation, then took out two clean cups and poured them both full of tea.
While pouring the tea, Ueyu introduced it to Ogata:
"The tea in this room is for the girls taking classes here to drink when they are thirsty. You can drink as much as you want."
The temperature of the tea is just right, not too cold nor too hot.
Holding the teacup and taking a sip, Ogata tasted that the tea was scented tea.
Compared to scented tea, Ogata prefers some strong tea with a bitter taste.
However, Ogata quite liked the floral scent of the tea.
After Uesugi and Ogata slipped off to a corner to drink tea, everyone in the room went back to their own business.
Takigawa continued to demonstrate the "Chinese version of the Analects" to the dozen or so girls in front of him.
The prostitutes also continued to read and practice calligraphy.
Those who want to audit Takigawa’s “Chinese version of the Analects” can continue to do so.
Ogata sipped the tea in his hand while looking at the prostitutes in the room.
After looking around the room for a few times, Ogata lowered his voice and whispered to Uekushi in a voice that only he and Uekushi could hear clearly:
"Miss Ueyoshi, there are fewer girls studying in the Ruya than I thought... Are there any girls studying in other rooms?"
Yoshiwara was said to have three thousand prostitutes - this three thousand prostitutes was probably an exaggeration, but there should still be at least 1,000 prostitutes.
The number of girls studying in the house was much smaller than Ogata had imagined, which made Ogata feel a little surprised.
"Some girls only come to the house to study in the afternoon."
Ueoka replied in a low voice that only she and Ogata could hear.
"But there aren't many girls who come to study in Ruya."
"After all, not all prostitutes have the willingness and energy to come here to learn to read and write."
"Many prostitutes don't have the energy to do anything else during the day after they finish their work at night."
"Many girls have no interest in reading or writing, and don't want to waste too much time here."
Just as Ueyu finished explaining to Ogata why there were so few students coming to Tsuchiya, a pleasant female voice suddenly came from the side of the two of them:
"Mr. Warrior, we meet again. Little melon boy, can you pour me a cup of tea, too?"
Ogata and Uekushi both turned their heads towards the sound.
The person who spoke was a very beautiful woman.
She didn't tie her hair into a bun, letting her black hair hang loose.
Although her hair was not in a bun, she wore light makeup.
Clear and handsome eyebrows, soft eyelash lines, a rounded and cute nose bridge, and plump lips.
The black hair fluttering in the breeze that occasionally blew into the room and the black and white eyes were dazzling.
Ogata and Ueoha now have different expressions.
Guasheng looked relieved to see an old friend.
Ogata, on the other hand, looked confused.
The second half of the sentence the woman just said was addressed to Uesugi, but the first half was obviously addressed to Ogata.
Ogata looked at the woman's face carefully several times - he felt that she looked familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.
"Um..." Ogata asked doubtfully, "Excuse me, who are you?"
"Have you forgotten me so quickly?" The woman smiled bitterly. "You came to see me last night. Have you forgotten?"
——Last night…?
Memories and thoughts were suddenly connected.
Just as Ogata remembered who the woman in front of him was, Uekusa beside him said to him in a helpless tone:
"This is Furin-no-Taikoo, the lady you met at the Oiran Road last night. She changed her makeup and hairstyle, so you can't recognize her?"
Although he was reluctant to admit it, Ogata had to admit that he really couldn't recognize Furin Taifu after she changed her hairstyle and makeup...
The Fuu Ling Taifu I saw last night was wearing white makeup, had her hair in a neat bun, and was wearing clothes that looked like armor.
Now, Fuu Ling Taifu has her long hair casually draped and only wears light makeup.
In Ogata's eyes - the difference between the two was so great that he couldn't tell them apart for a moment.
"I saw you yesterday when I was walking to Yangwu." Furin Taifu smiled, "I didn't expect you to come to work at Shirobei Club."
In Ogata's memory, when Fuujiya passed by him last night, there was a "fanatical fan" yelling beside Ogata, which attracted Fuujiya's attention.
As a result, Ogata was glanced at by Furin Taifu - just a glance.
Ogata remembered that Furin Taifu only glanced at him once.
"Taifu, you have such a good memory..." Ogata said with a surprised tone.
Ogata didn't expect that Furin Taifu could remember him after only seeing him once.
"I have a very good memory."
After Uesugi filled the cup handed to him by Furin-taifu with tea, he nodded at Takigawa, who was still sitting behind the podium and showing the "Chinese version of the Analects" to the girls.
"Tayu, what is Takigawa doing? Why is he speaking Chinese for no reason?"
"There's no special reason." Furin Taifu smiled as he drank his tea with an elegant motion. "After the first class, when we were taking a break, Takigawa was chatting with a few prostitutes. Somehow, Takigawa, whether intentionally or unintentionally, suddenly mentioned that he knew Chinese."
"The girls were very curious and asked Takigawa to read Chinese to them."
"That Takigawa can actually speak Chinese." Uesugi muttered.
"After all, he studied under the great sinologist Xiang Shengchun|Shui."
"Taifu." Uesugi gave a sly smile, "Why don't you go and listen to Takigawa speak Chinese?"
"Little idiot." Fuujiya smiled helplessly, "I think I told you before that I would not be interested in the overly arrogant Takigawa... Hmm? Master Majima, what's wrong? Is there something strange on my lips?"
As Fuujiya spoke, he raised his hand and gently covered his mouth.
Because she suddenly realized that Ogata had been staring at her lips since a while ago.
"There's nothing on your lips ." Ogata said seriously, "I'm just a little curious about the lip balm you used."
Lip balm - which is the lipstick in ancient times.
The lipstick that Fuu Ling Taifu applied on her lips was not just an ordinary red.
The lower lips, which have become rosy after applying lipstick, have a faint shimmering color, which looks very beautiful.
"Oh, this one." Fuujiya smiled, "The lip balm I used is called 'Sasiro Red'."
"'Sasairo-beautiful'..." Ogata muttered softly the name of the lipstick that Furin-taifu had just mentioned.
"Mashima-sama, are you interested in lip balm?"
"No, I have no interest in it, and I haven't done any research on it."
Whether in the modern Earth or in the Edo period, Ogata has never done any research or paid any attention to women's cosmetics.
"I just... just now when I saw your lipstick, Taifu, I suddenly thought that it might look good if a girl who means a lot to me also put on the same lipstick as you."
"Oh?" Furin-Tayu looked at Ogata with a look of great interest. "So that's how it is. The 'Sasa-iro red' I use is quite expensive. Such a small box costs 1 tael of gold."
After saying that, Fuu Ling Taifu put his right thumb and index finger together to form a small circle.
"1 tael?" Ogata couldn't help but raise his eyebrows in surprise.
"Of course - that's because the 'Sasa-iro Red' I use is the top quality and therefore so expensive. The ordinary 'Sasa-iro Red' is also expensive, but not as outrageously expensive as the one I use."
"Mashima-sama, if you want to buy 'Sasairo Red' as a gift, I can recommend a store. The lipstick sold in that store is the best in the whole of Edo."
"But the price of the ordinary 'Sasa-iro red' is cheaper, but the quality is naturally not as good as the one I use."
——As expected, no matter what era it is, cosmetics are luxury goods... One ryo can only buy such a small box of lip balm... I'm afraid that Furin Taifu is the only one in the whole Yoshiwara who can afford this kind of lip balm...
Just as Ogata was still secretly sighing at the law that "cosmetics are luxury goods no matter what era", the wooden door of the room was suddenly opened again.
As soon as the wooden door was opened, an old voice sounded from the door:
"Hmm? Guasheng, you come to the Liuwu again to get some tea?"
The person who suddenly opened the door and spoke to Guasheng in a very familiar tone was an old man who looked very dignified.
As soon as the old man appeared in front of everyone, Guasheng immediately let out a small exclamation, and then hurriedly bowed to the old man:
"Master Shirobei, why are you here?"
"I just came out for a walk to relax. When I passed by the house just now, I stopped by to take a look. Hmm? Guess, who is the warrior next to you?"
"Master Shirobei, don't you know him? He is Majima Goro, who just passed the assessment of Master Kawajiro and Keiemon early this morning and joined our Shirobei Club."
"Oh! I see. No wonder I haven't seen him. I went out to Yoshiwara to do some work early this morning. I wasn't in the club. Haha, that's right. It seems that Kei'emon and the others have recruited a samurai who looks quite reliable."
"So you two haven't met before..." Uesugi muttered, then turned to Ogata and introduced, "Mashima-kun, this is the current headmaster of our Shirobei Club - the Sixth Demi-god Shirobei."
As soon as Ueyu finished speaking, Obe immediately bowed to Shirobei and said loudly:
"Master Shirobei, I am the Izumo ronin, Majima Goro."
While greeting Shirobei, Ogata silently looked at Shirobei's appearance.
Shirobei...he looks very much like an official.
There seems to be hidden strength within his thin body, and he looks intimidating without even showing any anger.
"Master Shirobei. Long time no see."
Takigawa, who had been showing the "Chinese version of the Analects" to the prostitutes, put down the Analects he had been holding in his hand and walked quickly to Shirobei.
While bowing to Shirobei, he also greeted him politely.
"Takigawa-kun, long time no see." Shirobei smiled and returned the greeting, "I'm really sorry that you've been teaching at Ruya during this period."
"I feel very happy to come to teach here in Ruwu." Takigawa smiled, but only his lips were smiling, and there was no smile in his eyes. "While teaching everyone knowledge, I can also review these Chinese books by the way."
"Master Shirobei, you've come just in time. I just happened to have something to discuss with you."
"Oh? What's the matter?" asked Shirobei.
"I want to focus on preparing for the upcoming 'Imperial Examination', so I would like to take a leave of absence and not come to the Ruya to teach for a while."
"Oh!" Shirobei's face showed understanding, "Oh, that's right, I remember now, Takigawa-kun, you participated in the 'Imperial Trial', right?"
"I understand. Then you should prepare well for the 'Imperial Test'. You don't need to report to our club until the end of the 'Imperial Test'."
"Thank you very much." Takigawa bowed deeply.
"Teacher." At this moment, a prostitute suddenly asked with a puzzled look on her face, "What is 'Gozen Kikyo'?"
Ogata was not surprised that the prostitute did not know what the "Imperial Trial" was.
After all, even many common people in Edo were not quite clear about what the "Gozen Trial" was all about.
"Hmm..." Takigawa pondered for a while and said, "In simple terms, 'Gozen Trial' is..."
Takigawa briefly introduced to the prostitute what the "Gozen Trial" was.
As soon as Takigawa finished his introduction, Shirobei said to Takigawa in a half-joking tone:
"Takigawa-kun, prepare well and try to get a good ranking in both the civil and martial arts tests of the Imperial Examination."
"Lord Shirobei!" Takigawa smiled confidently, "I can't guarantee that I can get first place in the martial arts test, but I am determined to get first place in the literary test of 'Gozenshihe'!"
"I want to win the first place in the 'Imperial Examination' and attract the attention and appreciation of Lord Rochu! I want to become Lord Rochu's staff in the future!"
"Staff?" Shirobei raised his eyebrows sharply.
Ogata, who had been listening, also showed a hint of curiosity at this time.
"Everyone." Takigawa turned slightly and scanned the surroundings with his eyes, then said slowly, "I believe you should have heard more or less that after Lord Matsudaira Sadanobu took office as the new old councilor, he has been actively promoting the shogunate reforms in order to revitalize the country's strength!"
In response to Takigawa's words, some of the girls nodded, while others looked confused.
The new and old Nakajima Matsudaira Sadanobu has been promoting shogunate reforms in recent years - Ogata was aware of this.
With his arms folded across his chest and his back leaning against the wall behind him, Ogata continued to listen to Takigawa's story in silence.
"I have received accurate information - in order to complete the reform of the shogunate, Lord Rochu is recruiting talents!"
Takigawa was quite eloquent, and his passionate speech successfully attracted the attention of everyone present.
Takigawa seemed to enjoy the feeling of being noticed by so many people. With a strong look of excitement on his face, he spoke in an even more passionate tone:
"Today, our Tokugawa shogunate has been established for 200 years, and its benevolence is widespread. Although there are occasional natural disasters, they have not been able to shake the shogunate in the slightest. The general and the elders are now working hard to govern the country, working day and night. Now is the time for us, the people of integrity and ambition, to sacrifice our lives!"
"My classmates and I have made up our minds - we vow to show our talents in the 'Imperial Trial' and demonstrate our talents to the General and the Lord!"
After listening to Takigawa's speech quietly, Ogata thought to himself:
——It seems that some of those who participated in this “Imperial Trial” were here for fame and fortune…
I have to say - Takigawa's speech just now was quite contagious.
Many of the girls present looked at Takigawa with admiration and excitement.
Of course, there are also some prostitutes who look calm, such as Furin Taifu.
Fuujitsu Taifu smiled with an unpredictable smile and said:
"Takigawa-kun, are you planning to be the staff of Lord Rochu?"
Seeing Fuu Ling Taifu coming to talk to him on his own initiative, a barely perceptible ecstasy immediately appeared in Takigawa's eyes.
"That's right!" Takigawa said in a firm tone, "Lord Rochu is very courageous! This time when recruiting staff, we will not look at their background! We will only look at their talents! So I will show my skills in the 'Imperial Trial'! After I get Lord Rochu's appreciation, I will..."
Before Takigawa could finish his words, Furin Taifu interrupted him with a new question:
"Takigawa-kun, let's not discuss whether you have the ability to perform well in the 'Imperial Trial'."
"If you really become Mr. Laozhong's staff in the future, can you help him to revitalize the country's national strength?"
"Excuse me for being frank - I think you are still too young and may not be able to take on the important task of being the senior Chinese advisor."
"Instead of setting such high goals, it is better to be down-to-earth and start with ordinary officials."
Furin Taifu used a direct tone to persuade Takigawa to be down-to-earth and not to aim too high.
However, Takigawa seemed to disagree with Furin Taifu's subtle persuasion.
"Hahaha!" Takigawa, still smiling confidently, laughed a few times and said, "Fuu Ling Taifu, please don't worry about me!"
"I am the eldest son of the Takigawa family and a disciple of the Chinese scholar Xiangsheng Chun|shui! Through what I have seen and heard, I have a good understanding of how to govern a country!"
After that, Takigawa waved his hand and said in a more passionate tone:
"If I become Mr. Laozhong's staff one day, I will suggest to him that we should vigorously promote Zhu Xi's 'Zhu Zi School'!"
After hearing the term "Zhu Xi's philosophy" from Takigawa, Ogata couldn't help but frowned slightly.
Japanese Zhu Xi School - Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism was introduced to Japan and then modified by the Japanese rulers to suit the local conditions and become a doctrine suitable for the Japanese people.