Everyone present focused their attention on him, which made Takigawa even more proud.
After clearing his throat, he shouted in a louder voice:
"Nowadays, more and more warriors are either extremely poor or indulge in pleasure, degenerate and have no ambition to make progress."
"Why is this so?"
"It's all because the samurai are becoming more and more disrespectful of Bushido and the discipline of the samurai family."
"As samurai, we should abide by the samurai code of ethics! Study Zhu Xi's orthodox teachings!"
"If I become the aide of Lord Rochu someday, I will definitely propose to Lord Rochu to revive the samurai discipline and encourage the samurai to abide by the Bushido!"
"Only in this way can we reverse the current situation where the warriors are becoming increasingly poor and indulge in pleasure!"
After Takigawa finished his passionate speech in a smug tone, some people present showed admiration on their faces - such as some of the prostitutes.
Some people had blank expressions on their faces - like Furin Taifu, Ueo, and Shirobei.
Some people's brows slowly frowned.
"It seems that Takigawa-kun not only has great ambitions, but also has his own unique insights into the reform of the shogunate."
Shirobei spoke in a tone that was neither salty nor bland. Because his tone contained no emotion, it was impossible to guess what he was thinking.
"But it's not enough to just shout slogans."
Shirobei continued.
"If you really become Lord Rochu's staff in the future, and Lord Rochu asks you how to act to revive the discipline of the samurai family, what will you do?"
"That's easy!" Takigawa's confidence remained undiminished. "First of all - we need to allocate a batch of funds to reward those true samurai who have strictly adhered to the samurai code across the country!"
"For example - the samurai who died last year to protect the former lord of Hirose Domain, Master Matsudaira Gennai!"
Hearing Takigawa's words, Uekusa and Ogata's faces changed.
As for Takigawa - his face was full of admiration when he said this.
"Those samurai who died protecting the former lord of the Hirose Domain, Matsudaira Gennai-sama, fought to the very last moment to protect their lord. They are true samurai!"
"Secondly, increase the reward for the master-killing thug, Ogata Nosuke!"
Takigawa gritted his teeth, his expression becoming gritted.
"This man is a disgrace to the samurai!"
"How dare he have the nerve to do such a heinous crime as !"
"Although there are rumors that Ogata Yoshisei has died in Nijo Castle in Kyoto, it is just a rumor after all! I think there is a great possibility that he is still alive!"
"Therefore, we must increase the reward for Ogata Issei! At the same time, send a large number of people to track down Ogata Issei's whereabouts!"
"Once we find Ogata Issei, we will behead him and display his head to the public!"
Beheading and displaying the head in public - this was considered a relatively painless way to die in ancient China.
But in Japan, beheading and public display of one's head was an extremely humiliating way for samurai to die.
If a samurai committed a capital crime, he would generally be ordered to commit seppuku. Only if he committed other more special crimes would other punishments be used, such as arson.
In ancient Japan, people were terrified of fire.
A small flame could destroy a big city in an instant. Whether it was Edo or Kyoto, these big cities had been destroyed by fire countless times in history.
Therefore, the punishment for anyone who committed arson, whether he was a samurai or a civilian, was to be burned alive so that they could experience the power of fire for themselves.
Only those warriors who had committed unforgivable serious crimes would not even be given the chance to commit seppuku, but would be directly ordered to be beheaded in public.
Uesugi, who had Ogata's portraits on every wall of his house, immediately expressed his extreme dissatisfaction when Takigawa finished speaking:
"Hello!"
Uesugi didn't even call out Takigawa's name, but just called him "Hey".
"Do you know what kind of person the former lord of Hirose Domain was?" Uesugi said in a deep voice with a dark face, "We won't list all the evil things that guy did."
"I'll just say one thing - that guy Matsudaira Gennai once slaughtered the disciples of Sakakibara Kenkan for no reason."
"These disciples of Sakakibara Sword Hall are all true warriors of the Hirose Domain and are retainers of Matsudaira Gennai."
"Matsudaira Gennai slaughtered his own subjects for no reason. Ogata Ittosai acted as justice and executed Matsudaira Gennai. What was wrong with that?"
Uesugi originally thought that Takigawa must not have known what a beastly person Matsudaira Gennai was, which was why he said such words just now.
However, Takigawa's answer surprised Uesugi.
"I know." Takigawa said in a nonchalant tone, "I know that Master Matsudaira Gennai has a strange personality and a bad reputation."
"I also know that Lord Matsudaira Gennai once slaughtered his own subjects."
"But what about that?"
"As I just said, even if the ruler is not a ruler, the subject cannot be a subject!"
"No matter how many crimes Matsudaira Gennai-sama has committed, he is still a lord! He is the lord of the Hirose Domain!"
"And no matter how legitimate the reasons for Ogata Issei's murder of his master are, it cannot change the fact that he is a vassal of Matsudaira Gennai-sama!"
"Even if the king is not a king, we, the subjects, must swear allegiance to him until death! This is the samurai code that we samurai should abide by!"
"Only in this way can this country be put on the right track!"
"If future samurai all follow the example of Ogata Yoshisei and wantonly swing their swords to kill their lords, what will this country become in the future?"
"Therefore, we must capture Ogata Issei at all costs and behead him, so that all the samurai in the world will learn from him!"
The prostitutes present had no idea about these political matters.
Therefore, most of the girls present looked at Takigawa with a confused look on their faces, and then looked at Ueuma.
After hearing what Takigawa said just now, Uesugi's face turned even darker.
Just when Guasheng was about to open his lips to say something else——
"Takigawa-kun's opinion is really insightful."
The person who spoke was Ogata, who was standing behind Uesugi, his back leaning against the wall and his arms folded across his chest.
When saying the word "penetrating to the core", Ogata emphasized the tone, making the overall tone of his words seem very strange.
As soon as Ogata finished speaking, Takigawa frowned slightly and looked at Ogata.
At this time, Ogata continued:
"Takigawa-kun, you just said that only by revitalizing the samurai's discipline and encouraging the samurai to abide by the Bushido can we reverse the current situation where the samurai are becoming increasingly poor and indulge in pleasure. Is that right?"
"That's right." Although he didn't know what this foreign ronin he just met today wanted to do, Takigawa nodded slightly after hearing Ogata's question, "Currently, the vast majority of samurai lack..."
Takigawa was about to give another long speech, but was interrupted by Ogata:
"Takigawa-kun, have you ever seen how the lower-class samurai live?"
"You must not have seen it?"
"Many warriors, due to their low status, have received low salaries for generations."
"Some of them devote themselves to public service in order to alleviate their poverty, or have to find other jobs. While serving the public, they also plant crops and do handicrafts to supplement their family income."
"Are they poor because they don't uphold the samurai code?"
After quietly listening to Takigawa's impassioned speech, Ogata just felt - angry and amused.
Ogata did not feel much about the second half of Takigawa's speech - that is, offering a large reward for him and beheading him after he was captured, and did not feel particularly angry.
After all, there are many people in the world who want to take his head, and Takigawa alone won't make a difference.
However, after listening to the first half of Takigawa's speech, that is, only by vigorously encouraging the samurai to abide by the samurai ethics can the current situation of the samurai becoming increasingly poor and indulging in pleasure be reversed, Ogata's brows involuntarily frowned.
Before escaping from the feudal domain, Ogata was a lower-ranking samurai in the Hirose domain.
At that time, many of his fellow apprentices who practiced sword with him in the Sakakibara Sword Hall were like Ogata, with no hope of rising in status or salary, and lived a life not much better than that of ordinary farmers.
Because he was born into a lower-ranking samurai family and many of his friends were lower-ranking samurai, Ogata found Takigawa's idea that "emphasizing the discipline of the samurai family can change the samurai's customs" ridiculous.
Many of his fellow disciples who had practiced sword with Ogata at Sakakibara Sword Hall in the past were people of very noble character.
They usually perform their duties conscientiously and have never done anything that goes against the samurai ethics.
But no matter how noble their character was or how conscientiously they served their duties, their lives could not be made better.
Not only did their lives not get better, but they ended up with a tragic ending of being slaughtered for no reason by the master they had always served.
Ogata felt that there were many ways to make the life of a lower-ranking samurai like him more luxurious.
But the only thing that certainly does not include is vigorously promoting the so-called Bushido.
As for what Takigawa said later, "It is better for a king not to be a king than for a subject not to be a subject"... This kind of argument is equivalent to saying in disguise: Ogata's fellow disciples died in vain, and Matsudaira Gennai should not be killed in order to avenge them.
After hearing what Takigawa said, it was difficult for Ogata to remain silent.
Takigawa probably didn't expect that someone would dare to question him. After being stunned for a moment, he raised his head slightly.
"I am the eldest son of Hatamoto Takigawa and a disciple of the Chinese scholar Shunsui Aisei - Takigawa Heiichiro. I wonder who your teacher is?"
"I didn't have any famous teachers." Ogata said in a calm tone, "I only went to a Terakoya for a few years when I was young."
After hearing what Ogata said, a hint of pride and complacency appeared on Takigawa's face.
"Your Excellency, what I just said is what I and many of my classmates at Yangyue Academy share."
"My classmates and I are all disciples of Master Xiangsheng. Under Master Xiangsheng's guidance, we are all well-versed in the classics."
"We all believe that the only way to change the current attitude of samurai is to strongly encourage them to abide by the samurai code of conduct and study Zhu Xi's orthodox philosophy."
"Ordinary people should not make rash comments on the affairs of the shogunate."
"So please don't speak nonsense again in the future."
Ogata had no idea what Yangyuejuku was.
Ueyu, who was standing not far from Ogata, lowered her voice at the right time and whispered in a voice that only she and Ogata could hear clearly:
"Yogetsujuku is a private school opened by Shun|sui Aisei."
After listening to Uesugi's explanation, Ogata couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Takigawa's words just now seemed polite, but they were indirectly saying the same thing - I learned from everyone, and people like you who have only been to a Terakoya should not speak nonsense about my ideas.
Anyone with a little perceptiveness could hear that Takigawa's words just now were a disguised mockery and attack on Ogata.
Shirobei pursed his lips, as if thinking about what to say to ease the tense atmosphere.
As for Gua Sheng, a look of intense displeasure appeared on her face .
"Humph, you are just a disciple of Xiangsheng Shun|shui, you..."
Before Guasheng could finish his rebuttal, a big hand suddenly rested on his shoulder.
It was Ogata's hand.
After signaling to Uezaki with his gestures that there was no need to say more, Ogata slowly straightened up from where he had been leaning against the wall.
"Master Takigawa, do you think that I, a mere mortal who has only been to a terakoya, do not have enough knowledge to question your claims?"
Takigawa did not answer Ogata's question.
He simply raised the corners of his mouth a little higher, making the confidence and complacency on his face even more intense, and answered Ogata's question with his actions.
"Okay, let's end this topic here." Not wanting the atmosphere to become so tense any longer, Shirobei said, "For something as far away as the shogunate, we should..."
Before Shirobei, who wanted to be a peacemaker, could finish his words, Obe cleared his throat and then -
"Meng Wu Bo asked, 'Is Zilu benevolent?' Confucius said, 'I don't know.' He asked again, and Confucius said, 'You, a country with a thousand chariots, can be made to manage its taxes, but I don't know if he is benevolent.' 'What about Qiu?' Confucius said, 'Qiu, a town with a thousand houses and a family with a hundred chariots, can be made to be the governor, but I don't know if he is benevolent.' 'What about Chi?' Confucius said, 'Chi, who stands in the court with a belt tied, can be made to talk with guests, but I don't know if he is benevolent.'"
Everyone present cast their stunned and shocked gazes at Ogata.
Guasheng opened his mouth in surprise.
Surprise flashed in Shirobei's eyes.
Fuujiya's reaction was relatively calm, but she also raised her little hand and gently covered her slightly open back lips.
Among them, Takigawa's reaction was the biggest - the confident smile on his face froze, his eyes widened, and his eyeballs seemed about to fall out of their sockets.
The reason why everyone reacted so violently was because Ogata was reciting "The Analects of Confucius" in Chinese at this moment, just like Takigawa just now.
Moreover, anyone with a normal hearing can tell that Ogata's pronunciation is much more standard than that of Takigawa just now.
After Ogata finished reciting a sentence, he immediately recited the next one.
One sentence after another, without any pause, he fluently recited seven long and difficult sentences from The Analects of Confucius.
After reciting, Ogata said softly to Takigawa, who was still smiling stiffly and with eyes wide open:
"Although I only attended Terakoya for a few years, I did study hard during the time I was there."
After leaving these words lightly, Ogata strode out of the room.
Ogata was too lazy to pay attention to Takigawa anymore.
Because the two of them are not from the same world at all.
Although Ogata was a samurai like Takigawa, he was also the ruling class of that era.
But Ogata was just a low-ranking samurai in the tiny Hirose domain.
Takigawa was a descendant of a hatamoto who served directly under the shogun.
Strictly speaking, people like Takigawa are the real ruling class of this era.
Ogata had nothing good to say to Takigawa, who was the real ruling class.
No matter how much he explains, it will probably be like talking to a deaf person. Ogata is too lazy to waste time with such a person.
After Ogata strode out of the room, Uesugi was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed.
As for Takigawa—he was still standing there stupidly, not yet fully coming to his senses.