Chapter 1090 The fate of Dongdao!

East Island, Heian-kyō,

Ishihara Nobuyuki, the head of the three magistrates of Higashima, came to Muto's residence again after a few months. Greeted by Muto Soichiro, Ishihara Nobuyuki entered Muto Masaaki's study...
"Please take a seat, Ishihara-kun!" Muto Masaaki said with a smile:

Looking at Muto Masaaki who looked calm in front of him, Ishihara Nobuyuki nodded secretly in his heart, and then sat down opposite Muto Masaaki.

Under the gaze of Ishihara Nobuyuki, Muto Masaaki began to brew tea slowly. After a set of tedious processes, Muto Masaaki handed a cup of fragrant tea to Ishihara Nobuyuki.

As a result, Ishihara Nobuyuki tasted the teacup for a while and then said lightly:
"The tea is good! But Muto-kun, you are able to keep your composure and still be able to practice tea ceremony at home at this time!"

Muto Mazakaki also took a sip of the teacup, feeling the bitterness and fragrance of the tea in his mouth. Muto Mazakaki nodded slightly and then said to Ishihara Nobu:

"Ishihara Nobuyuki, have you forgotten? I was assassinated and seriously injured. I need to recuperate at home!"

Upon hearing this, Ishihara Nobu snorted coldly and said:

"Don't tell me you don't know what happened. That damn Ye Mingsheng has completely set his sights on us now!"

"The spies from the Coordination Office have become very active in East Island recently, and I suspect that the Hojo family and the Watanabe family may have had contact with these people!"

After saying this, Ishihara Nobuyuki sighed and said:

"Muto-kun is right. Ye Mingsheng unified the Great Zhou much faster than we expected. He has now taken over Jiangnan..."

"Lu Jianchao is a complete wimp. As soon as the Fengwu Army arrived at the city to scare him, he surrendered and knelt at Ye Mingsheng's feet, begging for Ye Mingsheng's forgiveness!"

"Jiangnan is the most prosperous and wealthy place in Da Zhou. If Dongdao takes it, the comprehensive national strength will definitely reach a new level, and Dongdao's national fortune will also take off completely. But now it has fallen into Ye Mingsheng's hands so easily!"

Having said this, Ishihara Nobuyuki, who was not satisfied, slammed the table heavily, his face full of resentment and regret, as if the Jiangnan area was not the territory of Da Zhou, but the territory of Dongdao, and Ye Mingsheng had robbed him!
Listening to Ishihara Nobuyuki's words, Muto Mazaaki silently drank another sip of tea. Although the fragrance of the tea still remained, his heart was bitter. Although he predicted the situation of the Great Zhou correctly, he hoped that his prediction was wrong!

How much Muto Masaaki hoped that Ye Mingsheng would take ten or eight years to unify the Great Zhou. In this way, they would have time to slowly resolve the internal conflicts in Dongdao and would not have to face the situation of internal and external troubles like now!
It would be better if you, Ye Mingsheng, just died. As long as Ye Mingsheng died, there would be no one in the Fengwu Army who could balance the forces of all parties!
Such a huge Fengwu Army will soon fall apart, and various forces will fight for power and profit. The land of Da Zhou will be filled with smoke and flames again...
Thinking of this beautiful scene, Muto Masaaki couldn't help but feel overwhelmed with emotion, but unfortunately, no matter how beautiful the imagination is, people can't live in their imagination and always have to face the cruel reality!

Just when Muto Yoshiaki felt very bitter, Ishihara Nobu continued to say in a deep voice:

"After we gain control of Jiangnan, I think the finances of the Fengwu Army will improve greatly, and it will also provide financial support for the Fengwu Army's war against Sichuan and Shu!"

"But the most important and noteworthy thing is that after obtaining Jiangnan, those Jiangnan businesses will have to be loyal to Ye Mingsheng, and they will definitely serve Ye Mingsheng's ambitions!

"It is foreseeable that the Fengwu Army will be more active in infiltrating our Dongdao Island and will try to expand its influence in Nanyang. Ye Mingsheng has always been very interested in Nanyang. According to the information we have received, the Fengwu Army's secret service agency, the General Coordination Office, has been increasing its manpower and financial resources in recent years to try to further infiltrate our Dongdao Island and Nanyang!
"After we gain control of Jiangnan, there is no doubt that the shipbuilding capabilities of the Fengwu Army will experience explosive growth, which will pose a huge threat to us!"

At this point, Ishihara Nobuo paused, then looked at Muto Masaaki and said very seriously:
“Although I have never met Ye Mingsheng, I can feel his tremendous ambition from his actions. He will never be content with just unifying the Great Zhou. Your butcher knife is already pointed at us…”

From Ishihara Nobuyuki's serious tone, Muto Mazaaki could clearly feel the worry and pessimism in his heart. After all, the national strength of Dongdao and Da Zhou was more than ten times different. When the Fengwu Army really appeared on Dongdao, it would be an unprecedented catastrophe for Dongdao!

Although Muto Masaaki was extremely intelligent, facing the huge gap in national strength, he had no choice but to smile and comfort:
"There is an old saying in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Ishihara-kun: worrying about the future is a waste of time. No one knows what the future will be like. We must live in the present, and God will protect us. If the Fengwu Army really dares to attack, then the divine wind will send them all to the bottom of the sea to feed the fish!"

Hearing Muto Masaaki pinning his hopes on the divine wind, Ishihara Nobu couldn't help but shook his head helplessly, and Muto Masaaki was unwilling to continue this topic, so he changed the subject and asked:
"Ishihara-kun, how do you plan to deal with the Hojo and Watanabe families?"

After hearing this, Ishihara Nobuo was silent for a while and then said:
"I plan to ask them to hand over the family members who have had dealings with the Coordination Office, and at the same time, have Hojo Kawa and Watanabe Taketake come to Heian-kyō in person to apologize to the Shogun and His Majesty!"

After hearing this, Muto Masaaki was stunned, and then frowned. Seeing this, Ishihara Nobuyuki also asked directly:

"Muto-kun, what do you think of my idea?"

Facing Ishihara Nobuyuki's question, Muto Masaaki smiled bitterly and said, "Ishihara-kun, are you serious?"

“Of course! On a matter that determines the fate of East Island, how could I, Ishihara Nobuyuki, joke…”

Hearing Ishihara Nobuyuki's serious answer, Muto Masaaki shook his head and said:
"But Ishihara-kun, you should know very well that the two requests you made are completely impossible. Those two old fellows, Hojo Kawa and Watanabe Taketake, will never agree to your conditions!"

After Muto Masaaki finished speaking, Ishihara Nobu took a sip of the teacup, then faced Muto Masaaki's gaze and spoke calmly and firmly:

"So I have the opportunity to call on other daimyos from East Island to attack these two people!"

Although Muto Mazaaki had realized that Ishihara Nobuyuki wanted to start a war after hearing his conditions, when he really said this, Muto Mazaaki still found it hard to believe. He didn't understand why Ishihara Nobuyuki didn't maintain peace on East Island but chose to start a civil war!

Ishihara Nobu seemed to see Muto Masaaki's confusion, and without waiting for him to ask, he took the initiative to explain:

"You, Muto-kun, should be very clear about the evil ambitions of Hojo Kawa and Watanabe Yumu. These two people think that the master is young and are eyeing the Toyotomi family's kingdom. They have been preparing for war in their own territories in an attempt to seize the throne of East Island!"

“And now they have colluded with the Fengwu Army. Ye Mingsheng is an even more ambitious man. In my opinion, he doesn’t care who wins. He just wants to add fuel to the fire and let Dongdao fall into war and division. Then he will have an opportunity to take advantage of it…”

"Some spies of the shogunate in the Hojo and Watanabe families have reported that the General Coordination Office has sold 500 Weiyuan guns to the Hojo and Watanabe families at low prices, and this is only the first batch. The Fengwu Army will sell more firearms to these two families in the future, and will even consider firearms including artillery!"

"Mr. Muto, the situation is very serious now. The firearms of the Fengwu Army have greatly fueled the ambitions of the Hojo and Watanabe families. It is no exaggeration to say that under Ye Mingsheng's instigation, the civil war in East Island is almost inevitable!"

"Even if we don't fight now, the Hojo family and the Watanabe family will create friction and take the initiative to attack, so we might as well take advantage of our current strength and strike first!"

"Once the Hojo and Watanabe families reject my conditions, we can call on the daimyo from all over the country to join us in the crusade. Our chances of winning will be very high!"

"As long as we get rid of the Hojo family and the Watanabe family, we will not only restore the reputation of the shogunate, but also deal a heavy blow to other daimyos who are ready to make a move, so that they dare not act rashly. At the same time, we will also thwart Ye Mingsheng's conspiracy to split East Island!"

"Muto-kun! For Toujima, for all of us, we have to do this. Please support me! Please!"

Ishihara Nobuyuki finished the last sentence passionately and decisively, then stood up and bowed deeply to Muto Masaaki...
Looking at Ishihara Nobuyuki's sincere words, Muto Mazaaki fell into silence. Seeing that Muto Mazaaki did not express his opinion, Ishihara Nobuyuki just kept bowing, as if to say, "If you don't agree to me, I will keep bowing!"

Feeling Ishihara Nobu's persistence, Muto Masaaki had no better solution, so he could only stand up and bow to Ishihara Nobu and said:

"Mr. Ishihara, please forgive me for not being able to support your decision to start a civil war! The Great Zhou's Sun Tzu's Art of War once said that war is a major issue for a country, a matter of life and death, and a matter of survival and destruction!"

"The civil war is a Pandora's box. We can open this box, but once it is opened, it will be difficult for us to control the direction of things, and the results may not be what we expect!"

When Ishihara Nobuyuki heard this, his eyes were filled with disappointment. He stood up and looked at Muto Masaaki as if he wanted to say something.

But when the words came to his lips, he realized that if he said it, it would be equivalent to breaking up with Muto Masaaki, and there would be no room for turning things around.
Realizing this, Ishihara Nobuyuki sighed and swallowed back what he wanted to say, and just spoke sincerely to Muto Masaaki;
"Please, Muto-kun, put your national affairs first!"

After saying this, Ishihara Nobuyuki turned around and walked out of the room without waiting for Muto Mazaaki to reply. Looking at Ishihara Nobuyuki's slightly bleak back as he left, Muto Mazaaki's eyes gradually became complicated...
In fact, although Ishihara Nobuyuki didn't say it out loud, Muto Masaaki knew very well what he wanted to say!
That's right! Ishihara Nobuyuki was right. Muto Masaaki did not support Ishihara Nobuyuki's decision, not just because he didn't want to start a civil war in East Island!
Muto Masaaki also has his own selfish motives. After all, he is not only one of the five big bosses of the shogunate, but also the head of the Muto family!
As the hereditary nobles of East Island, the Muto family also intermarried with many similar hereditary nobles. Everyone is interdependent, forming a community of interests among each other, and they prosper together and suffer together!
As the saying goes, the head follows the butt, your position determines your stance. The reason why Muto Masaaki was able to become one of the five big bosses was largely due to the help of the hereditary aristocracy, so Muto Masaaki also has the obligation to safeguard the interests of the hereditary aristocracy!
Although Ishihara Nobuyuki's plan maintained the rule of the shogunate, it also led some hereditary nobles to fight against other hereditary nobles, creating divisions and leading to internecine fighting within the hereditary noble groups...
You have to know that the current lord is young, so most of the power of the shogunate is in the hands of the three magistrates headed by Ishihara Nobuyuki. The three magistrates and the five big bosses representing the hereditary aristocracy have formed a delicate balance of power in Tojima, and now Ishihara Nobuyuki's plan is to break this balance!
Just as Muto Masaaki knew that he had selfish motives, Muto Masaaki also did not think that Ishihara Nobuyuki, who proposed this plan, had no selfish motives and was as selfless as he appeared to be!

After all, once his plan succeeds, the power of the hereditary aristocracy will suffer a severe blow, and in this way, Ishihara Nobuyuki will be able to monopolize power without any constraints!
There is an idiom in the Great Zhou Dynasty called "using the emperor to command the princes". At that time, the orders of the shogunate were nominally issued by the lord, but in fact they might be the will of Ishihara Nobuyuki!
Therefore, considering various opinions, it is impossible for Muto Masaaki to agree with Ishihara Nobuyuki's idea. Although he made such a decision, Muto Masaaki must also admit that Ishihara Nobuyuki's worries and concerns do exist!

Therefore, after rejecting Ishihara Nobuyuki's proposal, Muto Masaaki also had to come up with a solution to the current problem and could not allow the situation to continue to deteriorate!

However, it is not so easy to find a solution. Muto Masaaki thought about it quietly for a long time, but still had no clue.

After thinking for a while, Muto Masaaki decided to try a political solution first, and then he began to write furiously...

(End of this chapter)