Good morning Daming

Chapter 1062: Knock Down Your Pride
For Ashikaga Yoshiko, even if the shogunate was in decline, she still felt that she was a noble princess.

Such people have been common for thousands of years. Even if they have fallen to the extreme, they still want to put on airs and fill the airs. If possible, they would rather borrow money to maintain their original extravagant lifestyle.

They are unable to accept their miserable reality, and eventually either die in depression or face the reality, get beaten by society, and choose to bow their heads.

As an observer, in Matsugi Yoshiko's eyes, the princess was putting on the wrong attitude.

"You probably don't know Chang Wei Bo's status in the Ming Dynasty." Matsugi Yoshiko said seriously.

"Isn't he an earl?" Ashikaga Miko said, "The highest title in the Ming Dynasty is Duke. I know of two dukes. Earl is far from a duke!"

The Ashikaga clan was the general who was second only to the emperor and above all others. Even the dukes and other officials had to bow to them.

This is also the source of Ashikaga Yoshiko's pride - her ancestors were once wealthy.

This was all she had left to maintain her pitiful and pathetic self-esteem.

"Really?" Matsugi Yoshiko sighed, "What you don't know is that during this period, I saw with my own eyes a duke who could shake the southern part of the Ming Dynasty bowing his head to the earl, as if he were a subordinate."

She was talking about Xu Chengzong, Duke of Wei.

"Huh?" Ashikaga Miko was startled. "This is not the country where rituals and music are in chaos, but the Ming Dynasty. Who can go beyond the Duke?"

"It's this Lord." Matsuki Yoshiko said, "He is the cousin of the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty and the powerful official in charge of the New Deal. Do you know about the New Deal?"

"My brother said that someone in the Central Plains initiated a revolution. Was it Wang Anshi? Yes, that was him."

Ashikaga wanted to make a thorough reform and eliminate all the traitors.

"Do you know how much power the person in charge of the new policy will hold?"

"I know." Ashikaga Miko knew that Jiang Qingzhi was a powerful official, but she really didn't know how much power he held. But she couldn't lose the battle, as a princess, she couldn't show weakness in front of a woman from a local powerful family.

"You don't know." Song Muliangzi bluntly exposed her hypocrisy. "The current Lord can tremble in the southern part of the Ming Dynasty by stamping his feet. He can purge the officers and soldiers, clean up the officialdom... and even decide the future direction of the Ming Dynasty. What do you think of such a powerful official?"

"This... isn't this the prototype of the Shogun?" Ashikaga Miko asked in surprise, "How did you know?"

"My Lord has never blocked my access to outside news." Matsuki Yoshiko smiled bitterly. "I used to laugh at my Lord, thinking that the Marquis's house was not well managed. I also wanted to escape, but I tried three times in a row. Every time, there were always guards who happened to appear in the seemingly loose Marquis's house..."

"Just three times?" Ashikaga Miko felt that if it were her, she would definitely try it again and again.

"My uncle has a habit of never doing anything more than three times." Matsuki Yoshiko felt it necessary to sound the alarm for the princess, "No matter what it is, three times is the limit. The fourth time means death!"

Seeing Ashikaga Miko at a loss, Matsugi Yoshiko sighed, thinking that although this man was born of noble birth, he was a little naive. "The third time, the guard who intercepted me said that if I was not still useful, I would have been executed the second time. Don't you understand? We are a foreign race! The three times are for internal affairs, not for foreigners."

When Matsugi Yoshiko thought of the way the guard looked at her at that time, she couldn't help but tremble.

That's the look of a dead person.

Combined with Jiang Qingzhi's brutal treatment of Japanese pirate captives, Matsugi Yoshiko came to the conclusion that the uncle's attitude towards foreign races, especially the Japanese, was extremely bad.

"Alien..."

"I don't know why Lord Bo is so displeased with foreign races, especially the Japanese. When I led my men to raid Songmen, all the people captured after the defeat were killed by Lord Bo and built into a Jingguan."

"What Jingguan?"

"It's... a mountain of corpses!"

Ashikaga Miko took a deep breath and felt a chill down her spine. "A mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood?"

"Yes." Matsuki Ryoko said, "So, you should let go of your reserve."

"You said... why did you remind me of this?" Ashikaga Miko said calmly: "You were quite hostile to me before. I know what you meant. You were worried that I would compete with you for your favor. But you thought too much."

"Competing for favor?" Matsuki Yoshiko smiled. "What do you think we are in the eyes of the uncle? A noble princess of the shogunate? No, you are wrong."

"Hmm!" The princess was a little embarrassed.

"I have just been observing the attitude of the lord towards you. To be honest, it is not as good as the attitude of the lord towards the maid in his house."

Seeing Ashikaga Miko's pale face, Matsugi Yoshiko felt a sense of satisfaction in her heart. "Neither you nor I have the right to be reserved in front of the uncle, let alone bargaining. I am not reminding you out of kindness, but because I am worried that if you get into trouble, it will implicate me."

"Why would I implicate you?" Ashikaga Miko sneered.

"I once heard Master Bo say that the Japanese are cunning and can't be trusted. If you anger Master Bo, I will be implicated."

Ashikaga Miko couldn't help feeling a little frustrated by Matsugi Yoshiko's frankness, but she still sat with her back straight.

Matsugi Yoshiko said gently, "We are in a foreign country, both of us depend on you for survival. It's not an exaggeration to say that we share the same suffering. Since we are in the same situation, wouldn't it be better for us to join hands and keep each other warm? We have no chance of winning if we fight alone."

"What do you mean?" Ashikaga Miko frowned, "Are you talking about... competing for favor?"

"You are a smart man." Matsuki Yoshiko pointed to her empty left sleeve, "How can I win your favor like this? And I am a widow, so how can I be qualified to serve you, my Lord?"

Matsugi Yoshiko looked at the princess and said in a seductive tone: "But you are different. You are of noble birth, an unknown princess. And you are beautiful, and your every move makes people's hearts beat fast. If you are willing to bow your head and serve the uncle... If one person succeeds, the whole family will benefit, and I can also benefit from it."

"Does this lord have a wife?" asked Ashikaga Miko.

Her heart was moved...Matsuki Yoshiko sighed, "He has a wife and children. But, my uncle only has one woman." "Only one?" Ashikaga Miko was surprised, "Even my brother, who is in poverty, still has several women. As a powerful official of the Ming Dynasty, how could he only have one woman?"

"Besides, he is so handsome, how can he be so restrained, right?" Matsuki Yoshiko said with a smile.

Thinking of Jiang Qingzhi's handsomeness, Ashikaga Miko couldn't help but nod, "This is the most handsome man I have ever seen."

"He is also a relative of the emperor who has great power in the Ming Dynasty." Song Muliangzi said: "My uncle is now alone outside, without any women to serve him, this is the best opportunity.

You... I suggest you learn to be humble, be gentle, and use a woman's gentleness to soothe a man's heart. Instead of being arrogant.

To be honest, even if the shogunate is still powerful, in the eyes of the Lord, it is nothing more than barbarians and vassal states. So, why are you putting on airs? In the eyes of the Lord, you are just a joke, a monkey in human form."

It has to be said that Matsugi Yoshiko's observation and analysis of Jiang Qingzhi in recent days have been very thorough.

……

"…Matsugi Yoshiko said that the princess was putting on airs in front of the uncle and was just a monkey in human form."

Jiang Qingzhi was looking at a map in his study. On the east side of the map, a long row of islands were circled by him with a brush.

"Matsugi Yoshiko is a smart woman who is good at taking advantage of situations." Xu Wei said, "As for the princess, to be honest, the Earl should take her in as a maid or concubine."

"Not interested." Jiang Qingzhi thought of those 'teachers' in later generations and couldn't help but smile.

"Uncle!"

Someone came in to report: "The navy fleet that went out to sea to wipe out the Japanese pirates has returned, and it is said that all the Japanese pirates near the coast have been destroyed."

"Good!" Jiang Qingzhi slapped the table, raised his eyes, took a deep breath, and said with a surge of emotion: "Finally, we have made it this far. This sea has opened its arms to the Ming Dynasty."

"Congratulations, sir, for your unprecedented achievement!" Xu Wei said with a smile.

"Unprecedented achievement?" Jiang Qingzhi stood up, and Xu Wei said, "The Japanese pirates have been rampant along the coast for more than a hundred years, and they have never been eradicated. The court was extremely worried about this, but Master Bo went south for less than half a year and completely wiped out this scourge. When the news was passed back to the capital, many people were shocked. If this is not an unprecedented achievement, what is it? Congratulations, Master Bo!"

Xu Wei bowed.

Jiang Qingzhi said calmly: "In Benbo's eyes, this is just a side dish before dinner."

Xu Wei was stunned.

Is this just a side dish?
So, what is the main dish?
Jiang Qingzhi's eyes turned and he pressed his finger on Japan on the map. "The next step is the main course!"

……

"The master's wife is not from a high family, but I vaguely heard that the couple get along very well. But there is no need to be disappointed, just like a banquet, there must be main dishes, and side dishes are also indispensable. For example, natto... If you can't make the main dish, then making side dishes is not bad either."

"Don't look at me like that. This is a strange place for you. The identity of a shogunate princess is not useful in the Ming Dynasty. If you can't learn to bow your head and greet the Lord, you will regret it sooner or later."

"I won't regret it."

"You will definitely regret it." Matsuki Yoshiko placed her hopes of turning things around on the princess, so she said very seriously: "My Lord does not support idle people, especially those from other races. Don't roll your eyes, it's not nice.

Especially the idle foreigners. To the uncle, there are two kinds of foreigners, one is useless and the other is useful. The useful foreigners are good foreigners, and the useless foreigners...either become slaves, or...say what I overheard."

Matsuki Yoshiko stared at the princess and said, "A dead Japanese is a good Japanese."

"Who said that?" Ashikaga Yoshiko was furious.

Matsuki Yoshiko looked at him, "You don't want to know."

"tell me!"

"It's the uncle!"

Ashikaga Yoshiko was stunned.

After an unknown amount of silence, she said with difficulty, "Why does he hate the Japanese so much?"

"My uncle was born in Jiangnan. The Japanese pirates have been plaguing the south for many years. My uncle must have heard about how cruel the Japanese pirates were since he was a child. When he grew up, he naturally didn't treat the Japanese well."

"I said this because I want to tell you. This is the last chance. It's the best chance for you and me." Song Muliangzi said in a deep voice: "You should be more honest with the uncle. You should tell him the truth about whatever he asks."

"But I sensed a crisis from his attitude today."

"Forget all that!" Matsuki Yoshiko said, "Forget Japan, forget the shogunate and the Ashikaga clan... and serve the lord wholeheartedly. Treat him as your master.

Remember, this is the last chance. If you give up this chance, I can still find other ways to turn things around, but you will be reduced to hard labor, which is the best outcome. Or you will be betrothed to a farmer, carrying your child on your back to work in the fields all day long, are you willing?"

Matsuki Yoshiko looked at the princess.

The princess's back, which had been straight all along, slowly collapsed.

"I have no idea."

(End of this chapter)