Warring States Survival Guide

Chapter 211 The Last Samurai
Many things in this world are simple to say.

Especially after mankind entered the information age, it has become very easy for most people to acquire knowledge. As a result, everyone can say that they are knowledgeable. No matter whether it is aerospace, embroidery or bird breeding, no matter whether it is toilet repair or astronomy and geography, any modern person can be told to you in detail. Even if you give him a bottle of beer and a pig's tail, he can talk to you all night long while drinking and sucking on it.

But no matter how much we talk, no matter how much we talk, things in this world are always easier said than done.

Many times, when you really want to do something, you will find that it is so damn difficult and you have no idea where to start.

Yuanye wanted to nationalize the Wanjin system, or at least give it the rudiments of a national system, so that it could be more formal and presentable. But after returning home from the Wanjin Theater, he thought hard for several days but could not make a decision.

What kind of political system should be used?
Which way to go?
Do I want to be an emperor? I have traveled through time, but it seems a bit stupid to want to be an emperor, and it is easy to be considered a shame for traveling through time. However, as a modern person, if I really travel through time, I have to go back to the past. Isn't this also shameful? Have I read so many books for so many years?
Do you want to revolutionize yourself? Do you want to give up your vanity?

Or maybe special things can be done in special ways because of the demands of the times. In order to avoid taking too big a step and hurting one's balls, one needs to be an emperor. Should he be a traditional emperor or a constitutional monarchy?

Should we have separation of powers? Should we lock power in a cage?
Sometimes knowing too much is not good. The more you know, the more choices you have. The more choices you have, the more confused you will be. Yuanye is very confused now.

He locked himself in the house for seven or eight days, going around in circles, grinding at least three to five stone of beans and producing dozens of barrels of soy milk, but finally... he gave up.

He has limited qualifications and cannot figure out this kind of thing, so...

Knowledge and action are unified, but action comes before knowledge. For some things, you will only know how to do them after you do them, otherwise everything is just empty talk.

Well, this sentence is a bit confusing and sounds a bit stupid, but this is the case with many things in this world. There is nothing you do only when you are sure of it. Just do it when you should.

Learn, think and improve while doing.

No political system or route in this world is perfect, nor is it necessarily suitable for him or this era. He threw away those complicated ideas, and began to take advantage of the rare peace around him to start from the most basic things - first kill all the samurai within Wanjin's sphere of influence!

Well, that is to say, first get rid of his own samurai identity, and by the way, get rid of Aman, Aqing, and Maejima Juichiro's as well.

Ah Man was confused by this. After being called over with Ah Qing and Maejima Jiro, he said in disbelief: "Ha, I've only been a samurai for a few years, and I can't be one anymore? Then what will I be in the future?"

"Of course you are still you, that is A-man." Yuanye took out the "Wanjin Pingdeng Ling (Draft)" that she was holding in her hand, handed it to Aqing and Maejima Jiro, and said casually.

Ah Man still didn't understand. He looked down at the wakizashi and katana on his waist and said in confusion, "So I can't carry a sword anymore?"

"That's not a problem. You are in charge of intelligence and surveillance work in Wanjin, which in itself qualifies you to carry a weapon in public."

"What's the difference between that and before?"

Yuanye patiently explained: "There is no more personal dependence. Wanjin will no longer allow any form of personal dependence. No one can have privileges in the general sense."

Ah Man still didn't understand and asked curiously, "What do you mean? What's the meaning of human body or not? What nonsense are you talking about?"

Yuan Ye was speechless for a while, then he sighed helplessly: "From now on, you don't have to call me Lord. We are no longer in a foster-child relationship."

Ah Qing, who was originally standing in the background, immediately looked over with a look of surprise, while Ah Man was even more shocked: "I was exiled? What did I do wrong to be exiled?"

"You didn't make a mistake. It's just that we don't need this kind of relationship anymore. The Wanjin people won't need this kind of relationship anymore. Even I can't rob anyone." Yuanye explained patiently, "Only by ending this kind of personal dependence and fixing it with laws and gaining consensus from everyone, so that everyone believes and abides by it, can we talk about protecting personal property and implement many policies. This is the foundation and is indispensable."

"But I need it. I volunteer to be a retainer!" Aman was unhappy. How could she be inexplicably dismissed from her position as the "Nohara family's chief patriarch" after only working for a few years?
Then how can she act arrogantly in the name of Yuanye in the future?

How come he is still widely respected in Wanjin?
How can you kick other people's butts casually?
If they were equal, then if she kicked someone in the future, would that be against the law? Just like beating up other warriors? She couldn't just draw her sword and chop someone if they fought back?

Isn't this against the will of heaven?

Yuan Ye ignored this. He was always very stubborn and said directly, "Even if you want to, you can't do it. The law doesn't allow it. Besides, this is the first official decree in Wanjin. As a senior official in Wanjin, you must set a good example and enforce it!"

Ah Man couldn't help but touch the hilt of his knife. He wanted to chop his master twice, and began to think of reasons to object: "What about loyalty? I... and them, who should we be loyal to in the future? If no one is loyal to us, won't everything be in chaos?"

Yuanye said directly: "Be loyal to Wanjin!"

"Wanjin is yours, so doesn't that mean I'm still loyal to you?"

"That's the case for now, but... everyone will have to abide by the law in the future. Even I will abide by the law in the future, and I can only retain nominal privileges, probably..." Yuanye hasn't thought it through yet. It's impossible to think of everything before executing such a thing. He can only take it one step at a time and said seriously, "Similarly, I will also need to be loyal to Wanjin in the future, so everyone will be the same. No one can be dependent on anyone or belong to anyone anymore."

Ah Man looked at him in silence for a while, then turned to Ah Qing and complained, "Did he get kicked in the head by a donkey again? I told you to kill the donkey and eat its meat a long time ago, but you didn't listen and insisted on keeping it at home... Now the dung beetle has stepped on the dung ball, it's really over, he's been kicked completely stupid!"

A Qing tilted her head slightly, also not understanding why Yuanye did such a thing, but she didn't care about her identity as a samurai, it didn't matter whether she had it or not, she lowered her eyelids and said nothing.

Yuanye ignored Aman's crazy talk, looked at Maejima Jiro, and asked politely: "Maejima... I'd better call you Maejima-sama, what do you think about this matter?"

If Maejima Jichiro insisted on not giving up his samurai status, then he would have no choice but to give him a large retirement package and send him off. Maejima Jichiro was very hesitant, but if it weren't for Yuanye, he would still be working as an official in the Oda family. He was not a proper samurai to begin with, and he was always honest, so his reaction was not as intense as Aman's. He just hesitated and asked, "This... Your Highness, if I am no longer a samurai, then what am I? Am I... a commoner?"

"I am a citizen of Wanjin." Yuanye said directly, "I am one of the first citizens of Wanjin!"

"Citizen?" Maejima Juichiro pondered the word. He was well versed in Chinese studies and knew that the word came from the book "Han Feizi". It originally referred to "people who serve the country", as opposed to "private citizens", emphasizing obligations to the country rather than rights.

As for the differences between "obligation-based" and "responsibility-based", "personal dependence" and "personal independence", "passive obedience" and "active participation", "ethical community" and "contractual community", he couldn't figure it out. Even Yuanye didn't quite understand it. He just copied what others did and thought it was the right thing to do.

Perhaps, one day in the future, he will suddenly realize why he has to do this, but not now. Now he is just learning by doing, crossing the river by feeling the stones.

You may fall, but you will always move forward, which is better than standing still.

The same is true for Maejima Jiro, who understands some things and does not understand more, but even if he does not understand very well, he does not want to leave Wanjin. Here he is respected and well paid, so he does not need to use his privileges, and he has no interest in testing his sword on passers-by, recruiting Lang's followers, or obtaining Zhixing territory.

As for passing on privileges to the next generation... that was too far away for him.

He hesitated for a moment, then bowed his head and said, "If this is what Your Highness wishes, then... I am not talented enough, but I am willing to become... a citizen of Wanjin and serve... my country."

"Welcome, Mr. Maejima." Yuanye changed the honorific and said with a smile, "Don't worry, there won't be too many other changes. Everything will basically remain the same. And if you like, I can give you number 001 of my Wanjin ID card in the future."

"Your Highness, forget it. You are the number one!" Maejima Juichiro smiled bitterly, but did not change the address. Perhaps he was still unsure of the nature of the matter. He suspected that, just as Aman said, Yuanye suddenly had a strange idea and was being stupid again - a person who likes strange things is just like this, and Oda Nobunaga is not much better than him.

After dealing with Maejima Jichiro, Yuanye turned to Aman and asked, "Aman, what do you say?"

"It's up to you, as long as you're happy!" Ah Man was no longer a retainer, so he was too lazy to be as careful with his words as before, and said maliciously, "If I don't serve you as a retainer, I will discuss with you about you marrying Ah Qing in the future. An elder sister is like a mother. It's not easy for me to raise her to this age. She has suffered a lot. You have to compensate me with some money."

She actually didn't care whether she was a samurai or not. She lived with Yuanye and they were friends for life and death. It didn't matter whether he had the title of samurai or not. She would eat Yuanye's food anyway, even if Yuanye didn't want to. She had saved Yuanye's life and was almost shot to pieces for him. It was only right that she would eat him for the rest of her life.

"Get out of here now!" Yuanye finished his business and didn't bother to be polite with her. He and Aqing were in a "free love" relationship, and it was all his credit that Aqing could grow to almost 1.6 meters tall. It had nothing to do with Aman. In fact, if Aman hadn't always snatched Aqing's food, Aqing might have grown taller.

Ah Man gave him a middle finger and stood up to leave, but after taking two steps he suddenly remembered something and asked Yuan Ye, "We are easy to talk to, you can do whatever you want, but what about the three powerful warriors of the Inu Princess? Should we ask them to give up their status as warriors as well? Do I need to call them over now?"

"No, wait until the decree is officially promulgated!" Yuanye shook his head, "Be prepared. Anyone who opposes will be thrown into Atsuta Port. Don't be polite."

Aman and Aqing are our own people, and Maejima Jichiro is also an old subordinate, so they are naturally treated preferentially. As for other people, it doesn’t matter. If they don’t want to, they will be sent away directly. If they dare to make trouble, they will be tied up and thrown out. If the trouble is too serious, it doesn’t matter if they are killed.

"Got it!" Ah Man responded and went out without making any preparations. The three powerful warriors that the dog princess brought with her when she got married were originally her key surveillance targets. She could tie them up with just one order, without any difficulty.

…………

Yuanye also eliminated the last samurai of Wanjin, and then met with middle and senior officials and military officers such as Endo Chiyo, Izumi Heiji, Yu Dai, Ishibutsu, and Hata Saburo. After discussing and communicating with them, he officially announced the "Wanjin Equality Order" and its subordinate "Household Registration Management Act", "Wanjin Personal Property Protection Act", "Wanjin Property Rights Management Measures", "Wanjin Corporal Punishment Exemption Notice", "Contract Law", "Labor Employment Management Measures", "Education Act" and other detailed legal regulations.

Of course, these were all independently drafted by the new "legal scholar" Yuanye, and then supplemented by Endo Chiyo, Izumi Heiji and others before being promulgated and implemented. Overall, they are very rough and there are countless loopholes that can be exploited, but the overall framework is there, and it only needs to be supplemented and modified slowly in the future.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Those who want to achieve everything in one go are idealists. Such people will never accomplish anything.

As various decrees were issued like rain, for a moment, Wanjin was... not shaken. Except for the three powerful warriors of the Dog Princess who were taken out of the country by Aman and his men, Wanjin was calm.

Yuanye had always been fighting against the feudal personal dependence relationship in Wanjin. Except for Aman and Aqing, two retainers who were not retainers, he didn't even want to accept Langdang. Therefore, he has always been the only lord of Wanjin and at the top of the feudal loyalty chain in Wanjin.

Now he has voluntarily given up his "right to kill at will" against everyone and publicly stated that "he will respect and protect everyone's legal income, and no one, including him, will and cannot arbitrarily deprive others of their property." No one is harmed in this process, so naturally there are not many people who oppose it.

The surrounding samurai daimyo, namely Oda Nobunaga and Matsudaira Motoyasu, did not comment on this and really ignored him. Even though Harano drove back all the powerful samurai sent by Oda Nobunaga, Oda Nobunaga did not say anything, probably because they thought he was crazy.

Similarly, because Yuanye had never arbitrarily deprived his subjects of their personal property before, most people in Wanjin did not have sufficient cognitive ability to feel anything about this "epoch-making" decree. There was no kneeling and kowtowing, sighing that Yuanye was truly a saint performing performance art.

Yuanye was on high alert to guard against unexpected events, but in vain. And A-man no longer wanted to be a retainer, and his old ways came back. He laughed at him harshly during breakfast, calling him a fool who did such thankless tasks all day long.

However, she went to the Wanjin Army more often, and asked Yuanye to keep an eye on the Wanjin Army before anything happened, for fear that he would hand over the military power - as long as he had the Wanjin Army in his hands, it didn't matter if Yuanye messed around. If he made a mess, she would take the lead in charging and killing all the troublemakers, and the mess would naturally be gone.

It doesn't matter at all.

She was quite aware of the crisis, but Yuanye just ignored her words. He had no intention of promoting freedom and democracy in the army. After all, political power comes from the barrel of a gun. This was what he had heard since he was a child. The army had to listen to his command no matter what - the army did not need to have brains, they just had to listen to orders.

After spending nearly three months to complete the various messy subdivisions of the laws, he barely managed to produce a "Wanjin Civil Code" that was only two fingers thick and a bit thin. Then he began to work with Endo Chiyo and others to further improve the structure of government departments and divide them into more and more subdivided forms.

Gradually, Wanjin no longer looked like the territory of a samurai clan, but became strange.

(End of this chapter)