Upon hearing the word “expel the barbarians,” the expressions of most people in the room immediately turned solemn.
“I don’t need to tell you, everyone here should know how rampant these ‘Anti-Foreign Faction’ members are, constantly spouting ‘expel the barbarians,’ ‘expel the barbarians,’ right?”
Usui curled his lips, a look of disdain and resentment on his face.
“If these people dared to draw their swords against the Barbarians like the Americans and the English, if they dared to paddle small boats to hack at Western steam warships, then they’d have some guts.”
“But these thugs only turn their blades on their own people!”
“Many people who praise foreign countries or study Ranpo doctor are now targets of these thugs.”
[Note: Ranpo doctor: A general term used by Japanese people of this era for Western scientific and cultural knowledge.]
“Last month alone, a full 7 innocent people tragically died at the hands of these thugs!”
Usui continued in a frustrated and helpless tone.
Aoto, at this moment, couldn’t help but think of himself, who was currently being targeted by the “Radical anti-foreigners faction” for inexplicable reasons, and his brows furrowed slightly.
“I don’t need to elaborate; you should also know that Ii Tairo dislikes members of the ‘Anti-Foreign Faction’ the most.”
“Ii Tairo is furious at the brutal acts of these thugs.”
“What angers Ii Tairo even more is that the San Kai have, until now, failed to curb the rampant atrocities of the ‘Anti-Foreign Faction’ in Edo.”
“Yesterday, Ii Tairo summoned Atsukawa and me, and gave us both a harsh scolding.”
Atsukawa—the Town Magistrate of the South Precinct, another mayor who, along with Usui, holds significant authority over the administration of Edo.
“He directly questioned us—why the San Kai of the South and North Precinct were so incompetent as to let the ‘Anti-Foreign Faction’ run rampant in Edo, and whether the San Kai samurai of the South and North Precinct were all useless good-for-nothings who just occupied their positions.”
“Atsukawa and I shook our heads frantically, saying: ‘Absolutely not.'”
“Then… Ii Tairo told us:’Since that’s absolutely not the case, then prove it to me.
Let me see that the San Kai of the South and North Precinct are not a bunch of useless bums!'”
As he spoke, Usui’s mouth drooped, as if he was recalling an unpleasant memory.
“And so—Ii Tairo issued this order to evaluate the political achievements of the San Kai officials of the South and North Precinct, with March 1st as the deadline.”
Usui let out a long sigh.
“Ii Tairo directly issued a death order: on March 1st, he will send his trusted aides to organize a large meeting to inspect and assess your political achievements during this period.”
“At that time, all those whose political achievements are deemed unqualified will be stripped of their official positions on the spot.”
As Usui’s words fell, the expressions of everyone in the room immediately changed. This story is hosted at novelping.com.
Many people showed signs of fear.
Aoto also couldn’t help but be stunned.
The Tairo is considered the Prime Minister of this country.
The Prime Minister directly sends trusted aides to inspect your work performance, and those whose work performance is unqualified are directly fired… How could that not be terrifying?
Usui then sat back down cross-legged on the tatami mat, picked up a cup of water from the nearby table, and after downing its contents, continued in a heartfelt tone:
“All of you listen carefully—you must take this assessment set by Ii Tairo seriously.”
“I… will take this opportunity to reveal a little inside information to everyone.”
“You should all know, right?
Since Ii Tairo took office as Tairo two years ago, he has been actively reforming the Shogunate government to strengthen national power and resist the invasion of Barbarians like the Americans.”
“And I have recently received definite news—Ii Tairo is preparing to rectify the civil service.”
“Ii Tairo plans to start the rectification from the grassroots officials, replacing all important departments and positions in the Shogunate with capable people.”
“The San Kai bear the heavy responsibility of maintaining public order in Edo and are extremely important positions.”
“Therefore, I speculate… the reason Ii Tairo suddenly set up this assessment is probably to take this opportunity to thoroughly ‘clean up’ the San Kai, who bear such important responsibilities, to remove mediocre individuals and replace them with more talented people.”
“In short—this assessment is no small matter!
It’s not a minor affair!”
“In the past, you might have been able to muddle through other assessments.”
“But this assessment is being conducted by Ii Tairo with the purpose of ‘rectifying the civil service.'”
“Its importance and seriousness don’t need me to elaborate, do they?”
The faces of some people in the room became even uglier.
“Today is January 14th.”
“There is still a month and a half until March 1st, the assessment date set by Ii Tairo.”
Usui shifted his gaze, letting his eyes sweep over the faces of everyone present one by one.
“Those who are not confident in their political achievements during this period must seize this last bit of time to diligently serve the public!
Find a way to improve your political achievements!”
“I don’t want to see anyone stripped of their official position and leave the North Precinct in disgrace a month and a half from now.”
“Especially you, Tachibana Aoto!”
For no apparent reason, Usui suddenly fixed his gaze on Aoto, who had been shrinking behind Arima and listening silently, and called out Aoto’s full name in a very serious tone.
Aoto looked up at Usui with a bewildered expression.
A faint hint of annoyance appeared in Usui’s eyes as he looked directly at Aoto.
“Among everyone, you are the one I worry about the most.”
“You really need to put in more effort!”
“I’ll be frank with you!”
“With your current political achievements, you will definitely be kicked out of the North Precinct in a month and a half.”
As Usui’s words fell, low chuckles and mocking laughter echoed through the room… mainly from the Tojo Group’s seating area.
The four members of the Tojo Group, except for Yoriki Tojo, were all secretly laughing while casting glances at Aoto as if he were a circus clown.
Who were they laughing at?
It was obvious.
Inotani and Ushiyama, sitting on either side of Aoto, and Arima, sitting in front of Aoto, all cast angry glances at the still-snickering Tojo Group members.
Why did Usui specifically call out Aoto just now and tell him to work hard from now on?
This all goes back to the abysmal work ability of Tachibana Aoto…
After Tachibana Aoto took over his father’s position half a year ago and became the new Doshin of the Regular Town Patrol, he showed… to put it politely, immense room for improvement; to put it bluntly, even a pig might do a better job than him!
[Japanese History Classroom is now in session!]
After Japan entered the Edo Period in 1603, over two hundred years ago, the Edo Shogunate, to maintain its rule, enacted a national policy of “seclusion,” maintaining contact only with China, Korea, and the Netherlands.
Until the American fleet forced open its doors seven years ago, the Edo Shogunate had only communicated with the Netherlands among all Western countries.
Therefore, both officially and unofficially, Western cultural and scientific knowledge was collectively referred to as “Ranpo doctor,” and Western medicine was called “Ranpo doctor.”
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