Did He Still Have Any Respect for Me as Daimyo?

"Yes!"

The Minister of War left trembling with fear, having received his orders.

The daimyo glanced around again, only to find that the Finance Minister was not there, and his expression immediately turned sour.

"What happened? Where is the Finance Minister?"

"Such a big thing has happened, and he hasn't even shown up. Does he even respect my name?" the official roared.

He felt that his subordinates no longer took him seriously.

This was an enormous provocation and humiliation for the daimyo of the Land of Water, who had just thought he was invincible.

"Tell the Finance Minister that if he doesn't arrive within half an hour, he can no longer hold his position."

"There are plenty of people who can inherit his position. Don't think that just because you've achieved a little success, you can look down on everyone and not even respect me!"

Upon hearing this, some people below were happy while others were sad.

Those who are usually at odds with the Finance Minister are naturally happy, while those who are worried are naturally the Finance Minister's side.

They were all thinking to themselves, how could the usually shrewd Finance Minister make such a basic mistake today?

To defy a great name? They couldn't even imagine it. How could the usually cautious and prudent Finance Minister have such courage?

They felt that the Finance Minister had been tricked, otherwise why would he do something so foolish?

It would be such a shame to lose the position of Finance Minister because of something like this!

Back then, he went through arduous battles and countless hardships before finally getting to this position.

How could I possibly let myself step down so easily?

"My lord, please allow me to go to the Finance Minister's residence to investigate. Perhaps there is some unavoidable inside story!"

"I believe he wouldn't dare to disrespect your authority even if he had a thousand lives!"

A middle-aged man in a green official robe bowed to the daimyo of the Land of Water and said.

"Yes, go ahead and see what's going on. See if he even respects my name!"

The daimyo of the Land of Water looked quite displeased.

The man left immediately, rushing away without daring to delay for even a moment.

At the Finance Minister's home!

It wasn't until the minister in green official robes arrived that the guards of the mansion realized that their Finance Minister had been 'imprisoned'!

Upon seeing that someone had finally come to his rescue, the Finance Minister was overjoyed and his face was filled with gratitude.

"I won't say anything more, sir. Hurry up and go see the daimyo, or it will be too late."

"The lord is already very dissatisfied with you. He has explicitly stated that if you do not show up soon, you will be dismissed from your post!"

Upon hearing this, the Finance Minister's fleshy face trembled with panic.

But just as he was about to take a step away, he suddenly stopped as if he had thought of something.

Then suddenly he tore off the hem of his shirt and picked up a pen to write.

Then he stuffed it into the official's hand and said, "I have a very important matter to attend to, so I cannot go see Lord Daimyo first."

"Please help me pass on the contents of this cloth to the Daimyo!"

Upon hearing this, the official who had rushed over was dumbfounded. What could be more important than going to see the daimyo?

However, he wanted to ask, but the Finance Minister didn't give him the chance at all and rushed out, and he couldn't be stopped!

There was nothing he could do but leave disappointed and truthfully report what the Finance Minister had said to the daimyo.

Upon hearing that the Finance Minister had something more important than his audience, the daimyo was so angry he almost twisted his nose out.

"Does his Finance Minister really not respect me? Good, very good!"

The Daimyo of the Land of Water was furious, his breath like thunder, his face filled with murderous intent. He said, "The Finance Minister isn't indispensable. Since that's the case, then..."

At this moment, the official hurriedly said, "My lord, the Finance Minister left this before he left, and asked me to make sure to pass it on to you!"

"Look, perhaps the Finance Minister has some unspeakable difficulties; the panic and anxiety on his face cannot be faked!"

"Hmph, no need to watch!"

"If there's anything more important than my name, then he probably doesn't even care about my name anymore!"

"An order has been issued that the new Finance Minister will be..."

Before the daimyo could finish speaking, someone else spoke up, "Daimyo, please think it over! You can't dismiss the Finance Minister so easily!"

"No one can replace Toi Ichiro (the current Finance Minister) when it comes to the affairs of the trading ports of the Land of Lightning."

"My lord, why not wait until he has completed his important business before punishing him?"

"He has served as Finance Minister for more than a decade. Even if he has not made any great contributions, he has certainly worked hard."

"Besides, you know his character. Is he the kind of person who would dare to disregard you?"

"You hold the power of life and death over him, how could he possibly dare to disobey you!"

"My lord, please spare him for now!"

The Minister of Etiquette spoke up directly, pleading with tears streaming down his face.

"Yes, yes, Your Excellency..." the Minister of Justice also pleaded.

"Hmph! I support Lord Daimyo!"

However, some ministers agreed, namely, the Minister of Personnel!

"That's right, we agree!"

Many people behind the Minister of Personnel agreed.

"We disagree, Your Excellency! Please reconsider!"

A group of people emerged from behind the Minister of Etiquette and the Minister of Justice, pleading for leniency.

It looks like they're about to have a huge fight!

"Alright, alright, stop arguing. Since you all have such strong opinions, let's give him another chance!"

The daimyo waved his hand wearily, signaling everyone to return to their ranks, and then said, "I hope there will be a result regarding the attackers as soon as possible. That's all, disperse!"

After saying that, he left immediately.

He didn't see that the Minister of Personnel and the Minister of Justice exchanged a glance, revealing a cooperative and pleasant look.

As a subject, even if you are secretly in cahoots, you still can't be so obvious in public; you have to show a confrontational and competitive attitude.

Otherwise, it would have aroused the daimyo's suspicion, and his head would have rolled.

As a ruler, isn't the key to maintaining balance and controlling one's subjects?

As someone within the system, one still has to abide by these rules.

However, they did not notice that among the crowd, one person lowered his head and a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.

"I didn't expect to fail. It seems the rulers and ministers of the Land of Water aren't so easily fooled!"

If the Finance Minister were here, he would recognize that this is the same person who appeared in his house.

The order that the man in black received from Ye Liangnai was not simply to 'extort' the Finance Minister!

The real purpose was to take this opportunity to lie low and secretly plant spies among the ministers.