Hideyoshi was born a commoner. That means a lot in our world. In our time. I want to rid the castes. A barrier holding Japan back from greatness. That's more important to me than peace. What good is peace so long as royalty and samurai born into it can still murder anyone who offends them?
[Head tilt.] I made Hideyoshi my right hand, a general in the army, the leader of the army entirely. It was unheard of, but he's a genius too, in his own right.
Mitsuhide was born a samurai. But all the other samurai hate guns, they're considered inelegant, and children's toys, and not even as good for hunting as archery. Mitsuhide was the only one who saw its potential for what it really was. But....
[Shrugs, and serious expression. This is less fun for Nobunaga, but clearly important to him to try to give Eustace a chance to understand.] He still prioritizes peace first. He made the gun for my army, so that I could save more pieces. [Points to his captured pieces lid.] Sometimes I get annoyed with him, because he always wants to make friends with enemies, even when it means sacrificing more of the big picture.
[Looks up at the ceiling and sighs.] But, if I didn't trust him with my army, with trying to further his ambition to help my own, then he definitely wouldn't be my left hand.
[A head tilt as he looks at Eustace, still completely dead serious.] What I want, and what Mitsuhide wants are not always as simple as war and peace. If he thinks no one should have bullets, he won't make them. He can't stop me from making my own, but -- [Smiles.] I'm not about to go to war with my own left hand without a much bigger reason.
I can't promise you I'll never do something, or even guarantee that I will. There's too many ways the stones might still be placed.
I do think samurai need to be done away with. But things here are very different. I still have too much to see to say if any of it is necessary. There's a lot more peace here already than ever existed in my childhood or father's time. A lot closer to Mitsuhide's goal anyway. So who knows? [His eyes shine with an icy sort of strange amusement.] Maybe he won't need me anymore here.
I hate to say "oh just go deal with someone else," I always do try to do my deals personally, but on this one, I do have to defer to him. That's the kind of relationship he and I have. It's complicated, I wouldn't trust him to sleep in the same room with him, and he keeps me on my toes at all times, but I trust him with something much larger than my life, or health, or safety. [He rests his chin in his hands in thought.] Did you know he was the first person I gave a castle to? Even before Hideyoshi. I wanted to, but I knew politically, I couldn't. And Hideyoshi wouldn't have accepted it unless he got it later.
And yet... [A shrug.]
It's up to Mitsuhide. Even if I wanted to make futuristic ammunition available en masse, I couldn't do without him. And if he doesn't want to, like I said, I'll defer until circumstances change. That's how it has to be.
3/3
Hideyoshi was born a commoner. That means a lot in our world. In our time. I want to rid the castes. A barrier holding Japan back from greatness. That's more important to me than peace. What good is peace so long as royalty and samurai born into it can still murder anyone who offends them?
[Head tilt.] I made Hideyoshi my right hand, a general in the army, the leader of the army entirely. It was unheard of, but he's a genius too, in his own right.
Mitsuhide was born a samurai. But all the other samurai hate guns, they're considered inelegant, and children's toys, and not even as good for hunting as archery. Mitsuhide was the only one who saw its potential for what it really was. But....
[Shrugs, and serious expression. This is less fun for Nobunaga, but clearly important to him to try to give Eustace a chance to understand.] He still prioritizes peace first. He made the gun for my army, so that I could save more pieces. [Points to his captured pieces lid.] Sometimes I get annoyed with him, because he always wants to make friends with enemies, even when it means sacrificing more of the big picture.
[Looks up at the ceiling and sighs.] But, if I didn't trust him with my army, with trying to further his ambition to help my own, then he definitely wouldn't be my left hand.
[A head tilt as he looks at Eustace, still completely dead serious.] What I want, and what Mitsuhide wants are not always as simple as war and peace. If he thinks no one should have bullets, he won't make them. He can't stop me from making my own, but -- [Smiles.] I'm not about to go to war with my own left hand without a much bigger reason.
I can't promise you I'll never do something, or even guarantee that I will. There's too many ways the stones might still be placed.
I do think samurai need to be done away with. But things here are very different. I still have too much to see to say if any of it is necessary. There's a lot more peace here already than ever existed in my childhood or father's time. A lot closer to Mitsuhide's goal anyway. So who knows? [His eyes shine with an icy sort of strange amusement.] Maybe he won't need me anymore here.
I hate to say "oh just go deal with someone else," I always do try to do my deals personally, but on this one, I do have to defer to him. That's the kind of relationship he and I have. It's complicated, I wouldn't trust him to sleep in the same room with him, and he keeps me on my toes at all times, but I trust him with something much larger than my life, or health, or safety. [He rests his chin in his hands in thought.] Did you know he was the first person I gave a castle to? Even before Hideyoshi. I wanted to, but I knew politically, I couldn't. And Hideyoshi wouldn't have accepted it unless he got it later.
And yet... [A shrug.]
It's up to Mitsuhide. Even if I wanted to make futuristic ammunition available en masse, I couldn't do without him. And if he doesn't want to, like I said, I'll defer until circumstances change. That's how it has to be.