[But the grim darkness fades into his usual arrogance.] But most of the world by the 2000s is much less superstitious and restrictive, so I won, whatever their idiotic attempts to stop it.
I don't think you're foolish for trusting Azula, just stay on your toes. I think, had Gozen --
[GLANCES COMPLETELY THE OTHER WAY.] As a child, I was known around town and everywhere as the Fool of Owari. Baka-dono. Idiot-Lord. I befriended commoners, spent all my time with falcons, fishing, hunting, playing with guns, and trying to convince my father to embrace new techniques both at war and getting rid of the hierarchies. My mother had no patience for it. More than that, she wanted Nubuyuki for a bit of a political puppet, to parley as giving away protecting Owari into letting other politicians take the lead, and that was something I could never allow.
Hideyoshi was born a commoner. Samurai had to be born into it. Making Hideyoshi my right hand was unheard of. A lot of my father's allies and soldiers resented it, and mothers in Japan are expected to have great shame for their sons sticking out. [Sardonic smirk!] There's a saying they're very fond of. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. I was always that nail. But instead, whenever anyone tried to hammer me into place, I sucker-punched them right back twice as hard.
Samurai, lords, kings... [EYEROLL.] So much foolishness. As I said, the European merchants didn't even view us as worthy because it was too out of their way with too many politics to field and too little to gain.
The monks were the biggest source of those telling others not to do anything new. Worse, many of them knew their power politically among the people, and constantly tried to choose who was allowed to live and die. Samurai had to be born into it, but monks allowed the poor to send their children to the monasteries to learn from them martial arts. It didn't do anything for the children who weren't sent there, but it meant the samurai couldn't kill monks for no reason without repercussion.
They would tell the people to give up worldly desires for food or material goods, the only source of power outside of them, beyond their control, and let people live in misery all while praising it as something good. Don't try to get rid of the nobility, just pity them for not having a better after life or reincarnation. Never mind what was happening right here and now.
[Another eyeroll.] I set all of Mount Hiei on fire. [Drinks his tea, and gauges Zuko's reaction.] The monk sect there -- I did try to negotiate. [His eyes narrow. Because it's relevant with the faerie and Celliwig relationship! He doesn't kill willy-nilly, but yeah, he's not above genocide.] They wouldn't have it.
As I said, it was part of the world I wanted Japan to move beyond.
Emet-Selch often says the world can't be made better from war, but I don't think that's what I'm doing. Not at all. No war can be won from just trying to survive. The monks often said they were in the right and were trying to make a better world, while not doing anything to it. Better world? No. Just a prosperous Japan was enough for me. [Small smile.] Someone called me the First Unifier of Japan the other day. It's got a nice ring to it. [Head tilt.]
Mitsuhide is my left hand, and here with me. He's known me since I was a child, Gozen hates him too. [Gozen hates all his vassals, it's almost a litmus test.] And Hikaru and others knew him as the one to betray me and end my reign. I do trust him with more than my life.
But the thing about being the King of Demons... For all the ones you get to join you instead of destroying, it will always increase your power, but you should never trust a demon, Zuko.
I always have to fight for my army's ambitions first, or my own don't stand a chance, they'll betray me, and they'd have every right to. Whether that's Mitsuhide, Ieyasu, Hideyoshi, Kitsuno, or anyone else.
It's good that you have the chance to get along with Azula here and now. Don't waste it. But don't lose sight of her ambitions, especially if you aren't sure what those are; and even more so if she doesn't know either.
2/2
I don't think you're foolish for trusting Azula, just stay on your toes. I think, had Gozen --
[GLANCES COMPLETELY THE OTHER WAY.] As a child, I was known around town and everywhere as the Fool of Owari. Baka-dono. Idiot-Lord. I befriended commoners, spent all my time with falcons, fishing, hunting, playing with guns, and trying to convince my father to embrace new techniques both at war and getting rid of the hierarchies. My mother had no patience for it. More than that, she wanted Nubuyuki for a bit of a political puppet, to parley as giving away protecting Owari into letting other politicians take the lead, and that was something I could never allow.
Hideyoshi was born a commoner. Samurai had to be born into it. Making Hideyoshi my right hand was unheard of. A lot of my father's allies and soldiers resented it, and mothers in Japan are expected to have great shame for their sons sticking out. [Sardonic smirk!] There's a saying they're very fond of. The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. I was always that nail. But instead, whenever anyone tried to hammer me into place, I sucker-punched them right back twice as hard.
Samurai, lords, kings... [EYEROLL.] So much foolishness. As I said, the European merchants didn't even view us as worthy because it was too out of their way with too many politics to field and too little to gain.
The monks were the biggest source of those telling others not to do anything new. Worse, many of them knew their power politically among the people, and constantly tried to choose who was allowed to live and die. Samurai had to be born into it, but monks allowed the poor to send their children to the monasteries to learn from them martial arts. It didn't do anything for the children who weren't sent there, but it meant the samurai couldn't kill monks for no reason without repercussion.
They would tell the people to give up worldly desires for food or material goods, the only source of power outside of them, beyond their control, and let people live in misery all while praising it as something good. Don't try to get rid of the nobility, just pity them for not having a better after life or reincarnation. Never mind what was happening right here and now.
[Another eyeroll.] I set all of Mount Hiei on fire. [Drinks his tea, and gauges Zuko's reaction.] The monk sect there -- I did try to negotiate. [His eyes narrow. Because it's relevant with the faerie and Celliwig relationship! He doesn't kill willy-nilly, but yeah, he's not above genocide.] They wouldn't have it.
As I said, it was part of the world I wanted Japan to move beyond.
Emet-Selch often says the world can't be made better from war, but I don't think that's what I'm doing. Not at all. No war can be won from just trying to survive. The monks often said they were in the right and were trying to make a better world, while not doing anything to it. Better world? No. Just a prosperous Japan was enough for me. [Small smile.] Someone called me the First Unifier of Japan the other day. It's got a nice ring to it. [Head tilt.]
Mitsuhide is my left hand, and here with me. He's known me since I was a child, Gozen hates him too. [Gozen hates all his vassals, it's almost a litmus test.] And Hikaru and others knew him as the one to betray me and end my reign. I do trust him with more than my life.
But the thing about being the King of Demons... For all the ones you get to join you instead of destroying, it will always increase your power, but you should never trust a demon, Zuko.
I always have to fight for my army's ambitions first, or my own don't stand a chance, they'll betray me, and they'd have every right to. Whether that's Mitsuhide, Ieyasu, Hideyoshi, Kitsuno, or anyone else.
It's good that you have the chance to get along with Azula here and now. Don't waste it. But don't lose sight of her ambitions, especially if you aren't sure what those are; and even more so if she doesn't know either.