Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 711 Calm and Composed
Zhu Houzhao laughed and said, "Since that's the case, then let your delegation come to the front of Fengtian Hall and have a contest with Commander Pei."

After speaking, he turned to look at the ministers who had followed him out, and asked, "What do you all think?"

This time, Zhu Houzhao asked a direct question, leaving everyone with no choice but to answer.

The senior officials exchanged glances, silently engaging in a power struggle.

No one dared to provoke the three cabinet leaders.

As for the other departments, Yang Yiqing remained silent, and under these circumstances, there was no reason for anyone else to step forward.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Wang Hua, the Minister of Rites.

Whether it was the timing of the grand court ceremony or dealing with diplomatic issues with foreign powers, it was all the Ministry of Rites' responsibility.

Wang Hua had no choice but to come out and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, although I have heard of Commander Pei's reputation for bravery, it is still a bit presumptuous of me to compete with so many people at once. If I were to make a mistake later, I am afraid it would damage the reputation of our Great Ming."

"Your Majesty, should we make more preparations?"

Zhu Houzhao smiled confidently and waved his hand, "Don't worry, I have confidence in Pei Qing."

When Zhu Houzhao was leading the four armies, he could fight dozens of enemies at once, making Li Cong call him "father," and Jiang Bin was barely able to hold his own.

Pei Aiqing is so brave, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Wang Hua had no choice but to announce on behalf of Zhu Houzhao that the Japanese delegation would come to the capital for military exercises.

Before long, led by a troop of personal guards, the warriors of the delegation arrived in a chaotic manner at the square in front of the Fengtian Hall.

The crowd saw that although the Japanese samurai were short in stature, they all looked fierce and menacing. They wore armor made of cowhide and bamboo, some of them wore fierce demon masks or animal masks, and some had long cow horn or deer antler-like ornaments on their helmets.

A savage and fierce feeling washed over me.

Upon seeing this, all the officials became solemn.

No wonder Pei Yuan accused the Japanese envoy of "leading beasts to devour people." Looking closely, the group of guys slowly approaching the palace did indeed resemble wriggling wild beasts.

The ministers who had just thought Pei Yuan was being arrogant and wanted to see him make a fool of himself now felt somewhat heavy-hearted.

They were afraid that Pei Yuan would embarrass the Ming Dynasty.

Some of the more impatient ones went directly to Xu Tai, the most authoritative figure on the field, and asked, "Governor Xu, what do you think Pei Yuan's chances of winning are?"

Xu Tai grinned but didn't say anything.

Xu Tai didn't say anything, which was practically the same as saying something.

The Japanese envoy this time naturally brought together the most elite subordinates of the two daimyo. Even if Pei Yuan is made of iron, he would probably be exhausted after such a series of battles.

The only suspense is how many people Pei Yuan can defeat.

As for how many people need to be defeated to save face for the Ming Dynasty, everyone has their own answer.

When they arrived, An Guiwu spoke to the samurai, and the Japanese delegation members all knelt down and bowed to Zhu Houzhao.

Two of them could even speak the official language of the Ming Dynasty.

Ryoan Keigo also specifically introduced the two men, "These two are our local officials. One is named Hosokawa Katsuyasu, and the other is named Ōuchi Munesetsu."

The two then stepped forward separately to greet each other.

Zhu Houzhao noticed that the two men were taller than ordinary Japanese and wore particularly exaggerated and brightly colored armor. He knew that these were the two skilled swordsmen that Ryoan Keigo had mentioned before.

Zhu Houzhao nodded slightly and said to Lu Yin beside him, "Have someone invite Commander Pei over."

A short while later, Pei Yuan, now fully armored, wearing a straight-brimmed iron helmet, and carrying a golden mace, strode in from behind the hall.

The officials looked in the direction of the sound.

Pei Yuan's already imposing figure became even more formidable after donning his armor. The iron plates sewn onto his armor rustled like flowing water as he moved. His fierce stride, wielding a golden mace, made it seem as if he intended to crush everyone present.

Everyone silently raised their expectations of Pei Yuan; this guy looked fierce and could probably take on at least ten people.

Ryoan Keigo's eyes flashed, and he spoke a few words in Japanese with the deputy envoy and the two local officials.

Although Hosokawa Katsuyasu and Ōuchi Muneshige were exceptionally brave, they knew from Pei Yuan's imposing presence that they could not defeat him alone.

The four agreed that they could take turns sending out strong and defensive warriors to wear down Pei Yuan's stamina.

Once Pei Yuan showed signs of fatigue, one of Hosokawa Katsuyasu or Ōuchi Muneshige swiftly and decisively defeated him.

After discussing the matter, Liao'an Guiwu said to Zhu Houzhao, "Your Majesty, the people on my side are ready."

Zhu Houzhao ordered the Ministry of Rites to maintain order and lead the heavily armored Japanese warriors into the area enclosed by the antler-shaped wooden fence.

To conserve his energy, Pei Yuan waved before going inside and took the elm wood shield that Cen Meng was carrying.

Pei Yuan stood casually in the center of the field, slammed his half-person-high elm shield heavily into the ground, then raised his hammer in his right hand, casually placed his left hand on the shield, looked at the Japanese delegation, and shouted, "Who wants to go first?"

After a brief exchange, Ryoan Guiwu and Deputy Envoy Guangyao...

They immediately sent out a Japanese samurai carrying a katana. Although the samurai was short, he looked very burly and was clearly not a skilled fighter.

Pei Yuan felt a slight sense of relief.

That way, a direct confrontation would be much easier.

Pei Yuan saw that the Japanese man was moving back and forth, eager to attack.

He wasn't in a hurry and remained calm and composed as he watched.

Just as the Japanese samurai hesitated for a moment and was about to charge forward, Pei Yuan, like a tiger suddenly awakened and leaping up, tensed all his muscles, swayed forward, and roared, "Ha!"

Pei Yuan's ferocious roar startled Zhu Houzhao, the court officials, and the imperial guards who were watching the duel with bated breath.

The burly Japanese samurai who was confronting Pei Yuan was startled and cautiously took several steps back.

But Pei Yuan's ferocious expression vanished, and he burst into laughter. He then calmly held the golden mace in one hand and the shield in the other, looking at the burly warrior.

Everyone then realized that Pei Yuan was deliberately frightening and teasing the burly warrior.

Thinking of this, Zhu Houzhao, who had just been startled, along with the ministers and the imperial guards, glared angrily at Pei Yuan.

If it weren't for the special circumstances, they would have liked to surround him and beat him up.

Seeing Pei Yuan's relaxed demeanor and mocking expression, the burly warrior was enraged and swung his sword at Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan appeared relaxed, but in reality, he remained vigilant. Seeing the warrior charging straight at him, he kept his hands still, holding the elm shield and the golden mace, only slightly shifting his body to the side, giving the impression that he was trying to avoid the attack.

Just as everyone was exclaiming in surprise and wondering if Pei Yuan would be too overconfident and suffer a setback in the first round.

Pei Yuan's hand, which was holding the shield, quickly slid down, his five fingers tightened, gripping the handle of the elm shield, and then he suddenly exerted force, throwing the elm shield forward violently.

Pei Yuan had already slightly twisted his body beforehand, and this powerful slap, which also borrowed the strength of his waist, appeared particularly strong and fierce. First, he broke the long sword that the burly warrior instinctively blocked in front of him in his panic, and then he slapped the sword and shield directly onto the warrior's face.

The burly warrior let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was sent flying to the ground by the blow. His face, half-covered in blood and gore, stared wide-eyed in terror, and then fell silent.

Pei Yuan glanced at it, then slammed the elm shield in his hand down heavily with one hand, making it stand upright on the ground.

Then, still calm and collected, he held the shield with one hand and the golden mace with the other.

If it weren't for the dark red blood clinging to the elm shield, one would almost think that Pei Yuan hadn't even started the fight yet.

It wasn't until this moment that the crowd, who had been staring wide-eyed and holding their breath, seemed to remember to breathe and inhaled in unison.

Zhu Houzhao looked at the Japanese samurai who had been killed on the ground, and then at Pei Yuan, who was holding a hammer in one hand and a shield in the other. He was so stunned that it was as if he was seeing him in a completely new light.

He knew Pei Yuan was formidable, and he had witnessed Pei Yuan and Jiang Bin's brutal fight outside the Da Ci'en Temple, but when Pei Yuan faced an opponent of a slightly lower level, the overwhelming violence and destructive power he displayed far exceeded Zhu Houzhao's comprehension.

This feeling was even more direct for the onlookers, the Imperial Guards.

Because the Japanese delegation selected skilled killers, and these elite guards all obtained their positions through inheritance.

In comparison, these Imperial Guards were far inferior to the samurai of the Japanese delegation in terms of both ferocity and combat effectiveness.

Seeing how fierce Pei Yuan was, many of the onlookers felt their legs go weak.

If the people on the Ming side were treated this way, what about the Japanese delegation, whose members were directly killed?

Liao'an Guiwu stared wide-eyed, nearly catching his breath, while the deputy envoy Guangyao hurriedly shook him.

Hosokawa Katsuyasu and Ōuchi Muneshige, two masters of swordsmanship, were arguing quietly with serious expressions, seemingly discussing a strategy to deal with Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan was not in a hurry. As long as he controlled himself and did not leave the battle, time was on his side.

This is why he adopts such an arrogant attitude.

Upon seeing that someone had died, the officials from the Ministry of Rites nervously asked Liu Pang, the Director of the Ministry of Revenue, what to do.

Liu Pang naturally sided with Pei Yuan and immediately said, "It's alright. These Japanese often suffer casualties when they fight among themselves. Look at them, they don't care about that person at all."

Once Angui Wu had recovered his senses, the deputy envoy Guangyao anxiously asked him what to do.

The old monk looked to Hosokawa Katsuyasu and Ōuchi Sōsetsu for help, but after discussing it, the two were eager to continue as planned.

This monstrous Pei Yuan is clad in heavy armor and wields a blunt weapon and a large shield. How can he last long like this?

The more people Pei Yuan defeated in the early stages, the greater the fame he gained from defeating them.

So, under the stern rebukes of the two men, another short, stocky samurai was pushed forward.

The second short, stocky warrior was clearly intimidated by Pei Yuan. Holding his sword in both hands, he only dared to move left and right looking for an opportunity, and dared not enter Pei Yuan's attack range at all.

Pei Yuan then used the same trick again, swaying his body and shouting loudly.

The short, stocky warrior stepped back, as if he had tripped over himself, and almost fell.

Upon seeing this, Pei Yuan immediately raised his hammer and pointed it out, laughing heartily.

Seeing his provocative expression, many of the waiting Japanese samurai were filled with shame and cursed the unlucky guy who had been pushed out.

The short, stocky warrior's face flushed red and then turned pale. Finally, he let out a strange cry and charged at Pei Yuan with his sword.

Pei Yuan, seeing the scattered steps, didn't bother with any further thought and simply struck him with the same move, killing him instantly.

Then Pei Yuan slammed the elm shield into the ground again, holding the hammer in one hand and supporting it with the other.

After the battle ended, the Japanese delegation, having clearly anticipated this, quickly drove one more person off the field.

The man was wielding a large spear, a weapon with a long blade and handle, particularly well-suited to countering the heavily armored and shielded style of Pei Yuan.

As long as Pei Yuan doesn't move, the Japanese samurai can use the length advantage of his spear to constantly look for weaknesses in Pei Yuan's position.

As long as Pei Yuan attempts to launch an attack, he can use his agile movements to continuously deplete Pei Yuan's stamina until Pei Yuan exposes a fatal weakness.

Faced with the eager-to-use spear, Pei Yuan was indeed motivated.

Surprisingly, he picked up the elmwood shield that had been stuck there, using it to protect his body, and then, carrying the golden mace, slowly retreated.

Pei Yuan's action immediately caused an uproar among the onlookers.

Although it was clear that Pei Yuan hadn't exerted much effort yet, this was obviously a sign that he was starting to lose ground.

The Japanese delegation, on the other hand, became completely excited, shouting and encouraging each other.

The samurai wielding the large spear also felt a glimmer of hope, and his movements became even more agile as he tried to pierce through the gaps in the elm shield.

Just then, the elm shield that had been dodging and blocking suddenly stopped.

The fiercely attacking warrior suddenly had a bad feeling.

He was about to draw his gun and retreat when his usually nimble footwork was too late.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone present, Pei Yuan, with his elmwood shield atop him, charged forward like a bull, charging and crashing into the direction from which the spear had been thrust.

No one could imagine what it would be like for such a magnificent man to be wearing heavy armor and carrying a heavy elm shield, charging at high speed.

When Pei Yuan started charging, everyone's mouths involuntarily gaped open.

Many people even think that he could probably smash through even a wall in front of him.

The warrior wielding the large spear dodged desperately, but Pei Yuan's charge, which created distance, allowed him to aim at him again with just a slight adjustment in angle.

The samurai yelled and threw down his large spear, trying to escape back to the Japanese envoys' ranks.

Before he could escape amidst the curses of the Japanese, his body was sent flying by an unimaginable force.

The Japanese samurai coughed up a mouthful of blood in mid-air, and had just landed when Pei Yuan, who could not stop his charge, arrived in front of him.

Then, Pei Yuan swung his golden mace in his right hand for the first time, smashing the ground with a single blow and shattering his skull.

(End of this chapter)