Madam, don't do this!

Chapter 168 Good Brothers (1)

Hirata Taro's bronze eyes gleamed with a strange light. No wonder he was an educated man; he was different, his heart was truly filthy. He'd only managed to save less than 400,000 yen after all these years as a Japanese pirate, yet this guy could get 400,000 yen with just a word.

Is this what the Central Plains legend means by "there is a golden house in the book"?
"Someone, go and inform Kamejima Masao and Furukawa Masanori that they have important matters to discuss."

Two servants immediately left, and before long, figures gathered in the Golden Snake Hall.

In fact, most of these Japanese pirate leaders had also practiced spiritual cultivation.

The envoys to Tang China appeared relatively early in this era. During the Han Dynasty and the Wu Dynasty, Japanese envoys went to the Central Plains. At that time, Japan had a small population and was extremely backward in all aspects. To the Central Plains dynasties, it was like a small tribe living in a barbaric land.

They would normally look down on them, but the Japanese adopted an extremely humble stance, presenting a letter of credence calling themselves a "son country," and stating that their emperors had always been willing to acknowledge the emperor of the Central Plains as their adoptive father. Most other small foreign countries declared themselves vassals, but this was the only one willing to be a son.

The people of the Central Plains at that time were extremely proud. Although they looked down on these short men, their humility greatly satisfied their vanity. In addition, some great scholars regarded them as a symbol of the Central Plains' dominance over the world. Moreover, these short men were very good at interpersonal relationships and secretly gave them many good things, which earned them a few more good words.

For those emperors, such a humble attitude was bound to make them feel flattered. Perhaps they thought that Japan was far away overseas and that even if it developed, it would not pose any threat to the Central Plains dynasty. Perhaps they also intended to make Japan a model of a vassal state. Therefore, they bestowed great rewards upon Japan.

Not only were Japanese envoys allowed to learn techniques from artisans, but they were also permitted to bring back a large number of agricultural tools. In addition, a set of the Four Books and Five Classics, which were revered as Confucian classics, was exceptionally allowed to be brought back.

That's not all; he also took back some of the cultivation manuals of martial artists from the Central Plains.

Although these were all very basic secret techniques, they still led the Japanese to embark on the path of cultivation.

Just like Kamejima Masao, Furukawa Masanori, and Hirata Saburo, all three are skilled martial artists.

However, the Japanese changed the name to samurai.

Of the three, Saburo Hirata is the strongest.

In the Central Plains martial arts world, this would be roughly equivalent to a seventh or even eighth-rank martial artist.

Next is Kamejima Masao, whose strength is only slightly weaker than Hirata Saburo. However, in terms of ruthlessness, he is the most cruel of the three. Hirata Saburo and Furukawa Masanori would occasionally leave people alive, but once Kamejima Masao had his eye on someone, even a crying baby would be taken away.

In the words of Masao Kamejima, this kind of meat is more tender.

Furukawa Masanori was the weakest of the three, only at the sixth rank.

However, he was the most cunning of all the Japanese pirates. Every time he went to sea, Furukawa Masanori would conduct a detailed investigation and preparation. If the merchant ship was too large, Furukawa Masanori would immediately give up. But once he confirmed that the opponent was not strong enough, Furukawa Masanori would pounce on it like a hungry wolf.

When there were no caravans around, Masanori Furukawa would even target fishing boats.

Therefore, although the number of Japanese pirates following Furukawa Masanori was not large, their survival rate was definitely the highest. Moreover, this time, the suspicion that Song Yan might turn the tables and set a trap for the Japanese pirates was proposed by Furukawa Masanori.

"Hirata-kun, what brings you here so early? I was just about to fall asleep."

The voice was sinister, and the speaker was a short, stocky man, only about 1.5 meters tall, but with a wiry build—it was Kamejima Masao. Behind him followed seven or eight Japanese pirates, some even wearing gray-black armor, which they had likely stolen from somewhere.

Hirata Saburo glanced at Kamejima Masao. Sleeping? That damned bastard, he's only been on Snake Island for a few days and he's already tortured dozens of women to death.

For most men, finding women is about enjoyment, but this guy is a complete pervert, someone who's only meant to torture them. All the women he gives to Masao Kamejima become unrecognizable within just a few hours.

Right across the long table was a scholar dressed in the style of a man from the Central Plains, with a bright silver sword hanging at his waist. At first glance, he looked like a chivalrous knight-errant from a folk tale.

This man was Masanori Furukawa, and at this moment he was also looking at Saburo Hirata with a lot of doubt in his eyes.

Hirata Saburo gave him a look, and Horikawa Sousuke stepped forward and repeated what he had said before.

"what?"

"That damned Song Yan actually asked for 600,000 taels of silver? Is he crazy for money?"

No sooner had Horikawa Sousuke finished speaking than Kamejima Masao slammed his fist on the table and stood up, angrily cursing. Even Furukawa Masanori couldn't help but frown.

"Everyone, this is actually a good thing," Horikawa Sousuke said with a smile. "Since Song Yan asked for money, it proves that he didn't see through our plan. Otherwise, he would have agreed to our request immediately instead of making such a potentially rejected demand."

"Moreover, 600,000 taels of silver sounds like a lot, but it's nothing to those nobles in the Central Plains. Any noble or aristocratic family could probably come up with several times that amount."

“That’s 600,000! Even if the three families split it equally, it’ll still be 200,000…” Masao Kamejima was still somewhat hesitant.

"Everyone, listen to me."

"You two are both aware of the fighting strength of the Japanese on Snake Island." Horikawa Sousuke's expression gradually became serious.

Kamejima Masao and Furukawa Masanori frowned. Although they felt somewhat uncomfortable, they had to admit that the Snake Island Japanese, all of whom were carrying katana, were definitely the strongest among them.

"You all know about what happened before March, but there are some details you don't know."

"That time, Hirata Saburo personally led the team, with a total of 5,000 brothers mobilized. There were even insiders in Ningping County who opened the city gates, but in the end, we still lost."

“Nowadays, outside Ningping County, there are still mounds of skulls made from the heads of our people.”

"Do you know how many people Song Yan arranged?"

Horikawa Sousuke extended his right hand, his five fingers spread wide: "Five hundred... only five hundred." Hiss.

Kamejima Masao and Furukawa Masanori both gasped, their bodies involuntarily leaning back, their faces turning pale. To annihilate five thousand with five hundred was an extremely exaggerated ratio, even for those of them who were not very good at math.

What's even more frightening is that those people didn't even take advantage of the city walls.

They even suspected that Snake Island was bluffing, but reason told them that bluffing would not benefit Snake Island at all.

"Song Yan invented a weapon called the wolf-tooth rake, which is simply the nemesis of us Japanese."

"Everyone should understand now that Song Yan is not only an enemy of Snake Island, but also an enemy of both of you. As long as he exists, we can forget about plundering in peace."

“If this goes on for too long, you all know better than we do what will happen.”

Masao Kamejima and Masanori Furukawa both fell silent.

They wanted to argue that they had tens of thousands of warriors under their command, and that a mere five hundred men could be easily crushed, but with the five thousand Japanese on Snake Island wiped out, they ultimately couldn't bring themselves to say such a thing.

With this person present in Ningping, it seems unlikely that robberies in the nearby waters will be feasible.

If they fail to plunder any wealth for an extended period, their men will lack food and women, and problems will soon arise. Alternatively, they can take their men to other seas, but every sea is teeming with Japanese pirates, leading to another bloody battle and countless deaths.

"Therefore, Song Yan must die."

Horikawa Sousuke cleared his throat and continued, "You all can think about this: if we can kill Song Yan and capture Ningping, wouldn't the money we gave to Song Yan be back in our own hands?"

"After a while, it's like I didn't spend any money."

"That's not all. Ningping is the fiefdom of a princess and also has a duke. They are the top nobles in Ningguo. Putting aside everything else, the silver that can be squeezed out of these two families alone is probably more than 600,000."

"Not to mention the tens of thousands of people in Ningping County."

“Our boss said he only wants Song Yan’s head; all the property in Ningping County will belong to you.”

Horikawa Sousuke was a good persuader.

Song Yan was worried that the Japanese pirates wouldn't make a move. If he heard Horikawa Sosuke's words, he probably wouldn't be able to resist patting Horikawa Sosuke on the shoulder and saying, "Good brother, thanks to you."

Kamejima Masao's eyes gradually turned crazed, and even Furukawa Masanori's breathing became rapid.

Clearly, the two Japanese pirate leaders were tempted.

"Is this true?"

"I swear in the name of the Emperor that there is no falsehood whatsoever. My eldest brother only wants revenge now. Once he takes Song Yan's head, he plans to retire. At that time, you two families can divide up the brothers on Snake Island. I hope you will take good care of them."

Masao Kamejima laughed heartily: "That's natural."

He seemed to be unable to hold back any longer and suddenly stood up: "I'll go back and prepare the money right away."

"Princess?"

"Hehehe... I haven't tasted the princess's flavor yet."

With that, Masao Kamejima immediately turned and left.

As for Masanori Furukawa, although he had a vague feeling that things weren't so simple, the potential profits were just too great, and even a cautious person like him couldn't resist such a temptation.

After the two left, Horikawa Sousuke turned to Hirata Saburo: "Boss, once we've killed Song Yan and Skull Island and Shark Island have looted Ningping County, we can take the opportunity to attack from behind..."

"By then, all the wealth and women of Ningping County will belong to you, Boss."

Hirata Saburo's eyes gleamed with a strange light: "You just swore an oath in the name of the Emperor."

"What does my oath have to do with the boss?"

"Hahaha, not bad, not bad. Horikawa-kun, you really have learned bad habits from those despicable Central Plains people."

……

Seven days later.

late at night.

Small boats were moored on the shore.

A group of short figures, carrying boxes of various sizes, were placed on the coast.

(End of this chapter)