Cursed Mountains and Seas

Chapter 345 Master Zhang's Arms Sales to Yingzhou, Sun Wukong Causes a Scene at the Meeting
At the same time, at Motonari Mori's stronghold, Aki Junior High School, a secret transaction was underway.

The location was not the Mori family's castle tower, but rather Takamatsu Castle, the main castle of the Mori clan and one of the Mori Eighteen Generals, Kumagai Nobunao.

"One tael of silver for a matchlock gun, two taels for a flintlock gun, and thirty taels for a field cannon."

"You've already inspected the samples; these are all high-end goods comparable to those used by the Donghai Kingdom's military. How many would you like, Lord Kumagai?"

In the heavily guarded, secluded meeting room, two groups of people sat facing each other on either side, with a batch of brand-new firearms, slightly different from the export version of the Sihai Trading Company, placed in the middle.

This was clearly a clandestine arms deal.

Zhang Quan, a fourth-rank official, sat cross-legged on the floor with a nonchalant air. He glanced deeply at Kumagai Nobunao, who was struggling with his expression opposite him, and was not worried at all about whether the deal could be made.

The eldest brother is a senior partner in United Fruit Company, holding a higher share than Zheng Shiniang.

Since taking on the new mission assigned by Wang Cheng, "arms deal," he has been doing remarkably well lately.

Large clients suitable for the strategy of "befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones" are personally received by the Donghai Kingdom, while small clients requiring frequent consultations and those rebellious individuals preparing to "overthrow their superiors" are handled by the United Fruit Company.

Even though he was only in charge of the retail business, Zhang Quan made a fortune.

Within the Red Flag Gang on Yizhou Island, calling him Zheng Shiniang's "male concubine" was perfectly acceptable. However, once he arrived in Yingzhou, everyone had to respectfully address him as: Master Zhang, the international arms tycoon!

If Zheng Shiniang were to write an autobiography, it could easily be titled something like "My kept man is a mafia boss" or "My international arms dealer husband is being whipped by me."

If it's printed and published, it'll definitely sell very well. If there are enough female readers, maybe we can even try to create a world from the book.

"Junior Brother Fugui, you are my second parents!"

Zhang Quan felt incredibly grateful to Wang Cheng, but he didn't forget to add another sentence at the end:
"Now that I have a status and position outside, when I return home, I will feel even more conquered when Shi Niang wields her whip."

I'm getting excited just thinking about it.

If Wang Cheng knew that the cushy job she arranged for her senior brother had turned into part of her flirtation with a rich woman, she wouldn't be able to help but sigh:
"Others who marry rich women are forced by life's circumstances, enduring humiliation and barely surviving, just for a few taels of silver."

But Master Zhang is different; his concoctions are: salt water, leather whips, and steel wool—my senior brother loves those!

Kumagai Nobunao stroked a flintlock pistol in his hand, repeatedly confirming:

"I heard that the weapons of the Eastern Sea Kingdom are protected by the legal patent of the [Director of the Imperial Household]. Anyone who organizes craftsmen to privately imitate them has been killed by witchcraft, and their deaths are all too gruesome to behold."

How did you manage to partner with the fruit company?

The arms trade of the East Sea Kingdom is nothing new, and many details have already been leaked.

Before large-scale arms sales, Wang Cheng had some concerns about the patent issues of flintlock muskets and iron rod cannons, worrying that if they were sold off casually, they would be copied.

It wasn't until Old Master Diao gave him a "Zhi Sui Tang Official Seal" that his urgent problem was solved.

They are able to draft fair and just commercial contracts that are recognized by the Twenty-Four Solar Terms and Dao Qi, and must be obeyed by all those within the coverage of the Three Officials' Dao Qi.

Moreover, with the Chief Justice as a stakeholder, the strictest legal contracts will be enforced.

If the officials in charge of the year are cheated, even the "Twenty-Four Solar Terms" will help them get revenge. At best, they will suffer a series of bad luck; at worst, their descendants will be afflicted.

In addition, Wang Cheng also has the "debt collector," providing double protection so that no one can owe him money.

All of the legal contracts of the Donghai Kingdom included clauses for breach of contract:

"Guarantee the patent rights of flintlock muskets and new weapons, and those who pirate, imitate, produce, or use them will be cursed."

When selling, it is bundled with other items; only by purchasing a certain amount of junk can one combine it with a certain amount of flintlock muskets to gain an advantage over other daimyo.

There are also hidden clauses, such as prohibiting users of flintlock muskets and iron-barreled flying thunder cannons from using them to attack the East Sea Kingdom, etc.

Zhang Quan calmly answered this question that every customer would ask:
"Your Excellency may not know this, but the inventor of the flintlock musket is my junior brother, Lord Wang Fugui, the third-rank commander of the Zhenhai Guard of the Great Zhao Dynasty (Chapter 172)."

He granted the production rights to this person's invention to us and other powers such as the East China Sea Kingdom.

So rest assured, you are just like the capital of the East Sea Kingdom, merely customers of firearms.

We even have allicin, which has already been hailed as a miracle drug, but it's impossible to sell it in large quantities. Only a few related partners will give us a few vials to save lives in critical moments.

We can also enter into a legal contract to prove that what I said is true.

Furthermore, your father was killed by Mori Motonari, and although you are one of the Eighteen Generals, you have always been viewed with suspicion. Are you really sure you want to give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Heh heh.”

One sentence made Kumagai Nobunao's expression even more uncertain.

His father, Kumagai Motonao, was killed by Mori Motonari, but later Motonari, in an effort to win him over, arranged for his second son, Yoshikawa Motoharu, to marry his daughter.

His relationship with the Mori family was complicated, involving both the murder of his father and marriage alliance.

The Mori clan is now one of the few forces openly hostile to the Tokai Kingdom. They possess the Iwami Silver Mine but have been unable to purchase a single new flintlock musket, while their formidable enemy to the north, the Amago clan, is armed to the teeth.

Kumagai Motonao volunteered to negotiate with this arms dealer and fruit company, ostensibly to help the Mori family obtain goods, but his true motives were already clear to the Tokai Kingdom: "Seek external assistance to avenge Mori Motonari's father's death!"

This is also one of the results of the work of the undercover agent Kidomaru.

In the past, the only way for a samurai to advance in rank was through close combat, achieving kills of 100 or 1000 men. The chaotic Warring States period was the era when samurai were at their strongest.

Now, with the addition of firearms, the "real sword test" has become a "cannon test," increasing the killing efficiency by more than ten times.
The warriors were not only fighting for territory.

More importantly, as long as they kill more Japanese from opposing forces before others, fifth-rank samurai, fourth-rank samurai, and even third-rank officials can spring up like mushrooms after rain.

If you're lucky enough to accomplish another "subordinate overthrowing superior" ritual, you can instantly gain everything from your former lord, saving you decades of struggle.

It's even faster than Zhang Quan making money by dating a rich woman.

It can be said that every daimyo's trusted samurai was a potential "major threat".

Kumagai Motonao struggled for a moment, but finally made up his mind:
"Bring out the deed, I'll sign it!"
As for the payment method, I will use the land inherited by the Kumagai family from your United Bank as collateral for a loan.”

Saying those words seemed to have exhausted all his strength, and he collapsed to the ground, as if he had sold his soul to the devil.

Zhang Quan clapped his hands, had the accompanying Shaoxing clerk present the legal contract, and said with a smile, "I'm comforting you."
Believe me, it's not shameful to sell your soul to the devil. What's truly shameful is not getting a good price for it!

This is the strategy Wang Cheng devised.

Taking advantage of the two companies' entities, they simultaneously sold weapons to both sides in the conflict.

Prolonging the war would maximize the depletion of both countries' national strength.

For example, right now, they are selling cannons to the Amago clan to bombard the Mori clan's castles, while at the same time selling the latest flintlock muskets to the core retainers of the Mori clan, encouraging them to "overthrow their superiors."

Especially when they provide weapons during their most desperate and critical moments, they can demand extremely high rewards, such as mining rights, trade monopolies, or even the mortgage of territory.

They even lent them money to buy weapons.

They would offer arms "loans" to daimyo in exchange for future tax revenue and gold and silver mining rights, and then take over their various economic lifelines when the daimyo were unable to repay.

It is unknown who the winner will be after the war, but the Donghai Kingdom was able to take over an entire country without bloodshed.

This is also a groundbreaking invention that Wang Cheng learned from a multinational conglomerate—arms loan!

This achievement alone is enough to be promoted to the upper three ranks.

Once the two sides reached an agreement, Kumagai Motonao hosted a banquet for Zhang Quan and his delegation.

The maids set out a small table in front of each of them, with a long wooden tray on it, a few pieces of seaweed on it, a bowl of white rice with a plum in the middle, and a bowl of miso soup.

Zhang Quan didn't look at anything else and grabbed the wooden tray.

"Isn't this a heel brace? Why didn't you say so earlier? Ouch, my old leg."

Blow away the two pieces of seaweed, lift your legs and put them under your bottom, then sit up straight.

Looking up, he saw the Kumagai family's men kneeling on the ground with their bowed legs, holding a "sumptuous" meal, staring at him in disbelief.

Someone had just put those two pieces of seaweed in their mouth.

"A plate? Isn't that something from the Han Dynasty?"

The Shaoxing advisor, who was going out with Zhang Quan for the first time, was also holding a bowl of plums with rice. It smelled like plums and tasted like plums.

But deep down he didn't believe it:

"As the head of a prestigious family, you can't just feed us this, can you?"
Or is this a DVD intended solely for viewing? It's not very appealing.

Or is it an appetizer? Should it be eaten before or after the meal?

He couldn't help but whisper in Zhang Quan's ear, "I'm so angry!"
"He's playing you, First Mate!"

Everyone present was sharp-eared and sharp-eyed, and they heard his words clearly, which immediately made the scene awkward.

Just then, several strange monkey cries suddenly came from a corner of the reception room:

"Squeak squeak squeak, ptooey ptooey."

When everyone turned around, they saw a monkey with a hairy face and a thunder god's mouth in the corner, holding a bowl of rice. It was baring its teeth and making a strange noise because the plums were so sour, and then it spat it on the ground.

He lifted one foot and kicked the table over.

But everyone present was overjoyed:

"Here he comes! The Great Sage of Balance has come to our place!"

(End of this chapter)