Late Ming Dynasty: So what if Emperor Chongzhen was inactive?!

Chapter 209 Zheng Zhilong, addicted to wine and women; Qian Qianyi, a lustful fiend.

Zheng Zhilong, having lost his temper, suppressed his younger brother's anger and then changed his tone to appease him, saying, "It's not that we covet official positions in the court, it's just that the court is not someone to be trifled with these days. And even if we wanted to deal with them, we wouldn't know where to begin! How many people do they have?"

Even including the immigrants from Dongfan, their population is only a few hundred thousand. To challenge the Ming Dynasty's two hundred million people—isn't that a bit too arrogant?

He finally relented, agreeing to relinquish a portion of the raw silk quota as an apology to his brothers. He also promised to petition the court for higher ranks for his brothers, as their official positions were too low.

Seeing that the stingy Zheng Zhilong was finally willing to make concessions, the other members of the Eighteen Zhi finally relented.

Yes, the imperial court may look dilapidated, but hasn't it been like this for so many years? First there was Wang Zhi, then Xu Hai and Chen Dong—weren't they all wiped out? The Ming Dynasty didn't have the will to deal with them, not because it was afraid of them. Ultimately, you can't fight city hall; there's no good end for rebels!

Just then, Zheng Cai returned. He learned from the henchmen on the periphery that Zheng Zhilong had captured the imperial envoy and was preparing for war against the court.

He stumbled and crawled into the council hall. He still wanted to drink some sweet potato liquor. Why did he have to fight the imperial court? How many people would die? His arrival became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

"What? You mean the imperial navy is equipped with 4,500-jin (2,250 kg) Hongyi cannons? This... how is this possible? Even if the imperial court really made cannons that big, wouldn't they collapse the ship's hull if they were mounted on it?!" Zheng Zhihu said in disbelief.

Since Zheng Cai was Zheng Zhilong's subordinate, he even suspected that his elder brother and Zheng Cai were putting on a show to deceive them in order to achieve his goal of not wanting to turn against the imperial court.

Zheng Cai spread his hands and said, "If you don't believe me, I can ask the brothers in my fleet."

He scoffed, "Don't tell me you don't have any informants here! Even if I colluded on the story, I doubt I could hide it from you."

Zheng Cai's blunt words made everyone very embarrassed. Pirates, after all, betrayal is commonplace, isn't it? Who wouldn't be wary? Let alone Zheng Cai's fleet, even the Japanese women on Zheng Zhilong's ship were informants of the Matsuura clan, weren't they? Too much integrity breeds contempt; you get used to it.

They were just gathering intelligence, not carrying out assassinations or anything like that. Ordinary people couldn't afford to support assassins, but Zheng Zhilong had quite a few dim-witted Japanese ronin under his command who could be used as assassins. After all, it was the Chongzhen era, and these Japanese samurai were still calling him "Lord, Lord," which sounded incredibly cool.

The cannon was twelve feet long, firing thirty-pound iron bullets or exploding shells, with a range exceeding six miles. Within five hundred paces, it could penetrate the side planks of a large warship or shatter four or more watertight compartments; once hit, the warship was doomed to sink. The leaders who received this news fell silent.

The cannons they now use on their ships are generally only one or two thousand catties (approximately 500-600 kg), with the largest not exceeding three thousand five hundred catties (approximately 1,250 kg). Cannon fire is merely an accompaniment to naval battles; they rely more on flamethrowers and boarding maneuvers to determine the outcome.

Zheng Laosi's defeat made them realize that in hand-to-hand combat, they were no match for the imperial court's bloodthirsty bastards. At most, they could massacre a village or kill a hundred or so civilians; these bastards' opponents were the Jurchens, who were capable of slaughtering entire cities at a time. They had initially thought they were outmatched in hand-to-hand combat, but they believed they had an advantage in naval warfare. However, they hadn't expected the imperial court's artillery to become so formidable!
When they attacked Yu Zigao, the government navy was in a sorry state: rusty, bursting cannons, rotten warships, and cowardly, easily defeated soldiers. But now, how come they've suddenly become so unfathomable?!

What distressed them most was that these ships seemed to have been sold to the imperial court by them, and now it felt absurd, as if they had brought disaster upon themselves.

"Third brother, how many ships did you sell to the imperial court?" Zheng Zhilong exclaimed.

"No, not many, two or three hundred ships?!" Zheng Zhibao replied.

"Then how come they have two thousand ships?!"

"Perhaps they built it themselves. Penglai Water City used to be quite famous," Zheng Zhibao said, wiping his sweat.

"Penglai Water City? I've never heard of it! Isn't Penglai part of Japan?" Zheng Zhilong asked in confusion.

"That's because you're always indulging in wine and women instead of studying!" Zheng Zhibao thought to himself. Now, the imperial court still had a northern navy even larger than theirs; their last hope of rebellion was extinguished. Of course, with Zheng Cai's discerning eye, he could see that the Dengzhou-Laizhou navy was all bark and no bite, but he deliberately kept quiet. Liu Zeqing's sweet potato liquor and coat still played a role.

Zheng Cai was unaware of Zheng Zhilong's ambitions; he simply felt that opposing the imperial court would bring no benefit. So many people dreamed of becoming officials, even if it meant going to great lengths to do so. They had easily obtained their official positions, albeit small ones—how could they not cherish them?

War means death, and regardless of victory or defeat, it will harm brothers. Zheng Cai didn't feel that his actions were a betrayal of the gang; he felt that he was doing it for Zheng Zhilong and for the good of the other ship owners.

Zheng Zhilong and his group were successfully intimidated by the imperial court, and the others stopped making noise. However, the embarrassing situation was that the imperial envoys were still imprisoned by them; they were afraid of drowning in the water dungeon.

Zheng Zhilong was at a loss for how to end the situation. Zheng Cai suggested that he could try writing to the Liaodong military commissioner and ask him to help mediate. Zheng Zhilong should find some tender brambles, take off his clothes, carry them on his back, and put on a show for the imperial envoy.

And this unfortunate fellow was none other than Qian Qianyi, the newly appointed Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in the Ministry of Rites. Qian Qianyi was originally the Junior Vice Director of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices and concurrently a Reader in the Hanlin Academy. However, Zhu Youjian had not yet established a crown prince, and recently the Minister of Rites was urging him to name his eldest son.

Just because it's not there now doesn't mean it won't be in the future. Zhu Youjian didn't want this guy to stay in this annoying position anymore, so he deliberately sent him to Dongfan to deliver an imperial edict: if he accidentally got killed by Zheng Zhilong, it would be quite amusing.

"Angel, I have offended you greatly, I hope you will not take offense!" Zheng Zhilong said obsequiously, carrying a bunch of wolfberry branches on his back.

His skin was fair and delicate, a stark contrast to those who toiled at sea year-round; his skin wasn't pricked by the thorns on the branches, but instead, the bright red goji berries were squeezed and burst, oozing pale orange-red juice, mimicking blood—it looked incredibly fake.

Qian Qianyi was submerged in a floatation bag in the water dungeon. In his dazed state, his life flashed by like a revolving lantern. He missed the lean horses raised in his hometown terribly, feeling that if he could have one last time before he died, it would be worth dying for. But this small wish was probably never to be fulfilled.

He began to hate the emperor again: he believed that he had not neglected his duties during his time in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, yet he had been sent to die in the den of the Eastern Barbarians thousands of miles away! Reprimanding the bandit leader on behalf of the emperor was, by all accounts, a death wish!

"It's alright, it's all a misunderstanding. General Zheng must have been misled by treacherous people, which is why he accidentally injured the enemy again. Now that the misunderstanding has been cleared up, that's good, that's good!" Qian Qianyi replied very tactfully.

"Yes, yes, yes, I was deceived by a villain. I am truly sorry. This is a small apology to the angel. I hope the angel will forgive me and accept it!" After saying this, Zheng Zhilong clapped his hands, and immediately a Japanese woman carrying a pillow on her back swayed her hips and walked out in wooden clogs.

The Japanese woman was carrying a wooden tray, which seemed to be a bit difficult to hold. A white silk cloth covered the tray. Zheng Zhilong gently lifted the silk cloth, and a glittering golden light appeared. However, Qian Qianyi did not even lift his eyelids. Instead, he stared intently at the maid's chest and could not take his eyes off her.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Zhilong chuckled, but still said, "I never expected that the angel is such a wonderful person who loves beauty more than money. This woman is a noble lady from a great family in Japan. I will also give her to you as an apology. I hope that you will put in a good word for me before His Majesty!"

The head of the Ministry of Rites' Office was an eighth-rank official, while the general was considered the highest-ranking second-rank military officer. Zheng Zhilong's self-deprecating manner greatly satisfied Qian Qianyi's ego. He reached out and touched the woman's small hand, muttering, "Easy, easy!"

"How can this guy be even more lustful than me in front of so many people?!" Zheng Zhilong inwardly despised Qian Qianyi, but still waved his hand and said, "My angel has suffered, Nanako Tagawa, please take this distinguished guest to rest!"

"Hi!" Tian Chuan replied obediently. She was indeed a noble lady, but that was in the past. Now she was just one of Zheng Zhilong's many playthings, the kind that could be shared at will. This kind of thing was quite familiar to her.

Japan's system of visiting wives lasted for a long time and continues to this day. For them, promiscuity is just a part of traditional culture and nothing to be ashamed of.

"Onii-san!" Tianchuan called out sweetly, and Qian Qianyi's bones melted. He even felt that the Yangzhou sluts were nothing. He hurriedly took off his clothes and socks, but when he turned his head, he saw Tianchuan Nana's full mouth of black teeth.

"My God, a ghost!" Qian Qianyi shuddered and collapsed to the ground!

(End of this chapter)