Di Ming

Chapter 331 The Taiko's Wrath: "He deceived Japan!"

But Xu Wei said calmly, "Madam may be a great conqueror at sea, but she may not be a great force on land. If I am not mistaken, Madam was able to conquer Osaka by relying on strong ships and powerful cannons."

"If Osaka Castle weren't near the sea, or if the Yodogawa River didn't exist, do you really think you could have conquered Osaka?"

"How dare you!" Zhang Cha shouted. "Our army is invincible on land as well as at sea. Even without powerful ships and cannons, we are still unstoppable!"

Hai Mingyue waved her hand and said coldly, "Let him continue. Hmph, I want to hear what kind of grand principles this old man can come up with."

Xu Wei smiled slightly, "The Japanese are not good at sea, but their land combat strength is something that you and the generals have already experienced today, haven't you? Weak?"

Hai Mingyue said, "The Japanese land forces are indeed not weak; they are considered a strong force."

She certainly couldn't say that the Japanese army's land warfare capabilities were weak. To be fair, the Japanese army's combat strength was formidable. After all, the Eight Banners had lost over a thousand men that day.

The overseas Manchu population is too small, totaling only a little over ten thousand soldiers. Every Han soldier is precious, and their deaths diminish their value. To belittle the Japanese army would be to belittle the Han soldiers who died in battle.
"Yes!" Xu Wei clapped his hands. "Your Madam has at most 20,000 troops under your command, right? But does Your Madam know how many Japanese troops there are?"

Xu Wei showed no fear, which impressed Zheng Guowang.

Xu Wei held up a hand. "The information I obtained in Kyoto is absolutely true. The Japanese army has mobilized 500,000 troops nationwide for a major battle. The tens of thousands in Korea are just a small fraction!"

"But today, your army has captured Osaka Castle. How can Japan let this go? They are not even afraid of the Ming Dynasty, let alone your army?"

"From this day forward, your army will be Japan's mortal enemy. Has Madam forgotten the Japanese pirates of yesteryear? They roamed the oceans and dominated the four seas, causing great harm to both the Ming Dynasty and the South Seas."

"It's only in recent years, after Hideyoshi unified Japan, that the Wokou pirates have declined. Now that your army has offended Japan so badly, Japan will build warships and train its navy to wipe you out. A navy of 100,000 men will be able to defeat you in just three to five years, making you even more formidable than the Wokou pirates of yesteryear!"

"Japan is even willing to negotiate peace with the Ming Dynasty and withdraw its troops from Korea in order to wipe you out, focusing all its efforts on dealing with you. At that time, will your army still be able to roam the world freely?"

"That's one of them."

Xu Wei then extended a second finger, "Secondly, if your army offends the Ming Dynasty again, it will become a mortal enemy of the court, forcing the court to build a large navy. Once China and Japan reach a peace agreement, they will jointly annihilate your army."

"Does Madam know anything about Zheng He's navy back then?"

Hai Mingyue asked, "Is it the Zheng He navy that once sailed the Western Ocean six times?"

“That’s right!” Xu Wei said firmly. “Although the Ming Dynasty no longer has Zheng He’s fleet, it doesn’t mean it won’t have one in the future! Where are the blueprints for Zheng He’s treasure ships? They’re hidden in the Wenyuan Pavilion!”

"Over the years, the court has frequently submitted memorials requesting the blueprints for the treasure ships, the reconstruction of Zheng He's fleet, and the expansion of the sea frontier. However, the emperor has not granted any such requests."

"If the Ming Dynasty's imperial brother-in-law and envoys were detained and extorted by your army, what do you think would happen, Madam? The Emperor might issue an edict to rebuild Zheng He's fleet!"

"There's nothing the Ming Dynasty can't do; it just depends on whether the Ming Dynasty wants to!"

Xu Wei spoke solemnly, his expression arrogant, "Since ancient times, we've only ever heard of people spending their lives as officials, never as thieves. Is Madam sure she wants to offend Japan to death, and then offend the Ming Dynasty to death as well?"

"Madam, would you rather not consider your own interests than those of your soldiers?"

Xu Wei's words moved many of the pirate leaders present.

Zheng Guowang couldn't help but puff out her chest a little. But she quickly realized she didn't need to, and immediately straightened up.

Hai Mingyue chuckled, "That makes some sense. So, tell me, how should I deal with you?"

Xu Wei cupped his hands and said, "In my opinion, Madam should escort the Ming delegation back to the country, establish a good relationship, and leave a way out. With Zheng Shaoqing's connections, your army and the court may be able to cooperate. For example, by paying someone to hire them."

Xu Wei's words were one of the pre-arranged purposes of the performance.

Zheng Guowang was made the driving force and initiator of the mercenary cooperation between the imperial court and the Jing Navy.

In this way, the Jinghai Army could use Zheng Guowang and the imperial court's name to stir up trouble overseas. With this employment relationship, the Jinghai Army could represent the Ming Dynasty abroad!

Of course, if representing the Ming Dynasty benefits them, they represent the Ming Dynasty. If representing the Ming Dynasty does not benefit them, they represent pirates!
Another major benefit of the cooperation between the two parties is the potential to recruit more people.

For example, the Jinghai Army could recruit overseas miners to mine overseas, or recruit sailors, laborers and other able-bodied men under the pretext of hiring them to fight for the court.

With this employment relationship in place, and by bribing powerful officials in the court, the imperial court would turn a blind eye. In this way, the problem of the sparse Eight Banners population overseas could be alleviated.

Otherwise, if the Jinghai Army wanted to plunder the Han Chinese population, they would have to resort to piracy on land and attack the Ming Dynasty's coast by force. Even if Zhu Yin were willing to do it, it would damage morale and turn the Jinghai Army into true pirates.

Zheng Guowang echoed Xu Wei's words, saying, "That's right. If Madam agrees to our request, I can act as a go-between to facilitate cooperation between your army and the imperial court. It wouldn't be unreasonable for the imperial court to pay your army."

Xu Wei's words reminded her. Yes, why couldn't the imperial court utilize these pirates? Even if they couldn't be granted amnesty, they could still hire these pirates to do things that the imperial court couldn't or was inconvenient to do at sea.

Zhang Jia quickly said, "Madam, I think what Mr. Xu said makes sense and is feasible."

The group of foreign pirates looked at each other, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied. In reality, however, they couldn't understand a word Xu Wei was saying.

But if they don't cooperate with the act, they're definitely in for a rough time.

Hai Mingyue stood up, looked at Hideyoshi's treasured sword on the sword rack, and said in a calm and quiet tone:

"Very well, I won't kidnap you. I can even escort you back to the Ming Dynasty. We won't refuse the Ming Dynasty's friendship. However..."

"However, everything you obtained from Japan, including gold, silver, jewels, and the Japanese emperor and his officials, must be handed over to us."

Xu Wei said, "Gold and silver treasures can be given to your army as a token of the court's sincerity. However, the affairs of the Japanese emperor and his ministers are of great importance, relating to the national war between the Ming Dynasty and Japan. How can they be given to your army?"

Zheng Guowang also shook his head and said, "The Japanese emperor and his ministers are prisoners of the Ming Dynasty. Without them, how can I explain to the court? If the emperor blames me, how can I speak well of your army?"

She certainly knew how important the Japanese emperor and his ministers were.

Hai Mingyue turned her head, her eerie mask facing Zheng Guowang, her crystalline eyes filled with laughter, "Very well, this lady will give the Ming Dynasty some face."

"I'll give you two conditions, you can choose one. One is that you represent the imperial court and promise to give us one million taels of silver. The Japanese emperor and his ministers are the Japanese imperial court, one million is worth it, right? If we were to sell to Japan, the Japanese would only give us two million."

"This lady would rather not accept Japan's two million, but only accept one million from the Ming Dynasty. That would be more than enough to show my sincerity."

Zheng Guowang gritted his teeth, "Madam, please state your second condition."

Hai Mingyue said, "Our army has suffered heavy losses in this battle, assisting the Ming Dynasty in attacking Japan, with thousands of casualties in several large and small battles."

Zheng Guowang frowned. She had indeed seen that the pirates had suffered many casualties, certainly several thousand. But she didn't know that most of the casualties were natives.

"What you mean, Madam, is..."

Hai Mingyue said, "To be honest, our army in Southeast Asia also has to contend with Burma, Annam, and François. This time, we suffered too many casualties while helping the Ming Dynasty fight against Japan. Without replenishment, we can no longer hold our ground in Southeast Asia."

Zheng Guowang was speechless. "Are you helping the Ming Dynasty conquer Japan? Did the Ming Dynasty invite you?"

"Please speak frankly, Madam." Zheng Guowang vaguely understood what the other party meant.

Sure enough, Hai Mingyue said, "Has the Ming court heard that the foreign barbarians are going to form a joint army to invade the Ming Dynasty? A hundred thousand troops!"

Zheng Guowang's heart skipped a beat. "What?"

Zhang Cha smiled disdainfully, "You don't know? Then the Ming Dynasty certainly doesn't know either. My wife said that the Western barbarian countries are going to form a coalition army to invade the Ming Dynasty, with hundreds of thousands of troops."

"Not even a few hundred thousand," Hai Mingyue shook her head. "Don't scare him."

He then looked at Zheng Guowang and said, "But we definitely have an army of 100,000. Within two or three years at most, they will surely be at Tianjin! The foreigners' firearms are extremely powerful. They are the real ones with strong ships and powerful cannons. Our army's firearms and warships are actually not as good as their latest ones."

"What if they join forces with Japan then..."

Hai Mingyue was spouting nonsense. The Jinghai Navy's firearms and warships were clearly the best in the world, yet she claimed they were inferior to the latest foreign technology. She used whatever frightening language she could think of.

Zheng Guowang was horrified. She had previously heard from maritime merchants that the foreign barbarians wanted to launch an expedition against the Ming Dynasty. Now, hearing Hai Mingyue speak with such certainty, she dared not bet that the news was false.

These pirates' ships and cannons were so powerful. But the latest firearms of the Westerners are even more powerful. How difficult would they be to deal with?
This matter concerns the safety of the Ming Dynasty; how could she not be cautious?

Hai Mingyue continued, "However, for them to attack the Ming Dynasty, they must pass through Southeast Asia, and our army will be the first to bear the brunt. But this time, our army lost thousands of men while helping the Ming Dynasty fight Japan, and our strength is far less than before, so we can no longer stop the allied forces of the foreign barbarians."

"Therefore, I hope the court will send me 20,000 Han men, mainly males."

"Either one million taels of silver or twenty thousand able-bodied men. Choose."

"Fifty taels of silver per person? This price is quite generous to the imperial court, isn't it? Fifty taels of silver could buy several slaves in the Ming Dynasty."

Zheng Guowang was torn. One million taels of silver—the Emperor certainly wouldn't agree to that!

Even 100,000 taels of silver would be too much for the emperor to bear, let alone 1 million taels.

But if the imperial court gives 20,000 able-bodied men to the pirates, wouldn't that be nurturing the pirates and strengthening their power? That would be a threat to the Ming Dynasty!

Hai Mingyue sneered, "Our army is stationed in the South Seas, destined to help the court defend against foreign barbarians. The court is unwilling to spend money or manpower, so what's the point of cooperation? We have no money and no manpower, what else can the court give us?"

Zheng Guowang said, "Give them official positions! The imperial court can offer them amnesty and incorporate them into the naval adjutant's battalion..."

"Hahaha!" Hai Mingyue laughed, but her smile was icy. "A lieutenant general? What a high rank! Let alone a lieutenant general, even a general would be unacceptable to me. Our army will absolutely not accept amnesty!"

Just as Zheng Guowang was about to try again to persuade them to surrender, a foreigner with a high nose and deep-set eyes suddenly spoke, mumbling something in his own language.

Then he said stiffly in Chinese, "Recruit me? No!"

Then, the other foreigners also said a few words. Then they stood up, clenched their hairy fists, and shouted loudly and angrily, as if they didn't even care about Hai Mingyue.

Zhang Jia shouted, "What are you shouting? The lady said she will not surrender! You must have misheard!"

A group of foreigners shrugged, shouted a few more words, then snorted coldly and left the hall with arrogant expressions.

The pirate leaders, including Zhang Cha and Cao Xin, all looked very grim.

"These foreign barbarians are truly unreasonable!" Zhang Jia said angrily, "They are increasingly disregarding the Madam!"

Hai Mingyue's tone was somewhat helpless, "Alright, there are already quite a few foreigners in the army. This time, the Chinese in the army suffered too many losses, while the foreign soldiers suffered fewer losses, so it's normal for them to be a bit arrogant."

Xu Wei asked, "May I ask, Madam, are there factions within your army?"

Hai Mingyue said, "Of course. Although our army is mainly composed of overseas Chinese, the forces of foreign pirates and Southeast Asian natives are also considerable. It's just that the Chinese outnumber us, which is why we've barely secured the top position. They can only submit temporarily. But in today's battle, our Han brothers have lost more than four thousand..."

Xu Wei asked with concern, "So, it seems the foreign barbarians and the natives want to compete for the position of leader?"

Hai Mingyue was silent for a moment, then said, "They never wanted to fight Japan in the first place, and always advocated uniting with Japan to fight the Ming Dynasty. It was because we Chinese had more people that we strongly advocated fighting Japan." "Although we were fighting Japan for money, we did indeed have the intention of helping the Ming Dynasty. It's just that we can't say this to other factions. After all, the fleet is not just for the Chinese faction."

"This is why the Chinese suffered the greatest losses, because it was the Chinese who opposed fighting the Ming Dynasty and advocated fighting Japan, so of course they had to be at the forefront."

"Mr. Xu, if the fleet were to attack the Ming Dynasty in the future, it would certainly be because they have usurped command of the fleet from the Chinese, and it is by no means the will of the Chinese. If that day were to come, I'm afraid I would already be..."

"Alas..." Xu Wei sighed, "So this is how complicated it is. I hope that Madam and the Chinese brothers can continue to control the fleet. If the command of your army falls into the hands of the foreigners and the natives, then the future of our Great Ming's coast..."

Cao Xin snorted coldly and said, "Madam, why say such things to the Ming envoy? What can the court do?! If the court were good, we wouldn't have had to leave our homes and go overseas back then..."

"Enough!" Hai Mingyue interrupted him. "What do you know! No matter how bad the Ming Dynasty is, it's still the homeland of our parents!"

Upon hearing this, Zheng Guowang no longer hesitated.

"I choose to give you 20,000 Han men!" Zheng Guowang gritted his teeth. "I will definitely help the court agree to your request! Even if the court doesn't agree, my Zheng family will do it, even if it means smuggling people!"

"I'm not doing this for anything else!" Zheng Guowang said firmly, "It's just to ensure that the Chinese faction can firmly control the fleet! As long as you agree to one condition, I can provide not only 20,000 able-bodied men, but even 30,000!"

"Oh?" Hai Mingyue said, "What are the conditions?"

Zheng Guowang said, “You must swear to your ancestors that you will never harm the Ming Dynasty! You must never ravage the people of the Ming Dynasty like the Japanese pirates! If you break your oath, may your ancestors’ spirits be uneasy, and may your descendants be struck by lightning!”

"Good!" Hai Mingyue clapped his hands. "Great! We agree! As long as the fleet's command remains in the hands of us Chinese, we will never harm the Ming Dynasty, nor will we ever bring suffering to the people of the Ming Dynasty! If we break our oath, may the spirits of our ancestors and parents be at peace, and may our descendants be struck by lightning!"

Zhang Cha and the others also took an oath together.

Xu Wei then said, "Madam, since Minister Zheng has agreed on behalf of the court, could the seized silver...?"

"No!" Hai Mingyue refused bluntly. "Give us the gold and silver we seize, and the Japanese emperor and his officials will give it to you. Then we will escort you back to the Ming Dynasty."

"As for the 20,000 able-bodied men, I hope they can be delivered within six months."

Zheng Guowang shook his head, "At most, 10,000 can be paid within six months, and the rest must be paid within one year. Moreover, of these 20,000 able-bodied men, no more than 12,000 can be male."

Her choice to give it to someone else was, of course, in the hope that the command of the pirate fleet would remain in the hands of the Chinese faction.

This was the result of her weighing the pros and cons: choosing the lesser of two evils!

As a Ming Dynasty official, she was well aware of the choices she needed to make.

It would be very difficult for the Emperor to agree to spend one million taels of silver to exchange for the Japanese emperor and his ministers. She knew the Emperor too well; he would not agree.

However, the Japanese emperor and his ministers were extremely important and had a significant impact on the war situation.

Although giving 20,000 young men would strengthen the pirate force, it was worth the risk in order to suppress the foreign and indigenous forces within the pirate fleet.

As long as money isn't offered, it's easy to persuade the Emperor and the Cabinet. Even if the court disagrees, things can be arranged privately.

It must be said that Zheng Guowang is a very decisive person, and her choice was actually not wrong. She just didn't know that it was a trap.

The two sides reached an agreement, and it was already late at night.

Suddenly someone came in to report: "Madam, the chief envoy of the Ming Dynasty has sent someone to ask you to release the deputy envoy and the other two. He said that if you want to detain the hostages, detain the chief envoy and do not make things difficult for the rest of the delegation."

Hai Mingyue said, "It seems that this Ming envoy is quite kind. Go and tell him to rest assured that I have not detained Minister Zheng and Mr. Xu and will release them soon. However, all the gold and silver treasures he seized must be handed over to our army."

"Yes!" The man immediately accepted the order and withdrew.

Zheng Guowang was somewhat moved upon hearing this. Although Zhu Zhihu wasn't exactly a kind person, he had shown great responsibility in a crucial moment.

After Zheng Guowang and Xu Wei left, Zhang Cha and the others couldn't help but burst into laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

Many people laughed until their stomachs hurt.

The lord and his wife wanted gold and silver, young men, and favors, making Zheng Guowang run around in circles.

After everyone had finished laughing, Hai Mingyue transformed back into Ning Caiwei.

"General Zhang, how many young Japanese men have been captured?" Ning Caiwei asked. "And what about the Han Chinese slaves who have been rescued?"

Zhang Jia replied, "We have captured more than 5,000 young Japanese men aged 15 to 30, mostly women. Although there are Han Chinese slaves in Osaka, most of them are quite old and were captured by Japanese pirates during the Jiajing period. There are only about 500 to 600 of them."

Ning Caiwei said, "Let's take them back together. Even if they are old, they are still Han Chinese and cannot be kept here as slaves."

"Also, keep a close watch on Hideyoshi's wives and concubines, and prevent them from committing suicide."

Zhang Jia replied, "Yes!"

As everyone was discussing, someone else suddenly came in to report:
"Madam, Commander Ding's fleet has arrived! His ships are right at the coast. Commander Ding says he has burned down the Ise Grand Shrine, looted hundreds of thousands of taels of silver, and killed more than a thousand people. The Japanese shipyard in Ise Bay has also been completely burned down."

"Great!" Ning Caiwei was very happy. "Tell Commander Ding that he doesn't need to meet up in Osaka, but can go directly to the Seto Inland Sea and proceed to the Japanese shipyard on Fukuno Island as planned..."

Zhang Cha laughed and said, "Once this shipyard is burned down, the Japanese navy will have no reserve warships to use. Let's see how arrogant they can be then!"

"Our lord's plan is truly full of deadly traps, with each step leading to the next."

Cao Xin laughed and said, "I've calculated it. My lord's move can be described as killing eight birds with one stone!"

After a quick calculation, everyone realized that it truly was a win-win situation!
……

On their way back, Zheng Guowang and Xu Wei couldn't help but ask, "Shaoqing, can the court really agree to give the pirates 20,000 able-bodied men?"

Zheng Guowang said, "Even if the court doesn't agree, we will find a way in private. Even if we just ask for a secret decree, things will be much easier to handle."

Xu Wei nodded: "That's all we can do. Hopefully, this pirate group can be used by the court in the future, at least they won't rob the Ming Dynasty."

Zheng Guowang laughed and said, "This group of pirates has a code of honor. I think they are reliable, unlike the kind of vicious and cunning pirates. The masked Lady Hai can be told that she has a sense of righteousness."

"Have a sense of righteousness?" Xu Wei looked as if he had seen a ghost. "She took all of the more than one million taels of silver we seized in the capital. And you still say she has a sense of righteousness?"

Zheng Guowang said, "The pirates aren't just in charge of things by her alone. Even if she doesn't want it, the foreign pirates won't agree. As the leader, she certainly can't act on emotion."

"Besides, she strongly advocated attacking Japan and opposed attacking the Ming Dynasty. She actually did the court a great favor. Isn't that a sign of righteousness?"

"In short, I think she's actually a very nice person."

Xu Wei stroked his beard and looked at Zheng Guowang with a hint of sympathy.

The two returned to the ship, and Zhu Yin immediately came out to greet them with a look of delight.

"Oh dear, you two! I couldn't sleep at night, I was so anxious! Thankfully you returned safely and successfully! I have nothing to worry about now!"

Zheng Guowang looked him over carefully and realized that Zhu Yin was genuinely happy, not just going through the motions.

"I'm sorry to have worried you, Brother Zhihu. The journey was fraught with danger, but we escaped unharmed," Zheng Guowang said. "The pirates promised to escort us back home, but... but..."

Zhu Yin personally poured her a cup of tea. "But what do you think?"

Zheng Guowang said with a wry smile, "The pirates want all the silver!"

Then he recounted what had happened.

Zhu Yin was taken aback. He first showed anger, then sighed, "Silver is ultimately just an external thing. But this silver was originally meant to be handed over to the court and the emperor, but now it has benefited the pirates, and we have lost a great merit."

"However, the most important thing is that Brother Yueying returns safely. We don't need the money!"

Zheng Guowang felt somewhat warm-hearted upon hearing this, as Zhu Yin did not blame her for losing money during the negotiations.

“Brother Zhihu, I have already agreed to hand over 20,000 able-bodied men to the pirates,” Zheng Guowang said. “I would like to ask Brother Zhihu to join me in submitting a memorial to the court to persuade them to agree to this matter. For the sake of the Ming Dynasty, cooperating with the pirates is the best policy!”

"If we can get them to serve the Ming Dynasty in the future, we will have done a great service to the country."

Zhu Yin nodded. "Alright, I promise Brother Yueying that I will definitely submit the memorial together with her! No matter what, we must get this done."

"Otherwise, if the foreigners control the pirate fleet, it will be of great disadvantage to our Great Ming. It would be better to support the Chinese faction."

Zheng Guowang said, "We didn't get along in court before, so let's cooperate this time!"

"Brother Zhihu supports my strategy of supporting the pirates, so I persuaded the Emperor to appoint Brother Zhihu as the new Korean Anti-Japanese Pirate Commissioner!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Wei couldn't help but cough and turned to enter the cabin.

……

It was a full six days after the Osaka and Kyoto Incidents broke out that Hideyoshi, at Nagoya Castle in Kyushu, received the news.

Unfortunately, due to a slight mishap during delivery, both messages arrived at the same time.

"What?!" Hideyoshi could hardly believe his ears when he heard this nightmarish news.

Once he confirmed the news was true, the Golden Tea Room erupted in a terrifying roar.

"Baka! Baka! Baka yarou!"

"Hideyama Maru deceived me! He deceived me! He deceived Japan!"

"No! He's not Xiushan Maru! He's not Xiushan Maru! Baka!"

Taiko was as ferocious as a demon monkey that had sprung from hell, brandishing an opium pipe, his fox-like eyes suddenly turning blood red.

He exuded a wild, murderous aura, his rage seemingly burning and melting the golden tea room.

The servants prostrated themselves on the ground in fear, trembling at the Taiko's chilling rage!

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(End of this chapter)