Ming East India Company

Although Bai Wenzheng was the third son, he was shrewd and capable, and had a high reputation in the family over the years. He was no different from the clan leader, so no one dared to disobey him.

After the words were spoken, no one uttered a word. According to seniority, everyone lowered their hands and tucked their sleeves, bowed deeply to the person at the head of the table, and then stood up straight, heads bowed, and quietly retreated out of the hall.

After everyone left, Bai Wenzheng called over the elders from each branch of the family, and they talked until midnight before returning home.

"I've discussed this with the elders of each branch of the family, and for now, only they and the three of us know about this, to prevent the news from leaking out. We've also taken stock of the equipment and belongings on the estate with each branch..."

"How can you tell so many people about something like this!" Bai Ling couldn't help but complain.

Bai Wenzheng glared at her:

"This trip abroad requires meticulous preparation. How can I ensure they will prepare diligently if I don't make things clear with these core members of the clan?"

"Dad, how much wealth do we have now?" Bai Ye interrupted Bai Ling and Bai Wenzheng's secret discussion.

"Including able-bodied men and loyal servants, we can probably muster a maximum of two hundred people."

"No, this amount of resources isn't enough. We need to bring in more people from Uncle Zhang's side," Bai Ye said decisively.

"Those are imperial troops! How could they possibly listen to you?"

"The garrison under Uncle Zhang's command is already dilapidated. The only ones who can fight are about a hundred household servants. The rest of the ordinary garrison soldiers are essentially no different from slaves. If you give them some money to bring them over, Uncle Zhang probably won't say anything."

"We can also bring some out of the village's farmers. At worst, we can just waive their rent for a few years," Bai Ling quickly suggested.

Although the Bai family was a merchant family, they always "made their fortune through trade and maintained it through agriculture." Over the years, they acquired a lot of land near Bai Village, and thus had many hired farmers under their command.

Bai Wenzheng nodded:

"Although it is the busy farming season now, if we take out the huge sum of money to waive three years' rent and mobilize to the maximum extent, we can probably pull out one or two hundred people from the farm laborers."

How's our equipment?

"We've taken stock of everything in each room. We've accumulated enough swords, spears, bows, crossbows, and shields over the years for defense against bandits and Japanese pirates. We bought over twenty muskets from the red-haired barbarians, but we don't know how many are still functional. As for horses, we don't have any warhorses; they're all caravan packhorses, about a hundred or two in total. That's all we have!"

"That's not enough. We need to go to Uncle Zhang's place to ask for some armor. As for horses, we need to ask two horse experts to come and inspect them. Of our several hundred horses, we can probably find a dozen or twenty that can be used as warhorses. It's not realistic to take them all to Ryukyu, but taking twenty or thirty should be no problem."

Bai Ling frowned:

"Transporting horses by sea is not cheap; the cost of transporting one horse is enough to transport at least twenty more people."

"Without cavalry, this battle is unwinnable," Baiye said decisively.

Bai Wenzheng nodded:

"Wild Child is right, let's do it this way!"

"Also, we need to borrow two more horn cannons."

"The flare cannon is just for making noise. You might think bringing back a few cannons would be somewhat useful, but what's the point of a flare cannon?"

"Listen to me! It will come in handy when the time comes."

Bai Wenzheng nodded helplessly:

"In that case, I'll do whatever you say!"

"Lingwa, go and prepare some gifts. We'll pay a visit to your uncle tomorrow."

……

As dusk approached, the sun slanted down onto the vermilion gate of the Yongning Guard Office.

A plain, unadorned sedan chair arrived outside the screen wall. No name card was presented; instead, the steward approached and whispered a few words to the gatekeeper. Upon hearing that it was a relative, Master Bai, the gatekeeper dared not delay and hurried inside to report.

In a short while, the ceremonial gate opened halfway.

The sedan curtain was slightly lifted, and Bai Wenzheng stepped out of the sedan with his two children. He was wearing a dark blue silk robe with cloud patterns and a dark green silk sash around his waist. His face was worried as he ran into the sedan.

As you pass through the front yard, before you even enter the hall, you see a person already standing below.

The man was dressed in plain silk clothes, without an official hat, only his hair was tied up with a hairnet, and a sword hung at his waist. He had a kind face and was Zhang Yanyu, the garrison commander of Yongning Guard—Bai Wenzheng's brother-in-law. Although he was a fifth-rank military officer, upon seeing his brother-in-law, he first put aside his official airs and took two steps forward.

Seeing this, Bai Wenzheng first bowed slightly, speaking in a gentle and friendly tone, yet still maintaining proper decorum between elders and juniors:

"My dear brother."

Zhang Yanyu quickly returned the greeting, gesturing with his hand:

"My brother-in-law has arrived. Please invite him to take a seat in the main hall."

Bai Ye and Bai Ling were very well-mannered. Without waiting for the adults to remind them, they stepped forward together, curtsied, and bowed softly according to their seniority.

"Greetings to my uncle."

Shen Cong'an smiled and raised his hand in a gesture of support:

"Alright, you must be tired from your journey. Come in and have a seat."

The two entered the hall one after the other, without any of the usual official formalities, yet still maintaining proper decorum. When Bai Wenzheng sat down, he only sat on half of the chair, his back straight; Shen Cong'an, being a military officer and the younger man, personally instructed his guards to serve tea, dismissed those around him, and left only the two of them in the hall.

Zhang Yanyu asked first, "Why did you bring the two children with you today, brother?"

Bai Wenzheng said gently, "Firstly, it's been a long time since I've seen my brother, so I'm just dropping by to visit him; secondly, the children have been living in the city for a long time, so it's time for them to come and see their elders and learn some manners."

"It's a pity that Madam went out to collect rent today, otherwise she could have seen the two children; it's been years since she last saw them."

Zhang Yanyu was engrossed in his own enjoyment, completely unaware of the strange atmosphere inside the room.

Bai Ling kept her head bowed respectfully, but a series of quick twitches in her back made Zhang Yanyu, who was usually outspoken, very suspicious.

"Lingwa, is there anything I've done wrong in our hospitality? Why are you crying?"

Bai Ling quickly wiped her face and looked up to explain:

"It's okay, it's okay..."

"Nonsense, you look like you just cried. Did your dad hit you?" she said with a smile, pulling Bai Ling in front of her.

"Come on, tell your uncle what's bothering you! If your dad hit you, I'll definitely teach him a lesson."

Zhang Yanyu was nearly fifty years old, actually older than Bai Wenzheng, and naturally very kind to the younger generation.

Bai Ling pretended to be very sensible, but kept answering:

"It's alright, it's alright, Uncle is overthinking it..."

Watching her older sister's superb "acting skills," Bai Ye muttered to herself:

"If you had been born a few hundred years later, it would have been a shame if you hadn't made movies."

Just then, Zhang Yanyu glanced at him out of the corner of his eye and suddenly noticed that his brother-in-law also seemed unusually dejected.

I couldn't help but ask:

"Brother, what's wrong? You look so pale these past few days. Have you encountered some trouble lately? If so, just tell me! We're family, why be so formal?"

Bai Wenzheng sensed that the time was right and knelt down with a thud:

"Please, my dear brother, save my entire Bai family!"