Ming East India Company

Bai Ling's confidant, Bai Shisan, was in charge of receiving them in the delegation.

He was a servant born into the Bai family. According to the Bai family's rules, loyal servants who had signed a death contract and were not related by blood were usually arranged by age and number.

Bai Shisan has been by Bai Ling's side since childhood and is quite loyal and capable.

Bai Shisan sewed the letter into his clothes, then detoured to Yuegang and sailed out to sea, finally delivering the letter to Bai Ye, who was far away in Ryukyu, on the fortieth day after Bai Ling sent it.

"Well done!" Bai Ye couldn't help but shout excitedly. He had anticipated that the delegation would bring back good terms, but such a generous gift was truly unexpected.

Emperor Wanli agreed to close Yuegang, but retained Ryukyu's trading rights.

This means that the Ryukyu Islands held by the Bai family could become the only legitimate trading partner in the entire Ming Empire.

All Ming Dynasty merchants who wanted to legally engage in overseas trade had to have their goods "washed" by the Bai family first.

It wasn't just goods destined for Japan; Ming Dynasty merchant ships traveling to Luzon, Vietnam, and other places also had to pay the Bai family a "handling fee." The profits were simply unimaginable.

Bai Wenzheng was also very happy, and he came to Bai Ye to discuss it:

"Wild boy, now we can sit back and count our money."

Bai Ye sighed:

"No, although my elder sister said in her letter that the envoy would take care of us, if we can't get enough Japanese heads, then things will be difficult to handle next."

The Ming Dynasty now only recognizes heads as merits in its military campaigns. There are only so many Japanese on Ryukyu Island. If you want to get more, there is only one way: go out and rob.

Bai Ye quickly summoned the other key members of the Bai family on Ryukyu Island to begin formulating their next plan.

"Everyone, my elder sister has sent a letter. The imperial court has allowed us to participate in the war against Japan. The next step is to send troops to attack Japan, cut off a few more heads of Japanese people, and go back to report our achievements to the imperial court."

"But we still need to profit from trade with the Japanese. If we just resort to robbing them, won't that affect our future trade in the game?"

Shirono unfolds the map:

"Currently, the destination of trade in the East is Nagasaki, whose master is Toyotomi Hideyoshi. There are also many daimyo in the country who are at odds with him. If we plunder them, I'm afraid that Lord Toyotomi Hideyoshi will not only not criticize us, but may even reward us with money."

"Brother, how are the manpower preparations on the island going?"

Since we allocated land to the garrison soldiers last time, another two or three hundred garrison soldiers have recently come to join us. As you instructed, for now we are only providing them with food and clothing, and the land has not yet been allocated.

"Very good. Now is the time to use manpower. Whether the soldiers on the island have land or not, two out of every three men will be selected and sent to sea within three days."

Then, Shirano pointed to southern Kyushu:

"My first time at sea starts here."

Having gained the ability to see into the heavens, Hakuno knew that the Shimazu clan would send troops to control Ryukyu twenty years later. Therefore, in order to nip the threat in the bud, he had to take advantage of the present to launch a major attack on the Shimazu clan.

……

"Boss, what kind of godforsaken place is this? They said they'd give us land, but we've been on the island for a month and they haven't mentioned it once. Could these guys be pig traders?"

"Probably not. If they were bad people, they wouldn't have bothered to feed and drink us for so many days. Besides, even Pang Er got some, so we should be able to too."

The two people having the conversation were Zhang Chun and Zhang Zheng, two brothers from the Zhang family.

His ancestors were soldiers in the Fuzhou garrison. A few years ago, due to a flood, his family's land was forced to be sold at a low price to the garrison commander. Since the Zhang family only had one garrison soldier quota, the two families could only make a living on Zhang Chun's meager military pay.

Unable to find a way to supplement his family's income, Zhang Zheng started doing some small business as a side job. A few days ago, while transporting goods to Yuegang, he happened to run into his distant relative, Pang Shipu, who was packing his things to go out to sea.

Only after asking did I learn that this kid had made a fortune by going to sea with some Master Bai last time, and now he had been allocated a piece of land on Ryukyu Island and was preparing to move his whole family there to become local tycoons.

Moreover, Pang Shipu told them that Ryukyu was short of manpower and was currently recruiting garrison soldiers everywhere to expand its territory.

Upon hearing this, the Zhang brothers couldn't sit still. There was actually such a "Shangri-La" overseas? What were they waiting for?

The two quickly escaped the garrison and arrived at Yuegang, where they followed Pang Shipu onto a sailboat to go out to sea.

However, after arriving in Ryukyu, the so-called Ryukyu Kingdom provided excellent food and drink, but never mentioned the matter of dividing the land.

This made the two of them feel a little uneasy.

However, the fact that Pang Shipu and other early arrivals had been assigned to their posts rekindled a glimmer of hope for the two men.

Three gong sounds rang out, followed by Pang Shipu's voice:

"All garrison soldiers on Ryukyu Island, assemble at Naha Port before noon tomorrow to participate in the land distribution."

The Zhang brothers' faces lit up, and they quickly packed their belongings and set off. When they arrived at Naha Port, the port was already packed with a large number of garrison soldiers, totaling a thousand.

Baiye, riding his horse, shouted at the top of his lungs:

"Brothers of the garrison, the Ryukyu Islands are just across the sea, and they are currently at war with the Ming Dynasty. I have already obtained His Majesty's decree that as long as we send troops to the Eastern Ocean, you can claim your own share of land based on your military achievements."

Some people in the crowd began to express their dissatisfaction:

"Didn't they say we'd be allocated land as soon as we arrived?"

"When we arrived, we were indeed allocated land, but those of us who were allocated land did so only after defeating the forces of Ryukyu Shōei. Rewards are given based on merit, and everyone is treated the same."

Pang Shipu's majestic voice resounded throughout the entire square.

"The only opportunity to send troops now is to select two out of three men. It's voluntary, and you won't be accepted after the deadline."

The soldiers in the square hesitated at first, as their painful experience at the Daming Garrison had made them very wary of going into battle.

"Don't worry, I, Bai Ye, am not one of those untrustworthy and corrupt officials. We will provide you with plenty of food and supplies along the way. Those who survive will be allocated land, and those who die in battle will receive full compensation."

The allure of the land ultimately triumphed over fear, and one after another, the garrison soldiers stepped forward.

The required number of troops was quickly gathered, and Shirano ordered them to set sail.

More than 600 people were divided into more than a dozen Fujianese ships. After a period of time, Baiye had already cultivated a large number of "loyal sailors" on the Ryukyu Island by assimilating and absorbing the 36 surnames of the Fujianese.

Each ship was also equipped with a "navigator" who could use a sextant, named the navigator, who was in charge of the navigation. These people were all members of the Bai family and loyal servants who had served them for many years.

However, these navigators were not qualified to manage the vessels, and the captains, including Shirayuki, were selected from experienced sailors. They did not know how to use a sextant, nor did they possess the ability to determine other directions.

This separates ship management from navigation, minimizing the possibility of ship mutiny and escape.

At the same time, each ship also had a temporary "fire captain" assigned to its garrison soldiers, thus allowing the crew, sailors, and passengers to check and balance each other.