Ming East India Company

After completing his business agreement with Tokugawa Ieyasu, Hakuno stayed in Edo as a guest of honor, partly to fulfill his purchase agreement with Tokugawa Ieyasu and partly to wait for the northeast monsoon to arrive on his return voyage.

During this time, Shirano's entire fleet also went ashore. Tokugawa Ieyasu treated Shirano very well, not only giving him five servants but also gifting him several dozen kilograms of pufferfish.

Shirano ordered the servants to be sent to the kitchen to chop wood and boil water for the entire fleet, while Chouyu brought out a large pot to share with all the crew members.

The crew, who were used to being whipped, were rarely seen to be so generous by their ship owner, and they were all moved to tears by Shirayuki's generosity.

Shirano also ordered everyone to engage in a large-scale procurement.

Ryukyu was resource-poor, and large livestock, ironware, saltpeter, armor, cannons, and even national treasures were all scarce resources.

Shirono himself wandered around, trying to find out if there were any goods in the East that could be used by Ryukyu.

"Feng the Donkey, don't think you can do whatever you want just because you've been with the boss for a long time. I, Zhao Zhengshi, won't tolerate you."

"You little brat, you haven't done anything to help the master, so what right do you have to lecture me? Back when I was fighting the Japanese pirates with General Qi, you were probably nowhere to be found!"

"Where are you? This is unacceptable. The master has explicitly forbidden the indiscriminate insult of women, yet you, as the commander of the army, have led the way in violating this rule..."

"What kind of insult is it for me to buy a woman and bring her home? I didn't force her or cheat her. You're just jealous of my status with the boss and deliberately picking a fight!"

Bai Ye, who was "strolling" in the mall, was awakened by a familiar noise. He turned around and saw Zhao Zhengshi, the newly promoted captain of the fleet, arguing with Feng Luzi.

Zhao Zhengshi was a captain from one of the thirty-six surnames of Fujian. After Bai Ye led his fleet ashore, fearing that his men would become restless and uncontrollable, he appointed Zhao Zhengshi as the temporary military judge to manage all the people who had landed.

Seeing Bai Ye approach, Zhao Zhengshi and Feng Luzi hurriedly came forward to bow. Before Bai Ye could even ask a question, Zhao Zhengshi rushed over to complain:

"Master, this Feng the Donkey has violated your prohibition against arbitrarily insulting women and engaging in prostitution. Violators will be punished according to the severity of the offense. Now he is stubbornly denying it. Please make the decision."

Bai Ye looked at Feng Luzi with a cold gaze:

"Is what he said true?"

Feng the Donkey felt a little guilty:

"No, no, I bought her to take home as a concubine..."

It turned out that after Feng Luzi came ashore, Baiye recognized his skill in judging horses and asked him to go and buy some horses or livestock for Ryukyu.

As a result, Feng the Donkey somehow ended up at the human market. Looking at the rows of beautiful young girls, Feng the Donkey couldn't help but have a wicked thought, so he spent money to buy two girls for his "enjoyment".

The two people who went out with him followed suit and each bought one to take back to their lodgings...

Based on the lesson learned from the previous raids on Kyushu where the crew made mistakes because of women, Shirano issued a strict order forbidding the crew from having any affairs with Japanese women.

Firstly, to prevent them from getting carried away and forgetting their duties; secondly, lust is a dangerous thing, and since Shirano's fleet is currently in Tokugawa territory, if any conflicts arise because of women, Shirano himself will not be able to handle the situation.

Feng Luzi was clearly trying to skirt the rules this time. However, Zhao Zhengshi found out and decided to consider Feng Luzi's seniority and have him return the person voluntarily, as if nothing had happened.

To everyone's surprise, Feng the Donkey was completely ungrateful, and the two ended up arguing.

After hearing this, Bai Ye's face darkened:

"Feng the Donkey, after I went ashore, did I issue any orders forbidding anyone from insulting women or engaging in prostitution with Japanese women? Are you upholding military law or just trying to be clever?"

Knowing how strict Bai Ye was with military law, Feng Luzi realized something was wrong and quickly knelt down with the other two, begging for mercy.

Shirono let out a long sigh:

"Zhao Zhengshi, according to military law, how should this be carried out?"

Zhao Zhengshi was in a dilemma:

"Master, according to the previous agreement, anyone who insults or solicits prostitutes with Japanese women will be punished with twenty strokes of the military rod for the first offense, fifty strokes for the second offense, and beheaded for the third offense."

However, General Feng's violation of the law does not strictly meet any of the criteria listed above. Therefore, we respectfully request the Master to make the final decision.

Shirano looked up and glanced at him:

"Take Feng Luzi out and give him twenty lashes. Confiscate the Japanese women he bought. The other two will be spared punishment. Buy back the Japanese women they bought at the original price; they cannot remain in their hands."

Everyone present was stunned. What kind of method was Bai Ye using?

Feng the Donkey was so angry that his face turned red:

"I refuse to accept this. If the master says I have violated military law, I will accept the punishment without hesitation, even if it means chopping off my head. But for the same mistake, I am the only one being punished. I, Feng the Donkey, refuse to accept this."

Baiye said:

"Strictly speaking, the three of them did not violate military law. Although they were trying to be clever, there is no punishment without explicit legal provisions. I cannot punish them arbitrarily."

However, Feng is my confidant and a senior general in my army. He should actively uphold military law instead of taking the lead in trying to be clever.

For ordinary soldiers and crew members, the scope of punishment cannot be arbitrarily expanded. The loopholes in military law are the fault of those who formulated it, and cannot be used to punish ordinary soldiers.

Bai Ye turned his gaze to Feng Luzi:

"I, Bai Ye, have always treated my brothers with a clear distinction between merit and demerit. For my trusted confidants, I will reward them handsomely for their merits and punish them severely for their mistakes."

"I generously rewarded you for your meritorious service during your previous campaign against Ryukyu, but now that you've made a mistake, you deserve double the punishment."

After listening, Feng Luzi was still unconvinced, but he couldn't come up with a reason for it for a while.

After Bai Ye finished speaking, he turned to look at Zhao Zhengshi:

"What are you waiting for? Execute!"

Zhao Zhengshi quickly pulled Feng Luzi along to carry out the task.

Soon, the screams of Feng Luzi being beaten with military sticks could be heard in the distance.

After what had happened, Shiro lost all interest in shopping. He returned with his guards to the residence that Tokugawa Ieyasu had arranged for him in Edo.

After dinner, Bai Ye ordered someone to "invite" Feng Luzi over.

Feng Luzi was beaten with a military stick, his buttocks were bruised and so badly that he couldn't even sit down and could only stand to receive Bai Ye's "lecture".

Bai Ye looked at Feng Luzi, who was still unconvinced, and said with a smile:

"What, you still think you've been wronged?"

Feng, who could never hold his tongue, simply started talking:

"The boss said I violated military law, and I admit it. But I just don't understand why the boss is so strict. I've seen General Qi organize his troops before when I was in Qi Family Army, and he wasn't this strict."