Nippon Yusen Kaisha

  (In the 29th year of Yongli, 14th year of Kangxi) Winter, October, Zheng Jing captured Zhangzhou and destroyed Huang Fangdu's home.

  After besieging Fuzhou for six months, Fang Du defended it with all his might. After several attacks failed to capture the city, they laid siege to it. (In October) On the sixth day of the first month, Fang Du's general Wu Shu surrendered the city. Fang Du was inspecting the North Gate when he heard the news, and in a panic, he jumped into a well at Kaiyuan Temple and died. Jing captured his generals Huang Yi, Cai Long, Zhu Wu, Zhang Ji, Dai Lin, Chen Ji, and Huang Guan, and killed them all. They dug up Huang's coffin, mutilated his corpse, beheaded Fang Du, and displayed it as a warning. None of Huang's relatives, regardless of age, were spared, and they were all slaughtered in the market to avenge the tomb's revenge.

  There were those who asked to destroy the tomb of Wu Zong, but he said: The crime stops at his body, what does it have to do with his ancestors! He did not permit it. At that time, Fang Tai went to Guang seeking aid, and met up with his brother Fang Shi leading troops from Guang into Tingzhou, also on this day they defeated Yongding County, hearing that Zhangzhou had fallen, he then plundered greatly before fleeing.

  At first, Wu Shu surrendered from the sea and was received by Huang Wenguang. Wenguang treated him very generously and before his death, he entrusted Wu Shu with his young son, saying: "My son is still young, please take good care of him!" However, when the siege of Zhangzhou lasted for a long time, Wu Shu said to his brother Wu Qian: "Although Wenguang treated me kindly, but he actually betrayed our former lord. Now the crown prince treats Fang Du generously, but Fang Du plots against him. How can I abandon justice for personal favors?" He then decided to surrender and was appointed as Pingxu General and later promoted to Ti Du, while Wu Qian became Zhongqi Zhen.

  "Min Hai Ji Yao"

  "Your Excellency, the Governor of Ogura Domain, previously our domain sent someone to retrieve the silver stored by Zheng Tai, but your side refused to allow it to be taken away on the grounds that there was no receipt. Today, we have brought the person who originally stored the silver with a receipt, and yet your side is again making excuses and procrastinating. Is it not true that you intend to disregard the long-standing friendship between our two countries and act unilaterally?"

  In the Nagasaki Tongwen Guan, Cai Zheng was sternly questioning two Japanese men in front of him with fake smiles. Due to Japan's deliberate obstruction, this was his fourth visit to Nagasaki. However, despite bringing the person in charge of storing silver for Zheng Tai in Japan and the deposit receipt, the greedy Japanese side did not show any sign of compromise.

  "Bang!" Zhang Hui's words were not yet finished, when Xie Zhida, the deputy envoy of this mission, slapped his palm on the tatami mat. "You think you can swallow our silver, what a big appetite! If you don't return it today, next time I'll bring warships to take it back. Believe it or not, I'll seal off Nagasaki and you won't be able to do any business at all."

  "Director Cai, Director Xie, don't be so angry."

  Chen Jiulun, a Chinese interpreter who sat behind the two Japanese men, hastily spoke up to defend himself. The so-called "Tongshang" was an intermediate link produced by the continuous expansion of trade between the shogunate and China, mostly played by Chinese immigrants in Japan.

  "The two gentlemen are also very helpless, and this matter has been delayed for a long time. Many people who have handled it have left their posts, and some have even passed away. Therefore, it is indeed difficult to clarify the situation, so please forgive us, forgive us."

  "What is this 'seeing the light' you speak of?" Cai Zheng sneered. "If not, then what are you waiting for? I have clear evidence and witnesses in my hands, yet you still refuse to admit it. How can we 'see the light'? Have you forgotten how our clan dominated the seas in the past because too much time has passed?"

  Cai Zheng had also reached his limit. The war between Fujian and Guangdong was ongoing, and silver was flowing out like water. Every place needed money, and if he didn't retrieve this batch of silver, Zhu Jin would probably have thoughts of swallowing it whole.

  "Stop wasting words, are you giving me the silver or not? Make it clear today."

  Two Japanese men whispered a few words and Chen Jiulian, who had received the master's instructions, frowned and asked: "What if we don't give it?"

  "If not, Lord Xie has already made it clear just now." Cai Zheng coldly looked at this sycophant. "After I return, I will persuade the lord to mobilize the main force of the prefecture to attack Nagasaki. At that time, our prefecture won't want this money either, and we'll leave it for you few people to rebuild Nagasaki."

  "Heh heh," Chen Jiulin chuckled a few times. "The war in the Central Plains has just begun, and your province is still deeply embroiled in Fujian and Guangdong. Do you have any remaining strength to send troops to Nagasaki?"

  "Hahaha!" In response to Chen Jiulin's disdainful questioning, Xie Zhida retorted with a burst of maniacal laughter. "I was wondering how the little Japanese had the audacity to swallow our silver, but it turns out... it turns out..." He glared at Chen Jiulin as he spoke. "To be honest with you, our main force is currently fighting in Fujian and Guangdong, but only the land army has been deployed, not the naval fleet. It would take just a word to summon them to Nagasaki." Chen Jiulin translated Xie Zhida's words for the two Japanese men, who whispered among themselves before speaking up. "What kind of nonsense is this?"

  "Thank you, sir, please calm down and don't lose the demeanor of an envoy from a superior country." Chen Jiulian intentionally emphasized the words "superior country", with a strong sarcastic tone. "As Lord Ryu said, back then, more than 200,000 Mongol-Yuan troops failed in their eastern campaign against Japan, what is there to fear from your humble naval forces? This kind of threat cannot intimidate the warriors of Great Japan."

  "Mr. Yanagi's courage is indeed impressive." Cai Zheng grabbed his deputy, who was about to jump up in anger, and instead praised his opponent for coming. "What a pity! When two countries go to war, there must be casualties. What if the Shogunate asks questions? Who will take responsibility? I wonder how Mr. Yanagi and Lord Omura will explain this to the Shogunate?"

  As soon as this was said, Chen Jiulin's face, which had just been full of pride, suddenly fell and he didn't know how to explain it to his master.

  Although Chen Jiulin's expression couldn't be seen, his unusual silence after the other person spoke made the two Japanese people aware of something being off, so they actively asked him. In response to the Japanese people's inquiry, Chen Jiulin replied with a humble and servile attitude. Having heard half of it, Ryūmō suddenly became enraged and stood up, turning around and leaving in a very impolite manner. Chen Jiulin immediately chased after him, while the daimyō known as ōmura shook his head and silently followed them out.

  "Is that it? Are they just going to leave us hanging like this?" Xie Zhida stared at Cai Zheng in shock. "Lord Cai, what do these two Japanese mean? Are they getting angry and flustered? Even if they are, they should at least leave a clear message. What is the meaning of this? It's neither here nor there, unclear and ambiguous. Are they treating us like monkeys?"

  "Thank you, sir. If I'm not mistaken, this matter should be settled." Cai Zheng, who had been anxious just a moment before, suddenly looked confident and composed. "Let's return to the inn. In one or two days, or at most three or four days, the Japanese will surely invite us back to hand over the goods. We won't disappoint the king's trust after all."

  "Ah! Is that it?!" Xie Zhida's mouth was agape, still somewhat disbelieving. "No way, the Japanese guy had such a smug face before, as if he didn't fear heaven or earth, and seemed to be itching to swallow our silver whole. How did things turn out so well? Is Lord Cai just being kind to us?"

  "Who will speak for me in front of the king if things don't go as planned?" Cai Zheng stood up and beckoned to Xie Zhida, who approached him with understanding. Lowering his voice, Cai Zheng continued, "Those Japanese may not fear heaven or earth, but what they do fear is the shogunate itself. I asked that Ryū Mokuryō where he was going earlier, and he didn't dare explain to the shogunate that it was because of his own personal gain that a war between two countries was sparked, so he became angry and left in a huff. Since Ryū understands that the matter of embezzling the domain's silver is no longer tenable, he naturally won't drag things out any further. Therefore, I think we'll see a resolution within a few days."

  ??”

  Cai Zheng's judgment was correct, and in less than two days, Chen Jiulin, who had been proud and arrogant, came to inform the Ming Zheng side with a sullen face that they could go to Tang Tong's place to accept Zheng Tai's inheritance. However, when the relevant personnel from the Ming Zheng side arrived at Tang Tong's place and checked the accounts sent by the Japanese side, Xie Zhida suddenly became furious.

  "It's clear that there were 400,000 taels of silver stored, how is it now? Now there are only 240,000 taels left, where did the remaining 160,000 taels go?"

  "There were only 240,000, when did we have 400,000?" Chen Jiulin responded indifferently. "If you want it, sign the contract; if not, that's fine too. We can't even get what we want from Zheng Mingjun (note: Zheng Tai's younger brother, who has surrendered to the Qing) anyway."

  "You scoundrel!" Seeing Chen Jiulian's behavior, Xie Zhida, who was already furious, couldn't take it anymore. He swung his hand and slapped Chen Jiulian, causing him to spin around in a circle three times. "How dare you embezzle the silver of Prince Yanping! Does your father not want to live? Fine, first let me give you a few punches from your grandfather!"

  "What do you want to do, guard!" Chen Jiulian shouted in terror. A team of Japanese ashigaru who had been prepared early on charged in with guns and swords, while the Ming Zheng side was not to be outdone. For a time, the translation office was filled with the sound of clashing weapons.

  "Put down your swords," Cai Zheng signaled to his men to put away their weapons, but a few young and foolish ones refused. Cai Zheng had no choice but to make it clear. "This is on someone else's turf, be careful not to suffer losses in front of everyone." After the Ming Zheng side sheathed their swords, Cai Zheng came before Chen Jiulang. "You're not letting them retreat, do you really want a bloody scene?" Chen Jiulang, who was trembling with fear, looked at Cai Zheng and saw that he was calm, so he slightly relaxed and ordered the Japanese to retreat. At this time, Cai Zheng asked, "The amount of money doesn't match, and we won't be able to explain when we return. Please ask Chen Tongshi to explain to the Japanese side."

  "Lord Cai, how can I put it," said Chen Jiulin with a worried expression. "Over the years, the Nagasaki Magistrate has changed several times, and this money has been here all along, inevitably borrowed by some, embezzled by others. It's not easy to leave so much behind, and a considerable part of it was just borrowed by Lord Liu from the Two Replacement House to make up for it, so don't be too particular about it, just consider it as a loss."

  As soon as Chen Jiulin finished speaking, Xie Zhida jumped up again: "What, they swallowed our money and we have to thank them, what kind of logic is this?"

  Cai Zheng stroked his short beard on his chin: "Is it because of the flood? This is a reason, but I'm not sure if the king will accept it."

  "That's all there is, the accounts are in disarray and the expenses don't add up." To get out of this situation, Chen Jiulin was willing to cooperate with anything. "But that's all the money there is."

  "In the feudal system, there are many expenses, having 240,000 is better than not having 240,000." Cai Zheng said this to explain to Xie Zhida and others, but also to convince himself. "Okay, bring paper and pen," the paper and pen were brought over, Cai Zheng beckoned with his hand. "Gong (Chun) sir, you are the one who received the silver in those years, come sign your name and stamp it!"