Rule Strange: Urban Legends That Don't Exist

Chapter 231 The Burnt Past ([-]): Twenty Thousand Miles at Sea
Chen Yan already knew about it from his father.

He was silent for a moment, but still asked: "What happened in the academy...?"

The girl looked out the car window at the rapidly retreating fields under the dark clouds: "Brother wants to know the cause and effect, or is it just something that happened in the academy?"

Chen Yan looked at the girl's "mature" performance, and said in a deep voice, "Causes and consequences."

The girl said, "That started a long time ago."

She looked at the gradually thickening clouds outside the window, waved her hand to catch a few raindrops drifting in from the train window, and her voice gradually slowed down.

"The development of things is a cyclical upward process from quantitative change to qualitative change, and then to new quantitative changes."

"The Chaotang of Tianshen State has been ill for a long time, and a large amount of decay has accumulated. Until more than 20 years ago, it has provided sufficient possibilities for the shocking qualitative changes in the future."

"It all started with an imperial sailor named William Adams..."

More than 20 years ago, William Adams, an imperial sailor from the other side of the world, went through a 19-month sailing journey, after facing typhoons, dysentery, scurvy, cannibals in supply places...and serious food problems , crossed the largest ocean in the world, and drifted to Usuki in Byogo, Kyushu, the country of Sakura.

During the journey that seemed so far away that it seemed endless, the five ships they had when they first set out to sea—the Hope, the Mercy, the Faith, the Loyalty, and the Good News—were reduced from five to one.

The crew who boarded the ship at the Imperial Harbor was also reduced from 110 at the time of departure to 24.

The remaining 24 people gathered on the Mercy, and after consuming the last dried lemon, they finally saw land.

Things did not end so smoothly.

When they landed on Kyushu Island, they clashed with the local aborigines of Sakura Country, and 15 people were killed as a result.

The remaining 9 people were outnumbered and gave up resistance. All the cannons, matchlock guns and ammunition on board were handed over. The crew almost lost all ability to resist. The ship was detained and the crew was eventually imprisoned.

At that time, Toyotomi Hideyori, the military commander of Kyushu Island and also possessed the status of "Public Secretary", had the power of life and death of all crew members including William Adams.

Their luck was extremely bad - the missionaries of the chanting group who arrived in Kyushu Island, Sakura Country a few years earlier than them, accused them of being pirates and demanded that Toyotomi Hideyori execute them immediately.

Things ended here, and finally there was a miraculous turning point.

Toyotomi Hideyori's political opponent, Tokugawa Ieyasu, discovered the existence of William Adams and others.

Tokugawa Ieyasu forcibly cut off his beard and ordered William Adams and his party to be escorted to Osaka.

Not long after, William Adams was personally interviewed by Ieyasu Tokugawa.

After William Adams roughly stated their experiences across most of the world, it aroused great interest of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

He judged what William Adams had said to be true, based on what he had seen and heard.

Maybe it’s because Tokugawa Ieyasu has a pirate’s heart, or maybe he really appreciates William Adams’ shipbuilding skills and his poor knowledge of mathematics. In any case, he gave his kindness to William Adams.

The two had a pleasant exchange that lasted many days.

Although William Adams was just a punk before sailing, after roaming around half of the world, his eloquence has been tempered quite well, and his understanding of the human heart has also improved several levels.

A few days later, with his flowery eloquence and knowledge beyond ordinary people, he successfully gained the trust of Tokugawa Ieyasu.

Tokugawa Ieyasu promised to help him and returned the Mercy and weapons to them.

When the crew heard the news, they were ecstatic and looking forward to it.

But Tokugawa Ieyasu did not immediately fulfill his promise.

At that time, the Toyotomi family who was in charge of Sakura Country had internal conflicts that were about to erupt.

Following the death of the Minister of the Taizheng, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who was in charge, Ishida Mitsunari, who was in charge of "Practice", had secretly contacted several other Sakura country [big bosses], preparing for a full-scale conflict with Tokugawa Ieyasu.

William Adams and other crew members waited hard, but after a few months, what they waited for was a war that lasted for three full years.

During the long wait, the crew could not wait for the ship from the empire, and the Mercy was covered in bruises.

Without sufficient supplies to get home, they couldn't set sail.

Some of the crew were desperate enough to force their way out with insufficient supplies, and bloody clashes broke out with other crew members as a result.

After the conflict, the few remaining people could not even operate the ship, let alone return home.

In the blink of an eye, three years have passed.

Three years later, Mercy, which has not been adequately maintained, finally lost the ability to sail on the sea due to disrepair.

It was also at this time that Tokugawa Ieyasu finally came to the news.

He gave the crew a sum of money to fend for themselves—except for William Adams.

In the second year after coming to Sakura Country, William Adams married Tokugawa Ieyasu's royal businessman, Magome Kanjieyu's daughter Axue, and they had a son and a daughter.

At this time, William Adams also had a Sakura country name——

Miura pressed the needle.

But William Adams was not willing to just stay in Sakura Country. He missed everything about the empire, including the early morning fog, the afternoon tea with the smell of goat, and the soot that covered the entire sky every morning——

He used to hate that thing very much, but today, he actually has a morbid nostalgia for those things.

But Tokugawa Ieyasu didn't let him go, he could only endure it.

Fortunately, forbearance is something he is very good at.

A few years later, he secretly used his dreams and money to buy some local crew members of the Sakura Country, and after collecting enough information, he sailed away from the port of the Sakura Country on a certain night that no one knew about.

He did not return to the empire.

He followed the ocean current all the way west, and landed at Gushang Port in Tianshen State.

When he set sail from Sakura Country, he took away a large amount of wealth from Tokugawa Ieyasu, some unspeakable strange items, and some exact information.

He firmly believes that he can make a lot of money in Tianshen State through these things - that amount of money is enough for him to become a wealthy businessman who has attracted the attention of everyone after returning to the empire!
The most indispensable thing in Tianshen State is people, which gave William Adams a huge boost. He bought some local speculators in Tianshen State without any effort and at a small cost.

He gave them some seeds, and told them that these were improved varieties, which produced more delicious fruits than the local ones.

He told them of the wonderful uses of the fruit, and taught them to use it for their purposes.

Taking advantage of their fear and superstition of ghosts and gods, he made a pact with them, let them make money for him, and promised them:
If one day they arrive in the empire, they can go to him, and at that time, he will let them see the [new world].

William Adams succeeded.

He not only got money, but also got a group of pious believers.

One of these believers was named Chen Changsheng.

　Let's not talk about the serious history, please read on, I will not let you down.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)