King Luhuang of the Ming Dynasty: My father, Ming Taizu

"Of course. I have heard the name of Oda Nobunaga like thunder in my ears! It's a pity that he was too impatient and wanted to unify the world. In the end, he ended up with his head and body separated. What a pity, what a pity!"

Hu Weiyong shook his head, looking heartbroken.

Upon hearing this, Kujo Masataka and others were all shocked.

From what Hu Weiyong said, it seems that the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty does not like ambitious people?
Hu Weiyong put down his wine glass and glanced at Kujo Masataka and the others. Seeing that they all looked thoughtful, he was secretly happy, knowing that his plan had worked, so he continued:

"To be honest with you, my Lords, the current emperor is a man of great talent and wisdom, and his achievements in civil and military affairs far surpass those of previous emperors. He is not easy to talk to. If you want the emperor to let you go this time, I'm afraid it will be as difficult as ascending to heaven!"

Upon hearing this, Kujo Masataka and the others were immediately horrified, and one of the samurai couldn't help but ask:

"This...what should we do? Did we come here for nothing?"

"That's not the case. As long as you are willing to show enough sincerity, I may be able to say a few good words for you in front of the emperor."

As Hu Weiyong spoke, he looked meaningfully at Kujo Masataka and others.

Kujo Masataka and others immediately understood what Hu Weiyong meant. They looked at each other, with determination in their eyes.

They had not intended to return empty-handed this time when they came to the Ming Dynasty. Since Hu Weiyong was willing to help them, they naturally could not be stingy.

"Mr. Prime Minister, as long as you can help us achieve our wish, we are willing to pay any price!"

As Kujo Masataka said this, he took out a huge night-shining pearl from his arms and presented it with both hands.

This night-shining pearl was the most precious gift among their trip and was originally intended to be presented to the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.

Now it seems that I can only use it to please Hu Weiyong first.

"Hahaha, no problem, no problem! As long as you have this intention, I will naturally do my best."

Hu Weiyong took the night pearl and the smile on his face became even brighter.

Kujo Masataka and others were overjoyed to see Hu Weiyong being so "sensible" and took out the treasures they had brought from their bosoms.

All kinds of treasures were shining attractively in the dim candlelight.
Pearls the size of pigeon eggs, crystal clear jade bracelets, and exquisitely crafted golden Buddha statues...

Hu Weiyong was dazzled by what he saw and his mouth was almost shut.

Hu Weiyong coughed calmly, glancing at the treasures on the table from the corner of his eye. His heart was filled with joy, but his face was full of embarrassment:

"Mr. Envoy, this... this is too valuable. I cannot accept it!"

"You are joking, Prime Minister. This is just a small gift. It is not a sign of respect. Please accept it!"

As Kujo Masataka spoke, he winked and the samurai beside him immediately understood and carried a heavy box in front of Hu Weiyong.

"What's in here..." Hu Weiyong asked even though he knew the answer, but he couldn't hide the greed in his eyes.

"Mr. Prime Minister, here is 50,000 taels of silver. It is a small token of our appreciation. Please accept it!"

Kujo Masataka lowered his voice, as if afraid that others would hear him.

Fifty thousand taels of silver!
Hu Weiyong took a breath of cold air. This was a huge sum of money!

He suppressed his excitement and said calmly, "Mr. Envoy, what are you doing? As an official appointed by the court, how can I accept bribes?"

"Prime Minister, you misunderstood. This is not a bribe, but a token of our appreciation. We came here this time not only to hope that the emperor would show some leniency, but also to hope to have everlasting friendship with the Ming Dynasty and to pay tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year to show our sincerity."

"Pay tribute every year?" Hu Weiyong's mind moved. This was a good idea. If the Japanese pirates paid tribute to the Ming Dynasty every year, wouldn't he be able to make a fortune from it?
Thinking of this, Hu Weiyong finally smiled. He patted Kujo Masataka on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"My Lord Envoy, I understand your intentions. Don't worry, I will convey your intentions to the Emperor. As for how the Emperor will decide, I cannot influence that."

"Thank you very much, Prime Minister!" Upon hearing this, Kujo Masataka and others were overjoyed and stood up to toast Hu Weiyong to express their gratitude.

After three rounds of drinks, Kujo Masataka and others stood up to say goodbye. Hu Weiyong personally saw them out of the mansion. Looking at their receding backs, a sly smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

Back in the study, Hu Weiyong couldn't wait to open the box containing 50,000 taels of silver.

Looking at the white silver, his eyes flashed with greed.

He knew in his heart that the Japanese pirates' ambitions would never be eliminated, and their coming here was just a temporary measure.

But what does it matter?

As long as I can profit from it, that's enough!

Thinking of this, a sinister smile appeared on Hu Weiyong's face.

He decided to make good use of the problem of Japanese pirates to consolidate his power and trample all those who opposed him under his feet!

"Someone come here!" Hu Weiyong shouted to the outside of the door.

"Master, what do you want?" A middle-aged man who looked like a butler walked in and asked with a bow.

"You go and check for me! Find out which officials in the capital have been secretly impeaching me recently!" Hu Weiyong said in a grim tone with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

The butler's heart trembled, he knew that the master was going to get serious.

"Yes, sir, I'll do it right away!" The butler did not dare to be negligent and bowed and retreated quickly.

……

The next morning, all the officials paid homage in the Golden Palace in a solemn atmosphere.

The Japanese pirate envoy Kujo Masataka knelt again in the center of the hall and tearfully told Zhu Yuanzhang about the "tragic experience" of the Japanese pirates. He also expressed his willingness to pay tribute of 100,000 taels of silver and 10,000 pieces of silk to the Ming Dynasty every year in order to ask the Celestial Empire to withdraw its troops.

"Your Majesty, we have come from afar across the ocean to pay tribute. We only ask Your Majesty to show mercy and let us, the Japanese pirates, live!"

After Kujo Masataka finished speaking, he deliberately kowtowed several times, his forehead was bleeding, and he seemed to be sincere and heartfelt.

The civil servants were whispering to each other.

"These Japanese pirates are quite sensible and are willing to pay tribute every year. With such generous conditions, the emperor should agree, right?"

"Yes, the emperor is kind and will not embarrass them anymore."

Zhu Yuanzhang sat on the dragon throne, watching Kujo Masataka's performance coldly without saying a word.

This kid, does he really think he is a three-year-old child who is so easy to fool?

"My dear ministers, what do you think?" Zhu Yuanzhang glanced at the civil and military officials below and asked in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, I think that since the Japanese pirates have admitted their mistakes and are willing to pay tribute every year to show their submission, our Ming Dynasty should be based on benevolence and justice and agree to their request."

"I second your proposal! The Japanese pirates are far away overseas. It is not a long-term solution to continue to engage in aggressive warfare. It is better to accept their tribute to show the magnanimity of our Celestial Empire."

The civil servants all stood up to express their agreement. After all, in their opinion, the best strategy is to defeat the enemy without fighting.

Zhu Yuanzhang did not speak, but turned his gaze to the row of generals, only to find that they were all silent, just looking at Tang He who was standing at the head of the generals.

Tang He was a founding hero and had been on the battlefield for many years. He knew the dangers of war and understood the principle of not pursuing a desperate enemy.

However, he understood Zhu Yuanzhang's temper better. At this time, if anyone dared to say the word of retreat, it would be like hanging himself - he was unwilling to live long enough.

"Tang He, what do you think?" Zhu Yuanzhang directly called out. Tang He stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Majesty, I think this matter needs to be considered in the long run."

"Oh? What's the long-term plan?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked with interest.

Tang He paused and said:

"Your Majesty, it was His Royal Highness Prince Lu who led the troops to Japan this time. Now that we have won a great victory, we naturally have to ask His Royal Highness Prince Lu for his opinion on the terms of the peace talks."

Tang He's words were flawless. He neither directly opposed the peace talks nor cleverly passed the buck to Zhu Tan who was far away in Japan.

Zhu Yuanzhang was silent for a moment, nodded, and said, "Tang He is right. Let's leave it at that for now. I'm dismissing the court!"

……

In the imperial study, Zhu Yuanzhang looked at the map in his hand with a frown.

"Your Majesty, are you still worried about the Japanese pirates?"

"Well, tell me, what would the Tenth Master think?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

"In my opinion, His Royal Highness Prince Lu is kind-hearted and might actually agree to the pirates' request."

"Humph, kind-hearted? If he was really that easy to talk to, he wouldn't have punished those corrupt officials to death in Yingtian Prefecture!"

Zhu Yuanzhang snorted coldly and said:

"Pass on my order and have someone rush 800 miles to deliver the pirates' conditions to Japan. Let Biaoer handle it himself!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

……

Japan, Hakata Port.

Zhu Tan stood on the beach, looking at the rough sea, with a myriad of thoughts in his mind.

At this moment, a soldier walked over quickly and reported to Zhu Tan: "Your Highness, there is a letter from the capital!"

Zhu Tan took the letter, opened it, and his expression suddenly became solemn.

"What's wrong, Your Highness?" Lan Yu asked hurriedly when he saw Zhu Tan's strange expression.

"Read it yourself..." Zhu Tan handed the letter to Lan Yu.

Lan Yu took the letter and read it carefully. He suddenly became furious and threw the letter to the ground, shouting:
"These damned Japanese pirates actually dare to put forward conditions! Your Highness, I will lead my troops back and kill them without a single piece of armor left!"

Zhu Tan's face was not angry, but instead showed a hint of playful smile. He took the letter from Lan Yu, smoothed it slowly, and said:
"Lan Yu, you are still too impulsive."

"Your Highness! Can we swallow this?" Lan Yu raised his thick eyebrows and said in a muffled voice.

"Who said we have to swallow this?" Zhu Tan raised his lips and revealed a cold smile. "My soldiers fought bloody battles and finally conquered Japan. How can we be tricked back by a few soft words?"

As he spoke, he slammed the letter on the table and sneered:
"This Kujo Masataka really thinks I'm a rookie who just started out. He wants to use this clumsy trick to delay time. What wishful thinking!"

"Then your Highness means..."

Although Lan Yu was impatient, he was not a stupid person. After hearing what Zhu Tan said, he guessed something in his heart and asked tentatively.

Zhu Tan's eyes flashed with a gleam of light. He walked to the window, looked at the magnificent sea in the distance, and said in a deep voice:
"The Japanese pirates are cunning and fickle. If you can bow down today, you can come back tomorrow. Rather than leaving troubles behind, it is better to..."

He paused, turned around abruptly, and a murderous look flashed in his eyes, "Once and for all!"

Upon hearing this, Lan Yu clapped his hands excitedly:

"Your Highness is wise! I have long disliked these Japanese pirates. If we don't completely subdue them, they will become a great trouble in the future!"

Zhu Tan walked to the desk, picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and began to write on the letter paper in a flamboyant manner.

His writing was sharp, and every word seemed to carry a tremendous force, deeply imprinted on the paper.

"Lan Yu, pass the order down, the whole army will rest for three days. After three days, I will personally lead the army to destroy the Japanese pirates' lair!"

He decided to execute first and report later!

To avoid any trouble in the court!

After all, Zhu Tan knew very well how wicked those civil officials were.

"Order!"

Lan Yu took the order excitedly, as if he saw the upcoming victory.

……

Three days later, warships gathered in Hakata port, flags covered the sky, and the murderous Ming army was ready to go.

Zhu Tan was wearing golden armor, a phoenix-wing helmet on his head, and a sword hanging from his waist. He stood majestically on the flagship, like a god descending from heaven.

He looked at the vast sea in front of him, without any fear in his heart, only a burning desire to fight.

"set off!"

At the command, the warships all sailed out of the port and headed towards the Japanese pirates' lair - Wangjing!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The deafening roar of cannons resounded across the sea and sky. Huge shells, with long tails of flame, slammed heavily into the Japanese pirate camp on Iki Island with destructive force.

For a moment, the county town near Wangjing was filled with flames, screams, and explosions, like hell on earth.

The Japanese pirates had never seen such a scene before, and they immediately became confused, crying for their parents and fleeing in all directions.

"kill!"

Taking advantage of the Japanese pirates' low morale, Zhu Tan gave an order and the Ming soldiers, who had long been unable to contain themselves, rushed to Iki Island like tigers descending from the mountains and engaged in a desperate battle with the Japanese pirates.

The Ming army was battle-hardened and well-trained, and their weapons were as powerful as iron. In comparison, the Japanese pirates' weapons and equipment were simply vulnerable.

The battle became almost a one-sided massacre. Wherever the Ming army went, the Japanese pirates threw away their armor and weapons and fled in panic.

Zhu Tan led the charge, the sword in his hand was like a poisonous snake, every time he attacked, he would take the life of a Japanese pirate. Wherever he passed, he left behind corpses, and the blood dyed the ground under his feet red.

In less than an hour, the battle was declared over. Except for a few lucky ones who managed to escape, all the 5,000 Japanese pirates were annihilated, and Iki Island was successfully captured by the Ming army.

"Your Highness is mighty! May the Ming Dynasty win!"

Looking at the scene of corpses everywhere, the Ming army soldiers shouted in unison and their morale was high.

Zhu Tan stood on a high place, looking into the distance with a deep and determined gaze. He knew that this was just the beginning, and the real challenge was still to come.

Wang Jing will soon face his own judgment!
Along the way, the Ming army was unstoppable and successively conquered several lines of defense set up by the Japanese pirates and approached Wangjing.

The small Japanese pirate towns along the way, upon seeing the Ming army's flags, all surrendered and no one dared to resist anymore.

Zhu Tan continued to lead his army towards Wangjing. (End of this chapter)