Chapter 650: The Position of Shogun

"But His Majesty today dares to do it. At this point, there are some things I can tell you." Fang Zhenghua looked at Zheng Zhilong and said with a hint of mystery: "This time I came out with the Imperial Navy, besides serving as military supervisor, there is another matter I need to handle. This is a task His Majesty entrusted to me. Apart from you, I have not told anyone else."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong immediately grew tense.

In this day and age, knowing too many secrets was hardly good news—especially for someone of his standing. Worst case, he might end up quietly silenced.

Zheng Zhilong was worried.

"Um, Eunuch, if it's not convenient, maybe we don't have to say it?"

But Fang Zhenghua did not give him that chance, saying directly: "This time the Great Ming is attacking Japan. In a certain sense, we need to find someone who can work for the Great Ming and enfeoff him as the new Shogun."

Having said that, Fang Zhenghua looked at Zheng Zhilong.

In this matter, the Emperor of the Great Ming had very clear ideas and had formulated a very thorough plan. Few people in the Staff Office knew about this matter, and Fang Zhenghua was one of those in the know.

Who is Japan's Emperor right now?

It is Empress Meishō—an emperor who is a little girl of seven years old.

According to the Great Ming's intelligence, the original Emperor was Emperor Go-Mizunoo.

The Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu actually sent his wet nurse, Lady Kasuga, to have an audience with the Emperor. Because Lady Kasuga held no office or rank yet went to see the Emperor (Lady Kasuga's adoptive brother was the court noble Sanjōnishi Sanetaka, her father was Saitō Toshimitsu, a retainer of Akechi Mitsuhide, and her former husband was the daimyo Inaba Masashige), the Emperor considered it a great humiliation and felt that the Bakufu had no regard for his authority.

In anger, the Emperor abdicated without warning in favor of his imperial daughter, Princess Okiko, who was not yet even seven years old—she became Empress Meishō. This was done to cut off the Bakufu's ambition of placing its own grandson on the throne.

What the Great Ming's gaze was fixed upon was this very Empress Meishō.

As for the Shogun Tokugawa Iemitsu, he absolutely had to be eliminated. Who would replace him?

That was where Fang Zhenghua needed to find someone.

And Japan's Empress Meishō would marry one of the Great Ming's princes. One day in the future, the child of those two would become the ruler of Japan.

The lands of Japan would be enfeoffed by the new Bakufu to new domain lords. These domain lords would naturally be those willing to side with the Great Ming and work for it. In addition, there would also be members of the Great Ming's imperial clan.

Zhu Youxiao would select some promising young talents from the Great Ming's imperial clan and enfeoff them in Japan, making them the new domain lords of that land.

There were two benefits to doing this: first, naturally, it strengthened control over Japan; second, it provided an outlet for the Great Ming's imperial clan—being enfeoffed abroad.

Zhu Youxiao believed many would be willing to accept, since compared to being kept like pigs in the Great Ming, going out to become a true domain lord was quite attractive.

After a few more years, Zhu Youxiao would enfeoff Japan's Emperor as a Great Ming commandery prince, with status equal to the ruler of Joseon, and Japan would formally be brought under the Great Ming's rule.

After all, Empress Meishō's offspring would carry Zhu Youxiao's bloodline, so a Prince's title would be perfectly natural.

On the Joseon side, if the previous plan did not work, this method could also be considered.

In short—your country is mine, your land is mine, everything of yours is mine.

Fang Zhenghua knew all these things, but he could not tell Zheng Zhilong.

"The Great Ming needs a Shogun who is close to the Great Ming. This time I am willing to go with you to Hirado precisely because of your connections. If you can persuade the lord of Hirado to agree, the Great Ming is willing to support him and make him the new Shogun."

With a peaceful smile on his face, Fang Zhenghua said: "You can tell him about this matter too."

"And you—if you pull this off, you too will become a domain lord in Japan. I won't promise too much, but at the very least you'll be given an island. Think it over for yourself."

"And your wife's family can also become domain lords, as long as they render sufficient merit."

Upon hearing this, Zheng Zhilong's face was full of shock.

He had never imagined the Great Ming was planning to use such a method.

This was a plan for long-term occupation!

He hadn't been able to figure out before why the Great Ming was attacking Japan—what was the point? What was the benefit?

Now it seemed they intended to completely destroy Japan. As for the newly installed Shogun, that would be nothing but a puppet, with no real authority to decide anything at all.

But puppet or not, it was still the Shogun. That was a very great temptation.

Zheng Zhilong looked at Fang Zhenghua and said respectfully: "Thank you, Eunuch, for telling me the truth. I understand this matter now. I will do my utmost and absolutely will not let you down!"

Nodding, Fang Zhenghua said with a smile: "Do the job well. Once it is accomplished, your rewards will certainly not be lacking. His Majesty is an emperor who rewards and punishes fairly. The benefits you can obtain will far exceed your imagination."

"Thank you, Eunuch." Zheng Zhilong said once more.

The two then proceeded to discuss some details.

The fleet advanced very quickly and soon arrived at the outskirts of Hirado Island, where they immediately encountered the warships of the Hirado domain.

Seeing an acquaintance standing on the warship opposite, Zheng Zhilong hurriedly said with a smile: "So it's Matsuo."

Zheng Zhilong had not expected that the one who came would actually be Matsuo Tsunehito.

This man was the trusted confidant of the lord of Hirado and could be counted as someone on his own side. Given his position, there was no way he would be out on patrol. Now that he had come, had something happened this morning?

Matsuo Tsunehito likewise had not expected to see Zheng Zhilong here, and his face was full of puzzlement. Still, he said: "So it's Zheng Zhilong. I didn't think it would be you. What business do you have coming back this time? Had I known it was you, I would have notified your younger brother."

Zheng Zhilong had two younger brothers, one named Zheng Zhihu and the other Zheng Zhibao. The three brothers could be said to have built their careers together.

Here in Hirado, Zheng Zhilong's younger brother Zheng Zhihu remained, while his other younger brother Zheng Zhibao was currently in Taiwan.

"It's been quite a while since I last saw him." Zheng Zhilong said with a smile.

From the moment Matsuo Tsunehito had laid eyes on Zheng Zhilong, his gaze had not left Fang Zhenghua.

The reason was simple—this man stood out far too much, and his attire was quite unusual.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Matsuo Tsunehito cut straight to the point and asked: "Zheng, who is this person?"

"A guest from the Great Ming." Zheng Zhilong said with a smile: "He wishes to see our domain lord."

"Are those ships outside the Great Ming's ships?" Matsuo Tsunehito asked with a frown.

Being confined to one place for a long time makes time seem to pass slowly.

In the last war with the Great Ming during the Wanli era, many old men had died, and many were still alive. But for many of Japan's men of insight, that had been a very great defeat.

How powerful the Bakufu had been back then—strong soldiers and mighty horses. Under such circumstances, they had wanted to strike at Joseon, expand their living space, leave the islands and seize the continent. And after taking Joseon, they would attack the Great Ming and establish a great empire spanning all of Asia.

That plan had originally been proposed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and they had indeed gone to carry it out. Unfortunately, they could not defeat the Great Ming; they failed and retreated back to their homeland. That had been a very severe blow to Japan.

In fact, since ancient times Japan had never stopped trying to expand its living space abroad.

During the Tang dynasty they had tried once, and the result was that they were defeated by Liu Rengui at Baekgang, and their backbone was broken in one stroke.

The same happened during the Wanli era—Japan was beaten until it did not know what to do.

It wasn't until the Second World War, when Japan grew powerful, that it once again recalled its dream of a great empire.

It conquered Joseon, conquered China, and sought to establish a pan-Asian empire—but unfortunately, it failed once more.

This time, toward the arrival of the Ming delegation, Matsuo Tsunekazu harbored very deep hostility.

His father had died in that war during the Wanli era, and when his father died, he died with his eyes open in regret, because the dream of a great empire had been shattered.

How could Matsuo Tsunekazu possibly feel any goodwill toward people of the Great Ming?

It's all your fault—my father not only died, but died with his eyes open in regret.

Although Zheng Zhilong was a man of the Great Ming, they were all the same kind of people—all pirates—so that made things different.

"Zheng-kun, isn't it inappropriate to bring people from the Ming court back here?" Matsuo Tsunekazu looked at Zheng Zhilong and said with a grave expression.

Zheng Zhilong's face also darkened.

He had claimed to have great face and great connections, yet he was stopped right at the gate—where was the face? Where were the connections?

Zheng Zhilong said directly: "Whether to see or not to see—that doesn't seem to be your call, does it?"

Matsuo Tsunekazu gave Zheng Zhilong a deep look and said: "Zheng-kun, I misspoke. I'll lead the way for you; please come in."

Zheng Zhilong of this era was simply too powerful—not to mention having the support of the Great Ming, even without it, Matsuo Tsunekazu could not afford to offend him.

With his mighty navy and incomparable wealth, even Japan lacked confidence when facing Zheng Zhilong, especially a mere single daimyo. And Matsuo Tsunekazu wasn't even a daimyo.

Fang Zhenghua glanced at Zheng Zhilong, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes, along with a touch of gravity.

Zheng Zhilong's strength exceeded his imagination, but there was one thing he hadn't anticipated—that the man before him would harbor such intense hostility toward him. That was abnormal.

Under such circumstances, achieving results in the negotiations would likely prove somewhat difficult.

But Fang Zhenghua didn't take it too much to heart. The situation before him was what it was—if talks could succeed, then talk; if they failed, then fight. It didn't matter. There was no need to overthink it; his own life and death had long been cast aside.

Fang Zhenghua was not concerned in the slightest. Before undertaking this mission, he had already possessed such awareness and made such preparations—it was impossible for his state of mind not to be calm.

The group's ship continued forward, finally docking at Hirado Island.

Zheng Zhilong smiled at Fang Zhenghua and said: "Gonggong, shall we disembark?"