Chapter 651: Dragon and Tiger Brothers

Fang Zhenghua looked at Zheng Zhilong, nodded, and said, "Good." Together they disembarked from the ship.

At the dock, word had already spread back, and quite a few people were watching, seeming hesitant about Fang Zhenghua's arrival. In this regard, everyone was the same.

Fang Zhenghua and Zheng Zhilong waited at the dock for a while before someone came from the distance.

At the head was a burly man with a full, thick beard and a blade at his waist.

Upon seeing Zheng Zhilong, the bearded man's face immediately broke into a brilliant smile as he said, "Big brother."

Zheng Zhilong smiled and introduced him to Fang Zhenghua: "Your Excellency, this is my younger brother, Zheng Zhihu."

Looking Zheng Zhihu up and down, Fang Zhenghua smiled and said, "A truly valiant warrior indeed. Were he to join the army, he would surely become a fierce general on the battlefield."

Hearing this, Zheng Zhilong laughed and gestured to his brother, saying, "Come quickly and pay your respects to Eunuch Fang."

Walking up before Fang Zhenghua, Zheng Zhihu clasped his fists and said, "Greetings, Eunuch Fang."

Though Zheng Zhihu had no idea what had happened or why his big brother had brought back a eunuch, he still held great respect for his elder brother.

Over all these years, their family had grown their enterprise larger and larger under their big brother's leadership, until now they could be said to dominate the seas beyond.

Zheng Zhihu's trust in his big brother ran deep; though he didn't know why his brother was doing this, he was still willing to believe in him.

"Did your trip go smoothly, big brother?" Zheng Zhihu looked at Zheng Zhilong and asked with a smile.

"We'll talk about it when we get back." Zheng Zhilong waved his hand and said, "Next, we have a major undertaking ahead of us. If we pull it off, it will guarantee our family boundless wealth and honor."

Zheng Zhihu looked at his big brother, nodding in slight confusion.

But if his big brother said it was a big deal, then it certainly was a big deal — that had always been the way.

Zheng Zhihu said, "Let's go, then. We'll head back."

The group left the dock and soon arrived before a very spacious mansion.

This was Zheng Zhilong's residence.

Back in the day, when Zheng Zhilong was making his way in Japan, he caught the eye of the Matsuura clan, who granted him land at Chianbama in Kōnoura near Hirado (present-day Matsuura District, Nagasaki Prefecture, Chianbama) to build a new home, and also arranged his marriage to Tagawa Matsu, daughter of Tagawa Shichizaemon, a retainer of the Hirado domain.

This residence had been expanded and built upon the foundation of the original dwelling, and Zheng Zhilong's wife still lived here now.

As the group walked inside, the house immediately grew lively.

Zheng Zhilong ordered people to prepare food and drink, and meanwhile said to Fang Zhenghua beside him, "Your Excellency, you must be weary from the journey. Why not bathe and rest first, and tonight we'll hold a banquet to welcome you properly?"

Hearing this, Fang Zhenghua nodded and said with a smile, "That would be fine."

He understood that Zheng Zhilong needed time — needed private space to brief his younger brother and trusted confidants.

Naturally, Fang Zhenghua said nothing more and simply left.

"Thank you, Your Excellency." Zheng Zhilong quickly replied, letting out a sigh of relief.

Seeing his big brother's expression, Zheng Zhihu hurried over and asked, "Big brother, what on earth is going on? How did you end up mixed up with people from the Great Ming court — and a eunuch at that? We've never been on good terms with the court; those officials are all rotten to the core."

Glancing at his younger brother, Zheng Zhilong said helplessly, "That's where you're wrong. I came back this time because I have business to attend to, but there's also some news I can tell you first — it's rather important."

"Go ahead, big brother." Zheng Zhihu nodded, his expression turning serious as he looked at Zheng Zhilong, waiting for him to speak.

Zheng Zhilong didn't hide anything from his brother and said, "There's going to be a war here."

"What?" Zheng Zhihu stood up in disbelief, staring at Zheng Zhilong. "Who would dare attack this place? Surely not the Japanese shogunate turning against us?"

In Zheng Zhihu's view, they had no enemies in this region — the Joseon people were no match for them at all and could only be beaten into howling submission.

The only ones they truly had to fear were the Japanese shogunate. These past few years, relations hadn't been all that harmonious, and the two sides weren't of one mind — trouble could easily arise.

In recent years, Zheng Zhilong had been moving his base away from here precisely for that reason — to avoid being swallowed up by the Japanese.

Could the Japanese really be preparing to use force?

But the relocation wasn't complete yet — how could Zheng Zhihu not be anxious?

"Sit down. What's with all this carrying on?" Zheng Zhilong looked at Zheng Zhihu with irritation.

Though he sat down, Zheng Zhihu was still anxious and asked Zheng Zhilong directly, "Big brother, we can't just sit here. What time is this? No need to put on that act of keeping your composure while Mount Tai collapses before you."

"We should do whatever needs to be done — we have to take action. If we're going to run, then gather the men right away, take all our things, and pull out first. Later, we'll come back and settle accounts with those old bastards."

"If we're not running and we're going to fight, then tell the brothers we strike first to gain the upper hand. Take Hirado Island first, then figure out the rest. Once we've killed off all the Japanese, we brothers can just occupy the island outright — the other Japanese can't fly over the sea."

"Can you let me finish speaking?" Zheng Zhilong glared at his brother and said irritably, "You think it's that easy? If it were as easy as you say, that would be wonderful. This time it's not Japan attacking us — it's the joint forces of Great Ming and Joseon attacking Japan, and this place of ours is where the fighting will begin first."

"The joint forces of Great Ming and Joseon attacking Japan?" Zheng Zhihu said in utter disbelief. "Have they gone mad?"

"With Joseon's military strength, wouldn't coming here be suicide? And Great Ming — the emperor is far away on high mountains. For them to come all the way from Great Ming to attack Japan, over such a distance, how much money would that cost? What are they thinking?"

"Big brother, is this information reliable? Are you sure you're not being fooled?"

"Your big brother has already brought back a eunuch — what do you think?" Zheng Zhilong said with irritation. "It's true. Not only are they attacking Japan, they're going all out — they intend to occupy all of Japan."

"The Imperial Navy of Great Ming has already arrived — I ran into them on the way." With that, Zheng Zhilong recounted the whole story to his brother, then said, "Now do you understand? The Imperial Navy of Great Ming is formidable beyond measure. We have to make a choice."

"Is what you're saying really true, big brother?" Zheng Zhihu said hesitantly. "Is the Imperial Navy of Great Ming really that powerful?"

Zheng Zhilong nodded and said with some helplessness, "If it weren't that powerful, would your big brother have to be so humble and deferential?"

"Right now the seas outside are all blockaded by the Imperial Navy of Great Ming — there's no getting away even if we wanted to. Once war breaks out, things will get very messy, and this place will become a battlefield. At that point, neither advancing nor retreating will be possible."

"We can't very well join the Japanese in fighting Great Ming, can we? Setting aside whether we could win or not — could we even do such a thing? Would that be true to our own consciences?"

Zheng Zhibao glanced at his big brother, his face full of helplessness, and even more so, bewilderment.

Big brother, is it really okay for you to talk like that? Why does it sound so fake?

What do you mean "setting aside whether we could win or not"? How can you set that aside?

That's the whole point, isn't it?

If we can't win, then what the hell are we fighting for!

Zheng Zhihu still believed in his big brother's words — after all, his big brother had rich experience in naval warfare, having fought battles large and small more than once or twice, and this was the first time he'd ever been so hard-pressed.

Under such circumstances, one could see just how powerful the Imperial Navy of Great Ming truly was.

"But big brother, this won't be easy to manage." Zheng Zhihu said helplessly, "Even if we go and persuade them, they won't necessarily listen. The Hirado domain alone is hard enough to deal with, let alone other places. Hizen Province is even more hopeless."

"That's not necessarily so — where there's a will, there's a way." Zheng Zhilong said with a smile.

Although he didn't know what leverage his elder brother had secured, seeing how confident he looked, Zheng Zhihu also breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, it was good that his elder brother had confidence—at least he believed this matter could succeed. And when it came to judging the direction of a matter, his elder brother's ability far surpassed his own.

"There's still one more thing," Zheng Zhihu said directly. "What benefits can we get? If we submit to the Ming court, what can the court give us?"

"I think a lot of things are empty promises. If they're willing to give us the island of Taiwan, then we'll agree to them. I'll go talk to that Eunuch Fang—we don't want some island of Japan; rather, Taiwan Island would be better."

Zheng Zhilong thought it over, then nodded and said, "That is indeed a good idea."

In Zheng Zhilong's mind, he didn't agree with his younger brother's way of thinking. Some things couldn't be judged by benefits alone. Though his business was now large and profitable, drifting on the seas was ultimately no long-term solution.

As the saying goes, falling leaves return to their roots—one must eventually return to the mainland.

Becoming an official of the court, gaining benefits that could be passed down through generations—what a wonderful thing that would be?

Why must one drift on the seas, never knowing when death might come? Zheng Zhilong had always harbored this thought—he just hadn't found the opportunity.

Now that such an opportunity had presented itself, Zheng Zhilong naturally wouldn't let it slip away. He pondered how to handle the matter even better.

As for what his younger brother had said, that was also negotiable. Wasn't it good to obtain even more benefits?

"Alright, then this matter is settled." Zheng Zhihu nodded and said.

After the two brothers finished their discussion, Zheng Zhihu asked again, "Then where do we start? This matter won't be easy to handle—if we're not careful, we could bring disaster upon ourselves. We might end up dead before we even find any benefits."

"Don't worry, your elder brother never does anything without preparation." Zheng Zhilong smiled and patted his younger brother on the shoulder, saying, "I've already thought this through long ago. As long as we take it step by step, we're sure to gain even more benefits."

"Actually, I've always had an idea in my heart—if they won't do it, then I'll do it myself."