Chapter 661: Matsuura Dairo Is Scared Out of His Wits

"Have that Matsuura Dairo come over." Yu Zigao said directly.

His subordinates hurriedly replied, "Yes, Commander."

Wanting me to go over is impossible. Yu Zigao had made up his mind—regardless of the outcome, you come to me; if you don't come, I'll attack you.

Soon, the message was conveyed over.

Fang Zhenghua felt somewhat helpless, but he wanted to laugh.

Because the people nearby were scared out of their wits, especially Matsuura Dairo—the man was completely beside himself. As more and more of his subordinates returned, more and more news came in.

He also knew that not all of his men were cowards; some wanted to put up a fight. But facing the Great Ming's warships, they had no chance. The moment they tried to counterattack, the cannons would come at them. Their own cannons simply couldn't reach the Great Ming's warships.

The range was different, and the power was even more incomparable.

In his subordinates' words, if they were hit by the Great Ming's cannon fire, their own warships would basically be finished. And that was indeed the case—all wooden warships, facing the Great Ming's current firepower, had absolutely no power to resist.

After all, those were breech-loading cannons made with true explosives, with metal fixed ammunition—their power was absolutely far beyond imagination. Not to mention the even more powerful rocket projectiles; after being improved by the Great Ming's Hundred Crafts Institute, their power was even more extraordinary.

The Great Ming now used metal fixed ammunition for all its rockets—absolutely the pinnacle of tubular firearms, unmatched in this era. Long range, massive explosive power, carrying more gunpowder—somewhat like the rocket artillery of later generations, except without a guidance system, relying purely on firepower saturation.

Seeing that the communication on this side seemed to have ended, Matsuura Dairo came to Fang Zhenghua's side, his former pride long gone.

His confidence had been beaten out of him. Matsuura Dairo hastily bowed respectfully, legs together, hands at his sides, and said with a bow, "Eunuch Fang, may I ask what the Commander said?"

"The Commander wants to see you." Fang Zhenghua glanced at him and said, "He invites you onto the ship to talk. Do you have the guts to go?"

Hearing these words, Matsuura Dairo truly did hesitate.

The other side was far too overbearing. If he went over, he couldn't guarantee they wouldn't make a move. If they attacked on the ship, he really wouldn't be able to escape.

"What, afraid?" Fang Zhenghua raised an eyebrow, saying with disdain in his tone, "This eunuch without balls dared to come to your place. I'm not afraid to die—are you afraid?"

These words were spoken loudly, and everyone around heard them. When their gazes fell on Matsuura Dairo, their expressions turned somewhat strange, clearly all waiting for him to make his decision.

If he showed cowardice at this moment, all of Matsuura Dairo's prestige would be gone.

With his prestige plummeting, who would he still rule over?

Matsuura Dairo gritted his teeth and said with a red face, "Clear the way immediately, prepare a boat—I'll go over together with Eunuch Fang."

This time, Matsuura Dairo didn't even keep hostages, ready to gamble everything. Whether he lived or died would be seen later—things had already come to this point anyway.

Still, he called his subordinates over and gave them a few instructions, arranging matters in case he didn't return.

If he could come back, then nothing more needed to be said; if he couldn't, then they should quickly find someone to take over and have his son organize everyone to flee.

Fighting the Great Ming—Matsuura Dairo had no confidence in that at all. Besides, the Great Ming had come to attack Japan; it wasn't appropriate for him to stubbornly resist. Better to let the shogunate handle these matters—preserving his family's legacy was more important.

Soon, the way was cleared, and a boat came over.

Sending out ships in large numbers was certainly out of the question, but sending out one was no problem.

Fang Zhenghua also boarded the boat, bringing Zheng Zhilong along with him. The group sped toward the Imperial Navy's side.

The Great Ming Imperial Navy had brought only warships this time; the remaining supply ships had all been placed on Jeju Island.

That place was now the Imperial Navy's base, though it was far inferior in terrain to Hirado and Tsushima Island here—which was why Yu Zigao wanted Hirado. But this time, once fighting broke out, there would be no more constraints holding them back.

Soon, they approached the warship, and Matsuura Dairo's group was received aboard.

The first to meet were naturally Fang Zhenghua and Yu Zigao. The expressions on the two men's faces when they met were extremely, extremely different.

Fang Zhenghua was puzzled mixed with helpless.

Yu Zigao was overjoyed mixed with relief.

Whether the matter was accomplished or not didn't matter—what mattered was that Fang Zhenghua had returned safely.

Qi Yuanbi, standing nearby, felt the same. He looked directly at Yu Zigao and asked, "Commander, when will you see those people?"

"Let them wait." Yu Zigao said with a smile, "I need to speak with Eunuch Fang. Those people—who cares about them? Right now, bringing Eunuch Fang back safely is the best outcome. The rest of them can die for all I care."

Yu Zigao walked up to Fang Zhenghua and said, "Now that you've returned safely, Eunuch, my heart can finally relax."

Fang Zhenghua was somewhat helpless and asked, "What exactly happened? Why did you bring people over?"

"Wasn't I worried about you, Eunuch?" Yu Zigao spread his hands, speaking with a helpless tone, "Those people came over spouting a bunch of nonsense, and I thought you'd been taken hostage. They wanted to lure me over and then kill us all together—how could that be allowed?"

Fang Zhenghua looked at Yu Zigao and felt that this fellow was lying.

He didn't dare go over, afraid of death—that's why he said this.

But at this moment, he couldn't pursue the matter either. The other party's reasoning was very clear, and he had no way to pick a fight over it.

Still, Yu Zigao's concern was reasonable—he was now the commander of an entire army and could not easily take risks. If anything happened to him, there would be no leader. His safety was more important.

Nodding, Fang Zhenghua accepted his explanation.

Yu Zigao then hurriedly asked, "Did something happen to you, Eunuch? Why did you suddenly want to see me?"

Without any concealment, Fang Zhenghua recounted the entire affair to Yu Zigao and said, "They can't swallow their pride. If one of us plays the bad cop and the other the good cop, the matter will be settled."

"Are they worthy?" Yu Zigao curled his lip, speaking with disdain in his tone, "Talking is never as useful as doing. Hit them once, and they'll naturally behave. Scaring them works better than anything."

Fang Zhenghua gave a helpless bitter smile.

He always felt that results gained through intimidation could easily be taken away. But looking at Yu Zigao's manner, he understood that saying anything more would be useless.

In recent years, the Great Ming's military was no longer what it used to be—even the civil officials couldn't control them anymore. These people now followed the principle that whoever has the bigger fist wins, and if you don't accept it, they'll beat you to death. If he wanted to discuss other things with Yu Zigao, he probably had no chance.

Fang Zhenghua said, "Then when you see him in a bit, what do you plan to say?"

"Eunuch, just rest assured—leave this to me." Yu Zigao patted his chest, speaking with confidence.

Rest assured my ass!

Cursing inwardly, Fang Zhenghua still said nothing.

Although he suspected Yu Zigao might have someone throw Matsuura Dairo into the sea to feed the sharks, he would have to wait until he actually did it before saying anything. If he really intended to do such a thing, then he would truly have to stop him.

At this moment, the people from the Imperial Household Department and the Embroidered Uniform Guard also arrived, and the staff officers came over as well.

Shi Laifu looked at Fang Zhenghua, his smile bunching up on his face, and said, "The Eunuch has returned—truly a cause for celebration!"

The others chimed in agreement, looking very satisfied.

"I'm grateful for everyone's concern." Fang Zhenghua hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you, thank you!"

After everyone exchanged pleasantries, Yu Zigao said, "Let's go meet this Matsuura Taro together."

Matsuura Taro waited outside, feeling extremely conflicted. Ever since Fang Zhenghua had gone in, no news had come out. Then several more people arrived, and they all went in as well. Every person who entered glanced at him, and that look made him deeply uncomfortable.

At that moment, Qi Yuanbi walked out, came to Matsuura Taro's side, and said, "Matsuura Taro, please. Our commander is waiting for you."

"Thank you." Matsuura Taro nodded and strode straight inside.

In the main hall, the others had already taken their seats.

When they saw Matsuura Taro and Zheng Zhilong walk in, no one made any move to stand and greet them—they merely raised their eyelids for a glance.

"You are Matsuura Taro?" Yu Zigao asked.

Hearing this, Matsuura Taro's face sank. He glanced at Fang Zhenghua, who sat nearby with a beaming smile, and felt that he had gotten something wrong.

Why was this man's attitude even worse?

At this moment, Yu Zigao wore a grim expression, giving Matsuura Taro not the slightest hint of a smile.

Fang Zhenghua sat there, looking perfectly composed and unruffled.

Don't look at me. I don't want to talk.

With no other choice, Matsuura Taro could only say, "In answer to the commander, I am Matsuura Taro."

"Very good." Yu Zigao nodded and said, "This commander is not Eunuch Fang. I don't care for his slow, dragging style of doing things. Now I'll give you two paths: the first is surrender; the second is death. Choose for yourself."

Matsuura Taro was utterly helpless, but since he had already come this far, he had arrived prepared with the conviction that there was no turning back.

He raised his head and said, "I can surrender, but I have conditions."

"Negotiating conditions with me?" Yu Zigao said with a grim face. "You think you're worthy?"

"Men! Cut off his head and throw it into the sea to feed the sharks! Prepare the entire army—we'll attack directly. Not a single person on that island will be spared—kill them all!"

No one had expected Yu Zigao to be so explosive, launching into war over a single disagreement.

And even if he was going to war, did he have to slaughter everyone on the island? Wasn't this a bit too brutal?

He had never been this violent before.

Matsuura Taro was also startled. He certainly didn't think Yu Zigao was putting on an act.

Who was this man before him?

He was the commander of the Great Ming's Imperial Navy—in plain terms, the master of an entire army. Words spoken by such a man were military orders, especially regarding matters of warfare—his word carried the weight of nine tripods. He would absolutely never joke or speak idly; military orders were as immovable as mountains.

Fang Zhenghua on the side hastily rose to his feet, a smile on his face as he said, "Hold on, hold on. No need for that, no need for that."

Speaking as he walked to the center of the hall, Fang Zhenghua said, "Commander, please calm your anger. In truth, this servant has already reached an agreement with Matsuura Taro."

"Is that so?" Yu Zigao raised an eyebrow, his tone highly skeptical.

Fang Zhenghua was extremely exasperated.

They had agreed that one would play the stern role and the other the lenient role. But that meant he should play the stern one and Yu Zigao the lenient one. How had it now been reversed?

Still, he had to play along. Fang Zhenghua said, "Indeed, that is the case."

"Is that so." Yu Zigao thought for a moment, and the expression on his face softened somewhat as he said, "Then what did the two of you discuss? If this commander finds it improper, I shall memorialize Your Majesty."

"It's very simple. As long as they are willing to surrender, Hizen Province will remain Matsuura Taro's Hizen Province in the future. Moreover, the Great Ming is willing to exchange another territory for him on the island—one at least no smaller than Hizen Province. If all goes smoothly in the future, Your Majesty may enfeoff him as a commandery prince, of equal standing to the ruler of Joseon."

Hearing this, Matsuura Taro shot Fang Zhenghua a startled look.

This was not at all what the two of them had discussed—after all, they hadn't even gotten to talking back then, having only listened to Fang Zhenghua's sarcastic, veiled remarks.

But Matsuura Taro also understood that this Fang Zhenghua before him was providing a way down for both Yu Zigao and himself.

Looking at the two men before him, Matsuura Taro more or less understood that these two seemed to be at odds. One wanted to negotiate peace with him, and the other wanted to go to war with him. He had come here without understanding the situation—far too rash!

He had originally thought Fang Zhenghua was there to sabotage things, but it turned out the man had genuinely come to negotiate.

Thinking of this, Matsuura Taro felt like crying but had no tears.

Is this how you people of the Great Ming conduct negotiations? This is far too bizarre!

But Matsuura Taro knew in his heart that the best choice at this moment was to take the opportunity to climb down.

Matsuura Taro stepped forward and said, "Yes, that is how we negotiated."

"Furthermore," Fang Zhenghua said without looking at him, continuing, "from now on, of all the produce from Matsuura Taro's domain, three-tenths must be paid annually to the Great Ming. The Great Ming will also protect his safety. If anyone sends troops to attack him, the Great Ming will unconditionally dispatch forces to support him."

Fang Zhenghua stated this condition outright, but in truth it was nothing more than painting a pie in the sky.

Who would come to attack Hirado in the future?

Joseon? Would Joseon dare? The other feudal lords nearby?

Don't be ridiculous—impossible. If it ever truly came to the point where the Great Ming needed to send troops, then it would be time to discuss military expenses.

Hearing that there was this additional condition, Yu Zigao's expression eased. Looking at Matsuura Taro with narrowed, smiling eyes, he said, "I see. It seems the negotiations went smoothly. Excellent! Excellent!"

If Ming officials were sent to govern the land directly, taking three-tenths of the tax revenue outright, something might well go wrong. But if they collected it themselves and the Great Ming simply took its three-tenths share of the benefits, that would truly be for the best.

What did the people in his domain have to do with the Great Ming?

If life is hard and miserable for you and you don't want to stay there anymore, come on over—men can join the Great Ming pirate corps, sail the far seas, and return tomorrow as feudal lords; women can join the Great Ming's big family—we welcome you at any time.