Chapter 662: Marry a Rooster, Follow a Rooster; Marry a Dog, Follow a Dog

Matsuura Dairo had originally wanted to say something more, after all, these two were chatting quite happily. But this matter he truly did not want to own up to — he could imagine the consequences. If he admitted to this himself, then it would be trouble.

Matsuura Dairo glanced at Fang Zhenghua, then glanced at Yu Zigao. Both of these men were smiling at him, but there was a hidden ruthlessness in their eyes.

Clearly, if he did not agree, he probably would not be able to walk off this ship. Not only would he not walk off this ship, he would have his head chopped off and be thrown into the sea to feed the sharks.

Under such circumstances, the choice to make went without saying.

Matsuura Dairo stepped forward and said, "It is exactly as you say. I beg the Grand Marshal to see clearly."

"I see." Yu Zigao nodded thoughtfully and said, "Then there's nothing more to it. So it was this Marshal who misunderstood. It's also your people's fault — they actually failed to explain things clearly."

After hearing this, Matsuura Dairo felt helpless. He did not believe for a moment that his people had failed to explain things clearly — it was obvious this man before him was doing it deliberately. But there was nothing he could do about it either.

He kept a straight face and said with great solemnity, "When this humble one returns, I will certainly punish him."

"That won't be necessary." Yu Zigao waved his hand and said with great magnanimity, "It's good enough that the misunderstanding has been cleared up."

His attitude softened, and the atmosphere in the cabin softened as well.

Yu Zigao said with a smile, "Someone, prepare a banquet. Tonight we drink until we're drunk — no going home sober!"

Matsuura Dairo had no mood to drink here at all, but there was no helping it — if he didn't drink, he couldn't leave.

His subordinates carried in jar after jar of grayish-brown wine jugs and set them down on the floor one after another.

Yu Zigao opened one wine jar, hoisted it up, and took a hearty gulp. "Excellent!"

And so the banquet began, with both host and guest thoroughly enjoying themselves.

The Great Ming side was very pleased.

Matsuura Dairo had not originally been so pleased, but someone came to soothe him — that person was Shi Laifu of the Imperial Household Department.

After using brute force to pressure someone, the next step was to offer benefits.

In this regard, it was not appropriate for either Fang Zhenghua or Yu Zigao to step forward. The two had just done those things, and there was still awkwardness between them — not suitable for coming out to do such work.

But Shi Laifu was different. He was himself a man of the Imperial Household Department, and the two sides had no conflict. Not only no conflict, but in the matter of cooperative business dealings, the two sides had much to discuss.

As long as they started talking and became bound together by shared interests, then things would be much easier to handle.

While drinking, Shi Laifu sat down beside Matsuura Dairo.

Matsuura Dairo was somewhat wary at first. But who was Shi Laifu?

He was a merchant through and through — in speech and in action, money was on his lips from start to finish. Under ordinary circumstances, anyone would be knocked flat by the stench of it, but Matsuura Dairo was different.

Under Shi Laifu's constant flattery and grand promises, the relationship between the two sides quickly drew closer.

By the time the banquet ended, Matsuura Dairo was even somewhat pleased. Imagining the wealth and goods he could obtain, his heart was filled with immense satisfaction.

Shi Laifu even told Matsuura Dairo that as long as he served the Great Ming well, even being enfeoffed with his own domain and establishing his own state was not out of the question. The reason was also simple — the Great Ming Emperor did not care about such things; as long as he worked hard, whatever could be given would be given to him.

As long as the two sides did good business and made plenty of money, Shi Laifu was willing to help in this regard.

Shi Laifu even patted his own chest and made solemn promises. As for whether those promises would be kept — that was hard to say.

After the banquet was over, the awkward atmosphere disappeared, and the friendly relations between the two sides had drawn considerably closer.

Over the next few days, everything discussed concerned the matters of surrender.

Preparing the docks for the Great Ming army to garrison; the two sides joining forces to begin preparing for the coming war.

News was also rapidly dispatched to Hanseong in Joseon.

There were still people waiting on the Joseon side, and they too were busy. The two sides could not advance until the Joseon people arrived before beginning. In this regard, no one could afford to be impatient.

But the marshaling of troops and preparation for war had already begun.

In Hanseong, Joseon, the plan was also underway.

Sun Chuanting and Zhang Yu gathered together, while the others sat by as attendants.

The two who could make decisions in Hanseong, Joseon, right now were these two men. Everyone else could basically only offer suggestions.

Sun Chuanting glanced at Zhang Yu and said with a smile, "Chen Facai's side is progressing smoothly. Next it's our turn. It's time to have a talk with Park Jeong-yang — I'll handle this matter."

Zhang Yu gave a slight nod and said, "That's no problem."

Seeing that Zhang Yu had agreed, Sun Chuanting said nothing more, only pondered for a moment before saying, "Regarding the condition Chen Facai raised, what do you think?"

Zhang Yu naturally knew the condition Chen Facai had raised — it was the woman Chen Facai had just brought out.

Zhang Yu not only did not want to marry this woman off to Park Jeong-yang, he even wanted to have Park Jeong-yang killed afterward.

Doing things this way in this matter was indeed not the optimal choice. They had cultivated Park Jeong-yang to do things for them; if they killed him afterward, this chess piece would be wasted — not something cultivated for the long term, but a discarded pawn.

This was not suitable for the Great Ming, and doing such a thing over a woman was even more unsuitable.

But this matter could not be considered from only that angle — Chen Facai's attitude also had to be taken into account. In this matter, Chen Facai had originally been helping them; they truly could not let the man's heart grow cold.

And as for that woman — she had sacrificed so much to help them. It would not be good to refuse this request.

Of course, they would not give too much consideration to a woman's feelings, but rather to the Joseon people who did things for them. If they sacrificed other people's interests and kept doing things this way, then after a long time no one would risk their life for you anymore.

If they could rescue that woman and agree to his condition, there would also be many benefits. Weighing the interests and choosing how to proceed — it was up to these two men present.

After thinking it over, Zhang Yu said, "Agree to him then. It's nothing major. This Park Jeong-yang's strength will certainly increase during the course of cooperating with us."

"A man like that is not conducive to whatever we want to do with Joseon in the future. Other than getting rid of him, there's nothing else to consider." Zhang Yu said directly, "Tell Chen Facai's side not to worry."

Sun Chuanting thought it over, nodded, glanced at Song Xiang standing beside Zhang Yu, and said with a smile, "Then I'll do as you say."

That glance carried a hint of meaning.

Zhang Yu felt a bit awkward. He wanted to open his mouth to explain but felt there was nothing he could say, so he could only stay silent by the side.

Song Xiang, however, showed no reaction at all.

Everyone present basically knew about the relationship between Zhang Yu and Song Xiang. Everyone also knew that Song Xiang was actually a person from the Staff Office, and this time she was only together with Zhang Yu for the convenience of her identity.

But everyone understood another thing even more clearly — Song Xiang would never look for another man.

After all, the Great Ming was quite strict about such matters, and seeing how Zhang Yu and Song Xiang were — the man willing and the woman eager — they probably could not be separated. On the matter of Chen Facai, it was not at all surprising that Zhang Yu agreed.

"Then let's set it for tonight." Sun Chuanting did not continue teasing Zhang Yu, and directly stood up, saying, "I'll go to Chen Facai's side right now and have him arrange a meeting with Park Jeong-yang. We'll make our move tonight."

"Good." Zhang Yu nodded and said, "Let's do it that way."

Inside Chen Facai's home.

After receiving the news passed over from Zhang Yu's side, Chen Facai finally let out a sigh of relief.

Glancing at Qingqing standing beside him, Chen Facai said, "The people over there will be arriving soon. They've already agreed to our conditions. You won't marry Park Jeong-yang, and later they'll even have him killed."

Hearing this, Qingqing was momentarily stunned.

To be honest, when she had proposed that condition, she hadn't even expected the other side to agree. Even if Chen Facai had gone back on his word, she wouldn't have found it surprising.

Delaying great matters for the sake of a woman—that was not the kind of consideration a man who does great things should have. Whether it was Chen Facai or those people, they were all men who did great things.

She had only gambled on the off chance, and unexpectedly, it had succeeded—the other side had truly agreed.

"The one coming this time is Sun Chuanting. Have you heard of him?" Chen Facai looked at Qingqing and said with a smile.

Naturally, Chen Facai had noticed Qingqing's expression. He could even guess some of what she was thinking. But he didn't intend to say anything more on this matter.

Qingqing nodded and said, "Of course I've heard of him. He is the youngest tongshi in the Great Ming. It's said he enjoys the deep trust of the Great Ming Emperor, and in foreign campaigns he has never lost a single battle—attacking every target and winning every engagement. The Imperial Guard Corps under his command is also the finest elite force in the Great Ming."

"I've read all this intelligence in the documents. I know he's a very difficult man to deal with."

"That way of thinking of yours is no good." Chen Facai frowned and said, "From now on, you are a citizen of the Great Ming. Marry a rooster, follow the rooster; marry a dog, follow the dog. Since you're willing to marry me, then you are my woman. You should address Sun Chuanting as 'Milord' and address His Majesty as 'Your Majesty.' Don't let me hear such forms of address from you again."

Qingqing was slightly taken aback.

Although Chen Facai's words were very blunt, even scolding, Qingqing's face suddenly broke into a smile. Her countenance brightened as she said, "Fine, I'll listen to my husband in everything."

Chen Facai immediately burst into a fit of coughing, his face flushed red as he said, "You'd better just call me godfather."

"Should I call you godfather even in front of Milord Sun?" Qingqing smiled, a hint of frivolity in her tone.

Glaring at Qingqing, Chen Facai said with irritation, "Don't pull any of that nonsense in front of Milord Sun. Milord Sun has piercing eyes—none of your little schemes can escape him. If you stir up any trouble, I might not even be able to protect you."

Qingqing nodded seriously and said, "Don't worry, I know what to do. I won't offend that Milord Sun at a time like this."

"That's for the best." Chen Facai nodded and said.

At that moment, someone ran in from outside. "Reporting! Milord Sun Chuanting has arrived."

Chen Facai hurriedly said, "Come out with me to receive Milord Sun together."