Chapter 229: Burning Nagasaki

In the fifth year of Wanli, all maritime merchants were spies. Trade across the ocean was full of all kinds of terrible risks. It was precisely these terrible risks that led to the maximization of profits, which became the common cognition of maritime merchants.

And conquest and slaughter were the biggest main themes of maritime trade at the moment.

To conquer a place, one must inevitably find out the hydrology, geography, and mineral resources of this place. Otherwise, a barren land, or a land where investment is greater than return, is not something anyone is willing to conquer.

And to conquer a place, it will inevitably produce large-scale slaughter, thereby disintegrating the local resistance will and making the local area submit to one's own will.

To conquer, to slaughter, one must find out intelligence. And finding out intelligence itself is the act of a spy.

The daimyo of Hizen Province, Omura Sumitada, clearly knew that the maritime merchants from the Great Ming were not just doing business in Japan, but he didn't care, because what he was facing now was that if he didn't seek external help, he would die. This was the reason why Omura Sumitada offered Nagasaki to the Roman Catholic Church.

Omura Sumitada did not immediately express that he would change his faith, but the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church inspector made Omura Sumitada very distressed.

Omura Sumitada's purpose in offering Nagasaki and Motegi was to seek peace, but the church inspector did not want to give the tax revenue of Nagasaki to Omura Sumitada. The two sides discussed many times, and both ended unhappily.

And this time, Omura Sumitada had a new choice: the Great Ming.

Xu Wei and Omura Sumitada chatted very happily. Although he did not give a clear promise, he made a full statement of willingness to help, and Omura Sumitada left with satisfaction.

Xu Wei looked at Omura Sumitada's back as he left, and felt a little emotional. For the Great Ming's development in Japan, this was a good start.

"Let the interpreter go and chat with the church people." Xu Wei said to Sun Keyi with a smile.

"Ah?" Sun Keyi looked at Xu Wei blankly. Xu Wei, who had just chatted happily with Omura Sumitada, immediately found the church.

Omura Sumitada even hoped that the Great Ming and the church would have a conflict. Only in this way could his interests be guaranteed to the greatest extent. And the Great Ming was extremely overbearing, and even incidents of armed conflict and forceful expulsion might occur.

Omura Sumitada very much hoped to see the Great Ming and the church have a conflict.

Sun Keyi also thought that the Great Ming would have a conflict with the church, because there was a precedent for this.

In the 16th year of Yongping, Ban Chao led a mission of thirty-six people to the Shanshan Kingdom, which was Loulan, to discuss resisting the Xiongnu together.

The King of Shanshan received the Great Han mission very enthusiastically, but not long after, the King of Shanshan became cold. Ban Chao realized that delay would lead to changes, so he took the initiative and killed the Xiongnu mission. The King of Shanshan had no choice but to rely on the Great Han.

The allusion of "if you don't enter the tiger's den, how can you get the tiger's cub" was born from this incident.

Sun Keyi thought that this time they would have a conflict with the church. After all, everyone had their eyes on Nagasaki.

"The purpose of asking me to come is to persuade us to leave Nagasaki? If so, we have no need to discuss." The church inspector went straight to the point, his attitude very strong.

The Great Ming is an extremely proud country. This pride is natural.

Because this country has a long history, noble culture, vast territory, and rich products. The people of this country are industrious and resilient, gentle and polite. This country possesses a huge army and loyal warriors. Naturally, it can naturally look down on everyone with a posture that overrides everything.

At this time, the Great Ming still had the qualification to call itself the Heavenly Dynasty. In terms of national strength, no one could compete with the Great Ming.

"We have fifty-nine missionaries in Nagasaki, including twenty-eight priests. We have more than ten thousand believers! If you think that by relying on your fierce warriors, you can make us submit, then do so!"

"The Lord shines upon us!" The inspector used a very intense tone, as if declaring war.

A biting dog doesn't bark. The louder the voice, the more guilty the inspector was. The military appearance of those plate-armored knights still made the inspector involuntarily ask himself: if there was really a conflict, could his believers really protect the interests of the parish?

Xu Wei listened to the interpreter's translation and said with a smile: "There is no need to be so sword-drawn and bow-bent. Do we have to be enemies? Why can't we be friends?"

"Hmm? Friends?" The inspector found that he might have misunderstood the purpose and intention of this meeting, making himself roar like a clown.

When could the Great Ming be negotiated with?

Xu Wei said with a smile: "I don't like to cooperate with the Japanese. If I have to explain it, it's like you wouldn't cooperate with the English."

The inspector immediately realized the worry of this Great Ming scholar.

In the West, the English are an island nation, hated by everyone on the European continent, because the English are arching fires everywhere. For example, in the Netherlands region, there were English supporting them from behind, making Philip II exhausted, and the place where Spain's handicraft workshops were most concentrated fell into turmoil.

Obviously, the Great Ming's view of the Japanese is like the countries on the European continent's view of the English.

The risk of cooperating with them is too great.

"Very sorry, I didn't understand the purpose of this conversation and said some excessive words." The inspector said with some apology.

Xu Wei signaled for the inspector to sit down and said: "Let's talk about the Nagasaki port problem."

"Omura Sumitada's confidence in wanting long-term tariffs lies in the fact that you are here, in Nagasaki, without enough military force to protect the wealth of your parish. So you must rely on your believers, and your believers are Japanese. If you don't agree to Omura Sumitada, it is difficult to preserve the wealth of the parish. But if you agree, the tariffs are too expensive."

"And our Tianbaolong Trading Firm can provide protection."

"What are the conditions? Does your trading firm provide protection for no reason?" The inspector asked with a frown.

"We want to set up a Shipping Commission. All defense and tax inspection are the responsibility of our trading firm." Xu Wei stated his conditions.

The inspector heard such words and finally shook his head. He shook his head and said: "Both want tariffs, why don't we cooperate with Omura Sumitada? Nagasaki should be Omura Sumitada's territory."

"If you speak like this, then Nagasaki is the Great Ming's territory." The inspector frowned and recalled for a moment. It seemed that the Great Ming's Shipping Commission's tax rate had always been like this. The Great Ming was very stubborn. This merchant tax rate seemed to have never changed.

"Then continue." Xu Wei's smile was very simple and peaceful, very much like the smile of a priest when believers repent.

And the priest opposite was calm and said: "Happy cooperation."

After the church priest inspector left, Sun Keyi asked with a strange expression: "Sir, you and the inspector seem to have forgotten to discuss a very important question: how to force Omura Sumitada to offer land? Now he is waiting for a price."

"We have discussed it." Xu Wei said quite firmly.

"Commander, did Sir and the inspector discuss it?" Sun Keyi thought he had heard wrong and asked Ma Jin.

Ma Jin shook his head. Their conversation was actually very short, and they definitely did not discuss how to seize Nagasaki.

"I let him continue. Some dirty things are not very suitable for the Great Ming's guest troops to do. Otherwise, the guest troops will change from the Great Ming army that is well-organized and wants to save the common people into soldiers and bandits who burn, kill, and loot, and do all kinds of evil." Xu Wei didn't say too clearly, but he didn't want the Great Ming guest troops' hands to be stained with too much dirty blood.

Qi Jiguang's program for establishing guest troops is: report to the Son of Heaven, save the common people below.

This is a very scarce program. No matter how big the interest is, it cannot shake this program.

Letting guest troops do dirty things is a blasphemy and very dangerous. The incarnation of violence like guest troops cannot be transformed into bandits without morality and restraint. If that day really comes, the first person to die must be him, Xu Wei.

This is the most important thing for the army that Qi Jiguang mentioned when he met the Emperor: organizational degree.

Organizational degree is the system and system established around a program. The loss of organizational degree is the greatest destruction to the army's discipline.

And the place where Xu Wei and others set foot is a place accustomed to "lower-level overcoming upper-level". Turning well-trained guest troops into demons who kill without blinking an eye regardless of everything is just asking for death.

If Zhu Yijun were here, he would definitely agree with Xu Wei's thoughts very much.

Ma Jin shook his head. Their conversation was actually very brief, and they definitely did not discuss how to seize Nagasaki.

The most typical example is Oda Nobunaga, who was "lower-level overcoming upper-level" in the Honno-ji Incident.

In the tenth year of Wanli, Akechi Mitsuhide, a trusted family retainer of Oda Nobunaga, launched a coup at Honno-ji, killing Oda Nobunaga and his eldest son. Oda Nobunaga, who ended the turmoil of more than a hundred years in Japan since the Onin War, was killed by his trusted family retainer like this.

This atmosphere of "lower-level overcoming upper-level" is still very obvious in later generations.

For example, there were Japanese craftsmen who hand-rubbed double-barreled iron guns, called "Abe-cut", alone, riding a horse to challenge the Taiko of Japan, killing with one blow, and Abe was overjoyed.

On Yamagami Tetsuya, Japan's craftsmanship spirit was verified, Japan's water pipes really being able to be used as gun barrels was verified, the bravery of single-horse challenge was verified, "lower-level overcoming upper-level" was verified, and "a man's anger, blood splashing three feet" was verified. In the assassination of Yamagami Tetsuya, these spirits were all verified.

Sun Keyi and Ma Jin soon understood that Xu Wei and the inspector had really talked, and also reached an agreement, because a big fire that spread throughout Nagasaki began to spread between the mountains and forests.

This big fire came suddenly and quickly, and soon swept through the entire Nagasaki. The tongues of fire licked the wooden houses of the Japanese. Countless people jumped into the sea to protect themselves and disappeared without a trace.

The big fire burned in this seaport for a whole night. Mountains, forests, wooden houses, ships, gates, boardwalks, etc., were all burned clean. Countless people were either burned to charcoal in the sea of fire or jumped into the water and were buried in the sea.

Burning Nagasaki, a human purgatory.

Who set this fire? Naturally, it was the godfather who baptized Omura Sumitada and the church inspector.

Xu Wei led Sun Keyi, Ma Jin, and dozens of Songjiang guest troops to the street. The big fire was over. The originally prosperous Nagasaki had become a scene like a human hell. Everywhere was a terrifying scene after the fire. The air was even filled with the smell of roasted meat that made people vomit.

The big fire was lit in the middle of the night. Many people felt the heat in their sleep. When they were awakened by the fire, it was too late to run.

"God loves everyone equally?" Xu Wei stood on the street, looking at the two distinct parts of Nagasaki, with a playful smile on his face.

One side was the broken walls left by the big fire, while the other part was the parish under the control of the church, which was unscathed. And the hostel where Xu Wei and others stayed was within the parish.

Westerners are even worse than he imagined.

Xu Wei let the inspector continue because Xu Wei saw some strange places from the intelligence. Omura Sumitada being bullied was mostly from the priest who baptized him, including the assassination that almost took Omura Sumitada's life.

The priest obviously had reached his limit. In order to force Omura Sumitada to surrender completely, he directly chose to set fire, forcing Omura Sumitada to surrender and not to hope for tax revenue after offering land.

Sun Keyi and Ma Jin, they saw the church standing tall, because the fire did not spread to the parish. At the port, those Western sailing ships were intact, and even the two combat ships staying at the port were safe and sound.

Fire and water are ruthless, but this was obviously arson.

"Isn't that the inspector? What is he doing?" Sun Keyi saw the crowd gathering and asked with surprise.

Xu Wei said calmly: "He is transcending the souls of the dead."

The kind priest was reciting scriptures very devoutly in front of a mother and child who had been burned to death, and even shed two tears, expressing pity for such misfortune while also expressing sympathy for the mother and child who had been burned to charcoal black.

Obviously, when the big fire came, the mother held the child under her body to protect the child. The mother had been burned beyond recognition, while the child still had a complete corpse. The child did not escape the disaster and died in the big fire.

When the fire burned to the second half of the night yesterday, there was still no one to put out the fire. It seemed that God couldn't stand it anymore and rained a rain, preventing the fire from continuing to spread.

The priest was praying, and the believers around him were hard to hide their sadness, crying bitterly.

And a kind of dissatisfaction was brewing in the crying, which was dissatisfaction with Omura Sumitada, because Omura Sumitada could not protect Nagasaki.

Omura Sumitada had to do something, either suppress or appease. Omura Sumitada was a coward, unable to suppress, and could only appease. And handing over Nagasaki to a trusted force became the road Omura Sumitada had to take. Obviously, the church was a good choice.

Omura Sumitada found the hostel in the middle of the night. In the dim light, he met the people from the Great Ming.

"Distinguished angel of the Heavenly Dynasty, please show mercy and save me." Omura Sumitada kept kowtowing. He realized that the danger was approaching, so he looked for the fierce soldiers from the Great Ming to seek help.

"Do you know where your misfortune comes from?" Xu Wei put down the teacup in an orderly manner and asked Omura Sumitada.

"Western inspector Father Alessandro Valignano." Omura Sumitada bowed again, gritting his back teeth and said: "I offered my faith, allowed them to preach in my territory, and I planned to hand over Nagasaki completely to the church. I even negotiated conditions with the priest, and when the priest returned to Rome, he would send an envoy to worship the holy land."

"I am so devout, but I got such humiliation."

Omura Sumitada really planned to send an envoy to Rome to worship, and also reached a contract with the priest. When the priest completed the parish inspection task and returned to Rome to report, he would send an envoy.

In the tenth year of Wanli, the Tensho mission to Europe was strongly promoted by Omura Sumitada, and it was also the first mission from Japan to visit the West.

Xu Wei heard this and nodded: "You are not stupid."

"I am actually very curious why you didn't kneel in front of your priest to repent for your mistakes, but ran over to kowtow to me. Why is this?" Xu Wei asked with some curiosity.

Sun Keyi and Ma Jin were also confused. They, the Great Ming people, were more like despicable outsiders. As soon as they arrived in Nagasaki, they set a big fire, burned the mountains, burned the port, and burned the residence. Even if it wasn't done by the Great Ming people, Omura Sumitada should trust his priest more. Weren't these despicable outsiders the best sinners?

After all, this was only the second time Xu Wei had seen Omura Sumitada.

"The Great Ming is a Heavenly Dynasty and a state of etiquette." Omura Sumitada bowed again and said forcefully.

Omura Sumitada would never doubt the Great Ming people, because the Great Ming people could not do such things. There was a kind of high morality universally existing in the Great Ming. In competition, this was a disadvantage, and this high moral disadvantage was the fundamental reason why Omura Sumitada did not suspect that it was done by the Great Ming people.

"I really hate morality." Xu Wei's mouth twitched. He really hated morality. The second reason he didn't like Zhang Juzheng was that Zhang Juzheng was a good man. To the Emperor, to the capital, to the powerful, to the poor people of the Great Ming, Zhang Juzheng was a good man.

The reason Xu Wei didn't like Zhang Juzheng was that when Xu Jie forced Hu Zongxian to die in prison, Zhang Juzheng was still Xu Jie's party member and Xu Jie's student. Zhang Juzheng did not stop his teacher from harming the meritorious minister of the country, sat and watched Hu Zongxian die in prison, and sought glory and humiliation.

Zhang Juzheng was so powerful, he saved so many people, why couldn't he save Hu Zongxian like he saved Qi Jiguang? At that time, Hu Zongxian had even been stripped of his official status and merit. He was a harmless person who was politically dead.

This is the typical thinking mode of Great Ming people, sincerely hoping that there is a wise master who can turn the tide, so that the miserable life can take a breath, even if it is just that breath.

And this way of thinking can really get a response.

Just the Great Ming had Yu Qian who saved the Great Ming's country, and Zhang Juzheng who wanted to continue the Great Ming's life regardless of everything.

The Han Dynasty has loyal and good people in every generation.

These loyal and good people who followed one after another generation after generation are probably the biggest benefit brought by the high moral disadvantage.

Xu Wei really doesn't like morality, but Omura Sumitada makes sense.

"Then what does the family head plan to do?" Xu Wei asked with a smile.

Omura Sumitada bowed again and said loudly: "I will change my faith. I will offer Nagasaki and Motegi to the distinguished envoy. If I can't do it, it's easy for these heavenly soldiers and generals to take my life. I only have one humble request: kill those evil demons who do evil!"

"Very unexpected, you can actually use idioms." Xu Wei's focus was very strange. This Omura Sumitada could actually use idioms. Xu Wei asked curiously: "Do you know the meaning of this idiom, do you know its source?"

Omura Sumitada couldn't keep up with Xu Wei's train of thought at all. He was offering land to seek peace. Why was Xu Wei staring at the fact that he could use idioms? He said blankly: "I don't know."

Xu Wei explained: "From 'Mencius, Gongsun Chou I': 'To rule with Qi, it is like turning one's hand.' In the same chapter, it also says: 'King Wu Ding held court for the feudal lords, and had the world, just like turning it in his palm.' At least in the Han Dynasty, the idiom 'easy as turning one's hand' was summarized."

"Since you are so sincere, then I will promise you."

"Thank you, angel!" Omura Sumitada kowtowed several times in a row. He knelt on the ground, trying his best to bow his head, but raised his head forcefully and asked in a strange posture: "Angel, I have a request. Can I stay in the hostel for a few days? I'm afraid I will die if I go out."

"So you know you are seeking skin from a tiger? You beg me, aren't you afraid of seeking skin from a tiger?" Xu Wei was stunned, looking at Omura Sumitada and asked with a playful expression.

Omura Sumitada was not stupid. He was just a coward. He was very shrewd. He knew the horror of the Westerners.

Westerners are big tigers. Doesn't the Great Ming eat people?

"No matter how much the Great Ming wants, it doesn't have the appetite of the Westerners." Omura Sumitada really thought so.

He racked his brains. The Great Ming at most wanted to annex the whole of Japan, making Japan a province of the Great Ming. Is this a bad thing for Japan? This is a great thing for Japan!

Being a dog for the Great Ming is an honor, much better than a wild dog that runs around and doesn't have a meal after the last one.

"Then you can stay in the hostel. There will be results in at most two or three days." Xu Wei waved his hand and let Omura Sumitada retreat.

And Sun Keyi finally understood Xu Wei's plot. The bad things were done by the Westerners, and the reputation was obtained by the Great Ming people. This is both wanting and wanting—both wanting the port and springboard of Nagasaki, and also wanting the popular support and ruling foundation of this place. Xu Wei's communication with the church inspector was just to intensify the contradiction.

"Sir, did you know from the beginning that the church was going to set fire?" Sun Keyi asked somewhat uncertainly.

"No, I didn't know. I didn't expect them to be so bad." Xu Wei waved his hand and said: "Compared with them, I am like a saint. These Westerners are really damn, forcing me to be a good person who punishes evil and promotes good!"

"I was clearly here to be a bad person! It's simply too hateful."

"Chizhong, you must remember, any plan is determined according to the change of the situation. This is determined by the situation."

Sun Keyi's courtesy name is Chizhong, so Xu Wei called him that. It is true that he promised the priest that he could provide military protection, and it is also true that he promised Omura Sumitada that he would avenge those who died in the Nagasaki fire.

It's just that the situation has changed, and the decision has changed.

"The disciple understands." Sun Keyi understood the truth.

"Commander Ma, the next thing will be handed over to you. Communicate well with Omura Sumitada and arrest all fifty-nine missionaries of the church. Don't kill them. Arrest them and shake out their crimes bit by bit." Xu Wei did not intend to kill them directly, but to arrest them and show their crimes bit by bit.

"Hmm." Ma Jin nodded and prepared to clean up the parish with a group of steel armor soldiers.

Arresting missionaries was the request of Omura Sumitada, the family head of the Omura clan.

Historically, Omura Sumitada offered land to seek peace, and before sending the Tensho mission to visit Europe, there was indeed a big fire. Of course, all the literature records that it was an accident. Whether it was an accident or not, Xiao Wu thinks it was not an accident. Did these missionaries drift across the sea just to Nagasaki to preach love and peace? Ask for monthly tickets, Aowu!!!!!

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 230 =====

"No matter how much the Great Ming wants, it won't be as big as the appetite of the Westerners." Omura Sumitada truly thought this way.

He racked his brains and thought that at most, the Great Ming wanted to annex the entire Wa nation and turn it into a province of the Great Ming. Was this a bad thing for the Wa nation? This was a great thing for the Wa nation!

Being able to be a dog for the Great Ming was an honor; it was far better than being a stray dog that ran around and never knew if it would have its next meal.

"Then you should stay at the official guesthouse; there will be a result in two or three days at most." Xu Wei waved his hand, signaling for Omura Sumitada to withdraw.

And Sun Keyi finally understood Xu Wei's scheme: the bad things were done by the Westerners, while the good reputation was taken by the Great Ming people. This was wanting both: wanting Nagasaki as a port and a springboard, while also wanting the hearts of the people and a foundation for rule here.

Xu Wei's communication with the church inspector was merely to intensify the conflict.

"Sir, did you know from the very beginning that the church was going to set a fire?" Sun Keyi asked, feeling a bit uncertain.

"No, I didn't know. I didn't expect them to be that evil." Xu Wei waved his hand and said, "Compared to them, I'm like a saint. These Westerners are truly damnable, forcing me to act as a good person who punishes the wicked and eliminates evil!"

"I clearly came here to be the villain! It's simply too detestable."

"Chizhong, you must remember that any plan is determined by the changing situation; this is acting according to the circumstances."

Sun Keyi's courtesy name is Chizhong, which is why Xu Wei called him that. It was true that he promised the priest he could provide armed protection, and it was also true that he promised Omura Sumitada he would avenge those who died in the Nagasaki fire.

It was just that the situation had changed, and the decision had changed accordingly.

"The student understands." Sun Keyi understood the logic behind it.

"Deputy Ma, the next matters will be left to you. Communicate well with Omura Sumitada and just arrest all fifty-nine missionaries of the church. Don't kill them; arrest them and slowly shake out their crimes." Xu Wei did not intend to kill them directly, but rather to arrest them and reveal their crimes bit by bit.

"Mm." Ma Jin nodded and led a group of Steel-Armored soldiers to prepare to clear the church district.

Arresting the missionaries was, after all, the request of the Omura clan head, Omura Sumitada.

In history, Omura Sumitada offered his land to seek temporary peace. Before sending the Tensho mission to visit Europe, there was indeed a fire. Of course, all the literature records it as an accident. Whether it was really an accident, I don't think it was. Did these missionaries drift across the sea just to come to Nagasaki to spread love and peace? Asking for monthly votes, Awoo!!!!!

(End of this chapter)