Chapter 556: Barren Land with No One to Plow, Contention When Plowing Begins

Could a fifth-rank official tooth tablet really be obtained by a playboy son of a Grand General's mansion? If it were an idle official who didn't handle affairs, there was indeed such a possibility, but it would be a military official, not a civil official, and certainly not a Doctor of the Five Classics who was outside the five elements.

Qi Qi Jiguang was only a Grand General. He was indeed the head of the military nobility, but the civil official system and the military official system were not the same system at all.

Therefore, the answer was already very certain: either this tooth tablet was fake, or the person who obtained this tooth tablet had a big problem with their identity.

"Are you sure it was obtained by Young Master Huang?" Li Zhi returned the tooth tablet without changing his expression and asked calmly.

Lin Lin Fucheng took back the official tooth tablet. Many people knew about this tablet of his; he had publicly taken it out. He said with a smile, "Yes, it was given to me by Young Master Huang, so don't worry. Young Master Huang is truly powerful."

"Indeed." Li Zhi hesitated for a moment and ultimately didn't say anything more.

As for the authenticity of the tooth tablet, Lin Lin Fucheng was not a hermit who hid it and used the official status horse tablet and tooth tablet secretly. He was active in the capital. If it were fake, someone would have gone to find trouble with him long ago. There were just as many people who couldn't stand Lin Lin Fucheng as there were those who liked him.

Privately manufacturing an official tooth tablet in the eleventh year of Emperor Wanli was completely testing the bonds between the nine clans.

Wasn't it just "power reaching the heavens"?!

The whole world belonged to Young Master Huang—Young Master Huang, Imperial Young Master, the heavenly person of the Huang family of Penglai.

Li Zhi guessed it. It was a very simple principle: Qi Qi Jiguang's hand couldn't possibly reach so far, reaching into the Royal Academy of Sciences located in the Forbidden Garden. Therefore, the origin of this waist token was very clear: it was granted by the Emperor himself.

Li Zhi did not expose Young Master Huang's identity. This was obviously an open secret. He could guess it, and others could guess it too. Everyone didn't say it, and Li Zhi wouldn't be stupid enough to expose this layer of mysterious veil.

He had already offended the Emperor once and had been severely reprimanded by the Emperor. If he exposed the identity this time, forcing His Majesty to change another vest to watch the fun, I fear his days in the capital would be even harder.

Zhu Zhu Yijun had also prepared many vests, ready to change them. He had hinted to Lin Lin Fucheng many times, but this Lin Lin Fucheng didn't dare to think about the Emperor deep in the nine-fold palace.

"The daily use of the common people is the way." Li Zhi also had to live. It was not easy to live in the capital. He had to earn money so that his family wouldn't have to follow him and starve to death.

After Li Zhi left the Guangde Bookstore, he finally decided to write things down. He needed some fame; fame equals silver, and silver equals daily use, meaning his family wouldn't have to starve to death.

Zhu Zhu Yijun received the new publication presented by the Guangde Bookstore. After reading it carefully, he chose to allow its publication.

Barren land with no one to plow, contention when plowing begins.

Li Zhi knew how to farm, which was different from most scholar-officials in Great Ming, so Li Zhi was not a "base-born Confucian."

There was a lot of barren land in Great Ming, and the number of abandoned farmland in various places was countless. Leaving these lands uncultivated was simply a sin. And after Li Zhi arrived in Huangzhou Prefecture, he and his wife, Huang Yiren, reclaimed seven *mu* of barren land. As soon as it was reclaimed, all kinds of people came one after another.

First, there were the local gentry and powerful clans holding the land deeds, saying the land was theirs, and if you reclaimed it, you had to pay rent.

For these seven *mu* of land, Li Zhi could only fight a lawsuit with the local gentry and powerful clans, but undoubtedly he lost. The land deeds couldn't be fake; they were indeed all real. Li Zhi ultimately bought these lands at the price of 1.2 taels of silver per *mu*, which settled the lawsuit.

The matter didn't end there. People immediately came to ask for "ditch money." Li Zhi inquired carefully and found out that even if you bought the land, you had to pay for the ditches; otherwise, you could go fetch water yourself.

After paying the ditch money, it wasn't over; there was another "spring money," which was water money. Ditch money and water money were not small amounts. Li Zhi calculated that for this one *mu* of land, he would have to lose three *qian* of silver a year!

It could truly be said: "Exhausting the spring source into the canal, not allowing a half-drop to remain in the ditch."

Li Zhi went to find the Prefect. He had retired from the position of Prefect of Yao'an and still had his official status, so he could naturally find the Prefect. The Prefect was also in a difficult position and said that for these seven *mu* of land, he didn't have to pay this money. He still had this much face.

Li Zhi asked: "In the whole prefecture, there are ten thousand *qing* of land. Every household is burdened with straw taxes, land rent, and private demands from the township. If you only give me a few *mu* of irrigation and a bumper harvest, even if you give it, they will definitely not accept it and will beg for it."

Li Zhi asked the Prefect to manage the ditch money and water money, leaving a way for the common people to survive.

This kind of person is the most annoying. You don't want to pay money yourself, and you are friends with Geng Geng Dingli. I will find a way to make your farmland have water to use, but you are still not satisfied and want the entire Huangzhou Prefecture's farmland to have water to use?

The Prefect is not the Dragon King of the East Sea!

The Prefect helplessly sent him out of the door and told the gatekeeper that there was no need to report if Li Zhi came again in the future.

Li Zhi returned home. The following year, there was a severe drought, and the starving people were everywhere for miles. Among them were Li Zhi's two daughters. With the help of Deng Wang Shiyang, Li Zhi, his wife, and his eldest daughter ultimately survived. But in the tenth year of Emperor Wanli, thousands of people starved to death in Huangzhou Prefecture.

The length of the whole story was not very long, but when reading it, there was always a suffocating despair. In Lin Lin Fucheng's stories, one could always see ups and downs. For example, the He family of Gaoyang did not reduce rent in a disaster year and was later exterminated; the Yan family of Qizhou used people to make fertilizer and was finally turned into fertilizer by Minister of Justice Wang Wang Chonggu; the Wang family of Yaoshan occupied official land, was raided, and triggered a series of investigations into the occupation of official land.

Lin Lin Fucheng's stories all had a sense of fate where good is rewarded with good and evil with evil.

And Li Zhi's story only had cold reality and cruelty.

Moreover, in this story, one couldn't find anyone to take responsibility. It looked like a natural disaster, and even more like a man-made disaster, but the tragedy happened so clearly. It seemed no one was wrong, but it seemed everyone was wrong.

Even the story itself, Li Zhi himself was wrong. If he had accepted the local Prefect's favor, his family's land would have had water, and his daughters wouldn't have starved to death. Or looking further ahead, if he had accepted the "hiding of farmland," would he have ended up like this?

Li Zhi's story caused a huge uproar in the capital and then came to an abrupt end, because people found that Li Zhi's criticism and his accusation were more powerful than Lin Lin Fucheng's, and there was an indescribable heaviness because there was no solution.

Zhu Zhu Yijun held a positive attitude toward this kind of critical article. Great Ming had all kinds of problems, and these problems needed to be raised by someone, and then everyone would face them together, rather than using the four-stage method to fool around. If you fool around, the ultimate result is the demise of Great Ming.

Zhu Zhu Yijun was waiting for Li Zhi's ideas to mature, to solve the problems raised by Young Master Huang. The method Li Zhi mentioned was very good—"no representation, no taxation." How to execute it specifically and how to avoid these problems was the problem Li Zhi needed to think about in the capital in the future.

A concise edition of the *Yongle Encyclopedia* was sent from the capital to Nagasaki. Xu Wei, the Viceroy of Nagasaki, could not put this volume down, but he also wrote a memorial requesting the Emperor to temporarily delay sending the original copy of the *Yongle Encyclopedia* to the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office, as it was not yet safe enough there; sending it over would easily lead to it falling into the hands of thieves.

"These Japanese people are truly seven-tenths beastly by nature," said Sun Sun Kehong, the Magistrate of Songjiang and Nagasaki Maritime Trade Commissioner, looking at a report in his hand with a solemn expression.

The maritime patrol inspectors discovered some things, and these reports were summarized to the Governor's Office, which was truly moving.

There are three kinds of insults in Japan. The first is "yaro," meaning you are a guy who doesn't understand etiquette; the second is "beast," which is the literal meaning—no better than a pig or dog.

And in Japan, there is such a term that has never been mentioned by the *daimyos* who come and go to the Nagasaki Governor's Office, called: "Eta Hinin."

"Eta Hinin," literally meaning "too much filth, no longer human," is a group of people who are untouchable and cannot be discussed. This is Japan's untouchable class.

At this time, Japan was a society with clear levels. It was different from Great Ming, which distinguished classes by means of production. Levels and classes were different. Levels were clearly defined, did not flow, were strict and extremely stable, and were distinguished by status and surname.

The first class in Japan was the nobility, including the Emperor in Kyoto, the court nobles, and the divided *daimyos* of various provinces; they were all nobles. The second class was samurai and monks—that is, the retainers of the major *daimyos*, as well as the monks in the temples. The third class was farmers, artisans, and merchants, who were called "commoners," "various base people," and "merchants" in Japan.

The fourth class was the Eta Hinin.

Eta Hinin, this level of base people, mainly engaged in base industries that everyone looked down upon, such as slaughter, leather, funeral services, cleaning feces, beggars, prostitutes, acrobatics, and leprosy patients.

Base people could not live a normal life. For example, they were not allowed to use umbrellas when walking on the street on rainy days, had to cover their mouths and noses with cloth when traveling to avoid spraying filthy air, had to walk backward when cleaning feces, were not allowed to leave footprints, and could not marry commoners.

"Hinin" (non-human), this term comes from the *Lotus Sutra*, which says: "The eight groups of gods and dragons, humans and non-humans, all saw the dragon girl become a Buddha from afar."

In the *Lotus Sutra*, the various things in the world were divided into three categories: gods, humans, and non-humans. And the Japanese called these Japanese people who engaged in base industries "Eta Hinin."

This was completely different from Great Ming. Great Ming's various arts were considered a job. For example, in the Emperor Longqing years, those artists who performed iron flowers could even perform for His Majesty at the Aoshan Lantern Festival and obtain generous rewards.

Great Ming Emperor Zhu Zhu Yijun hid in the Zhao Wenhua Tower and peeked with a telescope to avoid giving rewards.

Even cleaning feces was generally considered a business. The "feces road master" was even more of a big business held by the biggest local gentry in the city. During the two Song Dynasties, the biggest "feces tyrant" in the world was Emperor Gaozong of the Song Dynasty.

The long-term officials, palace maids, and actors in the Prince's mansion were not that respectful to the princes either. Prince Dai even questioned the Emperor: "Is begging on the street also an ancestral rule?" asking the Emperor until he was stunned.

"It's a bit strange. The others are fine, but why did the butcher also become an Eta Hinin?" Xu Wei looked at the report in his hand and asked with a frown. He could understand the others, such as funeral services, because he was afraid of death and avoided it. But that the butcher was also in the "non-human" category was truly something Xu Wei couldn't understand.

Xu Wei frowned and asked: "They scold the butcher like this, don't they eat meat?"

"Yes, Japan is vegetarian, believing that killing is a sin," Sun Sun Kehong nodded. Japan didn't like eating meat because of the prevalence of Buddhism.

Xu Wei's face became even more complex and said: "Killing is a sin. Killing animals is a sin, but killing people isn't? Since the Onin War, it has been 120 years, and the *daimyos* of the Warring States have been fighting each other endlessly. How many people have been killed? Isn't killing people a sin? It's strange."

The "Warring States *daimyos*" was a concept first proposed by Takeda Shingen, a *daimyo* of Kai Province in Japan, when he issued the *Divided Country Law* in the twenty-sixth year of Emperor Jiajing, and it was immediately accepted by everyone.

"Great Ming's firearms are arriving."

In April, the Emperor gave his vermilion approval for a batch of cleared-out and "monkey-version" firearms to be sent to the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office. These "monkey-version" firearms were defective products from the manufacturing process, while the cleared-out ones were matchlocks and other items that had been used for many years and could no longer be used.

Chen Lin's campaign to pacify the Japanese pirates in Japan also came to an end. After the sale of the firearms, the Great Ming navy would return to its home port of Songjiang Prefecture. The suppression of pirates in Japan was a continuation of the "Pacifying Waves and Purifying the Seas" operation sparked by the major private trade case in Sanduao. The "Pacifying Waves and Purifying the Seas" operation, which lasted for one year and two months, was finally announced to have reached its phased conclusion.

Xu Wei personally went to the pier to meet the ships. Amidst the thunderous sound of gongs and drums, two five-masted ocean-going ships from Songjiang Prefecture, guided by tugboats, slowly docked at the port's pier. Countless people swarmed onto the large ships and began unloading cargo.

At the same time, envoys from various daimyo of the Warring States period began close contact with the Viceroy's Office, fighting tooth and nail for firearm quotas.

A matchlock worth nine *qian* of silver was now priced at nine taels of silver and still sold without difficulty, while the price of gunpowder had soared to the heavens. Conflict between the Mori and Oda clans had already broken out in Osaka Bay; with another great battle approaching, it was no surprise that the prices of firearms and gunpowder were skyrocketing.

Xu Wei, Sun Sun Kehong, Nagasaki Regional Military Commissioner Li Li Chengli, Eunuch Wang Chao of the Shipping Commissioner's Office, Censor Luo Yinghe, and others were busy beyond measure.

Countless silver flowed into the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office. Daimyo who did not have enough silver chose to pay with people.

Japan's large population and limited land led to an insufficient supply of food, which was the primary contradiction in Japan at the moment. Exchanging people for Great Ming paper currency and goods was considered very cost-effective in the eyes of the Japanese daimyo.

The envoy sent by Oda Nobunaga was his own younger sister, Oichi, known as the greatest beauty of the Warring States period.

In the 43rd year of Emperor Jiajing, Oichi married Azai Nagamasa of the Azai clan. Later, because Oda Nobunaga and the Azai clan broke off relations, Oda Nobunaga captured the Azai clan's Odani Castle in the first year of Emperor Wanli, and Oichi returned to live at the Oda clan's residence.

"Although I don't understand why they shave off their eyebrows and then draw new ones, it certainly looks very bizarre," Nagasaki Censor Luo Yinghe said sincerely to Sun Sun Kehong.

Oichi was indeed very beautiful. At thirty-six, because of her affluent life, she did not look very old and still retained a certain charm.

Unfortunately, this woman had shaved off her eyebrows and drawn two higher ones, which instead ruined the aesthetic.

Sun Sun Kehong said with great certainty, "This kind of makeup popular among the nobility is actually not good-looking, and it's quite frightening. Viceroy Xu has already demanded that the envoys sent to Nagasaki by the various Japanese daimyo must not shave their eyebrows, and the same goes for blackening their teeth. They look even less like human beings than those *eta* and *hinin* outcasts."

Xu Wei looked at Oichi and said sternly, "We have already told Oda Nobunaga not to send people with such makeup. Since you are Nobunaga's envoy, why did you shave your eyebrows? Is this a provocation against the Great Ming!"

"Anyone arriving in Nagasaki is forbidden from shaving eyebrows, blackening teeth, or wearing the *chonmage* hairstyle. Violators will be expelled without mercy."

Hairstyles, makeup, and even blackened teeth—these certainly did not affect the Great Ming's acquisition of Japanese silver, but were they worth the Viceroy engaging in a serious confrontation when formally meeting the envoy?

The reason Xu Wei made such a demand was actually a dispute over etiquette. Just like the previous debates over whether to wear the left-lapel or right-lapel, what was actually being contested was the righteousness of the orthodox order and the essence of ritual.

"Shaving eyebrows is only because I am married. Since the envoy of the Heavenly Dynasty dislikes it, I will not shave them in the future. Eyebrows grow fast in summer; they will grow back in a few days. I beg the noble envoy of the Heavenly Dynasty not to be so furious." Oichi had been half-kneeling, but upon hearing the Viceroy's stern tone, she hurriedly bowed her head and said submissively.

Shaving eyebrows and blackening teeth were both to indicate that one was married. She shaved her eyebrows in Azuchi Castle to prevent being harassed. When she returned to Azuchi Castle, she was only twenty-five, and there were many suitors. Although she had indeed been married, who could blame her when her own brother was Oda Nobunaga, the ruler of the realm?

Shaving eyebrows was more like an expression of widowhood, as she still had three daughters to raise.

"Why did Oda Nobunaga send a woman?" Xu Wei asked with some confusion.

Staying indoors and not going out—in Japan, this was expressed as "women have no affairs outside." After her husband Azai Nagamasa committed suicide, Oichi returned to Azuchi Castle and lived in seclusion, never appearing in public. It was strange that she had suddenly come to the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office as an envoy.

Oichi said helplessly, "My brother has no one left to use. Since the last time he was assassinated, he no longer knows whom to trust. My brother has long heard that the Great Ming's coastal defense inspector, 'Water-Strider,' is peerless in bravery. He earnestly requests the noble envoy of the Heavenly Dynasty to send a team of coastal defense inspectors to provide protection and ensure his safety, to prevent assassination by petty villains."

"Ah? Doesn't that mean that if the Great Ming wanted his life, it would only take one word?" Luo Yinghe said with wide eyes.

"The Great Ming is the Heavenly Dynasty; it would not do such a thing. Because no matter what schemes the Great Ming has for Japan, killing an Oda Nobunaga would not solve the problem." Oichi bowed again and said, "There are Western missionaries in Azuchi Castle. In the West, it is common for kings to hire foreign mercenaries to be responsible for their security, because they have no excessive interests involved in the country and only care about money, making them even more reliable."

"I earnestly request the noble envoy's compassion."

Antonio had completely handed over his security work to the Great Ming people. In the eyes of the Great Ming Emperor, this was simply absurd—like a mother opening the door for absurdity, absurd to the extreme—but it was very common and even very reasonable in the West, because in those places, loyalty was a very luxurious word.

Oda Nobunaga had a large red cloak, which was a Western-style cloak, and it had the same effect as Antonio's incongruous five-chapter python robe.

Besides gunpowder and firearms, the biggest purpose of Oichi's visit this time was to request a team of Great Ming coastal defense inspectors to be responsible for Oda Nobunaga's security; he could no longer trust anyone.

Upon hearing Oichi say this, Luo Yinghe clicked his tongue in wonder and said, "Mori Terumoto sent twenty *ashigaru* to assassinate him, never intending for anyone to succeed. The moment the matchlock fired, the rift between Oda Nobunaga, the lord, and his retainers became impossible to bridge, no matter what he did."

Throughout the assassination process, it would have been one thing if Oda Nobunaga had died; the fact that he didn't die was the biggest problem. Because he didn't die, he looked at everyone as a rebel. Even loyal retainers were terrified, fearing they would be suspected.

Once there was a rift that could not be communicated across, the cracks would expand infinitely.

Moreover, Mori Terumoto had also raised the fourth "Oda Nobunaga Encirclement Net." Under such circumstances, it was no surprise that Oda Nobunaga had no choice but to send his sister to the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office to appeal to external forces.

"We cannot provide any help. Oda Nobunaga may not be aware that the Great Ming's Beacon-Tower Marquis and Coastal Defense Inspectors are directly subordinate to the Northern Depot and under the direct jurisdiction of the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander." Xu Wei shook his head and said, "He has prayed at the wrong temple."

The Beacon-Tower Marquis and Coastal Defense Inspectors were direct subordinate offices of the Northern Depot, which were the "vertical" lines in the Great Ming's "vertical and horizontal" political structure. To put it more bluntly, they were the Emperor's personal troops, because the Northern Depot reported directly to the Emperor himself and was also the main source of the Great Ming's Embroidered Uniform Guards.

The Nagasaki Viceroy's Office had no authority to deploy these people.

"If that is the case, then I earnestly request the noble envoy to let me pass so that I may go to the Great Ming to pay homage." Oichi did not give up. Since the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office could not deploy them, she would go to the Great Ming and try every possible way to persuade the Great Ming Emperor.

Oichi thought for a moment and said, "We can offer compensation, and a great deal of it."

"The Emperor is indeed very fond of silver, but I am certain that you will not gain anything from this trip to the Great Ming. In the Emperor's heart, some things simply cannot be converted into cash," Xu Wei said with great certainty. "The Beacon-Tower Marquis and Coastal Defense Inspectors fall into this category."

Xu Wei understood the Great Ming Emperor quite well. He was greedy for money—truly greedy—and the Emperor's face could be traded for silver, but there were some things that silver could not buy.

The Nagasaki Viceroy's Office could not block Japanese envoys from going to the Great Ming, because it was only a Viceroy's Office. If it deliberately blocked them, it would be suspected of having "autonomy over the land."

Since the beginning of the dynasty, there had been a tradition of enfeoffing princes with titles but not land, granting ranks but not ruling over the people, and providing salaries but not governing civil affairs. Enfeoffing only the title and not the land, granting the title but not managing the people, and receiving a salary but not governing civil affairs—this was the basic logic of the Great Ming's enfeoffment system.

Of course, the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office would not block Oichi from going to the Great Ming, but in Xu Wei's view, the Great Ming Emperor would not approve.

"Perhaps, but one must try nonetheless." Oichi fell silent for a moment, but still wanted to go to the Great Ming as an envoy to seek an audience. Eyebrows grew fast in summer; by the time she reached the Great Ming, her eyebrows would have grown back, and she would not offend the Emperor.

The fourth "Oda Nobunaga Encirclement Net" had been fully deployed, with wolves surrounding him and internal traitors cooperating. Under such a precarious situation, and with Oda Nobunaga having lost the hearts of his retainers, it was no surprise that he had to send his sister to the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office to appeal to external forces.

"Have you found the traitor from the last assassination?" Xu Wei asked curiously, wondering if Oda Nobunaga had caught the traitor who had provided the convenience.

Oichi shook her head and said, "No, he didn't even investigate. My brother said that if he investigated at this time, everyone would feel insecure, so it's better not to investigate. If he doesn't investigate now, as time passes, all evidence will disappear, and by then, even if he wants to investigate, he won't be able to."

Being assassinated but unable to investigate, he could only muddle through and smooth things over.

In the first year of Emperor Wanli, regarding the assassination attempt on the Emperor, Zhang Zhang Juzheng said to the Emperor: "Your subject is incompetent." That was the first time Zhang Zhang Juzheng had said the word "incompetent" in front of the Emperor. Zhang Zhang Juzheng chose to smooth things over and settle the matter, while Zhu Zhu Yijun chose to approve of Zhang Zhang Juzheng using the assassination case to exchange for political interests—exchanging it for Yang Bo's support of the Single Whip Law, for Yang Bo's retirement, and for the position of Minister of Personnel.

If not for Zhang Zhang Siwei's audacity in burning down the palace, which made the Jin faction increasingly dissatisfied with him, and even forced Wang Qian to hire assassins, Zhu Zhu Yijun would have had to wait until after Zhang Zhang Juzheng's death to settle the score regarding the assassination case, as it was Zhang Zhang Juzheng who had come forward to handle it.

The situation Oda Nobunaga was facing at this time was the same as the one Zhu Zhu Yijun faced in the first year of Emperor Wanli.

But at that time, the Great Ming Emperor had an "Iron Triangle"—Empress Dowager Li, Feng Bao, and Zhang Zhang Juzheng—working together to protect him. Oda Nobunaga, however, was truly alone and could not trust anyone, so he could only let his sister go to the Great Ming—a beautiful woman sailing across the sea to the Great Ming.

"There is no quota for Oda Nobunaga for this batch of firearms and gunpowder." Xu Wei looked at Oichi and told her the bad news. To balance the strength of both sides, there was no share for Oda Nobunaga this time.

Oichi was not very concerned about this. She shook her head and said, "My brother had long anticipated this. Before I left, my brother said to me: 'The Great Ming needs silver, and Mori Terumoto controls Japan's largest silver mine, the Iwami Bai Yin Mine. It is normal for the Great Ming to have a bias; there is no need to dwell on it too much.'"

"I believe in my brother! They have organized three encirclement nets and failed to do anything to him; this time will be no exception!"

Oichi was very confident that her brother would win. They had failed the previous three times, and they would surely fail this time. It was just a little frost and snow that one must experience to become the ruler of the realm.

"Very well, then prepare yourself to go to the Great Ming on the ship transporting the silver." Xu Wei nodded. He did not talk much more with Oichi. This time, Xu Wei did not think Oda Nobunaga would be able to break free from the encirclement net again.

When hearts are scattered, the team cannot be led. Zhu Wan's suicide, and Zhang Jing and Li Li Tianchong dying from frame-ups—the entire Southeast was in a state of unrest and suspicion. That was the most dangerous time for the Great Ming, and also the reason why the Japanese pirates could run rampant. When hearts are scattered, how can one pacify and resist the pirates?

Hu Hai Zongxian's pacification of the pirates was done with his utmost effort, and it was only because a large number of loyal officials emerged that the situation was finally stabilized.

Before Oichi set off, a battle report reached the Nagasaki Viceroy's Office: Mori Terumoto's navy had defeated the Oda clan's navy. Kuki Yoshitaka, a 35,000-koku daimyo and lord of the Ise and Shima provinces, was no match for Murakami Takeyoshi and was defeated, and the command of the sea in Osaka Bay fell into the hands of the Mori clan.

In a situation where hearts were already filled with panic, such a major defeat would inevitably cause even more severe low morale; it could by no means be a strategy of luring the enemy deep.

Oda Nobunaga had to resolve his safety issues more quickly; otherwise, he would be like a dragon trapped in shallow water. Therefore, he wrote to Oichi, urging her to set off for the Great Ming as soon as possible.

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