Chapter 370: Farewell, Eldest Senior Brother

Nanjing, the Longjiang Pass naval dockyard.

The fine drizzle most common to a Jiangnan spring was falling; amid the light wind and fine rain, a centipede ship belonging to the Yangtze Fleet rose and fell gently. A gangplank had been lowered from the starboard side of the centipede ship, as if waiting for someone to come aboard.

All around the dock, soldiers armed with long spears, swords, and shields stood guard so tightly that not even a breeze could slip through.

In one corner of the dock stood a dilapidated official reception pavilion; on its windward side, thick brocade curtains had been hung to block the drizzle drifting in with the wind.

Inside the reception pavilion sat five people, three men and two women. In the center were Zhu Cilang and Zheng Zhilong, dressed in plain clothes, father-in-law and son-in-law sitting face to face. Between them was a low table, and on it were several cups of green tea giving off a delicate fragrance.

Seated to the side as company were the siblings Zheng Sen and Zheng Chagu. Zheng Chagu's eyes were red, as if she had just been crying. Zheng Sen wore a smile and seemed in rather good spirits. And Zheng Zhilong was even more delighted, grinning so wide he could not close his mouth.

"Hahaha, Thousand Years, this old man must congratulate you! Wahaha."

One look at his face told you he was a man long accustomed to being the one in charge and not much good at pretending — though this only made him seem honest and straightforward; it would be strange indeed if he were not delighted at such news. Wu Sanmei's belly had "failed to deliver," so his Zheng Chagu now had her chance. If she truly bore Zhu Cilang a son, it would be impossible not to make her the principal consort.

And Zhu Cilang also wore a smile, not in the least angry with Zheng Zhilong. He was the Crown Prince, after all, so of course his magnanimity was immense. Besides, when Zheng Zhilong heard that Zhu Cilang had gotten a daughter, he had immediately sent a hundred thousand taels of silver to the palace as a congratulatory gift — far too generous of him!

In one corner of the pavilion, there was also a young woman brewing tea — none other than Zhu Cilang's personal social butterfly, Kou Baimen. The reason she was here was that today was the day Zheng Zhilong and Zheng Sen were leaving Nanjing.

In name she belonged to Zheng Sen, so coming to see him off was a matter of propriety.

Zheng Zhilong had now been appointed Governor-General of the Southern Seas and enfeoffed as Duke of Quan; he was now returning to Quanzhou.

He also had another mission: to make contact on Zhu Cilang's behalf with the Governor-General of Batavia of the Dutch East India Company and invite a Dutch envoy to Nanjing. In this day and age, carrying out reform and opening up could not be done without the Dutch, those wagoners of the sea, and Zhu Cilang also hoped to buy more Western cannons and Western warships from the Dutch.

Zheng Sen was also leaving Nanjing. He had been appointed as an imperial envoy to Japan — traveling in the name of a Ming imperial commissioner, and sailing to Japan aboard a galleon that Alfonso López had purchased for Zhu Cilang, crewed by Portuguese sailors. He would also carry the state letter and personal letter that Zhu Cilang had written to Tokugawa Iemitsu, the third shogun of the Edo bakufu.

As Zhu Cilang's envoy, Zheng Sen had two important missions. The first was to strive to establish an embassy on Japanese soil and conclude a "Ming-Japan Trade Agreement."

Japan's age of chaos had ended only thirty years before, and the Tokugawa shogunate was at the height of its power, with abundant military and financial strength. Although more than ten years earlier it had adopted a policy of national seclusion because of the Shimabara Rebellion, the openness and competition of the Warring States era had left Japan with relatively advanced matchlock and gunpowder technology.

Such a country was naturally not to be lumped together with Joseon, which had been in decline for over two hundred years, or Annam, which was in the middle of a civil war.

Given the Ming's present strength, conquering Japan by force was utterly impossible. Even if Zhu Cilang's 28,000-strong Model Army were fully trained, it still could not defeat the Tokugawa shogunate on Japanese soil.

But the Tokugawa shogunate could not come out either — Japan, that samurai nation, now had no navy to speak of. It had been closed off for over ten years; its foreign trade all depended on Chinese and Dutch merchant ships. It no longer even had sailors capable of long voyages, so of course it had no navy.

Thus the Ming and Japan were now in a situation where one could not fight its way in and the other could not fight its way out. So they could only remain close neighbors separated by a narrow strip of water, friendly neighboring states.

Since they were friendly neighbors, they ought to do business properly. Japan in this era abounded in brass, lacquerware, and dried seafood. Brass was the most critical raw material for the Ming's cannon-casting and coin-minting. Lacquerware was an international trade commodity; though it could not compare with silk and porcelain in status, it still had a certain market.

Dried marine goods, which the Japanese called tawaramono, were sold mainly to China.

As for what Japan imported from China, it was chiefly silk, tea, porcelain, and the like.

In short, there was still a great deal of buying and selling the two sides could do. Therefore establishing an embassy and signing a trade agreement was extremely necessary.

Zheng Sen's second mission was to lodge a formal protest with the Edo shogunate: why had a man claiming to be Toyotomi Hidekatsu, lord of Osaka Castle, led troops in an attack from the sea and occupied Jeju Island, a vassal territory of the Ming?

This was, of course, a con.

This "Toyotomi Hidekatsu" was entirely fictitious. The ones who had occupied Jeju Island were the people of that "Wokou General Store." They had gone to Jeju Island aboard the great warships provided by the Zheng family — galleon hulls with Chinese lugsails. Without much effort, they had made the Toyotomi clan's paulownia crest with the five-and-three pattern fly all over Jeju Island. This was using four hundred wokou to con three parties at once: Joseon was one, the Great Qing was one, and the Tokugawa shogunate was another.

This was playing with concepts — one event spun into three concepts. For Joseon it was the "wokou concept"; for the Manchu Qing it was the "aid-to-Joseon, resist-the-wokou concept"; for the Tokugawa shogunate it was the "ghost of the Toyotomi concept."

If it were merely a Ming imperial envoy, the Tokugawa shogunate might well ignore him. But with the news of Toyotomi Hidekatsu added in, Tokugawa Iemitsu would certainly not be able to sit still. So Zheng Sen's mission this time was sure to be a great success!

Not only could he build a bridge of friendship between the Ming and Japan, but he could also bring his mother, Tagawa, and his younger brother, Tagawa Shichizaemon, back to Ming territory.

Zheng Zhilong had expended no small effort to get his first wife out of Japan. In history, he had managed to bring the wife out, but the son, Tagawa Shichizaemon, had remained in Japan.

But this time the situation was different, because Toyotomi Hidekatsu had appeared — and this man was very likely Kunimatsumaru, the eldest son of Toyotomi Hideyori!

It had only been thirty years since the Winter Siege of Osaka; the Toyotomi clan was not yet cold in its grave! In every corner of Japan, who knew how many loyal remnants of the Toyotomi were still dreaming their grand dreams of a Toyotomi restoration!

"Eldest Senior Brother," Zhu Cilang said to Zheng Sen with a smile, "you must not let this story of Toyotomi Hidekatsu fall apart. You must keep the matter between existence and nonexistence. Do not commit to any statement; the hazier, the better."

When you are playing with concepts, what is the point if everything is spelled out? It is only fun when it is all clouds and fog!

Zheng Sen nodded. "Junior Brother, Your Highness, this subject will certainly, certainly go and deceive them well!"

"How is it deception?" Zhu Cilang frowned deeply. "This is not deception!"

Huh? This is not deception?

Even a crafty merchant like Zheng Zhilong was momentarily stunned. This Crown Prince was remarkably skilled at lying through his teeth with a straight face!

"Brother, if the Crown Prince says it is not deception, then it is not deception!" the young Zheng Chagu put in.

"Right, right, it is not deception!" Zheng Sen glanced at his sister and thought: You have already been deceived into his hands, and he is still not a deceiver? He is the best deceiver of all.

Zhu Cilang said with a perfectly serious face, "Eldest Senior Brother, you must believe that the people on Jeju Island are all loyal remnants of the Toyotomi. Even if Hidekatsu is not on the island, these people are still loyal subjects of the Toyotomi house!"

Loyal subjects are a theme — and a very popular theme in Japan at that. Three or four hundred Toyotomi loyalists guarding their young lord Hidekatsu for thirty years, wandering overseas, never abandoning him, and now following the grown Hidekatsu in raising the Toyotomi banner on Jeju Island — this story alone could move a whole host of ronin and samurai who still longed for the Toyotomi clan!

"I believe it." Zheng Sen nodded.

"Right, right, that is the way! You must also admire their loyalty, righteousness, and valor." Zhu Cilang said, "They are all loyal subjects of the Toyotomi house!"

"Right, all loyal subjects!" Zheng Sen answered with his mouth, but in his heart he said: With you, loyal subjects are everywhere — even that old wokou Saiga Magoichi is a loyal subject beyond all praise.

(End of Chapter)