Chapter 120: Section Four: Whitewashing

No sooner had they managed to send Wu Mu on his way than He Baodao sidled over: "Have the Jianzhou slaves abandoned Nanguan?"

"Yes." This indicated that the morale of the Later Jin local garrison was beginning to sag. Huang Shi reckoned that He Baodao was about to urge him to attack once more.

"My lord, after the farming slack season, we had best spend another month drilling. Setting out at the end of the eighth month or in the ninth month would be more certain."

"That's rare. What makes Garrison Commander He think so?" Huang Shi was thoroughly surprised — He Baodao was actually opposing an immediate sortie.

Below, nearly a hundred soldiers, each gripping a long spear, were strenuously practicing thrusting movements. He Baodao stood with Huang Shi watching for a while: "They can be used by the seventh month, but the other farmer-soldiers would also do best to train for another month. Only then might my lord's spear formation actually prove effective."

"So you've gained confidence in the spear formation I designed?" Huang Shi asked He Baodao with a smile. When the plan had first been proposed, He Baodao had opposed it most fiercely, arguing that a few hundred soldiers could never be trained to coordinate as seamlessly as a single body.

"The more I watch, the more interesting it becomes. This subordinate has never seen anything like it before, but it does look possible now." He Baodao casually flicked his whip, then walked over to continue drilling the soldiers.

"No blocking! Counter-thrust... still blocking, no blocking allowed..."

He Baodao lashed out vigorously with his whip to strike people. One of his unique techniques was to permit only counter-attacks and forbid any parrying.

"Ordinary spear technique has eight forms — thrust, flick, sweep, block, and so on. My He family spear has only one form: the thrust." He Baodao had explained his philosophy to Huang Shi: he wanted to drill this single thrust until it became fluid to the point of perfection, ultimately an instinctive, subconscious action.

"In the end, spear and mind must become one, so that the moment you see the flash of an enemy's blade, you counter-thrust without even thinking..."

Isn't that the technique of a madman? Huang Shi had asked him at the time: if you don't block, won't you just be cut down?

"If he does manage to cut me... well, he's a dead man too. He won't live to take my head, and maybe I won't be dead yet. Even if I lose, to die at the hands of a swift and valiant warrior — there'd be no regrets in that..."

Halfway through his reply, He Baodao could not help but burst into loud laughter, clearly very pleased with himself: "When two strong foes meet, the bold one wins. Blocking may not stop the blow anyway. As long as my move is faster, I'll thrust into him first, and naturally it will be me taking his head. At least to this day, the enemy has either tried to dodge or failed to dodge, so I have always been the victor."

"Does your He family saber technique also consist of just one move — either chop or slash?" Huang Shi was rather curious about this.

"Correct. The principle is the same as with the spear." He Baodao declared that he had practiced the heavy chop so thoroughly that he could execute it effortlessly even in his sleep.

Truly the technique of a madman... "That noble young master you cut down — he must have been really strong, to have been able to take three blows from you."

"I never intended to take a life either." He Baodao seemed somewhat regretful: "I struck with the scabbard, and used the back of it at that."

In the sixth month of the third year of the Tianqi reign, Ningyuan Fort was finally completed. Yuan Chonghuan received an evaluation praising his competent execution and was promoted to Ningyuan Forward Military Circuit Intendant, with the concurrent title of Prefect of Ningyuan.

The low-cost copper Huang Shi had bought for one thousand silver taels was cast into five million coins. He had not expected that such a small amount of copper would take nearly two full months to mint, which made him somewhat worried about the speed of future large-scale production. Fortunately, Liu Qingyang offered many words of reassurance. The main reason was that Huang Shi's soldiers were mostly hereditary military households rather than skilled hands, so production accidents occurred constantly, and the metal had to be repeatedly melted down and recast, thus slowing the pace.

Although the work had some disappointments, it was finally complete. Huang Shi inspected the finished products: "Alright, I am entrusting my family fortune to you."

"My lord, rest assured. While the money exists, I exist. This humble officer will certainly..."

"No need for that. Summon that Japanese pirate here." Huang Shi cut off Liu Qingyang's pledge of loyalty.

That Japanese man had already been waiting on Zhangsheng Island for half a month. No one had expected the coin casting to be so slow. The moment he entered, he dropped to his knees: "This insignificant person pays respects to the Grand General of the Ming State."

Huang Shi calmly accepted his grand gesture of obeisance. This Japanese man was named Kuroshima Yasuo, and his family had been pirates for generations. During the Korean war, the Japanese army had been pinned down and beaten by an inferior Ming force, so Japan deeply feared Ming military might and had historically worried that the Ming would raise an army to demand retribution. Thus, after the Tokugawa shogunate came to power, the wording of its envoys was extremely humble. Domestically, it not only pressured the Shimazu clan to release the King of Ryukyu, but also severely suppressed any pirates who dared harass Korean waters, in order to avoid giving China a pretext to launch a war.

The Kuroshima family, which had made its living for generations trading with Korea, thus fell into decline. By Kuroshima Yasuo's generation, it was even more destitute. At this time, Japan's policy of national seclusion was growing ever stricter, and the Dutch controlled most of the trade routes with China. Unwilling to go home and honestly become a fisherman, Kuroshima Yasuo resolved to blaze a new trail, searching all the way until he reached Pi Island, hoping to trade directly with China.

But not many years had passed since the Korean war, and the Liaodong Ming army was still relatively hostile toward Japan. Mao Wenlong, who hailed from Zhejiang, had even less fondness for Japanese pirates, so Kuroshima Yasuo was turned away at the door. Yet Kuroshima was a man who would not give up until he reached his goal. Determined to escape the fate of returning home to be a fisherman, he persisted westward, suffering rejection after rejection at Guanglu, Zhangshan, and Lushun without ever turning back. When he finally arrived at Zhangsheng Island, he and Huang Shi, who had long harbored designs on Japan, hit it off immediately. Devoid of any national integrity, Kuroshima Yasuo instantly agreed to smuggle counterfeit currency into his mother country.

"I will give you a letter from this General, certifying that you are purchasing military supplies for Zhangsheng Island..."

To return to Japan, Kuroshima Yasuo would need to stop for supplies at various Korean ports and the islands of Dongjiangzhen. Huang Shi's certifying letter could spare him a great deal of trouble, and Korea would not dare levy taxes on a Ming military vessel.

"...This is this General's quartermaster, Liu Qingyang. He will accompany you to Japan..."

Although this risk had to be taken, Huang Shi always had to send one of his own men to keep watch.

"...Here is also a special letter, which you may produce when necessary..."

Given the awe left by the Ming–Korean war, neither the Tokugawa shogunate nor the pirates along the Korean coast wished to provoke China. Historically, the Japanese government turned a blind eye to smuggling operations with a Ming official background. Huang Shi therefore felt that his status as a Ming Assistant Regional Commander was very useful and could, when necessary, be used to bluff and bluster. Still, it was of course best not to produce this letter unless absolutely unavoidable.

"...Do well, and from now on, this General will entrust the Japan trade to you."

Huang Shi dangled a carrot, then followed it with an even bigger one: "If you render meritorious service, this General will help you enter the Liaodong military register. Getting you a post as a Great Ming military officer — that is not impossible either."

"I thank the Grand General for his patronage! This insignificant person will grind his bones to powder and swear loyalty unto death to the Grand General." Kuroshima Yasuo was instantly bowled over by this huge carrot. In East Asia during the Ming period, gaining Chinese household registration and an official post meant one could return home and live a life of unbridled tyranny, above all law. For a Japanese pirate of this era, it further meant being able to conduct maritime trade openly and aboveboard, utterly transforming his family's furtive, hidden existence.

Watching Kuroshima Yasuo weep bitterly on the ground (very likely feigned emotion), and thinking further of this era's East Asian worship and yearning for the Celestial Empire of China, Huang Shi felt all the pent-up resentment from his previous life vented in one breath — Yes, I will make them submit forever at the feet of Huaxia... or perhaps, "persuading" them to join would be an even better idea.