Chapter 622

Great Ming and Japan had trade relations, but under the maritime prohibition policy, all trade between the two nations was conducted officially, known as tribute trade, also called the tally trade.

Japanese traders seeking to trade with Great Ming had to carry a tally token.

Only those who landed with a tally token were recognized by Great Ming as legitimate traders; otherwise, all trade was deemed smuggling.

Japanese pirates roamed freely, not only looting the people and wealth of Great Ming, but also harassing coastal civilians of Japan itself.

The goods they brought back infringed upon the rights of certain groups.

After all, without them, families engaged in tally trade could bring back goods worth several times the value.

Thus, among Japanese middle- and upper-level interest groups, support for the pirates was evenly split, while among the lower classes, the people deeply detested them.

The lower-class people gained no benefit from the pirates' plunder from Great Ming; instead, due to the pirates' raids, the number of ronin increased, and armed clashes frequently erupted along the coast.

These samurai smashed property without compensation, injured ordinary civilians with impunity, and offered no restitution—no wonder the people hated them.

In contrast, they preferred merchants and sea bandits who smuggled goods from Great Ming.

Because they paid to hire locals for labor.

So when a large ship bearing a pirate flag drew near, women and children fled at once, leaving behind a few agile young men.

Before the ship even docked, the youths on shore swiftly scanned Pan Yun's clothing, hair, and face.

After one glance, they leapt up excitedly and shouted: "Han Chinese! Han Chinese!"

Those who had run far immediately rushed back; household retainers with swords and spears led a group of ronin charging forward, shoving aside these commoners while fixing their sharp gazes on the approaching ship.

From afar, Pan Yun's gaze met that of the lead retainer.

Pan Yun slightly curled her lips, nodded to him; once she saw his eyes brighten, she turned away, looking toward the other side of the shore, where a group of men armed with swords and spears were running toward them—just as they neared the harbor, a crowd of ragged civilians surged out from the side and blocked them.

Pan Yun's smile widened, "This place was deliberately chosen by me—it conveniently lies outside the spheres of influence of the Kikuchi and Uesugi clans."

Xue Shao: "Then whose sphere of influence is this?"

"According to confessions from Japanese pirates, this is Kōchi County, one of Shikoku's regions. Don't be fooled by its small size—many families are entrenched here: Benshan, Aki, Chōsokabe, Nakamura, and Ichijō—and that's not even all. They fight over territory; when they're friendly, they're close, but when they're hostile, they'll fight until their heads bleed."

Qu Le looked disgusted: "Just one county? Isn't this just local gentry fighting over land and profit? We don't even have this many gentry in a single county."

Pan Yun chuckled: "Isn't it better that they have so many factions? The muddier the water, the easier it is to catch fish."

The ship docked.

The lead retainer leapt onto the ship before it had even stabilized; Pan Yun frowned, and immediately, A Xin drew his sword with a sharp hiss. Seeing Pan Yun made no move to stop him, he acted on his own impulse and slashed his blade toward the oncoming man.

The retainer raised his sword to block; the two exchanged several blows, and after three or four strikes, A Xin forced the retainer to the ship's edge—any slight movement would send him tumbling into the sea.

Only then did Pan Yun call a halt, glancing at the retainer without speaking.

A Xin demanded: "Who are you? Why did you board the ship without permission?"

The retainer, hearing his fluent Han Chinese, quickly replied in Han Chinese: "Esteemed noble, forgive me—I am Benshan Duoxin, seeking an audience with your master."

Pan Yun found his Han Chinese halting and bluntly asked: "Don't your people traditionally use Chinese characters and study Han language? Send someone literate to speak with me—surely your lord can read?"

Benshan Duoxin's face flushed red; though a retainer, he was illiterate, and his Han Chinese came only from overhearing his lord's speech.

Seeing Pan Yun standing at the front of the crowd, everyone else standing half a step behind her, he realized she was the leader.

Though she was a woman, Benshan Duoxin dared not underestimate her.

The fact that she had crossed the sea with this group alone proved she was no ordinary person.

Benshan Duoxin's gaze swept over the armed ronin behind her; he sensed she was unlike the previous Han Chinese smugglers—her aura was different—and he dared not force familiarity, quickly saying: "Wait a moment—I'll go fetch my lord."

His lord, Benshan Yousun, had originally not intended to come himself—just another smuggler's ship; he could send his sons.

But for some reason, as he was about to speak, his heart leapt—a gut feeling compelled him to go see for himself.

He always trusted his instincts, so Benshan Yousun came.

When a retainer from the Chōsokabe clan heard that Benshan Yousun had personally gone to the harbor, he immediately returned to summon his lord.

Thus, Chōsokabe Kei also arrived.

When the two middle-aged men, wearing wooden geta, clattered onto the harbor, Pan Yun's group had already been locked in a silent stare-down with the locals for nearly an hour.

Yet they were not bored at all.

The people on shore watched them like performers; they, in turn, watched the shore people like monkeys.

Both sides had analyzed each other's skin tone, hairstyles, clothing, ornaments, even shoes and socks and language eight hundred times, finally concluding: "Why do the coastal people of Japan look poorer than those of Great Ming?"

Pan Yun: "Isn't that only natural? They're a small country; we are the Celestial Empire."

Hu Jing: "But we have maritime prohibitions."

Qu Le: "The roads look terrible—full of potholes and mud pits. The harbor's tiny too. Pan Yun, didn't you say you picked a relatively large harbor? Did you pick the wrong place? This looks worse than a filthy fishing village's makeshift dock."

"I didn't pick the wrong place—if I did, turn around, go below deck, drag out the prisoners, and flog their corpses."

Qu Le sneered: "So run-down and tiny."

Pan Yun: "It's from this run-down, tiny place that people have plagued the coasts of Great Ming."

Hu Jing: "You sound bitter. We can't be blamed entirely—we can't chase thieves a thousand miles, nor guard against them a thousand days. Our coastline is too long to defend fully."

Pan Yun: "The Tang general Cheng Yaojin once said a famous line."

Hu Jing was intrigued: "What was it?"

"Offense is the best defense!"

Hu Jing nodded vigorously: "That's wise—no wonder he was a great general!"

Xue Shao was baffled, doubting himself, humbly asking: "Pan Yun, where in the ancient texts is this quote from?"

Pan Yun, expression unchanged, said: "I forgot—but tell me, is the saying right or not?"

Xue Shao hesitated, then nodded: "It's not wrong, but Great Ming and Japan are separated by sea—we'd be exhausted fighting a distant invasion, and we might even suffer from unfamiliar climate and terrain…"

Pan Yun clicked her tongue: "Who said we're coming to Great Ming? If we can't come openly, we come secretly."

Seeing Miao Zhen was thrilled: "Like now?"

Pan Yun gave a slight nod.

Xue Shao stroked his chin in thought: "That's actually a solution…"

Qu Le glanced from one to the other, quietly stepping farther away from them.

It was terrifying—a Daoist Priest and an official had come up with using bandits to control bandits, wilder than even those of us who roam the rivers and lakes.

While waiting for the others to arrive, they enthusiastically discussed the feasibility of this method, just as they were getting into full swing, they saw two groups rapidly approaching from afar.

The two middle-aged men at their head wore wide sleeves and large robes, their scant hair combed straight back, gleaming oily under the sun.

They shuffled along in tall wooden clogs, rushing toward them with quick, nimble steps that seemed impossible for anyone wearing such footwear.

Pan Yun couldn't help but glance at their short legs and thought their lower stance was remarkably stable.

But…

"They seem kind of poor," clearly, Wang Cong had noticed the same thing: "They ran all the way here—not in a cart, not in a sedan chair. Do they not even own a donkey cart?"

Pan Yun cleared her throat softly and lowered her voice: "They've arrived. They understand Chinese. Speak less about them."

Wang Cong obediently closed his mouth.

Benshan Yousun arrived first, stepping onto the dock and bowing to Pan Yun: "Are you the esteemed guest from Great Ming? I am Benshan Yousun. Please disembark, let me fulfill my duty as host."

Chōsōgō Shigeru also rushed over, bowing likewise, inviting Pan Yun to disembark for a meeting.

Only then did Pan Yun descend the ship with Wang Cong and Xue Shao.

Qu Le moved to follow, but Hu Jing grabbed him by the collar.

Qu Le protested, whispering: "A Xin can go—why can't I?"

Hu Jing whispered back: "He's a sea bandit by origin—he speaks the underworld tongue and understands Japanese. He's useful. What do you know?"

Qu Le opened his mouth, indignant: "Wait till I learn Japanese…"

Seeing Miao Zhen chimed in excitedly: "We've learned a lot on this journey—I'll teach you!"

Qu Le didn't want her to teach—he knew she'd just learned it herself; her pronunciation was probably wrong, and she'd end up corrupting his speech.

Benshan Yousun, like his retainers, instantly recognized Pan Yun as the leader, and dared not underestimate her—even treating her with slightly greater solemnity.

A child so young could sail a ship across the sea to Japan—either she was exceptionally capable, or her family was. Either way, Benshan Yousun had no desire to offend her.

Benshan Yousun introduced himself again, smiling as he invited Pan Yun to visit the Benshan household, adding that the Benshan clan welcomed all trade caravans from Great Ming, whether official or private.

Pan Yun knew this was probing, and didn't hide it: "I am Daoist Pan Yun, my dharma name is Pan Sanzhu. This ship was seized from sea bandits."

Benshan Yousun's expression froze, his gaze quickly sweeping over Wang Cong and the other three behind her.

He lingered longest on Xue Shao.

Xue Shao carried too strong an air of the scholar—he, like Pan Yun, radiated a quality Benshan Yousun found both appealing and unsettling, stirring a strange unease in him.

Noticing the doubt in his eyes, Pan Yun smiled: "We are of the rivers and lakes. You're Japanese, perhaps you don't understand Great Ming—in Great Ming, martial cultivation is expensive, and we're broke.

So our great martial sects united to wipe out a sea bandit nest, but the gold and silver we gained was only temporary—not a lasting solution. We wish to follow their example and establish a lasting business, one that can support our sect for generations. Thus, the Wu Lin Alliance sent us ahead to make contact with Japanese gentlemen and landowners like yourself…"

Benshan Yousun understood at once.

Great Ming had an organization called the Wu Lin Alliance that had blackmailed and wiped out several sea bandit nests—and now wanted to take over their trade.

Benshan Yousun's eyes lit up, and he nodded immediately: "It would be our honor to guide Daoist Pan!"

He had long wanted to enter the sea bandit trade—but couldn't get in.

Because the Benshan family had no large ships; only small boats, good for petty raids nearby.

But what was the point?

Robbing the peasants of Kōchi County—they were too poor, you couldn't squeeze out even a few taels; not worth the effort.

Robbing other sea bandits—he couldn't defeat them.

So he could only fight with other families over port territory, buying goods from landed pirates and reselling them for profit.

Since Pan Yun's group was new too, perhaps they could collaborate—ride on their ships, maybe even soar past the Uchimura clan.

Benshan Yousun beamed, eager to cozy up—but had been kept at bay, and only now, after being forced to announce his name, did Chōsōgō Shigeru push through Benshan's men with his followers: "And me! Daoist Pan, the Chōsōgō clan's power is no weaker than the Benshan clan's. If you want to sell your seized goods, relying on just the Benshan family won't do—we can form a three-way alliance!"

Benshan Yousun opened his mouth to object, but Chōsōgō Shigeru leaned close and whispered: "Look at the size of their ship—can you even swallow it?"

Benshan Yousun swallowed his words, silently allowing Chōsōgō Shigeru to stand beside him.

Xue Shao watched, raising an eyebrow inwardly—Pan Yun's choice of port had been precise.

Pan Yun's lips curled slightly in delight as she befriended them, then ordered the gangway lowered to let the crew disembark.

Benshan Yousun stared eagerly at the large ship and asked: "Daoist Pan, what goods did you bring this time?"

"Plenty," she said. "I don't think either of your families can buy it all, so I won't sell everything here." Seeing their expressions darken, she smiled: "But the finest items will be offered to you first. This is my first port of call across the sea, and you are my first Japanese friend—you naturally get preferential treatment."

Benshan Yousun and Chōsōgō Shigeru's expressions brightened, and they asked eagerly: "What goods did Daoist Pan bring?"

Pan Yun waved her hand carelessly: "Many things—copper coins, raw silk, brocade, porcelain, books… and…"

She winked at them, her tone heavy with implication: "People."

They blinked, confused: "People?"

"Yes, people," Pan Yun smiled. "But I won't part with them easily—you'll need to earn their favor."

Benshan Yousun frowned: "Slaves? Do you choose slaves based on whether they like you?"

Pan Yun smiled, letting the subject drop, then clapped her hands toward the ship: "Seeing Miao Zhen, Seeing Miao He—bring down two baskets of brocade for Benshan and Chōsōgō to choose from. A gift from me."

Seeing Miao Zhen and Seeing Miao He responded, turning toward the cargo hold to fetch the brocade. (End of Chapter)