Chapter 660: Heart Moved

Yamana Mototo met her gaze, and his heart turned cold.

"Avenging blood is one reason," Pan Yun said. "The second: this spring, the Uchi clan sent spies into Great Ming, severely wounding one of our heroes and stealing a map from him. That hero was our friend, our dear brother. We came to help him reclaim that map."

The friend standing beside him silently lowered his head.

Yamana Mototo asked curiously: "What kind of map?"

Pan Yun: "A map of immense value. It belongs to Great Ming. Lord Yamana has no interest in it."

"Third, the Uchi clan monopolizes maritime trade between Great Ming, Japan, and Korea. Our Great Ming merchant alliance finds this intolerable and wishes to establish its own shipping route—ensuring safer, cheaper passage for ships and cargo. If we can cooperate with Lord Yamana, wouldn't that also benefit the Yamana clan?"

Yamana Mototo was deeply tempted, yet knew it was impossible. He shook his head: "The coast is controlled by the Uchi clan. We cannot outmatch them, and we lack ships large enough."

Even if Yamana Mototo were blindly confident, he knew they could never break through the Uchi clan and seize the western ports under their control.

Pan Yun: "I heard there's a place called Onsenzumi on the eastern coast."

Yamana Mototo instinctively glanced at Masuda Shintaro.

Masuda Shintaro: …

He quickly said: "That place does border the sea, but only fishermen live there. All vessels are small fishing boats. No one has ever heard of large ships docking there."

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow, sizing him up. "What is your name?"

Masuda Shintaro bowed low and introduced himself: "I am Masuda Shintaro, a retainer of the Yamana lord, from the Masuda Shi."

Ieishi smiled warmly: "The area the Young Lady mentioned is under the management of the Masuda Shi."

Pan Yun's gaze flickered—this meant the Masuda Shi were local magnates of that region.

Just as the Uchi clan were magnates of Chōshū, so the Yamana clan originally entrusted Chōshū to the Uchi clan's care—only for the Uchi to grow stronger, their power deeply rooted, making them impossible to dislodge…

Was this not the same as imperial authority clashing with regional magnates for local power?

Pan Yun grew two degrees friendlier toward Masuda Shintaro, and paid him closer attention.

Pan Yun smiled: "That's only because no large ship has ever docked there. Once the first one arrives, won't it have docked? If it's inconvenient, build a port to make it convenient. Lord Yamana, do you know why the Uchi clan rose to become a regional power in just a few decades, forcing even Kyoto's Ashikaga and Oda clans to yield to them?"

Yamana Mototo: "They have an army, and many samurai."

Pan Yun: "Maintaining an army and samurai requires vast wealth. Does the Yamana clan lack population?

In terms of heritage, the Yamana clan far surpasses the Uchi clan—yet you lack money. With sufficient wealth, how could talent fail to come? With talent and grain, you could summon any number of armies and samurai with a wave of your hand!"

Yamana Mototo's blood boiled. Even the composed Ieishi could not suppress his rising excitement.

Beside them, Masuda Shintaro kept his head lowered, his eyes shifting—should Onsenzumi truly become a port, the Masuda Shi would be the direct beneficiaries.

After all, that land belonged to the Masuda Shi.

His heart stirred with excitement.

Xue Shao watched silently. Seeing Pan Yun's words stir all three men to fervor, he couldn't help a faint smile.

Back in the hall, the three men grew far more enthusiastic.

Yamana Mototo felt that distant guests should not stay in inns.

He warmly invited them to reside within the Yamana clan's grounds.

Pan Yun replied that they were heroes, equivalent to samurai here, accustomed to freedom and unbound by restraint.

Yamana Mototo immediately said: "You won't be restrained. I'll assign you two adjacent mansions, with separate entrances. No one will disturb you, and our future meetings will be more convenient."

Pan Yun considered briefly, then agreed: "But it's already late today. Moving now is impossible. We'll relocate tomorrow."

Thus, deeper cooperation—how to reclaim land seized by the Uchi clan, how to build a port at Onsenzumi, how to seize several ships from the Uchi clan, how to partner with Great Ming's merchant alliance—would all be discussed after tomorrow.

Yamana Mototo returned to the council chamber, buzzing with excitement. He asked Ieishi and the other: "Do you believe her?"

Ieishi: "She speaks the truth."

Masuda Shintaro also judged her words true.

Yamana Mototo paced: "But can she truly deliver?"

Ieishi: "She is clever, strategic. Her companions are formidable. Such a person could serve as a national sage—but she is from Great Ming. We must remain cautious."

Masuda Shintaro held a different view: "She is clever, but still a sea bandit. Her merchant alliance is merely Great Ming's smugglers. Great Ming bans the sea; law-abiding citizens cannot leave. Those who come here may claim revenge, but isn't profit their true motive?"

Ieishi's mind stirred. "We should send someone to investigate the map they seek."

Yamana Mototo dismissed it: "Kyoto's nobles adore Great Ming's paintings and calligraphy. A single book, unreadable, sells for a hundred taels of silver. A painting, claimed to be ancient, with not a single character on it, fetches a thousand taels. The Uchi clan loves to ape refinement—they may have truly stolen an authentic ancient painting. I've heard some rare paintings in Great Ming sell for a thousand or even ten thousand taels of gold. Priceless."

Beside him, Masuda Shintaro opened his mouth, then hesitated.

Ieishi noticed and urged: "Speak if you have something."

Masuda Shintaro lowered his voice: "Two days ago, I heard a merchant from Shikoku mention something related to a map."

"What?"

"The Kikuchi clan frequently raids Great Ming's merchant ships and fishermen. They hide their plunder on an island and drew a treasure map. Recently, the Kikuchi clan fell into internal strife; the main line died. The rebel, Yoshimura Shun'yo, seized power. But before Kikuchi Ku died, he burned the treasure map. All who knew its location perished in the infighting. Only Kikuchi Wu Bei still held a copy—but Kikuchi Wu Bei was captured by the Great Ming imperial court, and the map vanished."

Yamana Mototo and Ieishi's hearts leapt with excitement: "You mean…"

"I heard the Kikuchi clan sent many samurai into Great Ming to find the map, drawing Great Ming's own warriors into the hunt. Recently, they've been clashing. The Uchi clan took advantage of the chaos, reached the map's holder before the Kikuchi, and stole it…"

"No wonder, no wonder," Yamana Mototo paced, exhilarated. "This 'revenge' business? It's all about the treasure map. They want us to fight the Uchi clan, then find the map!"

Masuda Shintaro quickly said: "What about the port at Onsenzumi…"

"The port is real too. The treasure map is temporary, but a port? That's a golden goose. She wants both—revenge is just a convenient excuse!" (End of chapter)