Chapter 135: Ming Treason

Wang Zongxian was locked in a solitary cell, his hair disheveled, his official robes removed, wearing only a white prison garb.

When Zhu Yong arrived, he lunged to the railing and hissed, "Prince Wu! I am wronged, I have not colluded with the Wa pirates; someone must have framed me."

Zhu Yong ordered a guard to bring a chair, sat outside the cell door, and stared at him.

"Wang Sir, where is your nephew Wang Guicai…"

Wang Zongxian's eyes flickered as he said, "I… I do not know. That rebellious son perhaps heard of my trouble and fled…"

"Your daughter married the Quanzhou Military Commander Liu Meng, correct?"

"Yes… yes…"

"Does Liu Meng know you have dealings with the Wa pirates?"

"Prince! I have not! My loyalty to Great Ming is unwavering; how could I deal with the Wa? It must be those treacherous subjects' false accusations," Wang Zongxian knelt and kowtowed.

Zhu Yong said nothing, only watching him.

After a long while, he said slowly, "How much silver did the Wa pirates on Shuangyu Island send you?"

Wang Zongxian's whole body trembled.

"I, the King, have examined your accounts: thirty hundred thousand taels of ship‑repair funds were embezzled, only eighty thousand taels were recovered from your residence; where did the remaining two hundred twenty thousand taels go?"

"I… I…"

"Did you stash it, give it to the Wa pirates, or use that silver to buy something from them?" Zhu Yong stood, walked to the cell door, and looked down at him.

Wang Zongxian collapsed to the ground, his face ashen.

Zhu Yong knew; his guess was correct.

Some of the embezzled silver may have been hidden, but it is more likely that Wang Zongxian used the money to purchase something from the Wa pirates—perhaps Wodao (Japanese knife) (Japanese knife), perhaps exotic Eastern curios, or perhaps… other items.

"I will give you a chance: reveal the exact location of the Wa pirates' hideout, how many are on the island, who the leader is, and where they usually operate.

If you speak clearly, I can petition the Imperial Father to spare your entire body and not implicate your family," Zhu Yong said.

Wang Zongxian lifted his head, his eyes full of terror.

"If you refuse, colluding with the Wa is treason, the Nine Clans will be exterminated, and your wife and children, your nephew, your son‑in‑law Liu Meng, and even your kin back home will not survive."

Zhu Yong's voice turned cold as he said.

"No… I don't want to…" Wang Zongxian trembled.

"Speak, or not?"

Wang Zongxian struggled for a long time, then finally broke down.

"I will speak… I will say everything…"

Gasping, he said, "On the southeast of Shuangyu Island there is a small bay where the Wa pirates' ships often dock; the island has roughly… about two hundred men, the leader is called 'Du Yan Long', a Wa Country ronin.

They… they approached me last autumn, saying they wanted to buy timber to build ships; I was momentarily foolish…"

"Buy timber… the Wa pirates can't build ships themselves?" Zhu Yong asked.

"They said… their ships were damaged and needed good timber for repairs, so I… I smuggled a batch of pine wood from the shipyard to them."

"Anything else?"

"Also… they asked me to provide coastal defense maps, I… I didn't give them… truly didn't!" Wang Zongxian hurriedly said.

Zhu Yong stared at him, judging the truth of his words.

"Where is Wang Guicai?" he changed the question.

"He… he may have gone to Chunfeng Lou; that is… that is where he meets the Wa pirates."

Chunfeng Lou, the largest brothel in Quanzhou City.

Zhu Yong turned and left the cell.

"Prince! Prince… I have said everything, please spare my family!" Wang Zongxian cried out from behind.

Zhu Yong did not look back.

That night, at Chunfeng Lou.

Zhang Wuhe and Chen Heng led ten Imperial Troops, disguised as merchants, and entered the establishment.

Zhu Yong coordinated from the outer perimeter.

An hour later, Zhang Wuhe emerged, whispering, "Prince, the man has been captured, in an elegant room on the second floor, drinking with a Wa man."

"Wa man…"

"Yes, short stature, carries a knife, speaks with a Wa accent."

"Bring him back." Zhu Yong said.

In the cellar of the Quanzhou Post Station, Wang Guicai and the Wa man were bound to a pillar.

The Wa man was very young, in his early twenties, with a knife scar on his face and a fierce gaze.

Wang Guicai trembled all over with fear.

"Prince, spare me! Prince, spare me! I… I only obey my uncle…" Wang Guicai wept.

Zhu Yong ignored him and looked at the Wa man.

"Can you speak Chinese?"

The Wa man stared at him, speaking stiff Chinese, "You… Great Ming official? Capture me… behead me!"

"Behead… when you Wa pirates kill my Great Ming civilians, why don't you think about beheading?" Zhu Yong laughed.

"We… ronin, we do not fear death!" the Wa man said, stiffening his neck.

Zhu Yong nodded, and said to Zhang Wuhe, "Cut out his tongue, sever his tendons, and throw him into the sea to feed the fish."

Zhang Wuhe understood, drew his dagger and stepped forward.

The Wa man's complexion finally changed.

"Wait!" he shouted in the Wa language.

Zhu Yong raised his hand to stop Zhang Wu, looking at him.

The Wa man gasped, stammering in Chinese: "I… I say, don't kill me."

"How many of you are on Shuangyu Island?"

"Two… two hundred and thirty people."

"Who is the leader?"

"Lord Du Yan Long… he is a ronin of Satsuma Han."

"Satsuma Han…" Zhu Yong recalled that Satsuma Han, in the southern part of Kyushu Island of Wa Country, is famed for producing fierce ronin.

"What are you doing in Quanzhou?"

"Buying… buying timber, and also… gathering information."

"What information?"

The Wa man hesitated, and Zhang Wu's dagger pressed against his neck.

"I… I say, Lord Du Yan Long said… said Great Ming is building large ships, and may later attack Wa Country, so he wants… wants to prepare in advance," the Wa man hurriedly said.

Zhu Yong's eyes narrowed.

These Wa pirates have surprisingly good intelligence.

"How did you learn that Great Ming is building ships?"

"There… there was a merchant who told us, a merchant from Ningbo, who said Great Ming will build many Warships."

Ningbo merchant…

Zhu Yong noted this clue.

"Draw the terrain of Shuangyu Island," he ordered Chen Heng to bring paper and pen.

The Wa man cannot draw, but can describe.

The island is gourd‑shaped, with a natural harbor to the southeast, cliffs to the north, and a beach to the west.

The Wa pirates' camp is built on the inner side of the harbor, with a watchtower and arrow slits.

"When was the most recent raid?" Zhu Yong asked.

"Three days ago… offshore of Zhangzhou, we seized three fishing boats."

"When do you plan to strike next?"

"Lord Du Yan Long said… once the wind calms, we will go to the offshore of Fuzhou."

After Zhu Yong finished questioning, he had Zhang Wu take the Wa man down for imprisonment.

Wang Guicai had already wet his pants in fear.

"Lord… I… I am only an errand runner…"

"Running errands, how much of the silver your uncle embezzled did you handle?" Zhu Yong looked at him.

"No… not much…"

"If you don't tell the truth, you'll meet the same fate as him."

Wang Guicai broke down and gave a detailed confession.

Wang Zongxian's embezzled silver, thirty thousand taels, was transferred through him to the Wa pirates in exchange for Wa Country's silverware and swords.

There were also fifty thousand taels stored in a Quanzhou money shop under an alias.

The rest, Wang Zongxian squandered himself.

"Where is the receipt from the money shop?"

"It is… it is in my house, in a hidden compartment under the bed."

Zhu Yong had Chen Heng send people to retrieve it.

At dawn, all evidence was gathered.

Wang Zongxian embezzled ship‑building funds and colluded with the Wa pirates; the evidence is conclusive.

Wang Guicai, who aided the tyrant, also faces the death penalty.

That Wa man is a crucial witness.

Zhu Yong wrote a secret letter and ordered a Jin Yi Guard courier horse to deliver it to Fuzhou, to be handed to Zhu Biao.