Chapter 1365 Apologize to the Young Master

Off the coast of Amami Bay, dozens of speedboats from the outer blockade cluster were dotted on the blue-black sea like stars in the night sky.

The Zhenwo Ship, like a moon surrounded by stars, looked increasingly like a giant.

This battleship with hull number 101 had to stay away from the warships because it became Mr. Zhao's flagship, and could only listen to the artillery fire outside the fjord.

A huge parasol was propped up on the stern deck. Zhao Hao sat on a sun lounger, looking at the mouth of the fjord through a telescope. He said to Jin Ke, who was sitting beside him, "Actually, this battle could have been avoided."

"Yes." Jin Ke said with his usual serious expression, "It's a pity that they didn't take our warning seriously."

"That's how the islanders think." Zhao Hao put down the binoculars, took a sip of soda and said, "Sitting in a well and looking at the sky, they are self-enclosed. They forget about the greater good when they see small profits, they fear power but not morality, and their gambler mentality is too serious."

"A bit like the Japanese." Jin Ke chuckled.

"It's the same. Living on an island with a small space and the ocean on all sides, one's horizons are limited, and the space for development is also limited. If disasters are frequent, it's easy to feel suffocated. So people often don't take their own lives seriously, and of course they don't take other people's lives seriously." Zhao Hao said calmly: "Also, it's easy to have an inexplicable sense of superiority, always thinking about proving their strength by defeating the strong. After being taught a lesson, it's easy to turn into a sense of inferiority, and the only way to gain a sense of security is to obey the strong."

"That's right. The Ryukyu people gained a strong sense of security by submitting to the Ming Dynasty." Jin Ke nodded in agreement.

"That's true. But the imperial court has been too good to them, and has been showering them with rain and dew for too long, forgetting that rain must be accompanied by thunder." Zhao Hao said in a deep voice: "Over the years, Ryukyu has long regarded the Ming Dynasty as a rich man and has taken advantage of it!"

"What does Kaizi mean?" Jin Ke asked puzzledly.

"They are just taken advantage of." Zhao Hao said angrily, "Of course, we can't blame them all. Who made our Emperor Taizu so vain that he set the bullshit tribute rule of 'give more and take less'? They found loopholes and couldn't they just take advantage of them? The court stipulated that Ryukyu should pay tribute every two years, but they pay tribute every year, and sometimes twice a year. Do they really miss dad that much? They miss dad's money!"

"No wonder the imperial court issued an order many years ago, telling them not to pay tribute too frequently and that the number of diplomatic envoys should not exceed a hundred people. But they just wouldn't listen and are still coming here with great enthusiasm." Jin Ke looked surprised.

"Of course they are excited. The tribute they bring can be exchanged for five to ten times the reward from the court. If it were me, I could also pay tribute until the court goes bankrupt." Zhao Hao sneered and said, "No wonder Liu Daxia and his gang regard the Western Ocean as a scourge. Every time they bring back those small countries that pay tribute, they can empty the national treasury."

"This phenomenon must be changed. If the imperial court is not allowed to benefit from tribute, it will never change its attitude towards overseas countries." Jin Ke nodded.

"That hits the nail on the head." Zhao Hao said with a smile, "But for this kind of thing, it would be embarrassing for the imperial court to bring it up. I plan to let the King of Ryukyu take the lead... So from every angle, we have to deal with them properly."

As they were talking, footsteps were heard on the stairs and Ma Yinglong came up to report that King Shang Yuan had surrendered and was on his way on the 103rd ship.

"Haha, well, here comes the devil." Zhao Hao clapped his hands and laughed, "It looks like I have to treat you to dinner. It's a pity that there's nothing good to treat you on this ocean."

This is not a compliment. In the scorching July weather, no fresh food can be preserved. The southbound fleet and the task force have been at sea for more than ten days. In addition to the fresh fish caught by nets, bean sprouts grown in the cabin, and small green vegetables planted in the vacant space on the deck, they mainly rely on canned food, pickled meat, noodles cooked with instant seasonings, and various pickled vegetables to survive.

"I guess he won't be able to taste the food no matter how good it is." Jin Ke comforted him with a smile.

"That's right. I hope his attention won't be on the food." Young Master Zhao said with a smile, "Otherwise I'll have to talk about a few topics that will make him lose his appetite."

~~

At dusk, the 103rd ship arrived near the Zhenwo. Captain Rong Sheng personally took the small boat to send the King Shang Yuan to the prince's flagship.

Prince Shang Yuan only brought two attendants with him, one was the eunuch Zi Laixi, and the other was the official of the Three Departments, Weng Shouxiang. The rest of the princes and guards were not allowed to follow...

When the three men were pulled up by the police officers and climbed up the tower-like Zhenwo ship in a panic along the climbing net, they saw an extremely young boy in a brocade robe, surrounded by a group of senior police officers, standing on the stern deck and looking at them with a smile.

"You are the King of Zhongshan, right?" Zhao Hao asked loudly, holding the railing with both hands.

"That's right. I'm Shang Yuan, the King of Zhongshan in Ming Dynasty. I'm here to meet you, sir. I'm polite." After being taught a lesson, Shang Yuan's attitude was indeed very correct. At his age, he already knew when to let go and when to hold back.

"Greetings, sir, and courtesy are not necessary at the same time." Zhao Hao said with a smile: "But the king speaks Chinese very well."

"Oh, when I was young, I served as a tribute envoy twice and went to the capital to pay homage to the late emperor." Shang Yuan said proudly.

He said this to remind Zhao Hao that he knew the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty very well and should not go too far.

"Yeah, then we have something to talk about." Zhao Hao smiled and invited him upstairs, saying, "Come up and sit down."

Zilaixi's face showed anger. Doesn't this guy take the king seriously?

He was about to speak, but Shang Yuan stopped him with his eyes. The other party wanted to create a feeling that he didn't take him seriously. If he still couldn't see the situation clearly, he would only bring shame upon himself.

Shang Yuan, supported by Zi Lai Xi, slowly went up to the stern deck. Weng Shou Xiang wanted to support him, but Shang Yuan pushed him away.

Of course, this was just a show for Zhao Hao to see.

Zhao Hao pretended not to see it and looked down at King Shang Yuan who was coming up with a smile.

Prince Shang Yuan slowly went up to the stern deck, took a breath, then bowed to Zhao Hao and said, "I am here to apologize to you, young master."

"Oh, what's the crime? Tell me about it." Zhao Hao asked with a smile, his hands behind his back.

"My crime is that I didn't realize that someone was planning to harm Jiangnan Group's business station beforehand. I didn't take precautions during the incident, which gave the thieves an opportunity to take advantage of it. I also didn't investigate it in time afterwards and give your group an explanation as soon as possible." Shang Yuan said with shame on his face: "Although the war against Dadao was imminent and had to be launched for fear of something unexpected happening and ruining the big plan. But I deserve this punishment for ignoring the plight of the distinguished guests of the Celestial Empire."

"Oh my god, such a correct attitude..." Wang Rulong whispered to Jin Ke beside him.

"I'm just afraid of death." Jin Ke smiled faintly.

"That's exactly what happened." Zhao Hao smiled and patted King Shang Yuan on the shoulder, as the old eunuch and Weng Shouxiang looked at him in shock. "You said that I respected your status and followed the rules. But you didn't even want to write me a letter to explain. Do you think I'm the kind of unreasonable person? If there are really difficulties, would I not be flexible?"

"Yes, yes, Xiao Wang was confused for a moment." Shang Yuan slapped himself lightly, his face full of shame. "I shouldn't have been so confused about right and wrong and let myself be deceived!"

"If you had known this earlier, why would I have mobilized so many troops? I would have caused you to suffer heavy casualties and worry."

It was estimated that King Shang Yuan had never been patted on the shoulder in his life. His body stiffened for a moment, but he forced himself to soften.

"Xiao Wang deserves it. Xiao Wang deserves it."

Just this one move made Zhao Hao look at him with new eyes. He was indeed a man of character...

Unfortunately, a weak country cannot have a strong leader. In the Age of Discovery, being green was the original sin.

Zhao Hao patted his shoulders twice to get him used to it. Then he pointed to the bamboo chair beside the round table and said, "Come, sit down and tell me, who deceived you?"

After expressing his gratitude, King Shang Yuan sat down tremblingly.

Zhao Hao asked someone to pour him a cup of tea to calm him down.

"Let's have a glass of wine." But King Shang Yuan whispered, "It would be best if there is wine..."

"Okay." Zhao Hao couldn't help but laugh. The captured kings were indeed wonderful people.

He resisted the urge to ask King Shangyuan to dance and asked someone to pour him a glass of wine.

As for the bottles of Awamori that King Shang Yuan brought, they were of course confiscated by the security department. How could it be possible for drinks of unknown origin to come to the young master?

After thanking him, King Shang Yuan took a sip from his wine glass and praised the wine from the bottom of his heart. Then he said to Weng Shouxiang coldly, "Why don't you kneel down and tell me everything your son has done!"

Weng Shouxiang was already in his sixties, but he looked very well maintained. He looked like a man who lived a life of luxury and had few worries. When he heard the king's order, he immediately knelt down, kowtowed, introduced himself, and then cried:

"It's all because of my poor parenting. My son Jisong and Zheng Huan have always been at odds with each other. I thought it was just young people being naughty and didn't take it seriously, but the quarrel between them got bigger and bigger, and finally caused this huge disaster!"

At this time, Tang Baolu leaned close to Zhao Hao's ear and whispered: "Zheng Yu is the son of Zheng Zhaozuo, the leader of the Kume samurai clan and the Sansi official. He used to be the Naha official in charge of Naha Port affairs. We contacted him when we set up a trading post in Ryukyu. He strongly supported us and our cooperation was quite pleasant until the incident happened last time."

"Zheng Yu." Zhao Hao was familiar with this name, because in the 37th year of Wanli, when Satsuma invaded Ryukyu, this man was a pro-Ming faction that insisted on resisting. After being captured, Shimazu Iehisa's many attempts to persuade him to surrender were rejected by him, and he scolded him harshly. Finally, the angry Shimazu Iehisa ordered him to be boiled alive.

There is no doubt that this is a tough one, and a tough one worth fighting for.

Zhao Hao remained calm and said to Weng Shouxiang, "Go on."

"Yes." Weng Shouxiang said in a trembling voice, "I heard that Zheng Zhuan used his status to make friends with the people in Jiangnan Trading Station and asked them to work in Beijing on his behalf, so that the court would designate him as the chief interpreter the next time he came to Beijing as a tribute envoy, and from then on he would monopolize the exchanges with the Celestial Empire. I was worried that if he really succeeded in this, I would be suppressed by him forever. As a result, I was confused for a moment and asked outsiders for help, hoping that they would cause trouble in Naha Port and destroy the relationship between Zheng Zhuan and Jiangnan Trading Station. It would be even better if he could get rid of his job."

"Is it Japanese?" Mr. Zhao asked coldly.

"Yes." Weng Shouxiang was shocked. It turned out that this young master had already investigated everything...

(End of this chapter)