At night, in order to prevent the Ming Dynasty from attacking at night, Usuki Castle was shrouded in darkness.

Only in the city lord's residence was a solitary dim lamp on.

Zong Lin sat cross-legged on the tatami, listening to Zong Huan relaying the Ming Dynasty people's request:

"The first is 'Five Ports for Trade'. That is, Kyushu Island will only open five ports for foreign trade, and the rest of the local areas are not allowed to go to sea. Second, all trading ports can only trade with the 'Tamra Chamber of Commerce', and other foreign ships are not allowed to dock. Third, each family on Kyushu Island will no longer have a navy, and maritime security will be protected by the Ming Dynasty's Royal Tamra Garrison. As a price, each family on Kyushu Island must pay them a protection fee of one million taels of silver every year..."

With a bang, Zonglin smashed his beloved Tang Dynasty tea set. His heavy breathing dimmed the candlelight, and it was obvious that he was extremely angry.

But Zong Lin did not have an outburst like he did during the day, but remained silent.

Seeing that his lord was silent, Zong Huan sighed. Initially, the other party only asked for exclusive trade with Kyushu, nothing more. Now, the trade rights have been divided into five parts, and the Otomo family only has one fifth, and they can no longer keep their navy.

And they have to pay compensation.

"In addition, they must be compensated for their losses of 500,000 taels of silver, and the matter can be put to rest." He swallowed and added.

Zong Lin did not respond for a long time. Suddenly, he heard a sharp whooshing sound outside and a rocket fell into the city.

He stood up nervously and went out to check, but saw that the sea had returned to silence and the Ming people did not continue their attack.

Apparently this was just a warning.

"There are buildings on the road, but there are crematoriums..." After looking at the dark sea for a long time, Zong Lin chanted a haiku, which means "A good road leads to a good house, but it actually leads to a crematorium" in Chinese.

"草しげるそこは死人を焼くところ." Zong Huan also replied with a haiku, which means 'green grass is luxuriant, this is the cremation place. '

"Hahaha! The wife's adultery is the same, the wife's adultery is the same, and the wife's food is the same as the exciting one!" Zong Lin couldn't help laughing loudly when he heard the words, and the depression in his heart suddenly disappeared.

The meaning of this haiku is - stealing someone else's wife is thrilling and delicious, just like eating puffer fish!

Zong Lin has encountered many hardships in his life, so what does this one more setback matter?

"What is the Lord's reply?" Seeing that he had returned to his profession, Zong Huan knew that the Lord had adjusted himself, and asked anxiously: "Master Zhao said that a reply must be made before dawn. Otherwise, at dawn, they will bombard Usuki Castle..."

"How else can I reply? They are already at the mercy of the knives, and I am the meat. Of course, I can only let them slaughter me." Lao Wang... Oh no, Zong Lin, with his hands behind his back, looked at the gold-eating beast hidden in the dark bay and said, "Fortunately, the people of the Ming Dynasty are only after money, not like Mao Ligong, who wants our lives."

"That's right." Zong Huan nodded and said, "Young Master Zhao said that if the Lord stops playing tricks, he can even help the Lord seize control of the Kanmon Strait... Of course, this will cost money."

"Hmm." Zong Lin couldn't help but be moved. Yes, although the Bungo navy that he carefully prepared for Mori Motonari was easily destroyed by the Ming Dynasty people, doesn't this also show that the strength of the Ming Dynasty fleet is enough to suppress any Japanese navy?

If the people of the Ming Dynasty could take action and help them seize the Kanmon Strait, then the Otomo family would definitely be able to drive the Mori family out of Kyushu!

The more he thought about it, the more excited he became. He felt that he would definitely win. "But we can't even pay the 500,000 taels. Where can we find so much money?"

"I have also mentioned this to Master Zhao. He said that since the lord cannot come up with the money right now, we can owe it first, but we have to use the output from Gangcheng Silver Mountain and Chengjinggu Gold Mountain to repay the principal and interest." Zong Huan replied in a low voice.

As mentioned before, why are Japanese daimyo so rich? It is mainly because their families have mines. Take Kyushu Island as an example. Among the three major forces, the Otomo family controls the Okajo Silver Mine and the Shiroitani Gold Mine. The Shimazu family controls the Hirasa Gold Mine and the Kajiki Gold Mine, and the Ryuzoji family controls the Hitoyoshi Gold Mine.

Mountains of gold and silver are the endless source of financial resources for these warlords and the capital for them to dominate the nine provinces.

"Hiss..." Zong Lin naturally felt a pain in his flesh. Is this young man surnamed Zhao a leech? He is too good at sucking blood!

"In addition, we can also use wood, sulfur and other things to repay. In short, as long as we defeat the Mori family, there will always be a way to pay it back." Zong Huan obviously recognized the situation and said in a deep voice: "On the contrary, if we lose this battle, the mountains of gold and silver will become others. So we might as well give it a try!"

"Hmm." Zong Lin nodded in agreement and said, "What you said makes sense. After defeating the Mori family, I will free up my hands to deal with the Ryuzoji family and seize the Hitoyoshi Gold Mine and the Tsushima Gold Mine. Isn't that the end of it?"

"My lord is wise!" Zong Huan praised sincerely. Some people are good at winning, some are good at facing failure, and his lord is obviously the latter. Although he is not as glorious as the former, he has a more tenacious vitality and can wait for the clouds to clear and the moon to appear.

"You go now..." Zong Lin thought for a moment and changed his words, "It is better for me to go there in person to show my seriousness. It is also good for me to meet Mr. Zhao and know how to deal with him in the future."

"My lord, you have to consider the danger of being detained!" Zong Huan was shocked.

"You also said that the people of the Ming Dynasty were not interested in land, so what's the point of catching an old monk?" Zong Lin smiled nonchalantly and said, "If I don't show up now, that young master will look down on me for nothing."

After that, he ordered, "You stay and call Yitong. If I can't come back, you will help him take over as the head of the family."

"Yes, my lord." Zong Huan burst into tears and kowtowed deeply to the head of the family.

Although this old monk likes other people's wives and always loses battles, he is indeed a good head of the family.

~~

But what made Zong Lin feel disappointed was that Master Zhao didn't even meet him, but just asked a subordinate named Ma Yinglong to come forward and discuss relevant matters with him overnight.

The reason for refusing to see him was that the young master was still growing and couldn't be disturbed from sleeping...

If it was before, Zong Lin would definitely regard it as a humiliation to himself. But after the battle in Dafen Bay, he was thoroughly taught a lesson and lost his temper. Instead, he lowered his posture even more, thinking that Master Zhao was very capable and there was no need for him to stay up late to see his defeated opponent.

He was very obedient throughout the negotiation, basically saying yes, yes, yes, yes, which made Ma Yinglong unsure. Was this a fake monk who was trying to fool people? However, Omura Juntada and several Portuguese people could prove that he was the real King of Bungo - Otomo Sorin!

This made Wang Rulong and Ma Yinglong admire him once again. The young master's grasp of the character of the Japanese slaves was as good as reading the lines in the palm of his hand.

In fact, Mr. Zhao had just finished soaking his feet and had just gone to bed.

The sea was constantly tossing and turning, and sometimes the wind was strong and the waves were rough, so the four bedposts of the carved thousand-work bed in his bedroom were directly fixed to the cabin. There were also foot-high guardrails around it to prevent the person on top from being thrown off the bed by the waves.

This bed is super big, more than enough for five or six people to sleep. Zeng Yiben obviously wanted to turn this Wanhu Wuwei ship into a palace on the sea, but he didn't expect that it would be a bargain for Master Zhao.

But to be honest, sleeping in this palace is not comfortable at all. The shaking is not a big problem, the main problem is the cold!

It was already winter, and the sea breeze was biting cold at night. No matter how well sealed the wooden cabin was, it would be blown through. To prevent fire, they couldn't light a charcoal basin for heating, and because it was too bumpy, they couldn't even use a small heating cage at night. Qiaoqiao stuffed a lot of hot water bottles and hot water bags into his quilt, but Zhao Hao still kept complaining about the cold when he got into bed.

"Sister Qiaoqiao, feel it, my nose has frozen into a popsicle." Young Master Zhao said with chattering teeth, "I can't cover myself completely with a quilt."

"Then I have no choice." Qiaoqiao touched his nose and ears. Although they were not warm, they were not that exaggerated.

She had no choice but to help Ma Xianglan while rubbing Zhao Hao's ears and face, coaxing him to fall asleep quickly.

"Oh, I know why Zeng built such a big bed." Although Zhao Hao still had no sleepiness, he was surprised and said, "He must have read the book "Kaiyuan Tianbao Yishi" as well."

"Puchi..." Sister Ma couldn't help laughing when she heard that. She gently twisted Zhao Hao's ear, obviously knowing what he meant.

"What is this book about?" Qiaoqiao asked Sister Ma hurriedly.

"This is a notebook that records anecdotes from the Tang Xuanzong period. It records some of the Tang dynasty's princes and nobles using beautiful women to keep warm." Sister Ma said vaguely, "In short, they are not good people. We should not let our son learn from them."

"What? Are you using beautiful women to keep warm?" Qiaoqiao was very curious.

"There are many ways." Sister Ma didn't say anything, but Young Master Zhao became excited. The night was long and there was no cell phone, so he could just talk nonsense to relieve his boredom.

"It is said that when Yang Guozhong, the brother of Yang Guifei, went out in winter, he would select tall and fat maids and concubines to line up in front of him to block the wind, so as to keep warm with the human breath. This is the 'flesh formation'. When it was cold and windy in winter, the younger brother of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, Prince Shen, would select some beautiful concubines to sit closely around him to resist the cold. This is the 'Ji Wei'. Sometimes he would also drink a little wine, which was the 'Ji Wei wine'..."

Sister Ma couldn't help but cover her mouth and laugh: "Young Master is making it up again. The author of the book, Wang Shiku, is probably also a bunch of nonsense."

"Yes, how can people stop the wind?" Sister Qiaoqiao nodded in agreement.

"I think it's true, because with you two standing on my left and right, I don't feel cold at all." Young Master Zhao said shamelessly, "Sisters, please have pity on my little brother, let's sleep like this."

"Scare, that won't do!" Qiaoqiao blushed and looked at Sister Ma with a guilty look. Although when she was on duty, Zhao Hao had nightmares and sometimes had to sleep with his hands clenched, so it was common for the two to sleep in the same bed.

Of course it’s two quilts! Really!

But how can I agree to something like three people sleeping together?

Sister Ma looked at her with a smile, as if to say, if you have no objection, I agree.