Chapter 87: Not Satisfied Yet, and the Kingdom Was Already Destroyed!

A letter of state?

It looks like the one that was sent to the country of the Wa long ago.

The old emperor Zhu Di clearly knew of this as well, and naturally wanted to restore his father’s pride. He said lightly, “Second son, how many of these little sea rats can you kill?”

The Yongle-era Zhu Gaoxi wore a face full of contempt and held up one finger.

Old Zhu Di kicked him, then glanced sideways and snorted, “Did you leave your vocal cords at home? Speak like a human being.”

“Father, I mean I can keep killing them forever!” Zhu Gaoxi said with smug confidence. He stood a little over seven feet tall, robust and strong, skilled in horsemanship and archery, and much like the founding emperor in bearing.

That was no idle praise.

Among men who lived by battle, Zhu Gaoxi could be counted as one of the strongest generals of his age.

Old Zhu Di nodded. “Later, I’ll have three thousand cavalry assigned to you. You and the third one will attack from your own route. Be sure to find this man called Huailiang.”

“However, the will of the founding emperor cannot be disobeyed. The three thousand cavalry will be under your command, but they will not serve as your personal guard. Understand?”

“Understood, Father. Don’t worry. If I let some little hatchling like that wound me, then pretend I’m no son of yours. I’d rather not bring shame on Great Ming!” Zhu Gaoxi said with utter disdain.

The third son, Zhu Gaosui, who had been hiding quietly in the rear, let out a breath of relief. Having troops was enough. In this foreign land, if he had no soldiers for protection, he truly feared the second brother might fail to protect him, and the two of them would be left behind here.

As for the old man’s insistence that the three thousand cavalry were not to guard them?

Arrogant.

So long as they were soldiers of Great Ming, who would dare watch their own lord die before their eyes?

At that moment—

“Report!”

A courier entered the tent. Seeing a whole cluster of emperors, he paused for a moment, then quickly reported, “Your Majesty, the surrounding villages have all been secured. More than twenty thousand Wa have been captured, and our troops are now stationed around the Silver Mountain of Iwami.”

How many?

More than twenty thousand?

Zhu Youjian raised his brows and laughed in surprise.

He had recently read historical records noting that Iwami Province produced one hundred and ten thousand measures of grain a year, and that two measures were roughly equivalent to one person. By that reckoning, Iwami Province should only have a little over fifty thousand people.

You may not have conquered a few villages at all. In the Wa country, this counts as seizing an entire district.

The grand army of the Hongwu era had not even fully deployed, and they had already captured half the people of Iwami Province. This, this, this—felt like playing a single-player game with cheats turned on.

Still, it was also perfectly reasonable.

Beyond the short-term logistical support, the true strength available was at least over a hundred thousand. And to ordinary Wa people, that was like facing down over a hundred thousand Lu Bu’s charging at you. Not collapsing from terror already meant your nerves were exceptionally strong.

Only the warriors, with their fine blades and practiced skill, could narrow the gap created by differences in size and strength.

“First take the silver mine. Ignore everything else. Those with a bad attitude, those who refuse to obey, kill them all. Those with a decent attitude can go mine for us,” Zhu Yuanzhang ordered.

“Founding Emperor, wait.”

Old Zhu was startled and asked, “What is it, my great-grandson? Speak.”

Zhu Youjian suggested, “Those with a bad attitude needn’t be killed yet. We can capture them first and later send them to Siberia to grow potatoes. That would be making use of things to their fullest.”

“Siberia? Good. Let’s do as my great-grandson says.”

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded. Though he did not understand what Siberia was, since his great-grandson was willing to let the Wa grow food there, there must surely be a reason.

At the very least, it would mean fewer of Great Ming’s people going hungry.

“By your command!”

The courier swiftly accepted the order and withdrew.

“Father, your son requests three thousand cavalry. Let the Prince of Han and the Prince of Zhao capture that Huailiang for you, and let me fulfill my filial duty. Please grant this, Father!” Zhu Di of old bowed before his father’s knees and spoke sincerely.

“Granted!”

After thinking it over, Old Zhu said, “Lan Yu, go handle it.”

“Yes, Your Lordship!”

Lan Yu felt as though he had been granted a pardon and immediately set out, hurriedly taking Zhu Gaoxi and Zhu Gaosui away with him.

Since seeing the case against Lan Yu, this was the first time he had seen Zhu Yuanzhang. Just now, when Old Zhu’s expression darkened, he had even thought he was about to be sent to Siberia to grow potatoes.

“Great-grandson, leave the Fourth Son to hold the central camp. Shall we go take a look at the Silver Mountain?” Zhu Yuanzhang patted the shoulder of the young Zhu Di of the Hongwu era and said with a cheerful smile.

“It’s up to you.” Zhu Youjian nodded repeatedly.

The young Zhu Di: “...”

Old Zhu Di and Zhu Laosi both acted as though it had nothing to do with them. They looked at the nose, the nose at the heart, and blatantly ignored the frantic signals from the young Zhu Di, pretending not to see and not to hear.

“You have an opinion?” Old Zhu raised an eyebrow.

“How could I? Father, don’t you know me? Since I was little, I’ve always liked sitting in the army camp,” the young Zhu Di said with a jolt, forcing a smile.

“Good. So long as you’re not wronged.”

Old Zhu glanced at him and said no more.

“Men!”

Old Zhu was all smiles as he called out, “Quickly take us to see the Silver Mountain that my Great Ming dropped into the Wa country!”

“By your command!”

The imperial guards left in camp to await orders immediately opened the way, bringing forward the dragon carriage. The whole procession surged toward the Silver Mountain.

Left alone in the camp, the young Zhu Di watched the jubilant crowd depart, and sorrow filled his heart.

All the happiness belongs to you people!

Another courier hurried into the camp and reported, “Report! Your Highness, a great landowner has been found fifty li to the northwest. He appears to have several hundred household guards.”

A great landowner!

“Quickly summon General Lan Yu to oversee the central camp!”

The young Zhu Di was overjoyed and said at once, “Men, prepare the horses! I shall go take this great landowner first!”

“Yes!”

Riding with more than a thousand cavalry, the young Zhu Di galloped away, and the thousand horsemen vanished in a cloud of dust.

After a fifty-li charge, they arrived outside an estate.

More than two hundred fully armed warriors stood with blades in hand at the front. Their bizarre, ritualistic appearance made them look like shamans, and even facing over a thousand cavalry, they could not help trembling in both legs.

Their warrior spirit was wavering.

One elderly warrior stepped forward. He bowed first, then questioned them in awkward, stiff Chinese:

“May I ask, sir, as men of the Great Ming, why have you violated the territory of Japan?”

Clearly, this was a Wa man who had seen the world, and his ability to understand Chinese meant he had probably once served as a pirate raider.

Why?

I’m here to seize it outright, of course.

The young Zhu Di was bewildered. Thinking of his elder brother Zhu Biao’s teaching—that whatever one did, one must have a pretext—he pondered for a moment and then said, “The silver mountain of my Great Ming has fallen into your Wa country!”

The old warrior leader froze. What did he mean, the silver mountain fell into my Wa country? And the name Wa country is far too unpleasant; we changed it long ago to the Country of the Rising Sun—Japan!

Iwami Silver Mountain!

The old warrior’s pupils suddenly contracted as he thought of this treasure belonging to his own clan, and killing intent filled his eyes.

But when he looked at the mass of cavalry before him, he still clung to the prudent path and shook his head. “I do not know which silver mountain you speak of. Have you seen it? If you can describe what it looks like, our Ouchi clan may help you find it!”

The young Zhu Di’s face darkened at once. If I could go see it myself, would I still have come here to beat up a landowner?

You old fool, always bringing up whatever sore spot hurts most!

“Lads! Smash them to pieces for me!!”

The young Zhu Di erupted in fury and roared.

Then he charged first, his spear sending one warrior flying. Against such mounted Ming troops, these warriors might have had a chance on foot, but when cavalry stormed in, they could only scatter and dodge. They were not even a match for a single strike!

A short while later.

The young Zhu Di, panting heavily, dismounted and, with his men, captured the more than thousand people within the estate.

Genealogies and registers were all dragged out and seized.

Only then did he understand.

This place was actually the domain of the largest guardian daimyō in Iwami Province.

The young Zhu Di stared in astonishment.

He had not expected that before even having enough fun fighting, he would already have wiped out Iwami Province...