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Chapter 1350 Taking the Blame 2
"93 dead, 41 seriously wounded, 129 lightly wounded... We can continue fighting. We've run out of grenades, and we don't have many bullets left."

It was also the first time that Mukuhara Taigei had boarded a Han-class warship and spoken face-to-face with a senior Ming Dynasty naval officer. He was a little nervous and his Chinese was halting, but he still managed to express himself clearly.

“My name is Setter, from the Indian Ocean Fleet of the Ming Dynasty Navy. I am the deputy commander-in-chief of this expeditionary operation. I am now in charge of the combat and defense of Panama City. For a long time to come, you and the Army Commander-in-Chief will be under my command.”

Seeing that the other party was a little nervous, Setter decided to put aside the serious matters and talk about something lighthearted first, and then continue to assign new tasks after the other party calmed down.

"Yes, I understand. The officers and soldiers of the First Guard of the New Army are honored!" Unfortunately, Mukuro Daikyu didn't seem to appreciate the sentiment. He suddenly stood up and loudly declared, startling the guards outside the door.

"What's the situation in the city now?" Seeing that the other party couldn't communicate in his usual way, Setter had no choice but to put away his fake smile and continue with the business at hand.

“Apart from those trapped in the church, the rest of the city has been cleared, but safety cannot be guaranteed. The people here are difficult to communicate with; they often sneak up on houses to launch attacks. Even if you shoot one family, the next one will do the same. They are too stupid to understand.”

When it came to serious matters, Mukuhara Daikui became less nervous. He not only briefly described the current situation in the castle but also offered his own assessment of the locals' state of mind.

"Have any of your subordinates engaged in indiscriminate killing or robbery?"

Settle had initially planned to beat around the bush a bit before revealing his true intentions, but after a few words, he changed his mind. He figured the young Japanese officer might not understand subtle expressions, so it was best to get straight to the point.

"...Reporting to the commander, we only fired at those who were hostile, and only confiscated the enemy's property. Everything was done in accordance with military regulations!" Upon hearing this, Mukuhara Daikui stood up again and solemnly assured him of the military discipline.

The Japanese New Army was trained entirely according to the standards of the Ming Dynasty army, but there were some differences in military discipline. For example, Japanese officers would casually beat their subordinates, which they considered natural and no one found it strange, so they simply didn't change it.

For example, regarding the distribution of spoils of war, the Japanese army allowed individuals to keep a portion of the spoils. If they were given nothing, the soldiers wouldn't fight with their full strength. This was also agreed upon before the campaign, allowing the new Japanese army to take a portion of the enemy's property and hand over a portion to the enemy.

"If... I need to find some people among your men who have violated military discipline, is that possible?" Setter was well aware of these special regulations, but he still pressed on with this question.

"...Could you please repeat the command again...? Please forgive my ignorance, why do I need to do this?"

Mukuhara Daikui didn't understand at first and thought it was a problem with his Chinese proficiency, but after listening to it again, he confirmed that it wasn't a language comprehension problem, and then he became even more confused.

"Sit down first... You smoke, right? Try mine, it's from South Africa."

Setter was constantly struggling with how to explain it, mainly because Du Wenhuan's idea was so unethical. However, this unethical idea happened to be the optimal solution at that moment, and he had no choice but to do it—it was incredibly troublesome!
"Please tell me what's difficult, no matter how difficult it is, and I will do my best to cooperate!" Taking the cigar and sitting in the chair, Mukuhara Daikui was not relaxed at all, still waiting for his superior's explanation.

"It's like this... Panama City originally belonged to the enemy. In the process of taking it back from the enemy, a lot of people were killed or wounded. Some of them were soldiers, which is understandable. But some of them were civilians, which is very detrimental to long-term stability. Do you understand what I mean?"

For many years, Settle had criticized some of the emperor's actions. The most obvious were his tendency to distort facts and his reluctance to admit his intentions. For example, when attacking Colombo, the emperor clearly wanted to use the port as a naval base, but he insisted on fabricating a story.

First, they accused the Portuguese of mistreating the indigenous people, then staged a fire at their military camp, claiming it was an attack by the indigenous people, deliberately escalating tensions between them and inciting a full-blown conflict. Only then did they intervene militarily, refusing to admit their purpose was to seize the port, claiming instead that they were there to stop the war and create peace. If they had intervened directly, both the Portuguese and the indigenous people would have suffered far fewer deaths. This tactic resulted in even greater casualties on both sides, and such actions are far from benevolent.

The Mongols never did things that way. If they wanted something, they just said so. If they could beat them, they'd take it; if they couldn't, someone else would take it. No one would blame the other for being unreasonable. Besides, what good would blaming them do? Trying to win arguments with a strong opponent only resulted in getting another beating.

With the strength of the Ming Empire, it dares not say it could sweep across the world, but at least in Asia it could do whatever it wanted. There was no need to rack its brains over such a trivial matter, which would only cause trouble for its own people.

But as I grew older and participated in more wars, especially the two Eastern Expeditions, I gradually came to understand the questions and doubts that I had before, even though no one could answer them.

For example, right now, in order to prevent the Ming army from developing too deep a grudge with the indigenous people, they have to rack their brains to make up lies and then coerce and entice the new Japanese army to take the blame for the Ming army.

Don't underestimate the effectiveness of clumsy lies. Most of the time, ordinary people are easily fooled because they can never see the truth. Those who truly know the truth, however, will deliberately distort it to suit their own needs, just like themselves.

"...Commander wants to make an example of someone?" Mukuhara Daikui seemed to understand, but he wasn't sure if it was true.

"Your Chinese is very good..."

"Is it because we did something wrong? Why are you treating us like chickens!" After receiving a definite answer, Mukuhara Daikui stood up for the third time.

He couldn't understand it, he couldn't understand it at all. The Japanese soldiers fought bravely and captured the city in just half a day. Even if they didn't want to reward them, they shouldn't be treated like this.

“I once docked at Yanyuan Port with the fleet. The person in charge of receiving us was Mukuhara Shima. You should know him, right?” Setter gestured to stop the guard at the door from intervening, and then changed the subject to casual conversation.

"Hi, Lord Shima was my uncle. He passed away two years ago from a serious illness!" Before he could even sit down, Mukuhara Daikyu had to stand up for the fourth time. But this time, unlike the previous three times, it was to show respect to his deceased elder.

"He was smarter than you. The sailors on the ship had a quarrel with local merchants and injured one of them. They were surrounded by villagers who refused to let them leave. After your uncle learned of this, he personally led a group of men to the scene and killed the merchant and his son in the street."

I believe that even if the merchants were at fault, they did not deserve to die. Moreover, logically speaking, the merchants would not dare to provoke the soldiers. I also believe that your uncle understood this principle, but for the sake of the Mukuhara family and the lord of the Tsushima Domain, he had to kill his own villagers no matter how unwilling he was.

Because failing to do so could easily provoke discontent within the navy, and if the conflict escalates, it will inevitably reach higher levels, such as the Ministry of Rites, the Naval Staff, and even the Emperor.

The Tsushima Domain must have been doing quite well these past few years, right? I rarely go there, but I can guess. You should know perfectly well how such good times came about. For the sake of the well-being of 1 households in the domain, your uncle had to take action against his own people without hesitation, even knowing that the merchants were being wronged.

I hope you possess the same wisdom as your uncle, because even if you refuse, you can't save the new army soldiers; there will certainly be Japanese officers willing to carry out the orders. I can give you some time to consider; make your decision before you finish your cigar.”

(End of this chapter)