Ming Dynasty: My Father Zhang Juzheng

Chapter 157 Deal.

"No. Stop fighting, stop fighting, we surrender." A quarter of an hour later, a white flag was suddenly raised on the city wall, and several short Japanese soldiers walked down the city wall holding the white flag.

The attacking party below the city were obviously stunned.

Surrender now?
I thought it would take some effort, but I didn't expect these pirates to be so tough. However, since the other side is willing to surrender, these low-level soldiers are naturally happy to see it.

For them, the longer the battle lasts, the greater the chance of death.

Otomo Yoshitsugu, who was watching the battle, was unhappy. How could he consume the samurai of the Akizuki family if the Furushima Castle surrendered so quickly?
He glanced at Li Rusong and Zhang Yunxiu, stepped forward, and said respectfully: "My two respected lords, the people of the Qiuyue family have always been untrustworthy. You must not be deceived by their sweet words."

"Then your family has a beginning and an end?" Li Rusong asked him with a smile.

"Hey, our Otomo family has always been the most trustworthy family and will never betray our friends." Otomo Yoshitsugu did not hear the sarcasm in Li Rusong's words. He nodded and replied in a serious tone.

"Hahaha, Mr. Otomo, but I can't use my brother's life to help you eliminate dissidents." Li Rusong laughed twice and immediately sent people to prepare for the meeting.

Otomo Yoshitsugu lowered his head, his face turning red and purple. Before he could say anything else, Li Rusong had already moved the headquarters forward with Zhang Yunxiu.

The army did not enter the city that day, but camped outside the city.

After a night's rest, the next morning, when the morning sun was about to break through the clouds, Qiuyue's negotiation team arrived at the gate of Li Rusong's camp.

Looking at the towering camp bathed in the sun, the leader felt that his own body was insignificant.

Is this the kind of army they are fighting against? With such cannons and such powerful firearms?

They don't have any of these things.

If they had this thing, unifying Kyushu and dominating the entire island would probably be just around the corner.

Just as he was thinking about it, the gate of the village slowly opened, and a group of tall and strong Ming people came out.

The group looked at each other, and the leader of the Japanese pirates stepped forward quickly and took out his credentials: "Orewa, Murakami Kogoro, a retainer of the Akizuki family."

The leading officer didn't understand either, he just looked at the certificate and let him in.

Then, he led Murakami Kogoro and his party to a spacious shed, under which was a long dark table surrounded by chairs on both sides.

The leading officer said "Wait" to the few people and left in a hurry.

Murakami Kogoro nodded to his followers, pulled out the chairs and sat down neatly.

It was still early, but the Ming army, which had risen early, had already started training. Their shouts were so deafening that they made his eardrums beat.

In the military camp, mighty soldiers can be seen everywhere, walking proudly with weapons in hand.

Murakami Kogoro and his group secretly clicked their tongues and thought to themselves: Fortunately, we made peace with these Ming people so early, otherwise, if the fight really went to the end, the samurai of the Akizuki family would have to shed their last drop of blood.

In their eyes, the Ming people were not real enemies.

The two "neighbors" are the Otomo family and the Ryuzoji family.

While Murakami Kogoro and his party were waiting, Zhang Yunxiu and Li Rusong sat opposite each other in the central military tent.

After a few simple greetings, Zhang Yunxiu took the lead and said, "General Li, we have won many victories in the past few days, and General Li has made great contributions."

"However, the general should know that what we are currently touching is only a small part of the Japanese island."

"Don't worry, Chief Zhang. War is a matter of great importance to a country. I, Li, will not be careless." Li Rusong smiled and signaled Zhang Yunxiu to rest assured.

Zhang Yunxiu nodded slightly, and took the opportunity to introduce the situation in Japan to Li Rusong: "Well, the most powerful person in Japan is Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the capital area, followed by Tokugawa Ieyasu in the Kanto area, and then Mori Terumoto of the Mori family."

The samurai under the command of these daimyo are only stronger than the three heroes of Kyushu Island.

If we talk about threat, the biggest one is the monkey Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

He was granted the title of Kanpaku, which was equivalent to the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty.

The second was the overlord of the Sanin and Sanyo regions, Mori Terumoto.

This place is not far from Kyushu Island. Iwami Silver Mine is located in Shimane Prefecture, the Sanin fief of the Mori family. Li Rusong heard this name more than once, so he asked curiously: "Mori Terumoto? Is he the owner of that silver mine?"

"Yes." Zhang Yunxiu nodded and said, "After the Mori family took control of the Iwami Silver Mine, they mined 800,000 taels of silver every year. If we can conquer this silver mine, it will be a great thing with immeasurable merits."

According to records, after Mori Motonari, the head of the Mori family, took control of Iwami Silver Mine, he used the "soot blowing method" to mine silver.

The annual mining volume is between forty and fifty tons.

With a large amount of silver, the Mori family controlled a large navy and samurai group.

If we add Kobayakawa Takakage and Yoshikawa Motoharu from the "Mori Two Rivers", the Mori family will really have the confidence to compete with Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

When Li Rusong heard that Yinshan was so rich, his eyes instantly turned red and he wished he could send people to conquer Yinshan immediately.

Zhang Yunxiu also had the same idea, but judging from the current situation, he was afraid that he would not be able to fully realize his goal this time.

The two of them became more and more excited as they talked, and had already started planning how to use the money.

It's as if the money has already been obtained.

First build fifty cannons, then fifty large ships, first go to Malacca to capture Malay Strait, then go to North America to conquer the Indians.
"General, those Japanese have been waiting for a long time. Can we send someone to negotiate with them?" Suddenly, an untimely voice came from outside.

Li Rusong wiped the saliva from his mouth and said impatiently: "Alright, call for a settlement, at least 400,000 taels of silver, otherwise no deal!"

The two parties sat at the negotiation table in order.

Chinese representative: Li Kui (chief of Li Rusong's household servants.)
Representative of Japan: Kogoro Murakami (retainer of the Akizuki family).

Content of negotiation: Post-war ceasefire and compensation for the Akizuki family.

As soon as he sat down, Li Kui leaned back, lifted his legs and put them on the table, and said nonchalantly: "Our general said that it is 400,000 taels of silver, not a penny less."

The translator immediately translated the words.

Upon hearing this, Murakami Kogoro nodded immediately, smiled and stretched out his hand, saying, "Four hundred thousand, sir!"

Li Kui was stunned, and slowly looked at the translator. The translator scratched his head and smiled awkwardly, and said, "Brother Kui, these damn Japanese are really rich. You asked for 400,000 taels, and they agreed."

"Agreed?!" Li Kui was shocked and immediately put his legs down from the long table. He looked at the translator and asked, "Did you hear me right? Did the Japanese really agree to pay 400,000 silver coins?"

"It's true!" the translator assured, patting his chest.

Now, Li Kui and his entourage felt embarrassed.

As the saying goes, ask for a high price and bargain low. I thought this would be a fair fight.

The results of it?
As soon as he called out the price, the other side made the decision.

Li Kui felt a sense of defeat in an instant. He straightened his body and said with a stern face, "Since they have agreed, let them send the money out quickly. I promise not to harass them."

The translator quickly translated it.

Murakami Kogoro bowed and said solemnly: "Don't worry, sir. We will prepare the money and send it to you as soon as possible after we return!"

Once the amount and delivery date are finalized, the negotiation is considered complete.

Half an hour later, when Li Kui brought the contract to Li Rusong, Li Rusong was shocked and asked him, "Is it done?"

"Done!" Li Kui nodded in reply.

"This damn Japanese island is really rich. So much silver can be looted from a city. It seems we still have less." Li Rusong looked at the negotiation document, scratched his head and smiled at himself.

"How about we call them back and add some more?" Li Kui asked tentatively.

"That's not necessary. After all, we are respectable people and we won't bother ourselves with such trivial matters." Li Rusong waved his hand and put the negotiation document on the small table on his right.

Then he took a sip from his teacup and warned, "Order the brothers to take a rest. I have a feeling that things won't go smoothly forever."

(End of this chapter)