The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 735 Descendants of Giants

Lin Zhenyu knelt down and saluted Emperor Guangde, his expression as calm as the sea in May:

"If there is nothing else, I will return to the barracks to prepare and depart tomorrow morning for the Fourth Corps headquarters to take up my post."

"Hahaha," Liu Kan's hearty laughter rang out in the hall.

"No rush, no rush. Rest in the capital for a few days, take in the beauty of the southeast, and appreciate the prosperity of the south of the Yangtze River. Once your mother returns to Nanjing, it won't be too late to go to Huguang. The Ryukyu soldiers who came with you are currently stationed on the outskirts of the city. It's not a big deal. Let Eunuch Li take you to Xuanwu Lake and see the new home I built for you and your son."

The descendants of the giants once again thanked the emperor for his grace and retreated from the Fengtian Hall.

Led by the chief steward Li Juying, the group drove to Xuanwu Lake.

Xuanwu Lake is located on the east side of Da Gong Fang, which is the gathering place for the nobles of Qi State. Those who live here are all from wealthy families, which is an existence that ordinary people can only dream of.

Before Lin Zhenyu returned to Beijing with the army from Ryukyu, Liu Kan ordered the Ministry of Works to spend a huge amount of money to build a mansion on the shore of Xuanwu Lake to welcome this meritorious official.

The Lin Mansion is modeled after the traditional Osaka Machiya style. Gassho-zukuri (Gassho-zukuri) is a large wooden house with a thatched roof. The triangular roof resembles two palms clasped together, hence the name "Gassho-zukuri." Osaka is prone to snow and earthquakes, and the steeply pitched roof facilitates snow removal. If the house is buried, the high windows double as entrance doors. In the event of a strong earthquake, the roof can be retracted to offset the force.

The cherry trees planted by the lake are said to have been transported back from Kyushu Island, and the maids in the mansion are samurai girls captured from Japan.

The so-called samurai girl is the daughter of a samurai family in Japan.

The daughters of samurai families have been studying since childhood. Not only do they have high literary attainments, many of them also learn how to use an abacus in a temple. They have better temperament than the daughters of peasant families and the daughters of merchants, and are much more decent in dealing with people.

After the retired emperor conquered Japan, tens of thousands of samurai women from various feudal domains became captives and fled to the country.

These women were not only suitable to be maids, but were also sought-after items in brothels across the country. They even caused a surge in the brothel market in places like Yangzhou and Qinhuai, sparking criticism from their peers in Da Qi.

~~~~·
The carriage that Lin Zhenyu was riding in slowly drove into Da Gongfang Street. The buildings on both sides were magnificent, and the regulations of many mansions clearly exceeded the legal restrictions.

"General Lin, please look, this is the residence of the Prime Minister, Lord Kang. It was originally the residence of Shen Wanshan, the richest man in Jiangnan..."

Eunuch Li pointed to a huge vermilion gate on the side of the street and introduced it to Lin Zhenyu with great interest.

"That's the residence of Lord Sun, the Minister of Revenue. It has over 3,000 rooms and was the property of the former Ming rebel Zuo Liangyu in Nanjing..."

Lin Zhenyu's father, Lin Yu, had made great military achievements for the Great Qi. He had been in and out of the Wendeng execution ground seven times and rescued the eldest princess Liu Yufei...
In Lin Zhenyu's impression, the place where his family lived was just a small house with two entrances, with barely enough space to stand.

As for these Lord Kang and Lord Sun, their houses are connected together and you can't see the end at a glance.

Emperor Guangde rewarded his confidants so generously. I wonder if these trusted ministers would betray the emperor when he wants to "clean up the court" again in the future?

"General Lin? General Lin?"

Li Juying called out twice before Lin Zhenyu came back to reality from his chaotic thoughts.

"General Lin, please look ahead. At the foot of Mufu Mountain lies Xuanwu Lake, and the general's residence is located on the lakeside."

At the foot of Mufu Mountain, the afterglow of the sunset remained faintly. At the end of the afterglow, a noble, beautiful and elegant mansion appeared in Lin Zhenyu's sight.

"This is a huge sum of money spent by the Imperial Treasury, two hundred thousand taels of silver. Your Majesty is so generous."

"Oh."

The outline of the mansion, visible through the carriage window, gradually receded into the distance. Although it had not disappeared, it had already faded. Although the carriage continued to gallop forward, to Lin Zhenyu, the cherry blossoms and rockery that were rapidly receding on both sides seemed insignificant.

The luxurious mansion built by Emperor Guangde did not attract Lin Zhenyu's attention, but instead made him feel vaguely uneasy.

There was a huge torrent surging in his heart.

The carriage stopped in front of a gorgeous field of cherry blossoms, facing the gate of the Lin Mansion. Li Juying and Lin Zhenyu got off the carriage.

The two daughters of the Wu family were waiting at the door early, looking timidly at the large group of straw raincoat guards behind Eunuch Li.

"General Lin, this house was built strictly according to the style of an Osaka samurai townhouse. Although Osaka was burned to ashes, the whole world belongs to the king. My emperor can destroy everything, but he can also restore everything to its original state."

Lin Zhenyu nodded to Li Juying, and they walked through a lush garden and along the path beneath the teahouse. The calamus leaves by the pond were soft green, tall and graceful. Water lilies also floated on the surface. Cherry trees surrounded the pond.

I skirted the pond and walked down a dim, tree-lined path. The fragrance of young leaves and the aroma of wet earth filled my nostrils. The path was short. A bright garden unfolded before me, its pond even larger than the one I had just encountered. The red weeping cherry blossoms by the pond were reflected in the water, a poignant beauty.

Lin Zhenyu was not interested in what was happening in front of him, but he was still shocked that the emperor spent a huge amount of money to build a house for Fujiwara Chiyoko.

Along the way, Eunuch Li kept buzzing like a fly, telling about the great achievements of Emperor Guangde.

"During the Liaodong Rebellion, the ministers were in a state of panic. Kang Guangxu even called for moving the capital. Your Majesty effortlessly eradicated the rebels. When He Longzhou's head was sent to Nanjing, Your Majesty looked at it and simply said, 'I hope you are well.'"

"Last year, the tax revenues of the various provinces of Great Qi far exceeded those of previous years. The grain stored in the prefecture and county granaries was overflowing... This was a prosperous era unprecedented in Great Qi. Although His Majesty has prohibited the occurrence of auspicious signs, as far as we know, the number of auspicious signs across the country last year far exceeded that of the time of the Emperor Emeritus."

Lin Zhenyu found an excuse to send Eunuch Li away, sat under a pavilion, and asked the Wu family girl who had been following him in Japanese:

"Where are you from? Osaka? Kyushu?"

The samurai women wore a narrow-sleeved kimono with a navy blue background and a white floral pattern. The shoulders were tied with a sash belt (a belt that Japanese women wear to hold up the long sleeves of their kimonos while working. It is tied diagonally across the shoulders and then crossed at the back). They wore a skirt and pants, an apron, and a headscarf. The apron went all the way back and was slit on both sides.

The only red things on her body were her cuffs and the thin belt that showed through her skirt and pants.

Judging from her accent and gait, Lin Zhenyu knew that she was obviously not a woman from Kyoto. She might have some education and might be from a samurai family in Kanto.

Perhaps she was the daughter of a declining samurai family, who wandered here after falling into prostitution.

Lin Zhenyu continued to ask: "Is your father a warrior?"

The warrior girl was surprised that the Tatar master could speak Japanese and was terrified:

"My lord, I am Ohara-no-chan (a singing girl who performs for money in Osaka). My father was a hatamoto of Osaka Castle. Due to the war, our family fell into poverty. The Tartars, no, it was the imperial army that went on the Eastern Expedition. I was captured and taken to Da Qi. I spent a year in Fujian receiving the imperial education. I came to the capital two years ago. Because I was familiar with the customs of Osaka, I was chosen to live in the Lin Mansion. I heard that Mrs. Lin is also from Osaka..."

"She is not," Lin Zhenyu said coldly, "She is a Portuguese-Japanese mixed-race and has nothing to do with Osaka." Long before the Qi army's eastern expedition, the food and wages of the lower-level samurai in Japan were often not paid, and samurai were not allowed to do business, which made it impossible for a large number of lower-level samurai families to find jobs. In order to survive, many samurai families either had men leave their clans to work to supplement the family income (forcibly leave their place of origin and go to big cities such as Edo to do odd jobs to earn commissions), or women went out to sell themselves to supplement the family income.

~~~~
Eunuch Li returned to the palace with a group of straw raincoat guards with a smile on his face. His carriage was loaded with the Ryukyu treasure "Luminous Conch" given to him by General Lin.

The Noctilucent Conch is not only a delicacy for banquets, but its shell also glows at night, hence the name "Noctilucent Conch." Its production is extremely rare and highly valued. It's said that when the eunuch Sanbao sailed to the West, Zhu Di specifically ordered him to search for this creature.

~~~

The lights in the Forbidden City were just beginning to come on, and a faint glow still lingered in the sky.

Lin Zhenyu leaned on the railing of the garden pond, looked up at Mufu Mountain, his eyes slightly closed, as if he had forgotten the samurai girl who was accompanying him.

The weather in Nanjing in May was hot, and the pond was filled with the chirping of insects.

"What's your name? Who else is in your family?"

"Ah? My name is Hoshikawa Maiko, and I have two younger brothers at home." The girl from the Wu family said cautiously.

"With your father gone, you support the whole family by yourself?"

"Well, yes, brother, it's this high."

Maiko gestured with her hand, and her eyes softened as she looked at the young Tartar master in front of her.

"They're mining in Fujian. I send money to the mine every month so my brother can work less."

"Oh," Lin Zhenyu looked at the brightly lit palace with a solemn expression.

"So, you are also a pawn, living for others."

Maiko was confused.

What is the real meaning of the word "chess piece"?

Maiko, do you think of yourself as a pawn? Your samurai father is dead, and you have to support your two younger brothers, even though they were buried in the mines long ago...

The scene of his father's tragic death resurfaced before his eyes.

He stared straight at the profile of the girl from the Wu family, and Maiko's beautiful face was faintly tinged with a rosy glow.

Early summer brings a touch of melancholy.

I will be heading to a county town in the west of the empire, the front line against the Tusi. My subordinates will not obey me; they resent the new policies and the imperial court. I am the emperor's pawn, or more accurately, a nail planted in the west by the emperor. My future is like duckweed in a pond...

"I heard that you were going to quell a rebellion. Could it be that the emperor gave you the house as a reward at the cost of your life?"

Maiko said this, gazing out at the brightly lit Imperial Palace.

Lin Zhenyu said with a half-smile:

"You are a very clever girl from the Wu family, but before I die, I will take you to Yunyang, where the Tusi soldiers will eat you alive."

Lin Zhenyu thought of his elderly mother and his father's teaching that he should be a loyal subject.

An indescribable sorrow surged into the giant's heart.

"Are you scared?"

Maiko's eyes were like water as she asked her master.

"Are you scared? I see your eyes are wandering."

Lin Zhenyu touched his nose and said, "Don't be afraid. I suddenly returned to the capital from Ryukyu and I feel a little unwell."

"Are you absolutely obedient to the Emperor?"

"Yes, absolutely obey."

"Even if you know you're going to die, you'll still obey absolutely?"

"Yeah." Lin Zhenyu answered without hesitation.

"Don't you have your own...your own wish?" Maiko asked.

"Yes, but not much. My father is a legend in the empire. Since I was a child, I have consciously or unconsciously compared myself to him. Loyalty comes first..."

"Since you have hope of survival, why do you want to wipe it out?"

"No, I don't want to erase it. I just want my mother and I to be safe and sound."

If he went against Emperor Guangde's will, his mixed-race mother would most likely die inexplicably in Ryukyu or Nanjing.

"Hope is the most important thing. Just like when I knew my brother had died of exhaustion in the mine, I still tried hard to save money and send it to them. This is hope." Maiko smiled slightly, but her voice trembled a little. She leaned her upper body out of the corrugated railing, trying to sneak a peek at Lin Zhenyu's face.

"I really want to see the face of this enigmatic chess piece of yours!"

"It's dark now, you should go to bed."

Lin Zhenyu turned around and looked at Wu Zi for the first time. The Wu family girl's eyes sparkled.

"Yes, I hope you have a good dream, General..."

Maiko's gaze rested on the roof of the Lin residence. She felt as if the Gassho-zukuri roof, thatched with thick cypress bark, was approaching with a heavy and gloomy aura, a bit frightening.

(End of this chapter)