The rise of the poor

"But what exactly does the 'official amnesty' mean?" Mao Haifeng continued to ask.

"After my master consolidated his military power, seeing that the time was right, he mobilized a large army to fight a fierce and terrifying battle against the king's army. Of course, to outsiders it looked brutal, but in reality, both sides had a tacit understanding. Our army was to gain the upper hand on the surface, and then my master would send someone to offer amnesty to the king in a grand manner. This amnesty process was not easy, full of twists and turns. In the end, my master played the key role and successfully amended the king's army. The king then led his army to submit to the court."

Luo Longwen, like a director and screenwriter, arranged the story of Zhao'an in a series of twists and turns, full of ups and downs.

Mao Haifeng and the other Japanese pirates looked at Luo Longwen with constipated expressions. "You guys really know how to add drama to yourselves. No wonder you're officials. No wonder civil officials can always suppress military officials in the court. All your stories are fake, but with this kind of embellishment, the battle achievements you produce are a thousand times more glorious than a military officer risking his life to fight 108 battles."

"As long as you can afford the appearance fee, we should cooperate with your performance and won't cause any trouble."

Mao Haifeng rubbed his fingers together and smiled dismissively.

Luo Longwen patted his chest and said confidently, "General, rest assured, there is no appearance fee in this world that my master cannot afford. If my master cannot afford it, then no one can."

"As long as your master can offer enough incentives to entice us, cooperation is not impossible."

The group of Japanese pirates spoke without any qualms.

"Where is Zhu Ping'an, the governor of Zhejiang? Didn't we talk to Zhu Ping'an first?" a Japanese pirate mentioned Zhu Ping'an.

"Let Zhu Ping'an die! We'll cooperate with whoever offers the highest price!"

"That's right. Whoever offers us the best deal proves they understand our value, so we'll naturally cooperate with them!"

"Are we really going to hang ourselves on Zhu Ping'an's crooked tree? Even when doing business, you have to compare prices from several suppliers!"

“We haven’t signed an alliance, so how can he control us?”

The Japanese pirates below spoke up one after another. To them, what was the value of integrity? How many taels of silver? Besides, it was just a consensus.

"But aren't the King's mother, wife, and children still in Zhu Ping'an's hands?!" someone among the Japanese pirates said.

Immediately, the clamoring Japanese pirates fell silent. They dared not speak recklessly anymore, as the lives of Wang Zhi's mother, wife, and children were at stake. They didn't want to get themselves into trouble. They had unilaterally broken the agreement with Zhu Ping'an, and it was perfectly normal for Zhu Ping'an to kill Wang Zhi's mother, wife, and children in a fit of rage. If they were Zhu Ping'an, or if Zhu Ping'an broke the agreement, and if Zhu Ping'an's family was in their hands, they would have absolutely—no, one thousand percent—dismembered Zhu Ping'an's family and cooked them! There would be no exceptions!
Everyone turned their attention to Wang Zhi, who was sitting on the tiger-skin chair. Wang Zhi then looked at Luo Longwen, the meaning of which was self-evident.

Luo Longwen patted his chest and confidently told Wang Zhi, "This is no problem! Your Majesty, rest assured, the current Governor-General of Jiangnan won't be in office for long; he'll soon be replaced by one of our people. You should know Zhao Wenhua, Your Majesty, right? He's one of ours. My master strongly recommended Zhao Wenhua for the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan. Once Zhao Wenhua is the governor-general, asking Zhu Ping'an for people will be a piece of cake!"

"You surnamed Luo! The lives of the old lady and the others cannot be taken lightly! When will Zhao Wenhua be able to take the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan?! Do you think he can just take it?! Even if he does take the position of Governor-General of Jiangnan, if he asks Zhu Ping'an for people, will Zhu Ping'an definitely give them to him?!"

Mao Haifeng stepped forward and pressed for an answer.

Luo Longwen said confidently, "Rank can crush a person! When Zhao Wenhua became the Governor-General of Jiangnan, he asked Zhu Pingan for people, and Zhu Pingan dared not refuse! His Majesty has given the Governor-General of Jiangnan a lot of power, including the right to execute first and report later. If he dares not, it is disobeying orders, which is considered disobeying military orders, and he can be arrested and beheaded directly!"

"When will Zhao Wenhua be able to take over?!" Mao Haifeng continued to ask.

“At the earliest, it will take a day, at the latest, a month or so, and Zhao Wenhua will be able to take office.” Luo Longwen blurted out, “Before I came here, Zhao Wenhua had already contacted people to launch an impeachment against the current Governor-General of Jiangnan.”

"Impeach him for what?" Mao Haifeng asked.

"Impeach him for being incompetent, unable to suppress the Japanese pirates, uh, unable to suppress the heroes," Luo Longwen changed his tune.

Mao Haifeng waved his hand and said indifferently, "These are all empty words. Zhao Wenhua is not yet the Governor-General of Jiangnan. For safety's sake, it's not too late to talk about cooperation once the old lady and the others are safe."

"No, no, it will be too late then," Luo Longwen said anxiously.

Mao Haifeng shook his head. "Didn't you say that Zhao Wenhua would become the Governor-General of Jiangnan in a few days or a month at the latest? Didn't you say that asking Zhu Pingan for people was just a matter of a word? It's not too late to talk about cooperation after he takes office and gets the old lady and the others away from Zhu Pingan?"

Luo Longwen hurriedly said, "Even if Zhao Wenhua had not taken office as the Governor of Jiangnan, he could still ensure the safety of the old lady. Zhao Wenhua is now the Imperial Envoy for the Sea Sacrifice. If he gives Zhu Ping'an an order, he can still ensure the safety of the old lady."

"What's your rush?!" Mao Haifeng looked at Luo Longwen.

“I have come on behalf of my master to discuss cooperation with Your Majesty, which has already demonstrated our sincerity. My master instructed me to convey your sincerity if Your Majesty is interested in cooperating.”

Luo Longwen clasped his hands in a fist salute to Wang Zhidao.

"Our sincerity?! How will you take it back?" Wang Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly and asked Luo Longwen.

“Exactly, how are you going to take our sincerity back with you? Sincerity isn’t something like real gold or silver.”

The group of Japanese pirates chuckled.

“I can take it back.” Luo Longwen nodded vigorously.

"How do we take it back?" the group of Japanese pirates asked.

"If Your Majesty does just one thing, my master will see your sincerity."

"What are we doing?" the group of Japanese pirates asked.

"It's very simple. Haven't you already reached an agreement with Zhu Pingan? But when it comes to the pacification deal, Your Majesty can only have one partner. As long as Your Majesty sends troops to attack Zhu Pingan, it will prove your sincerity."

Luo Longwen looked up at Wang Zhi and said slowly.

"What?! What did you say?! You want us to send troops to attack Zhu Ping'an?!" Mao Haifeng flew into a rage upon hearing this, grabbed Luo Longwen by the collar, and cursed, "Don't you know that the old lady and the others are still in Zhu Ping'an's hands? Now you want us to send troops to attack Zhu Ping'an? Are you trying to kill the old lady and the others?!" (End of this chapter)