The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 155 Only the Japanese invaders can disrupt people's hearts.

Tu Chengyu was naturally very worried after discovering such a big thing from Wu Youwei.

However, no matter how worried you are, it won't do you any good for the time being.

After all, judging from Wu Youwei's age, this happened decades ago.

If someone really wanted to exploit the orphans of salt workers, they would have been prepared for this all these years ago.

Therefore, there's no rush to unravel the mystery of Wu Youwei's background.

The most urgent task is to find out the cause of Lü Chudan's death and to find out who was trying to sabotage Tu Chengyu.

However, before inquiring about Lü Chudan's matter, Tu Chengyu wanted to hear the bad news that Quan Wenwei had to say.

"Mr. Quan, let's put Wu Youwei's matter aside for now, and tell me the bad news."

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, the bad news is that Lord Lin received information that a group of Japanese pirates are planning to cause trouble along the coast?"

Japanese invaders causing trouble? This is certainly not good news.

However, there hadn't been any Japanese raids along the coast for many years, so why did they suddenly appear at this time?

Furthermore, Tu Chengyu still had doubts in his mind, so he asked, "How did Lord Lin know that the Japanese were planning to cause trouble?"

Quan Wenwei said, "This is news that the Japanese sent people to spread everywhere, so Lord Lin's men found out about it and came back to report it."

Tu Chengyu asked again, "Since the Japanese wanted to cause chaos, why did they spread the news everywhere in advance? And what kind of news were they spreading?"

Tu Chengyu's question seemed to put Quan Wenwei in a difficult position.

He hesitated for a while before saying, "According to the information I've gathered, the Japanese rebellion seems to be related to Your Highness?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu's brow twitched involuntarily.

He hadn't expected that this involved him, so he asked:

"What did those Japanese devils say?"

After much deliberation, Quan Wenwei carefully considered what he wanted to say before slowly uttering it:

"The Japanese are spreading rumors that the prince killed their merchants for no reason, and they want the prince to give them an explanation, otherwise they will cause trouble along the coast."

Tu Chengyu almost laughed out of anger after hearing this. He asked:
"I've killed quite a few Japanese slaves lately. Which time are they referring to?"

Quan Wenwei said, "It seems to be referring to the Japanese slaves who were killed in the salt workers' rebellion."

Tu Chengyu shook his head as he listened. How could the Japanese still be like this, even after crossing time and space?

They were clearly a group of bandits who helped the salt workers rebel, but in their mouths they were merchants.

Moreover, the dynasty had long ago established a policy that prohibited Japanese people from operating within its territory.

Even when there was trade, the Japanese could only stay at the docks of a few maritime trade offices, and they could not stay overnight.

Such laws demonstrate that it was impossible for Japanese merchants to appear on the territory of the dynasty.

Those who appear are all thieves who have violated the laws of the Celestial Empire.

Therefore, their claim that Prince Su killed the Japanese merchants is false.

Tu Chengyu also asked Quan Wenwei about this.

Quan Wenwei said, "It seems that the Japanese were prepared for this, and there is an explanation in the things they spread."

Tu Chengyu asked curiously, "How did they make it up?"

Quan Wenwei said: "The Japanese say that these people were merchants who came to the Maritime Trade Office to trade, but they encountered a storm at the mouth of the Huai River, which caused their ship to sink, so they had to take refuge on land temporarily."

He's quite good at making excuses, but Tu Chengyu doesn't buy it.

He knew very well that the Japanese were trying to cause trouble, and that's why they wanted to use this as an excuse.

It's easy to see that the Japanese haven't caused trouble along the coast for many years.

Given the nature of the Japanese, they won't stay so obedient forever.

Now is the time for them to cause trouble. Perhaps this time, he will dare to risk angering the imperial court.

Demanding that the prince of the superior country give an explanation to this group of Japanese slaves might be a test of the imperial court.

They might want to gauge the court's attitude and see if there's an opportunity to rebel.

If Tu Chengyu's guess is true, then there is no room for weakness in the face of the Japanese demands.

We must take a tough stance from beginning to end, otherwise, given the Japanese's character...

Once they realize that the court is showing even the slightest sign of appeasement, they are likely to take advantage of the situation and make even more unreasonable demands.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu asked Quan Wenwei:
"Where did the Japanese words come from?"

Quan Wenwei said, "It is said that the Japanese spread the word when they were trading at the Ningbo Maritime Trade Office."

Tu Chengyu said, "So, this is just a rumor?"

Quan Wenwei said, "It is indeed just a message, but it is quite feasible. Before I came, Lord Lin told me to remind the prince that we must not be careless when facing the Japanese."

Even without Lin Ruhai's reminder, Tu Chengyu knew better than anyone what kind of people the Japanese were.

Therefore, when facing the Japanese invaders, he would only be more cautious and would never be careless.

As Tu Chengyu pondered the matter, he gradually began to have some ideas on how to deal with the rumor.

However, since Quan Wenwei is right in front of us, we might as well listen to his opinion.

"Mr. Quan, what are your thoughts on the rumors circulating among the Japanese?"

Quan Wenwei was Tu Chengyu's strategist, and his only strategist at that.

He had developed a habit of thinking through what he was going to report to Tu Chengyu beforehand and preparing some countermeasures in advance.

Therefore, he was able to answer Tu Chengyu's question immediately:
"Your Highness, I believe that the Japanese are deliberately spreading such rumors to test the imperial court."

Quan Wenwei's idea was the same as Tu Chengyu's, which made Tu Chengyu even more certain of his guess.

So he continued, "So what do you think they ultimately wanted to achieve by testing the court?"

Without a second thought, Quan Wenwei said, "Perhaps they want to see through this incident whether the court intends to continue suppressing the Japanese invaders and then want to restore the tributary relationship with the court."

"Restoring tributary relations?" This was something Tu Chengyu hadn't expected. He asked, "What benefits would restoring tributary relations bring to the Japanese?"

Quan Wenwei said, "If the tribute system is restored, the Japanese can send envoys to the capital to meet the emperor. They will not only receive rewards, but also gain the right to trade with the court's merchants without having to go through the Maritime Trade Office, allowing them to obtain goods at a lower price."

After listening to Quan Wenwei's words, Tu Chengyu's act of paying tribute seemed somewhat familiar.

Upon closer reflection, this relationship does bear a resemblance to tax exemptions in later generations.

Obtaining the qualification to pay tribute was equivalent to obtaining a tax exemption.

No wonder those small countries come to pay tribute so often; it turns out there are benefits to it. However, there are still some differences. Tu Chengyu thought for a moment and asked:
"But based on my recent observations, smuggling is rampant along the coast. The Japanese can easily buy things through smuggling, so why are they so insistent on restoring tribute?"

Quan Wenwei laughed and said, "What Your Highness thinks is just wishful thinking."

Quan Wenwei's words were slightly disrespectful, but Tu Chengyu didn't take them to heart and simply asked, "Why do you say that, Mr. Quan?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Does Your Highness believe that smuggled goods are cheaper than those sold through the Maritime Trade Office?"

Tu Chengyu said, "Isn't that right? Without the Maritime Trade Office collecting taxes, it will naturally be cheaper."

Quan Wenwei said, “Your Highness has oversimplified smuggling. Although smuggling does not involve paying taxes, it carries the risk of being caught and requires spending money to bribe various parties. Overall, the price may not be cheaper than the goods from the Maritime Trade Office.”

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized that he had indeed been making some assumptions.

I'm using some concepts from my past life to think about problems in this life.

Even after this question was answered, Tu Chengyu still had some things he didn't understand.

He asked, "Since the prices are almost the same, wouldn't all the merchants outside go to the Maritime Trade Office to trade? Why is smuggling still so frequent?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Your Highness, the smuggled goods are all rare and high-quality items, such as raw silk, and the court does not allow too many of these items to be sold abroad."

Tu Chengyu was about to ask why there were restrictions.

But before he could even ask, he figured out the reason.

That is, silk production was linked to grain fields.

In other words, once silk could be traded on a large scale, the profits from silk would be substantial.

There will definitely be more people converting farmland into mulberry fields, which will lead to food shortages.

Therefore, the purpose of restricting the export of goods such as silk was to protect farmland.

However, judging from the current situation, this policy seems to be somewhat ineffective.

According to the news brought by Yang Chun, a considerable portion of the farmland in Jiangnan has already been converted into mulberry fields.

Not only did it fail to protect farmland, it also fueled smuggling, resulting in greater tax revenue losses.

However, these are matters for the imperial court, not something Tu Chengyu needs to consider for the time being.

His primary concern right now is the Japanese invasion.

Although Quan Wenwei's words make a lot of sense and can basically explain the purpose of the Japanese this time.

However, based on Tu Chengyu's understanding of the Japanese, he still believed that the Japanese were all wolves in sheep's clothing and would not be so docile.

Therefore, Tu Chengyu continued to voice his doubts:

"Since the Japanese want to resume paying tribute, why do they need me to explain things to them? Aren't they afraid of offending me and causing me to obstruct them?"

Quan Wenwei had clearly thought about this issue as well, as he said:

"This is just a trick of the Japanese. They want to use this method to attract the attention of the imperial court."

Tu Chengyu was very curious and asked, "What are their tricks?"

Quan Wenwei said, "Their trick is to anger you, Prince, through such means. Once you feel offended, you will definitely cause trouble for the Japanese."

"At that time, the Japanese will definitely step forward this person who offended the prince and let the prince deal with him as he sees fit."

"Then they would take the opportunity to request to come in person to apologize, so that they would have the opportunity to go to the capital and meet the emperor."

Although this method sounds incredible, it seems quite reasonable if the person operating it is a Japanese.

However, this conclusion can only be reached by considering the positive aspects of the Japanese invaders.

At the same time, there are many stringent conditions for this matter to proceed according to Quan Wenwei's conjecture.

One of these conditions required the cooperation of Prince Tu Chengyu to be met.

What will they do if Tu Chengyu doesn't cooperate?

Tu Chengyu voiced his thoughts: "Mr. Quan, what you just said means that if I feel offended, I will go and cause trouble for the Japanese, and then there will be further developments."

"If I don't cause them trouble, what will the Japanese do?"

Quan Wenwei asked in surprise, "Your Highness won't cause them any trouble?"

Since the Japanese were causing them trouble, Tu Chengyu would naturally cause them some trouble.

But this is just a hypothetical scenario. He wanted to know how Quan Wenwei and the others would react if things took a different turn.

So he said, "I will naturally make trouble for them. This is just a hypothetical situation. If the Japanese think I am easy to bully, or if the coastal officials make the Japanese think that our dynasty is weak and easy to bully when dealing with them, how will these Japanese react?"

Although it's just a hypothetical scenario, if not handled properly, this situation could actually occur.

Quan Wenwei thought for a moment and said, "If that's really the case, the Japanese will definitely make even more demands?"

Quan Wenwei believed that if the Japanese wanted to resume paying tribute, they would at most make more demands.

His thinking might reflect the mentality of a superior nation.

In their eyes, the Japanese were nothing more than a minor nuisance; they might cause some trouble, but not much.

Especially since the Japanese have been quiet for so many years, they have almost forgotten about the Japanese as a scourge.

This is not just Quan Wenwei's problem, but a common mentality throughout the country, from the emperor to officials and the common people.

As someone who truly understood the Japanese, Tu Chengyu would not have thought of them as so weak and kind.

He only considered the Japanese invaders as enemies and was determined to eliminate them.

Therefore, he did not quite agree with Quan Wenwei's point of view, he said;
"I believe that when the Japanese realize that the court is weak and easily bullied, they will never ask for tribute immediately."

"They will only do what they did before: send troops to invade and wreak havoc on the coastal areas."

Quan Wenwei neither refuted nor agreed with Tu Chengyu's words, but simply asked:

"Your Highness, if the Japanese have such intentions, how should you respond?"

Tu Chengyu sneered and said, "When facing the Japanese, of course we should fight back. Only by intimidating them with overwhelming force will they obediently listen to us. Otherwise, these little dwarfs will only jump higher and higher."

Just then, as Tu Chengyu was about to continue talking about the Japanese invaders, Yang Chun suddenly appeared at the door requesting an audience.

Before speaking with Quan Wenwei, Tu Chengyu instructed Yang Chun to keep a close eye on the situation at the Donghu County government office.

His eagerness to see me now must be because he has news about Lü Chudan.

Tu Chengyu guessed correctly; Yang Chun came to see him, bringing news about Lü Chudan.

And it's very important news.

(End of this chapter)