My Pen Pal Zhu Yuanzhang

Chapter 181 The Confused Japanese Mission

"This is a trick of playing hard to get. Didn't you, Cui Shaoqing, see through it?"

Zhu Yuanzhang's rebuke was like a wake-up call, and Cui Wenyuan understood everything instantly.

Play hard to get?

These damn guys actually used the tactic of playing hard to get on me?
"Your Majesty, I am so stupid that I never thought that the Japanese pirates would be so despicable. Thank you for your reminder. Now I know what to do!"

Cui Wenyuan is not a fool. The emperor has already said this, and if he still doesn't understand what you mean, then he can only go home and roast sweet potatoes!
The joke about going home to sell sweet potatoes spread among civil and military officials during this period.

Because the salary given by Zhu Yuanzhang was low, the ministers would sometimes joke with each other, saying that if things got any worse they could just go home and sell roasted sweet potatoes.

After all, sweet potatoes are a food that everyone loves nowadays. Many farmers can make a lot of money by growing sweet potatoes and then taking them to the city to roast and sell.

Cui Wenyuan certainly wouldn't roast sweet potatoes. Now that he knew what tricks the Japanese were playing, he naturally knew how to deal with them.

When it comes to playing hard to get, we Chinese are the ancestors!

After Cui Wenyuan left, Zhu Yuanzhang continued, "It seems that the Japanese are beginning to get restless!"

"Your Majesty is right. Otherwise, they would not have used such a foolish tactic of playing hard to get against the officials of the Ming Dynasty."

Mao Xiang naturally despised the Japanese in his heart, not only because he had witnessed the tragedy brought about by the Japanese invasion when he was in Shaoxing Prefecture, but also because this tactic of playing hard to get was completely the wrong approach!
It’s like you want to get promoted, so you invite your superior to dinner and give him gifts. But your superior hasn’t shown up at the dinner party yet, but you can’t wait any longer and threaten him, saying that if he doesn’t show up, the dinner party will be over and you won’t give him any gifts!

How can there be such stupid people in this world?

All we can say is that these Japanese either didn't understand books at all, or they have never been to school!

"The time is almost right, we can force them again!" Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes flashed with a gleam.

"What do you mean, Your Majesty?" Mao Xiang quickly pricked up his ears and asked.

"Lead the snake out of its hole!"

"Your Majesty is wise and powerful, this move is brilliant!"

Mao Xiang didn't care about that. He thought it was always a good idea to flatter the person first.

"Alright, alright, stop flattering me."

Zhu Yuanzhang laughed and scolded, "I don't need us to teach you how to do it, do I?"

"Your Majesty, rest assured. I will do this beautifully!"

Just before leaving, Mao Xiang suddenly stopped, looking a little hesitant. It seemed that he wanted to ask something but didn't know how to start.

"Mao Xiang, do you have anything else to say?" Zhu Yuanzhang asked.

Mao Xiang hesitated, but didn't know how to start.

Zhu Yuanzhang was impatient. "You are the commander of the Jinyiwei. If you have something to say, just say it. When did you become a person who can't even fart with a stick? Stop acting like a girl!"

Mao Xiang then spoke up, "Your Majesty, I ran into the Fourth Prince when I entered the palace just now. I heard him talking about the Bright Sword. I was really curious, so I wanted to ask Your Majesty, what exactly is the Bright Sword?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was a little amused when he heard this. It must be that Zhu Di had boasted to Mao Xiang after seeing him, which made Mao Xiang ask him about this. "What is the sword? It will take a while to explain it. Don't worry, you will know it by then!"

Seeing His Majesty say so, Mao Xiang's curiosity was completely aroused. What on earth is this "Drawing Sword"? He heard the Fourth Prince bragging that there is something called "Italian Cannon" inside, which is quite powerful.

Not only did the Fourth Prince say this, everyone he met in the palace was discussing Drawing the Sword, but he was the only one who didn't know what it was.

But since His Majesty didn't say anything, he didn't dare to ask any more. He felt like a cat was scratching him in his heart. He was so upset. No, no, he had to find the Fourth Prince later and ask him clearly.

I can't guarantee that our Jinyiwei can do other things, but aren't we first-class at gathering information?
……

At this time, in the hall where the Southern Court of Japan was located, envoys including Prime Minister Sugawara Tadatsugu and Left Minister Ono Hideyo, listened to the news obtained by the spies and fell into confusion one by one.

After investigation by spies, they have confirmed that the Ming Dynasty does have large ships that can sail on their own without the need for sailboats.

The big ship that the spy described was a truly big ship. In his words, the ship was as long as a street from bow to stern, and as high as more than ten stories from top to bottom.

After hearing the spy's description, everyone was extremely astonished. How could there be such a huge ship in the world? They couldn't even imagine what kind of magnificent sight they would see when they stood in front of this ship!
But he had to believe it because the spies saw it with their own eyes.

But they could not understand what the spy said next.

What is a steam engine, what is a cylinder, what is torque, what is horsepower, what are these things, and do they have anything to do with shipbuilding?

Fortunately, the spy was able to memorize these obscure words, but what's the use? He has no idea what they mean!

The only useful information obtained is probably that the keel of this magical ship also needs to be laid.

This is all the information that the Southern Dynasty's spies have gathered so far. It cannot be said to be completely useless.

After a long silence, Sugawara Tadatsugu finally spoke:

"Gentlemen, it seems that if we want to thoroughly learn the shipbuilding technology of the Ming people, our people must continue to go deep into the shipyard!
Only by mastering that magical giant ship can we be invincible in the battle with the Muromachi shogunate!"

"But sir, how can we sneak into the shipyard?" Ono Hideyo couldn't help asking:

"The damn Ming people are guarding the shipyard to the point of being harsh. How can we get in?"

"Are we going to give up just because of the difficulties? If so, we must use all means to enter the shipyard!"

Sugawara Tadatsugu's eyes flashed with a hint of coldness, "These days, the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty has been so indifferent to us, it's simply too rude, but after we issued an ultimatum, I believe he will see us soon.

So during this period of time, we must hurry up. I don't care how much it costs, even if it means getting rid of someone, as long as we can get into the shipyard!"

"Sir, I have something else to report." The spy said at this time: "Those guys in the Muromachi shogunate seem to be planning to take the Ming Dynasty's muskets!"

"These damn bastards!"

Sugawara Tadatsugu slammed the table and said, "Ono-kun, we have to seize the Ming Dynasty's Arms Bureau as well. We must not let Ashikaga Yoshimitsu obtain the Ming Dynasty's musket technology!"

"Hai!" Ono Hideyo bowed respectfully.

At the same time, the same thing was happening in the residence of the Northern Dynasty delegation. The difference was that compared to their Southern Dynasty colleagues, they were even more confused about what the spies had obtained from Liu Sanwu of the Ordnance Bureau.

(End of this chapter)