The rise of the poor

Chapter 2314 A Perfect Match

Wang San really did get things done after taking the money. Less than half a day later, around noon, Wang San arrived with two people.

The two men sported bald, half-moon-shaped haircuts, wore the attire of Japanese nobles, carried diamond-encrusted Japanese swords at their waists, and wore wooden clogs. They walked with a swagger, their eyes looking down on others, exuding the air of powerful Japanese officials.

Luo Longwen hurriedly ran up to greet them, bowing and scraping, and asked cautiously, "Third Master, who are these two gentlemen?"

Wang San introduced the two men to Luo Longwen, saying, "This is Captain Ye Zongman, and this is Captain Matsuura. They have come specifically to relieve your worries."

"Greetings, Lord Ye; greetings, Lord Matsuura." Luo Longwen bowed deeply in greeting.

Ye Zongman and Songpu nodded slightly, and Luo Longwen didn't think anything was wrong. He smiled and led the three of them to sit down.

The meal on the table wasn't lavish: a pot of stewed chicken, a pot of braised fish, a plate of sashimi, a plate of fried small fish, a pot of stir-fried bok choy, a pot of tea, and a jar of old wine. But Luo Longwen spent a full two hundred taels of silver on this meal.

He gave the gatekeeper two hundred taels of silver in exchange for this meal to entertain Wang San, Ye Zongman, and Songpu.

"Today, I am truly honored to share this table with Third Master, Lord Ye, and Lord Matsuura."

Luo Longwen raised his teacup, a respectful smile plastered on his face, and addressed Wang San, Ye Zongman, and Songpu.

"Alright, let's not waste any more time. I heard from Wang San that you've gone mad and are trying to attack Zhu Ping'an?"

Ye Zongman interrupted Luo Longwen's flattering words.

Luo Longwen nodded without hesitation, "Yes, to be honest, my young master gave me the primary task of dealing with Zhu Ping'an. It would be best to kill him, but if that's not possible, he should at least be brought down so that he can never recover for the rest of his life."

"Hmph, you guys, no wonder you're our defeated opponents, you never forget to fight amongst yourselves!"

Ye Zongman snorted coldly, utterly disdainful.

"It's fortunate that you Ming people like to fight amongst yourselves, otherwise we Japanese wouldn't be able to sleep at night."

Matsuura, standing to the side, smiled dismissively and said something meaningful.

In his view, Luo Longwen's master's actions against Zhu Ping'an during the Ming Dynasty's campaign against the Japanese pirates were an internal power struggle, and Ye Zongman and his group's collusion with the Japanese to invade the Ming Dynasty was also a form of internal power struggle. With such a vast territory and such a large population, if the Ming Dynasty could unite against external enemies, where in the world would not be Ming territory?

However, it was fortunate that the Ming people were prone to internal strife, which gave the Japanese an opportunity to conquer the Ming Dynasty.

Heaven has given them such a vast and fertile land; if they cannot make the most of it, then they shouldn't blame the Japanese for reaching out.

If the Japanese had successfully conquered the Ming Dynasty and enjoyed such a vast and rich territory, they could have multiplied and thrived there, and within a few generations, the Japanese pirates could have conquered and occupied the entire world.

Mingren, keep fighting amongst yourselves. I will do everything in my power to support you.

Matsuura's lips twitched into a forced smile.

"It's not that my master likes infighting, but Zhu Ping'an is cunning and full of hostility towards my master. If we don't eliminate Zhu Ping'an, there will be endless troubles in the future. My young master said that being merciful to the enemy is being irresponsible to oneself. Strike first and you'll suffer the consequences," Luo Longwen explained, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Ye Zongman waved his hand, interrupting Luo Longwen, "Alright, I don't care what your reasons are. I'm not here to solve a case. It's enough that I've confirmed you're going to attack Zhu Ping'an."

Upon hearing this, Luo Longwen's eyes lit up, and he tentatively asked, "Does Your Excellency also have a grudge against Zhu Ping'an?"

“No enmity.” Ye Zongman shook his head.

"What grievances could there be?" Luo Longwen asked again.

"I have no complaints. On the contrary, I have high hopes for Zhu Ping'an." Ye Zongman said slowly, "Zhu Ping'an is very capable, extremely capable. He offended your master and was demoted to a small county in Jiangnan as a county magistrate. But in less than a year, he was promoted one after another and became a third-rank regional official!"

"Huh?!" Luo Longwen was stunned. He looked at Ye Zongman suspiciously and asked in confusion, "Since you think highly of Zhu Ping'an, why did you come to see me after knowing that I intended to attack Zhu Ping'an?"

Ye Zongman nodded and said slowly, "It is precisely because I have high hopes for Zhu Pingan that I came here to have a chat after learning that you wanted to attack Zhu Pingan."

Luo Longwen was completely bewildered. What did he mean? You think he's good, but you want to ruin him? Are you mentally unstable?!

I don't understand.

Looking at Luo Longwen's bewildered expression, Ye Zongman curled his lip in disdain. "Let me put it this way. Although Zhu Ping'an is young, he's one of the few Ming Dynasty officials capable of leading troops. He was demoted to Jiangnan, but the reason he rose from a seventh-rank county magistrate to a third-rank regional official in less than a year is because of his meritorious service in suppressing the Japanese pirates. Every time, he paved his way to promotion with the corpses of our pirates. He's too powerful. We've suffered many heavy losses at his hands. Some time ago, when I attacked Shaoxing, Zhu Ping'an wasn't even there. The arrangements he left behind caused me a great loss. I already took Zhu Ping'an very seriously, but I didn't expect to suffer a great loss at his hands again. If Zhu Ping'an isn't eliminated, he will definitely be a major threat to our Japanese pirates. So I'm very interested in getting rid of Zhu Ping'an."

"Excellent, absolutely excellent!" Luo Longwen exclaimed excitedly. "Since we both want to get rid of Zhu Ping'an, what are we waiting for? I urge you, sir, to send troops to attack Zhu Ping'an. As long as you send troops, regardless of your success or failure, I guarantee that Zhu Ping'an will be defeated this time, and even if he doesn't die, he won't be able to recover!"

Ye Zongman shook his head slightly. "Although I also want to get rid of Zhu Pingan, if we accept the imperial court's offer of amnesty, then we will serve as officials in the same court as Zhu Pingan, and we will no longer be enemies. Therefore, it will not be necessary to eliminate Zhu Pingan."

"Huh?!" Luo Longwen was dumbfounded. What did that mean? I've already taken my pants off, and you're saying it's not possible? Just now you said you wanted to get rid of Zhu Ping'an, how come you're saying it's not necessary to get rid of Zhu Ping'an now?

“I don’t rule out sending troops, but you know what the king means now. If we send troops, we won’t get the king’s support. We need to provide food, weapons, and our men to risk their lives. We need to give them benefits, and all of these cost money. Do you understand what I mean?” Ye Zongman looked at Luo Longwen.

“That’s right. If you want us to send troops, you’ll have to provide the silver,” Matsuura added.

"I understand, I understand, I'll pay, I'll pay, I'll pay everything! Food, supplies, weapons, and pay will all be on our books." Luo Longwen nodded without hesitation, taking on all the responsibility. (End of Chapter)