bestfiction Chapter 1268 Blood Bank and Money Bag
Chapter 1268 Blood Bank and Money Bag
As soon as Lin Zhen finished speaking, the hall was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
He didn't deliberately raise his voice, but every word carried an irresistible weight, striking the hearts of all the Japanese daimyo present.
To erase the identity of "Daming".
He went from being a local tyrant to a local official under the rule of the Great Qian Empire.
A sense of humiliation surged within them, almost burning their throats.
But no one dared to move.
No one dared to speak.
They could clearly feel the sword hanging over their heads sink another inch. Before an absolute power capable of erasing everything, resistance was a joke.
“Of course,” Lin Zhen changed the subject, the oppressive aura on his face dissipating and a smile appearing, “I have always been fair in rewarding and punishing.”
"If someone truly serves the Great Qian Dynasty, I will never be stingy with my rewards."
His gaze pierced through the crowd and landed precisely on Hideyoshi Hashiba.
"Hideyoshi Hashiba".
"Wei Chen is here!"
Hideyoshi Hashiba suddenly stepped forward, his body trembling slightly with extreme excitement.
"You pacified the nine provinces without shedding a drop of blood; your merit is immense."
Lin Zhen looked at him, her voice calm yet firm.
"I have decided to appoint you as the 'General Who Guards the West' and bestow upon you the surname 'Toyotomi', a hereditary title!"
These few words are nothing.
What truly plunged the entire castle tower into a deathly silence was Lin Zhen's next sentence.
"Furthermore, the entire Kyushu Island will be your fiefdom."
"You shall guard the western gateway of my Great Qian Dynasty!"
boom!
After the deathly silence came a silent explosion.
Tokugawa Ieyasu's fingers tightened suddenly around the wine cup, the precious porcelain turning to dust in his palm. Wine mixed with blood dripped down, but he was completely unaware.
Oda Nobuo's fawning smile froze, his mouth slightly agape, like a fish out of water.
All the daimyo held their breath.
General Who Guards the West!
He was granted the surname Toyotomi!
The entire Kyushu region was his fiefdom!
That monkey, born of humble origins... rose to the top in one step!
Hideyoshi Hashiba, no, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, knelt there, completely dumbfounded.
That monkey face, usually so shrewd and calculating, was now filled with nothing but bewilderment and a huge, unbelievable blank.
Happiness... came too suddenly.
It felt like a beggar on the verge of starvation in the freezing cold was suddenly thrown by a god into a warm palace filled with gold and food.
"Your humble servant... Toyotomi Hideyoshi..."
He suddenly woke up with a start and slammed his head against the ground with all his might, making a dull thud.
He roared, his voice distorted and twisted by ecstasy and gratitude.
"Thank you, Your Highness, for your divine grace! Thank you, Your Majesty, for your divine grace!"
"Your humble servant is willing to sacrifice himself for Your Highness, for Your Majesty, and for the Great Qian Dynasty! He would gladly die a thousand deaths!"
Inside the hall, the gazes of the other daimyo intertwined into an invisible net, filled with envy, jealousy, and deep-seated resentment, all fixed on the "monkey" who was kowtowing repeatedly.
why?
Why him? !
Lin Zhen took in everyone's changing expressions, a playful smile curving his lips.
This is exactly the result he wants.
With an immense fortune, he carved a deep, unfathomable rift between the old Japanese nobility and the emerging power led by Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
Let them fight, compete, and struggle.
A chained dog can never unite.
"The celebration banquet has now come to an end."
Lin Zhen waved his hand dismissively, ending this performance where everyone had their own ulterior motives.
"Next, Your Majesty and I will set off for Southeast Asia to 'visit' an old friend."
"The affairs of Japan shall be handled jointly by Governor-General Akechi and Shogun Toyotomi."
His voice suddenly turned cold, filled with murderous intent.
"I have only one request."
"Before I return, I don't want to see anyone on this land who doesn't have the surname 'Qian'!"
……
Outside Azuchi Castle, the massive combined fleet set sail once again.
This time, the fleet's target was no longer the islands in the east, but the azure sea in the south, a place brimming with wealth, spices, and endless danger.
The captain's cabin of the flagship "Black Pearl".
Lin Zhen and Murong Yan finally took off their conqueror's masks and enjoyed a moment of tenderness.
Murong Yan leaned lazily against Lin Zhen's chest, her belly already quite noticeably protruding.
"Husband, are you really leaving like this?" Murong Yan's voice carried a hint of worry. "Can Akechi Mitsuhide and Toyotomi Hideyoshi really hold the line in Japan?"
She acknowledged her husband's balancing act, but she still felt uneasy about handing over a newly conquered territory to two surrendered generals with differing intentions.
"Don't worry, Yan'er." Lin Zhen lowered his head and planted a kiss on her smooth forehead.
"The result I want is that they can't stay calm."
"Hmm?" Murong Yan raised her head, her phoenix eyes filled with confusion.
"A monolithic Japan will ultimately be a threat to our Great Qian." Lin Zhen gently placed his hand on her swollen belly, feeling the strong fetal movements, his eyes becoming deep and unfathomable.
“I want them to fight! Let the old nobles, represented by Akechi Mitsuhide, and the new forces, represented by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, fight to the death. The fiercer they fight, the more they will need us, the Great Qian, as their ‘arbitrator.’ To gain our support, they will rush to send us wealth and soldiers, and sell out everything they have.”
"Only in this way can Japan forever become the lifeblood and purse bag of the Great Qian Dynasty."
"A perfect colony that can take whatever it wants but can never pose a threat."
Hearing her husband's cold, imperial pronouncements, Murong Yan's last trace of worry vanished.
She buried her head back into his broad chest and closed her eyes peacefully.
With such a husband, why should she worry about politics? She only needs to be a good wife and give birth to the child who is destined to inherit this great cause.
"So... are we really just going to Southeast Asia to 'visit' that East India Company?" Murong Yan asked curiously, shifting into a more comfortable position.
"Of course." A fox-like smile appeared on Lin Zhen's lips.
"We are a nation of etiquette, so we should naturally use courtesy before resorting to force. I have prepared three grand gifts to present to their high-ranking governor."
"Oh? What kind of big gift?" Murong Yan's interest was piqued.
"The first gift," Lin Zhen held up one finger, "is Prince Muhammad's head, preserved in a glass jar. I want that governor to understand the consequences of coveting the wealth of the Great Qian Dynasty."
"The second gift," he held up a second finger, a cold glint in his eyes, "is Oda Nobunaga's 'Void Stone'."
“I want him to see with his own eyes how I dismantle and reassemble the ‘creation of God’ that they have placed such high hopes on. I want him to understand that in the face of absolute technology, their god is worthless.”
"As for this third gift..." Lin Zhen's smile became meaningful, "I'll keep it a secret for now."
"But I assure you, it will be a 'surprise' he would never want to receive. A 'gift' that will make him understand just how desperate it is to be an enemy of the Great Qian."
Seeing her husband's deliberately mysterious and mischievous smile, Murong Yan was both annoyed and amused. She reached out her small hand and gave him a light punch on the chest.
"You have so many tricks up your sleeve."
The two enjoyed a rare moment of tenderness in the captain's cabin.
Meanwhile, on the deck of the "Black Pearl," Yue Fei and Elizabeth were having a similarly tense conversation.
"General Yue," Elizabeth leaned against the ship's railing, a glass of rum in her hand, the sea breeze ruffling her dazzling blonde hair. "Tell me," she said, "what exactly does His Highness the Prince want to do?"
She still couldn't understand it.
With the current strength of the Great Qian Allied Fleet, plus the 100,000 Japanese auxiliary troops and the financial resources of the Iwami Silver Mine.
Destroying an East India Company is a piece of cake.
Why would a prince need to go through so many roundabout "visits" and "gift-giving"?
Yue Fei did not answer immediately.
He faced the sea breeze, his gaze fixed on the distant southern horizon, his bronze-colored, resolute face calm and serene.
But upon closer inspection, one can discover a burning passion, almost a faith, deep within his eyes.
After a long while, he slowly spoke, his voice as steady as a mountain.
“Admiral Elizabeth, you have not been following the Prince for long, so you do not understand.”
"What the prince wants to do has never been a simple conquest."
"What he wants is to destroy people's spirit!"
"To destroy their spirit?"
Elizabeth repeated the Eastern term, her azure eyes filled with confusion.
"I see."
Elizabeth's voice was a little hoarse. Looking at the almost religious light in Yue Fei's eyes, she suddenly realized that she was also becoming such a fanatical believer.