Back on the large ship, under the bright moonlight, Shao Bowen quietly instructed.
"Sir, are there really islands covered in spices in this world?"
Despite Han Mo's confident assertions and Shao Bowen's repeated inquiries, Zhe Shijiu still harbored deep doubts. If it were true, how much would such an island be worth?
"How much do you think the golden nanmu on this island is worth? Before coming here, if someone told you this island had inexhaustible golden nanmu, would you believe them?"
Instead of answering his question, Shao Bowen retorted.
"If someone told me that, I'd probably punch their teeth out!"
Taking a deep breath, Zhe Shijiu suddenly realized that it was indeed a valid point.
"Hahahaha! You rascal!"
After chuckling a few times, Shao Bowen slowly stood up and returned to his cabin. He was quite tired after a day of activities and wished to sleep soundly. In the past, he might have been resistant to sleeping on a ship. However, after such a long voyage, he found himself strangely uncomfortable with the feeling of solid ground beneath his feet. Listening to the continuous sound of the waves outside, Shao Bowen finally drifted off to sleep. However, his furrowed brow indicated that he was utterly exhausted from his journey. Even in his sleep, his brow never smoothed out...
"Patriarch, that damned Song person is here again!"
In Mingzhou City, just as dawn was breaking, Ping Zheng Sheng was woken by his subordinates.
"Shut your mouths! Do you want to die?"
Although Ping Zheng Sheng himself didn't think highly of Feng Yuan Bao, he understood one thing profoundly: this was the Great Song Dynasty, and this was Han Mo's territory! After so much time, his understanding of Han Mo was far from what it was initially. The deeper he understood Han Mo, the greater his fear of the Great Song Dynasty became. How prosperous the Song Dynasty was, he had a very accurate answer after traveling back and forth between Mingzhou and Bianliang twice. Even in this era of constant warfare, the prosperity of the Song Dynasty far surpassed that of Wa Country. Bianliang City was beyond discussion; even Mingzhou City's prosperity far exceeded that of Wa Country's imperial capital. In fact, strictly speaking, the word "surpassed" shouldn't be used. To be more precise, the two places were incomparable. Compared to Mingzhou City, Wa Country's imperial capital was a joke. Putting other matters aside, just in terms of land area, Mingzhou City could far outdistance their imperial capital. If one were to discuss population and prosperity, there was no need to compare. The two were simply not on the same scale. In serious comparison with Mingzhou City, Wa Country's imperial capital was at most a small, run-down village... Although no formal state treaties had been signed between the two countries, and Wa Country had never submitted to the Great Song Dynasty, looking at the current situation, whether for personal or other reasons, their predicament was truly extremely dangerous.
"Yes!"
Seeing his anger, the accompanying Wa samurai quickly knelt on the ground. To them, Ping Zheng Sheng's orders were everything.
"Patriarch Ping, I apologize for disturbing you again today!"
Although Feng Yuan Bao spoke politely, his actions showed no sign of courtesy.
"Lord Feng jokes. I am merely a prisoner. If it weren't for Lord Han, I would likely be in jail right now!"
Ping Zheng Sheng accurately assessed his own position. Although Han Mo had spoken of cooperation initially, he understood in his heart that this was not cooperation at all; it was submission. Feng Yuan Bao's actions were becoming increasingly excessive and disrespectful. Every morning, he would arrive and drag him into discussions about everything related to Wa Country, while others nearby recorded every word of their conversation. After each exchange, Feng Yuan Bao would select some useful information from their discussions and meticulously compare it with his samurai in the courtyard. Once it was confirmed that everyone's statements were consistent, he would unreservedly have the summarized information transcribed and then, like a confession, have Ping Zheng Sheng and his samurai sign and seal it. After completing this process, he would send people with these documents to the docks to find those who had been to Wa Country and compare every sentence, even every word, on the paper. Despite his seemingly harmless appearance, if he discovered any ambiguity or concealment in Ping Zheng Sheng's previous statements, people in his courtyard would truly face death! Previously, because a single statement by Ping Zheng Sheng did not match, Feng Yuan Bao did not hesitate to have one of his longest-serving samurai dragged outside and beheaded. While this was undoubtedly barbaric, the effect was remarkably significant. After that incident, Ping Zheng Sheng no longer dared to conceal anything from them.
"Patriarch Ping, it's good that you view things optimistically. I haven't come for anything major today, just a few questions for you and your samurai. I believe their answers, being more experienced, will be more insightful!"
"My Lord is too kind. While my Ping family has some influence in Wa Country, compared to the Great Song, Wa Country is merely a tiny territory. I am already very satisfied with the terms discussed with Lord Han. Now, I only wish to preserve our lives. As for other matters, I truly don't wish to think about them anymore!"
Although Ping Zheng Sheng spoke politely, his attitude remained neither subservient nor overbearing.
"I think you might be too nervous. I never intended to take your life?"
As Feng Yuan Bao spoke, two middle-aged men standing behind him immediately went to the nearby table and chairs to sit. One held the draft compiled from their previous discussions, while the other was ready to listen as they began to speak.