A Stirring of the Heart

Yamana Mochitoyo met her gaze, and a chill ran through his heart.

"Avenging a blood feud is the first reason," Pan Yun said. "The second is that this spring, the Ouchi clan sent people to infiltrate our Ming Dynasty. They seriously wounded a knight-errant of the Ming Dynasty and stole a map from him. That knight-errant is our friend, a very good brother of ours. We came to help him take that map back."

The friend and brother standing beside her silently lowered his head.

Yamana Mochitoyo asked curiously, "What sort of map is it?"

Pan Yun said, "A map worth a city's weight in gold. It is a map of our Ming Dynasty, so I doubt Lord Yamana would be interested."

"The third reason is that the Ouchi clan has used Sea Pirates to monopolize maritime trade from the Ming Dynasty to Japan and Korea. Our Ming merchant alliance cannot stand the sight of it and wants to operate a route of its own. In the future, ships and cargo would travel safely and cheaply. If we can cooperate with Lord Yamana, would that not benefit the Yamana clan as well?"

Yamana Mochitoyo's heart stirred fiercely, but he also knew it was impossible. Shaking his head, he said, "The coastal region is controlled by the Ouchi clan. We cannot wrest it from them, and we do not have ships large enough for the sea."

Even if Yamana Mochitoyo had blind confidence in himself, he knew they could never punch through the Ouchi clan and seize the ports west of their territory.

Pan Yun said, "I heard there is a place in the east called Yunotsucho."

Yamana Mochitoyo instinctively looked toward Masuda Shinta.

Masuda Shinta: ...

He hurriedly said, "It is indeed by the sea, but there are only fishermen