Chapter 158: Conquering the Stars and the Sea

Everyone present could hear that the powerful empire Zhu Gaoxu spoke of was the Great Ming, while the four maritime nations were the four states of Beishan, Zhongshan, Nanshan, and Ryukyu.

Just as everyone was wondering why the powerful empire would want to destroy four nations in succession, Zhu Gaoxu provided the answer.

"You must all be curious why the powerful empire would want to wipe out all four nations; in fact, it is very simple."

"Since the empire has gone to such great lengths to travel overseas to destroy nations, how could it be content with destroying only one?"

"If we don't move, we don't move, but once the empire decides to strike, it will be too late for everything, and we will certainly eliminate all hidden threats!"

Hearing this, everyone understood.

Zhu Gaoxu's meaning was very simple: the reason he hadn't bothered with them before was because he hadn't taken a liking to them.

But now that you have provoked me, you can either obey me obediently, or wash yourselves clean and wait at home.

At the same time, Zhu Gaoxu also clearly told the four nations of Beishan, Zhongshan, Nanshan, and Ryukyu that they were now grasshoppers on the same string.

And of course, it was not without purpose that Zhu Gaoxu went through such a long-winded story.

Seeing that the story was finished, everyone understood his intentions and immediately bared their ferocious fangs.

"I have grown up to this age without ever having been to the seaside. I once made a wish to conquer the stars and the sea; I suppose Nanshan would be willing to help me, right?"

Hearing this, everyone trembled in their hearts, knowing that what was bound to come had finally arrived.

Seeing this, the envoy from Nanshan wore a smile uglier than crying and said, "Our country will certainly use the strength of the entire nation to realize Your Highness's grand ambitions!"

Hearing this, Zhu Gaoxu nodded with satisfaction and said, "That is perfect; I am currently in need of five warships and three thousand experienced shipbuilders."

Hearing this, even though the four nations were prepared, they were still shocked in their hearts.

This was clearly Zhu Gaoxu opening his mouth like a lion, and the few of them finally understood why he had gone to such great lengths to link the nations together.

This was clearly using Zhongshan's hand to extort the four nations.

By now, everyone saw Zhu Gaoxu's true face clearly.

What gentle and refined demeanor—he was simply a devil who would eat people without spitting out the bones.

This was no exchange meeting; this was Zhu Gaoxu's extortion meeting!

But at this point, even if they wanted to leave, they could not.

They could only bite the bullet and finish acting out this scene with Zhu Gaoxu.

Among those who understood, the four nations of Zhongshan were under the most pressure.

After all, they were the protagonists of Zhu Gaoxu's current exploitation.

The conditions Zhu Gaoxu set were clearly a stranglehold, yet the four nations could still scrape together the requirements he mentioned if they used the strength of their entire nations.

But whether or not to agree was clearly difficult to ponder.

If they agreed, the family fortune the four nations had saved with such difficulty would be gone just like that.

If they did not agree, the consequences would be even harder to say; perhaps they would truly anger the Great Ming, causing them to send troops overseas, and at that time, it would be just as Zhu Gaoxu said—it would be too late to regret.

With such a major matter, none of them dared to make a decision on their own, so the envoys of the various nations exchanged glances and conveyed their thoughts through their eyes.

Throughout this, Zhu Gaoxu remained silent, with no intention of interrupting or urging them.

Finally, the envoy from Zhongshan likely understood the intentions of the other nations and immediately said, "Your Highness, this matter is of great importance; this humble subject must return to report to our King."

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu was not surprised and said with surprising generosity, "No rush, no rush; I have more good things to share with everyone later."

Hearing Zhu Gaoxu's words, everyone trembled in their hearts, not knowing what the "good things" he spoke of could be.

Seeing the expressions of the crowd, which held not a shred of joy or anticipation but were instead growing increasingly grave, Zhu Gaoxu smiled and said, "Everyone, relax. What did you think of my Great Ming's divine weapon just now?"

Hearing this from Zhu Gaoxu, the crowd did not know what he meant, but they all nodded one after another, indicating that the Daming Gun was extremely powerful.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu coughed lightly and said, "The main reason I called everyone here this time is that the Imperial Grandfather has issued an edict wishing to share this divine weapon with all nations, so that our friendship with the Great Ming may last forever!"

Hearing this from Zhu Gaoxu, everyone's eyes lit up.

They instantly forgot the trepidation they had felt in their hearts just moments before.

Even the nations of Zhongshan were the same.

If they could truly buy this divine weapon and take it back to their countries, then even paying a price would be worth it.

Seeing this, Zhu Gaoxu did not rush to continue, but instead said, "This is not the place for conversation; everyone, please follow me back to the tent to talk."

As he spoke, Zhu Gaoxu rose slowly and leisurely, walking at a measured pace toward the direction of the main tent.

Watching Zhu Gaoxu walking slowly in front, the crowd was burning with impatience, but they could only suppress the excitement in their hearts and follow slowly behind him.

And at this moment, there was no "escort" from the Embroidered Uniform Guard at all.

Just as everyone was wishing they could carry Zhu Gaoxu back, he finally returned to the tent after walking for a long time.

When they returned to the main tent, the Mahjong had already been put away.

This time, Zhu Gaoxu did not make things difficult for them; after sitting down, he invited everyone to sit as well and ordered the soldiers to serve tea to the envoys.

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