Chapter 54: Use Their Own Way to Treat Them

"Good, good, good... I won't delay Brother Ziyu." Li Ke laughed happily. As long as Su Liang could return to Changan a little earlier, the Divine Machine Battalion would naturally arrive a little earlier.

As the words fell, Su Liang immediately drove away with Er Hu.

"Drive slowly on the way back..." Li Ke shouted from behind.

Facing Li Ke's concern, Su Liang also smiled and opened the car window to wave.

Three hours later, Su Liang and the two also returned to Changancheng.

The moment the car drove into Mingde Gate, Su Liang was stunned... the common people were wearing all kinds of masks.

It wasn't until Su Liang returned to Furong Garden that he learned that all this was the work of the aristocratic families.

On the day Su Liang went to Shandong, as the masks produced by the clothing workshop were continuously distributed to the common people of Changancheng for free, the aristocratic families, seeing this, also followed suit. First, they produced masks with similar styles, and then they developed all kinds of beautiful masks.

Unlike Su Liang, the fancy masks produced by the aristocratic families cost money, and the ordinary masks didn't cost money, but the quantity was limited.

Now, the fancy masks produced by the aristocratic families had become decorations for the common people of Changancheng.

Even some women who didn't go out much on weekdays were walking on the streets of Changancheng with this.

In less than half an hour, Li Er led several ministers to Furong Garden.

At this moment, Su Liang hadn't finished bathing, and everyone waited for a long time before Su Liang finally came out slowly.

"Hehe... Virtuous son-in-law, you came back so soon?" Li Er looked at Su Liang and smiled happily.

"Hmm, the epidemic in Shandong has been completely controlled. In a few days, the common people infected with smallpox will recover," Su Liang said in a deep voice.

"However... the next things will keep us busy!"

"Does my virtuous son-in-law mean the matter of Wa people bringing smallpox patients into the country?" Li Er asked with a serious face.

"Oh? Does Your Majesty also have conclusive evidence here?" Su Liang asked in return.

"Ever since the White Robe Guard said that the smallpox virus was suspected to be related to Wa people, I arranged for the Jinwu Guard and the Gate Guard to investigate this matter together, and captured more than 500 Wa people in the Capital Region and the Capital Region."

"It's just a pity that dozens of our Great Tang common people are still missing, sigh..."

Li Er sighed deeply after finishing speaking.

"Humph... Your Majesty, don't worry. There is a cause for every grievance, and a debtor for every debt. The blood debt owed by Wa people must be repaid with blood!" Su Liang snorted coldly.

As Su Liang's words fell, Cheng Yaojin immediately looked at Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, now that the Prince Consort is back, why not send troops to crusade against Wa Country."

"The Divine Machine Battalion was trained by the Prince Consort himself. If the Prince Consort leads the troops on an expedition, it will definitely be like an arm directing a finger!"

Li Er's expression tightened upon hearing this, and he said sternly: "Is my virtuous son-in-law willing to be my vanguard? I want to go on a personal expedition!!"

As the words fell, Su Liang shook his head slowly, then looked at Li Er and said: "Hehe... Your Majesty will be disappointed. The vanguard general already has a suitable candidate. Once the Divine Machine Battalion is ready, we can set off!"

"Oh? Does my virtuous son-in-law already have a plan?" Li Er asked.

"Hmm... you could say that. Before returning to Changan, the Prince of Qi had already requested to send troops. If Your Majesty wants to go on a personal expedition, go and support the Prince of Qi. As for me... I'll just be a small advisor!"

Su Liang politely refused Li Er's kindness. If he led the troops to take down Wa Country, he would really be too meritorious for the master. It was better to leave such a good thing to Li Er.

"Hahaha... Good, good, good!!" Li Er laughed loudly.

A moment later, Su Liang looked at Cheng Yaojin and asked: "Duke of Lu, where are Cheng Xiaogong and the others?"

"Hehe... The six of them have been in Taoyuan County for the past few days, helping to build yachts," Cheng Yaojin laughed.

"Uh... helping to build? Duke of Lu isn't joking, are they there to supervise the work?" Su Liang asked in return.

"Virtuous son-in-law, you are overthinking it. I can prove that they really went to help. Since the Zhenguan was built, they often go to help."

Li Er also clarified the facts for the Six Young Masters of Changan at this moment.

As the words fell, Su Liang remembered that there was indeed such a thing. At first, Su Liang thought they were purely curious, and plus he needed to rush to build the car, so he didn't take this matter to heart.

Currently, Su Liang's Great Tang No. 1 warship had been built. The Great Tang No. 1 warship, alias Zhenguan, was 30 zhang long and 3 zhang wide. Due to the high speed, the length-to-width ratio was also set by Su Liang at 10 to 1. Built according to the shape of a destroyer, the maximum speed could reach 33 knots (about 60 km/h), and it could accommodate about 1,000 people.

The bow was equipped with a 120mm caliber main gun, and the effective range could reach 20 kilometers.

After the Zhenguan was built, Su Liang also built a batch of small yachts for reconnaissance and protection.

"Hehe... The six of them want to open up territory for the Great Tang early," Su Liang laughed.

"Hahaha, then I must fulfill them. Besides, didn't my virtuous son-in-law already have a plan to let them go to Hokkaido? This time I will go on a personal expedition, and they will go with me," Li Er laughed.

As Li Er's words fell, Su Liang also began to ponder.

The Six Young Masters of Changan were so keen on helping to build yachts, it was obviously after intense discussion. They must want to enter Hokkaido from the Kusu tribe of Mohe (a narrow island north of Hokkaido, now Sakhalin Island, also known as Kuye Island).

From the southernmost tip of the Kusu tribe to Hokkaido, it was only 23 nautical miles (Soya Strait). With the small yachts currently manufactured, it would only take half an hour to arrive.

At this time, Hokkaido was called the Country of Hairy People by Wa Country, because the indigenous people of Hokkaido had hair as long as shrimp whiskers, so it was called the Country of Hairy People (Ezo people).

Historically, Ezo was Chinese territory.

As early as the Han Dynasty, Hokkaido was under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong prefectures; during the Tang Dynasty, Hokkaido was under the jurisdiction of the Andong Protectorate; during the Ming Dynasty, Hokkaido was under the jurisdiction of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

Ezo people paid tribute during the Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties and accepted the enfeoffment of the Southern Dynasties. Northern Wei also once sent people to Hokkaido and Kuye Island to demand whale oil. Dunhuang documents clearly record the fact that the Ezo people, the indigenous people of Hokkaido, submitted to the Tang Dynasty.

Until the decline of the Ming Dynasty, the Chinese territory of Ezo Island (Hokkaido) was forcibly annexed by Wa Country.

At the same time, the Ezo people's resistance against Japan for more than a thousand years was completely declared a failure.

Wa Country finally learned from the failures in history and successively immigrated to Hokkaido to strengthen its rule.

During the reign of Emperor Tenmu (the same period as Wu Zetian's reign), Wa Country also once occupied Hokkaido and changed the Five Kinai and Seven Roads originally modeled after the Tang Dynasty to Five Kinai and Eight Roads, and the added road was Hokkaido.

With the help of the Great Tang, the Ezo people also returned to the embrace of China.

The current Wa Country had not yet successfully conquered Ezo, and currently only had three large islands: Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. And because of climate, terrain, and a series of reasons, the northern part of Honshu also had a large number of Ezo people.

According to the geographical distribution of Ezo, Ezo people could be divided into South Ezo, West Ezo, Oshima Ezo, Watari Ezo, etc. They mainly lived in Hokkaido and the northeastern part of Honshu. Currently, Ezo people occupied nearly one-third of Honshu.

Not only that, the Kuril Islands northeast of Hokkaido were also all Ezo territory.

Wa Country used Ezo people on a large scale to invade China in later generations, and Su Liang was also prepared to use their own way to treat them!

Now it was not just about smallpox anymore, Su Liang planned to use the Ezo people to govern the four islands! ===== CHAPTER 55 =====