Chapter 54: Using Their Own Methods to Pay Them Back

"Good, good, good... I won't delay Brother Ziyu any further," Li Ke laughed. As long as Su Liang could return to Changancheng a bit sooner, the Divine Machine Battalion would naturally arrive sooner as well.

As the words fell, Su Liang immediately drove off with Erhu in the car.

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

Facing Li Ke's concern, Su Liang smiled, then opened the car window and waved to signal.

Three hours later, the two of them returned to Changancheng.

The moment the car drove into Mingde Gate, Su Liang was stunned... the commoners were wearing all sorts of face masks.

It was not until Su Liang returned to Furong Garden that he learned all of this was the work of the noble families.

On the very day Su Liang left for Shandong, as masks produced by the garment workshops were continuously distributed to the people of Changancheng for free, the noble families followed suit. First, they made masks of similar styles, and later, they developed all kinds of fancy masks.

Unlike Su Liang, the noble families charged money for their fancy masks; ordinary masks were free, but in limited quantities.

Nowadays, the fancy masks produced by the noble families had become ornaments for the people of Changancheng.

Even some women who usually stayed in their boudoirs were now taking to the streets of Changancheng because of this.

Less than half an hour later, Li Shimin arrived at Furong Garden with several ministers.

At this moment, Su Liang had not yet finished bathing. After the group waited for a long time, Su Liang finally emerged slowly.

"Hehe... my worthy son-in-law, you returned so quickly?" Li Shimin looked at Su Liang and chuckled.

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

"However... the things that follow will be enough to keep us busy!"

"Does my worthy son-in-law mean the matter of the Japanese bringing smallpox patients into our borders?" Li Shimin asked with a serious expression.

"Oh? Could it be that Your Majesty already has conclusive evidence?" Su Liang asked in return.

"Ever since the White Robe Guard said the smallpox virus was suspected to be related to the Japanese, I arranged for the Golden Guard and the Gate Guard to thoroughly investigate the matter. We have captured over five hundred Japanese in Jingji Circuit and Duji Circuit."

"It is just a pity that dozens of our Great Tang commoners are still missing. Sigh..."

After Li Shimin finished speaking, he let out a deep sigh.

"Hmph... Your Majesty, rest assured. Every debt has a debtor, and the blood debt owed by the Japanese must be repaid in blood!" Su Liang snorted coldly.

As Su Liang's words fell, Cheng Yaojin immediately looked at Li Shimin and said, "Your Majesty, now that the Imperial Son-in-Law has returned, why not raise an army to punish the Japanese nation?"

"The Divine Machine Battalion was trained by the Imperial Son-in-Law himself. If the Imperial Son-in-Law leads the army on the expedition, it will surely be as easy as moving one's own arm!"

Li Shimin's expression tightened upon hearing this, and he said sternly, "Is my worthy son-in-law willing to be my vanguard? I intend to lead the expedition in person!!"

As the words fell, Su Liang slowly shook his head, then looked at Li Shimin and said, "Hehe... I am afraid Your Majesty will be disappointed. A suitable candidate for the vanguard general has already been chosen. Once the Divine Machine Battalion is ready, we can set off!"

"Oh? My worthy son-in-law had this planned long ago?" Li Shimin asked.

"Yes... one could say that. Before returning to Changancheng, the Prince of Qi had already requested an imperial decree to send troops. If Your Majesty wishes to lead the expedition, you can provide support for the Prince of Qi. As for me... I will just be a small advisor."

Su Liang politely declined Li Shimin's good intentions. If he were to lead the troops to conquer the Japanese nation, his achievements would truly overshadow his master. It was better to leave such a good deed to Li Shimin.

"Hahaha... good, good, good!!" Li Shimin laughed heartily.

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

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

"Uh... helping to build? Duke of Lu, you aren't joking, are you? They didn't just go to supervise the work, did they?" Su Liang asked in return.

"My worthy son-in-law is overthinking. I can testify that they really went to help. Ever since the Zhenguan was built, they have often gone to help."

Li Shimin also stepped in to clarify the facts for the six young masters of Changancheng.

As the words fell, Su Liang remembered that there was indeed such a thing. At first, he thought they were purely curious, and since he needed to rush the production of the cars, he hadn't taken it to heart.

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

The bow was equipped with a 120mm caliber main gun, with an effective range of up to 20 kilometers.

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

"Hehe... those few are eager to expand the territory for the Great Tang," Su Liang chuckled.

"Hahaha, then I must certainly fulfill their wishes. Besides, didn't my worthy son-in-law have plans for them to head to Hokkaido long ago? This time, as I lead the expedition, they shall accompany me," Li Shimin laughed.

As Li Shimin's words fell, Su Liang fell into deep thought.

The fact that the six young masters of Changancheng were so keen on helping to build yachts clearly meant they had discussed it thoroughly. They must have wanted to enter Hokkaido from the Kushu Tribe of the Mohe (a long, narrow island north of Hokkaido, today's Sakhalin Island, also known as Kuye Island).

Entering Hokkaido from the southernmost tip of the Kushu Tribe was only a distance of 23 nautical miles (Soya Strait). With the small yachts currently being manufactured, it would take less than half an hour to arrive.

At this time, Hokkaido was called the Land of the Hairy People by the Japanese nation, because the indigenous people of Hokkaido had hair as long as shrimp whiskers, hence the name Land of the Hairy People (Ezo people).

Historically, Ezo was once Chinese territory.

As early as the Han Dynasty, Hokkaido was under the jurisdiction of the Liaodong commanderies; during the Tang Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of the Protectorate General to Pacify the East; during the Ming Dynasty, it was under the jurisdiction of the Nurgan Regional Military Commission.

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

It was not until the decline of the Ming Dynasty that the Chinese territory of Ezo Island (Hokkaido) was forcibly annexed by the Japanese nation, which took advantage of the situation.

At the same time, the Ezo people's intermittent thousand-year resistance against the Japanese was declared a complete failure.

The Japanese nation eventually learned from its past failures and successively migrated to Hokkaido to strengthen its rule.

As early as the reign of Emperor Tenmu (during the reign of Wu Zetian), the Japanese nation once occupied Hokkaido and changed the Five Kinai and Seven Circuits, which were originally modeled after the Great Tang, to the Five Kinai and Eight Circuits; the added circuit was Hokkaido.

Later, with the help of the Great Tang, the Ezo people returned to the embrace of China.

The current Japanese nation had not yet succeeded in conquering the Ezo. At present, it only had three large islands: Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku. Moreover, due to climate, terrain, and other reasons, there were a large number of Ezo people in the northern part of Honshu Island.

According to the geographical distribution of the Ezo, they could be divided into South Ezo, West Ezo, Oshima Ezo, and Wataru Ezo. They were mainly distributed in Hokkaido and the northeastern part of Honshu Island. Currently, the Ezo people occupied nearly one-third of Honshu Island.

Not only that, the Kuril Islands to the northeast of Hokkaido were also entirely the territory of the Ezo people.

In later generations, the Japanese nation would use the Ezo people on a large scale to invade China. Su Liang was now prepared to use their own methods to pay them back!

Now it was no longer just about the smallpox. Su Liang intended to borrow the hands of the Ezo people to govern the four islands!