Chapter 386: Beyond the Great Song

"Yan Wang, you are playing with fire! Do you not know the fearsome reputation of Wufeng Island?" Yamada Ichino said, his tone fierce but his spirit weak.

"Not only do I know, but I am very clear on what kind of trash Wufeng Island is. Your Island Master is nothing more than a dog that has changed masters, a traitorous rebel bullying Great Song," Zhao Xu said, his expression icy.

When the sea bandits attacked Jinghai County last time, he had collected relevant intelligence on this Wang Zhi.

This Wang Zhi was a man from Zhezhou who initially sold contraband at sea; it was said his nature was fierce.

After profiting from maritime trade, he formed a fleet and, while continuing to sell contraband, took up the trade of a sea bandit.

Of course, sea merchants in this era were basically both merchants and pirates.

Later, this Wang Zhi was valued by a Dongying Shogun and was permitted to reside permanently on Wufeng Island in the Southwest of Dongying.

From then on, Wang Zhi's power grew rapidly; he not only ran rampant on the seas plundering merchant ships but also harassed the coast of Great Song year-round.

It could be said that behind Wufeng Island, there was a vague shadow, and that was Dongying.

"You dare to insult the Island Master like this!" Yamada Ichino suddenly struggled, waving his hand to strike Zhao Xu.

Seeing this, a soldier raised a flintlock and struck Yamada Ichino hard.

Yamada Ichino let out muffled groans and clamored, "Yan Wang, you have already attracted the Island Master's attention. Just wait, your Yanzhou will turn into a sea of blood, hahaha..."

"Too arrogant." Bai Shang could no longer endure it; he drew his sword, intending to execute Yamada Ichino.

"Do not fall for it; he just wants us to give him a quick death," Zhao Xu stopped Bai Shang. "If he wants to die, he must first spill everything in his mouth."

Bai Shang nodded.

At this moment, Zhao Xu had him prepare some things and called over the head torturer from the prison to give him a few instructions.

Half an hour later.

A huge scream startled a flock of birds.

One could see a bamboo splinter inserted into Yamada Ichino's finger.

"Hehe, you scream quite loudly; there is more to come immediately," the head torturer said, his expression unchanged.

In the prison,

he was accustomed to torturing prisoners and felt nothing.

On the contrary, in order to show off his superb methods before Yan Wang, he was very diligent.

"Ah..." Following this was another scream, then Yamada Ichino's ear-piercing curses.

But after the third scream, his tone softened, "I'll talk, I'll talk, I'll tell you everything."

"This general thought he was a tough guy; it seems he is just a coward," Bai Shang sneered.

Zhao Xu had long since thought of the questions in his heart and asked them one by one.

Yamada Ichino answered dejectedly.

"Your true target really is the Shipbuilding Department," Zhao Xu frowned deeply, according to Yamada Ichino's confession.

The forty-two missing ships had carried six thousand men to Fanyang.

"I have no grudge against your Wufeng Island; why do you repeatedly set yourselves against me?" Zhao Xu said sternly.

"It was the Liang Family who paid the Island Master a high price, and the Island Master also did not want you, Yan Wang, to get involved in maritime trade."

"The Liang Family." Zhao Xu's eyes narrowed.

Before, he had suspected the Liang Family, but he was not very certain.

But now, hearing it with his own ears from Yamada Ichino, he was suddenly overcome with rage.

What he hated most was his own people fighting while the other side invited wolves into the house.

Gritting his teeth, he recorded this debt in his heart and then asked more about Wufeng Island.

Just as the information he had gathered suggested, this Wang Zhi indeed had inextricable ties with a Shogun of Dongying.

Although he was not his subordinate, it was a partnership.

Every year, Wufeng Island would give forty percent of its harvest to this Shogun.

And what Wang Zhi received were warships, matchlocks, and Wufeng Island as a base for sea bandits.

Besides this, Yamada Ichino also spoke of some things on the sea.

For instance, several Western powers were traveling between Dongying and Great Song for trade.

The warships of these Western powers were loaded with artillery, and the soldiers carried flintlocks; their ships were sturdy and their cannons powerful.

The countries surrounding the southern oceans were basically all occupied and enslaved by them.

The southern part of Yizhou, opposite the Liang Family's territory, was occupied by the Stedan people, and the northern part was occupied by them, the Dongying.

"The Liang Family has been deceiving your Emperor; they have been trading with Western powers all along but concealed their existence, just to monopolize the dividends of maritime trade. They also have a large number of warships and are full of ambition, hehe..."

Yamada Ichino said at the end, though it was unclear if this was to state a fact or to stir up conflict between him and the Liang Family.

"Traitors, we of Great Song will deal with ourselves; you foreign thieves are the ones who must be wiped out right now." Zhao Xu smelled a hint of conspiracy in Yamada Ichino's mocking expression.

Hearing this, Yamada Ichino laughed lowly, "That is not so easy. Your weak and pathetic Great Song will likely collapse at the slightest breeze."

Then he looked at the flintlocks carried by the Wangfu Army soldiers and asked, "Are these flintlocks?"

Bai Shang asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Yamada Ichino did not answer him but stared fixedly at Zhao Xu, "Yan Wang, you are in trouble. Come on, give me a quick death."

Zhao Xu's eyes narrowed, and he nodded at Bai Shang.

Drawing his sword, Bai Shang swung it with force, and Yamada Ichino's head fell to the ground.

"Execute all the remaining sea bandits," Zhao Xu's voice was as cold as ice and snow.

Yamada Ichino's final words were undoubtedly meant to intimidate him.

It was just that he had always been one to yield to soft approaches but never to hard ones.

Because he knew that weakness would only lead to humiliation.

Fanyang.

Heishan frowned as he watched the soldiers inspecting the junction of the two rivers.

After passing the border of Guan County, they traveled for another day and arrived at Fanyang.

Once here, they were less than ten li of waterway away from the Shipbuilding Department of Fanyang.

Yet, seeing these soldiers at this moment, he suddenly felt a vague sense of unease in his heart.

"Vice Island Master, what should we do?" the captain on the warship asked.

Previously, they had received news that there were no inspections at the junction of the Fan River and this Canal of the Great Song, only at the Pier.

But now, the situation had clearly taken a wrong turn.

"There are still quite a few Merchant Ships waiting ahead; you immediately tell a few clever ones to sneak over to the Shipbuilding Department to scout," Heishan said.

He was suspicious by nature and not as reckless as his deputy, Yamada Ichino.

The captain left, and a while later, three sea bandits quietly got off the ship and dove into the water to reach the shore.

The leader was a sea bandit familiar with Yanzhou.

Once ashore, they immediately crept toward the Shipbuilding Department.

The person who had asked them to destroy the Warship had provided a map of the nearby waterways, which they knew by heart.

After traveling for half an hour, they arrived near the Shipbuilding Department, hid in the woods by the riverbank, and secretly watched the Warship being built across the way.

"Have you seen enough?" At this moment, a voice suddenly rang out behind them, and the three were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

Turning their heads, they saw a row of soldiers aiming their guns at their heads.

Chang Wei had laid a large number of ambushes near the Shipbuilding Department.

The appearance of these three naturally could not escape their eyes.

They were immediately taken to Chang Wei.

"Will you speak for yourselves, or should I serve you with torture first?" Chang Wei was smiling, but the smile looked sinister no matter how one looked at it.

The sea bandit of Yanzhou origin naturally knew what "serving with torture" meant.

Moreover, on the way here, he had heard that after Yan Wang took control of Yanzhou, the people of Yanzhou had become peaceful and prosperous.

Back then, when the Yuan Family governed Yanzhou, he had been unable to survive and had become a sea bandit; hearing this, his resolve was somewhat shaken.

So he hurriedly said, "Spare my life, my lord, spare my life; I will talk, I will tell you everything, I only hope for your mercy, my lord."