Chapter 521: Ambitions of the Shogunate

Dongying, Edo.

Under the escort of two Dongying soldiers, Hua Chen arrived before the gate of the Shogunate.

Looking through the gate into the deep courtyard, Hua Chen's heart tightened.

The Shogunate is the institution governed by the Seii Taishogun in Dongying.

It is equivalent to the Khan Tent of the Northern Di.

Since the establishment of the Shogunate in Dongying, the power of the Emperor has been hollowed out.

The Shogunate, represented by the Seii Taishogun, controls the entirety of Dongying.

And the current Shogunate of Dongying belongs to Watanabe An.

After being announced, Hua Chen was escorted inside.

Passing through several corridors, he arrived in a courtyard.

In the room at the front of the courtyard, the door was wide open.

Seii Taishogun Watanabe An and Shogunate Administrator Maso Taro were sitting opposite each other, discussing something.

And in front of the door, there were two rows of soldiers standing guard with muskets in their hands.

"Lu Zheng and his fleet were really defeated by someone called the Black Shark Sea Bandits?" Watanabe An was over fifty, wearing samurai attire, his hair tied into a topknot, with the area in front of the topknot shaved clean.

This is the hairstyle most favored by Dongying nobles.

Hua Chen was observing Watanabe An, and upon hearing this, he immediately knelt down.

After the defeat in the Yanzhou sea area, the warship he was on had luckily escaped.

So he traveled east, then north, arriving at the capital of Dongying, Edo.

Just as he reached the port, he was seized by patrolling Dongying soldiers.

Thus, he revealed his identity.

Only after the soldiers reported it was he able to come and see Watanabe An.

"It is absolutely true; our warships equipped with Artillery were almost entirely lost, and the Island Master's fate is currently unknown..." Hua Chen spoke very quickly, wishing he could state the entire cause and effect at once.

The more Watanabe An listened, the more he frowned.

During this period, he had learned a bit of news here and there: a Dayan Wang, an Imperial Prince of the Great Song, was rising in Yanzhou.

He had even built Artillery and defeated the Northern Di.

Regarding these rumors, he was surprised yet half-doubting, as if listening to a story.

But now, the Five Peaks Island Pirates he secretly supported were telling him that the Five Peaks Island fleet had encountered an attack by Sailing Warships.

They were almost completely wiped out.

"Bastard, are you trying to fool me?" Watanabe An was furious. "This Dayan Wang is merely an ordinary Imperial Prince of the Great Song; how could they possibly build Sailing Warships?"

"Great General, this one has not spoken a single false word. If the Great General does not believe me, you can send men to investigate." Hua Chen's body pressed even lower.

Watanabe An's slightly sunken eyes darted back and forth, as if thinking about something.

"Great General, this person does not seem to be lying; after all, no one has been able to defeat the Five Peaks Island at sea," Administrator Masho Taro said slowly.

He did not know Hua Chen, having only met Lu Zheng once.

After all, although they were supporting the Five Peaks Island, to them, the Five Peaks Island

was nothing more than a dog they kept.

In their hearts, the pirates of the Five Peaks Island were very lowly.

"If this is the case, this Dayan Wang of the Great Song is truly surprising," Watanabe An mused. "That he can build muskets and Artillery, I can still understand, but Sailing Warships equipped with Artillery..."

Speaking to this point, his brows locked even tighter.

"Unless other Europe countries are secretly helping him," Maso Taro reminded him.

Upon hearing this, Watanabe An's expression immediately sank.

What Masho Taro said was not without reason.

Because trade between Dongying and the colonists was very frequent, he still had some understanding of Europe.

At present, the colonists had long since completed the partitioning of the New Continent.

Their focus was slowly shifting toward Dongtu.

Britain, France, and the Ross state all had plans to move east.

However, it was like scrambling for food in the same dish.

There were also many conflicts among the colonists.

For example, decades ago, France once helped the British colonies in the New Continent gain independence, establishing the Sam Country.

Britain and France had once cooperated to launch the Kemia War together, preventing the Ross state from gaining an outlet to the sea.

And they in Dongying had previously had the closest dealings with the Stedan people.

It was the British who snatched their position away.

Therefore, Masho Taro's deduction was not without reason.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain the sudden rise of this Dayan Wang.

"Whoever helps the Song People is an enemy of our Dongying!" Watanabe An snorted in anger.

After establishing his own Shogunate, his ambition grew day by day, and he had always longed to possess his own colonies just like the colonists.

Occupying half of Yizhou was the beginning of his expansion plan.

Especially after he learned that the Great Song Dynasty was becoming increasingly weak, this idea became even harder to suppress.

In fact, not only him, but many Daimyo and feudal lords in Dongying history had plans to invade the Central Plains.

For one, Dongying's territory was small, and they craved more land.

For another, this behemoth beside them always made them feel uneasy.

It is precisely because of this that they have always indulged the Dongying sea bandits in their plundering of the Central Plains dynasty.

There were also Daimyo who once occupied Gaoli, using it as a springboard to invade the Central Plains dynasty.

Although they failed, they remain heroes of Dongying.

Now, it is his turn.

The Central Plains dynasty has declined once again; this is an excellent opportunity.

Moreover, they in Dongying do not have a sea ban like the Great Song; although they are inferior to the colonists in firearms, they are definitely superior to the Great Song.

Perhaps what the Daimyo of the past could not achieve will be realized in his hands.

"General, I actually think this is a good thing," Masho Taro cleared his throat, "Taking this opportunity, we can propagate the threat from the Great Song to the British; the British are most adept at balance in Europe, and they will certainly provide us with more help."

Watanabe slowly nodded; Masho Taro had enlightened him.

He had always longed to possess warships like those of the British, and perhaps this time there was hope.

"However, we must also investigate this Yan Wang; in the future, we must send more spies to the Great Song," Watanabe narrowed his eyes.

Hua Chen had listened for a long while, and the two seemed to have forgotten about the matter of Wufeng Island, so he hurriedly reminded them, "General, please help us of Wufeng Island take revenge."

Watanabe gave a cold snort; although the Dongying Navy had five hundred warships, they were all flat-bottomed boats.

Even if they were to set out in full force and manage to defeat the Wufeng Pirates, it would likely be a pyrrhic victory.

Furthermore, this time Lu Zheng had attacked these Black Shark Sea Bandits without his consent at all.

They in Dongying and the Wufeng Island Pirates did not have a superior-subordinate relationship; they only cooperated with each other.

There was no need to take such a risk.

Most importantly, if he wiped out the Black Shark Sea Bandits, how could he still propagate the threat of the Great Song to the British?

And obtain the things he wanted.

"In our Dongying, there is a spirit: the defeated are not worthy of living in this world. You of Wufeng Island have been defeated, and you are no longer worthy of serving our Dongying," Watanabe glanced sideways at Hua Chen.

Then, he nodded to the maidservant serving behind him.

The maidservant brought out a tray and walked to Hua Chen, her wooden clogs clicking.

Hua Chen looked over and immediately felt a chill from head to toe.

On the tray was nothing else but a short sword flashing with a cold light.

Yancheng.

At the same time.

Having endured for more than five days, Lu Zheng finally could not hold on any longer; his spirit collapsed, and he revealed everything he knew.