Chapter 617: Hysteria

Latest website: "Lord Sato, what should we do now?"

After the Eastern Japanese soldier delivering the letter left, Han Zheng stared fixedly at Sato Masahisa.

The Eastern Japanese could just pat their backsides and leave, but his Qi was right on the border of Yanzhou and could not run away.

Moreover, the conflict between his Qi and Yan Wang was irreconcilable; it was either you die or I die.

He had no way out.

Therefore, upon learning that Yan Wang's flintlocks had a longer range than those of the Eastern Japanese, it was impossible for him not to be nervous.

However, what he worried about most was still the attitude of the Eastern Japanese.

Furthermore, he had originally founded his state at the instigation of the Eastern Japanese.

He believed that with the help of the Eastern Japanese, he could contend with Yan Wang, or even eliminate Yan Wang.

If the Eastern Japanese retreated in the face of difficulties at this time, Qi would fall into a desperate situation.

Sato Masahisa guessed his thoughts from the worried look in Han Zheng's eyes.

He patted Han Zheng's hand and comforted him: "Do not worry, we Eastern Japanese will not abandon our friends. Our support for Qi will continue to the end, unless the Eastern Japanese are annihilated."

Han Zheng let out a heavy sigh of relief, and his heart immediately felt settled.

Although their flintlocks were a step behind Yan Wang's.

In his view, the combined national strength of Qi and the Eastern Japanese was far more substantial than that of Yan Wang.

Qizhou was a famous populous province in the North Territory, with a government-recorded population of over five million.

And the Eastern Japanese, according to Sato Masahisa, possessed over thirty million people.

Therefore, even if they could not gain an advantage in an offensive, as long as they held their cities firmly, they could wear Yan Wang down by exhausting their population.

In the long run, he believed that victory would still be theirs.

"With those words from Lord Sato, I am at ease. I will use my actions to prove that Qi is the most reliable ally of the Eastern Japanese."

Sato Masahisa nodded.

Looking toward the North Territory, he said: "In the letter, I requested the Great General to transport more flintlocks to your Qi, and this time, the ones arriving will be the best flintlocks of the Eastern Japanese. At the same time, a group of Eastern Japanese craftsmen will come to teach your artisans the craft of forging flintlocks."

Upon hearing this, Han Zheng trembled with excitement, and the fear that had just welled up in his heart vanished completely.

Sato Masahisa continued: "Besides this, I also suggest that the Great General take action elsewhere to pin down Yan Wang's military forces. In this way, the pressure faced by your Qi will be much less."

Han Zheng was excited again; he could not describe his mood in words and could only nod vigorously.

Sato Masahisa withdrew his gaze at this moment. He was silent for a long time before saying to Han Zheng: "As it appears now, to eliminate Yan Wang, we cannot rely solely on Qi. I suggest sending envoys to other states to form a temporary alliance with them to deal with Yan Wang."

Han Zheng pondered for a moment and felt that this was also a way.

Before the powerful clans established their states, they had acted in unison to deal with the threat of Yan Wang.

It was only because Dou Wei had too much ambition and harbored evil intentions, deceiving even them, that a rift had formed between them.

But since Qi was currently facing life-or-death survival, he could no longer care about saving face. Thus he said: "I will send envoys immediately, but Lord Sato should also know that they are all people who will not get up early without profit. At present, they are probably all watching the joke of my Qi, hoping that we, Qi and the Eastern Japanese, will fight Yan Wang until both sides are exhausted so they can reap the benefits."

"Human hearts are all like this, but I do have a way to make them comply." Sato Masahisa's eyes darted.

"Oh?" Han Zheng showed a surprised expression, "I wonder what brilliant plan Lord Sato has?"

"Back then, your Han Family was willing to trust us Eastern Japanese, and a large factor in that was that I showed you the flintlocks. Just imagine, if other powerful clans also saw the flintlocks, would they be tempted?" Sato Masahisa said slowly.

"Of course they would be tempted." Han Zheng said, "Does Lord Sato mean that you are prepared to sell flintlocks to other powerful clans as well?"

He was somewhat unhappy in his heart.

Originally, after obtaining the Eastern Japanese flintlocks, he had considered his own strength to be the first among the powerful clans.

He did not want to lose this advantage.

Seeing Han Zheng's stingy appearance, Sato Masahisa felt contempt in his heart.

Although he was an enemy of Yan Wang and an ally of Qi, in his heart, he looked down upon these selfish powerful clans.

Instead, he believed that this Yan Wang who had risen in the North Territory was a formidable figure.

He was worthy of being an opponent of the Eastern Japanese.

Of course, he would not reveal his true thoughts.

A smile appeared on his face as he explained: "Do not worry, the flintlocks given to Qi next will be the best of the Eastern Japanese, while those given to other powerful clans will be inferior ones. In this way, your Qi will be able to maintain an advantage over them."

He had only one purpose in doing this, and that was to increase the cost for Yan Wang to unify the Great Song.

Acknowledging Yan Wang in his heart was one thing, but if the opponents of the Eastern Japanese were all dead, Yan Wang would naturally have to be the same as them.

At the same time, by selling flintlocks to the powerful clans of the Great Song, the Eastern Japanese could also make a huge profit; it was simply a business that killed two birds with one stone.

No, it was three.

They would also use the flintlocks to temporarily bind the powerful clans together to jointly resist Yan Wang.

As for the craftsmanship of their Eastern Japanese flintlocks, he felt there was no need to care about it anymore.

Since Yan Wang had even more powerful flintlocks, there was no need for them to hide anything.

Bringing them out to contain Yan Wang was most appropriate.

"Hahaha... That is right. We and the Eastern Japanese are true friends." Han Zheng said.

Then, he added: "Recently, I just obtained a pair of very precious Golden Buddhas. I would like to give one to Lord Sato, hoping that Lord Sato will put in a good word for Qi in front of the Great General."

A strange look flashed in Sato Masahisa's eyes.

State affairs were state affairs, but people all had selfish motives; no one would dislike gold and silver treasures.

He revealed a smile: "Then I must thank the Sovereign."

Then, he took the initiative to mention the war that might occur next.

This failed provocation would very likely lead to the total outbreak of war between Yan Wang and Qi.

After all, information gathered from various aspects showed that Yan Wang had stabilized the flanks of Yanzhou and opened up trade, which basically meant he had completed his war preparations.

Even without this provocation, Yan Wang would likely have led his troops south; the provocation would only accelerate this process.

After pondering for a moment, he said, "Yan Wang will certainly attack these three cities first; no matter what the cost, you must hold them."

During this time, he had collected quite a bit of geographical information about Great Song and sent it over to Dongying.

Therefore, he was also very clear about the cities and geography within the territory of Qi.

Han Zheng was not a foolish person, so naturally, he was also clear about where the war would break out.

The three cities of Leling, Pingyuan, and Yangping were the fortresses of Qi to the north of the Jin River, and it was impossible for Yan Wang not to have designs on them.

At present, he had already deployed heavy troops within the three cities.

Although he knew it in his heart, he still deliberately flattered Sato Masahisa, "Lord Sato is truly wise. Indeed, these three cities cannot be lost; otherwise, the Jin River will become a natural barrier for Yan Wang to defend against us. By then, as long as he holds the Jin River, Yan Wang's fief will be safe and secure."

Having said this, the two smiled lightly, seemingly in tacit agreement.