Chapter 629: Framing

Ryukyu sea area.

While Zhao Xu was plotting against Eastern Japanese, a conspiracy targeting Yanzhou was unfolding simultaneously.

At this moment, on the vast ocean, a Merchant Ship flying the flag of Amsterdam was caught between two Warships of the Wufeng Pirates, and screams erupted from the ship from time to time.

Before long, hundreds of Wufeng Pirates returned from the Merchant Ship to their respective Warships.

The sails were hoisted, and the two Warships vanished upon the sea.

The Merchant Ship, however, was silent, with the corpses of people from Amsterdam scattered everywhere and blood flowing on the deck.

A flag of the Black Shark Sea Bandits was spread beside a person from Amsterdam, and a Long Blade pinned it to the deck.

At the same time, hundreds of miles away in the Yizhou sea area.

A Merchant Ship of the Franks was also attacked.

Just like the Merchant Ship of the people from Amsterdam, when the Wufeng Pirates left, they also left a flag of the Black Shark Sea Bandits on the ship.

Over the next month, Merchant Ships from both countries were constantly attacked, the people on board were killed, and the cargo was looted.

These Merchant Ships were soon discovered by other Merchant Ships from Amsterdam and Folangji.

The news first reached Malka City, which was controlled by the Franks in Yizhou.

"In one month, twelve Merchant Ships have been attacked by the Black Shark Sea Bandits. Governor Fei Wen, the Black Shark Sea Bandits are declaring war on us Franks."

In a room on the top floor of a three-story building in Malka City, a general in a blue military uniform rested his hands on a table and roared at the blond man in front of him.

The blond man was none other than the Governor Fei Wen mentioned by the general.

Frowning tightly, Fei Wen put down the Goose Feather Pen in his hand and said, "Lieutenant Steven, you need to calm down now. Are you sure this matter was done by the Black Shark Sea Bandits?"

"Governor, does this still need to be questioned? A flag of the Black Shark Sea Bandits was found on every Merchant Ship. If it wasn't them, then who?" said Steven.

Fei Wen shook his head, "In this era where Privateer Ships run rampant, we are not the only ones who know how to frame others."

"Then are you implying the Liang Family of Great Song or the Eastern Japanese?" Steven narrowed his eyes, "Governor Fei Wen, you are overthinking this. This must have been done by the Black Shark Sea Bandits, there is no need to question it."

"During this period, we and the Eastern Japanese have been trading with the newly established Qi, and our Warships have been tracked by the Warships of the Black Shark Sea Bandits more than once. They do not like us."

After a pause, he continued, "Furthermore, besides physical evidence this time, we also have eyewitnesses. On one Merchant Ship, we found surviving crew members who said it was indeed the Black Shark Sea Bandits who attacked them."

Fei Wen's frown deepened.

The purpose of his being sent to Dongtu was to maintain trade between the Frankish Kingdom and the Liang Family and the Eastern Japanese, as well as to open up more trade routes.

Therefore, he was very pleased that the Eastern Japanese invited the Frankish Kingdom to trade with the Han Family who established Qi.

After all, this counted as his achievement here.

It was just that he did not want to be drawn into a conflict with Great Song because of this.

This was not because he loved peace,

or was friendly toward Great Song.

Rather, he was worried about the twelve Warships of Yan Wang from the North Territory.

Once, their Frankish Kingdom was the number one naval power in Europe.

But just like the people from Amsterdam, after Great Britain rose to power, their navy declined.

With the decline of the navy, their national strength also declined.

Nowadays, they could barely maintain their colonies.

And among these colonies, the Frankish Kingdom and Amsterdam put more manpower and material resources into the colonies on the New Continent.

They could only dispatch a small number of Warships to Dongtu.

If a conflict were to occur with Yan Wang in the North Territory, he feared their only four Warships would be destroyed.

By then, they would be unable to maintain trade in Dongtu.

However, if it were as Shi Diwen said, he would have no choice but to take action.

After all, this was equivalent to the Black Shark Sea Bandits declaring war on the Frankish Kingdom.

If he chose to remain silent and the news reached the Frankish Kingdom, he, as Governor, would be recalled and spend the rest of his life in prison.

"Relying on our own strength, I fear we cannot contend with the Black Shark Sea Bandits. We must unite with the people from Amsterdam, so that the number of our Warships can reach ten. Moreover, the Eastern Japanese also loathe the Black Shark Sea Bandits; perhaps we can persuade them to take action with us."

Shi Diwen licked his lips; in the Frankish Kingdom, he was known as a war maniac.

Because he was too unstable, he was sent here.

Now that he smelled the scent of war, he became excited immediately.

Laughing loudly, he said, "That's right, we don't need to go find the Eastern Japanese; the Eastern Japanese have already come to find us. The Eastern Japanese envoy is outside the city right now."

"The Eastern Japanese seem very anxious about this matter." Upon hearing this, Fei Wen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Of course, the Eastern Japanese said their Merchant Ships were also attacked. The Black Shark Sea Bandits have now become a hidden danger in the Dongtu sea area. If they are not eliminated, the trade below cannot continue."

The suspicion that had just arisen in Fei Wen's mind dissipated instantly.

He was also full of distrust toward the Eastern Japanese, after all, the Eastern Japanese had seized half of Yizhou from their hands.

At that time, they had just taken over Yizhou from the people from Amsterdam.

But afterward, the Eastern Japanese became much better behaved.

Now, they were even frequently extending an olive branch to him.

Since their Merchant Ships had also been attacked by the Black Shark Sea Bandits, it was only natural for them to come seeking cooperation.