Chapter 635: Toughness

"They are coming over; enter combat status immediately."

On the deck of the warship, Dong An stood with the ship's captain. Seeing the Frankish warship raise its sails and head toward them, the captain immediately issued the order.

Dong An waved his hand, "No need to be so nervous; they are not here to fight us."

The captain nodded, "I know, but it is always better to be prepared."

Dong An wore a helpless expression; this warship captain's name was Miao Cheng.

Throughout the journey, he had discovered that this captain's behavior was overly cautious.

However, it was precisely because of his caution that they had avoided all danger.

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the Frankish warship sailed to the side of their warship.

A red-haired, dark-eyed Frank appeared at the ship's rail; it was indeed Fei Wen.

Standing beside him was a Song person.

From the moment he approached the Yan Wang's warship, he had been observing the vessel closely.

What shocked him greatly was that the Yan Wang's sailing warship was designed very reasonably.

From the outside, seventy percent of the structure was similar to their warships, while the remaining thirty percent was something he had never seen before.

But based on his understanding of warships, he felt this part seemed even more conducive to sailing on the ocean.

Most importantly, he had seen the sailing warships of every country in Europe, but not a single one was exactly the same as the Yan Wang's sailing warship.

And this made him feel strange.

After all, having gained some understanding of this Yan Wang, he had always assumed that this Yan Wang had received secret support from some European country.

But looking at the situation now, it seemed impossible to conclude that definitively.

"Could it be that this Yan Wang's teacher is a European, and this Yan Wang is a genius who can draw inferences about other cases from one instance?" For a moment, Fei Wen felt as if his vision was covered in fog.

Then, his expression turned serious; if that were the case, he could not easily offend this Yan Wang.

So he said, "I am the Governor of Malka City, Fei Wen. Welcome to you all."

The Song person beside him immediately translated Fei Wen's words for Dong An.

At this moment, Dong An also came to the ship's rail. After hearing the Song person's translation, he said, "Thank you. I am the Court of State Ceremonial Envoy of Great Song, Dong An. I have come to Malka City under the orders of the Yan Wang specifically to explain the matter of the merchant ship attack."

Before setting out, he had obtained some intelligence regarding Malka City from Xu Ke.

In the south of Yizhou, the Franks occupied Malka City, and in the north of Yizhou, the Eastern Japanese had built Lujiao City.

Among them, the highest official of Malka City was called the Governor, and there were eight thousand Frankish soldiers in the city.

Now, this Governor of Malka City had come in person, which slightly surprised him.

However, this allowed him to get straight to the point, so he continued, "This merchant ship attack was a deliberate frame-up. The Black Shark Sea Bandits have never attacked any merchant ships other than those of the Eastern Japanese nation. I hope Governor Fei Wen will not be blinded by certain forces and be used by others."

Fei Wen nodded.

Although he had doubts about this matter, he had not completely ruled out the suspicion of the Black Shark Sea Bandits.

So he said, "What evidence do you have to prove that you Black Shark Sea Bandits are innocent?"

"There is no evidence," Dong An said. "Why should the innocent have to prove their own innocence? We came this time only as a kind reminder, to avoid you being dragged into a war that does not belong to you."

Fei Wen frowned immediately; never before had a native of Dongtu spoken to him in such a tough tone.

He said with a stern expression, "But we have both human and material evidence. You say you are innocent, so does that mean you are innocent?"

"Are you sure your human and material evidence are true and reliable?" Dong An said.

This frame-up had occurred on the vast ocean; how could they possibly have evidence to prove their innocence?

Before this diplomatic mission, he had mentioned this problem to the Yan Wang.

What the Yan Wang said was, "The innocent need not prove themselves," and told him to simply offer an explanation to the Franks and the Stedans.

As for whether they believed it or not, that was up to them.

"Should I not believe my own people, but instead believe your words?" Fei Wen sneered.

He suspected this matter was merely a consideration of interests, not out of respect for the natives of Dongtu.

For hundreds of years, Europe's colonization of other continents had made them feel inherently superior.

When Easterners saw him, they should be as humble as the Eastern Japanese.

Therefore, he still felt offended by Dong An's attitude.

"Sometimes one's own people are more dangerous than enemies," Dong An said with composure. "Governor Fei Wen, I am not begging you to believe us. I will emphasize it again: His Highness the Yan Wang simply does not wish for you to be deceived."

"Think about your trade in Dongtu. If you lose the war at sea, there will no longer be any place for you in Dongtu. Conversely, if you make the right choice, you might even have the opportunity to trade with Yanzhou?"

Fei Wen was silent for a while. Still feeling unconvinced, he said, "Are you so certain that your Yan Wang will win the war?"

"Of course, because soon our warships will not just be twelve."

Fei Wen's expression changed.

The Black Shark Sea Bandits, possessing twelve warships, could almost run rampant in the seas of Dongtu.

If the Yan Wang possessed more warships, there was no doubt he would dominate trade in the seas of Dongtu.

Just as this Yan Wang's envoy said, not to mention whether this merchant ship attack was done by this Yan Wang or not.

Even if he had done it, it seemed one had to weigh whether to become enemies with the Yan Wang over this matter.

After all, trade in Dongtu was very important to the Frankish nation; if he messed up the trade in Dongtu, his own future as Governor would be ruined.

So he said, "Thank you for the reminder. I will reinvestigate this matter. I hope this has nothing to do with you."

After speaking, he walked to the middle of the deck and ordered the warship to return to the harbor.

As the Frankish warship sailed away, Dong An let out a light sigh of relief.

At first, he had worried that responding to this matter with toughness would bring trouble, but from the looks of it now, the effect seemed quite good.

He recalled the Yan Wang's words: the weaker you are toward the Westerners, the more they will bully you.

Showing toughness instead made them fearful; this seemed to be correct.

"Let's go, it is time to head to Yajia City." As the Frankish Warship moved further and further away, Dong An said to Miao Cheng, his expression turning grave.

The further south they went, the more dangerous it became; this time, he was not only responsible for resolving the frame-up incident.

At the same time, he also bore the mission of making initial contact with the various nations of the Western Lands and understanding their current domestic situations.

While resolving the frame-up incident, he also had to take the initiative to contact the various nations of the Western Lands and understand their intentions.

Miao Cheng nodded, the sails of the Warships were raised once again, and the fleet, composed of two Warships and three Merchant Ships, slowly headed south.

Not long after their party had departed, a sudden argument erupted in the office of Fei Wen in Malka City.

Shortly after, Shi Diwen walked out of the office, followed by four soldiers.

Two of the soldiers grabbed Fei Wen by the arms, one on the left and one on the right.