Chapter 647: Questionnaire

"Indeed, thank you for your help." Through the interpreter, Fei Wen learned of Zhou Yi's identity and tipped his hat to bow to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi cupped his hands in return, "It is our Yan Wang you should truly thank."

He paused, then said, "Of course, we also have our own objectives. Now you should understand that the attack on the merchant ship had nothing to do with us."

"That is certain. I have already cleared up the sequence of events. To show my gratitude to Yan Wang, I will send men to Yajia City to explain this matter to the Stedan people personally."

Zhou Yi revealed a satisfied smile; this was the result they wanted.

The Eastern Japanese wanted to form a maritime alliance to deal with them, and they had now successfully neutralized one link in it.

As long as the news from the Franks reached Yajia City, the second link would also be neutralized.

Thus, the entire maritime plan of the Eastern Japanese would go bankrupt.

Then, all that would remain was a one-on-one duel between them and the Eastern Japanese.

In truth, they were not afraid of the Franks and the Stedan people; they simply did not want to fight a war that should never have existed in the first place.

"Then I will trouble Governor Fei Wen. Furthermore, this time Yan Wang has also given me a questionnaire containing questions he wishes to understand."

"Because Da Song has banned the sea for many years and lacks communication with the outside world, he wishes to understand the situation of the Xitu Guo through Governor Fei Wen."

Having said this, he took out the questionnaire Zhao Xu had given him and handed it to Fei Wen.

Fei Wen glanced at it and nodded.

Yan Wang had saved him; to him, this matter could only be considered the smallest of small tasks.

Moreover, the things Yan Wang wanted to understand did not seem to be classified information.

The questions within were things even ordinary people in the Western Lands would know.

"Wait a moment." Fei Wen said a few words to the interpreter. The interpreter translated the questions for him, and he dictated the answers back to the interpreter, filling out the entire sheet of questions.

After about half an hour, Fei Wen returned the questionnaire to Zhou Yi.

Zhou Yi put it away, glanced at Malka City, and said, "I believe Governor Fei Wen needs time to clear up internal issues now, so we will not disturb you further."

"You are leaving already?" Fei Wen had been preparing to invite Zhou Yi to sit for a while in Malka City.

"This is the Prince's requirement. We still have many things to do at present. Until we meet again." Having said this, Zhou Yi turned back, and the Marine soldiers followed him toward the port of Malka City.

The soldiers boarded the Troop Transport Ship again, and the fleet headed toward the North Territory.

Fei Wen escorted Zhou Yi all the way to the Warship, watching the Yan Wang's fleet depart.

At this moment, his mood was very complex.

In his heart, there was gratitude toward Yan Wang, as well as awe.

He also understood why the Eastern Japanese were so fearful of this Yan Wang.

Just as the Eastern Japanese said, once this Yan Wang resolved his domestic problems and adopted a strategy of external expansion, it would be a disaster for both the Eastern Japanese and the Westerners.

The Malka City they had managed for a hundred years would likely be in jeopardy.

At this time, he recalled Shi Diwen's hardline stance, but immediately cast the thought out of his mind.

In his view, that was too much of a gamble; once the containment of Yan Wang failed, they, the Franks, would lose trade with Dongtu forever.

Once, their Franks were indeed the number one maritime power, but they had lost that glory over two hundred years ago. Now, with their national strength weakened, they could no longer provoke wars at will like Britain, Frank, or Russia.

Therefore, he believed that for now, they should maintain a wait-and-see attitude toward Yan Wang.

Another ten days of sailing.

Zhou Yi arrived at Leting from the waters of Malka City.

After disembarking from the Warship, he hurried to Yancheng without stopping.

While returning the questionnaire, he reported the situation in Malka City to Yan Wang.

"Well done. Next, we only need to deal with the Eastern Japanese." Zhao Xu said while writing and drawing on a blueprint.

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhou Yi replied.

Then, he handed Fei Wen's questionnaire to Zhao Xu.

Taking the questionnaire, Zhao Xu looked it over carefully, his brows furrowing involuntarily.

During this time, although he had captured two Eastern Japanese generals, he was not very satisfied with what Xu Ke had managed to extract.

Because the Eastern Japanese's understanding of the Western Lands seemed to stop at the surface, lacking what he wanted.

Therefore, this time when Zhou Yi went south, he had specifically written down everything he wanted to ask on a sheet of paper and given it to him.

Overall, this questionnaire basically covered the politics, economy, military, culture, and national strategies of the Western Lands.

Browsing through it, he had a complete understanding of the situation of the Xitu Guo.

If compared to the contemporary era, the Xitu Guo of this world were at approximately the level of the 1830s, the 19th century.

At this point in time, the Napoleonic Wars had just ended for a little over a decade, and France was experiencing the July Revolution.

Meanwhile, the Da Qing was in the Daoguang era, the first American Missionary had arrived in Guangzhou, and Belgium had separated from the Netherlands to become independent.

However, just as the history of Da Song had veered off course, the historical trajectory of the Western Lands had also changed.

Naturally, there was no Napoleon in this era; what remained the same was that the powerful nations on the Xitu Dalu were still those same powerful nations, just as the Central Plains dynasties were always the hegemons of Dongtu.

According to Fei Wen's account, the most powerful nation on the Xitu Dalu at present was undoubtedly Britain, followed by Frank, Russia, German, Habsburg, and Folangji.

Additionally, there was a rising Sam Country, though Fei Wen did not include Sam Country in the rankings, seemingly not acknowledging Sam Country as belonging to the Xitu Guo.

In his view, these countries corresponded to the 19th-century Britain, France, Russia, Prussia, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire of the contemporary era.

As for Folangji, it was the collective term used by Dongtu for Spain and Portugal, not referring specifically to Spain.

And Sam Country was equivalent to America.

Besides these countries, what Zhao Xu was most concerned about was the industrial level of the Western Lands.

According to Fei Wen, the Improved Steam Engine had appeared on the Xitu Dalu seventy years ago.

At present, the Xitu Dalu was covered in factories powered by steam.

Among them, Britain's industrial strength was the greatest, followed by Frank.

Regarding warships, the warships currently in service among the Xitu Guo are basically still old-fashioned Sailing Warships.

However, twenty years ago, Frank gave birth to its first Steamship.

Although this Steamship sank while sailing, Frank later made many more attempts and successfully built a Steamship capable of sailing on the water.

Afterwards, other Xitu Guo followed suit one after another.

But at present, the Steamship is still a novelty in the Western Lands, and Ironclad Warships have not yet appeared.

However, Britain is already attempting to use Steamships to tow Sailing Warships forward at sea.

Regarding firearms, the armies currently deployed by the Western Lands in their colonies and in Dongtu are still using obsolete Flintlocks, but the native armies in the Western Lands already have new-style muskets.

"It's fortunate that I came early, otherwise the opportunity would have been missed." After reading through all the answers, Zhao Xu broke into a cold sweat.

During the First Opium War, the British army was no longer using only ordinary Flintlocks.

Among them appeared the Percussion Lock Musket, which was the first generation of the Enfield Rifle.

The British Sailing Warships were also towed by steamships, and their speed at sea was very fast.

At that time, due to the appearance of steamships, the time from Europe to East Asia was shortened to four months.

Therefore, the situation he is currently facing is basically the same as the world environment before the Opium War.