Chapter 782: The Submission of Beitiao

"Father is right. The Great Song's Steam Industry is so terrifying that opposing it is like throwing an egg against a rock. In this son's view, Yan Wang capturing us, sending us to Yancheng, and then releasing us is meant to give us a warning and also an opportunity." Beitiao Cang looked at the slowly receding Great Song steamship and said urgently.

His father was old and frail; in a few years, he would be the next domain lord.

Compared to his father, he was more anxious.

Moreover, he had long been dissatisfied with the Shogunate's tax policies.

It was only out of fear of the reputation of Watanabe that he had to grit his teeth and swallow his resentment.

But things were different now; if the Yutian Domain had the support of Yan Wang, even Watanabe could do nothing to his Beitiao family.

The Yutian Domain would also no longer need to pay heavy taxes.

Beitiao Cang's words awakened Beitiao Chuanqing.

Yes, his son was right. It would be easy for Yan Wang to kill them, but he went to great lengths to capture and release them. Thinking carefully, it indeed hid this meaning.

"There is no time to lose. You prepare some generous gifts. In a few days, we will take a ship to the Great Song in person to see Yan Wang and sound him out. If Yan Wang is truly willing to support us, my Yutian Domain will declare independence from this day forth," Beitiao Chuanqing pondered aloud.

Back then, Watanabe relied on the firearms and Artillery obtained from the Westerners to conquer Dongying. He had no choice but to surrender, but he was unconvinced in his heart.

Since Watanabe could run rampant in Dongying by relying on the Westerners, why couldn't his Beitiao family?

Among the various domains of Dongying in the past, his Beitiao family had always been illustrious.

It was only because they were defeated by Watanabe that they were overshadowed by obscure small domains like Chuntian, Jiugui, and Xiaochuan.

He was unwilling to accept this, but he had to endure it. Now, he did not have to endure anymore.

Three days later, several Merchant Ships set out from Andong City, carrying a large amount of gold, silver, and jewelry toward Yanzhou.

In the Gaoli sea area, they were discovered by patrolling Great Song Warships.

Upon learning their purpose, the Warships let them pass.

After more than five days, they returned to Yancheng and were led into the Yan Prince Mansion.

"Your Highness Yan Wang, please support our Beitiao family. Our Beitiao family is willing to lead the Yutian Domain to break away from the Shogunate and, like Gaoli, honor the Great Song as the suzerain state."

In the Council Hall, as soon as Zhao Xu appeared, Beitiao Chuanqing and Beitiao Cang knelt down immediately and said loudly.

The accompanying interpreter immediately told Zhao Xu what they said.

Many pirates on Wufeng Island understood both the Great Song and Dongying languages.

Therefore, after occupying Wufeng Island, there was no longer a shortage of interpreters.

However, Zhao Xu could actually understand Dongying language.

Not just Dongying language, but Ross language, Ang-Sa language, and Germanic language—he knew them all. After all, his mind was filled with vast knowledge.

But even so, on such an occasion, he still needed a Great Song interpreter.

He wanted to speak the language of the Great Song; it was the case for diplomatic occasions now, and it would be so in the future.

"Rise." Zhao Xu gestured with his hand, signaling the two to stand up. "Among the Four Domains, your Beitiao family is the first to grasp this king's meaning.

Rare, truly rare. But to obtain this king's support, a price must be paid."

The arrival of the Beitiao father and son proved that his strategy had worked.

Once, Watanabe was invincible in their hearts, but after seeing the Great Song's Steam Industry, the image of Watanabe shattered.

If they remained loyal to Watanabe, the Great Song had the ability to annihilate the Yutian Domain.

And by obtaining Yan Wang's support, they could not only regain control of the Yutian Domain but perhaps even become the strongest domain in Dongying.

"Please, Your Highness, give your instructions. As long as you support the Beitiao family, I, Beitiao Chuanqing, am willing to offer my life to Your Highness," Beitiao Chuanqing said with a firm expression.

Hearing this, Zhao Xu nodded slightly.

The Beitiao father and son had thought it through, so he said: "This king can provide you with Smoothbore Guns with a range of two hundred meters, and can also provide you with Field Artillery with an effective range of two thousand meters. But your Beitiao family must guarantee loyalty to the Great Song and satisfy some of this king's conditions."

He paused and said: "First, everyone in the Yutian Domain shall learn the Great Song language and characters, and abolish the Dongying script. Second, the Yutian Domain shall open its market to my Great Song, and you may not levy taxes on goods from Yanzhou. You must allow Yanzhou merchants to do business in the Yutian Domain and protect the personal safety and interests of Yanzhou merchants."

"Third, allow the Great Song to establish commercial houses and newspaper offices in the Yutian Domain. Fourth, accept the Song Yuan currency and gradually stop using Dongying currency. Furthermore, these firearms cannot be given for free; you must use silver and physical goods to trade for them."

Beitiao Chuanqing and Beitiao Cang looked at each other.

They had thought Yan Wang would propose extremely harsh conditions.

Now, with these conditions laid out, they actually felt relieved.

Abolishing the Dongying script did not matter; in any case, the Dongying script was sixty percent similar to the Great Song script.

Moreover, having seen the Great Song's Steam Industry, they had already enshrined the Great Song as their master in their hearts. Unifying the language and script would make it more convenient for them to learn from the Great Song.

As for trade, Watanabe had previously opened these conditions to the Xitu Guo.

They were merely shifting to open them to the Great Song instead.

As for the commercial houses, that mattered even less. They had never heard of these things called newspaper offices, so they asked Yan Wang about them.

After understanding what a newspaper office was, he didn't take it to heart.

Finally, paying for firearms went without saying.

They actually felt a bit uneasy and requested of Zhao Xu: "We agree to all of this, but we still hope Your Highness Yan Wang can station troops in the Yutian Domain to protect it."

This was their little scheme.

Declaring independence, they worried that Watanabe would launch a punitive expedition against them. If there were Yan King Army troops present, Watanabe would have to weigh the consequences.

Moreover, having obtained Yan Wang's firearms, they would need time to recruit soldiers and train for a period.

This window of time was very dangerous; having Yan Wang's troops to protect them would put them at ease.

"Very well. This king will dispatch one thousand troops to be stationed in the Yutian Domain, but you must provide the food and fodder for these one thousand soldiers." Zhao Xu was serious on the surface, but he chuckled inwardly.

The father and son had not yet realized the severity of these conditions.

Especially in terms of trade; at present, Yanzhou's trade was dominant compared to Dongying.

This was like a developed country exporting goods to a poor country; the developed country's goods would soon occupy the developing country's market, and the developed country's merchants would enter all walks of life in that country, occupying a ruling position.

"Many thanks, Your Highness." Seeing that Yan Wang agreed, the father and son were even more grateful. To them, the rise of the Beitiao family was unstoppable.

From now on, they would never need to look at the Shogunate's face again.

Having settled this matter, Zhao Xu summoned Dong An and ordered Dong An to entertain the father and son of the Beitiao, as he would not be going.

After the two left, Zhao Xu looked toward the map of Dongying.

He had already carved out a piece in the North Territory of Dongying.

As for whether the other three feudal lords would come or not, he was not worried.

Once the Beitiao grew strong, he did not believe they would be able to sit still.

Perhaps by then, it would not just be these three families; more feudal lords would come to Yanzhou.

Following that, he recalled the mineral resources of Dongying.

In the contemporary era, the Ming Dynasty referred to the Wa state as the Silver Archipelago.

This was because the silver mines of the Wa state were buried very shallowly, much like the oil fields of Zhongtu, making them easy to mine, to the extent that they became the largest silver mines in the world at that time.

Besides silver mines, the gold mines of the Wa state were also buried very shallowly, and next in relative abundance was sulfur.

Of these three types of mineral resources, the first two would help the Great Song establish a silver standard, and subsequently, a gold standard monetary system.

Sulfur was helpful for the production of Gunpowder; this time, he was determined to have the merchant firm seize these mines while the opportunity arose.