Chapter 791: The Fractured Negotiation

Remember in one second【】

Yizhou.

Lujiao City.

Zhao Xu waited for two days, and a Folangji warship arrived from the south.

The warship docked at the port, and Fei Wen disembarked from the warship.

Glancing at the Yanzhou steamship also docked at the pier, his expression was grave.

Currently in the Western Lands, only five countries—Britain, Frank, Germany, Ross, and the Sam Country across the ocean—are capable of manufacturing steamships.

What he did not expect was that a country capable of manufacturing steamships had actually appeared in Dongtu; it was truly shocking.

Originally, he still had some doubts about the news of the Edo naval battle in Dongying.

Now that he had seen these steamships with his own eyes, he finally believed it.

"Governor Fei Wen, His Highness is waiting for you in Lujiao City," Pan Zhang said.

The navy's steamships had been patrolling nearby, and as soon as the Folangji warship appeared, the news was sent to Lujiao City.

He was ordered to come and escort him.

"Please," Fei Wen gestured, signaling for Pan Zhang to lead the way.

At the same time, his heart tightened involuntarily.

Yan Wang had ordered him to come, and he dared not refuse.

The Battle of Gaoli proved the might of the Yan King Army, and the Edo naval battle proved the might of the Yan King's navy.

How could he offend a feudal prince who commanded such a powerful army?

Furthermore, Yan Wang had occupied northern Yizhou; would he launch an attack on Malka City next?

On this point, he also wanted to probe Yan Wang's intentions.

If Yan Wang insisted on expelling them, they would have no choice but to withdraw from Yizhou.

He was very clear that with the military strength Folangji had in Malka City, they could not resist the Yan King Army at all.

Following Pan Zhang the whole way, Fei Wen arrived at Lujiao City and saw a young man in the main hall of the Government Office; it was none other than Zhao Xu.

"Respected His Highness Yan Wang, I have long heard of your great name, and it is a great honor to be able to meet you.

" Fei Wen sized up Zhao Xu and bowed in salute.

"No need for formalities," Zhao Xu sized up Fei Wen for a few moments, his expression calm.

Although Fei Wen had provided him with quite a bit of intelligence regarding the Western Lands, this did not mean that Zhao Xu would have a favorable impression of him.

Because this was something exchanged for by Pan Zhang saving him.

Moreover, he did not believe that this Fei Wen was a messenger of peace.

Anyone who could be sent by Folangji to a place as far as Dongtu must also be ruthless.

Otherwise, it would be impossible to intimidate the garrison in Malka City.

Furthermore, as far as he knew, Folangji had long been bullying the Great Song Dynasty merchants at sea.

It was just that because these merchants all belonged to the Liang Family, it was not widely known.

Although he was currently hostile toward the Liang Family, he would not feel happy because Liang Family merchants were being bullied by Folangji.

Internal conflicts were internal conflicts after all; they were, in the end, all Song People.

Therefore, upon seeing Fei Wen, he maintained a neutral state of mind.

"I do not know for what matter His Highness has summoned me? I ask that Your Highness please explain," seeing Zhao Xu's indifferent expression, Fei Wen became increasingly nervous and asked cautiously.

Zhao Xu said, "This King is not a person who likes to beat around the bush, so today, in front of Governor Fei Wen, I will speak plainly."

After pondering for a moment, he said, "This Yizhou is the territory of my Great Song Dynasty; it was first invaded by the Stedan people, then fell into the hands of you Folangji people, and thirty years ago was partitioned with Dongying. Only today has half of it been reclaimed by this King and incorporated into the Great Song Dynasty Imperial Court, and as for the remaining half, this King will eventually take it back as well."

Upon hearing this, Fei Wen's face turned ashen, and he thought to himself that this day had finally come.

A few days ago, the British Governor Bolt had met with the Stedan Governor, the Frank Governor, and himself, and together with the Sam Country, five countries had interests in Dongtu.

When Bolt invited him to join the Eastern Land Alliance, he explicitly stated that Yan Wang would take Yizhou, and now it had truly been predicted by him.

"Is Your Highness preparing to attack Malka City?" Fei Wen said sternly, "Although Malka City only has eight thousand soldiers, we are determined to fight a battle with Yan Wang to uphold the glory of Folangji."

"Hahaha..." After Fei Wen finished speaking, Pan Zhang, Zhou Yi, and the others let out mocking laughter, and Zhao Xu also raised the corners of his mouth.

They were not angry, just finding it amusing.

It was just like a praying mantis lying under a carriage wheel, clamoring to block the wheel's advance.

"What are you laughing at?" Fei Wen was filled with shame and anger; he felt the disdain of the three men from Yan Wang.

Zhou Yi and Pan Zhang laughed for a while before stopping, and Zhao Xu said faintly, "If Governor Fei Wen wants this King to take that path, this King does not mind; it will only take one day for Malka City to become ruins."

Fei Wen was merely putting on a brave front; in his heart, what he feared most was Yan Wang launching an attack on Malka City.

Precisely because of this, he was so compliant and came to Lujiao City.

Seeing that there seemed to be more to Yan Wang's words, he calmed his mood, "Does Your Highness mean that Folangji still has other paths?"

Zhao Xu nodded; he held no illusions about the Western Lands.

But at the same time, he hoped to create rifts within the Western Lands, at least so that other Western Lands countries would not be dead set on following Britain to deal with him.

Even if they just went through the motions without putting in real effort, that would be acceptable.

In this way, he could concentrate his strength to deal with the main enemy.

Precisely because of this, he played this move to give it a try.

So he said, "This King can allow you to conduct normal trade in Dongtu, but the prerequisite is that you must abandon your colonies in Dongtu and withdraw your troops from the colonies."

"What?" Fei Wen was stunned for a long while, then suddenly shook his head, "Your Highness, this matter is simply impossible; no Western Lands country would abandon its colonies..."

^0^ Remember in one second【】

colonies, the Folangji will absolutely not agree to it."

Zhao Xu shook his head; he feared his attempt this time had failed.

Fei Wen's attitude was firm, without a shred of room for discussion.

In fact, that was indeed the case.

In the contemporary nineteenth century, for an emerging great power to seize colonies from the hands of an old-fashioned great power, the only way was war.

The Spanish-American War in 1898 was triggered by the United States wanting to seize Spain's colonies.

At first, the United States applied pressure through various means, attempting to make Spain voluntarily give up the Philippines.

But even the extremely weak Spain at that time did not agree.

Ultimately, the United States decided to launch a war, launching a surprise attack on the Spanish garrison and forcing the Spanish garrison to surrender.

The following year, both sides formally signed the Treaty of Paris in Paris, ceding the Philippines.

Just imagine, even within the Xitu Guo, they still slaughtered each other for the sake of colonies.

For him, a Dongtu country, to want to seize colonies from the hands of Xitu Guo now, it would be impossible without bloody war.

This is an era of the law of the jungle—the Xitu Guo especially believe in this rule.

The strong enslaving the weak is, to them, the truth.

"It is a pity; since that is the case, this Prince can only take Malka City by force." Zhao Xu stood up, his gaze like lightning.

The territory acquired in this period might be the fixed territory of the future Great Song.

In the contemporary era, Western countries were originally nothing more than cowering on the European continent.

Three hundred years of colonization allowed the Angsa to occupy North America, Australia, and many islands on the ocean.

Although France has declined, it still controls many countries in Africa.

Therefore, how could he hand over the dividends of this era on a silver platter?

At this moment, if he were to hesitate and linger any longer, the Song People a hundred years from now would surely curse him for being incompetent.

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Dear, this chapter is finished, I wish you a happy reading! ^0^