Chapter 689

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“Captain Wilson, it seems the news we got from the Dutch merchants was correct.”

In the dense fog, the Duke sailed towards Japan. On the deck, a middle-aged man in a black tailcoat and white wig stood beside Wilson.

Wilson’s attitude towards the middle-aged man was somewhat humble. He said, “Earl Carey, indeed. A few years ago, our warships in India once pursued three unidentified warships. It was said that these three warships were very similar to ours. Now it seems these three warships also came from this Great Yu Empire.”

Earl Carey frowned, “This Great Yu Empire is truly strange. According to what we know, this place should have been as ignorant as other indigenous people on other continents. Why, in just a few short years, would there be warships here that can contend with our Britain? It seems we didn’t gain an advantage in the exchange of fire just now.”

This was also Wilson’s concern. He said, “My Lord Earl, the Dutch merchants said that the Great Yu Empire possesses a fleet, and its scale is not small. Our attack on their warship at sea this time will only put us in a disadvantageous position, after all, this place is too far from mainland Britain and too close to the Great Yu Empire.”

“Encountering each other in dense fog, with misidentification leading to accidental injury, is a very normal occurrence. This matter only needs to be explained to the Emperor of the Great Yu Empire. Then we will send a gift, and the vain emperor will not pursue it further.”

“My Lord Earl is right. These natives are very arrogant and fond of saving face, and they are quite indifferent to their generals,” Wilson said with a smile, “At least the monarchs of India, Annam, and Burma are all like this.”

Carey nodded, “In short, there’s no need to worry. The most important thing now is to establish diplomatic relations with Japan. The Dutch and French have already taken a step ahead. The cake of East Asia is huge, and we cannot fall behind.”

This time, Carey went to Japan precisely at the behest of British Prime Minister Robert. The news of the Dutch losing the East Asian shipping routes and establishing foreign trade relations with the Great Yu Empire had already spread in Europe.

The goods transported by Dutch merchants from the Great Yu Empire made European countries very envious. This was because the porcelain, tea, and silk from the Great Yu Empire had always been favored by European aristocrats. No matter how many goods the merchant fleet transported from the Great Yu Empire, they would quickly sell out in Europe.

The booming sales of goods brought abundant profits to the Dutch in the past two years, and the gradually declining maritime trade of the Netherlands also showed signs of resurgence. However, the British Empire, suffering from red-eye disease, would not allow its former maritime rival to become strong again.

Therefore, the Dutch chose King Qi in the north of the Great Yu Empire, while they chose Japan. For them, a strong Great Yu Empire did not conform to their interests, because once the Great Yu Empire became strong, their interests in East Asia would be harmed, and this was something no European country could accept.

Even if the Dutch, under the pressure of this King Qi, severed diplomatic ties with Japan, they inwardly hoped that there would be a country in East Asia that could counterbalance the Great Yu Empire.

A turbulent region could bring them more benefits; this was the common value of European countries.

As for this maritime encounter, Carey did it on purpose. His goal was to make the Great Yu Empire understand their strength as a maritime overlord.

Their diplomacy was merely a strategy of carrot and stick. Afterwards, they would give the Great Yu Empire a little something sweet to resolve this crisis.

After all, in his opinion, a mature monarch would not become hostile to a country over an accidental friction.

Thinking of this, Carey showed a smile. He believed that the next market for Europe was here.

…

After sailing for two days, Xie Yuan brought the battered Dreadnought warship to anchor at Dengzhou military port. Not long after engaging with the British warship, they encountered the Youzhou, which was also patrolling this sea area. This time, being overly sensitive, he almost ordered a bombardment.

Fortunately, by then, the dense fog had mostly dissipated, and the lookout timely saw clearly that it was their own warship.

The Dreadnought’s miserable appearance quickly attracted the attention of naval soldiers on the dock, and several generals ran over to inquire about the situation.

“Go, go, go.” Xie Yuan looked dejected. Being caught off guard by the enemy this time meant that Yue Yun, who never liked to suffer losses, would surely be furious.

Thinking of Yue Yun’s stern face, he felt a bit scared. However, since there was no escaping the inevitable, he could only take his first mate directly to the naval office in the military port.

“British!”

Xie Yuan’s account almost made Yue Yun’s hair stand on end. He slammed the table and cursed, “Xie Yuan, Xie Yuan, you really embarrassed me! If the Emperor knew about this, where would I put my face?”

Xie Yuan hung his head and said, “General, I thought it was the Youzhou, and I didn’t dare to fire indiscriminately, otherwise it would have been our own men fighting each other. But luckily, none of us were injured this time.”

Yue Yun had been chased by British warships in his early years, and the memory was still fresh, so he instinctively harbored hostility towards the British.

This hostility stemmed partly from hatred for the British, and partly from the fact that British warships were indeed difficult to deal with.

In a one-on-one naval battle, any warship of their navy would probably not be a match for a British warship, after all, the British Navy was rich in combat experience.

In naval warfare, weaponry and equipment were one thing, but experience and command were also very important. However, he was not afraid of British warships, because this sea area was right in front of the Great Yu Empire’s gates. They could recover from a few defeats, while a British defeat in this area would mean withdrawing from this region.

“Hmph, that doesn’t excuse your mistake in this naval battle! You go and find that British warship, otherwise I’ll make you scrub the deck of the warship!”

Xie Yuan’s head retracted. He said, “Yes, General. When I find them, I will definitely give them a good beating and throw all those red-haired devils into the mines as laborers.”

Yue Yun glared at Xie Yuan again, “Then hurry up! I need to report this matter to the Emperor immediately. The British didn’t appear in this sea area for fishing.”

Xie Yuan nodded and turned to leave.

At this time, Yue Yun picked up a pen and wrote a memorial, which he sent with a personal guard to the courier station to be delivered to Qingzhou.

Three days later, this memorial arrived in the imperial study of the Qingzhou temporary palace.

Reading Yue Yun’s memorial, Xiao Ming frowned, and a fire ignited in his heart.

Coming from modern times, he naturally knew that Britain had always played the role of a troublemaker in history; wherever there was war, there would be Britons.

Moreover, these Britons were not only good at dismantling a country from within but also adept at fostering proxies who believed they were their own thugs.

In contemporary Britain, Japan was once heavily supported to counter Russia, and British figures were not absent from the later Russo-Japanese War.

At the same time, the British always referred to themselves as Anglo-Saxons, and during this period, they were extreme white supremacists.