Chapter 796

Suwon City.

This was a city located two hundred li across the river from Haigucheng.

During the war with Japan, this city completely fell and now became Japan’s northernmost fortress in Goryeo.

At this time, Japanese soldiers shuttled back and forth in Suwon City, continuously transporting various supplies from the wharf outside the city.

At the wharf, ships from Japan were docked here. Suwon City’s flag-leader, Edo Ichiaki, was inspecting new firearms from Japan.

“My Lord Flag-Leader, is this the flintlock gun the British spoke of?” asked the samurai Koizumi Junichi.

Edo Ichiaki picked up a flintlock gun and aimed it into the distance. He said, “That’s right, this is the British flintlock gun. After Earl Claire met with Lord Yamada last time, he promised to teach our blacksmiths how to produce this firearm, and he even sent us a ship full of flints.”

“This firearm looks very complex in structure; it must be even more difficult to produce than the teppo (matchlock gun),” Koizumi Junichi said, stroking the flintlock gun’s metal lock.

“It is indeed a bit complex, but we have enough blacksmiths. As long as we have flints, producing this firearm is not a problem,” Edo Ichiaki raised the flintlock gun again.

At this point, he pulled the trigger at an elderly Goryeo man who was moving goods.

Because of the close distance, the old man was hit in the chest. With a scream, the Goryeo old man fell to the ground.

The surrounding Goryeo laborers, seeing this scene, trembled with fear. Not one of them dared to speak; they only continued to frantically move goods.

The Japanese soldiers all laughed at this sight. Edo Ichiaki said contemptuously, “These Goryeo people are truly weak. There isn’t a single real man among them.”

“How can these Goryeo people compare to us, the Yamato people? Even killing these Goryeo people would only dirty my Lord Flag-Leader’s hands,” Koizumi Junichi flattered.

Domestically, the daimyo relied on the leading flag-leaders, and below the flag-leaders were the samurai. Edo Ichiaki was one of the flag-leaders greatly valued by Lord Yamada.

And in this war in Goryeo, Edo Ichiaki once again proved his capability.

Sometimes, he would secretly envy Edo Ichiaki, imagining the day he too could be promoted to flag-leader.

Being flattered by Koizumi Junichi, Edo Ichiaki merely smiled. He said, “How boring. I truly don’t understand why the daimyo made peace with the Golden Tent Khanate. Otherwise, Goryeo would all be ours. Perhaps even Youzhou of the Great Yu Empire would be ours.”

“My Lord Flag-Leader is absolutely right. The Goryeo people are vulnerable, and the Great Yu Empire people are nothing but weaklings. A small number of us can plunder a city. However, I heard that the Great Yu Empire’s firearms are very powerful now, and Sakai also lost to the Great Yu Empire’s army.”

“Bastard! Can a pirate like Sakai be compared to us?” Edo Ichiaki suddenly became angry.

As the two were speaking, a Japanese soldier walked towards them. He said, “My Lord Flag-Leader, we have received news that the Great Yu Empire has defeated the barbarians and now occupies Liaozhou.”

“What!” Edo Ichiaki grabbed the Japanese soldier’s collar. “Say that again!”

The Japanese soldier knew that this flag-leader always had a terrible temper. He had no choice but to repeat it word by word.

“So that’s it. If that’s the case, it seems we don’t need to abide by our promise to the Golden Tent Khanate anymore,” Edo Ichiaki said, stroking his chin.

After thinking for a moment, he said, “Now, immediately send this news back. This is a good opportunity for us. The Great Yu Empire and the Golden Tent Khanate are both severely weakened. They certainly won’t have time to bother with Goryeo.”

“But the Great Yu Empire’s occupation of Haigucheng is somewhat troublesome. This is already the Great Yu Empire’s territory. If we want to attack it, we need a reason,” Koizumi Junichi said worriedly.

Edo Ichiaki frowned. Like the Great Yu Empire, Japan sometimes needed a legitimate reason for war. These reasons were merely to comfort the soldiers into fighting.

He said, “This matter is simple. You now prepare a Goryeo person, have them impersonate our people. If the daimyo decides to occupy Goryeo, then use this Goryeo person to create trouble.”

“Yes, My Lord Flag-Leader.” Koizumi Junichi nodded in affirmation.

With that, he had a soldier send the information about the Great Yu Empire and the Golden Tent Khanate back.

Four days later, the news reached the daimyo’s mansion in Nagasaki, Japan.

“The Golden Tent Khanate lost two cities! What is this idiot Best doing?”

Beside Yamada Nobunaga stood a British man. He had arrived in Japan on the same ship as Best. Later, Best was dispatched to the Golden Tent Khanate, while he remained with Yamada Nobunaga to support Japan.

Having witnessed the strength of British ships and cannons, Yamada Nobunaga now relied heavily on the British. He was determined to acquire high-quality firearms from the British.

This way, he could occupy Goryeo, and even the Great Yu Empire, realizing his ambitions. For this, he had also meticulously fabricated a set of lies.

Among the daimyo and samurai, he claimed that the Yamato people were the true descendants of China. The bloodline of the people on the land of the Great Yu Empire had long become impure through historical changes.

Therefore, slaughtering the people on the land of the Great Yu Empire and reclaiming this land was a matter of course.

This rhetoric was very popular among other daimyo and samurai, because the daimyo and samurai, whose eyes were blinded by land and wealth, needed a war to seize enough territory.

“No matter what he’s doing, we must act now. The enemy of our enemy is the friend we should win over. I think at this moment, the Golden Tent Khanate should agree to ally with us,” Yamada Nobunaga said.

When attacking Goryeo, he had already proposed an alliance with the Golden Tent Khanate to deal with the Great Yu Empire. Because whether from his own experience or what the British said, the Great Yu Empire was clearly the most threatening to him now.

Moreover, fifteen years ago, he had killed an envoy dispatched by the Great Yu Empire to humiliate them, so now he was even more wary of the Great Yu Empire.

Just as the British said, once the Great Yu Empire rose, Japan would be doomed.

Doleman adjusted his tailcoat. He said, “This is truly a wise choice. The Golden Tent Khanate was too confident before. Now they should understand the truth: only cooperation can defeat the Great Yu Empire.”

Yamada Nobunaga nodded. He looked at Doleman and asked, puzzled, “I don’t understand why you British are so afraid of the Great Yu Empire.”

Doleman was startled for a moment. In fact, every European feared the rise of the Great Yu Empire, because it was the technological gap between civilizations that allowed them to conquer almost the entire world.

And now, the Great Yu Empire’s growth momentum was very similar to Europe’s back then. They were very afraid that one day, Great Yu Empire warships would be patrolling the seas of their own countries.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/c/caleredhair