Chapter 916

“Sign it, Lord Yamada. It seems the other daimyo have no objections!”

On the King Qi’s ship, Yue Yun had a smile on his face.

At this time, the refitted King Qi’s ship was crowded with naval soldiers and officers. A table was placed in the center of the warship. Yue Yun sat facing west, while Yamada Nobunaga sat opposite him.

On the table was the re-drafted instrument of surrender, with a steel pen resting on it.

After Yamada Nobunaga boarded the King Qi’s ship, they learned that the other daimyo had arrived in Nagasaki. The disastrous defeat at Nagitsu had made these daimyo lose all their temper. They all behaved with extreme submission.

It had to be said that this greatly surprised Yue Yun. One reason was that the barbaric nation of Japan could instantly display such a different attitude. The second was his admiration for His Majesty the Emperor’s divine foresight; the course of this war was basically as he had predicted.

“At your command, Your Excellency Yue Yun.”

Yamada Nobunaga held the steel pen on the treaty somewhat strangely. He had never seen this item before, so he wasn’t sure if it was meant for writing.

The Great Yu Empire soldiers and officers immediately burst into laughter. They saw Yamada Nobunaga’s awkwardness. In fact, with the beginning of the Great Yu Empire’s industrialization, small items like steel pens had become widespread. So, they found this somewhat amusing.

Yue Yun, seeing this, was filled with pride. If not for His Majesty the Emperor, how could the Great Yu Empire have today’s glory? Even this small steel pen could show the current gap between the Great Yu Empire and Japan.

Gently coughing, Yue Yun took the steel pen and demonstrated its use. This made Yamada Nobunaga’s eyes widen. He picked up the steel pen and cautiously wrote his name on the instrument of surrender.

With the instrument of surrender formally signed, the Great Yu Empire soldiers on the warship simultaneously fired a volley into the air. Then the warships simultaneously roared their cannons. The scene was magnificent.

Seeing such a spectacle, Yamada Nobunaga’s heart trembled. He understood that the Great Yu Empire was deliberately flaunting its military power.

“Lord Yamada, I hope we can cooperate smoothly in the future.” Yue Yun’s words contained a threat. Additional conditions were added to the treaty signed this time.

Effective today, Japan would formally repay the Great Yu Empire a debt of three hundred million taels of silver. The debt would primarily be repaid with silver, grain, gold, and sulfur. Within three months of signing, Japan would repay the Great Yu Empire the first installment of fifty million taels of silver.

Yamada Nobunaga forced a smile that was uglier than crying. If he had known this day would come, he should have agreed to sign the treaty earlier.

Now, this Yue Yun, while signing the instrument of surrender, also established a “Law of Peace” for Japan. He explained that the Nagitsu Treaty was a treaty of friendship, while the instrument of surrender was a treaty of defeat, implying different meanings.

This Law of Peace stipulated that Japan abandon war as a means of resolving external disputes. At the same time, it legally prohibited Japan from having any form of military establishment, abolished all Japanese conscription agencies, and prohibited Japan from developing navies or other military branches that posed an external threat.

In addition, Japan was prohibited from manufacturing or researching any threatening weapons of war, and was to pursue peaceful development steadfastly.

“I hope Your Excellency Yue Yun will take good care of us in the future!” Yamada Nobunaga said bitterly.

From this day forward, Japan would no longer have the capability to launch external aggressions. It would only possess the so-called self-defense capability stipulated by the Great Yu Empire. Even so, the Great Yu Empire would decide what weapons the few remaining self-defense forces of Japan could be equipped with.

In his opinion, this Law of Peace was to turn Japan into a fat sheep that the Great Yu Empire could shear at any time, and this sheep had neither teeth nor horns.

“That is natural. We will meet frequently in the future.”

Yue Yun smiled maliciously. Nagitsu was taken, Japan was completely castrated. The Great Yu Empire had one less enemy in the northeastern waters and gained a continuous source of resources.

Now, they could finally focus on the war with Western powers for colonies.

“I look forward to our next meeting.” Yamada Nobunaga’s smile became even more bitter.

Yue Yun chuckled. At this point, he had Yamada’s accompanying samurai send Yamada Nobunaga back to Nagasaki. Originally, Yamada Nobunaga had requested to have dinner with him, but he found Japan too disgusting and was not in the mood to eat, so he declined.

Now that the war with Japan was over, he only wanted to return to Dengzhou as soon as possible. Leaving a few soldiers here to supervise Yamada Nobunaga’s execution of the treaty would suffice.

Moreover, he was not afraid of Yamada going back on his word. To control Japan, or rather, to “protect Japan,” a twenty-thousand-man army would soon replace their marines in Nagitsu, serving as a permanent military force to control Japan.

Watching Yamada Nobunaga depart, Yue Yun then made a gesture. The fleet slowly left Nagasaki pier and headed towards Nagitsu.

At sea, Yamada Nobunaga watched with some envy the Great Yu Empire’s warships, which could speed across the sea without relying on wind power. It was just a pity that Japan could no longer develop a navy.

“Alas, what a truly vicious Great Yu Empire,” Yamada Nobunaga said with deep pain.

…

Qingzhou Province.

News of Japan’s defeat and the signing of the instrument of surrender arrived here three days later.

Looking at the instrument of surrender sent back by Yue Yun, Xiao Ming showed a satisfied smile. For him, this was the most ideal situation at the moment. In the future, Japan would become a place for the Great Yu Empire to “shear the sheep.” This was more profitable than completely occupying Japan and exhausting national strength.

After all, occupying a country was like opening a branch company. Personnel and expenses were all one’s own. In a situation like Japan’s, it could even be a losing business with considerable risk.

But in this way, he was effectively punishing the bully at his doorstep and decreeing that from now on, he would not only pay for damages but also protection fees, ensuring a sure profit.

This way, acquiring supplies from Japan could make the Great Yu Empire even richer.

“Your Majesty, it’s truly a double blessing! The Qingzhou thermal power plant is about to attempt power generation, and Japan has been dealt with at this very moment. In these past two years, the imperial harem has also successively added two imperial princes and one princess for Your Majesty. The Great Yu Empire is truly flourishing!”

Qian Dafu said with a smile.

Xiao Ming chuckled upon hearing this. In the imperial harem, Cui Xue’er had given birth to an imperial prince, and Lu Luo and Ziyuan had respectively given birth to a daughter and an imperial prince.

Besides Xiao Yi, he now had three more children. The palace became even livelier.

“It is indeed a great joyous event. However, we must not lower our guard now. The Great Yu Empire still has many enemies to deal with,” Xiao Ming said, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the world map.

Japan in this era was only one level higher than Goryeo as an enemy. The Emperor of Japan was merely a symbolic figure, holding no real power.

Compared to Japan, the most dangerous entity in this era was Europe. They were Xiao Ming’s true enemies. To establish the Great Yu Empire’s international status for centuries to come, he had to snatch food from the tiger’s mouth in this barbaric era.