Chapter 800

Iron Dynasty

Suwon City.

It was a city located two hundred li away, separated from Haigucheng by a river.

During the war with Jinao, this city had completely fallen and now served as Jinao's northernmost fortress in Gaoli.

At this moment, Jinao soldiers bustled through Suwon City, constantly transporting various supplies from the docks outside the city walls.

At the docks, ships from Jinao were moored, and Edo Ichiaki, the Hatamoto of Suwon City, was inspecting new firearms from the homeland.

"Hatamoto, is this what the British call a Flintlock Rifle? " asked the samurai, Koizumi Junichi.

Edo Ichiaki picked up a Flintlock Rifle and aimed it into the distance. He said, "That's right, this is the British Flintlock Rifle. After Earl Keli met with Shogun Yamada, he promised to teach our blacksmiths how to produce this firearm, and even sent us a ship full of flint. "

"This firearm looks quite complex in structure; it must be even harder to produce than a Matchlock Gun," Koizumi Junichi said, stroking the Flintlock Rifle's metal mechanism.

"It is indeed somewhat complex, but we have enough blacksmiths. As long as we have flint, producing these firearms won't be a problem. " Edo Ichiaki once again raised the Flintlock Rifle.

Just then, he pulled the trigger, aiming at an elderly Gaoli man who was carrying goods.

Due to the close proximity, the old man was struck in the chest, let out a pained cry, and collapsed to the ground.

The surrounding Gaoli laborers shivered with fear at the sight. Not one of them dared to speak, merely continuing to frantically move the goods.

The Jinao soldiers burst into laughter at the scene. "These Gaoli people are truly weak," Edo Ichiaki said contemptuously, "not a single true man among them. "

"How could these Gaoli people compare to our Yamato people? Even killing them would stain Hatamoto's hands," Koizumi Junichi flattered.

Back home, the Daimyo relied heavily on the Hatamoto who led their armies, and below the Hatamoto were their samurai. Edo Ichiaki was one of the Hatamoto deeply valued by Shogun Yamada.

And in this war for Gaoli, Edo Ichiaki had once again proven his capabilities.

Sometimes, he secretly envied Edo Ichiaki, imagining the day he too could be promoted to Hatamoto.

Flattered by Koizumi Junichi, Edo Ichiaki merely chuckled. He said, "How truly boring. I really don't understand why the Shogun made peace with the Golden Horde. Otherwise, Gaoli would be entirely ours, and perhaps even Youzhou of the Great Yu Kingdom would be ours. "

"Hatamoto is absolutely right. The Gaoli people are no match, and the Great Yu people are nothing but a bunch of sickly men. A few of us can plunder an entire city. It's just that I heard the Great Yu Kingdom's firearms are very powerful now, and Jiu Jing was even defeated by the Great Yu Kingdom's army. "

"Baka! How can a pirate like Jiu Jing be compared to us? " Edo Ichiaki suddenly grew annoyed.

As the two spoke, a Jinao soldier approached them. He said, "Hatamoto, we've received news that the Great Yu Kingdom has defeated the Barbarians and now occupies Liaozhou. "

"What? ! " Edo Ichiaki seized the Jinao soldier's collar. "Say that again! "

The Jinao soldier knew that this Hatamoto always had an awful temper, so he had no choice but to repeat it word for word.

"So that's how it is. If that's the case, it seems we no longer need to abide by our promise to the Golden Horde. " Edo Ichiaki stroked his chin.

After a moment's thought, he said, "Immediately send this news back. Now is a perfect opportunity for us. The Great Yu Kingdom and the Golden Horde have both suffered heavy losses; they certainly won't have time to deal with Gaoli. "

"It's just that the Great Yu Kingdom occupying Haigucheng presents a bit of a problem. That area is already Great Yu territory, so if we want to attack it, we'll need a justification," Koizumi Junichi said, worried.

Edo Ichiaki furrowed his brow. Just like the Great Yu Kingdom, Jinao sometimes needed a legitimate reason to go to war, though these justifications were merely to appease the soldiers and make them fight.

He said, "This is simple. Prepare a Gaoli person now and have them impersonate one of our own. If the Shogun decides to occupy Gaoli, we can then use this Gaoli person to create a pretext for conflict. "

"Yes, Hatamoto," Koizumi Junichi nodded in assent.

Having said that, he dispatched soldiers to send back news of the Great Yu Kingdom and the Golden Horde's situation.

Four days later, the news arrived at the Daimyo's residence in Nagasaki, Jinao.

"The Golden Horde lost two cities. What in the world is that fool Baiste doing? "

Standing beside Yamada Nobunaga was a Briton. He and Baiste had arrived in Jinao on the same ship. Later, Baiste was dispatched to the Golden Horde, while he remained by Yamada Nobunaga's side to support Jinao.

After witnessing the Britons' sturdy ships and powerful cannons, Yamada Nobunaga now greatly relied on them. He was single-mindedly intent on obtaining high-quality firearms from the British.

This way, he would be able to conquer Gaoli, and even the Great Yu Kingdom, realizing his ambitions. For this purpose, he had even meticulously concocted a set of lies.

Among the Daimyo and samurai, he proclaimed that the Yamato people possessed the purest Huaxia bloodline, while the people on the Great Yu Kingdom's lands had long lost their pure lineage through historical changes.

Therefore, it was a perfectly justifiable act to slaughter the people on the Great Yu Kingdom's lands and reclaim that territory.

This rhetoric was very popular among the other Daimyo and samurai, for with their eyes blinded by land and wealth, they craved 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 strive to win over. I believe the Golden Horde should agree to an alliance with us at this time," Yamada Nobunaga said.

When he was attacking Gaoli, he had already proposed an alliance with the Golden Horde to confront the Great Yu Kingdom, because, whether from his own experience or what the British had told him, the Great Yu Kingdom was clearly the greatest threat to him now.

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

Just as the British had said, once the Great Yu Kingdom rose, Jinao would be driven to a dead end.

Daoman adjusted his tailcoat. He said, "This is truly a wise choice. The Golden Horde was overly confident before. Now they should understand the truth: only through cooperation can the Great Yu Kingdom be defeated. "

Yamada Nobunaga nodded. He looked at Daoman and asked, perplexed, "I don't understand why you Britons are so afraid of the Great Yu Kingdom. "

Daoman paused. In truth, every European feared the rise of the Great Yu Kingdom, because it was precisely the civilizational gap that had allowed them to conquer almost the entire world.

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