He furrowed his brows, suppressing the shock in his heart as he asked Qi Yuan, “Who are they?”
Though honestly, he didn’t even need to ask—he more or less already had a guess.
He had secretly thought before: if Qi Yuan wanted to kill whoever she pleased, maybe she might as well become emperor herself.
But surely Miss Qi doesn’t actually want to be emperor, does she?
How on earth did she get involved with the Easterners?
As expected, Qi Yuan seemed to know all about the origins of these people. She said calmly, “A Japanese daimyo—roughly equivalent to one of our vassal lords in Great Zhou, and a powerful one at that. He’s the young heir of the Yamana clan—Yamana Matsu.”
Lai Chenglong drew in a sharp breath. He couldn’t help but press further: “Miss Qi, does His Highness know about this? Did he agree to it too?!”
How could that be possible?!
Those short, stunted Japanese barbarians had killed countless Great Zhou citizens over the years.
The coastal regions of Great Zhou had been repeatedly harassed by these wokou dwarf pirates. Worse still, they would attack, retreat, and then attack again. Absolutely despicable.
In the current Great Zhou, if the most troublesome force in the north was the Oirats, then the second biggest threat was undoubtedly Japan.
Unfortunately, being an island nation, Japan had long been deemed a “non-conquest country” by Great Zhou. It was considered not worth launching a major campaign against, especially since the sea formed a natural barrier. None of the previous dynasties had managed to do much about that small island anyway.
Otherwise, with the way the Japanese had been treating Great Zhou in recent years, the court would’ve taken action long ago.
Lai Chenglong harbored a deep, instinctive loathing for the Japanese.
That was why he had ultimately agreed to cooperate with Qi Yuan—when she brought up killing Huailiang Qin Wang.
But now, if Qi Yuan was getting cozy with the Japanese…
A trace of killing intent flashed in Lai Chenglong’s eyes.
He knew how capable Miss Qi was. He knew she had taken down both Duke Chu’s household and Princess Baorong.
But those targets were corrupt and harmful to the country. They deserved death.
However, if Miss Qi were to do something that harmed the empire…
Lai Chenglong did have a bottom line.
Before he could get lost in the dilemma, Qi Yuan had already turned to look at him. “No need to look at me like that, Lord Lai. I despise the Japanese just as much.”
She had once seen, firsthand, what those people did—how they slaughtered entire villages after coming ashore.
It was precisely because of that that she knew—they had to be suppressed immediately.
Great Zhou always thought of Japan as nothing more than a jumping flea, incapable of stirring any real storm.
But that wasn’t the truth.
When Great Zhou was strong, the Japanese bowed low. But the moment there was unrest within Great Zhou—whether internal strife or invasions from the Oirats in the north—Japan would seize the opportunity to bite down viciously.
Lai Chenglong slowly recovered from his shock, still frowning as he asked, “Then… what are these people doing here?”
Qi Yuan let out a cold laugh. “Lord Lai, do you never read a book in your free time? No wonder you were suppressed for so long by that eunuch Pu Wuyong like a dog on a leash. Turns out you don’t use your brain at all.”
…
Chunlin, standing nearby, silently wondered: Was Miss Qi just scolding my lord?
Qi Yuan’s smile faded as she looked coldly at Lai Chenglong. “Lord Lai, do you know why Huailiang Qin Wang came all the way to Great Zhou to beg for a princess in marriage—and even offered up silver mining rights in exchange?”
Lai Chenglong did know that part.
It was because Japan was currently in the midst of civil war among its daimyos. One day it was this clan fighting, the next day another. Huailiang Qin Wang had wanted to leverage Great Zhou’s power to legitimize his rule. Seeking a princess for marriage was one thing—he also hoped to trade with other daimyos in the process.
Even if firearms weren’t given to them, they could still purchase iron, sinew, and horn—materials used to make bows and arrows—from Great Zhou.
Lai Chenglong suddenly came to a realization.
No wonder Qi Yuan had dared to kill Huailiang Qin Wang, and was so confident that the court wouldn’t launch a full-scale investigation over it—it turned out she had already found someone to take his place.
This woman… What on earth is her brain made of?
How does she always plan ten steps ahead with every move she makes?
Does she sleep with her eyes open?
Qi Yuan looked at the shifting expressions on his face with a half-smile and said, “So, Lord Lai, do you understand now? I had you come here so that someone would willingly take the fall for Huailiang Qin Wang’s death. Let them fight among themselves—isn’t that better?”
Lai Chenglong immediately grasped what she meant.
If the Yamana clan took the blame for Huailiang Qin Wang’s death, and the news made it back to Japan, those loyal to Huailiang’s faction would loathe the Yamana.
Then, Great Zhou could lend a helping hand to the Yamana.
And when the Yamana gained the upper hand, Great Zhou could then switch sides and help Huailiang’s faction instead.
Let them keep fighting each other. Wasn’t that a good thing?
At the very least, for a time, they’d be far too occupied with internal strife to even think about targeting Great Zhou again.
So really, Qi Yuan wasn’t helping the Japanese at all.
She hated them just as much.
Lai Chenglong cast a complicated look at the Japanese warriors in the courtyard, still cheerfully practicing with their swords. For a moment, he felt conflicted.
These Japanese looked so happy—did they have any idea that Qi Yuan had already weighed and measured them out like livestock?
She had probably already calculated how best to slaughter them.
Qi Yuan was starting to lose patience. Seeing that Lai Chenglong hadn’t said a word for a while, she asked coolly, “So? If you’re not going to take the job, Lord Lai, I’ll find someone else.”
Take the job? Of course he would!
Lai Chenglong instantly and decisively replied, “Miss Qi, leave everything to me from here on out. I promise I’ll handle it beautifully!”
That’s more like it.
Qi Yuan nodded and raised her brows. “I had Shunzi lure them here using my sleeve dart. Now that you’re taking over, you can take them to have a look at the Shenji Battalion’s firearms. Just show them a glimpse—they’ll know what to ask for.”
The Yamana clan would be more than happy to take the fall.
And by then, it wouldn’t just be the mining rights to Huailiang Qin Wang’s silver mine that were on the table.
Thinking of her past life, Qi Yuan calmly reminded Lai Chenglong, “The Yamana clan controls several silver mines. When it’s time to transport weapons over, won’t we need our own people to teach them how to use them? And the envoys will need guards, won’t they? With all that coming and going, we’ll be sending more and more ships over.”
And the more ships that went, the more familiar they’d become with the terrain.
They could bring more personnel too.
Would the Japanese be able to tell the difference between the Embroidered Uniform Guard and elite Capital Garrison troops?
Under the pretext of silver mining, the Ministry of Works would naturally send more men over.
By that point, Great Zhou would already have quite a few troops stationed in Japan.
If some pirates planned to sail out from there, well—taking care of them along the way would be perfectly reasonable.
Lai Chenglong was utterly convinced. He agreed without hesitation.
