Chapter 107: Deja Vu

For the people living along the Shandong coast, Qi Yuanjing's campaign against the Japanese pirates may be one of the most exciting, terrifying and shocking memories in their lives, so much so that various legends have spread widely, and even left a prominent mark in the local county annals, greatly influencing later studies of the anti-Japanese war.

Of course, General Qi and the Crown Prince's original intention was not to let the people experience the horror of the battlefield firsthand; long before they set out to the south, they sent a fast horse to deliver an order, ordering the local officials to quickly fortify the city and clear the fields, and eliminate all traces of trouble on the battlefield (if you think about it carefully, the whereabouts of the army might have been leaked by this order); but when the army arrived at the designated location and deployed their troops, they found many people watching the excitement along the coast, as well as scattered farm tools, and a large amount of grain, dried fish and other supplies. The mixed crowd was difficult to clear out, and it was simply a mess - they originally thought that something had happened and it was difficult to guess, but after urgently summoning people for questioning, they came to a ridiculous conclusion: the Shandong local officials did order people to clean up, but their efficiency was too low and their hands and feet were too slow, so the result can only be described as a clean-up; after more than ten days of procrastination, the effect was as shown above.

——What? You said that Hai Gangfeng can get things done perfectly without any mistakes in Shangyu within ten days? Then please use your brains and think about it for a moment. Are the officials in Shandong today comparable to the Shanghai prefect in terms of ability, morality, or popularity? If you are inferior in every aspect, can't you guess the result with your heels?

You can't judge Da'an bureaucrats by Hai Gangfeng's standards. Otherwise, even if Emperor Gaozu were alive again, that man would not be enough to be killed.

In fact, apart from the Crown Prince, who had never seen the world and was very angry and grumbling, Qi Yuanjing did not show much surprise after inspecting the battlefield situation - based on his experience, the work level of Shandong bureaucrats was completely within the normal range and basically in line with expectations; Hai Gangfeng? Haigang Peak is a special exception and should be excluded as an outlier when considering it. It does not affect the conclusion.

Therefore, he just ordered his personal soldiers to go out and quickly clear the area and prepare for battle so as not to delay subsequent plans. The situation in naval battles changes rapidly and can be turned upside down in just a few minutes. There is simply not enough time to slowly evacuate the confused civilians stranded on the battlefield. In addition, the soldiers brought by Qi Yuanjing did not understand the Shandong dialect very well, and they could not communicate with each other at all, making the situation a mess. In the eyes of the terrified and confused civilians, these were just a group of aggressive and fat-faced hunks waving muskets and swords to chase people around, and they could not understand a word they said. The thieves passed by like a comb and the soldiers passed by like a comb. How could everyone not be scared to death and paralyzed?

Finally, a nobleman with a majestic appearance and his attendants, who seemed to be called "Persimmon", came forward to take charge. He shouted loudly and shocked the soldiers who were chasing people everywhere. He also took out a bag of lard mixed with sugar and fragrant fried beans from somewhere, and distributed a handful to the civilians and children who were willing to take the lead in retreating. After showing a friendly gesture, the crying and fleeing people calmed down reluctantly, and then followed the instructions of gestures and actions, and retreated tremblingly.

This bloated team moved slowly and loosely, and it took more than half an hour to retreat to the coastline. But when the soldiers were organizing to count the number of people, a loud thunder suddenly exploded in the bright sky, and then a beam of fire shot out from the shore, whistling straight towards the sea!

The change happened suddenly, and there was another incredible uproar in the crowd, but the "Persimmon" sitting among them seemed quite calm. He stood still very calmly and looked up at the sky. The children who were nearby could even hear him muttering clearly:

"Is the fight starting now?"

The roar of the fire dragon was deafening, and it exploded into terrifying waves after rushing into the sea - followed by the rise and fall of flames and faint shouts; the small boats clustered like ants on the sea were like being poured with a bucket of boiling water, and instantly exploded with rolling water vapor and smoke, and there was even a large amount of ominous blood red in the mist - unlike the Shangyu naval battle, this time the battle took place entirely in the near sea, and there were no large ships for emergency maneuvers; so standing on a high place and looking into the distance, one could see the situation on the battlefield more clearly, and even the sea breeze blowing downstream, and occasionally one could hear some faint cries and roars, which was particularly immersive and terrifying.

Persimmon sighed and looked around - all the soldiers had been sent by him to control the situation. Apart from the two followers, there were only some ignorant children surrounding him, chewing lard in their mouths. So he picked a clean stone to sit on, grabbed a handful of fried beans from his pocket, and gave half to the children and half to the two followers. Then the two followers sat down one on the left and one on the right, eating beans while watching the fire dragon frying fish in the distance, making a crunching sound in their mouths. At this time, the sea breeze is blowing, the sky is bright, and you are immersed in the scene without any hindrance. It is really leisurely and relaxing. How lucky can you be?

People should go with the flow; although the original plan was that they were to command and teach strategies in the military camp; but now it was also nice to stay in the wild and enjoy the breeze, and there were also beans and dried fish to eat - if they were in front of a group of officers in the military camp, the nobles and subordinates actually had to observe some etiquette and decorum as imperial envoys, and couldn't say anything casually; now there was no one around except the little brother with a slobbery mouth, who was giving advice and writing inspiring articles anytime and anywhere, which was actually much more comfortable.

So, Zhao Fei watched for a moment and then commented sharply:

"It's really disorganized. Is this how you fight a war?"

It was indeed completely disorganized. After being hit head-on by the Feixuan Zhenjun, the small boats gathered on the sea had become a mess. Large streams of blood rolled out from the center of the bombing, soaking the sea water into a dark color - compared to the bright blood plasma in horror movies, this color is not so eye-catching, but the shock it brings is by no means comparable to any fake light and shadow effects. When the sea breeze carrying the smell of blood blew towards them, the originally noisy and shouting crowd immediately quieted down; a few children who were surrounding "Persimmon" and begging for beans were so frightened that they could not move, and even dared not cry.

Even though the "Persimmon" was knowledgeable and did not lose his composure while sitting on the rock, facing the death of one's own kind is a taboo in human genes after all, so it is inevitable that he would be a little nervous and restrained. Among the three, Zhao Fei was probably the most relaxed and at ease, after all, he had really seen a lot on the anti-Jin front line, and had personally experienced the horrific scene of mountains of corpses and seas of blood, with bones rotting and stinking in the mud. For this little thing, it was just an appetizer. She even had the leisure to carefully analyze the boiling situation in the sea of ​​blood, and savor the fried beans and lard with relish.

To be honest, if the timing wasn't wrong, the blood-red color floating on the sea would have gathered into clusters, which would have been quite beautiful under the bright sky; even though the color was light and peaceful, it looked like swaying flowers. Even if it can't be called "the red and swollen parts are as bright as peach blossoms", it can at least be considered as bright as cherry blossoms...

So what is this? Wasang, the Saku in my hometown has opened up again?

Zhao Fei suddenly laughed out loud, and Liu Li stared at her in horror.

Of course, there was nothing wrong with staring at her. The main thing was that the child sitting next to her suddenly burst into tears, which made Zhao Fei very embarrassed, and she could no longer laugh.

Mu Qi grabbed another handful of beans to coax the child, but just as his hand reached halfway, he suddenly froze - he heard a series of rapid horse hoofbeats behind him, as well as desperate shouts and screams; he turned his head suddenly and saw three people riding horses and galloping towards him, and when they got off the horses at the foot of the mountain, they rolled and crawled to the middle of the mountain, knelt down at Mu Qi's feet and saluted hastily:

"Stop firing, stop firing, it's all a misunderstanding!"

The old man in the lead ran all the way with his face flushed, and he finally caught his breath after struggling desperately. He was about to plead, but when he looked up, he saw two black gun muzzles pressing against his head. He was so frightened that his whole body went limp and he collapsed again, with cold sweat pouring down his face.

——Nonsense, Prince Mu is not a fool. How could he not be prepared after being assassinated?

Zhao Fei and Liu Li were on the left and the right, and the two gun barrels pressed the old man to the ground and he couldn't move. After confirming that the three people who were running over didn't carry any sharp weapons such as daggers, Mu Qi spoke slowly:

"Who are you?"

The old man was sweating profusely and trembling all over. It took him a long time to utter a few words:

"I, Yang Hui, was a top three scholar during the reign of Emperor Wuzong..."

"Jinshi?" The prince glanced up and down at the old man's cloth clothes and asked: "Why doesn't a Jinshi become an official?"

"I was old and mourned my father, and then I took care of my mother at home. My mother was still alive, and I didn't want to travel far to serve as an official."

"Oh, staying at home to observe mourning, being aloof and self-reliant, what a good way to raise a good reputation." The prince said calmly: "It is said that if you observe mourning like this for decades, you will be known and admired by the world. Your reputation alone will be equal to that of a high official, and it will be of great use in times of crisis."

It really has other uses. Supporting famous scholars, the elderly, chaste women, and filial daughters may seem inconspicuous and unthreatening on weekdays, but at critical moments, a bunch of chaste women, filial daughters, and famous scholars kneel in front of the yamen, and the pressure of public opinion alone is enough to make the court unable to move. However, raising and packaging such a non-productive role consumes a lot of resources, and probably only the local aristocratic families with complicated connections can afford it. Needless to say, the "famous scholar" in front of him was a Jinshi - a Jinshi who was a disciple of the emperor. Even if he was only in the top three, his status was extremely different. To be able to cruelly let these people give up their official careers and return home to raise their families was definitely a cunning move at all costs.

And now, such a desperate move at no cost was thrown out, which was tantamount to using a trick directly on the prince - unlike ordinary "chaste women" and "elders", Jinshi had official status, a system and certification by the court; as long as they had these three identities to protect them, even if the imperial envoy came to meet the nobles in person, they must not be arrogant and casual and turn the door away, but must listen to the person's speech. Everything in the world weighs a thousand pounds if weighed. As long as people start speaking, the course of things will be completely different.

The prince also followed the court's practice. Although he did not ask the old man to stand up, nor did he instruct the people around him to remove their guns, he still asked calmly:

"What is the purpose of Mr. Yang's visit?"

Scholar Yang could not care less and bowed to answer: "I am here to tell the prince and the general a great news! What is coming down the sea now is not the Japanese pirates, but the rebel army that surrendered anyway; and the ones leading them are not the Japanese, but the Chinese. The general bombed the wrong thing, the general bombed the wrong thing——"

These few words were spoken almost in the sound of a roar, without any room for tact or decorum. Of course, there was no room for tact now. Yang Hui had to get things straight out and not give the other party any chance to play dumb and delay time - the sound of artillery ringing in her ears was a thousand times more violent than imagined, and if they continued to bombard like this, there would probably be no one left alive at sea!

How come it’s so fast! How can you be so cruel! Why can’t I delay for such a short time?

Obviously, if he just delayed for another hour, everything would be settled, no trace would be left, and he could lurk with peace of mind without taking the risk of getting involved in such a mess. But the situation turned around so quickly that they didn't even give him this hour!

Yang Hui's heart was filled with turbulent waves, almost like it was boiling magma. She felt like she was being bombarded by cannon fire, and every sound seemed to be hitting her head. He could only barely get rid of his imagination and try his best to pretend to be frightened and sincere. The prince looked at his old face carefully, his expression remained unchanged.

"I heard that there are not only Japanese pirates along the coast, but also many pirates who defected to the past, and even traitors." The prince said slowly: "As long as the war situation is slightly unfavorable, they will send pirates ashore to surrender, saying that they are actually the rebel army, and the good people in the wilderness who admire the court... Local officials often want to make a big deal out of a small matter, and as long as someone instigates them, most of them will agree to surrender. So they surrender and rebel again, rebel and surrender again, and there is no end. Mr. Yang, am I right?"

Yang Jinshi's lips trembled: "Let the prince know that I have proof with me, proof that the nobleman has guaranteed me, which is enough to prove that this is not a false surrender--"

"Of course you have proof, and it must be very effective proof." The prince interrupted him: "After all, the local officials before were not stupid. How could they believe the false surrender without proof? But now I don't want to see any proof, and these rockets can't be stopped at all. Of course, if there are still survivors among the Japanese pirates after being bombarded by Feixuan Zhenjun, Wanshou Emperor, etc., I can ask them about their surrender."

Rockets are not fireworks. The launch angle and fuel storage must be carefully adjusted according to the distance of the target. This is a profound science that is closely related to mathematics. Now that the musketeers have been training for more than half a year, they can only set up the venue in advance based on experience and have no time to make subsequent adjustments. Therefore, once this thing is launched, it will pour down like the water of the Yellow River coming from the sky. Not to mention the prince who is only responsible for technical guidance, even if Qi Yuanjing, who commands all the armies, personally gives the order, it will definitely not be stopped.

This was the downside of early firearms: they were stiff, rigid, and difficult to operate. As long as the decision has been made to unleash firepower on the Japanese pirates, then we have to do it to the end. Not to mention that the Japanese pirates are most likely just pretending to surrender, even if they surrender sincerely, there is no time to worry about much and we have to bomb them first.

Of course, Mr. Yang didn't understand this. He just felt that the prince's words were too blunt and arrogant to understand. He racked his brains to come up with a few words to threaten him secretly, but he saw the prince turned his head and looked around, then took a step back nonchalantly, protecting the two guests on his left and right, and then spoke in a soft and loud voice:

"The rockets have already fired, and there may be no survivors on the sea. If you want to take action, please do it as soon as possible."

This sentence seemed to have pressed a switch. There was a roar from the crowded crowd halfway up the mountain. A big man stepped out of the cliff, holding a gun in his left hand and an axe in his right hand. He jumped down with a tiger leap and was about to chop down the front of the platoon - he was in a commanding position and was unstoppable. As long as he pushed down the few civilian soldiers who were caught off guard in the middle, he could chop the head of the prince of Duke Mu with an axe and chop him in half -

Then, the big man's head exploded with a bang, and blood, flesh and bones splattered everywhere, causing even greater panic.

Assassination is all about secrecy. For the Prince of Mu, who carries a metal detector with him and has an infrared drone hanging over his head, no matter how sophisticated his tactics are, he can only play his cards openly. What is the difference between an open assassination and seeking death?

The assassins sent out last time were elite, lurking and patient, and always hitting the target with one strike. Their methods were experienced and clever. If they had not been suddenly stabbed in the back by the unexpected technology of later generations, the assassination might have been successful long ago. But the assassins sent out this time were much more crude and amateurish. Their poor skills would alert the enemy, and the only thing they could rely on was numbers: after the axe-wielding man was shot in the head, men and women holding daggers and guns rushed out of the crowd, shouting and running towards the target, and then were shot in the head again one after another - ordinary muskets had poor accuracy and needed to be refilled and cleaned before they could shoot again, and they had little effect on close targets. But if we improve the musket a little bit...

From seven steps away, the gun is fast; from seven steps away, the gun is both accurate and fast. American traditional martial arts - gun drawing technique, Lao Deng!

The change happened suddenly. In a flash, the prince of Duke Mu raised his hand and fired three shots. Fire flew everywhere, screams were heard, blood mist and bone fragments sprayed and exploded, almost soaking the prince's head and face. The prince subconsciously turned his head to avoid, but at this moment, the two guards who were lying behind old man Yang Huiyang suddenly roared, kicked their legs, and pounced towards the prince!

——This is the most exciting and brutal killing move! The assassin in the open is just a bait. The moment the target clears the bait and lets down his guard, it is a good opportunity for the hidden assassin to take action!

Of course, the assassins who can get close to the enemy cannot carry sharp weapons, but sharp weapons are not needed to kill people. When they pounced, the two guards had already thrown off their outer coats, revealing bulky and greasy cotton jackets underneath - they had hollowed out the jackets, stuffed gunpowder into them, and then repeatedly soaked them with kerosene. Even if the prince hits the target with one shot, the gunpowder will explode immediately and both parties will die.

Such precise, detailed and ruthless serial killing moves can be said to have exhausted all the means imaginable in this era, and even considered certain super-time and space technologies - the so-called fighting fire with fire, the so-called one man dares to die, and a hundred men cannot stop him; with such ruthless means in front, it is enough to offset any sophisticated firearms.

Unfortunately, they were facing more than just firearms.

A faint light flashed by, and the two assassins who had pounced on them immediately collapsed, twitching on the ground like dead pigs. Zhao Fei slowly withdrew her arm, and there was a crackling sound in her sleeves, and there was still a flash of lightning.

The high-voltage electric shock came silently and quickly, and the overall situation was decided in a flash. Until this moment, old man Yang Huiyang, who had been standing there, finally reacted. He trembled and wanted to move, but his legs went weak and he almost collapsed. Obviously, in this carefully arranged death trap, he, the so-called "celebrity" who was pushed out to deliver the message, was just a pure pawn, a cover for the assassination. This poor old man who was in mourning at home probably knew nothing about the assassination, and was even just a "necessary sacrifice" in the eyes of the assassin, a pig to be slaughtered. It is precisely because of this that after realizing the horrific situation of fighting for life, the mentality of the "celebrity" immediately collapsed.

Damn it, what the hell is going on?

The prince did not care about the old man's mood. He glanced around and suddenly sneered. His voice was sharp and harsh, and he sounded sarcastic:

"Kamikaze Assault Team? They are really stubborn. They have been using this traditional skill for hundreds of years!"

This sentence was really confusing, but the old man trembled all over, no longer caring about his dignity, and bowed hurriedly:

"Your Highness, please understand! These are all guards assigned to me by outsiders. I am stupid and ignorant, and I know nothing about it—"

At this point, he stammered several times, but did not utter the name of the "outsider" - Yang Jinshi had been secluded in his home for decades, and he had not studied in vain. In a moment, he thought quickly and had already planned to use the details of this "outsider" as a plan, in order to get a guarantee from the prince; he did not know much about this "outsider", but he did know some information. If Mu Qi wanted to pry open the mysterious and deep network behind the assassination, he would have to exchange something with him.

But the prince ignored him. He walked to the two soldiers who were lying limp on the rock and looked them up and down. Perhaps it was because the kerosene and cotton clothes increased the resistance, the two men were not unconscious, but their muscles were twitching and their nerves were in severe pain, and they fell to the ground and could not move; but their eyes were shining brightly, and there was no sign of surrender. Obviously, serving the country for seven lifetimes and going to the underworld to meet in the underworld is also a traditional skill of the Japanese warriors. The stones in the pit are smelly and hard. They can shout for Banzai to come out and commit suicide, but of course they don't think about getting away with it, let alone revealing any information.

However, is it up to them to decide whether to reveal the news or not?

Mu Qi did not make any boring threats. He just looked back at Zhao Fei:

"Is the electric shock gun still fully charged?"

"That's about right."

"That's good." Mu Qi nodded happily and looked down at the captives on the ground again. In order to make the sinner hear clearly, he deliberately slowed down his speech:

"There is an old Chinese saying, 'Wei Xi Material Wei Junjie.' If you are willing to speak up, I can make you die immediately."

The assassin lying on the ground barely recovered some strength and was about to shout back, saying that he would rather die than betray the information. But when I heard the last sentence, I was stunned instinctively:

...Hey, isn't there something wrong with the logic of this statement?

——Of course, they soon realized that there was nothing logically wrong with this sentence. "Die immediately" is indeed an extra reward after confessing, a huge reward.

·

Compared with the artillery battle off the coast of Shandong, the incidents that occurred outside the battlefield seemed particularly significant and sinister, and better reflected the delicate and tense situation at the turning point of history. According to historical records, at 2:15 pm on that day, Prince Mu, who was organizing the evacuation of civilians on the coast, was attacked by an assassin. In his haste, he was almost injured (of course, the extent of this "almost" was quite controversial in later generations). The Crown Prince has come here by the Emperor's imperial decree, and his status is equivalent to that of an imperial envoy. To assassinate an imperial envoy is to commit high treason, which is an unforgivable crime. The "Great Edict" starts with the execution of the entire family, and there is no upper limit.

The crime was so serious that it was intolerable. Prince Mugong followed the Emperor Gaozu's last wishes carefully and ordered his people to find leather workers and butchers to prepare to skin the assassin and stuff him with straw (so you see, early death was really a mercy). At the same time, he reorganized the 2,000 musketeers who were on reserve for watching the battle, and marched towards the county town on the shore according to the assassin's confession, and with the emperor's order to "act at one's own discretion", they swept away all the rebels who were in collusion with the Japanese pirates.

This operation was unprecedentedly smooth. Although it could not be said that the people along the way gave a heartfelt welcome, at least no one dared to touch the two thousand musketeers. The locals might not understand what the new muskets were, but everyone recognized the dozen or so iron pillars in the carts pushed by the musketeers that were almost the same as those on the coast.

The power in the officialdom was complicated and intertwined, but no one was determined to gamble his life, so the army had a smooth journey and only encountered a slight obstacle outside the manor where the rebels were entrenched; but the elite assassins were no match for the regular army after all, and rockets and muskets came out in full force, and the battle was decided within two or three quarters of an hour. The army sealed off the area tightly from top to bottom, and no one escaped.

After breaking into the manor, the prince finally saw the "outsider" mentioned by Old Man Yang in the secret room he searched. His identity was incredible, but not unexpected.

"Mr. Nanye." He said slowly.

The Japanese envoy Kusunoki Nishi, who had returned from Beijing several months ago, sat cross-legged on the ground. Although his face was covered in dirt, he still looked calm:

"Meet the prince."

So that's how it is. Then nothing is surprising. It is no wonder that the Shangyu naval battle attracted such strong attention, and no wonder that the assassin knew his whereabouts very well and even had a vague idea of ​​his habits... Mu Qi made many guesses, but failed to lock on the most likely suspect.

Of course, this is probably due to too little information and carelessness. Originally, I thought that this envoy was just a vase in public, but now it seems that the Japanese shogunate has ulterior motives, and the minister sent to the Central Plains is really not a good person.

However, now that things have come to this point, there is no need to make any moral criticism. Mu Qi looked around and asked directly:

"Where are your accomplices?"

After interrogating the location, Mu Qi rushed over without stopping, but after breaking into the villa, he found that the number of people he captured was surprisingly small. Most of them were assassins who had no idea what was going on. After counting, the leader found that there was only one person, Kusunoha Nishinin - this was certainly not in line with common sense, so he must have made advance preparations.

Nanye Xi Ren smiled slightly: "Of course they were sent away. The prince arrived too late. These people had already gone out to sea with their families and money, and all the evidence was destroyed. Even if we want to find out the details now, I'm afraid we can't find out..."

He paused:

"However, I have some doubts in my mind. If Your Excellency is willing to answer my questions, I can tell you the direction in which they fled. Perhaps I can catch up with one or two of them."

"You plan to sell them out?" The prince was slightly surprised, then suddenly realized: "Of course, of course, being a traitor is worse than being a dog. As long as there is a need, you can kill them immediately and eat them. I think the same thing... To be honest, I am still very interested in your proposal. If we can catch these people and put them on trial, and let them know that it was the Japanese pirate who sold them out, the expressions on their faces will definitely be very interesting, very interesting - but unfortunately, I really don't need any information, so I can only decline."

Kusunoha Nishi was stunned: "...Why?"

"Because it's not necessary." The prince smiled and said, "Mr. Nanye, the Ministry of Justice needs evidence to handle a case, and the Jinyiwei needs a list to suppress bandits, but if it's a large army suppressing a rebellion, then just one position is enough. Do you understand?"

The Japanese pirates colluded with traitors to plot treason. This crime alone was enough for the important officials of the court to agree with mobilizing the army to strike with an iron fist. As for the specific evidence and the basis for conviction, they could write whatever they wanted after the attack on Japan, and no one would raise any objection. Even though the civil and military officials of Da'an quarreled with each other on a daily basis, there was still a consensus on this point - the so-called "history must not be turned to ashes"; but don't forget that history was written by the National History Museum, the Hanlin Academy, and even more so, by Zhang Taiyue, who now leads the literati!

What, you're not convinced? It doesn’t matter. Even if you are not convinced when you are alive, Zhang Taiyue can make you convinced after you die!

There are people who reverse the verdicts of general history, but who in the literati would have the temerity to reverse the verdicts of the Japanese pirates? Do you think you are Yu Shaobao?

They all come from the East Asian Confucian cultural circle, and everyone who understands this operation understands it. So Kusunoki Nishi's eyes bulged immediately, fear and anger surged into his heart, and he could no longer maintain his calmness, and his voice became hoarse:

"I was right. You have been coveting Japan for a long time and want to destroy it as soon as possible! May I ask, my lord, how has my country offended you?!"

"It's not an offense..." The prince answered casually, and suddenly realized: "Wait, when did I show that I wanted to destroy Japan as soon as possible?"

Well, he did want to destroy it as soon as possible, but he was not a fool who couldn't keep it to himself. Why would he talk nonsense everywhere and let Old Deng find out the clues?

"Your Excellency is so rude and brutal to Japan. Haven't you been coveting it for a long time?"

"Bullshit!" the prince said angrily, "I am so rude and brutal to all countries! What reason do you have to say that I treat Japan specially?"

He did speak rudely and with ulterior motives toward Japan, but he also spoke rudely and with ulterior motives toward England, France, Spain, Portugal and the Netherlands! What matters in this world is fairness. Why does Japan react so strongly? Other countries haven’t said anything yet!

Perhaps he was so angry at the stupid logic that he felt dizzy and dizzy, or maybe he was desperate, so he simply took out a book from his arms and threw it in front of Mu Qi:

"Why hide it? Your intentions are clearly written in this book. If you don't have any ambitions, why bother studying our country's political situation and strategies?"

The prince picked up the book and took a look at it. He was stunned:

The Mortal's Journey to Immortality Volume 6

·

"The sixth volume of "A Mortal's Journey to Immortality" has been published?"

"Is that the point? What on earth do you care about?!"

"Okay, okay." Zhao Fei compromised: "So what's written in the sixth volume? How could a novel about cultivating immortals drive this person so crazy?"

"What can you write?" Mu Qi said unhappily, "It's just to promote maritime trade. It gives the protagonist Fei Xuanzi a new map of the sea and lets him travel around the countries."

"Just traveling around?" Liu Li was also curious: "So which countries did you travel around?"

"Do you still expect me to make up a worldview on the spot?" Mu Qi rolled his eyes. "Of course it is copied according to the current situation in Europe... The Age of Discovery is turbulent, and everyone is paying attention to the West. The sixth volume is about Brittany's experiences, which is basically based on Britain - an ambitious island country that seeks to rule the world, stirring up trouble everywhere and doing all kinds of bad things. It tries every means to create offshore balancers, support weak countries on the mainland to check and balance strong countries, and try its best to prevent the unification of mainland countries..."

At this point, Mu Qi's voice suddenly became quieter - obviously, although he didn't feel it when he wrote it, now that he talked about it carefully, he also felt that something was wrong:

"…Isn't this a bit too much of a déjà vu?"