Chapter 209 Pirates...I Like It

Xu Liyan returned to Siam City from Lion City, and more than a year has passed in the blink of an eye. The situation on the islands around the Java Sea has undergone tremendous changes. Lion City is no longer what it used to be. It has as many as eight escort ships, more than five thousand troops, and a population of nearly one hundred thousand. It is more than capable of protecting itself. Xu Liyan naturally returned to Dayuan and no longer suffered the pain of homesickness.

"Uncle Xu, is there any sign of improvement in the chaos within Majapahit?" Qin Mo hosted a banquet to welcome Xu Liyan, with Kaihime, his adopted daughter, attending to him.

"Improvement? Your Highness, how can it be improved? This year is even more chaotic than last year. This year, Prince Wirabhumi is unstoppable and has already driven his sister to the brink of death. The King of West Java only survived because of the reinforcements from the indigenous people on Sumatra Island."

"I never expected that Prince Wirabumi, who seemed so timid, was actually so ruthless and vicious!"

"That's right, it's toxic enough!"

Qin Mo toasted Xu Liyan with a glass of wine, and the two discussed the war situation on Java Island. They couldn't help but admire Prince Wirabhumi, the instigator of the war.

According to Majapahit custom, Prince Wirabhumi was not the first in line to the throne; his sister and brother-in-law were. He was already resentful, and his father's doting affection for him, granting him the entirety of East Java as his territory, further fueled his deep-seated ambition.

Following his meeting with Qin Mo at the port of Malacca, Prince Wirabumi received a large quantity of weapons and armaments, including fifty suits of Taiyuan No. 1 armor. Overjoyed, the prince decided to demonstrate his strength and force his sister and brother-in-law to abdicate in favor of the throne.

On the birthday of King Ha'am Wulu of Majapahit, Prince Wirabhumi displayed his newly formed armored guard before the old king. The fifty powerful heavy armored warriors caused great concern among everyone, including the prince's brother-in-law, Wigrama Varda.

Before the prince could even discuss matters with the old king, Wiglama Varda presented his most beautiful sister and proposed that she marry Prince Wirabhumi. For some reason, the old king immediately agreed.

After being beaten senseless by a flurry of punches, the prince returned to his territory and became increasingly suspicious. His brother-in-law had now become his brother-in-law, so should he still compete with him for the throne?

The prince and his trusted advisors discussed the matter all night, and their answer was: "Fight."

Ignoring his newlywed wife's cries and pleas, the prince ended her life with a single blow. Then, enraged, he raised an army and besieged the city of Surabaya. With his indestructible heavy armored soldiers, he smashed open the not-so-sturdy city gates, easily defeated the old king's guards, stormed the palace, and forced his own father to abdicate in his place.

Prince Wirabhumi became King Wirabhumi, a king not recognized by West Java. The Majapahit people were already at odds with East Java, and this immediately plunged the entire island of Java into war.

"Uncle Xu, what's the situation on Sumatra? Are those Majapahit vassal states still obeying their masters?"

"Your Highness, the forces in Palembang, Jambi, and other places still outwardly respect Majapahit as their master, but they have secretly harbored ambitions. The sheer number of weapons they buy every month shows that they are unwilling to be ruled by Majapahit."

"This year, Wiglama Varda transferred all the Majapahit elite troops stationed on Sumatra back to West Java, giving them an opportunity to take advantage of the situation. In my opinion, chaos is about to break out!"

"Hmm! Lin Yongqian has done a good job and has already shown the demeanor of a 'troublemaker'. With more experience, he will be ready to take on important responsibilities."

After the outbreak of war on Java Island, Lin Yongqian quickly adopted the principle of "supporting the weak" and began friendly cooperation with West Java. A large amount of export-oriented military equipment was continuously supplied to West Java. However, after West Java gained the upper hand, Lin Yongqian stopped supplying goods on the grounds that the distance was too far and the supply was difficult to maintain, and then turned to East Java to fleece them.

“Your Highness, since we opened our market in Malacca, merchants from all directions have flocked here. Since last year, we have discovered the Zhu people. For a while, we couldn’t figure out their background, so we had to send people to keep a close eye on them. Not long ago, we finally learned about their scheme.”

Halfway through the drinking session, Xu Liyan waved for Kaihime to leave, then excitedly uttered a few words that left Qin Mo completely bewildered. What was it that he wanted to say in front of Kaihime?

"Your Highness, several thousand miles west of Malacca lies India, India! I always thought it was a completely new landmass, but I never imagined it was India. And these Indians are despicable; they actually tried to extract the nautical charts for the route to Great Xia from our crew."

"Oh!...And then?" Qin Mo asked calmly.

“How could our people do such a disloyal and unjust thing? After being repeatedly thwarted, they actually took the risk of going north around Singapore, trying to forge their own path.”

Xu Liyan glanced at the calm Qin Mo and said nervously, "I personally led two ships and crashed them there. In a deserted place... I killed them all. I don't know if I was right or wrong. I beg Your Highness to make a wise judgment."

Seeing Xu Liyan's unease, Qin Mo picked up the wine pot and filled his cup himself, then raised his glass and said, "Uncle Xu, let me toast you. Old ginger is spicier, you did the right thing."

Xu Liyan happily downed his drink, then said worriedly, "Your Highness, wealth can be blinding. It is said that Zhu is a great country with a large population. Sooner or later they will find out the location of Daxia and come here. We can keep it a secret for a while, but not forever!"

"Uncle Xu, it's all up to us. We'll do our best. We can't hide it from the servants. We just need to get ahead of them."

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