How much longer until we return?
On the deck of the Tojimaru, a sailor named Kitahara Sōsuke, who was wiping the deck with his head down, asked his companion, Yoshioka Hiroki, a question.
"It all depends on General Ito. They won the war and brought back gold and silver. We should head back now."
"Last time we sent a lot of good stuff to the locals! Hehe."
Compared to Kitahara Sousuke, who was slightly thin and looked youthful, Yoshioka was bloated and had a fleshy face. Although he was the same age as Kitahara, both seventeen, he looked like a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties.
In fact, he was drafted into the army in the same batch as Kitahara Sousuke, and it hasn't even been a year yet. Currently, like Kitahara, he is a trainee sailor.
Two and a half years ago, after the war with Daikan, Emperor Akihito implemented a "strengthening the military" policy in Japan. Since then, in just over two years, the number of soldiers in the army has increased significantly.
Six months ago, Emperor Akihito officially launched a national war, first by conquering the Kingdom of Kagoshi. As the vanguard, the navy annihilated the Kagoshi navy and completely destroyed the Kagoshi's coastal defenses.
Then, they landed in Goli with lightning speed, and within less than two months, Goli was almost completely conquered, with news of victory repeatedly reaching their homeland.
Although the Kingdom of Goli was not a large country, it was small but complete in every way. Along with the victory, they brought back gold and silver treasures from the Kingdom of Goli.
The significance of conquering Goli was not limited to this. Most importantly, Goli was a vassal state of Daqian.
As a neighboring country separated by a sea, Dagan has been a shadow over Japan since ancient times. With such a behemoth beside them, it almost suffocates them.
However, the fact that the conquest of the Kingdom of Gaul is going so smoothly and that the large-scale campaign remains unmoved suggests that this behemoth is clearly symptomatic.
Therefore, in the middle of the campaign against Kagoshima, Emperor Akihito ordered the dispatch of a large army that had been prepared in advance to attack Iwo Jima.
Unlike Goryeo, Iwo Jima is much smaller, but attacking it is even more significant than attacking Goryeo.
Iwo Jima, although separated from the Great Kanto by a sea, is part of the Great Kanto territory.
The attack on Iwo Jima quickly yielded a response, which was expected, yet unexpected.
As expected, Iwo Jima was captured; however, unexpectedly, the Japanese did not send a large army to Iwo Jima.
Upon arriving here, everyone realized that the once colossal behemoth was now terminally ill.
Strike while the iron is hot and kill him!
Without the slightest hesitation, Emperor Akihito rallied the entire nation and launched a national war against Daikan!
Despite a significant expansion of its military over the past two years, Japan now possesses far greater combat power than before.
But after the recent victories in these continuous wars, the whole country is in a frenzy, and more and more people are requesting to join the army!
In almost every household, there was an adult male who joined the army. Eventually, the army relaxed the age limit for enlistment, allowing underage men to join as well.
They weren't even forcibly conscripted by the army; they volunteered to join.
Farming, fishing, and trading are nothing compared to waging war!
Under Akihito's influence, all Japanese people understood one thing: "A nation needs a strong military, and a military needs continuous expansion!"
"War is the foundation of a nation!"
"War can bring you everything you want!"
"Only by conquering other countries can a nation quickly become powerful!"
Meanwhile, Yoshioka, his mind preoccupied with thoughts of the future, rubbed his slightly aching ankle and smiled, his beady eyes narrowed:
"I wonder what they'll be able to seize this time."
Kitahara chuckled, "The wealthiest place in the entire region is Jinling. If General Ito were to go there..."
Just then, a monk's loud shout came from not far away:
"Don't just stand there, clean it up properly!"
"We mustn't let General Ito and his men return to find our ship filthy."
"They are launching a major campaign, and we must also do our part."
The two men tensed up and hurriedly buried themselves in wiping the surfaces carefully. Just then, the person who had spoken walked over.
"So? Don't you find this job tedious and boring?"
"It's nowhere near as good as killing on the battlefield?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the two nodded repeatedly. Yoshioka's eyes burned even brighter as he looked at the boatswain and said:
"Shuitou, I've never killed anyone before."
"I wonder if I'll have a chance to go to the battlefield this time? I'm very strong! I'm sure I can kill several people!" He shook his arm.
The boatswain laughed:
“Boys, your job isn’t to kill people on land.”
"With General Ito and the others, that's enough!"
"We don't need to join the battle unless absolutely necessary."
"The army on the mainland is not short of men!"
As he spoke, he turned his head to look at the land, then smiled and said:
"I think we can move here soon!"
"This is a wonderful place!"
All three of them laughed.
But as he was laughing, the boatswain spotted someone approaching from afar.
He hurried a few steps to the railing and looked ahead.
Sure enough! A huge army was indeed coming!
"Hmm? General Ito and his men sent people back so quickly? That's fast!"
"Very good!!"
Soon after, everyone at the port knew about it.
Immediately, Captain Koji Tagaya of the Toshima Maru led his men to the port to greet him.
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