After reading the letter from Figues, Isabella could only sigh and rub her forehead. She understood that the two neighbors were unlikely to put aside their disputes anytime soon, let alone establish a new round of military cooperation.
Left with no other choice, Isabella could only send letters to them separately, solemnly admonishing them that they must seriously consider their future and must not do anything that would harm others and themselves out of momentary anger, as this would only allow the rising Yan Kingdom to profit from it.
After the letter was sent, the replies from both countries made their respective stances clear: they would never cooperate and were determined to sever diplomatic ties. Completely disappointed, Isabella could only remain silent, knowing that only a longer period of time could possibly ease the tensions between the two countries.
However, the hostages held on Coral Island needed to be rescued immediately, so she began to prepare for the ransom payment. Although Shenglu Kingdom and Hunli Kingdom each sent their own funds, the matter was entrusted to Sa Ri Kingdom to handle.
However, the shrewd Isabella was unwilling to simply send the ransom over. She believed that the amount had to be negotiated with the Yan people to reduce it to a reasonable figure.
Therefore, she specially appointed the eloquent Foreign Minister Naomi to accompany the Falcon Fleet to negotiate with the Yan Kingdom. However, the Yan Kingdom did not even give them a chance to negotiate, and Naomi could only return disappointed. The tough attitude shown by the Yan Kingdom angered Isabella.
Despite her anger, Isabella knew that with the deadline fast approaching, things had reached a point where there was no time to lose, and she had to make a decision as soon as possible.
Because Winston is being held captive, his family is constantly calling on the government to pay a ransom to rescue Winston and his companions as soon as possible. With their encouragement, the public is also paying close attention to the matter.
Left with no other choice, Isabella had to reluctantly allow Eddington to transport five thousand tons of gold to the island that the Yan Kingdom had proposed to trade with.
Fortunately, the Yan people kept their word. A few days after receiving the ransom, they sent the hostages held on Coral Island to the island. Eddington brought them all back to the ship and safely returned to the country.
The people brought back were emaciated, like dried corpses, and looked extremely wretched. In addition to their physical changes, their psychological transformation worried Isabella even more.
Everyone's will was worn down during the months-long imprisonment on the island, even Winston. According to Eddington, the first thing Winston said after being brought onto the ship was:
'I'm so hungry! I need food!'
And only when he got the food and wolfed it down did he manage to utter his second sentence, tears and snot streaming down his face as he spat out food scraps:
"Did you all see that? Did you see their ships? We absolutely cannot fight them at sea again."
'Damn it, these monstrous ships will send us all to the bottom of the sea.'
Eddington relayed Winston's words verbatim to Isabella, which only intensified Isabella's worries.
A broken body may recover gradually with proper nutrition, but a broken will is utterly useless.
The act of paying ransom to redeem the hostages cast a shadow over the country, especially among the people. Many people, upon learning that Winston and his group had returned home, immediately clamored for the government to launch countermeasures against Yan.
But little did they know the strength of the Yan Kingdom's navy. Their rash confrontation with them had consequences they could not have imagined.
Isabella had no choice but to post a notice to appease the public and inform them that the government would take appropriate measures in the future.
But what to do was a real headache for Isabella.
Although Yan Kingdom is at war with the Delta Federation Empire, they still have a considerable number of ironclad warships at sea and control a vast area of water. Yan Kingdom's ships are clearly inferior to theirs, and the naval commanders have given the same conclusion after comprehensive assessment.
'We cannot fight the Yan Kingdom's navy until we can build similar ironclad behemoths.'
Since fighting is not an option, the only recourse is to wait, either until the nation builds its own ironclad warships or until the Yan Kingdom is severely weakened in its war with the Delta Federation Empire.
Therefore, they waited until mid-to-late March when a Yan Kingdom fleet sailed from the direction of the Salisno Continent. Before it even reached its own territorial waters, the fleet urgently sent the message back to its homeland, and Eddington also rushed back to Garnat last night.
Following an emergency meeting last night, Isabella summoned him privately this morning.
Right now.
"Regarding the war between the Yan Kingdom and the Delta Federation Empire, I think one of them has already achieved some initial success," Isabella said, looking at the worried Eddington.
Eddington nodded slowly and said in a low voice, "The war between their two countries has lasted for three or four months, but the Yan people have blocked the sea route to the continent of Salisno, so we have no way of knowing how far the war has progressed."
"But now the Yan people have made new moves. As you said, it must be that one of them has achieved some progress."
As soon as she finished speaking, Isabella asked calmly:
So, which side do you think it is?
Eddington rubbed his temples and said, "I think it should be Yan Kingdom."
"Their fleet at sea has remained relatively inactive for the past few months, which shows that the war they waged on the continent of Salisno has been under their control."
"Although it seems a bit unbelievable to me, after all, everyone knows that those Goths are especially good at land warfare, especially on land they are familiar with. The Yan people are venturing into an unfamiliar country, so they should be at a disadvantage."
"But so far, the Yan people haven't shown any disadvantages in long-range operations." Eddington sighed as he said this.
Isabella looked calmly out the window, and after a few seconds of silence, turned back and said:
"Our fleet is now able to..."
Before he could finish speaking, Eddin interrupted, "I apologize, Your Majesty, for my bluntness."
He looked up at Isabella and continued, "Without sea power, we can't do anything."
"Our sailing warships have already shown huge flaws in previous naval battles, no... it should be said that they only showed flaws in the face of the Yan Kingdom's ships."
"And this deficiency cannot be compensated for by sheer numbers. You know, in that naval battle, they destroyed our entire fleet."
"Therefore, I must responsibly tell you that our fleet is far behind that of Yan Kingdom, and we cannot even close the gap in a short period of time."
"We cannot build such ironclad behemoths."
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