Li Xin had a natural aversion to Japan.
In recent years, the Great Gan Kingdom has always focused its attention on suppressing rebellions within the country, dealing with bandits on the northern grasslands, and venturing into the Western Regions and the Tibetan Plateau.
Now, all these places have been pacified.
Japan, located off the coast of Silla to the east, naturally became a thorn in Li Xin's side as well!
Especially recently, something like this has happened.
Originally, we didn't pay any attention to Japan, but we didn't expect that the people of Japan would take the initiative to provoke the Great Gan Kingdom!
This is truly intolerable!
Therefore, Li Xin decided not to give them any pretense and directly ordered the Beiyang Fleet to lead its troops to Japan to question them about the matter.
February, the fifth year of Yanning.
Located at Tanggu Wharf, Li Xin gathered with Zhao Xun, commander of the 31st Infantry Division, Zhang Shusen, commander of the 32nd Infantry Division, Ding Xianda, commander of the Beiyang Fleet, and others.
At noon, Li Xin announced loudly, "Board the ship!"
Immediately, the 31st and 32nd Infantry Divisions boarded the ships of the Beiyang Fleet.
The Beiyang Fleet possessed four main steam-powered ironclad warships, which were newly built ships completed in recent years.
These four main steam-powered ironclad warships were named Zhenyuan, Dingyuan, Zhiyuan, and Pingyuan, respectively.
In addition to these four main steam-powered ironclad warships, the Beiyang Fleet also possessed twenty to thirty three-masted sailing warships.
Modern three-masted sailing warships are quite different from those of the past. Areas such as the bow and sides are covered with sheet metal. Several other key areas have also undergone upgrades and modifications.
This time, the Beiyang Fleet mobilized almost its entire force.
After the 31st and 32nd Infantry Divisions boarded the ships, Li Xin and Ding Xianda, the commander of the Beiyang Fleet, stood side by side at the bow of the Beiyang Fleet flagship, the Zhenyuan.
Gazing at the vast blue sea, Li Xin declared loudly, "Set sail!"
Woohoo—
Steam engines hummed as Beiyang Fleet ships cut through the blue waves and sailed into the depths of the sea.
Four steam-powered ironclad warships and twenty-three three-masted sailing warships!
The entire Beiyang Fleet was vast and magnificent!
The people on the shore were also greatly surprised when they saw it.
"Wow! This time, they've actually deployed so many ships!"
"His Majesty even personally led two divisions there. I wonder where they're going?"
"Haven't you heard? Last year, dozens of merchant ships from the Qingyu Trading Company were plundered by the Japanese. His Majesty is personally leading an expedition against the Japanese!"
"Yeah?"
...
There was much discussion among the crowd.
Several of the thin men frowned slightly when they heard this.
The group exchanged glances and quickly headed towards a shop near Tanggu Port.
Upon arriving at the shop, the group looked around, lifted the curtain, and quickly went inside.
The sign hanging above the shop's entrance clearly reads – Suzuki Trading Company.
After entering the Suzuki Trading Company, the group went straight through the lobby and into the backyard.
In a house in the backyard, several people closed the door and sat down.
"Suzuki-kun, Suzuki-kun..."
One of them said urgently, "There's urgent news at the dock..."
"oh?"
A middle-aged man wearing wooden clogs came out and asked, "Mitsui-san, is there any news from the docks?"
This middle-aged man was Suzuki Kantarō, the head of the Suzuki Trading Company in Tanggu Port, Japan.
Looking at Suzuki Kantarō, Mitsui Takanao said, "Suzuki-kun, just now, the Beiyang Fleet at Tanggu Wharf almost entirely set sail, with twenty or thirty ships heading towards Japan. Among them were two infantry divisions! Even Emperor Li Xin of the Great Gan Kingdom personally went there!"
"oh?"
At this, Suzuki Kantarō stared wide-eyed at Mitsui Takanao in shock and asked, "What are these Japanese doing? Why have they sent so many troops to Japan? Are they going to attack Japan?"
"Suzuki-kun,"
Mitsui Takanao began, "I heard from the people that it seems the Great Gan Kingdom discovered what happened to us at sea last year."
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
Suzuki Kantarō said decisively, "What happened at sea last year was extremely secretive. Later, Qingyu Trading Company sent so many people to investigate the matter, but they found nothing. What evidence do they have that we did it? There are no witnesses or physical evidence, so we can continue to rest easy! Don't be afraid!"
"But, Suzuki-kun..."
Mitsui Takanao frowned, his face full of doubt, and said, "But the Da Gan army is indeed heading to our Japan. We must be wary of this!"
"We definitely need to be more vigilant!"
Suzuki Kantarō took a deep breath and said, "Report this news to the domestic authorities immediately. It would be best to suspend this year's operations and observe how the Da Gan Army will act first."
"second,"
Suzuki Kantarō continued, "Just in case, our company's staff must also unite in time to deal with any unforeseen circumstances. Prevention is better than cure!"
"Third, immediately utilize our informants within the Qingyu Trading Company and the Da Gan Kingdom's court to find out the reasons behind this matter. It would be best to find out the true purpose of the Da Gan army's journey to Dongying Kingdom."
Upon hearing Suzuki Kantarō's words, Mitsui Takanao nodded quickly and said, "Suzuki-kun, I will return to Japan immediately and report this matter in person!"
"good!"
Kantarō Suzuki nodded quickly.
Without lingering, Mitsui Takanao packed his bags and left Suzuki Trading Company.
After arriving at the dock, Mitsui Takanao and the others boarded a ship belonging to Suzuki Trading Company and headed towards Japan.
After Mitsui Takanao and the others left, a few people peeked out from a secluded spot on the outskirts of the Suzuki Trading Company.
These people were all personnel from the Kuomintang military intelligence agency.
Since Li Xin decided to conquer Japan, he has started to pay attention to the people of Suzuki Trading Company.
While the army was out in the open, the intelligence agents were also keeping a close watch on Suzuki Trading Company's every move, constantly observing the situation.
"Did you see it clearly?"
One of them whispered, "Are you from Suzuki Trading Company?"
"Yes, some of them just left Tanggu by boat."
"good."
A Daqian man whispered, "It's obvious that this is the secret base of the Eastern Kingdom in our Daqian. Let's not alert them yet, let's observe. Pay special attention to the activities of the Suzuki Trading Company in our Daqian."
"Since they've hidden themselves so well, there must be spies within our own borders. The military intelligence command has already given orders that this time we must eradicate the Japanese spies completely!"
"clear!"
Immediately, the group nodded and disappeared into the darkness once more.
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