What to do if you have too many golden fingers? Walk sideways!

Chapter 224: Beiyan wants to marry

At the same time, two huge ships on the sea were gradually approaching the Japanese island.

When they learned that the imperial teacher had gone to the Japanese island first, Li Quan and Eunuch Ma could no longer sit still. As soon as the big ship returned, they set off immediately.

Especially Eunuch Ma, who was afraid of missing the process of the imperial teacher destroying the Japanese again.

On the deck, Li Quan and Eunuch Ma both put their hands on their brows and looked up at the sky in the distance.

"Eunuch Ma, look at that cloud. It's quite beautiful."

Eunuch Ma nodded and said:

"It does look nice, like a big mushroom. Alas, I wonder where the Imperial Master is?"

The ship was moving very fast, and in less than two days, they were almost at the Japanese island. Moreover, the ship did not shake at all, and even if you put a glass of water on the table, not a drop would leak out.

For people who are prone to seasickness, riding on this ship is just like being on land.

This was something that we could not even think about before.

Li Quan thought for a moment and ordered:

"Please invite the signalman left behind by the Imperial Master."

Someone immediately went to the cabin to call for help.

A signalman came to the deck and asked:

"What do you want, General Li?"

Li Quan hesitated for a moment and asked:

"Can you guys contact the Imperial Master? If you can, ask him where we should stop so we can see him?"

The signalman said:

"How difficult is this? I will send the message immediately!"

Eunuch Ma looked puzzled and asked:

"General Li, how can we deliver messages across this vast ocean? Even carrier pigeons cannot fly over the ocean."

Li Quan raised his thick eyebrows, it turned out that Eunuch Ma didn't know about the radio!

"Eunuch Ma, please be patient, we will just wait."

Just as the signalman on Gu Xi's side was about to send a message, he received a telegram from Li Quan.

"Reply to General Li and tell him that I will release a colorful flare and ask him to sail in the direction of the flare and dock at the Edo pier."

The signalman received the order to send the message.

Gu Xi bought a few flares and threw them to Liu Erdan, asking him to fire one every once in a while to show Li Quan the way.

Li Quan and Eunuch Ma on the boat only waited for a few minutes before they received a reply from the imperial teacher.

Li Quan stared with his eyes wide open and looked up at the sky, waiting for the national teacher to fire the signal flare.

Eunuch Ma still found it a little unbelievable.

He sent letters to Beijing using well-trained carrier pigeons, but it still took a day or two. What other method of messaging could be so fast?

Could it be that this signalman is teasing them?

While I was thinking about it, I suddenly saw a flash of colorful colors in the direction where the mushroom cloud had just dissipated. Even in the daytime, I could see it clearly.

Eunuch Ma widened his eyes.

"Is this really the letter from the Imperial Master?"

Li Quantu said leisurely:

"Of course. The Imperial Master is a messenger of God. How can the treasures he uses be compared to a mere carrier pigeon?"

The two huge ships sped up their progress towards Edo Castle.

Eunuch Ma felt that this trip was worth it and he had learned a lot. He had to write it down quickly so that he could report it truthfully when the emperor asked about it.

*

The capital of Anning Kingdom.

Beiyan sent a letter claiming that it would send a princess to marry the princess. The princess would have to choose the bride herself from among the princes and nobles of Anning Kingdom. No matter who the princess chose, Anning Kingdom would have to send 10 million dan of grain to Beiyan as a betrothal gift.

The ministers argued endlessly about this matter, and today's morning court was delayed until the afternoon.

Emperor Jichang sat on the dragon throne with a gloomy face.

"Your Majesty, this letter is not about marriage, it is clearly robbery!" The Minister of Rites Zhou Wenli shook his gray beard and spoke with anger.

Minister of Revenue Cai Li also said:

"Yes, let alone this year's drought and poor harvest, even if it was a bumper year, An Ning Country couldn't produce 10 million dan of grain!"

Minister of War Yuan Guangjin said:

"Your Majesty, Beiyan also suffered a disaster this year, and countless cattle and sheep died. They frequently harassed our northern people and robbed them of their food. Now they are asking for too much. How shameless must this princess be to be worth 10 million dan of food!"

All the ministers also began to scold Beiyan for being shameless.

After they finish complaining, they still have to face the reality.

The Minister of Rites said worriedly:

"Your Majesty, the letter from Beiyan is full of threats. If they can't survive this year, I'm afraid they will use all their national strength to attack our Anning Kingdom. Although the total population of Beiyan is only 8 million, only 10% of the population of our Anning Kingdom, the people of Beiyan are rude and barbaric. Both men and women are good at riding and shooting. It can be said that everyone is a soldier. Excluding the old and the young, they have 4 million combatants, while our Anning Kingdom only has 1 million soldiers at most."

The country of Anning has a population of 80 million but can only support one million soldiers. The reason is that it is poor!

Beiyan has a population of eight million, but can mobilize four million soldiers. Of course, Beiyan's four million soldiers are not full-time soldiers, most of them are Beiyan civilians, and their combat effectiveness will not be too strong. If a real war breaks out, Anning Kingdom may not necessarily lose, but both sides will definitely suffer losses.

The Minister of Revenue said:

"There is a severe drought this year. Whether it is 10 million dan of grain or the grain and fodder needed for a national war, the national treasury cannot provide it. We need to think of a way."

Yuan Guangjin thought for a moment and said:

"It may not be impossible to fight. Think about how the Imperial Master and the Northwest Army defeated the Turks."

All the ministers' eyes suddenly brightened and they looked hurriedly towards the general.

The Imperial Master was ordered to suppress the Japanese invaders. Old Lord Chu——

Well, the position of Old Marquis Chu is vacant and he is under house arrest.

Emperor Jichang's face darkened. As an emperor, he issued an imperial decree to confine the Marquis of Chu for three months. It had not been many days yet. Did he have to issue an imperial decree to lift the ban?

No, the emperor’s majesty is the most important.

Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao appeared. Suddenly, a palace eunuch hurried to the hall and whispered a few words in front of Eunuch Lin. Eunuch Lin hurried forward and said to Emperor Jichang in a low voice:

"Your Majesty, the pigeon message from Eunuch Ma has arrived."

Emperor Jichang had previously instructed that if Eunuch Ma brought a message, it should be reported immediately.

The fact that Eunuch Ma was able to send messages by carrier pigeons showed that something big had happened with the Japanese pirates. It had only been a few days, and they had just arrived in Taizhou, so how come they had sent a message back so quickly?

Did something happen to the Imperial Master?

"Read!" Emperor Jichang ordered Eunuch Lin.

Emperor Jichang disliked the imperial teacher and hoped that he would die at the hands of the Japanese pirates and never come back.

But now faced with the issue of Northern Yan, he felt that perhaps only the Imperial Master could solve the problem, and he felt very conflicted.

Eunuch Lin unfolded the note. The words on the note were very small, but they were filled with words.

"Your Majesty, the Japanese pirates along the coast have been destroyed. The Imperial Master said that there is a Japanese island overseas, which is the old nest of the Japanese pirates. It is 2,000 miles away. The Imperial Master wants to attack it. I tried to dissuade him but failed. The Imperial Master said: Anyone who offends our country's prestige and humiliates our people will be punished even if they are far away!"

Upon hearing that the Japanese pirates had been destroyed, the ministers gasped.

It has been less than ten days since the imperial court sent an urgent imperial edict of 800 miles to the south. According to the normal marching speed, the imperial teacher should not have arrived in Taizhou by now. How did the Japanese pirates get destroyed?

Could it be that the Japanese pirates were killed by the anti-Japanese navy?