dognovel Chapter 565 Mi Fang's Triumphant Moment
Chapter 565 Mi Fang's Triumphant Moment
Upon hearing the news, Mi Fang quickly climbed the watchtower and, following Fu Shiren's gaze, discovered that there were indeed figures moving on the shore. Overjoyed, she shouted, "Finally, we've seen living people! Whether they're from Funan or not, we have to go up and rest. We've been at sea for so long, and many people on the ship have already fallen ill. If we continue, people will die. We must reach the shore!"
Fu Shiren immediately shouted down, "Hang up the Great Han flag and quickly pull over to the side to prepare to go ashore!"
After saying that, the two hurriedly climbed down the watchtower and returned to their room. They took out new clothes from the trunk and quickly changed into them. They were now angels of the Great Han Dynasty and had to maintain the image of the Celestial Empire.
It's worth mentioning that Mi Fang was wearing a long robe, while Fu Shiren was wearing armor. They didn't know what the situation was on the shore, but they still had to take necessary precautions.
After getting dressed, the two went to the deck to direct the disembarkation. This area was still in a primitive state, with neither a ferry nor a port. Large ships could not dock at all and could only stop in the sea to use small boats to get ashore.
The large ship anchored and came to a stop, while several small boats fell into the sea. Fu Shiren jumped into a small boat and led dozens of his personal guards to be the first to reach the shore. Once on the shore, they grabbed the seaweed and struggled to get ashore. After standing firm, they waved for the small boats to go back and pick up the second group of people. Fu Shiren then looked up into the distance and frowned when he saw the natives gathering around.
These natives were so short, the tallest of them was no more than 1.6 meters, and they couldn't even reach my shoulder when they stood next to me.
More importantly, the indigenous people did not wear clothes, but only wrapped leaves around their waists to cover their genitals; the rest of their bodies were bare, and this was true for both men and women.
They don't even have the most basic clothes to cover their shame. How poor must the natives be? What kind of profit can be squeezed out of this dilapidated land?
Fu Shiren looked at the natives with disgust, but the natives who had gathered around the giant ship had a different feeling. Their eyes were filled with shock as they looked at Fu Shiren.
Fu Shiren was too tall, a head taller than them, and he was wearing a cold, gleaming suit of armor. Standing there, he looked like a god descending to earth, inspiring awe in all the natives. As a result, all the natives just watched from afar, and no one dared to approach.
Soon Mi Fang came ashore and stared at the miserable natives for a long time in astonishment. She took out a piece of unleavened flatbread from her bosom and handed it over. The natives were so tempted by the flatbread that they collectively swallowed their saliva. After struggling for a moment, someone finally couldn't resist the temptation, rushed forward, snatched the flatbread, and ran away, putting the flatbread into their mouth as they ran.
Seeing this, the other natives all gathered around, stretched out their hands, and started arguing in their own language, saying things that Mi Fang couldn't understand a word of.
Fu Shiren also couldn't understand, and the two of them were completely baffled. After looking at each other for a moment, they quickly called over a translator to ask for help.
The translator's name was Qian Ping, and he was in his early thirties. He was borrowed by Mi Fang from Qian Bo, the leader of the Gao Liang tribe, when he passed through the Jiaozhou sea area.
Although Qian Ping was not fluent in the native language, he was a native of Jiaozhou and lived close by, so they shared some language. He could barely understand him if he spoke slowly.
Unfortunately, these natives, who had never even left their village, knew nothing. Mi Fang had no choice but to have Qian Ping contact their village chief through the natives. The village chief, who also only had a vague understanding, had to report to a higher-ranking official. Through this process of reporting up the chain of command, they finally managed to contact the most powerful lord within a hundred miles by evening.
The lord, a middle-aged man in his early forties, rushed over upon receiving the news. He jogged up to Mi Fang, bowed respectfully, and said in Jiaozhou dialect, "Lin Yi Qu Feng greets the Great Han Envoy."
Mi Fang, who understood Jiaozhou dialect, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Linyi, this is actually the Kingdom of Linyi?"
Mi Fang was also well-versed in poetry and literature, and had read extensively on the history of various dynasties. Upon hearing the name Linyi, the history of Linyi would instinctively come to mind.
Linyi was originally Xianglin County of the Han Dynasty, the place where General Ma Yuan cast the pillar. Ma Yuan cast the pillar to warn the local natives that if the bronze pillar broke, Jiaozhi would perish. The local natives dared not ignore Ma Yuan's warning, but they did not want the bronze pillar to stand forever, so they buried the bronze pillar with stones.
Therefore, Linyi was once part of the territory of the Han Dynasty. However, in the third year of the Chuping era of the Han Dynasty, which was the year when Wang Yun joined forces with Lü Bu to kill Dong Zhuo, Qu Lian, the county magistrate, killed the county magistrate and established the Linyi Kingdom, breaking away from the control of the Han Dynasty.
Upon realizing this, Mi Fang and Fu Shiren were both stunned. Qu Feng in front of them was clearly a member of the royal family of Lin Yi Kingdom, which was a traitor and rebel to the Han Dynasty. The Han generals should kill him immediately or escort him back to the capital for the court to deal with. But they were not here to quell the rebellion. Moreover, they did not have enough supplies. If they rashly started a war, they might die here.
However, if we do not quell the rebellion, we must establish diplomatic relations with them. Establishing diplomatic relations with them means recognizing the identity of the Lin-yi Kingdom. Recognizing the identity of the Lin-yi Kingdom is equivalent to cutting off the possibility of the court quelling the rebellion. If you have already recognized the existence of the Lin-yi Kingdom, isn't it a bit excessive to lead troops to quell the rebellion?
So what should we do if we can neither attack nor befriend them?
After struggling for a moment, Mi Fang finally made a decision. With her hands behind her back, she sternly rebuked, "So you are a prince of Lin Yi Kingdom. Where is your King of Lin Yi? Why don't you come to pay your respects to this envoy?"
Regardless, he had to put on airs first, and then decide how the big man would treat him based on the other party's attitude.
Qu Feng's expression changed slightly, and he quickly smiled apologetically, "This subordinate has already sent someone to inform my king, but the distance is too far and it will take time."
Mi Fang nodded with his nose in the air, then turned and pointed at the giant ship with Chinese characters flying on the sea, sneering, "Qu Feng, is that right? See that giant ship? How many soldiers do you think it can carry?"
Qu Feng's legs went weak and he knelt down on the spot. He understood what Mi Fang meant. That giant ship was dozens of feet long and several stories high. It could easily hold two or three thousand people. Moreover, who knew how many big men were on such a giant ship? If ten ships came, that would be an army of twenty or thirty thousand.
Back then, General Ma Yuan, who had conquered the land, had defeated them so badly that they cried for their fathers and mothers. Now that the Han army has opened up the sea route, if the Han army attacks from both land and sea at the same time, even if the Lin-yi Kingdom had ten lives, it wouldn't be enough to kill them all.
Qu Feng quickly defended himself, saying, "Your Majesty, please feel free to give any instructions you may have. Our Lin Yi Kingdom will go through fire and water to meet your requirements. Furthermore, my king is indeed already on his way. He truly has no intention of disrespecting you or the Celestial Empire. Please do not misunderstand."
Qu Feng was truly on the verge of tears. He knew all too well the strength of the Han Dynasty. Back then, when the Han Dynasty's envoy An Guo Shao Ji was sent to Nan Yue, he not only seduced the Empress Dowager but also interfered in Nan Yue's internal affairs and launched a coup. In the end, although Nan Yue killed An Guo Shao Ji, Nan Yue itself was gone.
After An Guo Shao Ji was killed, the damned Emperor Wu of Han, without distinguishing right from wrong or inquiring about the reason for An Guo Shao Ji's death, arrogantly sent troops to pacify the Nanyue Kingdom.
The Nanyue Kingdom was located in the area of present-day Jiaozhou, right next to their Linyi Kingdom. Having learned a lesson from the Nanyue Kingdom, they dared not neglect the Han envoy in the slightest.
Seeing that his attitude was acceptable, Mi Fang's expression finally softened a bit, and she continued, "Then tell your king to hurry up. I have other matters to attend to and don't have much time to wait for him. You go and urge him yourself, and I will wait on the shore."
"Yes, yes, yes, this subordinate will go right away..." Qu Feng didn't dare to delay and ran off as fast as he could.
Watching his retreating figure, Mi Fang couldn't help but burst into laughter: "That feels so good! I've been holding back for so long, and I can finally let loose!"
Because of his betrayal of Guan Yu, he became a pariah in the Han Dynasty. Anyone could insult him, but he dared not retaliate. Only he knew how frustrated he felt during that time.
But today, as a Han envoy, he taught Qu Feng a lesson, and Qu Feng, a member of the Lin-yi royal family, didn't dare to utter a sound. This feeling was simply too good to be true.
Upon hearing this, Fu Shiren unconsciously puffed out his chest and gritted his teeth, saying, "We have over a thousand soldiers ready to fight. Why don't we stop talking nonsense and just storm into the royal city of Linyi, wipe out the royal family, and reclaim our lost territory?"