The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 310 Mutation
December 1732, 12, early morning, light rain.

Before daybreak, a long queue arrived at the Ayutthaya River Port. In addition to three horse-drawn carriages carrying people, there were also seven or eight prisoner vans. They were escorted by hundreds of Siamese soldiers armed with live ammunition and slowly arrived at the berth on the east side of the dock.

A dozen Qi naval officers and soldiers watched curiously as the prisoners were lifted off the vehicles one by one, and then escorted to the pier like dead dogs, ready to be handed over to them.

"What's going on?" The leading naval lieutenant officer glanced at the prisoners. Almost none of them were intact. They were covered in wounds and looked exhausted. They must have all experienced extremely cruel torture.

"Annam secret agents." The black-clad officer leading the team said solemnly, "These guys intend to assassinate His Royal Highness Prince Min and attack our Qi merchants, and then put the blame on Siam to sow discord between our two countries."

"Damn it, you are so brave! A small country like you actually set its sights on our Qi State. Are you planning to take them all... back to Runzhou?"

"That's right. After taking them back, in addition to continuing to dig deeper into the information of Annan's spies, we are also thinking about whether we can use their identities to cause trouble for Annan."

"Why, do you want to give Annan a warning?" The naval lieutenant officer raised his eyebrows and immediately became interested when he heard this.

Their Annan Fleet has not experienced a large-scale naval battle for almost a decade. On weekdays, they just sail their ships to conduct routine maritime patrols in coastal areas such as Annan, Cambodia, Siam, Guangdong, etc., declare Qi's maritime sovereignty, and occasionally conduct a few live-fire exercises at sea, but they have never encountered a truly decent opponent.

They fully realized how lonely it was to be invincible!

If they use the matter of Annan's secret spies as an excuse to launch a military strike against Annan, even though their naval strength is very weak and the battle process must be unremarkable, as long as the cannons sound, their naval officers and soldiers can get some credit.

"Hehe... As for whether to launch a military strike against Annan as a punishment and warning, that is not something that small people like us can decide." The black guard officer smiled, ended the conversation between the two sides, and turned to hand over the prisoner to the Siamese.

"Get up!...Why are you pretending to be dead here!"

An Annan spy might have been tortured too severely. Just a few steps after he stepped out of the prison van, his legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

Seeing this, the naval officers and soldiers of Qi State who had just taken over stepped forward and kicked him a few times, shouting at him loudly, asking him to get up quickly so that he could board the ship earlier and not miss the boat.

"Sir, he's in such a bad condition, I don't think he'll make it." A black-clad guard squatted down and took a quick look at the Annan spy lying on the ground. Then he turned around and reported to his superior, "Even if he manages to get on the boat, I'm afraid he won't last long."

"Then there's no need to bring it on board. ... Just dispose of it right here."

"Yes, sir." The black-clad guard responded, then waved his hand to call two Siamese soldiers, pointed at the Annan spy lying on the ground, and gestured at his neck.

Without saying a word, the two Siamese soldiers took a few steps forward, dragged the Annan spy on the ground to the riverside, then drew the daggers from their waists, aimed at the neck, pulled hard, and then kicked him into the river.

"Damn it, why don't you take him to a secluded place and kill him?"

The naval officers and soldiers of Qi State who saw this scene felt a chill in their hearts and complained.

Zheng Xianyou was dragged onto a naval warship by two sailors. He turned around inadvertently and saw his companion being kicked into the river, and he couldn't help feeling sad.

At this moment, he was disheartened and extremely unwilling to give in.

After several plans, all failed, and in the end, even he fell into the hands of the Qi people.

He couldn't imagine what kind of huge storm would be caused if Qi used their actions to threaten the Dali Dynasty.

Perhaps, the Qi people would launch a limited military strike against our Le Dynasty as a warning and retaliation; perhaps, they would threaten with force and demand that the court give them more commercial benefits; perhaps, they would make the most extreme decision and launch a large-scale invasion to destroy our Great Le Kingdom and turn all of our millions of people in Annan into slaves.

Alas, I was too reckless, trying to use my tiny power to change the situation in the whole world in order to save my Great Li Dynasty.

Sigh!

sad!

So pitiful!
He died before his ambitions were fulfilled. Not only did he fail to contribute his heart and effort to the Great Le Dynasty, but his reckless and hasty actions brought a huge disaster to the court and King Weinan (Zheng Gang, the eighth Zheng Lord).

In addition to regret, he was also extremely shocked by Qi's infiltration and control of the Kingdom of Siam.

They thought their whereabouts were very secretive, but they were discovered by the people of Qi. They then summoned more than 200 Siamese soldiers and captured them all alive regardless of casualties.

It can be seen that the Siamese people were extremely cooperative with Qi's orders or requests, and were willing to be driven at will with great effort.

What is even more unacceptable is that the low-level evil forces in the big city that they usually come into contact with are willing to become the eyes and ears of the Qi people, and sold everything they have done in recent days to the Qi people.

The funny thing is that we thought that what we were planning was so covert that we could attack the Qi people without anyone noticing, and then put the blame on the Siamese, thus provoking disputes between the two countries.

However, they did not expect that before they could even start the fight, they were all caught in one fell swoop and captured by the people of Qi.

That night, in a gloomy and terrifying room, these Annan spies were subjected to heinous torture using various means that were chilling.

No one could remain silent under the extremely cruel torture, and they all told everything they knew in the hope of suffering less.

Zheng Xianyou himself had never endured torture. In less than an hour, he shamefully surrendered to the Qi people, opened his mouth, and told the truth.

We have to admit that Qi's means and methods were very professional. They would ask every question repeatedly and verify each question with other people's testimonies. They would not allow you to fool around with any lies or fabricated facts.

During the interrogation, Qi State used both physical and psychological torture to make everyone lose everything they had. Loyalty, belief, propriety, integrity... all were trampled under their feet, as if all the clothes on their bodies were completely stripped off and exposed naked in front of everyone.

We should have ended our lives before the Siamese caught us.

Zheng Xianyou curled up in the corner of the bottom cabin, a strong feeling of regret kept rising in his heart, making him somewhat determined.

He was just thinking about how to end his life, so as to avoid being taken back to Annan by the Qi people and making a fuss about his identity. Then he heard footsteps at the stairs, and several sailors came down from the upper deck, holding a lantern and shining it around, and then walked towards him.

What are they going to do?
Are you planning to throw me into the sea?
This saved me a lot of trouble. Zheng Xianyou was roughly lifted up by two sailors, walked along the stairs to the top deck, and then was dragged to the bow command cabin.

"It was you who planned to assassinate me?" came a stern rebuke from the leader.

Zheng Xianyou slowly raised his head and looked forward, only to see several Qi officers in military uniforms sitting opposite him. The one asking the question was the young-looking man in the middle, who had a graceful demeanor and an air of nobility, and looked at him with disdain.

"You Annan are so bold that you actually resorted to such a shady and despicable method to try to provoke an armed conflict between Da Qi and Siam." The young man shouted sternly, "Aren't you afraid that your plan will be exposed and Da Qi will be furious and send troops to destroy you Annan?"

“……” Zheng Xianyou smiled bitterly and did not respond.

"Can this guy understand Chinese?" Qi Weihao frowned and turned to ask a black-clad guard officer.

"Your Highness, this Annan villain can understand Chinese." The black-clad officer replied respectfully, "Moreover, he can speak Chinese and even write Chinese characters."

"What is his relationship with Zheng?"

"He should be a distant relative of the Zheng family, not a close relative of the Zheng family."

"Since he is fluent in Chinese, he must be a prominent member of the Le Dynasty."

"His eldest uncle was the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites of the Le Dynasty, and his third uncle was the Deputy General of the Shenlong Army. So, he is indeed a child of a wealthy family."

"If we throw him to Zheng Gang, how will he react?"

"I think that in order to prevent the Great Qi from launching an attack, Zheng Gang might dismiss his eldest uncle and third uncle from their posts or put them in jail to appease the Great Qi's anger. Of course, if we take a tougher stance, we might send their heads to us as an apology. Well, this will definitely include the family members of the mastermind."

"...Do you think that these words can scare me?" Zheng Xianyou was about to stand up, but he was pushed down again by the sailors standing on both sides, forcing him to continue kneeling on the deck.

"Whether I can scare you or not is another matter." Qi Weihao saw that he had responded and couldn't help but smile. "But we can use you to really intimidate you Annan. You are a small country, but you don't abide by your duties and insist on making some trouble. Do you Annan people think that the blade of my Great Qi is not sharp and can't chop you down?"

"Hmph, your Qi State is a country that originated from China in vain. You are vulgar and barbaric, tyrannical and bullying the weak. Do you still have any Confucian benevolence and righteousness? My Great Viet Le Dynasty, although located outside the Nine Provinces, still knows propriety, righteousness, integrity and shame, and advocates the morality of saints and sages. Even though the country is small and weak, it is still a civilized and great country with gentlemen!"

"Haha... what a civilized and gentlemanly country!" Qi Weihao sneered twice and stood up. "In the past, how did you Annan people expand your territory from the Red River region to the south bit by bit? How did you Annan people gradually compress the Champa Kingdom, which once occupied a vast territory, to the southeast corner?"

"…This action is an attempt by the Great Viet to convert the barbarians into Chinese people, and to spread the civilization of the Great Viet to the barbaric land."

“……” Qi Weihao was stunned when he heard this.

Convert the barbarians into Chinese?

Civilization shines in a barbaric land?

How shameless!
You Annamites actually call yourselves Chinese?

Then what is our Qi State?
"Don't flatter the Annan people!" Qi Weihao said with disdain: "What qualifications do you Annan have to be called Xia? How advanced is your civilization? If we talk about civilization and progress, isn't my Great Qi far superior to your Annan by a hundred or a thousand times? Then, my Great Qi is more qualified to teach and restrain you Annan people on how to behave and how to enter civilization. In this case, why doesn't Annan surrender and submit, abandon Qin and join Qi, and become a vassal fence of my Great Qi?"

"What nonsense!" Zheng Xianyou shouted angrily, "Our Annan civilization has a long history and stands proudly in the south of the sky. We have the aura of a great power. How can we be the claws and teeth of tigers, wolves, jackals and leopards like you, or the fence of a vassal? Although your Qi State is strong, it is only glorious for a while. With your hegemonic behavior, it will not last long! ... The tyranny of Qin II ended its demise, which is a lesson for us!"

"Hahaha..." Qi Weihao laughed, walked forward slowly, and said condescendingly: "Your remarks are not only pedantic, but also stupid! You are a tiny country like Annan, how can you have the aura of a great power? Moreover, the strength of our Qi State is not just a temporary glory, but has been rising rapidly since the establishment of the country. To this day, there is no sign of decline. As for the hegemonic behavior you mentioned, it is not entirely true. Our Great Qi takes the kingly way as the way and the hegemonic way as the method, and ultimately we want to achieve the great unity of the world and the unity of Chinese and barbarians!"

“Arrogant…” Zheng Xianyou looked at the other party coldly.

"Arrogant? This is not arrogance, but self-confidence. It is the confidence in the great strength of our Great Qi, the confidence in the invincibility of our Great Qi army, and the full confidence in the huge gap between us." Qi Weihao leaned down and looked at Zheng Xianyou who was lying on the ground. "Here, let me tell you a cruel fact. After integrating and digesting Cambodia, our Great Qi's next target will be your Annan. By then, Liang State will go down from north to south, Guangnan and Champa will go north head-on. After blocking the Annan waters and cutting off all your military support from Qin, our Great Qi navy will directly attack the Red River estuary, all the way north to Tokyo. By then, your Li Dynasty will be destroyed, the territory will be divided, and all the people of Annan will become obedient subjects of our Great Qi. Oh, by the way, at this point, the entire Annan will become a real Chinese land, and the people will realize the transformation from barbarians to Chinese."

"How shameless!..." Upon hearing this, Zheng Xianyou immediately became furious and glared at the other party.

"In this era of great contention, nations should follow the law of survival in the jungle, the strong survive and the weak are eliminated. There is no question of who is more shameless." Qi Weihao shook his head and said, "Do you think Champa, which was almost destroyed by your Annan, would also think you are very shameless? As a small and weak country, you Annan should be very careful and consider the position and choices you take. But unfortunately, your choices over the past few decades have been completely wrong. Therefore, you Annan need to pay the price for this. ... Humph, you actually want to delay the conquest of my Qi country by assassinating me, how ridiculous!"

"..." Zheng Xianyou only felt the blood rushing up and his breathing became rapid.

"You, Annan, call yourselves the south of the world and call yourself China. In my opinion, you are nothing but monkeys in human form and clowns. When I, the Great Qi, destroy you, then..."

"Ah..." Zheng Xianyou suddenly jumped up, waving the chain in his hand, and smashed it towards Qi Weihao, and his whole body followed suit.

Qi Weihao was caught off guard and was hit by the iron chain, and he immediately felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder.

In shock and anger, before he could make any extra moves, he was knocked to the ground by the beast-like Zheng Xianyou, and then a bloody mouth bit his neck fiercely.

"what!……"

"what?……"

"You are so bold!"

"Save His Highness..."

"kill him……"

"..."

The small command cabin suddenly became a mess. Screams, roars, scolding, kicking and hitting sounds… resounded throughout the entire deck.

(End of this chapter)