With a million soldiers, the empress begged me not to rebel

Java, inside the royal palace.

The King of Java was enjoying himself with several of his concubines, and the sounds of stringed instruments and lewd music were heard everywhere.

"Your Majesty, the tribute from Shannan Prefecture of the Datong Dynasty has arrived."

A eunuch bowed and reported.

When the King of Java heard this, he immediately became excited and pushed the concubine away from his arms.

"Send it over quickly!"

Soon, several guards came in carrying a large box.

The King of Java could not wait to open the box, only to find it filled with all kinds of novelties:

Exquisite porcelain, gorgeous silk, and soap with a unique fragrance...

"Hahaha! Good! Good! This Shannan Prefecture is indeed a treasure land!"

The King of Java clapped his hands and laughed, his eyes full of greed.

Just then, a guard ran in in a panic.

"Your Majesty! Something bad has happened! Outside the palace... outside the palace there's a madman!"

"Madman? What madman?"

The King of Java was somewhat displeased.

"That madman... that madman was holding a human head, saying... saying it was a gift from Shannan Prefecture Governor Lu Yan to Your Majesty!"

The guard was so frightened that he was incoherent.

The fat body of the King of Java trembled violently, and the flesh on his face twitched, as if he had heard some huge joke.

"Madman? Human head?"

"That bastard Lu Yan sent it? Hahaha!"

"Is he crazy? Does he really think I was scared?"

He gave the order while laughing wildly.

"Bring that lunatic here for me! I want to see what tricks he has up his sleeve!"

A group of guards rushed out of the palace as if they were facing a great enemy, but they only brought back a bloody head.

The head that died with its eyes open belonged to the gambling house owner.

The smile on the king's face froze instantly, and his fat trembled even more violently, like a pile of boiled pork fat.

"Where are the people? Where is that madman who sent his head?"

The guards were so frightened that their faces turned pale and they knelt on the ground trembling.

"Your Majesty, that person... that person is very skilled.

Can...can fly over rooftops and walls...we...we can't catch up..."

"Wallwalking? Bullshit!"

"I think you are tired of living. You can't even catch a madman!"

The king flew into a rage and kicked over the table in front of him.

The delicious food was scattered all over the floor, just like his miserable mood at the moment.

"Search the entire city immediately! Dig deep into the ground to find that madman! I will tear him into pieces!"

The guards rushed out scrambling as if they had been pardoned.

In the empty hall, the only sounds were the king's heavy breathing and the mess on the floor.

He stared at the head intently, gritting his teeth and cursing:

"Damn Shannan Prefecture! Damn Lu Yan! How dare you humiliate me like this!"

"I will make you pay a thousand times over!"

At this time, an old man wearing a strange robe and with two goatees walked in slowly.

He is the king's teacher. He usually speaks in a mysterious way, but he is quite trusted by the king.

"Your Majesty, calm down. How dare a mere prefect challenge the Great Java Nation like this? You are simply courting death!"

"What the Imperial Master said is absolutely right!"

The king slammed the table with a fierce look in his eyes.

"Lu Yan, you little brat, is just a lowly official, yet you dare to be so arrogant! He doesn't even take my Javanese country seriously!"

The Imperial Master smiled sinisterly, stroked his beard, and said:

"Your Majesty, I believe that Lu Yan's move is clearly a declaration of war against the Great Java Kingdom!"

"We must teach him a lesson. Otherwise, won't other small countries look down on Java in the future?"

The king seemed to have found a soulmate. He stood up excitedly and paced back and forth.

"I have long disliked the Shannan Prefecture!"

"I heard that they have abundant resources, the people live and work in peace and contentment, and even the barbarians have submitted to them. This is outrageous!"

"I want to see whether their muskets are more powerful or the warriors of my Javanese country are superior!"

"Your Majesty is wise!" the Imperial Master quickly echoed.

"Shannan Prefecture is but a tiny country. Our great Javanese army is strong and powerful, and we will surely crush it!"

"When the time comes, won't the wealth of Shannan Prefecture be at your disposal?"

When the king thought of the wealth of Shannan Prefecture, his eyes were suddenly filled with greed.

He seemed to have seen himself sitting on a mountain of gold and silver, enjoying wealth and glory.

"Alright! Let's do as the Imperial Master says! Pass the order down and mobilize the troops immediately!"

"Destroy Shannan Prefecture and capture Lu Yan alive!"

After hearing this, several ministers immediately advised:

"Your Majesty, calm down. Lu Yan is full of tricks. We should take a long-term view..."

"Long-term planning? I can't wait any longer!"

"Your Majesty, absolutely not! Shannan Prefecture is easy to defend but difficult to attack, and they also have a musket battalion..."

"What are you afraid of? I don't believe that a mere Shannan Prefecture can stop the million-strong army of my Java Kingdom!"

The king thought to himself:

Taking over Shannan Prefecture can not only wash away today's shame, but also take over the wealth of Shannan Prefecture.

By then, won’t you have as much silk, porcelain, soap and perfume as you want?

More importantly, the musket battalion of Shannan Prefecture is an elite force that even defeated the Beixiang Kingdom!

If he could use this army for his own purposes, wouldn't the strength of his Javanese Kingdom be further enhanced?

By then, it would not be impossible to dominate Southeast Asia and even challenge the Datong Dynasty!

Thinking of this, a smug smile appeared on the king's face.

He seemed to have seen the day when he would rule the world.

And all this will start with conquering Shannan Prefecture!

……

Shannan Mansion.

Lu Yan was sitting leisurely in the back garden of the government office.

Holding a cup of tea in his hand, he listened to Li Kui's report.

"Sir, I have already delivered the head of the gambling shop owner to the palace of the King of Java as you instructed."

Li Kui had a smug expression on his face, as if he had done something great.

Lu Yan took a sip of tea and a playful smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

"Very good, Xiao Kui, you did a good job. So how did the King of Java react?"

"Your Excellency, the King of Java was so angry that his face turned green."

"I heard they smashed a lot of things and are now searching the entire city for their subordinates!"

Li Kui described the Javanese king's embarrassment in vivid detail, which made Lu Yan laugh out loud.

"Hahaha! Just be mad!"

"I just want him to know that I am not someone you can mess with!"

"If you dare to make a move on my territory, you will have to pay the price!"

Lu Yan laughed so hard that he fell backwards, but a cold light flashed in the corner of his eyes.

Li Kui scratched his head and asked in confusion:

"Sir, why did you send the shopkeeper's head?"

"Wouldn't it be simpler to just uproot the Javanese influence in Shannan Prefecture?"

Lu Yan put down the teacup and his eyes became deep.

"Xiao Kui, you don't know, this is just the first step."

"What I want is not just to eradicate their influence in Shannan Prefecture,"

"But we must make the entire Java nation pay the price!"

"This human head is a seed, a seed of hatred."

"It will take root in the heart of the king of Java,"

"It eventually grew into a towering tree and completely devoured him!"