Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

Tojo Seisuke nodded: "Your Majesty, then tell me... should we keep our workshops and equipment here? Or should we destroy them?"

Tojo Seisuke's words did indeed serve as a reminder to the Emperor.

The Emperor suddenly remembered: "Excellent! Excellent..."

Clearly, Tojo Seisuke hadn't considered this issue at the beginning.

Now that Tojo Seisuke brought up this matter, it suddenly occurred to him that it was indeed a problem.

However, the Emperor soon found himself in a dilemma, because he really couldn't bear to destroy it.

However, I can't take many of my things with me...

Seeing the Emperor's hesitation, Tojo Seisuke said to him, "Your Majesty, if I may be so bold as to ask you a question..."

The Emperor asked Tojo Seisuke, "Lord Tojo, just say what you have to say."

Tojo Seisuke said to the Emperor, "So, are you still planning to return? Or are you planning to return in the near future? If not... we certainly cannot leave these facilities here to them..."

The Emperor already had his answer in his heart, but naturally he couldn't say it to Tojo Seisuke: "Lord Tojo... what do you mean?"

Knowing that the Emperor was unwilling to take responsibility again, Tojo Seisuke had no choice but to speak up: "What I mean is, let's not leave it to them... Given our current situation, it's unlikely we can fight our way back. After all, instead of retaking this place, it would be better to directly invade Xiao's homeland, wouldn't you say?"

After listening to Tojo Seisuke's words, the Emperor nodded repeatedly: "That's right... Then, Lord Tojo, please make the arrangements."

Tojo Seisuke saw that the Emperor wanted to shift the blame for everything.

However, he didn't care anymore. To some extent, this whole thing was indeed caused by him.

He nodded and did it.

Tojo Seisuke was very clever; he directly assigned the task to the heads of several other families.

Let them go and destroy the workshops and equipment in their own territories.

The heads of the families all nodded in agreement, after all, they were very clear about what would happen if they stayed.

Isn't this just giving resources to the people of Xiao for nothing?

Those workshops and equipment, once operational, could produce bullets, weapons, and ship parts.

Although I feel it's a pity.

However, it's still better than giving it to Xiao Ce.

With this in mind, they secretly sent people to relocate while simultaneously sending others to destroy the facilities here...

They were very quick, and the important goods were transported to the port the next day.

...

It must be said that Hiroshi Murata has a significant advantage in intelligence.

They had many spies in the capital of Fusang, and these spies informed them of the news immediately.

The person who had the easiest time in this battle was Xiao Ce.

After confirming that the situation in Fusang Kingdom was hopeless,

Xiao Ce then left the mountains, and the area that had been captured was restored to order under the management of Murata Hiroshi and his group.

Xiao Ce treated it as a vacation, experiencing the local customs and culture of Fusang.

However, after taking a look around, he discovered that the people of Fusang were actually not much better off than him.

After experiencing it firsthand, I realized that in every aspect, China was lagging behind the Xiao Kingdom.

Of course, there were still some things sent from the West, such as trains, which gave Xiao Ce a very disconnected feeling.

On that very day, Hiroshi Murata searched for a long time.

They finally found Xiao Ce.

Xiao Ce looked at Murata Hiroshi's anxious face and asked, "What's wrong? They've started moving?"

After hearing Xiao Ce's words, Murata Hiroshi was visibly stunned for a moment.

However, he quickly came to his senses and realized that it wasn't surprising that Xiao Ce knew.

"Your Highness, yes, they've almost finished moving everything. They should be setting off today, or at the latest tomorrow..."

Xiao Ce nodded in agreement: "It's alright, our warships have already been arranged."

Murata Hiroshi said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, there is something I think I should mention to you..."

Xiao Ce looked at Murata Hiroshi's embarrassed yet slightly nervous expression.

"What's wrong? Just say it, no need to be so coy."

With a rather unpleasant expression, Murata Hiroshi said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, they destroyed all their workshops before they left... they basically left you nothing..."

"What? Those bastards!" Xiao Ce was furious, but not surprised.

It would be incredibly foolish of them to leave those things behind.

Murata Hiroshi nervously said to Xiao Ce, "Your...Your...Your Highness...I have...I have tried to get them to keep it...but...my spies are not very capable."

Seeing Murata Hiroshi's stammering, Xiao Ce smiled helplessly, then waved his hand and said, "It's alright. If your men have that kind of ability, I wouldn't dare keep you around..."

When Murata Hiroshi heard Xiao Ce say this, he glanced at Xiao Ce and then said, "Your Highness, you're not angry, are you?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "No...everything was expected..."

With that, he told Hiroshi Murata to go do his thing.

Xiao Ce glanced at Da Lei.

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, if all those workshops and the shipbuilding workshop are destroyed, wouldn't all our efforts have been in vain?"

Xiao Ce waved his hand and said, "It would be best if we could obtain those things. However, we didn't come here for those things in the first place."

"The strategic significance of this island is even deeper... This area of ​​water is our gateway and the first line of defense... I value its strategic significance more."

"As for these workshops, it would be best if we could acquire them. If not, it's alright... Didn't Brian bring in quite a few Western scientists for our area? I heard Uncle Zhong say that they have people from all walks of life there, and only what you create yourself truly belongs to you..."

"Those left behind by others might have some malfunctions and become unusable. Besides, we've discovered here that there are many skilled shipbuilders in Fusang, and we've also found that it doesn't necessarily have to be an iron ship... wooden ships can be just as useful."

"Especially some small warships. In fact, when it comes to artillery, there's not much difference between wooden ships and iron ships... After being bombarded, they can't withstand it either. It's just a matter of taking one shot, or several shots."

"So, if we're only going to defend, wooden boats are a decent alternative... at least we can outnumber them!"

As Xiao Ce spoke, Da Lei nodded repeatedly.

“Your Highness, although I don’t quite understand, it’s clear that you already have an idea… However, Your Highness, I see that you seem to have changed your views on many people in Fusang.”

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "That's right. I thought they were militarists all over the country... but it seems that the people are not like that."

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, have you taken pity on me?"

Xiao Ce shook his head and said, "I'm not some kind of killing god. I have a way to screen people. When everything is stable, I can have Murata Hiroshi find some people to pretend to revolt and call for help in the name of the Emperor."

"Let them put on a show, and expose all the people hiding among them..."

"Also, since their Emperor and those aristocratic families are all fleeing, they'll definitely leave some behind... They'll inevitably have to conduct a selection process..."

"If these people all hold militaristic views, I naturally won't feel any pity; if they die, they die...it doesn't matter..."

Da Lei nodded and smiled awkwardly: "Actually, Your Highness, even if you hadn't brought it up... I'd like to offer some opinions and suggestions. After all, we've visited several places, and those common people are like ants; they can't make any decisions..."

"Fortunately, I didn't misjudge you!"

Xiao Ce smiled as he listened to Da Lei's words: "What if I stick to my previous decision?"

Da Lei smiled at Xiao Ce again: "Then, I will support you too. That's war..."

Xiao Ce smiled and said, "I don't want to bear the burden of too much killing either... Of course, all of this is on the premise that they don't do anything reckless..."

Da Lei nodded: "Everything is going much more smoothly than we expected. However, Your Highness, we are about to achieve victory, but why do you not look happy at all?"

Xiao Ce said to Da Lei, "Hey, they're definitely taking all their gold and silver treasures with them when they leave. If we sink their ships, all that stuff will just be wasted."

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, didn't we already make a deal with the Slavs? Even if they don't take those things away, the Slavs will take them anyway, so they won't end up in our pockets!"

Hearing Da Lei say this, Xiao Ce immediately laughed: "What you said doesn't seem to be wrong... and it does make sense."

Da Lei then looked at Xiao Ce furtively again.

Xiao Ce looked at Da Lei and asked, "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, actually, sinking them would still be beneficial to us?"

Hearing Da Lei's words, Xiao Ce was even more puzzled: "At most, there's no harm, how could there be any benefit?"

Da Lei said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, I've heard about a profession here these past few days. There are some people here called water ghosts."

Upon hearing Da Lei's words, Xiao Ce asked in surprise, "A water ghost?"

Da Lei nodded: "It's said that they were all people from Fusang who were very good swimmers. They could dive to very deep places in the sea to collect things... So, even if we sink them, after these Slavic people leave, we still have a way to salvage those things..."

Hearing Da Lei say that, Xiao Ce couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh? If that's the case, then it really is a good thing. I'm hoping they can take as much gold and silver as possible with them..."

...

On one side of the sea, many ships were already waiting.

They laid out many minefields on the sea.

However, the sea area is simply too vast, and in such a large sea area, finding those minefields is entirely a matter of luck.

After Tokugawa Heiyasu fled to the capital of Fusang.

Upon discovering that the Emperor and other members of his family were about to flee, he was truly filled with rage.

He even felt that Koichi Tojo was deliberately trying to trick him...

However, he was willing to swallow this bitter pill.

To be fair, running away actually had some good aspects for him.

He still has quite a few overseas territories.

At the port, the Emperor said to the heads of several families, "Gentlemen, let's proceed according to our predetermined plan... Let's make contact after we reach our respective territories."

The head of the Kikuta family asked, "Take care, everyone. I wonder if any of their warships are blocking our way at sea."

Tokugawa Heiyasu said, "No need to think about it, there definitely will be..."

Then, Tokugawa Heiyasu asked the Emperor, "Your Majesty, now that you are safe, there is one question I still need to ask those who supported you... What exactly is going on in the West? Whom do they support?"

Since the Emperor and the others were all busy fleeing, no one asked Tokugawa Heiyasu how he lost when he fled over.

Or perhaps the people here are collectively avoiding the issue of this defeat.

When the Emperor heard Tokugawa Heiyasu say this, he asked, "What do you mean? Are you implying that this attack by Xiao Kingdom is related to western countries?"

Tokugawa Heiji nodded: "That's right, many of their warships are Western refitted models... Otherwise, our fleet would have faced such a crushing defeat!"

After hearing Tokugawa Heiyasu's words, the Emperor looked astonished: "Are you sure?"

Tokugawa Heiji nodded: "Your Majesty, there is no mistake. So many of their ships are the best Western ships... Didn't you say that our Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere plan was proposed by the West? How come they are now fighting each other? Moreover, I believe that the reason we suffered such a crushing defeat is because there must have been some excellent Western officers among them!"

"Otherwise, given the national strength of Xiao's country, even a Slavic country couldn't have fought such a brilliant battle..."

Tokugawa Heiyasu is now frantically shifting blame and making excuses for this crushing defeat.

Of course, that's exactly what he thought in his heart.

Even after such a crushing defeat, even after seeing so many Xiao soldiers, he still refused to admit that they had been defeated by the Xiao Kingdom...

The Emperor listened with a look of sudden realization: "Tokugawa Heiyasu! Your information is very important... Even within the West, there are many factions, and it's not necessarily those who support us who did it..."