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

Senichi Tojo said awkwardly to Seisuke Tojo, "Father, I really didn't quite understand..."

Tojo Seisuke said, "It's simple. Don't we think those Xiao people won't just surrender so easily...? Is there something wrong with their surrender...?"

Tojo Sen nodded: "That's right... there's definitely a trick to this."

Tojo Seisuke smiled slightly: "Isn't that the end of it? Haven't we Tojo family suffered enough at the hands of those Xiao people? Stepping forward now is not a good thing!"

Before Tojo Seisuke could finish speaking, Tojo Senichi, with an excited expression, said, "Father... I understand what you're saying?"

After a pause, Tojo Senichi said to Tojo Seisuke, "That's right, it's definitely not a good thing! Now we just need to wait. As Xiao Guo would say, this is called 'the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind'!"

Seeing that Tojo Senichi understood immediately, Tojo Seisuke laughed and said, "Hahaha, as expected of my good son... That's right, it's like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind... Okamoto Kazaku just explained it very clearly..."

After listening to Tojo Seisuke's words, Tojo Senichi nodded with a smile: "That's true. However, we can also see from Okamoto Issaku's actions that he's quite vengeful... So, we still need to be careful. Otherwise, we might easily be turned against by him!"

Tojo Seisuke smiled and said, "Don't worry, we can understand why Okamoto Issaku did this... You've seen those two Okamoto brothers, they're no ordinary people... Even I, Okamoto Issaku, have my own plans. Besides, what Okamoto Issaku wants is a system of checks and balances; he wants to balance the power disparity within our Okamoto family!"

"At least until our strength is comparable to that of the Okamoto family, he must want to support us..."

Tojo Senichi agreed with his father's conclusion.

...

At this moment, Okamoto Juzo and Okamoto Rokujo had just disembarked on the shore.

They had originally intended to wait for Xiao Ce, but after considering it, they realized there was no need to wait for him...

If Xiao Ce were to come down, he should first establish good relations with Lin Hai.

Then they have no advantage.

The Okamoto brothers and Kyo-ryu decided to come down first.

Lin Hai walked towards the two people with enthusiasm and excitement.

"Welcome, welcome! Gentlemen, your presence feels like finding family..."

Lin Hai's enthusiasm pleased the two men.

Moreover, Lin Hai speaks Japanese, and he speaks it quite well.

It should be noted that there is no shortage of Fusang people in the Xiao Kingdom. Among the prefects of various counties in the Xiao Kingdom, the largest group of slaves consists of Fusang people.

These Japanese are really quite useful; once tamed, they're like human-shaped cattle and horses...

Therefore, it is not difficult for them to learn the Japanese language.

Okamoto Juzo and Okamoto Rokuro looked at Lin Hai.

I unconsciously straightened my back a bit.

“Prefect Lin, you have a good eye... Not bad, now that we’re here, you have a backer! As long as you listen to us obediently, we guarantee we’ll make things even better for you!” Okamoto Juzo said to Lin Hai without any politeness.

Lin Hai rolled his eyes inwardly at Okamoto Juzo's pretentious words, but naturally didn't show it on his face...

"Yes, we're all so happy... Head of the Okamoto family, do you know? We were so anxious because you weren't here..."

Lin Hai's words immediately piqued Okamoto Juzo's interest.

"Oh? What happened?"

Lin Hai said to Okamoto Juzo, "The Slavs have already invaded... It's said that they've breached the Northern Desert Royal Palace, and the Slavs are now crossing it and heading towards Maoming City outside the Great Wall of the Northern Desert..."

Okamoto Juzo listened without showing too much surprise: "So what?"

Hearing Okamoto Juzo say this, Lin Hai's contempt deepened.

The reason is simple: Okamoto Juzo is too stupid.

Even they themselves didn't understand the situation. The Northern Desert Royal Palace and the Northern Desert Great Wall hadn't grasped the overall strategy of the Xiao Kingdom, yet they were already preparing to invade...

Isn't this a joke?

Fortunately, Okamoto Jūjū, who was standing nearby, had some knowledge of the situation and said to Lin Hai in surprise, "The Northern Desert Royal Palace has three prefectures, right? Isn't that the most prosperous place in your area? And isn't the Northern Desert Great Wall known as the shield of your Xiao Kingdom in the Central Plains?"

Lin Hai said to Okamoto Juro, "That's right, that's indeed the case... They must have bribed the generals of those Northern Desert Royal Palaces..."

Okamoto Jūjū nodded: "Prefect Lin, why do you want to submit to us? Is it because we attacked?"

Lin Hai waved his hand with a smile: "Of course not... Mr. Okamoto, look at yourselves!"

The Okamoto brothers were bewildered by Lin Hai's question, clearly not understanding what he meant.

They looked at each other...

Looking at the Okamoto brothers, Lin Hai couldn't help but think to himself, "No wonder Xiao Ce said to them before that the Okamoto family are two idiots."

Xiao Ce's description of the two brothers was remarkably accurate...

Lin Hai continued, using theories of race and bloodline: "Mr. Okamoto, your appearance is quite similar to ours... The people of our two countries are the most closely related in East Asia. Moreover, according to historical research, Japan and our Xiao Kingdom share the same roots!"

"So, in the end, we are one family! And those Slavs are obviously not one of us... blond hair, blue eyes, white people... what do you mean by 'not of our race'? When Prince Xiao Ce was still alive, he said that the problems of our Fusang Kingdom are, in the end, family matters!"

"We're family, no matter how much we fight or argue... there won't be a problem... but outsiders can't interfere! So, even if you hadn't come, we wouldn't have bowed down to the Slavs..."

After listening to Lin Hai's words, Okamoto Juro smiled and nodded approvingly, saying, "Hahaha... You're right! You make sense... You're insightful... That's right, we're family..."

Okamoto Juzo then continued, "By the way, Prefect Lin, I still have a question..."

Before Okamoto Juzo could speak, Lin Hai preemptively said, "Mr. Okamoto, I have already prepared a banquet... We can't keep talking outside all the time."

Okamoto Juzo waved his hand and said, "We still need to wait for someone..."

Lin Hai naturally knew who they were waiting for, but he pretended to be clueless and said, "I don't know, Mr. Okamoto, who are you waiting for?"

Okamoto Juzo asked, "Isn't this the question I wanted to ask earlier? Did you know? It's not just the Okamoto family that came with us..."

Upon hearing this, Lin Hai immediately put on a look of sudden enlightenment: "I know, isn't there also a member of the Tojo family?"

Okamoto Juzo smiled and nodded: "That's right, so why did you choose to support us... instead of him...?"

Lin Hai said with a smile, "Does this even need to be asked? Mr. Okamoto, you should know this better than I do."

Okamoto Juzo and Okamoto Juroku nodded almost simultaneously.

Seeing this, Lin Hai couldn't help but mutter to himself, "What an idiot..."

These two are really stupid...

"Because the Tojo family are all defeated by us... those people are too stupid... they're no match for us..."

“Mr. Okamoto, I’m being blunt, please don’t take offense… Whether it was Tojo Xiaoji before, or that Tojo Koichi… they were both manipulated by Prince Xiao Ce… In our Xiao Kingdom, there’s a saying: ‘A glimpse of a spot reveals the whole leopard!’ The Tojo family are just trash… To be honest, if we listen to them, aren’t we just courting death?”

Lin Hai first berated the Tojo family, and seeing that the two men didn't respond and seemed quite happy, Lin Hai knew that his information was correct.

He then launched into another long boasting session about the Okamoto family...

Lin Hai's praise made this Okamoto idiot a little too cocky...

"Haha, Prefect Lin, you're right... That member of the Tojo family seems quite clever... but his cleverness is too obvious... How can that be acceptable? What clever person can let others see that he's clever..."

After Okamoto Juzo finished speaking.

Okamoto Juroku tried to smooth things over: "However, Magistrate Lin, you're saying these things because you consider us one of your own... We understand that... So, when the Tojo family comes over later, you can't say that... No matter what, we're a team with them!"

Okamoto Juroku is still teaching Lin Hai.

Because, in his eyes, Lin Hai wasn't very smart either.

After all, a truly intelligent person would not so openly reveal their likes and dislikes about someone.

After hearing Okamoto Juroku's words, Lin Hai naturally had a look of realization, and then said to Okamoto Juroku, "Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Okamoto."

Lin Hai's performance made Okamoto Juro realize that he was much smarter than Lin Hai...

This also secretly pleased him.

Just as they were talking, the Tojo family father and son, along with some of their men, brought their boat ashore.

Actually, Xiao Ce's ship was following far behind theirs.

Xiao Ce sat on the small shuttle boat, watching the members of the Tojo family disembark one by one.

A meaningful smile appeared on his face.

Since there was no one else on the boat, Night Owl asked, "Brother, your expression is rather intriguing."

After listening to Night Cat's words, Xiao Ce laughed and said, "Haha! That's right... I was thinking... my old friend was right..."

Night Cat looked at Xiao Ce with increasing confusion and asked, "Big Brother, what do you mean?"

Xiao Ce explained, "As the saying goes, things don't happen more than three times... The first time was that Tojo family's servant, Tojo Xiaoji; the second time was their eldest son, Tojo Koichi; and the third time was Tojo Seisuke himself... This time, I'm absolutely determined to make sure they don't leave alive! If they behave themselves, I might spare their lives, and they can spend the rest of their lives growing potatoes in Xiao Kingdom..."

"Of course, if they don't obey, this will also be the countdown to their deaths."

Night Owl smiled and nodded at Xiao Ce's confident expression.

...

Just as Tojo Seisuke and his son stepped onto the port.

Okamoto Juzo and Okamoto Juro stepped forward: "Head of the Tojo family, you two are truly concerned about our family... You've disembarked, and instead of thinking about going ashore, you're concerned about our Mr. Ichisaku... You two should really be on good terms with our masters..."

Tojo Seisuke naturally picked up on the sarcastic tone in their words, but the two men remained nonchalant, smiling as they said, "Hey, isn't that what we should do... Mr. Ichisaku is our lifeline right now... Our two families rely on him for logistical support... If anything were to happen to him, we couldn't accept it..."

Okamoto Juzo snorted coldly: "Mr. Ichisaku used to get seasick, but he's gotten better since he came back last time. What could possibly happen to him... You're really just scaring people."

Tojo Seisuke glanced at him, then said, "Thirteen, you don't know yet, do you? Mr. Ichisaku is seasick again..."

Okamoto Juzo visibly tensed up upon hearing this, and then looked behind him.

Tojo Seisuke smiled slightly: "However, don't worry. I went to see Mr. Ichisaku and there's nothing wrong with him."

Seeing Tojo Seisuke's expression, Okamoto Juzo felt somewhat displeased.

After thinking it over, there was nothing that could make them angry.

He looked around and then waved to Lin Hai.

As he greeted them, Okamoto Juzo introduced Tojo Seisuke, saying, "Head of the Tojo family, let me introduce myself..."

Looking at Okamoto Juzo's expression, Tojo Seisuke knew what it meant.

After Lin Hai arrived, Okamoto began to introduce himself.

"Tojo, let me introduce you... This is our friend, Lin Hai, the prefect of Lin County. He has already negotiated with us to bring the entire Linhai County under the jurisdiction of our Okamoto family... Now we have a base of operations, and we have taken over the entire Linhai County and its twelve cities without losing a single soldier... Isn't that great?"

Okamoto Juzo said, a smug look on his face.

They had expected to see Tojo Seisuke become somewhat exasperated, but they were destined to be disappointed...

Because the two people didn't give them the expression they wanted; on the contrary, they remained very calm and composed...

A smile still lingered on his face.

"Congratulations, Head of the Okamoto family! And thank you to Prefect Linhai for your understanding and righteousness!"

Tojo Seisuke still wore a smile: "I just don't know if I could borrow a castle from you to rest for a while!"