Currently, Neon only has a 40,000-strong security force nationwide, equipped solely with rifles and no artillery. These individuals are all Tokugawa Yoshinobu’s enforcers.
At the same time, a force of over 10,000 Korean soldiers was deployed here for security.
Matsuyama Hiroshi looked at his father, knowing that his father had been terrified by East Continent and lacked the courage to resist.
“Father, even if you’ve retired, I presume you still have connections with the higher-ups?”
Seeing his father tacitly acknowledge this, Matsuyama Hiroshi continued, “I wish to meet Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito. I ask for your help in arranging it.”
Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito is the adopted son of the current Emperor of Wa.
Tokugawa Yoshinobu knew that the East Continent Empire would show no mercy to those who initiated war, and he very consciously had several princes from the former headquarters “pass away due to illness.”
Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito, having wisely surrendered to Tokugawa early on and always holding a leisurely position, was not purged.
Matsuyama Hiroshi’s return to Neon was purposeful. Originally, he intended to use his father’s connections, but now he felt that was not a good idea.
As one of the few remaining high-ranking officials, Prince Higashifushimi Yorihito had the right to directly meet the Emperor of Wa.
He needed to tell the Emperor of Wa his plan and gain his support for it to have a chance of success.
Matsuyama Hirofumi nodded, “You rest for a few days. I will arrange for you to meet His Royal Highness.”
…
“So, those people still harbor malicious intentions?”
In the study, Fang Mingzhou looked at the intelligence provided by Fang Wu and said excitedly.
Finally, he found an opportunity for himself.
“Yes, Your Majesty. This Matsuyama Hiroshi was sent to Lighthouse Country to study before the war began, and later, after our great war with Neon…”
“The Emperor of Wa retreated behind the scenes, and Tokugawa ascended to power.”
“But that Emperor of Wa is a restless character. If he were content to be a mascot like his ancestors, it would be fine, but unfortunately, he has tasted the flavor of power.”
Fang Mingzhou nodded. The current Emperor of Wa could be considered a capable leader.
If it weren’t for his appearance, Neon would probably be developing rapidly right now.
“After the war failed, we discovered a hidden bank secretly funding some people, and at the same time, more people were sent to various Europa countries.”
“Without exception, they all received military training. We have been monitoring them for several years.”
Matsuyama Hiroshi had no idea that everything he had done over the past few years had long been under the surveillance of the East Continent Empire’s overseas intelligence department.
“It seems that both Lighthouse Country and Europa are full of caution towards us.”
“As long as there’s an opportunity to weaken us, these countries are unwilling to let it go.”
Fang Mingzhou said with a smile, only mediocre people are not envied.
The East Continent Empire’s rise has offended too many countries.
Take Lighthouse Country, for example. In order to restore its domestic economy, McKinley, even while signing a secret agreement with East Continent, still helped the Polar Bear build battleships.
Of course, Fang Mingzhou would not indulge Lighthouse Country. Under his arrangement, Lighthouse Country and the Old Knight fought fiercely over colonies.
Both sides deployed their full naval strength. The four capital ships Fang Mingzhou sold to Red Bull sank six of Lighthouse Country’s capital ships.
If it weren’t for a lack of follow-up, they might have even broken through Lighthouse Country’s coastline.
Even so, it led to countless people on Lighthouse Country’s East Coast fleeing inland.
Although Red Bull lost, Lighthouse Country also paid a heavy price.
If it weren’t for those few capital ships, Lighthouse Country could have easily dealt with Red Bull.
The relationship between the two countries also reverted from a honeymoon period to covert confrontation.
And his actions in Neon gradually squeezed Lighthouse Country’s capital and market out of that country.
This was simply intolerable for Lighthouse Country, which lacked markets.
So, Fang Mingzhou was not at all surprised that these two parties were colluding.
Hindering an opponent’s development is a mandatory course for every country.
“In recent years, they have sent out nearly a thousand people, all children of the elite, and they are full of hatred for our East Continent,” Fang Wu said with a smile.
“If it weren’t for our East Continent, they might still be living comfortably as nobles.”
“Additionally, we also found that these people purchased a lot of weapons with huge sums of money and trained many of their own people in Lighthouse Country and various Europa countries.”
“We suspect these people are probably targeting Tokugawa Yoshinobu, and they also have their people around Tokugawa Yoshinobu.”
“It seems these people hate Tokugawa Yoshinobu even more than us.”
“Young Master, what’s the use of hating us? Do those people dare to seek revenge on us? They are just a bunch of people who are outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly.”
Zhang Shun looked down on these short people, but he also knew that keeping them around would be a disaster.
Especially that Emperor of Wa, he had become a major hidden danger for East Continent.
Ever since they lost that naval battle three years ago, Neon had fallen into chaos, and Tokugawa Yoshinobu became the leader.
Although Tokugawa Yoshinobu held great power, he could only do what his ancestors had done a hundred years ago.
He would enshrine the Emperor of Wa highly, and then there would be no more.
As the saying goes, to cut weeds, one must remove the roots. Fang Mingzhou could not personally eliminate the imperial lineage, otherwise, Neon’s forty million people would likely become a ticking time bomb.
The Overseas Intelligence Department discovered early on that before the war between the two countries, these people had secretly sent a group of individuals to Lighthouse Country and various Europa countries, to prepare for future contingencies.
It must be said that these people were indeed quite capable of enduring. It had been five or six years, and they were only now showing their heads.
“Have you figured out how to deal with this disturbance?”
Zhang Shun immediately understood that His Majesty was going to make a move against him.
“Your Majesty, we plan to use their own scheme against them. Don’t they want that person to regain power?”
“We will satisfy them. Although Tokugawa Yoshinobu won last time, he was indecisive and only dealt with a few of the ringleaders.”
“He wants to win people’s hearts, fine. Then let him know the consequences of winning people’s hearts.”
“These people’s goal must be to kill this Tokugawa, otherwise, that person would not be able to appear and take power.”
“We can use the Koreans’ hatred for them to deal with these clowns; let them fight among themselves first.”
“Let that Tokugawa Yoshinobu come to us for help, and then we will thoroughly suppress them.”
“I believe that after this, these Tokugawa will no longer be indecisive, otherwise, we will just replace them with another proxy.”
Fang Mingzhou nodded. This plan was good, minimizing East Continent’s involvement as much as possible.
It wasn’t that the East Continent Empire was afraid of those short people, but if they interfered too deeply, it would instead unite these people.
Unlike now, with a capital and labor market, once the older generation dies out, the next generation of Neon will be East Continent’s pets.
