I'm the Farmgirl You Can't Mess With

Chapter 1343: Side Story: Having the Whole World in View (20)

Editor: Atlas Studios

Based on the value of the gold, silver, and jewelry sent to the capital, their spoils of war were completely enough to cover the military expenses for this expedition. There was even an excess. Since that was the case, there was naturally no reason for them to raise any objections.

The civil officials no longer stopped them and began to hold back to help Great Qi regain their dignity. First, they informed the various countries to submit a diplomatic letter, then Great Qi reissued the imperial edicts. After that, they contacted and cooperated with those various countries to resist these Westerners.

If they could provide support, they would provide support. If they couldn’t, they would support them mentally.

Having talents from the Imperial Court to come up with strategies was much faster than Little Lion and the others struggling on their own.

When Zhou Zhou was still leading his men on expeditions at sea, Great Qi began to protest sternly to the Western countries, hoping that they would restrain their citizens and not infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of the citizens of Great Qi. The Western countries were asked to return all the wealth and goods they had robbed within a given deadline. Otherwise, the Great Qi army would definitely not let the pirates off.

Seeing that the Imperial Court’s attitude was unprecedentedly unyielding, the magistrate of Guangzhou could also stand up straight and go against the envoys from the Western countries.

He didn’t forbid them from entering the capital and only allowed them to take back their troops. They had to get rid of their country’s citizens who had committed crimes in the Nanyang and Indian Oceans and return all the looted property of Great Qi, plus compensate for the various losses of the Great Qi citizens…

The magistrate of Guangzhou felt that his request was very reasonable. He hadn’t even asked the officials to apologize even though everyone knew that those governors were behind those pirates.

Unfortunately, the envoys of the other countries clearly felt that Great Qi had gone overboard and started making a fuss.

The magistrate of Guangzhou wasn’t in a hurry to argue with them at all. In any case, their 80,000 soldiers were at sea now. Not only could a naval battle train the soldiers of Great Qi, but it could also serve to intimidate and reap a lot of spoils of war.

After this incident, very few people would dare to attack Great Qi’s merchant ships again, right?

While the envoys of the Western countries argued with the officials of Great Qi, Zhou Zhou and Little Lion were not slow at all. In merely three months, they snatched back most of the goods that had been robbed from the Great Qi merchants.

Both sides quickly settled the bill. The merchants happily paid 20% of the goods’ value, and the Guangdong Navy’s pockets quickly bulged.

In order to build a good relationship between the two sides so that the navy would be more willing to support them in the future, the merchants even took out a portion of the money to specially compensate the soldiers who had died this time. This amount of money was to be sent to the bereaved families alongside their share of the proceeds and the pension.

As merchants in the sea trade were wealthy, each of them would receive at least 20 taels.

Under Zhou Zhou’s strict rule, this portion of money was sent to the families of the deceased soldiers without a cent missing.

After they were done with this, the Imperial Court and the various countries that had come to submit the diplomatic letters had also come to an agreement. Great Qi could set up guardhouses in suitable locations in the Nanyang countries to specially protect Great Qi’s merchant ships.

Considering that Great Qi occupied the land of the vassal states, the suzerain state would reward them with some things as compensation.

On the other hand, the Luzon envoy secretly went to the officials of the Tributary Affairs Bureau and expressed that King Rong’s son had agreed to set up a guardhouse there in exchange for helping them build half of the seaport.

The Tributary Affairs Bureau had long received the Crown Prince’s order to verify such matters.

The Luzon envoy left nervously.

The officials of the Tributary Affairs Bureau turned around and spread the news. When the envoys of the other countries heard this, they all came to look for them, saying that they did not need too many rewards from the suzerain state. As long as they could get a share of the sea trade profits, or if the suzerain state could help them deal with the Westerners, it would be fine.

Forget about the gold, silver, and jewelry.

The Tributary Affairs Bureau was satisfied, but they still wore a bitter expression on their faces as they dealt with them.

In less than a month, the envoys of the various countries returned to their countries with the desired answer. Then, they helped the Great Qi soldiers build guardhouses and ports in the coastal regions of the various countries.

Of course, Great Qi forked out most of the funds needed while the locals contributed with their labor which they were paid for. Therefore, the natives earned a lot of money from this.

By the time the Western countries sensed that something was wrong, they could not stop it at all. This was because these natives welcomed the military and civilians of Great Qi to settle down, unlike those Westerners who forced their way into their territory.

They wanted to send troops to cause trouble. But now that Great Qi had a supply point and had increased their manpower, coupled with the fact that the natives of the various countries were beginning to resist them on a scale, the Westerners had a lot on their plate.

Meanwhile, Zhou Zhou took this opportunity to visit all the pirate nests in this area. He seized the islands occupied by the pirates and listed them as Great Qi’s territory. Then, he built a guardhouse on those islands or directly handed them over to the Great Qi army and people who had already begun to impersonate pirates in this area.

By the time the Western countries calmed down the uprisings within their sphere of influence, they saw that many islands had been occupied by Great Qi. Behind Great Qi, there were the countries of Nanyang, forming a balanced situation.

Seeing this, Little Lion was satisfied. He smiled at the unshaven Tiger Head and said, “This way, we can have a peaceful New Year. After spring, let Mother open branches of Harvest Grain Store in Luzon. Starting from Luzon, we’ll promote the grain seeds.”

With a chuckle, Little Lion said, “Now that the strength of the various countries in Nanyang has increased, can these Westerners still easily harm us?”

Tiger Head scratched his head and asked, “I think it’s good for them to build this colony.”

Little Lion rolled his eyes at him and said, “Do you think everyone is stupid? The people of the colonies will definitely erupt after being oppressed like this. At that time, what will happen to the colonists? Moreover, since Great Qi has a lot of land and resources, is there a need to colonize them?” Little Lion said seriously, “Ever since the Zhou Dynasty, the Central Plains has stopped suppressing the overseas countries by armed force. Since the countries in Nanyang are impoverished, they’ll just increase our burden. Here and there, we can just buy a mine, a plot of land, and build a guardhouse.”

“I’m talking about the land in the west.” Tiger Head’s eyes sparkled. “Aren’t they fond of colonization? Then what do you think will happen when these Westerners discover that their country has also been colonized one day?”

Little Lion’s eyes drifted.

Tiger Head stroked the stubble on his chin and said, “I think Little Leopard’s plan can be implemented. Let more merchants go to the west to do business and transport the raw materials there to Great Qi. First, we’ll control their economy, then we’ll recruit soldiers and control their politics.”

Rage flickered across Tiger Head’s eyes as he said, “Since they enjoy bullying the weak, we’ll let them have a taste of what it’s like to be the weaker party.”

Some time ago, they had disembarked at an Indian Island to replenish their water supplies. There, they encountered a group of people from England slaughtering a village, not sparing even the children.

Tiger Head had never seen such a tragic scene. He had always fought with real weapons on the battlefield. That was the first time he saw someone holding a sharp blade slaughtering helpless civilians, even infants. This was the first time he felt his blood freeze…

Therefore, he was now filled with hostility towards the Westerners. He wished he could let those murderers have a taste of that feeling. Unfortunately, they arrived too late and only captured less than half of the culprits. The rest escaped!

Little Lion slapped Tiger Head’s hand away and looked at the stubble on his chin. “You should shave. That stubble is hideous.”

Tiger Head’s anger dissipated. He immediately protected his chin and rejected flatly. “No, I want to grow a beard. I’m already an adult!”

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