Chapter 88 of 100

Chapter 88

14 min read3,568 words

Ninja? Xia Letian's first reaction was to this term. The figure currently sprinting on the roof of the inn looked very similar to the ninjas in movies and TV shows, but it was daytime, and the person on the roof wasn't wearing the classic black ninja suit.

On the roof, Xiang Shaolong was competing in agility with the ninja. The two figures danced like weasels over a hundred-meter area, the sound of hidden weapons being fired never ceasing.

Although Xia Letian was a complete novice in martial arts, after watching for a while, he could also discern the strength disparity between the two sides. Overall, Lord Long still had a decisive advantage. Whenever the two figures crossed paths, the one who suffered was always the ninja.

However, the ninja soon became smarter, using his bizarre agility to tangle with Xiang Shaolong, attempting to end the battle with hidden weapons. But he didn't expect that Lord Long's skill with hidden weapons was also very high, and the two were thus at a stalemate in mid-air.

Gradually, Xia Letian also understood some of the tricks of ninjutsu. Ninjutsu was not mysterious; it was just a sophisticated form of deception. Skilled ninjas would exploit various blind spots and misconceptions in human vision, such as the angles between light and shadow on buildings or the blind spots facing the sun, constantly moving to create a dizzying and disorienting effect.

If no one had told you that a ninja was following you, you might not have noticed the ghost-like figure even after walking for dozens of miles on a mountain path. They played with your eyes, a skill accumulated over a thousand years by the ninja community. Although they didn't understand the theory behind it, it was all science, not superstition.

Ninja illusions were fatal to ordinary martial artists, but they were completely ineffective against an internal martial arts expert like Xiang Shaolong. Lord Long, proficient in Wudang internal martial arts, could lock onto the enemy's general direction with just his aura, making the deception ineffective.

The battle lasted about fifteen minutes, and the ninja had already been cut with two long wounds. Although not fatal, the bright red blood was shocking, and the surrounding Japanese onlookers gasped in fear.

While Lord Long and the ninja were entangled on the roof, Luo Huo, leading the musket team, and Xiao Hexin and Sima Yun, leading the veterans, had formed a large encirclement on the street. The ninja had no way to escape.

"Mr. Xiao..." The ninja suddenly spoke, using a strange tone in Chinese, "I am here to deliver an invitation. I am not an assassin. I am representing Lord Hatan and delivering an invitation to you..."

"Bullshit!" Lord Long shouted, "Why didn't you deliver the invitation through the front door? Why were you sneaking around on the roof? You were clearly trying to gather intelligence. Don't listen to his lies, sir..."

"Wait... Let him come over!" Xia Letian, upon hearing that he was a messenger from Hatan Rikugen, raised his hand to stop the attack, sparing his life.

Under the threat of thirty muskets, the ninja dared not play any tricks and quickly knelt down, presenting Hatan Rikugen's personal letter with both hands.

Japanese intellectuals were all proficient in Chinese, and in the eyes of the true nobility, the modified Japanese language was specifically for the lower classes. All simplifications were because the lower classes were too stupid, while the higher nobility preferred to write in pure Chinese.

Therefore, many Japanese intellectuals, though they couldn't speak Chinese, could easily communicate with Chinese people if given paper and pen.

"Tonight, Hatan Rikugen is inviting me to a kaiseki dinner. This is quite high-level. I wonder if it's a trap?" Xia Letian glanced at the invitation and handed it to Shi Dakai.

The ninja's head bowed even lower, "My lord sincerely invites you. Please do not disappoint our intentions..." Xia Letian thought, "Alright, this ninja has some character. Fine, I understand. You can show me the greatest respect by eavesdropping less... Tell Rikugen that I will definitely be there today..."

Watching the ninja, who was holding his wounds, gradually walk away, Xia Letian said with a cold laugh, "This is a nation that fears power but does not respect virtue. To make them respect you, you must show your strength. Delivering an invitation to the roof? If I don't give you a lesson, they'll think I'm a pushover. Lord Long, remember, next time, chop a few of these ninjas yourself..."

Xia Letian and his group had only been in Naha Port for one day, and they had already had two conflicts. They had severely punished Ei Hachiro at the dock, and after lunch, they had a showdown with Japanese ninjas, using agility and hidden weapons. Two victories made the entire Naha Port aware of their strength. Many Japanese passing by the Sakura Inn walked more quietly.

Back at the inn, Shi Dakai asked, puzzled, "Do we need to make such a big fuss? Advisor, you're here just to get a ministerial position in the Ryukyu Kingdom and trade rights. Is it necessary to make enemies with the Japanese?"

"Your Highness, you don't understand. I know the Japanese very well. The best way to negotiate with them is to fight first. Beat them to the ground, and only then will they respect you. I admit that with our current strength, we can't drive the Shimazu clan out. All we can do is intimidate them, showing them that we are a tough nut to crack. If they want to eat us, they'll lose all their teeth..."

Xia Letian had his concerns. No matter how arrogant he appeared, he couldn't change the power disparity. He only brought sixty people, and Liang Kun had only been in Naha for a year, with only about two hundred armed men under his command.

Hatan Rikugen, on the other hand, had three thousand armored foot soldiers and ten Anji ships in the port. These large warships, each with a capacity of two thousand koku, were the pinnacle of Japanese shipbuilding. Each Anji ship was equipped with ten large cannons imported from the West, with considerable firepower.

Moreover, there were over a hundred thousand Japanese scattered throughout Ryukyu, including a significant number of ronin. Even if only one in a hundred was selected, there would be over a thousand highly skilled ronin warriors. Such a massive force was far beyond what Xia Letian could handle, and even combined with the Ryukyu royal army, they couldn't defeat the Shimazu clan's forces.

However, Xia Letian had his own plan. He knew exactly where the Shimazu clan's weakness lay, and this Ryukyu campaign was a test of his strategic judgment.

In the afternoon, the ordinary soldiers rested, while Xia Letian and the high-ranking commanders studied the next plan behind closed doors. Everyone stayed in, except for Mike, who left to visit friends.

Meanwhile, in the east of Naha Port, there was a very luxurious Japanese-style courtyard nestled against the mountains. From here, one could see the entire Naha Port and overlook Shuri Castle, where King Shotei of Ryukyu resided.

This was Hatan Rikugen's residence in Naha, and behind the house was a large military camp with over a thousand foot soldiers stationed there. Officially, they were there to protect Japanese interests in Naha, but in reality, they controlled the Ryukyu royal family. There were three such camps around Naha Port, surrounding the port.

The injured ninja from noon was kneeling and reporting to Hatan Rikugen, who remained calm and expressionless. However, his general, Yamamoto Sei, had a fiery temper. "What? Attacked by dozens of people? The Qing slaves even used muskets? This is outrageous. Such disrespectful behavior must be punished..."

Yamamoto Sei knelt before the head of the household, "Lord, please give me a hundred soldiers. I will capture these arrogant Qing slaves and make them kneel before you..."

Before he could finish, his companion, Takeuchi Inoue, shook his head, "No, absolutely not. Xia Letian is not an ordinary Qing person. He is a true national hero. All plans against him must be handled with extreme caution. One wrong move, and the whole game is lost..."

"Shut up! What about our samurai honor? What about the glory of the Shimazu clan? Are we going to abandon it all?" Yamamoto Sei roared, his uvula clearly visible.

However, he didn't expect the head of the household, who had been calm, to suddenly explode.

"Baka! Foolish one..." He slapped Yamamoto Sei several times. "What do you know? Do you know what the glory of the Shimazu clan is? Is the strength of the Satsuma domain all due to war? Without rice balls, swords, and armor, what can you fight with? Baka..."

With each "baka," Hatan Rikugen slapped Yamamoto Sei, and with each slap, Yamamoto Sei responded with a respectful "Hai."

After several slaps, Yamamoto Sei's mouth was bleeding, and Hatan Rikugen, breathing heavily, said, "Foolish one, do you know how severely we were punished after the Battle of Sekigahara? Do you know how much strength we lost? And how we have recovered over the past two hundred years? You don't understand any of this, yet you dare to question my orders?"

Yamamoto Sei knelt on the tatami, his head pressed to the floor, too intimidated by the head of the household to raise his head. After a long while, Hatan Rikugen calmed down and said to the ninja in the courtyard, "Mist Hidden Great Demon, go and treat your wounds. Mist Hidden Lesser Demon will take over your surveillance duties for the next two days. Go..."

"Transmit my order. Use the highest level for tonight's kaiseki dinner. If there's not enough money, use military funds..."

When Yamamoto Sei heard about using military funds, he almost instinctively raised his head to protest, but Takeuchi Inoue frantically blinked and shook his head, stopping Yamamoto Sei from speaking.

After Yamamoto Sei and Takeuchi Inoue left the courtyard, the civil official, Takeuchi, sighed deeply, "Yamamoto, what are you doing? Do you know how dangerous the situation is for our lord? The Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen domains have secretly formed an alliance to stand by the emperor. The conflict between the Tokugawa and us is at a critical point. At this time, do you really want to create more trouble for our Shimazu clan?"

Yamamoto Sei clearly hadn't thought of this and was stunned. Then he bowed deeply to Takeuchi Inoue, "Hai... Thank you, Takeuchi, for enlightening me. I was really foolish. I should have committed seppuku..."

Takeuchi Inoue comforted him for a long time, and the two slowly walked down the mountain to prepare for the banquet. As they passed a noisy alley, they didn't know that a fierce conflict was happening there. The clothes of the young lady at the Sakura Inn, Qianxia, had been torn, and her white breasts were helplessly shaking, surrounded by greedy gazes.

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