"Third, I have no objections whatsoever to any Chinese expanding territories and founding nations outside of Wei, and if you really manage to establish a nation in Dongying, I’ll even give you a thumbs up,"
"Do you understand?"
Wang Cheng’s face went through several changes before he seriously cupped one fist in the other hand and said, "Old Wang will certainly bear Second Master’s teachings in mind, reflect on them daily, and dare not forget them for a moment!"
"Very good."
Yang Ge first nodded, then lifted his chin toward the map on the wall with a big hole in it and said, "Since you understand, pack up this deceiving thing and replace it with something reliable."
Wang Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, nodded vigorously, and said with a bow, "Second Master, please wait a moment, Old Wang will be right back."
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He quickly left the cabin, and it was only after stepping out that he realized that his back was soaked with cold sweat, murmuring to himself, ’This guy’s presence is getting stronger...’
The rest of the people inside the cabin were also looking at Yang Ge with amazement, thinking to themselves, ’How does this guy know everything?’
Shortly after, Wang Cheng returned with a new silk map: "Gentlemen, sorry to keep you waiting... sorry to keep you waiting..."
He unfurled the silk map in his hands, hung it where the sheepskin map was before, and pointing at it, he said, "Gentlemen, you should know that although Old Wang has been working in the East Sea for more than a decade, I have only visited some ports along the coast of Dongying, and have not ventured deep inland. My knowledge of the inland regions of Dongying largely comes from hearsay, and cannot be accurate... That was why I previously did not take out this map for all of you to see, since all of you are heroes of our land, and I dare not allow the slightest error."
Yang Ge paid no attention to his self-justifying words and picked up a lamp to closely examine the silk map... Most of the names on the map were unfamiliar to him, but looking at the overall geography, it did indeed closely resemble Dongying’s shrimp-like layout.
He asked, "Which ports have you been to?"
Wang Cheng stepped forward and pointed along the coastline from the tail of the shrimp (Hirado) to the middle of the shrimp (Yokohama), touching several points in sequence.
Yang Ge: "Where is the capital of Dongying?"
Wang Cheng pointed to where the shrimp’s tail and head meet: "Reporting to Second Master, the Capital City is here..."
Yang Ge: "Where are the most ferocious and powerful village heads in Dongying mainly located?"
Wang Cheng gave him a somewhat puzzled look, not understanding why he was so fixated on the term "village head" and replied, "Reporting to Second Master, Dongying is currently in a state of war, with various daimyo fending for themselves and constantly waging battle. The most powerful daimyo at present are mainly concentrated in the central and Kanto regions."
"In the central region, there’s ’Izumo Wolflord’ Amako Haruhisa, ’Long Night Ogre’ Asakura Yoshikage, ’Owari’ Oda Nobunaga,"
"In Kanto, there’s ’Dragon Tiger Lion’,’Echigo Dragon’ Uesugi Kenshin, ’Kai Tiger’ Takeda Shingen, ’Sagami Lion’ Hojo Ujiyasu."
"In the Western Sea Road, there’s ’Unmatched General of the Western Province’ Tao Qingxian, ’Strongman of the Western Province’ Mouri Motonari..."
The more he spoke, the more detailed he got; clearly, his knowledge of the inland parts of Dongying was far from being just "based on hearsay" as he had claimed.
"Enough!"
Yang Ge interrupted his narration, reaching out to draw a straight line on the map from Hirado at the tail of the shrimp, pushing all the way to Yokohama: "Since all these powerful village heads are concentrated in the central region and Kanto, we’ll land at Hirado and push horizontally all the way here, taking all of these messy village heads down in one stroke... What’s this ’Dragon Tiger Lion’? Ha, what nonsense!"
Wang Cheng suddenly gaped, speechless, unable to say the rest.
The other people were also stunned, looking at Yang Ge’s hand, unable to utter a word.
The cabin remained silent for a long time, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.