"Chief Divine bless us! These two large Japanese ships are indeed nimble, truly remarkable! It's just that the manipulation of these square sails is not yet familiar to the Kingdom's sailors; they need to slowly figure it out. In hindsight, it would have been better to exchange some experienced sailors from the Japanese fleet..."

"Hmm, once we reach Divine Kutadai Port, we can inquire among the captured Japanese and immigrants. There are also two Korean sailors from the Ocean Shielding Ship who haven't been sent back to the Kingdom, they should be able to... manage this vertical 'Tang Ship Square Sail.' Strange, the name decreed by Your Majesty's Divine Revelation was clearly 'Great Ming Han Tribe Alliance.' Why do the Japanese refer to them as 'Tang'? Besides 'Tang Ship,' there's also 'Tang's Book'?"

River waves surged, and the tide receded. Night shrouded the earth, leaving only the starlight in the sky. Zuwaro stood at the bow, gazing at the starry sky, feeling a sense of distant and clear brightness reflecting a high and beautiful Divine Kingdom, yet hard to reach. He silently observed for a long time, envisaging the majestic Northern Land and had already planned the next steps.

"Next, gathering with the clan chieftains of Beiyu's tribes, my brothers-in-law, fathers-in-law, is necessary. To supplement them with Japanese spears and daggers, leave some heavy bamboo bows, as well as dozens of stone of Japanese rice. Arrange for several Kingdom's Warriors to intermarry with the local tribes, continuing to train the tribal soldiers... Simultaneously, arrange for the fleet to transport craftsmen and goods to Divine Kutadai Port, estimating it will take two round trips. Especially for these space-consuming cattle and horses, they need careful tending, much more troublesome than transporting people!..." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Once these tasks are completed, it's time to head north, to the mouth of the Great River in the dense forest, to the Nurgan Ruins occupied by the Maha tribe... Hmm, I can bring along that castle-building architect... let's call him Ah Zhu! Bringing him along, help the Maha tribe design some fortifications, repair them properly, make them more solid. Otherwise, they might be wiped out by other tribes without realizing it!... Hmm, that Aguda fellow is fierce and cunning. Even if he encounters a large group of enemies, he probably won't be wiped out, but may flee into the vast old forest, never to be found again... No, I must keep him, keep the gateway for recruiting Fish-Skin Warriors!"

"From the Maha tribe, gather some formidable Fish-Skin Warriors. Then seek guidance from the Dog Tribe, try to gather some of the Dog Tribe southward... With this batch of Japanese food, the scale of Divine Kutadai Port can expand once more! The potato fields at the port have been planted, should yield some harvest by October, though it's unknown how high the yield will be... I've already talked to Sen Fox, next trade, bring more food, gather as much as possible!..."

"Food to eat, warriors to fight, craftsmen to build, cattle and horses to breed... as long as this trade circle, driven by gold, keeps spinning, constantly expanding Divine Kutadai Port... then the Kingdom's foundation on the Western Sea Continent will be laid down, and increasingly stable!"

At that moment, Zuwaro saw the "Big Dipper," the string of bright stars symbolizing "war and protection" in Nava mythology. From Kamchatka to Ezo land, the Kingdom's foothold in Northeast Asia was indeed arduous and complicated! Only through the collisions of "war" can the initial beliefs and ideals be "protected." And what were the initial ideals?

"Bring back the technical craftsmen to the Western Sea Continent, bring back the crops and livestock to the Western Sea Continent, unite all possible same clan of Gummy People. Let the Gummy People tribes learn and develop from the friendly Western Sea Continent, resisting the hundred-year invasion of Eastern Sea White-skinned Demons!"

Zuwaro murmured, never forgetting those initial ideals. Even though he had endured countless storms and waves, faced various dangers and hardships, brushing with death countless times in the cold. Even though, in pursuing the ideals, he had to sacrifice "color phase," gain ten "wings," offered too much to the Chief Divine... Even though he was firmly bound by the Western Sea Continent, unable to return to the homeland of the Kingdom of the Lake, he remained unwavering!

"Chief Divine bless us! Your Majesty, I have never forgotten the initial mission, I am determined to complete it... And you, please support me as initially, grant me more rights! I need to gather more tribes, acquire more power, to create broader unity for the Gummy People tribes..."

"Perhaps, ultimately in this cold Northern Land, I will establish a City-State vassal state for my descendants from the Kingdom of the Lake! But no matter what, toward the Chief Divine and yourself, I am devoted and loyal!"

At that moment, having witnessed the true power of gold, Zuwaro also fully understood what the two thousand jin of gold in his hand truly meant on the Western Sea Continent! And once more Kingdom gold comes continuously, those unlimited future possibilities, the opportunities gathered through such power, are enough to make one tremble!

"From north to south, Mountain Deer Tribe, Fish-Skin Tribe, Ainu Tribe, Japanese Tribes... like the four stars in the string of the Big Dipper, all have been connected by the power of the Chief Divine and gold... And further south, what are the remaining three stars?"

"Presumably, they can only be the Korea Tribe, Mongolian Tribes, Ming Tribe... which are the three strong alliances prophesized by Your Majesty! And the three, no, four sealed national letters pressed in the ship hold! When will they be able to be handed over to the Great Tlatoani of these four strong alliances? Sadly, the Kingdom's strength here is still too weak..."

For this question, Zuwaro had no answer. He knew too little, while the world of East Asia was too vast. However, he now has another way to gain insight, which allows him to know more! Even if, it's merely those past heritage epics, remembering the Western Sea from decades or hundreds of years ago...

"Tang's Book!... The book from the Great Ming Han Tribe Alliance... the book I can barely recognize...!

"Chief Divine bless us! Big Dipper gathers the wisdom of Turquoise! Please illuminate me with your omniscient wisdom!"

Zuwaro prayed sincerely to the starry sky for a moment. Then, he finally returned to the captain's cabin, lighting a lamp of whale oil. And next to the lamp was a stack of painstakingly exchanged "Tang's Book," all carefully selected by Mori no Kiyoshi for collection.

"Hmm... Let me have a good look! What has been recorded on these paper-made Heritage Tablets, what grand epics and verses! Which one to read first?... Oh! It will be this one! Sen Fox was very reluctant, almost didn't give it to me, must be the most precious one!"

With this thought, Zuwaro eagerly opened the book "The New Lights." Then, he laboriously read from top to bottom, trying to segment sentences, and began to recite little by little.

"I have edited ancient and modern wonders into 'Jiandeng Records,' totaling forty volumes. Curious individuals often inform me of recent events, far from being a century old, close to just a few years... Written in the eleventh year of Hongwu, the year Juwu, June's first day, by Qu You in Wu Mountain's Great Hidden Hall of Shanyang..."

"The eleventh year of Hongwu? This should be another Ming Tribe's era, just like the eleventh year of Yongle on the stele before! But I don't know which is earlier, Hongwu or Yongle?... As for Shanyang, Wu Mountain, where could they be?"

Zuwaro pondered for a moment and noted down the era and two place names. Then he eagerly flipped past the preface to the text. As he read, he was surprised with widened eyes! A distant country slowly unfolded from the book, full of Southland's splendor and elegance, wrote about Jiangnan's prosperity and wealth, like an untouchable paradise...

"Such a great book, but it's banned. So much so that it can only be purchased from the barbarian ship to see it... What a pity, truly a pity! Just like this Zhejiang Maritime Bureau, prohibiting Zhejiang people from sailing... Strict laws, far surpassing Fujian and Guangdong... So much so that one has to find ways, pretending to be a barbarian ship, to hold a knife to go out to sea for trade... And the rise of Chongming Shi, how can it be separated from this word 'sea trade'?"

The moon sets in the sky, the sun rises on earth. Far away, six or seven thousand miles away, in the Great Ming, a man wearing a square scarf put down the "Jiandeng Records" in his hand and sighed deeply. He extinguished the candle on the table, watching the sky slowly brighten, and then called out in a solemn voice in the courtyard of blue bricks and white tiles.

"Someone, first take my letterhead to the governor's mansion to pay a visit! Just say Si Cheng, the student, requests a meeting three days later, presenting this letter first as a courtesy... Then respectfully deliver that gift and letter, wrap a large parcel for the gatekeeper!"

"Yes! Master!..."

The servant bowed respectfully, walking backward out of the study's courtyard. When he exited the elegant courtyard, through the large mansion, arriving at the spacious front yard, and pushed open the dark red door... the prosperous Ningbo Port unfolded instantly before his eyes!