Wa Island.
Wen Yang had arrived at the head of his army, yet had failed to get a battle underway without a hitch.
The main problem was that the other side surrendered too quickly. Before Wen Yang could even make a move, they had all stripped off their armor and submitted.
Once the strongest powers, Yamatai and Kuna, bowed their heads, Wen Yang did not even need to summon the other small kingdoms. They had already come to report to him.
Wen Yang left the seat of honor vacant as a gesture of respect for the emperor and sat to one side himself.
The kings of the various kingdoms, great and small, sat on either side of Wen Yang, all with their heads lowered.
Before Wen Yang came here, Guanqiu Jian had given him several instructions. Among them was that if he fought his way into the royal cities of these small kingdoms, he must never take the seat of honor, whatever noble rank the other party held...
Even if it belonged to some petty foreign king, that seat was not one he should occupy. Otherwise, he would bring great calamity upon himself.
Wen Yang held Guanqiu Jian in considerable respect and had taken his words to heart.
Several interpreters stood nearby, waiting to translate for them.
Zhibigou sat closest to Wen Yang, even closer than the queen personally invested by the emperor.
Wen Yang could not understand why Zhibigou was so fervent. He worked for him almost without eating or drinking, rushing about everywhere. In just a short time, he had persuaded all the kingdoms, and had even obtained a complete map and information such as each kingdom's household registers for him.
His behavior... was rather like Zhong Hui's just after receiving praise from the emperor.
Meeting his burning