King of Beiyang

"Damn it! Those Germans! How could they do this? What are they trying to do? Aren't they afraid of starting a conflict between our two countries?"

Fukushima Yasumasa, the military attaché at the Eastern Empire's embassy in the German Empire, roared angrily, howling helplessly like a wounded wolf.

The German Empire's direct expulsion of diplomats from the Eastern Empire was a blatant slap in the face to the Eastern Empire!

Without a doubt, this would greatly embarrass the Eastern Empire in the international community.

Saionji Kinmochi, the Minister of the Eastern Empire to the German Empire, had a face as black as the bottom of a pot.

As a minister stationed abroad, he was expelled.

This is an absolute disgrace he can never wash away in his entire life!

It should be noted that Saionji Kinmochi came from a noble family, and the Saionji family was one of the Nine Seika Families.

His appointment as minister to the Japanese Empire was merely a way to add a prestigious entry to his resume. But he never expected to encounter such a situation.

This will undoubtedly introduce great uncertainty into his future career.

"The Germans are completely disrespecting us. But what can we do?" Saionji Kinmochi said with a bitter expression.

If he had known this would be the outcome, he would have stopped Fukushima Yasumasa no matter what.

Unfortunately, it's too late to say anything now.

"Damn it! One day, we will make the Germans pay the price!" Fukushima Yasumasa said with a face full of resentment.

The German Empire today is one of the world's top powers.

In contrast, the Eastern Empire was a backward agricultural country.

Even though the total population of the Eastern Empire was 40 million, which was equivalent to 80% of the total population of the German Empire.

However, the two countries are worlds apart in terms of national strength.

Even if the German Empire completely disregarded them, they had no recourse.

  

"Fukushima-kun, pack your things. We need to leave within three days. Otherwise, the Germans might forcibly expel us. That would make things even more difficult for us," Saionji Kinmochi reminded him.

He's now racking his brains trying to figure out how to explain this to people back home.

"Your Excellency, our journey back home may be very dangerous," Fukushima Yasumasa suddenly said.

Saionji Kinmochi's brows furrowed immediately: "Fukushima-kun, do you mean Li Jingyuan will retaliate against us?"

"That's absolutely inevitable. We almost killed him, do you think he'd let us go?" Fukushima Yasumasa seemed to know Li Jingyuan very well.

"But we are diplomats! If we are assassinated, it will inevitably cause a conflict between the two countries." Saionji Kinmochi panicked.

He never imagined that his life would be in danger.

"Li Jingyuan is extremely wealthy. With just a little money, he could send a line of people from Berlin to Potsdam to kill us. Besides, without concrete evidence, what can the Empire do to them?"

With his influence in the German Empire, he could easily find someone to kill us without leaving any evidence.

"This is what Yasumasa Fukushima said."

"What should we do then?" Saionji Kinmochi asked anxiously.

He now has only one hope: to return alive to the mainland of the Eastern Empire.

"Your Excellency, we need to carefully plan our journey back home." Fukushima Yasumasa said with a serious expression.

Kiel, the German Imperial Naval Academy.

Li Jingyuan also received the news immediately that Saionji Kinmochi and Fukushima Yasumasa had been deported.

"Karl, my friend, it's up to you now."

This is a grudge that no gentleman would leave unavenged. Li Jingyuan is determined to kill Saionji Kinmochi and Fukushima Yasumasa this time.

Even if not for themselves, they had to stand up for the elites of the Beiyang Naval Academy who were receiving treatment in the hospital.

"Don't worry, my friends have everything arranged. They've got their eyes on all the ports in the German Empire and the cruise lines. As soon as they leave, we'll know immediately. Then, we'll send people to follow them and eliminate them!" Karl said with a broad smile.

In his view, killing two Japanese people was no big deal.

As long as it's not on German territory, it's a piece of cake.

Li Jingyuan nodded.

However, Li Jingyuan then thought of Fukushima Yasumasa's solo crossing of the Russian Empire.

Although he couldn't be sure if Fukushima Yasumasa would do that this time, it was better to be prepared.

What if Fukushima Yasumasa really wanted to use this route to return to the Japanese Empire?

So, if they guard all the ports and cruise ships, wouldn't that be a waste of their efforts?

"Karl, in addition to the port, we also need to have people guarding the train station leading to the Russian Empire," Li Jingyuan said.

"What? Do you think they'd travel back home through Tsarist Russia? That's too far, isn't it? Especially in the vast Asian region, there aren't even railways. Even on horseback, it would take several months or even longer. Taking a cruise ship would be much more convenient," Karl said.

At this point in time, the Trans-Siberian Railway had not yet started construction.

However, this plan already existed within the Tsarist Russian Empire.

It was indeed time-consuming and laborious to travel overland across the Russian Empire back to the homeland of the Eastern Empire.

"I don't know either, but the Japanese have always been cunning. Perhaps they will see this route as a way out." Li Jingyuan was not sure either.

"Alright, we definitely need to be more careful this time!" Karl nodded.

Saionji Kinmochi and Fukushima Yasumasa acted swiftly. The day after receiving notification from the German Empire, they traveled by train from Berlin to Hamburg, accompanied by their entourage. From there, they boarded a cruise ship and departed the German Empire.

However, to Li Jingyuan and the others' surprise, Saionji Kinmochi and his group did not return directly to the Japanese Empire, but instead went to the British Empire.

Once these people boarded the cruise ship, they stayed in the first-class cabin and didn't come out, even eating, drinking, and relieving themselves inside.

This prevented the assassins Carl had arranged from making a move.

In particular, the journey from the German Empire to the British Empire only took two days.

When the cruise ship arrived in the British Empire, the embassy of the Eastern Empire there, under the arrangement of the British, took away Saionji Kinmochi and others.

This result greatly disappointed Li Jingyuan.

But then, new information came in.

Their men discovered Fukushima Yasumasa's trail in East Prussia. He had arrived there alone, disguised, by train.

Because the Japanese were so short, they were recognized by the people from the Oriental Pharmaceutical Company.

Afterwards, several hired gunmen were quickly arranged to follow them.

The gunman opened fire the moment the train left the German Empire.

Fukushima Yasumasa was shot multiple times and killed on the spot.

This Japanese soldier, known as the "Father of Intelligence Warfare" of the Eastern Empire, was sent to meet their Amaterasu Omikami (the sun goddess) at a very young age in this timeline.