Chapter 951: Impeachment |
After Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen left, Liu Xing gave up on the idea of continuing to monitor Shima Mitsuhiro and returned to his room. He called Zhang Jingxu and the others, as well as Shi Zixuan, and told them about his plan to snipe Ii Naoyoshi.
Zhang Jingxu and the others, as well as Shi Zixuan, all agreed to Liu Xing's plan, as it was the best one they had at the moment.
"Ii Naoyoshi has already entered the urban area of Kagoshima City, but he didn't head directly towards the northern part of the city. Instead, he stopped at a residential area on the outskirts of the city. According to the information I found online, this residential area is a high-end community that was just built in the past two years, so I'll need to put in some effort to get in without being detected by the security measures, which could alert Ii Naoyoshi," Shi Zixuan explained.
Liu Xing searched online for the residential area mentioned by Shi Zixuan and found that it was indeed a newly built high-end community that was very popular among wealthy celebrities. As a result, the security measures in the community were extremely strict. Recently, a few petty thieves had attempted to break in, but they were instantly surrounded by dozens of security guards as soon as they were discovered. Hidden retractable iron gates between each area would also rise.
Although it would be easy for Shi Zixuan to deal with these security measures, the commotion they would cause would be too loud and could easily attract Ii Naoyoshi's attention.
Given Ii Naoyoshi's personality and the current situation, it was highly likely that he would choose to flee at the first sign of trouble, and he would become even more cautious afterwards.
Therefore, Shi Zixuan needed to make thorough preparations before entering the community and then find a way to locate Ii Naoyoshi. He wanted to figure out what Ii Naoyoshi was up to.
As for Zhang Jingxu and the others, they planned to indirectly question Shima Mitsuhiro, asking him to find Ii Trio again and see if they had any intentions of meeting with Ii Naoyoshi. They also wanted to confirm Ii Trio's room number, so that Li Hanxing and Sun Huiwen could monitor Ii Trio's movements while waiting for Ii Naoyoshi's arrival.
As for Liu Xing, he could only wait for news in his room.
So, Liu Xing immediately took out his mobile phone and called Matsui Yui.
After the call connected, Liu Xing explained the current situation, "This is the situation we're facing. We have reason to suspect that the Ii family has long been followers of that unknown Great Old One, and we want to contact Ii Naoyoshi to exchange intelligence."
"I understand. I'll go and inform Shimada Sho about this. Let's see if he has any ideas on how to deal with Ii Naoyoshi," Matsui Yui said before temporarily hanging up the phone.
A few minutes later, Matsui Yui called back, "I've just told Shimada Sho about the information you provided. However, after contacting his informants, he confirmed that Ii Naoyoshi is still in Lu Wu!"
What?
Liu Xing frowned and said in disbelief, "What? You're saying that Ii Naoyoshi is still in Lu Wu? How is that possible? My friend saw Ii Naoyoshi leaving Lu Wu with his own eyes and parking outside a residential area in Kagoshima City before entering it."
Matsui Yui sighed and said, "Then things might get a bit complicated. Shimada Sho just contacted his subordinates, and they also saw Ii Naoyoshi still operating in the seafood market. Based on his appearance and physique, it's definitely Ii Naoyoshi. So, there's only one possibility: Ii Naoyoshi has prepared a body double for himself."
A body double again?
Liu Xing said with a headache, "That's troublesome. With Ii Naoyoshi's abilities and the support of that Great Old One, creating a body double that looks exactly like him would be an easy task. Unless we're willing to take drastic measures, we won't be able to tell if this Ii Naoyoshi is real or fake just by appearance and behavior."
"Yes, that's what Shimada Sho said too. He can't think of a good solution at the moment, so he's arranging for his subordinates to keep an eye on the Ii Naoyoshi in the seafood market. They'll try to determine which one is the real Ii Naoyoshi. Liu Xing, please keep your phone on and we'll notify you immediately if there's any new information," Matsui Yui said before hanging up again.
Holding his mobile phone, Liu Xing felt that Matsui Yui's situation was also a bit strange. Why was she hanging up so decisively today?
It seemed that Matsui Yui and her team were also busy with something.
Liu Xing shook his head and put down his mobile phone, continuing to watch TV... or rather, that was the only way for Liu Xing to pass the time.
However, he was surprised to discover that Mutou Masayoshi had officially become the temporary administrator of Hokkaido and was pushing forward with the establishment of Ezo Country.
He didn't expect Mutou Masayoshi to act so quickly.
Liu Xing was taken aback because, in his mind, even if the Public Faction couldn't stop Mutou Masayoshi from establishing Ezo Country, they could at least delay the process and cause some trouble for Mutou Masayoshi.
But from the current situation, Mutou Masayoshi's plan to establish Ezo Country seemed to be going smoothly without any obstacles. The Public Faction had only arranged for a spokesperson to make some mild protests.
Could it be that the Public Faction and Mutou Masayoshi, or rather, the United States of America behind Mutou Masayoshi, had reached some kind of secret agreement?
Liu Xing thought this was highly likely because, given the current situation, the establishment of Ezo Country could be described as a done deal. Unless the Warrior Faction and the Public Faction reached a reconciliation today and the Public-Military Conflict ended peacefully, the Island Nation, once reunited, would have the ability to stop the establishment of Ezo Country and Ryukyu Country.
But was that possible?
Impossible!
The Public Faction and the Warrior Faction were already in a state of full confrontation, with casualties numbering in the thousands. Among them were members of certain families or secret cults, and even some small secret cults had almost been completely wiped out.
Therefore, it was impossible to reach a consensus and peacefully end the Public-Military Conflict at this time. Moreover, even after the Public-Military Conflict ended, the winning side would still have a chance to reclaim Ezo Country and Ryukyu Country... or at least Ezo Country, as the Hokkaido region had always been the Island Nation's territory.
So, if the Public Faction temporarily gave up the Hokkaido region in exchange for the support of the United States of America, it would be a beneficial and harmless decision for the Public Faction. The support of the United States of America could potentially tip the balance.
What about the Warrior Faction's attitude towards the Ryukyu region?
Liu Xing took out his mobile phone and searched for related news. He found that the situation in Ryukyu was all talk and no action. Although the Island Nation had lost control of Ryukyu, the region was plagued by internal conflicts. The so-called "Shang" family had split into two factions, both claiming to be the legitimate descendants of the Shang family.
For a kingdom, lineage was of utmost importance.
This was the difference between Ezo Country and Ryukyu Country.
The United States of America must be very troubled by this, but Liu Xing believed that they had anticipated this situation, which was why they didn't assign Mutou Masayoshi to Ryukyu and didn't appoint a new king for Ryukyu Country.
This was interesting.
Liu Xing stroked his chin and guessed that once the Warrior Faction realized this, they might send the Shang family head, who had never returned to Ryukyu, back to Ryukyu to stir up trouble. They might even take advantage of the situation and push for the Shang family head to become the king of Ryukyu Country. After all, he had a strong claim to the throne of Ryukyu Country, and it would be reasonable for him to become the king now. At the very least, he would be a more suitable choice than those so-called "Shang" family members.
Most importantly, the United States of America wouldn't be able to easily take action against the Shang family head. The United States of America had supported the "Shang" family, and if the real Shang family head were to be harmed in Ryukyu, those "Shang" family members would be implicated.
In that case, these kin-slaying beasts would no longer be qualified to establish Ryukyu Country.
In short, as long as the Warrior Faction sent the Shang family head to Ryukyu, there wouldn't be much trouble in establishing Ryukyu Country.
With this in mind, Liu Xing wrote a note in his mobile phone's memo app, planning to suggest this to Shimazu Nakano after resolving the crisis in Kagoshima City.
At this moment, Zhang Jingxu sent Liu Xing a text message.
The content of the message was simple: they had persuaded Shima Mitsuhiro to meet with Ii Trio.
The reason Zhang Jingxu and the others gave Shima Mitsuhiro for persuading him was simple: they wanted him to learn from Liu Bei and Ii Trio, who had talked through the night and slept with their feet towards each other. This way, Shima Mitsuhiro wouldn't have to worry about Shima Takeshi attacking him in the middle of the night.
This gave Shima Mitsuhiro, who had been worried about his safety, hope for survival. So, he immediately went to the hotel where Ii Trio was staying.
At the same time, Li Hanxing also sent Liu Xing a text message, saying that he had seen Shima Mitsuhiro entering the hotel where Ii Trio was staying.
Everything was looking up.
As long as Shima Mitsuhiro could put on a thick face and chat with Ii Trio in the hotel about life, dreams, and the future, Ii Trio wouldn't have the opportunity to go to the residential area to find Ii Naoyoshi.
However, at this moment, Liu Xing suddenly thought of a possibility: what if his guess was wrong? Wouldn't that be embarrassing?
After all, Liu Xing's current guess was based on no substantial evidence at all, and his conclusion was purely speculative.
Liu Xing shook his head and remained firm in his belief: "It's better to believe it than not."
Even if his guess was wrong, the worst-case scenario would be that Shima Mitsuhiro's reputation would be damaged, but Shima Mitsuhiro would rather have his reputation damaged than face the potential threat to his life from Shima Takeshi.
After persuading himself, Liu Xing comfortably watched TV, but soon he saw another breaking news: the United States of America had initiated the impeachment process against Donald Trump.
???
When Liu Xing saw this news, he was puzzled. He didn't expect the United States of America to face an impeachment of the president at this time, which had only happened twice in the country's history.
What was going on?
Liu Xing thought carefully and suddenly came up with a possibility: the plan regarding the Hokkaido and Ryukyu regions was not formulated by the United States of America, but was a decision made solely by Donald Trump.
Liu Xing had once watched a video in which a senior official of the United States of America mentioned something. When providing decision-making advice to the president, they would usually propose three or so alternative proposals for a particular issue. Most of these proposals would have certain flaws or be unreliable, ensuring that the president would choose the most reliable one, which was the only one they wanted the president to choose.
Therefore, Liu Xing guessed that when Donald Trump's cabinet proposed the retaliatory plan against the Island Nation after the troop withdrawal, they didn't think Donald Trump would choose the proposal to "incite trouble in the Ryukyu and Hokkaido regions." So, they included this proposal just to make up the numbers, but they never expected that Donald Trump would actually favor this plan and immediately send people to carry it out.
As a result, all these incidents occurred, and they were not beneficial to the United States of America. Although retaliation might bring temporary satisfaction, it didn't align with the country's interests.
So, Donald Trump was impeached...
However, this wasn't a problem. The real question was whether Donald Trump would abandon his actions in the Ryukyu and Hokkaido regions as the impeachment proceeded.
If Donald Trump gave up halfway, it would have a significant impact on the situation of the Public-Military Conflict.
This was a headache.
Liu Xing finally understood why Donald Trump was considered the most bizarre leader of the century; his way of thinking was truly different from others...
While Liu Xing was watching the news, Li Hanxing sent another message, informing him that he and Sun Huiwen had confirmed the hotel room where Ii Trio was staying. They could see Shima Mitsuhiro and Ii Trio laughing and chatting in the living room.
The situation was looking good.
Liu Xing stroked his chin and began to reconsider a question: should he tell Shi Zixuan about Ii Naoyoshi's body double?
Initially, Liu Xing didn't want to inform Shi Zixuan about this in advance because he was concerned that Shi Zixuan might take some radical actions, such as testing Ii Naoyoshi's authenticity.
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Next Chapter >>Chapter 952: One Soul, Two Bodies