The Shattering Waves (The Year of the Dragon, Book 7) Read Online Free

daimyo nodded with approval and clapped his hands. From one of the adjacent cloth-walled chambers an attendant entered carrying a tray with a teapot and two bowls of fine Qin clay. Nariakira waited in silence as the attendant poured a dark brown liquid into the bowls. He raised his bowl in both hands, with a nod. Dylan did the same.
    “Fermented, as I hear you Westerners prefer it,” the daimyo said. His fingerless left hand trembled. He sipped and grimaced. “Although I have to say, it’s an acquired taste.”
    “It tastes better with some sugar,” replied Dylan.
    “Ah, yes, sugar. ” Nariakira chuckled and put away the barely touched bowl. “One of your ‘Imperial’ commodities. Hah!” He patted the book at his side. “We only give sweets to children and women — and only if they’re well behaved.” He chuckled again, then turned serious with his typical aristocratic abruptness. “But maybe this is another thing we’ve been doing wrong all those years.” He paused for breath with every sentence, and his hands wandered aimlessly around the mattress, as if in constant search of something precious.
    “Do you enjoy the book, sir?” Dylan asked, putting the bowl back on the tray.
    “It is most fascinating. I have neglected the study of Dracaland for too long. I should have known you would come here sooner or later.”
    “There are only four of us here,” Dylan replied with a light smile. “Hardly an invading army.”
    “Oh, but isn’t it how it always happens? A single ship, a handful of merchants …” He tapped the floor with the cane. The attendant appeared again, with another tray . He replaced Nariakira’s bowl with a clean one and filled it up, this time with green Yamato cha . “Don’t you think our countries have a lot in common, Di Lan- sama ?” he asked after quenching his thirst.
    “I suppose …” Dylan replied, uncertain at what Nariakira was aiming at.
    “‘A small, but fertile island separated from a great and ancient continent, peopled by an industrious tribe of warriors and merchants’,” the daimyo recited. “That is what Viselius says about Dracaland, but he might as well speak of Yamato.”
    “Rather more merchants than warriors,” remarked Dylan. “That is a crucial difference.”
    “Naturally,” Nariakira agreed. “It is one of the many things I intend to change when I rule Yamato.”
    “ If you rule Yamato.” You don’t even command the rebel army.
    The daimyo hid his smirk in the cup. “I used to think I would emulate Bataavians in the way I ruled. But now I believe Dracaland is the shining example to follow.”
    “I’m, uh, flattered, I’m sure.” Dylan ran a finger around the edge of his bowl. “Our science and industry are the foremost in the world.”
    “It is your empire building that interests me more,” said Nariakira with surprising sincerity. He used a Bataavian word, Keizerrijk — there was no synonym in the Qin language for what he wanted to express.
    He knows he’s running out of time. We’re no longer in the guessing game.
    “An empire ? Isn’t that too bold? You haven’t even conquered Chinzei yet.”
    “Always think two steps ahead.” Nariakira moved his hand from one end of the tray to the other. “That’s how I do my job.”
    “The world is more crowded than it was when Dracaland sent its ships into the eastern seas.”
    “But it was already pretty crowded even back then.” Nariakira touched the book’s cover. “You took what you wanted from Bataavians, from Vasconians, from Qin—”
    “This is where the ‘warriors’ part comes in handy,” said Dylan with a hint of warning in his voice.
    “Oh, don’t worry, Di Lan- sama .” Nariakira laughed. “I’m not interested in Dracalish territories. There’s plenty of land elsewhere. Chosun, for instance. With Rangaku weapons and tactics, we could soon bring them down to heel. Then we could take revenge on the Horse Lords for their invasions. Maybe move towards the