The Type 94 cannon might not be able to prevail against the Northern Xiongnu. Even against the accurate and stable Anluo cannon of the Indochinese. The Indochinese lost because of the sheer size of the Type 94 cannon. In addition, their military construction was a mess, consisting mostly of thatched huts and mud walls, or at best stone walls, which were completely unable to withstand the bombardment of artillery shells.
The explosion shattered the earthen walls of the building, causing it to collapse and killing many sailors from the Indianapolis.
Xie Xia led his men into the Yinzuo Palace, catching the nobles completely off guard. They were still enjoying their wine and grapes when the enemy suddenly appeared before them.
The nobles at the throne were dumbfounded.
When Xie Xia's translator proclaimed the Xie family's prestigious name in the local language, everyone in the palace panicked.
Without saying a word, Xie Xia ordered the sailors of the three kingdoms to clean up the palace. The sailors of the three kingdoms also harbored a long-standing grudge against the emperor, and took the opportunity to loot the entire palace.
After looting the place, the sailors of the Three Kingdoms found Vanment hiding in a latrine.
Vanment was dragged to Xiexia by the sailors.
Vanment was pinned to the ground and dared not move. He begged for mercy, "Respected, respected General of the Great Kingdom, I know I was wrong, please forgive me."
"I'm willing to be your slave!"
"Please spare my life."
"A nation that is small yet does not humble itself, weak yet does not fear the strong, disrespectful yet insults its powerful neighbors, greedy yet stubborn and inept at diplomacy—such a nation is doomed." Xie Xia chopped off his head with a single stroke!
Afterwards, the nobles of the Yinzuo released Sibo Gong and the entire Guoshang Group in order to save their lives.
Xie Xia did not pursue them to the bitter end, as they would continue to do business in the four Southeast Asian countries. When he met Si Bogong, he discovered that Si Bogong was wearing the straw clothes of the local primitive people and had no other clothes at all.
Xie Xia frowned in anger, and a nobleman at the seat of the seal directly took off his own silk robe and gave it to Si Bo Gong to wear.
Xie Xia finally gave up.
"Master Si, are you alright?"
"I...I'm fine." Si Bogong felt a little dizzy; he hadn't eaten for two days. Now that General Zuo had come to his rescue, he was so happy that he fainted.
Xie Xia quickly took Si Bogong to find a doctor. Fortunately, the Chinese merchant guild had a doctor from the Central Plains who examined Si Bogong; he had simply fainted due to insufficient qi and blood. To be precise, he had fainted from hunger.
Xie Xia was both amused and exasperated.
He took Sibo Gong to Durant's palace, no longer paying attention to the throne. To him, the throne was nothing more than an insignificant little country. Even a few Anlo cannons couldn't compensate for the throne's inherent humility.
How can a country that can't even provide its people with enough to eat and wear dare to call itself a powerful nation? It's utterly ridiculous.
Unbeknownst to Xie Xia, his feat of defeating Yinzuo without firing a single shot had already spread throughout the Southern Central Plains! It had even become a maritime legend in Xin Tianjing and Weidu.
The people of Xin Tianjing are all saying that Xie Xia rode the clouds and mist, crossed the ocean, and scattered beans to create soldiers, defeating Yinzuo in one fell swoop.
When Xie Lanzhi received the news of her victory, she was both amused and exasperated by the exaggerated praise from the people.
However, Xie Xia's victory over Yin Zuo with the help of the combined forces of the three kingdoms was well-deserved.
While Xie Xia stayed in the four Southeast Asian countries, waiting for Si Bogong to recover, they still couldn't find the missing Xie Wei, but they did find Gongsun Feng.
Xie Xia had long heard of Gongsun Feng's identity, knowing that she was wealthy and powerful, and also a confidante of His Highness.
Xie Xia specially assisted Gongsun Feng in persuading the three kingdoms to rebuild the maritime trade route.
The three kingdoms of Lu Yin, Xin Yin, and Du Lan Yin naturally welcomed the move warmly. They had long been stunned by Xie Xia's cannon fire and were all grateful to have become sworn brothers with General Xie Xia. Thus, they were brotherly nations, and brothers would not attack each other.
The three kingdoms felt extremely secure because of their sworn brotherhood. They were very happy when they signed the trade agreement.
Gongsun Feng even directly ordered agricultural products from the Three Kingdoms, which were mostly fruits, including bananas, durians, and coconuts, and were cheap and plentiful.
However, Gongsun Feng spent money to buy up all the fruits in the Three Kingdoms, including those from the common people, so that the people of the Three Kingdoms could also enjoy the tangible benefits.
The people of the Three Kingdoms period suddenly became enthusiastic followers of the trade route.
The three kings received a large order and discovered that the fruit they commonly ate on their island could fetch such a high price—a full thirty thousand taels of silver.
The three kings immediately flattered Gongsun Feng, even bestowing upon him the title of Viscount of the Four Kingdoms of the South Seas and gifting him an island.
This made Gongsun Feng the first foreign female noblewoman in the history of the four Southeast Asian countries.
This matter alerted Si Bogong, who had been keeping a close eye on Gongsun Feng recently. Gongsun Feng was socializing outside and had amassed a large following.
At this point, even Xie Xia realized that the thought processes of the four Southeast Asian countries seemed different from those of the people from the Central Plains. Perhaps it was due to differences in their systems; they were more inclined to follow merchants than agriculture.
To be precise, they are more interested in business and even like to elevate the wealthy to the status of national aristocracy.
However, Gongsun Feng was ultimately a person from the Central Plains. Xie Xia still chose to believe them.
When Gongsun Feng held another bonfire party, Xie Xia finally couldn't hold back and wanted to see Gongsun Feng to talk to her.
I didn't even get to see anyone.
Si Bogong specifically sought him out and said, "Let her go. The profit-seeking nature of a merchant can be said to be fully displayed in her."
Because Gongsun Feng was the second person after Xie Xia to be able to grasp the situation of the four Southeast Asian countries in just a few days.
"Although I can't fight her, she gives me a feeling of extraordinary danger." Xie Xia said with a strange expression, "I felt uncomfortable from the first moment I saw her. I don't know why."
After Xie Xia finished speaking, the translator sent by Durant quickly invited him to attend the bonfire party: "Respected General, this grand banquet of 80,000 people from the three kingdoms is a great opportunity for you to come and taste our fine wine. In addition, our beauties are the most beautiful in the four kingdoms."
Xie Xia asked in confusion, "Isn't this a banquet hosted by Viscount Gongsun?"
The translator said, "The bonfire party was named by Viscount Gongsun, who invited everyone to participate. Our King is very proud of it, because this grand feast is a rare sight in our four Southeast Asian nations, a spectacle that is not seen for a hundred years."
Upon hearing this, Xie Xia told the translator to go ahead, and that he would come later.
Afterwards, Xie Xia immediately put his hands on his hips and shouted, "No wonder it was so strange! Turns out she's even more ruthless than me, pulling off a scheme to get something for nothing!!"
"She managed to fool the entire four Southeast Asian countries into going crazy with her without spending a single penny!"
Si Bogong was utterly shocked and speechless. He finally came to a conclusion: "It seems that if we want to operate in the four Southeast Asian countries in the future, we will have to curry favor with Gongsun Feng."
"What? But the problem is, I fought this battle!" Xie Xia exclaimed, his eyes wide. "Aren't they afraid of me?"
Si Bogong remained silent, but left a knowing look in his eyes.
Xie Xia lowered his voice and coughed lightly, saying, "Never mind, I've already won the first prize anyway."
After all, he didn't shed a single bullet, yet it was a great achievement for the Three Kingdoms. The two sides had different perspectives and viewpoints, naturally leading to different outcomes. Currently, Gongsun Feng is clearly receiving more attention.
Xie Xia then intended to ask experienced sailors from the Three Kingdoms to go to the Central Plains, but before he could even speak...
Gongsun Feng has hired a thousand men, spending a total of 100,000 taels of silver, to serve as his personal guards. All one thousand men are naval officers.
Xie Xia was dumbfounded. So, officers in the Three Kingdoms period could be bought?!
Xie Xia couldn't help but ask Gongsun Feng, "How did you convince them? A thousand officers! These are officers, not radishes or cabbages!"
Gongsun Feng smiled gently: "General, I told the kings that the thousand officers will be stationed in the Central Plains and become maritime officers for the four Southeast Asian countries through marriage alliances."
"Marriage alliances are a win-win situation for them."
"As for the 100,000 taels, it is the betrothal gift of my Great Jin."
Xie Xia was now completely speechless, his mouth agape.
Gongsun Feng is awesome!!!
With just one sentence, he lured all the elite soldiers and generals of the Three Kingdoms back to the Central Plains.
The problem is that those kings didn't see anything wrong with it. The reverence of the four Southeast Asian kingdoms for the Great Jin Dynasty cannot be explained in just a few words.
Even before the Great Jin Dynasty opened up maritime trade routes, the four kingdoms of the South Seas never treated the Great Jin Dynasty with such courtesy, even to the point of giving away their entire fortunes.
What should he say? Merchants are truly a scourge to the country and its people!
Even if Xie Xia admired Gongsun Feng, it didn't stop him from being wary of her. However, he forgot what Master Si had said: to flatter.
Xie Xia directly reached out to Gongsun Feng, demanding that she hand over a portion of the trade rights of the four Southeast Asian countries to him. In particular, he wanted 30% of the export tax revenue.
Gongsun Feng smiled and said, "General, even if I agree, it depends on how the king responds."
Xie Xia turned and sent a translator to probe the situation, but the translator was carried back and informed Xie Xia that the king had politely refused. This was because, to them, trade rights were an inviolable part of sovereignty. However, they were willing to send him more sailors.
Xie Xia looked down on ordinary sailors.
Although the four Southeast Asian countries are small and weak, he cannot force them to agree to things they do not want to do.
Xie Xia was so angry that he didn't want to stay in the four Southeast Asian countries anymore. Durant found him and explained, "General, Viscount Gongsun has privately signed an agreement with us to lease the ports of the four countries for a hundred years."
"This century-old agreement also includes the right to maritime security. If our four Southeast Asian nations are threatened, the Great Jin will be the first to come to our aid. Therefore, we cannot agree to your 30% export tax."
"Since we can't decide either, I'll just pay your taxes out of my own pocket every year."
Xie Xia dared not accept it and explained the situation to Durant. Then, after thinking for a moment, Xie Xia couldn't help but remind Durant, "You must be wary of Gongsun Feng and never exchange the country for him."
Durant noted this sentence down. He didn't tell the other kings. In the following hundred years, Durant, by closely following in the footsteps of the Western Jin Dynasty, rose to become the most powerful nation in Southeast Asia, even earning the nickname "Little Dragon of the East."
Afterwards, Gongsun Feng clearly felt that her conditions for acquiring the land were being thwarted. She had no choice but to move from Dulan to two other countries. As for the seal seat, it was later dissolved and then completely purchased by Gongsun Feng, becoming her first private estate overseas.
The international business delegation has finalized the terms with all participating countries, and Si Bogong has requested to return to China. However, they haven't yet located Xie Wei.
Xie Xia thought the clansman was probably dead. It was a pity Xie Wei had such bad luck.
Gongsun Feng planned to stay and finish things up, promising to keep sending people to look for Xie Wei.
Gongsun Feng also entrusted Sibo Gong to deliver a family letter to her husband, Shi Yang.
Only then did Si Bogong and Xie Xia realize that Gongsun Feng's husband was Shi Yang, the new ruler of the Shi Kingdom.
He's another remarkable person.
If Gongsun Feng hadn't been so outstanding, they wouldn't have forgotten about him.
Since being abandoned by Xie Lanzhi in Mingbao, Shi Yang has contacted Xie Lanzhi several times, hoping that he can go to Xin Tianjing to work.
Xie Lanzhi refused. She couldn't possibly bring the emperor under her wing to be a menial servant. Besides, Shi Yang was an excellent gunner, and it was most suitable for him to stay on the coast.
Seeing that Xie Lanzhi was not there, Shi Yang lost interest in the battlefield and headed straight home. Under his management, the Shi family mansion began to teeter on the brink of collapse.
Many in the Shi Kingdom were dissatisfied with Shi Yang's power, and Shi Yang didn't bother to manage it. However, because the new Tianjing needed the stability of the Shi Kingdom's borders, most of the Shi Kingdom was in a delicate balance.
There were always uprisings in the inland areas, but Shi Yang ignored them as long as they didn't reach his doorstep. However, anyone who revolted on the coast was doomed.
Xie Lanzhi received his petition again, requesting that she go to Tianjing.
Xie Lanzhi put away the letter, puzzled: "Who would give up being the ruler of a country to come to Tianjing and take a minor post?"
Si Xitong had heard of Shi Yang. She said, "He is indeed a talented person. Gongsun Feng often mentions her husband to me."
Crazy and capricious, Mu Qiang is pragmatic and individualistic. Despite his ability to manage the Shi family estate well, Shi Yang has no interest in it whatsoever. More accurately, because of his mother's situation, he harbors no goodwill towards the entire Shi family estate.
Because Shi Yang's mother was once a famous prostitute.
The high-ranking officials of the Shi family had all insulted his origins, and the common people had ridiculed his mother. His tragic childhood and his mother's experiences made Shi Yang indifferent to the fate of the Shi family. He even wished for the immediate destruction of the Shi family.