Even if he hates it.
Xie Xia clasped his hands and said, "Your Highness, this humble general believes that a secret maneuver is feasible, but we cannot sit idly by and wait for our doom."
At least give it a little slap.
Changing the subject, Si Xitong said, "Even General Zuo thinks this battle is not in our favor, so why fight it?"
Xie Xia immediately tensed up. It turned out that His Highness was using the great scholar's attitude to test his own.
What to do? His Highness is notoriously difficult to fool. How should he answer?
Xie Xia was not good at politics, and now that he was nervous, his mind went completely blank.
Si Xitong reminded him: "The printing press is not just about showcasing our national prestige; we should fight a battle that brings both fame and fortune."
"Does General Zuo understand what I mean?"
"Yes..." Xie Xia said, forcing a smile, "Your Highness is absolutely right."
Si Xitong suddenly turned her back, stood with her hands behind her back, and said calmly, "Go."
The meaning was clear; even the most foolish person wouldn't ask a second question. Xie Xia felt immense pressure. He left Jianzhang Palace and walked out of the palace, where he encountered Wu Qiu on the street.
Xie Xia immediately slapped himself on the head, expressing the immense pressure: "Our people have absolutely no experience. Your Highness is forcing me to go up there. Are you expecting me to fabricate some experience out of thin air?!"
"Isn't that just deceiving yourself?"
Wu Qiu heard this and saw people on the street glancing at Xie Xia from time to time, clearly recognizing him. He even heard someone shout, "Look, isn't that General Zuo!"
"Your Highness has summoned him back; is it finally time to attack the Chancellor?"
"Excellent! General Xie has always been brave and valiant. They will surely win a brilliant battle and bring glory to the Great Jin!"
"General Zuo, we all support you!"
Xie Xia looked up and saw the people, students, merchants and others standing there, all expecting him.
Xie Xia's scalp tingled: "So that's what Your Highness meant!"
The question is no longer whether to fight or not; it's the will of the people. Your Highness cannot ignore the will of the people. Therefore, as your subject, we must share the burden with our monarch.
Xie Xia found himself thrust into the limelight.
Thinking of His Highness, Wu Qiu couldn't help but pull Xie Xia to a tavern. The two booked a private room and had a good drink.
During this time, Wu Qiu complained to Si Xitong a few times: "Your Highness is becoming more and more imposing. You need to get used to it so that you can continue to serve under her."
"It's not easy to work under her." Xie Xia held his wine glass and smiled bitterly. "If we don't fight, or if we lose, it's just because the general is incompetent."
Wu Qiu believed this was the right thing to do. He said, "You must bear this honor and burden. The Great Jin Dynasty may seem to be thriving now, but it cannot withstand the scrutiny of the people."
"Therefore, Your Highness must be a sage ruler in the eyes of the people, and cannot tolerate the slightest impurity."
Material conditions must catch up, but moral character and spirit must be elevated even further. Otherwise, it's unimaginable what the currently prosperous new Tianjing will become.
Xie Xia put down his wine glass: "It seems we have no choice but to fight this battle, but how should we fight it?"
"I want to contact the Marshal and ask for her opinion."
Wu Qiu quickly stopped him, saying, "If the Marshal makes a move, you can forget about keeping your position! You can't even imagine how the Prince, the court, or the common people will view you then."
"His Highness's meaning is very clear: you must set a good example for the still-developing sailors in order to guide those below you."
If Xie Lanzhi were to come, the situation would be different.
Because Xie Lanzhi had already intervened in the battlefield of the Central Alliance, Ma Hong of the Capital Guard Army became somewhat dependent on her due to her presence, and Xie's soldiers and the people of Lu State were even more spiritually dependent on her.
This kind of mental dependence cannot cultivate independent combat capabilities in the army. Simply put, Xie Lanzhi's fighting style was not battlefield-oriented at all. She was a female general who won every battle, but she was not a good teacher who could popularize and militaryize her methods.
The militarization process will continue to be handled by the generals themselves. Right now, besides printing templates, the most crucial thing is to cultivate generals' ability to independently develop tactics.
Xie Xia stared at his wine glass and said, "I still want to see the Marshal."
Wu Qiu gave up trying to persuade him, assuming that he was still dependent on the marshal and unable to think independently.
Lanzhang Palace is quite lively now. Qianqian keeps running around the palace with Qiqi, and Qiqi chases after Qianqian to get balls of yarn.
Xie Lanzhi sat to the side, resting her chin on her hand, looking helplessly at Qiqi and Qianqian.
"Qiqi, you're already seventeen. Haven't you thought about learning music, chess, calligraphy, and painting? If all else fails, there are Suzhou embroidery masters in the palace. If you don't like embroidery, you can ask the master."
"And Qianqian, she's almost eight years old, right? Where's her homework?"
Qiqi and Qianqian turned their heads and made faces at her, thinking that she was just bored because she had no battles to fight recently, and even had to meddle in the children's affairs.
Feeling neglected by the two girls, Xie Lanzhi's hand slipped, and she listlessly slumped onto the table.
Just then, Granny Xie entered and whispered to her, "Marshal, General Zuo requests an audience."
"He seems to have something urgent to attend to. He's waiting in the garden."
Xie Lanzhi stood up, stretched her arms, and walked out of Lanzhang Palace.
She turned left into the garden, where Xie Xia was standing by the stone table, his right arm holding his helmet. Seeing her arrive, Xie Xia quickly went to greet her.
"marshal!"
"It must have been tiring for you to run back and forth like this." Xie Lanzhi sat on the stone bench and had tea served. Soon she smelled the alcohol on Xie Xia.
She remained silent. Xie Xia, a little nervous, shifted his arm around the helmet: "Um, this humble general..."
Xie Lanzhi took the initiative to say, "You should know very well what His Highness said."
"I don't want to ask you to go to sea, I just want to..." Xie Xia mustered his courage and said, "May I ask if you could give me some advice? Just one suggestion will do."
"His Highness did not mention that we cannot ask for advice. Besides, my staff recently went back to their hometown and have not returned for the time being."
Xie Lanzhi did not refuse. She said, "Then I'll tell you a story."
"The story of Wang Xuance".
The following day, Xie Xia set sail. He didn't bring many men, only two thousand in total. However, he did bring twenty Type 94 wheeled cannons and one hundred firearms.
When Yinzuo Fanmente heard that the Grand Admiral of the Great Jin Navy was about to set out on an expedition, his men were in a state of panic. However, Fanmente was well-versed in the Central Plains. He knew that the Great Jin Navy could not muster a strong navy to fight him in the short term. Therefore, they could only make peace with him. At that time, he only needed to propose conditions and make a fortune to strengthen his national power.
For the next twenty years, the four Southeast Asian nations will be entirely under his control. Even if the Great Jin's navy becomes stronger, it will be a matter of decades, by which time the Chancellor will have become a close partner with Anluo. With Anluo's support, the Great Jin wouldn't dare to easily touch the Chancellor. The situation could change drastically in twenty years, and no one knows what will happen. Even the Great Jin cannot guarantee that it will remain powerful forever, after all, His Highness the Prince of Tianjing hasn't even been able to defeat the Northern Xiongnu.
His position as regent was naturally unacceptable.
Yinzuo felt very confident about having found a powerful father figure for his future.
He just didn't expect that Xie Xia's two thousand men would be attacked by Du Lanyin, the weakest of the four Southeast Asian countries.
King Dulan, accompanied by his queen and the royal family, held a grand ceremony to welcome Xie Xia. Xie Xia presented the king with twenty Type 94 wheeled cannons and one hundred firearms.
The entire nation of Dulan was shocked. Twenty cannons!
King Durant was so excited upon receiving the lavish gift that he fainted. The Chancellor, Vanment, was puzzled upon hearing the news. Wasn't the Great Jin Dynasty sending envoys to negotiate with him at this time? Why had they changed course to Durant's territory and brought such a large gift? Even the Chancellor only possessed five Anro cannons. These mere five cannons were enough to intimidate three kingdoms.
To express his gratitude for this generous gift, Durant expressed his desire to reopen trade routes with the Great Jin Dynasty, promising to send people from far away to admire the grandeur of this powerful nation.
Xie Xia said he was going to Xinyinluyin immediately, and then returned to Dajin, where he could bring Durant's men back to the country.
Thus, Xiexia became Du Lanyin's most prestigious place, granting him the right to visit at will.
Xie Xia immediately expressed his desire to see Durant's naval barracks. Durant agreed on the spot and personally introduced his sailors, a total of three thousand men, who were already elite.
Afterwards, Xie Xia visited Shandong, India, and Singapore. Both countries were very envious when they heard that he had given Durant a generous gift.
However, Xie Xia did not send them any gifts. In front of the King of Lu Yin and the King of Xin Yin, he said that the two countries were already vassals of the Yinzuo and should not accept such a large gift. Otherwise, he would have sent them.
A vassal state cannot receive gifts from the Great Jin Dynasty outside of its suzerain state.
The two kings, Lu Yin and Xin Yin, dared not speak their anger on the spot. Before Xie Xia could even suggest inspecting their sailors, the kings rushed to let him do so.
Xie Xia reluctantly agreed, discovering that the navies of Lu Yin and Xin Yin were relatively strong. Meanwhile, Du Lan Yin, having received such a generous gift, was deeply offended.
The two kings kept explaining that they were not subordinate to the throne, but were equals. Xie Xia deliberately feigned difficulty, suggesting that the kings could not prove this.
Moreover, King Durand of Durand has already agreed to lend him a thousand soldiers.
Upon hearing this, both kings offered to lend Xie Xia troops. Xie Xia politely declined but instead gifted them five firearms.
The kings then insisted on giving him three thousand men. Xie Xia had no choice but to lead three thousand sailors across the border to Durant that very day. Durant heard from Xie Xia that the two kings had lent him three thousand sailors to prove they were not vassals of the Intendant, and that they had also falsely accused Durant of being a vassal state of the Intendant.
Durant immediately expressed his anger, stating that although his country was weak, it was by no means a coward who submitted to the barbarians of the throne.
Durant generously lent him the entire sailor squad.
Therefore, Xie Xia took advantage of the information gap between the three kingdoms to acquire 6,000 experienced sailors. He also hired a large number of translators from the civilian population, reaching a level where every sailor could have a translator on board.
The sailors from the small country had never seen such a lavish display of power. They felt like they were being treated like royalty, and they all followed Xie Xia to eat and drink near Durant, enjoying ten days and ten nights of treatment comparable to that of royalty.
On the eleventh day, news arrived from Duran that Xie Xia had been envied by King Vanment of the Intendant, who then sent men to injure Xie Xia.
At this time, the Great Jin Dynasty sent envoys, demanding that Durant and the two kings give Princess Fengning of the Great Jin Dynasty an explanation. This matter spread far and wide, reaching the people of the four kingdoms. It was all said that Fanment, out of jealousy for the lavish gifts received by the three kings, and even their sailors receiving such gifts, maliciously sent men to injure General Xie, thus framing the three kingdoms.
This will mislead His Highness of the Great Jin into believing that the Three Kingdoms and the Emperor are in cahoots!
The people were immediately filled with fear. To distance themselves from the situation, the three kings met that very night by boat on the Ai River to discuss their options and ask Xie Xia to present his conditions. They hoped to use Xie Xia to quell the anger of the Great Jin Prince.
Xie Xia, acting out of friendship, told them that he only wanted an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth, asking them to hand over the six thousand men to him to attack the printing press, and that he would write a will stating that it had nothing to do with the three kings.
He also formed a sworn brotherhood with the three kings.
The three kings had never witnessed the profound and unfathomable Art of War of Sun Tzu—the strategy of sowing discord and using the opponent's strength against them.
The three kings were also honored to become sworn brothers with Xie Xia.
The next day, Xie Xia, wounded, led six thousand sailors and a battalion of translators, pushing twenty cannons into Yinzuo.
A note from the author:
Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 2022-02-19 21:03:37 and 2022-02-20 20:44:34!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Ye (2 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Chapter 221 The Arrival of the Sea Queen
Yinzuo Fanmen led five thousand men to resist. He had always looked down on the total military strength of the three kingdoms and thought it was insignificant.
Now, six thousand men rushed into the seat of the enemy. Vanment's sailors were covered by a carpet of shells before they could even see each other. The shells bombarded them again and again until the area in front of them was turned into a sea of fire.