But the next moment, Xie Lanzhi said, "My lords, the coastal defense is managed by the Imperial Guard. You only need to guard your posts to ensure the prosperity of the Great Jin Dynasty."
Upon hearing this, the officials in the capital all breathed a sigh of relief.
At this moment, Madam Xie sensed that something was amiss, but she couldn't say anything in front of everyone.
After that, Si Xitong presided over the second half of the court affairs. Si Xitong arranged heavy tasks for the officials in the capital in an orderly manner, mostly production tasks for the following year or even the year after, as well as various targets.
Jing Chen initially had some doubts about the Yue Kingdom's coast, but gradually all his attention was diverted by the tasks assigned to him by Si Xitong.
Some officials in the capital even received assignments to go to Bingzhou to investigate Xie Shangguang, who raised pigs, and Si Qinian, the Marquis of Shi'an.
Furthermore, Si Xitong also appointed a court official surnamed Liu to inspect various counties, select a good location to expand pigsties, and establish several pig-raising counties. He also dispatched officials to inspect sanitation, water sources, and urban planning. In those days, even sanitation was handled by separate officials.
Traditional ministers considered these matters trivial, but when these trivial matters might affect their future, hygiene and ensuring clean and unpolluted water sources instantly became their top priorities.
The officials in the capital were utterly helpless; as always, their political perspectives were being shattered by His Highness. However, they all understood that the Great Jin Dynasty was different from what it had been a hundred years ago—it was arguably even more powerful. Both its productivity and military strength had increased hundreds of times. It was no longer comparable to heavy cavalry.
The army has now begun to replace the old with the new, setting up firearms battalions in preparation for the northern expedition against the Xiongnu.
After the court sessions, the officials went to their respective posts.
Only Wu Qiu, Xie Changwang, and Wei Zhao remained in the hall.
Wei Zhao and his other colleagues left.
He then dared to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and stepped forward, saying, "Your Highness, Marshal, the weapon that Xie Bing mentioned earlier looks very much like the weapon design drawings you once gave me."
"I thought your idea was ingenious, but I never imagined that the Seagull already possessed such a weapon."
Xie Lanzhi glanced at Si Xitong and noticed that she was very calm. The composure expected of a ruler of the land.
Si Xitong's tone was as indifferent as Liang Baikai's. She said to Lanzhi, "It seems that someone has already developed advanced weapons."
"That's really scary."
Xie Lanzhi: "..."
Honey, you're making me panic.
Xie Lanzhi carefully observed Little Phoenix, trying to glean something from her expression, such as whether she had a backup plan or had secretly invented some advanced weapon.
But she didn't react at all.
Xie Lanzhi said to Wei Zhao, speechless, "I'm sorry to have troubled you to put on such a show in front of the officials just now, Lord Wei. You've worked hard."
Wei Zhao smiled wryly and said, "This is what I should do, but it is only a delaying tactic. I hope that the officials of the Six Ministries can stabilize the security in various places and not underestimate the foreign enemy."
Currently, we face both external and internal troubles. The internal trouble lies in the fact that the entire South Central Plains is in a state of prosperity, and there is no room for discrediting it. It can be said that everyone is extremely sensitive.
If a sudden change occurs, we might accept reality, but the blow to the Central Plains would undoubtedly be enormous. At that point, the new Tianjing might even throw itself into disarray, developing a greater fear of overseas markets and becoming even less willing to venture out to sea. If the upper echelons convey a fear of overseas, it will inevitably spread to the lower classes.
This is the hidden danger that Xie Lanzhi is most concerned about.
Now, the general public has finally developed an interest in the outer seas because of the "Illustrations of Maritime Kingdoms," and what they are thinking about is not military or offensive, but friendly exchanges.
However, the ideas of people overseas and ordinary people are always different. Their culture, shaped by their environment, is predatory and cannot be understood by the people of the Central Plains.
Xie Lanzhi said, "Little Phoenix, the attitude of the officials in the capital will affect the new Tianjing, and even the 80 million people in the Southern Central Plains."
"Now it's up to you to keep them calm."
Si Xitong loves overseas and is very willing to engage with it, so she naturally cannot allow Jingchen to create obstacles for her. Moreover, expanding into the overseas markets cannot rely solely on her; it requires the collective efforts of millions of people to make it possible.
The imperial court is the forerunner and must set a good example. Therefore, the first point is to prevent itself from becoming closed off.
Si Xitong said, "I'm entrusting the next battle to you as well. But please make sure you don't go to sea again this time."
"Because it's unnecessary."
There was no need for Xie Lanzhi to notice. She indeed didn't need to go out anymore; she only needed to stay behind and guard the rear.
She informed Xie Changwang: "Give the order that I will soon establish a temporary military affairs department in Shuntian Prefecture, and have generals from all over the country participate according to their names."
Xie Changwang looked surprised and asked, "Are they all coming?"
Xie Lanzhi nodded.
This will be the end of the third year of the Jin Dynasty, and also the year with the most generals in the history of the Ministry of Military Affairs.
Si Xitong also instructed Wu Qiu: "Summon Lord Si Bogong, Marquis Lu Ping, Marquis Shi An, Xie Shangguang, the Zhang brothers, Hai Yun, five great Confucian scholars, the top ten scholars who have passed the imperial examinations in the past three years, and other scholars to the palace."
In literature, there is Si Qitong; in martial arts, there is Xie Lanzhi.
Xie Lanzhi stood up, and Si Xitong immediately grabbed her hand: "You should always put me first."
Xie Lanzhi squeezed her hand back, knowing in her heart why Si Xitong had summoned these officials. Among the civil officials, there needed to be someone knowledgeable about the war, preferably a young person—a young official who could quickly adapt to the changing times.
Then the two released each other's hands. They turned around in unison and descended the steps from their respective seats.
Xie Changwang followed Xie Lanzhi out of the hall and headed out of the palace.
Si Xitong brought Wu Qiu with him, and Wei Zhao went straight to Jianzhang Palace.
On the third day of the eleventh month of the third year of the Jin Dynasty, under a clear blue sky, two figures hurried past each other through the white stone railing. This day was destined to leave a strong mark on history.
His achievements will be recorded in history and will last for eternity!
Because this was the beginning of a powerful dynasty!
Wang Zheng, who was on a mission outside Tianjing to investigate border military affairs, was accompanied by two colleagues on their way to Yue with Xie Fu.
Wang Zheng simply couldn't believe that their Great Jin's Type 94 would lose to a group of sea monsters.
Wang Zheng didn't disbelieve that there were no pirates overseas; he simply couldn't believe that the overseas regions had already developed and become more advanced than the Central Plains. As the top scholar of the year in Xicheng, Wang Zheng had experienced the reigns of the Yellow Turban rebels and the era of the incompetent and corrupt Emperor Emeritus. He had never lost faith in the Central Plains.
Because he believed that the Central Plains was advanced, and even in its current state of chaos, it remained a superior nation among all under heaven. This glory had endured from ancient times to the present, never wavering. Even with changing dynasties, the Central Plains would always be the eternal sun of the East.
He could not tolerate foreign invasion at this time, and he would not allow foreign tribes to become stronger than the Central Plains.
Wang Zheng was in a bad mood throughout the journey. His two colleagues showed no sense of crisis whatsoever, and even joked about Xie Shi on horseback: "Your Highness and the ministers' reactions are quite reasonable, but Xie Shi is getting more and more agitated. Where is the demeanor of a military family?"
"After they entered the capital, the entire court was in chaos. We thought they could be arrogant for another ten years or so, but they didn't even last five years. We drove them out."
"They are just a bunch of burly, rough men. They are not good at politics and are unwilling to learn. How could Your Highness dare to use them?"
Shaffer suppressed his anger as he listened to them deliberately bring up the Shaffer family. Although it was true, they had gone too far.
Wang Zheng frowned and reminded them, "That's enough. We're about to reach Yue. We must not let our guard down."
The two colleagues then shut their mouths.
Shaffer was at peace. But Wang Zheng's heart was not at peace. For as soon as they arrived in the Yue territory, they saw that the mountain in front of them was engulfed in flames, and black smoke filled the sky above Yue.
A large fire broke out on the mountain, attracting everyone's attention.
The other two civil officials had just looked up when, in the next instant, a gunshot rang out from somewhere, and one of them fell from his horse on the spot. His brains splattered out.
The civil official on horseback thought he had fallen off his horse in fright and couldn't help but joke, "Sir, we haven't even reached the border yet, and you're already scared out of your wits."
"Get up quickly, don't embarrass Jingchen."
Shaffer ordered two soldiers to help him up. As soon as the soldiers helped the civil official up, they discovered a bloody hole in the man's forehead and immediately let go in fright.
The body fell to the ground, its blood splattered everywhere, a gruesome sight.
"Lord Wang, he... he's dead!"
The remaining civil officials were so frightened that they fell off their horses and suffered head injuries.
Just then, a few more shots were fired through the dappled sunlight in the dense forest, wounding several of Xie's soldiers. Xie immediately ordered his artillerymen to find a good position to return fire. The Xie artillerymen quickly hid behind trees, observing the situation. As soon as they spotted gunfire, they opened fire rapidly. They kept firing.
They were somewhat panicked, and their actions were an overreaction, firing indiscriminately as a show of force. The killer, hidden in the dense forest, had killed one of their officials without ever appearing.
Wang Zheng immediately dismounted and hid behind a nearby rock, his face extremely grave: "Shaffer, find a way to find the gunman and then take him out!"
Shaffer nodded and ordered his best-equipped soldier to move into the enemy's firing range. Sure enough, the enemy fired a shot at the soldier's head. The soldier immediately fell to the ground, and Shaffer immediately fired a cannon shot in the direction of the gunshot.
Boom! The explosion sent smoke and dust billowing across the area. Trees fell and birds scattered. After firing five shots, Shaffer immediately sent men to find the culprit.
Ten soldiers quietly crept in and brought out a corpse. The person was wearing a four-cornered pirate hat and short clothes, and both his hair color and facial features were different from those of people from the Central Plains.
The soldier who had been knocked down stood up, took off his helmet, and discovered that it was only an inch away from being pierced through the forehead. He immediately broke out in a cold sweat and went to report to Shaffer.
After examining the body, Shaffer discovered that the bullets in the sea monster's body were strapped to a belt, making them extremely easy to retrieve. He also noted that the soldier testing the gun was equipped with the Ministry of Works' best steel helmet, a brand new one at that.
It has now been measured that the steel helmet is powerful enough to block the sea monster's bullets.
Shaffer said to Wang Zhengdao, "Lord Wang, my men found this sea monster from 200 meters away. It's clear that their weaponry had a slight advantage."
Upon hearing this, Wang Zheng's face turned extremely grim. The civil official, who had fallen and was bleeding from his head, instantly collapsed to the ground, looking utterly devastated and seemingly on the verge of collapse: "Impossible! The firearms of our Great Jin are more advanced than those of the Northern Xiongnu! Impossible!"
"Shaffer, are you exaggerating or not!"
Shaffer was speechless. The facts were right in front of him, yet he still couldn't believe it: these civil servants were indeed all unrealistic and impractical people.
Only Wang Zheng's face remained grim for a while. He squatted behind a rock, thinking about how a single firearmsman on the other side had blocked over a thousand of their men. A civil official had also died.
"Sherlock, this matter must be reported with discretion. It must not be publicized!" Wang Zheng glanced at his last colleague. He knew that the court was full of officials like him.
Not to mention their arrogance and unanimous praise for the current development of the new Tianjing, even the people of Tianjing, and even the people of the Southern Central Plains, are now being misled by this illusion of prosperity and strength.
On land, they were the strongest—that was an undeniable fact. But the people of the Central Plains applied their land-based skills to coastal defense, believing that the same applied to coastal defense.
Wang Zheng suddenly understood why the Marshal and His Highness hadn't responded when the messenger insisted on telling the truth—it was because they knew. The most important thing now was to stabilize morale.
They knew that the ministers and the people were so immersed in the prosperity they had built that they couldn't accept the reality and were instead throwing themselves into disarray.
Eighty million people. If they get into chaos, it will be far more serious than dealing with a mere sea monster.
Wang Zheng suddenly clutched his head, hesitated for a moment, then, overcome with fear, he finally stood up, leaning on the stone. Although his legs were still trembling, indicating his fear, he still mustered his courage and said, "Xie Fu, we need to go to the current Xie Clan headquarters. We must gather all the intelligence on Hai Niao as soon as possible and report it to His Highness and the Marshal!"
Shaffer was somewhat surprised: "This humble general still thinks it would be better for you to go back first, after all, you will be taking up the post of Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of War next month."
"The battlefield is too dangerous. Whether I survive or not is another matter..."
Before Shaffer could finish speaking, Wang Zheng interrupted him, pointing at the terrified civil official and saying, "Look at him, how many people in Tianjing will be as afraid and panic as he is?"
"We can't go back. Only by figuring out the strength of the Sea Monsters can we defeat them."
Wang Zheng walked out of the stone step by step, mounted his horse, and made Shaffer admire him a little.
Shaffer immediately ordered everyone to go with Wang Zheng to the main camp, and sent someone to escort the civil official back.
Meanwhile, Xie Bing, who was suffering repeated defeats, did not put up any resistance for the time being, but Hai Kou did not spread too quickly either. After occupying Yue, they attacked Shi Guofu.
Shi Yang personally withdrew the Type 94 cannon, killing more than a dozen Hai Kou soldiers, and forced Hai Kou to temporarily retreat.
The situation on Shi Yang's side was not optimistic either. He discovered that these sea monsters knew the terrain very well and had shown contempt for the Type 94 cannon, to the point that they were charging right up to the muzzle.