With Cao Cao by my side, what do I have to fear from the world?

"Yes, His Majesty has become a true emperor!"

Cao Cao sighed as well. At this moment, his heart was filled with extremely complex emotions, including resentment and even a trace of relief.

Guo Jia nodded to him, "My lord, you also hope that he can become a wise and virtuous ruler."

Cao Cao's memory seemed to be instantly pulled back to Luoyang of the past.

In his early years, he followed Emperor Ling and was appointed as a consultant. At that time, Cao Cao was young and vigorous, and often submitted memorials to Emperor Ling.

Cao Cao wished he could reverse all the injustices in the world. He hoped Emperor Ling could cheer up and that the world could become a better place.

Unfortunately, Emperor Ling was incompetent, and the Ten Attendants were in power. Not only were their suggestions not adopted, but they also aroused Emperor Ling's dissatisfaction. After finally eliminating the Ten Attendants, Dong Zhuo from Liang Province came to power.

Cao Cao witnessed too many things he didn't want to see, and at one time, he also desperately longed for a capable and good emperor to emerge in the world.

Cao Cao sighed again. Having reached this point, he was also filled with confusion.

The good emperor he had longed for had finally appeared, but he himself was destined to become a stumbling block to the emperor's efforts to stabilize the country.

Suddenly, a boat appeared on the river. Guo Jia, with his sharp eyes, quickly reminded Cao Cao, "My lord, look, a boat is coming."

Cao Cao looked in the direction of the sound and sure enough, a boat was coming. Several people were standing at the bow of the boat, including women and children. The more Cao Cao looked at them, the more familiar they seemed to him.

As the ships drew closer, Cao Cao finally recognized them; they were his family members.

Lady Bian held Cao Zhi's hand, Lady Huan held Cao Chong's hand, and the Imperial Clan Minister, Prince Chen, also came along.

Cao Cao was immediately in high spirits and hurriedly went to the riverbank to greet him. The fifty-something-year-old Cao Cao suddenly became cheerful.

Guo Jia turned and glanced in the direction of Xudu, thinking to himself: Your Majesty, this must be your arrangement, right?
After the boat docked, Cao Zhi helped Lady Bian ashore first, followed by Lady Huan. Cao Zhi and Cao Chong hurriedly ran towards Cao Cao. Cao Chong, who was very sweet-talking, stretched out his little hands from afar and called out to his father.

Upon seeing his family, Cao Cao smiled broadly and embraced Cao Chong tightly, his beard sticking to Cao Chong's face.

"Chong'er, how are your studies? Do you miss your father?"

Cao Chong is already nine years old. He is fair-skinned and cute, with a delicate pink complexion like a girl.

Cao Chong chuckled, his face pricked by Cao Cao's beard, but he didn't flinch.

He obediently replied, "Father, I am doing very well in my studies. His Majesty just examined me a few days ago."

Cao Cao's affection for Cao Chong was genuine; he held him in his arms, reluctant to put him down. In the end, it was Cao Chong who took the initiative to say, "Father is so biased! Brother Zijian is still waiting here."

"You little adult, lecturing me like this, hahaha!"

Cao Cao then smiled and put Cao Chong on the ground, then took Cao Zhi's hand and inquired about his studies.

Guo Jia then approached Prince Chen and asked with a smile, "Prince Chen, this is His Majesty's arrangement, isn't it?"

Prince Chen nodded. "Yes, His Majesty said that the Prime Minister is too busy with military affairs to return to Xuchang, so he asked me to send his family here to ease the Prime Minister's longing for his loved ones."

Guo Jia knew perfectly well that Prince Chen was the Minister of the Imperial Clan, so having Prince Chen come forward not only showed the emperor's attention to the matter, but also served as a reminder to Cao Cao that although Cao Cao was the prime minister, he was also a relative of the emperor.

This time, only Lady Huan and Lady Bian were allowed to bring their children. Next time, it will likely be other women and children. In short, the emperor would never send all of Cao Cao's family members.

Even so, Cao Cao was very happy and temporarily put aside his military affairs to spend his days with his family.

Back in Xuchang, because Lady Bian was old, the two had not shared a bed for a long time. But this time, Cao Cao seemed to have a renewed passion and became intimate with Lady Bian several times in a row.

Cao Cao's good mood was completely shattered when he learned that Liu Bei had led his troops to capture Changsha.

On this day, Cao Ren rushed to see him, bringing news that Liu Bei had occupied Changsha.

Cao Cao waved his hand, signaling Cao Zhi to take Cao Chong to play somewhere else. After the children left, Cao Cao's face immediately darkened. "Outrageous! I never expected that Your Majesty would transfer Gan Ning away."

"My lord, should we send troops immediately to retake Changsha?" Cao Ren asked angrily.

Cao Cao nodded. "Of course. In that case, you will lead your troops across the river immediately. We must not only take back Changsha, but also prevent Liu Bei and Sun Quan from obtaining other parts of Jingnan."

Cao Ren agreed and left. That same day, he mustered 30,000 troops and led them across the river to Changsha.

After Cao Ren left, Cao Cao was still furious and sneered, "Liu Bei, I never thought you would be willing to be Sun Quan's lackey and be at his beck and call. It's truly laughable."

Although Liu Bei had fewer troops, he occupied Changsha ahead of time. Although Cao Ren brought 30,000 troops, the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

On this day, Liu Xie arrived in Xuzhou and was about to travel to Qingzhou. Instead of staying in the city, Liu Xie and his entourage continued their journey towards Donglai.

Chen Deng was somewhat confused. Seeing that the emperor had brought a lot of soldiers this time, he dared not underestimate him. He accompanied him all the way to Qingzhou and joined Zhang He. The troops continued to march northeast until they reached Donglai County. It was almost evening when they finally stopped marching.

The capital of Donglai Commandery was Huang County. The local governor was both excited and nervous, fearing that he might slight the emperor.

The next day, Liu Xie called Taishi Ci to his side and said, "Ziyi, you are a local. From now on, you will lead the way."

Everyone looked at the emperor with suspicion. Taishi Ci hurriedly asked, "Your Majesty, where exactly are you going?"

Liu Xie pointed northeast and said, "The place I'm going to this time is the end of Qingzhou, on the shore of the sea, Penglai!"

Taishi Ci was taken aback. "Your Majesty, are you going to pray for blessings?"

To the people of Donglai, Penglai was known as the place where immortals lived. Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu to Penglai, and Emperor Wu of Han, Liu Che, also visited it in person. Liu Xie smiled without saying a word, "Just lead the way."

Taishi Ci had no choice but to lead the way. The group traveled northeast for another day and finally arrived at Penglai near dusk. Since it was getting late, they had to set up camp on the spot.

Everyone was puzzled, wondering why the emperor insisted on coming to Penglai.

The next day, Liu Xie ordered the troops to stay where they were and continued their journey on horseback. Soon, they arrived at the seaside.

This was Liu Xie's first time at the seaside since he came into this world.

He looked up at the endless blue of the sea and sky, his heart filled with emotion. In his previous life, he had lived by the sea, and he would often go to the beach to take a look, whether he had something to do or not.

After so many years, I finally saw the sea again. The excitement I felt was indescribable.

A sea breeze blew in, and Liu Xie breathed in the fresh sea air. Waves lapped against the rocks on the shore, making a series of sounds.

In the distance, several fishing boats drifted on the sea, and the fishermen were busy harvesting their hard-earned produce.

In mid-air, several seagulls circled leisurely, sometimes swooping down to the sea and sometimes flying into the distance.

Of all the people present, apart from Taishi Ci and Chen Deng, this was the first time anyone had ever seen the sea. The azure sea stretched as far as the eye could see, and no end could be seen at all. Everyone was awestruck.

"Your Majesty, is this the sea?" Zhao Yun asked curiously.

Liu Xie nodded. "Yes, Yuanlong and Ziyi are no strangers to the sea, but I believe that you don't actually know much about it."

Chen Deng smiled and said, "To be honest, apart from seeing fishermen go out to sea to catch fish and having developed the habit of eating raw fish in my early years, I don't know anything else. Once, on a whim, I organized a group of people to go out to sea and see how big the ocean really was. But before we had gone very far, we encountered a huge wave. One of our boats was capsized, and two people died. So I had to turn back."

“Your Majesty, the real Penglai Mountain is at sea, and sometimes you can see it from the shore,” Taishi Ci said, gesturing towards the distant sea.

Liu Xie nodded. "I know that back then, Qin Shi Huang sent Xu Fu to the sea to search for the elixir of immortality. Xu Fu lied to Qin Shi Huang and said that he had gone to Penglai Island. I am not here to pray for blessings, nor am I here to find any elixir of immortality."

"Then what is the purpose of Your Majesty's large-scale mobilization here?" Chen Deng couldn't help but ask.

Liu Xie glanced at Gan Ning behind him and raised his voice: "I want to establish a navy!"

"Establish a navy?" Everyone was somewhat surprised upon hearing this news.

It's unacceptable that they're establishing a naval army when they haven't even figured out what's going on on land.

Chen Deng hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, as I just said, the sea is unpredictable and the waves are extremely high. Ships can capsize at any moment, making it impossible to sail normally at sea, let alone travel long distances."

Liu Xie smiled and said, “Yuanlong, I understand your concerns. There will indeed be many problems at sea, but some things have to be done by someone. Even if I don’t do it, someone else will establish a navy in the future.”

Liu Xie pointed northeast and said, “I tell you all, Gongsun Du of Liaodong is in that direction, opposite us. Besides Liaodong, there are several island nations of varying sizes in that direction.”

Liu Xie pointed south again, "Follow the coast and head south, and you'll reach the mouth of the Yangtze River. Turn around there, and you'll reach Jiangdong."

"Huh? Is this true?"

Chen Deng stared wide-eyed, looking east and then south, but the sea and sky stretched endlessly, and he could see nothing but the seawater.

However, Chen Deng dared not question what Liu Xie said, because he was the emperor, and many of his previous prophecies had come true.

Seeing that everyone was in a daze, Liu Xie said, "Let me first talk about the role of the navy. First of all, it can protect our people and our vast territory. Just imagine, if we didn't have a navy, our coastal borders would be like an open chest, completely undefended. If one day, someone sails over and comes over, wouldn't we be in a very passive position?"

"In this world, there is more than just the Han Dynasty. The earlier we establish a navy, the sooner we can seize the initiative. Our ancestor, Emperor Wu, once sent Zhang Jian to the Western Regions to open up the Silk Road overland. This not only allowed us to exchange goods with other countries, but also enabled us to learn from their strengths and make up for our own weaknesses, and continuously strengthen our own power."

Zhao Yun nodded in agreement, saying, "Your Majesty is absolutely right. Many of the things we eat and use today were brought back by Zhang Jian during his mission to the Western Regions."

Zhang Jian made two missions to the Western Regions. The first was for military purposes, and the second was for economic and cultural exchange. He brought countless things to the Central Plains.

Plants such as walnuts, grapes, pomegranates, broad beans, alfalfa, and coriander from the Western Regions have been successfully cultivated in the Central Plains and widely planted.

Liu Xie gazed into the distance, looking towards the direction of Japan, and said with great passion: "In short, establishing a navy is something I must do, and the sooner the better. You all should know that there are many countries on land and many countries at sea. Establishing a navy will not only protect us, but also allow us to exchange goods with other countries, and even seize many island nations and turn them into our Han territory."

Liu Xie is still young, only 24 years old this year, and his era has just begun.

"Of course, one must eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time. I will not ask you to achieve anything in a short period of time, but this step must be taken. Sun Quan occupies Jiangdong and is so fearless because he has two major advantages: the natural barrier of the Yangtze River and the Jiangdong navy. He has a navy, but I will build a navy. Perhaps one day, it will surprise Sun Quan."

Gan Ning felt as if his blood was on fire. He looked at the sea and became increasingly excited.

Chen Deng nodded excitedly, "This is indeed worth doing. It's hard to find a suitable place to train the navy on land. Whether it's an inland river or a lake, the water is either too narrow or too calm, which doesn't serve the purpose of training the troops. But training the troops at sea is much better. The sea is wide enough and the waves are big enough. It can not only serve the purpose of training the troops, but also keep the news out of Sun Quan and others."

After everyone understood Liu Xie's intention, they all nodded in agreement. Liu Xie instructed Zhang He, "Junyi, you are the governor of Qingzhou, so you need to take good care of things. I want Gan Ning and Taishi Ci to train troops here. All supplies will be provided by the governor, and it is essential to keep the news secret."

Gan Ning was skilled in naval warfare, while Taishi Ci was a native of the area. Liu Xie was very reassured to entrust this matter to them.

Zhang He nodded hurriedly, "Your Majesty, please rest assured. Your Majesty has lofty ambitions, and I am fortunate to be a part of them. I will do my utmost."

Liu Xie expressed his satisfaction. No matter what the matter was, he preferred to give a general direction, but he wouldn't interfere too much with the specifics of how to do it or what details to pay attention to.

Just like working in a company, some leaders just assign you a task, and you have to figure out how to do it yourself.

Some leaders, on the other hand, act like mothers, explaining every little detail to you, how to do this step, how to do the next step, and what to pay attention to, treating their employees like babies who have just learned to walk.

Liu Xie disliked being long-winded and didn't like rambling on and on. The world was so vast, and there were so many things to do; if he had to lecture him on every single matter for ages, he'd be exhausted to death. (End of Chapter)