You have truly caused me great suffering!

The emperor is able to communicate with Heaven.

This is what Confucianism calls "the interaction between Heaven and humanity," and it is also the legal basis of the imperial power in the Central Plains.

Chen Shao's many ingenious ideas and foresight were beyond the comprehension of the scholar-officials and nobles of his time.

Therefore, they can only place even more faith in this system.

His Majesty is the emperor ordained by Heaven, the Son of Heaven whose word is law.

If many of Chen Shao's decrees had been issued by an emperor in the middle of the dynasty, they would probably have incurred the wrath of the people and been met with widespread resentment and attacks.

Now that he has returned to the Hot Spring Palace, Chen Shao has stopped concerning himself with state affairs.

He would glance at the important memorials sent by the Secretariat each day, and would not reply to those that were not particularly urgent.

Instead, the decision was made by a meeting of the prime minister's team.

In fact, given Chen Shao's energy and physical strength, he could have handled government affairs at the same high intensity as Zhu Yuanzhang.

However, Chen Shao did not believe that his descendants could do the same.

Therefore, he tried his best to refine the bureaucratic system to make things easier for the emperor.

Although he came from later generations, Chen Shao was not actually a person who craved comfort and ease.

He enjoys the feeling of governing.

It's fascinating and incredibly rewarding to take this vast empire, repair it bit by bit, and make it better.

Countless people will live better lives because of your actions, and countless people will sing your praises for your kindness.

Even in winter, the Onsen Palace is still incredibly beautiful and colorful.

The mountainside is planted with many pines, cypresses, bamboos and orchids, which are evergreen all year round. The magnificent mountain scenery and classical houses shine in the sunset, as if they are shrouded in a layer of light.

The gently flowing stream creates soft ripples, like brocade swaying in the wind.

Chen Shao sat on the viewing platform of the two-story building, with water bubbling on the clay stove next to him.

Across from him, Xiao Ting earnestly shared her insights on Taoist cultivation with him.

Chen Shao listened attentively, but didn't grasp much of what he was learning.

This really depends on comprehension. Clearly, Xiao Ting is far more comprehension-oriented than Chen Shao in this regard.

In a fantasy world, this would be a sect's most outstanding female disciple and an outer sect servant male disciple.

Although Chen Shao only had a vague understanding, it didn't stop him from enjoying the feeling, which was quite wonderful, like time passing by in the mountains.

Spending a few months each year in the mountains for spiritual practice is also extremely beneficial to his health.

His mind was in turmoil, his thoughts wandering between different things. Xiao Ting's voice was very pleasant, but he ignored it all, not listening to a word she said.

Xiao Ting, sitting opposite him, saw that his gaze was unfocused and he was clearly lost in thought. She thought to herself that His Majesty was truly talented; he had entered the Dao just by listening to him.

A cool breeze blew through the mountains, and Chen Shao's spirits lifted. He looked at Xiao Ting across from him, who was gazing at him with an expression of adoration, and couldn't help but feel a little strange.

"Haha, I've heard enough for today, let's continue tomorrow."

Actually, he had other things to do tomorrow, but Chen Shao just said it casually and let today pass by first.

Xiao Ting nodded with a smile, and looked at the mountain scenery with him, her eyes becoming increasingly clear.

After this winter, she didn't plan to leave. She said she would stay here to look after the palace so that it wouldn't become dusty and uninhabited for several months.

She loves it here so much, she'll just stay here and wait for them to come back.

The next morning, Chen Shao stretched and felt refreshed after getting up.

Looking around, Xiao Ting had already gone out.

He smiled and shook his head, waiting for Xiao Ting's maids to help him get dressed before leisurely heading to the outer hall of the palace.

There, many people were already waiting for him.

After Chen Shao arrived at the Hot Spring Palace, he mostly ignored the affairs of any government office, with the exception of the Engineering Academy.

Chen Shao ordered that any breakthroughs made by the Engineering Institute should be reported directly to him.

No matter what kind of technological innovation it was, it had to be reported. Chen Shao was very interested in all the research conducted by the engineering institute.

This time, it was still the musket research team that came.

There were many people accompanying him this time, because at this time, most people in the capital had some free time.

Han Shizhong, accompanied by a group of military officers from the Privy Council, also came to view the new weapons.

This weapon was supposed to be prioritized for the Imperial Guards of the capital, so the Privy Council attached great importance to it.

Han Shizhong really didn't slack off this year, because the Privy Council was extremely busy with battles in both the north and south at the same time.

The military in the South China Sea is frequently mobilized, as they need to weigh the interests of all parties and constantly send troops to participate in the battle.

Not to mention that after capturing the island, someone would need to be stationed there.

His Majesty previously set the rotation period for the overseas naval forces at one year, but it has now been changed to three years. Previously, the naval operations were all near the coast, and the round trip was quick.

Nowadays, some distant places require months of travel just to sail, and the entire yearly schedule is wasted on the road.

Fortunately, Han Shizhong was very knowledgeable about these matters, and his subordinates were full of talented people, so the situation was handled quite well.

In fact, he is a very capable person, but his personality makes him somewhat lazy.

He saw that the four men who had been enfeoffed as kings for their military achievements were all busy outside, and Han Shizhong immediately felt the pressure.

His own advisors had analyzed for him that the current Jing Dynasty was different from the previous dynasties. In the past, once someone from a different surname was granted the title of king, there was no one left to be granted the title of king.

Therefore, kings must learn to know when to advance and when to retreat.

Now Your Majesty's ambitions far surpass those of the Han and Tang dynasties, and there are still countless battles to be fought. They must also be inspired to assist Your Majesty so that Your Majesty's favor will not wane and that you will share the prosperity of the nation.

So when Han Shizhong heard that firearms were to be equipped in the Beijing garrison, he came immediately.

Although the Great Jing Dynasty may seem to have no need to defend its capital at present, this matter is a long-term plan.

We need to plant the seeds of a strong army so that the Beijing garrison in future generations will also be impregnable.

They can't possibly fall into the same trap as the Imperial Guards of the Song Dynasty, which completely degenerated after only a few generations due to problems with regulations.

Many of the policies of the Great Jing Dynasty were based on lessons learned from the Great Song Dynasty, and were then implemented through sweeping reforms.

But in fact, the Song Dynasty learned from the lessons of the Five Dynasties and changed it to that form.

Therefore, this thing is prone to overcorrection, and it needs to be balanced. This is what Chen Shao needs to steer.

Chen Shao's outer palace garden had various facilities, making it almost like a small workshop.

Every time the craftsmen come, they marvel at how convenient it is to demonstrate anything to His Majesty here, with all sorts of furnaces and materials available.

At this moment, Zhang Xingwang was explaining to Chen Shao how to attach the blade to the musket.

Han Shizhong and the others, standing behind Chen Shao, also looked over curiously.

Zhang Xingwang, holding up the musket, said, "Your Majesty, this is the bayonet that has been fitted according to your orders."

"When the gun barrel is forged, the outer layer is forged into a hexagonal shape. At first glance, it looks like a round tube, but if you look closely, you can see that it is hexagonal. Your Majesty, please examine it."

Chen Shao sat beside him without saying a word, only nodding in acknowledgment.

So Zhang Xingwang picked up two castings and put them on the gun barrel. The two pieces were cleverly cast and fit perfectly on the gun barrel.

The joints are relatively thin, but when pieced together, they form a complete structure, resembling the shape of a nut. There's also a raised mechanism at the bottom, presumably used for hammering and riveting. There are holes at both joints.

Then a craftsman picked up a pair of tongs, took a red-hot copper bar from the furnace, and muttered to himself, "Perfect."

Then he placed the copper bar into the mating hole, inserted an iron rod into the barrel, and took a small iron hammer to carefully tap the red-hot copper bar.

The copper strip quickly acted like a rivet, securing the joint.

Zhang Xingwang used the same trick again, securing the other spot with copper nails. He focused on his work and spoke very little afterward, but these craftsmen weren't usually very talkative anyway.

Many times, superiors felt that they were deliberately offending them, but in fact they were just being unintentional.

Being able to speak well is not a simple skill; it requires emotional intelligence and experience.

After Chen Shao became emperor, he often heard some pleasing words, but he was also able to distinguish between truth and falsehood.

Zhang Xingwang casually picked up a double-edged, blood-grooved dagger.

That dagger must have been forged from a single iron rod, with a long blade and the latter half being an iron rod.

The iron rod had a wooden handle attached. He placed the knife handle on the mechanism under the musket barrel, stood the musket upright, and then picked up the mallet and struck it for a while.

The dagger slowly got stuck into the mechanism under the iron hoop and the wooden hole at the back, looking very secure.

Chen Shao took the musket with great interest, gently shook it, and found it to be very sturdy.

However, the components above are made of cast iron, and the material strength and thickness limit the overall strength.

Han Shizhong frowned and said, "What use is this? When fighting an enemy, if the opponent has a handy weapon, the weapon will break as soon as it touches the ground."

That's not wrong. In close combat, bayonets are no match for the white-shafted spears and lances of the Song Dynasty.

But Chen Shao was thinking about things further into the future.

It's never a bad thing to start research in this area first.

Han Shizhong held a very high position, so when he spoke, the craftsmen hesitated and dared not speak.

Chen Shao spoke on their behalf, saying, "It was I who ordered them to develop it; it may be useful in the future."

Han Shizhong quickly praised, "If it weren't for Your Majesty, no one else could have come up with such a brilliant idea."

Chen Shao gave him a disgruntled look.

Next came a test firing, this time targeting a straw man instead.

Instead, they were rows of wooden stakes clad in armor.

Two eunuchs carried over a suit of armor for Chen Shao to inspect.

Han Shizhong reached out and touched it, saying, "This iron lamellar armor is quite good. Ordinary weak soldiers can't withstand it. Those who wear this armor are already elites. If muskets can break through this armor, they can be used on the battlefield."

He is an undisputed expert in this area.

Chen Shao nodded, and they began to lift the armor and put it onto the wooden stake.

Then came the test firing. After firing, Han Shizhong and the others led Chen Shao forward to test the degree of armor penetration.

At first, the armor-piercing effect was only so-so at a distance of 100 meters, but when it advanced to about 70 meters, the armor-piercing effect became quite good.

Within a hundred meters, if cavalry were to charge, they could close the distance in an instant.

Han Shizhong said, "It seems that it can only be used when defending cities and passes."

At this time, the enemy will not wear heavy armor, because that would make it impossible for them to move.

But Chen Shao remained optimistic.

Han Shizhong and the others gathered together to discuss the matter.

"This thing is not as good as the Divine Arm Bow, but the Divine Arm Bow can only be drawn by a strong man, while anyone can use this thing."

"It's just that the construction cost was a bit high."

"What do you know? War is a contest of national strength. Didn't His Majesty say that future wars will be even more about the contest of national strength?"

"Then who can compare to our Great Jing?"

Listening to their discussion, Chen Shao glanced at the tense students of the engineering college and laughed, "At this level, quickly build five hundred of them. I want to form a musket team first."

They are right. Soon, future wars will be a contest of national strength.

The goal is to have money and resources to build enough cannons and muskets, as future competitions will involve warships.

Although the Great Jing Dynasty arrived hundreds of years earlier than them, once technology appears, it cannot be hidden.

It's hard to say when other ethnic groups will learn from it.

After all, you can't expect steam engines to already be here while things are still developing according to historical timelines over there.

But Chen Shao was very confident that as long as the Central Plains civilization was on the same starting line as others, it had never lost.

They were the ones who started this revolution first, and the Central Plains, which was delayed by the Manchu Qing dynasty for a century, still managed to catch up.

Now that Dajing is taking the lead in setting the trend, why would it be afraid of falling behind?
-
Dae-kyung's efforts to promote the use of Chinese in Goryeo were not successful.

Many clans and powerful families strongly opposed it.

They weren't worried about the fate of Goryeo, but rather about the fear that their people would be lured away by Daejeong.

Goryeo is now beginning to feel the inconvenience of manpower shortages.

Many people fled to Liaodong to settle down, and they all brought their families with them, leaving many jobs unattended.

These people were local strongmen with deep-rooted connections, similar to the gentry in the Central Plains.

If they oppose it, it will be difficult to promote the idea.

In Xijing, Cui Shunting lived in a house with many guards inside and outside.

He was well aware that his reputation was not good and that many people wanted to get rid of him.

Therefore, he has always been very cautious.

The Goryeo rulers and their ministers dared not openly make any moves against themselves, because they dared not gamble on Emperor Gyeong's reaction.

If they angered His Majesty the Great Jing Emperor, Goryeo would have no peace; Japan is a living example of that.

Toba was merely arrogant in his reply, and as a result, the entire imperial line was wiped out.

They even talked about a lineage that would last for ten thousand generations.
The house was brightly lit. Cui Shunting and several confidants sat at the table, looking at the list on it, feeling a little reluctant.

Some of them are the sons of his childhood playmates.

He quickly dismissed this slight reluctance; Koreans must speak Chinese, and no one could stop them.

This was a task personally assigned to him by the Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty.

If this task is completed successfully, the fate of one's entire family will undergo a dramatic transformation.

Although a long time has passed, Choi Soon-jung still finds it unbelievable every time she recalls her experience of meeting the emperor.

How many people in this world can be summoned by His Majesty?
There are not many Jingren (people from the capital region), let alone someone like myself who is from a foreign land.

Cui Shunting was a businessman, and a shrewd one at that, but this same man was so moved by Chen Shao's first meeting that he was willing to die for him.

This is the emperor.
Throughout history, few have been able to resist this temptation; it's simply because imperial power is too alluring.

Cui Shunting slammed his hand on the table and said, "Let's do it!" (End of Chapter)