You have truly caused me great suffering!

Since Qu Duan and Guo Hao were transferred to the northern battlefield that they had always longed for.

Although the Japanese garrison still had a nominal supreme commander, due to geographical reasons, they were actually independent entities, namely:

Li Yanqi, Commander-in-Chief of Haidong and Commander-in-Chief of the Ishimi Army;

Liu Mao, Commander-in-Chief of the Chenghai Navy and Governor of Ise Province;

Zhao Sui, the naval commander of Chenghai and the patrol inspector of Zhuzi.

The three of them were the local tyrants of these three territories in Japan, and the royal families of the three countries were merely puppets.

Li Yanqi held the highest official rank, and theoretically, the Goryeo garrison was also under his command.

The reason for being stationed in Iwami is because it is home to Daike's most important overseas mine—the Iwami Silver Mine.

These days, tourist attractions are sustained by this thing.

How much silver the imperial court wanted to print depended on how many silver ingots were mined.

The distance between Iwami Province and Korea is only fifty kilometers, and it is easy to land by crossing the Tsushima Strait.

Because Chen Shao provided aid to Goryeo last year to build many smelters, a lot of silver ore was transported to Dongnae County across the river for smelting.

This place was later called Busan.

At the Iwami garrison headquarters, Li Yanqi was inspecting the soldiers' drills when a rider galloped in from a distance.

"Report! His Majesty's edict has arrived!"

The rider was exceptionally skilled on horseback, dismounting only when he got close.

Upon hearing this, Li Yanqi immediately perked up, straightened his clothes, and went to receive the imperial decree.

Because it was an imperial edict, it was more casual and did not have the complicated procedures of an imperial decree.

Upon seeing the imperial edict written by His Majesty, Li Yanqi's eyes lit up.

It's finally time to make a move.

After the mob breached Heian-kyo, they were abandoned by the Kage army and had no choice but to continue their eastward advance.

The powerful clans of Kanto fought desperately, because everyone had witnessed firsthand how miserable the nobles were when the mob attacked their territories.

After all, when Toba and his group went to Kyoto to protect the capital, they witnessed firsthand that the mob was a thousand times more terrifying than demons.

They couldn't even imagine using many of the most brutal methods.

In order to combat these mobs and prevent the people under their rule from becoming part of them, the powerful clans of Kanto had to urgently issue many regulations to treat the people well.

At this time, there was no longer an emperor or a regent, and local powerful families were effectively in a state of autonomy.

But no one had any intention of being crowned emperor or king, because the threat of death was imminent.

From the time the mob breached Heian-kyo until now, these past few years have been arguably the darkest period in history, with wars raging everywhere and people plundering each other's land, population, and food.

Agricultural production in various places was disrupted, everyone was in danger, and there was extreme chaos.

If left unchecked, it might give rise to samurai groups and the Shogunate in a few years.

Li Yanqi crossed the sea with Qu Duan in his early years. Upon landing, he quelled the rebellion of Yi Ziqian in Goryeo and then sent troops to Baozhou.

In these operations, he was the commander-in-chief, leading one group of troops independently.

After joining forces with Qu Duan in Baozhou Prefecture, they conquered Liaodong, killed Guo Yaoshi, and were then sent to garrison in Gaeseong, Goryeo.

Now stationed in Ishimi.

Unlike other garrisons, although it was an overseas garrison, it was never part of the navy's organization, but rather a direct descendant of the Dingnan Army's Yinzhou Camp.

He was the commander of both the cavalry and infantry, and was historically known for his cavalry raids, including a night raid on the Jin army that resulted in victory.

After the founding of the country, he was rather laid-back and did not care as much about military achievements as other generals. So when he was assigned to guard overseas, he did not travel around requesting transfers like Guo Hao did, but stayed here to guard the area.

Not long ago, he even brought his favorite eldest son over and raised him by his side.

In fact, with his qualifications, he could have easily found Jin Ling, or even gone directly to Chen Shao to request a transfer.

Now that the imperial court has ordered him to conquer Japan, Li Yanqi finally has something to do.

"Sound the drum to gather the generals, and come to my tent for a meeting!"

Being stationed overseas is a very demoralizing experience, which is why the imperial court rotates personnel every three years.

Here, you will rarely see goods from the Central Plains. If merchant ships do bring them, they will be much more expensive.

The local Japanese people were also very short, which was quite frightening.

Every day, in the mountains and along the coast, they lived like wild men.

Fortunately, the pay would also be doubled, which was the only consolation.

This batch of troops arrived last year, but they missed the opportunity to train the mob and conquer Iwami.

So they didn't get any profit at all.

Upon hearing the drumbeats, everyone's spirits immediately lifted.

In their eyes, war is a good thing; once it starts, there will be plenty of profits to be made.

Despite the fact that this place is a poor and remote area, even Buddhist temples in the territories of those powerful families are made of pure gold.

Gold used to be worthless here, but it was a hard currency in Dajing.

It's not a precious metal, but real money. The Great Jing Dynasty had already started minting gold and silver coins, and no longer only copper coins.

Once we break into the Kanto region, as well as the Dongsan Road and the surrounding areas of the Kinai region, we can go all out and plunder.

According to the veterans who were stationed here before, the Buddhist temples are the richest here.

Of course, this is true not only in Japan, but everywhere these days.

Even in the Central Plains, Buddhist temples were incredibly wealthy, and they had been wealthy ever since they were introduced to China.

Taxes were introduced in recent years, which reduced their income somewhat, but it is still quite substantial.

Otherwise, there wouldn't have been three martial emperors who persecuted Buddhism three times in order to raise money and realize their ambitions.

In the Central Plains, Buddhism is the only religion that cannot interfere in national affairs. In other places, however, they are very powerful and their political and religious systems are basically combined.

Even in Korea and Japan, Buddhism wields considerable influence.

In the first month of the sixth year of Jianwu, Li Yanqi ordered that the three provinces of Iwami, Tsukushi, and Ise each form a force of three thousand Japanese soldiers to lead the way.

Each of the three battalions of Jing troops contributed two thousand men, totaling six thousand Jing soldiers and nine thousand Japanese auxiliary troops.

We'll give you two months to prepare. In March, when spring is in full bloom, we'll meet at the site of Heian-kyo (Kyoto).

At that time, a proclamation will naturally be sent throughout the countries of Kanto, giving them the opportunity to surrender.
-
Because I thought of scientific tools like microscopes.

At the Hot Spring Palace, Chen Shao specifically summoned the craftsmen from the Engineering Institute who were in charge of glassmaking.

He stated his requirements.

Having already crafted telescopes under His Majesty's guidance, everyone listened with exceptional seriousness. They all knew that His Majesty truly possessed extraordinary abilities.

The knowledge within him was so vast and complex, it was as boundless as the ocean.

Chen Shao, who had acquired a wide range of knowledge, got so engrossed in talking to them that he decided to join them in making the product.

After a busy day, it was already dark, and the palace was bathed in night.

Chen Shao went straight to the palace of Imperial Noble Consort Li Shishi.

Li Shishi stood at the door to greet him, and Chen Shao couldn't help but start talking to her, but Li Shishi couldn't understand at all.

When the two arrived at the imperial bedchamber, most of the eunuchs and palace servants had already left. Shishi then said, "Your Majesty smells strongly of alcohol. Have you had your meal yet?"

Chen Shao nodded in agreement. He then instructed the imperial kitchen to prepare some meat patties, which he ate with the craftsmen.

They also drank some alcohol to warm themselves up, hoping it would inspire them, but it didn't seem to work very well.

After drinking, the artisans became even less sharp-witted.

Shishi smiled and said, "I have had hot water prepared, Your Majesty, please take a bath and change your clothes first."

It would be impossible for other emperors to eat and drink with artisans, but it was quite common for his young master.

After she finished speaking, she turned and gave instructions to the female official. Only then did Chen Shao realize that Chun Tao was also there, sitting at the table and winking at him.

Chun Tao was more interested in the mirror than Shi Shi, and kept asking about it.

Chen Shao thought that they probably still thought of it as a mirror, since the last time a flat mirror was made, it amazed the entire harem.

Many people are seeing their own appearance so clearly for the first time.

Chen Shao gave a brief explanation of the microscope and the stargazing scope. When they heard that there were invisible little insects on their bodies, Li Shishi and Chun Tao were not very convinced.

“People shower every day, how could they have bugs?” Chun Tao pouted.

Li Shishi wondered if Chen Shao had come up with the idea of ​​calcining quartz.

There are too many amazing things about him.

At this moment, the palace maids had prepared the bath tub and hot water. Li Shishi then turned around and spoke to the palace maids, then waved for them to leave. Instead of letting the palace maids serve Chen Shao, she personally stepped forward to undress him.

As for Chun Tao, she was too lazy to chase her away; she couldn't get rid of her anyway.

Chen Shao raised his hands and stood still, asking them for help.

Because they were so close, Chen Shao could smell the faint fragrance emanating from the two of them—a subtle yet unmistakably feminine scent that was refreshing and soothing, as if it had gently stirred some kind of imagination within him, softening his heart and giving rise to a beautiful feeling of freshness, purity, gentleness, and tranquility.

Chun Tao was tall, only slightly shorter than Chen Shao, while Shi Shi was not tall, but had a plump and curvaceous figure.

Furthermore, due to the downward angle, Chen Shao still caught a glimpse of a unique tenderness in her almond-shaped eyes. Her eyes were extremely beautiful; most of the charm and allure of her face came from those eyes.

Chen Shao couldn't resist reaching out and pulling the two sisters together, then lowering his head to sniff them.

Li Shishi raised her head and glared at him, her eyes seemingly angry but her lips curved into a smile. She was always tolerant of Chen Shao.

"You two smell a little different."

Shishi looked up at him again, her eyes faintly smiling, her voice pleasant but not as gentle, "The scent of rouge and powder... what are you thinking about?"

Chen Shao said, "The rouge doesn't smell like this. Is it your natural body scent?"

At this moment, Chuntao undressed him and removed his only undergarment.

"It's rouge, but my sister and I use different kinds."

As she said this, a hint of pride appeared in the corner of her eye. The face powder she used was pearl powder, and the rouge she used on her lips was a special tribute from Suzhou. She didn't share these with her sister; they were given to her by Jin Laosan.

Chen Shao entered the bathtub, thinking about women's cosmetics, which seemed like a potentially lucrative business.

However, in Europe, wild boars cannot eat fine bran. The kind of food that women in the Central Plains use, made from ground flower petals and pollen, has only a faint fragrance, and is not suitable for people there.

They made money by processing the spices from the southern wilderness into sachet, powder, and oil—products that could be stored for a long time—and then selling them there.

By the sixth year of the Jianwu era, the demand for spices in Europe was already very high, especially among the upper classes.

Although it was unaffordable for ordinary people, the nobility, the church, and the emerging merchant class constituted a stable and robust consumer group.

These people have money and are happy to spend it on it.

In the 12th century, King Henry I of England decreed that one pound of pepper could be exchanged for a pig; a noble banquet without spices would be considered stingy.

Arab and Persian merchants, as well as merchants from Venice, Genoa, and other places, acted as middlemen, selling their goods to Western Europe by adding layers of markups and making huge profits.

Spices are even more convenient than porcelain. They are extremely profitable, small in size, and easy to store, making them suitable for long-distance transport.

Chen Shao wanted to monopolize this business.

Aside from the southern wilderness, India produces the most.
Chen Shao pulled Li Shishi into the bathtub. Although she was still wearing her undergarments, Li Shishi's cheeks were slightly flushed. She slowly untied her undergarments in the water and threw them out.

Chun Tao rolled her eyes and kept pouring the water on the two of them, spoonful by spoonful.

Chen Shao thought to himself that if he wanted to do this business, it would be best to monopolize the source of goods.
-
The people of the Central Plains, especially those in the Jiangnan and Liangzhe regions, had been unaware of military affairs since the end of the Five Dynasties period.

The most intense recent event is still the Fang La Rebellion.

Apart from that, I have no idea what war is like.

In fact, wars are raging in all directions around Dajing right now.

Needless to say, the expansion of the southern wilderness has been ongoing, and this is the cool season, which is the most suitable time for war in the South China Sea islands.

To the northeast, Korea and Japan are preparing for war; a conflict between them would be devastating.

In the west, while Yelü Dashi was expanding his territory, he was also engaged in a fierce battle with Wanyan Balisu.

The southwest was the only relatively peaceful area, but Chen Shao issued an imperial edict.

The Yunnan troops were to occupy all of Bagan territory.

The Bagan Dynasty was located in the Irrawaddy River basin in central Myanmar. The Rakhine Mountains, which stretch for more than 1000 kilometers from north to south, lie between its western border and India. The average altitude is 1500–2000 meters, and the terrain is rugged and densely jungled.

This mountain range had long blocked land transportation between Myanmar and northeastern India until a railway was built during the British colonial period.

Even the ruthless Japanese devils couldn't break through this road during World War II.

Chen Shao ordered the Yunnan troops to push the border to the Arakan Mountains, and then he would find a way to land by sea.

This process was another long and grand plan, but deep down, he had already begun to plot to conquer this continent.

This is no ordinary place; it will be the brightest jewel in the crown of the Great Jing Dynasty.
According to the materials brought back by Cai Xing, there was no unified dynasty on the Indian subcontinent at that time, and the region was relatively fragmented and chaotic.

However, they have developed crystallized white sugar, which is better than the Central Plains, while Dajing still mainly uses maltose and raw sugar.

Moreover, they possessed thousands of years of experience in fine cotton spinning. At that time, cotton and cotton spinning in the Central Plains were not yet mature, and cotton spinning did not become widespread until Huang Daopo in the Yuan Dynasty.

With the addition of spices, if they could conquer India, the Great Jing could control the northern coast of the Indian Ocean, which would deter the Arabs, Persia, East Africa, and even block the eastward expansion of Islamic forces.

With its immense depth, it forms a "land-sea dual axis" with the mainland and the southern wilderness, constructing a super empire spanning East Asia, South Asia, and West Asia.

Therefore, despite the great difficulty, Chen Shao still wanted to try. (End of Chapter)