You have truly caused me great suffering!

In February, spring arrives, and the grass grows tall and the orioles fly.

Chen Shao summoned several ministers to the Hot Spring Palace to discuss the war in the southern wilderness.

The visitor was surprised to find a small figure sitting next to His Majesty in the hall.

Upon closer inspection, I recognized him as His Highness the Crown Prince.

Chen Shao invited him to sit in on the conversation, and said he could leave anytime if he didn't like it.

The crown prince did not appear to be unruly. When the ministers bowed to him, he was able to return the bow with composure, which showed that he was well-mannered.

After everyone was seated, Chen Shao waved his hand slightly, and the eunuchs hung up a map in the middle.

The above marks the parts of Nanhuang that have been completed.

The War in the Southern Wilderness was known as an invisible war because the battlefield was overseas, separated by a vast ocean, and ordinary people could not see it at all.

However, the effects of the war have begun to slowly emerge. For example, many goods unique to the southern wilderness have begun to appear in large quantities in the Central Plains market.

The advance on the southern front was slower than Chen Shao had anticipated.

To this day, they haven't even completely taken over the Mayi (Philippines) Islands. It will take at least three to five years to advance to the mainland of Kasikuri.

However, the construction of the system of officials who moved to the coast went very smoothly, and a wave of migration also began to spread along the coast.

Everyone excitedly went to the new continent, claiming land, building cities, constructing houses, and setting up workshops.

Liu Jizu, who was from Hedong, sighed sincerely: "The people in the south are more willing to migrate than those in the north. Since the war started in the southern wilderness, more than 400,000 people have gone overseas to make a living."

Chen Shao chuckled inwardly. Sweet potatoes and potatoes hadn't even arrived yet. Fujian was too barren; nothing would grow there. No wonder they didn't want to leave.

Moreover, after the seas opened up, trade flourished, and they watched as those around them made money.

Those who went to Southeast Asia last time were all incredibly wealthy; everyone was envious.

The world has never been so concerned about scarcity but rather about inequality. Coastal people can endure hardship, but they cannot be the only ones suffering while their neighbors prosper.

This exploration of the southern wilderness is clearly an opportunity to change one's destiny.

"The fleet transporting firearms and supplies set off in the first month of the lunar calendar. It's currently the cool season at sea, so they should arrive soon," Han Shizhong said. "Once the firearms arrive, I wonder if we'll be able to start fighting faster."

Chen Shao glared at him. Is the speed of the battle at the front line a matter for the army?

It depends entirely on the speed of subsequent construction.

The attack is too fast; we can't fully capitalize on the advantages of the territory we've captured, so we have to switch defenses.

Han Shizhong smiled and said nothing more.

Chen Shao wasn't without patience; such a large area could be easily taken over several decades to develop.

But he seems to see the potential to accelerate further.

They just wanted to get some benefits, and there was nothing wrong with that. Chen Shao never hesitated to let his men take advantage of the situation while fighting.

If you're risking your life and still not letting others benefit, who will risk their life for you in the long run?

But this slow advance is not a good idea. Chen Shao pointed to a piece of land in the southwest that had not yet been captured and said, "Let the South China Sea Navy scout out a place where we can land, and open up another battlefield in the vicinity."

Since we can't speed things up in one direction, and there are still many troops waiting behind us, let's just fight on multiple fronts.

In any case, Da Jing has the resources to support the war.

I need to clear the Southern Wilderness as soon as possible, because I still need to fight in my third brother's territory.

After Chen Shao proposed this plan, Liu Jizu and the others immediately lowered their heads and remained silent, silently calculating the costs in their minds.

The national treasury's revenue and expenditure situation is very good, which can fully support multi-front operations, and this war is actually profitable.

After civil officials were no longer allowed to buy land or acquire unlimited farmland, they had a lot of money in their hands. They no longer stopped wars to open up trade routes and ports, but instead supported them.

The government and the public are united in their determination to wage war.

With a team like this, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort in anything you do.

Because you're busy working here and will ultimately benefit yourself, you'll be extra motivated to keep going.

For example, why were officials so lazy at the end of the Ming Dynasty, even though they had money in their hands, they still desperately resisted paying taxes?

It was precisely because the war was none of their concern, the Donglin Party's base was in the south, the Zhejiang Party's base was in the south, and the Shanxi Party colluded with forces beyond the Great Wall to maintain their own power.
Why should I pay you to fight a war?

Even the Guan Ning Group in Liaodong, which was at the forefront, relied on the enemy to make their own power and made a fortune by demanding military pay from the imperial court.

Seeing that the civil officials seemed to be doing accounts, Chen Shao simply asked the eunuch to bring paper and pen so that everyone could spread out their books and do the calculations together.

Let's see if we can open up another battlefield and how many more fronts we can open.

Finally, it was decided to open two more fronts and quickly take over the Mayi Islands.

Today, the Mayi Islands do not have a unified national government; they are composed of multiple scattered tribes or small states.

Such territory is very easy to conquer. The local forces are not organized at all, and most importantly, they have no national consciousness, making them very easy to subdue.

After making this decision, Chen Shao decided to lie low for a few more months and wait for good news from all fronts.

The officials rose and watched in a daze as His Majesty led the Crown Prince away from the main hall.
-
On the training ground below the Hot Spring Palace, the newly formed musket battalion is conducting test firings.

There were 500 men in total, each equipped with two muskets. After more than a month of training, they were already very familiar with the muskets.

As the command flag was waved, plumes of white smoke rose, and only half of the target on the opposite side had fallen.

Many people have started to compete in archery skills.

Chen Shao, watching the situation below through binoculars from a distance, was rather dissatisfied.

In the eyes of the craftsmen, the progress was already enormous; the firearm was something that had been created from scratch.

Moreover, it is much more difficult to manufacture than artillery.

It requires a more refined process.

But Chen Shao had seen it all, so he had very high standards for guns.

Therefore, Chen Shao continued to increase the reward.

He believed that a generous reward would surely attract brave men.

Among the firearms delivered to the Southern Wilderness battlefield this time were many muskets, and the military camps in the Ili River Valley also received this new weapon.

Firstly, it was to arm the frontline troops, and secondly, it was to test the power and practicality of the weapon on the battlefield.

The Song Dynasty was already a world leader in the development of firearms. Chen Shao's further advancement meant that, in this area, the Central Plains not only did not fall behind, but also took the lead by several hundred years.

But he remained acutely aware of the potential crisis.

He, from a later era, was a typical Han Chinese. Having witnessed the humiliation of insufficient firepower, he longed to run wildly and leave everyone behind.

Even though they were already several levels ahead, they were still worried, fearing that these barbarians would overtake them again and humiliate them for hundreds of years.

Chen Shao beckoned, and Yang Geng, who was also holding a telescope behind him, immediately stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty."

"After you return, tell the Academy of Engineering that I will give another thousand taels of gold to reward innovative arms craftsmen every month."

Yang Geng's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "I'm still researching this damn solar term operation device."

From now on, we'll specialize in making guns and cannons!

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your great kindness!"

Chen Shao didn't notice anything amiss and assumed that he was expressing gratitude on behalf of all the craftsmen in the academy. He nodded and said, "As long as you do your job well, I will not hesitate to reward you."

Just then, Chen Chong walked over and whispered something in Chen Shao's ear.

Chen Shao nodded and said, "Prepare the horses, I'm going."

Maode was about to give birth, ten days earlier than her due date. On the way, Chen Shao thought to himself that his marksmanship was far superior to that of the rookies in the musket battalion.

No wonder that during the New Year, when the noble ladies went to the inner palace to pay their respects, they all chattered and asked His Majesty about the secret to having many children.

With so many powerful figures like Chen Shao, he's almost rivaling the Prince of Zhongshan of the Han Dynasty.

The Book of Han, Biography of the Thirteen Kings of Jing, records: "Sheng was a man who loved wine and women, and had more than 120 sons and relatives."

Chen Shao was also fond of wine and women; he couldn't be happy without wine during the day and without women at night.

To date, there are six princesses, five princes, and two pregnant women who have not yet given birth.

Looking at history, this is already considered an emperor who has many children and much good fortune, but he is still so young, and his future growth is foreseeable.

Having children when there is no pressure to raise them is a good thing, as genes have a desire to continue.

People derive pleasure from having many children.

When you arrive at Baozhen Temple, even though many people don't actually have anything to do, they still look very busy.

For example, Li Yi'an now.

Chen Shao stepped forward, put his arm around her shoulder, and laughed, "What kind of kung fu are you practicing, circling around the table like that?"

Li Yi'an twisted her body away from his embrace, but finding she couldn't get out, she stopped struggling.

"It's driving me crazy, they still haven't let us in."

Although Chen Shao was also a little worried, he still comforted her, "It's alright, Madam Lin is a reliable female doctor."

Chen Shao had experience with this matter; the eunuch had told him everything before he arrived. Lady Lin had come to Baozhen Temple ahead of time, saying there was no danger.

The fetus is just a little big.

Sure enough, a short while later, the sound of wailing could be heard.

The two were then relieved.

A maidservant ran out, saw Chen Shao, and quickly bowed, saying, "Congratulations, Your Majesty, it's a prince."

Chen Shao was very happy and said with a smile, "Everyone will receive a reward!"

About fifteen minutes later, Chen Shao went in to check on Mao De, but she kicked him out.

She didn't want Chen Shao to see things like this.

Seeing that she was very anxious, Chen Shao did not stay any longer. He gently comforted her and then left.

Song Shi and Yi An both crowded outside to see the little prince, who was indeed chubby.

Lin Niangzi wiped her sweat and sat down to rest. Chen Shao walked over and said, "You've worked hard."

Lady Lin smiled and said, "Congratulations, Your Majesty."

"You'd better hurry up and give me one too." Chen Shao pinched her cheek.

Seeing that he was guarding so many people without any attempt to hide it, Lin Niangzi understood the situation after a moment's thought.

Most of the women here are the women His Majesty keeps outside the palace.

It's true that His Majesty's harem doesn't have many women, which explains why the ministers are always trying to help him select more concubines.

When evening came, Chen Shao went to Maode's room, where she had just woken up from a nap.

Because it was a natural birth, the recovery was actually quite fast.

Maode had regained some color and burst into tears when he saw Chen Shaoxian.

"We have another child."

Chen Shao discovered that she had a very strong maternal instinct. When she first became pregnant, she even wanted to give birth to the baby and take it to the palace.

As soon as the baby was born, I took one look at it and regretted it.

That's somewhat similar to Chen Shao.

Chen Shao held her hand and said softly, "Thank you."

"Why are you saying such formal things?" Maode pouted, looking dissatisfied.

Although this most beautiful princess of the Song Dynasty is no longer a young girl, it is precisely when a mature woman occasionally reveals such an expression that she truly evokes pity.

Of course, you need to be good-looking first, otherwise it will have the opposite effect.

Chen Shao noticed that the room no longer had the faint smell it had when he was in the delivery room, which meant that Maode must have had it cleaned.

The two of them dreamed together about the future and what their child would look like when he/she grew up.

Chen Shao felt a pang of sadness. No matter how successful he was as an emperor, capable of leaving a significant mark on history, he could not escape the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.

Within this empire, most people sincerely hoped that he could live to be ten thousand years old, but even the will of the people could not defy the cycle of fate.

If Heaven had feelings, it too would grow old.

Not every emperor has the magnanimity of Liu Bang.

Maode was clearly unaware of his thoughts. Seeing that Chen Shao remained silent, she said coquettishly, "Can you hug me?"

Chen Shao then came to his senses, sat on the edge of the bed, gently put his arms around her, and let her lean on his shoulder.
-
By March, the weather had already warmed up.

Occasionally, on one or two days at midday, it can even feel a bit hot.

At the former site of Heian-kyo (Kyoto) in Japan, traces of that civil unrest still remain.

The ground was littered with white bones; this once bustling area was now deserted.

Skulls of all sizes hung from the trees, their empty eye sockets staring like an approaching army.

A Jing soldier casually chopped off half a tree branch, which immediately made a cracking sound, and the skeleton fell to the ground and rolled around.

In fact, after the riots, Heian-kyo was rebuilt by various people, but it was destroyed by war several times.

Over time, it turned out like this.

Li Yanqi rode his horse on a small hill, watching the troops that were constantly gathering.

"With this force, we can easily sweep through Japan."

Zhao Sui nodded and said, "It's a pity that the roads here are too difficult to travel, otherwise we could have wiped out Japan before June."

Japan can never go back to that era.

The resilient and patient nature of the Japanese people is the result of many factors, and is not because they are inherently submissive.

Rather, it is a survival strategy shaped by multiple factors, including geographical environment, social structure, religious culture, and political system.

At that time, people firmly believed that the Emperor's lineage was unbroken for ten thousand generations. Under the strict hierarchical system, status was fixed, and the cost of resistance was extremely high.

Under the "Three Efforts of the Village" self-governance system, the imperial court managed rural areas through local agents such as village chiefs and local officials, forming a self-restraint mechanism.

Resistance equals separation from the community, which equals a survival crisis; therefore, most people choose to endure.

The Buddhist concept of "cause and effect and reincarnation" and the Shinto myth of the emperor's "unbroken imperial line" led people to regard poverty and oppression as their destiny.

The sound of "white lotus" completely shattered this forbearance. This new Buddhist concept of encouraging resistance is clearly more in line with human nature than enduring and waiting for reincarnation.

After the mob killed the imperial family, the shackles of Shintoism were shattered in one fell swoop.

With such turbulent and restless public sentiment, it is difficult to unite people to resist foreign conquerors.

Li Yanqi waved gently, "Let's go!" (End of Chapter)