A family of loyal martyrs, starting with nine wives to continue the family line.

In early April, the wind in Beijing finally lost the harsh, icy smell of winter.

Shang Wanqing leaned on a pillar and walked slowly in the courtyard.

This is her fourth lap today.

Xie Daoning said that you should walk at least two laps every day, no more, no less.

Her belly is flat now, but she still looks weak. Her steps are lighter and unsteady than before.

On the table inside the room was a pile of intelligence from Southeast Asia that Hua Jieyu had just delivered yesterday.

After walking around, she planned to go inside and take a look.

The courtyard gate was pushed open.

Wei Zhao walked in.

He wasn't wearing his court robes today, only a casual outfit. His complexion looked better than before, but the weariness between his brows was impossible to wash away.

"How was your walk today?" Wei Zhao looked at her, and without asking anyone to bring a chair, he stood under the eaves.

"good."

Shang Wanqing stopped, took a breath, and pointed into the room: "I've read half of the intelligence Hua Jieyu sent. Recruitment of new crew members in Quanzhou has already begun, and Wang Tiezhu is leading the team."

She couldn't stop talking about the dock.

Wei Zhao didn't respond to that. He looked at her still somewhat pale face and asked a question he had been thinking about for the past few days.

When will the "Breaking Waves" officially set sail?

Shang Wanqing looked at him, her mind already racing with intricate calculations.

"Next spring," she gave a definite answer.

"That long?"

"soon."

Shang Wanqing counted on her fingers for him: "First, we have to wait for Xie Daoning to confirm that my body can withstand the storms at sea. Second, the Embroidered Uniform Guard needs to recheck Ke Zhenchuan's nautical chart. The reefs in the open ocean change with the ocean currents, so we can't gamble with our lives using old charts. Third, the first batch of newly recruited crew members need to train in coastal waters for at least half a year, otherwise they'll be sent to their deaths in the deep sea."

She spoke clearly and logically, leaving no room for negotiation.

Wei Zhao nodded after listening.

"Then next year."

He didn't urge him.

He knew that Shang Wanqing was more reliable than anyone else when it came to shipbuilding and navigation. She said next year, so next year would be the most suitable time.

He has to wait, and Xinwu has to wait too.

Mid-April.

There was a light knock on the door of the Imperial Study.

Hua Jieyu pushed open the door and came in, holding a bamboo tube sealed tightly with sealing wax in her hand.

The surface of the bamboo tube bears mottled marks from being soaked in seawater.

"It's from the South Seas, the sixth batch of spies brought it back." Hua Jieyu placed the bamboo tube on the imperial desk, her voice very low.

Wei Zhao put down his vermilion pen, picked up the bamboo tube, crushed the sealing wax, and pulled out a roll of yellowed parchment.

This is currently the farthest-traveling undercover team from Xinwu.

They followed the merchant ships, venturing southward along the coastline of the newly discovered land.

Wei Zhao unfolded the parchment and read it quickly, skimming through it.

The preceding content consists of standard hydrological records and the distribution of tribes along the route. Until the last paragraph...

The spy team walked along the coastline to its southernmost point. There, the road ended, leaving only a strait.

The current in the strait is very strong.

But across the strait, the outline of another landmass can be vaguely seen.

The undercover team stayed in a nearby harbor for five days.

They traded spices and timber from the Central Plains with the local indigenous tribes for supplies.

The report concluded with a sentence.

"The locals pointed to the other side of the strait and gestured, meaning there are people on that side as well."

Wei Zhao stared at this sentence for a long time.

There is land on the other side of the strait. And there are people there.

This means that Xinwu's territory, or the world that Xinwu can reach, is much larger than he originally imagined.

"Where are these spies now?" Wei Zhao looked up.

"Still in that harbor."

Hua Jieyu replied, "They dare not cross the sea rashly. They cannot fathom the ocean currents over there, and their boats are too small; they are afraid of capsizing."

"Let them settle down there."

Wei Zhao tapped his fingertips twice on the parchment: "No need to rush across the sea. First, thoroughly understand the topography, hydrology, and customs of the local tribes in that harbor. Tell them that it will be Xinwu's foothold in Southeast Asia."

Hua Jieyu nodded and noted it down.

She looked into Wei Zhao's eyes. There was no surprise in those eyes, only a cold calculation.

He was plotting against that unknown land.

"I'll go arrange it right away." Hua Jieyu turned and left.

Wei Zhao sat alone behind the large imperial desk, his gaze turning to the huge map on the wall.

On that map, the area in Southeast Asia was still largely blank.

He knew that this void would eventually be filled by Xinwu's warships.

The morning court session in late April was unusually quiet.

Wei Zhao sat upright on the dragon throne, looking at the civil and military officials standing neatly below.

Today is the day to discuss the full implementation of the new field system in Jingzhou.

Li Huai walked out from the ranks of civil officials, holding a thick memorial.

He stood in the center of the hall and read the contents of the document aloud in a loud voice.

From seed subsidies to the distribution of agricultural tools, from the assessment standards of various prefectures and counties to the secret supervision of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, every detail was written clearly without any ambiguity.

This was the account that Su Qingyun had worked on for several sleepless nights to calculate, and it was also the set of rules that Li Huai and the officials of the Ministry of Revenue had painstakingly devised.

After Li Huai finished reading, he returned to his standing line.

The main hall was completely silent.

No one dared to stand up and object. No one dared to mention the interests of powerful families or the empty national treasury.

The heads of the two county magistrates from Huainan, who died in the first month of the lunar calendar, are still hanging on the wall of the Ministry of Justice prison.

The phrase "investigate and handle immediately" hangs like a knife over the neck of every local official.

Whoever jumps out at this moment is just walking into the line of fire.

Wei Zhao looked at the obsequious officials below and sneered inwardly.

If we don't punish them severely, they will never know who the real master of this world is.

"allow."

He only said one word.

The eunuch waiting nearby immediately took Li Huai's memorial and stamped it with the imperial seal.

The new field system of Jingzhou was officially implemented in the three neighboring prefectures.

After the court session ended, Wei Zhao returned to the imperial study.

Fang Fuyao was already waiting inside.

She was dressed in white as usual, sitting on a chair by the window, holding a cup of tea that had long since gone cold.

Wei Zhao walked over and sat down in the main seat.

"They dare not let things go wrong." Wei Zhao picked up a folding book from the table.

Fang Fuyao looked at him and suddenly mentioned someone.

"Lin Shimao has been working in Jingzhou for three years."

Wei Zhao paused for a moment as he flipped through the folded paper.

Lin Shimao. He remembered this person.

When the toughest challenge of the Xintian system was initially thrown to Jingzhou, it was Lin Shimao who single-handedly shouldered the burden.

Despite facing assassination attempts from powerful families and difficulties from local tyrants, he worked for three years and successfully distributed the land in Jingzhou.

"He should be promoted this year," Fang Fuyao added.

Wei Zhao leaned back in his chair and thought for a moment.

Lin Shimao is a man of action. Such a person should be utilized and rewarded.

"add."

Wei Zhao spoke, his voice low but decisive: "Let him concurrently serve as the Prefect of Jingzhou. He will be fully responsible for extending the Xintian system to the three prefectures. The governors of the three prefectures will all be under his command."

The Prefectural Governor (别驾) is the second-in-command within a prefecture. Granting him control over the governors of three prefectures grants him immense real power.

Fang Fuyao nodded and didn't say anything more.

She knew Wei Zhao was well aware of the situation. When it came to using people, he was ruthless more than anyone else, but also more accurate.

May.

The weather in the capital has warmed up completely.

Shang Wanqing has finally finished her postpartum confinement period.

Xie Daoning took her pulse one last time to confirm that she had almost fully recovered before removing the palace lantern outside her courtyard gate that had been kept in place to prevent disturbance.

As soon as the palace lanterns were removed, Shang Wanqing immediately had all the tonics and cushions in the room moved out.

She wiped the large eight-immortal table clean and moved the stacks of nautical logs piled in the corner onto the table.

She's been feeling really stifled lately.

She only read half of the data brought back from the second voyage of the Breaking Waves.

The remaining ocean current changes and wind direction records are all in these logs.

She picked up the charcoal pencil and began to organize the pages one by one.

In the afternoon, Hua Jieyu arrived.

She was holding a stack of newly drawn ship drawings, which had just been delivered from the Quanzhou shipyard.

"You've just recovered, can't you rest for a couple of days?"

Hua Jieyu placed the blueprints on the table and, seeing Shang Wanqing's expression as if she wanted to bury her head in her diary, couldn't help but make a comment.

"I can't rest." Shang Wanqing didn't even look up, her charcoal pencil flying across the paper as she jotted down information.

Hua Jieyu shook her head and sat down opposite her.

"The shipyard thickened the keel of the third-generation speedboat, just as you requested. Here's their structural drawing; take a look and see if it's acceptable."

Shang Wanqing then put down her charcoal pencil and picked up the stack of drawings.

She flipped through the pages very quickly. Her eyes were like a ruler, scanning every line and every annotation on the drawing.

When she turned to the third page, her hand stopped.

That's a diagram of the bottom fixing structure of the main mast.

Shang Wanqing stared at that spot for a while, then frowned.

"Replace the rivets at the base of the mast," she said, pointing to a detail on the drawing, her tone very certain.

Hua Jieyu leaned closer for a look. It was just a very inconspicuous fixed point.

"These rivets are made of high-quality steel, and the shipwright said they're still usable," Hua Jieyu explained.

"I've been using it for three years."

Shang Wanqing shook her head: "Three years is a critical period for refined steel submerged in seawater. It may look fine on the outside, but it may have become brittle inside. The waves in the open ocean are much greater than in coastal waters, and the masts bear the heaviest load. Once the bottom breaks, the entire ship will be ruined."

She picked up a charcoal pencil and drew a heavy circle on the drawing at that spot, writing three words next to it: Must be replaced.

Hua Jieyu sighed as she looked at her serious expression.

"Alright, I've got it. Send someone to Quanzhou immediately."

She put the blueprints away, stood up, and prepared to leave.

As she reached the door, Hua Jieyu turned around and watched as Shang Wanqing buried herself in the pile of nautical logs again.

"You're such a restless person," Hua Jieyu said, then pushed open the door and left.