The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 932 The Battle of Ashkelon
"May God bless you, brave and fearless knights, Amen."

The intervention of over 100,000 European believers in the Far East was justified by righteous and righteous reasons.

The Pope called this military operation the Battle of Ashkelon.

About six hundred years ago, during the First Crusade, the Fatimid Caliphate of Egypt and the European Crusaders fought a decisive battle near Ashkelon in Palestine. The Crusaders were victorious, and the battle is known as the Battle of Ashkelon.

Now, European kings and believers are about to recreate the story of the Crusades.

They organized an unprecedented anti-Qi alliance, aiming to overthrow the rule of the tyrant Liu Xuan and end the radical political reforms in Qi.

Emperor Liu Xuan of Qi is considered the culprit behind all the misfortunes. Without Liu Xuan and his willful actions, Qi would not be the source of global calamities it is today.

The Pope and his followers firmly believed that the heretic Liu Xuan was a demon sent by Satan to earth—because only Satan would have the audacity to plan the extermination of 100 million people.

The kings viewed the State of Qi as a threat, a threat to the existing system and order. In short, whether secular or religious, everyone wanted Liu Xuan dead as soon as possible.

Europeans hoped that the State of Qi could return to its original position and continue to be a model of European democracy in the Far East, rather than being alienated into a country that Europeans could not understand, just like Cthulhu, the indescribable being is the most terrifying existence in the world.

Before officially launching the war, the Pope distributed indulgences to the believers who were going to fight.

The Pope promised his followers that if they could defeat the rampant attacks of the "infidels," their souls would ascend to heaven.

Although indulgences are steeped in the classical spirit of the religious era and the trickery is naive and laughable, the sheer number of believers means that some people out of hundreds of millions are willing to fall for this scheme.

Unfortunate news followed one after another: the Pope revoked the qualifications of all missionaries in Qi to spread the gospel, which meant that the missionaries in Qi would be abandoned by God overnight.

This is unimaginable.

Who made these missionaries accomplices of Satan?
What Tianxin City found most unacceptable was that Europe's exports of grain and coal to Qi began to decrease sharply, with the number of exports plummeting from 5,000 merchant ships per month to less than 3,000, nearly half of the previous amount.

According to King George, this was done to give the people of Celestial City a little shock.

The people of Tianxin City were desperate to find that, due to Britain's stranglehold, they had no countermeasures at all, except, of course, protests.

Domestic food supplies can only feed 70% of the population. What if the British intensify their embargo? Will the entire Qi region be engulfed in starvation?
It is certain that the empire's food supply will be severely insufficient for some time to come, meaning that many people will face starvation.

However, some upright individuals within Tianxin City stood tall and declared that they would rather starve than eat European food, as the saying goes, a gentleman does not eat food offered with contempt.

What these people don't know is that it was the mountains of grain exported from Europe to Daqi over the past thirty years that allowed them to survive until now.

Liu Xuan and his trusted ministers realized that if the food shortage continued, unrest would be inevitable.

One terrible thing after another happened.

Maintaining rule over Tianxin City was already a difficult task, but what Liu Xuan couldn't forget was his new policies.

Why not set a small goal first, such as eliminating 100 million low-end people?

If European countries could unite and impose a comprehensive food embargo on Qi, it wouldn't be impossible for a large-scale famine to cause the loss of 100 million lives.

Fortunately, King George I of England could not bear to see his people suffer from hunger or a large-scale famine in the empire. So the king and his European relatives reached a tacit agreement to set a bottom line for the food embargo.

The bottom line is that no more than one million people in the State of Qi should starve to death.

Therefore, they did not completely ban grain exports.

In short, the King of England was a kind man.

~~~~~~~~
Tianxin City, Qianqing Palace.

Liu Xuan anxiously took a telegram from his close advisor, quickly glanced at it, folded it up, and put it back on his desk.

A thick layer of opened telegrams lay stacked on the desk, some of them torn to shreds. "Are the French also going to declare war on Qi?"

"Your Majesty, this news is probably unreliable."

The emperor ignored them, turned to the group of ministers standing beside him, and said urgently:
"The French are unreliable, and the British are even more cunning and treacherous."

"Isn't old George going to make a deal with Daqi? How dare he!"

The emperor spoke urgently, his tone leaving no room for argument.

Yes, how dare the British do such a thing?
Whether the empire could survive without Europe is unknown, but the empire has something that Europeans cannot live without.

Thinking of this, Liu Xuan tentatively asked, "In order to counterbalance and retaliate against the Europeans, could the Empire suspend the export of tea, porcelain, and the trade in silage?"

Liu Xuan certainly knew that thick clay was one of the key raw materials for producing core components of airships and carriages, and that this resource had significant economic value due to its special material properties.

To put it simply, it's very valuable.

However, the people of Qi were worthless—at least those outside Tianxin City—when the compensation for a worker dying in the mine was only one tael of silver, the value of the thick soil was obviously much higher than that of these workers moving through the fields.

"If we ban the export of silt, will European airship and artillery factories be paralyzed? This is what is meant by subduing the enemy without fighting."

The young emperor was still basking in the euphoria of subduing the enemy without a fight when, at the crucial moment, Finance Minister Li Wei stepped forward and shattered the emperor's illusion.

Li Wei cautiously replied, "Your Majesty may not know this, but tea and porcelain have had negligible impact on Europeans. As for silage, it's not that Europeans can't mine and manufacture it, but this mineral contains mild toxins, and workers are easily infected when mining it. Therefore, even if Europe were covered in silage, they wouldn't risk the sacrifice of their workers to earn this money..."

Tianxin City gradually returned to calm. After all, the people of the capital had seen all kinds of storms and waves. They didn't care about the change of dynasties. They just watched with amusement.

Liu Xuan was prepared for the betrayal of his British allies, but he never expected that the British would be able to incite the whole of Europe to deal with him.

Does this mean the new policy should be halted?
Is the empire destined to be trapped in an eternal cycle of destruction?

Those who opposed the new imperial policies were willing to cede Annam's rights in exchange for European support for the reforms.

He told the British ambassador, "There is more than one road to Rome, and we are now on the road of democracy. The story of Qi is told by the people of Qi."

What grounds does your country have to interfere in the internal affairs of the Great Qi?

Whether the people of Qi are happy or not is up to them to decide.

Are they happy?
This is a difficult question to answer.

The emperor ordered his general, Dong Xiao, to devise a plan for a decisive battle against Europe.

Yes, we need a plan, a plan that can force Europeans back to the negotiating table.

An opportunity.

Liu Xuan was not entirely unaware of the impending great battle.
How many casualties are expected?

"We can manage 10,000 people. Any more than that, and I'm afraid the empire can't handle it."

Liu Xuan remained silent.

So, will Your Majesty persist in implementing your new policies?

Liu Xuan fell silent again.

These difficulties were all within Liu Xuan's expectations and were not difficult at all.