You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chen Shao returned from outside the palace, and seemed to be in a good mood.

Seeing Li Shishi's appearance, he smiled and said, "Do you want to help me review the memorials?"

Li Shishi smiled gently, said nothing, and got up to take out some wind-prevention pills for him.

Some palace maids began to skillfully prepare honey water.

Chen Shao was still planning on the matter of Goryeo. After bribing them this time, it seemed that even more people could be relocated to fill Liaodong.

If Chen Shao had directly offered to buy these people with money, the Goryeo court would definitely have disagreed, and the resistance would have been fierce.

They can't even manage a westward exodus of this magnitude anymore.

Because that would be a blatant message to Goryeo: I'm going to empty your population and then take over your territory when the time is right.

Sensing danger, the Goryeo people would not sit idly by and wait for their doom. After all, this was a country that had been established for hundreds of years, and its upper class had read Han Chinese history books.

But by throwing money at the problem, they were able to succeed. Not only did they not complain, they even offered their necks to the leather case in Da Jing's hand.

This shows how important it is to learn to change your mindset.

The bigger the task, the more this skill is needed.

Chen Shao sometimes felt that he, as emperor, had to be very wise to rule this great country, but at other times he felt that he didn't need to be too smart, as long as he could identify smart people.

Because the power of the Great Jing Dynasty far surpasses that of other countries, Emperor Chen Shao, as long as he doesn't make any mistakes, is guaranteed to win.

Chen Shao picked up a memorial from the table. He read it leisurely, but his expression turned rather unpleasant after he finished reading it.

Because he didn't bring it up himself, Shishi didn't ask much about military and national affairs, but she guessed that what was said in the memorial was probably not good news.

This was Li Shishi's habit; although she knew it wouldn't matter if she asked, she never paid attention to national affairs.

In her opinion, she knew absolutely nothing about it and shouldn't bother with such trivial matters.

But Chen Shao was angry, and she didn't want to see that. How could she cheer up the young man later?

Li Shishi felt that the images in her mind were quite vivid, which made her blush.

The memorial Chen Shao was reading came from Champa, reporting that the mines on Java Island had been attacked again.

In truth, Chen Shao found it hard to understand why, even though he had already had the Annamese soldiers teach them a lesson, these bastards would forget the pain as soon as he left, within a few months.

It seems their memories only extend to these past few months.

If you can endure for half a year, you'll forget all the beatings you took.

Java has too many islands to list. It is a vast archipelago with Java as the center, and more than 17000 islands surrounding it, including Sumatra, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Maluku.

Now, in the kingdom of Jayabaia, the king is quite interesting; he is a very arrogant man.

In later Indonesian history, he was revered as the "Prophet King of Java," and it is said that he predicted the history of Indonesia for the next thousand years.

In fact, he was indeed a rare and talented king, but the praise was a bit too much.

Jayabaya ascended to the throne two years ago. At the beginning of his reign, it was the time when they were fighting most fiercely with Srivijaya. In addition, with the expansion of the Great Jing's influence, the situation in the Southern Wilderness had actually changed a lot.

Jayabayah's greatest achievement was strengthening central authority and reforming the judiciary.

Rice cultivation is highly developed in this area, and trade mainly relies on exporting spices (pepper, cloves), camphor, tortoiseshell, and gold to the Central Plains.

He coveted the mines of Dajing and felt that although those islands were inhabited by savages, since they were near his kingdom, they should be his territory.

Now, many mineral veins have been discovered in the areas under his control, making him a lot of money.

After all, if you really have a mine, the Jing merchants are really willing to pay. When they can do business, Jing merchants generally don't think of the clever trick of having their country's powerful navy come and rob them directly.

This is the nature of Westerners.

After taking the wind-preventing pills, Chen Shao suggested going to Shishi's palace, and the two went together to the Imperial Concubine's garden in the Summer Palace. After having dinner with Chen Shao, Shishi accompanied him for a walk in the courtyard to aid digestion.

She was always very perceptive and noticed that Chen Shao seemed to be affected by the previous memorial.

When the two of them were together, Chen Shao would sometimes agree with her and even smile, but he spoke less and was often a little absent-minded.

Chen Shao was indeed thinking about Java. These people were really annoying; you can't just keep waiting for them to come and rob you.

He was puzzled as to why they were so forgetful, and even suspected that the Annamese soldiers had exaggerated their casualties to gain merit in battle.

Fortunately, in addition to the Annamese soldiers, Wu Lin also reported several times that the casualties were indeed quite serious.

This is especially true for those rampant bandits.

Before the Jing people dug out the mine, there weren't many bandits or thieves around.

In late autumn, the days have shortened considerably. Even though we'd only just finished lunch, it was already getting dark.

In the areas between the palaces where the lights did not reach, there was a deep and tranquil atmosphere.

Li Shishi finally spoke, "You are busy with state affairs, but you must also take care of your health. When it is time to rest, don't overwork yourself."

Chen Shao nodded, but the more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He had originally planned to deal with it tomorrow, but he couldn't wait any longer.

"Send Chen Chong to see me."

Upon hearing this, the palace maid behind him quickly went to relay the message.

A short while later, in the garden, Chen Chong listened to the Emperor's instructions with his head bowed.

"Issue an imperial edict to the southern kingdoms that my mines have been attacked again. Within ten days of receiving this edict, they must hand over all the perpetrators and compensate for the losses a hundredfold. Otherwise, when our army is at the gates, we will leave nothing but dust and grass. Do not say we did not warn you!"

After Chen Chong left, Chen Shao breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling a little better.

They returned to their palace, where they were already quite familiar with each other, and felt a closeness reminiscent of an old married couple who had supported each other through thick and thin.

Chen Shao crossed his legs and let the palace maids in her palace wash his feet.

Shishi sat down in front of the dressing table, turned her head to look at him, and found that Chen Shao was no longer frowning. Then she turned back to look at her face in the mirror.

She still marvels at this mirror; she has never seen herself so clearly before.

All I can say is that the young master is really something else. I heard that he was begged by Zhe Ningxiang, which made Li Shishi find it rather amusing.

When Zhe Ningxiang first entered the inner quarters, things were neither pleasant nor easy to talk about.

Li Shishi herself felt bad, but she was also very surprised because Zhong Lingxi didn't seem to care at all.

At that moment, she felt a surge of respect for Zhong Lingxi, the first wife, because she knew she couldn't do what she did.

When Chun Tao first confessed, he often pinched her behind Chen Shao's back.

Later I learned that Zhe Shi and Zhong Lingxi were just naturally eccentric.

But as the young master's status continued to rise, no one mentioned this matter anymore; people are always more tolerant of important figures.

Her reflection in the mirror was stunning; her delicately made-up features added to her allure. She used a light touch of makeup, having heard that heavy application made one age faster. Even so, she looked better than without any makeup at all.

"Let's dance to relieve our boredom," Chen Shao suddenly said with a grin.

Li Shishi glanced back at him, then obediently stood up from the dressing table, removed the ribbons, and took off her shoes. Underneath, she wore only a thin apricot-red silk jacket, tied with a moon-white embroidered skirt; her exquisite figure made one's mouth dry.

Although Li Shishi held a high position in the harem, she never put on airs in front of Chen Shao.

She always flattered him openly and generously.

Seeing Chen Shao staring at her, Shishi felt a little embarrassed, and her heart started to beat faster, but it didn't affect her actions at all.

After watching for a while, Chen Shao stood up. He seemed a little impulsive and suddenly pushed Shishi down onto the table.

Shishi gasped softly, a hint of a smile in her eyes, but she turned back and said coquettishly, "Is Your Majesty trying to bully me?"

Seeing that Chen Shao remained silent and only continued to attack, Li Shishi twisted her body again and said:
"It's a bit hot, and I'm all sweaty. I haven't showered yet."
-
A month later.

Autumn is a wonderful season in Annam.

The rainy season had passed, and the climate was relatively dry, making it a rare and comfortable time, especially for the Jingjun troops stationed there.

Everyone counted on their fingers, calculating how long it would be before they could leave this wretched place.

At this moment, the atmosphere in the camp suddenly became strange.

One by one, the military officers hurried toward the central command tent.

The listless soldiers suddenly stood up and looked at the military officers.

"Is war about to break out?"

The new recruit looked somewhat bewildered; in his memory, his battalion rarely went out to fight.

They were just transporting Annamese soldiers to fight everywhere.

With the support of their cannons, those Annamese were invincible in the southern wilderness and made a fortune.

Many people would secretly buy some Central Plains items that Jing Jun brought with him, and some would simply exchange them with their spoils of war.

To be honest, Annam is different from the desert; it has everything it needs.

After Wu Lin took office, he opened a large number of workshops and a port connecting Guangnan and other routes.

But the Annamese people felt that the things they bought locally were not genuine, and that the things Jing Jun brought over were the best.

The spoils they used for the exchange included a great deal of gold and silver, which made Jing Jun even more envious.

Gold and silver are now hard currencies, and their purchasing power is astonishing once they are returned to China.

As everyone waited in vain, the news spread at dusk.

The imperial court wanted to launch a campaign against the Kingdom of Jianyi, claiming that the local mines had been looted.

Almost all the Jing troops stationed in Annam had received news that His Majesty was angry.

When the emperor is enraged, millions will die and rivers of blood will flow like water.
-
If it weren't for Daejeong's southward migration, the Kingdom of Kagi-ri would be in its golden age at this time.

At this time, Java was far removed from the wars in the Central Plains and was experiencing a period of cultural prosperity and thriving maritime trade.

Even before Jayabaya came to power, he had already been in charge for several years. He was ambitious and wanted to make the Kingdom of Kayiri a powerful country in the region.

He never considered Da Jing an enemy; in his view, the enemy of Jian Yili was Srivijaya, which controlled the strait.

But when Jingren discovered veins of minerals on nearby islands, he became restless.

The profit margin for this stuff is huge, especially since Jing merchants have an unlimited demand for gold, silver, and copper these days.

This is a business that will never go out of style.

In his view, no matter how powerful your Great Jing is, it is still thousands of miles away, separated by the ocean.

Although you discovered the mines here, they are not part of the main scenic area.

In addition, his reforms threatened the interests of some people, so he thought of using someone else to do his dirty work.

He incited those who disagreed with the reforms to direct their anger at Dajing's mines.

Unfortunately, this knife is a bit too sharp.

Holding the imperial edict from the Great Jing Emperor in his hand, his knuckles were clenched so tightly they turned white.

A hundredfold compensation?
Hand over all the culprits within ten days?
He couldn't do any of them.

"Please reply to His Majesty the Great Jing Emperor that these were all the work of wild men in the mountains, and I was unable to capture them. Moreover, this matter should not be blamed on us, the Jianyi Li."

"We are a small country, and have always been respectful, sending envoys to Jinling every year to pay tribute. We hope Your Majesty will..."

Before he could finish speaking, the Great Jing Envoy, who was translating, interrupted him with a cold snort after only hearing "we can't catch them".

"You dare disobey the imperial edict? Wash your neck clean and offer it for execution!" Jing Shi sneered, flicked his sleeves, and walked out of the palace in Jianyi Lane.

"How rude!" a minister from the Imperial Academy shouted. "They have no respect for the king at all."

Jayabayar's face was grim. Although he didn't explode, the veins on his forehead didn't lie.

He never expected that Jing Shi would be so arrogant.

If he had read more history books, he would know how dangerous he is now.

The arrogance of the envoys from the Central Plains was the worst omen for these small foreign countries.

Jayabaya always viewed this as a political maneuver, and hardly considered the threat of war that would result from angering Dajing.

Then he suddenly realized that if the Great Jing navy really came, could he withstand it?

The moment this thought crossed his mind, he was terrified and broke out in a cold sweat.

Even if Jing Jun himself came, we couldn't handle it, let alone send some Annamese soldiers.

At this point, Da Jing had already taken over the entire Champa, which could serve as a bridgehead for launching a sweep of the Java Islands.

"In recent years, the Great Jing has become increasingly outrageous, and the surrounding countries have suffered greatly as a result. I think it would be better to unite with other countries to protect our straits and shipping lanes, and force the Great Jing to come to us for peace!"

Among the crowd, a middle-aged man with fair skin raised his arm and spoke loudly.

Inside the hall, many people were wearing traditional clothing from the Jianyi Village.

However, some have already replaced their high-end, thin-walled, cicada-wing-like products with the latest trend.

Jayabayar was even more conflicted. If he were to unite with the surrounding countries to form an "anti-Jing coalition," the biggest problem was whether they could actually fight.
The neighboring foreign states might not have the courage to resist the Great Jing.

Everyone says that the mountains are high and the emperor is far away, but at this moment, on the other side of the ocean, Chen Shao did not feel that they were that far away.

He's already encouraged everyone to go to Australia; this distance can't stop him at all.

"Let's send someone to contact them first."

The ten-day deadline felt like a sharp blade hanging over his head, making him uneasy.

Handing over the culprits was still a possibility, so Jayabaya immediately ordered the capture of some mountain slaves to take the blame. (End of Chapter)