You have truly caused me great suffering!

In mid-September, the harvest in various parts of Dajing this year was quite good.

In fact, it is normal for the harvest to increase year by year, after all, there are upgrades and popularization of farming tools, government assistance, and an increase in oxen.

Furthermore, irrigation was strengthened through the construction of water canals and water conservancy projects in various regions.

In addition, with no war in the Central Plains and an abundance of labor, the Ministry of Agriculture was also constantly improving its varieties.

There were also fresh crops brought back from Southeast Asia.

A month and a half had passed since Chen Shao issued the imperial edict.

He estimated that Jayabaia and the rulers of the southern wilderness had already received his imperial edict.

After his initial anger subsided, Chen Shao calmed down.

He knew he couldn't judge the people in those places by the standards of the larger world.

I feel that if someone is beaten so badly, even if the evil in their heart hasn't disappeared, they should know to restrain themselves and be afraid.

But the people there may not have this way of thinking.

They just thought that since they hadn't been beaten for six months, they must be too scared to hit me anymore.

Or they simply didn't think about anything, only that by robbing these things, they could become rich.

After this incident, Chen Shao finally understood that he didn't need to care about what those bastards thought.

If I get robbed, I'll start killing; I don't care what you think.

If one slap doesn't work against these barbarians in the southern wilderness, I'll use two; if two don't work, I'll use three.
And so on, countless times.

Each time we send troops to occupy one or two islands, it's like collecting stamps, which is quite nice.

As for whether anyone will settle on the island after it's occupied, there's no need to worry.

Even when the navy wasn't deployed, large numbers of merchants settled in Southeast Asia, let alone now.

People from the Central Plains have a deep attachment to the land.

As long as we are willing to generously grant land and property, we need not worry about a lack of people going there.

Especially in the southern Fujian region, their hometown land basically does not produce crops and is considered a place that is not contested by military strategists.

This leads to the locals' strong desire to venture out and explore.

When faced with a court that had banned maritime trade, they would risk their lives to go to sea. Now that the court was encouraging everyone to go to sea, there was no reason not to go.

Chen Shao offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth in the countryside, praying for continued favorable weather in the coming year.

After stepping down from the altar, he gathered with the ministers on the banks of the Qinhuai River.

Not far away, the people were still celebrating.

The celebratory atmosphere seemed to have infected them as well, and everyone looked relaxed and carefree.

Chen Shao sat on a broken wooden stake, his tone very gentle, still the same emperor the ministers knew.

"If the war breaks out in the north and south at the same time, we cannot mobilize too many of our own troops to the south. We can transport the troops from Dali to the southern wilderness along the Red River."

The best way to get them to join us is to go out and win battles together.

Although Annamite troops had always been used to conquer the southern wilderness in the past, Chen Shao planned to have Jing Army participate in the war this time. Even if they couldn't muster many men, they couldn't just stand by and watch anymore.

To maintain the fighting strength of their own troops, they also needed to deter other barbarian tribes. In fact, when the Central Plains troops had ample food and supplies, they were never afraid of fighting.

Moreover, most of them enjoy fighting.

War may sound dangerous, but if the supplies are plentiful, it means the dynasty is in a period of prosperity and the casualty ratio is very low.

Chen Shao's idea was very simple. A few years ago, he felt that these veterans were his own people who had followed him all the way and helped him to the throne.

He only wished to settle them properly in the most fertile lands of the world, so that they would have no worries about food and clothing.

But they also had ambitions; they all wanted to fight and earn military merits.

Having endured ten years of bitter fighting against the Jurchens, the thought of being unable to continue fighting is unimaginable.

Qu Duan and the others all wanted to go on the Northern Expedition, and no one wanted to stay in the navy for this reason. The Northern Expedition was a real war, while the navy was generally only used for transporting troops.

In fact, a war of such intensity as the Dingnan Army and the Jin army lasted for nearly ten years. Both sides were of comparable strength and at the peak of their military power. Historically, only the Han-Xiongnu War was comparable.

During the Tang Dynasty, Tibet also experienced a period of great prosperity, but it did not coincide with the Tang Dynasty's most powerful period, so it cannot be considered a clash between two strong powers.

These officials in the court actually preferred to fight with foreign tribes, so that, like in the early Tang Dynasty, they could consume very little national strength.

Moreover, if soldiers from the Central Plains were to fight and earn a lot of noble titles, it would place a great burden on the national treasury.

These things are not about right or wrong, but simply about different positions and perspectives.

Now that Chen Shao wants to use the Jing army for battle, no one is strongly opposed, because His Majesty is good at making money and he himself has money.

His Majesty has also been rewarding soldiers.

If it doesn't affect my own interests, I won't bother being a bad person.

Liu Jizu secretly observed the expressions of the other officials and pondered to himself that if other dynasties were to go to such a distant place to fight, no matter how good the reasons were, countless people would jump out to oppose it.

Because previous dynasties had no interests in the southern wilderness, the scholar-officials in the court were often unwilling to fight for the people on the frontier.

Even if the civilians on the frontier are slaughtered, they will first weigh the gains and losses and judge whether it is worth fighting.

Today, there are dozens of mines in the Southern Wilderness, producing gold, silver, copper, iron, and timber.

From the family to the nation, conflicts have always been about interests; no one can escape this mentality.

The greatest benefit of taking over these small countries in the southern wilderness, especially those islands that can be used as ports, would be the merchant ships coming and going.

This wasn't the first time the Great Jing Dynasty had fought for merchants. In the northwest, it had successively campaigned against the Western Uyghurs and the Qinghai-Tibet Tibetans for the sake of the Silk Road, thus opening up two Silk Roads.

Now that the sea is being cleaned up again, I realize that if I had been in such good fortune when I was doing business, I would have become rich long ago.

His Majesty's actions have proven that he is not a person who suppresses the merchants, which gives Liu Jizu greater hope for the future.

Liu Jizu was born into a merchant family, which has always been a source of anxiety for him. Although he had surrendered early in Taiyuan and his daughter had entered the palace, thus establishing a maternal relationship with the emperor, he was now a high-ranking official.

However, he always felt somewhat inferior and insecure when facing officials like Li Tangchen.

At times like these, Liu Jizu's only solace was in the fact that His Majesty was different from everyone else.

It seems this battle is unavoidable.

Looking at the celebrating people, Li Tangchen said with a smile, "In the south, rice is mostly grown, and in some places, two or even three harvests a year can be achieved. Therefore, the autumn harvest celebration is not as enthusiastic as in the north. In Hedong, the people shout themselves hoarse every year at this time."

Then the officials began discussing the harvest celebrations in their hometowns.

Customs vary from place to place, and Chen Shao listened with great interest.

He only learned after arriving that the sons of the local gentry and gentry had all participated in the local autumn harvest festival. This reflects the utmost respect a civilization and a people have for food. If one insists that this land lacks faith, then reverence for nature and cherishing food are deeply ingrained beliefs within us.

The phrase "江山社稷" (Jiangshan Sheji) uses "社" (She) to refer to land and "稷" (Ji) to refer to grain.

The celebratory songs still echoed in my ears, reverberating through the suburbs.
-
Goryeo, on the border.

As Cui Shunting watched the cartloads of silver enter Goryeo via the official road, he felt a deep sense of awe.

It turns out that Dajing really is going to provide aid.

Moreover, it was a large workshop for minting coins, shipbuilding, and smelting.

Choi Soon-jung knew all too well what this meant.

Daejeong's goal was not simply to exploit Goryeo or conquer it, but to make that land a part of the Central Plains.

If that were the case, then Cui Shunting would no longer have any reservations.

He was very willing to help Daejeong and its emperor to bring Goryeo into the Central Plains.

If it were merely a matter of conquest, then the future Goryeo people would surely condemn themselves to shame and regard themselves as traitors to Goryeo.

But if His Majesty the Great King of Daegye succeeds, Goryeo will be integrated into Daegye and become part of Daegye.

In the future, I will be a hero of this land in the history books.

Cui Shunting is sixty years old. How much longer does he have to live?

He has been noble and wealthy in his life, which is more than enough. He has countless beautiful maids around him, each gentle and obedient, but he can't enjoy them all.

Even though the wine was fine and fragrant, he dared not drink too much; and among the delicacies, he could only choose the light and soft ones to eat.

All this fuss wasn't for personal enjoyment anymore; initially, he wanted to reclaim the family's former glory.

Now, His Majesty the Emperor of the Great Jing Dynasty has shown him a higher pursuit.

He hopes that history books will record it this way: In the past, Jizi, a descendant of the Shang dynasty, embraced the Way and moved eastward, teaching and enlightening the people of the East Sea. During the Jianwu era, the Cui clan united the people of Goryeo and returned them to their homeland!
Standing on the hillside, Wei Daqi, who was standing next to him, watched the old man shaking his head and looking completely absorbed, and couldn't help but nudge him with his elbow.

"Old friend, what good news is there?"

Choi Soon-jeong coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment, then cupped his hands toward the sky and said, "Your Majesty's great grace is something the people of Goryeo can never repay, even if it means dying a thousand deaths."

Wei Daqi glared at him, thinking to himself, "You sycophant are really something else. You're the same person in front of others and behind their backs. If you don't succeed, who will?"

But if you say His Majesty has shown great favor, then you're absolutely right.

Kim Bu-sik of Goryeo arrived in Jinling in early August, and it is only early October now, yet the funds have already been secured.

Production is expected to begin after the new year.

The sincerity shown by Daejeong this time is so great that it's no wonder that the Goryeo king and his ministers no longer pursued the matter of the laborers. His Majesty personally wrote that if there is any surplus in the products produced by these newly built workshops in Goryeo, the Daejeong court will buy them at market price.

You can manufacture and produce as much as you want; you don't need to worry about sales at all. If you can't sell them, I'll buy them all.

In the past, the suzerain state and its vassal state were like an elder brother and a younger brother. The younger brother would risk his life for the elder brother and also have to be filial to him, all in order to gain the elder brother's care and protection.

Nowadays, Daejeong and Goryeo are like sugar daddies and canaries in a cage. Except for a cage that restricts their freedom (military garrison and food), everything else is taken care of by them.

Cui Shunting was determined to take this opportunity to transport another batch of laborers to Liaodong.

The Goryeo officials around them could only nod and smile, without considering the consequences of their actions.
-
Why are those in power always ruthless? Because if you are too emotional, every decision you make could lead to the deaths of thousands or even tens of thousands of people.

Many powerful rulers regard these as just numbers on paper.

But Chen Shao was not.

He was a person with very high standards for himself, always striving to do things perfectly, especially in the early days of his reign as emperor.

However, things often don't go as planned.

Now, after four years as emperor, he has slowly begun to understand the ways of the world.

A ruthless emperor is actually a good thing for the people. Some things require a strong leader to make decisions and lead everyone to work together.

Sacrifice is inevitable; the question is whether it is worthwhile and what benefits it brings.

Ten days had passed since Chen Shao's imperial edict reached Jianyi, but no reply had been received.

Da Jing officially declared war, clearly explaining the cause and effect in the Da Jing newspaper, and expressing his determination to avenge this conflict a hundredfold.

In particular, the Da Jing Bao newspaper provided a detailed account of the deaths of the miners and transport workers, including Han Chinese and Annamese who were transporting copper; their bodies had already been brought back.

They had been tortured before their deaths. Several of them had fluid in their lungs and ligature marks on their bodies. According to the coroner's examination, they were probably first tied up and hung upside down and subjected to waterboarding; then they were held in captivity for a long time and became so thin that they were almost skin and bones due to lack of food.

After they died, they were beheaded again, and perhaps to return them to Da Jing, some of their heads were sewn back on.

There are also some headless ones, which are probably lost.

What they wanted to find out during the interrogation, what their other purpose was—none of that mattered anymore.

Chen Shao didn't even have anyone investigate.

Once war breaks out, whether they confess their crimes or not, the outcome will be the same.

It takes evidence to catch a criminal, but only a military order to destroy a country.

Because His Majesty intends to use the Jing Army this time, all the naval forces and garrisons in the south have submitted petitions requesting to fight.

Ultimately, the Privy Council, taking into account the Emperor's wishes and the situation of each force, decided that four armies—Annan, Dali, Champa, and Xiaoliuqiu—would be sent into battle, with Wu Lin as the commander-in-chief.

The main targets of the campaign were Zhenla and Jianyili, with the aim of revenge and complete destruction.

Zhenla and Jianyi had officials in Jinling.

Inside the Court of State Ceremonial, all these people were trembling with fear, deeply resenting the ignorance of those people back home.

They had no idea what kind of monster they were provoking.

The situations on both sides are different. Zhenla has very little contact with Dajing. They are currently closing themselves off from the world and creating wonders within their own country.

The king in power at this time was Suryavarman II, who was using the resources of the entire nation to build an unprecedented temple, which later became the famous Angkor Wat.

Because Suryavarman II considered himself an incarnation of Vishnu, he built Angkor Wat to worship Vishnu.

Now that the project is at its peak, he has no time to spare and feels it's only right to rob large mines in China.

After all, even though you found it in the middle of nowhere, that was my territory, and I took it to build a temple.

Because the country's finances mainly depend on maritime trade, Kagiri had frequent contact with Daikyo. There were even times when Kagiri and Sambhota fought fiercely, and both sides asked Daikyo to mediate.

Jayabayar wanted to play a trick, but he didn't expect Chen Shao to keep his word and not give him a chance at all.

Just as these foreign officials in the mission were filled with fear and unease, someone finally arrived.

The visitor, with a stern face, told them to leave immediately. The imperial court had already ordered their expulsion from Da Jing, and there was no longer any need for communication between the two sides. (End of Chapter)