The Empire will continue to win

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

In the alley, firecrackers crackled and drums resounded.

The wedding procession sent by the Shen family stretched for half a mile, making quite a grand spectacle.

The crowd was huge, and the snotty-nosed children ran around happily because the group was actually handing out candy and peanuts.

Leading the wedding procession was the groom, Shen Moqing, riding a white horse, wearing a python robe, a jade belt, a red gauze hat with stiff wings, and a large red flower hanging on his chest.

Anyone who sees him will praise him as a handsome young man; it turns out to be Shen Lang.

Behind.

The groomsmen were a luxurious group of sixteen naval cadets, all riding black horses, wearing military dress uniforms, with a pistol on their left and a sword on their right at their waist.

Warfare is a source of misfortune.

To avoid any taboo, the groomsmen specially wrapped red silk around the hilts of their swords and guns.

In the center of the procession, a bridal sedan chair with gold leaf appliqués stood out. This was no ordinary sedan chair, but a luxury item assembled from more than a hundred carved wooden panels in vermilion and gold.

It glitters and sparkles.

Two teams of elegantly dressed maids lined the bridal sedan chair, moving slowly alongside it. Each maid carried a flower basket and scattered flowers along the way.

Hooray!

.........

The southern part of the city has always been a place where all sorts of people mingle.

As soon as the firecrackers and drums went off, a bunch of thugs and bullies came running. Seeing how beautiful the woman in the family was, they squeezed forward, hoping to take advantage of the chaos to grope her.

But upon seeing the groomsmen, he immediately changed his mind.

It was the master!

The master's wedding must not be disrupted.

Even the biggest thugs wouldn't dare mess with the master, no matter what they did before leaving home in the morning; they'd even help maintain order.

As we approached Chongwen Gate, a troop of brightly dressed Imperial Guard cavalrymen lined up at the city gate, seemingly having been waiting there for some time.

Before Shen Moqing could ask,

The leader, Weng Zenghan, a lieutenant of the Imperial Guard, spurred his horse forward and shouted, "His Majesty has issued an imperial edict that Shen Moqing is loyal to the country and deeply admires me. Therefore, the Imperial Guard is hereby granted permission to clear the way. So be it."

"Thank you, Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"

"Groom, please~"

The Imperial Guards clearing the way was an extremely rare honor, which immediately caused a sensation throughout the city.

A teahouse not far away.

Upstairs, in a private room.

Sitting by the window, Kotaro Munakata's arm was still throbbing from the gunshot wound. He recognized the ostentatious groom as the one who had shot him that day.

Sitting opposite him was Takei Motoko, but she wasn't wearing a kimono; her attire was almost indistinguishable from that of a Han Chinese woman.

The two individuals, representing the Sakura Agency and the Plum Agency respectively, met at the teahouse.

"Zongfang, do you know the groom?"

"He almost beat me to death."

"What does he do?"

"This man's surname is Shen. He is a descendant of a high-ranking warrior and is very likely to be the next leader of Yanshan Heavy Industry."

Motoko Takei was furious. The last time this kid went to a brothel on crutches, he claimed to be a warrant officer in the Imperial Navy and even tried to launch a bloody battle against her. He also left a considerable debt at the shop that he still hadn't settled.

Men are such liars.

Taking a sip of green tea, she said softly, "I heard that your Sakura Agency has suffered significant losses recently?"

Kotaro Munakata nodded painfully: "Yes, I lost more than twenty men and several outposts."

"You guys are so careless!"

The cherry blossom beauty's eyes revealed a hint of mockery.

careless?

Wrong, it's clearly incompetence!

Incompetent and stupid colleagues in the Army Department!

Munakata Kotaro shook his head and explained:

"No, it was Yu Xian, the Minister of Justice. He just happened to stumble upon one of our men by chance, but the torture was too brutal, and my man couldn't withstand it and became a traitor. Yu Xian followed the trail and found more and more."

"What a pity."

The smell is too strong.

Kotaro Munakata barely suppressed his anger.

"On behalf of the head of the Sakura Agency, I wish to reach a cooperation agreement with your Mei Agency. The credit will be split 50/50."

"What kind of cooperation?"

"Bombard the Forbidden City!"

"What?!"

"Yes, this is a top-secret plan that the Sakura Agency formulated long ago. We have been preparing for it seriously for half a year." Kotaro Munakata looked quite proud.

"Has headquarters approved it?"

"No comment."

Motoko Takei immediately understood that the plan not only lacked approval from headquarters, but might not have even been consulted at all.

idiot!

It's that damned insubordination again, and the lone wolves of you poor farmers again!

.........

There was silence for a moment.

"The Mei Agency will not get involved in your Army Ministry's affairs, but we will not report it to higher authorities either; we will simply pretend we are unaware of it."

"No! This is a matter of great importance. Lu and Hai should put aside their past grievances and cooperate sincerely."

"Does your army hope to achieve victory in war by assassinating the enemy's empress dowager and emperor without any offensive action?"

Takei Motoko stared at Munakata as if he were a madman, cursing in her heart: Army idiots, Army bastards, keep dreaming about being a big rice ball.

The navy is scientific, prudent, and superior.

If possible, and if the two countries can reach an agreement on cooperation terms, some high-ranking officers of the Joint Fleet are even willing to form an alliance with the United Empire to create a Pan-Asian Fleet unlike any other in human history.

We acknowledge the United Empire as the eldest brother and the Eastern Kingdom as the second brother, and then declare war on the United States of America! We declare war on the Kingdom of Britain! We declare war on the Kingdom of Gaul! We declare war on the Empire of Russia! We declare war on the Prussian Empire!

The world is big enough to be divided up.

The elites of all Asia unite, and the paradise of benevolent rule will surely be realized!

This group is known as the Treatyists.

Of course~

Some senior officers within the United Fleet also believed that the United Empire and the Eastern Sang Kingdom were too close to each other, and that a war was inevitable sooner or later.

However, the navy needs to endure for more than 20 years before it can challenge the suzerain state.

This group was known as the Fleet Faction.

Although the two factions have different ideologies, they currently share the same goal: to develop the navy, build large numbers of warships, and train marines diligently!

.........

"Please be careful, sir, and have some more tea."

The waiter from the teahouse came over, carrying a long copper teapot. He poured boiling water precisely into the teacup with fluid movements, without spilling a single drop.

Without him, only familiar with Seoul.

Please enjoy your meal.

Just now, the experienced waiter immediately realized that the two tea drinkers were not a couple, so he moved a silk screen over to provide shelter for the illicit lovers.

Faced with ridicule, Munakata Kotaro did not become angry, but instead began to narrate in a strange and calm tone:

"I hope you can relay what I'm about to say to your department head."

"I, Munakata, come from a humble background. My ancestors were farmers for eight generations. In my youth, I was deeply grateful for the Emperor's kindness and vowed to dedicate my life to the cause of the Empire. In the first year of Xuanwu, with the support of Nomura, the Chief of Staff of the Army, I traveled to the seven provinces and thirty-two prefectures of the United Empire with a capital of 1500 yen."

"Over the years, I have made in-depth contact with the people and all levels of society in the United Empire, observing, understanding, and spying. I believe that this is an empire that appears strong on the outside but is weak on the inside and full of contradictions."

"for example?"

"The southeastern prefectures and the central government of Yanjing are not of one mind at all; they don't even seem to be in the same country."

"Ah~ Forgive my bluntness, but the phenomena you described are not unique to the United Empire; they exist in all countries. Take my own country as an example, Munakata, have you forgotten the Satsuma Rebellion that just ended last year?"

The so-called Satsuma War was a war launched by the central minister Saigo Takamori against the central government due to ideological differences. Saigo resigned in anger and returned to the Satsuma Domain to rally the samurai class.

In the end, Saigo was defeated and committed suicide.

This was a war with far-reaching consequences, and from then on, the young Emperor Wenzhi embarked on a rapid path of centralizing power.

.........

"How can that be the same?" Zong Fang was furious.

"Excuse me, what's different?" Takei Motoko asked, her almond-shaped eyes wide.

"Although Prince Saigo rebelled, he was different from other rebels. He had his nation and country in his heart."