Become a king right from the start, beginning with receiving rewards from all the heavens.

Local officials were well aware that from this day forward, Great Xia had another untouchable opponent!

Meanwhile, in the imperial court, Feng Bao continued to announce the imperial edict.

"From this day forward, the Great Xia War Equipment Division will be merged into the Thousand Machine Pavilion!"

"All equipment in the Great Xia Dynasty is designed and manufactured by the Thousand Machine Pavilion."

The imperial edict has been read aloud.

However, the effects of this have only just begun to take hold in the minds of the officials.

I originally thought that the merger of Qianji Pavilion into the imperial court was already a huge deal.

Unexpectedly, even the Imperial Equipment Department was merged into the Thousand Machine Pavilion at the same time.

The Equipment Division was previously controlled by the military.

Despite its low rank, the head of the department only enjoys the treatment of a fourth-rank official.

But it's very lucrative; the military alone can get hundreds of thousands of high-grade spirit crystals from the Equipment Department every year!

Although most of these were used to manufacture and refine equipment, a portion of them were divided up by the military's high command.

Xia Zhaoyan had known this for a long time.

However, in order to maintain stability, he never reformed the military.

After all, he doesn't have many outstanding individuals who have come from the battlefield.

Looking at the grim faces of the military leaders below, Xia Zhaoyan sneered inwardly.

These people are good at defense now, but don't expect them to expand their territory.

If it weren't for the large number of powerful warriors under his command, they could have easily fought alongside him when things were going well.

"My esteemed ministers, do you have any objections to this matter?"

Objections? No, no, absolutely not.

The officials shook their heads like waves; who dared to raise any objections?

"Sigh... yet another powerful institution has been created!"

Someone sighed inwardly.

Intelligent people have long seen that since His Majesty ascended the throne, the old system has been gradually disintegrating.

Otherwise, how could a Left Chancellor and a military general be parachuted in?

Just like today, the Equipment Department was originally a relatively independent agency.

But from now on, everything must be done according to the orders of the two leaders of the Thousand Machines Pavilion.

"Since there are no objections, this matter is decided."

"Gentlemen, you now know about the Netherworld Battleship."

"This equipment can now be mass-produced!"

Upon hearing this, the military became excited.

Mass production means that the military can be equipped in large quantities.

"Therefore, I plan to equip the army with Netherworld warships in large quantities."

It would be a real shame not to equip such equipment in large quantities.

Although the cost is high, one ship requires 100,000 high-grade spirit crystals.

However, these spirit crystals eventually circulated within the Great Xia Dynasty through various channels.

It can benefit all social classes and at least boost the economy of Daxia.

At this moment, Zhang Juzheng got up and went to the center.

"Your Majesty, I have something to report."

The military personnel's expressions immediately changed; they thought the Left Prime Minister was planning to make trouble over costs.

"Your Majesty, now that we have the Netherworld Warships, we should change our strategy for attacking Daewoo."

The military breathed a sigh of relief and even felt a sense of gratitude towards the Left Prime Minister.

Throughout history, civil officials have often been adept at hindering military development.

After all, the finances were in the hands of the civil officials.

Xia Zhaoyan immediately became interested.

"If you have any thoughts, please feel free to share them so we can discuss them."

...

"Your Majesty, since this ship can travel and jump through the void, the wars of the Great Yu cannot be fought in this way. It is too time-consuming and energy-intensive."

"Use the Netherworld Warships to send troops to the rear of Daewoo."

"Especially those prefectural and state cities of Da Yu, as long as we carry out devastating attacks on these places."

"No matter how hard Daewoo struggles, it will eventually collapse internally, leading to a breakdown in government policies and a loss of communication between states."

"The state capital cannot control the prefectural capital, the prefectural capital cannot control the county capital, and the county capital cannot control ordinary cities."

"We don't need to advance step by step. When the time comes, as long as we wipe out their royal family, this dynasty will completely collapse."

"Wherever our men went, they had no choice but to surrender."

...

Officials joined the discussion, and with so many people involved, a comprehensive strategic plan was quickly developed.

Xia Zhaoyan was very satisfied after reading it, but said it was a pity.

"Your plan is excellent, but unfortunately, we can't utilize it all on Daewoo."

"After all, the production capacity of the Thousand Machine Pavilion is limited. By the time they have built enough warships, the Great Yu Kingdom will probably be completely taken over soon."

Everyone thought about it and realized that it made sense; how could they have forgotten something as important as production output?

"But don't be discouraged. Let's test our strategy on Daewoo first."

"In the future, when attacking the demon race, we will be able to fully unlock this war mode."

...

The war between Da Xia and Da Yu continues, and now Da Yu has lost control of ten states.

That day, Guo Jing was planning the next round of attacks.

A subordinate rushed in to report.

"General, the imperial court has sent two hundred Netherworld warships."

"So many?" Guo Jing was immediately shocked.

Only a few days have passed, and Qianji Pavilion has already produced so many ships.

"Summon the other generals for a meeting immediately!"

...

The ten states now occupied have repaired their respective teleportation arrays.

However, they can only teleport between each other and between Daxia.

Daewoo had already cut off the teleportation array.

Soon, the commanders of those legions arrived at the Heavenly Punishment Army's side.

Guo Jing's voice rang out from the main seat.

"Gentlemen, the imperial court has sent two hundred Netherworld warships."

"Then, we can test a new mode of warfare."

Two hundred ships—that's not a huge number, considering there are a hundred legion commanders here.

Two hundred ships aren't enough to go around!

For a moment, each commander stared warily at the other commanders around them.

"In the previous war, because of your speed, I could only slow down the decapitation process as much as possible."

After all, these armies are not like the Heavenly Punishment Army, where everyone can fly.

This meant that every time the Heavenly Punishment Army conquered a state, they had to wait for a follow-up army to take over.

"Two hundred ships may not seem like many, but they are enough to transport two million troops and equipment."

"Then, I'm going to speed up the decapitation operation."

...

Two million elite troops boarded the warships; these were all elites drawn from various legions.

They were all soldiers with cultivation, each commanded by one of the four main generals.

Guo Jing waved his hand dismissively, "Let's go!"

The Heavenly Punishment Army vanished from their spot in an instant, and the next moment they appeared outside the city.

"General, if we launch a surprise attack directly into Daewoo's rear this time, will we be cut off from our retreat?"

...

"It doesn't matter, what we want is for them to lose control of their rear."

"We are only responsible for attacking the state capital. After they take over, we will set up a teleportation array, and a continuous stream of troops will appear behind Da Yu."

"At that time, they will be responsible for dealing with the other prefectural and county cities."

...

Guangping Prefecture is located in the territory of Dayu, bordering the Chaotic Domain and the Northern Continent. It is also an important passage that guards the Eastern Continent and the Northern Continent.

Guo Jing's target is one of the most important states in the Great Yu Dynasty.

Its strategic importance is second only to Daewoo's Yuzhou!

The atmosphere in Guangping City is slightly tense now.

However, the city's officials and various powerful forces continued to live a life of peace and prosperity.

After all, no one could have predicted that the Great Xia army would cross dozens of states and directly descend upon the northernmost part of the Great Yu!

(P.S.: Dear readers, the rating isn't increasing, and I'm getting a little anxious. Could you please lend a hand and give me a five-star review to encourage me to update?)