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“When did this happen?”
Sitting on the main seat in the main hall, Xiao Ming’s expression was as cold as water.
When he decided to seize Jinling City, he had anticipated such a result. The purpose of the three princes participating at this time was to weaken Prince Wei while not allowing Xiao Ming to become overly powerful. However, in two months, the Southern Expeditionary Army conquered the thirteen prefectures of Wei, which made them finally realize the real threat.
“As soon as Your Highness went to Jinling City, the envoys from the three princes arrived. Now, Governor Niu has personally gone to Yunzhou City to prepare the city’s defenses.” Pang Yukun’s expression was grave.
Although he was unwilling to see the state embroiled in continuous warfare, he had to admit that it was a chaotic era, and only through war could Xiao Ming gain control of the Great Yu Empire’s royal power.
“I thought they would come to Qingzhou as soon as Jinling City fell, but I didn’t expect them to be a whole month late. It seems they must have reached a consensus during this month,” Xiao Ming said thoughtfully.
In fact, he had his own considerations when he decided to attack Jinling City. One of them was that Japan was preparing to use military force against Goryeo. If so, the barbarians would inevitably be drawn into this war, as Goryeo was currently a vassal state of the barbarians, not of the Great Yu Empire.
Although he hadn’t received the exact start date of the war between Japan and Goryeo while on the ship, according to the intelligence provided by Wang Xuan, it seemed that the time would not be too long. By then, the barbarians might be unable to wage two wars simultaneously.
If that was the case, Prince Zhao and Prince Liang would not be able to get barbarian reinforcements in time. In this way, he was not afraid of the allied forces of the three princes.
After all, although their ideas were similar on this matter, they were not monolithic and harbored great suspicion towards each other. There was only one emperor of the Great Yu Empire, and everyone wanted to be it.
“Your Highness is absolutely right, but what should we do in response?” Pang Yukun knew that war was unavoidable, and now they could only respond proactively.
Through the war against Wei, Xiao Ming grew stronger with each battle. It was precisely for this reason that he became more confident, and the most important point was that his gaze was not confined to the Great Yu Empire’s small plot of land.
In this glorious Age of Exploration, his goal was the oceans and colonies.
The current Western countries had laid the foundation for future accumulation precisely because of the Age of Exploration. The vast number of colonies led to the most widespread distribution of white people in the world today, which is why white people looked down upon other races so much.
Now that he had come to this world, Xiao Ming’s ambition was not merely internal struggle. He wanted to establish a vast empire spanning continents and oceans.
For him, it was necessary to end the internal wars as soon as possible, so that a unified Great Yu Empire could stand strong against external threats.
However, he understood that this was a very arduous task. The vassal princes of different surnames had ruled their fiefdoms for generations, and the common people’s loyalty to the vassal princes surpassed that to the imperial family.
The reason he could easily occupy Wei was partly due to his military’s formidable strength, and partly because Prince Wei and Xiao Ming were both of the imperial family. The common people did not have much resistance towards him, and their will to resist was weak.
Moreover, his identity as a prince meant that inheriting the imperial territory was a matter of destiny.
However, this point would not be of much use when facing the other three vassal princes.
“This time, we cannot respond passively. Prince Zhao has just occupied Sword Gate Pass and has not yet established a firm foothold in Shu. The King of Shu’s strength is still present. Now, we need to support the King of Shu,” Xiao Ming said after a moment of hesitation.
“Exactly. If the King of Shu can contain Prince Zhao at this time, then Prince Yan and Prince Liang will be easier to deal with.”
Pacing back and forth, Xiao Ming continued, “This time, take a portion of the armor and weapons captured from Wei. Additionally, I captured 8,000 matchlock guns in the Battle of Ryukyu last time, and along with the matchlock guns returned by Luo Hong, send them all to the King of Shu. Of course, there are also export-model cannons; temporarily give the cannons meant for Prince Chu to the King of Shu.”
“All 150 of them?” Pang Yukun felt a pang of pain.
“All of them. You tell Li Kaiyuan to allocate some merchant ships. There will be warships escorting these merchant ships to deliver the weapons to Shu,” Xiao Ming’s resolve was firm. These things were basically not of much use to him, but it might be different for the King of Shu. Now, he only needed the King of Shu to hold back Prince Zhao, and even if he paid a portion of the cost, it would be worth it.
Pang Yukun nodded. Among the three princes, Prince Zhao was the most powerful, and in his opinion, Xiao Ming’s decision was correct.
He continued to ask, “If that’s the case, then I will delay for a few more days, allowing the envoys from the three princes to stay in Qingzhou for a few more days.”
Xiao Ming smiled upon hearing this. Pang Yukun sometimes showed a cunning side. The three envoys were still in Qingzhou now, so a delaying tactic was appropriate.
The two agreed, and Pang Yukun left. At this point, Xiao Ming fell into contemplation.
These vassal princes of different surnames had inherited their positions for as long as the Great Yu Empire itself. Their ability to maintain control for so long proved that they were not fools. In his opinion, this delaying tactic could only hold them back for a month.
After a month, he might have to face war. Among them, Yan was the closest to him, and directly faced the recently occupied Wei, making it his immediate threat.
He believed that Prince Yan must be thinking the same about him now. Perhaps this alliance was even orchestrated by Prince Yan, because once Xiao Ming was defeated, Prince Yan would be the one to gain the most practical benefits.
After all, Prince Zhao and Prince Liang were too far from Wei and Qi. Thinking of this, he naturally set his first target on Prince Yan.
With a plan in mind, Xiao Ming thought of the envoy mission he had recruited some time ago, whose destination was the Ottoman Empire.
Although Japan might tie up the barbarians’ forces, Xiao Ming was still uneasy. For him, the only true threat to the barbarians was the Ottoman Empire, because he had learned from Yue Yun that the current Ottoman Empire was powerful, even feared by the West.
The war between the two had never stopped.
Thinking of this, he decided to move to Bowen Academy tomorrow to teach them some simple communication languages. Then he would have them disguised as merchants and travel to the Ottoman Empire on Dutch merchant ships.
“Your Highness just returned, why are you busy with government affairs and not resting?” Fei Yuer entered the main hall at some point and smiled at Xiao Ming.
Xiao Ming’s expression softened. He said, “Some urgent matters truly cannot be delayed.”
As he spoke, he saw Fei Yuer gently place her hand on her stomach, so he asked, “What? Is your stomach uncomfortable?”
“Your Highness, the Princess Consort is pregnant,” Xiao Huan volunteered to say for Fei Yuer.
“Pregnant?” Xiao Ming’s face showed surprise.
Ever since Fei Ji and Pang Yukun mentioned this last time, he had not deliberately avoided it. Now, Fei Yuer was finally pregnant.
“How long has it been?” Xiao Ming walked towards Fei Yuer, and the smile on Fei Yuer’s face grew wider.