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After the New Year, the weather gradually warmed, and the accumulated snow began to melt.
Faint distant light entered the imperial study, but it brought no warmth to Xiao Ming. In this era where nations collectively acted as pirates, why should he be a bleeding-heart?
Currently, the Great Yu Empire was poor, yet its technology and military were in no way inferior to the West, similar to Europe’s past situation.
Back then, the poor Europeans with muskets landed on the American continent and found a group of natives wearing furs and holding spears, rich with oil. One could imagine what happened next.
As the saying goes, “the wheel of fortune turns,” and it was time for him to step into this great era. Moreover, if every Great Yu Empire citizen were to live the affluent life of Western citizens, it seemed he would have to occupy quite a bit of territory.
With his hands clasped behind his back, looking at the map in the study, Xiao Ming drew circles on the maps of the Golden Tent Khanate, Goryeo, and Japan.
It was time to make them recall the fear of being ruled by the Great Yu Empire.
…
Dengzhou, Blackrock Village.
A fierce barking startled Zhang Dakang from his sleep. He shivered and immediately scrambled up, looking around.
At this moment, the distant horizon was already tinged with the white of a fish’s belly, and the sky was dimly lit; it was precisely when night had not fully receded, and day had not yet arrived.
“Goryeo people.”
Following the sound of the barking, Zhang Dakang broke into a sweat despite the cold weather. Not far away, a blurry group of figures, numbering around two hundred, was approaching the village. From hundreds of meters away, he vaguely saw weapons in their hands.
His heart felt as if it was being squeezed tightly, and Zhang Dakang was so nervous he could barely breathe.
Before the New Year, they had heard from the prefectural office that Goryeo people were impersonating pirates to attack fishing villages. For this, Yang Chengye, the Prefectural Governor of Dengzhou, had ordered all militia organizations to form patrol teams, to be vigilant day and night.
The militiamen of his village also sprang into action. Today was his turn to stand guard, but because he was too tired last night, he accidentally fell asleep.
Seeing the fully armed Goryeo soldiers drawing closer, Zhang Dakang could no longer worry about anything else. He grabbed the gong in his hand and beat it forcefully.
“The Goryeo people are coming! The Goryeo people are coming!”
The violent clang of the gong, accompanied by Zhang Dakang’s shouts, immediately spread throughout the entire village.
Suddenly, Blackrock Village woke up. All the villagers rushed out, some without even having time to put on their clothes.
“Why are you only sounding the gong now!” The militia captain, Gao Shan, was both anxious and angry. Hearing the sound of the gong, they quickly scrambled up and looked up to see the Goryeo soldiers outside the village.
Zhang Dakang was filled with shame. He said, “Da Shan, I fell asleep.”
Gao Shan grew even more enraged upon hearing this. He punched Zhang Dakang on the head, but Zhang Dakang was wearing a full suit of plate armor, so his fist only hurt him, while Zhang Dakang had no reaction.
At this time, other militiamen also gathered, all looking at Gao Shan, awaiting his orders.
Gao Shan knew that this was not the time to blame Zhang Dakang. He said to a villager, “You immediately take the villagers and flee. The rest of you, put on your plate armor, grab your weapons, and follow me.”
The militiamen, upon hearing this, immediately ran to the village’s militia warehouse. Two years ago, the Dengzhou army had given their retired plate armor and weapons to the militia teams in each village.
On normal days, they worked during the busy farming season and, during the off-season, they would put on their plate armor and train with their weapons.
Outside the village, the Goryeo soldiers also heard the gong. The leading Goryeo general, named Li Cheng-jae, immediately ordered his soldiers to run towards Blackrock Village.
Last year, Japan invaded Goryeo, causing Goryeo to lose half of its territory. To end the war, the Golden Tent Khanate forced the King of Goryeo to pay Japan a million taels of silver, thus ending the conflict.
However, the King of Goryeo and the Goryeo nobles naturally did not want to pay this million taels of silver themselves, so they forcibly levied heavy taxes on the common people, causing widespread resentment.
Seeing constant rebellions throughout Goryeo, the King of Goryeo and his ministers, after deliberation, ordered the plundering of Dengzhou. Firstly, this was to gather the reparations owed to Japan, and secondly, it was to incite hatred and make the common people resent the Great Yu Empire, thereby allowing them to evade responsibility.
For this purpose, the King of Goryeo and the nobles continuously spread rumors among the common people that the Great Yu Empire had instigated Japan’s invasion of Goryeo, giving this plunder a legitimate reason.
Li Cheng-jae was aware of the King of Goryeo’s and the powerful nobles’ scheme, as his father was a military secretary in Goryeo. Looking at the increasingly close Blackrock Village, he drew his ceremonial sword. He was an illegitimate son, and illegitimate sons had no status in Goryeo, but if he could return with the heads of five hundred Great Yu Empire citizens this time, he could rise in status through military merit.
Therefore, after the King of Goryeo gave the order, he actively participated in the plunder of the Great Yu Empire.
At this moment, a warship was patrolling the sea. The warship seemed to have undergone many battles; arrows could still be seen embedded in its hull on both sides.
Besides arrows, some areas also appeared to have been pierced by sharp objects.
“These damned Goryeo people always attack villages when it’s still dark.” Sun Yidong wiped the blood from his hand. In yesterday’s battle, he was wounded by a Goryeo soldier’s arrow, and the wound was still bleeding intermittently.
Liu Chen stood at the bow, using his telescope to look at the distant sea. After receiving the replied memorial before the New Year, they had been patrolling the sea. During this time, they had sunk a total of fifty-three Goryeo warships.
However, this time, the Goryeo people seemed determined, like they had swallowed a weight. Even after suffering heavy losses, they continued to plunder Dengzhou.
“Such passive defense is not a solution,” Liu Chen concluded. Dengzhou’s coastline was long, and they couldn’t guard it hermetically. “The Great Yu Empire has been accustomed to meeting force with force and dealing with problems as they arise. Goryeo is fearless, believing we lack the courage to directly attack them.”
Sun Yidong, the second-in-command on the warship, complained, “Hasn’t the Emperor’s memorial been approved? But the General is making us act like cowards.”
Liu Chen said, “You can’t blame the General. Last year’s war consumed most of our gunpowder and ammunition. The navy’s ammunition isn’t enough to subdue Goryeo, and the winter wind blows from the north, which is unfavorable for naval operations.”
“I understand that, but isn’t the south wind blowing now? I heard a batch of ammunition has also arrived. Can’t we act now?” Sun Yidong complained.
Liu Chen was much calmer than Sun Yidong. He said, “The General’s inaction is naturally to wait for the right moment. General Yue Yun comes from a fishing village; he hates these Goryeo people more than we do.”
As the two were talking, they suddenly saw a long plume of black smoke rising in the distance.
“Damn it, another village has been attacked!” Sun Yidong said angrily. They had been at sea for half a month straight, precisely to provide timely reinforcement to attacked villages.
Liu Chen put away his telescope and ordered loudly, “Full speed ahead! All marines assemble, ready for battle at any moment!”