The third day of September in the second year of Daxia.
People in Guanyun City suddenly smelled a different scent.
The originally leisurely atmosphere seemed a little tense, but if you looked closely, you couldn't see anything different from usual.
The common people and merchants were still doing what they were supposed to do, but the officials of Guanyun City seemed to be much busier than before. Even the smiles on their faces had decreased a little, and they looked quite serious.
"I heard there's going to be a war!"
"...Nonsense! Who in the world dares to touch the tiger's whiskers of our Great Xia?"
"You still don't believe me even though I told you this. This news comes from the Ministry of War. As for the enemy... they're not on land."
"If it's not on land, could it be on the sea?"
"Yes! It's on the sea! I heard the enemy is coming in full force this time!"
"Peng Mazi, you're such a jerk, what's the deal with the enemies at sea? Two years ago, our Great Xia Navy, under the leadership of Marshal Bai, annihilated an entire fleet and captured twelve ships full of gold, silver, and jewelry. Do you know how powerful our Great Xia Navy is now?"
"Chen Doufu, of course I know. I also know that our Great Xia navy currently has a total of thirty-eight warships!"
Peng Mazi's eyes widened, and the veins on his neck throbbed. "But do you know how many warships the enemy has sent this time?"
He held up a finger, "A hundred of them!"
"Of course, our thirty-eight warships can definitely destroy the enemy's one hundred ships, but now our thirty-eight warships belong to three major navies."
Peng Mazi rolled up his sleeves, dipped his fingers in the tea, and began to draw on the tea table. "Look..."
"Our First Navy Army is stationed in the Far East. It is the first line of defense on the Daxia Sea, but right now, the First Army only has eighteen warships!"
"This is Xiaye, the naval base of the Third Army. There are ten warships here, and it's a full five days' voyage from Far East Road!"
"This is Shengang, the Second Naval Base, which also houses ten warships. However, Shengang is farther from Far East Road, requiring a ten-day voyage."
He wiped his hands on his clothes, grinned, and looked at Chen Doufu and the others with a very professional voice. "The warships of Xiaye and Shengang haven't been deployed yet. The current situation is that the First Army's eighteen warships are facing an attack by a hundred enemy warships..."
"Do you still think the First Marine Army can withstand the enemy's attack?"
"Not to mention the enemy's bombardment, even if they were to collide, they would destroy all eighteen of our warships."
Chen Doufu and the others took a deep breath, and now they all frowned and looked thoughtful.
At this time, a man who looked like a teacher in the teahouse spoke up, "You are so concerned about the country, which is a blessing for Daxia. But I think the court has already come up with a strategy to deal with such a major event. Please don't worry about it here, just do what you need to do."
When he said this, Chen Doufu was shocked. "Yes, what are we thinking with His Majesty here? I still have two plates of tofu left to sell. Let's go!"
"That's right, I have to go sell hemp candy too."
"Hearing what Peng Mazi said, it almost delayed my work. Let's go!"
"Brother Yi, where are you moving bricks?"
"It's just outside the city. They're building a farm there and they're short of people. Do you want to go?"
"I have nothing to do, so I'm going to earn some cash and go for a walk!"
In an instant, many people gathered outside the tea shop scattered. Peng Mazi was still not satisfied. He had finally got the news and had thought hard to come up with a strategy to defeat the enemy. Why did you all run away before he finished bragging?
"Scholar, the ancients said that a scholar is useless. If the enemy really breaks in, tell me, is your scholar useless?"
"Can you carry a gun? I'm afraid that armor would crush you to death!"
A little girl walked in with a candied haws in her mouth. She looked at Peng Mazi, walked to the scholar, turned back and looked at Peng Mazi again, as if she wanted to punch him twice, but was stopped by the middle-aged scholar with a smile.
"Lu'er, let's go."
Lu'er curled her lips and said, "Oh."
"That's hard to explain."
"Well, you're quite right."
Zhou Hui smiled and led Lu'er away. Lu'er licked the candied haws and suddenly looked up and asked his father, "Why don't you argue?"
"Because it's meaningless. Firstly, it's difficult to convince him, and secondly...it's good that they have such intentions."
"But he said you were useless!"
Zhou Hui was silent for a long time, and then the father and daughter came to the front of the majestic imperial palace.
He pointed at the palace and said to Lu'er, "This palace once had strong and thick walls. But since the third year after Your Majesty ascended the throne, the walls have disappeared. We can see the palace from anywhere in this area."
He bent down and touched the deer's head. "Do you think it's majestic?"
Lu'er put the candied haws in her mouth and forgot to lick it. She blinked her big eyes and looked carefully at the palaces. After a moment, she nodded and said, "I think it is still majestic."
"That's right. The majesty of a palace doesn't lie in its walls, but in the person who manages it."
"By the same token, the strength of a country does not depend on how people comment on it. Whether it is praised or criticized, its strength is there, and it is enough to prove it to the people of the world."
Lu Tou raised his head and looked at his father suspiciously, "Dad, what you mean is... can our Great Xia Navy's First Army really defeat the enemy's over a hundred warships with just eighteen warships?"
"It's inevitable."
"Why?"
"Because His Majesty seems to have no intention of mobilizing the Second and Third Armies."
"Father, are you trusting His Majesty too blindly? Didn't you say that everyone makes mistakes?"
"It's not that I'm blind, but rather that the Great Xia Navy's combat effectiveness far exceeds that of the enemy. It's true that everyone makes mistakes, and His Majesty has made many in the past, like when he exterminated the martial arts world during the Yu Dynasty, issued stocks, and built the Grand Canal when he was in charge of the Wofeng Road."
"Your Majesty bears primary responsibility for the destruction of the Sword Mountain and Sword Forest. The Daoist Temple is now in name only, and this blame must also be placed on Your Majesty. Now, under the leadership of Ku Chan, the Buddhist sect is showing signs of revival. His actions have caused all regions to remain wary of those in the martial arts world, and the Great Xia army precisely needs these highly skilled warriors. As a result, there are almost no martial artists in the current Great Xia Army's 6th, 7th, and 8th Armies."
As soon as Zhou Hui finished speaking, someone patted his shoulder. He turned around with a look of surprise on his face.
Fu Xiaoguan was standing behind him in a green linen robe with a smile on his face.
"You're right, storyteller. We meet again. Are you interested in accompanying me to Hanling Temple for two days?"
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