There is still heavy snow in Guanyun City.
The people of Guanyun City continue to live their lives as usual.
The news about the Northern Expedition of Emperor Fu Xiaoguan of Daxia has now been spread through the Daxia Weekly.
The Northern Expedition was a great victory, and the country called Peacock Kingdom was destroyed by Your Majesty!
The people of Daxia are of course happy. This is a great thing their great Majesty has done for the long-term stability of Daxia!
The Marine Corps Commander He Sandao was posthumously conferred the title of Earl of Xiaoyong by His Majesty, and the Marine Corps Chief of Staff Tang Qianjun was posthumously conferred the title of Earl of Wu'an.
For all the soldiers who died in the Maurya Kingdom during this expedition, His Majesty ordered the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of War to jointly issue a large sum of pensions. This is His Majesty's recognition of their sacrifice for the country!
War is far away from these people. They don't know the cruelty of war, and they can't empathize with the sad atmosphere of separation of life and death. Now it is very close to the New Year. While they are excitedly talking about the power of Daxia, they are also happily buying things needed for the New Year.
Now the goods in Guanyun City are becoming more and more abundant. Take food for example. Pork has long been available in the homes of ordinary people. Even beef, an animal whose slaughter was previously strictly restricted, has now become food on the tables of ordinary people.
And this year there are even more new foods, which are various fish, shrimps and seafood from the Far North!
The shipping routes between Yuanbei Road and Jiangcheng are very busy. There is a type of ship that specializes in transporting these seafood. I heard that the ship is loaded with ice, and these seafood are buried in the ice and frozen. Although they are dead, they still taste fresh.
I heard that seafood has now been sold to various parts of Daxia through the Yangtze River and Yellow River waterways.
All of this was brought to them by Your Majesty.
Your Majesty has created the prosperous era of Daxia in just six years since you ascended the throne. So, what will Daxia look like after Your Majesty completes the next five-year plan?
The people of the entire Daxia are looking forward to it. They firmly believe that Daxia will get better and better, and that their lives will get better and better.
…
…
Guanyun City Palace, Xuande Hall.
A long-awaited grand court meeting is being held here.
Fu Xiaoguan, three prime ministers and six ministers of state were standing under the stage. He was currently summarizing the first year of Daxia's second five-year plan.
"...During this first year, I was not in the palace because of the Northern Expedition."
"But these days since I came back, I've carefully reviewed the annual reports of each ministry. Under the leadership of the three prime ministers and the six ministers, you've all done a great job!"
"In the second year of Daxia, the grain production of the entire country increased by a full 40% compared to the previous year! This is a remarkable achievement, which means that Daxia has leapt from a country that was once short of food to a country with a large grain supply. In addition, Daxia's grain has begun to be exported to neighboring countries, even as far as the continent of Leah."
"People's food problems have been solved, and their clothing problems have also been solved... This year's cotton production has increased by 30% compared to last year. A report from the Ministry of Commerce states that due to the increase in cotton production and the widespread adoption of new steam engine technology in textile workshops, the price of cloth in the market has dropped by 30% compared to the same period last year."
"This is also a good thing. Ordinary people can spend less on clothing, which means they can save more money and significantly increase their disposable income."
Fu Xiaoguan spoke eloquently. He started with people's livelihood and talked about education, medical care, elderly care, science and so on.
Today's grand court meeting is not only attended by officials from Guanyun City, but also representatives from all over the country, such as Yan Shidao from Jinling City, Fan Tianning from Jang Geum City, Qin Mowen from Chang'an City, Yan Beixi from Tailin City, and so on.
On the left side of the Xuande Hall, there is a group of special people, who are kings or envoys from various countries.
Among them was An Yue, the former crown prince of Loulan, the ruler of Loulan, as well as the old emperor Doha and his son Anduo from the Leah continent.
During this year, Daxia's language and writing were transmitted to all countries with which Daxia had established diplomatic relations, and Daxia had become the common language of these countries.
They were also listening carefully, because the words of the Great Xia Emperor were the information they wanted to know.
What is Daxia’s next business deployment?
What was Daxia’s policy toward its many vassal states?
Just how fast is Daxia advancing? How can a vassal state keep up with Daxia's pace, gain experience from it, and boost its own strength, thus having a chance to survive in the commercial competition with Daxia?
For example, how to learn from the young emperor how to govern his subordinates and how to govern the country.
Originally, the three prime ministers did not recommend allowing foreigners to attend such a grand court meeting, but Fu Xiaoguan thought it did not matter, because if a country is truly strong, it will not care how other countries learn from it, nor will it worry about being surpassed by other countries.
It is not bad for Daxia if these vassal states become stronger. They can promote Daxia's progress. When Daxia's industries are distributed in these countries, they will be able to make supporting products, provide useful workers to Daxia's factories, and have stronger consumption power.
"Next, I want to talk about three things!"
"First, Daxia is going to set up a new department."
"It's the Ministry of Transportation! Daxia's inland shipping, aside from the Grand Canal, which is still under construction, the remaining rivers are already navigable thanks to the pioneering work of river engineers. But shipping, on the other hand, requires a dedicated department to coordinate and manage it."
"Also, the second-generation steam locomotive developed by the Scientific Research Institute has completed its experiments, and track laying is also underway. Next year, trains will be running across the vast land of Daxia."
"Each train has to pass through different stations, but there is only one track at the moment, so the operation of the trains also needs to be directed and dispatched, which is also done by the Ministry of Transport."
"Secondly, Daxia's military strategic focus has shifted to the ocean. The navy needs to be expanded. Daxia needs to have the ability to strike globally, so Daxia needs at least nine fleets!"
"Regarding this, let's discuss it in detail later when the people from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of National Defense stay alone."
"Third, Daxia will move its capital!"
"Now that Chang'an City has been completed, Guanyun City, as the economic and political center of Daxia, is no longer able to cope with its current situation. Therefore, starting after the Lunar New Year next year, all departments of Guanyun City will begin preparing to relocate to Chang'an in an orderly manner."
"It's just right, maybe you can be the first to board the Daxia train!"
These three pieces of news have actually spread among the ministers in recent days. Many people find it hard to believe, especially the relocation of Daxia's capital!
How wonderful is Guanyun City!
The land is located at a very high altitude. It only takes one day to go to Jiangcheng, then enter the Yangtze River to go to Jinling or go out to the sea to the Far East.
Chang'an...what is that place like?
For those who once lived in the Wu Dynasty, Chang'an was a strange place.
But for people like Qin Mowen and Yan Xiwen who once lived in the Yu Dynasty, Chang'an was a familiar place.
The monarchs or envoys of other countries were even more shocked at this moment - Daxia moved its political center to Chang'an. Does this mean that Daxia is showing a new deterrent to all the surrounding countries?
After all, Chang'an is closer to the neighboring countries, but just a little farther away from the so-called Lithuanian continent.
The last grand court meeting of the second year of Daxia ended at dusk.
The news about this grand court meeting also spread out. The people of Guanyun City were in an uproar, while a small number of merchants were secretly delighted. More merchants then smelled something.
But will Guanyun City really decline because of the relocation of the capital?
"It will never decline. It is Daxia's best outlet to the sea and will also be Daxia's future coastal commercial center!"
In the harem, in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Fu Xiaoguan sat in front of his wife and children and said with a smile, "It will become the most dazzling pearl in the East, especially after the opening of ocean trade."
"This will become the most active commercial center in the world, and more foreigners will come here to do business."
"It is Daxia's window to the outside world. It will interact with the world's business elites. All we have to do is watch it, see how it evolves, and watch it grow freely into whatever form it becomes!"
"So, our Golden Phoenix Group must not give up on Guanyun City. Its business prospects... may even surpass Chang'an!"
Dong Shulan seemed to understand, but Yu Wenjun asked directly, "Then why move the capital?"
"Because I hope that the business here will be purer, with less interference from the government. Also... I'm leaving. Establishing the capital of Daxia in Chang'an will be more conducive to the control of the future emperor."
"Even if Daxia declines in the future, if we can occupy Chang'an and control the Grand Canal, Daxia's prosperity may last longer."
Fu Xiaoguan shrugged and laughed, "Actually, let's not think about things that are so far away. When Tianci ascends the throne, I will arrange for capable ministers to assist him."
"Of course I hope he can maintain the status quo and carry on the legacy, but what about the next emperor? And the next? Who can guarantee he'll be a wise ruler?"
"Actually, this was my selfish motive. Originally... I was planning to abolish the succession to the throne. After much deliberation, I ultimately couldn't bring myself to do it."
Fu Xiaoguan really had this idea and even discussed it with the three prime ministers, but they rejected it without hesitation.
Ordinary people may be able to look up at the vast sky after having enough food and clothing, but thousands of years of education have taught them that imperial power is granted by heaven.
What's the use of looking up at the sky?
Can they really be enlightened?
Do they understand what elections are?
At least for now they are still sheep, and the course of history has not reached that level of civilization.
If we rashly change the inheritance of imperial power for thousands of years, the consequence will probably be chaos in Daxia!
It is better to maintain the situation than to cause chaos. Moreover, Wu Tianci studied under the great Confucian scholar Wen Xingzhou, and Daxia still has so many loyal and capable ministers trained by Your Majesty.
So Fu Xiaoguan finally gave up.
This imperial power will be passed down like this, until one day... it can no longer be passed down.
That may be the spark of a new civilization.
[End of Volume 10]
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