Fu Xiaoguan stood up and walked to the huge world map hanging on the wall.
His hand fell on the Peacock Kingdom, "Don't tell me, the last time I met Alexander from the Macedonian Empire in the Peacock Kingdom!"
Zong Shiji also stood up and came to Fu Xiaoguan's side.
"The Macedonian Empire doesn't appear on this map. In fact, this vast area..."
Fu Xiaoguan stretched out his hand and said, "There should be many countries in this vast area!"
Zhuo Bieli walked in at this time. He also stood behind Fu Xiaoguan and looked at the blank space.
"Alexander and his troops came from here! This place is the European continent, and the Macedonian Empire should be located in the southeast of the European continent."
"I think... sending an army across the Maurya Kingdom and continuing in this direction would be like following the route Alexander took to explore the map of the European continent. Of course, war would surely break out."
Fu Xiaoguan turned around and said, "Come, sit down and talk."
The three of them sat in front of the tea table, Wu Tianci had a confused look on his face and eyes full of admiration.
"Here at the Tianji Pavilion, arrange for personnel to go ahead and complete the map as much as possible to facilitate the army's march!"
"Alexander entered the Horz Plain west of the Peacock Nation. The people from the Tianji Pavilion will leave from the Horz Plain and explore all the way to Europe. This will require a lot of people. This is the next major task for the Tianji Pavilion!"
"From the Ministry of War," Fu Xiaoguan looked at Zhuo Bieli, "dispatch Guan Xiaoxi's troops from the First Army to cross the Great Snow Mountain and then pass through the Peacock Kingdom... There's no need to provoke a conflict with the Peacock Kingdom unless absolutely necessary."
"Guan Xiaoxi's troops also headed west to the Holtz Plain, following the route discovered by the Tianji Pavilion and reaching the European continent."
“This is a real expedition!”
Fu Xiaoguan poured Zhuo Bieli a cup of tea and said solemnly, "It is now the first day of August. I will give you six months to prepare. Guan Xiaoxi and his troops will set out in March next year!"
"This time, the 100,000-man army will need to bring 300,000 followers, as they will need to carry a large amount of food and ammunition."
"In the battle against Europe, I hope to win in one battle!"
"We don't need to destroy those countries, but they must surrender! This will be beneficial to our subsequent commercial trade negotiations!"
"The army and navy are attacking from two fronts, and intelligence cannot be exchanged. Therefore, Guan Xiaoxi must make all decisions on his own until we can meet up on the European continent."
Zhuo Bieli was surprised. He didn't expect that the emperor would start such a big battle!
This was the largest battle in the history of Daxia. The army would probably have to travel tens of thousands of miles, and the navy would also have to sail tens of thousands of miles.
They were going to a place no one knew, and fighting on a battlefield like that, no one knew what would happen.
If they win, Daxia will have conquered half of the world.
If we lose... the enemy will surely come all the way, and Daxia’s homeland will face a joint attack from a large number of enemies.
"Isn't it too hasty? I mean, can we do it step by step?"
Zhuo Bieli felt that given the current situation in Daxia, there was no need to take such a risk. After all, Daxia was developing very healthily, and its technology was advancing with each passing day. In time, Daxia would become even more powerful.
If the Great Xia Navy advances slowly based on the Leah continent, sooner or later it will be able to reach the Europe that the emperor mentioned.
Fu Xiaoguan pondered for a moment. "That's fine. The navy has six fleets, and the army... semi-automatic rifles are already in mass production. I believe our weapons are ahead of other countries, and our army's combat effectiveness is far superior to theirs."
"I estimate that this battle will take several years from the time we go out to the time we return..."
He turned to look at Wu Tianci, "When the time comes, Tianci will be the regent. Wu will have your assistance, Wen will have the three chancellors, and there will be the cabinet behind the scenes to check and approve. Nothing will go wrong."
"I thought this matter also needed to be submitted to the cabinet for review!"
"No, this is up to me! You don't need to say anything, just go and get ready."
Zhuo Bieli stood up helplessly, "General Bai must lead the Marines to follow you!"
“That’s fine.”
"Wouldn't one army corps be too few?"
"No, Guan Xiaoxi's First Army has more than 100,000 soldiers! He also has a full 20,000 air force soldiers. Let him take them all with him."
…
…
This time the Northern Expedition was not to attack the Maurya Kingdom, but to attack a more distant place.
This news did not spread throughout the country, but the top leaders of Daxia were already aware of it.
The entire Daxia's machinery began to run rapidly again, with instructions coming in continuously from the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Revenue.
War is a battle of national strength and logistics, not to mention that it is an expedition that has to be carried out simultaneously on two sea routes.
Countless canned food factories began to produce at full capacity because of the huge increase in purchase orders from the Ministry of War.
The recruitment documents from the Ministry of War were sent to the Western Xia Autonomous Prefecture and the Far North Road. Not everyone can join the 300,000 followers.
They need to be physically strong and have received military training from the First Army.
Daxia's arsenal also began to work day and night, and the First Army will give priority to equipping the first generation of semi-automatic rifles.
The obsolete Mauser rifles will be handed over to the followers, so that if they encounter strong resistance, these followers will have the ability to fight.
Daxia Palace, Imperial Study.
Qin Mowen, Ning Yuchun and Yan Xiwen, who had just returned and had not yet entered the house, sat opposite Fu Xiaoguan.
"I object!"
Qin Mowen spoke first, "The rural revitalization plan has just begun, and there are still many things to do at home, yet you are launching such an unprecedented war... Your Majesty, are you being too impulsive?"
Fu Xiaoguan grinned and said, "Actually, I've been thinking about this problem since you left. Although Daxia has established trade relations with some neighboring countries, and although these countries can consume a large amount of Daxia's goods, I still feel that it is not enough."
"With the development of science and technology, Daxia will produce more and more goods. When the Second Industrial Revolution arrives, you will find that even if Daxia's goods are continuously shipped to the surrounding countries, it will not be enough to meet the huge production capacity."
“Of course, this will take several years or even more than ten years, but Ruth is ahead of the curve.”
"That's a huge market over there! It's several times bigger than the countries around us!"
"The sooner we attack and sign trade agreements with those countries, the sooner we can capture those markets and control the pricing power of goods!"
"This isn't a momentary impulse, but... for the future of Daxia!"
Fu Xiaoguan gave these reasons in a serious tone, and the three prime ministers fell silent.
They are well aware of the huge benefits that trade agreements with neighboring countries have brought to Daxia's economy. According to Yun Xiyan, if it were not for the huge markets of those countries and if it were not for the large amounts of goods and currency supplied to those countries, Daxia's internal economy would probably have collapsed!
This is a bit one-sided, but without those markets, the outbreak of an economic crisis is inevitable and Daxia will usher in an economic recession.
"I'm relieved that you guys are watching over Daxia!"
"This is the last thing I will do for Daxia in my life. My hope is, of course, that Daxia will be stable and peaceful!"
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