"Next, you will gather a group of sailors and explore the route for me according to this nautical chart."
Liu Jin fell to his knees with a plop, his face as pale as paper.
"Your Majesty... Please punish me for anything I have done wrong!"
"What are you thinking? You did a great job, so I decided to give you this job!" Fu Xiaoguan added earnestly, "You're someone I trust. You have to understand that this is the first time a Wu Dynasty warship has sailed across the ocean. It holds immense significance!"
"I tell you, there are vast lands beyond the sea, but I don't know if there are people living there. My ideal is to spend my entire life building an immense empire for the Wu Dynasty..."
Fu Xiaoguan stood up, walked to Liu Jin's side, bent down and patted Liu Jin on the shoulder: "Do you understand that if you find those lands, it will be a contribution to the expansion of the territory!"
When Liu Jin heard this, his fear immediately disappeared - the achievement of expanding the territory? How could a mere eunuch like me achieve such a great achievement?
His mind was filled with thoughts, and he heard Fu Xiaoguan say, "Who said eunuchs can't open their own offices and build their own residences? Who said eunuchs can't be granted titles or become prime ministers? It's simply because their contributions are not great enough."
"Think about it, you stay in this imperial study all day, only seeing the sky in the four corners of these high walls. How much can you achieve?"
"You are my close minister, and you are still young. You should live a glorious life to live up to my high expectations of you!"
Liu Jin was so moved that tears and snot came out. These were words from the heart of His Majesty!
This shows His Majesty's absolute trust in this disabled man!
Your Majesty wants to give me this great achievement, so that I can become the most famous eunuch in the thousand-year history!
This is an event so great that it will go down in history. As your Majesty's minister, I must live up to your Majesty's high expectations!
"Your servant, your servant..." Liu Jin hugged Fu Xiaoguan's thighs, tears streaming down his face. "My limited knowledge cannot express my gratitude to Your Majesty. I will definitely complete this task for Your Majesty! I will let our Wu Dynasty's dragon flag be planted on the other side of the sea!"
Oh shit!
This guy wiped his snot and tears on my legs!
Fu Xiaoguan grinned, "That's right! I will give you a dreadnought-class battleship, plus three supply cargo ships, all fully equipped with personnel and supplies. Follow this nautical chart and you can go as far as you can."
"Remember, the purpose of this trip is, first, to correct this chart, second, to record all possible ports along the coast, and third, if you find anyone on that continent, fight them if you can, otherwise... run. Remember, come back alive!"
"I'll give you a great credit when you come back!"
Your Majesty, how much you care about me!
I must come back alive! I must bring back good news from that continent to His Majesty!
Liu Jin kowtowed three times, "I will never disobey your orders! When will I leave?"
"Ah... Next, you will go to the Linjiang Shipyard. I will name this first ocean-going vessel the 'Liu Jin'. Once the crew and supplies are ready, it will set sail immediately!"
Liu Jin number!
His Majesty named it after me!
What an honor this is!
At this moment, Liu Jin suddenly felt extremely grateful to his father who sent him to the palace to be castrated. He thought that he would go to worship his ancestors after returning from the voyage. He was afraid that smoke was rising from the Liu family's ancestral tomb.
Liu Jin received the emperor's order and left the palace with his head held high, carrying the imperial edict, instructions, blessings and expectations given to him by Fu Xiaoguan.
At that moment, he was full of energy and every step he took was extremely firm.
Fu Xiaoguan touched his nose, wondering if he had acted a little unfairly.
That Liu Jin... is only eighteen years old!
Well, if you want to blame someone, blame your name. It’s really disgusting.
It is imperative to explore the sea route. That nautical chart is a chart of the East China Sea, which only goes to the Ryukyu Kingdom. There is no chart beyond that. What Fu Xiaoguan needs is a wider sea chart...that is the Pacific Ocean!
If that guy can reach the Bering Strait and come back alive... then let him continue to explore the Atlantic Ocean!
…
…
As time passed, Guanyun City welcomed the first snow of the first year of Tiande.
Because there were so many people participating in this autumn examination, even though all the officials of the Hanlin Academy were working overtime to mark the papers, it has not been completed yet.
As a result, many students were stranded in Guanyun City. Some of them felt that there was no hope for the imperial examination, so they turned to the Academy of Sciences or participated in the winter conscription held by His Majesty.
Only a very small number of students are selected by the Academy of Sciences and become scientific researchers.
More students joined the army and were incorporated into the Divine Sword Third Army. Because the Wu Dynasty Academy also offered martial arts courses, these young students had excellent physical fitness. Most of them were third-rate masters, and more than a hundred of them even entered the second-rate realm.
He Sandao's Second Divine Sword Army had completed training, and he was taken to the imperial study by Fu Xiaoguan.
"It will take more than a month for Chen Po to arrive in Guanyun City, so from now on, you will be in charge of training the Divine Sword Third Army. When Chen Po returns, the Third Army will be handed over to him, and you will continue to command the First Army."
He Sandao's eyes widened, "Your Majesty, I thought you asked me to come back for a drink!"
"There's no rush for drinking! There'll be plenty of time to drink later, but having so many people gathered in Guanyun City is not a good idea. Take those 100,000 new recruits with you tomorrow!"
He Sandao suddenly said slyly, "Your Majesty...my wife sent me a letter."
"What?"
"They said they were coming to Guanyun City. According to the date, they would probably arrive in early December."
"That's great! If she comes, I'll personally officiate your wedding!"
He Sandao laughed immediately, poked his head out and opened his eyes wide, "Sir, don't joke!"
"We are all small landlords, why would I lie to you?"
"Hehe..." He Sandao rubbed his hands. This was exactly what he wanted to hear!
I boasted in a letter to the sixth daughter of the Zhong family, saying that Your Majesty was my sworn brother. He regretted it after he boasted, because that small landlord in Linjiang is now the emperor!
Although I, a small landlord in Linzi, am a military commander, the gap between me and the emperor seems to be quite far.
Today, His Majesty personally agreed, and I can finally stand up to Zhong Yu.
"Your Majesty, I have very little money left from entertaining the division commanders, brigade commanders, and regiment commanders. Look... my wife is here, and she's brought many of the Zhong family's relatives with her. But I don't even have a mansion in Guanyun City. Isn't this a bit embarrassing for you?"
Oh shit!
Fu Xiaoguan's eyes widened.
You have such a high monthly salary, and now you remember that you don’t have a mansion after eating and drinking?
How did this make me lose face?
Fu Xiaoguan was so angry that his teeth itched. He was silent for a moment and said, "I'm giving you the house on East Street in Dongcheng District, which was once owned by my former assistant minister, Chen Suyuan. It's a gift for your marriage."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
"Get lost! Train the Third Army for me... and go get the key to that house from the Minister of Revenue!"
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