Sun Zhuhe brought his goods to the capital, and the grand court assembly the next day was more lively than ever before.
Some officials who had suffered hardship and knew what hunger was like immediately knelt on the ground, tears streaming down their faces, and cried out that Heaven had eyes and had blessed the world.
Other high-ranking officials and dignitaries who have never experienced hardship and don't even know what rice looks like, may have heard rumors beforehand and dared to present it in front of everyone, so they must not be making it up.
Some petty people couldn't help but feel jealous, resorting to sour grapes. They thought Sun Zhuhe was exaggerating and that the actual yield wasn't that high.
There are also some stubborn people who scoff at this. The land's fertility is limited; for thousands of years, an acre of land has only yielded so little.
What virtue or ability do you, Sun Zhuhe, possess that you truly believe yourself to be Shennong reborn, capable of cultivating superior seeds with ease?
Why should I?!
However, no matter what their true intentions were, seeing how bright the emperor's smile was, they dared not upset him in his high spirits.
They all shouted "Long live the emperor!" three times, praising the fat orange for its merits surpassing those of the Three Sovereigns and Emperors, its virtue exceeding that of the Five Emperors, and its destiny being ordained by Heaven.
The halo surrounding the chubby orange tree grew thicker and thicker. Its achievements, both in civil administration and military affairs, included eradicating smallpox, implementing land tax reform, medical reform, and the cultivation of improved varieties.
In terms of civil administration, few emperors could rival him; as for military prowess...
The chubby orange-haired emperor sat upright on the dragon throne, gazing eastward with a smile playing on his lips. The Fujian and Southeast navies, having honed their skills for years, were ready to test their mettle.
In recent years, maritime trade has been very profitable, and those small, rural countries have also become interested. The Qing Dynasty is eating meat, and they want to follow suit and drink soup.
Unfortunately, the nation was too weak to build a fleet of ships capable of sailing across the oceans. He didn't care much for the scraps he was given.
However, those Japanese pirates were insatiable. Before the navy even came knocking, they dared to resort to such underhanded tricks behind the scenes.
The fairy is right. Those who are not of our kind are bound to have different hearts. To deal with such an inferior race, we should destroy their country, exterminate their race, and wipe out their descendants.
By now, Ortai should have made all the necessary preparations.
*
Ortai, who was being nagged by the big fat orange cat, was holding a telescope and standing on the deck looking at the island not far away.
The sea breeze blew on him, and his braid hanging down his head swayed along with his long robe.
To think that someone who can't swim would be sent to the sea to manage things on a ship. Putting down his telescope, he looked up at the sky; when the sky clears at sea, it's more enchanting than the sky on land.
Sun Wenyu stepped forward and, imitating Ortai, looked up at the sky. Besides the large, fluffy white clouds like cotton balls and the azure sky above, there was nothing else.
We couldn't even see a single seabird, so I don't know what's so interesting to see.
Ortai lowered his head and saw the student next to him craning his neck. His authority as a teacher immediately radiated outwards.
"What are you looking at? You're craning your neck next to me, always blocking my way."
Sun Wenyu smiled innocently, "I learned this from you, Master. You were looking up at the sky for quite a while just now."
Ortai was speechless. He had been looking at the sky for a long time with his telescope and his neck was stiff, so he looked up to relax.
“I’ve already told you not to call me ‘Master’ in public, but ‘Your Excellency.’ If others hear this, they’ll think I’m abusing my power and favoring my relatives.”
Sun Wenyu still smiled innocently and said nonchalantly, "But you are my master, so it doesn't matter whether I call you that or not."
Ortai was furious. If it weren't for the emperor's wishes, would he have taken such a troublesome fellow as his apprentice?
"Shut up, I hate seeing you. We'll be there soon. How are all the preparations? If anything goes wrong, we'll see how we explain it when we get back."
Sun Wenyu scratched his head and said with a smile, "Master, don't worry, everything is arranged. There is a stone tablet on that island as proof that it has been our country's territory since ancient times."
"There are still treasures hidden up there that our generals didn't have time to take away. Those Japanese devils must have heard about this from somewhere, and they actually dared to invade our territory right under our noses."
"In order to cover up their crimes, they even injured our soldiers. They attempted to sell the Qing people on the island to other places. Their crimes are numerous and too many to count."
Ortai exclaimed in shock, "Such a thing has happened! It's utterly despicable!"
"What about the people who were sold to other places?"
Sun Wenyu said, "They should have already landed on the island, but we don't know if they've been discovered yet."
"What about the wounded soldiers?"
"Take a small boat and follow behind; we should be there soon."
Seeing that Ortai remained silent, Sun Wenyu continued, "There was a boat nearby that encountered an injured shark, and they had someone bring it aboard to retrieve its fins."
"It's all prepared and delivered to your room. There's also an arm-length lobster and a geoduck as big as a washbasin."
"After you return to Beijing, you can either give it away or use it yourself. Master, would you like to go back and take a look?"
Ortai waved his hand, put the bag on his back, and slowly walked into the cabin.
This apprentice looks honest and simple, but he's actually quite cunning. However, he is respectful of his master and knows how to be filial.
As for the arrangements made with the Japanese, that's a trivial matter. We've already made up an excuse; that's enough to save face for them.
Alas, you are a tiny country, your territory is no bigger than the palm of your hand, yet you dare to call yourself Emperor. What kind of country is this, the land of the rising sun or the land of the setting sun?
Based on this one sentence alone, the calamity of the country's destruction is not unjust at all!
So when the big fat orange received the memorial, saying that the Japanese dared to invade the territory of the Qing Dynasty, it was brought to the court the next day to discuss going to war.
Wang Yuanhao has led the Fujian Navy to capture the so-called Emperor in one fell swoop.
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