Xiangshan Academy, Siguo Hall.

The four of them explained their actions to the eldest brother obediently, and at the end they tried their best to explain: "But we definitely don't have the intention to betray our master and ancestors!"

"Yes, Senior Brother, we just want to do good for our sect!" Li Sancai's nose was running. "I didn't expect them to be so vicious and want to coerce our master. As soon as we heard about it, we hurried to report it, but before we could, they were brought here..."

"Hmph." Wang Wuyang snorted mysteriously, "If you dare to betray your master and ancestors, you will not be in the Reflection Hall today, but in the Institute of Oceanography."

The four of them shuddered at the same time. They had been in the sect for a long time and had heard that the group had three terrifying legends.

One is the Coast Guard Training Corps. It is said that the spirit infusion stick left by Director Tong can cure all kinds of dissatisfaction and constipation.

The second is Director Xu of the Public Toilet Management Office of the Keelung City Health Bureau in Taiwan. If you fall into his hands, you will either be pouring nightshades for the rest of your life, or digging out feces for the rest of your life.

The third is the legendary "Ocean Research Institute", which is actually the location of the Special Operations Interrogation Unit. Legend has it that people who enter it often appear intact on the outside, but all suffer mental breakdowns and never recover.

In fact, there is an even scarier "African warning", but all those who were exiled to Africa have never heard from them since then. It is a terrifying place that has not even been mentioned in legends...

~~

"Big Brother..." The four of them heaved a sigh of relief when they heard this, and looked at Wang Wuyang with tears in their eyes. "We just want to make contributions to our sect, so that we can join the ranks of 'highbrows' as soon as possible."

"Humph." Wang Wuyang's expression eased a little and he said, "It's understandable that you want to become a direct disciple, but Master has already pointed out the way for you. Either you make a breakthrough in scientific research, or you make achievements in local governance, or you join a group and become independent. There are so many righteous ways to go, why do you want to take the crooked path?!"

"Brother, please understand. We are eager to improve the status of fellow disciples. We are really worried that everyone will be marginalized in the future." Gu Xiancheng said with tears in his eyes: "The master has become increasingly indifferent to the affairs of the court in recent years, and has devoted all his energy to cultivating the group's cadres! If we don't wake up and make the master realize our role as soon as possible, there will be a danger of being replaced and sidelined in the future!"

"What nonsense!" Wang Wuyang said angrily, "When has Master never considered his fellow disciples? Officials can become cadres at any time, but cadres cannot become officials! If you think you will be marginalized, just retire and join the group!"

In fact, he also knew that it would be easier for him to talk while standing.

Not to mention that Gu Xiancheng and Zhao Nanxing had finally gained such great power, how could they possibly give up their official careers and start over in another system?

For example, once a scholar passes the imperial examination, his enthusiasm for studying hard disappears. All he thinks about is taking a good rest and enjoying life, and it is difficult for him to have the motivation to start all over again.

But as the eldest brother, he must firmly defend the master's decision in front of his fellow disciples. That's all he can say.

As expected, Li Sancai said with a sad face: "We are not afraid of going back to school and starting over. But most of the brothers and sisters passed the imperial examination at the age of thirty, and after serving as officials for a few years, they are over forty and can no longer become civil servants. There are too many brothers and sisters like this. What can they do?!"

"If you have any opinions, you can just raise them directly like this, and the master will naturally give you a reply." Wang Wuyang also slowed down his tone and said, "Forming cliques and gangs like you are will never be allowed!"

"Yes, Brother." The four of them bowed their heads and said in unison, "We are willing to accept the punishment!"

As expected, the eldest senior brother sympathized with them.

"How to punish you is up to the master to decide." Wang Wuyang said calmly, "I have asked for leave from Master Zhao for you. Just reflect on yourselves here for a few days and wait for the master's decision."

"Yes, Big Brother." The four of them nodded hurriedly. Gu Xiancheng said anxiously, "But Big Brother, you must stop Li Zhi and his gang from launching an attack! Otherwise, Master's situation will be difficult!"

"Haha, you still have some conscience." Wang Wuyang sneered and said, "But you underestimate the Prime Minister of the Ming Dynasty and Master's father! A mere manuscript of unknown origin and a far-fetched case, even if Master is not in the capital, can it stump the old master?"

"We underestimated our master." The four of them slapped themselves in the face and said, "We really didn't recognize the real master!"

Wang Wuyang looked calm, and added secretly in his heart that since the advent of magical tools like the telegraph, it no longer mattered whether his master was in the capital or not.

~~

When Zhao Hao received Wang Wuyang's telegram, he was inspecting Haiyun Pass, 6,000 miles away.

The Champa king Po'a, who accompanied him on the inspection, could not stop her tears. She never expected that there would be a Champa king who could stand at Haiyun Pass again as a victor.

After all, Champa had been away from its last glory for two hundred years. Just ten years ago, they were powerless to resist the constant invasion of the Annan people, and only Bintonglong was left to survive, with no end in sight.

In fact, their ancestors were rich. Champa was originally Xianglin County during the Qin and Han Dynasties of the Celestial Empire, also known as Linyi. During the Western Han Dynasty, it belonged to Rinnan County of Jiaozhi Prefecture.

This place was too far away from the ruling center of the Celestial Empire, and the Zhan people were full of martial virtues and barbaric and difficult to tame, so naturally they often rebelled. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, they took advantage of the chaos in the world, killed officials and rebelled. After they became independent from the Celestial Empire, they used this place as the boundary with the Celestial Empire.

Because the Changshan Mountains run from north to south, the eastern coastal areas of the peninsula are isolated into a narrow strip. In the narrowest central area, the branch of the Changshan Mountains, Haiyunling, runs from east to west, rolling up and down to the sea, cutting off the coastal plains.

Haiyun Pass, built on Haiyun Ridge, is the only land route connecting the north and the south. People need to cross mountains and pass through this place when going from the north to the south or from the south to the north. Therefore, it is the natural dividing point between the north and the south.

With such a natural barrier, Champa was not afraid of the attack from the Celestial Empire’s army and could live a peaceful life behind closed doors.

But as the saying goes, one is born in adversity and dies in comfort. The Cham people may have lived too comfortably, or the king felt that governing the country was too hard, so he accepted Brahmanism, also known as the "lying down religion", as the state religion. Is there any other good?

If you don't believe me, just look at the entire Southeast Asia. They originally believed in Brahmanism, but when Islam came, all of them were in trouble. In less than a hundred years, almost all the countries in Southeast Asia that believed in Brahmanism were destroyed by the countries that believed in Islam.

The same was true for Champa. However, it was not the Muslims who killed it. Instead, it was the Annan, the North Vietnam that gained independence from the Celestial Empire during the transition period between the Tang and Song dynasties.

The Annan people and the Cham people have different cultures and races. They believe in Confucianism and are known as the Little China. Although Zhao Hao despises Confucianism, he still crushes it in the Indochina Peninsula.

Moreover, due to the existence of the Truong Son Mountains running from north to south, Annan was isolated from the peninsula and could not expand westward.

To the north is the Celestial Empire, a country that Annan cannot defeat.

Therefore, the great rulers of Annan who wanted to expand their territory had no choice but to move southward along the narrow strip of land between the coastline and the Truong Son Mountains, specifically targeting Champa.

It can be said that the history of Annan's expansion of territory is the history of Champa's fall.

Of course, Champa was not always beaten, and occasionally it would rise up and recover some territory. For example, during the Yongle period, the Ming Dynasty attacked Annan in order to rescue Champa, a vassal state of the capital that had been occupied.

At that time, while the Celestial Empire had conquered Annan, Jiaozhi and Champa also recovered all of their territory. Later, when the Celestial Empire withdrew its troops, it also handed over Haiyun Pass to them.

But without his father's help, how could Champa be a match for Annan? After struggling for decades with natural barriers, they were still conquered by the Annan people at Haiyun Pass.

Once Haiyun Pass was lost, Champa had no defenses and could only be slaughtered.

In the following hundred years, Champa was attacked several times and lost almost all of its territory. It could only pay tribute to Annan and survive in Bintonglong.

But the Champa people never gave up their obsession to recover their homeland. Taking advantage of the civil war in Annan, they quietly recovered some lost territory. However, in the first year of Longqing, the Vietnamese Chen Dynasty sent Nguyen Hoang to govern Guangnan, which is south of Haiyun Pass, and Champa's hard days came again.

Nguyen Hoang was also considered a "hero", at least in the history of Annan. He found that the mountains here produced gold and iron, the sea produced fish and salt, and there were benefits from maritime trade. Most importantly, there was also the rich Mekong River plain area in the south, which was indeed a place where heroes could show their talents.

Therefore, Nguyen Hoang decided to establish a lasting business here. Under his management, Annan began to actually rule the area south of Haiyun Pass for the first time. The restless and influential Champa royal family in Guangnan became an existence that he wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.

At that time, a huge survival crisis loomed over Champa King Po'a, and it was no exaggeration to say that his life was hanging by a thread.

However, there is always a way out. In the first year of the Wanli reign, the Celestial Empire's global fleet visited Champa. Together with the accompanying Coast Guard fleet, there were more than a hundred large and small warships!

What is there to hesitate about? Po-a immediately threw herself into her father's arms, hugging his thighs and refusing to let go. She would submit to the Ming Dynasty no matter what, in order to preserve the ancestral temple and the people!

Although the then Western envoy Eunuch Du did not dare to make decisions casually, Jin Ke, the then commander of the Taiwan Garrison District, "very sympathized with the plight of the Champa people" and immediately stated that a water police station would be set up in Champa. Anyone who dared to attack the Bintonglong area in the future would be equivalent to attacking the garrison district!

When Po-ah heard this, she was so excited that she didn't hesitate for a second and signed the contract brought by Jin Ke, asking Dad to love me again.

Although this was actually because Zhao Hao had long been eyeing the treasure land of Champa, it was definitely worth it for his father to recognize it! In the following ten years, the Champa Marine Police Bureau repelled several attacks by the Nguyen Lords. After the eighth year of Wanli, he commanded the Champa army trained and armed by the Marine Police to carry out the Northern Expedition.

Finally, in the 13th year of Wanli, the Champa army drove the Nguyen Lord's army out of Guangnan and approached Haiyun Pass.

However, the Champa people suffered a lot at Haiyun Pass. The battle lasted for two years and tens of thousands of people were killed or injured.

In the end, it was with the support of the Coast Guard fleet, which besieged Haiyun Pass from two sides and carried out continuous bombardment, that they were able to overcome this tough obstacle.