This epic war was too long both in terms of time and space.

The huge war expenses made Jiangnan Group, which had mines at home and dozens of gold, silver and copper mines, feel the pressure. They could only issue stocks and bonds to pass on the costs and survive.

However, the benefits of this war were also huge. Nanyang was recovered, the Indian Ocean became the inland sea of ​​the Ming Dynasty, and the control of the African coast was also obtained. Brazil was also claimed... Two hundred years after Zheng He, the Ming Dynasty finally surpassed Zheng He's achievements and caught up with the Age of Exploration!

In addition, without the stimulation of this war, Nanyang would never have developed so quickly.

Because Nanyang is closer to the front line, especially after the opening of the South Indian Ocean route, it only takes more than two months for cargo ships to travel from the Sunda Strait to the Cape of Good Hope, which is half the time of the original. Therefore, the group placed a large number of military and logistical material orders to various administrative regions in Nanyang.

With a stable and large income, each administrative district had money to build infrastructure and protect people's livelihood, allowing immigrants to get through the initial difficult period. It also allowed the industry and commerce in the administrative district to take shape quickly, merchants from all over the country came to hear the news, the market prospered rapidly, and the economy entered a positive cycle...

In just eight years, we have achieved the brilliant result of flourishing everywhere and embracing tens of millions of immigrants!

Although everyone was exhausted, they were encouraged by their constant victories and have managed to hold on until today.

~~

After hearing the good news from Yilin, Yimu and Yisen both breathed a sigh of relief. But Director Cai, as expected of a senior official, quickly regained his composure.

"Isn't Philip II very arrogant? How could he be so shameless as to ask for peace?"

"Isn't this a delaying tactic?" Yisen also asked. Even a fool would know that whoever asks for peace first will be the one to be slaughtered.

"Probably not, because something big happened in Europe." Cai Yilin paused, organized his words and said:

"Brother, you should know that although everyone in Europe believes in Catholicism, there are Catholics and Protestants. In the eyes of Catholics, Protestant heretics are more evil than pagans, and they must all be burned to death. That's what they think and what they do. In short, in Europe, sectarian conflicts are now the most acute conflicts."

"Yeah." Cai Yimu nodded. He studied frequently and knew that due to the corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, some European countries abandoned the church from the bottom up and began to pray directly to God without middlemen to make a profit. This was the so-called Protestantism.

Moreover, countries like Spain and Portugal are all vested interests of the Roman Catholic Church. If for no other reason, they have to support the Church to the end in order to maintain the papal meridian that divides the world. In short, these countries still regard the Church as the spokesperson of God and firmly defend the Roman Catholic Church.

As the biggest vested interest holder in the church, King Philip II of Spain was naturally also an ardent supporter of the church. His persecution and discrimination against the Netherlands had a lot to do with the Dutch people's widespread belief in Protestantism.

Britain, another stronghold of Protestantism, signed the Treaty of Nansaqi with the Netherlands in 1585, the 13th year of the Wanli reign, deciding to fully support the Netherlands in its war of power against Spain.

In Philip II's view, this was Britain declaring war on him. However, at that time, he was beaten by the coalition forces of Ming, Portugal and France, and his fleet could not leave the Strait of Gibraltar, so he could only let his sister-in-law run wild.

"But Queen Elizabeth of England went even further and killed her own niece, Mary, Queen of Scots, who was a Catholic, in the first month of this year." Cai Yilin made a beheading gesture.

"This woman is so cruel..." Cai Yisen said with a sigh.

"How can a woman not be cruel when she becomes an emperor?" Cai Yimu commented.

"That's true." The little brother shrank his neck and thought of Wu Zetian and his own editor-in-chief Ma.

"Philip II is completely unable to tolerate this. Everyone knows that he has been behind the scenes instigating Queen Mary to oppose her aunt. Now Elizabeth has openly chopped off Mary's head. If he, the leader of the Catholic Church, does not react, who will stick with him in the future?" Cai Yilin continued:

"Philip II's assassination of William the Silent was also a bad move. The Dutch are now too violent. France is Catholic, but in order to compete with Spain, it also helped the Protestant countries to deal with him. Now Philip II has finally come to his senses. Even though he is the chosen one, he is not capable of fighting on four fronts. And because we blocked the Atlantic shipping route, his treasure fleet has not transported American silver to his homeland for many years. This has caused the people's livelihood in Spain to decline, and a great famine has occurred..."

"Yeah." Cai Yimu nodded and said, "I see, he really can't stand it anymore."

"Yes, now he knows whether face or substance is more important." Cai Yilin finished drinking the soda and said, "For Philip II, it is no longer worthwhile to continue to fight with us. Besides, Portugal is a Catholic country. If we cannot swallow it, it is better to stop and free up our hands to deal with the real enemy."

"The principle of making friends with distant countries and attacking nearby ones is applicable everywhere." Cai Yisen said with a smile: "Then will we withdraw our troops from Europe?"

"We should withdraw half and leave the other half. According to the commander-in-chief's instructions, I will maintain a long-term military presence in Europe, of course only at sea." Cai Yilin said with a smile: "If the Spanish can offer a good price, it would not be surprising to help them fight the British."

"The boss is really afraid of the British." Cai Yisen adjusted his glasses. He remembered that the British captain Drake, who sailed around the world, and his more than 200 British sailors were executed by the boss for piracy at the same time, and it was executed immediately.

That was also the only time Zhao Hao openly interfered with the judiciary, although it was still legal in terms of procedure...

"The commander-in-chief attaches the most importance to the Dutch, and the British can only be ranked second." Cai Yilin said lightly: "He ordered us to resolutely prevent the fleet of the Sea Coachmen from leaving Europe, and do everything possible to destroy Amsterdam's shipbuilding and shipping industry."

"I didn't expect that Spain could only rank third." Cai Yimu sighed.

"No, France ranks third." Cai Yilin said with a smile, "If we didn't consider that weakening Spain too much would not be in line with the commander-in-chief's strategy, we wouldn't just keep their fleet at home."

"Is that so..." Cai Yimu and Cai Yisen didn't quite understand what he said, but they were both shocked. The boss's calculation skills were like a little cow sitting on an electric wire, and Niu Boyi was carrying lightning all the way...

The three brothers were talking when they suddenly felt the carriage stop.

"Are we there yet?" Cai Yilin asked.

"No, the management committee is not close to the pier." Cai Yimu lifted the car curtain and looked out, and couldn't help but smile: "Oh, they are giving way to the Ducks."

"Ducks?" Cai Yilin also heard the quacking sounds outside the car. He looked out and saw at least tens of thousands of ducks lining up to cross the road. They were so crowded that you couldn't see the beginning or the end. It really looked like a large army marching out.

"In recent years, agricultural science academies in Southeast Asia have been promoting compound agriculture." Cai Yisen has followed up on this and reported on it like a treasure:

"For example, the traditional mulberry-based fish ponds and rice-field fish farming, as well as this duck-rice symbiosis model. The duck commanders of the commune duck farm lead their duck corps to shuttle through the paddy fields of each production team at dawn every day. The duck corps can eat most of the insects in the rice fields and weeds without harming the rice. Moreover, when they shuttle through the fields, it is equivalent to tilling the soil, which is very beneficial to the growth of rice roots. In addition, duck powder is an excellent fertilizer that can help rice grow."

"The rice fields also provide the ducks with sufficient water and food, and the duck farm saves a lot of feed, producing a large amount of duck eggs and duck meat for the members. It can be said that they complement each other." Cai Yimu smiled and continued: "So the management committee has specially stipulated that when seeing the ducks crossing the road, all pedestrians and vehicles must give way."

"Second brother, let me test you. Why are ducks so obedient? What if we replace them with chickens?" Cai Yisen asked with a smile.

"Do you really think your second brother is simple-minded just because he has strong limbs?" Cai Yilin rolled his eyes at him and said, "Because ducks are waterfowl in the order Anseriformes, like geese, they like to act in an organized manner. Chickens, on the other hand, are more casual."

"This is the content of Lesson 9 of Elementary Biology. I remember it all." Cai Yimu also smiled and said with admiration: "The principal is really a scholar and knows everything."

"That's right, science is the knowledge that breaks all ignorance, and it is also the knowledge that is truly practical and useful to the world!" Cai Yisen agreed and said, "And it is also the knowledge that can truly save the Ming Dynasty!"

"Haha, this argument is so familiar." Cai Yilin couldn't help but laugh: "Isn't this the article "Scientific Rejuvenation of China" that made Cai the famous reporter?"

"That's right." Cai Yimu also cleared his throat and recited: "Zhang Juzheng's reforms could not save the Ming Dynasty, and even if the Second Ancestor were reborn, he could not save the Ming Dynasty. Because the past two hundred years have been a cycle of problems, and there is no one who can solve them!"

"But that is only unsolvable within the traditional rut, and only unsolvable for the old-style emperors and generals!" Cai Yilin continued:

"Break out of the rut of self-restraint, come to a wider world, take a look at our overseas administrative regions, and you will find the answer——"

"The answer is to reconstruct our country based on science and technology and aiming to improve the well-being of the Chinese nation by building a more efficient, reasonable, precise and fair social organization!" the three brothers said in unison.

These words not only expressed their thoughts, but also the thoughts of the entire group - this is the new world that Zhao Hao promised to give them!

"Is it just this new world, including the entire Ming Dynasty?" Looking at the Duck Corps marching away in a line, Cai Yilin suddenly asked quietly.

"Of course." Cai Yisen said through the lens with a sharp gaze: "Otherwise what's the point?"

"That's too difficult." Cai Yimu frowned and sighed.

The carriage equipped with rubber tires started slowly along the asphalt road paved with natural asphalt, but the three brothers stared at the north for a long time and were unwilling to look back.

There is not only the Duck Commander of the Duck Corps, but also their Duck Commander.