This temporary court assembly in the Imperial Study laid the foundation for the basic national policies for the future development of the new dynasty.
After the court session, the three ministers from the Six Ministries agreed to travel together and inevitably discussed their views on the new policies and national strategies implemented by the new emperor, Chen Huai'an.
Jiang Xiao, the Minister of Revenue, said with admiration, "My lords, I have truly broadened my horizons today. I still have no idea what those new words His Majesty used mean."
"but--"
Jiang Xiao changed the subject, saying sincerely, "The fact that His Majesty so generously used all the confiscated assets of the former treacherous minister Qin Ruhui to replenish the new dynasty's treasury is something I never even dared to imagine."
"Based on this alone, Your Majesty deserves the title of a wise and benevolent founding emperor!"
"yes!"
Minister of Works Hu Zhijun echoed, "Lord Jiang is absolutely right. I have indeed heard about His Majesty's confiscation of the treasure ships that the former treacherous minister Qin Ruhui was transporting to Chengdu."
"At first, I thought that the confiscated silver would go into the Emperor's private treasury and be used for the Emperor's and the harem's expenses."
"Who would have thought that the Emperor wouldn't keep a single silver ingot for himself, but instead used it all to enrich the treasury of the new dynasty? Based on this alone, the Emperor deserves to be called a wise and enlightened founding emperor!"
The two ministers from the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works made no secret of their admiration for the new emperor, Chen Huai'an.
As a result, Li Jingyu, the Minister of War who recommended the two men to reorganize the six ministries, felt even more proud.
Back then, when Li Jingyu visited Hu Zhijun and Jiang Xiao three times to invite them to join his cause, both of whom were capable and experienced enough to be in charge of the Six Ministries.
These two men repeatedly feigned illness to refuse to serve the new dynasty, fearing that Chen Huai'an, the rebellious traitor who rose to power, would be like the tyrannical and debauched Second Emperor of the Great Xin Dynasty, Zhao Gan, a capricious, licentious, and incompetent ruler!
However, after only one encounter with Chen Huai'an, the two were captivated by the young emperor's demeanor and praised him highly.
Seeing this, Li Jingyu immediately seized the opportunity and said, "Well, my lords, I didn't lie to you, did I? Our emperor will surely become a great emperor comparable to Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han."
"We can finally choose a wise ruler to serve and strive to become virtuous ministers whose names will be remembered for generations!"
"Yes, choose a wise ruler to serve and become a virtuous minister whose name will be remembered for generations!"
......
The front line of Yongzhou in the Southern Yue Kingdom.
The Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army has already engaged in several large-scale battles with the Southern Yue garrison stationed in Yongzhou, a key town in Southern Yue.
Overall, both sides had their wins and losses.
It wasn't that the Nanyue Kingdom's wolf soldiers were particularly strong or well-equipped, but rather that the hot southern climate was the main culprit that hampered the fighting capacity of the Longcheng expeditionary army.
The soldiers of the Longcheng army, who were on their southward expedition, were suffering under the scorching sun for days on end.
Fortunately, after receiving the military report from the front lines and learning about the actual situation and hardships faced by the southern expeditionary army, the Emperor had already issued an edict to halt the attack immediately to General Pang Xianchu.
Therefore, during this period, the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army set up camp outside Yongzhou City, firmly guarding the camp gates and refusing to engage in battle, thus confronting the Southern Yue garrison inside the city.
Prince Li Shiyu of Nanyue had personally led his elite cavalry several times in an attempt to launch night raids on the Longcheng army camp, but they were all defeated by the well-rested Longcheng army.
After more than half a month of fierce fighting, the battle entered a relatively peaceful stalemate.
The southern expeditionary army of Longcheng did not attack, and the Nanyue wolf soldiers defending the city were happy to hold their ground. Everyone lived in peace and did not invade each other.
However, everyone knew very well that the peaceful standoff was just a facade, and both sides were preparing for a more intense offensive.
On this day, in the central command tent of the Longcheng Southern Expeditionary Army camp.
General Pang Xianchu, a valiant warrior, was staring blankly at the letters and military reports exchanged with the capital on his desk when he suddenly heard his deputy, Fan Wuji, announce from outside the tent:
"Report—"
"Reporting to the General, the reinforcements sent by the Emperor to our southern expeditionary force in Longcheng have arrived and are less than sixty li from Yongzhou City!"
brush!
Upon hearing this, Pang Xianchu suddenly came to his senses, stood up abruptly, and strode out of the tent.
Just then, they bumped into Fan Wuji, the deputy general, who was walking towards them.
Pang Xianchu asked urgently, "General Fan, how many reinforcements has the Emperor sent to us, and who is leading them?"
Fan Wuji, panting, replied, "General, according to the messenger from the reinforcements, the troops heading to reinforce Yongzhou City are officers and soldiers of the Longcheng Navy, and the commanding general is naturally Admiral Qi Jiguang."
"The troop strength seems to be only two thousand men!"
"What?"
Upon hearing Fan Wuji's words, Pang Xianchu was so shocked that he almost jumped up on the spot.
Is Your Majesty joking with me?
Two thousand reinforcements, or a navy?
It turns out that in the correspondence between Chen Huai'an and Pang Xianchu, after ordering Pang Xianchu to "stop the attack immediately and wait for reinforcements," there was no further communication.
Therefore, Pang Xianchu did not know which army the emperor had sent as reinforcements, or who commanded them.
Pang Xianchu had speculated that the emperor might transfer General Wang Jian and his elite Qin soldiers to the front lines in Yongzhou to attack the city.
After all, the powerful bows and crossbows equipped by Qin's elite soldiers, as well as the incredibly powerful ballistae, were excellent siege weapons.
Little did anyone know that the reinforcements the Emperor dispatched to the front lines in Yongzhou were actually the officers and soldiers of the Longcheng Navy, numbering only a mere two thousand.
This is ridiculous!
Pang Xianchu muttered to himself, "There isn't even a canal outside Yongzhou City. Why did the Emperor bring the brothers from the Longcheng Navy here?"
Forehead--
At this moment, Fan Wuji suddenly slapped his forehead, as if he had remembered something, and hurriedly said, "General, look at my poor memory!"
"By the way, the messenger from the reinforcements also said that this reinforcement force sent to Yongzhou seems to be a new branch of the military, expanded from the naval officers and soldiers, called, called the Divine Machine Artillery Battalion!"
"Yes, it's the Divine Machine Gun Battalion!"
Pang Xianchu remained uninterested; he really couldn't muster much interest in this so-called "divine machine gun battalion" or anything like that.
If it is formed based on naval officers and soldiers, isn't it still a naval force?
Naval and land warfare, is that feasible?
Pang Xianchu's heart sank, but he resigned himself to his fate and ordered, "General Fan, prepare yourself and come with me to meet the reinforcements!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Fan Wuji immediately clasped his hands in a fist and accepted the order.
An hour later, the valiant General Pang Xianchu personally led a troop of elite cavalry and finally discovered the traces of reinforcements during the march.
Upon seeing it in person, Pang Xianchu was even more puzzled!
Why are they bringing carts to fight? And what's that big, dark iron pipe on the cart for?
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