For some reason, when Chen Huai'an looked at the "edict of self-reproach" issued by Emperor Hongxi Zhao Lingzhan of the Great Xin Dynasty in his hand, he inexplicably felt an urge to laugh.
This reminded him of the time when Empress Dowager Su Wan'er, the birth mother of Emperor Lingwu of the Great Xin Dynasty, sent the eunuch Cai He with a secret edict to Longcheng, the fiefdom of Prince Jin, inviting him to come south to the capital to defend the emperor.
The two are quite similar in their approach!
Whether it was Emperor Lingwu's edict in the belt or Emperor Hongxi's edict of self-reproach, their core purpose was to win over Chen Huai'an in order to seek a joint rule across the Yangtze River.
Chen Huai'an was well aware that these two emperors and the forces behind them were only interested in the fact that he had not ascended the throne since he raised the army to quell the rebellion, and was still flying the banner of the Prince of Jin of the Great Xin Dynasty.
Only then, with a "what's the worst that could happen?" attitude, did he issue an imperial edict to Chen Huai'an.
Anyway, this imperial edict doesn't cost a single penny!
The only difference is that Empress Dowager Su's original edict was stamped with the Imperial Seal of the State.
The edict of self-reproach issued by the treacherous minister Qin Ruhui on behalf of Emperor Hongxi, bearing an official seal, is clearly a "radish seal" that was later carved by craftsmen.
This convinced Chen Huai'an that when Emperor Lingwu and Empress Dowager Su fled the capital in haste, they must have secretly taken the Imperial Seal with them.
Presumably, the Imperial Seal of the State had already been taken by Empress Dowager Su to Jiangyin, the naval headquarters of the Great Xin Dynasty.
Thinking of this, Chen Huai'an, riding on horseback, didn't even bother to look at the contents of the self-reproach edict, and simply tossed the brocade back to Pang Xianchu beside him.
Then, he smiled and said, "Pang Xianchu, now that you've met the envoys of the Hongxi Dynasty, you must be aware of the contents of this edict of self-reproach and Qin Ruhui's purpose this time, right?"
Um!
Pang Xianchu nodded without hesitation.
Chen Huai'an continued, "That's perfect, I'm too lazy to read the contents of this document anyway. What do you think we should do about this?"
Pang Xianchu raised his head, his expression resolute as he spoke with a determined tone, his usually expressionless face hardening: "Your Highness, if at this moment Your Highness only has those eight thousand Dragon City Breaking Army soldiers at your disposal..."
"In my humble opinion, since Emperor Hongxi has issued an edict of self-reproach, Your Highness might as well follow suit and become a loyal minister and general of the new dynasty!"
"but--"
Then, Pang Xianchu changed the subject, saying each word carefully: "Now Your Highness commands a million soldiers, the Western Regions and Tibetan kingdoms have submitted, and the southern expeditionary army is almost at the Yangtze River."
"In my humble opinion, this edict of self-reproach issued by Emperor Hongxi is not even worth a piece of waste paper!"
Hahaha!
Upon hearing Pang Xianchu's answer, Chen Huai'an couldn't help but burst into laughter.
After a long while, he finally stopped laughing and looked at Pang Xianchu, saying, "Pang Xianchu, you've become wicked too, but—it suits my taste perfectly!"
"This matter will be handled according to your suggestion. Go now!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Pang Xianchu immediately clasped his hands in a fist salute, accepted the order, and left.
Watching Pang Xianchu ride away alone, Chen Huai'an muttered to himself, "Yes, if I only had eight thousand soldiers, I'd be happy to be a loyal king of the Great Xin Dynasty."
"Alas, my million-strong army is about to cross the Yangtze River."
"What kind of bullshit edict of self-reproach is this at a time like this? I wouldn't even want to use it to wipe my butt!"
With that, Chen Huai'an spurred his horse on again and galloped off towards the Longcheng naval camp a few miles away without looking back.
Before long, Chen Huai'an and dozens of Imperial Guards appeared in the sight of Admiral Qi Jiguang and a group of naval officers who had been waiting outside the naval camp for a long time.
"His Highness Prince Jin has arrived!"
Immediately following was the booming announcement from Xiao Po, the commander of the Imperial Guard.
drive!
drive!
Sigh—
When Chen Huai'an reined in his yellow horse, Qi Jiguang and the other generals immediately rode up to greet him and knelt before Prince Jin on horseback.
"This humble general, Qi Jiguang, pays his respects to Your Highness, Prince Jin!"
"Greetings, Your Highness Prince Jin!"
"Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin! Long live the Prince of Jin!"
"No need for formalities, rise!"
As he spoke, Chen Huai'an had already gotten down and walked to Qi Jiguang's side.
After exchanging pleasantries, the naval officers escorted Prince Jin to the training waters of the Longcheng Navy to inspect the training of the naval officers and soldiers.
In the waters of Wengcheng Wharf in the Bohai Bay, twenty warships of the Longcheng Navy are neatly arranged on the calm sea, their bows raised high, like giant dragons in the sea poised to set sail.
On the deck of the warship, the officers and soldiers of the Longcheng Navy, clad in armor and carrying swords, were assembled in formation.
With a command from Admiral Qi Jiguang, the signalmen on the dock issued orders with their flags, and the melodious sound of horns echoed across the Bohai Bay.
Immediately afterward, the officers and soldiers of each warship who received the order quickly took up their respective combat posts.
The warships set sail, propelled by both wind and human power, cutting through the waves and creating layers of white spray and a series of hissing sounds as they broke the water.
boom!
boom!
boom!
Suddenly, the cannons on both sides of the warship roared to life, and the shells that fell into the sea created plumes of water. The cannons on the warship had opened fire.
The scene before him caught the eye of Prince Chen Huai'an, who was observing the naval training.
It must be admitted that the navy's warships are expensive for a reason. The powerful cannons alone are enough to make the Dragon City Navy stand out among the world's "navies".
In Chen Huai'an's era, although gunpowder had been widely used, it was mostly for civilian purposes, such as making fireworks and firecrackers.
During his time travels, he did consider developing firearms.
Unfortunately, the current level of smelting is limited. For example, with the simplest cannon barrel, although blacksmiths can make cannons according to the requirements, they cannot reach the military standard at all.
Often, the cannon barrel would explode after only a few shots were fired.
Therefore, despite the years Chen Huai'an has spent traveling through time, he has never given up on exploring and manufacturing firearms.
However, due to various current limitations, the Jin Prince's Firearms Bureau has not been able to make any breakthrough progress, and firearms have not been used on a large scale by the Longcheng army.
Now, with the help of the [Born to Be an Emperor] system, Chen Huai'an witnessed firsthand how his Dragon City naval forces were already adept at using cannons in naval warfare, and he was incredibly excited!
At present, the warships of the Great Xin Dynasty and even those of other countries around the world at the same time are generally equipped with cold weapons such as crossbows.
Naval battles also primarily consist of close-quarters combat.
The Longcheng naval force has already equipped itself with firearms, giving it the full capability to launch long-range and devastating attacks on enemy warships.
Chen Huai'an couldn't help but sigh inwardly: With just this one move, we can be at least two hundred years ahead of Western countries. The day when the whole world speaks Chinese is not too far away!
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