The bell rang a total of 24 times. It was silent in Zetian Palace Hall, and all the officials knelt on the ground. This was a way to cherish the memory of Empress Qin Yin. In Year 7736 of the Empire Calendar, Empress Qin Yin had died in the Blood Red Abyss. Four years had passed, but everyone knew that on the day Qin Yin had died, she had just turned 24 years old. Even though the three kings were ruling the world now, everyone still believed that Qin Yin would return. This was because she was the legitimate heir of the Qin Clan, and she was also the only person in the imperial family who possessed the divine essence.
After the bell rang, Shangguan Jingyue, who was wearing the robes of the chief female official, walked forward and extended her hand, saying, "Sirs, please rise."
Everyone stood up one after another, and when they raised their heads, they saw Qin Yan and Feng Jixing standing side by side in front of the throne. No one sat down. Ever since the three kings had ruled the world, none of them had coveted this throne. Lin Muyu had always believed that she would be able to find Qin Yin. How could Feng Jixing and Qin Yan not believe this as well?
"His Highness Yu has sent news from the other side of the ocean."
Feng Jixing's voice was low, but he said very steadily, "There's another continent on the other side of the East Sea. The two planes have completely merged, and the world on the other side is called the Celestial Pole. It's ruled by three great empires, namely the Tianji Empire, the Celestial Empire, and the Blackstone Empire. The Celestial Pole is a place where martial arts are prevalent, and their strength far surpasses our Shattered Cauldron Realm. Now that Duke Wei Wei Chou is leading the Longdan Army Camp to defeat the Devil Race at the Heavenly Gorge, the empire should shift its focus from the Devil Race and Yihe Country to the opponent on the other side of the ocean."
The officials were all astonished. Some of them had heard some rumors and knew that there was another world on the other side of the Eastern Sea Region, but most of them knew nothing about the Celestial Pole.
An elderly minister took a step forward, holding a jade tablet in his hand as he said respectfully, "Your Highness Prince Xin, this matter can't be confirmed yet. Moreover … even if there's another world on the other side of the ocean, we can send envoys over with gold, silver, and jewelry to make friends with them instead of just thinking about attacking them. The Empire has been through wars for a very long time, and its national power is not as strong as before. I hope that the two of you can empathize with the suffering of the common people in the world!"
Feng Jixing nodded. "What Count Yuyang said is somewhat reasonable, but we must be prepared for both sides. While befriending the Celestial Pole Continent, we must also make preparations for war. There's only so much land in this world, and the three great empires of the Celestial Pole Continent can't completely ignore the richness of the Shattered Cauldron Realm. If we don't make preparations, we'll only become lambs waiting to be slaughtered."
Count Yuyang bowed his head and said, "I only hope that Your Highnesses will not be overly militaristic and harm my Great Qin …"
Qin Yan was a little displeased. He frowned and said, "We know what we're doing. Count Yuyang doesn't need to worry too much."
Feng Jixing's gaze landed on Zhen Yifan, who was at the front of the ministers, and he said, "Duke Zhong, it's been hard on you to come all the way from the Seven Seas Province. However … we still need Duke Zhong to come up with a plan for today's matter. How should the Empire deal with it?"
However, Zhen Yifan's dim eyes shone brightly as he said, "Since the Celestial Pole Continent is separated from us by the Eastern Sea, we must reorganize our navy, build new warships, and use the strength of the entire country to strengthen the defense of the three eastern provinces, Lingdong, Tongtian, and Lingkong. Other than that, we must build the Magic Crystal Cannons with all our might. Heavy cannons will be our greatest chance of victory."
Feng Jixing nodded in satisfaction.
Qin Yan said, "Where's the Minister of Works?"
The Minister of Works' white beard was already fluttering. He took a step forward and cupped his fists respectfully. "This old subject is here."
"The forging and improvement of the Magic Crystal Cannons are mainly the matter of your Weapons Department. I hope that you won't slack off."
"Yes, this old subject understands."
At this moment, the assistant minister of the Weapons Department behind him said, "Your Highnesses, Lord Qin Ziling has sent us a blueprint from Tongtian Province. It's about building a fortress ship."
"Fortress ship?" Feng Jixing was stunned. "What kind of ship is that?"
"Your Highness, the fortress ship is a new type of warship. Both sides of the warship are protected by thick parapet walls. Small Magic Crystal Cannons can be placed in the cabin, and the parapet walls are wrapped with iron sheets to block the enemy's arrows and ballista attacks. Furthermore, the fortress ship can be divided into multiple levels. Not only is it a fortress of heavy cannons when facing the enemy, it can also be used as a transport ship. A large fortress ship can transport at least 2000-4000 soldiers of the Empire. Lord Qin Ziling's uncanny workmanship is full of wisdom, and he's an unparalleled genius craftsman. Once this kind of fortress ship is successfully developed, it will definitely become the overlord of naval battles."
"Good!" Feng Jixing was overjoyed and waved his hand. "Approved. Immediately give the order to start developing and building this kind of fortress ship."
"But Your Highness …" The assistant minister of the Weapons Department nodded without saying a word.
"But what?"
"It's just that the construction of the fortress ship is exquisite. Among the materials required are all kinds of strange iron and wood that are rare in the Empire. Thus, the construction of the fortress ship will cost a huge amount of money."
"Just tell me directly. How much does it cost to build a fortress ship?"
Under Feng Jixing's intense gaze, the assistant minister swallowed his saliva and said, "About three hundred thousand Jin Yin coins is needed to build a large fortress ship."
"Three hundred thousand?"
Feng Jixing jumped in fright. "So expensive! It's practically a fortress made of gold!"
The assistant minister of the Weapons Department smiled bitterly. "There's nothing we can do about it. According to Lord Qin Ziling's design, the entire fortress ship is about two hundred meters long. Thus, the wood used to reinforce the hull must be the extremely tough Golden Willow Wood. This Golden Willow Wood takes five hundred years to mature, and it's originally a precious material comparable to gold. If we don't use Golden Willow Wood to reinforce the hull of the fortress, such a large fortress ship will probably fall apart in a storm."
"I understand. So be it. Three hundred thousand it is." Feng Jixing looked into the distance. "The Ministry of Revenue's Minister of Works will be provided by you guys for the Ministry of Works to develop the weapons."
The Ministry of Revenue's Minister of Works was a fatty with a small beard on his chin that looked like a goat's beard. His face was filled with a meticulous expression as he said, "Your Highness Prince Xin, a fortress ship costs three hundred thousand Jin Yin coins. In addition to the Magic Crystal Cannons, sailors, equipment, and so on, the cost of a fortress ship will be five hundred thousand Jin Yin coins. There are usually 1,000 fortress ships in the navy, and the value of 1,000 fortress ships will be five hundred million Jin Yin coins … The Empire has already spent one billion Jin Yin coins on the steel walls and the Magic Crystal Cannons. The treasury is empty, so where are we going to get the five hundred million Jin Yin coins …? This old subject really has no other choice. If Your Highness Prince Xin insists on getting this old subject to gather five hundred million Jin Yin coins, then this old subject is powerless."
Feng Jixing's eyes narrowed and he smiled. "Lord Zhang, your son has married a concubine and built a Hidden Beauty Pavilion in the south of the city for her, spending a total of thirty million Jin Yin coins. Someone has reported this to me. I wonder if it's true? If the Ministry of Revenue is really that poor, then I should consider if I should investigate this thoroughly. "Where's Xiao Han from the Fire Sparrow Division?"
Xiao Han stood ramrod straight and said, "Here."
"Pass the order. Xiao Han is to immediately lead the Fire Sparrow Division's troops to the Ministry of Revenue's Minister of Works' manor to investigate the matter of him embezzling resources from the national treasury and abusing his authority for personal gain."
"Yes!"
The fatty was immediately scared silly. He quickly knelt on the ground, wiping away his snot and tears as he said, "Your Highness Prince Xin, please spare my life. I, Zhang Rang, have been working conscientiously for so many years and have never abused my authority for personal gain. My son's villa is only what he got from running the merchant association. He has never taken any bribes. If Your Highness Prince Xin doesn't trust me, this old subject is willing to bring my son to the streets to beg and help Your Highness gather the five hundred million Jin Yin coins."
"There's no need for that."
Feng Jixing snickered and said, "Your reputation as a miser has long spread far and wide. Otherwise, His Highness Yu wouldn't have personally chosen you to be the Ministry of Revenue's Minister. You just need to gather the five hundred million Jin Yin coins and hand it over to the Ministry of Works. As for the national treasury, you must keep a record of every single item of the treasury's income and expenditures and submit a copy to the Ze Tian Palace Hall every month. Yu and I trust you very much and believe that you can manage the Qin Empire's national treasury well. Don't disappoint us."
"Yes … yes, this old subject understands!"
Feng Jixing had already made Zhang Rang obediently by using both carrots and carrots.
Zhen Yifan said, "According to His Highness Yu's description, there is a type of troop in the Celestial Pole Continent called the Dragon Cavalry Troops. They are a group of warriors who ride on giant dragons and have astonishing power. If this is really the case, we must be prepared. Otherwise, we might be controlled by them at the first step."
"Yes."
Feng Jixing nodded and said, "The Dragon Cavalry … is indeed very troublesome, but it's very difficult for us to deal with an army in the air. Ordinary arrows are unable to penetrate dragon armor. Even if it's a white diamond arrowhead, due to the weight and speed of the arrowhead, it might not be able to penetrate dragon armor. As for the Magic Crystal Cannons, they might not be able to accurately hit the giant dragons either. Sigh …"
Qin Yan looked at Feng Jixing's frown and said, "Your Highness Prince Xin, let's take it one step at a time. We haven't even seen a real dragon rider yet. It's still too early to consider how to deal with them."
After all, Qin Yan was still too young. Feng Jixing let out a bitter laugh and didn't say anything.
At this moment, Zeng Yifan narrowed his eyes and said, "I wonder if the two of you still remember what Duke Wei Wei Chou is best at?"
Qin Yan was stunned. "Archery."
"That's right." Zeng Yifan smiled faintly and said, "It's precisely archery that can shoot a willow tree from a hundred steps away. With Duke Wei's ability, he can shoot an enemy from two hundred meters away with a 150 kilogram strong bow. This old subject is thinking, if we can train giant warhawks and let our army's godly archers ride on giant eagles and only shoot the eyes of the dragon riders' mounts, would it be effective?"
Feng Jixing was startled. "Will it work? If they ride on warhawks, not only will their bodies be unstable, but the trajectory of the arrows will also be easily affected by the strong winds in the air. If they want to shoot a small dragon's eye, I'm afraid it won't be easy. "
"But, do we have any other way?" Zeng Yifan let out a bitter laugh.
Feng Jixing was speechless and waved his hand. "It seems like that is indeed the case. Since that is the case, Duke Zhong shouldn't return to your fief in the Seven Seas Province for now. Stay in the imperial capital and help the Ministry of War develop this type of warhawk godly archer."
"Yes, this old subject obeys!"
The entire Ze Tian Palace fell into silence once again. Everyone was thinking about different things, but after this conversation, Feng Jixing and Qin Yan had a preliminary impression and confidence of facing the enemy in the distance.
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