Shanhai City, Summer Palace.
In the imperial study, Ouyang Shuo had just finished communicating with Jiang Shang about the new adjustment plan for the civil officials. With the establishment of the Vast Gold Province and the promotion of Huo Guang and Han Qi, the two governors, to the governor-general, the vacated governor position naturally had to be filled.
The arrangement of personnel often affected the whole situation.
The adjustment list drawn up by the cabinet basically met Ouyang Shuo's requirements and had just been approved. In Ouyang Shuo's eyes, it didn't mean that historical talents were better than the indigenous NPCs cultivated by Great Xia.
There were some stubborn and inflexible people. No matter how famous they were, Ouyang Shuo wouldn't put them in such a key position like the governor. Instead, he would assign them to idle positions.
"Talent is more important than fame. Talent is everything."
The "talent" here didn't refer to scholarly talent, but ability.
After talking about business, Ouyang Shuo took a sip of the freshly brewed white tea and said with a smile, "As you expected, the Silver Hand is still as arrogant as ever. They don't intend to stop at all."
Ouyang Shuo wasn't an idiot. How could he possibly hope that his words would make the Dawson Dynasty obediently listen to him? Not to mention the Silver Hand, Di Chen and the others had been fighting with Great Xia for four to five years. Until now, they were still full of fighting spirit and thinking of how to turn the tables!
Ouyang Shuo had long experienced the tenacity of aristocratic families.
As the game was about to reach the halfway point and Great Xia was about to enter the second half, Ouyang Shuo's opponent had changed from the [Yan Huang Alliance] to the stronger, more advantageous, and more difficult Silver Hand.
"Let's fight. Victory comes from fighting." Ouyang Shuo was already used to it.
Jiang Shang, who was opposite him, took over the conversation and said with a smile, "It's normal for the other party to not stop. As long as they don't single-mindedly target us, it can be considered a kind of victory."
Jiang Shang obviously had a deeper understanding of the philosophy of struggle.
"But this way, the days of the Atlantic Fleet won't be easy!" Ouyang Shuo was a little worried.
The Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, which had just stabilized, didn't seem to be in any danger for the time being. However, the Atlantic Fleet, which had always been in a whirlpool, was suddenly in a difficult situation.
In the Atlantic Ocean, the strongest fleets of the Empire were all in this region. Once they joined forces, the Atlantic Ocean Fleet would have very little room to maneuver.
In addition, the Atlantic Fleet only had two naval bases in Morocco and Gibraltar that were very close to each other. The difficulty in resupplying further restricted the fleet's movement in a wider area.
"The imperial court has to send reinforcements to the Atlantic Fleet." Ouyang Shuo made up his mind and looked at Jiang Shang. "The Cabinet Coordination and Finance Department, squeeze out seven million gold coins to equip the Atlantic Fleet with a submarine fleet!"
Although the Xia Kingdom had mastered the technology to manufacture magic-powered submarines, it was still impossible for them to build such high-tech ships on their own with their current industrial standards. They could only purchase them from Lemuria.
"Alright!"
Although the imperial court supported the construction of Maldives County, Hawaii County, and Liaojin Province, and the finances were a little tight, Jiang Shang still readily agreed.
When it came to the strategy of the dynasty, the financial department had to grit its teeth.
…
On the second day of the eleventh month, Ouyang Shuo specially went to the Imperial Guards' camp to visit the victorious officers and soldiers.
The Imperial Guards lived up to the title of "Dynasty's Sword". Every time there was a major battle in the imperial court, the Imperial Guards would always be at the forefront. Recently, they had participated in the Annan War, the Goryeo War, and the Gold Extermination War.
Ouyang Shuo was not disappointed every time.
A week ago, after replenishing their losses, the Imperial Guards had already withdrawn from Liaojin Province and returned to Shanhai City to rest and reorganize. Ouyang Shuo specially issued a decree to allow the officers and soldiers a five-day holiday to go home to visit their families.
This was an honor that was rarely seen.
The family members of the Imperial Guards had also been arranged to live in Shanhai City by the Bureau of Military Affairs. They had become a group of people living at the foot of the Emperor, eating royal rations and living a very comfortable life.
It was precisely because of this that the Imperial Guards were unconditionally loyal to the dynasty and Ouyang Shuo. In Ouyang Shuo's words, "The Imperial Guards are the soldiers of the Xia Kingdom."
Yesterday, the officers and soldiers had ended their holiday and returned to the camp to resume their daily training.
Ouyang Shuo's visit was both to express his condolences and to mobilize the troops. This was because before the sixth year of Gaia, the imperial court still had a tough battle to fight, and that was the Luzon War.
This was a tough bone that was even tougher than Annan.
Not only did Lu Bu have 800,000 Imperial Guards, it could be foreseen that if the Xia Kingdom attacked Luzon, the Kingdom of Java would not just stand by and watch, but would definitely intervene.
Both of them were members of the Alliance, and it just so happened that they were responding to the request of the 'Maritime Joint Escort'. It could even be said that the Australian region, which was trembling with fear, might be involved.
Therefore, the Luzon War was not a simple battle between the two sides, but a chaotic battle.
The Dragon Stallion Army alone was naturally unable to handle it.
The Imperial Guards, who had just rested for two days, would soon embark on a new journey.
… …
After leaving the Imperial Guard camp, Ouyang Shuo went to see another person.
It had been some time since Nimitz, the former commander of the Dawson Dynasty's Freedom Fleet, had been escorted to the capital, and Ouyang Shuo had not had the time to meet this legendary figure alone.
Nimitz was extremely arrogant. According to the report of the Military Minister, Du Ruhui, who was responsible for persuading him to surrender, Nimitz was extremely uncooperative and was completely unwilling to hold a post in the Xia Kingdom's army. He even threatened to go on a hunger strike.
This was all the more reason for Ouyang Shuo to meet him. There was no reason to say that they had painstakingly captured an outstanding admiral, and that he would just be a decoration.
The meeting place was the detention room of the Privy Council.
Because Nimitz was very special and Ouyang Shuo had specially instructed him to, even though he was detained, his living conditions were excellent. He did not have to worry about food and clothing, and he could even move freely in the courtyard.
When Ouyang Shuo arrived, Nimitz was sitting in the courtyard, leisurely basking in the sun while reading a thread-bound book with great interest.
With the help of Gaia's automatic translation system, Nimitz had no trouble reading Chinese books.
The guard in charge of guarding Nimitz was about to bow when he saw Ouyang Shuo, but he was stopped by Ouyang Shuo. He quietly approached Nimitz and took a closer look. Nimitz was reading 'Sun Tzu's Art of War'.
"General, do you think that 'Sun Tzu's Art of War' can be used in naval warfare?" Ouyang Shuo asked.
"Who?!"
Nimitz was alerted and raised his head.
"Impudent! Why aren't you bowing after seeing the king?!" Xu Chu shouted.
Nimitz was even more astonished. He stood up and subconsciously took a step back. He looked at Ouyang Shuo in bewilderment before reluctantly bowing.
Ouyang Shuo laughed, "General, you haven't answered my question."
Nimitz came back to his senses and avoided answering. "I will not hold a post in the Great Xia army!"
"I don't think so!"
Since Ouyang Shuo was here, he naturally had the confidence to convince Nimitz.
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