In the second half of the sixth year of Gaia, as the European and American powers coveted the fat meat of South America, the previously peaceful American continent suddenly became lively.
The Indian Empire, which dominated South America, was suddenly besieged.
In August, the Dawson Dynasty conquered Colombia, which was adjacent to Panama. While consolidating their control over the Panama Canal, they posed a direct threat to the northern border of the Indian Empire.
In September, the southernmost region of South America, Argentina, declared its allegiance to the Spanish Dynasty.
In this way, the Indian Empire was attacked from the north and the south.
Seeing that the Indian Empire was unable to fend for itself, in October, the Brazilian region, which had already bowed to the Empire, brazenly declared independence and established the Brasilia Dynasty, intending to use the European and American powers to contend against the Indian Empire.
In addition, the Venezuelan region, which had not yet been conquered by the Empire, was in flames of war.
Faced with powerful enemies, the Indian Empire was exhausted. Coupled with the frequent natural disasters, the Emperor, Juarez, realized that the Empire could no longer control the situation in South America with its own strength.
If this dragged on, the situation would only get worse.
At this critical moment, Juarez thought of his ally, the Grand Xia.
During this period of time, the Grand Xia had slaughtered in all directions within the country, sweeping away all the enemies. Although the Grand Xia had not used troops abroad, the legends of the Grand Xia had been circulating abroad.
Juarez's plan was for the Indian Empire to cede the Ecuador region to the Grand Xia, allowing the Grand Xia to station troops there to resist the Dawson Dynasty.
The Ecuador region was located south of Colombia. In the early days, the Indian Empire had helped the Grand Xia to obtain a permanent port in South America, which was located in Ecuador.
This time, Juarez was very generous and directly ceded the entire region to the Grand Xia.
Ouyang Shuo naturally saw through Juarez's plan. He just wanted to borrow the Grand Xia's hand to suppress the Dawson Dynasty's invasion of the Indian Empire.
This way, the Empire would be free to deal with the Spanish Dynasty in the north and the Brasilia Dynasty in the east. The Brasilia Dynasty, in particular, had to be purged for going back on their word. Otherwise, where would the prestige of the Empire be?
Although he could see through Juarez, Ouyang Shuo did not directly refuse.
The Indian Empire had thrown out the bait of "Ecuador." For Great Xia, it was not necessarily impossible for them to swallow it. After a reasonable digestion, it was unknown who would be the fisherman and who would be the fish in the future.
Just as Zhang Liang said, "This is an excellent opportunity for the Empire to intervene in the American continent."
Before this, because of the existence of the Indian Empire, Ouyang Shuo had no intention of setting foot in the South American continent. He did not want to have a conflict with the Indian Empire in the future and lose his only ally in the world.
As for the North American continent, there was no place for Great Xia to set foot in.
Now that the Indian Empire was under pressure and had taken the initiative to cede the Ecuadorian region, it was an opportunity for Great Xia to intervene in the American battlefield.
As for the future?
"Let's dive in first," Ouyang Shuo thought.
The worst outcome would be the withdrawal of the troops from South America, which wouldn't be considered a huge loss for Great Xia. However, once they gained a foothold in South America, they could use it as a fulcrum to radiate to the entire American continent.
The Dawson Dynasty was no longer mysterious.
Furthermore, if the Indian Empire wanted to realize its intentions, it was impossible for them to sit idly by and watch Ecuador suffer a loss. If necessary, they would definitely provide food and supplies to assist the Great Xia army in stabilizing the situation.
Of course, from the perspective of the Great Xia Dynasty, it was best to let the Indian Empire fall into the quagmire of war with the Spanish Dynasty and the Brasilia Dynasty. Only in this way would the Great Xia Dynasty have room to play.
The schemes involved were intricate and complicated.
Based on this judgment, Ouyang Shuo agreed to the request of the envoy of the Indian Empire. He agreed to take over the Ecuadorian region and stationed a large army there.
Seeing this, the envoy returned in satisfaction.
Following that, the Great Xia Dynasty's cabinet passed the administrative plan for the Ecuadorian region at the fastest speed. They decided to set up a prefecture there and put it under the direct jurisdiction of the imperial court.
The prefecture was named Fulcrum City. For this reason, Ouyang Shuo used the last teleportation talisman.
However, the cabinet was divided on the governance system of the prefecture. Jiang Shang, the chief minister of the cabinet, felt that the prefecture was isolated overseas and had to face a powerful enemy like the Dawson Dynasty. Most of the decisions made in the prefecture were related to war. Therefore, he suggested that a general should be appointed to oversee the prefecture.
The second minister, Kou Zhun, insisted on the principle of separating the military and the government. He insisted that there should not be any confusion or exceptions.
Since the two sides couldn't come to an agreement, they could only hand it over to Ouyang Shuo to decide.
Ouyang Shuo considered the opinions of both sides and the actual situation of the prefecture. He decided to appoint a provincial governor as well as a provincial governor.
In normal times, the governor and the provincial governor would have nothing to do with each other. In times of war, the provincial governor would be given the authority to mobilize the resources of the entire prefecture to serve the war. Fighting the war would be the first priority.
This not only maintained the principle of separating the military and the government, but also gave a certain degree of autonomy to the commanding general.
Ouyang Shuo personally selected the candidate for the governor of Ergua Prefecture. He named the current governor of the Tengyue Prefecture of the Yunnan Province, Zhou Haichen. Without question, this was also a civil official under Ouyang Shuo's direct command.
Zhou Haichen had served as the assistant to the chief administrative officer, the magistrate of Friendship County, the magistrate of Thunder Mountain Prefecture, and the governor of the Tengyue Prefecture. He had a lot of experience. Ouyang Shuo was prepared to let Zhou Haichen gain some experience in the prefecture.
With Zhou Haichen around, he would act as an invisible check and balance for the provincial governor.
Both the cabinet and the Bureau of Military Affairs had recommended one or two candidates for the provincial governor of Ergua, but they were all rejected by Ouyang Shuo. This was because in Ouyang Shuo's heart, he already had a suitable candidate.
As the first provincial governor of the Grand Xia, he needed to choose someone who was adept with both the pen and the sword.
More importantly, given the complicated situation in the American continent, as the provincial governor, this person would represent the Grand Xia in the American continent. He needed to be steady and able to maintain his composure at critical moments. He also needed to be tactful and able to deal with the various powers. He also needed to be bold and courageous and able to make contributions on the battlefield.
Three opposing personalities gathered in one person. Such a talent was not easy to find.
Ouyang Shuo's ideal candidate was the Great Zhou's Marquis of Qi and the governor of the Eastern Sea, Zhan Lang. This person had been the Red Blood Liege for a long time. He was adept with both the pen and the sword. To be able to hide his identity with the azure badge until now, one could see his steadiness and forbearance.
During the time of the Yan Huang Alliance, Zhan Lang was the mediator between Di Chen, Xiong Ba, and Lord Chunshen. He was always able to save the situation at critical moments. His ability to deal with situations was unquestionable.
The current Zhan Lang was low-key and introverted. He even seemed to have given up on himself. He seemed to be lacking in vigor and bravery, but Ouyang Shuo knew that this was just a facade.
Zhan Lang was a natural soldier. He was no less courageous than anyone else.
This Zhan Lang was only lacking a stage to spread his wings and soar.
Ouyang Shuo wanted to give Zhan Lang such a stage. He wanted Zhan Lang to abandon the shackles of the Silver Hands and the azure badge. He wanted to give it his all and fully unleash his talents.
"I did not expect that the opportunity to subdue this person was sent by the Indian Empire." Ouyang Shuo smiled. He no longer hesitated and dialed Zhan Lang's communication compass.
"Emperor Xia."
In the video, Zhan Lang's expression was calm. It was as if he had expected this day to come.
Ouyang Shuo knew about Zhan Lang's identity as a spy. Therefore, when the azure badge stepped out from behind the scenes, Zhan Lang's heart was dead. This was because his weakness was in the enemy's hands.
When Xiong Ba rebelled against the Great Zhou Dynasty and the four hundred thousand Ming Army were destroyed, Zhan Lang finally made up his mind. He was not prepared to sit still and wait for death. He brazenly commanded the Red Blood Army to attack the Great Ming Dynasty.
Donghai Province was Zhan Lang's only bargaining chip.
However, a natural disaster changed the quality of this bargaining chip. Originally, after conquering the Great Ming Dynasty, Zhan Lang not only obtained a group of civil and military officials, but also millions of people in Jianye.
In the future, Donghai Province might have become the second Great Jin Dynasty.
Unfortunately, things did not go according to one's wishes.
There was a natural disaster in October. Donghai Province was located in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River. It was the most severely affected area.
A locust plague caused the counties in Donghai to greatly reduce their food production. Some counties even had no harvest. As early as during the war with the Great Jin, in order to support the frontline, Di Chen ordered an emergency food collection.
All the people in the region were counting on the second crop of rice to tide over the crisis.
Who would have thought that at the last moment when the rice was about to ripen, God would suddenly make such a move and directly push the people of Donghai into the abyss.
Because of this, Zhan Lang was so anxious that his hair turned white, but he was still helpless.
The ten million people from Jianye were originally the foundation of the country, but in the blink of an eye, they became the biggest burden of Donghai Province. Zhan Lang could not even breathe under the pressure.
Zhan Lang had asked Di Chen for help. For the sake of the people of Donghai, he was even prepared to bow down to Di Chen. However, the Great Zhou Dynasty was suffering a disaster and Di Chen could not even take care of himself. How could he have the ability to help Donghai Province?
At this point, only the Great Xia could save Donghai.
Perhaps in his heart, Zhan Lang had long been looking forward to this video call.
"Come to Great Xia, I will give you a stage."
Ouyang Shuo said and briefly explained the situation in Xiao County. At the end, he said, "The Huaxia region is already too small for you. Go to the American continent and fight for the Great Xia, and for yourself."
Zhan Lang looked deeply at Ouyang Shuo. After a long time, he only said one word, "Okay!"
Every word was worth a thousand gold.
Ouyang Shuo knew that with Zhan Lang's nature, since he had agreed, he would not go back on his word.
"The imperial court plans to set up the South American Corps in Xiao County. Due to the level of supplies in Xiao County, we can only set up two corps for the time being. In the future, the South American Corps will be the South American Army. "
Zhan Lang nodded to express his understanding.
He had been a lord before, so of course, he knew that it was already difficult to support two corps with the land of a county. It was impossible to support a group army as it would only crush the local people.
"The South American Corps will be simplified by the Red Blood Army. Make the preparations." Ouyang Shuo gave Zhan Lang a big gift.
After setting up the provincial governor, Ouyang Shuo made another exception.
Before this, there was no lord or surrendered general who could lead their old troops to battle on the battlefield after submitting to Great Xia.
Even Zhan Lang was extremely grateful for this favor.
Ouyang Shuo was Ouyang Shuo. He was different from Di Chen who only knew how to scheme. When it was time to be heroic, he would really be heroic. No wonder he could subdue so many heroes.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Zhan Lang bowed deeply. His heart was at peace.
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