Just after New Year's Day, the imperial court of the Great Xia Dynasty announced an inconspicuous appointment and dismissal of personnel.
It was decreed that the secretary of the Pavilion of Secret Texts, Ouyang Bing, would be promoted to a scholar of the Pavilion of Secret Texts, responsible for the coordination and liaison between the Cabinet and the Four Great Academies.
Bing'er's authority was flexible.
This was equivalent to Ouyang Shuo giving Bing'er a broader stage, allowing her to travel between the Cabinet, the Four Great Academies, and other institutions, familiarizing herself with the workings of the Imperial Court, and preparing for the future succession.
This process would take at least two years.
Ouyang Shuo had spared no effort in raising Bing 'er, and Bing' er had not let him down.
The brother and sister had a tacit understanding.
…
January 5th, the capital.
Ouyang Shuo presided over the annual military and political conference.
Compared to the 24 ministers who participated last year, there were two newcomers this year. They were the Atlantic Fleet's Admiral Zhou Yu and the Western Border's Protector-General Feng Qiuhuang.
The newly promoted scholar of the Secret Texts Pavilion, Ouyang Bing, sat in the corner of the meeting room as a recorder.
Even so, the gazes of the twenty-six ministers still inadvertently swept to the corner, examining the elegant, quiet, and reserved young lady with pensive eyes.
The officials had already guessed some of His Majesty's plans.
Yesterday, the imperial court had announced the new year's nobility promotion list. Di Chen had been promoted to a third rank marquis, which had indeed caused a wave. However, the real focus was still on the eldest princess, Ouyang Bing.
The Eldest Princess was conferred the title of King of Chu and became the first princess of the Great Xia Dynasty.
Before this, Great Xia had six kings. They were King Fu Su of Qin, King Liu Fuling of Han, King Yang Jian of Sui, King Li Zhi of Tang, King Zhao Guangyi of Song and Prince Xiaoming, Zhu Yunwen of Zhu Yunwen.
Everyone knew that these six princes only looked impressive on the surface and did not have any real power.
The Eldest Princess was different. As the Emperor's one and only younger sister, not only had she been conferred the title of King, it was also one of the four most respected titles, Jin, Qin, Qi, and Chu. So the meaning behind it was naturally extraordinary.
A few days ago, the Eldest Princess was promoted to a scholar of the Secret Texts Pavilion, responsible for the coordination and communication between the Cabinet and the Four Great Schools. To be honest, this appointment made the ministers somewhat puzzled.
After all, the scholars of the Pavilion of Secret Texts were only of the fourth rank. How could they take on such a heavy responsibility? As for the identity of the First Princess of the Empire, it didn't help the court at all. Instead, it would bring about a trace of negative influence.
It was only yesterday that the ministers came to a sudden realization.
If the Eldest Princess, as the King of Chu, was also a scholar of the Pavilion of Secret Texts, then all the problems would be easily solved.
With regards to His Majesty's arrangement, there were ministers in the court who understood it in their hearts, but there were also those who were puzzled. For example, intelligent people like Jiang Shang and Zhang Liang could naturally understand a thing or two. They knew that His Majesty was making arrangements for Planet Hope.
The ministers who did not understand would not refute him.
In fact, there were already signs when His Majesty sent the Eldest Princess to Qiongzhou County to observe politics.
Two years of observing politics in Qiongzhou County and one year of learning in the Secret Texts Pavilion had made the ministers gradually accept the fact that the First Princess of the Empire had entered the court. Because it was gradual, their rejection was naturally much less.
Before the ceremony began, the Cabinet and the Grand Council made a brief summary report on the implementation of the strategy set during the ceremony last year.
The situation of Gaia's eighth year was basically the same as Zhang Liang's judgment in the State of the Union Address.
The Silver Hand and the Azure Emblem were engaged in a life and death struggle, giving Great Xia the opportunity to roam around, fish in troubled waters, and expand their victory in South America and Africa.
The crux was that Great Xia had only launched two wars in order to conquer two large overseas territories. Whether it was war consumption or military casualties, they were pitifully small.
They relied on the powerful deterrence that Great Xia had established around the world, as well as their superb strategic layout.
Such a feat made the other dynasties extremely envious.
Taking the Dawson Dynasty as an example, they had gone all out to conquer the sparsely populated Maple Leaf Dynasty. For this, they had lost the Columbia region and a powerful ally, the Brasilia Dynasty.
Whether or not they had really profited was another matter.
There was no need to mention the European dynasties. In order to take down the Germanic Dynasty, they had almost fought to the death, but after fighting for a year, it was still a draw.
"Don't you think it's useless!"
This was reality. The strong became stronger, and the weak remained weak.
Great Xia's current development was astonishing. It was like a giant rolling a snowball. With a casual roll, the territory that it expanded was something that the other dynasties could not compare with.
What was even more terrifying was that this giant was still full of energy and was far from his limit.
The Great Xia army had a total of eight war zones. In the eight years of Gaia, other than the American and African war zones, the remaining six war zones were basically recuperating.
It was foreseeable that in the ninth year of Gaia, the six war zones would release an astonishing amount of energy.
With the establishment of the American Protectorate and the rapid expansion of the African Protectorate, Great Xia's territory was perfected. If the Base Cities were included, Great Xia had territory in all five continents.
It was a well-deserved title of a global empire.
At the same time, the global chaotic war gave Great Xia an opportunity to take off in its industry.
In terms of internal affairs, other than successfully dismantling the magistrate's office and completing the streamlining of the organization, Great Xia had achieved brilliant results in the fields of industry, education, transportation, sports, and the press.
Initially, Great Xia's economy was at the top, but now, it was flourishing everywhere.
The highly efficient internal affairs system nurtured the military, allowing the Pacific Fleet to complete the upgrade ahead of time and be reborn. In one fell swoop, it became the world's first naval fleet composed of all sorts of ironclad warships.
The world's number one fleet was undoubtedly the Pacific Fleet.
The once glorious Dark Night Fleet was once again trampled on and no longer dared to harass the southern border.
After the upgrade of the Pacific Fleet, the next fleet to be upgraded was the Atlantic Fleet, which had just been reinstated. This was also one of the reasons why Zhou Yu attended the ceremony.
Compared to the Pacific Fleet, the Atlantic Fleet actually shouldered a higher mission due to the development of the European and American dynasties. The challenges they faced were also the greatest.
Therefore, it was very necessary to upgrade the Atlantic Fleet as soon as possible.
At the same time, the imperial court had already initiated the establishment of the Mediterranean Fleet. It was temporarily divided into two fleets that would be responsible for patrolling the Mediterranean Sea in order to strengthen the empire's maritime control over the Mediterranean Sea.
This way, it would relieve some of the pressure on the Atlantic Fleet.
As for the specific establishment time, it was estimated that it could only be carried out after the Atlantic Fleet's upgrade was completed.
Fortunately, with Great Xia's current industrialization standard and scale, it would only take half a year for the Atlantic Fleet to be reborn and become an existence that could stand shoulder to shoulder with the Pacific Fleet.
When that time came, Great Xia's already wavering maritime supremacy would once again be established.
Of course, with the advancement of global industrialization, the fleets of the European and American dynasties were also being upgraded. It was probably impossible for Great Xia to monopolize the global maritime control like before.
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