April was the time of spring, with birds singing and flowers blooming.
Shanhai City was also full of vitality. Flowers were blooming everywhere, and willows were in full bloom. People could be seen enjoying the flowers in the parks, pavilions, and bridges. They were talking and laughing, and it was a bustling scene.
It had been a week since the coronation ceremony, and the lively Shanhai City gradually returned to its original track. However, life had changed after all. On the busy streets, people could occasionally see people with noble titles passing by, enjoying the envious gazes from the surrounding people.
"Noble title" suddenly became a popular word among the people. In addition to being rich and healthy, there seemed to be a new and higher pursuit in the life of the common people.
Living under the feet of the emperor, the people in the capital city had an inexplicable heroic spirit. They were unwilling to fall behind others, and this kind of heroic spirit and fighting spirit was necessary to create a prosperous era.
The Great Xia Dynasty was still moving forward.
…
In the imperial study of the Summer Palace.
After some running-in, the operation of the imperial court was gradually on the right track, and all the officials were performing their duties.
Ouyang Shuo, the supreme ruler of the Great Xia Dynasty, frowned inadvertently. The cause was a secret letter on the table. The letter was from Henry, the Lord of Vic City, and brought bad news.
A few days ago, Vic City was pressured by the higher-ups of the Silver Hand and finally decided to withdraw from the Mediterranean Alliance. At the same time, they terminated the supply of resources to the base city.
The cooperation between the two came to an abrupt end.
Yesterday, Vic City sent the last batch of resources to the base city, which was only enough to sustain the base city for half a month. Without the supply of resources from Vic City, the base city was now in a precarious situation.
In the letter, Henry expressed his regret for not being able to continue the cooperation with the Great Xia Dynasty. However, he was very determined to breach the contract.
Obviously, this time, the pressure exerted by the Silver Hand made it impossible for Henry to refuse.
"What's going to happen has finally happened!"
Fortunately, Henry still had some conscience and informed Ouyang Shuo in advance. Otherwise, the current situation of the base city would probably be even worse.
Henry's action exposed the contradiction in his heart. First, Vic City could not resist the organization's arrangement for the time being. Second, Henry did not want to completely offend the powerful Great Xia Dynasty.
This kind of mentality was probably very common within the Silver Hand. The conflict between collective interests and personal interests had never been a new topic.
Following Vic City's withdrawal from the Mediterranean Alliance, the already shaky and fragile alliance was in danger of collapsing at any time. Although Kalia was in front of him now, Ouyang Shuo couldn't really remain indifferent.
Who knew to what extent the storm in the Mediterranean Sea would blow?
Atlantis City was the most reliable ally of the Great Xia Dynasty in the Mediterranean Sea. Protecting the interests of Atlantis City was actually protecting the interests of the Great Xia Dynasty in the Mediterranean Sea.
There was no conflict between the two.
Ouyang Shuo was extremely clear about this.
Thinking up to here, Ouyang Shuo walked over to the window and gazed across the distant horizon, inadvertently looking towards the Mediterranean Sea that was 5,000 kilometers away, and he thought in his heart, It's about time I make a trip to the Mediterranean Sea!
At this moment, a female official came to report, "Your Majesty, Lord Jiang and Lord Kou have arrived!"
The Cabinet's office was located in the Xia Palace, not far from the Imperial Study. After reading Harry's letter and making up his mind, the first thing Ouyang Shuo did was to summon these two Cabinet Elders.
Before leaving, there were many things that Ouyang Shuo had to arrange in advance. After all, the new dynasty had just been established, and the foundation was not stable. There was no room for any mistakes.
Ouyang Shuo turned around and said, "Invite them in!"
"Yes!"
After a while, Jiang Shang and Kou Zhun walked into the Imperial Study under the guidance of the female official. They bowed and greeted, "Your Majesty!"
Ouyang Shuo waved his hand and said, "Come, have a seat!"
"Look at this."
Ouyang Shuo said as he handed over the letter written by Harry. Jiang Shang took the letter and carefully scanned through it. His face was expressionless, and he turned and handed it to Kou Zhun.
After Kou Zhun finished reading, Ouyang Shuo asked, "How do you think this matter should be handled?"
The two of them looked at each other, but they didn't know where to start. Kou Zhun, needless to say, had just arrived and had just familiarized himself with the operation of the imperial court. He really didn't know much about the dynasty's overseas affairs, so it was naturally not good for him to speak.
Even Jiang Shang didn't know much about this matter because he had been working at the Southwest University China Hall all this time. Asking them to hastily express any opinion now was really too much.
There was only one point that the two of them were certain of.
The base city was an important fulcrum for the dynasty's maritime trade route, and maritime trade was an important source of the dynasty's finances. Its strategic position was extraordinary.
It was precisely because of this that they couldn't easily come to a conclusion.
The two of them looked at each other, and Jiang Shang said, "Your Majesty, please make a decision!"
Ouyang Shuo smiled and said indifferently, "The waves in the Mediterranean Sea are related to the dynasty's great cause, so we must take action. In this prince's opinion, the military operation to attack Morocco can officially start. "
Jiang Shang was startled. He immediately understood why the king had summoned the two of them. It really wasn't to consult them, but to have some other plan. He asked tentatively, "Your Majesty is preparing to personally attack Morocco?"
Ouyang Shuo looked at Jiang Shang with praise. As expected of a shrewd old man, he really hit the nail on the head.
"That's right." Ouyang Shuo didn't deny it. He nodded and said, "The situation in the Mediterranean Sea is complicated, and it involves a lot of people. If I don't personally go, I won't be able to stabilize the situation and open up the situation."
Jiang Shang was silent. No matter how unwilling he was, he couldn't find any reason to refute.
Ouyang Shuo took the opportunity to say, "During the time I personally go, I'll have to trouble the two of you to handle the dynasty's affairs!"
Jiang Shang and Kou Zhun looked at each other. They knew that the king had made up his mind, but they were powerless to stop him. They could only stand up, bow and say, "As you wish, Your Majesty!"
Ouyang Shuo didn't really want to be a hands-off shopkeeper. The dynasty's system had already been set. Even if Ouyang Shuo, Emperor Xia, was temporarily not in the palace, the government affairs would have their own rules and regulations.
In comparison, the problem of the Mediterranean Sea could not be delayed.
After sending off the two ministers, Ouyang Shuo started to make arrangements for the personal expedition. This was the first time Ouyang Shuo personally went on an expedition since he ascended the throne. It was of great significance, so naturally, they couldn't be careless.
First, they chose the attendants.
Qingyi and Jia Xu had to be brought along. Then there was the Divine Martial Guard, which was led by Xu Chu.
The head of the newly promoted female officials, Elder Aunt Zisu, picked two senior female officials and four of the most intimate palace maids to be in charge of Ouyang Shuo's daily life outside.
There were also carriages prepared by the Taipu Temple, and so on.
Ouyang Shuo naturally didn't have to worry about these. What he had to consider now was which army should be mobilized for the expedition to Morocco. This was so that the Privy Council could issue military orders in advance and be prepared.
Ouyang Shuo wasn't completely clueless about Morocco.
After the Black Snake Guards moved their main business overseas, one of their main efforts was to investigate Morocco's intelligence. This was to prepare for the army's attack on Morocco.
It was reported that the main cities in Morocco were basically distributed along the northwest coast. They included the capital Rabat, the garden city Casabianca, the port city Tangier, and Agadir.
The most important thing was the total number of Moroccan players. It was estimated to be around 2.5 million.
This also meant that the enemies that the Great Xia Dynasty's expeditionary army faced included at least 250,000 Royal City Guards, over 300,000 combat professional players, and an army of about 200,000 Feudal Lords.
Thus, compared to the previously destroyed Star Nation, Morocco wasn't an easy bone to chew. In order to take down Morocco, the Great Xia Dynasty would need to mobilize at least 300,000 to 400,000 elite soldiers.
In addition, they also had to consider the reactions of Spain, Portugal, France, and other European countries in the Mediterranean Sea once war broke out in Morocco.
What was even worse was that the Great Xia Dynasty only had a small outpost in the Base City. Whether or not it could accommodate the expeditionary army was a big problem.
As for logistics, that was even more of a problem.
If this expedition failed, hundreds of thousands of soldiers would lose their lives overseas. That would be a big problem.
Thus, Ouyang Shuo would first lead the Divine Martial Guard to the Base City to mediate and make preparations. He would have to wait for a suitable opportunity to mobilize the army. He would only dispatch troops after everything had been prepared.
For the army to be mobilized, Ouyang Shuo had decided on the second and third corps of the Imperial Guard and the first and fifth corps of the Dragon Stallion Army.
According to the principles set by Ouyang Shuo, after the establishment of the kingdom, the First Imperial Guard Corps, which was responsible for guarding the Royal City, and the City Guards stationed outside the city would not be mobilized at will.
Thus, although the Monolith Army was an expert in sieging cities, Ouyang Shuo could only reluctantly part with them.
Of the three field armies, the five corps of the Stalwart Tiger Army were surrounded by powerful enemies and couldn't be mobilized. The Leopard Stout Army also couldn't leave because they had to defend the satellite cities.
At most, they could only mobilize the fourth corps of the Leopard Stout Army.
Ouyang Shuo could only mobilize the Dragon Stallion Army after much consideration. At present, Yunnan Province was the most advantageous of the four provinces. Its borders were the most stable, and there was no need to station too many troops there for the time being.
The Imperial Guard was easy to deal with since they could be transported directly from Shanhai City.
The first corps of the Dragon Stallion Army was stationed outside Lingxi City and could also be transported to the Base City through the teleportation formation there. The newly organized fifth corps, on the other hand, needed to first arrive at Shanhai City and then be transported.
The navy could only rely on the Mediterranean Fleet. Even the Singapore fleet, which was closest to the Mediterranean Sea, couldn't rush over to reinforce them.
Ouyang Shuo hoped that the Mediterranean Fleet led by Alvaro wouldn't disappoint him.
After deciding on the expeditionary army, Ouyang Shuo left the rest of the matters to the Bureau of Military Affairs. On the 27th day of the fourth month, Ouyang Shuo led the Divine Martial Guard and his entourage out of Shanhai City.
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