On June 18, the 11th year of the reign of Emperor Guangtong of the Han Dynasty, at Taiye Lake in Xijing…
"The door was too strong, and the wall was made of stone. The wolf hit his head with several bumps, and fell on the ground with his four legs up in the air. He still couldn't get in. He walked around the house several times, panting, but still unwilling to give up. Finally, he looked up and saw a big chimney on the roof. His eyes lit up, and he climbed onto the roof, trying to get into the house through the chimney and eat the three little pigs in the house..."
The sun was shining brightly in the sky, and there was a cool breeze beside the Taiye Lake. The lotus fragrance was wafting in the air, and the cicadas were chirping loudly on the willow trees outside. At this moment, in a pavilion beside the Taiye Lake, a man was telling stories vividly to a dozen kids around him, some ten years old and some only three or two years old.
When the group of children heard this story for the first time, they all stared with their big, shining eyes and held their breath nervously. Some of the boys even clenched their fists.
"Father, father, what happened to the three little pigs? Were they eaten by the big bad wolf?" A delicate and pretty little girl of five or six years old asked tearfully, holding the man's hand.
The man took the little girl into his arms.
"The three little pigs were in the house, watching the situation outside nervously, worried that the big bad wolf would run in. When the big bad wolf climbed onto their roof, the three little pigs heard the movement on the roof. Then they looked and saw that there was only a chimney leading to the roof. They immediately put a big pot under the chimney, filled the pot with water, lit the fire, boiled the water, and waited by the side. The big bad wolf laughed wildly in the chimney, 'Little pigs, wait, I'm coming to eat you.' When the big bad wolf came down from the chimney, it fell into the boiling pot with a plop. It screamed, thrashed in the water twice, and was scalded to death. Then the three little pigs happily took the big bad wolf out of the pot, removed the hair and skin, ate the wolf meat, and made soup with the wolf bones. Instead, they ate the big bad wolf..."
Hearing this perfect ending, the group of little ones cheered with joy.
"Father, Father, tell me another story. I want to hear it..."
"Yes, yes, yes, tell me another one..."
The man was also in a good mood today and was about to tell another story when an old eunuch who had been waiting outside the pavilion finally couldn't help but coughed softly, "Ahem, Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has been waiting in the Zhihe Hall for a while..."
The man sighed and said to the group of kids around him, "Then we have a deal. We'll talk about it tomorrow..."
When the old eunuch heard the man speak, he winked and several female officials outside the pavilion entered the pavilion and took away a group of princes and princesses.
After watching the children leave, the man stood up and turned around. It was Yan Liqiang.
At this time, even though Yan Liqiang was wearing casual clothes, they were embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, which symbolized the imperial power. More than ten years had passed without leaving any obvious marks on his face, making him still look like he was in his twenties, but more mature and inexplicably majestic than before.
The old eunuch led the way carefully in front, while Yan Liqiang walked directly towards the Zhihe Hall.
Before he had walked a few hundred meters, Yan Liqiang saw a round, huge object floating in the sky four or five miles east of Taiye Lake, and it flew to a height of five or six hundred meters in the sky. There seemed to be a basket hanging under the huge object, with a person standing in the basket, and a rope tied to the ground under the basket. Seeing this scene, Yan Liqiang couldn't help but slow down his pace. He looked at it carefully and muttered in his heart, "Wow, they even made a hot air balloon."
“I heard that Prince Changle has been spending these days in the Academy of Gewu, and has gathered a group of doctors from the academy to tinker with this thing…” The old eunuch had sharp eyes, and as soon as he saw Yan Liqiang looking at the thing floating in the distance, he immediately told him what he knew.
Prince Changle, also known as Prince Min, was Emperor Tong'an. After he abdicated the throne to Yan Liqiang, Yan Liqiang named him Prince Changle. When talking about government affairs, Prince Changle would fall asleep, but when talking about those strange and bizarre "strange skills and tricks", Prince Changle was as energetic as if he had been injected with chicken blood, as if he had found the true meaning of life. He gathered with a bunch of craftsmen every day and enjoyed it. Now the whole Han Empire knows that Prince Changle likes these things the most. There are as many as a thousand craftsmen and diners in Prince Changle's palace, which is considered a scene in Xijing...
Yan Liqiang smiled, shifted his gaze back from afar, and continued to walk towards Zhihe Hall, "By the way, I heard that the second wife of Prince Changle is pregnant. I asked Doctor Guo from the Imperial Hospital to go to Prince Changle's mansion tonight and send some pregnancy-protecting items from the palace to Prince Changle's mansion..."
"Yes!" The old eunuch nodded obediently, then led the way and brought Yan Liqiang to Zhihe Hall.
Han Empire Prime Minister Luo Yutian had been waiting in the Zhihe Hall for a while, but there was no trace of anxiety or impatience on his face. When he saw Yan Liqiang coming in, Luo Yutian also hurriedly saluted Yan Liqiang, "Your Majesty!"
"Mr. Luo, there is no need to be so polite. Please take a seat!" Yan Liqiang came to the main seat and sat down. "Today is not a day of government affairs. Mr. Luo, what is the matter with you coming to the palace today?"
"There are a few things that I would like to ask Your Majesty to decide!"
"Oh, go ahead!"
"The first thing is, the Yinyue Empire's special envoys arrived in Xijing yesterday and handed in a letter of credence. Now the Yinyue Empire is in civil strife, with two princes fighting each other. The Yinyue Empire's special envoys would like to ask your majesty's opinion?" Although Luo Yutian spoke calmly, his heart was not so calm. He didn't know since when, the ownership of the throne of this barbarian country in the south thousands of miles away now depended on the mind of his majesty in Xijing City. Such power had not been seen in the Han Empire for a thousand years.
"Who sent this Yinyue Empire special envoy group?"
"It should be the powerful people in the Shiyinyue Empire. Now they are afraid of standing on the wrong side and are very cautious..."
"Didn't the Senate propose to establish a Southern Xinjiang Governor a few days ago? Leave this matter to the Senate. Let the elders in the Senate go and negotiate with the Yinyue Empire's special envoys, and then come up with an opinion and a candidate for the Southern Xinjiang Governor to the Cabinet. When the time comes, you can discuss it and then present it to the Cabinet... "Yan Liqiang said lightly. At this moment, the system of the Han Empire has undergone tremendous changes from the previous system. The core of the empire is the cabinet led by the prime minister, and under the cabinet, there is the Senate representing the power of the wealthy and powerful families of the Han Empire and the House of Representatives representing the interests of the grassroots people. The system of local sages has been promoted throughout the country and has become the basic system of the Han Empire. As the emperor of the empire or the entire royal family, they are above all else and respected by the world. With such a large empire and such a large world, there are countless heroes among the Chinese people. Why do we need a head to command? Yan Liqiang believes that as long as the system of this country and the interests of various classes are straightened out, he will be in this position. Even if he leaves the Silver Continent, even if an idiot takes his place, the entire country will be able to prosper and will never capsize because of a shadow demon or a tyrant.
"The second thing is that the Imperial Navy Marshal Zheng Huaian wrote to the Cabinet..."
"Oh, Zheng Huaian, what's wrong with him?"
"Zheng Huaian proposed a naval expansion plan, hoping to double the number of the Empire Navy's main battleships within the next three years, and gradually replace them with steam-powered battleships..."
"What about Zheng Huaian's reason?"
"He wants to lead the Imperial Navy to the west to attack the Ors people, open up the Blue Sea and Holhos Bay, and restore the sea route between the Han Empire and the Western Continent..."
Yan Liqiang smiled and said, "Zheng Huaian is quite ambitious. He just cleared the Thousand Islands in the South China Sea and he wants to march westward?"
"Last year, Long Feicheng led the Fengyun Army's 200,000 archers to wipe out the Shaman people, and drove them all the way to the north of the Ulaqir Mountains. His Majesty conferred a first-class duke title on Long Feicheng. I guess Zheng Huaian can't hold back any longer!"
"The navy is the most expensive. According to Zheng Huaian's idea, it would cost a lot of money. Has the cabinet discussed this?"
"The cabinet has discussed this. According to Zheng Huaian's plan, the Han Empire's navy will need more than 470 million silver coins to complete the replacement and expansion of its military in the next few years. This is indeed a huge investment!"
"What does the Cabinet think?"
"I agree!" Luo Yutian's eyes flashed, "But the cabinet will not pay for this money. The result of our discussion is that the Ministry of Revenue will issue naval bonds, and the merchant groups and wealthy families in various states in the country will subscribe to them. If Zheng Huaian can open up the Blue Sea and Holhos Bay, the empire's porcelain, silk, spices, and woolen cloth will be continuously transported to the Western Continent through the sea route. This is a golden trade route. Now those who are more anxious than Zheng Huaian and want to conquer the Ors people and open up the sea route are actually those merchant groups and wealthy families..."
"That's a good idea, let's do it!"
…
By the time Luo Yutian left Zhihe Hall, the sun was about to set.
Yan Liqiang stretched lazily, stood up from the chair, and let out a long breath.
"Your Majesty, I wonder which queen's palace we will visit for dinner and rest tonight?" the old eunuch asked carefully.
Yan Liqiang rubbed his forehead. This is really a happy trouble!
In recent days, he could already feel the call of the Heavenly Dao Divine Stone in his sea of consciousness. It was an unknown world, and the door to the path of immortality had slowly opened to him. In reality, he found that life with a wife and children was actually pretty good. He was now living a comfortable and fulfilling life in this Silver Continent...
On one side is a happy and bright life, on the other side is a wider world and heaven...
…
The book is finished!
"Silver Overlord" has come to an end. Thank you all for your support and tolerance. Tiger will continue to work hard and strive to write a better next book, and give back to everyone with a better and more exciting book...
bow!
(End of this chapter)