Chapter 478

The latest issue of Secluded Prefecture's newspaper is packed with valuable information; the front page carried the Great King's 'Warning Letter', and then there was the Mysterious Armor Cavalry spending an afternoon to completely annihilate the invading Li River Chen Marquis' army of seventy thousand from the Northern Border. People said it, and he wrote it exactly as said, without any embellishment.

Next, they specifically criticized the Jiangxia King for starting a war in the famine year, urging him not to act rashly and to honestly retreat to Jiangxia. Of course, there was also the Marquis of Hanshou, telling him not to covet his fifth son's territory and to honestly return to Hanshou.

The Great King pointed fingers at the whole world in the newspaper; this guy does not consider himself an outsider at all.

On the back, it prominently announced the Northern Border's demand for tribute from the two Xianbei tribes and the Xiongnu, highlighting the praise for the East of Liao Xianbei and the Western Regions states that voluntarily submitted tribute.

Anyway, this issue is all heavyweight; as soon as it came off the press, it wasn't first sold in the Northern Border but rushed by express horse to the Great Jin.

At the same time, the Great King's stamped warning letter had already been received in nearby places—for example, by those currently trying to attack the Jiangxia King's forces in Solemn Yang. Nowadays, siege warfare isn't at the Great King's speed; taking one or two months is normal. Since Solemn Yang hasn't been taken yet, they have received the Northern Border's warning letter.

Not mentioning the commander's surface anger, he actually felt a jolt in his heart and immediately sent someone to deliver it to the Jiangxia King.

In fact, the Jiangxia King also has one; every southern feudal lord, whether rebelled or not yet, all have one.

The Jiangxia King first received the warning letter stamped with the Northern Border King's seal, and while his staff still hadn't reached a conclusion, he also received the new issue of the Northern Border's newspaper.

After a few days, Zhuti received the news that the Jiangxia King's troops had retreated to South Yang. The Great King was delighted, oh wow, there's also an unexpected surprise!

This is giving him time to stockpile grain!

The Great King never imagined that his outward image was that of someone who plays outside the rules, a little madman. If it were Baili Jin or Baili Heng issuing such a threat, the Jiangxia King wouldn't even bother to pay attention. As for the Great King, he truly fears that the Great King would spare nothing and send cavalry straight to Jiangxia; he doesn't forget what happened at Peng City, and he still hopes the commanderies and counties along the way can hold out.

Having learned from the failure of the Jing King's attempt to gather straw, the Jiangxia King, however he weighs it, feels confident enough to taunt and defeat the Northern Border's cavalry; that Northern Border fellow recently even snatched food from the tiger's mouth, taking tribute from the Xiongnu!

In the earlier Great Jin, such a thing was unthinkable; ask the late emperor lying in the imperial mausoleum—would he dare to imagine it?!

The Jiangxia King somewhat regrets his earlier impulsiveness; now he can only at home, risking his life, train troops and update equipment, feeling it's not secure, and he doesn't want to be the one who sticks his neck out. This also makes observant people think he's too timid to achieve greatness, wasting the fertile fief his father selected for him.

The Northern Border entered Cat Winter Mode; nothing could be dug up from the ground to eat, so the Great King turned his attention to the sea, the whole ocean becoming his pasture.

Now, a trip to the deep sea will almost finish the Glutton's pocket; by then, the catch he won't sell at all, all stored inside won't spoil. Whether made into dried fish or canned fish, it's excellent military rations, and costs nothing.

At this juncture the situation was grave; the ministers who had all day stomped their feet in protest against his going to sea fell silent, and the king began to prepare in earnest.

The landing ship that had been transporting the refugee army returned from Liaodong Commandery, bringing back a whole shipload of refined salt; Zhuti then began busily preparing to sell it to the desert and steppe. The king, eyeing the sizable landing ship, started scheming about it.

The king left the main warship and the assault-type warship untouched; they had their usual gear and open space, but this landing ship is mainly for transporting troops, and when it isn't carrying people it has plenty of empty space—so why not go out fishing for a bit?

The grain from White Poplar couldn't be delivered all at once, so the king robbed the east wall to patch the west, moved out the ingots, first bought three sets of fishing gear in the market and hastily installed them—thus a squadron of four ships was put together.

As the king prepared to set sail, the senior officials of the court went together to the dock to see him off; everyone knew why the king was heading for the deep sea at this critical moment, and Zhang the Minister of Revenue was on the verge of tears, feeling a pang of guilt. Had it not been untimely, he would have wanted to shout from the heart, "It's all my incompetence as a minister!"

Xie Yuan had also been feeling a bit uneasy, but when he saw the king boarding the ship—carrying a carving and dragging a bear, with a Bai Ze adult trailing behind—it looked like he was taking the whole family out for a leisurely outing, and that uneasy feeling was completely dispelled.

The king has nothing to pity; perhaps he's happily enjoying not having to study or attend court.

The king… indeed is that way.

This fellow stood at the stern of the treasure ship, gazing at the three newly added ships behind, his mind set on scoring a big haul. He also felt relaxed—he loves the sea, and going out to play can also earn money, so he just wanted to put his hands on his hips and laugh heartily for a while.

He felt no regret at all about using the landing ship for a minor purpose; his heart and eyes were filled only with the vision of endless dried fish.

The captain of the treasure ship is a man employed by the Manor; the king specially summoned him to give instructions. This time we must catch as many fish as possible—let the captain provide cover so that when the time comes we can store some in the Manor's warehouse, and he can then deposit them directly into Taotie's pocket.

Before, the treasure ship would fill up after just one circuit of the Bohai Sea; this time, with many ships, having finally managed to assemble a fleet, the king decided to leave Bohai Bay for a broader expanse of sea in order to score a big haul.

★

★

★

——————————

【You guessed it, we're about to enter a new plot, I need to prepare a bit, sorry for the delay, Restless Marquis (ง•̀_•́)ง】