Chapter 56

And so...

Yan issued an order, launching a war of conquest against those wild, untamed regions.

"If you encounter attacks from wild beasts, slay them immediately!"

"If you encounter people who have fled into the wilds, those willing to submit shall be brought back to the Great Yan Kingdom; those unwilling to submit shall be executed on the spot!"

"For every region conquered, build cities, construct cement highways, and map the territory!"

Under the direction of these orders.

The Great Yan army launched a grand path of conquest.

They left the plains and began to advance toward those wild, untamed regions.

These wild regions.

Had rugged roads and were home to a vast number of wild beasts.

At the same time, in some places, there were large gatherings of people from the Jiang Tribe and the Si Tribe who had fled.

Back then.

Ji had risen to power, winning battle after battle, and wiped out these two tribes.

But many people still refused to submit.

They chose to flee into the wilds.

Living in the wilderness for decades.

And as the Great Yan army conquered the wilds...

These fugitives were discovered one after another.

Except for a small number who resisted stubbornly, most people surrendered to the Great Yan army and were brought back to the Great Yan Kingdom.

And for every portion of the region captured.

A towering city was established.

The map of that region was also drawn immediately and sent back to the imperial palace.

The third year of the Great Yan Calendar.

Under Yan's command.

One-fifth of the wild regions had been developed.

From these regions, hundreds of thousands of missing people were recovered.

All were brought back to the Great Yan Kingdom, registered, and added to the census.

Cement highways and cities spread in all directions through those rugged mountain paths.

In the same year.

Because of the policy encouraging reproduction, the population growth of the Great Yan Kingdom exceeded five times that of the past.

After Yan carefully weighed the situation.

He decided to have the commoners of the Great Yan Kingdom...

Migrate to the cities built in the wild regions to live and multiply.

The fugitives from the Jiang and Si tribes had given him a wake-up call.

The wild regions were a serious threat.

If not cleared in time, they would surely counterattack the Great Yan Kingdom in the future.

Therefore.

He adopted the plan of migrating the commoners.

He offered huge rewards to encourage the commoners to settle in the wild regions.

In this way, the wilds of the future...

Would truly belong to the Great Yan Kingdom.

The fourth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

Under the vigorous wave of development across the country.

One-third of the wild regions had been developed.

Dozens of giant cities were built in the wild mountainous areas.

The plan to migrate commoners also achieved results, and the rule became increasingly consolidated.

The eighth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

The wild regions were completely developed.

The army of the Great Yan Kingdom...

Successfully pushed through the wild regions and saw the coastline on the other side!

And that map was also completely finished.

In the imperial palace.

Yan gazed at the vast and wide map before him, his mood becoming increasingly excited.

This year.

He was thirty-six years old!

In eight years, he had conquered the land and learned the state of the world!

"So... we live on a giant island, surrounded by the ocean!"

Yan murmured to himself, looking at the map.

The scope of this map was incredibly vast.

Only after statistics were taken did he know.

The wild region was actually three times the size of the previous Great Yan Kingdom!

And the diameter of this giant island...

Even using the fastest horses of the Great Yan Kingdom, it would take four months of non-stop running to cross!

"Late Emperor, do you see this? This is the true territory of the Great Yan Kingdom!"

Yan held the map and took a deep breath.

An unprecedented sense of satisfaction welled up in his heart.

Next.

He would develop these wild regions.

There were massive resources within them that could be utilized.

For example, iron ore existed among these remote wild mountains.

The tenth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

The Ministry of Works had another astonishing discovery.

The imperial palace, the main hall.

"Your Majesty, I have led the Ministry of Works with all my heart and soul, and after ten years, we have finally successfully developed the four wonders you specified!"

The Minister of Works bowed.

Looking at Yan, who was sitting on the dragon throne, he said excitedly.

After Yan heard this.

He was overjoyed and quickly asked, "Have you truly developed them?"

The Minister of Works nodded.

Then he had the four wonders brought up.

"The first item: this object is made of iron, and after forging and grinding, it always points to the south!"

"The second item: this object imitates the Divine Book, and through the soaking of plants, paper like that in the Divine Book can be obtained, used for writing!"

"The third item: this object comes from the stone mines of the wilds; it is easy to ignite, and once ignited, it has considerable power."

"The fourth item: we used copper to cast it, obtaining movable type, which, when combined with paper, allows for rapid printing!"

Yan listened to the report from the Minister of Works.

He was so happy he couldn't close his mouth: "Good, very good! The Ministry of Works has achieved such a miraculous feat; I shall reward you heavily!"

And Qin Mu watched this scene the whole time...

He also felt some emotion.

He didn't expect that ten years after Yan ascended the throne, he would have already produced the Four Great Inventions.

The compass, papermaking, gunpowder, and printing.

These four things...

Could be said to have played an extremely important role in the evolution of civilization.

The compass represents a leap in navigation and exploration.

Printing and papermaking represent the popularization of civilization and the transmission of knowledge.

Gunpowder...

Directly leads civilization into the era of destructive thermal weapons!

And in the imperial palace hall.

After Yan rewarded the Ministry of Works.

He continued to ask: "Now that the wilds are settled and the compass has been successfully developed, when will the ships I ordered you to build be completed?"

Over these years.

He studied the chapter on wonders in the Divine Book every day.

He knew well the importance of the compass and ships for conquering the sea!

Only when both are ready can the conquest of the sea begin!

On his map now, the land was complete.

The only remaining unknown area was the sea!

Below the hall.

The Minister of Works quickly replied: "Reporting to Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works is speeding up production, and we should be able to successfully develop the ships by next year!"

These ships were not ordinary small boats.

But large iron ships that could carry thousands of troops!

Yan nodded.

After the morning court session.

He went to the temple again.

Kneeling before the statue of the deity.

Reporting his current achievements.

"Great Deity, Yan has spent ten years unifying all the land; under heaven, there is no longer any hidden place!"

"The craftsmen are now researching the various wonders recorded in the Divine Book."

"The Four Great Inventions have been successfully developed; it won't be long before the ships are shown, and the Great Yan army will conquer the ocean once again!"

He always remembered.

On the day he usurped the throne, he expressed his ambition to the deity.

And now, from that day...

It was not far off.

The eleventh year of the Great Yan Calendar.

The Ministry of Works lived up to expectations and built the first ship capable of carrying a thousand people!

Yan was overjoyed.

He ordered the Ministry of Works to mass-produce them according to the prototype.

The twelfth year of the Great Yan Calendar.

Ten giant ships set sail from the east coast, heading grandly into the depths of the ocean.

The main power of these ships was wind and human labor.

When sailing with the wind, the speed was incredibly fast.

And every long-distance ship carried a thousand-man army and map-drawing officials.

Every time they saw an island, they needed to mark it on the map.

And land on the island to record all the customs and features of the island.

And send them back to the Great Yan imperial palace!