Chapter 342: A missing soldier…

As for the question of how Ruan Xiao Wu, a fisherman with no formal education,

could have the ability to sit firmly in the position of Grand Commander of the Navy.

Uh, the Navy is different from the infantry and cavalry, which emphasize deception,

the harmony of yin and yang, conspiracies, open plots, and surprise attacks.

On the water, it is generally the case that ships with larger size defeat those with smaller size,

and sturdy ships defeat fragile ones; there are very few examples of the weak defeating the strong.

The reason the Battle of Red Cliffs is sung about through the ages is precisely because it was a classic,

yet nearly irreproducible, campaign where the few defeated the many and the weak defeated the strong.

And, if I may be so bold, when it comes to sturdy ships and powerful cannons, in the entire world,

which country can compare to the Great Gan, which has already achieved partial industrialization?

To say something unpleasant that might hurt his brothers' feelings,

even if you put a dog in the position of Grand Commander of the Navy, the Great Gan Navy would still be invincible under heaven!

"Sigh!

For the future of the tens of thousands of brothers in our navy, even if I have to sell this face of mine,

I must beg His Majesty for a task suitable for our navy."

Ruan Xiao Wu, who was entrusted with high hopes by his two brothers, felt immense pressure,

but thinking of the tens of thousands of navy soldiers behind him waiting to be fed, he couldn't help but grit his teeth and agree.

In the north, the Yellow River is narrow and the current is swift; neither the Great Song nor the Great Liao had a well-established navy,

leaving these Great Gan navy heroes with no place to use their skills,

and they could only become transport captains for the infantry, artillery, and cavalry.

But in the south, the water network is dense; even if there is no navy that could threaten their Great Gan, it is at least much better than in the north.

With military merits, their navy's backbone might not be able to say it will never bend again, but at least they can speak loudly.

……

"Hmm…"

"How should I submit a memorial to His Majesty?"

Half an hour later, inside the office of the Five Armies Governor's Office belonging exclusively to the Navy Commander,

Ruan Xiao Wu, who had just been patting his chest and making guarantees in front of his older and younger brothers, bit his pen,

scratching his hair in great distress. The hair that had been combed very neatly

turned into a messy bird's nest in the blink of an eye.

Even though he had learned quite a few characters after the literacy campaign promoted by His Majesty,

and writing letters and such on a daily basis was fine, writing a memorial to His Majesty,

and wanting to beg His Majesty for some work, really made it difficult for him to put pen to paper.

"Your Majesty, please listen to this report…"

Ruan Xiao Wu wrote down these four words with difficulty and then paused.

Just as he was biting his pen and racking his brains, unable to write, a burst of noise suddenly entered his ears.

"Who is so ignorant of the rules?"

The thick eyebrows above Ruan Xiao Wu's bright, piercing eyes couldn't help but twitch.

Although their navy was the one with the least presence among the three armies of the Great Gan,

it was still a force established by His Majesty himself, the Son of Heaven's personal troops. The rules were not just strict, they were extremely proper.

How could anyone dare to make a scene outside the office of him, the Grand Commander of the Navy?

Did they really think he, the Grand Commander of the Navy, was made of mud?

Even a clay figurine has three parts of temper!

He stood up angrily from behind the desk, threw the door open,

and was about to let the newcomer know what the majesty of a Grand Commander of one of the Great Gan's three armies was!

But the moment he saw the newcomer, the anger on his face instantly vanished,

replaced by a warm, spring-breeze-like smile.

"Commander Ruan, you seem a bit unwelcoming to me."

A very feminine voice, lacking even half a man's masculine air, lingered around Ruan Xiao Wu.

"I was wondering why there was a magpie chirping non-stop in this small courtyard today;

so it turns out it knew Eunuch Li was coming and came specially to greet this Commander."

Looking at Li Dequan's fair, beardless face, which even carried a hint of beauty in its femininity, Ruan Xiao Wu said with a face full of smiles.

Although he was also one of the old-timers who followed His Majesty from the first batch, this was not capital for him to be arrogant or complacent.

What's more, the young man in front of him was the superintendent of thousands of eunuchs in the inner palace,

a figure known in the Jianghu as the Grand Superintendent of the Inner Court.

Even more terrifying was that this Eunuch Li had been by His Majesty's side day and night since His Majesty entered Bianjing, never leaving,

and even during the imperial expedition to conquer the Northern Liao, Eunuch Li still served by his side.

Although this Eunuch Li's official rank was only that of a Rank 3 Superintendent of the Ceremonial Secretariat,

looking at the entire Great Gan court, from the Rank 9 minor officials below,

to the super-rank Earls and Dukes above, and even the various ministers in the Secretariat who assisted His Majesty in balancing yin and yang,

known as the prime ministers who govern the world, who could, who dared to look down on him?

One must know that the secretary of the supreme leader has always been regarded as the number two leader.

"There is an imperial decree."

Li Dequan didn't care about the change in Ruan Xiao Wu's expression and said straightforwardly.

"Subject Ruan Xiao Wu respectfully listens to the holy decree."

Hearing there was a decree, Ruan Xiao Wu didn't dare to be slow, hurriedly bowed to Li Dequan, and said respectfully.

Although with his status there was absolutely no need to go to such lengths for Li Dequan,

anyone with a discerning eye knew he wasn't bowing to Li Dequan,

but to the Great Gan Son of Heaven, Zhang Renjie, who stood behind Li Dequan, led them to the peak of their lives,

and to whom they swore to devote their entire lives to serving!

"Subjects Ruan Xiao Er/Ruan Xiao Qi/… respectfully listen to the holy decree!"

Ruan Xiao Er, Ruan Xiao Qi, and the crowd of Great Gan navy generals who heard the news and rushed over all bowed respectfully to Li Dequan.

"By the order of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: There is a small state in the East Sea, the Wa-Slave State, that does not know the number of Heaven,

acts against Heaven, and actually dares to harm my Great Gan citizens on the island.

The navy is ordered to sharpen weapons and feed horses, to cross the sea and conquer the east in three months, no mistakes allowed. Respect this!"

Li Dequan didn't sell the punchline, took out an imperial decree, and repeated all the content on it.

Naturally, one couldn't directly say that Zhang Jie and the Great Gan were

coveting others' gold and silver mountains; one had to find a high-sounding reason.

If you don't occupy the high ground of public opinion, your enemies naturally will,

and having a legitimate reason for a military campaign is still very important.

Zhang Jie felt that "One of our Great Gan soldiers went missing in the island country's capital,

suspected of being kidnapped by a small group of islanders with ill intentions,

our Great Gan army 'has no choice' but to send people into the capital to search, hoping the other side can provide convenience" was very appropriate.

It's a pity that the Great Gan was newly established, and even though the army swept across the world, it hadn't been able to reach into the island country,

after all, the island country's presence in the Central Plains was too low, and it hadn't even made it onto the Great Gan's military alert list.

Zhang Jie searched left and right and finally found a few merchants who transported Great Gan glass mirrors,

mechanical watches, and other luxury goods to the island country in exchange for profits exceeding a hundred times the amount.

"Expedition to the Wa-Slave State in the East Sea?"

The crowd of navy generals instantly grasped the key point from the imperial decree. They didn't care why they were going on an expedition,

they only knew that their navy finally had a battle to fight and military merits to establish.

Their navy's backbone could finally straighten up a little! ===== CHAPTER 343 =====