Chapter 1131: Hegemony on the Sea

A group of people looked at each other in dismay.

Looking at Vice Minister Liu's expression, is he very confident?

What does he intend to do?

Liu Zheng smiled slightly.

If he couldn't even handle this bunch of people, what face would he have to be Chief Minister?

The group of people escorted Liu Zheng out of the Upper House.

The people at the entrance, seeing that these people had finally come out, all changed color when they saw that Liu Zheng had clearly become the leader of this group.

Just like that, Vice Minister Liu was directly upgraded to Chief Minister Liu!

What is to be done about this?

"What a sin!"

"Such a traitor, what virtue or ability does he have!"

"The tragedy of Longyan, the tragedy of Longyan!"

These people all began their own performances, beating their chests and stamping their feet, burning with shame and anger, feeling deeply pained; some had already started banging their heads against the wall...

The Duqi Duwei continued to maintain order, blocking those people who had lost their reason.

Liu Zheng stood on the high platform and looked around.

If looks could kill, Liu Zheng would probably have died a dozen times over by now.

He smiled faintly and looked around again.

When the cursing from these people gradually subsided, the content of what they cursed next was that he was shameless and brazen...

"Can't you figure it out?"

Liu Zheng smiled slightly.

Come to think of it, as his status grew higher and higher and his official position became more elevated, he had truly lost the opportunity to publicly confront so many people.

It's a bit nostalgic...

The single sentence "Can't you figure it out?" stirred up a change in everyone's expression.

"Traitor to the country!"

"You are so bold!"

"Look at what you have turned the entire Longyan into!"

"The tragedy of Longyan, the tragedy of Longyan!"

A group of people wished they could rush up and skin this Liu Zheng alive to eat his flesh.

The war situation in the Northwest was so pessimistic.

The interior of Longyan was in a state of chaos.

Everyone believed that at this time, Longyan should seek stability instead of messing around blindly! Why all this talk of constitutional monarchy, redistribution of territory, Simplified Chinese, and this and that...

Messing around!

This was completely messing around blindly!

They didn't understand because their vision was not broad enough.

Liu Zheng had actually long wanted to have such a confrontation, to have such a speech.

Today, those who came here were people from all walks of life, men and women, young and old.

The recent atmosphere in Longyan was mainly one of various disagreements.

These people also represented all walks of life in the entire Longyan, from top to bottom. Once these people were handled, the ideology of this society could also be stabilized.

"How could we figure it out!"

"Such a Longyan is an eyesore, an absolute eyesore!"

"Vice Minister Liu, you need to give the late Emperor an explanation!"

"Fine!"

Liu Zheng chuckled: "Then I, Liu Zheng, today, will bring the newly formed Cabinet to give everyone an explanation! To give Longyan an explanation!"

The whole place went silent.

Everyone looked at each other; was he really going to?

Good!

Let's see exactly what you, Vice Minister Liu, have to say!

In this midsummer heat, everyone just stared at Liu Zheng like this.

Liu Zheng chuckled and said in a loud voice: "Today, Liu Zheng does not want to popularize what constitutional monarchy is, nor why we must promote Simplified Chinese, and I am even less inclined to tell you what the redistribution of territory can achieve! Naturally, as for the Northwest war situation being stuck in a quagmire, Liu Zheng does not wish to explain too much either..."

As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place was in an uproar.

Everyone's complexion turned ugly again.

Good grief.

So you aren't going to explain the issues everyone is concerned about! Then

what did you come out to explain!

Liu Zheng smiled slightly, his voice becoming a bit more peaceful, but the content of what he said struck straight at the heart.

"I..."

"Liu Zheng has never had any desire to contend for power or profit, never had any desire to usurp the throne, and never had any desire to commit treason or rebellion! Heaven and Earth can bear witness! Ever since Liu Zheng left Liangzhou, I have put the world first and the common people above all else! It has been so in the past, and it will be even more so in the future!"

These words were spoken with great resonance.

Yet everyone present sneered at them.

If one were to say that the Liu Zheng of before was indeed a Contemporary Sage, that would be beyond reproach! But the Liu Zheng of today, ever since he began to hold power, had started all sorts of bizarre maneuvers and mysterious operations.

Such people have existed in the history of Huaxia.

For example, Wang Mang of the Han Dynasty...

Before usurping the throne, he was humble toward the virtuous and respected the wise, his reputation spreading far and wide; everyone believed he was the heaven's favored son, the Son of Heaven descended to earth.

However, once he took power, he seemed to become a different person... Of course, Wang Mang was not a foolish ruler, but many of his policies were too advanced, making them simply difficult for people to accept. Not to mention the powerful and noble, even the common people found them hard to accept.

In their eyes, the current Liu Zheng is just like Wang Mang...

Radical.

Too radical!

Liu Zheng naturally knew what these people were thinking, so he simply sat down on the steps and continued to ask, "Do you all think I, Liu Zheng, am radical?"

"Hmm? Radical?"

He waved his hand, and Jiang Xuan, along with a few brothers, brought out the World Map once again.

Where had these people ever seen such a thing?

Discussions broke out, and when they learned that this was actually a World Map, everyone was shocked.

Liu Zheng pointed at the territory of Britain and said fiercely, "You are all prominent figures in Longyan, and you have used those novelties from the Western Ocean. You must know the great name of Britain, right?"

Britain!

The number one power of the Western Ocean!

People in Jinghua naturally all knew that now that Longyan had opened its doors wide, many imported goods from the Western Ocean were sought after by the powerful and noble of Longyan; who didn't know the name of Britain?

"What?"

"Britain is actually such a small place?"

"This... isn't this even smaller than one of our Liangzhou?"

"Impossible, Britain is a great power!"

People were skeptical.

Liu Zheng chuckled, "That's right, I, Liu Zheng, stake my life on it, this is Britain! The Sea Power hegemon in your understanding! It is precisely such a tiny speck of land, yet their navy dominates the entire world! Here, here, and even here, have all become their colonies!"

He pointed successively to America and Africa.

Everyone's expression changed drastically.

Those large, vast swaths of colonies left people feeling incredibly shocked.

How could this be!

How could such a barbaric, small country colonize such vast territories? In the traditional concepts of Longyan, this was simply impossible to achieve!

Liu Zheng sighed, "The reality is just that cruel... Fellow colleagues, the times have changed! The times have changed! War has changed! The world has changed! Britain's Industrial Revolution has now caught up with our Liaodong's Industrial Revolution! There is even a possibility of surpassing it! Why?"

The crowd was silent.

"Why?"

Liu Zheng roared, "Let me tell you! There is no other reason, it is precisely because our system is restrictive!"

"It is precisely because we do not have a constitutional monarchy!"

"It is precisely because we have no way to let go and act!"

"It is precisely because we have not realized the power of capital!"

"The situation in our traditional concepts, where the many must defeat the few, has already changed!"

"Then..."

"If we do not change again,"

"we will fall behind, and falling behind means taking a beating!"

"Gentlemen... tell me, am I radical?"

Liu Zheng roared until spittle flew.

The entire hall was silent.

Not a sound was heard.

For a long time, Liu Zheng had been too lazy to explain all this to this group of people with limited horizons. But today, he could not hold back.

He did not want to be criticized by others anymore...

Before, he had been busy and overwhelmed, but now it was different.

He had just become the Chief Minister, and he needed to bring out his own things, not only for his colleagues in the Cabinet, the Upper House, and the Lower House to see, but also for all sectors of society to see.

"However, a constitutional monarchy may not be suitable for our national conditions!"

"Isn't Simplified Chinese a castration of culture!"

"How do you explain the war situation in the Northwest?"

These people, naturally, did not come to listen to Liu Zheng's pep talk; they still refused to let him off.

Liu Zheng chuckled, "Fellow countrymen, you still haven't seen the essence of the matter. Why was Britain able to rise? The Industrial Revolution and constitutional monarchy deserve credit, but maritime hegemony is their winning magic weapon for plundering resources and wealth! Sea Power! Maritime hegemony!"

"What we in Longyan need to contend for next is Sea Power! Not the temporary gains or losses of that Northwest war!"

"Gentlemen, please look!"

He continued to point his finger at the entire territory of Tsarist Russia.

Everyone took a deep breath.

The territory of Tsarist Russia was already large, but what they did not know was that the Tsarist Russia of the future would be even larger; the frantic expansion of Catherine II was the period when Tsarist Russia was at its absolute peak.

But for now, it was indeed not small.

Liu Zheng gave a cold laugh, tracing his hand across the map.

"Fellow countrymen, why has Tsarist Russia been fighting wars all these years?"

"Why have they been fighting the Ottoman? Fighting them without sparing any effort?"

"It's very simple! They want an Ice-free Port!"

"They want an Ice-free Port that leads to Europe!"

"This place here is the Black Sea!"

"The Black Sea is the gateway to Europe! Therefore, Crimea is a place Tsarist Russia must fight for, and it is also a place that has been in constant dispute with the Ottoman Empire!"

The people continued to listen.

Liu Zheng drew several circles on the map.

These are the current Ice-free Ports of Tsarist Russia. One is Sochi Port in Crimea; this is Tsarist Russia's finest Ice-free Port with the most direct access to the Black Sea, but the Ottoman Empire will not easily let Tsarist Russia keep holding it. Next are Murmansk Port, Vladivostok Port, and there is also Saint Petersburg Port... However, Saint Petersburg Port is heavily restricted by European countries, and Vladivostok Port is too remote...

Kurman Port, however, is closer to the interior of Tsarist Russia...

Overall, Tsarist Russia's four Ice-free Ports each have their own advantages and disadvantages.

Therefore...

If Tsarist Russia wants its territory to expand rapidly, these few Ice-free Ports are extremely important.

One is Sochi Port, which leads to Europe.

Two is Vladivostok, which leads to Asia; it can also be understood as Kuye Island, where there is currently a dispute with Longyan. This is almost a matter of the same direction...

"Ah!"

"This..."

"Vice Minister Liu, no, Chief Minister Liu's meaning is..."

Many among this group exclaimed in surprise.

Liu Zheng chuckled: "That's right. If Tsarist Russia were to commit the bulk of its military forces to Kuye Island, that is what we in Longyan would need to guard against. But to commit such a scale of troops to the mere Western Regions will only cause them to become bogged down in a quagmire, with very little gain!"

The scene suddenly went quiet.

Everyone began to ponder.

That's right...

If that is the case, then what exactly is this Tsarist Russia fighting for?

Invading Longyan?

This is clearly impossible...

As the saying goes, a starved camel is still bigger than a horse, not to mention that the current Longyan is in a period of rapid development; wanting to truly invade Longyan is harder than ascending to heaven.

"Vice Minister Liu's meaning is..."

"It is that we deliberately let them in!"

"This..."

The group of people was shocked.

Liu Zheng nodded with a chuckle: "I have already said just now that what is most important for us right now is maritime hegemony!"

"Kuye Island, Vladivostok!"

"As long as we firmly grasp these two places in our hands, we can lock the entire Tsarist Russia in the Arctic region! And slowly torment them!"

"And we in Longyan can build our First Island Chain in the Asia-Pacific region!"

The First Island Chain!

This concept was finally put forward for the first time.

This time, it shocked not only these troublemakers but also the people from the Cabinet and the Upper House. Pop-ups have been frequent lately, you can click to download to avoid pop-ups.