Chapter 999

After leaving the imperial palace, Zhu Sansi looked up at the blue sky.

To him, everything that was happening now felt like a dream. Although his position as the Eastern Military Region Commander was still essentially a commander without troops, with his subordinates being only the remnants from the northern expedition, he was already deeply grateful to the Emperor.

In the Imperial Study, the Emperor had made it very clear that whether his Eastern Commander position could eventually be on par with the other five military regions would depend on himself.

Outside the palace gates, Gao Yingfeng and a group of generals were waiting for him. Seeing him emerge, they all looked excited. Gao Yingfeng shouted excitedly, “Commander, congratulations! Congratulations!”

“Congratulations, congratulations!” The other generals also beamed with joy.

Zhu Sansi gave a wry smile. With the imperial decree issued, this military region appointment was no longer a secret. It was not surprising that Gao Yingfeng and others had learned about it from other generals.

He said, “Don’t get too happy too soon, the hard times are still ahead. Now, go back and prepare to receive a batch of machine guns. Before long, we will be heading to Alaska. Whether our Eastern Military Region can grow depends on whether we can take root in North America.”

“North America!” Gao Yingfeng and the others looked bewildered.

Zhu Sansi nodded and told his subordinates what Xiao Ming had said to him. These people were his core force and would be the backbone of the Eastern Military Region.

Only after he finished speaking did everyone feel relieved.

Gao Yingfeng said, “No wonder the commander of the Eastern Military Region fell to the Division Commander’s head. This is a tough job, but since we’ve already been to Yakutsk, we don’t care about going to Alaska.”

“Exactly. We all crawled out of the same pile of dead bodies. We share hardships and enjoy blessings together.”

“Division Commander, wherever you go, we will follow.”

“…”

The generals clamored one by one. The Battle of Yakutsk had forged a tighter bond between them.

Zhu Sansi nodded emotionally. With such a group of brothers, he feared nothing.

While everyone was talking, a luxurious carriage slowly approached. A person who somewhat resembled Zhu Sansi’s eyebrows jumped out of the carriage.

Zhu Sansi looked at the newcomer and showed a smile. This person was his younger brother, Zhu Wuliu.

“Brother, I’ve been waiting for you for a while. Father and Mother are at home waiting for you to come back for dinner,” Zhu Wuliu said. He was now slightly chubby, a considerable change from his previously thin appearance.

Zhu Sansi had not been home for over a year and missed his family dearly. He said to Gao Yingfeng, “This time, you should also go back and reunite with your families. We’ll gather in the army in a couple of days.”

Gao Yingfeng glanced at Zhu Wuliu. This Zhu Wuliu was now very famous in Qingzhou. From building roads in Qingzhou City to establishing his own Zhu Family Chamber of Commerce, Zhu Wuliu was now among the top merchants.

Gao Yingfeng glanced enviously at the two Zhu brothers and then led the generals away.

Zhu Wuliu then smiled, “Brother, congratulations on your promotion to Commander of the Eastern Military Region. It seems I won’t be able to compare to you in this lifetime.”

“How do you know that?” Zhu Sansi was startled, frowning.

“Hahaha… There’s a saying that money makes the world go round. To tell you the truth, my chamber of commerce owns a military food factory. Many of the canned goods for this northern expedition were produced by this military food factory. Naturally, I, your younger brother, have some contact with the quartermaster of the General Staff. Just now, he came out of the palace and told me this good news as he passed by.” Zhu Wuliu looked self-satisfied.

Zhu Sansi’s frown deepened. He looked at his brother and felt that this person suddenly seemed a little unfamiliar. His once unpretentious self now appeared seasoned and cunning.

“Wuliu, have you forgotten what I told you? The bigger your business gets, the more you need to be restrained. Why don’t you listen at all?” Zhu Sansi reprimanded.

Zhu Wuliu chuckled. He said, “Brother, why are you so nervous? We just have a business relationship and casually chatted a bit. Moreover, you are now the commander, so he actively came to curry favor with our Zhu family, it’s not like I went to ask him.”

Zhu Sansi’s expression softened a little. He could no longer discern which of Zhu Wuliu’s words were true and which were false.

Sighing, he got into the carriage and went home with Zhu Wuliu.

After resting at home for two days, Zhu Sansi returned to the army to officially establish the Eastern Military Region, and at the same time, the vigorous military reform also began to be implemented.

On the third day of the military reform meeting, the military region commanders and chief scribes each returned to their respective military regions to reform their subordinate armies according to regulations.

At the same time, the military industrial system was gradually perfected under Yang Chengye’s supervision. The military factories worked overtime to produce weapons to supply the major military regions.

Within half a year, 3,000 machine guns and 2,000 Imperial Guard artillery pieces were distributed to the six major military regions, and Qi Guangyi’s rifle cavalry also completed their equipment upgrades.

Xiao Ming was naturally very satisfied with these achievements. For him, the military reform had proceeded perfectly, and the next step for the Empire would be external expansion.

However, just as he was about to beat the drum of war, news came from Dengzhou that British and French delegations had arrived in Dengzhou and were requesting an audience in Qingzhou.

“They still have the audacity to come to Qingzhou for an audience. They are utterly shameless, Your Majesty. In my humble opinion, it’s better not to see them.” Pang Yukun’s beard bristled with anger.

More than a year had passed since the combined fleet was annihilated, but the impact of the war remained in the hearts of every imperial citizen.

Xiao Ming shook his head. “Countries should not act impulsively. It’s easy to drive away the delegations, but some problems cannot be solved at the negotiating table. And war exhausts people and resources, and slows down economic development. If it can be avoided, there’s no need to use it.”

After the three barbarian tribes were wiped out, the ministers’ confidence as a great power inflated considerably, often clamoring for war, quite in the style of contemporary America. However, he was at least not confused yet.

Though a country may be great, if it is warlike, it will perish. He always kept this principle in mind.

“Is Your Majesty going to negotiate with them?”

Pang Yukun was a little surprised. Sometimes he couldn’t understand Xiao Ming’s thoughts. After all, sometimes Xiao Ming seemed like a warmonger, and sometimes he was surprisingly calm. He found it increasingly difficult to fathom his intentions.

Ten years ago, he still held some contempt for Xiao Ming, always thinking that with his talent, he could control him. But now, he often felt apprehensive when facing Xiao Ming.

“Yes, we’ll talk. If we can’t agree, it won’t be too late to fight. Besides, I want to take this opportunity to send secret agents into Europe to gather real intelligence. We can’t completely trust the Dutch,” Xiao Ming said.

Pang Yukun nodded. “In that case, I will have the Ministry of Foreign Affairs prepare to receive them in Qingzhou.”

Xiao Ming nodded, his eyes shifted, and he continued, “Also, have Lu Fei dispatch a thousand elite soldiers from the Central Army to line up at the city gate tomorrow to display the Empire’s mighty military strength!”