Chapter 898

April 13th.

It was a bright spring day. The weather in Lin’an City had warmed up, and the environment was comfortable and pleasant.

After the news of the full southern expedition was conveyed, Lu Fei and Luo Xin led their troops out today. Their goal was to pacify the merchants’ council within the shortest possible time.

According to the plan, after clearing the cities along their offensive routes, they would engage in a decisive battle with the merchants’ council around Fuzhou, Guangzhou, Nanchang, and Dali.

After all, these four cities were the cities currently most valued by the merchants’ council. Once these major cities were captured, the merchants’ council would have no foothold left.

On April 21st, Lu Fei’s Huben 1st Army first arrived in Shaoxing. Luo Xin arrived in Huizhou on April 25th. The full-scale war against the merchants’ council officially began…

Qingzhou city.

Xiao Ming sketched out two offensive routes on the map of the Great Yu Empire. These were the directions Lu Fei and Luo Xin were currently attacking.

Niu Ben’s decision was not a sudden whim, but a result of meticulous discussion with him.

For him, the current merchants’ council was merely superficially powerful. The reason was simple: Cao Kun lacked a solid industrial foundation, which meant he could not continuously provide weapons and ammunition for his soldiers. Secondly, he lacked a mature tax system. The Azure Dragon King’s promise of “no taxes” would only exacerbate this financial crisis. Thirdly, the merchants’ council had seemingly gathered a large number of soldiers in a short time, but these soldiers lacked training and were merely a disorganized rabble.

Therefore, facing such a merchants’ council, they could not be given a single moment to breathe. This way, they would quickly disintegrate on their own.

“I wonder what those powerful families think about the imperial court distributing their land to the common people and selling it off.” Pang Yukun stood behind Xiao Ming.

After the Yangtze River commercial zone was finalized, it quickly sparked widespread discussion in Qingzhou. Many merchants had already considered going to Songjiang, Lin’an, and Suzhou to build factories.

Many merchants also inquired about purchasing the residences, estates, and shops listed by the imperial court. Everything was proceeding according to his plan.

“They must be utterly distressed. When they realize they can never get their things back, the merchants’ council will fall apart,” Xiao Ming said with a smile, his tone confident and firm.

Pang Yukun nodded, “As the saying goes, ‘fortune lurks within misfortune.’ Although the merchants’ council is a major concern, it provides us with a reason to completely eradicate the southern powerful families. This way, the reforms will be more thorough in the south.”

“You’re right. That’s why I want to establish the Yangtze River commercial zone. And once Guangzhou is occupied, I will also establish the Guangzhou commercial zone, making the Great Yu Empire’s industry and commerce stretch continuously from north to south,” Xiao Ming said, looking at the map. A blueprint for the Great Yu Empire’s future appeared in his mind.

He had longed to unify this country for too long. Now, he finally saw hope. A unified Great Yu Empire, under his leadership, would unleash even greater vitality and join the ranks of world powers.

Pang Yukun’s eyes felt warm. He recalled the events of the past nine years. This year passed, and he had been following Xiao Ming for ten years.

In ten years, Qingzhou Province’s industry and commerce developed from nothing to something, and from something to strength. The Great Yu Empire also, in the hands of this Emperor, radiated a growing and vigorous vitality.

Now, he was very fortunate to have followed the right person. It was precisely because of Xiao Ming’s identity that he could witness the day the Great Yu Empire unified. And in the future, he would also accompany Xiao Ming in witnessing the Great Yu Empire’s rise to the world’s pinnacle.

Xiao Ming’s eyes remained fixed on the map. He did not notice Pang Yukun’s expression but continued to ask, “Oh, by the way, how is the population migration progressing during this period?”

At the mention of this, Pang Yukun’s attention sharpened. When they marched south, he had promised to migrate five million people to Guandong. “Currently, I have already migrated seven hundred thousand people from the State of Chu’s territory. With the entire south conquered, five million should not be difficult.”

“Seven hundred thousand? Hmm, that’s already very good,” Xiao Ming said, expressing satisfaction.

In fact, he was very worried about the situation in Guandong now. Although he had left Qi Guangyi in Guandong, Qi Guangyi was sometimes powerless against the vast and sparsely populated Guandong.

Barbarian cavalry would occasionally bypass cities to attack Guandong common people, plundering their harvests. One million slaves, after being converted into Guandong people, seemed very thinly spread over such a large land.

Precisely because of this, he intended to migrate five million people. This way, with six cities sharing a million people each, he could organize effective militia teams against the barbarian raiding parties.

Moreover, he had already begun considering handing over some phased-out weapons to the militias and security bureaus, so that they could exert greater power.

In addition, migrating population was also for the industrial construction of Guandong. Without sufficient population, industry in this era would be difficult to develop, and Guandong was an important agricultural and resource region.

“It’s all because of this war. Otherwise, these common people would be unwilling to migrate. Now, many migrating common people call this ‘Breaking Through Guandong’,” Pang Yukun chuckled.

Xiao Ming nodded slightly. Although this war was orchestrated by him, it was also unavoidable. And sometimes, for the sake of national strategic victory, sacrificing the interests of some people was inevitable. Although it was cruel, the imperial court could only harden its heart and do it.

Because compared to this, a nation and a people surviving in the world was more important. Otherwise, if Guandong were lost, more people would suffer.

“That’s a good term. ‘Breaking Through Guandong.’ Have the secret guards’ propaganda include this term,” Xiao Ming said calmly.

His gaze shifted from the map. Xiao Ming continued, “In the south, the soldiers are fighting bravely. The only thing we can do now is provide them with high-quality weapons, ammunition, and food. Senior Grand Secretary Pang, how are the military canned goods doing now?”

“Reporting to Your Majesty, except for the first batch, which used glass cans, all canned goods we’ve sent south are now iron cans. To strengthen the army’s logistical supply capacity, the imperial court and Qingzhou Province have now built six military food factories. Besides canned goods, I have also provided the food recipes Your Majesty supplied to them.”

Xiao Ming was now relieved. For him, long-lasting military food was crucial, because it would not only reduce the logistical pressure on soldiers but also be a necessary condition for fleet expeditions.

In contemporary times, the West could colonize Asia from thousands of li away. Besides warships, canned food also played an important role.

Besides canned goods, Xiao Ming also gave the process for compressed biscuits to the military food factory. In fact, the processes for biscuits and compressed biscuits were very simple. Biscuits were merely sugar, flour, and eggs mixed and baked.

Compressed biscuits were simply biscuits crushed and then re-compressed into denser blocks.

Besides compressed biscuits, instant noodle-type foods followed closely. This type of military food was also easily achievable now. After all, simple instant noodles were just noodles cooked and then fried.

Xiao Ming did not aim for modern effects. It was enough to simply fill the soldiers’ stomachs on the battlefield.

The novel has already been fully translated up to the final chapter. You can access it on my Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/caleredhair