Demoness, where are you Fleeing to?
Chapter 958 - 790: The Three Immortalities of the Saint (Seeking Monthly Votes and Subscriptions)

Chapter 958: Chapter 790: The Three Immortalities of the Saint (Seeking Monthly Votes and Subscriptions)

"A kingdom that does not levy taxes? How could I not know about it?" Li Xuan said, pouring himself a cup of tea, "The Great Ancestor once inscribed the fifteen nations that are not to be invaded in the ’Imperial Jin Ancestral Instructions’, and Fusou Nippon is one of them."

Emperor Tai of Jin originated from humble beginnings, thus he had an extra measure of sympathy for the common people’s hardships.

He believed that ’extensive lands are no guarantee of lasting peace, and exhausting the populace is a source of chaos.’ If Jin were to attack those barbaric nations, ’acquiring their lands would not support them, commanding their people would not work,’ it would be a phantom reputation, self-destructively harming the Middle Earth."

This is actually very reasonable, Li Xuan knew that contemporary hegemonic nations had very little desire for land.

They had better methods to plunder wealth, rather than direct rule, which included the high costs of managing those lands.

After all, things like pensions, health insurance, and various social benefits all cost real silver and gold; differential treatment would certainly provoke local discontent.

The Great Ancestor viewed deploying troops like a doctor prescribing medicine; one should not take medicine arbitrarily without illness. If prescriptions are necessary, then they must cure the ailment, they must solve problems.

This was profound political wisdom, but in today’s world, the words left in the ’Imperial Jin Ancestral Instructions’ by the Great Ancestor had become a weapon for Confucianists to obstruct Jin’s foreign conquests.

And as the tea spilled over, Li Xuan looked up at Shang Hong, "But what about the Annan Kingdom, is it not also among those not to be invaded?"

"Thus, when Emperor Taizong invaded Annan in the past, he lost hundreds of thousands of soldiers and spent innumerable amounts of the people’s hard-earned wealth, causing the southwestern provinces to be reduced to poverty, exhausting the troops for no benefit to our great Jin!"

Shang Hong’s voice was powerful, his expression stern, "Does the County Prince wish to let the Court repeat Taizong’s mistakes?"

"But Jin is currently deploying troops in Annan," Li Xuan chuckled bitterly, his words loaded with deeper meaning, "Hasn’t Daxueshi Shang been keeping an eye on that area? Just recently, Fuguogong Huangfu Mao presented a memorial stating that this year’s army in Annan not only didn’t cost the nation a single penny, but also earned the nation a profit of two million seven hundred thousand taels."

"And now, with the rivers clear and the sea calm between Yunnan and Guangxi, not a single border provocation has occurred all year. The Court has even been able to reassign ninety thousand troops from the border to campaign against Lu River," Shang Hong’s expression froze; he opened his mouth but initially found himself at a loss for words.

He certainly had been focusing on Guangxi, also continuously making secret preparations.

Should Huangfu Mao meet with defeat, or any news of weakening the populace or exhaustion of national resources from Annan return, it would be his time to rally allies and protest.

He certainly wouldn’t shake the position of Prince Fenyang; compared to the achievements of Prince Fenyang in pacifying Meng Wu, this minor setback in the south seemed inconsequential.

Shang Hong’s aim was simply to reverse Jin’s national policy, to make the entire Court realize the dangers of war and avoid further falling into the ’Annan’ pit.

Yet the Court had not allocated even a penny to Annan this year.

Although Huangfu Mao had fifty thousand elite soldiers and twenty thousand in the naval forces stationed along the Annan Hanoi river, not only had it not cost the country a single penny, but he would occasionally send large quantities of silver, spices, iron ore, and medicinal herbs as tribute to Guangdong and Guangxi.

Shang Hong generally understood Huangfu Mao’s methods; he merely held his position at Hanoi and then, using a strategy of alliances and divisions, caused Annan’s rulers and officials to turn against each other, effectively plunging Annan into actual fragmentation.

The entire Annan warlord scene then rose independently, defending their territories while Li Yuanlong, the king of Jiaozhi, could now only shrink back in a mountainous corner of the region.

Huangfu Mao, through collaborations with maritime merchants, sold various military arms, food, silk, cotton, and porcelain locally, thus collecting large amounts of taxes.

These actions of Huangfu Mao were undoubtedly contrary to Confucian paths, however, recently inside the Court, a powerful force had suppressed these dissenting voices.

Shang Hong knew this was the power of those merchants; although Annan was fraught with chaos, it was rich in various medicinal herbs, spices, and especially high-quality brown iron ore—an ore more suited for iron and steel refining, yet unavailable in the Central Plains.

Shang Hong knew the warlords of Annan, in order to exchange protection and arms from Huangfu Mao, not only conscripted large numbers of civilians to mine ore but collected various medicinal herbs to their utmost ability.

They would sometimes even use living humans as bait to capture a high-aged Silver-Ring Snake; for this medicinal herb, capable of treating rheumatic paralysis, infantile convulsions, tetanus, scabies syphilis, could fetch tens of thousands of taels per piece in the Central Plains.

Many Confucians in Jin who were aware of the situation felt deeply troubled and could not bear to see the people of Annan suffer miserably.

But the problem was, the Court had not lifted a finger towards the people of Annan.

On the contrary, the region of Hanoi, where Huangfu Mao’s troops were stationed, had become the last pure land in Annan.

The people of Annan in Hanoi felt gratitude towards Jin.

The border between Annan and Jin was also one of rare tranquility.

Shang Hong too felt panic about the situation in Annan, not only sympathizing with the people of Annan but also worrying about posterity.

He worried that Li Xuan would become a saint like Duke of Zhou.

Once Jin entered an unprecedented golden age under Li Xuan’s rule, his governance strategies would surely become the model for scholars to emulate and study for thousands of years to come.

Now the governance strategies of Confucianism are not derived from the Zhou Rituals established by Duke Zhou and the Rule of the Three Dynasties?

But what if in this era, a golden age handcrafted by the current Hufa of Neo-Confucianism arises, surpassing even the ’Rule of the Three Dynasties’? What would that situation be like?

At that time, every word spoken by County Prince Fenyang would be revered by later Confucianists.

The path to immortality of a saint is to establish ethics, achieve accomplishments, and make authoritative statements, and County Prince Fenyang would surpass the Great Sage in all aspects in the future.

However, the philosophy upheld by Prince Fenyang was entirely different from what Shang Hong had studied.

"It is estimated that next year, the revenue from Annan will increase further, reaching four million silver yuan just from commercial tax alone. The key point is the brown iron ore there, almost comparable to former Damascus steel, an excellent material for weapons."

At this moment, Li Xuan took another sip of tea, "Also, this year’s campaign against Meng Wu, although costing us twenty-seven million silver yuan, the two copper mines there have started production, with an estimated annual income of thirty million. Next year’s commercial tax from the four provinces beyond the pass is also projected to reach seven million."

Shang Hong continued in silence, knowing this to be true.

Though he held no real power at the core of the empire, he was thoroughly aware of the situations everywhere.

The Court, through wool, animal skins, tea leaves, and more, would gain massive amounts of commercial tax in the four provinces beyond the pass next year.

Crucially, after pacifying Meng Wu, the Court could also save tens of millions in silver yuan expenditure.

Li Xuan continued, his tone indifferent, "I believe that whether it’s the method of campaigning against Annan or the strategy to pacify Meng Wu, both can be applied to Fusou. Moreover—"

At this moment, he paused, and his gaze at Shang Hong turned gradually colder, "Although Great Ancestor stated in the ’Imperial Jin Ancestor’s Instructions’ that there are fifteen countries we do not levy against, it was also mentioned, ’For barbarian nations across the seas that become a menace to China, they must not go unchallenged.’

Those Fusou pirates repeatedly violate the maritime borders of our great Jin Dynasty, slaughtering no less than a hundred thousand of our people over the years, truly a long-term menace to China. How can we ignore this? And now the Fusou people are even supporting the Kunpeng Emperor, providing him with provisions, allowing him to marshal forces and march against our Court, with despicable intentions and grievous sins. If the Court ignores this, we will surely embolden these wolf-like enemies and even give rise to their aspirations for invading our sacred territory."

"Prince Fenyang’s words are too severe," Shang Hong responded with a cupped fist salute slightly dry in his speech, "Fusou, a small country separated by mountains and seas, set in a corner, how could it have the capacity to peer into our Middle Earth? I’m sure they wouldn’t dare harbor such delusional thoughts."

However, the problem of ’Japanese pirates’ is indeed real, as since the founding of Jin Dynasty, they have continuously plundered the coastal areas of the Jin Dynasty, giving the people great distress.

In earlier times, Great Ancestor even sent envoys to order the king of Fusou to submit as a vassal and to eradicate the Japanese pirates, or else he would bind their king and flatten Fusou Nippon, but those Fusou people beheaded the envoy.

This is also the reason why Li Xuan managed to persuade three out of the seven regent ministers this time, jointly with Princess Jianguo’s influence, to forcefully pass the motion to campaign against ’Fusou.’

Apart from Quan Dingtian, who is in close association with Li Xuan, Wang Wen and He Wenyuan, the Shangshu of the Ministry of Personnel, both hail from coastal areas and were therefore persuaded by Li Xuan.

Thus, although Shaofu Yu Jie strongly opposed this, it was to no avail.

Although there was much dissent inside the Court, with ministers even forcing Princess Jianguo to compromise and agree for Shang Hong, holding the imperial edict, to come and question Li Xuan, this action could no longer stop the impending campaign against Fusou.

After all, by procedures, this eastern expedition of Li Xuan was in accordance with the rites of the Court.

Li Xuan then thought to himself, does Fusou truly dare not harbor delusional thoughts of peering into Middle Earth?

He couldn’t be bothered to argue with Shang Hong, simply lifting his tea cup, indicating that it was time for the guest to leave.

"In any case, please relay all my words exactly to the Court through Daxueshi Shang. Also, inform the other ministers that the issue of coastal Japanese pirates must be eradicated by me this time.

In former times, when Fusou beheaded our envoy, the Great Ancestor, constrained by the limited manpower of Jin, endured it covertly, but it led to no gratitude from Fusou; on the contrary, they only intensified their actions. Now with our Jin State’s power at its peak and our military might unmatched in the world, how can we further allow the Fusou people to act recklessly and wildly?"

After saying all this, Li Xuan sent Shang Hong away, reflecting the principle ’those who do not share the same values cannot strive for common goals,’ as he had little else to discuss with Shang Hong.

Afterward, Li Xuan wanted to find Meng Qingfan, but unfortunately, his Jade Qilin, having learned from past experience, had stayed by Jiang Hanyun’s side ever since, daring not to come within three feet of him.

By the afternoon, the East Sea Dragon Palace had already amassed nearly two hundred and twenty thousand troops to join forces.

Of these, one hundred and ninety thousand were underwater, vast sea creatures stretching up to several dozens of feet each, arranging themselves across hundreds of miles in a massive battle formation under the sea.

Another thirty thousand were in the sky, composed of demon armies capable of flying or controlling the air, their forces as overwhelming as mountains and seas, enough to cover the sun and hide the sky.

On the sea surface were Jin Dynasty’s twenty-four iron-clad warships and three hundred and twenty ten-thousand-ton blessing ships.

Compared to the forces of the Dragon Palace, their presence was slightly insufficient; however, those massive steel warships were also majestic and formidable.

Li Xuan personally showed up to welcome the commanding troops of the Dragon King of the East Sea, Ao Shenghai, and the Prince of the East Sea, Ao Mengsheng.

Just as he planned to have a good chat with this father-in-law he was meeting for the first time, suddenly, a fierce wind arose above the sea, gathering countless dark clouds.