Chapter 1106 – Irrefutable
Xia Palace, Imperial Reading Room.
In the quiet reading room, Ouyang Shuo sat on his rosewood chair as he looked through memorials. At the side, smoke from the incense burner rose up, and just one slight breath would make one feel energized.
This was the Blue Treasure Dragon scent that Zhang Zhongjing had specially made. It could raise one's spirit and also helped with cultivation. Each gram was worth a thousand gold; it was a truly rare and expensive medicine. As such, only Ouyang Shuo could be able to use it.
As time went on, the thick stack of memorials decreased at a visible rate.
Since his cultivation started paying off, Ouyang Shuo became smarter, and his memory and comprehension had both reached new heights. He could pretty much reach a level where he had photographic memory, and he was filled with energy.
The problems of too many memorials that plagued emperors of history was no problem for Ouyang Shuo.
Every day, he only needed to use two hours to go through a day's worth of memorials. While he read through them, he prohibited anyone from disturbing him.
At this very moment, the sound of light footsteps spread from outside the door. The person seemed to have something urgent, but when he arrived outside, he did not dare to knock. He just paced back and forth.
"Who is outside? Quickly enter!"
Ouyang Shuo was really sharp, catching onto the message from outside. He knew that there was definitely something urgent from the frontlines.
"Yes, my king!"
The person outside pushed open the door and entered; he was the Divine Martial Guard captain on duty.
"My king, there's urgent news from the frontlines!"
The captain stepped up, and a letter was passed to Ouyang Shuo.
Ouyang Shuo nodded, "Put it down!" He guessed that it was probably about the developments from the naval battle. Opening it up, it was the battle report from Qin Jiguang.
Seeing that the Handan Squadron would rather sink their own merchant ships than be searched, "I did not expect Di Chen to be so decisive. I have underestimated him."
Looking at the battle report, Ouyang Shuo wrote one line, "Chase the remaining bandits."
...
Ouyang Shuo annotated the documents and immediately passed it out to the Grand Council to send a copy to the Cabinet and relevant organizations.
Just like an order gun, along with Ouyang Shuo's orders, the Great Xia machine started up once more. They were prepared to give Great Zhou a fatal blow at the most unexpected of times.
First, the Guards Legion Corps got the order and immediately teleported to Edo in Yingzhou Prefecture and gathered toward Kyushu and Shikoku. Along with them was the newly built Yingzhou Formation.
The Guards Legion Corps was going to launch a sneak attack on the islands.
Apart from their military operations, Great Xia needed to win the forums and take the moral high ground. The Outreach Division of the Honglu Temple was ready, and they immediately held a press conference.
At the press conference, Zi Luolan openly announced the evidence that the Great Xia Binhai Squadron had found to show that Great Zhou had interfered in the war between Great Xia and Jin Country, which was a declaration of war.
"In the afternoon, after Great Zhou's Handan Squadron initiated cannon fire, our Binhai Squadron and Pacific Squadron retaliated, and the two sides engaged in an intense battle at the Japanese sea," Zi Luolan explained.
This time, people started to discuss.
Immediately, a reporter asked, "Would the engagement between Great Xia and Great Zhou end at a naval battle or expand to become an all-out war?"
This was the problem that the Chinese people were the most concerned with.
Zi Luolan smiled and asked, "Great Xia's stance is really clear. We will not initiate an internal war in China. However, if Great Zhou starts it, we would not mind fighting."
'Si~~'
Zi Luolan's strong reply made the reporters present suck in a cold breath.
A storm was coming.
"Can you reveal in detail Great Xia's next step?" someone asked.
Zi Luolan did not hide anything and replied, "Just now, the Great Zhou squadron had backed off into Kyushu, and along with them were Jin Country contacts and Great Qing members. To clarify the doubts, Great Zhou has to hand them over. After Great Xia investigates them, we will release them. If not, both sides can only meet on the battlefield."
If it were a deal in the dark, Di Chen might have accepted it. But now, Great Xia had revealed it to the public. If he dared to agree, he would not be Di Chen.
It was obvious that Great Xia wanted to fight with Great Zhou.
"Additionally, taking this chance, I would like to announce a piece of news. Due to the shady dealings of Great Zhou in the Japanese sea, from today onward, our squadron will patrol the seas."
Zi Luolan was making it clear that they were prohibiting Great Zhou ships from entering the Japanese sea.
Following which, a few more reporters asked questions. Zi Luolan was the star, showing Great Xia's firm stance as well as their will to take revenge.
After the press conference, the relevant details were spread all across China and gave rise to hot debate.
"Why did storms brew in China?"
"Handan Squadron shot first, and Great Xia's navy chased them down. Who is right and who is wrong?"
"Ripples caused by an ocean battle, the China region is not peaceful anymore. A mountain cannot allow two tigers to live!"
"Great Qing working with Jin Country, they are a disgrace to Chinese civilization. We support Great Xia!"
"Unable to defend themselves, is Great Zhou maligned?"
Not only the players, but even the various powers in China were focusing on this matter. Especially Qing Dynasty and Jin Country, who sent people to discuss with Great Zhou.
The entire wilderness was bustling with excitement once more.
...
Handan City, Palace.
"What a bully!"
Looking at the news from the news conference, Di Chen was furious.
Pretty much right away, Fenghua Juedai gathered up the forum army to try to clear up this mess. They tried to explain that they shot the merchant ships and not Great Xia.
The ones who initiated the war was not them but Great Xia.
The problem was that the Chinese people did not believe them, "To shoot at their own merchant ships, do you think we are dumb?" Players only believed their own logic and did not care about the truth itself.
Furthermore, Great Zhou did not instill much faith in the people.
Especially after the Battle of Japan and the Battle Map. Since then, the players did not show much trust in them.
On the contrary, Great Xia had brought great glory to China during the country war month, and their reputation was booming. Needless to say, everyone was all on Great Xia's side.
Even if the Great Zhou forum army went all out, they could not help the matter. Instead, they made it worse.
Seeing the situation, Juedai Fenghua could only take the loss. This incident showed one should not underestimate the peoples' sentiment, as it could affect the fate of a dynasty.
This would happen to Great Zhou because of what they had done in the past.
Di Chen had never been in as bad of a shape as today. Before this, it had only been him badmouthing Great Xia, and he had never thought that there would be a day that Great Xia used the same thing against him.
"The world is really changing!" Di Chen's face sank.