The Daliang and Western armies confronted each other on the front line for a long time. Neither side was willing to give in. They fought countless battles of varying sizes. Overall, they were basically evenly matched and neither side could do anything to the other.

On the 16th day of the first lunar month, a group of Daliang Haijiao warships set out in the early morning and left the port without anyone noticing. When supplies were already running out, they once again took away a part of the troops and quietly sailed along the river.

At that time, the morning light had not yet risen. Shen Yi said to Gu Yun in the pitch darkness: "You are taking too much risk."

Gu Yun ignored him and said something irrelevant: "Ask someone to cook me a bowl of noodles and an egg in the morning."

Shen Yi was so busy that he was confused. It took him a long time to remember what day it was. He muttered, "You are quite free."

He whispered a few words to the guards beside him, and then continued to nag: "Didn't we say before that we should at least wait until the railway line is repaired? If the Purple Gold Line is really opened, our chances of winning will be much greater. If you act now, if there is a slight problem with the coordination between the two sides, then... this is too risky!"

"Seeking wealth and honor in danger," Gu Yun said calmly, "I am a young and handsome man, why should I be as cautious as the old man opposite me?"

Shen Yi heard him speaking nonsense again and said angrily, "Gu Zixi!"

Gu Yun sighed and looked towards the north. His eyesight was no longer able to see through the mountains and rivers.

"Ji Ping," Gu Yun whispered, "If the capital city was peaceful, we would have already won without fighting. What do you think is more risky, this battle or continuing to let them drag it out until something happens in the court?"

Shen Yi was stunned and speechless. He was a general in charge of one side. He only needed to deploy the troops and did not have to think about the layout of the four borders, nor did he have to worry about whether there would be wars in Daliang in the next fifty years or so.

"This time we must take the city before the peace faction opens its mouth. Once we give them the chance to speak, we don't know how long they will drag it out. We will make a strong effort and then decline. Even if we have to recuperate, it can't be more than three to five years, otherwise the nobles in the Northern Capital will gradually forget the pain, and when our generation dies, future generations will think that the southern half of the country was born to be governed by both sides," Gu Yun glanced at Shen Yi and said, "It's worth taking a risk. I will leave the Black Iron Tiger Talisman to you at that time. Just in case... you should quickly gather the remaining troops and wait for them to come. Don't panic. Immediately mobilize the Black Iron Camp for temporary support. The Westerners are at most capable on the water. There is nothing to be afraid of on land. We still have room for maneuver."

Shen Yi's brows were about to wrinkle.

At this moment, the cook brought the cooked noodles. The person who cooked the noodles prepared them very carefully for the Marshal's small stove. The longevity noodles were one by one, evenly thick and thin, the eggs were cooked to perfection, the soup was soupy and the meat was meaty, and there were thin bamboo shoots soaked in the broth floating in it.

Gu Yun took it and ate two chopsticks, then suddenly asked, "Why are there no green leaves?"

Shen Yiqi asked: "Don't you want to eat?"

"When did I say I didn't want to eat..." Gu Yun muttered, and took a few bites casually. He still felt that something was missing in this bowl of noodles. He thought about it for a while and suddenly realized it.

It turns out that so-called birthdays and festivals are actually all caused by people. If someone is willing to hold a small "ceremony" for him on such a day, it is a way of expressing "I keep you in my heart".

The taste of the food is actually hidden in the words beneath the noodle soup, rather than in these few mouthfuls of bland food.

Five days later, Gu Yun officially received the list of the foreign affairs group. After just a glance, he handed it to Shen Yi and said casually, "See? We can only prepare to take action."

Shen Yi had no choice but to obey.

"Just in case, Ji Ping, I want to tell you a few things - if something really happens, you will take charge of the central army for me. You can fight the foreigners on the ground, but remember not to go into the water. You have too little experience in naval warfare and are no match for that old man." Gu Yun said, and took out four written letters from the commander's tent, "If there are no mistakes, send the first battle report to the capital. If fate is not on our side and we really have an accident, then send the second one and ask the Military Affairs Office to cooperate with us to remedy the situation. Don't forget to attach a letter of apology and the black iron tiger seal. I will take all the responsibility... The last two letters are private letters. Send the third one to Chang Geng first to calm him down. When the situation calms down, if there is a chance, give him the fourth one."

Shen Yi angrily asked: "Will you tell me about your final arrangements?"

"Would I have to make arrangements for my afterlife because of a few Western monkeys?" Gu Yun raised his eyebrows nonchalantly, "I'm being thoughtful, so I don't have to write it again later. Military orders are as heavy as a mountain, stop talking nonsense to me, and get back to work!"

The next night, the Daliang navy suddenly launched an attack without warning, and attacked the Western Army's position with great fanfare. Both sides were almost familiar with each other, and they immediately became jealous of each other. Although the Western Army was caught off guard, it still quickly organized a counterattack. As soon as it started, it felt that the large number of navy this time was particularly fierce.

Mr. Ya put on his coat over his nightgown. He couldn't figure out what made Gu Yun suddenly want to break the stalemate on the front line. According to the information they had received, there shouldn't be such an opportunity in Daliang.

This time, Gu Yun even skipped the routine probing process, as if he didn't care about the enemy's supply situation at all. He directly used heavy artillery, and the "Sea Squid" fired out like raindrops. The Western flagship was caught off guard and was hit several times. The side oars that had just been repaired sank again and were almost paralyzed.

There was chaos on the Western flagship for a while.

"Don't panic, don't panic!" Mr. Ya grabbed a bronze roar and said, "Stay where you are! The short dragons must gather immediately and stop them... Your Majesty!"

The Pope walked out slowly, came to the deck and looked out along the clairvoyance.

"Calm down." He whispered.

The aged leader seemed to have a magical power that could calm people's hearts. With just a few words, the chaotic crew members and guards around him suddenly quieted down, waiting for his orders.

"The enemy's vanguard ships are only a little more than half the usual size. Such a powerful charge is not Gu Yun's style," the Pope whispered, "Why?"

Mr. Ya tried to suppress his emotions and said, "The Liang people are too crazy. I don't think they are charging forward, but rather a last-ditch effort."

The Pope asked the messenger to adjust the formation of the escort fleet and shook his head: "This is illogical."

Mr. Ya frowned and thought for a long time, then suddenly said, "Oh, right! I remember that your majesty received a message a few days ago from the enemy's foreign affairs group that was about to arrive at the front line. Could it be related to that?"

Pope: "You mean to say that there are cracks in the internal affairs of the Liang people, and someone wants to compromise and end this war?"

"There is evidence to support it," Mr. Ya said quickly. "You see, we once estimated the time when the Daliang Railway would be completed and put into operation. His Majesty also said at that time that we would be in a passive position after they completed the entire line. Didn't we also design several plans to destroy the line? But according to our calculations, this railway line should have been completed by the end of last year, and it may have even started trial operation. But they have not made any movement until now, which means that there is indeed an internal problem!"

The Pope held his hands in front of his chest and rubbed his chin slightly with one finger. At this time, Gu Yun's vanguard had pierced through the defense line of the Western warship like a sharp knife, breaking through the waves with murderous intent.

The Western escort surrounded the main ship into a solid ball, and the stored eagle armor flew out from the main ship, and the attacks came down from above like raindrops.

"If it were me," Mr. Ya said to himself, "I would pull the main ship back and quickly create an encirclement to lure this vanguard into it, outflank and annihilate them. They definitely won't be able to withstand such fierce fire for too long. Once they lose contact with the ones behind them, they will die in here!"

The Pope asked quietly, "Do you think Gu Yun would make such a low-level mistake?"

Mr. Ya: “…”

"Before going to the battlefield, the most important thing you have to do is to understand your opponent - pass the order, shrink the two wings, focus on defense, move to the southeast, and call for reinforcements immediately." The Pope gave orders in an orderly manner and said to Mr. Ya, "If you really studied the classic cases of Gu Yun suppressing rebellions in the East China Sea and arresting bandits in the southwest, and seriously reflected on the few times we fought with him in the north, you should have a rough understanding of Gu Yun. When the resources in his hands are really at a disadvantage, he will not only not let you see it, but will also seamlessly pull the clean-up Black Iron Camp in front of you, so that you will be scared at first sight... They Liang people call this 'make the false real, and make the real false'."

Mr. Ya disagreed, but he didn't dare to object, so he just followed the Pope's words and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Look, this is just a bait." The Pope laughed, "If we are a little patient and drag his hook a little further away, we will soon be able to actually see the chips in his hand."

At this moment, a messenger came running to report: "Your Majesty, the First, Second and Third Fleets are not in port, they are on a 'distant sea mission', you see..."

The "distant sea mission" is specifically to escort the supply ship to the holy land.

The Pope said without even turning his head: "They should not have gone far. Send them back immediately. The 'Far Sea' route is very safe. It does not require three fleets to escort that little bit of supplies. We must be respectful and sincere when dealing with our dear old enemy."

"yes!"

"Return! Fold the wings!"

"The escort fleet is heading southeast, pay attention to the speed——"

"Eagle! Withdraw temporarily. All defense steel plates of the main ship fall down, and drainage starts--"

The entire Western fleet quickly gathered into a compact behemoth. The material escort fleet that had just left the port quickly returned, staring at the Daliang Navy that was charging forward fearlessly in front of them, and formed a solid defense.

Every time it was Gu Yun who played around with the Westerners, but this time the situation suddenly changed. The Westerners used their heavy defense to play around with the Daliang striker, looking for a place to attack.

Two moments later, Daliang's mad dog-like vanguard army finally slowed down, obviously exhausted.

Pope: "Jacques, look."

Before he finished speaking, he saw a large number of support and supply fleets coming down from three directions. Daliang's trump card could no longer be hidden, and its ferocious fangs were revealed in the night.

Mr. Ya was shocked - if they had really done as he said and immediately surrounded and devoured the Liang people's vanguard, then the two flanks of their side, which were missing three fleets, would immediately be stretched out and weakened by the enemy and would be easily penetrated and torn apart by the ambushed Liang people!

"I've said before," the Pope gave him a reproachful look, "Only if you understand your enemy can you know where your real chance lies - all fleets are ready to counterattack! Before they 'stand firm', give them a blow on the head!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the Western artillery fire pushed out like a tsunami. The three main forces of Daliang suffered heavy losses as soon as they met. They didn't even have time to fire back before the front sea dragon warships had been sunk one after another.

At first glance, this effective supply almost wiped out nearly a quarter of the main force of the Daliang navy.

The Western naval fleet was in an uproar. Since the day Gu Yun took charge of Liangjiang, they had never gotten such a big advantage from him!

However, Gu Yun himself was not as angry and anxious as imagined.

At this time, on an inconspicuous medium-sized sea dragon in the Daliang navy, Gu Yun was watching his large number of "warships" being sunk leisurely. Without blinking, he said to the guards beside him: "Look, what did I say? Know yourself and know your enemy. That old guy can prepare for a battle for more than ten years. He must have studied me very carefully."

If it were daytime, Westerners would probably find it easier to discover the special features of the sunken ships.

The boats are all empty, more like another form of "Sea Squid".

This was still the poor and stupid idea of ​​the Lingshu Academy - to gather the scrapped warships on the front line, and then imitate the power system of the sea squid to empty the entire ship. This kind of warship with only a show is very light, and it can automatically glide a long distance on the water with very little power. Although it is useless, it is a powerful weapon to show off its power and scare people.

If Gu Yun sent out part of his navy and went directly to the battlefield, the foreigners would definitely notice it and become suspicious, so he simply used this method to feint.

"It would be better if they could be blinded by the temporary victory," Gu Yun said, sitting on the side with his legs crossed. "Disperse. Remember, our mission today is to delay the enemy."

The guard licked his lips and said, "Marshal, can we catch up with 'that side'?"

"I can't say for sure. If I can't catch up, it means my luck has run out." Gu Yun laughed softly, "Be careful."

On the Western flagship, Mr. Ya was so overjoyed that he lost his mind, but unfortunately there was His Holiness the Pope next to him, so he did not dare to get too carried away.

Moreover, he soon discovered that the Daliang navy, which had suffered a setback, was not so easy to deal with. After the Liang army stumbled, they quickly made adjustments. Gu Yun's tough fighting style made the Westerners anxious and exhausted, turning this war of annihilation, which should have been a battle of superiority against inferiority, into a situation of almost equal strength.

The main forces of the two armies fought from midnight until the next morning.

When the first ray of sunlight pierced the surface of the sea, the battlefield that had been chaotically fought in the darkness all night was suddenly exposed to the sunlight.

On the Daliang main ship, the guards said anxiously: "Marshal, there is no news from the other side. Let's retreat. If we continue like this, the main ship's position will be exposed. We don't have their big iron monsters that can't sink no matter how hard they bomb. You can't take risks!"

Gu Yun reached out and stroked the frame of his glass mirror: "Be patient."

At this moment, the Pope suddenly thrust the Clairvoyance into Mr. Ya's hand and said, "That Wu Yue! That must be the enemy's main ship. Gu Yun must be on it. Capture it!"

The dense artillery fire shifted at the Pope's command, and Gu Yun's main ship had no way to avoid it for a while.

Guards: "Marshal!"

At the critical moment, four or five short ships rushed out without Gu Yun's order, blocking the main ship with their own ships, and then explosions sounded out of nowhere.

Gu Yun's face suddenly tensed up. At this moment, a sailor stumbled in and said, "Marshal, we can't hold on any longer!"

Gu Yun narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Marshal!"

"It's okay, don't panic... the rear team becomes the front team, walk them around for a while," Gu Yun whispered, "from..."

Before he finished his sentence, suddenly, an eagle's cry was heard in the sky. The sound was so sharp that it sounded like an alarm whistle, and even Gu Yun, who was half deaf, could hear it.

Gu Yun suddenly turned around.

That was the signal given to him by Shen Yi, who was in charge of overall dispatch on the shore - the other side succeeded!

The guard was stunned for a moment, then jumped up: "Our eagle!"

Gu Yun: "Give me clairvoyance."

The guard licked his cracked lips: "Marshal, we..."

"careful!"

With a loud bang——

At this moment, a stray bullet passed through the gap of the frigate and hit the tail of the Daliang main ship. The entire Haijiao battleship shook violently, with smoke and sparks everywhere.

Amid the hustle and bustle, a piece of glass mirror flew out and shattered into pieces.

On the 24th day of the first lunar month, the Foreign Affairs Corps, which was so busy that they couldn't even catch up with the heat of the shit, had not yet arrived at the front line, but Li Feng had already been awakened in the middle of the night by an urgent battle report from the front line.

Signed with the black iron tiger talisman—great victory on the front line!

Gu Yun's arrangements over the past six months have begun to show signs of success. At some point he sent people to the South Seas to secretly instigate a group of people who were occupied by the Western Army on the South Sea islands, and ambushed a large part of the troops on the southwestern border.

On the night of the 21st day of the first lunar month, the Daliang navy used a part of its main force to raid the enemy on the front battlefield. They took advantage of the enemy generals' cautiousness to tie down the enemy's forces. At the same time, the Haijiao warship regiment ambushed on the southwest border swept through the South China Sea islands, and with internal and external support, they annihilated the foreign forces entrenched there. Then they immediately sent troops to cut off the enemy's ocean supply lines, strangling the enemy's neck without anyone noticing!

Who says that the mighty Daliang navy can’t fight a battle in the distant seas?

The battle report was very concise, only stating the results without going into details or casualties.

After this battle, the Western army retreated to the waters of Japan in a panic. Militiamen from all over the country took the opportunity to launch attacks on enemy forces on the ground. The southern half of the country was bombed in all directions, marking the first ray of light on the long-silent front line.

Li Fengjin jumped up, put on his clothes in the middle of the night and prepared to convene a grand court meeting.

What a crappy foreign affairs corps. They can beat the foreigners back to their homeland without letting them take away any dirt.

The eunuchs were all around him. Since Zhu Xiaojiao's death, Li Feng had changed several people around him, but none of them were satisfactory. The one serving him now was also an old man. He didn't talk much, but he was quite smart: "Congratulations, Your Majesty. With General Gu here, it's just a matter of time before we can retake Jiangnan!"

Li Feng laughed "Haha" and said incoherently: "I finally don't have to worry about having a hard time explaining to my ancestors in my afterlife, really."

Li Feng, who had been lame for a long time, ran out almost at the speed of wind. Halfway through, he was blown by the early morning night breeze. The fevered brain of Emperor Long'an finally cooled down, and the joy on his face dimmed a little.

Yes, we won this battle, and then what?

Many of the policies implemented by the Grand Council were under the banner of "war first". Apart from showing off their royal seals and iron certificates every day to show off their seniority, the major families were only thinking about a ceasefire.

If Li Feng was still a little hesitant about fighting against Yuhe before, Gu Yun's victory added a lot of chips to one side, making the scale in Li Feng's heart tilt to one side.

"These aristocratic families are becoming more and more arrogant, and they even interfere in wars." The emperor thought silently, "What is their intention?"

Li Feng paused for a moment and said to the eunuch without thinking, "My wet nurse Zhao hasn't been to the palace for a few years. Do you still remember her?"

The eunuch didn't understand what was going on, so he lowered his head and said, "I heard that Madam Zhao only has one daughter now, who is still working in the palace. She has adopted Mr. Fang San as her adopted son. She has been sending cards frequently recently, so I guess she is here to beg for mercy."

Li Feng groaned and half-closed his eyes. "When a prince breaks the law, he is punished the same as a commoner. The King of Wei was imprisoned, but no one stood up to speak for justice. Why are the sons of these families more valuable than each other?"

The eunuch heard a hint of murderous intent and looked at Li Feng cautiously, not daring to say a word for a while.

The hot sweat on Li Feng's forehead was blown away by the cold wind. He covered his chest and coughed softly a few times. The eunuch hurriedly put a fox fur coat on him.

The prince looks old at the age of seven. He is quite smart, but his personality is too docile and weak. He is not like himself. Instead, he is more like the late Emperor Yuanhe. What was the situation like during the Yuanhe period?

Li Feng still remembers it now - the late emperor always felt that his throne was not obtained legitimately, and he relied on this person and then that person, and he could not even control the military power in his hands. Even though there was only a half-grown child left in the Gu family, he still allowed the fatal black iron tiger talisman to circulate outside. He would ask for opinions from this and that person on even the smallest matters, and was always soft-hearted and sentimental. He raised a bunch of parasites in the country and almost squandered the wealthy family fortune left by Emperor Wu.

Li Feng spent ten years but still failed to clean up the mess left by the previous emperor.

In the past two years, Li Feng has felt increasingly overwhelmed, and he doesn't want his son to fall into the same predicament as his father did.

But in this situation, who should he trust?

King Yan?

The words like "not marrying", "not having children" and "willing to die for Shang Yang for the country" were all said by the King of Yan himself. There are many other things in the world that sound better than these. When there was irrefutable evidence, those traitors were still crying and saying that they had worked hard for the country and the people. Although Li Feng could be moved by him for a while, a long period of time would always make him calm down.

Li Feng is protecting Chang Geng now because he also sees the value of this reform. Prince Yan is right about one thing, systems and rules are the most important. No matter what Prince Yan wants to change, this broken country is indeed developing in a positive direction. Li Feng hopes to use Prince Yan's hand to completely eliminate the deep-rooted problems of the previous dynasty and leave a clear and bright world for the prince in the future.

However, at the same time, he would never hand over his weak son to the hands of this ruthless and murderous brother. If he were to follow the late emperor one day, the first person he would deal with would be Prince Yan, and the second would be Gu Yun.

"No, go back to the palace. Summon him again tomorrow morning. When it's daybreak, ask the prince to come over." Li Feng suddenly gave the order without any reason.

The eunuch was puzzled. He didn't know why the emperor, who was still talking about Zhao's matter just now, was silent for a while and then brought up the prince again.

"Also," Li Feng said, "where is the memorial I brought back? Bring it to me and have a look."

The memorial was written by Xu Ling, about a regulation for reforming the Imperial College. The idea was not very mature, even a little immature, but it didn't matter, it could be handed over to the Grand Council for coordination and improvement. The whole court was clamoring for killing and beheading to severely punish cheating in the imperial examination, and only a few scholars could remember what to do next.

If possible, Li Feng, like an ordinary father, hoped to protect his young son for a few more years and let him play with insects in the harem. But who knows what will happen soon in this turbulent era?

The next morning, news of the great victory on the Liangjiang front came crashing down on all sides, and none of the forces had time to react to this sudden result.

For the first time, Li Feng took a clear stand and forcefully implemented two new policies at the grand court meeting: first, he agreed to the "Long'an New Policy" of the Military Affairs Council to abolish the beacon ticket and change the coinage policy.

Second, in principle, they agreed to the joint request of Xu Ling and others from the two academies to reform the charter of the Imperial College. For the imperfections, they ordered the Grand Council to take the lead and the Ministry of Rites, the Imperial College and the two academies to jointly revise them.

At the same time, Li Feng pulled Jiang Chong and the Lingshu Academy out in the main hall and reprimanded them, demanding that the investigation into the Nine Provinces fraud case be accelerated immediately. All those involved in the case, regardless of their background, must be severely punished. He also ordered the Lingshu Academy to immediately draft a charter to open the steam railway line from the capital to the south of the Yangtze River. They must not give the Westerners any room to breathe, and they must not waste this victory. They must win in one go.

When leaving the court, Li Feng announced his final decision - the eleven-year-old prince would soon take charge of government affairs.