On the wedding day, my wife was abnormal

The hustle and bustle of Quanzhou Port is steaming under the scorching sun in broad daylight. On the huge "Zhennan Port" construction site, the roar of steam cranes and the clang of hammers are intertwined.

However, beneath this bustling scene that symbolizes the new order of the empire, a cold undercurrent surges in the night.

Yan Feng, a captain of the Minyue Commandery of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, is like a cheetah lurking in the shadows, setting his sights on the most prosperous "Wantong Trading Company" in the port.

In the backroom of the Wantong Trading Company, candlelight flickered. Salt merchant Shen Wanhai's portly face was greasy, but his eyes held a subtle hint of anxiety.

Opposite him sat a thin man with dark skin and dressed like a sailor. He was the "Loach", a secret agent planted by the "Black Shark Gang" in the port.

"Boss Shen, the situation is very tense." Loach lowered his voice to a very low level. "The Petrel is like a ghost, focusing on the Shark Tooth Reef. The one-eyed shark boss was almost doomed, and the goods couldn't be delivered."

"Can't ship it out?" Shen Wanhai glared. "That batch of salt is sitting in the warehouse, waiting to get moldy? Do you know how much the price of salt has increased now?"

"It's not that we won't give it to you," Loach licked his cracked lips, "but we have to pay more. The risk is too great, and we brothers are working with our lives on the line."

"More money?" Shen Wanhai sneered. "Last time you hijacked the Haifeng, you were dishonest and left someone alive! Now the Embroidered Uniform Guards are sniffing around like mad dogs! More money? Are you worth it?"

"Whether it's worth it or not, Boss Shen knows it clearly." A fierce gleam flashed in Niuqiu's eyes. "Without us, how did you bleach that batch of private salt from the government warehouse? How did you avoid the tax levied by the Maritime Customs? Now you want to distance yourself from it..."

"Shut up!" Shen Wanhai growled, cold sweat oozing from his forehead. "I can increase the price by 30%. But the goods must be shipped to Emerald Island within three days! Otherwise..."

"What else?" A cold voice suddenly sounded at the door of the secret room.

Shen Wanhai and Niu Qiu turned around suddenly as if they were struck by lightning!

The door to the secret room was silently pushed open at some point. Yan Feng, a captain of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, dressed in a dark, powerful suit, looked like a ghost blending into the shadows. Behind him, several Embroidered Uniform Guard cavalrymen held muskets, their muzzles trained on the two men.

"Master Yan," Shen Wanhai's face instantly turned as pale as paper, and his fat body trembled like a sieve.

"Get him!" Yan Feng's voice was calm.

The Ti cavalry pounced like wolves and tigers!

Loach reacted very quickly, overturning the table and causing the candlelight to fall out!

He slid towards the side window like a loach!

However, the window frame had already been sealed from the outside!

An icy crossbow arrow pierced through the window paper and accurately pierced his thigh!

"Ah!" The loach screamed and fell to the ground.

Shen Wanhai collapsed to the ground, held down by two Tiqi riders.

Yan Feng walked forward slowly, stepped on the bleeding leg of the loach, and said in a cold and hard voice: "One-eyed shark, where are you hiding?"

The loach's face was distorted with pain, but he clenched his teeth.

Yan Feng leaned over and pulled out a domino with a shark pattern from Niu Qiu's arms. He then pulled out a folded, sweat-stained, simple nautical chart from the bottom of his shoe. On the chart, an inconspicuous reef was circled in cinnabar.

"Ghost Tooth Reef," Yan Feng said with a cold smile, "it's a good place to hide."

He turned his gaze to Shen Wanhai, whose face was ashen. "Boss Shen, you colluded with pirates, plundered merchant ships, smuggled official salt, and bribed officials of the Maritime Customs. All of these are enough to get your entire Shen family executed several times."

"Sir, please spare my life and I will confess everything." Shen Wanhai burst into tears and his psychological defenses completely collapsed.

The secret bay of Quanzhou Shipyard.

The night is dark and the sea breeze is cool and salty.

The huge ironclad battleship "Wavebreaker" was like a dormant steel behemoth, anchored in the moonlight.

On the deck, Admiral Zhao Meng was dressed in military uniform with a stern expression.

Behind him were three hundred carefully selected elite "boarding team" members, armed with new-style repeating muskets and wearing short steel blades on their waists.

"Target, Ghost Tooth Reef." Zhao Meng's voice was low. "The Petrel has already blocked the outer channel. The Wave Breaker will be responsible for the frontal assault! Boarding party, follow me to the island! Clear out the remaining bandits! Capture the One-Eyed Shark alive!"

"Yes!" A low response echoed on the deck.

"Woo!" A deep whistle sounded! The massive Wavebreaker slowly started, spewing thick smoke, splitting the inky waves and heading towards the vast ocean.

At the same time, the "Haiyan" speedboat arrived at the outskirts of "Ghost Tooth Reef" like a ghost.

Chu Xiling was wearing an indigo work suit, and her cold eyes looked through the telescope at the rugged and hideous reefs in the moonlight.

Several dilapidated pirate ships were vaguely visible, like barnacles clinging to the reefs.

"Bearing: fifteen degrees due east by north, distance: three miles." Chu Xiling's voice was steady. "Target: enemy ship anchorage. Load high-explosive bombs. Fire three rounds rapidly."

"Yes!" The gunner operated quickly.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Three orange-red tongues of fire ripped through the night sky! Cannonballs whistled with a shrill roar as they accurately smashed into the pirate ships!

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

Violent explosions rang out one after another! Flames shot up into the sky, and wood chips flew everywhere!

One pirate ship was blown into two pieces, and the remaining ships caught fire. The reefs were instantly engulfed in a sea of ​​fire and chaos, and the pirates' screams and howls could be heard faintly!

"Full left rudder! Full speed ahead! Get ready for the boarding party!" Zhao Meng shouted from the bridge of the "Polang"!

The huge body of the "Wavebreaker" crushed the waves and rushed straight towards the "Ghost Tooth Reef" where flames were soaring into the sky like an angry beast!

The huge "Burning Sky Divine Thunder" main gun on the bow slowly turned and aimed at the simple camp vaguely visible on the reef!

"Fire!"

"boom--!"

A deafening roar! The main gun spewed out a dragon of fire several feet long! The heavy explosive shells crashed into the center of the camp like meteorites!

"Boom——!"

The earth shook! The entire reef seemed to tremble! The camp was instantly razed to the ground! Debris, wood chips, broken limbs, and a mixture of gunpowder and smoke rose into the sky!

"Boarding team! Land on the island!" Zhao Meng drew his sword and roared!

Dozens of small boats were launched from both sides of the "Break the Wave" like arrows from a bow! Three hundred boarding crew members rushed towards the smoke-filled reef under the cover of muskets like tigers descending from the mountains!

Close combat!

The roar of musketry, the clash of blades, and the howling of the dying instantly resounded through the night sky! The pirates, desperately resisting, were like chickens and dogs in the face of the well-equipped and well-trained boarding party, and quickly collapsed!

Zhao Meng led the charge, his longsword whirling, slashing down two pirates. His gaze swept across the chaotic battlefield, finally locking onto a figure attempting to escape to a small boat deep within the reef, protected by his personal guards at all costs. It was none other than the "One-Eyed Shark"!

"Where are you going!" Zhao Meng roared and threw the long sword in his hand!

The long sword pierced through the chest of a personal guard like lightning, and with the remaining force, it pierced into the back of the "One-eyed Shark"!

"Uh." The one-eyed shark's eye was full of disbelief. He lowered his head to look at the tip of the knife protruding from his chest and slowly fell to the ground.

The battle ended quickly.

The remaining pirates were either killed or surrendered. The pirate lair at Ghost Tooth Reef was reduced to scorched earth and ruins by the thundering fury of the Imperial Navy.

Jinling, Purple Palace.

In front of the huge sheepskin map of the sea, Murong Yan was wearing a dark black robe inlaid with a golden phoenix, with its tail winding.

The eunuch silently presented two secret reports: the Quanzhou Embroidered Uniform Guard eliminated the traitors and captured Shen Wanhai and the pirate spies; the Minyue Navy launched a surprise attack on the "Ghost Tooth Reef", killed the pirate leader "One-eyed Shark", and wiped out the remnants of the "Black Shark Gang".

Murong Yan's eyes were calm, and her fingertips lightly touched "Quanzhou" and "Ghost Tooth Reef".

"Call Lin Zhen, Minister of Revenue Zhang Heng, Minister of War Zhao Wu, Minister of Works Li Chong, and Minister of Rites Zhou Zheng to the audience." She spoke in a clear voice.

After a while, Lin Zhen, dressed in dark casual clothes, walked into the hall with several important ministers.

"Everyone knows what happened in Quanzhou." Murong Yan said calmly, "The traitors have been eliminated, and the pirates have been executed. The trade routes to Southeast Asia should be unimpeded."

"Your Majesty is wise!" The ministers bowed.

"Of course," Murong Yan's phoenix eyes swept over the crowd, "The implementation of the new policy is not a one-day effort. The Nanyang Protectorate has requested that immigrants be settled on the border, and the construction of workshops, ports, and roads will cost a huge amount of money. The national treasury is empty, that's the truth."

Minister of Revenue Zhang Heng hesitated to speak.

"Increase revenue and reduce expenditure." Murong Yan's voice was clear. "Increasing revenue starts with commercial taxes. Now that the Nanyang trade route is open, the Maritime Customs should strictly investigate tax evasion and expand tax sources. Reducing expenditure does not mean cutting military spending, but rather eliminating redundant personnel and suspending non-urgent construction. The Ministry of Works and the Bureau of Torpedoes should focus on the construction of new ships, focusing on the Feiyu-class fast ships, while also considering the follow-up ships of the Polang-class. The Zhennan-class giant ships will be put on hold."

Minister of Works Li Chong and Director of the Thunder Burning Department Chu Xiling nodded slightly.

"Ministry of War," Murong Yan looked at Zhao Wu, "The navy will patrol the South Seas, with the main focus on escorting and eliminating bandits. The troops stationed in Borneo should cultivate land locally to supplement military supplies and reduce the waste of transporting grain from the north to the south."

"I obey your order!" Zhao Wu clasped his fists.

"Ministry of Rites," Murong Yan turned her gaze to Zhou Zheng, "a grand ceremony with all nations displaying national power is bound to cost money. However, gifts should emphasize the thought rather than the material. The islands of Southeast Asia admire our culture and education. We could send more Confucian scholars to the islands to establish centers for learning, teach Chinese, and pass on the classics. This would ensure long-term stability and benefit without cost."

"Your Majesty is wise and thoughtful!" Zhou Zheng bowed.

"Also," Murong Yan's voice deepened, "the implementation of the new policy may be met with criticism from both the government and the public. However, the benefits of Southeast Asia are crucial to the nation's destiny. Anyone who obstructs the new policy, spreads rumors, or undermines the foundation of the nation..." She raised her phoenix eyes slightly, scanning the courtiers below, her voice carrying an invisible pressure, "regardless of whether they are high-ranking officials, wealthy merchants, or even the Embroidered Uniform Guards, they can be executed first and reported later!"

The hall was completely silent. A sharp light flashed in Lin Zhen's deep eyes.

"Go away." Murong Yan waved her sleeves.

The ministers bowed and left.

Silence returned to the Zichen Hall.

Murong Yan walked slowly towards the throne, the tail of her dark black robe inlaid with gold phoenix slid across the golden brick floor, making a subtle but clear "rustling" sound.

She stood in front of a huge map of the sea, her phoenix eyes gazing at the vast deep blue.