Fearing being killed for his overwhelming merits, the empress decided to marry him.

In the Yellow River basin, at the beginning of the Dragon Kingdom civilization, tribes that settled along the Yellow River expanded rapidly in just a few hundred years. After tens of thousands of years of evolution, they laid the foundation for the Dragon Kingdom's territory today.

Rivers are of paramount importance to settled peoples; they bring crops and are also crucial to a nation's rise or fall.

All emerging dynasties relied on rivers for expansion, thereby gaining control of the cultivated lands along the river basins and reunifying the world.

In fact, the natural water resources of the Dragon Kingdom are not concentrated, but the people of the Dragon Kingdom still rely on their unique diligence and wisdom to dig waterways to alleviate the water shortage in various regions.

However, the cost of building a canal is more than ten thousand times that of a natural waterway, and even if an artificial canal is successfully built, its water resources are still more than a hundred times less than those of a natural waterway.

It may seem like a waste of money and resources now, but at the time it was the most unavoidable choice.

In modern history, the rampant expansion of Tsarist Russia further proves this point.

Centered on the principalities of Rus', Tsarist Russia's path of expansion was always based on rivers, gradually swallowing up the khanates left by the early Mongols one by one.

It was not until the defeat in the Crimean War in the mid-19th century that Tsarist Russia stopped its westward expansion and began to encroach on the east.

In fact, as early as the mid-17th century, Tsarist Russia continuously dispatched slave legions, or colonies of several thousand people, to expand eastward in batches.

However, the expansion was not as rapid as the fans of the "Horse Demon" claimed, where the expansion suddenly swept across thousands of miles from the west to the east.

In reality, Tsarist Russia adopted a slow and methodical approach, establishing fortified positions only in key river areas.

From the establishment of the Qing Dynasty until the late 19th century, a full two hundred years, the speed of Tsarist Russia's expansion to the East was very slow. This was because during this period, Tsarist Russia's center was in the West, and the total number of settlers in the East was less than 10,000.

However, it was the gradual encroachment of these pioneering groups that allowed Tsarist Russia to gradually form a cluster of fortresses that was ten times more exaggerated than the Great Wall, stretching from Siberia to Outer Manchuria, and completely control the most important riverine and agricultural areas.

This gave Russia complete control over the upper reaches of all the rivers that flowed over the Mongolian steppe, laying the foundation for Russia's rapid eastward expansion later on.

By the time the Ma Yao realized what was happening, the Outer Northeast region, stretching all the way to Siberia, was already a "Great Wall" constructed entirely of earthen fortresses, completely blocking the Ma Yao dynasty's path of expansion.

This is the origin of the so-called "unprecedented change in a thousand years" at the end of the Qing Dynasty, which was brought about by the eastward expansion of Tsarist Russia, and further proves how short-sighted Ma Ying-jeou's strategic vision was.

For a full two hundred years, the Ma Yao, with control of the northwestern and Mongolian borders, actually did nothing to stop Tsarist Russia's eastward expansion. And yet he dares to blame it on Han civilization? It's utterly shameless.

A group of reactionary slave owners whose mindset permeated the entire dynasty with anti-nationalist sentiments were completely blind to the potential threats. When faced with problems, they could only resort to such impotent and furious idealistic rhetoric as "a change unprecedented in a thousand years."

Shen Lang watched as the soldiers whipped the local people of Luchuan who had been captured from various places in the upper reaches of the Mengjiang River, forcing them to reinforce the dam and repair the watchtowers, without showing any intention of stopping them.

Does war not affect ordinary people?

Just listen to these kinds of jokes and let them go; when war comes, it's always the ordinary people who suffer first.

Besides, you invaded first, and these are just the price you have to pay.

The process of occupying the upper reaches of the Mengjiang River was too easy. The mere thousand or so second-line garrison troops of Luchuan were naturally caught off guard by the sudden arrival of the Chu army.

After that, the cavalry only needed one close-range charge to cause the entire Luchuan army to collapse.

Then let the infantry finish off the enemy and quickly end the battle.

Thousands of human heads are now hung on sharpened wooden stakes as a warning to the working people of Luchuan.

Qu Yi glanced at the project's progress and said to Shen Lang, "Instructor, at this rate, it should be completed in as little as five days."

"Three days."

Shen Lang didn't even turn his head before speaking.

"Within three days, I will completely isolate the upper reaches of the Mengjiang River from the lower reaches, and I will plunge the entire Luchuan region into a desperate situation."

"Three days? That would probably exhaust a lot of people."

"As long as these Luchuan people have a breath left, they must complete the fortifications, even if they have to dig with their bare hands."

Remember this: from this moment forward, Luchuan is the territory of my Chu Kingdom. We are the conquerors here. Think about what they have done.

They don't deserve any sympathy at all!

Qu Yi was puzzled: "But this will only unite the people of Luchuan and make them determined to fight against us!"

"United as one? Ha!"

Shen Lang smiled.

"Qu Yi, you're adept at leading a few thousand new soldiers into battle, but when it comes to understanding and controlling people's hearts, you'd better learn from Lü Meng and the others."

"I ask you, if we control the Mengjiang River, what will the enemy do?"

Qu Yi: "If Mengjiang is under our control, Luchuan will naturally send a large army to fight for it."

Shen Lang: "The importance of the Mengjiang River to Luchuan is self-evident. It concerns the livelihoods of 40% of the people in Luchuan and the Indochina Peninsula."

Once their water source is controlled, their harvest will inevitably fail next year. Without food, Luchuan will be like a tiger with its teeth pulled out.

Will the various ethnic groups in central and southern China, who are allied with Luchuan, still be so loyal then? Once you understand this, what is there left for you to fear?

Qu Yi nodded: "What the instructor said is very true, but what should we do now?"

"Right now?" A cruel glint flashed in Shen Lang's eyes. "Right now, it's Sihanfa who should be worried. He will do everything he can to mobilize a large army to attack us."

This is exactly what I'm hoping for right now. The Luchuan military system meant that most of the time they were scattered across various places to guard against counterattacks from vassal states.

In the event of war, troops will be mobilized from various locations. Once they converge, that will be the opportune moment for us to deploy our forces and defeat them one by one.

Qu Yi's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Then how do we determine the movements of the Luchuan Army? We don't have enough intelligence."

"Intelligence? How do you think I know the exact location of the Mengjiang River?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a pigeon landed directly on Shen Lang's shoulder from above.

Shen Lang untied a ribbon from the pigeon's leg, opened it, smiled after reading it, and then handed the note to Qu Yi.

"This is the intelligence you mentioned, the sincerity from the Mubang. I've made an agreement with them."

As long as I can lead the Chu army into Luchuan and control the Mengjiang River, they will provide enough intelligence and even manpower.

It seems that Sihanfa has already received news of our capture of the upstream stronghold.

The renowned general Meng Maolong is leading the garrison troops from four locations to assemble here. My estimate is that the scale of this deployment is no less than 80,000 men.

Qu Yi was startled: "Instructor, we only have four thousand troops in Luchuan this time, while the enemy has at least eighty thousand."

How can we fight? Even our 500-strong Imperial Guard wouldn't have enough bullets to kill 80,000 people.

"So what I just said, you haven't forgotten so quickly?"

Shen Lang rolled his eyes at him.

What does "defeating them one by one" mean?

Qu Yi immediately stood at attention: "Instructor, give the order, where should we fire first?"

Shen Lang: "Naturally, we'll strike the one who's the most ruthless. Isn't Meng Maolong hailed as the number one general under Sihanfa? Let's use his head to boost morale."

"My subordinate understands."

Qu Yi responded, then looked hesitant to speak.

"Anything else?"

"Instructor, there is still one thing I don't understand. Why did you have Tang and Mu write that memorial impeaching you for killing prisoners, and even personally tacitly approved their urgent delivery to the capital?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang slightly curled his lip: "Alright, go about your business."

"I can't explain this to you, but I'll tell you one thing: once this memorial is submitted, this instructor will be fine."

"Uh, I'll take my leave."

Qu Yi left, looking puzzled.

Shen Lang stretched out his arms and muttered to himself, "Now that the Empress has leverage over me, she won't have to worry about the threat of her becoming too powerful in the future."

A minister who poses no threat is the one an emperor can trust most. I'm hoping to fleece her for a few more years.

Shen Lang's idea was very good, but little did he know that the Empress in Jinling did not care at all about what he had done in Nanzhao. It was the group of civil officials who were talking loudly and enthusiastically who were anxious.

……

"Damn it! The Chu army is so cunning; they've actually occupied the upper reaches of the Meng River! How despicable!"

Inside the royal palace, the news that the upper reaches of the Meng River had been captured by the Chu army shocked the entire nation.

In particular, after the court session, Sihanfa directly killed two slaves with a knife to vent his dissatisfaction.

"Immediately notify Meng Maolong to change course to Mengjiang. Even if everyone dies, we must take Mengjiang back!"

The Mengjiang River is key to the rise of Luchuan. As long as the Mengjiang River basin is under their control, regardless of whether the Luchuan Dynasty will decline, its resurgence is only a matter of time.

In the hearts of the people of Luchuan, the Mengjiang River is like a goddess. It is not just a river that nurtures them, but also a belief in their hearts.

However, if the Mengjiang River is lost, the Indochina Peninsula, which has been so hard-won to unify, will soon fall apart due to the loss of water resources.

This is absolutely forbidden by the Sihan Law.

Mengjiang must be taken back at all costs!