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

Ten days later, at the Nanjing Military Port.

"Woo——"

The long blast of the battleship's horn rose above the sea.

"salute!"

With a loud shout from the commander, the 3,700 Chu soldiers in alternating white and blue uniforms in front of the harbor stood tall and saluted the Chu army flag that was being raised on the battleship.

As the military flag fluttered in the sea breeze, a unique emotion surged within every soldier.

These soldiers were all carefully selected by Shen Lang from his former naval subordinates.

Even when the battleship construction plan was still on paper, Shen Lang had already begun to set up the naval forces.

Over three years, these naval officers and soldiers gradually became qualified soldiers through daily high-intensity training programs arranged by Shen Lang.

What's lacking right now is the baptism of real combat.

Three days later, the navy will face its true test.

"All troops, listen to my command: board the ships!"

Another loud, sharp whistle rang out.

Three thousand two hundred officers and soldiers boarded their respective flagships in an orderly manner and began a new round of drills.

"Well, this is the prototype of the first navy of our Great Chu. You can speak freely and express your thoughts."

As the naval officers and soldiers began to get busy, Shen Lang led the twenty trainee officers and soldiers from the Song Kingdom into the Jinling naval port.

At this moment, the twenty Song soldiers were all dressed in light blue military uniforms and wearing military caps, and each of them looked very spirited.

After ten days of adjustment, the mentality of these Song soldiers and officers underwent a tremendous change.

After putting on the brand-new, lightweight military uniform and seeing his spirited self in the full-length glass mirror, Han Ming never mentioned the saying "hair is a gift from one's parents" again.

He even often secretly showed off in front of the glass mirror, clearly having grown fond of this new version of himself.

Of course, what truly changed the mentality of these Song soldiers was not just this uniform.

More importantly, it's the knowledge gained in military academies and the corresponding hands-on experience with military equipment.

Yue Pengju vowed that even if that weapon called a rifle fell into the hands of the Song army, the generals would absolutely not be willing to strengthen shooting training.

According to his understanding, all non-commissioned officers at the military academy are required to fire 450 rounds of ammunition per month, including 320 blank rounds. They must be able to independently assemble and disassemble 50-60mm individual mortars and fire 4-7 howitzers within 30 breaths.

Based solely on the cost of ammunition, Yue Pengju could basically conclude that almost no Song army could emulate this, and the imperial court would absolutely not allocate so much military funds to support the army's shooting training.

Even for regular soldiers, the Chu army's basic training volume averaged 200 rounds of live ammunition per person per month, not to mention the ammunition consumption of heavy weapons such as the Maxim.

Aside from these, ideological education is even more important.

The reason for joining the army is something that even those who haven't completed nine years of compulsory education know: "to protect the country."

In this era, defending one's homeland is just an inspiring slogan. Soldiers and thugs are almost indistinguishable in this world, except that one is a legitimate thug.

However, within the military academy, the instructors responsible for ideological education would instill in the students every day what the duties of a soldier are and why they should defend their country.

These are questions that the young Song soldiers who came for further training had never considered before, but now, under the guidance of their military academy mentors, they have come to understand the meaning of being a soldier.

In addition, soldiers held a high status in the State of Chu and were respected by commoners wherever they went.

In some places, soldiers could receive the best treatment simply by showing their military register, and even local officials had to give way to them.

This scene filled the officers and soldiers of the Song Dynasty, a country that valued civil administration over military affairs, with immense envy and resentment.

Later, they learned that the reason why Chu soldiers were respected was partly due to the influence of the imperial court.

But more importantly, it was because they were strictly disciplined and never harassed civilians; if they were caught, they would be severely punished by military law.

This alone was enough to leave these Song soldiers speechless and incredulous.

It is not difficult to make an army disciplined, but it is difficult to make all armies so disciplined. How did the State of Chu manage to do so?

Thinking of this, Yue Pengju felt a pang of sadness.

Compared to the current vibrant state of Chu, the Song Dynasty is so decadent that it's almost suffocating.

As for the battleships before them, Yue Pengju and other Song soldiers dared not even dream of them.

Shen Lang led them aboard the "Po Jun" battleship. After familiarizing them with the ship's overall structure, he went to the command center and spoke again:

"Alright, feel free to ask any questions you may have. Today I'll show you the ship's structure. You can learn the specific operating procedures on the way to Southeast Asia."

Han Mingju immediately stepped forward: "Principal, may I ask how much such a broken bugle costs and how long it takes to build?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang smiled and said, "Han Ming, I know what you're thinking, but I still advise you to ask something useful."

There are currently no plans to sell the Broken Army ship, and besides, the Song Dynasty couldn't afford it.

These words were quite clear, leaving Han Ming feeling a pang of disappointment.

Shen Lang had already given his Song soldiers enough face, and besides, the question was indeed meaningless in practice.

Han Ming smiled awkwardly and stepped aside.

Yue Pengju suddenly stepped forward: "Principal, I dare to ask, please tell me, how much longer can the Great Song Dynasty hold out?"

Everyone was stunned when these words were spoken.

Han Ming grabbed Yue Pengju's sleeve and whispered, "Pengju, what kind of question is that?"

Yue Pengju shook off his hand and said, word by word, "The situation in the Song Dynasty is in dire straits, as you and I have both seen. How could the Principal not be aware of it?"

Instead of trying to hide it, it's better to ask directly so we can find a chance to remedy the situation in time!

Shen Lang gazed silently at Yue Pengju, and Yue Pengju looked back at Shen Lang in the same way.

After a long while, Shen Lang shook his head and said, "Whether the Song Dynasty can hold out for long depends on what you think."

Yue Pengju: "With a foolish ruler and incompetent ministers, the government is neglected, and people are indulging in extravagance and debauchery. Hasn't the Song Dynasty already been terminally ill for a long time?"

"Principal, these past few days I've been pondering a question: why was the Song Dynasty so powerful at its founding, yet now it shows signs of decline?"

"Pengju!"

Han Ming spoke up again to stop him.

Yue Pengju's words were enough to commit a heinous crime. If they were to reach the court in Bianzhou and become known to the officials, he would face imprisonment at best, and his life at worst.

But Yue Pengju's eyes were extremely firm, showing no sign of backing down, waiting for Shen Lang to answer his questions.

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang shook his head and said, "Whether it's extravagance and debauchery, rampant corruption, or even a foolish ruler and incompetent ministers, none of these are the real reasons for Song's current predicament."

Because these things exist in all countries.

The real reason why the State of Song ended up like this was its entrenched mindset and unwillingness to try to change.