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

The capital of Lebanon, Cape of Hope, in front of the port on the east bank.

The crowd had long been filled with local nobles, and even disciples of the Shenshui Sect, the only powerful sect in the Li Kingdom, were among them.

In front of the low earthen houses surrounding the pier, local residents with dark skin and short, stocky builds are now craning their necks to look towards the pier.

The Lebanese soldiers stood on both sides, and the guard force had already been divided up.

Right in the middle, the road is paved with yellow earth and surrounded by flowers, stretching all the way to the foot of Cape Lookout.

Standing in the center of the pier, Prince Nguyen Giau Ha and Nguyen Giau Hieu, along with local officials, stared intently at the sea.

Before long, Ruan Jiaoxia couldn't help but exclaim, "They've arrived! The envoys from the Celestial Empire have arrived!"

With his exclamation, everyone turned their gaze toward the end of Hyde Park.

A two-masted sailboat was seen slowly sailing towards the port against the wind.

"Quickly, quickly, prepare to welcome the envoy from the Celestial Empire!"

Ruan Jiao Xie immediately ordered the girls dressed in grass skirts, who were already prepared, to hold flowers and dance gracefully at any time.

The other local officials also straightened their official robes and stood up straight to welcome the envoy from the Celestial Empire.

The sailboat slowly approached the dock, and after waiting for about half an hour, the large ship from Siam finally docked.

"start!"

As soon as the footboard was connected to the hull, Ruan Jiaoxia gave a decisive order.

Then, the indigenous women immediately began to sway their hips, wave the flowers in their hands, and dance a seductive dance.

Amidst fervent anticipation, a middle-aged man dressed in a purple-gray court robe and wearing a red hat with a peacock feather appeared proudly before the footboard.

Beside him were two guards with spiky hair and sinister faces, who were vigilantly observing their surroundings.

"An angel has arrived! Your humble servants are here to welcome him!"

Nguyen Giau Ha and Nguyen Giau Hsieh immediately took the lead in bowing and paying their respects to the envoys from Vu Chieu.

The envoy put his hands behind his back, glanced at the dock, nodded in satisfaction, and then stepped onto the boardwalk, walking step by step toward the south bank.

Two guards followed closely behind, always maintaining a vigilant posture.

Once the envoy from Wu Zhao had landed, a smile appeared on his face, and he returned the greeting with a bow to Nguyen Jiao Xia and Nguyen Jiao Xie.

"You two must be the princes of the Kingdom of Li. I, Shi Mingzhu, have been invited by your king to attend this grand banquet. I hope you will take good care of me."

Upon hearing this, Ruan Jiaoxia and Ruan Jiaoxie couldn't help but approve.

See that? This is what a great nation looks like, a grand and majestic country. Their magnanimity is something we can't imitate or compare to.

Ruan Jiaoxia immediately stepped aside and gestured for them to proceed: "Angel, you must be tired from your journey. We have prepared a small feast in the city to welcome you and wash away the dust of your travels."

My country, Lebanon, is a crude and uncouth nation, far inferior to the Celestial Empire. Please forgive any shortcomings in our etiquette, angels.

"When guests are at ease, the two princes need not stand on ceremony. I don't care about such formalities."

Shi Mingzhu smiled and replied, then her gaze bypassed the scantily clad women and fixed on two large ships on the sea not far away.

"What a huge ship!"

Shi Mingzhu sighed inwardly.

Shortly after Li Hong ascended the throne, the Wu Zhao Kingdom and the Xi Huang Kingdom clashed fiercely at sea.

As a result of the conflict, more than two hundred warships of the Wu Zhao Kingdom were smashed to pieces by six giant warships of the Xi Huang Kingdom.

Taking advantage of the situation, the Xihuang navy broke through the Wuzhao Kingdom's coastal defense line. Several thousand Xihuang soldiers, together with more than thirty martial artists, broke through multiple lines of defense of the Wuzhao army, killed and plundered more than a thousand coastal civilians, and then left triumphantly.

This battle severely damaged the reputation of Wu Zhao Kingdom, causing the newly enthroned Emperor Li Hong to feel humiliated. He immediately ordered the Ministry of Works to develop a brand-new giant warship to counter the Xihuang Navy.

In the third year of Li Hong's reign, the Xihuang Navy and the Wuzhao Navy clashed at sea once again.

Fifty-two Wuzhao warships faced off against sixteen Xihuang warships in a fierce battle in the Beiyang waters.

As a result, due to the fact that the hull design and materials of the Wu Zhao navy were completely inferior to those of the Xi Huang navy, the Wu Zhao navy suffered another major defeat. Of the fifty-two warships, only nine returned to port, three of which were severely damaged and capsized and sank shortly after entering the naval port.

Meanwhile, the Xihuang Navy took advantage of the Wu Zhao Navy's defeat to land and plunder various coastal areas once again.

But this time, they encountered the elite cavalry of the famous generals, General Lou Shide of the Right Guard and General Zhao Qinian of the Dragon and Tiger Guard, who were tasked with suppressing them.

The Western Phoenix Army suffered a crushing defeat and returned home.

In this battle, the Wu Zhao army, numbering over 13,000, annihilated over 700 Xi Huang soldiers, but the Wu Zhao navy suffered heavy losses, with over 2,000 casualties. The battle can be considered a draw.

Upon learning of the battle results, Li Hong was furious. He immediately dismissed the Minister of Works, Bai Erqin, and then sent the naval commander to the capital for trial.

At the same time, Li Hong immediately carried out military system reforms. After seven years of rigorous and intense training, the land forces of Wu Zhao Kingdom finally had stronger combat capabilities than before.

However, Wu Zhao's naval strength did not actually improve.

Faced with the frequent and continuous harassment of the coastal areas by the Xihuang Navy, Li Hong's policy was to purchase and imitate large quantities of foreign products.

Finally, in the fourteenth year of Li Hong's reign, the Wu Zhao navy annihilated the twelve invading Xihuang warships in the near sea, achieving a glorious victory.

Knowing Wu Zhaoguo's tough stance, Xihuangguo gradually withdrew from the struggle for control of the Beiyang Seas.

It was thought that the Wu Zhao Kingdom's navy was about to enter a golden age after defeating the maritime power Xi Huang.

Unexpectedly, in the twenty-fifth year of Li Hong's reign, Li Hong suddenly announced the closure of all coastal ports, prohibiting civilians from going to sea without permission.

At the same time, orders were issued to all shipyards to prohibit the construction of large ships, and the original naval forces were also changed from large warships to rice boats that could only carry about thirty people.

Shi Mingzhu never understood this act of turning back the clock, until he was fortunate enough to become an overseas ambassador and finally understood Li Hong's intentions.

The reason is simple: maritime trade between countries is becoming more and more frequent, and ships are getting bigger and bigger.

To prevent potential civil unrest caused by trade from occurring under Li Hong's rule, he issued such a self-destructive decree.

Thus, Wu Zhao Kingdom, which was not good at naval warfare to begin with, gradually fell far behind other countries in the development of its naval power.

On the contrary, the cavalry of Wu Zhao Kingdom has become increasingly powerful.

However, Shi Mingzhu understood that if the enemy launched a large-scale attack from the sea, the dozen or so iron chains floating on the coastal waters would be insufficient to cope with the situation.

But what does all this have to do with Shi Mingzhu?

After all, Wu Zhao Kingdom is still the most powerful country in the world.

In the blink of an eye, Shi Mingzhu descended upon Wangjiao City like a bird, and surrounded by a group of enchanting women, she began a lavish and decadent banquet.

Little did they know that neither the Li Kingdom, Shi Mingzhu, nor even the entire South Seas knew that two battleships from the Great Chu had already received supplies at the Lingnan port and were slowly sailing towards the South Seas.

A war that will reshape the maritime landscape of the Taiwu Continent is about to break out.