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

On the first day of the ninth lunar month, at the Nanjing Naval Port.

"Salute!"

All 4,021 officers and soldiers of the First Independent Brigade saluted Shen Lang, who was standing in front of the transport ship.

Behind them were six ironclad transport ships capable of carrying five thousand people each. This was the first shipbuilding project completed by the Jiangnan Shipyard, starting only one year later than the battleship project at the Jinling Shipyard.

Six manned ironclad transport ships were successfully completed last month. Each ship has an average full-load displacement of 5,700 tons, a maximum speed of 14 knots, and can carry 800 to 900 people on ocean voyages at the same time.

The coastline of Jinling is less than 200 nautical miles from the coast of the Song Dynasty. At the normal speed of the transport ship, if we set off now, we can arrive at the port of the Song Dynasty the next morning.

Now, these transport ships are about to carry the soldiers of the Independent Brigade to the battlefield in the Song Dynasty, and will be responsible for transporting the brigade's supplies for some time to come.

Shen Lang, dressed in military uniform, saluted Yue Fei, Lin Fei, and the others before watching them board the transport ship.

"Woo——"

With the roar of ship horns echoing throughout the naval port, the fleet slowly sailed away from the harbor.

Shen Lang only called Meng Gong to his side after the hulls of the six transport ships disappeared on the horizon.

"Notify the commander of the Second Fleet that we will proceed to the waters of the Taiji Kingdom in five days."

"Yes, Commander!"

After Meng Gong left, Jiang Shangxian immediately approached him: "Brother, are you really planning to cooperate with Northern Yan and attack Goguryeo from both sides?"

Shen Lang replied, "Why wouldn't I accept such an opportunity that's been delivered to my doorstep?"

"Chance?"

Jiang Shangxian was very puzzled by Shen Lang's words.

Shen Lang: "Occupying the territory of Taiji Kingdom is tantamount to suppressing the lifeline of Northern Yan. Using Northern Yan to eliminate Goguryeo was a strategy devised by His Majesty and me."

The only question is, to whom should the Taiji Kingdom ultimately belong?

Jiang Shangxian: "I am somewhat familiar with the people of Taiji Kingdom. Last time, when the people of Taiji Kingdom came to pay homage to me..."

When he knelt, his buttocks were sticking up really high, and his attitude was incredibly humble.

Even the Emperor was deeply moved and immediately accepted the Taiji Kingdom as a vassal state of our Great Chu.

But who would have thought that the Taiji Kingdom was such a two-faced scoundrel, recognizing my Great Chu as its suzerain state on one hand, while simultaneously acknowledging Northern Yan as its master on the other?

They even secretly established kinship ties with the Jin, Song, and Goguryeo people behind the backs of the Northern Yan, hoping to gain greater benefits from it.

Upon learning that the Taiji Kingdom had been colluding with other forces in the Far East behind his back, the emperor was so enraged that he immediately severed all ties with the Taiji Kingdom.

Shen Lang laughed upon hearing this: "What a coincidence! When I was serving in the army in Bingzhou, I also met people from the Taiji Kingdom. Compared to the intrigue and backstabbing in the imperial court..."

If you meet people from Taiji Kingdom, you'll only have one thought: they're incredibly arrogant, giving off a very naive impression.

The problem is that their abilities are truly lacking and don't match their arrogant and complacent image at all.

Alright, it's just a lame joke, you don't need to take it to heart.

While the Independent Brigade was heading to the Song Kingdom, they also took the opportunity to resolve the matter of the Taiji Kingdom.

The most important thing is for our Great Chu's power to expand into the Liaodong region.

Jiang Shangxian suddenly grabbed Shen Lang's arm and whispered, "Brother, let's talk in private."

"what happened?"

"I have something to discuss with you."

As he spoke, Jiang Shangxian pulled Shen Lang aside, looked around, and whispered, "Brother, the current policy of our Great Chu is to look to the world."

Don't limit your vision to just this small area, right?

Shen Lang closed his eyes: "Just say what you have to say, stop with this useless mystery."

Jiang Shangxian said, "This time when we go to Taiji Country, we will definitely engage in some kind of colonial economy, right?"

"You know that I have devoted myself to the Great Chu and my imperial nephew all these years..."

Shen Lang quickly interrupted him: "Stop, stop. The phrase 'exhausting one's energy' has nothing to do with you. Can you please stop using idioms so carelessly?"

Jiang Shangxian tilted his head and said, "Alright, whether it's exhausting efforts or loyalty to the country, I only have one point to make."

We cannot let those who carry firewood freeze to death. Look at the powerful families and merchants of our Great Chu; they all reaped the benefits because of the changes in Great Chu's policies.

Unfortunately, I am still penniless, and it's disheartening to hear that. Don't you think so?

Shen Lang glanced at him, then shook his head and said, "Alright, if Taiji Kingdom establishes a colony this time, I'll leave you one-tenth of the profits from all the copper mining, okay?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shangxian beamed with joy: "It's not that I'm after those small share of the profits."

The intention is to set an example for the people and show them that those who support the new policies will receive the rewards they deserve.

The Great Chu will not forget them. As the saying goes, even a prince is subject to the same laws as a commoner, but if commoners receive rewards, shouldn't princes also share in the benefits?

"Alright, alright, stop acting." Shen Lang interrupted him mercilessly. "I just have another question I want to know."

That is, how are the profits you receive from the colony recorded—through public or private accounts?

The implication is that all the money you earn will eventually be taken by the princess.

Jiang Shangxian smiled and said, "It doesn't matter whether it's a public account or a private account. As long as it's not supported by the Prince's Mansion, the Princess Consort has no right to interfere."

Shen Lang frowned: "What do you mean by that?"

Jiang Shangxian said, "Even though the mistress of the mansion is in charge, the property under her jurisdiction can only be the existing real estate of the Prince's Mansion. As for the investment income outside the Prince's Mansion,

That's something I simply can't interfere with. Unless the princess is in charge of external affairs, these profits can only be controlled by me and are protected by the laws of the Great Chu."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang immediately took out the Great Chu Law from his pocket and began flipping through it page by page.

His research on the laws of the Great Chu Dynasty mainly focused on those aspects related to the imperial court and the state.

As for mundane family matters, he had no interest in wasting time on them.

Now that Jiang Shangxian is talking about it, I'm immediately intrigued and eager to verify it.

Jiang Shangxian waved his hand dismissively: "Don't bother looking anymore, it's page 284 of the newly ordered rubbing edition."

The ninth article on managing one's household affairs is clearly recorded; I, the King, would never lie to you about such a matter.

Following Jiang Shangxian's instructions, Shen Lang quickly found the law of the Li family, and sure enough, the provisions on it were exactly the same as what Jiang Shangxian had just said.

"hiss……"

Shen Lang gasped, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a moment.

In other words, the factory profit sharing that I agreed to with Jiang Mengxuan was all pocketed by Jiang Mengxuan alone?

Does that mean I've suffered a huge loss?

"Never mind, we're all family, whatever."

He quickly adjusted his mindset, since he didn't lack anything at the moment anyway.

He said to Jiang Shangxian, "I will personally go to Taiji Kingdom in a few days. The second batch of grain to be transported to Northern Yan has also begun to be loaded onto the ship. You will be in charge of the Northern Yan side."

Jiang Shangxian: "Your Majesty is less than two months away from giving birth. Is it really appropriate for you to leave at this time?"

Shen Lang smiled slightly: "As a father, what I should do is naturally to build an empire for my child."