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

"Ah Lang, these are memorials from the governor-general's offices of the various colonies in Southeast Asia, reporting numerous protests within the colonies."

Especially in Lebanon, the recruited laborers repeatedly went on strike and caused trouble due to low wages and benefits.

Wang Jian, the colonial governor, intended to send local troops to suppress the rebellion.

"I have already submitted this news to the cabinet for discussion, but I would still like to hear your opinion, Ah Lang."

Five years have passed, and Jiang Mengxuan is still stunningly beautiful. She has shed her innocence and gained a more mature charm.

Shen Lang had grown a beard. Perhaps it was because he had been living a life of luxury for many years and no longer involved in external affairs, but his spirits had improved a lot. His daily work consisted of either putting on airs at the military academy or wandering around the industrial zone to inspect the progress of scientific and technological projects.

In his spare time, he would go fishing by the lake with Jiang Shangxian, or play chess with Ye Mo. When he returned to the palace, he would enjoy family time with his wife and two children. He lived a very leisurely life.

However, despite his free time, he still made sure to offer advice and suggestions to his wife behind the scenes.

After listening to Jiang Mengxuan's words, Shen Lang asked, "Don't rush, how is the industrial construction in the Li Kingdom's colonial area progressing?"

Jiang Mengxuan: "The Cabinet has submitted last year's report. There are currently twelve rubber refining plants, two steel mills, two sand quarries, and three smelting mines within the Lebanese colony."

In addition, our Chu merchants have invested in the development of thirty mines and three joint shipyards within the Li Kingdom, and currently hold controlling stakes in all of them.

Shen Lang smiled upon hearing this: "That makes things easy. Notify the Governor's Office to dispatch troops to protect the safety of the colony's factories and local residents, and also send a note to Lebanon."

Tell them that there are currently safety hazards in the various factory buildings, and that a thorough inspection is needed.

Work has been suspended indefinitely, and industrial investments and technology transfers to Lebanon have been withdrawn.

As for when construction will resume, we will announce that later.

Jiang Mengxuan: "But if we do that, our merchants in Great Chu will suffer considerable losses, won't they?"

Shen Lang smiled and shook his head: "Xuan'er, you don't understand. Let me ask you, what is the income of the people in the Li Kingdom compared to that of the natives in the colonies?"

Jiang Mengxuan thought for a moment and replied, "The monthly income of workers in the Li Kingdom is equivalent to about forty copper coins, while the monthly income of people in the colonial area is equivalent to four silver coins, which is eight times the amount of silver coins."

"That's fine then." Shen Lang poured himself a cup of tea. "They want to cause trouble, don't they? Let them cause trouble. Shut down the factory and cut off the workers' income. Let's see how long they can keep up this fuss."

Jiang Mengxuan frowned: "Aren't you afraid they'll go on strike permanently if you do this?"

"A permanent strike?" Shen Lang laughed. "Xuan'er, you're overestimating these natives."

They were simply complaining about the heavy workload, using that as a pretext to increase their salary.

The indigenous people in the colony earn ten times more than those in Lebanon. Would they really be willing to give up this job?

They won't understand what they've truly lost until the factory announces its shutdown.

Jiang Mengxuan thought about it carefully and asked uncertainly, "You mean to force the natives in the colony to end the strike by stopping work, so that they will realize they were wrong?"

"No punishment is more appropriate than making them lose their jobs. The merchants in the colony will only suffer a few days of work stoppage; the losses are there, but they are within an acceptable range."

The losses suffered by the indigenous people of Li were readily apparent. When they realized they would soon be starving, they naturally panicked.

"At that time, Lebanon will be begging us to continue investing and resuming work."

Jiang Mengxuan laughed: "I was even planning to give in and raise the salaries and improve the treatment of those natives."

"The benefits will definitely be improved in the future, but not now. We have to take it slowly. After all, a little kindness is appreciated, but too much kindness breeds resentment."

"Hmm, then I'll have the Cabinet send a telegram to the Governor-General of the Southern Seas, informing them to immediately halt construction in the Lebanese colony?"

"Yes, the sooner the better. Let's send a telegram to Wang Jian as soon as possible."

Jiang Mengxuan immediately ordered Qingwen to go to the cabinet to deliver her message.

After the colonial solution was resolved, Jiang Mengxuan said, "The envoy from Wu Zhao Kingdom sent another letter, inviting me to Wu Zhao Kingdom to attend Li Hong's sixty-seventh birthday celebration, and inviting my Great Chu to become a tributary state of Wu Zhao Kingdom."

"Haha."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but laugh out loud, and quickly picked up his teacup to take a sip to ease the awkwardness.

Jiang Mengxuan: "What are you laughing at?"

Shen Lang: "I'm laughing because it's been nine years since the third year of Xuan Yuan to the sixth year of Xuan Sheng, and Li Hong still hasn't given up on you."

Jiang Mengxuan frowned slightly: "Ah Lang, stop joking. At least we can confirm from the interactions with Wu Zhao Kingdom over the years that Li Hong is not a tyrannical ruler who is addicted to wine and women."

Shen Lang shook his head: "I've also compiled Li Hong's biography; in the eyes of the Wu Zhao Kingdom, he can be considered a qualified monarch."

However, under his control, an extremely oppressive atmosphere permeated the entire Wu Zhao Kingdom, both among the common people and in official circles.

Jiang Mengxuan: "How did you figure that out?"

Shen Lang: "Since Li Hong ascended the throne, the first ten years have been relatively peaceful and prosperous. The court is politically efficient and has implemented benevolent policies, showing signs of sweeping away the drawbacks left by the previous dynasty. The fiscal revenue is also more abundant than during any of the Wu Zhao periods."

However, after ten years on the throne, he became ambitious and prone to launching numerous wars against foreign powers. Many issues that could have been resolved through negotiation were instead met with grand gestures and the deployment of troops from afar.

Although the naval battle with the Western Phoenix Kingdom resulted in victory, the Wu Zhao Kingdom's navy lost its long-range capabilities from that point onward, and its fleet could only patrol the coastal waters.

Of course, a naval battle ending like this isn't a big deal; the key issue is that the battles on all other fronts are equally unsatisfactory.

Leaving aside the war with the Tianlang Kingdom, let's talk about the four wars with the Jiang Kingdom. In the first war, they sent 40,000 troops, and started the war without even understanding the terrain and climate of the Jiang Kingdom.

As a result, they were ambushed by Jiang's 5,000 Iron Man Army in the dense forest, and were routed. Of the 40,000 men who fled back to the border, less than one in ten survived.

The second time, they mobilized 30% of the border garrison and their most elite warrior battalion to invade the Jiang Kingdom. However, the Jiang Kingdom's defenders, taking advantage of the terrain, once again inflicted a crushing defeat on them.

Although the Jiang Kingdom also suffered heavy losses in this battle and had sent someone to meet Li Hong to submit a letter of surrender, it was truly unacceptable that the Wu Zhao Kingdom, having mobilized an elite force of three thousand warriors, had been defeated in such a manner.

Therefore, Li Hong, who valued his reputation above all else, directly rejected the surrender letter from the Jiang Kingdom, and all the elite troops from all over the country were concentrated on the border of the Jiang Kingdom.

A full 28,000 elite warriors, along with 280,000 auxiliary troops transporting supplies, were determined to conquer the Jiang Kingdom in one fell swoop.

Thus, the third war against the Jiang Kingdom broke out. Everyone believed that the Jiang Kingdom was doomed to perish in this war, even within the Jiang Kingdom itself.

But who would have thought that the outcome of this battle would result in Li Hong utterly humiliating himself?

Knowing that the fall of their kingdom was imminent and surrender was hopeless, the Jiang Kingdom utilized its geography and climate to mobilize the entire nation's military and civilians to resist. In the end, under the command of the renowned general Yan Fei, a single fire reduced the hundreds of thousands of soldiers of the Wu Zhao Kingdom to ashes, leaving their bodies to rot in the wilderness.

Of the twenty-seven mid- to high-ranking officers who went on the expedition, fourteen were killed or wounded. Countless lower-ranking officers also perished. Apart from the less than twenty thousand members of the martial arts battalion who escaped back to the border, the majority were captured or massacred by the Jiang Kingdom.