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

After the court session ended, Jiang Mengxuan returned to Shuixuan Residence.

But Shen Lang was seen fishing by the scenic lake in the courtyard, looking very relaxed.

"I'm busy as a bee every day, while he's just fishing and drinking tea in the courtyard all day? Really..."

Jiang Mengxuan was speechless for a moment, then decisively walked forward and sat down next to Shen Lang without saying a word.

"what happened?"

Feeling the inexplicable low pressure emanating from the woman beside him, Shen Lang couldn't help but shiver and quickly turned his head to ask.

Jiang Mengxuan: "You seem to have a lot of free time, but I'm so busy every day that I can't find the time to spare."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang smiled slightly: "The cabinet has already been formed, so you might as well just delegate authority to them and let them do whatever they want. They can make the final decision. Why bother to do everything yourself?"

Besides, things are never truly finished; no one can guarantee that after dealing with one issue today, something new won't happen the next day.

If I had to do it all by myself, I'd probably work myself to the bone and still not be able to find a moment of peace.

Jiang Mengxuan crossed her arms: "I understand what you mean, but I just can't get used to it yet."

Shen Lang smiled without saying a word, then asked, "Is there something troubling you at court again?"

Jiang Mengxuan nodded: "The matter in Southeast Asia is finally settled. I have lifted the ban on Southeast Asian industries today. Before long, all overseas colonies can resume normal operations."

Shen Lang: "As expected. Is there anything else?"

Jiang Mengxuan: "What is your opinion on the matter of Wu Zhao State refusing to trade with Chu State?"

Shen Lang thought for a moment and said, "That depends on what level you want to take the Chu Kingdom to. Do you plan to influence half of the continent, or the entire continent?"

If it's the former, then we don't need to pay any attention to Wu Zhao Kingdom at all. After all, the resources and trade volume of Southeast Asia are enough for our Chu Kingdom to consume for the next few hundred years.

If you are not content to stop here and wish to expand the influence of the Chu Kingdom to the Western Ocean, then you must make plans soon.

Jiang Mengxuan replied without hesitation: "Of course I prefer the latter, but there are serious internal divisions within the cabinet, and it seems that a unified opinion cannot be reached."

Shen Lang shrugged: "Whatever, let them continue their research. Why should we worry about it?"

Jiang Mengxuan was speechless: "You're acting like a hands-off manager, not even bothering to share the burden with me."

Shen Lang laughed and said, "Then tell me, what do you want me to analyze? I will definitely analyze anything I can for you."

Jiang Mengxuan: "I plan to form an expeditionary force to attack Wu Zhao Kingdom and force them to agree to trade with my Chu Kingdom. Do you think it's feasible?"

"What's impossible about it?"

"But what Liu Wu said is also true. If we resort to force to suppress them simply because they are refused trade, I'm afraid Wu Zhao will not accept it."

"What does it matter to us whether he submits or not? Opening up trade routes between the East and West will allow my Chu Kingdom to gather wealth from all over the world."

And with its influence extending throughout the Western Continent, what's there to hesitate about?

Jiang Mengxuan sighed softly: "I'm afraid that if this war breaks out, the people of Wuzhao will suffer a large-scale impact."

Upon hearing this, Shen Lang put down his fishing rod and said to Jiang Mengxuan seriously, "Madam, since Liaodong was incorporated into our Great Chu territory five years ago..."

You've kept asking me why such cruel ethnic policies are implemented, and I haven't been able to answer that question for a while.

Currently, only 300,000 people from the Solon and Echun tribes remain in Liaodong, scattered across various regions. The migration plan for people from both the Song and Jin dynasties to Liaodong has also been completed.

I think I can also tell you the reason behind this, which is also closely related to the Wu Zhao Kingdom.”

Jiang Mengxuan asked, "Is there any necessary connection between Wu Zhaoguo and your Liaodong foreign policy?"

Shen Lang: "I think you've seen the intelligence that Ban Dingyuan sent, right? The Wu Zhao military system is basically based on the Warrior Camp and the outer vassal tribes as its core forces."

The troops of these outer vassal tribes all came from barbarian tribes that originally possessed large herds of horses, including various tribes in Liaodong and the former Xia-Qiang tribes.

Why has it been so difficult for us to invite those scattered horse herd leaders to join the State of Chu, despite offering them generous terms? Why are they willing to cross the deadly desert to seek refuge in the State of Wu Zhao?

Could it be that Wu Zhao Kingdom is more advanced, stable, and prosperous than my Chu Kingdom? At least based on the information we have so far, that seems impossible.

Jiang Mengxuan: "Indeed, this is something I can't figure out either. So why do you think that is?"

Shen Lang replied, "It's actually quite simple. These Hu people are unwilling to lose their rightful status and come to our Chu Kingdom."

He and his people certainly enjoyed a comfortable life and did not have to worry about the threat of natural disasters in the future.

However, they also lost their sense of superiority over settled peoples, since the most significant characteristic of herds of horses was their ability to freely conduct large-scale slave-hunting operations within the Great Wall.

This tactic instilled in these non-Han peoples a psychological sense of superiority over settled peoples, but if they were allowed to settle down, they would inevitably be unable to capture slaves again.

Even their lifestyle and customs would gradually transform into those of the urban class over time. By then, they would be fully integrated into the Chu state, and their martial prowess would have diminished.

In the end, he was reduced to an ordinary citizen, losing all his former sense of superiority.

The Wu Zhao Kingdom is different. While those who seek refuge with them may not receive abundant material benefits, they are granted privileges that place them among the elite.

The 600 million ordinary people of Wuzhao can provide them with resources, allowing them to exploit and even plunder at will. They will still be the superior people there.

Therefore, they would naturally throw themselves into Wu Zhao's arms without hesitation.

Shen Lang's words clearly implied that he wanted to use historical materialism to deeply analyze the social structure of the ancient Chinese civilization.

He discovered a pattern: from the Spring and Autumn Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and even later during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the people living in Guanzhong were extremely powerful in battle.

Because during this period, the social structure of Chinese civilization was a warrior-civil society, and all the resources of the dynasty were used for military purposes.

The most obvious sign is that throughout the Qin, Han, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, there was no large-scale street market trade system; strength was determined by local military preparedness.

The transition from a warrior-citizen structure to a more urbanized social structure occurred during the Tianbao era of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty.

During this period, bustling street markets and trade emerged in many parts of the Tang Dynasty, and the urbanized structure gradually took shape.

However, because it was a period of transition, the samurai citizen system had not completely degenerated. Even after the An Lushan Rebellion, there were still a large number of fearless citizens who dared to fight the rebels head-on.

It wasn't until the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song that the urban social structure underwent its first transformation. During this period, the fighting capacity of the people within the Great Wall was far inferior to that of the Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties.

However, due to the development of social productivity, the upgrading of military equipment and the updating of tactics have gradually replaced the signs of relying solely on "bravery" in combat.

During this period, you will find an interesting phenomenon: the fighting power of the Liao, Jin, and Western Xia dynasties suddenly became very weak. This is an inevitable effect of the ethnic groups becoming urbanized after settling down.

Some people may ask why the Manchus' fighting power declined so rapidly after entering the Central Plains. This is because by the time the Manchus entered the Central Plains, the social structure within the Central Plains had already been fully urbanized by the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty.

The already well-established street market system did not require the Manchu Eight Banners group to spend time and effort on its development. The original warrior citizens naturally and quickly became urbanized, so they had no fighting power left.

Ultimately, this is an inevitable change brought about by the transformation of social structure. The urbanization of the population has led to a weakening of the so-called "martial spirit" among the people, but it is not a regression.

The main reason why dynasties eventually perished was that they did not have time to quickly transform their already urbanized, atomized social structures into new interest groups, which led to one tragedy after another at the end of a dynasty.

Those Hu people who joined Wu Zhao were actually unwilling to give up their superiority as "warrior citizens," especially their leaders, who were even more unwilling to let their people quickly become urbanized and lose their sense of superiority.

Therefore, Shen Lang was not surprised by the large-scale westward migration of the Hu people to join Wu Zhao.