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

On the first day of the eighth lunar month, before dawn, at the port of Guzhou.

To avoid being forced to stay by the people of Zhongdu, Shen Lang and Jiang Mengxuan boarded the Jinling ship ahead of schedule.

"My lord, has this expedition come to a successful conclusion?"

"That's about it. We've gotten what we were supposed to get. Now all that's left is to establish a mature operating mechanism to reap sufficient profits."

"Well, it's time to go home. I wonder what Chu has become in the past year since I left."

Jiang Mengxuan sighed softly, grasped Shen Lang's hand tightly, and together they looked at the rising sun on the sea.

Meanwhile, within the Forbidden City, Li Hong's life was also coming to an end.

After meeting Jiang Mengxuan that day, his spirit was completely broken. After returning to the palace, he fell into a terminal illness and was only kept alive by medication.

In the final moments of his life, the emperor who had single-handedly brought Wu Zhao Kingdom to the pinnacle of centralized power and then plunged it into the abyss, donned his dragon robe for the last time amidst the sobs of his concubines and the watchful eyes of his officials.

Sitting on his dragon throne, reflecting on his legendary life, Li Hong finally gave himself an assessment: "I am the ruler of a prosperous era."

The Wu Zhao Kingdom rose and fell because of Li Hong. My life has been so eventful, it could be written into an epic! Hahaha!

Even at the very last moment of his life, he did not let go of the face that had brought Wu Zhao Kingdom to its utter ruin.

He finally looked at Li Yan: "Today, I entrust the empire to you. The White Lotus Society has risen again in the south, and the Khanate on the northwest frontier is eyeing us covetously."

As for the rest, consider it a test from me. The rulers of our Wu Zhao Kingdom have all emerged from trials.

You too, don't disgrace our Wu Zhao Kingdom.

"Father, I will certainly not fail your trust!"

Li Yan burst into tears and buried her head on the ground.

But in his heart he was cursing: "Old man, what a mess you've left me! The treasury is empty, there are uprisings everywhere, and there's a mountain of foreign debt. Are you trying to kill me with your labor?"

Li Hong smiled and waved his hand, finally looking out the window at the rising sun.

"A new day has begun, and it is time for me to go and pay my respects to my ancestors."

In a daze, Li Hong seemed to hear the roar of ten thousand horses galloping.

He raised his hand slightly for a moment, then let it fall limply to the ground.

This controversial emperor of the Wu Zhao Kingdom thus came to the end of his life.

From then on, the Kingdom of Wuzhao welcomed a new emperor, Li Yan.

He was facing a Wu Zhao Kingdom beset by internal and external troubles.

However, everything that happened afterward proved that Li Yan was no less capable than Li Hong in handling affairs, and in some aspects of decision-making, she even completely outperformed Li Hong.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Shen Lang and Jiang Mengxuan.

The two nestled quietly at the bow of the boat, enjoying the beautiful scenery of the vast blue waves and the bright sunshine.

"Ah Lang, when we get back, I want to have another child for you."

"No, I'm afraid it will hurt you too much."

"No, I don't care, I want it, you can't refuse."

"You're almost thirty, how come you've become even more childish?"

"That's because with you by my side, it doesn't matter if I'm naive and willful."

After Jiang Mengxuan finished speaking, she stood on tiptoe and gave Shen Lang a deep kiss on the corner of his lips.

Shen Lang immediately hugged Jiang Mengxuan back, giving a fierce response.

Along the coastline, ironclad warships slowly sailed south, laden with all the memories and joys of this expedition...

Fifteen years later, in Jinling City, Chu State.

Fifteen years is neither a long nor a short time, but the State of Chu had completely completed the industrialization of the entire dynasty.

In the agricultural sector, tractors have replaced oxen and horses for plowing fields, and there are also specialized harvesters for harvesting, which has greatly improved the efficiency of farmers' farming.

In several major cities, public trams became the primary mode of transportation for ordinary people. After the Science and Technology Department invented the gas engine in the eighth year of Xuan Sheng, it immediately applied it to various fields, and the private automobile industry flourished with new vitality.

However, the cost of private cars is still very high, averaging around eight thousand silver dollars, which is unaffordable for ordinary families. Even though the price of cars has now dropped to 3500 silver dollars, they are still not affordable for ordinary people and require more time to mature.

However, ordinary people don't envy these things, since they also have public trams and bicycles to choose from, and those who are a little more extravagant can even call a taxi to get to their destinations.

In the cities of Chu today, dirt roads are no longer visible; even the official roads leading to the countryside are now wide cement roads.

However, the buildings in the city still maintain a traditional style similar to that of the Han Dynasty. Although there are tall buildings, the Chu style still dominates, but the houses are built to be more exquisite on the original basis.

In the military industry, the advent of tanks completely replaced the dominant role of cavalry on the battlefield. In addition, in the eighteenth year of Xuan Sheng, the first aircraft successfully completed its test flight, and the State of Chu officially established its first air force.

At this time, the people of Chu were prosperous, its influence was widespread, and the improvement in productivity filled the whole society with a vibrant and enthusiastic atmosphere.

As education levels rise, poetry and literature, which were originally monopolized by aristocratic families, have spread to the common people and created a unique urban culture.

For a time, newspapers and periodicals criticizing the current politics of the Chu state and the changes in the world order became very popular among the people.

The achievement of compulsory education in the State of Chu was that more citizens could read and write, at least understand the content, and were encouraged to express their demands.

Of course, the premise is still that one must be loyal to the emperor and love the country.

As for the overseas colonies, their development over the years has completely aligned them with the State of Chu.

With the genuine submission of the Southeast Asian colonies, the cabinet proactively raised the basic salary of the colonies in the thirteenth year of Xuan Sheng's reign, which was widely praised.

As for the West, after discovering large reserves of high-quality copper and iron in the Qi Kingdom, the Empress directly represented the cabinet and signed a mining and factory construction agreement with Queen Tian Ying for the next hundred years. She monopolized the mining industry in Qi Kingdom with a base price of three million silver dollars per year and was willing to provide infrastructure construction.

From then on, the 500,000 citizens of Qi, who were originally dirt poor, now have assets of over 10,000 yuan even when they are lying down. Private cars, which most people in Chu could not afford, have become almost universal in Qi, making it the first Western welfare state.

As for other Western countries, they all made a fortune as their trade with the State of Chu became more and more frequent.

Moreover, due to the introduction of a large number of guns and cannons from the State of Chu and the reform of their own military system, the Wuzong faction within their country suffered unprecedented suppression.

The era in which martial artists dominated the world is completely over.

The current state of Wuzhao Kingdom presents a completely different picture.

Since the Chu army defeated the Wu Zhao Kingdom in that battle, the Wu Zhao Kingdom's influence in the west has been weakening. Many foreign states also saw the weakness and vulnerability of the Wu Zhao Kingdom in this battle, and began to break away from the tributary system.

However, Li Yan, the new emperor after Li Hong, had no time to deal with these diplomatic affairs.

The first thing he did after ascending the throne was to order Zhang Gui to suppress the White Lotus Rebellion.

Under Zhang Gui's call, the previously abandoned garrison troops were revitalized and fought the White Lotus Society to a standstill.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last long. The following year, Zhang Gui died of illness on the way to attack the White Lotus Society's headquarters, which directly led to the White Lotus Society's main members breaking through and continuing to recruit believers in various parts of Wuzhao, on an even larger scale than before.

In the same year, the troubles on the northwest border were quelled by more than two thousand elite cavalrymen under Fu Heng's command.

As it turned out, Wu Zhaoguo was completely powerless against Chu, but his remaining few thousand elite troops were still not something that the surrounding smaller states could easily contend with.

With the troubles on the northwestern border quelled, Fuheng received orders from Li Yan to go and suppress the White Lotus Society.

Unexpectedly, Fuheng fell seriously ill after returning from the Northwest and soon passed away.

Li Yan then ordered Lou Shide to lead elite troops south. Faced with the increasingly powerful White Lotus Rebellion and the local garrison's inability to withstand it, he made a very correct decision.

Group training.

Local gentry would fund the recruitment of local militia, who would then be trained by the local government. The captured territory and grain would be distributed among the gentry based on the amount of money they contributed.

Once the order for militia training was issued, the White Lotus Society was quickly suppressed.

The massive White Lotus Rebellion was finally quelled after costing the Wu Zhao Kingdom nearly 100 million taels of silver.

However, Wu Zhaoguo dared not take any rash action against the folk associations active in the Haixi region, for fear of angering the Chu state and bringing shame upon himself once again.

Ten years later, after repaying its debts, Wu Zhaoguo took back the salt tax management rights from Chu as promised and obtained an efficient administrative system. Unfortunately, this system was abolished in less than two years due to the death of Li Yan.

After Li Yan's death, local communities, centered in Haixi, sprang up like mushrooms in the south.

The new emperor, Li Min, wanted to mobilize cavalry from outside the pass to suppress the rebellion, but then he discovered something terrible.

The State of Chu actually built a railway from the Liaodong grasslands to the plains beyond the Great Wall...

The Wu Zhao Kingdom is still beset by internal and external troubles and plagued by corruption. However, the people are awakening and waiting for the right moment to rise up and overthrow the Wu Zhao Kingdom.

However, the timing depends on the attitude of the State of Chu...

"This is the story of my husband, and it is also the legend that you are able to sit here and listen to me tell you."

Inside Weiyang Palace, Jiang Mengxuan smiled as she faced the newspaper editors conducting an interview below.

Time has left no trace on Jiang Mengxuan; she remains very beautiful. In an interview with the newspaper, she recounted Shen Lang's experiences in detail.

"I love my husband and I am so glad that I met him. With him, I realized that a successful emperor never needs any special talents, because having my husband is enough for me."

"My husband is so fierce, gentle, and lovable."

After saying this, Jiang Mengxuan slowly stood up.

"Cherish everything we have today, for it is all thanks to the Emperor of Great Chu. It's getting late; I should return to be with my husband."

As for the rest, you can ask my son. In two years, I should abdicate and live a normal life with my husband.

After saying that, ignoring the newspaper editor's continued questioning, he strolled towards the back garden.

In the back garden, Shen Lang was playing chess with Jiang Shangxian.

They exchanged a gentle smile the instant their eyes met Jiang Mengxuan's.

"Ah Lang, it's so good to know you."

"Me too."

……

Preview:

"Fifty thousand lives, just wiped out like grass?"

Shen Chuan, who had crawled out of the pile of corpses, looked at the bodies of his allies scattered all over Lingchuan Ferry and felt the cold wind howling passionately in his ears, and his cheeks twitched involuntarily.

In the distance, a Later Jin soldier spotted him and immediately spurred his horse and charged toward him.

"Why is this happening?"

Looking at the broken matchlock gun at his feet, Shen Chuan seemed oblivious to the approaching danger behind him.

"Go to hell, you Nikan!"

Five steps away, the Later Jin soldier raised his horse bow, cursed Shen Chuan in a foreign language, and was just about to release the taut bowstring.

puff-

Boiling blood stained the air red.

As the two passed each other, Shen Chuan's armor-piercing halberd cleaved a gash in the chest of the Jurchen cavalryman on horseback.

"I need to change my way of living. I've been in this world for twenty years, not to die in this hellish place."

Stay tuned for Erha's new work, "Snatching My Life Back from the Battlefield, I Became a Great Warlord of the Empire," a fictional historical novel without a system, taking you on a journey through a cruel yet epic era.

See you in two weeks.

(End of the book)