Seven Seas Beacon Fire

"It's more accurate to say that His Majesty has never had a good time most of the time." Daisuke Takahashi sighed. Although having such an emperor meant that his power as prime minister was even less constrained, he didn't want this unrestrained situation at all. Rights and obligations are always intertwined. Since the emperor was like this, no one had any expectations, so the greater pressure naturally fell on his shoulders as prime minister.

He'd been truly overwhelmed these past few days. While this wasn't uncommon since the Reformation, at least in the past there was a crown prince with relatively normal intelligence. But this crown prince…

"What about the Crown Prince?"

"I haven't seen the Crown Prince. He's locked himself in his room these past few days and hasn't seen anyone."

Takahashi Daisuke's words made Saito Juichiro somewhat anxious: "How can that be? Right now is the time when we need to take charge of the overall situation. How can the Crown Prince lock himself in a room by himself?"

Clearly, the Crown Prince Zhaoren, who once had lofty ambitions to make Yingzhou a "pivotal" place in the world, now seems to be somewhat frightened by the Tang Empire's reaction.

"Is it really necessary to be this scared?"

In recent days, Saito Juichiro has been heartbroken over the losses suffered by the navy, while also worrying about what further demands the Tang Empire might make. But surely no one should be so frightened?

The Tang people haven't done anything yet, and you're already so terrified. How can they still regard you as a great ruler?

Daisuke Takahashi waved his hand, indicating that they should stop talking about this kind of issue. It was unclear whether he was avoiding the topic to save face for the Emperor's lineage, or whether he was simply too tired to continue the conversation.

"The Tang Empire hasn't even responded to our initial protest. They're currently in talks with the United States of Colombia about this matter, and we don't even have the right to be observers." Daisuke Takahashi chuckled self-deprecatingly at this point. "We haven't even received an apology from them, let alone a rebuttal or insults. Silence is the greatest form of contempt."

Saito Juichiro felt a deep connection to Takahashi Daibutsu's words. As a department that frequently had to deal with foreign countries, Saito Juichiro had naturally experienced the cold treatment he received from those white nations. He also knew very well that diplomacy between countries was essentially a conversation based on power and status.

However, who could have imagined that the Tang Empire's attitude towards them was not one of contempt but rather of indifference?

Of course, what these two did not know was that the Tang Empire did not care much about Yingzhou, but it did not completely ignore them. The Honglu Temple still drafted a letter of state full of "great magnanimity" according to the wishes of the Crown Prince. In this letter of state, the Tang Dynasty was not so much conducting normal diplomatic exposition as it was simply a one-sided emotional outburst. The young official in charge of drafting this letter of state had excellent classical Chinese skills, and this letter of state state was almost like a "Proclamation to Punish Yingzhou".

However, when the article was sent to the cabinet, it was unanimously considered that "the wording was too forceful." It was originally intended to be rewritten, but after the bilateral talks between Colombia and the Tang Dynasty in Ryukyu regarding this conflict, Yingzhou was forgotten.

There's no need to bring children to the table to listen to things that can be discussed with adults.

As a result, this “unpredictable” state plunged Yingzhou into an atmosphere of panic. The Yingzhou army had even entered a state of level two combat readiness. Who wouldn’t be afraid that the next morning they would wake up to find that the heavenly army of the Great Tang Dynasty had suddenly crossed the Tsushima Strait?

If Yingzhou isn't fully prepared when the massive army crosses the strait and the turbulent waves pave the way, then one by one they'll be waiting for the Tang Dynasty to sharpen its knives.

"What should the navy do next? This time, we've really lost more than we gained."

“Prime Minister, you don’t need to put it so harshly… While it is indeed the case, the Colombian Navy’s Seventh Fleet has already conveyed General McGiffin’s message.”

"What does General McGiffin mean?"

"General McGiffin said that from now on, no more finished warships will be sold to us."

After Saito Jujuro finished speaking, Prime Minister Takahashi immediately understood the implied meaning: "So, our American allies are willing to support us in developing our own military shipbuilding industry?"

Yingzhou has a solid foundation in shipbuilding, having built many civilian ships of over 10,000 tons. Although there are significant differences between civilian and military ships in many aspects and in terms of technical requirements, Yingzhou at least has this foundation. Contrary to what many people imagine, the shipbuilding industry of this era and the aviation industry decades later, which may seem to have the least technical content, is actually the foundation of everything.

However, there is a long way to go from the basics to becoming the crown jewel of modern manufacturing. It is unrealistic to expect to develop independently in a short period of time by relying on Yingzhou.

"They are willing to provide us with technical assistance on some key technologies, such as ship boilers, steam turbines, and the smelting of armor steel."

"What about the cannons?" Prime Minister Takahashi knew very well what the most crucial thing was. It was like in another world, in the 21st century, if you were building a regional air defense ship, what would be the most important thing?

A shield!

Without advanced phased array air search radar and corresponding information command systems, no matter how fancy your ship hull is, it's useless.

"As for naval guns, they will provide us with technical support... but they cannot export artillery directly to us, not just finished products, but even gun blanks." Saito Juichiro frankly stated, "All we can get is guidance from the corresponding technical personnel, and we can have a complete set of paper technical documents, but we will not receive any physical objects."

Prime Minister Takahashi was not surprised by the result: "What kind of cannons will we get? Will we get the Colombian Navy's latest 16-inch naval guns?"

Faced with this question, Saito Juichiro shook his head again: "We have inquired with the Colombian Navy about whether we can obtain their 16-inch naval gun technology, but the Colombian Navy believes that exporting 16-inch naval gun technology to us may once again provoke a strong reaction from the Tang Empire. Moreover, the manufacturing technology of 16-inch naval guns is too far beyond our capabilities. We should be able to obtain the Colombian Navy's 14-inch naval guns, or the technology of the Victorian Royal Navy's 15-inch naval guns that the Colombian Navy possesses."

"If the diameter is reduced by one inch, we can manufacture it?"

“In terms of technical difficulty, the 15-inch naval gun of the Victoria Navy is indeed easier to manufacture, because this naval gun still uses the relatively traditional wire-winding process. The largest caliber cannon that our country has ever produced is a copy of the Ming Dynasty’s 280 mm coastal defense cannon. This heavy cannon also uses the wire-winding process, and there are many similarities in technology.” Saito Juichiro’s wording was as accurate and careful as possible.

From his perspective, he needed to convince the Prime Minister that Yingzhou's military industry, with Colombian technical support, could achieve these things, but he also needed to leave some room for maneuver, just in case it didn't work out... He hadn't made any definitive statements today, had he?

People from Yingzhou have always been like this.

Therefore, Daisuke Takahashi could see that Saito Juichiro was not entirely confident. However, since the Meiji Restoration faction supported the Emperor and drove out the Tokugawa Shogunate, betraying the Ming Dynasty, there was no turning back for Yingzhou now—at least their fates were now tied to the current Yingzhou.

He had no choice but to go in.

"Are we really capable of building such a large warship?"

“This is not something that can be accomplished overnight.” Saito Juichiro replied truthfully at this moment: “We have only seen second-class cruisers before. Originally, we planned to use large light cruisers of 10,000 tons to practice, and we planned to build two of them.”

However, we now have to move one of the Royal Navy Victoria 13.5-inch turrets we purchased earlier to repair the battlecruiser HMS Atago, so we can probably only build one of these large light cruisers now.

Currently, all preparations for this ship are complete. The design drawings were finalized at the end of last year. We will first use this ship to train workers and designers. In five years, we should be able to build truly large capital ships ourselves.

Saito Juichiro's words made Takahashi Daisuke nod in satisfaction. In any case, the Navy did these things in a methodical way. Although the previous commander of the garrison fleet was an absolute idiot, it seems that most of the Navy people are normal now.

The difference between jumping directly from 5000-ton cruisers to build 30,000-ton battleships and accumulating experience through 5000-ton and 10,000-ton large cruisers before starting to build true capital ships is far more than just a superficial difference.

For the world, no more than a few days had passed since the breaking political news from the East had captured global attention, and now an even bigger and more explosive piece of news has begun to appear in several of the world's major newspapers.

-------------------------------------

The Victorian Empire, the United States of Colombia, the Tang Dynasty, the Kingdom of Gaul, and the Kingdom of Syracuse will meet in Honolulu this summer to discuss matters related to a naval arms control treaty.

For the people of Europe who had just suffered the ravages of war, this was undoubtedly the best news. After all, the European countries had witnessed firsthand how the war between the Victorian Empire and the Lycanian Empire had escalated from a shipbuilding race to the point of war.

The fact that some of the world's most powerful navies are willing to sit down and discuss the naval arms race is, in the current climate, absolutely politically correct.

Under such a media storm, Yingzhou quickly disappeared from the front pages of the world's media.

"We will strive for a generation of peace"—this is an article written by a Gaulish newspaper, in which the journalist naturally lavishes praise on those who promoted the negotiations for this naval arms control treaty.

Gallus was arguably the most devastated of the victorious nations, suffering enormous human and economic losses in the war, especially in terms of personnel. Gallic troops were the main force in battles that earned the nickname "meat grinder" during the World Wars, and they nearly sacrificed an entire generation of Gauls.

Because of their experience of the fear of war, the people of Gaul genuinely believed that even the worst peace was better than the best war, and naturally had high expectations for this treaty that would determine the future world order and the fate of the nation.

"The New Challengers" - This is an article published by the Victorian Empire Moon Newspaper. In this article, it can be seen that the Victorian Empire is in a state of being unable to express its suffering in the face of this world war. The Moon Newspaper even accompanied the article with a cartoon - after taking down the Leitanian Empire, two more muscular countries have emerged. Then, the little figure representing the Victorian Empire says at the end: Again?

The media in Syracuse also reported on the preparations for negotiations on a naval arms control treaty in a fairly positive manner. However, half of the articles written by the Syracuse media focused on the Leitanian Empire's warships.

The reason is simple: when the treaty was about to be signed, the Kingdom of Syracuse realized that it didn't have many decent warships at all. Who told them to sell two battleships that hadn't been allocated by everyone to Colombia before the war ended, just to make money?

Compared to these countries, the media coverage of the treaty in the Tang Empire and the United States of Colombia was not as "generally positive" as in the other countries; if anything, it was a "mixed" evaluation.

Chapter 279 The Three Kings Reunite (1)

Compared to the gloomy atmosphere in Yingzhou, Songjiang Prefecture was immersed in a sea of ​​joy.

Many people who had come from afar had already gathered outside the port. The good news from the sea had spread before the fleet returned. Compared to the United States of Colombia, Yingzhou was actually more hated by the people of the Tang Dynasty.

This is actually quite understandable. Although the Colombian troops committed many war crimes in Borneo, and every Chinese person in Borneo could say they wished they could eat the flesh and sleep on the bones of these Colombians, the vast majority of ordinary people living on the mainland have never experienced such suffering, making it difficult for them to fully empathize with the news and pictures reported by the media of this era.

In this respect, the advanced and widespread short videos of the 21st century have indeed won widespread support for many people who have suffered from inhumane gang war crimes. Just like the tragedies that occurred in Gaza were not limited to the siege of Gaza after Operation Al-Aqsa flood, but before that, it was difficult for people to see so many bloody and real tragedies that seemed to happen right in front of them.

Therefore, compared to Colombia, the traitor Yingzhou attracted even more hatred. In this land of the East, betrayers have always been the least tolerated and accepted.

Lu Meng's crossing of the Yangtze River in disguise was a great military success, but few people considered it a good story. When discussing the transition between the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, people hated Qin Hui more than the brutal Jin people.

Therefore, after this time, when they thrashed the fleet right on Yingzhou's doorstep, because the target was so politically correct, not even the usually talkative civil officials in this land dared to accuse them of provoking a border conflict.

After completing their mission, the fleet did not return directly. Instead, it circled around Yanping before two battlecruisers headed north to Qingqiu Port, while two Longyuan ships sailed south to Songjiang Port.

Unexpectedly, even after several days, the crew of the two battleships were still greeted by a large number of people upon entering the port. This vibrant and thriving scene greatly excited the officers and soldiers on board.

Of course, another very important reason for their excitement was probably the group of female students in beautiful long dresses and ponytails among the welcoming crowd at the dock.

However, although the main focus in the naval port is now the two battleships, the people here, along with the female students and other representatives of the public who are preparing to welcome them on the dock, are not actually there to welcome the two battleships' triumphant return.

The two Longyuan ships actually stole the limelight from everyone else. Although the sailors in the fleet may not have realized this, the mid- to high-ranking naval officers all knew that the local government could not know in advance the return date of the fleet, which was under strict secrecy during its operations at sea. Therefore, it was impossible for them to organize such a large-scale welcome so quickly.

On the other side of the pier where they were docked, there was only an empty cruiser with the common paint scheme of the South Sea Fleet, a ship they hadn't had much dealing with in the past.

"How come this light cruiser occupies such a large berth all by itself?" Xu Yueming looked down from the bridge, his gaze completely drawn to the cruiser, whose design was vastly different from other cruisers common in this era.

In the foreground, the ship was indeed no different from other cruisers. Two twin 150mm main guns were mounted on the centerline. These 150mm main guns were not turreted, but twin deck guns. In addition, there were two 150mm main guns on each side of the ship. All of these guns were mounted on the foreground.

The placement of these guns gives the impression of being cramped, especially since one of the twin 150mm naval guns is positioned between two funnels. The entire warship has only one mainmast. The main reason why the front of the ship looks so cramped is that the aft deck of this cruiser has no guns, no mainmast, and no funnels. Instead, there is only a rotating hydraulic catapult, a crane, and a total of seven aircraft parked behind the deck.

This is an aircraft carrier cruiser in every sense of the word. Although, as an aircraft carrier, the efficiency and method of launching aircraft are significantly different from those of an aircraft carrier with a full flight deck, Xu Yueming, who is mainly in charge of the current naval aviation force, can tell at a glance that this cruiser was originally a genuine gun cruiser and its current state is a result of modification.

If every cruiser in the navy in the future could carry aircraft, instead of as many as this ship, and each cruiser could carry only one or two aircraft, the extra aircraft carried by the entire fleet, if equipped with radios in the future, could greatly expand the reconnaissance range of the entire fleet.

"Why are you still looking at that cruiser?" Lin Zhiyuan appeared beside Xu Yueming at some point. "Aren't you curious about who that cruiser brought to Songjiang Prefecture?"

"Why should I be curious about this?" Xu Yueming asked, somewhat puzzled. "Whoever sails this cruiser to Songjiang Prefecture has nothing to do with us, right?"

“Theoretically, that’s correct. I don’t know who boarded this cruiser and came to Songjiang Prefecture, but didn’t you notice that besides the cheering and celebrating representatives of the people, you can also see the Imperial Guard’s banners on the dock?”

"Jin Wu Huan?"

"Yes, I don't know who was on his ship, but I do know that His Majesty personally greeted him at the dock."

Xu Yueming then looked at the other end of the dock in the direction Lin Zhiyuan was pointing, and sure enough, he saw two strangely shaped things that looked like umbrellas. These were the Golden Banners.

Why does it look so plain?

And why are there two of these things standing side by side?

Moreover... when His Majesty registered his throne, didn't he say that he wouldn't carry out the imperial regalia until his homeland was recovered?

So he squinted and carefully examined it, then turned to Lin Zhiyuan with a pitiful look: "General, that's not the Emperor's Golden Guard banner. That's the ceremonial guard of a prince. One is His Majesty's banner when he was still the Prince of Jin, and the other should be the banner of the Prince of Shu. The banner standing on the horse's head is the prince's ceremonial guard, not the Emperor's."

Lin Zhiyuan's smile froze on his face. He could feel the attention of the other officers and soldiers in Cambridge. Oh no, he never thought he would become the kind of person who is all talk and no action, who tried to show off his knowledge but failed and got humiliated.

"A prince's regalia?" He still found it hard to believe: "But Your Majesty is now the Emperor. Even if you don't use the Emperor's regalia because of the oath you made back then, Your Majesty doesn't need to use the regalia of the Prince of Jin from back then, does he?"

However, the quick-witted Xu Yueming had already roughly guessed who was on board the cruiser. He was now in charge of all matters related to the naval aviation force. Although it was just a newly emerging force in the navy, he personally oversaw all the ships undergoing aviation-related modifications. However, he had never seen this cruiser before. In addition, its paint scheme was similar to that of the South China Sea Fleet, so it was clear that this was a cruiser that had once belonged to Yanping.

Who else in the world today possesses the ability to simultaneously travel on the Yanping warship and have the current Tang emperor, the former Prince of Jin, and the Prince of Shu all welcoming them at the dock?

The answer is obvious, isn't it?

"Has the King of Song finally agreed to return to his homeland?" Xu Yueming's gaze swept back and forth across the horse's head. He had even seen His Majesty and His Highness the Prince of Shu in their everyday clothes on the dock, but he still hadn't seen the King of Song.

He was genuinely curious about what it would be like if the King of Song met His Majesty at the dock.

Chapter 280 The Three Kings Reunite (2)

King Zheng Qinguo of Song was somewhat arrogant.

Although under normal circumstances, this word should not be used to describe a middle-aged king, this King Song's behavior in many ways was indeed very awkward.

Even after Emperor Yongning died and the country was destroyed, this Song king still insisted on raising the banner of the Ming Dynasty on Borneo and Luzon. It should be noted that Colombian troops had already begun to attack Luzon. After that, when Colombian troops launched a major offensive, there were people who advised him to leave the dangerous Borneo and retreat to the relatively safe mainland.

However, this Prince Song declared that even if he were to die, he would do so in the last pure land of the Ming Dynasty!

Therefore, he was very resistant to the provisional government from the very beginning. At that time, the provisional government, thanks to the contrast with Emperor Yongning, had a good reputation, at least before they were prepared to make peace with the Allied Powers on the condition of ceding almost all of their overseas territories outside the mainland.

Therefore, this Prince Song was naturally regarded by everyone as a representative of the Ming loyalists from the beginning.

As we all know, what happened next was that Prince Jin raised an army to quell the rebellion and took control of the capital. Although he did not immediately change the dynasty after taking control of the capital, everyone knew that Li Zongdi, with his thick eyebrows and big eyes, would either become the emperor or the commander-in-chief. In short, someone had picked up the mess left behind.

Until the battle on the Silla Peninsula came to an end, the warriors on Borneo were mainly supported by the Song royal family and the people of the entire prefecture.

By this time, no one called them remnants of the Ming Dynasty anymore. Because at that time, due to various reasons, the mainland was unable to provide assistance, and the Song Prince's Mansion and Borneo really held out for almost a year. Since ancient times, most of the remnants of the Ming Dynasty were political opportunists, and few had ever been seen to have any real backbone. But when the Battle of Luoyang broke out, in the face of national righteousness, who wouldn't give a thumbs up to the Song Prince's Mansion and say that His Highness the Song Prince was both tall and tough?

Although the Song Prince's Mansion and the Jin Prince's Mansion could be said to be in the same trench, on the same side, and united against the common enemy, there were still conflicts between them. For those in the know in the court, the biggest conflict between the two sides that surfaced was the reappearance of Princess Yongning, who had disappeared before.

Many people wanted to send Princess Yongning to Borneo. Different people and different political cases had different purposes. Some wanted to use Princess Yongning's identity to sell out the country indirectly—of course, they claimed to be saving the country indirectly; others wanted to use Princess Yongning's identity to be granted land and made kings, hoping to become a Lü Buwei in this era.

The Song Prince's Mansion was one of these many different forces. The reason why the Song Prince's Mansion wanted to bring the princess over was simply because they did not want the Ming princess to be displaced and possibly get caught up in the political vortex in the country. Or did they also hope to use the Ming princess to gain more legitimacy and eventually create an "overseas Ming"?

It can be said that this was the most tense period in the relationship between the two princely mansions.

However, the Prince of Jin's palace did not stop its aid to Borneo. On the contrary, Li Zongdi personally took charge of the reorganization of the troops and even sent his elite troops to the island to fight against the Colombian expeditionary force.

Meanwhile, the Song Prince's Mansion maintained a low profile for quite some time afterward. Even after Li Zongdi officially announced the name of the new dynasty, the Song Prince's Mansion, much to the disappointment of many insiders, did not express any objections. On the same day, the mansion, which was still very close to the front line, awkwardly held another flag-raising ceremony for the Ming Dynasty. With almost no onlookers other than the troops involved in the war, the flag of the Ming Dynasty, symbolizing the sun and moon shining together, was raised over Borneo for the last time.

After the establishment of the Tang Dynasty, there were no official routines such as congratulatory messages and blessings. However, it was also useless to deliberately oppose and obstruct the new dynasty. It felt like a respectable woman was forced to give herself to a neighbor she didn't like when she was robbed in her home. Although it was not very acceptable to her emotionally, the respectable woman was morally upright. Isn't that awkward?

Now, this King Song has finally returned to his homeland. However, the Ming Dynasty's Sun and Moon Banner no longer flies over the mainland. Instead, the Tang Dynasty's Red Dragon Banner has taken its place.

The current temporary national flag of the Tang Dynasty looks very similar to the typical "Imperial Han Flag" on the Internet in another world. The difference is that this flag actually appeared in the Ming Dynasty. It is actually a very ordinary red flag with a yellow dragon. However, due to the loss of territory in this war, black backgrounds were added to the top and bottom of the original red flag with a dragon, and the yellow dragon in the center was changed into a black dragon pattern that looks like it is roaring.

The implication is that the country is currently in its most perilous moment, the shadow of the enemy has not yet faded, and the flag will not change color until the country is revitalized.

As Song Wang stepped off the cruiser Chenggong, he looked up at the battleship Longyuan, which was moored at a different berth on the same dock. Besides the navy's dragon claw ensign, the brand-new Xuanlong national flag was flying on the mainmast of this majestic giant sword.

After nodding expressionlessly, he led his entourage toward Li Zongdi, who was waiting for him with an imposing air, and Liu Chang'an, the Prince of Shu, who stood beside him, looking somewhat awkward, to the military music played by the honor guard.

The banners of the former Prince Jin's Mansion and Prince Shu's Mansion now stand side by side on the dock. After Li Zongdi ascended the throne, the title of Prince Jin should have disappeared, and the title of Prince Shu should have been revoked after the Ming Dynasty removed the title of Prince. However, on this dock today, whether it is Li Zongdi or Liu Chang'an, no matter how different their current mentality is, at least the person welcoming Zheng Qin Guo here is not the emperor of the Tang Dynasty.

When the Prince of Song walked straight to Li Zongdi and calmly met his gaze, he suddenly felt that this scene was somewhat familiar. It was as if he could see through the long river of history and see that hundreds of years ago, the three ancestors of the Prince of Song had also become sworn brothers before Emperor Longwu, and then embarked on an epic journey of rebuilding China and creating the Ming Dynasty.

Yes, the world has indeed reached a point where it needs another Emperor Longwu.