Seven Seas Beacon Fire

However, such a natural little gesture was slightly surprising to others. Xu Yueming and the others couldn't help but look at each other and privately gave the grandson a thumbs up.

Li Che pointed out the car window: "In the past... was there a tradition of welcoming people at the station like this? Isn't it a bit too much?"

Zhu Miaoyun glanced out the car window. To others, Li Che's words sounded like he was asking if there was a tradition of such welcomes in the Ming Dynasty. But Zhu Miaoyun knew that he meant before he traveled through time. This feeling of unspoken meaning between the two of them made Zhu Miaoyun feel quite pleased. As for the welcoming ceremony outside, Zhu Miaoyun was all too familiar with it.

In their past lives, which student of Seres didn't welcome education bureau leaders who came down to inspect the school? Apart from a few more firecrackers on the platform outside, the feeling was almost exactly the same.

However, Li Che, this "time-traveling student," had never experienced such a scene before, which was a rare occurrence that happened to him and touched a blind spot in his knowledge.

“I have no idea. Anyway, the Ming Dynasty didn’t have such a tradition back then.” After saying that, Zhu Miaoyun whispered in Li Che’s ear, “This looks like the style of your Datong faction. It’s almost the same as the style of my ‘hometown’.”

Li Che raised an eyebrow. He had never heard of the Datong faction making such a fuss when he was in the Northwest. These officials were always pragmatic and rarely put on such a show.

Before he could voice his doubts, Zhu Miaoyun whispered in his ear, "Is all this commotion just for publicity? Both of the navy's victories are inextricably linked to you. In the current situation, news of victory is one of the most effective tools for stabilizing society. Although it has certainly been publicized through the media beforehand, it's certainly not as direct as a 'war hero' coming forward in person, right? Especially since you are the grandson of Prince Li Jin. This world probably doesn't have a people's historical perspective now, and creating heroes is very important under a heroic historical perspective."

Li Che looked at Zhu Miaoyun with some surprise. He had only thought that this woman was a cunning strategist, but he didn't expect that she actually had some skills.

Perhaps noticing Li Che's surprised gaze, Zhu Miaoyun seemed to understand what Li Che was surprised about, and said with some dissatisfaction, "Am I just a heartless idiot in your eyes?"

"No, no, not at all," Li Che denied repeatedly, while sincerely praising, "Your Highness is truly insightful!"

"Don't think I don't understand!" Zhu Miaoyun stared at him dangerously. "What you're really thinking is—'Stank tones, fun of foolish talk.'"

"Absolutely not! I genuinely think what you said this time was very insightful!" Li Che denied repeatedly.

The other passengers in the carriage watched as the two whispered among themselves and then began to have a strange conversation that no one could understand, but the two of them could understand each other. They all assumed that this was a strange kind of fun between young lovers. However, no one noticed that the train had already come to a smooth stop, and on the platform directly opposite their carriage, Li Renchi was watching incredulously as his eldest son and Princess Yongning were "cuddling" each other.

what's the situation?

Chapter 128 Founding of the Nation (2)

Our Prince Jin's heir, Li Renchi, has been quite troubled lately.

As his father's eldest son, Li Renzhi often felt that he was not there to be a son, but to be treated like livestock.

Li Renzhi was not in good health from a young age. He was thin and sickly. It was only because medical technology had advanced in the 9th century that he could have grown up safely if he had been born 100 years earlier.

Perhaps for this reason, compared to his younger brothers, Li Renzhi disliked sports and especially disliked martial arts from a young age.

While the second and third sons rode horses behind their father, our Crown Prince was studying. While the second and third sons went hunting with their father, our Crown Prince was studying. And then... the Crown Prince, who had been admitted to Jinling University ahead of schedule, tutored his two younger brothers in their studies so that these two fools wouldn't be unable to get into the Army Officer Academy because of their poor academic performance.

Li Renchi had a talent for studying. If it were in the past, he wouldn't dare to dream of becoming the top scholar, the third-place scholar, or the second-place scholar in the imperial examinations, but becoming a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest level of the imperial examinations) would be a piece of cake. Although it seems commonplace for the protagonist to become the top scholar in many novels featuring plagiarism, in reality, becoming a Jinshi in the ancient imperial examinations was already extremely difficult.

As the most prestigious university in the entire East, Jinling University held a position in the Ming Dynasty that was essentially a plus version of Nanjing University at its peak, as Zhang Xuefeng described it. Graduates from such a top-tier university generally had very promising careers and financial prospects. Whether they went into business or politics, they could expect smooth sailing. Some wealthy businessmen even liked to find a husband for their daughters when they graduated from Jinling University.

-------

In ancient times, there was the story of catching a son-in-law after passing the imperial examination; today, there is the story of arranging blind dates after graduation.

But Li Renchi never experienced the most triumphant and exhilarating time for Jin Da students. In fact, before he could even finish his graduation defense, his father dragged him back to the palace. In the words of the Prince of Jin, "The ox that has been raised is finally ready to plow the fields." Then, the Prince handed over all the affairs of the palace and the logistics of the army under his command to his eldest son.

From that moment on, Li Renchi was forced to become the "chief steward" of the Prince of Jin's mansion, or to put it another way—"the executive vice-Prince of Jin".

This situation has not improved for more than 20 years. Li Zongdi basically used his sons to the fullest extent, especially after the outbreak of war. Because Li Renzhi and Wu Jishi always cooperated very well, it can be said that Li Renzhi and Wu Jishi had become the "left and right prime ministers" of the Northwest. Now that the Prince of Jin's mansion has taken over Nanjing, Li Renzhi has been forced to take on the responsibility of the two capitals and thirty-three provinces of the Ming Dynasty.

Some friends posted on social media that they worked nine consecutive days around the National Day holiday due to the work schedule adjustment, saying they still couldn't get rid of the "work smell". But for our young master, what? There is such a thing as leisure in this world?

Today, our Crown Prince can practically have half a day of leisure, because he has come to the train station to greet his eldest son as instructed by the old man, to express his appreciation and praise for Li Che's work in the navy over the past period.

Since he was going to pick up his son, he naturally couldn't do any other official business. Li Renzhi simply postponed the work he had to do this afternoon and evening, planning to free up half a day to have a good family gathering with his son and wife.

Since the outbreak of the war, the family has rarely been able to sit down and get together. Now, the old man has finally made up his mind to prepare for the founding of the country. After all, as the young man surnamed Chen said before, under what name should the ceasefire agreement be signed with the Colombians?

We can't keep using the name of the provisional government, can we?

Although Li Zongdi had instructed that the founding of the nation should be simplified and unnecessary procedures should be omitted as much as possible, this still meant rebuilding a country on the foundation of the Ming Dynasty, which had existed for nearly 600 years, on this land in the East. No matter how many unnecessary procedures were omitted, the things that needed to be dealt with were enough to give the officials of the new government a huge headache.

Should the currency of the Ming Dynasty be changed? Should the old currency system be completely abolished and a brand new currency issued, or should the new dynasty's reign title and name be directly printed on the existing currency, while other aspects are temporarily followed?

The government's organizational structure will definitely change, but how much will it change? How much of the Ming Dynasty's government system and bureaucratic structure needs to be changed and how much needs to be retained?

Founding a nation is no small matter. Sometimes Li Renchi really wanted to slam his fist on the table with his father—Old man, you're about to become the emperor. You'll be the emperor, not me. There are some things you should do yourself!

But he should just keep these thoughts to himself. If he had the guts to slam his fist on the table with the old man, he would have done it more than a decade ago.

He hadn't expected to arrive at the platform with such a heavy heart. He thought seeing his son would make him feel better, since although the boy was a little mischievous, he was generally quite satisfied and at ease with him. Otherwise, when his father suggested that the boy wear a naval uniform to coordinate naval affairs, he would have definitely objected, citing the boy's young age and lack of experience.

But he never expected that his good son, whom he had always trusted, would be behaving so intimately and ambiguously with Princess Yongning. The two of them were so focused on each other that they didn't even notice that he was watching them from the platform outside!

Li Renchi even noticed that when Li Che started walking towards the train door, Zhu Miaoyun instinctively linked her arm with his. However, at the moment of contact, she probably remembered that if they got off the train like that, tomorrow's newspapers would be in high demand, so she withdrew her hand. Although Princess Yongning no longer linked arms with Li Che, she still followed closely behind him...

What exactly happened between that brat and Princess Yongning during this time?

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

Li Che was a little curious. He was indeed happy to see his father come to pick him up on the platform, but he didn't know why his father had a stern face the whole time.

Could it be that my performance in the navy over this period of time has not been satisfactory enough to my father?

Could this old man have been pressured by my grandfather and now wants to take it out on me? Li Che didn't hesitate to assume the worst about his own father. After all, who has ever seen someone keep a straight face throughout a welcoming ceremony for a victorious hero?

What Li Che found even more puzzling was why there were so many people on the bus home.

Admittedly, this is a long, luxurious sedan; it could easily seat ten people, let alone five. But the problem is—Zhu Miaoyun invited him herself, so let's put that aside for now. (Li Renchi: Damn it, this is the biggest problem!) Although I've heard that the Tokugawa family is now in Jinling, it's reasonable for Tokugawa Akiko to come home with me instead of seeing my father. After all, she was sent here for a political marriage. Regardless of whether the marriage will actually last, it's perfectly acceptable for this Japanese girl to want to come with me to the Tokugawa family's residence in Jinling.

But! Sister Zheng Guanyin, what are you doing here? It seems that ever since he and Yunyun recognized each other, this woman's gaze has been full of hostility. At first, Li Che thought that this woman had a strong interest in Zhu Miaoyun and that her dislike for him was because he felt that she had stolen Zhu Miaoyun's love.

However, Zhu Miaoyun later explained to him privately that after Zheng Guanyin arrived on the mainland and met with him, the first person she visited was Zhu Miaoyun. Although the Song Prince's Mansion might have heard about some of the Tokugawa Shogunate's practices and was also considering the same idea, the Song Prince's Mansion was not as desperate as the Tokugawa Shogunate. The Song Prince's Mansion still had some sense of shame, so the message they conveyed to Zheng Guanyin was somewhat subtle. It was probably that the Song Prince's Mansion was also hoping to arrange a good match if his daughter was interested after meeting him, and in this way, to gain more support from the Jin Prince's Mansion in the Yanping war.

If the girl wasn't interested in him, then Zheng Guanyin would simply be acting as a special envoy of the Song Prince's Mansion, handling things in an open and aboveboard manner. But no one expected that Zheng Guanyin was so shrewd, and in fact, extremely shrewd.

Upon hearing Zhu Miaoyun's explanation, Li Che understood. This Zheng Guanyin was essentially the Crimean prosecutor Natalia from the Song Dynasty's Prince's Mansion in this timeline. Since the Crimean prosecutor Natalia was a member of the Imperial Russian government, Zheng Guanyin was naturally a member of the Imperial Ming government.

Therefore, Zhu Miaoyun held a special position in Zheng Guanyin's eyes. To some extent, Zheng Guanyin regarded herself as "Wang Jing" and Zhu Miaoyun as "Cao Mao".

As for Li Che? To a certain extent, she regarded him as Sima Yan, but after recognizing Zhu Miaoyun, in Zheng Guanyin's eyes, who lacked crucial information, Li Che was a super scumbag who knew he could not be with Zhu Miaoyun, but still wanted to play with her feelings, identity, and body.

Li Che certainly didn't need to get angry with this kind of woman; he just found it slightly amusing.

If there's a chance in the future, I must make Yunyun say to her, "Fourth Sister, why didn't you push it anymore?"

must!

Chapter 129 Founding of the Nation (3)

Upon returning to his residence, Li Che naturally intended to pay his respects to his mother as soon as possible. Having been away from home for so long without seeing her, he and his mother must both miss each other dearly.

Of course, this situation can probably only last for a few days. At his age, he will return to his "hated by everyone" state after spending just a few days with his parents. I'm sure all college students who go home for vacation are very familiar with this.

After getting out of the car, Li Che quickly discovered that his mother had come to greet him at the entrance of the mansion. Unlike Li Renchi, Li Che's mother was quite different. When the Crown Princess saw Zhu Miaoyun, Tokugawa Akiko, and Zheng Guanyin arrive at the mansion, she looked at her son with an incredulous gaze, a look of affirmation and admiration that Li Che had never experienced in his previous 19 years of life.

The Crown Princess's joy at this moment was hard for outsiders to understand. Although the Prince of Jin's family had always been considered one of the noble families with the best family traditions and the highest moral standards due to their family education and style, and was even known in public opinion as a model of enlightened nobility, they were still "meat eaters" after all. If you look at other noble families, which family's eldest grandson is 19 years old and still not married?

While there are reasons to this, such as the outbreak of the world war, Li Che was still young before the war, and after coming of age during the war, he joined the army as an example. As the saying goes, "How can one think of a home when the Xiongnu have not been destroyed?" It is indeed normal that he is not married now.

But that's how it appears to outsiders. The Crown Princess knows perfectly well that, let alone the Prince's Mansion, even among the sons of ordinary noble families, how many 14-year-olds haven't slept with maids?

But Li Che never did. Among his peers, he seemed to have always been indifferent to women. While young people his age began to pursue beautiful women, Li Che never seemed to focus his energy on women.

This is scary!

The Crown Princess was genuinely worried about her son's sexual orientation. If it were revealed that the future grandson of the Prince of Jin was attracted to men, it would be disastrous. Although the Ming Dynasty was relatively open-minded, as early as the late Northern Ming period, there were many "male effeminate men" in the Jiangnan region who dressed flamboyantly and paraded around. Homosexuality was even considered a refined pastime by some eccentric scholars. However, the openness of the lower class and the conservatism of the upper class were not contradictory. If Li Che had such a preference, he would certainly not be able to inherit the throne.

Although the truth is that the girl Li Che cares about doesn't actually exist in this world, in her mother's eyes, this kind of worry, which is hard to say openly, has made the Crown Princess somewhat obsessed over the past few years.

The initial agreement, or even support, for Tokugawa Akiko to serve Ritsu was perhaps partly due to the fact that this Japanese girl was indeed very beautiful, and the hope that having such a beautiful woman by her son's side would help her son become "normal".

It's amazing! They brought back not one, but three! Besides the little princess from the Tokugawa family, there's also the fourth princess from the Song Dynasty and... Princess Yongning?

The Crown Princess finally calmed down from her ecstasy. She turned her gaze to her son, staring intently at Li Che, her meaning clear: "Although I'm happy that you're bringing girls home, some are not so convenient to bring back, you know?"

And looking at the identities of these three people... Could it be that her son has some strange fetish? The Crown Princess had heard that some young masters in certain families had strange fetishes in this regard, such as liking tomboys, liking widows who were more than ten years older than themselves, or having a particular fondness for beautiful feet... But compared to her son, these all seemed more normal?

It seems like my son is interested in status? Why are all these girls princesses? Is my son collecting princesses?

"Alright, everyone, stop standing there at the door. The food has been prepared, right? Since you're all here, let's have a meal together."

Li Renzhi had no choice but to reluctantly step in and smooth things over. After all, the princess was already at his doorstep; he couldn't very well say, "Your Highness, please turn back," could he? That would only make things look more suspicious.

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

The food was all prepared, but the atmosphere during the meal wasn't exactly relaxed. After a few rounds of drinks and several dishes, Li Che couldn't stand the various meaningful glances he was receiving from the other people at the table. He also had a lot of questions about his grandfather's insistence on his hasty return, so he simply asked his father, "Dad, why did Grandpa call me back? Is it related to what happened a while ago..."

“It has nothing to do with what happened a while ago.” Li Renchi waved his hand to indicate that it had nothing to do with the list being compiled in Yingtian Prefecture. Then he looked at the people sitting at the table at home for lunch today, especially Zhu Miaoyun, and said: “This matter will soon no longer be a secret. Your grandfather is preparing to establish the country.”

After these words were spoken, everyone except Li Che turned their gaze to Zhu Miaoyun. After all, it was indeed a bit inappropriate to discuss such a topic in front of a princess of the former dynasty. Zheng Guanyin showed obvious displeasure on the one hand, and on the other hand, she cast a concerned look at Zhu Miaoyun. After all, any princess of the former dynasty would probably feel uncomfortable if she heard someone discussing the establishment of the new dynasty in front of her.

Meanwhile, our Princess Yongning... Princess Yongning had just put a piece of bear paw meat into her mouth. This famous Northeastern dish was something that even if you had money, you couldn't get in China before, and it was almost impossible to find a Chinese chef who could cook it abroad. Now that it was placed in front of her, Zhu Miaoyun unceremoniously picked up a large piece of the tender and delicious meat and put it into her mouth. Just as she was enjoying the feeling of this deliciousness bursting on her taste buds, she suddenly realized that everyone seemed to be looking at her.

"Huh? Aren't you eating?"

".........."*4

Li Che mustered all his willpower to keep himself from laughing out loud. The others at the table were probably overthinking it, worried that Zhu Miaoyun would become melancholic after hearing such words.

Even now, it's hard to say how much awareness Zhu Miaoyun has of her identity as a princess.

"Why did you choose this particular time to establish the country?" Li Che asked curiously. "There was no prior warning. Wasn't this all too sudden?"

"Isn't it because you fought so well on the front lines?" Li Renzhi finally smiled as he said this: "No one expected that the situation would be turned around so quickly by you. After the naval constraints were lifted, although we can't say that we have the initiative now, the Colombians can no longer make any progress. In addition, we still have 10 Federation prisoners of war. I think we will soon be negotiating a ceasefire with the Colombians. However, someone raised a key question: under what pretext should we negotiate with the Colombians, and what entity will the person who signs the negotiation document represent?"

Li Che nodded thoughtfully. This was indeed a very good reason. In fact, since the dynasty was still unsettled, it had some impact on the army. Fortunately, everyone was still able to unite under the banner of "fighting the Japanese together." But this question still needed to be answered.

Since Li Zongdi led his army into Yingtianfu, the Li Jin Prince's Mansion and the Datong faction have jointly demonstrated that they are more efficient and capable than the former Ming court and the previous provisional government. It is precisely because of this fact that they are now qualified to talk about founding a new dynasty.

But as soon as Li Renzhi finished speaking, Zheng Guanyin suddenly stood up, this time looking directly at Li Renzhi: "Your Highness, I would like to ask why we did not know about negotiating with the Colombians beforehand? The Battle of Dongdu is not over yet, why are we negotiating now?"

"I think the Fourth Princess has misunderstood. We have achieved successive victories in the war. If we negotiate with the Colombians under these circumstances, then at the very least, the Federal Army must completely withdraw from Yanping and Luzon. If their troops do not withdraw from these two places, we will absolutely not agree to a ceasefire."

Li Renchi thought Zheng Guanyin had misunderstood and mistakenly believed that they were preparing to hold peace talks with the Federal Army within the current area under their control, so he quickly explained.

However, Zheng Guanyin did not understand this explanation. The fourth princess of the Yanping Zheng Song Prince's Mansion simply shook her head: "I did not misunderstand. I think it is probably His Highness who misunderstood. The point is not whether the Federation army will withdraw from Yanping and Luzon when the war ends. The point is why we need to negotiate!"

Your Highness, you haven't been to the front lines in Borneo, have you? The situation there is different from that of Prince Jin, who led his army to victory against the Russians in the Northwest and Northern Frontier. For the past year or so, from Luzon to northern Yanping, we and the Federal Army have fought for control of almost every city and town. We have defended our land with our blood and lives. When those Federal devils make little progress, many of their units quickly fall apart. At first, they try to maintain the appearance of a civilized army, but soon organized massacres begin. And the more resolute our resistance becomes, the more the Federal devils seem to want to intimidate us and shake our resolve to resist. The more massacres and reprisals they carry out.

Do you know how many civilians have died at the hands of the federal army in the past year or so? Do you know how many villages they have surrounded and burned to death with flamethrowers?

"Your Highness, do you know why the defense of Dongdu has been fought three times so far? Since the last one, everyone outside thought we couldn't hold Dongdu, but we haven't lost it yet. It's because our soldiers and civilians have witnessed what hell and demons are like!"

"Fourth Princess, please calm down. I understand your anger, but this is the best way to minimize unnecessary casualties..."

"We are not afraid of casualties, and we don't care about what constitutes unnecessary casualties." Zheng Guanyin's eyes were slightly red at this moment: "You can send someone to the Eastern Capital to ask the soldiers who are fighting on the front line, and to ask the local people if they care about casualties. Compared to the casualties you are worried about, more people are worried about not having the opportunity to avenge their relatives and friends and kill the enemy with their own hands!"

We never initiated an attack on the Union. It was the Colombians who, after joining the Entente, launched the attack on us; they started the war! They can declare when the war began, but we can declare when it ends! The East is already awash in blood; if this war is to end, then Washington must also be stained with blood!!!

Chapter 130 Founding of the Nation (4) Wooden Sticks Smashed Against the Enemy

Faced with the aura displayed by the young Zheng Guanyin, Li Renzhi was momentarily speechless. From this fourth princess, he could now truly feel the hatred of the people of Yanping for the Federal Army.

Li Renzhi fully understood this hatred, but this world wasn't like the typical revenge story in those novels where a righteous prince fights the villain with unwavering faith and ultimately triumphs. This world wasn't like that.

In fact, good people are often the ones who don't have the last laugh, while the despicable are always more likely to win. Not to mention that the enemy they are facing now is the world's most industrialized country. Before the outbreak of this world war, the world's impression of the Federation of Colombia was that of a nouveau riche in the New World, a regional power. But now no country would think that way anymore.

Anyone with even a basic understanding of the international situation and the ability to analyze some fundamental data knows that in this war, which resembled a "collective suicide" among the great powers of the Old World, the Federation of Colombia was the one who had the last laugh.

Although Colombians did not extend their reach into Europe as they had hoped in this war, they at least gained control of the edge of the World Island in the Far East, and more importantly, they achieved a complete transformation of the image of the Colombian Federation during this major war.

Just like the various states that dominated China during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Federation's powerful war potential and industrial capacity unleashed in this war can be considered as achieving "dominance" over the entire world.

More importantly, it's clear to everyone that the Federation's national strength is currently in a period of rapid growth. Even if you have the determination to fight to the end against such a powerful and growing nation, can you afford to drag it out?

The current Federation of Colombia is not the Colombian nation of the 21st century, where front-line combat aircraft have an average lifespan of over 30 years, support aircraft such as early warning aircraft and refueling aircraft have an average lifespan of nearly 50 years, all of the navy's cruisers are over 30 years old, the country has only one shipyard capable of building aircraft carriers, all projects from the Colombian-class ballistic missile nuclear submarines to the FFG frigates have been delayed, hypersonic missile programs have been repeatedly canceled, and the country has successfully achieved a 50/50 split with the Houthi rebels in the Red Sea.

The Federation is currently at its most powerful point in history—in some ways more powerful than during the Cold War. Everyone knows the saying, "Never underestimate a young man's potential," and the Federation is that young man. Even if he is a spoiled brat, you have to admit that this young man has almost limitless potential.

"Fourth Princess, I know that hatred is hard to erase with words, but people must always look forward. The people can be angry, but those in power must remain calm. Our blindness will only lead the country and the nation into the abyss, just like Emperor Yongning."

In his efforts to persuade Zheng Guanyin, Li Renchi disregarded how Zhu Miaoyun felt about the examples he had given: "I hope you can understand, Fourth Princess, that with our current strength, it is impossible to achieve your long-cherished wish. We cannot do it now. The two victories the navy has just won at sea are merely a temporary resurgence."

Although we currently have eight main warships under construction on the shipyard, only two of them will be completed by next year at the earliest. Even if the new dynasty devotes all its resources to building the remaining six main warships, they will probably have to be built in two batches, and it will take at least three years before they can all be completed and put into combat capability.

Do you know how many capital ships the Colombians currently have on the shipyard? According to our intelligence, there are currently six battlecruisers and ten battleships under construction, and all of these warships will be equipped with 16-inch guns. Even if the Colombians do not further expand their warship production capacity, by the end of three years, the number of new capital ships built by the Colombians will be more than double that of us. And this is assuming that the Colombians do not place additional orders.

We don't border the Federation, and our relatively strong army is difficult to utilize effectively. In the current situation, without negotiations, we could indeed drive the Federation forces out of Yanping Island, but could we retake Luzon? That's probably a 50/50 chance. And could we retake Yingzhou? The probability of success is probably less than 30%.

Now, perhaps we can negotiate and secure these places that we have the strength to take without sacrificing so many lives. Many mothers won't lose their children, children won't lose their fathers, and wives won't lose their husbands. Our struggle with the Colombians will be a long-term competition, and the most important thing right now is to preserve our strength.

If we persist in fighting this war, given our current situation, we will most likely be dragged down by the Colombians. The country we have taken over is not the Ming Dynasty of the past. In the past five years, Emperor Yongning has caused indescribable damage to the country in all aspects, from industry to economy. Now our country is just a porcelain giant that looks strong, but it is already covered with tiny cracks. No one knows whether these cracks will shatter in the next moment.

Fourth Princess, the mainland is Yanping's most important backing. If the mainland is exhausted in this war and loses its support, what will happen if the Colombians return?

“There’s nothing we can do. What you’ve said makes sense, but I’m afraid we won’t listen. The Chinese who came to Yanping Island were all stubborn like this. If our ancestors had listened to their elders’ advice and been honest and law-abiding, they wouldn’t have boarded ships to go to Southeast Asia.” Zheng Guanyin remained unmoved: “We don’t need the mainland’s help. You can continue to negotiate with the Colombians. We’ll fight our battles, and you can talk yours. We will fight to the last soldier and the last bullet!”