Seven Seas Beacon Fire

As the saying goes, men are all idea generators; when a group of men get together...

"As the saying goes, a new dynasty brings a new atmosphere. We now possess the capability to rival the main force of the Federation Navy fleet." Liu Duncheng's gaze swept over the other senior officers present once more: "The Federation recently replaced their Pacific Fleet commander with a man named McGiffin. We've had quite a bit of dealing with him over the past few months. Before this, we lacked sufficient manpower, but now we have ample strength to confront the enemy. I think our navy should achieve some more victories as a gift to the founding of the new dynasty!"

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Yingtianfu

The Martyrs' Shrine is located in another world, in the Zhongshan Sports Park. This shrine was originally established to commemorate the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the war against the Victorian Empire in the last century. Since then, all martyrs who died in the war can be buried in this shrine, provided that their families agree.

The unarmed soldiers in the group that accompanied Li Zongdi here today are carrying boxes covered with the national flag on their chests. These are the remains of a new batch of martyrs who will be buried here today. After cremation, these remains will be placed in these urns and buried on this land along with the national flag and military flag. Due to the limited land in the Martyrs' Shrine, and considering that more martyrs will be buried here in the future, all those buried here can only be cremated into small boxes and then buried under this land.

The martyrs to be buried here today are the last batch of officers and soldiers who sacrificed their lives on the Silla battlefield after the Battle of Wonsan. They were not buried in the local Silla Martyrs' Cemetery, but were brought back to the country and buried here as role models.

At that very moment, Li Zongdi, Li Renchi, Li Renxu, Li Rensui, and Li Che, together with the soldiers beside them, were personally digging the ground beneath the feet of these martyrs.

However, among these three generations, one of them had clearly never used a hoe before. Li Che couldn't bear to see his father digging the hole with such difficulty, so after he finished digging his own hole, he came over to help his father dig the hole.

The reporters and members of the public who had come with the group were quite surprised to see what was happening. Every choice that His Highness Prince Jin made today seemed to be beyond everyone's expectations.

You thought he'd put up decorations, right? But the entire Shuntian Prefecture was completely empty.

You thought he'd be offering sacrifices at the Temple of Heaven? Turns out he led his troops to the Martyrs' Shrine.

You thought he would finally be enthroned in front of the Martyrs' Shrine this time? But now they're digging a pit to bury the martyrs' remains. What happened to the enthronement ceremony?

Do you still want to be the emperor?

At this moment, a few sharp-eyed people noticed that some officers and soldiers in the ranks were holding neither guns nor the remains of martyrs. They were also holding boxes, but those boxes were clearly not urns, because they were of different sizes and had very ornate patterns.

"His Highness Prince Jin is to be enthroned here today!" A reporter put down his binoculars and excitedly pumped his fist in the air. Several ordinary citizens next to him, upon hearing his words, couldn't help but curiously step forward to inquire about the reason.

The reporter, who was clearly well-informed, pointed to the boxes the soldiers were holding in front of their chests: "Some of these boxes are not small, but the soldiers hold them very easily, which means that each of these boxes contains very light items."

Based on the patterns on the outside of these boxes, it can be basically determined that they originated from the former Ming Dynasty imperial palace, and what's inside should be the complete set of imperial crowns that Prince Jin will be replacing soon!

Upon hearing the reporter's words, a clamor of discussion erupted from the crowd. Clearly, although everyone had been somewhat prepared for this, the actual event was still quite impactful for them, requiring them to mentally prepare themselves.

After all the urns had been buried in the designated place, the armed team did not leave. Li Zongdi rubbed his aching lower back.

Holding the coronation ceremony at the Martyrs' Shrine was a suggestion from the advisors under the Prince of Jin. Among the suggestions was that Li Zongdi, after donning the imperial crown, should personally break ground for the remains of the fallen martyrs. This suggestion aimed for a populist approach in that era—it worked very well! It was sure to be effective!

However, Li Zongdi was not an obedient person. For example, the ceremony for burying the martyrs, which was supposed to be a large-scale show in the second half of the coronation ceremony, was instead quickly arranged by Li Zongdi to bury the martyrs first.

Because in his eyes, these martyrs should not be part of the props.

Chapter 135 Coronation (3)

When the last handful of yellow earth fell, the hillside outside the Martyrs' Shrine was now densely packed with an unknown number of people. People crowded onto the hillsides around the shrine, onto the roadbeds, and even climbed trees and stood on the roofs of cars and horse-drawn carriages.

These people included citizens who had accompanied them, members of the public who had come specifically after hearing the news, journalists, and teachers and students from schools.

Some people were wearing long gowns, while others were wearing formal attire.

Some people were wearing neat school uniforms, while others were wearing sloppy work clothes;

Some people rely on high-end and beautiful clothes, while others are covered in patches.

These people come from all walks of life, with their own backgrounds of poverty and wealth, but together they form a microcosm of the vast multitude of people in the world.

The Martyrs' Shrine is located in a low-lying area, and it is the final resting place of the martyrs. However, today it has also been specially chosen as a stage.

The surrounding crowd was unsure whether they were watching a performance or waiting for a promise or an answer.

Under the watchful eyes of tens of thousands of people, Li Zongdi walked step by step to the small square in the center of the Martyrs' Shrine Cemetery, in front of the Yongzhen Mountain and River Monument. Here, a very simple, even rudimentary, stage had been set up with a few wooden boxes. Microphones and loudspeakers were ready. Li Zongdi did not bring any speech notes and simply walked directly onto this simple stage.

Li Che stood beside this simple stage, watching his grandfather. The old man before him had been labeled with countless different stereotypes by people all over the country. Some thought he was a living Cao Cao, some thought he was Dong Zhuo, and others thought he was Huo Guang and Guo Ziyi, only now that the emperor had passed away, extraordinary measures were being used in extraordinary times.

When your grandfather steps onto this stage, some of the onlookers will probably think, "Thank goodness, at least there's someone willing to clean up this mess."

Some might think that after hesitating for so long, the Prince of Jin finally took this step, making him no different from the other political strongmen who had once dominated this land.

Some people support him, some oppose him, some endorse him, some hate him, and some even despise him. There are also people who, although they don't like Li Zongdi's rise to that high position step by step, understand that at present, only their grandfather has enough prestige, skill, ability, and power to stand up and unite everything in the country.

These conflicting voices are just like the discussions among the crowds gathered outside the Martyrs' Shrine. Although they are diverse, you must listen to them. You should respond to those who support you, and for those who oppose you, you should either change yourself or change them.

But first, you need to make your voice heard by the whole world.

"Hey, hey."

Li Zongdi tested the microphone, and a sound with a slight static came from the loudspeaker, instantly silencing the tens of thousands of people gathered outside the Martyrs' Shrine.

In fact, at this moment, it wasn't just those present who were preparing to listen to Li Zongdi speak; these microphones were also connected to broadcast signals, and today, everyone across the country who was waiting in front of their radios and broadcasts was also waiting for Li Zongdi to speak.

"I didn't expect so many people to gather outside the Martyrs' Shrine today. As you can see, all the ceremonies and procedures were supposed to be kept as simple as possible. For example, when I stepped on these wooden boxes, I don't know if the boxes weren't sturdy enough or if I've gained some weight in the last two years, but I felt a little wobbly."

Contrary to many people's expectations, Li Zongdi's opening remarks today were not a pre-prepared, eloquent speech. Instead, it sounded like a casual heart-to-heart talk, and even the first few sentences were somewhat humorous.

Li Zongdi's gaze slowly swept from left to right, finally finding his grandson among the crowd standing beside the podium. The style of today's speech came from this boy's suggestion, while Li Che's inspiration and experience came from Roosevelt's fireside chat in another world. It can be said that this president, who was like a great man sent down from the sky by the Colombian Federation, quickly enhanced his already good image in this way and greatly narrowed the distance between the president and the ordinary federal people.

A leader, especially a large country like Tokyo University or Columbia, who is arrogant but not tolerant of his subordinates, and who bullies the strong but not the weak, can win the general public's favor. The most typical example of this is probably Guan Yu.

Li Zongdi cleared his throat again and continued, "If I were still standing on the ground, I probably wouldn't be in this trouble, but in that case, I probably wouldn't be able to see the faces of those big guys in the distance."

At this point, Li Zongdi stretched out his hand and pointed in the air as if counting: "I saw a lot of people here, but I noticed that many of the people here were wearing really old clothes, especially over there, I saw quite a few workers wearing blue overalls."

As he spoke, Li Zongdi waved to the workers over there: "Your work uniforms should have been issued to you when you joined the factory, but now that you're here, I guess you're probably unemployed. You're wearing these clothes probably because they're one of the few pieces of clothing you have that make you feel somewhat respectable, right?"

The workers were mostly standing outside the green belt of the Martyrs' Shrine Cemetery, among the people present who were standing relatively close to the front. After hearing what Li Zongdi said to them, the workers almost immediately burst into a cacophony of voices. However, those nearby could probably understand what the workers meant, which can be summarized in five words.

The Prince of Jin is right.

"And over there, I saw some people even standing on top of the oxcarts parked on the road. So you must be the owners or farmers of the nearby farms, right? I think the harvests in the fields haven't been particularly good in the last two years compared to before, because as far as I know, fertilizers are in short supply on the market, since the raw materials for chemicals are needed to make explosives and shells."

These words were naturally affirmed by the farmers. Then, Li Zongdi greeted each of the people present, whose identities were clearly identifiable, in a similar manner.

Unemployed workers,

impoverished farmers

Small businesses on the verge of bankruptcy

Factory owners who have already ceased operations.

"Everyone, I think you can all see that we are not doing very well right now. Apart from military factories and related enterprises and factories, many factories are struggling to maintain production, the yield per acre in the fields is decreasing, and the market is in a slump."

This situation has been worsening since the outbreak of the war, and it seems to have little to do with the outcome of our soldiers' battles on the front lines.

When we defeated the Ursus on the western and northern frontiers, although everyone cheered for our victory and celebrated our recapture of our former homeland, the situation I mentioned above was not effectively changed; it was only a temporary, fleeting relief.

After our fleet suffered a defeat at sea, the situation spiraled out of control. Some attributed this to military failure, but our homeland had not yet been attacked by the enemy, and our social order should have been functioning well. Even if the temporary system would put more pressure on society, this pressure should have been controllable and gradual.

But we all know that this is not the case. We all know that our country is in trouble now. Through this war, we have all seen the weak core beneath our country’s originally bright and powerful exterior.

Our motherland is sick.

At this point, Li Zongdi paused slightly before continuing, "Besides internal troubles, we are now facing external threats. Although the Ursus people in the north have been defeated and forced to withdraw from the war, to our east, there are those traitors and rebels from Yingzhou who have crossed the ocean and are preparing to invade our overseas vassal states and the United States of the Pacification Commission. To our south, there is Britain, which has just stolen Old Port from us. And perhaps next, Gaul and Syracuse, who haven't had their fill of food and drink, will also come and interfere, joining Victoria and Colombia, trying to tear a piece of flesh from our bodies."

When I led my army into Yingtian, there was a heated debate in the court about whether we should fight or make peace. Some thought we should fight to the end, while others felt that our country's current situation was no longer suitable for continuing the war. After all, our allies in Europe, Letania and the Habsburgs, had fallen, and we could now be said to be surrounded by enemies. Those who held these views believed that peace talks could at least preserve the country's interests on the mainland, and that future matters could be left to our children and grandchildren.

I must also say that these officials are different from those in the previous provisional government. They are not capitulationists, but they are just more pessimistic about the future and fate of the country.

But I insisted on fighting. I'm a relatively optimistic person. The people of Borneo were still fighting, and we couldn't abandon and betray our brothers and sisters while they were still fighting against the enemy. So I insisted on fighting first and dealing with all the risks and consequences myself.

While we are still a very, very long way from 'victory,' I can at least proudly tell you that we are significantly further away from 'defeat' than before.

All of this is not my achievement alone; it all depends on the support of the people, on everyone from the front lines to the rear, from soldiers to ordinary citizens, everyone contributing their share and everyone fulfilling their duties.

After Li Zongdi finished speaking, his gaze fell on a few distinctive figures among the crowd gathered outside the Martyrs' Shrine. These were foreign envoys who had rushed here while he was personally adding soil to the graves of the martyrs. The most conspicuous among them was the United States Special Envoy, a tall man standing at 1.95 meters.

"As for how far this war will go and how long it will last, that is not up to us to decide. That should be decided by our adversaries. Whether it is war or negotiation, we will defend our country's interests in our own way."

We have a glorious history and past. I believe that our motherland is only temporarily ill. We just need to get workers back to work, let commerce and trade operate normally, let agriculture have a good harvest again, let students study with peace of mind, and let all industries operate in an orderly manner and do their own things well. Then, at that time, everything we have lost will surely be returned!

The martyrs buried here today are the last group to sacrifice their lives in the final stage of the battle on the Silla battlefield. Some of them were buried on the Silla Peninsula, some were buried in their hometowns, and some were buried here in accordance with their wishes.

I know that some people said a while ago that I wanted to use the blood of these soldiers to dye my robes red (since the Longwu Emperor of the Southern Ming Dynasty, emperors had liked to wear red robes), and I disdain to refute such remarks...

As Li Zongdi spoke, he waved to the other side below, and then, under everyone's gaze, a group of soldiers walked out from the honor guard, carrying the emperor's crown, which represented the supreme power of this land, as well as ceremonial items such as guards, armor, and swords. They marched in formation toward the Eternal Guardian Stele, which was located on the steps behind the podium.

This stone tablet is used to commemorate the heroic spirits of all the fallen soldiers, hoping that their souls can continue to enjoy the offerings of people from all over the world, protecting China and forever guarding its mountains and rivers.

Now, those artifacts that once represented the emperor's supreme power were placed one by one in front of the Eternal Guardian Stele. Only at this moment did many of the officials who had come with the procession show obvious surprise and disbelief on their faces. Clearly, this step was not part of the previously agreed-upon "script".

Originally, Li Zongdi should have been here at this time, wearing the imperial robes and completing the coronation ceremony.

Why put the imperial robes and related ceremonial objects up there?

"Gentlemen, whether it is war or peace talks, all means are ultimately for the benefit of the motherland. The interests and dignity of the nation are above all else. I, Li Zongdi, will not worship heaven and earth or comfort our ancestors here today. Under the current circumstances, I shamelessly exercise the power of the emperor, establish the name of the country as the Great Tang, and establish the reign title of the Restoration!"

However, from this day forward, as long as this homeland is not recovered, the Emperor of the Great Tang shall never wear imperial robes or carry imperial regalia in life, nor shall he be given a lavish burial in death. His remains shall be buried here in a small patch of earth, and he shall always be dressed in military attire, reflecting upon himself three times a day, never forgetting the oath he swore at this very moment: to dedicate himself to the revival of the nation and the livelihood of the people, until his dying breath! This statement and this oath shall be witnessed by all the people of the world!

Chapter 136 Not Repeating Carthage's Mistakes (1)

On September 15, 919 Taiyuan, a new era began.

The words spoken by Li Zongdi at this special coronation ceremony are generally regarded by the West as the "response" of this newly established Eastern empire to its Western friends.

For the West, including Victoria and Colombia, their reaction to all this happening in the East was quite calm, because they had already regarded the Prince of Jin as the ruler of the Eastern Empire. In their view, this was just another old story similar to Bonaparte becoming emperor in the East.

As for the vows made by the emperor of this new empire regarding the recovery of lost territories, these were not taken seriously by the vast majority of Western politicians. After all, a major characteristic of traditional Western representative elections is that political promises made during elections are not necessarily fulfilled after the government comes to power.

After all, no one ever stipulates that campaign promises must be kept. In fact, sometimes campaign promises should never be kept, because slogans are slogans and reality is reality.

Whether in Washington or London, what they valued more was not Li Zongdi's vow about "what he would do in the future," but rather the attitude of this current Tang emperor towards the current war situation.

In this respect, it cannot be said that the politicians of these Western countries are incompetent. It is simply a difference between Eastern and Western political thinking. Different countries and different ethnic groups have different habitual ways of thinking. Even in the Internet age of the 21st century, these habitual ways of thinking often lead to some ridiculous diplomatic jokes, not to mention in today's world, where communication between countries is far from smooth.

Therefore, in the eyes of Western countries, especially Victoria and Colombia, Li Zongdi's public statement was actually the same as the German Emperor's attempt at the end of the war to withdraw from it in a dignified manner with "spoils of war".

After all, in their eyes, the Ming/Tang Empire and the Kingdom of Letania had far too many similarities. For example, both had plundered a significant portion of Ursus's territory. The Letanians had made tremendous progress on the eastern front of the European theater, seizing almost all of Poland and parts of the three smaller territories belonging to Europe from Ursus. Before the Kingdom of Letania imploded due to its internal problems, everyone from the Letanian generals to the King was thinking about how to safely withdraw from the war with these rich spoils of war.

After all, for the Kingdom of Letania, as long as it can digest the land it has taken from the Ursus, its national strength will be able to reach a new level, and then dominating Europe will not be a pipe dream.

Although everyone knows what happened afterward, and the Ming Empire was seen by the West as having experienced a similar implosion to the Kingdom of Letania, who could have imagined that a Tang Empire would emerge after this implosion? In the eyes of the West, there was no essential difference between the Ming and Tang Empires. The Tang Empire now clearly had a more efficient power center, and the land that the Ming Empire had previously acquired from the battlefield against Russia was now inherited by the Tang Empire as well—that included the entire eastern coastal region of Siberia, almost all of the Mongolian Plateau, and the further expanded Western Regions.

In terms of the area of ​​territory acquired alone, the Ming Empire was the biggest winner in this war.

So it's no wonder that from Victoria and Colombia's perspective, you Easterners should be satisfied with the current situation. Although we have taken some islands and spheres of influence from you, haven't you also benefited from this war? Everyone has won, so you should be content.

This logic is quite illogical, but it is considered reasonable by many Westerners.

In fact, after suffering two consecutive defeats at sea, although the strength of the Federal Navy has not been greatly weakened, these two defeats have made Federal President Wilson realize that this transoceanic expedition is still too much of a burden for the current Colombian Federation. Having already almost been given a windfall by taking Yingzhou, the strategy of further southward may have indeed reached the offensive limit of the Federal Army.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain why the troops encountered increasing resistance after landing in Borneo. Of course, neither the high-ranking officials in Washington nor some federal citizens who were thinking about this issue would connect this problem with the discipline of the federal army on the front lines. All news reports from the front-line troops were uniformly reviewed before being sent to the rear, and all the images presented were deliberately selected "model soldiers." In the minds of the vast majority of federal citizens, the Colombian federal army was the "benevolent army of the city on the hill" that "represented justice."

Therefore, the top brass of the federal government is already considering whether to withdraw while they are ahead. However, the federal army has invested too much in Borneo, and many domestic media outlets are increasingly saying that "the United States needs Borneo." Under the pressure of this public opinion, the United States will definitely make one last attempt to completely seize Borneo. If it were to withdraw now, it would be difficult to explain itself in terms of public opinion.

After all, the commander of the Pacific Fleet has been replaced, ships have been rented from the Syracuse (the Federation ultimately chose to lease), and the Army and Marine Corps have further increased their troop strength. With the whole setup in place, how could the final act not be performed?

What the Federation people might not have noticed was, in a corner unnoticed by anyone, how their newly adopted son in this war reacted to the oath Li Zongdi made before the Yongzhen Mountain and River Stele.

silence.

That's right, it's silence. Yingzhou has adopted a "we pretend this doesn't exist" attitude towards everything that happened at the Martyrs' Shrine on September 15th. Even some of Yingzhou's internal media publications during this period have been strictly censored, and all content reporting on this matter has been required to be deleted or changed.

the reason is simple.

fear.

The current high-ranking officials of the Kingdom of Japan, who launched the "Revere the Emperor and Expel the Barbarians" movement, expelled and overthrew the Tokugawa Shogunate, and supported the Emperor's return to power, betraying the Ming Dynasty from its chariot, did not fail to consider the possibility of retaliation. However, in their view, if they could cling to the Allied Powers, these problems could be dealt with.

Not to mention that most of these high-ranking officials, who were mostly "out of power" at the time, probably didn't think so much about it back then. At that time, the Tokugawa Shogunate was still in power in Japan, and the most direct purpose of everything they did was actually to resolve the power struggle within Japan. It's just that now that they have finally achieved their goal and become the ruling group of the Kingdom of Japan, they now need to face the problems they created in the first place.

The original idea was to stand closely with the Allied Powers and find a way to bow down to the Eastern Empire later, so that it would be acceptable on the surface and the matter would be over. After all, the Celestial Empire does not care about many details in many situations.

But who could have imagined that after the Ming Dynasty became the Tang Dynasty, Yingzhou was almost immediately remembered by the new emperor. Unlike Westerners, Yingzhou, who belonged to the same Eastern cultural sphere, knew very well how much weight the words of the founding emperor carried in this situation.

What's this called? This is fucking ancestral precepts!

If Li Zongdi were alive, it would be fine, but if he were to die in the future, the best way for his descendants to prove their legitimacy would be to take over Yingzhou. Just thinking about having to face that enormous Eastern dragon made the Yingzhou leadership secretly groan.

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Only by making the most thorough preparations for war can we achieve peace.

In another world, Li Che once saw a conversation between silly netizens online, one of whom said that the most peace-loving behavior in the world is nuclear expansion.

In another world, nuclear weapons represent a country's highest strategic deterrence and most powerful strategic strike capability. In the current world, however, there is no completely corresponding product for this role. If one had to pick one, then the battleship would be the most similar in terms of its role.

Therefore, to some extent, shipbuilding is a way of maintaining peace, and the Leitanians' theory of the Risk Fleet actually had merit. Although the High Seas Fleet suffered a defeat, this does not mean that the Risk Fleet theory was entirely wrong or unworthy of adoption; in fact, it was mainly because the Leitanians had not built enough ships.

"So we need more warships now." Li Che had just been announced as the Crown Prince on September 15, and on September 16, he was already discussing the next important issue in the Navy Department in his new capacity.

And this issue is shipbuilding.