Qiu Liao finally understood why Jiang Jin’s journey so far had appeared so smooth. It was because she had made many arrangements well in advance.
He was suddenly filled with heroic ambition: “Lord, are you planning to establish a navy?”
Although Jiang Jin currently had only a little over ten thousand soldiers, he believed she would certainly succeed—and it wouldn’t take long.
From having nothing to possessing three counties, from just a few people like Zhou Sui to nearly eighty thousand common people, Jiang Jin had accomplished it all in a single year.
As a former strategist, even though he was in the inland region of Chongzhou, Qiu Liao knew well about the three naval dockyards and two cargo ports of Yan Country.
The naval dockyards were located in East Lake Prefecture of Fengzhou, Daqing Prefecture of Yanzhou, and Jiji Prefecture of Sizhou.
The cargo ports were in Ze’a Prefecture of Fengzhou and Ying Prefecture of Sizhou.
These five docks could also connect with one another, since military ships at this time were not too large, nor cargo ships too small—they could all dock.
Jiang Jin lifted her chin slightly: “Of course.”
She found it hard to understand why Xunfeng Island and Keyuan Island, both of immense strategic importance, had not been garrisoned as military bases.
If troops from another country secretly landed on those islands, with such proximity, East Lake Prefecture or Sizhou could be invaded and occupied at any time.
Later, after asking Zhou Sui, she learned why.
Although Yan Country had a long coastline, building a navy was terribly expensive.
So, the navy of Yan Country was essentially a joke—nationwide, it barely amounted to over ten thousand men and only several dozen ships of various sizes.
Even its own coastline was hard to defend, so why would it care about Xunfeng Island?
Establishing a naval garrison on the island was no easy task. Not only would it require massive manpower and resources to build docks, but supplies also had to be delivered regularly to personnel stationed there.
With limited communication methods at the time, it was impossible to coordinate between sea and land in an emergency.
Moreover, if Yan Country needed to travel from Fengzhou to Sizhou, it could simply depart from the dock at Xianglu County.
Naval forces in this era, whether in Yan Country or elsewhere, were not highly developed. Long-distance ocean travel was extremely difficult.
Concepts like territorial waters or exclusive economic zones did not yet exist.
Thus, Xunfeng Island truly had little significance.
Barbarian groups like Qu Zhao’s were even less skilled in naval warfare. So after they occupied Yan Country, their first move was to eliminate the navy.
They annihilated the sailors at the naval bases. If any tried to escape by ship, they shot them with arrows. Even if they couldn’t kill them all, they prevented them from docking.
This forced the navy to drift at sea, without supplies, eventually dying of hunger or thirst, or leaving to seek survival elsewhere.
In this way, the already fragile and weak East Lake Prefecture navy was shattered with little effort. Qu Zhao’s forces destroyed them silently, and Jiang Jin had no idea how many managed to escape.
This was a great pity to Jiang Jin. Regardless of fighting strength, maritime transport alone was far more convenient and faster than land transport.
Maritime transport wasn’t just for goods; it could carry troops, food, and weapons.
Keep in mind that the roads of this era, even the official highways, were mostly winding and twisting. It was common for a straight-line distance of 100 kilometers to require 500 kilometers of travel by road.
Traveling from East Lake Prefecture to Haijiazhou and then to Sizhou almost required going around the entire Yan Country. But if one took the sea route, the time and distance saved were not trivial—they were like the difference between heaven and earth.
Moreover, with four of Yan Country’s five major provinces essentially overrun by barbarians, sea travel was far safer than land transport.
So, once East Lake Prefecture was captured, she would definitely build up the navy.
Having obtained a confirmed answer, Qiu Liao was filled with excitement. But after a moment, he worried: “The ships will be hard to acquire.”
Jiang Jin smiled: “Indeed, but there are ships in Ze’a Prefecture and also in Daqing Prefecture. We can negotiate with them.”
Neither Ze’a Prefecture nor Daqing Prefecture had been completely taken by the barbarians. The docks and ships there should still be relatively intact.
Qiu Liao was startled: “Those ships may be their escape route. I doubt they’ll give them up easily.”
Ships might not carry much, but they were enough to transport family members, trusted subordinates, money, and grain for a getaway.
Jiang Jin smiled again: “Have you forgotten what we have?”
Qiu Liao’s eyes flickered: “High-yield crop seeds?”
Jiang Jin nodded lightly: “Exactly.”
She was reluctant to part with grain, but she had other bargaining chips besides food—such as high-yield seeds.
In an era where even a good harvest couldn’t fill people’s bellies, high-yield seeds were enormously attractive, especially during a drought year.
As for the hybrid rice, that hadn’t yet been researched successfully, so she wasn’t prepared to trade it.
She wasn’t sure how long it would take Mu Qing to succeed and mass-produce it. The rice seeds they were currently planting all came from her hidden space, so she had to keep them for her own use.
However, high-yield seeds like Chinese cabbage, radishes, and potatoes, which could be saved and replanted, she could certainly trade.
Of course, if money could solve the problem, that would be even better. She was fairly wealthy at the moment.
As for her Dragon Feather Crossbows, Eight Oxen Crossbows, and smithing techniques—those life-and-death assets—she had never considered trading them, not even for ships.
Qiu Liao thought it over more and more and felt it was feasible. His chest swelled with excitement, and he longed for the navy to be established immediately.
He didn’t think it was unrealistic to want to build a navy when she only had a little over ten thousand troops.
Jiang Jin had the strength!
She had food, powerful weapons, and a steady stream of refugees coming in. Building a navy was merely a matter of time.
And he firmly believed that time wouldn’t be long.
Jiang Jin looked at him, the corners of her mouth lifting: “Once we get through this busy period, we can send people to negotiate.”
“But that way,” Qiu Liao said with slight concern, “our food advantage might be lost.”
Jiang Jin’s two greatest assets—aside from her own abilities—were food and weapons.
Jiang Jin’s voice was as warm as jade: “These factions might become our enemies in the future, but in the end, it will save the Han people.”
“Besides, these factions are currently among the few Han forces in Yan Country. We share a common enemy.”
Qiu Liao felt his throat tighten: “Lord, your benevolence is great!”
He involuntarily elevated Jiang Jin’s stature to infinite heights, reverence rising in his heart.
His Lord—she had the world in her heart!
It seemed she was born to save all living beings.
Every decision she made, every action she took, was for the welfare of the world and the people—to quell war and save the masses.
To follow such a Lord was truly the greatest fortune of his life.
Princess Jinyang was different from her father, the late Emperor, and all previous emperors.
Was Yan Country poor?
In truth, in the beginning, Yan Country was not poor—it was even considered wealthy. But very little of that money was spent on military defense or people’s livelihood. Almost all of it went to the royal family’s pleasures.
The most famous thing about the current Emperor was not his five empresses or his three hundred-plus concubines, but his pure gold “palace bed.”
Yes, others used chamber pots, but the Emperor insisted on lying down to relieve himself.
So he had a bed eight feet long built entirely of pure gold, just so he could lie comfortably while doing so.
As for the late Emperor, he was even harder to describe. To grow better wheat for brewing wine, he insisted on irrigating farmland with dew.
Fifty acres of land, all watered with dew. One could imagine how much manpower and resources that consumed.
But he had always suspected the late Emperor had been duped, because he couldn't believe that fifty acres of land could all be irrigated with dew—it was far too difficult.
And that wasn't even the worst of it. The late Emperor was fond of wine, and when drunk, his conduct was less than admirable. It was said he liked to strip naked and hold court...
Qiu Liao could well imagine the state of mind of the civil and military officials attending court back then. "Words cannot express it" would probably fall short of describing their utter speechlessness.
This was also one of the reasons he began to lose any desire to deal with the imperial family.
The common people were displaced, swapping their own children for food, with starving bodies littering the countryside.
The soldiers, fearless in the face of death, fought to defend the nation, yet they couldn't get enough to eat or have their wages paid.
And their Emperor—the Emperor—was taking a massive dump on a golden commode!
