Chapter 517 New Route (Special thanks to book friend tai1972 for the monthly ticket!)

That evening, Chai Zongxun first summoned Guan Mao, the Grand Admiral of the Royal Navy, to the temporary palace in Xinshangjing.

After seeing the ceremony, Chai Zongxun said:

"Your Excellency Guan has lived up to my expectations and successfully sailed tens of thousands of miles to bring soldiers and civilians to the Maya continent safely. Your contribution is great!
You are indeed my favorite general!"

Guan Mao was overjoyed. After bowing and thanking him, he smiled and said:
“Your Majesty, I have followed your orders to lead the Royal Navy fleet on this voyage, and have ordered people to record and map the coastline, ocean currents, and wind directions along the way.

With these logbooks, in the future, our large ships can also sail across the sea and travel between mainland China and the Mayan continent."

Chai Zongxun was very happy, as Guan Mao was his trusted and beloved general, and he was indeed meticulous and rigorous in his work.

After chatting for a while, Chai Zongxun said:
“In the next few years, our Great Zhou will take the governance of many newly acquired territories of the State of Gong and the development of local people’s livelihood as its main policy goals.

The main responsibilities of Minister Guan and the Royal Navy in the future will be to patrol the sea routes from the South China Sea to Sakhalin Island, ensure the safety of maritime trade ships, and wipe out the pirates.

Especially the route from Fuso to the mainland, most of the ships are from the Royal Commercial Group transporting gold and silver, so there must be no mistakes!"

Guan Maodao:
"I understand! I will definitely protect the coast of our Great Zhou."

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"Your Excellency Guan are fifty-eight years old this year, right? In two years, when you retire at the age of sixty, I will go to Bianjing and be promoted to the position of Minister of the Military Cabinet.

But as for the next Grand Admiral of the Royal Navy, do you have any suitable person to recommend to me?"

Guan Mao hesitated for a moment and said:

"Your Majesty, I have always promoted people of talent regardless of their relationship with me. My eldest son, Guan Chong, has been carefully nurtured by me since he was young. He is proficient in martial arts and military tactics. He passed the military imperial examination in the 28th year of Kaixi and is now the captain of a ship in the First Fleet.

I can say that I have passed on all my abilities to him, and he will surely make great achievements for Your Majesty in the future.

However, he is only 32 years old this year and lacks experience and qualifications, so he still needs time to hone his skills.

In my opinion, the person who can take over the post of Grand Admiral in the current Royal Navy is Li Xiaocun, the commander of the Second Fleet. "

Chai Zongxun said:

"Okay! I will pay special attention to the training of your eldest son Guan Chong. If he is truly capable of taking on the important task, he will be the next Grand Admiral of the Royal Navy."

On September 8, the 40th year of Kaixi, after two days of rest in Xinshangjing, Chai Zongxun summoned the four commanders of the Longxiang Army at the temporary palace.

The four armies that came to Maya this time were the 16th, 20th, 22nd and 25th Dragon Army Corps.

After analyzing the current situation of the Maya continent in detail, Chai Zongxun said:
"The current threat to our Great Zhou conquering the Mayan continent lies with the Liao army led by Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge who are hiding in the central mountainous area and fighting guerrilla warfare.

If these two are not eliminated, there will be no peace in the central provinces, and the Fifth and Tenth Corps will not be able to fully destroy the Mayan Empire.

There are many mountains and lakes in the central part of the Mayan continent. The Liao army adopted guerrilla tactics, which made it difficult to conquer them.

I demand that you completely destroy the armies of Yelu Xizhen and Yelu Moge within two years.

As for how to fight, you can offer your suggestions and advice."

The four corps commanders had previously studied the map of the Mayan continent drawn by Longxiongwei.

Chen Xuan, the Grand Commander of the 16th Corps, came out and said:
"Your Majesty, I have been studying the Mayan map for the past few days. There are too many mountains and forests in the central part, which is very easy for the Liao army to hide. There are five large lakes in the northeast of the central part. Our military tactics should be to march from the north, west, and south, enter the mountains and drive the Liao army to the lake area, and then we can wipe them out."

Chen Xuan was born in the fifth year of Xian De (958). In the twenty-third year of Kai Xi (982), he passed the military examination and ranked seventeenth in the first class. He joined the Eighth Corps of Yang Ye's Longxiang Army. In the wars against the Khitans and Khwarezm, he made many military achievements. In the thirty-fifth year of Kai Xi, he was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Sixteenth Corps.

Cheng Pu, the commander-in-chief of the 20th Corps, came out from his post and said:
"Your Majesty, if you want to quickly annihilate the Liao army, why don't we have four corps march step by step, encircle the Liao army in the dense forest, and then set fire to the mountain, so that Yelu Xizhen and others can be wiped out completely!"

Cheng Pu, born in the first year of Kaixi (960), was a descendant of Cheng Yaojin, Duke of Lu in the Tang Dynasty, and the son of Cheng Feihu, Duke of Lu in the Southern Tang Dynasty.

After Chai Zongxun conquered Southern Tang in the 11th year of Kaixi, Cheng Pu moved to Bian Jing with his family. In the 23rd year of Kaixi, he ranked 22nd in the first class of the military imperial examination and joined the 7th Corps of the Longxiang Army.

In the battle of attacking the Xingxing Sect, he fought almost the entire battle and was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the 20th Corps in the 36th year of Kaixi for his merits.

Chai Zongxun pondered for a moment and said:
“Although Yelu Xizhen and others have raised an army to fight against our Great Zhou, they have never been the kind of people who plunder and harm the people. Unless it is absolutely necessary, I do not want to kill them all.

After all, the Liao people are also descendants of Yan and Huang, and they have made contributions to the development of the Maya and Namaya continents and incorporated them into the territory of the Great Zhou.

It would be best if we could persuade them to surrender or capture them.

Then let's follow Chen Aiqing's advice."

The four generals saluted and agreed, then immediately left the hall and began to prepare the army for the expedition.

Chai Zongxun said:

"Call all the craftsmen who came to Maya this time."

He Yao, the chief eunuch in front of the palace, immediately passed down the order. In a moment, more than a thousand craftsmen from various industries sent by the Ministry of Works, led by the imperial guards, entered the palace.

The team was led by two doctors from the Ministry of Works.

After greeting, Chai Zongxun said gently:
“I am deeply gratified that you, my dear ministers, have come all the way to Maya to show your loyalty to the king.

The Mayan continent is vast and rich in resources. It is a precious land bestowed by God to my Great Zhou. I intend to develop it to be as rich as mainland China.

If you have any inconvenience here, please let me know. "

After the craftsmen discussed quietly for a while, a middle-aged craftsman saluted and said:

"Your Majesty is not afraid of hardships and has personally led the expedition across the sea. We, the people, should serve Your Majesty and the country with all our might.

It’s just that this place is too far from mainland China, and it’s inconvenient for me to go back home. I’m afraid I’ll miss my family too much after a while…”

Chai Zongxun nodded slightly and said:

"I have also considered this. You craftsmen will work in Maya on a three-year rotation cycle. You can return to your homeland or move your families to Maya."

When the craftsmen heard that they would not be stationed in Maya for a long time, they felt relieved and bowed to express their gratitude before leaving the hall.

Chai Zongxun discussed with two Ministry of Works doctors for a while and determined the current construction plan:

During the first three years of construction, one million laborers were recruited from various states in the Maya continent to build the "national highway" in the water conservancy project and the straight road project.

Because many Mayan tribes were still in the primitive society period, commodity transactions gradually increased after the Liao people founded the country. The Mayan continent is vast, sparsely populated and rich in resources, so prices are extremely low now.

Chai Zongxun set the monthly salary of local workers at 800 coins, which was enough to support a family of ten. The monthly salary of officials and craftsmen from the Great Zhou was the same as before, but their purchasing power increased several times compared to that of the Great Zhou.

(End of this chapter)

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