Next to the Changle Palace in Jiangning Mansion, the atmosphere of the United Assembly Hall today is unusually solemn. The emperor of the Eastern Song Dynasty, who rarely appears in the conference hall, wore the most formal Son of Heaven court dress early in the morning, accompanied by Prime Minister Wen Daosheng and Song Lian, who was also the leader of the Zhejiang Party, and appeared on the throne in the center of the conference hall.

According to the practice of the hypocrites of the Eastern Song Dynasty, the Son of Heaven usually appeared only on the fifteenth day of the first month of each year, when the United Parliament officially began the annual deliberations, and accepted the court meeting of all the members. In addition, the Son of Heaven will appear on the throne of the council hall when each session of the United House is formally formed, and hand over the wat board, which symbolizes the power of the council, to each member of the council.

Except for the etiquette of the fifteenth day of the first lunar month and the etiquette of the composition of the meeting, the Son of Heaven generally does not appear in the conference hall. Even if the prime minister asked for the dissolution of the meeting, it was only in the Zichen Hall of Changle Palace.

There was only one exception when the Son of Heaven would attend the United Assembly in person. That is, when the country is faced with the threat of war, and the United House of Representatives agrees on war and national policy, the Son of Heaven or the crown prince must come to listen to the government.

Today is not the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, nor is it the day of the formation of the new United Assembly, but the Son of Heaven solemnly came to the United Assembly Hall, is it to discuss the war and the national policy? Could it be that the group of war maniacs in the Western Song Dynasty are fighting again?

Most of the members of the Great Song (Eastern Song) Assembly Hall knew that the country was now facing an unprecedented crisis. One is the "guano embargo" of the Great Zhou, which will definitely cause a large reduction in grain production.

Another crisis is the "boom and bust" of Jiangnan industry and commerce, which has also experienced overproduction and increased unemployment due to the use of "water heaters" and "Huang's textile machinery".

Under the attack of the two major crises, the Eastern Song Dynasty is a bit stormy, if there is another war, will it collapse? The hearts of the parliamentarians were hanging.

Although the Eastern Song Dynasty was a neutral country in danger, it adopted the policy of establishing the country with naval forces in the north and west from the very beginning, so the national defense security was actually very guaranteed.

In the past three Central Plains wars, the Eastern Song Dynasty only looked a little dangerous, but in fact it was as safe as a rock.

Because in the era of the fortress and the bronze cannon, the story of taking the south of the Yangtze River from the Han River and the Sichuan River is impossible at all.

Moreover, the army of the Eastern Song Dynasty was not too weak, and its combat effectiveness was not much worse than that of the army of the Western Song Dynasty. Even the cavalry of the Eastern Song Dynasty can compete with the cavalry of the Western Song Dynasty!

Although Jiangnan and Huainan in the Eastern Song Dynasty were not suitable for raising a large number of horses. But the Eastern Song Dynasty has colonies in the New Song Dynasty! Moreover, the Eastern Song Dynasty was also a maritime power second only to the Great Zhou, which could obtain good horses from the West and Tianzhu, and graze them on the grasslands of the New Song Dynasty.

Therefore, the army of the Eastern Song Dynasty lacked neither horses nor strong cavalry. The cavalry of the Eastern Song Dynasty came partly from the military households of Huaishang, and some came from the grasslands of the New Song Dynasty and New Dongying. The kung fu on horseback was not much worse than that of the cavalry of the Western Song Dynasty.

Therefore, the members of the Eastern Song Dynasty Assembly were not afraid of the invasion of the Western Song Dynasty, but the timing was not good at the moment...... Internal worries and external troubles make things difficult to do!

Just when the parliamentarians were worried, Song Lian, the presiding officer of the parliament, announced a news that surprised them.

"Ladies and gentlemen, according to reliable information, the Northern Zhou Dynasty is plotting to attack our dynasty!"

As soon as the news came out, there was an uproar in the conference hall.

"What? Zhou Guo!? ”

"How could it be ......"

"Is this true?"

"The two countries have been friends for more than 200 years!"

"Impossible, I just met a guest from Huai yesterday, and it's safe!"

"Knock Knock Knock ......"

Song Lian took a wooden hammer and tapped it on a small leather drum placed on the table, and the hall suddenly fell silent.

Song Lian said: "Now it is up to His Excellency the Prime Minister to speak. ”

Prime Minister Wen Daosheng stood up, bowed to Emperor Zhao Hao, and then nodded at Song Lian, who led the council: "Leader and council, just three days ago, in the name of escorting Wu Yuankai to Egypt to marry Empress Anna, Zhou sent a huge fleet including three first-class battleships, including Shenzhou, Republic, and Jofa, to the South Seas.

In addition, the United Government has received reliable information that guano islands and guano deserts in the South American province of Nantian are also rich in guano resources. It won't be all mined in fifty years! ”

According to the rules of procedure of the United Assembly, there can be no arguments between the councillors, and all councillors can only exchange views with the councillors – that is, the dialogue must take place between the councillors and the councillors.

This is to prevent quarrels and brawls between parliamentarians......

"Leader of the government," the leader of the opposition party immediately stood up and asked, "Maybe Zhou Guo wants to raise the price of guano." ”

Song Lian asked Wen Daosheng: "Prime Minister, please answer." ”

"Negotiations on guano prices have broken down," Wen said, "and Zhou Guo does not intend to restore supplies." ”

"Will we be able to find a new guano island?"

"Prime Minister......

"Haven't found it yet! And our inventory will be depleted within the year. From next year, there will be a huge gap in our food supply! ”

"Can we make up for it through imports? There was enough grain in Cochin, Annam, and Champ, and Siam also had a lot of land that could be cultivated. ”

"If the Zhou State does not plan to attack from the sea, the supply of food will not be too tight...... However, from the analysis of various signs at present, the Zhou State is preparing for war! ”

The focus of the discussion at the United States Conference shifted from food supplies back to the imminent war!

Prime Minister Wen Daosheng went on to present a lot of evidence that the Zhou State was preparing for war, mainly the secret reports of the Metropolitan Military Machinery Department and the Huaishang Prefectures.

It is impossible to prepare for war without signs!

This war has been planned for more than ten years, and it has been several years since preparations began with real fanfare.

And the most obvious preparation for war is the huge naval shipbuilding program.

Both the Eastern Song Dynasty and the Great Zhou were world empires that relied on maritime supremacy, and both countries had enormous war potential. It is difficult for anyone to win quickly in a battle on land, so the decisive victory in naval battles is particularly crucial.

And naval battles can quickly determine the winner or loser!

Because both countries must defend their own shipping routes, it is impossible to control the enemy by "protecting the ship".

Therefore, after Wu Yuanlong was successfully re-elected as the head of state, he immediately promoted the "Sea King Plan" to start the construction of 10 "Sea King" class first-class battleships.

The "Sea King" class is a new ship developed on the basis of the Shenzhou class. Battleships of this type had an unladen displacement of 60,000 stone and 120 cannons.

It is also equipped with 4 10-inch cannons cast using the secret hollow casting method. This cannon can fire powerful heavy flowering shells, and it only takes one hit to wreak havoc or even sink a Tier 1 battleship!

Although this cast-iron cannon is still a secret weapon, the construction of 10 "Sea King" class ships cannot be kept secret.

Therefore, the Eastern Song Dynasty has discovered the shipbuilding plan of the Great Zhou, and has also formulated a corresponding plan - they will also build 10 new first-class battleships!

However, the shipbuilding plan of the Eastern Song Dynasty started late, so their 10 new first-class battleships will also lag behind in service.

Therefore, there will be a dangerous period for the Eastern Song Dynasty Navy!

Another circumstance that can prove that the Great Zhou had an intention to go to war is the revision of the Great Zhou's "Citizenship Law" and "Military Service Law".

The Senate of the Great Zhou Republic is discussing the revision of the Citizenship Law, which has been in place for more than 200 years, and will introduce universal citizenship rights – that is, there will no longer be a distinction between commoners, citizens, and citizens will no longer be hierarchical.

Of course, there are restrictions on voting rights. However, restrictions will only be imposed on the amount of tax paid and military service. Emphasize the relationship between civic contributions and referendums.

And at the same time as the civil rights were distributed, being a soldier became a universal obligation!

Since all citizens of the republic are equal, they have the duty to defend the country.

It's the time of the line infantry...... In an era when line infantry became the main force on the battlefield, the side with more troops would easily win the war.

Because it is difficult to shoot in line to make too many casualties, kill 1000 enemies, and self-damage is at least 500.

Therefore, the side with more people is always easy to win.

Now there are a lot of people in Zhou Kingdom, 180 million! However, most of them are not citizens and have no obligation to defend the country. Therefore, without amending the Citizenship Act, there is no way to turn the numerical superiority of the population into a military superiority.

And once the "Citizenship Law" and the "Military Service Law" are revised, the Great Zhou Republic will be able to recruit a huge army that can fight the two Song Dynasty.

In addition, in conjunction with the revision of the Citizenship Act and the Military Service Act, as well as the expansion plan of the Navy, the Knight Academy and the Naval Academy were expanded.

Only with officers can the troops be organized and the fleet can be brought into full play.

Taken together, the various situations point to one point - the Great Zhou Republic is preparing for a large-scale war.

And the enemies that can make the Great Zhou Republic carefully prepare are only the East and West Song in this world.

When Wen Daosheng put the evidence that Da Zhou was preparing to go to war in front of the members of the United Assembly, everyone was extremely shocked.

Their United States is facing an unprecedented crisis!

"What should we do?" Someone asked aloud.

"Fighting, of course!" Someone immediately replied, "The Great Song is not afraid of war!" ”

Are you really not afraid?

And not a few MPs responded.

Song Lian, the leader of the council, looked at Prime Minister Wen Daosheng, "Prime Minister, what should we do?" ”

Wen Daosheng said: "To lead the government, we should first consider joining forces with Chang'an!" ”

There was another uproar in the conference hall.

"How can you join forces with Guan Long thief?"

"yes, they've beaten us three times......"

"Guan Long's thief will not die, my heart will not die!"

"Knock knock knock......" Song Lian beat the drum a few more times, and shouted at the same time: "Silence! Quiet...... Listen to the Prime Minister. ”

Wen Daosheng cleared his throat and said loudly: "Gentlemen, please listen to Wen Mou's words." For example, if it is three points today, the three-third trend can be maintained, relying on the two countries joining forces to control one of them. Whoever tries to break the balance of power among the three countries will be broken by the other two countries joining forces. In the past, Chang'an wanted to break the balance of power, so my country would unite with Zhou to break it. But today, the general trend has changed greatly, the northwest is ruined and the north is extremely prosperous. If China wants to maintain the balance of power among the three countries, it has no choice but to join forces with Chang'an.

As long as we can join forces with Chang'an, our country will be undefeated, and only by being undefeated can we stop the war with force. Even if you can't stop the war, you can still win it. ”

"But is Chang'an willing to join forces with us?" Someone immediately asked aloud.

Wen Daosheng smiled and nodded at Song Lian, "The cabinet is negotiating with the secret envoy of Chang'an, and a preliminary agreement has been reached to jointly contain the Zhou State!" ”

There was another uproar in the conference hall.

Song Lian hurriedly beat the drum and shouted "silence".

Wen Daosheng half-turned around and bowed to the Son of Heaven, who had been a puppet clay sculpture on the throne for a long time.

Zhao Hao coughed and said: "The country is in an eventful season, and it must be dealt with by a multi-party coalition government. I was instructed by Wen Daosheng to organize a new wartime multi-party coalition government in order to unite the forces of the fifty states to tide over the difficult times. I hope you will support Prime Minister Dow Moon and his multi-party coalition government......"

Although the United States of the Eastern Song Dynasty was loose and crumbling, it was not without wind and rain. Being able to win in the three Central Plains wars is naturally not an ordinary person.

The organization of a wartime multi-party coalition government was the practice of the previous two Central Plains wars.

In addition, once a wartime multi-party coalition government is formed, the parties that make up the United Coalition will be on the same ship, and they must work together to prevent the ship from capsizing.

Zhao Hao's speech is tantamount to announcing that the country is already in wartime, at least quasi-wartime.

Now it is up to the members of the United House of Representatives to express their position, and if the majority votes in favor of the Emperor's proposal, then the wartime coalition government can begin to be formed.

The vote in the United States Conference is very serious, not just a show of hands, but a whole standing up, and anyone who divides into two teams stands - one for support and one against. Then the votes can be counted by the council points...... And it is all a secret ballot, and what votes each member of parliament casts must be archived.

The result of the day's vote was a resolution to form a wartime coalition government!

As a result, the Eastern Song Dynasty entered a state of war.

The formation of the wartime coalition government was also extremely fast, and it was announced after only one day.

On the same day that the wartime coalition government was formed, Prime Minister Moon Dow-sang issued four orders in succession.

The first was to order the delegates in Jiangzhou to negotiate peace with the Western Song Dynasty to sign the "Agreement between the Two Song Songs," ending the 200-year hostility between the two Song Dynasty.

The second order was given to the Nanyang Fleet, ordering the Nanyang Fleet to track down the Zhou fleet escorting Wu Yuan Caixi with a strong part, and to keep abreast of their movements at all times.

The third way is not in the form of a command, but a request. Asked Zhao Hao to let the crown prince go to the new Kaifeng Mansion of the New Song Kingdom......

The fourth order was issued to the Eastern Song embassy in Tianjin, asking them to put forward an ultimatum together with the Western Song embassy in Tianjin: demand that the Great Zhou Republic resume the guano trade and suspend the shipbuilding project that upset the balance between the two navies. Otherwise, the two Song Dynasty will join forces to implement countermeasures against Da Zhou!