When we look back on history in hindsight, we often find that under the rolling torrent of history, even the wisest leaders will inevitably have moments when their minds are dizzy.

- Chronicles of the Empire, Chapter 35, No. 7 -- Retrospective Reflections on the Roland Era I II

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It was a summer afternoon, and the fierce rì hanging in the sky was still relentlessly releasing heat. In anticipation of the upcoming triumphal ceremony, countless guards wearing bright red armor have surrounded the front of the No. 1 pier of the port.

And just a hundred steps outside the dock, the soldiers of the dìdū security station, who were overwhelmed, had already exhausted all their strength to eat nǎi. Many of their clothes were torn, their shiny epaulettes were torn off, their hats were scratched off, and even their boots were trampled on countless times.

To the frustration of the 1,000 soldiers of the police station, who were ordered to maintain order outside the port, they were confronted by more than 50,000 enthusiastic citizens who were onlookers.

Enthusiastic onlookers were greeted with flowers, cheers, applause - and of course, many girls were even ready to offer their own kisses and even chastity. Under such emotions, the 1,000 soldiers of the police station felt like a broken ship in the middle of the ocean, which could be overturned at any time.

At the moment, they were envious of the guards standing within the wharf line, because they could leisurely line up in a square, selling the brightest armor and weapons they had just issued, and at the same time not worrying about being scratched in the face by some fanatical citizen in the next second.

For this grand triumphal event, under the orders of His Majesty Augustin VI, the great emperor of the empire, the section of the Lancang Grand Canal leading to dìdū was fully doubled! For this grand triumphal event, the empire paid 10,000 river transport workers for half a year's labor, and the imperial treasury also paid nearly three million gold coins for it.

The purpose of paying these prices was only to allow the flagship of the Empire's "Xth Expeditionary Fleet", the Dandong, to smoothly pass through the canal to the port outside the east gate of Dìdū, and accept the cheers of the people, so as to demonstrate the powerful force of the Empire.

No one cares if it's worth paying such a price for a situational show-off.

Because the previous Chancellor of the Exchequer of the Empire, who was the first to raise strong objections, had been driven back to his hometown by His Majesty the Angry Emperor to retire. And the only option for the chancellor of the exchequer who took over was how to rack his brains and scrape together as much money as possible from the various expenditures of the imperial treasury to satisfy the "old man who was so happy".

Of course, the title of "old man who is so happy" can only be buried deep in the heart of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, very deeply, very deeply......

When the afternoon sun shone on the wide surface of the canal, and the first sail shadows began to show their silhouettes in the distance, the crowd began to cheer uncontrollably.

As the giant battleship with a length of two hundred paces on the river slowly approached the port, the majestic silhouette of the battleship shocked all the citizens who came to watch.

The flagship of the Sixth Expeditionary Fleet of the Empire, the "Dandong", the pride of the Imperial Navy, is one of the largest warships ever built by the Imperial Navy. In anticipation of this grand welcoming ceremony, the battleship has been thoroughly painted and refurbished, the hull has been painted in a formidable black sè, and in wave after wave of cheers, the Dandong is slowly approaching the harbor like a giant monster with black sè, and a huge thorn flower flag fluttering in the wind on the mast.

By the time the anchor was dropped, tens of thousands of citizens in the harbor were already boiling, countless hats were thrown into the sky, countless people had stepped on their shoes, and countless people had crushed their legs. And the poor soldiers of the police station could only shrink the jǐng cordon within the limits of their ability, and then shrink it again......

Count Raymond, the commander of the Imperial Expeditionary Fleet, was standing on the bow deck hill at this moment, looking at the cheering crowd in the harbor with a blank face.

The thirty-nine-year-old Imperial First General, the Imperial Earl, was now dressed in his most grand attire, covered with light armor, a bright red cloak behind him was hunting in the wind, and he had two medals on his chest—the first two times he had been in the expeditionary fleet. And there is no doubt that this triumph will earn him a third Imperial Medal.

The Earl's gaze was a little distracted, his gaze did not stay on the cheering crowd in the harbor, and if you looked closely, you could see that the Earl's brow seemed to be faintly furrowed, as if he was a little impatient.

Hell, this armor is too heavy and stupid!

The Earl did not think that as a soldier on a naval fleet, he would need to wear such heavy armor when fighting at sea. That's something that only the Army uses. As for wearing these medals, it was a foolish thing in the count's heart. It's as if the nouveau riche were flaunting their wealth – something that the real aristocracy disdains. He felt that such a move was very good.

Moreover, the cheering crowd below was so noisy that their cheers were like huge waves in a tsunami, eroding the little patience that the Earl had left.

Subconsciously glanced at the deck under his feet.

In order to cope with today's welcome ceremony, the Dandong had been repainted three days ago, and there was no blood on the deck. The decks that had been worn out in the expeditionary war had long since been resurfaced, and the bow ramming angles had been replaced...... Hell, those who like to pat the emperor's ass actually made the bumping horn of the bow of the ship into a statue of the emperor himself, and it is said that this statue was made by a famous imperial master carver a few days ago.

For this, the Imperial Navy also paid an additional 10,000 gold coins.

Mighty is mighty enough. But don't those fools know that when there is a battle at sea, after the battleship collides, the first thing that is destroyed is the angle of the ship's bow?

In his opinion, the 10,000 gold coins were really unjustly spent. The work of the master carver is not even as practical as finding a sharp stake.

In fact, on a deeper level, Lord Count Raymond even thought from the bottom of his heart that organizing this so-called Xth Imperial Expeditionary Fleet was really a ridiculous and absurd wrong decision.

Since decades ago, the Empire has been conducting "expeditions" to the South China Sea region again and again.

It is undeniable that there are countless islands in the South Seas, as if scattered pearls are scattered across the vast sea, where there are strange woods, there are savage and stupid indigenous tribes that are still in the clan stage, there are gold, precious stones, spices, seafood.

However, the Earl did not think that such an act as "taking a dozen huge warships to bully those natives in small canoes" was an "expedition".

It was all a plunder, a massacre, a bandit, an invasion, a robbery!

The Count wouldn't think there was anything wrong with that. The weak have historically been bullied by the strong, and the weak need to maintain a posture of submission to the strong. However, he believed that the mistake of the Empire's policy towards the South Seas was that such so-called expeditions were carried out too often, and the effect seemed to be getting weaker and weaker.

In the early two or three expeditions, the powerful imperial navy was invincible in the South Seas, and when the whole ship of gold, precious stones, seafood and spices was brought back, it caused a sensation throughout the empire.

But after all, no matter how rich the granary is, it can't withstand such frequent harvests. Excessive plundering led to the extinction of the indigenous tribes in the waters a little closer to the South Seas, and the subsequent expeditionary force had to take their own route farther and farther, and the extension of the route was a huge test for the supply of the fleet.

After all, there are not only those bully natives in the South Seas, nor only those gold and precious stones, but also the sultry weather, the rapidly changing climate, the terrible waves, and countless reefs, whirlpools, and storms......

The transitional harvest quickly turned this fertile field, which could have been the granary of the empire, into ruin. The subsequent expeditions yielded fewer and fewer harvests each time. Ironically, however, the triumphal ceremony became more and more grand each time......

Count Raymond himself commanded three expeditions in recent years, which made the Earl a great name in the South Seas. This Imperial Admiral, Lord Earl, has a series of nicknames in the South Seas:

Robbers, butchers, executioners...... His hands are stained with the blood of the natives, and he is a notorious aggressor in the hearts of the indigenous clans and tribes, a demon who burns down their homes and enslaves them.

Of course, Lord Earl didn't care about this, but the only thing that made him feel a little uneasy was that the excessive war of aggression had deformed the development of these Nanyang natives in some ways, especially in terms of force. Even before he returned this time, he had heard that some of the natives of the island nation in the far southernmost seas had formed a so-called alliance to fight against the Empire's endless plunder.

Thankfully, he didn't have to think about those troubles anymore. Because he knew very well that this was his last expedition. Next, he will stay in Dìdū, and if all goes well, he will get a prominent position in the Imperial High Command, and then mix it up for ten or eight years, and when the current Minister of War retires, with the influence of his family, he will become the new Minister of War, and if he is a little lucky, he may be able to live the last few years of his political career as Prime Minister.

As for the expedition, fuck it. That's a headache for the next commander of the expeditionary fleet.

Even if those natives had evolved enough to be able to build magic cannons, it wasn't a matter of their own hearts.

Amid a wave of cheers, Lord Count stepped down the flagship deck in full view of everyone, his feet finally stepping on the land of dìdū......! It's just that this action is more like driving away flies.

First of all, a civil servant dressed in court service came aboard the ship and read out His Majesty's commendation decree, and announced that the Earl would enter the palace early tomorrow morning to meet His Majesty the Emperor and accept the award.

As he wished, his political future was bright.

But then a servant in gray clothes squeezed up and whispered another news in the earl of the earl, and this news made Count Raymond's mood sink to the bottom!

The message came from home.

The expedition has been out for more than three years, the sea is vast, and the message transmission is inconvenient. Raymond didn't know what was going on at home.

The most important thing is his wife. When he went out three years ago, his wife was close to giving birth, and now, he doesn't even know if he has a son or a daughter!

The news from the family is: it's the son.

However, the son who was born seems to be an idiot.

The news almost came close to knocking the Earl from the pinnacle of joy.

That's just a little bit!

However, almost every dìdū magnate who came to greet him saw that the face of the commander of the triumphant expeditionary force had sunk to the point of collapse.