Chapter 174.1 – Remorse Outside The Country

Three years later.

The largest port in China was named Wangxiang Port.

When Jiang Zhen first brought his men to this part of China, they settled near Wangxiang Port at first, occupying a large piece of land here. They had just left Daqi, and many of them missed their homeland very much so they often looked in the direction of the sea, thus the name Wangxiang Port came from it.

On that day, a group of China’s soldiers suddenly came to the port of Wangxiang, walking neatly in formation. Each one kept their eyes forward as they reached their destination and stood still.

“Why are there soldiers coming to the port today?”

“Hey! I’ve never seen such spirited soldiers like Chinese ones in other places!”

“Of course you can’t see such soldiers anywhere else! These soldiers were all trained by our Prime Minister, all of them are amazing!”

…

A group of people were talking, looking at the squad of soldiers full of envy, including many ronins.

In the Republic of China, being a soldier was the most honorable thing! Unfortunately, if you wanted to be a soldier, you had to take an exam.

They must learn the Chinese language well! Even if they can’t get into the army, they would still be able to find better jobs!

The crowd was sighing with emotion when a big ship came from far away and stopped at Wangxiang port.

As soon as this ship docked, the soldiers from the Republic of China greeted it, surprising onlookers.

Who were these people? Why were their soldiers greeting or picking them up?

They were wondering when they saw some people appearing at the bow of the ship.

The leader of those people was wearing the official uniform of Daqi, while the people behind him were wearing the military uniform of Daqi.

Could it be an official of the Daqi court?

Among the onlookers, many of them used to live in Daqi, so when they saw people in official clothes, they subconsciously became a little scared and could not help but take a step back.

But soon, they felt that their fear was a little nonsensical.

They were no longer living in Daqi but in the Republic of China, so why should they still be afraid of Daqi officials?

With this in mind, their initial fear disappeared as they continued to observe the Daqi officials and soldiers.

These Daqi court officials and soldiers looked completely different from their spirited soldiers from China! So it was true what they heard, that Daqi was now in complete chaos.

The onlookers thought of all the rumors related to Daqi they heard recently and felt some sympathy for the Daqi officials and soldiers in front of them.

This time there were three officials from Daqi, one of them was Zheng Yi.

Feeling the sympathetic gaze of the people around, Zheng Yi could not help but smile bitterly.

It was surprising that Daqi was in so much chaos now, it was something he had never thought would ever happen before.

Three years ago, there was a rebellion in Hexi Province, and after that, the people in several other provinces began to disobey the imperial court’s orders as well.

The emperor sent his men to exterminate the rebels, and the army was able to put a stop to them at first. However later, when the emperor gave orders to the generals to speed up the extermination of the rebels, the rebels managed to gain an opportunity to defeat the imperial army.

Not surprisingly, the country of Rong to the south, that was always trying to cause trouble at the border, used this opportunity while the Daqi Imperial Court was distracted and launched a surprise attack. They were able to break through the blockade of the Liaoning Iron Cavalry in the south.

The Emperor and the Empress Dowager had no choice but to flee to the south of the Yangze River and settle down there – the north was in complete chaos but the area south of the river was still stable.

Zheng Yi was originally just a wealthy man from Wexing Province, but after His Majesty and the Empress Dowager came to Wexing Province and set up the capital there, he was made an official.

It was originally considered a good thing to be an official, but now that Daqi was under the attack and about to fall to forces both without and within, becoming an official was dangerous.

Zheng Yi did not feel that the rebels would cease their rebellion in the north, nor that the Rong army would stop their invasion and attacks in the south.

Their army didn’t have that many people who could fight.

Zheng Yi had many things on his mind, as did all the people who were intelligent enough to realize they would need a way out if things continued to go badly in Daqi.

It was precisely because he wanted to figure a way out, that Zheng Yi took the initiative to take the job of soliciting peace with the Republic of China.

That’s right, to solicit peace.

Before, the Republic of China was regarded as a thorn in the eyes of His Majesty. Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge were two traitors that went as far as to claim the title of emperor in another country, making him unable to tolerate it.

However, if the situation continued as it was, his own kingdom was going to be lost, so the Emperor across the sea no longer seemed like a big deal.

After discussing it with some officials, His Majesty came up with a method to recruit the Republic of China to help them fight the Rong army in the south. If Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge agreed to this, he would then recognize Zhao Jinge as the ruler of the Republic of China and issue a Holy Decree to enthrone him.

Zheng Yi was secretly amused when he learned about this.

He was aware of Jiang Zhen’s temper and his way of thinking. He certainly didn’t care about an imperial court decree, but the court believed it would be a gift to Jiang Zhen.

Even if Zheng Yi thought this, he didn’t reveal anything on the surface.

He has already made up his mind to send his children here secretly, but this was something he couldn’t let others know.

“Lord Zheng, this China…” Qi Qing looked at the port in front of him, his eyes full of shock.

Qi Qing was also one of the officials who came to recruit this time.

Zheng Yi had come to resume his friendly relationship with Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge, while Qi Qing had come to beg for forgiveness.

Even though it was His Majesty’s wish to wipe out Jiang Zhen and his group, he was the one who executed his orders.

Before coming, Qi Qing had already given it a lot of thought about what could happen to him in the Republic in China. He didn’t expect that after coming here he would be surprised by this port first.

Qi Qing suddenly remembered something from a long time ago. When he traveled south from the capital and stopped at the port in Hexi village, he saw many new and strange things in that small port.

At that time he felt that Jiang Zhen was very capable, but now…

Zheng Yi had a lot of things on his mind, so he didn’t pay much attention to the situation around him. However, when Qi Qing spoke, he began to observe their surroundings, which astonished him.

This port was unexpectedly flat, like the whole block of boulders it was carved from was the same!

Even with Daqi’s best craftsmen, there was no way to lay together the stone slabs or bricks so neatly. What was going on?

Zheng Yi was amazed, and continued to look around.

In this port he could see the shadow of the port in Hexi Village from the past.

Other than that, the houses near the docks were just like houses in Hexi Village. They had a neat and tidy appearance without a sense of beauty.

However, although they had no pretty aesthetic, he was still surprised by these houses.

All four sides had white walls, not to mention they were all equipped with glazed windows!

In recent years in Daqi, the price of glazed mirrors and other glazed products had been lowered, but glazed windows were still something that absolutely no one could afford! Yet even ordinary houses in the Republic of China’s port were actually furnished with glazed windows!

Zheng Yi’s eyes opened wide, but after taking a deep breath he felt it was something normal.

Jiang Zhen had a lot of ideas. Before, in Daqi, he was more or less restricted, but things are different now.

“This port, look at the amazing craftsmanship.” A gray-haired old man came out of the ship’s cabin. When he saw the scenery in front of him, he couldn’t help but sigh with the emotion.

“Lord Zhou, let’s go down.” Zheng Yi said.

The last of the three officials who came to ask for military aid was Zhou Maohe, who had once dealt with Jiang Zhen and had also even arrested him before.

Zhou Maohe always had good luck. Although he had lost favor several times, he managed to stay in the imperial court. His reputation over the years was also getting better and better as he got older.

This time, he came to the Republic of China on his own initiative, and His Majesty agreed.

“Jiang Zhen does have some skills, but it’s a pity that he strayed from the right path,” Zhou Maohe said. “He even did something so treacherous like that, it is simply shameful to our ancestors!”

Zhou Maohe was furious at the thought that Jiang Zhen and Zhao Jinge had established a new country overseas.

That man was really disloyal and unrighteous!

Zheng Yi smiled but didn’t speak. He never took Zhou Maohe seriously but Qi Qing reminded him, “Lord Zhou, speak carefully.”

They were now in the land of the Republic of China, so how could they disrespect their Emperor and Prime Minister?

Moreover, Qi Qing already regretted his actions very, very much.