Shentu Yang’s suggestion truly made Yin Shuhuai’s heart skip a beat with excitement. He had been cooped up in the palace handling court affairs ever since he moved the capital to Jixian, leaving him with absolutely no time to leave the palace. Taking advantage of this opportunity to inspect the navy and travel around various places could be considered giving himself a vacation.

Thinking up to this point, Yin Shuhuai immediately called someone to bring over the map of Youzhou. Looking at the map spread out at their feet, he said to Shentu Yang with absolute seriousness: “The State of Yan’s navy is sustained at Qinhuangdao in Liaoxi Commandery, right? I heard the climate there is quite nice.”

Speaking of Qinhuangdao, it was still a highly famous resort in later generations.

However, speaking of resorts would naturally make one think of hot springs. A flash of inspiration crossed Yin Shuhuai’s mind, and he finally remembered a certain matter he had consistently forgotten: “Where is Xiaotangshan?”

Shentu Yang did not hear clearly: “Xiaotangshan?” What kind of place was that?

Yin Shuhuai explained patiently: “Hot springs! Warm spring water, the kind that can cure all illnesses upon taking a soak.”

Yin Shuhuai’s eyes searched the map inch by inch, and his mind constantly compared the differences between ancient and modern maps.

Shentu Yang understood now. But he had only ever heard of the Lishan hot springs, and did not know that Jixian actually possessed hot springs as well, let alone knowing about some place called Xiaotangshan in Jixian. Shentu Yang recalled carefully and opened his mouth to ask: “Are you perhaps trying to ask about Jitou Mountain?”

“Jitou Mountain?” Yin Shuhuai turned his head to look at Shentu Yang.

Shentu Yang nodded. Just as he was about to say something, he swallowed it back down. Changing his words, he said: “Rest first, tomorrow morning I will have Wenru come into the palace to tell you.”

When all was said and done, the time Shentu Yang had been back in the State of Yan was short, after all. After succeeding as the Duke of Yan, he was furthermore busy leading troops away at war. The time he spent staying in the State of Yan throughout the year was highly limited, and he was not particularly familiar with the domestic affairs and geographical environment. In contrast, Yao Wenru, who had been appointed as the Prime Minister of the State of Yan by Shentu Yang, knew everything about Yan like the back of his hand. Letting him clear up doubts and answer questions for Yin Shuhuai would presumably be more efficient.

The next morning, Yao Wenru, who was busy selecting locations for the salt processing facilities along the coastal area, hurried into the palace. Learning that the Emperor and his lord wanted to inspect the navy and also wanted to find hot springs in Jixian… The former matter was easy to arrange, but this latter matter… Having been the Prime Minister in the State of Yan for three years, Yao Wenru truly did not know where Jixian possessed hot springs.

Hearing up to this point, Yin Shuhuai could not help but frown. No way, could it be that because of the movements and changes of the earth’s crust, the hot springs in Jixian had not yet appeared in this era?

Yin Shuhuai remembered faintly that when he looked up information in his past life, he did see relevant historical records stating that records regarding the Xiaotangshan hot springs first appeared in the Comprehensive Geography of the Great Yuan Dynasty during the Yuan Dynasty.

Yin Shuhuai sighed silently in his heart, yet he was still somewhat unwilling to give up, wanting to have people search in the direction of Xiaotangshan; maybe they could find a clue to the hot springs!

“Does Your Majesty wish to construct a hot spring traveling palace?” Yao Wenru asked thoughtfully as he looked at the disappointed Yin Shuhuai.

“Not just constructing a traveling palace,” Yin Shuhuai said, “if there are hot springs, we can attempt to grow vegetables and fruits in the winter.”

After all, given the technology of this era, wanting to mass-produce glass greenhouses was unrealistic. Then they could only find a way to target the hot springs!

“Growing vegetables in winter?” Yao Wenru asked instinctively. Unlike Shentu Yang, Yao Wenru truly came from the bottom of society and had been a slave under the Xiongnu for over ten years. Even after returning to the State of Yan to serve as Prime Minister for a few years, he was not adapted to the luxurious life of the Yin Dynasty nobility. He could not even imagine how to grow vegetables in the dead of winter.

But at the thought of being able to eat crisp and delicious vegetables even in the winter, Yao Wenru could not help but swallow his saliva, saying with utmost seriousness: “This minister will certainly send people to turn all of Jixian upside down to find the hot springs Your Majesty wants!”

Looking at Yao Wenru who had suddenly become fired up, Yin Shuhuai and Shentu Yang exchanged a blank glance with each other.

Clues for the hot springs still had to be found slowly, but inspecting the navy was absolutely imperative. After hearing that the Emperor wanted to use the navy to take the sea route to Zhuyan to find cotton, and being educated by Shentu Yang on the vital role of cotton, Yao Wenru became even more fired up than before. He could not wait to leave the palace to arrange the relevant matters for the imperial carriage heading to Liaoxi Commandery.

And the news that the Emperor was going to Liaoxi Commandery to inspect the navy soon spread along with Yao Wenru’s preparatory work.

Learning that the Emperor had actually developed an interest in the navy, Huo Quan immediately brought the Chief Officer of Shipbuilding and the Imperial Water Superintendent into the palace for an audience. Both of these men were responsible for building warships for the Great Yin. Huo Quan felt that since His Majesty was interested in the navy, perhaps he would also be interested in warships. If he was not interested, it did not matter; Huo Quan could also talk with the Emperor about the fifty thousand navy troops still stationed at the Kunming Pool in Chang’an.

“…Are there only fifty thousand people left?” Yin Shuhuai felt some regret. He remembered that during the reign of Emperor Li, the peak number of the navy exceeded two hundred thousand.

“Because the court had no money to support too many water forces,” Huo Quan said very bluntly, “ever since Emperor Li passed away, the court has not fought a naval battle for over ten years. Among the two hundred thousand navy soldiers, the old have grown old and the dead have died, and combined with those who were disbanded, the remaining fifty thousand are only those who had to be kept for transporting grain.”

Yin Shuhuai let out a long sigh, and turned his gaze back to the Chief Officer of Shipbuilding and the Imperial Water Superintendent: “What models do the current warships possess?”

The Chief Officer of Shipbuilding and the Imperial Water Superintendent exchanged a glance and immediately stepped forward to explain to the Emperor. In order to let the Emperor understand the current warships more vividly and visually, the Chief Officer of Shipbuilding and the Imperial Water Superintendent even brought along quite a few warship models, explaining the function of the warships by referring to the models.

The organizational structure and scale of the Yin Dynasty’s navy were, in fact, highly mature.

During the peak moments of the Emperor Li era, the navy possessed over four thousand warships. Among them, the multi-decked warships possessed three levels in total, named the main cabin, the upper deck cabin, and the lookout post. Each level was constructed with parapet walls containing openings to defend against the enemy’s arrows and stones, and shooting windows were opened on the parapets to attack the enemy. To defend against the enemy’s blades, arrows, and fire attacks, the outside of the warships would be wrapped in leather and other materials.

During combat, each fleet would also be matched with various combat vessels. For instance, there were warships specialized in scouting the enemy’s situation; ramming ships specialized in colliding into enemy warships—namely the narrow and long covered assault ships; and the light and small vessels that moved incredibly fast to facilitate sudden raids on enemy warships; heavy armored ships with planks set on all four sides to defend against arrows and catapult stones. There were even large ships specialized for seafaring…

It was just a pity that after Emperor Li died, the succeeding emperors were mostly young and could not hold power. Imperial power also fell into the hands of imperial relatives, eunuchs, and powerful ministers at one point. These imperial relatives and powerful eunuchs fought tooth and nail in absolute chaos, and the continuous factional struggles and games of replacing emperors also left the court in a state of neglected governance for over ten years. The navy that had once achieved illustrious military merits was also left neglected for about ten years along with it.

By the time Yin Shuhuai succeeded the throne, the Yin Dynasty’s navy had completely lost its function of fighting wars, degenerating into a transportation tool for the court to transport grain on the water. But a dying camel is still bigger than a horse. This navy controlled by Yin Shuhuai was, in fact, much more useful than the State of Yan’s navy in terms of both quality and quantity.

Now that the Emperor wanted to put the navy to heavy use, Huo Quan felt he could fight for the fifty thousand navy troops stationed at the Kunming Pool in Chang’an. It was better than letting the Emperor heavily employ the outsiders from the State of Yan.

This little intention of Huo Quan’s was so plain that everyone knew it, but the crucial point was that no matter how many intentions he possessed, they were all used to show loyalty to the Emperor. On this point, even Shentu Yang, who had always found the Huo family displeasing to the eye, had to admit it.

Although Shentu Yang would also seize any opportunity to drive a wedge between the Yin Emperor and the Huo family, Huo Quan was always able to prove to the Emperor through actions time and again that he was simply very loyal, and could truly think what the Emperor thought and worry about what worried the Emperor. Regardless of whether he did it well or not, he was willing to do it first.

The most crucial thing was that Huo Yan had painstakingly managed for so many years and had controlled the court as Prime Minister for several years; he had long ago planted his trusted aides throughout various places in the court. The foundation of the Huo clan’s faction in the court was already deeply rooted; they truly possessed people!

Even though a batch of the governors and commandery administrators sent out by Huo Quan had already been hacked to death by local powerful forces during the rebellions in the four prefectures, they still possessed countless talents stepping forward one after another. On this point, even Shentu Yang could not help but look with longing eyes—after all, what the State of Yan lacked most was talent. Especially technical talents of the type who excelled at managing domestic administration and modifying weapons and warships.

This was also an important reason why the entire State of Yan had no choice but to sit by and watch Yin Shuhuai arrange personnel to resettle the refugees after the court brought millions of refugees to relocate the capital to Youzhou—they truly lacked people!

Now Huo Quan wanted to move the fifty thousand navy troops stationed at the Kunming Pool in Chang’an over to Youzhou… Yao Wenru, who was preparing for the Emperor’s trip to Liaoxi Commandery to inspect the navy, frowned heavily, feeling somewhat worried whether his lord would invite a wolf into the house.

“The mobility of fifty thousand navy troops on the sea is simply unimaginable,” Yao Wenru said full of worry. “I heard that the largest warships of the Yin Dynasty can carry ten thousand men. In case these people—”

Shentu Yang waved his hand and said with absolute composure: “Even if these fifty thousand navy troops move to the coast of Liaoxi, it is impossible for them to act as they please. They will be under the surveillance of our State of Yan’s water forces at any time and place. On this point, Wenru, you can rest fully assured.”

“Furthermore, these fifty thousand navy troops are the most elite water forces of the Yin Dynasty. If our State of Yan’s navy can learn how to fight battles from them, would that not be quite good?”

Most importantly, the Yin Emperor wanted to use the navy to take the sea route to Zhuyan to pick cotton, but the State of Yan’s navy had not taken a sea route for many years. If they could follow behind the Chang’an navy to traverse the sea route once and clear the routes on the sea, their State of Yan could utilize the sea routes to trade fine salt and warhorses in the future, without needing to entrust all trading channels to the powerful aristocratic clans who were watching like hawks.

In this way, Yao Wenru could also possess a bit more leverage when negotiating with the powerful aristocratic clans.

Yao Wenru came to a sudden realization and immediately smiled: “My lord still considers matters thoroughly.”

Pausing, Yao Wenru asked again: “Then regarding the matter of the Emperor going to Liaoxi to inspect the navy, do I still need to arrange it?”

“Of course it must be arranged, proceed according to the original plan,” Shentu Yang said righteously. “His Majesty has moved the capital to Youzhou for so long, yet he hasn’t had a good tour around the grand rivers and mountains of my Youzhou. How can that be acceptable!”

Furthermore, Shentu Yang had not forgotten that the powerful aristocratic clans throughout the Central Plains all possessed a habit of concealing land, and had even resisted fiercely when the court measured the fields, resulting in the disastrous consequence of the rebellions in the four prefectures.

Extrapolating from himself to others, Shentu Yang felt that the powerful aristocratic clans of the State of Yan were not necessarily honest either. It was just that the time Shentu Yang had succeeded as the Duke of Yan was still short, and he had been busy striking the Xiongnu to the north and going south to the Central Plains before, leaving him with no opportunity to deal with them.

And in order to stabilize the situation of the State of Yan and stabilize the army’s logistics, Yao Wenru did not dare to make too massive of a move either. This was to avoid infuriating the local powerful aristocratic clans and cutting off the retreat of Shentu Yang and the hundreds of thousands of Yan troops. Under all kinds of misgivings, it resulted in Shentu Yang being unable to hold the entire State of Yan firmly in his palm despite being the Duke of Yan.

But with Shentu Yang’s domineering personality, how could he tolerate other fleas constantly jumping around next to his bed? Even if it was for the sake of the seven hundred thousand troops who fought campaigns everywhere with him, Shentu Yang had to straighten out the forces of the State of Yan. He could not leave himself with future troubles, nor could he give anyone an opportunity to exploit.

“If it were placed in the past, if we wanted to measure the fields, I would still worry whether the local powerful aristocratic clans would gather to resist for the sake of interests. But it is different now. Do you not hold the secret recipe for making fine salt in your hand?”

According to the laws of the Yin Dynasty, the state monopoly of salt and iron was a national policy. The State of Yan was naturally no exception. Shentu Yang had to keep the refining method of fine salt in his palm, and it was impossible to share the pie with others. But he could sell the fine salt to the local powerful clans and aristocratic houses, letting them utilize their own channels and networks to sell the fine salt. They could similarly obtain massive profits.

However, cooperating with Shentu Yang had to possess a prerequisite, and that was to honestly measure the fields!

Shentu Yang had also learned this trick from Yin Shuhuai. As the old saying goes, if you want to take from someone, you must first give to them. Shentu Yang could take advantage of this opportunity of an excursion to personally measure the land and fields of the State of Yan, and straighten out the local powerful aristocratic clans along the way.

He wanted to build a stable and secure rear area for the Emperor and himself.