Two major events occurred in Asia in 1245. First, the Song Dynasty, which had been passive, launched a counterattack at the beginning of the year. It gathered 120,000 elite troops from Xiangyang and Luzhou, and launched a Northern Expedition at the same time, with the target directed to Bianjing and Xuzhou along the Yellow River. If this were in previous years, most people would not think that the Song Dynasty court could succeed, and maybe it would be another major defeat.

But now it’s different. The Song Dynasty court not only had new naval warships that could escort the fleet as logistics supplies for the army, but also had a new army of tens of thousands of people. This Northern Expedition was mainly composed of the new army.

In contrast, the Mongol Empire has dropped significantly in recent years, and most of its elite troops have been lost in the Three Kingdoms naval battle. Coupled with the Khan throne in recent years, the entire empire has actually been divided. Even if Guiyu and Mengge, who were fighting for the Khan throne, temporarily reconciled due to the Northern Expedition of the Song Dynasty and were unanimously confident that this war could be easily resolved.

The first battle between the two sides had already reflected the rise and fall of the two countries from a certain perspective. The Song Dynasty New Army, who went north from Luzhou, captured Yingzhou, which was heavily guarded by the Mongolian army in just one day, then turned the troops and headed west to Caizhou. Five days later, with another new army from Xiangyang, he washed away the Mongolian defenders under the city of Caizhou. Within less than two hours of battle, the most elite troops on the southern defense line of the Mongolian Empire were defeated. He chased him for dozens of miles, and only more than 3,000 people could escape back to Xuzhou.

Since the two battles, the two Northern Expedition Army of the Song Dynasty can be said to have more wins and fewer losses. Even if they lose, they will be a small loss. It will neither affect the trend of the battle nor some morale. If it weren't for the new army's reliance on logistics supplies and did not dare to stretch the front line too long and disperse, it would probably take less than three months to be able to hold troops by the Yellow River, and regaining the three is not a dream.

Another major event happened in the south. The Jinhe Empire, which had been in the fog, revealed its true face and opened the two ports of Jinhe City and Mayi Port, allowing foreign merchant ships to enter and exit freely while abiding by the imperial laws. Not only did the Song Dynasty merchant ships, which had always had ambiguous relations with the Jinhe Kingdom, came to visit, but even the maritime merchants from Southeast Asian countries rushed to Luzon Island together, and some merchant ships from Japan and Goryeo. They would rather go to the port of the Song Dynasty and sail with the Song Dynasty merchant ships to see what this legendary powerful empire looks like.

But the Jinhe City they saw was not a glorious metropolis. Not to mention gloriousness, they were probably not even prosperous. The tallest building in the city was the Imperial Library, and the Imperial Government Building was actually shrouded in the corner of the city, not only could the imperial city of the Song Dynasty, but also the palaces in Japan.

As far as architectural style and architectural art is concerned, the biggest feature of Jinhe City is that it cannot be called art without style. The whole city is gray, with 80% of the houses exactly the same, and there is no difference between the width and the number of steps. If there is no clear street sign, let alone outsiders, they have lived here for several years, but the slaves who do not often enter the city will get lost because every street is the same.

Compared to Jinhe City, the newly opened wharf area on the north bank of Jinhekou is more lively. Since inns and restaurants are not allowed to be opened in Jinhe City, those restaurants and hostels that are not suitable for external guests can only be opened here. The largest restaurant is called Jinhe Tower, which is located on the third floor next to the wharf. His boss is Basong. Like Cixi, he was also the first slave to be captured by Hong Tao. He probably forgot his original name.

As for where a slave-born immigrant got the money to open such a large restaurant, he also hired many chefs to specialize in cooking in various countries. This is the Imperial Supervision Department. This place is nominally the industry of Basong, but in fact it is the intelligence station of the Interior Bureau of the Imperial Supervision Department. Many waiters and chefs are intelligence personnel of the Interior Bureau, who are specifically responsible for collecting information and situations of merchants from various countries here, summarizing and recording them as a database. Although Cixi resigned, the later intelligence work methods he learned from Hong Tao and many of his own methods were well inherited.

It was noon at this time. According to the custom of Jinhe Country, one day was morning, noon and evening with midnight snacks. It was the meal time, so the restaurant was already crowded, especially on the three highest floors, which did not even have an empty table. Since the building is flat roof or covered with cement frame structure, it is full of large windows on all sides, except for a few tables in the middle, all of which are viewing seats by the window. Sitting here while drinking and eating, while looking down at the exotic scenery outside, is also a very pleasant thing for these tourists.

On a table in the southeast corner, there were two middle-aged people sitting. There was a copper hotpot on the table. This is the most famous flavor of Jinhe City, called Emperor Hotpot, which is actually a thick mandarin duck pot. With the chili brought back by Hong Tao from Central America, the mandarin duck pot quickly became a high-end delicacy. It doesn’t matter what ingredients are used. As long as chili is added, the value will increase several times. If the residents in Jinhe City want to treat them, they will usually ask the other party first, do you want to eat the emperor? Most of the time, the other party will laugh and answer loudly, yes, yes, let’s go eat the emperor!

The two of them should have worn a maritime merchant from the Song Dynasty. Their seats could see Jinhe City in the east and Jinhe in the south. At this time, the red oil in the hot pot was rolling with thick bubbles under the scorching charcoal fire, but their eyes were not on the hot pot and the dishes on the plate, but staring out the window from time to time.

"Brother Wu, will this place be an ordinary harbor in the Jinhe Kingdom? Just like Quanzhou and Guangzhou in the Song Dynasty, their countries should all be elsewhere, right?" The person who spoke was wearing a soft-legged head, a green Taoist robe, and a Japanese fan in his hand, which was a typical Southern Song Dynasty maritime merchant.

"It's hard to say that Brother Sun may not have been to the Navigation School in Ximaozhou. The appearance there is exactly the same as this Jinhe City. It should have been built by Emperor Hong. In theory, the Navigation School should also be the Imperial College of Jinhe Kingdom. The emperor personally served as the principal and often went to lecture, but it was still a square house with no excessive decoration. This is not that Jinhe Kingdom has no money, but that their Emperor Hong advocated saving and opposed all unnecessary decorations, as long as the function is not only not only for appearance. Brother Sun should have seen it just now. The library and other houses were built completely differently. It was not only tall but also magnificent, and the floor was covered with good Persian carpets. How can it be seen?"

The middle-aged man sitting by the window was dressed in a short dress, not wearing a toe on his head, but just tied his long hair together, which was equivalent to a large ponytail. His top actually had two pockets with covers, which were a bit similar to the Royal Navy uniform. He was wearing not the kind of cloth shoes or leather boots that were common in the Song Dynasty, but a pair of leather sandals with exposed toes, or metal buckles.

Compared to his companions, his outfit is much more fashionable in the words of later generations, and it shows his identity. He is a maritime businessman, and it is also very likely that he is a maritime businessman in the Straits Company. Because only these maritime businessmen who have been in contact with Jinhe people for many years can wear this kind of Jinhe country clothing imitated by some Guangzhou and Quanzhou tailor shops. Just like when the mainland was just reforming and opening up, many Guangzhou people took the lead in changing into suits and ties and wearing sunglasses because they were close to Hong Kong.

"Their emperor likes reading?" Sun's Haishang thought about it for a while and came up with an explanation he thought was more reasonable.

"Brother Sun is a brilliant man. This emperor not only likes reading books himself, but also requires students in the school to read as many books as possible. Not only do they have to read books related to their studies, but they also have to read other books that have nothing to do with them. In his words, books are good teachers and friends for everyone. This is not just a talk. When I was studying at the Navigation School, although I was not a formal student, I could also enter the school library to read the books casually. There are basically books written by foreigners on the market, and there are many books written by foreigners. Everyone in the Jinhe Country senior students have to go to the library to use their spare time to help translate these books into Chinese before graduation. The library in front of me is many times larger than that of the Navigation School, and there should be more books in it. If I could wait in and take a look, the task assigned to us by Dexin might find the answer in a few days."

This very fashionable maritime businessman is not a maritime businessman, but just pretending to be a like. His real identity is a fourth-rank official from the Southern Song Dynasty court, who is specifically responsible for supervising the construction of the new warships of the Southern Song Dynasty Navy. At the same time, he is also a core member of the Wenhao Zhiyin Society, named Wu Xiuyan. He also has a twin brother named Wu Xiuxing, who is the same as his official position.

"Why don't we ask the waiter here? Didn't we say that as long as we are from Jinhe Country, we can enter the library to check it out, and there is no charge. If we can find the people here to help us in and take a look, wouldn't we get twice the result with half the effort?" Since Wu Xiuyan is not a maritime merchant, then this boss Sun should not be a maritime merchant. Their purpose of coming to Jinhe City is self-evident, and they are here to inquire about information.

In this regard, no country in the world is as powerful as the Jinhe Kingdom. With the continuous efforts of Hong Tao and Cixi, the Jinhe Kingdom has established a complete set of military and civilian intelligence collection, sorting, and analyzing systems, and has received strong support from the imperial government. Because this thing is really useful, with visible and tangible benefits. If you can sit in the office, you will know what is happening thousands of miles away, and it is worth spending more money. This is also an important resource left by Hong Tao to future generations. In the fashionable term of later generations, it is soft power.
Chapter completed!