The political storm sweeping the imperial capital finally came. After the interim military political commissar announced the successor of the new emperor, the first thing a group of ministers saw was that Situ Yuan, who was the elder brother, kowtowed to his younger brother Situ Lang to his grand ceremony. However, the two other strong contenders of the throne, the eldest prince and the third prince, were missing. Almost everyone immediately knew clearly that the first stage of the battle for the throne had ended. Although it was not clear who was the final winner at this time, in terms of the current situation, the 79th Alliance ensured the smooth handover of the imperial throne and the stability of the imperial financial problems. With the army surrounding the imperial capital who was loyal to Situ Lang and the Jiangnan East China Sea supporting Situ Yuan as financial support, the 79th Alliance had steadily controlled most of the empire situation, and the compromise reached between the seventh and nineth brothers also temporarily avoided a split conflict.

When the ministers saw Li Wufeng, the military and political governor of the Northwest and the governor of Northern Luzon, followed behind Situ Yuan and bowed to Situ Lang, everyone realized that the foreign vassal with the most powerful military strength in the empire also joined the 79th Alliance, forming a powerful iron triangle. No wonder the eldest prince and the third prince had to retreat. In this way, there was no suspense in the entire empire. No matter what the attitude of the Great Highness and the Third Highness were, as long as the iron triangle existed stably, whether it was the Great Highness, the Third Highness, or any other internal forces, they could not challenge the throne of the Ninth Highness.

Wufeng looked coldly at the guys who followed him and bowed behind him. These poor people who realized it had no corresponding strength in their hands, and did they have the awareness and courage to gamble. At this time, the lid was already unveiled. Is it too late to express their loyalty to the new emperor? With the establishment of the new emperor's team and the compromise with Situ Yuan, almost the entire government will undergo earth-shaking changes. With the passing of Situ Mingyue, it is time for many old ministers to retreat.

On January 18, 698, the new emperor of the empire, Situ Lang, finally ascended the long-awaited throne, and Situ Yuan also received the title of King of Chu as he wished, with a fief of Jiangnan County. However, Jiangnan County still had to pay no less than the previous taxes and lijin to the empire every year. At the same time, the new emperor also appointed Li Wufeng as the King of Qin and also served as the position of military and political governor of Guanxi. However, Wufeng politely rejected the position of King of Qin on the grounds that he did not dare to be granted the title of King of Qin at the same time as His Highness the King of Chu, and only accepted the position of military and political governor of Guanxi.

Immediately afterwards, the edict of the new emperor to succeed the throne quickly traveled all over the world, with the Imperial Guards, the City Guards, the Third, Fourth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth, and Tenth Army, as well as independent troops in the East China Sea and Jiangnan, all of them to the new emperor's loyalty.

The new Chief Executive Lu Wenfu also began to form a new cabinet team. Ning Yuanwang was ordered to retire due to poor performance in the battle for the throne. On the contrary, Seidon, the Minister of Justice, who had always been waving the flag for Situ Lang, replaced Lu Wenfu's position as Minister of Home Affairs, and the position of Minister of Law was replaced by Situ Yuanyi's representative of the former Deputy Minister of Culture, Education and Health. At the same time, Wei Zhongxing was also removed from the position of Minister of Culture, Education and Health, and was replaced by another deputy minister. The Minister of Finance Tian Yi remained still and still served as Minister of Finance. At the same time, the Imperial Central Bank was established according to Tian Yi's opinion, and Tian Yi also served as the President of the Imperial Central Bank; Foreign Minister Sariden retired from the position of Minister of Culture, Education and Health, and replaced by Tang Fang, the former governor of Donghai County, the representative of Situ Yuanyi's representative.

Ma Yuansheng was appointed Deputy Minister of Military Affairs and Commander of the Imperial Guard Corps due to his decisive role in the battle for the throne, while Frey, another deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Corps, was directly removed from his post. Yusufu, the commander of the City Guard Corps, was unexpectedly retained and was supplemented by a large number of reserve soldiers, and soon the establishment of five reorganized divisions was restored.

A series of personnel changes were going on in a daze in people's eyes. Although the appointment of local officials had not changed yet, local officials who had already smelled some smell flocked into the imperial capital to find their own ways and run for their future and destiny. The imperial capital suddenly showed a busy scene. Almost everyone seemed to forget that the Kaman army was still eyeing Qinghe Mansion, immersed in the celebration of the new emperor's succession.

In the imperial edict of the new emperor, there was no mention of his two brothers - Situ Tai and Situ Jun, and Yan Yun and Wuhu were also in a strange situation. In addition to practicing martial arts, Situ Tai and Situ Jun, who returned to their nest, did not mention the succession of the new emperor in the imperial capital, which had neither congratulated nor opposed it, as if Yan Yun and Wuhu had become paradises outside independence and empire.

But not all changes are gone. The economy belongs to politics, but all subtle changes are often manifested from the economic side. Starting from January 698, both Yanyun County and Wuhu County, the financial departments of both counties stopped paying fiscal revenues to the Imperial Capital. The customs departments stationed in Yunzhou and Dengzhou also automatically intercepted the customs lijin, which originally belonged to the Customs Department of the Imperial Finance Department, and instead handed over to the Yanyun County Finance Department in Peiping. The three northern prefectures in the northern East China Sea, which were already controlled by Situ Tai, have completely stopped paying taxes to the Jinling Mansion, the capital of Donghai County, which is controlled by Situ Yuan. The situation in the East China Sea is becoming increasingly tense.

In addition to criticizing these almost rebellious actions that were not specified at the court meeting, His Majesty the newly ascended Emperor also began to order the Eighth Ninth Corps to conduct large-scale military exercises. The Seventh Corps stationed in Jiangnan and the Milan army also conducted joint military exercises between the two countries in the depths of the border between the two countries. Everything shows that as the situation in the imperial capital becomes more stable, many things will gradually be put on His Majesty's agenda. Not everything can tolerate this and continue. Perhaps it will be time to resolve it soon.

On February 9, 698, the mainland Gregorian calendar, less than a month after Situ Lang ascended the throne, 10,000 Japanese naval forces raided the Cook Islands to which the Kingdom of Dodon and occupied the Cook Islands in just three days. On February 15, the Japanese had not yet learned that the Cook Islands had been controlled and occupied by the Japanese in the Kingdom of Dodon, and they had all their strength. They mobilized 60,000 troops to land at night and landed on the Crescent Peninsula at the southeast end of the Kingdom of Dodon. Because the First Fleet of the Tanghe Empire Naval Army controlled in Situ Tai not only did not warn the Naval Army of Dodon, but also quietly used some logistics ships to help the Japanese transport soldiers to the Crescent Peninsula, the Japanese's offensive speed and efficiency were greatly improved.

On February 16, the Japanese surrounded the most important port of the Crescent Peninsula and the largest military port of the Dodon Kingdom - Fushan Port. After three days and two nights of hard fighting, the 60,000 Japanese army and 10,000 naval forces finally captured Fushan Port after paying the price of more than 20,000 people. The 20,000 troops and 15,000 former naval forces that defended Fushan Port were all killed. The Japanese also seized a large number of ships from the Dodon Navy, and the naval forces were greatly improved. On February 20, the second batch of Japanese army 50,000 people arrived at Fushan Port by boat, and built a fortress at the Jeolla Valley, the narrowest throat of the Crescent Peninsula, 160 miles north of Fushan Port, and established a stable defense line.

The Crescent Peninsula is an irregularly shaped peninsula in the southeast of the Dodon Kingdom. The northern and central parts of the peninsula are slender and narrow, and slightly wider in the south. Due to the influence of the ocean, the climate is very different from the Dodon Kingdom, located in the northeast corner of the mainland. It is warm and humid. The peninsula is mostly mountainous and hilly, with rich copper ore distribution. Only a strip-shaped valley along the eastern seaside connects the peninsula with the Dodon Kingdom in the inland. Next to the Jeolla Valley is the steep and rugged Kin Bell Mountains. The mountains are steep and majestic, and the top of the mountain does not melt all year round, making people and animals sad. The only passage is the Jeolla Valley, which is less than two kilometers wide.

The Duoduans, who woke up from their dreams, were panicked. On the one hand, they drew 150,000 troops stationed on the border with Yanshan Mountain to drive overnight, and urgently proposed to Situ Tai, who inspected the water fleet in Yunzhou to borrow the ships of the Empire's First Water Fleet to transport soldiers, but Situ Tai refused on the grounds that the ship could not go to sea during the winter maintenance period. The 150,000 troops of Duoduans had to march in the snow and return to the inland of the Duoduan Kingdom first, and then head east along the seaside.

Unfortunately, time didn't wait for anyone. When the first cavalry troops of the Dutun Kingdom arrived near the Jeolla Valley, ten days later, and the Japanese used cruel means to force all the Dutun people in this area to invest in the construction of the Jeolla Valley Fortress. The Japanese army even maintained necessary vigilance, but tens of thousands of people also invested in the construction project. In just ten days, a small fortress had begun to take shape. Although it was still very simple, it was enough to block any attempt to go south. According to the subsequent statistics, in just ten days, more than three thousand people were lying under the fortress's walls due to the cruel climate conditions and the torture of the Japanese construction supervisors, and the Japanese soldiers even paid the price of dozens of lives. This shows the difficulty of the project of this fortress.

Faced with the 50,000 Japanese army and the valley fortress that are still constantly improving and strengthening, Duoton cavalry, which reached less than 30,000 people, had to strengthen surveillance and reconnaissance, and patiently wait for the follow-up infantry troops to follow up. However, when the 150,000 troops were completely gathered in front of the valley fortress, another week had passed. During this period, Liyuan Shanchuan recruited reserve troops in the Japanese land, and another 50,000 people had arrived at Fushan Port, and all were placed in the valley fortress for defense.
Chapter completed!