Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 279: Jin Kingdom Surrenders
The great general of the Jin Kingdom, Li Lisong, flew to the imperial capital of Jin Kingdom, Lequan City, in one breath.
Looking at the majestic and awe-inspiring imperial palace in front of him, Li Lisong felt somewhat hesitant to step forward; he had been defeated, he had lost… defeated by the broken Great Xia Kingdom, which everyone looked down upon. With 300,000 troops marching north, he returned alone—defeated not only in battle but seemingly as a deserter.
Li Lisong stood at the entrance, while the palace guards on either side recognized him. A guard captain, deliberately ignoring Li Lisong’s disheveled appearance, kindly reminded him, “General, His Majesty has been hearing petitions in the Imperial Garden these past few days.”
“In the Imperial Garden hearing petitions?” Li Lisong was stunned, not knowing what that meant.
The guard captain sighed and explained, “It’s all because of the disturbance in Anyang. Five ironclad ships appeared on the eastern coastline of our Jin Kingdom, bombarding military strongholds such as Baize Town and Dongguan Town, causing tens of thousands of casualties.”
Hearing this, Li Lisong no longer hesitated and hurried into the palace. After several checks, he finally saw the emperor of Jin Kingdom in the Imperial Garden.
The emperor’s face was not looking well, and Li Lisong’s expression was equally grim.
“You lost the battle?” The first words the emperor spoke were these three.
Li Lisong knelt with a thud and said, “The 300,000 troops are all lost, I, the guilty servant, ask His Majesty to punish me.”
The emperor of Jin Kingdom looked up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by, and sighed several times. Finally, he gave an order to the surrounding guards, “Invite the ministers and generals to come and discuss matters.”
Li Lisong remained kneeling on the ground, too ashamed to look up; the emperor stood like a statue. Only the birds in the Imperial Garden, lively and beautiful, were chirping happily, enjoying the tranquility and abundance of the garden. Some birds even had the bloodline of magical beasts, smart and exquisite.
Soon, the officials of Jin Kingdom gathered. Upon seeing Li Lisong, who was kneeling on the ground, disheveled with dried bloodstains on his clothes, everyone suddenly understood what had happened. No one spoke, and they quietly stood on either side of the emperor, surrounding Li Lisong in the center.
Once the officials were in place, the emperor of Jin Kingdom looked at Li Lisong, “Li Lisong, tell everything in detail, from when you first set out with the army to your return. Speak without omitting a single word.”
Li Lisong began to recount the events. True to his role as a commander, he accurately described the entire process, all the way to the burning of the beacon fires and sending out messages. The story lacked the rhetoric and dramatic turns of a novelist’s tale, making it seem a bit flat. But the officials, listening to this calm recounting, could still sense the brutality of the battlefield.
The continuous bombings by planes, artillery capable of firing ten miles, thousands of fully-armed foundational stage experts from Anyang; machine guns capable of killing 200,000 people in half a day, machine cannons that could easily crush foundational stage experts…
As Li Lisong spoke, everyone fell silent. In just half a day, 200,000 had died, and one charge had resulted in 30,000 deaths. Such a brutal war situation was far beyond everyone’s expectations. In the end, the indifference, and even betrayal, of Nanyang County and Dongyuan County, had completely buried the Jin Kingdom’s 300,000 troops.
“I am a guilty servant, I ask His Majesty to punish me,” Li Lisong said, his voice choked with emotion. For the first time in a hundred years, Jin Kingdom had waged a major battle, only to have 300,000 troops lost.
The surrounding officials were silent, waiting for the emperor to speak.
The emperor of Jin Kingdom remained silent for a long time. “Get up. You are not guilty. Not only are you not guilty, but you have done well. The fault lies with me. It is I who did not listen to advice, blinded by greed. Now, this is indeed not the best time to attack the Great Xia Kingdom. We should let the various separatist powers consume each other for a while. If we attack now, we will only unite the Great Xia Kingdom in hatred against us.”
“Who would have thought, who would have thought, that industrial power would be so strong, and mechanical power so terrifying?”
After a moment of contemplation, the emperor spoke again: “Li Lisong, you are to immediately go north to support General Zhenwei, Chen Zhongping. After you left, General Chen Zhongping led 500,000 troops north, and he should already be within the borders of Nanyang County by now.
Chen Zhongping is brave in battle, but lacks adaptability. You need to help him.”
Additionally, I will reward you with two hundred-year-old purple ginseng to replenish your energy.”
At once, two fresh hundred-year-old purple ginseng were brought by the guards. These ginsengs, containing rich spiritual energy and medicinal power, would greatly replenish physical and true essence consumption.
Even though Li Lisong was no slouch, a Nascent Soul stage expert, the emperor of Jin Kingdom was reluctant to reprimand him too harshly—so long as he did not rebel.
Li Lisong, hearing this change of events, didn’t hesitate too much. After absorbing the ginseng, he immediately set off for the north to support Chen Zhongping. It wouldn’t be accurate to say he was just assisting—he was more like rushing to “put out the fire.” Li Lisong didn’t need to ponder; he understood that Chen Zhongping was likely already in a tough battle, possibly surrounded.
After Li Lisong left, the ministers began discussing the situation. Thirty thousand killed in a single charge, 200,000 casualties in half a day—these numbers had a great impact on everyone.
Suddenly, the grand tutor of Jin Kingdom, one of the Three Dukes, Cai Chaoyang, stepped forward. “Your Majesty, perhaps we can take a step back.”
“Take a step back?” The emperor furrowed his brows.
“No!” The grand marshal of Jin Kingdom, Zhao Youde, stepped forward. “Your Majesty, we cannot retreat. If we cannot even defeat a small place like Anyang or a broken kingdom like the Great Xia Kingdom, what will others think of us? Perhaps the Qi Kingdom to the west or the Liu Kingdom to the south will send troops to attack us.”
“The best solution is to wipe out Anyang in one fell swoop and display the might of our Jin Kingdom!”
“Your Majesty, taking a step back would open up a vast horizon.”
“Your Majesty, we cannot retreat. Taking a step back is like approaching the edge of a cliff.”
…
The ministers immediately began arguing, each with their own reasoning.
The military officials, led by Zhao Youde, believed: We absolutely cannot retreat. If we do, it will show that Jin Kingdom is weak and easy to bully, and the Qi Kingdom and Liu Kingdom might attack. Taking a step back would indeed open up a vast horizon, but it would also bring us to the edge of a cliff.
On the other hand, the civil officials, led by Cai Chaoyang, argued: Taking a step back would broaden our horizons, and failure is the mother of success. The current failure may actually be a blessing in disguise.
The argument grew more intense, each side having its own reasons, and no one was able to convince the other. Finally, His Majesty the Emperor looked toward the Prime Minister, Sima Xuan, who had remained silent. Sima Xuan had been to Anyang as an envoy, and upon returning, he neither opposed nor supported the idea of the Jin Kingdom sending troops to attack Anyang. In fact, many people had expressed support for sending troops at the time, so Sima Xuan had kept quiet.
Now, during the discussion, Sima Xuan still did not speak.
It was only when the Emperor looked at him that Sima Xuan finally stepped forward. “Your Majesty, I believe that taking a step back will open up a broader horizon.”
Sima Xuan then explained his thoughts point by point: “There are four points I would like to consider.
First, the Jin Kingdom has always been a great power in the East, with high spirits among officials and the common people alike. This situation is dangerous, and an appropriate failure could allow the people to reevaluate themselves, which would benefit the Jin Kingdom in its self-reflection.
Only through failure can we dispel the current restlessness. Only through failure can the Jin Kingdom undergo a transformation, climb to new heights, and prepare for the coming chaos.
Second, the fall of the Great Xia Kingdom has broken the balance in the East. The Eastern region will soon fall into unprecedented turmoil. In such a chaotic situation, an excessively strong Jin Kingdom will become a target for all. Therefore, a controlled failure would benefit us by allowing us to conceal ourselves.
By blending in with others, we can protect ourselves.
Third, although we may face defeat, our foundation remains intact. In fact, we have seen the strength of our industry and commerce, and we can see the future direction of warfare and development. Failure will allow us to see the way forward and motivate the entire nation to catch up.
As the saying goes, ‘Shame will bring courage.’ Today’s failure is for tomorrow’s greater victory.
Fourth, due to our intervention, the fragmented powers within Great Xia have united against a common enemy. This situation is quite dangerous for us. We must step back and allow those fragmented powers to feel no pressure, causing their alliance to naturally dissolve.
Now that we’ve lost troops and generals, our defense in the northern part of the Jin Kingdom is weakened. It is unwise to continue fighting.”
After Sima Xuan finished speaking, the Grand Marshal, Zhao Youde, opposed him. “What if the counties of Anyang, Nanyang, and Dongyuan join forces to invade the northern part of the Jin Kingdom?”
Sima Xuan replied calmly, “As long as we soften our stance toward Anyang and offer compensation, Anyang will naturally withdraw its troops. Once Anyang withdraws, would Nanyang and Dongyuan still dare to invade our Jin Kingdom?
We are softening our stance toward Anyang, not Nanyang and Dongyuan. Through this negotiation, we can also sow discord between Nanyang, Dongyuan, and Anyang.”
Sima Xuan’s reasoning made sense, but not everyone was willing to concede. After all, the Jin Kingdom had been one of the great powers of the East for many years, a position held for thousands of years. The pride built over millennia could not be suppressed by just Sima Xuan alone.
Especially among the military officials, they would never acknowledge this defeat.
Zhao Youde even angrily shouted, “Anyang bombarded our eastern coast, causing civilian casualties, and we’re just going to let this go? How do we explain this to the people? Do you know how many families are crying right now?”
This question was harsh, but Sima Xuan remained unfazed. “Lord Zhao, as far as I know, the places bombed by Anyang were either military garrisons, military camps, or the city lord’s residence. While it is true that fires at the city gates sometimes cause collateral damage, Anyang did not drop a bomb directly on the common people’s homes.
Moreover, in the past, many of our wars involved massacres of entire cities. There is no need to get bogged down in this issue.”
The debate continued, with no one willing to give in. Late in the evening, Jin Kingdom spies stationed in Anyang returned with several newspapers, with certain information highlighted in red.
Prime Minister Sima Xuan picked up the newspaper and loudly read aloud: “Anyang, Minister of Commerce and President of the Brilliant Stars Group, Fang Shijing, gave a public speech:
‘We thank the staff of our group for their hard work day and night, as Anyang’s industrial technology has once again made breakthroughs. The first phase of the supersonic aircraft project and the subsonic aircraft test have been successful, with an average flying speed of 830 kilometers per hour…
The distance from Anyang to the imperial capital, Le Quan City, is only a little over four thousand miles, two thousand kilometers. It will take no more than six hours for a round trip…
The wise king has said that bombs should be dropped on the Jin Kingdom’s imperial palace, four times a day…’
After reading the long statement that spanned a thousand words, everyone fell silent.
Finally, the Grand Tutor, Cai Chaoyang, spoke up, “We cannot allow Anyang to drop bombs on the imperial palace. Otherwise… the royal dignity will be lost!”
The Emperor of Jin finally made up his mind: “Prime Minister Sima, please go to Anyang again. Also, try your best… to seek… cooperation!”
The Emperor spoke these words through gritted teeth.