OR1-EPXC: The General
Deafening explosions rose and fell as death fell from the sky inflicting fear and despair on all soldiers equally. The city fell into dead silence after the massive carpet bombing ended. The graphite bombs had managed to cut off the power supply, which sent the citizens, who were already suffering from the war, into a state of extreme panic. Many people fled towards the outside of the city in a panic, only to be blown up by the Britannians halfway across the city. After the Imperial Army invaded the Northern Isles, the Nanting Army's counterattacks were slightly too weak and ineffective to drive the landed Britannians out of their lands in time. After decades of sinking, the Britannian Empire has finally borne its fangs to the world once more, an aggressively expansive and enterprising attitude reminiscent of the Empire's dramatic expansion in the mid-to-late 19th century of the A.T.B..
On the path leading to the west side of the city, a dozen or so soldiers followed along with officers in gray military coats. All around them were burning buildings, some of the wooden ones shaking and ready to collapse in the flames. They couldn't care about that, they didn't have any extra energy, the whole city was struggling in the fire. Since the 20th century of the A.T.B., the architectural style of the Nanting Protectorate's precincts had changed a lot, the old wooden and stone buildings were gradually eliminated, and most of the new cities built their residential neighborhoods in a style mixed with European designs, but those old towns still retained their original appearance. That is to say, when the Britannian Imperial Army used incendiary bombs to bombard the city, the old town suffered the most serious damage. The generals of the Nanting army were anxious, and they had no way to bombard the Britannian Empire's mainland as a retaliation, so they could only be tired of responding to the Imperial Army's provocative actions and raids.
The officer with the beard stopped, he observed the road ahead and raised the light machine gun in his hand.
"A few of you go to the other side to defend, the rest follow me."
"Yes sir."
There were no longer any citizens on the streets, they had probably fled long ago, or else they were all killed in the heavy bombardment. The soldiers who were advancing right behind their officer looked up at the sky overhead from time to time in a state of distraction, fearing that the Britannian bombers would come back to drop enough bombs to destroy the entire city. It was a shame for the Nanting army that they had lost air control in the war, leaving their country exposed to the iron hooves of Britannia. Directly aiming the war at the general population did more to demoralize the enemy and their will to resist to the end than any other propaganda.
The southern continent where the Protectorate of Nanting was located was called Australasia in English, meaning the continent south of Asia. The island located in the southeastern direction of the continent is named Changyunfu according to the local indigenous title. Changyunfu is divided into north and south two states, the garrison totaled two brigades, the brigadier of north island garrison named Wang Shuang, official title for the Xie Dutong. This general used to be the Nanting Protectorate's foreign military officer in the Britannian Empire, and knew the situation in Britannia very well. After returning home, he wrote to the Nanting Protectorate to talk about countermeasures to deal with the possible aggressive expansion of Britannia, which received the attention of his superiors, and he was sent to the Changyunfu to train the garrison troops. Unexpectedly, the Britannians is moving faster than reading a book, and shortly after the friction in the relationship between the two sides, the Britannian Empire openly began its military invasion activities. Two months ago, a Britannian warship sank in the South Pacific Ocean, and Emperor Charles balked at the idea that the Nanting Protectorate had sunk the warship, and then ordered the Imperial Army to attack Changyunfu. Faced with the invasion of an important ally for many years, the Nanting Protectorate was at a loss and was unable to respond for a while. However, Wang Shuang's fight succeeded in stopping the Imperial Army from moving south, and the few landing troops were stopped in Yutouzhou.
He could not hold out much longer. After today, his troops had to evacuate the area, the Imperial Army was still being reinforced, and the melee between the two navies had begun. They still had a chance to escape back to the mainland before Britannia took full control of the airspace. However, Wang Shuang did not want to give up, once the Nanting Protectorate lost Changyunfu, it would be completely locked in the Australian continent by the Britannian Empire, becoming a turtle in a jar. In the face of these Britannian enemy invaders who were eager to use the heads of the common people of Nanting to earn military honors, he had to counterattack resolutely, or at least make the other side's battle results far outstrip their losses.
A mansion in the midst of burning appeared before his eyes. Two Britannian soldiers were walking out of the gate, they did not see Wang Shuang who was advancing close to the wall, and as a result, they were killed by the crowd of people who shot them indiscriminately. Wang Shuang dragged the corpses aside, lamenting his downfall while thinking of a way to escape. He was almost out of troops on hand, and the Britannians had no thoughts of stopping their attack. If he didn't leave, he feared that he would become the first general on the side of the Nanting Protectorate to be killed or captured since the start of the war between the two sides.
The mansion was still burning, and a pungent odor emanated from it from time to time. Wang Shuang shouted several times in a row, but no one answered. He walked dejectedly towards the backyard, and halfway there, he found a body that had been blown apart. The body had been burnt to a crisp, and outsiders would not be able to recognize any details that would be sufficient to identify the body, unless an expert was called in to carefully identify it. Wang Shuang sighed heavily, no longer looking at the other corpses on the side, and walked straight forward. This was not a war, this was a massacre, and the Britannians deliberately terrorized their enemies by doing so.
"Anyone alive?" Wang Shuang shouted a few more times, no one answered. He walked to the compound and looked at the devastated garden, an inexplicable sadness welling up inside him. All they wanted was to live their lives peacefully, and now that the Britannian Empire was imposing war on them, this hatred could not be dissolved. The Protectorate of Nanting might be powerless to resist the empire's invasion, and even if they were shattered to pieces, they had to show that they would never give in. That foreigner was right, Britannia had started the war machine, and it would not stop easily. There must be absolutely no compromise, the Britannian Empire must not be allowed to make any gains in the war, and they must not be given the chance to fill in the damage done to the homeland after turning on the war machine.
Suddenly, he saw a cold-faced boy standing in the corner. With his light machine gun clutched in both hands, Wang Shuang approached the other man cautiously. He was now a bare-knuckle commander, with ten of his soldiers dead, and such tragic circumstances made him move with much caution.
"Child, where is Old Huo?" Wang Shuang shivered and asked, "I mean, where is your foster father ... Huo Xingtian, Lord Huo?"
The boy looked up dully for a long time before answering:
"Dead. Bombed to death."
Wang Shuang had known that this would be the outcome, and the last bit of luck in his heart had dissipated. Huo Xingtian's relationship with him was very frosty, the two had a lot of conflicts when they worked together in the embassy, and after returning to China, they were also at loggerheads over a number of issues - but, excluding these differences, they were still considered friends. Huo Xingtian saw that Wang Shuang had no heir in his thirties, so he elected an adopted son for Wang Shuang, a favor Wang Shuang has always remembered. When the war first broke out, Wang Shuang told Huo Xingtian to leave Changyunfu immediately so as not to be affected by the war. However, Huo Xingtian, who was already idle at home, not only did not evacuate, but instead began to assist the local officials in mobilizing the civilian population, allowing the area to enter a wartime state. Since he chose this path, Wang Shuang can only sigh and lament that some people are destined to die for their country.
The boy in front of him is Huo Xingtian's adopted son, Huo Yunjue. According to Huo Xingtian and Wang Shuang, the child's real parents were killed by pirates in the South Seas while they were doing business.
"Son, I'm a friend of your adoptive father. He said before that in case something happens to him, his family will be taken care of by me." Wang Shuang stretched out his left hand toward the boy, "Now that his family is all shipwrecked, I have to keep you alive ... I can't live up to his wishes."
Without waiting for the boy to reply, Wang Shuang immediately ordered the soldiers to carry the boy away and then withdrew from the mansion. They met up with their comrades arriving from another street outside the gate and quickly decided to leave along the highway out of the city. There were two airfields nearby that were still under the control of the Nanting army, and the Protectorate side had already given the order to evacuate, so they should regroup before fighting the enemy to the death. The truck twisted and turned as it made its way down the potholed road, with the Britannian Empire's planes in hot pursuit, ear-piercing whistles constantly coming from the air. Undeterred, the soldiers on the truck fired anti-air missiles at the enemy bomber that was still dropping bombs, and the enemy plane that couldn't dodge in time was hit on the spot, exploding into a brilliant firework in the air. Wang Shuang, who was sitting in the co-pilot's seat, couldn't be bothered to watch the battle, he worriedly recalled every detail since the war broke out, trying to find out any mistakes that could be corrected. They hadn't lost yet, not completely, but probably couldn't win. The best result would be nothing more than a dignified withdrawal from here ... Their enemies were many, and the Protectorate of Nanting did not have the backbone to let go of their hands and feet to deal with an all-out war.
The crowd that took the road and fled caught up with the last of the airplanes that took off. The crowd waited torturously with trepidation in the airplane to reach their destination, they were afraid that the Britannian Empire would come up from behind and shoot down the airplane. Fortunately, the worst situation that was expected did not happen, and the airplane arrived at Chengtianfu unharmed. After the rescue, Wang Shuang sent someone to send Huo Yunjue back home, while he himself went to a nearby military camp to wait for his superiors to dispose of him. He had battle successes and gains, but in terms of results it was still a failure. Fleeing on orders was also fleeing, and generals who had lost a battle had no extra excuses to use to shirk their responsibilities; they had to bear the world's scorn.
Surprisingly, what he waited for was not a messenger announcing the charges, but a great officer that he did not expect. When Wang Shuang saw the kindly-faced middle-aged man walk into the room, he realized that his chance had come.
"Heavenly officer." Wang Shuang arched his hand and saluted the other party as a sign of respect. Li Jinnan, the Minister of Officials of Nanting, one of the most powerful officers up and down the entire Protectorate, before, Wang Shuang would not dare to imagine that he would one day meet such a big shot.
Li Jinnan had the experience of joining the army, and then became a civil officer for a long time, his body was a bit fat, but he paid attention to his image, so the official minister in the eyes of outsiders became a strong man rather than a lazy man with a fat brain.
"Brigadier Wang, you are going to have your time." Li Jinnan stroked his beard and said to Wang Shuang with a smile on his face, "The king has already decreed to promote you to a baronetcy, and will also receive you in person. Alas, I have been an official for several decades, but I have never seen the king pay so much attention to a frontline officer ..."
"You must be joking." Wang Shuang awkwardly held the other party's wrist, "My humble officer is not capable of much, but only has long legs and can run faster, and luckily picked up my life back. The fact that His Highness did not pursue my faults and even rewarded me is already a great grace. If I'm not mistaken, I think it must be that the Heavenly Officer will put in a few good words in front of His Highness?"
The smile on Li Jinnan's face became even more enthusiastic as he said without moving, "Brigadier Wang, you're speaking out of turn. We are all subjects serving under His Highness's command, in order to protect our ancestors' fatherland in the South Seas, how can it be called favorably when I select those talented officials for His Highness? This is all what I should do, so there is no need for Brigadier Wang to take it to heart. If You really wants to repay this piece of kindness of me then kill a few more of the princes and generals of those Britannian barbarians who have committed crimes against us, and properly thwart their sharpness."
Wang Shuang sent Li Jinnan away and waited with increasing apprehension for the sun to rise tomorrow. Early the next morning, he took a car and rushed to a mountain villa on the outskirts of the city to meet the master of Nanting there. The car stopped halfway up the hill, and a youth in military official's costume came to greet Wang Shuang, respectfully inviting him to enter inside the mountain villa. Wang Shuang was confused as he followed the youth forward, he recognized that these were the clothes of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, while he could not think of any young man among the Embroidered Uniform Guard who could become a guard following the king at a young age.
Outside the gate that looked like a southern Chinese style garden stood a man with heavy dark circles under his eyes, when he saw Wang Shuang's arrival, he did not wait to reply with Wang Shuang, he directly stepped forward to reprimand the youth beside Wang Shuang:
"You are really becoming more and more lawless. Good, I will not ask what you did before, but you are now the king's attendant, if you go outside to visit a brothel, the king will be in danger ... If the king got hurt, I will take your head first to stop the crime ..."
Only after saying these intimidating remarks did the youth with scary black eyes turn back to Wang Shuang and salute him.
"It's been a long time, Brigadier Wang. Last time, you were almost suppressed by Lord Chi ..."
Wang Shuang's eyes darkened in front of him, the last thing he wanted to see was this Ministry of War official who shared the same surname as him. Wang Yin, the right vice minister of the Ministry of War in Nanting, was considered a distant relative of Wang Shuang by relationship, and was also considered to be a member of his own family, and as for generation, he was completely unable to count. A few years ago, the son of Lord Chi was killed in the Britannian Empire, and the enraged Lord Chi mobilized all his contacts to demand that the indirect culprit Wang Shuang be investigated, and Wang Yin, who was still serving as an Commissioner of Border Publicity in the north at the time, almost took his own future to beg for help from all the dignitaries, and finally poked the matter up to the king, and with the addition of a letter from Wang Shuang stating that the Britannian Empire had been reformed, the punishment was not settled. After that, Wang Shuang, who felt deeply guilty, always wanted to find a chance to repay Wang Yin, who never accepted any gifts - but every time he saw Wang Shuang, he would gloat about it. Over and over, all the gratitude Wang Shuang had in his heart for him disappeared without a trace, and now he had a headache whenever he saw Wang Yin, and he couldn't bypass the Ministry of War as a military officer.
"Who was that guard just now?"
"Zhao Tong." Wang Yin casually replied, "Last month, to make up for his father who died in a nightclub, become a centurion ... truthfully which, there is his father must be like a son, you see him spent all day and night in the brothels ... the ancients said that this mourning to be keep filial piety for three years, his father is not totally cold yet, he forgot filial piety ... what an unfilial son."
Wang Shuang heard that, and did not feel surprised, so he quickly forgot about this matter. The two walked through the long corridor under the watchful eyes of a dozen guards and came to a garden. Beside the pool in the garden sat a middle-aged man in civilian clothes, holding a book in his left hand, holding a walking stick in his right hand, and beside him were three teenagers wearing similar clothes but of different ages. Looking at the imposing middle-aged man, Wang Shuang knew that this was the master of the Protectorate of Nanting, and the monarch of this substantially independent country. Song Zhengcheng, the court-appointed Imperial Guards Corp Commander, Prince consort
, Lord Protector of Nanting Protectorate, Zhenhai General of the armies, and known as the King of Nanting in the Chinese Federation, was the dignitary in front of Wang Shuang's eyes who was not angry and powerful. The three teenagers beside him, who were almost printed from the same mold as him, were his three sons: Song Yian, Song Yiran, and Song Yining.
"Milord ..."
"We are not in the Palace Great Hall today to talk about monarchs and subjects." Seeing Wang Shuang's arrival, Song Zhengcheng hurriedly invited Wang Shuang to sit down. He ordered the guards around him to serve tea to Wang Shuang, and then spoke in a warm and regretful tone, "After the war in Changyunfu was rumored here, I only hated that I ignored your advice back then. If I had paid attention and made preparations earlier, there wouldn't have been such a fiasco like today. Outsiders only say that you, Wang Brigadier, fought a losing battle, but how is this defeat not a fault committed by mediocre people like me."
Wang Shuang did not dare to take the tea; he knew himself where that report came from. After returning from the Britannian Empire, Wang Shuang sorted out his own views on the future situation of the Britannian Empire, plus some of McNeil's opinions, and finally formed a report analyzing the future strategic situation of the Britannian Empire, and he entrusted this report to the monarch, and it seems that Song Zhengcheng didn't pay much attention to it back then. Wang Shuang did not blame the monarch for shortsightedness, when he first heard McNeil say that the Britannian Empire was bound to start a war within five years, he still thought that McNeil was an alarmist. As a result, it so happened that in the fifth year of Charles III's implementation of the New Rule, the Imperial Army under the command of Knight of the Rounds Olivia Zevon began to attack the Protectorate of Nanting, a coincidence that simply left Wang Shuang in awe.
"Your Highness, the Britannian Empire has been sinking for decades, and outsiders would never have imagined that they were making vigorous preparations for foreign aggression and expansion." Wang Shuang saw that the guard next to him had been standing there waiting to hand him the tea, so he only took the tea, "When your humble servant was a military officer stationed abroad in the Britannian Empire, he saw with his own eyes how that Emperor Charles transformed the empire, and also understood that the final solution was war. Your Highness, those who haven't been to Britannia won't understand this, you didn't do anything wrong - if it were me, I wouldn't hastily believe such unrealistic statements. One can only say that the Britannians are too cunning."
Song Zhengcheng lowered his head sorrowfully.
"Brigadier Wang, our Protectorate of Nanting is a backlog." He said painfully, "For a long time, we have been highly dependent on the Britannian Empire militarily, and even though your king decided to stand on his own two feet after inheriting the throne, it's still too difficult to remove the influence of the Britannian Empire on us. Wang Shuang, according to your opinion, how should this war be fought?"
"Your Highness, the other cabinet members should have come to a conclusion, your humble servant is just stating my thoughts." Wang Shuang finished his hot tea and expressed his gratitude to Song Zhengcheng, "Truth be told, given the current situation, our Nanting Protectorate is bound to lose, and the best thing that can happen to us is to cede Changyunfu to the Britannian Empire. If there is no external intervention, our fate is to perish ... The Britannian Empire will definitely not give up its plan to completely wipe us out. However, if we are willing to put aside our differences with the imperial court and then send someone to the imperial court to send troops south, there may still be room for maneuver. As for the specific battle plan, I will present you with a more complete plan on another day."
"Will the court send troops?"
"Unlikely." Wang Shuang shook his head, "Currently, the court's focus is on the north, and the relationship between them and the EU has always been bad."
"Good." Song Zhengcheng coughed a few times, stopping the topic at the right time, "In fact, I summoned you today, because there is one thing he wants to entrust ...," he called out to Song Yining, who stood on the side to come to Wang Shuang, "Brigadier Wang, your vision surpasses more than 80% of the officials and soldiers in our Nanting Protectorate, and I believes that you can protect the realm and the people in the midst of a chaotic world. What the chaotic world needs is not musicians and poets, but warriors who can survive in blood and fire. Now, this king entrusts his third son to you to teach him, hoping that you can make him a great general who can stand on his own."
Song Zhengcheng's other two sons each had a different direction of development. This was the Song family's established educational strategy since they had taken control of Nanyang over a hundred years ago, having different members of the family in charge of different matters. This way, in case something happened to some of these members, the family wouldn't instantly collapse because all their hopes were pinned on one person.
"This ..." Wang Shuang was a little embarrassed, "Your Highness, I'm only a Brigadier, why don't we let-"
"I know, the chaotic world looks at your talent, not titles." Song Zhengcheng said firmly. He took his son's hand and asked the child, who was probably only about ten years old, to call Wang Shuang his master.
Wang Shuang had taught others to practice martial arts and had taken on many disciples, and Song Yining was probably one of the most honored among these disciples. He accepted Song Yining's greeting with embarrassment and said some more polite words to Song Zhengcheng. He wasn't sure how this war would end, but one thing was certain: he had gained the trust of the ruler of Nanting Protectorate. Next, perhaps he would be able to get a chance to show his talents in the upcoming chaotic world and make a name for himself in history.
"Then ... I don't know which courtier your highness would like to send to have an audience with the Tianzi?"
"Let Li Jinnan go, he also has many acquaintances in the north, and it will be easy for him to do his job." Song Zhengcheng gave an optimistic reply.
Epilogue C (3/5) END
Chapter Notes:
In the canon timeline of the light novel version, the war takes place when the Chinese Federation's former Tianzi has just died after a long illness.
Chinese words appearing in this article:
Song Zhengcheng(宋正成)
Song Yian(宋以安)
Song Yiran(宋以然)
Song Yining(宋以寧)
Wang Yin(王寅)
Zhao Tong(趙統)
Changyunfu, Changyun Superior Prefecture(長雲府, the Superior Prefecture named after land of the long white cloud, IRL New Zealand)
Yutouzhou, Yutou Prefecture(魚頭州, the Prefecture named after land of the long white cloud, IRL North Island)
Centurion(百戶, Commander of Hundred households, or Captain)
Commissioner of Border Publicity(宣慰使, just like Reichskommissar)
Zhenhai General of the armies(鎮海大將軍, OF-10 rank or OF-11 rank)