"Your Majesty, this is the final result. You are still ill, so you should listen to the doctor. Your health is important, so don't worry about so many things. We will handle it well and not let you down."
Meng Gu looked at the pale emperor on the hospital bed in front of him and said in a low voice.
The emperor seemed to ignore his advice.
"That's fine...it would be nice to have one hundred thousand...at least the military disadvantage is not that big...after all...there is nothing the west can do..."
The emperor's face flashed with a hint of disappointment, but he was also full of helplessness, and he couldn't help but murmur.
"Lao Yang has returned to the front line?"
He seemed to remember something, but turned his head with difficulty and looked at Meng Gu.
…
"Yes, Your Majesty, the current situation is that there is about to be a battle on both the east and west fronts, and it is very likely that it will be the final battle. So I have ordered him to rush back at night. He is Xingyao. He doesn't even need a plane, or he will be there in half a day.
Can go back to the far north."
Meng Gu once again reported low prices.
He thought for a while, but said tentatively: "Your Majesty, you...don't blame him. He is impatient and fiery. He can't hide his words in his heart. He just says what he wants. You know...
"
He started to speak but stopped.
"I know I know……"
The emperor murmured, but nodded: "I have never blamed him. He is my deputy commander-in-chief of the military, the person I have always trusted the most, even... more than I trust you - you, Lao Meng, but than
He has a lot more twists and turns."
He said with a difficult smile.
…
"Your Majesty..." A hint of embarrassment and a wry smile suddenly appeared on Meng Gu's face, and he bowed his head deeply.
"Haha..." The emperor on the bed laughed weakly.
"You're just kidding me. How could my military chief not have to bend around? I'm just telling you, I don't blame Lao Yang. The deputy commander in charge of operations doesn't need to bend around. If Lao Yang is like you, then I will
On the contrary, I don’t like him anymore. And if you were like Lao Yang, I would never let you take charge of the headquarters of the Imperial Armed Forces with such trust - you are all people I can trust."
"Your Majesty, what you said... makes all the ministers feel ashamed. It's all our fault that has caused you to suffer so much..."
Meng Gu nodded and said in a low voice.
…
"You guy, I'm not dead."
The emperor continued to smile weakly: "What kind of burden is there? The royal family and nobles are supported by the people. At critical moments, they are the ones who should be affected. The royal family is the first to bear the brunt. The greater the power and the higher the status, the greater the responsibility. Everything is affected.
I’m just doing my duty.”
He breathed weakly: "It's nothing serious. I just can't see things recently. It's nothing. The empire will not die. After a while, I will still look after our empire with you brothers.
."
He said in a low voice, with a trace of hope and expectation flashing in his eyes.
"Yes, yes." Meng Gu replied repeatedly.
The emperor looked at his military chief and smiled strangely: "But, Lao Meng, it's time for us to consider our options... How are the people now?"
He asked vaguely, but Meng Gu seemed to understand the emperor's question very clearly: "The people are okay. They only know that there is a crisis in the Far North, but they don't know the extent of the crisis - we have blocked the news.
"
"Well..." The emperor pondered and nodded.
…
"It's right to block the news. We can't create chaos before fighting and make people panic. That way, it will be troublesome if the front line is affected. However, we should prepare for the rearguard action now... You go and negotiate with Zhu Shoufu to form a
A fleet... prepared for emergencies."
"In case... something goes wrong, it doesn't matter if everyone dies, but the children must go first... to the Southern Continent. The people of the Southern Continent have always been loyal friends of the empire and people who are grateful to the empire for so many years.
Come and take good care of them - now, they will take good care of the children of the Empire as well."
"The war situation on their side is much better than on our side. Maybe even if we fail, their side may not succeed. Even if they don't succeed, they will at least be able to survive for a while before the barbarians take care of us.
...We are all old, but as long as there is a child alive in China, it will never fall."
"Not to mention anything else, just the two little boys of the Xie family, a double legendary star soul descendant and a goddess soul descendant - maybe they can lead the rise of the Fourth Empire again... Back then, I, the Xia family, I
Isn’t this how the Three Empires came about?”
"As long as the children are there and hope is there, China will never perish!"
He said in a low voice, but his eyes were full of determination and sonority.
…
"Yes, Your Majesty, I have ordered them to start forming a fleet. When the war starts, it will also be the time when the fleet is completed - they can transport our children in batches at any time and send them to the southern continent."
Meng Gu replied in a low voice.
"However, Your Majesty, this is just a last resort. We will never fall so easily. Moreover, the strategy of the Xilu people is really good. Even if we can't hold on in the end, as long as we are slower than the barbarian Xilu Regiment,
If it falls, we may not suffer much loss."
He thought for a while, looked at the emperor with relief, and said this.
"Well...that's good." The emperor smiled and nodded.
"I still believe in you. The empire will not fall so easily. Hold on, understand? Maybe if you hold on for one more day, the people of Xilu will be able to make a breakthrough and bring us victory."
He warned solemnly.
…
"Don't worry, we all understand." Meng Gu also nodded solemnly.
"Okay, I believe you, then go."
The emperor stared silently at his military commander, and finally nodded again.
Immediately, he smiled bitterly and said: "The doctor didn't let me see the matter. I was really worried, so I called you to ask. From now on, you and Zhu Shoufu must cooperate sincerely. The eldest prince... he is still too young, and I am still here
I always feel...somewhat uneasy about him - you should keep an eye on him and don't let him cause trouble."
A trace of strangeness and worry flashed across his brows, and then he laughed and shook his head, but whispered to Meng Gu.
"Okay, Your Majesty, we will."
Meng Gu nodded solemnly again.
"Yeah, go."
The emperor gasped several times, and then breathed a long sigh of relief. He waved his hand to Meng Gu and closed his eyes tiredly.
~~~~~~~~~
"The Imperial Army General Staff Headquarters analyzed and claimed that after a month of trial attacks, the barbarian troops on the north bank of the Daling River are very likely to launch a decisive battle. This battle will most likely directly lead to the final direction of the battlefield in the eastern part of the mainland. At the same time,
, the empire’s millions of troops are also ready for action!”
"The spokesperson of the military department claimed that hundreds of thousands of troops from the Merchant Alliance to reinforce the empire have arrived on the battlefield. At present, our army's defense has been greatly consolidated and strengthened by the reinforcements. Under the glory of the goddess of the empire and the protection of the heroic spirits of our ancestors, please compatriots
Don't worry, everyone, everyone is in his place. The Imperial Army will never let down our compatriots!"
In Tianwumen Square, under the giant magic crystal screen, people were quietly listening to the war report. When the announcer's sonorous voice finally slowed down, the square was suddenly filled with whispers.
…
"So...we are going to have a decisive battle?"
"The barbarians may think they can defeat us in one battle...after all..."
"That's fine. I heard that the longer the fight goes on, the lower our chances of winning. Since the barbarians want to come, are we still afraid of them?"
"That's right! Didn't the Empire come with reinforcements?"
"Just them? It's good if the three of them can do what one of our imperial soldiers can do."
"Yes, don't forget. Opposite us is Long Er, who is unpredictable with his troops. We don't have a commander who is talented enough to fight against him. Moreover, are the reinforcements from the Merchant Alliance really useful?"
"After all, it is a whole legion. Hundreds of thousands of people... Even if a few people are used as one person, at least our military disadvantage caused by the fifth barbarian army is not so great. And this time, after all, we are also fighting a defensive war.
?Maybe……"
"hope so……"
Gradually, everyone fell silent. Their eyes were shining brightly or darkly, but they all looked towards the extreme north.
What will it bring us in the end? Cheers of victory? Or... painful disaster?
No one will know, but no one will not hope. That is the former.
…
"They...will win. The empire never lets us down, and the soldiers never let us down!"
A woman murmured as she hugged her child tightly.
The serial number on her chest is enough to prove that she works in a place with a high level of confidentiality. And the work clothes that seem to have no time to change out after get off work also let people know that this is a military factory with the smell of machine oil and star stains. of workers.
She seemed to have lost too much energy in working day after day, maybe day and night. At this time, she looked very tired and withered, but she still looked at the north stubbornly, with hope flashing in her eyes.
Light.
"De'er, let's go home. We just need to wait quietly. Father will bring us victory."
She whispered softly to the several-year-old child in her arms.
The child nodded in understanding. He looked at his mother, as if he didn't want his mother's thin body to continue holding him, but he struggled to get out of the woman's arms. He held his mother's clothes, and the two of them were like this.
Left silently.
…
Looking at the figure of the woman and child, the crowd was silent, and some people's eyes revealed a look of sadness and hesitation.
"Let's go home too..."
In the gloomy silence, an old man's voice sounded loudly.
"Everyone must believe that the empire and our soldiers will not let us down! Never! Never will they!"
He shouted loudly with all his strength.
People nodded one after another and dispersed, embarking on their way home. They didn't know where they would go in the future, but they had no choice.
They could only look north frequently as they dispersed.
That's the far north.
There is the Daling River.
There is a place where the light of hope always shines and will never go out in people's hearts.
There may also be the place where the tears and blood of despair will first spread and sweep across the empire and even... the entire human race. (To be continued...)
ps: Tomorrow’s morning chapter will probably be posted in the evening. Please forgive me for the delay.