Chapter 303 (The End of Chapter 303)
Qi Chengming smiled faintly, his emotions a jumble of emotions. He picked up the battle report from the north, glanced at it, and said nothing: "..."
He understood what Grand Scholar Mu was lamenting about.
but……
If he hadn't identified with Dingguo, hadn't identified with these trusted ministers, and hadn't been determined to stay for them, would he have been willing to bear the sin of personally murdering and causing the deaths of so many people?
Would he have agreed in his past life?
Qi Chengming knew that he probably wouldn't do that one.
Even now, even knowing that doing so is the right thing to do, he had no regrets when he made the decision. But when he heard the actual number of people annihilated in the battle report, Qi Chengming still felt a heavy weight in his heart... It meant that he had become an emperor of a feudal dynasty, and was no longer the virtuous and well-mannered young man he was before he transmigrated into the book.
Even if he were to return to the modern world after this life ends, things would be different for him.
"General Tao did a good job, allowing the fleeing soldiers to surrender and not be killed... Issue an order to pursue them while the victory is in sight." Qi Chengming also cherished those soldiers; in his heart, those able-bodied men had already been designated as his future subjects.
Half a month later, as the weather gradually warmed up with the arrival of spring, General Tao sent one new battle report after another:
He had already crossed the Unsinkable Bay. The small country called Da Fu was in the spring planting season, but it was short of able-bodied men. Most of the men were old, weak, women and children who stayed behind. They were raided by the army and had no choice but to surrender.
The other two small countries had little power to resist either; their route was filled with routed soldiers who trembled with fear at the sight of the Da Ding generals.
The army marched all the way to the foot of Cangmang Mountain, but the Western people refused to submit and suffered a crushing defeat.
Originally, the army was not well-suited to dealing with nomadic peoples on the grasslands. Compared to the other three small, semi-nomadic, semi-agricultural countries, the Western Kingdom was also skilled in raising cattle and horses, making it easier to advance and retreat in battle. However, Qi Chengming was determined to unify the fragmented territory. The continuous supply of "fire arrows and missiles," drones equipped with nighttime thermal imaging, and the large army stationed on the spot all helped to annihilate the large groups of Western Kingdom soldiers.
Only a few fleeing remnants remained, no longer enough to affect the overall battle situation.
The battle on the western plains was completely quelled, and the Di people beyond the Great Wall in the north were wiped out, occupying a large area of black soil. Several hardline Qiang tribes were also eliminated, leaving only a few tribes willing to trade. Only then did they decide to stop while they were ahead… and the general led his troops back to claim credit.
Anyway, no matter how many times the Di people try to wipe them out, they can't get them anywhere. The remaining remnants always resurface and will rise again in a few years. It's impossible to completely eradicate them.
The memorials requesting commendations were all submitted to the Ministry of War, piling up like a mountain, making the military officers beam with joy.
Since the founding of this dynasty, there has never been such a glorious and exhilarating battle. The reputation of the rockets has spread far and wide, striking fear into the hearts of all. Now that the war is over, there probably won't be any major battles for the next few decades. The legacy they've built for their descendants is now truly substantial!
Wang Shuo always felt somewhat dazed when he thought about the differences between this life and the previous one.
There was no reason for him, a young general, to participate in the Northwest Campaign and share in the spoils. He had also delayed getting married for too long. His grandmother pinched his ear and kept him at home, which finally dampened his eagerness.
Naturally, Wang Shuo didn't win the title of "youngest general" this time either.
"This...is not bad either?"
Wang Shuo looked at the peach tree in the courtyard, the faint fragrance in the air, and the gentle instructions of his newlywed wife.
He smiled brightly.
...
"Please bestow a name upon me, Your Majesty."
After the territories that had been seceded from the previous dynasty were conquered and returned, the Minister of War respectfully ground ink for His Majesty himself.
Inside the hall, a huge, newly produced map stood before Qi Chengming. The area representing the territory of the Great Ding Dynasty had been expanded considerably, but the place where the name should be written was still blank.
Qi Chengming looked at all this with great pride. After a moment's thought, he wrote the words "Fuzhou" near the original location of the three small kingdoms on the western plain—near Buchen Bay; he also wrote "Cangmangzhou" for the original territory of the Western Kingdom—at the foot of Cangmang Mountain. Then he named the large area of black soil outside the northern pass "Fengzhou".
He planned to establish several cities in the vast territory beyond the northern border, and vigorously develop the grain industry on the black soil. The names of those cities were easy to come up with: Fengcheng, Jicheng, Daocheng, Suicheng, etc., all representing his expectations...
"Take them down." Qi Chengming felt a sense of accomplishment after examining the names of these new territories.
He waved for the Minister of War to leave, so he could reward the generals according to their merits. The infrastructure system, which had been dormant for some time, reappeared, with new mission rewards appearing one after another:
[Infrastructure Mission: Battle of Youzhou Prefecture (Completed)]
[Infrastructure Task: Expansion 2.0 (Completed)]
[Infrastructure Task: Territorial Expansion 3.0 (Completed)]
[Infrastructure Mission: Unify the Country (Completed)]
[Emperor's Daily Task: Naming New Lands (Completed)]
[Emperor's Daily Task: Continue the Lineage (Incomplete)] Executor: Tao Jiang.
Qi Chengming looked at the last unfinished task and smiled slightly.
He didn't bother checking the rewards for completing the tasks, instead storing them all in his system space, to be retrieved later when needed. Perhaps he would rely on this cheat code to help everyone live better lives throughout his life as a feudal emperor, and Qi Chengming was very grateful for its existence.
But this task is unique—
Qi Chengming didn't want to treat it as a task, nor did he want to see what the reward was.
He raised his head and skillfully instructed Xiao Dezi: "Let the Grand Secretaries handle the memorials themselves. Don't bother them unless it's important. I'm going back to keep the Empress company."
Having finally finished the war, and with only three or four months left until his due date, Qi Chengming felt there wasn't enough time.
He was going to be with his wife and children.
"yes!"
Now a powerful and influential eunuch before the emperor, Eunuch De bowed and accepted with a smile. He watched the young emperor's figure step across the threshold and gradually disappear into the gentle spring breeze carrying peach blossoms. That appearance was no longer recognizable as the pitiful, thin figure he had been in the palace years ago.
Xiao Dezi raised his head with a sigh, gazing at the branches outside the palace, and shielded his eyes from the sunlight with the back of his hand.
Spring has come again.
(End of text)
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Author's note: And then came the originally planned side stories.
Sigh, when I was writing this, I was so sick at the end of the year that I felt like I was going to die. I took a long leave of absence and didn't recover my strength. Writing on and off caused me to forget a lot of the plot, and there will be quite a few bugs in the details. I plan to finish writing the epilogue and then revise the details of the whole text, and correct any problems or typos.
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