LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 322
At this time, the countries surrounding Great Xia saw the actions of the Great He Dynasty and became restless.
After careful consideration, they realized that there were only three possible outcomes to waging war against Great Xia.
First, being defeated by Great Xia, with all royal family members and court officials killed.
Second, also being defeated by Great Xia, with royal family members and court officials captured. Although not dead, they would lose their freedom forever.
Third, still being defeated by Great Xia but live a life on the run from then on, constantly hunted by Great Xia, never having a moment’s peace, and not knowing when their lives will end.
None of these outcomes were acceptable to them.
But now, the Great He Dynasty had provided them with a fourth option—quickly surrender.
Although they lost supreme power, their lives were spared, and they could still enjoy luxurious lives.
Wasn’t this option more appealing than the previous three?
Since they couldn’t win anyway, why not just give in?‘If the Great He Dynasty can surrender, why can’t I?’
Thus, various countries began to offer their surrender.
……
Lin Beifan was dumbfounded as he looked at the letters of surrender from various countries.
The heck, my troops haven’t even moved, and your letters of surrender are already here!
And not a single one was missing, leaving no room for maneuver and depriving him of even the chance to let off some steam.
It’s too much!
Looking at the envoys from various countries, Lin Beifan was in a difficult position: “This puts me in a tough spot! My troops and provisions are ready, and we were set to depart in a couple of days, but now you’ve all surrendered!”
“You’re comfortable, but I’m in distress! To fight or not to fight, this awkward situation… the whole world is watching my troops prepare for nothing and laughing at me! Tell me, are you doing this to embarrass me on purpose?”
The envoys were terrified: “Your Majesty, please forgive us. It was not our intention!”
Lin Beifan said, “How about… I send these letters of surrender back, and we have a good, clean fight?”
The envoys were even more frightened: “Your Majesty, that must not be done!”
“Alas!” Lin Beifan sighed deeply.
Although he had conquered the nations without sending out troops, the lack of a real battle left him feeling unfulfilled.
He needed a bit of excitement.
So, he decided to find fault with the letters of surrender.
“Huh? This surrender letter from the Great Lu Dynasty is written so poorly that it shows no sincerity at all. It’s like asking for a battle!”
The envoy from the Great Lu Dynasty immediately stood up, his voice trembling with fear as he said, “Your Majesty, our letter of surrender is offered with the utmost sincerity!”
“How so?” Lin Beifan inquired.
“At the time, our emperor did not agree, so our court officials immediately staged a palace coup, confined the emperor, and starved him for three days and nights until he complied! He would write one character, and only then would we feed him a bite of food!! That’s how this letter of surrender comes into being!”
“Every character in this letter of surrender is imbued with our emperor’s blood and tears, as well as the earnest hopes of our court officials. It is undoubtedly the most sincere letter of surrender in history!!!”
Lin Beifan nodded, “I see! No wonder the characters in this letter are so crooked and shaky as if they were written in hunger! Your Great Lu truly shows sincerity. I accept it!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” the envoy from the Great Lu Dynasty rejoiced.
Just then, Lin Beifan picked up another letter of surrender, expressing his disdain, “This letter from the Great Tian Dynasty is all crumpled and even has an unpleasant smell! Are you presenting such a letter to me as a deliberate provocation?”
“Your Majesty, that is a misunderstanding!” the envoy from the Great Tian Dynasty stood up.
Lin Beifan was furious, “Misunderstanding? Look at this letter. Isn’t it both wrinkled and foul-smelling?”
“Your Majesty, you are unaware!” the envoy from the Great Tian Dynasty said with a wry smile.
“Our emperor also disagreed initially, but after our civil and military officials pleaded bitterly and a military revolt ensued, he finally wrote this letter of surrender with tears. You see, the wrinkles and stench are all from our emperor’s tears that soaked the paper!”
Lin Beifan nodded sympathetically, “So that’s the case… No wonder I sense such sorrow and helplessness in this letter! It is truly a paper steeped in bitter tears! This letter is very sincere. I will accept it!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty, for your great kindness!” the envoy from the Great Tian Dynasty was overjoyed.
After a while, Lin Beifan picked out another unsatisfactory letter of surrender.
“Look at this letter from the Great Yu Kingdom, it lacks any sincerity. I hereby decree an attack on Great Yu!”
The envoy from the Great Yu Kingdom quickly stood up and asked, “This letter should also be fine. Why is Your Majesty angry?”
“Fine? There is a big problem!”
Lin Beifan raged, “Look at this letter! Every character is so lively and joyful, exuding an indescribable happiness, not at all like the demeanor of one who has lost their territory! There must be a hidden malicious intent. Perhaps it’s a feigned surrender! So, whom else should I attack if not you?”
“Your Majesty, you misunderstand!”
The envoy from the Great Yu Kingdom said with a wry smile, “Our lord has long admired Great Xia and was overjoyed at the thought of joining Great Xia, so much so that he couldn’t sleep from happiness! Therefore, his emotions are reflected in the writing, and the characters naturally appear full of vitality! Our letter of surrender is even more sincere than those of Great Lu and Great Tian because they were coerced while we were willingly submitting!”
Lin Beifan happily nodded, “I see. It seems I have misunderstood you. I will also accept this letter of surrender!”
“Thank you, Your Majesty!” the envoy from the Great Yu Kingdom rejoiced.
Lin Beifan continued to find faults, but unfortunately, these envoys were too eloquent, not giving him a chance to lose his temper.
At that moment, Lin Beifan noticed something odd mixed in with the pile of letters of surrender.
“Why is the letter from the Black Kingdom here?” (Hei Kingdom)
The envoy from the Black Kingdom immediately stood up and loudly said, “Reporting to Your Majesty, our Black Kingdom also wishes to surrender to Great Xia!”
Lin Beifan remained expressionless, “But as far as I know, the Black Kingdom does not border Great Xia! Moreover, the Black Kingdom is 1500 li away from Great Xia. To whom are you surrendering?”
“Even though the mountains are high and the roads are long, we still wish to submit to Great Xia,” the envoy from the Black Kingdom declared.
Lin Beifan was moved, “I see your sincerity, but you don’t need to come any closer! Although I am in need of land, I don’t just take any land! The place you have is so desolate that even the birds don’t bother to defecate there, it’s considered too dirty even for that!
The envoy of the Black Kingdom was speechless.
In the end, Lin Beifan accepted the other countries without deploying a single soldier except for the Black Kingdom.
Since everyone was very cooperative, Lin Beifan was also accommodating, granting them great favors.
The emperors of the dynasties were given the title of Duke, allowing them to retain their wealth.
For the emperors of the great kingdoms, they were made Marquises, with their wealth preserved.
Other civil and military officials were retained based on their abilities and character.
Thus, a significant change occurred in the Empire Sandbox.
……
Empire Sandbox (Super Level)
Territorial Area: 32.5 million square li (Arable land 18.2 million square li)
Domestic Resources: 5.85 billion taels (14 gold mines, 25 silver mines, 40 copper mines, 70 iron mines…)
Population: 360 million (Wealthy people 1%, Common people 32%, Poor people 67%)
Military Strength: 8.1 million (7 Grandmasters, 167 Innates, 38,600 martial artists…)
Comprehensive National Power: 47,800 (Quasi-Celestial Empire level)
……
Significant changes have occurred in all aspects of the data.
Among them, the Territorial Area has increased by 8 million square miles, equivalent to the land area of an ordinary Empire.
Moreover, the Territorial Area has also broken through 30 million square miles, achieving the target set by Lin Beifan at the beginning of the year ahead of schedule.
Domestic Resources have increased by nearly 1.3 billion taels of silver, a sum of wealth that is highly coveted.
The Population has increased by over 100 million, reaching 360 million.
Although the population has increased significantly, Great Xia has an abundance of food, enough to sustain them.
In terms of Military Strength, 2 million ordinary soldiers have been added.
These soldiers come from the states that have surrendered and are among their elite. Lin Beifan did not want to waste talent, so he incorporated them into the Great Xia army to serve Great Xia.
There has also been a significant increase in talents such as Innates and acquired realm martial artists, all of whom have come from other countries that have surrendered.
As a result, the entire Great Xia’s comprehensive national power has increased by over 10,000, breaking directly through 40,000 and approaching the 50,000 mark!
This level of national power is now the first in the world!
“Ding! As the player’s national power has grown and strength has been synchronously enhanced, you are rewarded with the Secret of the ‘Dou’ Character!”
“The Secret of the ‘Dou’ Character is one of the nine secrets of a certain great world outside, the ultimate method of combat. It’s a supreme battle technique that can simulate any divine attack skill, constantly changing and endlessly powerful.”
(TLN: Dou, 斗, fight/battle)
Lin Beifan quickly absorbed it.
The Secret of the ‘Dou’ Character really complements him well, as he is already proficient in various martial arts and divine techniques.
Once he organizes these martial arts and divine techniques, the power that will burst forth through the evolution of the Secret of the ‘Dou’ Character will be unimaginable.
Lin Beifan is very satisfied with this reward: “Expanding territory is indeed the best way to increase strength! Once this territory is fully integrated, I can continue to expand and enhance my power!”
At this time, the outside world was in an uproar over the matter of the countries surrendering.
Some were surprised, others envious.
“Goodness! They all surrendered, not a single one left?”
“The battle hasn’t even started, and they’ve all surrendered! These countries are more cowardly and submissive than the next!”
“Even though they knew they couldn’t win, shouldn’t they have resisted a bit? No backbone!”
“Great Xia has achieved its ambition of expanding its territory without exerting anything! Now, Great Xia is the world’s first in terms of territory, population, and resources, and can truly be called the number one country in the world!”
“Don’t celebrate too soon! What’s conquered may not be easily held! If it were that easy, the other top-tier Empires would have done it long ago! The larger the territory, the harder it is to manage!”
“That’s true. It’s easy to conquer but hard to maintain it properly. Let’s see how long Great Xia can remain arrogant?”
***
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