Starting from the prison, an infinite simulation

Chapter 117 A Clear Conscience

A crescent moon hung high in the sky, its pale yellow light illuminating the dilapidated city tower.

Jiang Yueming stood quietly on the city wall, gazing at the distant sea. Lights flickered there, and joyful sounds could be faintly heard. A cool sea breeze blew against his face, but his heart felt no chill.

Because a major storm is about to hit Dinghai City tomorrow, the chill of tonight's night is not as intense as it is tomorrow.

Jiang Yueming suddenly turned around and looked back at the guards below the city wall. His brows furrowed and a rare look of helplessness flashed across his face.

The faces of the defenders were filled with despair; when an army loses its morale, it is not far from death.

It is clear that the British cannonballs have indeed become an inescapable fear in the hearts of the defenders; one shot can blow open the entire city wall, and one shot can blow a person to pieces.

These were divine weapons they had never seen before, and demonic forces they had never encountered before.

"Hundreds of years ago, were the soldiers who defended Dinghai County just as miserable as they were..." Jiang Yueming withdrew his gaze, looked up at the full moon in the sky, and swallowed the bitter words in his mouth.

He does have a solution now, but this method only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. The war between the two countries ultimately stems from the aggression and greed of the British.

They want markets, they want territory, but ultimately they just want to make a continuous stream of profits from the Celestial Empire.

But the facts are right in front of us: the Chinese garrison is no match for the British army. But if we agree to let the British abandon Dinghai, how is that any different from treason?

If we disagree, even if we fight to the death in the end, it will only increase the avoidable casualties. But if the outcome is still the fall of Dinghai City, then what is the point of making such sacrifices and suffering casualties?

Is there a compromise option among these?

The answer is no!

The fact that the Holy Dragon Empire Legion cannot defeat the British Legion is undeniable. Therefore, Jiang Yueming and his comrades can only make a final, desperate defense for the sake of their country and people.

Prepare to perish along with the city!

Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. In fact, Jiang Yueming still held onto a last hope: to negotiate with Bo Mai!

But he killed a high-ranking British naval officer before, so will the negotiations go as smoothly as in the simulation?

Jiang Yueming wasn't confident either. He could only look forward to the next battle with the British army tomorrow. If things went smoothly, everything would be fine. If not, then the city would be destroyed along with it!

"I'm sorry, Yuqian, I might have to break my promise," Jiang Yueming said with a bitter smile.

We agreed that I would go back in a year to help her get rid of her chronic illness, and I also promised to work together to save the people of the Imperial State and ourselves.

Establish a "fourth family" to unite with the royal family to destroy the three families and regain control of the imperial state.

However, judging from the current situation, the goal that he and Zhang Yuqian made together that day is probably going to fall through.

The chances of reaching an agreement with Bermay are slim. Putting aside the question of how much of what happened in the simulation was real, just the fact that he had just killed an army commander makes it extremely difficult for him to make progress at the negotiating table.

On the contrary, the possibility of dying along with the city is greater; for a soldier, to sacrifice one's life for one's country is also an honor.

However, he always had a worry in his heart: his death could be very simple, but who would step forward to deal with the three families? If the three families were not dealt with, the Holy Dragon Empire would be suppressed forever, and the border guards would never have sufficient combat power.

Once the Holy Dragon Empire is swallowed up, don't the three families understand the principle of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold"?

Jiang Yueming was filled with doubts. He leaned against the city wall, looking tired, and his eyes seemed about to close slowly.

There was one question that he couldn't figure out: why did history repeat itself before his eyes?

Shh, let me see if he's asleep.

An older soldier, his hands covered in scars, leaned against the wall at the foot of the city wall and quietly peered out to observe Jiang Yueming's movements.

His movements were extremely cautious and swift, and the guards behind him held their breath, waiting for the outcome from the leading guard.

"Hey, is he asleep?" a younger soldier suddenly asked, seemingly unable to contain his impatience.

Upon hearing this, the leading guard immediately turned around and glared at him fiercely, saying in a low voice, "Why are you rushing me? Aren't I watching?"

You have to understand that they're sneaking away now; to put it bluntly, they're deserting!

If the person above finds out, who knows if he'll get angry and kill them all on the spot, since he also has a reason to kill deserters.

So now they're sneaking away while Jiang Yueming is sleeping. How can that young soldier be in such a hurry? What if he wakes him up? Will they still be able to escape?

"Don't worry, I put some drugs in his water beforehand, I guarantee he'll sleep until noon."

The young soldier patted his chest and said with a proud smile.

Jiang Yueming did not eat the remaining rations in the general's storehouse for dinner, but distributed them all to the garrison. It was fine to skip dinner, but water was essential.

So the opportunity for the young soldier came, and during this process he could clearly feel that Jiang Yueming had no defenses against him at all.

But I'm sorry, he had no choice but to do this to survive. He still had parents to support. If he continued to guard the Dinghai city wall, he would surely die!

With that thought in mind, the young soldier could no longer care about anything else. He quietly lifted his feet and ran away while the leader wasn't paying attention.

Seeing that the young soldier had taken the lead, the others followed suit and ran after him.

After all, they didn't want to die. They had relatives and children at home, and if they died, their families would be destroyed.

In just three breaths, almost all the remaining defenders below the city wall had fled. At this time, the leading defenders had just confirmed that Jiang Yueming had fallen asleep.

When he turned around again, he was stunned. He suppressed his anger, grabbed the package he had prepared, and hurriedly followed the fleeing army.

Life is always full of difficult choices.

Some people are willing to rush to the battlefield for the sake of the people, even if there is no hope, and even if it means death, they will be destroyed along with the city!

Some people can abandon national righteousness and disregard the greater good for their own selfish desires; they can abandon their cities and become deserters; they can deceive their conscience by taking care of their parents in order to survive.

As for who is right and who is wrong, this is probably an intractable problem.

If the former is correct, then from Zhang Yuqian's perspective, wouldn't Jiang Yueming be a dishonest person, and the same goes for Yu Yemo? He promised to let her try the dishes for a year, right?

If the latter is true, then how can it be justified in the case of Dinghai City? To abandon the lives of millions of people in Dinghai just for the sake of one person's survival.

No matter what choices you make, life is a short journey, and you can only live once.

As long as the choices you make can be said to yourself when you close your eyes in the future.

Every choice I've made in my life has been made with a clear conscience! I have no regrets in this life!! That is enough!!

Although it's unknown whether those deserters will ever feel a shred of regret for the decision they made tonight.

But at least the boy sleeping soundly on the city wall must have a clear conscience about his decision tonight!