Yes, Madam Prime Minister

Page 455

Ronan once again imparted his experience in dealing with the sycophantic countries to his son.

"Is this all Father did?" Queen Verma asked.

Ronan sighed. His daughter-in-law was indeed perceptive in this regard. "I'm here to have you say hello to Willand, Villa, and the Netherlands, and tell them not to cause me any trouble in the South Seas."

"What right do we have?" Velma asked again.

“Talent gives rise to skill,” Ronan replied.

"Is this a good idea?" Lucien hesitated.

“Foolish son, if we don’t give it to them soon, their seventh-tier beings will come and cause trouble. We can dominate the Western Continent for a hundred years, and the seventh-tier beings can accept that. But we have a long-term absolute advantage in the extraordinary realm, and that’s unacceptable, understand?”

Chapter 1055 The enemy is playing by their own rules again; boiling morale, chaotic battle.

When an army marches, it usually follows a river, or even if it doesn't, it will still reach a riverbank every so often.

The reason is simple: people need to drink water.

In particular, there were several large groups of three thousand people each, divided into several smaller groups, responsible for abducting people. They also brought along civilians.

Therefore, the further south these raiding caravans went, the fewer routes they could choose, until eventually there were only one or two left.

However, at this time, the movements of the Hunan army once again surprised Li Jixian.

They tried their best to keep in sync, and their overall marching speed was much slower than expected. Clearly, they preferred to let some people return south rather than have some of their troops arrive while others had not.

“I have a plan,” Li Jixian said to Lu Jianling, who was standing beside him.

"I don't think I'll agree," Lu Jianling said coldly. Although she and Li Jixian were only classmates for a few years many years ago, she knew very well that Li Jixian was not one to use any unusual schemes. If he were to use an unusual scheme, it would most likely be some kind of poisonous plot.

Li Jixian still said, "Tell the abduction team to abandon their mission of bringing people back, and don't run back directly. Let them continue capturing people, then slowly advance. When they reach places where the road is blocked, drive the civilians to be used as cannon fodder."

"No way." Lu Jianling rejected the idea outright.

Li Jixian sighed, showing no intention of reasoning with Lu Jianling. "There's no other way but to change the plan. Abandon the mission of capturing people, and don't return south immediately. Instead, gather and prepare to attack the Hunan army from both sides."

“By the time they have assembled and before they have even begun their southward march, the Hunan army will probably have already completed its assembly. Seeing this situation, they will definitely charge straight at our main camp without hesitation. We only have more than 20,000 men here, and although Hunan has left some men in the rear, there are probably no fewer than 50,000 who can come here,” Lu Jianling said. “Moreover, in this situation where we will be attacked from both sides if we don’t win, it’s no different from a battle with our backs to the river, and they will inevitably unleash amazing morale.”

A pincer attack? It's not that easy.

Li Jixian held up two fingers. "Two days. If we can hold out for two days, they're finished. A desperate battle? Get this straight, we are the ones who are fighting a desperate battle in a certain sense. We are at a disadvantage on the front, but we have a large number of people behind the enemy's rear."

"This time, people are really going to die." Lu Jianling couldn't help but sigh.

“You made the choice, but you could have chosen to have more civilians die,” Li Jixian said. “Actually, the officials in Hunan didn’t care; they just considered it a loss of a large number of livestock.”

Lu Jianling was somewhat annoyed. "We need to build up our popularity; we can't do things like this."

"False compassion," Li Jixian retorted.

“Sometimes false compassion is more important than true compassion,” Lu Jianling replied. “Hunan is not a springboard for us, but a place that needs to be well developed.”

"Alright, esteemed Commander, please keep an eye on the artillery positions. Whether we can hold out depends on the artillery. Fortunately, we have plenty of artillery." Li Jixian remained calm and confident, not for any other reason than the artillery.

Even before the Progressive Society was established, when it was just the Defense Committee, Ronan was overseeing the manufacture of various types of cannons. The cannon factories in Foshan never stopped for a single day, because only cannons were weapons capable of harming and suppressing superhumans.

Of course, it can only harm non-positive positions and suppress lower-level units.

The speed of the mid-tier units is already too fast, exceeding 100 meters per second when they burst out, and the firepower of this era simply cannot suppress them. As for the high-tier units, they can stand there and let you bombard them with cannon fire without taking it seriously.

Three days later, the Hunan troops arrived.

At the same time, the previously dispersed raiding forces also completed their regrouping and began preparing to head south to attack the Hunan army from both sides.

Seeing the situation, the two leading generals from Hunan took to the stage to give speeches and stirred up trouble, telling them that if they were defeated, they would be killed, the men in their families would be conscripted into serfdom or miners, the women would be directly sent to the barbarians in the Guangdong army, and the elderly would suffer even worse, with no chance of survival.

At the same time, they promised rewards after the victory, which greatly boosted morale. They were also told that once the Guangdong army was defeated, they could escape, but the supply line located on the road where eastern Guangdong and southeastern Hunan meet could not be withdrawn in time, and they could plunder it at will.

Under intimidation and encouragement, the Hunan army launched its fiercest attack on the Guangdong army's high ground headquarters located in Chenzhou.

The Guangdong army was also intimidated and motivated.

The laborers on the supply lines were also their fellow villagers. If they were to collapse, all of them would be doomed, and the good life their families had worked so hard to achieve would be completely ruined. Conversely, if they won, there would naturally be enormous rewards, and they might even gain extraordinary talents.

Didn't someone get it during the previous war with Annam?

Material rewards can never compare to this, because in this extraordinary world, the extraordinary are "human," while ordinary people are not. Ordinary people are just cattle and horses, even if they become officials or have money, they are still cattle and horses.

The battle begins.

On the front lines, the sounds of battle were completely inaudible; the roar of artillery almost drowned out all other noises. Aside from the artillery fire, the battlefield was like a silent film: the billowing smoke, the blasted earth, the狰狞 faces, and the fallen bodies. It wasn't a scene of passionate intensity, but rather one of cold-blooded cruelty.

The charging soldiers were mentally blank, unable to hear anything or distinguish left from right. They could only follow the conspicuous helmet of the extraordinary leader in their blurred vision. Were they excited? No, only a void they couldn't even feel themselves. The defending soldiers were equally mentally blank, mechanically executing orders. Whether they were accurate or not, whether they made mistakes, they didn't know. Even the officers' curses seemed like hallucinations, merely muscle memory from training and previous battles at work. The bold words from before? They were long forgotten.

For charging soldiers, consciousness only returns when the stinging pain shifts their perspective from forward to towards the sky or the ground, but soon their consciousness is completely overwhelmed by the pain.

For the defending soldiers, only when the spearheads and blades pierce their chests do the surroundings come back to life, but what follows is the loss of consciousness.

"This is utter chaos!" Li Jixian, who was watching the battlefield from afar through his binoculars, couldn't help but curse.

What kind of reckless advance is this from the Hunan army, abandoning all formation?

On their side, amidst the enemy's frenzied charge, they fired wildly and indiscriminately.

Li Jixian remained calm, only surprised.

A large hand landed on his shoulder, and Lu Jianling said, "You've never seen this kind of low-level random fighting before, have you?"

“I never even thought about it,” Li Jixian corrected.

Reloading a musket takes time. This kind of crazy charge is just rushing up to someone, firing a shot, throwing a grenade at most, and then engaging in hand-to-hand combat. The problem is that before that, the defenders will fire two or three rounds of gunfire and two or three rounds of artillery fire, killing a large number of people.

Although fewer soldiers died during the charge due to the spellcasting assistance of mid-level superhumans, the mid-level superhumans also suffered heavy losses. In comparison, the mid-level superhumans on the defending Guangdong army side had not even started their attack yet.

Hunan, as the attacking side, showed no intention of waiting for tomorrow; it was all about winning or losing today.

Chapter 1056 Half an Hour of Victory or Defeat, Allicin Saves Lives, The Helplessness of War

The war began at 9:00 AM and ended at 12:30 PM.

The Hunan army was driven back and retreated to their camp several kilometers away.

In the three-plus hours of fighting, nearly 6,000 people died in Hunan, more than 3,000 of whom died directly, and more than 2,000 were seriously wounded, with their own men finishing them off.

In those days, if an ordinary person was shot in the torso, they basically had no chance of survival. Firearms were not like some guns in later generations that could drill a hole in a person. As for the heavy firearms used by superhuman soldiers, if they hit a person, they would just leave a mess. Rather than letting someone die in pain, it was better to give them a quick death.

Besides the 6,000 deaths, there were about 4,000 people with minor injuries, many of whom were left disabled.

With tens of thousands killed or wounded, the morale of the Hunan army collapsed completely. The previous intimidation and encouragement had no effect whatsoever; they now only wanted to live and go home.

More than half an hour later, around 1 p.m., the people from Hunan sent someone to surrender.

The officers in Guangdong first breathed a sigh of relief, and then were overjoyed.

Because the battle turned into a chaotic melee, the number of dead and wounded on the Guangdong side also exceeded three thousand, more than one-tenth of the total force. Morale had collapsed. The reason they did not collapse immediately was that many soldiers had not yet fully recovered from the battle they had just fought, and their souls were still in the bloody battlefield.

In fact, the officers were already strongly demanding a retreat.

If it had been half an hour later, and if the enemy still showed any signs of wanting to continue fighting, Li Jixian would have ordered a retreat and a detour. One part would cover the retreat of the auxiliary soldiers and laborers to Guangdong, while the other part would go to eastern Hunan to join the looting brigade that had gathered there, and then take advantage of the situation to retreat to southern Jiangxi and back to Guangdong.

However, in that short half hour, Hunan surrendered.

They won, and that was it. The collapse of morale and the officers' dejection vanished, replaced by the ecstasy of victory.

In three points, the Gongjinhui army completed the disarmament of the Hunan army.

The two leaders of the Hunan army stated that the specific conditions and related matters for surrender would have to wait for the Hunan governor and his men to come and discuss them with the leaders of the Gongjin Society.

As the commander of the Gongjinhui army, Lu Jianling readily agreed.

After the agreement was reached, the Gongjin Association delivered supplies, and then the auxiliary soldiers came to participate in the treatment of the wounded soldiers from Hunan.

In Guangdong, there is something that can be called a "miracle drug" in this era: allicin. However, it can only be extracted using traditional methods, resulting in a short shelf life and low purity.

This allicin can only be prepared and used immediately. It will definitely have an effect, but it won't be very strong.

Actually, penicillin can be made using traditional methods, but it's a double-edged sword – it either saves lives or kills people outright.

So Ronan still chose allicin, which, when combined with other treatments, can save the lives of many people who would otherwise only have minor injuries.

Of course, this thing would first be given to the wounded soldiers on the Gongjinhui side, and then to the wounded soldiers in Hunan who had no idea what it was.

"General Lu, what do you think we're fighting this battle for?" The speaker was Chen Zhongde, the Hunan General of the Changsha Army, who was leading the Changde Army. Before the country was in great turmoil, generals were required to return to the capital every other year to report on their duties during peacetime. Therefore, he had fought with Lu Jianling before, but they were not exactly acquainted.

Chen Zhongde was much older than Lu Jianling and his cultivation level was one rank lower. Nearly seventy years old, he would have retired voluntarily if it weren't for this chaotic situation.

At this moment, the strands of silver in his hair and the tattered armor he wore during his previous charge made him look even older under the blazing sun.

Lu Jianling's hair was perfectly styled, her military uniform spotless, and she sat on a small stool that seemed small for her. "War is sometimes just so messed up. You can't understand what it's all about. After it's over, you just feel like everyone has lost a lot."

Chen Zhongde chuckled twice, "Haha, I never thought that a woman as beautiful and charming as General Lu could utter such a word as 'fuck'."

“I’m actually a rough man too,” Lu Jianling replied.

Chen Zhongde casually sat down on the ground, grabbed a handful of loose, blood-stained soil, and pretended to throw it, but his hand froze in mid-air, filled with a sense of powerlessness. Then he released it, and the clump of soil landed on the ground. "Do you know why we were fighting like that just now?"

"Because although your morale is high, most of your combat skills are still poor. The government troops you lead can maintain the formation in a decent manner, but other local militias, even with officers in charge, cannot maintain it well. Under these circumstances, although you have the advantage in numbers, we have stronger firepower and are on the defensive. If you can hold out for two days, you will be finished. So it is better to abandon the regular tactics and rely on your blood and courage, which cannot last long, to launch a chaotic battle in one fell swoop."

"To be honest, we're also stunned by your attack. If you keep hitting us, we'll have to run away."

Lu Jianling said.

She had already won and disarmed the enemy; now, apart from the superhumans, the enemy consisted of a bunch of unarmed prisoners, so she had nothing to hide.

"Your reason is correct, but not entirely. The more important reason is that we don't want to fight anymore. If we fight and win, that would be great. If we lose, so be it. So many people have died, thousands of families will mourn, and some families will be torn apart. But there's no other way. If we continue fighting, and it goes on for longer, it will only get worse. Spring planting has already been delayed in many places. If we continue fighting, a lot of the autumn harvest will be forcibly confiscated from the people in many places. Some of it will be used as military rations, and some will be sold to Jiangnan to exchange for weapons."

Chen Zhongde's expression grew increasingly somber as he spoke.

"Thousands of lives lost, thousands of families crying out in despair—if we can persuade them to give up the war, it's worth it."

After saying this, Chen Zhongde looked up at the sky, as if he could see the spirits of the dead accusing him of being heartless.

"Didn't you think about yourself?" Lu Jianling asked.

"Ha, I'm a superhuman, so what can they do? They can only dismiss me from my post. This country is getting more and more absurd. Everyone talks about lofty ideals and righteousness. You're stubborn and conservative, I represent a bright future, and then we just kill each other." Chen Zhongde said, his gaze fixed on Lu Jianling. "You lot are the same, especially that foreign devil you're with. This ideology, that thought, I don't understand, and I don't want to understand. Do whatever you want, but I hope you'll still remember the people who died here today."

Chen Zhongde claimed he didn't understand and didn't want to understand, but he clearly knew Ronan, had read his translations, and even studied them in depth. He might also understand Guangdong's current economic model, but he just didn't want to admit it.

Lu Jianling sighed and gave a helpless smile. "There aren't many people who can remember the dead. Even if we do, the next generation's impression is just a sentence in a book, and the next generation after that, they'll forget it. Isn't that how it has always been? Even if you erect a monument here, a hundred years from now, passersby will only think this thing is ugly and an eyesore. Maybe some children will even make faces at it."

"As for the Hunanese who died here today, they might be labeled as criminals who hindered the country's progress. Who would know that they were just innocent people caught up in a terrible era?"

Chen Zhongde pondered for a moment, "General Lu is truly an extraordinary woman of our dynasty, with remarkable insight."

Lu Jianling didn't respond further, got up and left; her mission had temporarily come to an end.

Chapter 1057 Negotiation, Win for All? First Ask Yourself If You're Worthy

Three days later, the Gongjinhui's negotiating team met with the Hunan negotiating team.

On the Gongjinhui side, Zhao Junyong, the nominal number one, has also taken office, which is to show sincerity.

In fact, Zhao Junyong did not want to come. Although he had not missed any opportunity to show off in the past few months, he not only showed his face in various departments, but also took several secretaries whom he regarded as his confidants to tour around, for fear that some Cantonese people would not recognize him as Chairman Zhao, he was afraid of dying. His cultivation level had not yet reached the second level. If the other party suddenly attacked or ambushed him, he would die in a second.

It was Ronan, who had just returned to Guangdong, who dragged him over and repeatedly told Zhao Junyong that he was a superhuman and that even if he died, Dinia could instantly revive him.

On the Gongjinhui side, Chairman Zhao and his strategist and henchmen, Secretary Luo Nan and Guo Hanlu, the two secretaries Yan Guangzong, Diniya, the number one henchman, Foreign Minister Luo Gang and a group of diplomatic officials, plus the frontline army commander Lu Jianling and Li Jixian.

In Hunan, apart from the two military commanders, the governor, the provincial treasurer, the provincial judicial commissioner, the education inspector, and other prominent figures, basically all the bigwigs of Hunan were present.

Clearly, the discussion wasn't just about surrendering; it was more about what would happen in Hunan next.

Hunan agreed to surrender, but on conditions. The first condition was that Guangdong release the nearly 200,000 people it had previously abducted.

In the several kidnappings, the targets in Guangdong were large villages with strong clan influence, rather than small, remote villages. Firstly, they were unfamiliar with the terrain and couldn't find small villages, and secondly, they could only kidnap a few people from a small village at a time.

If we want to be efficient, we need to target the larger villages.

The villagers in these large villages were like cattle and horses to the lords, so of course they were required to return them. But the lords didn't care about the villagers in those remote small villages; getting rid of them would just make room for the lords' cattle and horses.

"Of course we can return them, and we won't even charge a ransom. However, we will reimburse their food, medical, and resettlement expenses during this period, and you will have to pay for their return journey yourself."

Ronan said.

In short, we still need money and food.

Officials in Hunan didn't react much, but a few people with vested interests remained silent.

Cattle and horses are not irreplaceable. They can bring people from other villages to farm for their "higher slaves." That's right, so-called landlords and elders are just higher slaves to those with high cultivation levels and some extraordinary powers, because these people are still mortals.

If we spend a lot of money to bring these cattle and horses back, it will cost a lot of money. The key issue is that their spring plowing was delayed, and we also have to waive their rent. It will probably take several years to make up for it. Is it worth it?

On the contrary, if some poor people who grow inferior land are brought over to grow their good land, these poor people should be grateful.

Hunan has been peaceful for a long time, and there's no shortage of people.

"It seems you think this won't work. How about this: in three years, we'll send them back for free, and you won't have to pay any fees. If even one is missing, we'll compensate you two taels of silver. How about that?"