Insufficient balance

  The inky night sky once again enveloped the entire Tianlong City, strangely, not a single household in the residential area lit up their lights, Tianlong City was pitch black and unusually quiet.

  But there was one place that was an exception, the fortress in the city center, where the grand hall was brightly lit and the noise stood out especially on this quiet night.

  "Your Majesty, this time the Black Dragon Empire sent an envoy to negotiate a peace treaty, which proves that they can no longer hold on. You must not agree, please trust me, I am absolutely certain that I can take down the Black Dragon City with one blow, and then Your Majesty will unify the Qing Long Continent in no time." A middle-aged man wearing armor loudly said to the monarch sitting alone in the hall.

  A middle-aged man wore a suit of iron armor, with thick bloodstains on his chest plate that couldn't be erased. But looking at him now, full of energy and shouting loudly, it was clear that the bloodstains didn't belong to him. The people around him seemed to feel disgusted or fearful of the bloody smell emanating from him, and they all subconsciously took a few steps back.

  The king sitting in meditation furrowed his brow, seemingly dissatisfied with this answer. At that moment, a sudden sound came out.

  "Your Majesty, you must not listen to Yang's words. Although I also agree that the Black Dragon Empire can no longer sustain this war. But if the Black Dragon Empire cannot hold on, does it mean our Tian Long Empire can? This war has already consumed too much of both countries' national strength, and the common people have begun to lament and complain. Look at Tian Long City now, apart from Your Majesty's castle, are there any other households that dare to light lamps at night? Those who want to light lamps cannot afford to do so, and those who can afford it do not dare to, fearing being targeted by thieves in their hearts. Crimes are happening one after another in the imperial capital, and yet there is no extra military strength to eliminate them. Everywhere, people's hearts are filled with anxiety. What should we do?"

  The last sentence was directed at Yang. There was an old man with white hair, wearing a plain gray robe that didn't draw attention to himself. However, no one in the room dared to underestimate what this old man had to say. The old man looked like he had experienced many hardships, but his eyes had a sharp glint that ordinary people did not possess.

  The king's furrowed brow smoothed out after hearing this, as if he had been waiting for this answer all along.

  They all know that this old man's status is unshakeable, including Your Majesty. What are you kidding? Even the Emperor can't offend him? So awesome, just go ahead and brag. Cough... You'd better listen carefully.

  He can be called a veteran of three dynasties. In his early years, he made plans and strategies beside the grandfather of Your Majesty, then assisted the previous emperor in governing the Tianlong Empire, making the Tianlong Empire develop from an ordinary empire to its heyday, rivaling the Black Dragon Empire, the first empire on the Qinglong continent, with great contributions that cannot be forgotten.

  He should have been enjoying his later years by now, but due to the ongoing war between the Tianlong Empire and the Heilong Empire, he had no choice but to continue assisting His Majesty in planning the overall situation. If it weren't for the existence of this old man, the Tianlong Empire would have long since collapsed in this war.

  He dedicated his life to the Tianlong Empire and now at the age of 84, he still hasn't gotten married or had children. This is truly regrettable.

  "...this..." was asked by the old man, and Yang Yuan Shuai, who had been spirited and proud just a moment before, couldn't help but stutter.

  Otherwise, what else can you do? In terms of seniority, Fan Lao is a veteran of three dynasties, and even if he praises himself, he can't catch up. In terms of achievements, Fan Lao brought the Tianlong Empire to its peak, while you were still a kid at that time, and it seems that Fan Lao even gave you candy to eat. In terms of position, others are chancellors, one person below, and millions of people above, the official Wang Zuo.

  What's important is that the person above him treats his elderly with great respect, in Tianlong he can walk sideways, but others won't be able to, and he himself is just a marshal, although he controls the empire's military, he will always be a martial general, governing the country is something he can't compare to Fan Lao, he himself is very clear about this point.

  But he would say those words just now, and there are his own reasons. The war between the Tianlong Empire and the Heilong Empire has been going on for ten years so far. How many people have died in a battle that has been fought for ten whole years?

  Now, the number is not that it can't be counted, but he doesn't dare to count it. He's afraid that once he knows, he won't be able to keep his sanity and will directly kill his way into Black Dragon City. His family has been military men for generations in the Tian Long Empire. His father, brothers, and eldest son all died in this war, bearing a deep blood feud. How can he negotiate with the Black Dragon Empire?

  Commander Yang cannot bear to see that with one signature, the two countries will owe each other nothing and their hatred will be written off. This is something he cannot accept. He also knows that peace cannot last forever, but once the two countries start to recover and rebuild, it's unknown when they will go to war again. He fears that by then, he will already be old and grey, without another chance to take to the battlefield, unable to personally settle this deep-seated blood feud, which is like a thorn forever lodged in his heart.

  Fan knew what Yang meant in his heart and said again to Your Majesty.

  "Your Majesty, if this war is not yet over, then no matter which country wins in the end, the true victor will not be them, but rather the Eagle Empire and Lion Empire lurking on the sidelines. Our country has repeatedly promised to invite them to send troops to reinforce us, I believe the Black Dragon Empire must have also invited them like we did."

  "But they have been watching us and the Black Dragon Empire fight, yet never participate. They are thinking of taking our place. When our two countries were at their peak, we could ignore them, but now we can't afford to underestimate them. They are still waiting, waiting for the moment when we and the Black Dragon Empire decide the outcome, that's when they will show their fangs. The reason they haven't made a move yet is because they still fear us. After all, a lean camel is bigger than a horse. For the sake of the empire's future, Your Majesty must carefully consider this."

  Although Fan Lao's words were directed at Your Majesty, his eyes were fixed on General Yang. Your Majesty has known him since childhood and is aware of what he thinks in his heart. Tonight's meeting was actually convened to persuade General Yang. He understands General Yang's hatred but must prevent this war for the sake of the empire's future. At 84 years old, with no children of his own, he has long regarded the Tianlong Empire as his own child and cannot bear to witness its downfall.

  The king's gaze also followed Fan Lao to look at Yang Yuan Shuai. Yang Yuan Shuai, a martial artist, but also an intelligent person, now understood that the emperor had already made up his mind, and tonight's meeting was merely to convince himself. He couldn't help but smile wryly in his heart. On one hand, there were personal grudges; on the other, the empire's life or death hung in the balance - what choice did he have?

  "Your will is my will, Your Majesty!" General Yang replied with one knee on the ground, his body straight and his eyes looking directly ahead. As the Imperial Marshal, he was well aware that he had to put the Empire first, which was what he must obey. He had long since come to this realization.

  "Alas... I've wronged you, General Yang." Old Fan sighed with a hint of apology. After seeing that General Yang had been persuaded, Old Fan didn't say anything else and instead turned his sharp gaze to the other people present.

  Many in attendance have confirmed that this decade-long war is finally coming to an end.

  At the same time, they couldn't help but feel a sense of tension. In war, everything was secondary to military affairs, and many issues were put on hold. But now that the war is over, those questions will begin to surface one by one, with the most pressing being public security within the empire. What Old Fan said earlier was just a small part of it; they knew for sure there were more hidden dangers. And who's to say that those committing crimes in the empire at this time are necessarily bandits?

  Perhaps some of the incidents were indeed done by bandits, but the number of people who followed and stirred up trouble is not small. At first, they may have just been making a small disturbance, not daring to go too far.

  However, it was later discovered that the imperial army's lack of strength had no power to surround and annihilate them. As a result, they began to become more and more rampant. Some lords' private mercenaries turned into bandits overnight, and such things were not uncommon for them.

  After all, you see others making extra money every day without any risk. When you yourself haven't earned a single gold coin due to the war and can still keep a calm head? Some people in the room started to feel their scalps tingling and couldn't help but wipe away the non-existent cold sweat with their hands.

  But the group of people who had always been loyal and dedicated, yet were ridiculed as fools, couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement in their hearts. They all understood that the Tianlong Empire was going to "change its sky". After the "change", it was clear who would fall into misfortune and who would rise to power, as long as they were not among those who had lost their minds back then.

  At the same time, inside Heilongcheng's study

  The study was large, but the bookshelves were sparse and somewhat empty. In front of a massive desk sat a stout young man wearing luxurious clothing. On the other side of the desk was a middle-aged man with his head bowed forward, also dressed in luxurious attire, with an eight-shaped mustache under his nose and a pointed face that gave off a sly impression.

  "The envoy has already been sent, do you think the Tianlong Empire will accept our peace talks? After all, this war has been going on for so many years, can it be stopped just by saying stop?" The young man asked the eight-bearded man sitting across from him at the desk.

  The middle-aged man said, "Before the teacher's death, he entrusted that if our war with the Tianlong Empire does not produce a winner within ten years, we must use all means to stop the war." The teacher in the middle-aged man's mouth was the former prime minister of the Heilong Empire, and like Fan Lao, he was an existence that could not be ignored. Unfortunately, unlike Fan Lao, who lived a long life, he had passed away five years ago.

  "But can sending just one envoy really persuade the Tianlong Empire to stop fighting? That's too simple, isn't it?" The middle-aged man asked back.

  "Actually, I had prepared many ways to make the Tianlong Empire surrender, but in the end, none of them were necessary." said Hua Hu with a calm and indifferent tone.

  "Why?"

  "Because Fan Li is still here!" A heavy voice came out of his mouth, and finally it was no longer that careless tone.

  ……

  After this night, the two countries tacitly withdrew their troops at the same time and soon signed a peace treaty. The decade-long "Dark Night War" officially came to an end.

  【PS: As a newcomer, I had many problems when writing this book at first, such as paragraphing. Although it has been revised once, there are still many texts piled up in one paragraph. Some readers may not be used to it, and I apologize for that. This problem has been corrected after more than 20 chapters, please forgive me! Also, don't be deceived by the first chapter, this book is completely different from the style of the first chapter. If you finish reading the first volume and still think it's not your cup of tea, don't force yourself to continue, just give up then, thank you~】