Munitions Empire

There were far too many people who died in this war, and for those rank-and-file soldiers who had been tormented on the battlefield, to be alive to see the end of the war was a kind of liberation.

The Dahua commanders who were allowed to carry weapons displayed the grace of the nobility—they executed the Emperor's final orders, and they were not responsible for any part of the final humiliating chaos.

Even after returning, they might be awarded and promoted to higher-ranking officers, becoming favorites in the eyes of the Emperor.

Thus, their eyes were bright, and smiles even hung on their faces. It was impossible to tell they were vanquished prisoners of war, standing beside a group of victors.

Standing beside these Dahua officers, the officers of the Tang Country were also exceedingly happy, having accomplished strategic goals they had not even dared to dream of before, achieving a complete victory over the Dahua Empire.

Along the way, they had captured Wangchun City, seized Tengyun, taken South Wind Pass, and acquired the southern oil fields… They had also captured the northern plains of Chu Country and taken Fengjiang.

They were the victors of this war, and therefore, they were entitled to feel happy. They had the right to stand beside the Dahua officers, lifting their chins to look down on the Dahua prisoners like worthless ants.

"This is the third batch of ten thousand!" Standing on an off-road vehicle, a division commander of the Tang Army had his hands behind his back, rubbing his white gloves behind him, and said to a Dahua general standing beside his car.

This general was not a prisoner, but an officer sent by the Dahua Empire to receive the prisoners and bring them back to the country. He was very cautious; hearing the words of the enemy commander behind him, he immediately agreed, "Yes, it's the third batch of ten thousand."

"According to the agreement, we will return 130,000 prisoners from Fengjiang City. That is the final number; there must be no mistakes," the Tang Army's division commander watched as another group of Dahua prisoners began to cross the checkpoint and continued to say.

"You're correct," the general from Dahua continued to affirm: "Thank you for your country's generosity. I hope there will be no more misunderstandings between our two countries, and may peace last forever."

If you lose, you wish for peace to last forever; if you had won, you'd be desecrating my ancestors' graves! The division commander of the Great Tang sneered contemptuously, continuing to look down upon the seemingly endless stream of Dahua soldiers passing by his jeep.

In front of the checkpoint, soldiers responsible for tallying were organizing the forms in their hands, surrounded by other soldiers carrying weapons and reporters who were continuously clicking their cameras.

The war had finally ended, and naturally, such good news had to be recorded. The Tang Country would also actively promote its own civilization: returning a vast number of prisoners, a veritable paragon of moral standards.

With their propaganda in full swing, the fact that there were still over 300,000 goblin slaves within Tang Country and over 600,000 Dahua prisoner laborers became less glaringly offensive.

"Before coming here, His Majesty The Emperor asked me to confirm a piece of news. General Feng Kezhi of our nation... His unfortunate death in battle, is it true?" After a long silence, as if both men were absorbed by the endless line of prisoners, the general from the Dahua Empire suddenly asked.

The division commander from Great Tang answered smoothly, "Yes, our soldiers stormed General Feng Kezhi's headquarters and found that he was already dead."

It seemed as though a weight had been lifted, and the Dahua officer spoke with an undertone of excitement, "That's truly regrettable. I heard...did he take his own life?"

The death of Feng Ke was certainly great news to bring back to the Dahua Empire—The Emperor would surely be overjoyed.

In a sense, for Emperor Zhao Kai of the Dahua Empire, even the defeat in the war against Tang Country was no longer so saddening thanks to Feng Ke's death.

But although Feng Ke really was dead, he had been assassinated with two gunshots before the arrival of the Tang Army—which was not a very respectable way to die, was it?

Thus, the Dahua general asked tentatively, hoping the Tang Country would help make Feng Ke's death appear to be a more honorable end.

A look of disdain filled the face of the commander from Tang Country, but in the end, he opened his mouth to say, "Indeed, just as the general said, General Feng Ke remained loyal and honorable. He did not want to disgrace the Emperor's kindness. Before our forces broke into his headquarters, he took his own life with a gun."

"So it is... very well." After hearing the response from the Tang side, no longer feigning politeness, the Dahua officer beamed with joy: "Our Emperor will surely be most comforted."

...

In a well-preserved building within Fengjiang City, the bright sunshine streamed through the spacious floor-to-ceiling windows, and on the clean bed, Feng Kezhi slowly opened his eyes.

"Hiss..." He felt the pain in his chest and abdomen, and just as he struggled to sit up, the wounds became even more painfully unbearable, causing him to involuntarily inhale a breath of cold air.

The man who was engrossed in reading "The Impact of Infantry Communication Technology Advancements" by the bedside looked up and smiled upon hearing the noise, "You're awake?"

"I... How long have I been unconscious?" Feng Ke looked towards the other person, noticing his not-black curly hair and the face that was clearly not of Han Chinese descent.