The Empire will continue to win

The sixth year of Xuanwu.

The rain was torrential, and the sky was as dark as ink.

Forbidden City.

Baohe Hall.

Suddenly, the palace doors swung open.

A hoarse voice rang out: "By imperial decree, everyone wait, fifty feet outside the hall."

Soon, dozens of imperial guards, eunuchs, and palace maids stood silently outside the palace, letting the heavy rain pour down on them.

"I hereby inform the three masters that all other unauthorized persons have left the palace."

"Xiao Anzi, you go out too."

"Yes."

The young eunuch An Dehai walked out of the Baohe Hall, looking dejected. The rain was so heavy today that his robes were already soaked through after just a few steps. He couldn't understand why the Empress Dowager Yi would bathe and change without his knowledge. What important military matter could it be today?

He certainly couldn't have imagined it.

Just half an hour ago, the Forbidden City's telegraph office suddenly received a telegram forwarded by Fengtian:

On the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, the Goryeo garrison fought fiercely with the Eastern Sang Empire's army and navy, which had landed on the front, for four days. With ammunition exhausted, food supplies depleted, and the city falling, the Goryeo garrison commander, Wu Changqing, cut off all communication.

At this moment~

Only four people remained in the empty hall: the beautiful Empress Dowager Yi, the kind Empress Dowager An, the slender Prince Gong, and the fierce Sheng Bao.

The atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

The 26-year-old Empress Dowager Yi broke the silence, saying, "Everyone here is one of us, it's nothing serious, say whatever you want."

Sheng Bao: "Losing doesn't sound good, so why not announce a draw?"

Prince Gong: "No, let's just announce it as a minor victory and then advance victoriously."

Empress Dowager Yi shook her head: "No, it was a great victory!"

Boom~

A thunderclap sounded outside, and the sound lingered for a long time.

Empress Dowager An was greatly alarmed and said, "Does my sister mean to keep it a secret from the court and the entire world?"

"Exactly."

"Can we really keep such a cataclysmic event a secret?"

Empress Dowager Yi then changed the subject: "Sister, Sixth Prince, do you still remember Su Shun's last words?"

The two men's expressions immediately changed.

three years ago.

The conservative faction (the moderate faction), led by the two empress dowagers, overthrew the eight regents (the reformist faction), headed by Su Shun, by force, shocking the court and the public.

On the guillotine.

Su Shun shouted: "What you have gained today will be what you will lose in the future."

.........

.........

The thunder grew louder.

The rain was torrential.

"The troops in the capital region must not be mobilized, otherwise we might also be sent to the guillotine. The troops in the provinces must not be mobilized either, in case others take advantage of the war to grow stronger, we will also be sent to the guillotine."

Empress Dowager Yi gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "Everyone here today is one of our own, so I have nothing to hide. Everyone says that this is the Xuanwu era of prosperity, a time of peace and prosperity for the whole country, but what is the reality? Others may not know, but don't we know?"

"The Empress Dowager is right," Prince Gong said.

"As my sister says. However, we must devise a foolproof plan to silence any gossip." Empress Dowager An was a cautious person.

"A telegram was sent throughout the country announcing a great victory in Goryeo, with 50,000 enemy soldiers killed. Anyone who dares to say otherwise is a traitor and deserves to be punished by everyone." The Empress Dowager's beautiful eyes gleamed with wisdom.

"Wonderful, absolutely wonderful!" Prince Gong exclaimed, slapping the table in admiration.

"Your Majesty, I will obey." Sheng Bao blinked his small eyes. Three years ago, he led troops to arrest the eight regents. He was enjoying the Emperor's favor and was appointed as the Military Governor of Zhili, with four garrisons under his command.

Empress Dowager An was still worried: "Sister, what will happen in the future?"

"We'll talk about the future later," said the Empress Dowager, her face languidly made up, her eyes sharp.

.........

That night.

All the constables of Shuntian Prefecture were mobilized and shouted along the streets: "Great victory in Goryeo! 50,000 Eastern barbarians killed! Curfew lifted for three days!"

That night.

A telegram from the Forbidden City to the entire nation proclaims: "Great victory in Goryeo! Celebrations throughout the land! All prisoners convicted of minor offenses released from custody in all provinces."

That night.

The Beijing Newspaper Group urgently printed an extra edition.

That night.

Officials and civilians in the capital cheered and celebrated, and the sound of firecrackers continued throughout the night.

The Forbidden City's series of coordinated actions kept not only ordinary people in the dark, but also provincial governors.

It wasn't just their own people who were kept in the dark.

That night.

Amidst the continuous sound of firecrackers, the plenipotentiary minister of the Eastern Sang Kingdom sadly took off his tailcoat, put on a brand-new white robe, and committed seppuku in his residence.

.........

A month later.

Outside Yongding Gate in the capital, the protagonist who traveled through time has finally returned!

Looking at the majestic city wall, Shen Moqing's eyes were red.

Before his transmigration, he was a poor farmer's son who, through his own efforts, was admitted to Fudan University to study international politics, where he spent four years of free and useless wonderful time.

After graduation, he stayed at the university as a researcher at the International Center.

His superior was an alumnus who was full of energy and confidence.

His colleague was an alumnus with a kind face who loved appearing on television.

Later, he gained another colleague who graduated from a community college across the ocean—Ziheche College? Who knows, maybe.

In short, all the wise men and women have gathered, and the court is filled with upright officials.

All three colleagues were renowned, while Mo Qing remained unknown, but that didn't matter; what mattered most was her passion.

Spring goes and autumn comes, winter passes and summer arrives, and 25 years have passed in the blink of an eye!

A full 25 years!

Mo Qing's hair has turned white, his back is bent, his legs are sore, and his kidneys are weak, but his passion remains undiminished.

The road to slaying dragons is lined with flowers, yet my heart remains unchanged day after day!

In that orange-yellow research center at 220 Handan Road, he did indeed learn a superb dragon-slaying technique, but he had nowhere to put it into practice.

Forget about real dragons, we didn't even see any dragon scales or claws.

Where in the world can you find dragons?

It's just a legend.

He thought his life would just pass by like this, like most ordinary people, coming and going without a sound.

Unexpectedly, he took some cold medicine containing cephalosporin because of a cold. That night, he stayed up late reading his senior's book "Political Logic." Although it was his 108th reading, he couldn't help but exclaim in admiration when he came across its brilliant passages.

So I rewarded myself with a glass of strong liquor.

That's how it is with intellectuals.

Baijiu (Chinese liquor) with cephalosporin!

In a daze~

Calm and refined, with deep eyes, his slicked-back hair meticulously combed and wearing tortoiseshell glasses, Shen Moqing picked up the red telephone on his desk.

"I am Dan Da Shen Moqing!"

It was nothing more than a dazzling pre-death hallucination.

.........

The next day.

Associate Professor Shen Moqing has passed away.

His soul, however, traveled through time and space to a place called the United Empire.

History books mention the Qin, Han, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, but they definitely don't include this unified empire. Therefore, this is a parallel universe.

Logically, the first spawn location for heroes should be safe.

But reality is not a game.

Shen Moqing transmigrated to the battlefield of Busan amidst the flames of war, serving as a shore-based observation post for the ironclad warship "Loyalty" of the Imperial Navy's Northern Fleet, responsible for contacting the army to correct the artillery positions.

At the beginning of the United Empire, a special garrison of Goryeo troops was established, which is now a century old.

For a full century, the peninsula remained untouched by war.

But to everyone's surprise, that neighboring country, that country that dreamed of expansion, that impoverished empire where everyone from the emperor to the Han Chinese ate nothing but chaff and wild vegetables, launched a surprise attack.

Two people against two people.

The air was filled with the sounds of gunfire, and corpses littered the fields.

Shen Moqing, a refined and gentle teacher, had never seen anything like this before. He encountered scattered enemy soldiers five times and fell countless times.

Ultimately, he was extremely lucky to survive.

The result of this war was:

The Goryeo garrison, numbering 8000 on paper (officially designated as the First Mixed Brigade of the United Empire's Overseas Legion), was completely annihilated.

The casualties of the Eastern Sang Empire's army were similar.

After the war, Dong Sang soldiers hunted down those who tried to break through the encirclement across the mountains and plains.

Shen Moqing survived countless near-death experiences while on the run.

……

The man who escaped with him was named Zhang Zongcang. He was a typical Shandong man, with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a strong physique. He was honest and kind, came from a poor family, and worked as a sailor on the ironclad warship "Loyalty".

Without Lao Zhang, Shen Moqing would never have survived to reach the capital.

At this moment, Old Zhang was wiping the Type 30 rifle in his hand. It was a needle-fired breech-loading rifle with a magazine capacity of only one round, and its overall design was quite similar to the Dreiser M1841.

The capital city is just ahead.

According to imperial military regulations, all officers and soldiers within the capital city walls who are not on duty, patrolling, or guarding the city must keep their guns and ammunition separate.

"Brother, let's go into town!"

"Why."

The two helped each other into Yongding Gate, and walked along the central axis until they reached Zhengyang Gate.

Shen Moqing looked up suddenly, and wow, the magnificent Forbidden City came into view.

The true dragon is just ahead!

Draw your sword!

My dragon-slaying blade is itching for a fight!