Am I going to be controlled by the players too?

In conclusion, I look forward to the day when we can sleep side by side, foot to foot.

Now that we've covered the main points, let's talk about something less important, such as the intelligence I obtained through the Western Depot and the Ministry of War:

First, the Ministry of War has newly dispatched 200,000 heavy armored divisions to the western front, equipped with the Empire's latest magic tanks. The standard configuration consists of one tank and one infantry squad. Under the protection of the formation, the tanks can defend against about 50 rounds of artillery fire from the Kingdom... It is currently impossible to determine whether the Empire's tanks use the "war vehicle" related authority.

Two, three Platinum-tier spirits have agreed to leave the mountain. They are the Duke of Yue, the Duke of Chu, and the Marquis of Yan. Among them, the Duke of Yue possesses the immortal killing move "Food History Compendium", which allows him to store the attacks he receives and release them when needed. This person is suspected to have taken a killing move from Ji Yushen. Once used on the battlefield, it may have legendary power. General Navel at the front line, please be careful.

Third, the Imperial Navy has recently undergone a major expansion, adding more than fifty warships, recruiting strong sailors from the coast, and training them in naval warfare day and night, stationing them in the southern sea area.

Through a banquet with the civil officials, it was learned that two hundred years ago, a eunuch named Sanbao sailed a giant ship to the Western Ocean, hiding the treasures of the former Liang emperor Gao Zhijian and his founding minister Li Huowang in the ocean. When the former emperor Gao died, he said, "Want my treasure? Go and find it. I put it in that place." From this, it can be inferred that this is a fleet built by the civil officials to find the treasure, and there is no need to worry about the empire attacking from the sea for the time being.

It is said that the treasure contains an ancient cultivation manual called "The Great Thousand Records," which contains a technique that can summon a star god to peek... This item is of great importance, and we hope that the kingdom will send warships to search for it.

Fourth, the empire is vast and rich in resources, and its national strength is strong. Although it has entered a state of first-level war preparedness, it has not implemented a military control system, and there are no signs of price increases for various necessities in the market. I wonder how the kingdom is doing.

Fifth, public opinion in the empire is now radical. Even though hundreds of thousands have been killed or wounded on the front lines, it still cannot stop the people's enthusiasm for joining the army. Moreover, the people are becoming more and more irritable and volatile. Even as I am writing this letter, a fight broke out outside the official residence over the "sweet vs. savory tofu pudding" debate, and a knife was used in the end.

This is not reasonable.

I wonder how the people of the kingdom are doing. If they are also showing signs of heightened emotions among the common people, then it is very likely that Lady Serafina's prophecy has come true.

The demon of war has already descended.

According to Serafina, the primordial demon is the embodiment of a concept, and as "war," wherever it goes, the earth will be engulfed in war, and billions upon billions of lives will be dragged into endless hatred and slaughter... No matter how the war unfolds, this is not what we want to see.

Although we do not know the current state of the War Demon or where it is hiding, it would be best to discover it in advance and attack it beforehand. I hope Your Majesty will discuss this with Hime-no-Kami and the Pope in time, or ask Serafina to make a prophecy to pinpoint the War Demon's whereabouts and prepare for the conquest.

that's all.

Your Majesty, I await your secret orders and am ready to be dispatched at any time.

After checking twice to make sure nothing was missed, Cheng Cheng clicked send, transferring the letter to Freya's secret email address.

He sighed and stepped out of the ring. Tong Chuxue was working in the bedroom, so he looked out the window out of boredom. Snow was falling heavily outside the official residence, but the streets were bustling with people. Vendors had set up stalls, selling soy milk, fried dough sticks, pancakes and grilled sausages. The aroma was enticing, and the cries of vendors filled the air. It was a scene of great prosperity.

However, a commotion arose not far away—it seemed that a person had come to buy melons from a roadside fruit stand, only to find that the vendor was selling unripe melons and had even added a magnet to the scale. After arguing with the vendor, the person then became enraged and killed the vendor.

This was daily life in the capital during wartime—under the influence of the concept of war, everyone was tainted with a murderous aura, thus their fear was weakened, and they sought revenge for every grudge, resulting in a series of murders.

War...

Just then, Tong Chuxue finished packing up her official letters, changed into her official robes, and called her master back into her ring so they could go to the palace together to attend a court meeting.

According to Ji Yushen's hint, Tong Chuxue will be promoted to the third rank in the next few days and then serve as the deputy commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard.

What is war?

Tong Chuxue sighed.

War is not chaos, war is a ladder.

Most who try to climb fail and never try again; failure destroys them. Others have the opportunity to climb, but they refuse, clinging to authority, gods, or love... These are all illusions; only the ladder is real.

…………

Inside the hall, a long table made of rosewood was placed between the two pillars on the left, and another long table made of rosewood was placed between the two pillars on the right.

Both tables were piled high with account books, documents, blank sheets of paper, and writing implements.

Princess Jianqi led the four eunuchs to stand in a line on the left, while Grand Secretary Lu Weiming led the cabinet members to stand in a line on the right. The two groups knelt down and bowed three times to Ji Yushen, who was on the throne in the center.

Apart from Anqian Grand Marshal Cangxuan and Divine Ritual Official Demiaoge, all the important officials of the court have arrived.

—The final court meeting of the fifth year of the Tianxu reign of the Empire was held before the throne.

The palace gates were wide open, and the wind from outside occasionally carried a few snowflakes through the lattice windows and doors into the palace. Tong Chuxue stood silently in front of the outermost door, holding documents and notes in her hands—she only had the right to listen to this court meeting and could not speak.

Ji Yushen raised her finger, and after a clear and melodious chime, Jianqi Jue announced the official start of the meeting.

"The Cabinet has drafted all the expenditures since the war began, and the Directorate of Ceremonial has approved them."

Grand Secretary Lu Weiming looked at the Vice Minister of Revenue beside him, who was also his eldest son, the Junior Grand Secretary Lu Ziyuan: "The draft is with you. You tell them what to do and then submit it to Jian Qijue and the others for approval."

"The Cabinet's draft proposals were handed over to our Ministry of Revenue yesterday," the young Grand Secretary said, glancing at Peng Longteng. "But I spent the whole night checking them, and I didn't dare sign some of them."

"What?" Peng Longteng was taken aback. "Which votes haven't been signed?"

The young Grand Secretary replied slowly, "I signed the expense bills for the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Works, but the expense bill for the Ministry of War was too overspending, so I didn't dare to sign it."

"Our Ministry of War's bills weren't signed off by your Ministry of Revenue?" Peng Longteng's eyes widened in astonishment. "This is wartime! You didn't say anything when the bills were drafted, but now you're afraid to sign them? What exactly is your Ministry of Revenue trying to do?!"

“General Peng, the Ministry of Revenue belongs to His Majesty, not to ‘our’ Ministry of Revenue.”

"You're just a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, and your father is the third-highest-ranking official in the civil service. What's wrong with calling your Ministry of Revenue "the Ministry"? Do you still want to work here? If you don't, just say so. There are plenty of people who do!"

"We refuse to sign because we are in our positions, serving the country and His Majesty."

"You dare to talk to me about serving the country!" Peng Longteng's face flushed red, spittle flying from his mouth. "When the country is in peril, we try every means to fight the enemy, but you're trying to undermine our cause! Keep stirring things up, keep stirring things up, keep stirring things up! You've caused the western front to run out of supplies and suffer defeats; you've caused chaos on the eastern front and led to the downfall of the empire! I'll just risk my life alongside you!"

Everyone was surprised by Peng Longteng's absurd words, and the air in the entire hall seemed to freeze.

Ji Yushen watched the court meeting quietly. He neither punished Peng Longteng for his treasonous remarks nor made the Ministry of Revenue sign the document. Instead, he tapped the bronze chime lightly with his finger, indicating that the matter should be resolved quickly.

After all, she was the one who decided on the war expenditures, but it became an excuse for the civil service to attack the military.

But no one dared to provoke her, so Peng Longteng had no choice but to accept it. As a result, conflicts between civil and military officials increased, and they became increasingly disunited—which was exactly the result Ji Yushen wanted. If the civil and military officials worked together, it was hard to say who would be in charge of the court!

It's a pity Cang Xuan isn't here. Peng Longteng has no rivals when he fights, otherwise it would be more interesting to turn this factional strife into a war!

Imagine a bunch of hypocrites staging an unrestricted boxing match in the imperial court until one side concedes defeat—how hilarious would that be?

What is war?

Hime Misami suddenly had an idea.

War is simply the continuation of politics by another means.

Those in high positions use strategic maneuvering to define boundaries and weigh pros and cons; some use war to consolidate their power, while others use it to destabilize the court. All the flames of war are always an external manifestation of the ambitions of the court and the overall global landscape, a continuation of violence when negotiations fail.

In contrast, only disputes constrained by political means can be called wars; if they are not constrained, they are no different from "destruction".

…………

What is war?

Wang Zhiming lowered his eyes.

War is the death of all living beings.

Most of those who set foot on the battlefield are lost forever, their flesh and blood buried in the yellow earth, never to return to their hometowns, not even their names left behind; fame and fortune are the extravagant desires of those in power, and power struggles are the games played by those in authority; loyalty, righteousness, and glory are all just words spoken by others. For us soldiers, war is nothing but a cold death.

Wealth and comfort are but illusions; only life and death, rise and fall, are real.

The food in Yunlan City was exceptionally good today. The fragrant white rice was made with the finest rice; there was also braised beef with potatoes, fried chicken legs, braised pork with quail eggs, and lotus root and pork rib soup. The aroma of the food wafted through the military camp, dispelling some of the gloom.

At some point, even eating a hot meal with meat became a luxury.

But Wang Zhiming was not happy.

Because he knew that the civil officials wouldn't be so kind to the military officers, and there was no reason for them to be provided with such delicious food—it felt like a last meal before execution, especially after everyone was given half a bottle of Erguotou (a type of Chinese liquor), which made it even more so.

"Give me one."

The veteran who had been taking care of him offered him a cigarette.

"Thank you."

Wang Zhiming took the cigarette, lit it, and took a deep drag. His brain gradually relaxed under the strong nicotine, and the swirling smoke in the air seemed to carry away his sorrow.

He didn't smoke before. When he was in the same class as Xiao Chunan, he would trade the tobacco he received with the veterans. But after Xiao Chunan died, he started smoking. He even smoked two packs in one night at the field hospital. The strong nicotine made him dizzy, which is why he would occasionally forget that he was still on the battlefield.

Cigarettes were one of the few sources of happiness for them in this hellish place.

"Wang Zhiming from Jinling City, what are your ideals?" The veteran lit a cigarette, sat down next to Wang Zhiming, and asked.

"ideal?"

"Yes, the war will eventually end, and we can't be soldiers forever," the veteran said with a smile. "We have to think about what we'll do next, don't we?"

“Let’s write a book. Actually, I’m writing ‘The True History of the Empire,’ hoping to unearth the history that was covered up by the civil service and make it public.” Wang Zhiming took a drag of his cigarette, turned his head to look at Zhang Pengju, and asked, “Zhang Pengju, what about you?”

“You’re so much more educated, having gone to college. All I know is farming…” Veteran Zhang Pengju scratched his head sheepishly. “My family has a plot of land where we grow strawberries in the spring and autumn, and watermelons in the summer. Our watermelons are especially sweet; they’re all grown in greenhouses!”

"After the war is over, I'll invite you to my house for watermelon!"

…………

fraud.

Big liar.

What do you mean, "wait until the war is over"? What about future ideals? Are you kidding me?

How could people like us possibly be qualified to possess something even more luxurious than gourmet food?

Smoke billowed within the trenches, white mist lingering among the ruins. In the distance, sporadic gunfire echoed like the faint breaths of the dying. The air was thick with the acrid smell of gunpowder, mingled with an overwhelming stench of blood, weighing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Wang Zhiming squatted beside Zhang Pengju's cold body, his fingertips trembling uncontrollably. He slowly reached into the dead man's pocket and pulled out a crumpled cigarette case. He took one out, lit it by the faint light, and took a deep drag, the thick smoke filling his lungs.

No one knows if this will be the last cigarette he ever smokes.

Nicotine slowly seeped into my limbs and bones, my trembling fingertips gradually calmed down, a hazy mist clouded my eyes, and the fear of facing death in my heart was temporarily suppressed.

I knew it all along; today's meal was my last meal before I was executed.

"All personnel, prepare to charge!!!"

The sergeant's roar shattered the deathly silence. Wang Zhiming picked up his rifle and began to move under his command. Immediately, artillery fire erupted, raining down like hail onto the trench where Wang Zhiming had just been. The roar of the artillery trembled the earth, sending rubble and dirt flying everywhere, mixed with pieces of corpses and blood.

The veterans who went to the battlefield had only the fields full of strawberries and watermelons in their hearts, but in the end, they didn't even leave behind a complete corpse.

A long whistle pierced the flames of war, signaling the start of the counterattack.

Wang Zhiming, gun at the ready and bowing low, charged forward recklessly under the cover of artillery fire and machine gun fire from behind, his eyes bloodshot. A wild, hoarse roar escaped his throat, all cowardice gone, leaving only the madness and chilling killing intent of someone whose reason had been burned away by the flames of war, wanting nothing more than to tear every enemy soldier in front of him to shreds.

He mechanically charged forward, pulled the bolt, and fired the trigger. With each shot, a foreign life suddenly fell to the ground, its heartbeat forever silenced.

On the battlefield, everyone dances on the edge of a knife; life and death are separated by a mere instant. It is never someone else who dies, but yourself.

"boom!"

With a muffled thud, a violent force slammed into him.

Wang Zhiming froze and fell heavily to the ground. His comrades behind him immediately reached out and hurriedly dragged him back into the trench.

What's wrong? What happened?

His mind went blank, and he was in a daze. After a long time, his vision finally focused, and he vaguely saw the medic cutting open his uniform with a knife. At that moment, he suddenly realized that he had been shot.