Chapter 82.2

“Do you still not understand why?”

“I really don’t understand!”

“Then let me put it simply!”

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom laughed and said, “Actually, you think too highly of yourself, which is why you can’t let go. You always believe he will harm you! You think you’re still that lofty Emperor, but in his eyes, you are nothing, no different from an ordinary person!”

“If it weren’t for those millions of taels, he wouldn’t even bother with you! Do you think he would go out of his way to plot against a commoner?”

“Although there is some truth to what you say, I…”

The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom said with a certain pride, “After all, I was once the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom, his former adversary; he couldn’t possibly not take me seriously!”

“You’re overestimating yourself; he didn’t even consider you a rival!”

“Impossible!”

“Then let me enlighten you!”

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and asked, “Let me start with a question: how did you lose?”

Clenching his fists and grinding his teeth, the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom replied, “It was obviously because my forces suffered heavy losses, and the national strength was depleted. Then, the three countries of Great Yue, Peng, and An took advantage of our weakness to invade! With no power to turn the tide, I had no choice but to leave the capital city!”

“Why did your forces suffer heavy losses?” asked the Emperor of the Mo Kingdom.

“Because we fought two battles with Great Xia before that, losing three Innates and 400,000 troops!”

“Why did you go to war with Great Xia?” the Emperor of the Mo Kingdom asked again.

The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom spoke loudly, “Because that foolish… Emperor of Great Xia led his troops into our territory! To defend our sovereignty and also to gain the interests of the Xia Kingdom, we mobilized our forces. However, we underestimated his strength!”

“So you mean to say, the reason you ended up in this predicament is because he first led his troops to invade your territory, forcing you to retaliate, and then you lost three Innates, and even you yourself were captured!”

“Later, seeking revenge and also driven by interests, you were swayed by the noble families and once again sent out your troops! As a result, a catastrophic flood came, and you once again suffered heavy losses, losing 300,000 soldiers!”

“After that, Great Xia led his troops to strike again, and your forces continued to diminish!”

“It is precisely because of the severe loss of troops that you were coveted by the three nations of Great Yue, Peng, and An, who then joined forces and invaded. Due to the inability to defend, you lost territory, and now even the nation itself is lost, isn’t that so?”

“Exactly, that’s how it is!” the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom gritted his teeth.

“Little brother, have you noticed that this script seems very familiar?”

“Familiar?” the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom furrowed his brows.

His gaze involuntarily shifted towards the Emperor of the Mo Kingdom, and his expression suddenly frowned.

His pupils quickly constricted, his eyes filled with horror.

“Did you figure it out?”

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom pointed at himself, laughing somewhat hysterically, “That’s right, this is how I met my end!”

“Back then, I paid a huge price to trade for an iron mine from that person. But on the day the troops took over, we lost 200,000 soldiers, leaving the southern front vulnerable. He took advantage of this weakness, advancing and conquering all the way!”

The Emperor of Mo Kingdom took a sip of tea, furrowed his brows, and said with a wry smile, “Isn’t that just like your situation, with a twist of fate?”

“At that time, your forces were tied up by the Fengwu army, leaving the southern front vulnerable. So he took the opportunity to lead his troops into your territory, even reaching your capital city, plundering your national treasury, and capturing you!”

The Emperor of Shang Kingdom: “…”

“Later, of course, I refused to accept defeat, so I gathered an army of 400,000 to fight again! But as our forces entered the Xia Kingdom, the earth dragon turned over, and the entire 400,000-strong army was buried!”

The Emperor of Mo Kingdom said with a laugh, “Isn’t your situation the same?”

“Captured by the enemy, you lost all face and naturally wanted revenge! Plus, with others instigating, you assembled an army of 300,000. But an unexpected flood disaster wiped out your forces, leaving you with no chance to turn the tide!”

Emperor of the Shang Kingdom: “…”

“Later, the national power of the Mo Kingdom was greatly damaged, their military strength severely depleted. Naturally, they were no match for the surrounding three kingdoms and quickly fell. I became a monarch of a fallen nation, forced to save my meager existence here! Think about it, isn’t your current situation similar?”

“Indeed!” the Emperor of the Shang Kingdom murmured.

“You see, the script is exactly the same, a rehash with no change in essence, but the effect is just as powerful! Tell me, who do you think is the mastermind behind this script?”

The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom thought hard, and an annoying, young face surfaced in his mind.

“It’s him! Lin Beifan!” he exclaimed in surprise.

“Exactly! It’s him!”

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom said with a raised eyebrow and a smile: “Now, do you see the difference between you and him? From the very beginning, you were completely outplayed! Every move you made was within his calculations, following his script word-by-word without any deviation! The moment he made his move, you had already lost!”

The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom reflected on all that had transpired.

It was the other side that struck first, ordering Chai Yuxin to lead an army of 100,000 troops into the former territory of the Mo Kingdom, slaughtering the soldiers of the three nations.

Enraged, the three nations dispatched a large force to encircle and suppress them.

Due to the vulnerable defense lines, the enemy monarch took to the field in person, leading his troops to attack.

The life of the foolish Emperor was of utmost importance, so he abandoned the encirclement of the Fengwu army, focusing all his efforts on dealing with Lin Beifan.

Yet, Lin Beifan fought his way to the capital city of the Shang Kingdom, capturing the Emperor and returning to his country unscathed.

To seek vengeance and swayed by the plan of a noble family, he once again led his troops into battle.

But a man-made flood disaster wiped out his forces.

With military strength greatly diminished and national power severely weakened, his country inevitably became the target of other nations’ covetous eyes, and its downfall seemed only natural.

Every move had been meticulously calculated to ensure his utter defeat.

Even if he could go back in time, he might still make the same mistakes.

The Emperor of Shang Kingdom had to admit, Lin Beifan had thoroughly bested him.

He’s too evil; I don’t even have the qualifications to be his opponent.

The Emperor of the Mo Kingdom, while sipping on his drink, shook his head and sighed, “People curse him as the foolish Emperor, but is he really a foolish emperor? If he truly were a foolish emperor, how could the Xia Kingdom have developed and become a great kingdom that intimidates everyone? If he really were a foolish emperor, what does that make us emperors who he has defeated?”

The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom didn’t speak, but he agreed with the words of the Mo Kingdom Emperor.

After pouring himself three cups of wine in succession, he managed a bitter smile and said, “Duke of Mo, you’re right! But the thought that I don’t even have the qualifications to be his opponent, that he does not value me, and that’s why I can live well. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad about it!”

“Brother, don’t think too much!”

The Mo Kingdom Emperor waved his hand dismissively, “Since we’ve lost, we must accept it. Compared to many emperors of fallen nations, we’re already doing well! Our families are with us, we have money to spend, we still enjoy a certain freedom, we can eat whatever we want and drink whatever we want without fear or worry. That’s enough!”

“That’s true!” The Emperor of the Shang Kingdom relaxed completely.

If one can’t be an emperor, why not live comfortably as a wealthy people?

He now has both wealth and a title and is living better than many others!

Once people relax, hedonism starts to creep in.

“Big bro, what’s good to eat at this food street? Can you take me to try some?”

“Lil bro, let me tell you, there are so many great things here! A lot of them I’ve never tried before, and they’re especially delicious! If we have time, I’ll take you to taste everything on food street and we can unwind a bit!”

“Thanks a lot, big bro!”

“We’re both in the same boat, adrift in this world, so no need for such formality! From now on, it’s just the two of us here, so we’ve got to look out for each other!”

“Brother, your words seem a bit wrong. It shouldn’t be just the two of us! I have a strong premonition that the Emperor of An Kingdom and the Emperor of Peng Kingdom will soon join us!”

“Indeed, great minds think alike!”

At this time, Shang Kingdom had already been annexed by the Great Yue, An, and Peng Kingdoms.

In reality, it was mainly the Great Yue that had swallowed Shang Kingdom. The other two countries were like assistants, helping to send troops and then generously handing over the majority of the benefits.

The reason for this, besides the strong and prosperous military of Great Yue Kingdom, was that these two countries needed help.

They hoped that Great Yue would lead the way in helping them withstand the covetous Great Xia.

So, the troops of the Great Yue Kingdom were stationed in the capital city of the Shang Kingdom.

Conquering a nation is essentially for three benefits: land, resources and wealth, and population.

The land is immovable, so the next most important thing is wealth and resources.

The place with the most wealth is the imperial palace in the capital city.

However, to their surprise, the army searched the entire imperial palace and even the capital city but could not find anything of value.

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