Chapter 539: Li Family's woes
Qianwing Province, Chongdu. The atmosphere was extremely somber here in the Li Family's territory, especially around the main estate. It was like a deadly air hung above the stars, drowning the world in monotone. No one had the mood to speak! Their situation had turned grave. Now that the Imperial Council fell, the Shui Family defected, and the Jian and Jun Families surrendered, the Li Family was in danger. The kingdom would not tolerate their presence. Once they regained their strength, they would almost certainly attack. Although the Li Family was confident against traditional threats, non-traditional threats like the Featherwind Sect and Sword King were a problem. The Li Family did not have an answer to them. The greatest nobility family in the world felt helpless.
"Has the report been verified?" an elder timidly asked.
"Yes… we've confirmed it with multiple independent sources. There's no doubt about it. The Imperial Council and Yongtein collapsed three days ago."
"I can't believe the Imperial Council lost like that," another elder snapped.
"I agree. They had more than five, almost six, hundred thousand soldiers. That's more than three times the kingdom. Even with the Featherwind Sect participating, I don't see how this could have happened."
"Hmph. It's because that prime minister decided to get cocky. This wouldn't have happened, if they stayed inside the walls and waited for our troops to arrive."
"Speaking of which, where are our armies now?"
"To the east, we've recaptured the Samfeng Province up to the Yunyun Stronghold. To the south, we've entered the Quiton Gates, the Zhujin, Wu-Lin, and Qianxian Provinces. It should take another two weeks to stabilize the territory."
"That won't do. We should rally our forces and march into Yongtein immediately. We can't let the kingdom consolidate their position," Lady Hong-Lan said.
"We know, but…" the elder put on a difficult face.
"Is it related to that brat?" the woman scowled. When she mentioned that 'brat', everyone knew she meant Imperian Qiang, the official patriarch of the Li Family. Considering Lady Hong-Lan's current position as the temporary matriarch, it was obvious why she bore hostility.
"He must've done something, because few are willing to stand against him and the princesses. Not to mention, there's the Featherwind Sect, Sword King, and Protector Avin standing behind them. It'll be a challenge to retake Yongtein."
"There are approximately fifty thousand soldiers in Yongtein. Including their recent reinforcements, that brings it up to seventy thousand. Normally, for a sieging army to be successful, the attackers would need triple the defensive army. That would mean we would need, at the very least, two hundred thousand soldiers."
"We have more than that, so that isn't the problem. The problem is… those abnormal individuals. Unless we can figure something out, we'll just be throwing bodies at them."
Everyone fell silent.
"…What about the Jian and Jun Families? Did we contact them?"
"They haven't replied yet, but I'm willing to guess they're waiting for us to make a move."
"If they hadn't run away, we wouldn't be in this mess!" An elder slapped the table angrily.
"There's no point in focusing on what happened. We should be focusing on what should happen."
"Hong-Lan is right," someone said. Everyone turned to face the speaker. Lord Fengji waved his fan slowly and continued, "The matter of the fact is… we're in a bad spot right now. So, should we fight or give up?"
"Of course, we'll fig-"
"Before you answer, please remember this. We're fighting an uphill battle. The enemy has control of Yongtein, the Imperial Council, and the Shui Family. The Jian and Jun Families have also fallen. Against these odds, do we realistically have a chance? Words alone won't cut it. We need a winning strategy," he said, giving the elders a cold gaze. That was the harsh reality of the world. That was what it meant to lead! After a lengthy silence, he looked beside him. "What do you think, brother?"
The man next to him exhaled, opened his eyes, and glared at Fengji. There was a notable sense of displeasure on his face. Surprisingly, it was Lord Foshan Li, a man who should have died months ago! As it turned out, when Lord Fengji 'killed' his brother in front of Unit Commander Haea, it was a body double, someone who looked and acted like Lord Foshan. Their body doubles were meant to save their lives in an event of extreme danger. Everyone at a high level had one or two, including Prime Minister Pon-Wai. Naturally, Unit Commander Haea and Prime Minister Pon-Wai knew this was a body double, and not the true Lord Foshan. However, that was irrelevant. They never meant to kill Lord Foshan. Their true goal was to secure an alliance with the Li Family through Lord Fengji. How that happened was irrelevant.
It was Lord Foshan who proposed this plan. He wanted to step away from the elder council and let his brother take over. After all, he led the elder council for many years now. His age was starting to catch up to him, and he feared that his judgement would degrade in the future. Therefore, this was a good chance to test his brother. This was also why the rumors that he retired to the countryside were not totally unfounded. He was honestly planning on doing that! Unfortunately, his plans went up in smoke when the Featherwind Sect decided to attack and destroy Liguang. Qiang and the princesses fell into the kingdom's clutches, and from then on, everything spiralled out of control. The precious position that he and his brother had so painfully built up came crashing down. Lord Foshan had no choice, but to exit retirement and hopefully correct this ship's course.
"You're right about one thing, that we do need a winning strategy; however, you haven't looked at the full picture yet. What happens if we fight? Winning or losing? What about giving up? Negotiating or not? Judging which is the most beneficial for the Li Family is our responsibility," Lord Foshan said. "That is our purpose as the elder council."
"And in your opinion, what should we do?" his brother asked.
"There are four outcomes." He raised a finger. "The first is to fight and win. We would retake the capital, expel the Alzar Kingdom, and rebuild the Imperial Council. In doing so, we would become the new center of strength in the Xingyuu Empire. This would be our ideal outcome where we achieve every goal." He raised a second finger. "Next is to fight and lose. Our armies would get destroyed, and our lands would be laid bare. The kingdom could then focus their strength and force us into submission. That would be worst outcome, one where we lose the power to resist." A third finger. "As for giving up, that is another option. I doubt the people in Yongtein would want another fight. They might try and negotiate with us to end the war early. That was what Princess Elizabeth preached for: peace. In that case, we could find a way to preserve our power and authority. This outcome can either be good or bad. It depends on the people involved." The last finger. "Finally, we have the negotiations failing. The kingdom might try to scheme against us, but since we have our armies, we can defend our territories. Even if the Featherwind Sect or whomever makes a move, it would be costly to fight us. Like before, this outcome can either be good or bad. It depends on the situation."
"Then, should we fight?" the elders were confused.
"I didn't say that." Lord Foshan shook his head.
"Because we haven't considered the odds yet," Lord Fengji added. "If we choose to fight, the odds are three-to-seven, three in our favor, whereas our odds in negotiating are fifty-fifty. The first choice is the clear one. Whether we win or lose, the outcome is obvious. The problem lies with the second choice, because we can't predict what Princess Elizabeth or the Alzar Kingdom might do. We're effectively putting our lives… the lives of the entire Li Family in their hands."
"Fengji is right. Princess Elizabeth isn't the heir apparent anymore. And there's no guarantee that the new monarch, Queen Samanthie, will maintain the same attitude. It could be a dangerous gamble. That said… I do believe that negotiating would be in our best interests, since the alternative is that much more undesirable."
"But wouldn't we become the kingdom's dog?" someone cried.
"That's right! We'd be losing our independence!"
"How could we let that happen? I say we fight!"
"We have our own dignity and pride too!"
"Dignity? Pride? What use is that if we lose?" Lord Foshan scoffed. "Like Fengji said, if you have a plan to win, then let's hear it. Or what? Are you going to lead the army yourselves? I'll happily give command to anyone who volunteers. However, don't expect to return."
Lord Fengji snapped his fan shut and smiled. "Since no one has anything else to say, I assume we're in agreement? We'll begin the negotiations tomorrow. Let's hope they're trustworthy."