Faced with the request from Su Shuang and He Juntu to raise the banner of rebellion, Wang Hu firmly stated it was impossible.
After a stalemate, the two men saw that they couldn't persuade the resolute Wang Hu.
They had no choice but to shake their heads helplessly and give up, deeply sighing over Wang Hu's decision to abandon such a golden opportunity.
Watching Wang Hu go off on his own to communicate with the people, urging them to leave quickly and, if possible, flee the area—
to lay low for a while and return only when the situation had calmed down—
what He Juntu truly thought remained unknown, but Su Shuang increasingly felt that Wang Hu was a man worth following.
Someone who always kept the common people in his heart, not just paying lip service.
Abandoning immediate gains to strive for genuine, transformative change.
Such a grand undertaking!
Just thinking about it, Su Shuang grew excited at the prospect of dedicating himself to such a great cause.
Soon after, Su Shuang became dizzy with thoughts of what lay ahead, as he needed to make preparations for the future.
First, he had to arrange matters for those unrelated, and handle his own assets properly.
He needed to withdraw as much funds as possible without affecting the remaining personnel.
The wealth of the immensely rich Su family was troublesome to manage.
"How many times have you tried to incite Wang Hu now?"
Zhang Hong, who had approached He Juntu and noticed his thoughtful expression, frowned and asked.
"You know the situation on our side. Under the influence of the Neutron Jammer, Guo Jia is rebuilding, and efforts to support the Breaking Ball World are underway. If we have to divert attention here too—"
"If our forces become too spread out, we might end up with no usable troops ourselves. One wrong move and we lose everything."
"Even if we capture Little Yellow Bottom, will the opposition really obey just because we hold it?"
"Don't forget, those in the Indian Subcontinent have been wanting to break away, and the Indochina Peninsula has fallen into the hands of the Britannian Empire."
"If the Chinese mainland descends into civil war, it would collapse in an instant."
"No matter how brave I am, two fists can't fight off four hands. Surrounded by wolves, we'd become the villains."
"Then it would be our turn—CE East Asian Alliance—to have no usable troops. And just holding onto the little emperor—"
"whether Homeworld would recognize the edicts of this puppet child emperor and lift the restrictions on East Asian troops deploying here is still unknown."
"I understand." In response to Zhang Hong's question, He Juntu smiled and said.
"CE East Asian Alliance's full support for the East Asian region in the Breaking Ball World is the limit. Any more would burden the Homeland."
"But I just wanted to see if this Wang Hu, the imperial uncle before us, is worth my sincere assistance."
"As the saying goes, when in Rome, do as the Romans do. I have to test him, don't I?"
"Moreover, according to this world's customs, it's quite possible that Wang Hu here might one day sit on that imperial throne."
"If we don't investigate thoroughly beforehand, how can we dare to invest fully?"
"You don't trust Captain Wang Hu?"
Zhang Hong felt that with Captain Wang Hu's guarantee, why complicate things?
A test?
Human hearts can change when tested too often.
Let's hope this doesn't backfire.
Besides, who was it that previously expressed confidence in him? There's no need to flip positions so quickly.
"Becoming the Illustrious Emperor isn't easy, and the other position is even harder."
"Throughout history, there have been countless figures resembling the Illustrious Emperor, but there's only one true original in the annals."
"Just think - isn't this world's China Federation essentially an enhanced version of an imperial dynasty? If he truly wants to reach that position, he has a long and arduous road ahead."
With a meaningful smile, He Juntu walked toward the manor.
"The Illustrious Emperor? The other position?"
Watching his colleague depart, Zhang Hong turned his gaze to Wang Hu, who was being cheered by the masses.
"Could this be what they call 'when in Rome, do as the Romans do'?"
Muttering to himself, Zhang Hong thought He Juntu might have gone mad.
Just because they came to this world didn't mean they had to reenact the Three Kingdoms drama.
What's with playing the role of a minister choosing his lord here!
Meanwhile, although the China Federation in Lelouch's world presented a rather fantastical overall image, with thatched cottages commonly seen in previous scenes...
It possessed all the trappings of a modern society.
Thus, the events at Zhang Changbao's location quickly reached the Vermilion Forbidden City.
After all, Zhu Yuanhao's earlier miscalculation - lifting a rock only to drop it on his own feet by allowing civilian live streams and journalist interviews -
Had already stirred up quite the controversy online.
"Worthless."
Though the China Federation had an emperor who claimed to be the Son of Heaven symbolized by the dragon, there existed within the Vermilion Forbidden City a conference room called the Biting Dragon Chamber.
From this room whose name betrayed clear insubordination, the Ten Attendants gathered for discussion.
"Cheng Zhong, what's the use of cursing here?"
Lifting his eyelids, Cai Lishi of the Ten Attendants continued filing his nails.
"Zhang Changbao that useless fool is already dead. We should focus on what comes next."
"What comes next?" Whipping his head around, Cheng Zhong - who had cursed first - appeared defeated.
Pointing at the television mounted on the conference room wall, he indicated the Mk-II Gundam that fought like one against thousands:
"Didn't you see that thing? Impervious to blades, armed with beam weapons - do you even understand?"
"Anti-Knightmare Rifles are completely useless against it."
"If the rebel Wang Hu raises his banner now, what do we have to stop him?"
"If he wanted to rebel, he would have done so already." Unmoved by Cheng Zhong's anxiety, Cai Lishi spoke leisurely.
"Such mobile suits aren't built overnight. Wang Hu must have manufactured them long ago."
"Since he didn't rebel when Zhu Yuanhao exposed the Thirty-Six Banners, he won't rebel easily now either."
"In my opinion, let the tall bear the sky - others can see what you see."
"What do you mean?"
Like a fierce beast trapped in a cage, Cheng Zhong looked from Cai Lishi to his composed colleagues.
"Britannia." Examining his freshly polished nails with satisfaction, Cai Lishi seemed quite pleased with his handiwork.
"Back in the day, I earned the late emperor's and empress dowager's favor precisely with this skill."
Hearing this, Cheng Zhong - who had been waiting for the crucial point - felt blood rush to his head, staring at Cai Lishi who had left his statement half-finished.
"He said fiercely, 'Old Cai, if you're being deliberately mysterious, don't blame me for being impolite.'
'You, you...' Cai Lishi looked at his old friend who couldn't take a joke, then glanced around at his colleagues who remained silent.
'That 20-meter tall humanoid robot - have any of you heard of any country possessing such technology?'
'Our own Academy of Sciences is still in the demonstration phase for beam weapons, with the experimental unit God Tiger currently under construction.'
'Although our situation hasn't been great these past few years, if we scrape together what we have, we can still muster some scrap metal.'
'The Britannia across the sea is stronger than us, but exactly how much stronger remains unknown.'
'This suddenly appearing robot from Wang Hu's side - do you think our curly-haired neighbor with the yellow bottom wouldn't be at all interested?'
'Don't forget, we have something even better up here. There's no way he wouldn't covet it.'
'This...' Cheng Zhong seemed to understand something as he rubbed his hands together.
Carefully looking around, he lowered his voice several degrees. 'Should we offer Little Yellow Bottom as a gift?'
'Don't be hasty, Old Cheng. Be patient.' Cai Lishi comforted while propping his chin.
'We've borne enough criticism already. While we hold these positions...'
'Everyone says the world has become like this because of us, as if even stones falling from the sky are sins we brought.'
'But gentlemen present here, who doesn't know the real situation of this world?'
'We've manipulated power, but haven't they been doing the same?'
'When it comes to oppressing the people, they're the real experts!'
Raising a thumb, Cai Lishi waved it before everyone.
'Do you think those people might panic?'
'Besides, offering the young emperor as a gift - you dare say it, Old Cheng, but I don't dare listen!'
'Ah!' Seeing Cai Lishi digress further, Cheng Zhong pressed impatiently. 'What exactly do you want to say? Just say it! This is maddening.'
'Let's focus on our duties. Some matters might make us anxious, but others might be even more anxious than us.'
While speaking, Cai Lishi's eyes fixed on Zhao Hao, the leader of their Ten Attendants.
And Zhao Hao? He was staring at Xia Wang seated to his left.
'Xia Wang, what's your opinion?'
Finally, with Zhao Hao's question, the real meat of the matter was placed on the table.
The Chinese Federation had experienced ninety-nine emperors. Under millennia of authority, it would be impossible to have raised only treacherous officials.
Hadn't they seen? Even Lelouch in the future world still kept and cared for a little loli.
Treating that white-haired loli as a mascot.
Therefore, it wasn't surprising that among the Ten Attendants, there were some who, despite manipulating power, still leaned toward the emperor.
Like Xia Wang before them, and Gao Hai beside Xia Wang.
'We can have subordinates deal with Wang Hu. We shouldn't handle everything ourselves.'
Xia Wang glanced at the silent Gao Hai beside him and spoke slowly.
'We must remain vigilant against the Britannian Empire's wolfish ambitions. Inviting them in would be like asking a tiger for its skin.'
'Alright, we'll proceed as Xia Wang suggests.' Zhao Hao's eyes flickered before he stood and left the room.
Following Zhao Hao's departure, the other Attendants gradually left too, until only Xia Wang and Gao Hai remained in the room."
"Gao Hai." After everyone had left, Xia Wang said in a low voice.
"Tell your people to be careful. That Li Xingke and Wang Hu are getting too close."
"His Majesty is still young. Don't drive a tiger to swallow a wolf, only to end up feeding yourself to the tiger."
"Don't worry." Hearing Xia Wang mention Li Xingke, Gao Hai's eyelids twitched slightly.
Thinking of the scruffy child he had adopted many years ago, now a pillar of the military, how could Gao Hai not know that Xia Wang's well-intentioned warning might very well come true in the future?
In the eyes of others, he was still a damned eunuch, a traitor to the state whom everyone wanted dead.
"What about Wang Hu?"
Changing the subject, Gao Hai asked.
"We wanted to use Wang Hu as a blade to strike at those regional warlords, relying on his power to gradually reclaim the authority that has grown too unwieldy in their hands."
"Now, with the blade pressed against his neck, he remains unmoved and has stirred up all this trouble."
"It's fine." Xia Wang waved his hand and said with a deep tone.
"Stay calm. There's one thing Zhao Hao is right about."
"Wang Hu keeps talking about overthrowing the heavens and changing the earth, but the heavens and earth he wants to change aren't just ours alone."
"Sooner or later, those regional warlords won't be able to sit still. Let them fight among themselves first, while we watch from the sidelines."
Locked in the dark room again, made some changes, not sure if it'll pass.
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