Chapter Thirty-Five: Alliance

After the collapse of the English Empire's feudal system, the faction led by the Earl of Glamorgan insisted on eradicating the remaining feudal forces of the Norman family. Meanwhile, other capitalists, demoralized by previous crushing defeats, had no interest in continuing the war. The newly formed English Capitalist Parliament wasted time in endless bickering. War-weary members of parliament continuously squandered gold in pursuit of greater national authority, while the more powerful Earl of Glamorgan’s faction kept reorganizing their army, intent on rooting out the Norman family to wash away their previous shame.

Victoria watched as the situation in the English Empire grew dire, realizing that the Norman family alone was beyond saving. Once the Earl of Glamorgan reorganized his internal affairs and trained a new grand army, the isolated Norman family would be unable to withstand a faction backed by the entire empire. In her desperation, the first person Victoria thought of was Sun Li, the man who had deceived her—or rather, the current Emperor of the Song Empire.

If Victoria were to choose someone to surrender to, she would not hesitate to choose Sun Li. She understood him well enough: a dictator with immense ambition, yet one who was sentimental, or perhaps, possessed a shred of human warmth. As the English civil war reached a stalemate, Victoria’s messenger crossed the ocean and arrived in the Mexico region.

After unifying the Golden State, Sun Li, through plundering the wealth of former colonists and mining gold, had finally filled his quota of 100,000 troops. With the army quota met, he began recruiting civilians in large numbers. He needed these system-generated civilians to serve as second-line troops, ensuring stable control over the Golden State’s gold mines while he led his main forces away, providing a steady stream of soldiers to support his war of attrition on the European continent. He knew full well that the easy battles he had fought in the Golden State would likely be a thing of the past in Europe.

Just as Sun Li was organizing his troops and arranging for militia to take over the territory, Victoria’s messenger arrived. Looking at Victoria’s elegant handwriting, Sun Li’s thoughts drifted back to the time he had spent with that perceptive young woman. Setting aside status and position, Victoria was truly the only confidante Sun Li had in this world. While Su Yunyun and Su Lulu represented pure affection and love, Sun Li felt no carnal desire for Victoria. Yet, he had to admit that being with her always made him feel… at ease.

Indeed, it was ease. Every word and action of hers made Sun Li feel perfectly in tune—or perhaps, just right. He had once resolved that even if the English Empire were to fall, he would not make things difficult for Victoria; bestowing upon her a life of luxury would be the least he could do to repay her kindness. There were truly few people in this world who could walk into the heart of a dictator like Sun Li.

"Oh, a revolution in the English Empire? The Emperor on the guillotine? If your Norman family wants the help of the Great Song, what are you prepared to offer? Believe me, I am just as aware of the situation in England as you are," Sun Li said casually to the Norman messenger.

Victoria understood Sun Li’s bottom line perfectly. For the Norman family to dream of hegemony or status at this point would be a joke. Her only goal was the survival of her family. After the bloody battles against the revolutionary army, she knew there was little time left.

"Our Norman family is willing to submit to the rule of the Great Song. If His Majesty does not mind, the previous marriage contract between the family head and His Majesty shall be fulfilled as planned. The Norman family is willing to support you forever as your vassal! We only ask for your mercy to grant our members and subjects the status of first-class citizens of the Song Empire. For this, the Norman family will be eternally grateful and will serve the Song Empire for generations to come!"

Listening to the messenger, Sun Li had to admit the offer was quite tempting. The temptation was not just having another beautiful confidante as a wife, but the total submission of the Norman family itself. With a native European power like the Normans on his side, the Song Empire’s war in Europe would proceed much more smoothly. If nothing else, a secure landing zone was enough to move him.

With the Song Empire on the rise, there were no friendly Wood Elves on the European continent to help him invade their homeland. Sun Li easily deduced that if the Song army landed anywhere in Europe, they would face a joint assault from all factions unless they had a secure logistics base and local support. Could he rely on hundreds of transport ships to sustain a war across an ocean? Setting aside whether they could withstand a united European front after landing, the harassment of his supply lines alone would cause the Song logistics system to collapse.

Sun Li had originally planned to use his "Against-the-Heavens" system to seize a landing point by force. The best site would have been the decaying Madrid Empire, but unfortunately, it had transformed into the militaristic Germanic Republic. Looking left and right, every viable landing spot in Europe required facing a massive power; the moment his troops stepped onto the land, they would be met by tens of thousands of elite soldiers from a major empire. These were not the second-line troops or rioting mobs of the Golden State, but veterans tempered by the fires of European warfare, possessing tactics and weapons on par with his own. This was confirmed by intelligence from his Imperial Guard.

In short, while his 100,000 troops still held an edge in willpower and loyalty, the technical gaps had nearly closed. England, the largest island off the continent, was undoubtedly the most convenient place to land. Even though the interim government claimed to have 200,000 revolutionary troops, everyone knew their quality; in Sun Li’s eyes, they were little better than the armed civilians of the Golden State. Those who could actually fight had already been broken by the Norman cavalry in the civil war. Otherwise, would the Earl of Glamorgan have allowed Victoria to enjoy comfort in her castle?

Victoria’s olive branch had arrived at the perfect time. Just as Sun Li was struggling to find an entry point on the European map, Victoria offered herself and her family, solving all his problems at once. What a harmonious alliance—everyone benefited. Moreover, Victoria had humbled herself so much it was practically selling herself. How could Sun Li refuse such a delicious prize? Not to mention, it was a "buy one, get one free" deal.

He actually cared for this perceptive girl; it would be a shame if she were ruined by that disgusting old man, the Earl of Glamorgan. Therefore, it was better to join forces and finish off the Earl and his bourgeois parliament.

Bourgeois revolution—the name itself sounded discordant and unpleasant. As a youth raised under the red flag, Sun Li felt he had a duty to eradicate the evils of capitalism from this world. Rooting it out while it was still in its infancy was the best choice. Sun Li hated trouble, as evidenced by his usual methods of killing and suppression when governing indigenous populations.

Sun Li gave Victoria’s messenger "ambassadorial" treatment—a term only he understood. He happily accepted the Norman family’s surrender. Subsequently, the messenger and the Song Empire’s secret agents maintained frequent contact, and Sun Li moved the Song capital to the Mexico region to better facilitate the invasion of Europe. The original capital was demoted to a mere secondary capital, which Sun Li intended to keep that way forever.

Admiral Fu Manduo led his ten ironclad warships to dock at the Norman family’s port, occasionally venturing out to strike down the navy of any nation that dared to challenge the authority of the Song. After one engagement, the Dwarf Empire’s navy realized they were outmatched in both quantity and quality; having lost most of their fleet, they no longer dared to provoke the Song’s naval supremacy in Europe. Having a local ally was truly wonderful; without the supplies provided by the Norman family, the Song navy would never have dared to fight a war so far from home.

This was the first benefit of Sun Li’s alliance with Victoria. With the seas secured, Sun Li began preparations for the landing operation, leaving the entire European continent in a state of panic once more.