Chapter Forty-Two: Where Should We Make Landfall?

Thus, in high spirits and with Victoria’s cooperation, Sun Li launched an attack on a nation whose influence on the European continent had already fallen to second-rate status. He had expected the battle to be easy, yet suffered a minor setback at the hands of the “people,” whom he had previously regarded with complete indifference.

For the first time, after paying a heavy price, Sun Li opened his eyes and looked down upon the lowly native commoners of this world. Slapping his forehead, he exclaimed, “Oh. The people of this world aren’t so weak after all.”

And the consequence of that slap was that, for the first time during his campaigns in Europa, Sun Li failed to fully implement the human hierarchy system!

Having abandoned the hierarchy system, Sun Li initially assumed that the people would lose their hostility and instead rally behind him. After all, he had given these commoners food to eat, hadn’t he?

However, the indifferent attitude of the commoners, as reported by the Brocade Guards, caused Sun Li to soften his oppressive policies toward the Song State—slightly. Yes, only slightly. At that point, the people’s revolts were merely an inconvenience in Sun Li’s eyes, not yet serious enough to threaten his foundations. As for what would happen later… Sun Li was a man who found it difficult to change his mind unless he suffered a loss.

After Sun Li tried his very best to win back the people’s support and failed…

He had no choice but to abandon that unrealistic idea. It seemed that some of his previous actions had indeed made him look like a butcher. His manner of devouring everything had been far too ugly, and the consequences were considerable…

Like someone hastily repairing a fence after losing a sheep, Sun Li strengthened the Propaganda Department and spent lavishly to recruit talented individuals who understood the importance of propaganda. Unfortunately, the Imperial System’s primary functions were slaughter, warfare, and conquest. Its ability to placate the people could only be described as mediocre…

Once he had confirmed that the English had work to do and were no longer thinking about rebellion all day long, Sun Li began planning the landing on the European continent.

At first, he intended to hear the opinions of his generals. However, after convening a military council to discuss the matter, he discovered a problem he had previously overlooked.

The generals recruited by the Song State were indeed outstanding in loyalty, tactical command, and fighting spirit. Yet whenever the discussion touched upon broad strategic direction, they became completely lacking in initiative. After discussing the matter for half a day, Sun Li obtained the following opinion from his assembled commanders:

From a military perspective, considering the Song State’s strength, landing on the Isilia Peninsula of the German Republic or in the Fonibo region occupied by the Dwarf Empire would make little difference. Therefore, wherever His Majesty the Emperor chose to land was where they would land…

They considered only whether the Song State’s military forces could reach a given location. Political concerns, spheres of influence, enemy dispositions, and all other factors were entirely beyond their consideration. To these generals, as long as the enemy was not so powerful that even one hundred thousand Song troops would be crushed, and as long as Song logistics could keep up, there was no problem at all.

If the enemy was strong, they would simply suffer more casualties. If the enemy was weak, they would take advantage of the situation…

Within the Song army, death was not frightening. So long as victory was achieved, they cared nothing for the price.

All right, in truth, any leader would know that, departing from the English Isles, there were only two possible landing sites.

But the purpose of Sun Li’s meeting was to find the option that would require the least effort—not to receive an attitude from his generals that amounted to, “The boss can decide everything”!

“Little White, doesn’t the system have any strategic masters? It doesn’t matter if they’re expensive. Recruit a few and have them help me.” With his head aching, Sun Li could only turn his attention to recruitment.

“The system has no personnel suited to that field. That is precisely why the system cannot exist independently and must bind itself to a host! Aside from providing a brain capable of independently thinking and deciding strategic direction, can you think of anything else the Imperial System needs to rely on you for? As the leader recognized by the system, your duty is to decide whom to fight, where to attack, and whom to ally with. The system is responsible for increasing your strength, providing you with subordinates to plan how to fight, helping you govern the territories you occupy, and, once you unify the entire plane, granting you ample rewards!”

Little White spoke with undisguised contempt. In his view, if a leader could not even decide the general direction himself, what use was he? Even if the decision turned out to be wrong, with the system’s assistance, was there any reason to fear that he could not rise again?

“Uh… The system isn’t omnipotent. From what you’re saying, are the system and I actually partners? If I fail, will the system go find someone else to bind itself to?” Sun Li asked anxiously. Everything he possessed was built upon the system’s support.

“That is correct. Nothing in this world is given without reason. In order to devour the resources of a plane, the Imperial System must have a leader to direct the slaughter and conquest of that plane. That, too, is something the system seeks. After all, the system possesses no intelligence and cannot decide how to attack—or even whom to attack.

“But you can rest assured. The system’s binding is lifelong. A soul-binding of this kind is not easily accomplished. The system has effectively merged with your soul, and only then can it communicate with you through consciousness. Communication through consciousness is no simple matter. Apart from the fusion of two souls, only divine power can achieve it. The Imperial System is obviously far weaker than the power of a god. In fact, the system does not even possess a consciousness of its own. Its selection of a host is driven purely by instinct.

“The system’s instinct is to conquer and devour the resources of planes. To do so, it needs to wage war against the natives of those planes. War requires a leader, and thus it binds itself to a host.

“As for me, the system assistant, I was created after the system fused with the host’s soul. I am an intellectual auxiliary system shaped according to the host’s mental capacity. You could say that, in essence, there is no difference between your soul and mine. I merely possess some basic knowledge supplied by the system that you do not.

“So you can boldly expand and conquer without worry. Whether you succeed or fail, the system will always remain with you. Your destruction would mean the system’s end. From the moment of fusion, our fates became inseparably intertwined. When one prospers, both prosper; when one suffers, both suffer!

“After the host conquers a plane, the system will obtain benefits such as the plane’s origin, things beyond your comprehension. In return, the host will gain lifespan, strength, influence, wealth, authority, and everything else that human beings desire. So follow your own ideas and act boldly. The Imperial System will always be your strongest support!”

Little White continued at length, without the slightest trace of sorrow over being merely a supporting character. Perhaps he truly was nothing more than a fragment of the system—a program copied from Sun Li’s soul.

But even if Sun Li’s wariness toward the system had diminished, he had made no progress whatsoever on the question of where to land!

Sun Li knew that in future campaigns, he could no longer plunder as ruthlessly as he had on the English Isles. The sudden elimination of the ruling class would cause severe economic and political consequences in the occupied territories. Sun Li could fill the political vacuum, but economically, how could the Song State, which lacked local connections and resources, establish itself deep within the occupied regions?

It would not take much. Just a few months of economic stagnation, severe disruptions to people’s lives, unemployment, idleness, and the closure of shops—under the leadership of anyone with ulterior motives, such conditions would be enough to ignite a massive peasant uprising!

By then, no matter how powerful Sun Li’s army was, it would spend every day rushing back and forth between cities to suppress riots. The Song army was strong, but compared with the population of more than one hundred million on the European continent, Sun Li decided it would be better not to provoke anything resembling a people’s war.

This led to a serious consequence: in future wars, Sun Li could no longer slaughter the fattened pigs without reason. After the Song State occupied new territory, its income in gold and resources would therefore become limited. If the army consumed too much, it might once again fall into an economic crisis.

At that point, Sun Li would have no choice but to halt his expansion and slowly recover through the output of his gold mines.

But would those nations Sun Li had already beaten bloody—or was about to beat bloody—simply sit by and watch the Song State regain its strength?

The answer was obvious.

Having become a public enemy, Sun Li might well be driven back into the sea if his losses were too great for him to replenish his army. Once the enemies who had witnessed the terror of the Song State sensed its weakness, they would attack in a massed assault. Just as Europe had refused to let Napoleon recover after his failed expedition, the nations of the continent that had experienced the Song State’s horror would never agree to stop fighting until Sun Li had been beaten so thoroughly that he could never rise again.

Of course, that was the worst-case scenario. At present, the Song State still possessed abundant gold and resources. Even if all one hundred thousand soldiers died, another hundred thousand could be raised. But if those soldiers died as well…

Sun Li would be completely stripped bare!

Well, he still had several hundred thousand local garrison troops. But Sun Li did not believe that armies formed from system-generated commoners could match the combat strength of one hundred thousand regular soldiers.

Of course, this was merely a possibility. Things might not become so serious. But Sun Li did not want to take even the slightest chance.

Therefore, in the battles ahead, Sun Li hoped that his army would no longer suffer massive casualties. At the very least, he did not want his forces to be crippled immediately after landing.

Naturally, the choice of landing site was of enormous importance. What gave Sun Li a headache was that no one could help him decide this crucial matter. He could only choose a location himself, as though gambling on a map.

All right, Sun Li had actually formed an opinion long ago. He felt that landing in the German Republic would be preferable. In terms of troop numbers, the one hundred thousand German Guards were no match for the Dwarf Empire’s nearly two hundred thousand soldiers.

Sun Li simply ignored the German Republic’s several hundred thousand second-line troops. He held the second-line forces of every European nation in utter contempt.

In terms of equipment, the German Republic possessed no more than fifty artillery pieces, and not one of them fired explosive shells. At present, only the Dwarf Empire possessed that devastating weapon. Such a technological secret would naturally never be disclosed to so-called allies.

As for fighting spirit… Well, Sun Li admitted that this was the only factor in which the German Republic could stand alongside the Dwarf Empire’s regular army.

Holding intelligence reports on every nation supplied by the Brocade Guards, Sun Li felt that the German Republic looked somewhat easier to bully.

However, after speaking with Victoria, Sun Li changed his mind.