Chapter 414 – When Heaven and Earth Join Forces!
The King of the White Elephant Kingdom shouted loudly, “Prime Minister Lin, the White Elephant is already a vassal state of the Great Wu, and I am considered a subject just like the ministers. We are inherently one. Why do you send troops to attack our country?”
“We have signed an alliance agreement. Are you planning to break your word and abandon the principles of both our nations? Will you act treacherously and disregard our honor? Such a breach of trust is not only a betrayal of us but of the entire world. How will people perceive you in the future?”
“In the future, which nation will be willing to submit to the Great Wu?” Lin Beifan sat atop his high horse and proclaimed, “The White Elephant’s words are a joke. We have not broken our word or violated our promises! On the contrary, this is our demonstration of honoring the alliance.”
Pointing at the 100,000 troops below the city wall, the King of the White Elephant Kingdom laughed angrily and taunted, “Is this your demonstration of honoring the alliance? Well done, indeed! You have already reached our doorstep! It’s like telling a bald donkey that he’s a monk. I have never seen such shameless audacity!”
In his final words, he poured out all his grievances and anger. The White Elephant’s officials and soldiers followed suit, roaring in outrage.
“You Great Wu, with your treacherous ways, have the audacity to attack us?”
“Even if you win, you will be infamous in the eyes of the world!”
“We will never surrender! We will resist to the end!”
“Evil cannot triumph over righteousness!”
Amidst the crowd’s reproaches, Lin Beifan remained calm and clapped his hands. “Present it!”
Two soldiers brought out a thick white cloth and slowly unfolded it, revealing countless bloody handprints.
It was a shocking sight that left everyone stunned.
“The King of the White Elephant Kingdom has acted unjustly, causing suffering to the people and making their lives unbearable! Therefore, a million White Elephant citizens have submitted a petition, requesting our country to send troops to overthrow the corrupt White Elephant court and restore peace to the land!”
“This is the petition from the White Elephant citizens! I have personally counted them, and there are a total of 1.12 million handprints on 940 pages. These are the cries of the White Elephant people in blood and tears!”
Lin Beifan spoke with righteous indignation, “As the paramount state of the White Elephant Kingdom, its citizens are also our citizens of the Great Wu! When the White Elephant people suffer, we cannot simply turn a blind eye! That’s why we’ve sent 100,000 troops to rescue the White Elephant citizens. This is our demonstration of honoring the alliance and our responsibility as a great nation!”
“That’s right! We have come to rescue the White Elephant citizens!”
“They have suffered injustice and oppression by the White Elephant court, so it is our duty to rescue them!”
“We are the champions of justice!”
“I advise you to open your city gates and surrender quickly!”
The morale of the Great Wu soared.
The White Elephant Kingdom’s officials, upon reading this petition, were so furious that they felt their bodies were about to burst into flames. Through gritted teeth, the King of the White Elephant Kingdom said, “These insolent commoners dare to stab me in the back! After this matter is resolved, I will make them pay!”
After a while, Lin Beifan shouted again, “King of the White Elephant, I advise you to open the gates and surrender quickly. There’s no point in struggling further! Remember, the righteous have many allies, but the unrighteous stand alone. You have lost your moral ground, and defeat is inevitable!”
The King of the White Elephant Kingdom glared at Lin Beifan, seething with anger.
You have the audacity to advise me to surrender?
Isn’t it your Great Wu that forced us into this situation? Demanding tribute from us within a deadline, threatening war if we didn’t comply.
Well, I complied, but you turned the tables on me! Your betrayal was deep and ruthless!
The King of the White Elephant Kingdom now realized that he had fallen for the schemes of the Great Wu court from beginning to end.
Initially, the Great Wu pretended to ally with them, pacifying the rebellion without harming a single person and taking away the troublemakers. This act of mercy earned them goodwill from the White Elephant citizens. However, after the incident, they pressured the White Elephant court to deliver tribute within a deadline, or face war. To pay tribute, they had to oppress their own people, sowing the seeds of discord.
As a result, chaos erupted in the White Elephant Kingdom again, and the Great Wu used the pretext of a million petitions to intervene in their affairs, aiming to overthrow their rule and save the people.
In the end, they wanted to annex the White Elephant Kingdom. From beginning to end, the Great Wu played the role of heroes while they were cast as villains!
It was a meticulous and cunning plan!
Incredibly devious and sly!
The more the King of the White Elephant Kingdom thought about it, the angrier and more indignant he became. He felt like a complete fool, realizing he had been manipulated all along!
“I won’t go down without a fight, and neither will you!” The King of the White Elephant Kingdom, in a fit of anger, exposed, “Lin Beifan, you ungrateful traitor, a sellout for personal gain! Do you all know where I obtained the technology for my air balloona? It was bought from Lin Beifan himself, at the cost of a million taels!”
Both armies erupted in commotion!
The King of the White Elephant Kingdom continued, “Do you all know where I got the technology for my hovercrafts? Once again, it was from Lin Beifan, bought at the cost of 1.2 million taels!” The armies were in uproar again!
“Do you all know how much money Lin Beifan has greedily taken from me over these years? Let me tell you, it’s no less than 5 million taels!” The armies erupted in commotion for the third time!
The King of the White Elephant roared in anger, “Lin Beifan, you insatiable traitor, selling out your country for personal gain! You’ve consumed so much wealth, betraying not only the Great Wu but also me! Everyone has the right to confront me, except you!”
Both armies were shaken to their cores, especially the Great Wu’s forces. They never imagined that their most revered Supreme Commander would engage in such treacherous acts.
They suddenly felt a sense of shattered faith, and the army’s morale began to waver. Lin Beifan’s expression remained remarkably composed, but the accompanying generals were uneasy.
General Zhao pointed his spear at the White Elephant King on the city wall and shouted, “Stop! Don’t defame Supreme Commander! He has always been loyal to the country and the people, how can he collude with you for personal gain? King of the White Elephant, you clearly intend to deceive and weaken the military’s resolve. Don’t be fooled, everyone!”
“That’s right!” Lin Beifan clapped and laughed, “The King of the White Elephant clearly intends to use deceit to manipulate us and shake our resolve. Don’t fall for it, everyone! But I must say, King of the White Elephant, your tactics are truly despicable!”
“The entire Great Wu knows that I have been wholeheartedly loyal to Her Majesty and the Great Wu! It was me who invented the airships, hovercrafts, cement as a construction material, and high-yield Taiping rice, all of which have contributed to the prosperity of the Great Wu!”
“It was me who led the troops to pacify the Three Rebellious Kings, ending more than two decades of internal strife! At the same time, I led the army to repel external enemies, the forces of Dayue and Great Xia, protecting our homeland!”
“It was me who expanded our territory and incorporated the Darro Kingdom into the Great Wu’s territory!”
“It was me who oversaw the government, reversing the decline of the Great Wu!”
“I have done so much for the Great Wu, to the point of exhausting my efforts and intellect. That’s why Her Majesty continuously promoted me, granting me the title of ‘Loyal and Brave King.’ This is recognition of my loyalty!”
Lin Beifan lifted his head, pointing to his heart, and said with deep emotion, “King of the White Elephant, you can tarnish my reputation, but you cannot stain my loyalty!”
Everyone found his words compelling. Indeed, their Supreme Commander Lin Beifan had done many good deeds for the country and its people, which were visible to all.
For instance, during the once-in-a-century ice disaster, if it weren’t for Lin Beifan’s nationwide deployment, the construction of shelters with centralized heating, and other measures, who knows how many lives would have been lost? People across the country owed Lin Beifan a heartfelt “thank you.”
As a result, the army’s morale began to stabilize.
However, the King of the White Elephant was furious!
This was truly a shameless individual who twisted right and wrong! He clearly took so much wealth from me, and now he claims to be loyal?
It was simply outrageous!
The King of the White Elephant seethed with anger!
His eyes glared like bull’s eyes, red and fiery, as if he wanted to blow up Lin Beifan!
However, he didn’t say much more because he knew that words wouldn’t make a difference now. The other side was incredibly cunning, and their hidden agenda was deeply entrenched. Ordinary evidence wouldn’t shake them.
Now, there was only one path left!
The King of the White Elephant Kingdom drew his sword and shouted loudly, “Soldiers, the Great Wu has betrayed its promises and launched an unjust war against us, violating our alliance! Although we are weaker in strength, we will not go down without a fight!”
“Soldiers, follow me and wield your swords!”
“Kill! Kill!…”
The White Elephant army followed with a thunderous roar.
“Supreme Commander, let’s join the battle and make a name for ourselves!” The generals by Lin Beifan’s side were eager for action.
Lin Beifan smiled and shook his head, “Wait, it’s not the right time yet.”
“What do you mean by the right time?” someone asked.
Lin Beifan’s ears twitched slightly, and he said, “The timing is now right; they’ve arrived.”
Just then, within the White Elephant Kingdom, there was a deafening noise.
“The Prime Minister has arrived; our good days are coming!”
“I’ve been waiting for this day for so long; we finally see hope!”
“Let’s open the city gates and welcome the Prime Minister!”
“Open the gates and receive the Prime Minister!”
These voices came from all directions.
The King of the White Elephant turned to look, his face turning pale. Because he saw a dense crowd converging toward them.
Although most of them were holding hoes, shovels, or wooden sticks they had picked up at random, and they weren’t wearing armor, most of them looked emaciated and didn’t seem like a significant threat individually.
However, when this group of people gathered into a million-strong army, it became truly terrifying.
The King of the White Elephant Kingdom grabbed a nearby officer and asked, “What’s going on?”
The officer was drenched in sweat and stammered, “I… I don’t know!”
“How can you not know when such a significant event is happening? What use are you?” The King of the White Elephant immediately raised his sword and beheaded the officer, and a bloody head fell from the city wall.
Then, the King of the White Elephant questioned several more people, but none could provide an answer.
As a result, several more heads fell to the ground.
At this moment, another deafening battle cry resounded.
“We’re coming too!”
“We are also the citizens of the White Elephant Kingdom; it’s our duty to overthrow the king’s tyranny!”
“The king has followed the wrong path, and we must topple him!”
“Quickly open the city gates and welcome the Prime Minister into the city!”
Surprisingly, these voices came from the side of the Great Wu.
It turned out that the White Elephant Kingdom citizens who were cultivating and farming in the western territories of the Great Wu had also come to support Lin Beifan.
The King of the White Elephant looked in that direction, and his face became even paler. His legs trembled with fear.
