Light Speed ​​War

Chapter 159: Saving All Living Beings

Unification of the world has always been intertwined with war and casualties. War is merely a means of resolving conflicts between material and ideological forces; it redistributes and balances the interests of various organizations and classes, and fosters the integration of diverse ideologies. Throughout the history of Earth's empires, countless internal and external wars have continuously stimulated reforms and transformations in their politics, economy, culture, and technology, leading to a spiral of growth.

Peaceful unification of the world fundamentally violates the laws of nature, or rather, it violates the original design of the universe.

Zhou Yuan could have forcibly avoided a war between the two fleets, but after careful consideration, he decided against notifying the space fleet to avert the conflict.

Since the Southern Heavenly King has unified the world, peaceful unification may be possible with the intervention of the imperial fleet. However, such unification is too easy. If the empire withdraws, this superficial unification will easily collapse.

Although Zhou Yuan had a kind heart, he was not a benevolent person.

War, naval warfare, broke out in the blink of an eye as Zhou Yuan hesitated.

The vanguard of the ocean-going fleet had an extremely long range, and all the rockets hit the enemy ships. Some were embedded in the hull, while others struck the ship itself. Some rockets were quickly extinguished, but others that couldn't be extinguished ignited the ship's timbers, and the fire grew rapidly until it engulfed the entire vessel. More than a dozen warships were destroyed, and screams of agony filled the air. Many sailors and men jumped into the sea to swim back to safety, some were killed by arrows fired by their own side, and the rest clung to the wreckage, resigning themselves to their fate.

Although the enemy warships also fired rockets in retaliation, their range was insufficient, and none of those rockets hit the vanguard warships of the fleet.

The twenty vanguard warships moved forward a little further and fired several more volleys of rockets, burning and destroying another batch of enemy warships.

The enemy fleet suddenly shifted its formation, with two hundred small fast boats heading towards the vanguard warships. The vanguard warships remained stationary, firing two or three volleys of crossbow bolts. Smaller and larger warships quickly followed, with the smaller warships heading towards the enemy's small fast boats and the larger warships bringing up the rear.

Zhou Yuan gave the order, and the rest of the warships followed suit. The two hundred ships fought together, concentrating their firepower to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop.

A massive fleet of two hundred warships moved rapidly toward the enemy's formation. The sound of drums roused their morale, and a volley of rockets and crossbow bolts rained down, halting the enemy's advance. The two hundred warships continued their advance, using the superior range of their rockets and crossbow bolts to destroy many enemy ships.

The enemy fleet had no choice but to retreat quickly, while the ocean-going fleet continued to advance and catch up; the mainland was already in sight.

Zhou Yuan ordered the fleet to stop advancing. Everyone was puzzled, but they obeyed the order, and the ocean fleet continued to drift at sea.

Zhou Yuan and the civil and military officials urgently convened to discuss the matter.

"Gentlemen, we have won the first battle. However, our manpower and resources are limited. If we continue to fight on the sea and land, and fight across several continents, I'm afraid we won't be able to afford the losses."

Everyone looked at Zhou Yuan with strange expressions. In war, replenishing resources is all about "plundering," and in terms of manpower, it's all about "recruiting." Only by plundering can one sustain their own forces. Burning, killing, and looting are the hallmarks of war.

Zhou Yuan smiled and said, "Gentlemen, plundering can certainly replenish resources, but can you guarantee that you will be invincible in all continental battles? We do have a huge advantage in naval warfare, but we have no advantage in land warfare. Our supplies and personnel will be quickly depleted, and even if we plunder resources, we will probably be severely damaged by the enemy. What I mean is that we should achieve the greatest results with the least amount of resources and casualties."

"Marshal, your vision is truly remarkable. He who wins the hearts of the people wins the world. The Sakhalin continent may not be united. We can establish a kingdom near the coast of Sakhalin, win back the hearts of the people, and expand with this kingdom."

Zhou Yuan carefully examined the handsome general Cao Lei and thought to himself: "The 'Heavenly Book' says that I will assist the Southern Heavenly King in unifying the world. This 'world' is not a continent, but this planet. If that's the case, Sakhalin and other continents must be conquered. However, if, as Cao Lei said, we first establish a country and then slowly expand to other regions of the continent, and then to other continents, the whole process will take a long time. No, I should unify the world as quickly as possible."

Seeing Zhou Yuan deep in thought, the others did not disturb him.

Zhou Yuan raised his head. "General Cao, what you said is very good. But how long do you think it will take from landing to taking over the entire Sakhalin continent?"

"Huh?" Cao Lei and the other officials exclaimed in surprise.

"Marshal, do you mean to conquer the entire Sakhalin continent?" Cao Lei asked softly, thinking he had misheard.

"Yes. How long do you think it will take?"

"Marshal, in that case, I think it will take at least a hundred years."

“That’s too long.” Zhou Yuan frowned.

The crowd remained silent, considering a hundred years to be a short time.

Zhou Yuan couldn't help but sigh. Unifying the world, if done through conventional methods, would certainly be a long process. Did he really have to resort to the power of the empire?

Zhou Yuan thought through all the human civilizations he had come into contact with, and suddenly a word came to mind: "divine messenger".

The officials' anxiety subsided when they saw the smile on Zhou Yuan's face.

"Everyone, what are your views on religion?"

"Marshal, the army prohibits religious belief, but some civilians are religious. Should we invite some religious civilians over to ask them?"

"it is good."

A moment later, ten ordinary people, uncles and aunties, were led by guards to the Marshal's Hall.

After bowing to Zhou Yuan, an uncle said, "Sir, we all believe in the Ruolan religion."

"Oh, so do you know the doctrine?"

"My lord, our Ruolan sect advocates doing good deeds and accumulating virtue, maintaining self-control, doing good deeds and doing good things, without anger, resentment, arrogance, impatience, foolishness, or madness."

The other nine nodded slightly.

"Uncle, I have a question I'd like to ask you."

"Sir, please speak, I dare not presume to ask for your guidance."

Why didn't I see any young people?

"My lord, to tell you the truth, the Ruolan sect advocates charity and philanthropy, and is devoid of desire. How could young people be willing to do that?"

Zhou Yuan nodded. "Uncle, what are you after?"

"Sir, just for peace of mind," an older woman said bluntly. "Doing good deeds and accumulating merit is the hope that you will go to heaven after death and be reborn in a good place in the cycle of reincarnation."

"Heaven?" Zhou Yuan muttered to himself. "Thank you, uncles and aunties."

Zhou Yuan had money given to the ten middle-aged men and women, after which the guards took them away. Zhou Yuan continued his discussion with the officials.

“Alright, let’s go with Cao Lei’s suggestion. However, there are enemies ahead. Let’s walk along the coastline, find an estuary, go upstream, land, and establish a city to build a nation. Then we will establish the ‘Dujiao’ (Salvation Religion) to save all living beings.”

Building a city and establishing a nation is no simple task in a society with underdeveloped productivity and technology. Food, population, tools, and animal power all need to be considered. Currently, the ocean-going fleet lacks tools and animal power; ultimately, it requires advanced technology. Judging from the current situation, developing technology step by step will take considerable time, and Zhou Yuan doesn't have that patience.

Zhou Yuan thought to himself, since he would be appearing as a "divine messenger" anyway, he might as well use the Imperial Fleet to demonstrate the power of "gods" now.

The ocean-going fleet waited until nightfall, then quickly sailed along the coastline, arriving at a river mouth in the middle of the night. The fleet entered the river and sailed upstream.

Just as dawn was breaking, the officer on duty rushed in to report, "Marshal, a city has been discovered on the right bank of the river ahead, and there is also a port along the shore, but strangely, there is not a single person in sight."

Zhou Yuan chuckled inwardly. "Pass on my order to dispatch twenty elite cavalrymen to investigate."

"As ordered."

It wasn't until the afternoon that the twenty cavalrymen returned to report.

To everyone's surprise, the city was completely deserted, as if everyone had been evacuated due to some disaster or major event. This city was like a kingdom, possessing everything imaginable.

This city is situated in the center of a very open plain, with high mountains to the northwest, rich in forest resources, and a river to the southwest containing many mineral resources. The open plain is dotted with numerous rivers. It can truly be said that this is an ideal paradise on earth.

That evening, Zhou Yuan ordered the entire fleet to celebrate this major discovery. Everyone was overjoyed and loved Zhou Yuan, their "lucky star," even more.

In the morning, Zhou Yuan ordered the fleet to begin landing at the port.

Apart from some officers and soldiers who remained on the warships, the rest of the ocean-going fleet moved supplies from the ships to this city.

These people walked for a day but had not yet reached their destination, so they slept outdoors that night. They set off again the next morning and reached the edge of the city around noon.

The city was surrounded by long walls, with two moats outside the walls. The heavy, imposing city gates opened, seemingly welcoming Zhou Yuan and his companions to settle in.

Upon entering the city, everyone marveled at how advanced and luxurious it was, even more so than the capital city where the Southern Heavenly King resided, with its palace-like buildings gleaming with gold.

Zhou Yuan ordered the cavalry to quickly traverse various areas of the city, counting the buildings and drawing up a map.

That evening, Zhou Yuan and the officials devised a housing allocation plan, proceeding from the outside in: border guards on the city's outskirts, then civilians, then officials, then the imperial guards, with the largest and most luxurious palace in the city center naturally reserved for Zhou Yuan. This layout was very similar to that of the Southern Heavenly King's palace complex, so everyone agreed without objection and was overjoyed.

Zhou Yuan met with the officials overnight and, just like in the capital of the Southern Heavenly King, continued all the laws, regulations, reward and punishment systems, and the monarch-subject system of the Southern Heavenly King's capital.

Zhou Yuan instructed the officials to be diligent in their duties and manage their respective teams well.

After three days of adjustment and adaptation, the country was officially established.

Zhou Yuan declared himself king here.

A vigorous large-scale production and construction campaign was thus launched.

Using the surviving ancient texts, the Du Kingdom began to develop various sciences and engineering technologies, and also began to develop rapidly in military, science, culture, education, economy, agriculture, and animal husbandry.

First, naturally, came the manufacture of tools and weapons, and soon steelmaking workshops began to appear.

Inspired by the technological classics provided by the Imperial Fleet, the productivity of the Du Kingdom has made a miraculous leap.

Six months later, Zhou Yuan dispatched a small fleet back to Dadu (the capital of Nantianmen) to report the situation to the Southern Heavenly King. According to Zhou Yuan's plan, he would assist the Southern Heavenly King in unifying the world and the five continents within ten years. The Southern Heavenly King was naturally overjoyed and told the messenger that there was no need to rush the "Heavenly Book," as unifying the world was more important. He also instructed that Aya and Zhou Yuan marry as soon as possible.