I Became the Crown Prince of a Ruined Country

104 – Reunion

Jung was more courageous than him.

And even more emotions piled up.

“Did you look around the world a lot?”

“…Well.”

“So you’re thinking of delaying the answer again?”

Answer.

Yes. I had to answer Jung.

The day we broke up in Handan.

Jung left me with one last problem.

I have yet to come up with an answer to the question that immediately choked my throat.

“Yes.”

But it was different from the time when I couldn’t think of any argument.

Unlike before, when I just postponed the answer with silence, I added a clue.

“But it won’t be long.”

“…Did you see something in the Joint Army?”

“I saw it. And I felt it myself.”

“I don’t know what I saw or felt, but I’ll tell you it’s all fantasy.”

Jung said coldly.

As if declaring the truth calmly, not out of personal feelings such as disappointment or anger.

“As for the combination, in the end, it’s no different than a palace built on sand.”

For the first time, Jung looked at someone other than himself and said.

“All nations unite to stop the Qin Dynasty? Impossible. This incident is just a coincidence. It relied on the coincidence that that woman was there.”

There is no loyalty between countries. Agreement on a cause? That is possible only because of the glue called Shinneunggun.

The reason why it is difficult to refute Jung’s sharp criticism is that the behavior of the nations has been like that.

Is Qin strong? Something to know The benefits are right in front of my eyes.

With that way of thinking, nations have been fighting.

The Qin Dynasty instigated it and developed the power to devour the world while Jungwon was in chaos.

Look. Despite the merger, Qi did not participate. It was because it seemed more advantageous to remain as an ally of Jin than to join the Hapjong Army.

In the end, we won, but even though the five countries called Chilwoong, which dominate the country, gathered, we were not even able to reach a single strength.

400,000 Mobilized by the Qin Dynasty. In comparison, the size of the joint army was less than 250,000, let alone 300,000, even with Taewon’s attention.

Of course, not all nations have done their best, but how many will there be? Excluding Qi, it would be 600,000 at most. That is a number that is only possible when disregarding the defense of one’s own country and pouring everything into the joint army.

On the other hand, the Qin Dynasty alone can achieve 600,000 people. Just like King Jin So-yang did in the Battle of Jangpyeong, if he gathered the defense forces of Hamyang, the capital, all together.

“In other words, it also means that if there is only one focal point, the Qin Dynasty can be stopped forever.”

Gong Son-yeon. Blind army. Exhaustion. Shinneung-gun.

As long as there was an existence that could unite the nations, even the Qin Dynasty could not display its spirit.

This is why the sum of the nations is still marginally superior to that of Qin.

The Daogangeon created by King Jinsoyang will make it possible to catch up even in the near future, but even the nations do not sit still.

‘The enormous amount of steel produced by waterwheels and super-strong methods can block even the waterways of the riverbanks.’

If Qin wants to ride the waterway of the Daogang River and come to Central Plain, I will build a steel dam in front of it.

Why did steel dominate the era?

Why did the Age of Bronze lose its hegemony to the Age of Iron?

That’s because steel is far more versatile.

Iron is easy to process. Casting and forging boasts overwhelming efficiency compared to bronze.

Even though there are no bronze farming tools, there are iron farming tools.

Dao Jiangyan’s productivity increase? It’s enough to supply iron farming tools here.

Strong fighting power of the Qin Dynasty? If iron weapons were wrapped in iron armor, perhaps one soldier from all nations would catch two soldiers from Qin?

Time is never on the side of Qin alone.

Time was everyone’s ally, and at the same time, everyone’s enemy.

But I can be a little more partial to someone. I have no doubt that it is our side.

And the time until the nations are ready to face the Qin Dynasty, the Xinling Army will buy them.

“Jeong. The world is vast. The state of Qin is not yet ready to embrace the world, nor is it a vessel to do so.”

“I don’t want this one victory to affirm everything.”

Jeong’s eyes trembled lightly at my boastful words.

I don’t say empty words. At least that’s how it was for Jung. For Jung, it might have looked like I was hiding some kind of move.

“Then, Dan can help.”

“What?”

“Come to my side. The Qin Dynasty is not ready? Then tell me what Dan is lacking. The bowl is small? Then let’s create a new Qin Dynasty with me.”

Jeong’s eyes were clear without the slightest movement.

As if, if necessary, he could throw away even the Jin dynasty of Danggeum, which reigns as the most powerful country in the world, like a devoted partner. He was looking at me with strong conviction and longing.

“You promised. You’d be by my side. So, come back. Dan’s place is not there…”

Jung’s words were spoken to me, as if they were spoken to himself, and also as if they were being spoken to Shin Leung-kun, who was guarding my side.

Jeong, who shot Shin Leung-gun once, said to me.

“It’s next to me.”

For a moment of silence I watched.

The faint anxiety and fear in Jeong’s shaking eyes.

Your appearance, attitude, and thoughts have changed a lot from before, but your heart is not much different from back then.

Even so, he is a coward who raises blades around him for fear of being abandoned again.

“Good.”

“…Really?”

“Instead, give up the world.”

In an instant, Jung’s face, which had been dyed in a bright color, froze.

“I’m following King Hyoseong, not King Soyang. Peace, not conquest, peace, not conflict. If you promise me to be content with what you’ve been given and not hurt anyone by being too greedy, I’ll be happy to be by your side. “

Isn’t that the most ideal answer?

Me too, Jeong Do. Everyone can get what they want.

Prince of Yan? Not worth it. In the first place, wanting to get the crown prince was a means to keep the promise, not the purpose itself.

But it was different for Jung.

“…That’s not okay.”

Now, Jung clenched his fists and chewed his lips carefully, showing disapproval.

“How come. How can Dan be like that? Don’t you hate him? Were the things Jo Nara did to us so light?”

“It can’t be.”

“So! Is the promise with Pyeongwon-gun so precious? Choose between Dan and Cheonha? So, Dan? Me and Pyeongwon-gun, who is more important?”

No matter how early I had to become an adult, I was still a 13-year-old child.

Once my emotions got out of control, Jung threatened me with infantile self-affirmation.

It wasn’t long before she let out her anger. In an instant, as if he had a dual personality, Jung calmed her down and regained her composure.

“Okay. Let’s compromise. One. Only one is enough. Cho, Qi, Wei, Han, Yan…I won’t touch them all. But not as much as Cho.”

Jeong’s childhood, when her life was constantly threatened because she was a princess of the Qin Dynasty.

What remained in her heart was a greater hatred than I could have imagined.

Jung’s memories that I don’t know about must have constantly nurtured hostility and vengeance toward Cho Nara.

Irrevocably. To such an extent that it became one of the reasons for her life.

That’s why I had to block the emotion even more.

Will it really stop just because Jeong occupies Jo Nara? No. Jeong will become the Qin Shi Huang I know, and at the end of his tyranny, he will destroy everything and return to square one.

In the original history, it must have been a stepping stone for true unification, but I don’t know about that. Don’t even wish

“Then I have no choice but to stop you.”

“Dan-!”

“It’s not for the promise with Pyeongwon-gun. That would be one reason. But in fact, that’s just a secondary reason.”

Promise with Pyeongwon-gun to protect the country.

But I forgot about it once. For the sake of justice.

He said that he would not forget and that he would watch over the promise, but the fact that he turned away from Pyeongwon-gun once did not change.

So I had a bigger reason than Pyeongwon-gun’s promise.

“I’m here for you.”

“Huh?”

“I can subdue the world. I can crush it with a spear and sword. However, if force acts, there will definitely be a reaction. The stronger you press, the stronger it will bounce. That direction will be you.”

Assassination attempts will never end.

Just like Hyeong-ga did, Gao Jeom-ri did, and Yeo Hong-seong did.

Even if they don’t exist, is there no righteous person like them in this vast world?

That’s all. The nations will never accept being enslaved by Qin. I will continue to resist. Civil riots and rebellions will break out all over the country, and the people’s livelihood will fall into disaster and the country will become more destitute.

How miserable and futile it would be if suffering from the fear of assassination and the fear of collapse would be the ending.

“The greatness of the one who unified the world will remain. But what awaits after that is only a predestined ruin and a future in which everything is lost.”

Knowing that, I have no choice but to stop it.

The process of great unification.

Jung Eul.

“I will not let you become a great tyrant.”

The moment I uttered those words.

Rough words were heard from all directions, so much so that even the conference room, which was quite far away, could be heard.

Hamgok Hall and Hapjonggun. Voices of uneasiness and fear were piercing through the tent of the conference room.

After the meeting, those of us who came out immediately understood why the Qin Dynasty and the Joint Army were in such confusion.

The meeting, which started at noon, was getting dark even though less than an hour had passed.

The sun was being covered.

It was a solar eclipse.

“But.”

As Shin Leung-gun and Mong-oh looked at the sky at a loss for words at the sight of the sun being swallowed up by the shadows, Jeong’s voice pierced my ears.

“It’s raining.”

Lonely, pitiful, Jung said quietly.

“The night falls like rain.”

At last the sun is all covered, and the world is plunged into darkness.

It was the end of the war.

“See you again.”

It was the end of the reunion.