At the boy emperor's retort, Ferdinand did not negatively react. He simply scoffed a knowing scoff and said, "Do you dogs see what I'm talking about? Such is the extent of the noble Centinni Family's fall. They are utterly unsuitable to be our ruler!"
Turning a pitying glance towards the small boy, Ferdinand mockingly spoke. "Little boy, do not spout nonsense in a conversation between adults. Then again, you are as expected of a snivelling brat."
"You!!" Matthias growled in anger. To directly mock and insult the emperor was a capital offense!
"Silence, slave!" Ferdinand growled back. He aimed his extended weapon towards the boy emperor and his guardian. "Obediently dismount that horse and surrender yourselves. Do so, and I will ensure that no 'accidents' will occur."
"What gall—!" Matthias began but was interrupted by his liege. "Stop, Matthias."
Alexandros evenly stared at Ferdinand. Opening his small lips, he spoke. "Did you know? On that day that you murdered Our royal father, We were there. We saw your treacherous sword pierce Our royal father's back and claim his life."
The boy emperor face and voice remained still. There was neither an inflected born out of anger, nor tears sprung out of guilt.
Alexandros' method of speech gave its listeners the mistaken impression of listening to a third party's story; his voice made it seem like he was reciting a tale unrelated to his own.
"Ever since that day, We resolved Ourself. We made a promise that We would not rest; would not mourn; would not grieve; and would not cry until We reclaimed our empire and slew you, the treacherous bastard who had committed regicide."
"We shall speak the truth. Our intention had remained the same till yesterday." The young boy's tone suddenly changed. "However! That intention changed last night."
Wearing a face, brim with wrath, Alexandros hatefully asked, "Traitorous dog! Answer this question; what madness consumed you to shell your own people!? Are they not your subjects!? Do you not have the responsibility to protect and serve them!?!"
"You speak of Our father and his fathers being incompetent rulers! However!" He exclaimed. "Even a newborn calf would know that they would NEVER harm their own people! Especially innocents!!"
The air instantaneously changed at his declaration.
"Our father might not have been as mighty as the First Emperor. Nor had he displayed any particular wisdom equal to the Fourth Emperor. However, We can tell you this." Alexandros took a breath to calm his rampant emotions. "Our father, as ordinary and unspectacular as he was, NEVER allowed a single subject under him to ever go hungry!"
"NEVER did he let his vassal's contributions go unrecognized!"
"NEVER did he let his subjects' pockets grow empty!"
"NEVER in the short term that he reigned, did he allow his subjects to slaughter each other in meaningless wars!"
A list of retorts smoothly flowed out of Alexandros' mouth. Even while it was evident that the boy had his emotions greatly stirred, he did not allow his voice to falter or his tears to fall.
"… unfairly taxed! In fact, he even introduced nationwide reforms to permanently fix grain prices!"
"… encouraged business start-ups!"
"… fixed the age-old unfair laws against women! He also recognized domestic abuse and decreed it a crime!"
With every reason that he listed, the soldiers and listeners present in the field found their hearts shaking even greater. They, who had always considered their ex-monarch to be a fair but unremarkable person, were finally confronted with the effects of his kingship.
A simple law such as purchasing food grains at a fixed rate from farmers and selling them to the citizens of the empire at a fair, fixed rate sounded unremarkable to hear. However, just how much of an impact did this law have on the empire and its subjects!? Just how many people were now able to afford to fill their stomachs!?
The South Aislan Empire was no utopia. It was incomparable to the likes of the Heavenly Spirit Empire in all aspects. However, objectively speaking, the citizens of the empire were not living a terrible life.
'Challenging but Fair.' Such had always been the life of an average citizen of the empire.
Huffing and puffing, Alexandros arrived at the tail-end of his rants. "In your speech, you mentioned the culture of our empire. Very well, let Us ask you this; under whose reign did the empire see an explosion in arts and culture!?"
The answer went unspoken. It was evidently the Eleventh Emperor.
"A-and yet, you!" Alexandros fumed. "You traitorous dog! You treacherous turncoat! You, conscienceless pig, who has sold your soul to the foreign devils!!"
"We, ask you this; what have YOU done!?"
"Answer Us this; why did you turn fellow men –natives and citizens of the empire— against each other!? Why did you cast a rain of fire upon hordes of innocent men, women, and children!? What madness possessed you to perform such a sick deed!?!"
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"They say that even beasts know better than to kill innocent children of their own kind. And yet, you have done so! You, who are lower than a beast! To think that We considered you to be Our most hated enemy… it fills us with so much embarrassment and shame just thinking about it!"
"You speak of the foreign devils invading and laying siege to our lands with their devilish weapons. You speak grandiosely about such stuff as if you've experienced them! But the truth of the matter is, no such thing ever happened! Your grandiose words are nothing but empty sophistry!"
"And perhaps, yes. Perhaps such an invasion may indeed occur in the future. And if it does occur, We ask you this."
The boy emperor peered at the soldiers and warriors surrounding him. Taking in a lungful of air, he screamed. "ARE WE, CHILDREN OF THE SOUTH AISLAN EMPIRE, COWARDS!?!"
Immediately, almost automatically, his roar elicited a response from the gathered soldiers.
"NO! WE ARE NOT!!"
"HAVE WE, NATIVES OF THE SOUTH AISLAN CONTINENT, EVER FEARED BLOOSHED!?"
He asked.
"NO! WE HAVE NOT!!"
They answered.
"The glory of the South Aislan Empire was forged from bloodshed! We do not like war, but we are not afraid of it either! If foreigners want to invade our lands, let them come!"
"Let them experience first-hand why the South Aislan Empire has existed for a thousand years and will continue to exist for a thousand more!!"
"FOR THE EMPIRE!!"
"FOR THE EMPIRE!!"
"FOR THE EMPIRE!!"
The blood of the warriors had been invoked and they began chanting with almost religious passion. The soldiers and warriors, who had previously met Alexandros as an enemy, joined with the young emperor and announced their fealty to the crown.
Meanwhile, Ferdinand, whose face had grown pallid and tempestuous, suddenly charged towards the boy emperor like a beast.
"YOU DAMNED BRAT!!" He yelled, aiming his twin swords at the boy emperor's neck and heart respectively.
Just as his strike neared his target's vitals, he found his sword intercepted by both Matthias and the rough-looking captain of his own forces. His assassination attempt was foiled and the people were alerted.
"Tch!" Ferdinand clicked his tongue and backed away. He then tossed out all thoughts of assassination from his mind and immediately ran away to mount the nearest steed.
After securing a ride, he forcefully rode out and escaped from the battlefield.
"Riders! Spur your horses and capture that fleeing traitor!" The rough-looking captain immediately announced. Just as he was about to mount a steed of his own, he found himself intercepted by the boy emperor.
"Your orders are unnecessary, captain," said Alexandros. He then cast a dismissive, disappointed gaze towards the fleeing traitor and muttered, "A creature that is lower than a beast is unworthy of Our hatred. Let it go."
He then turned around and spoke to Matthias. "Come, Matthias. Let us end this war."
---
Ferdinand Sinna de Auberville had fled the battlefield, his whereabouts unknown. His forces, which had come to siege the New Hope Port City, had in a surprising twist, surrendered themselves to the empire.
Such a twist of events had left General Arlo dumbfounded. The old man was honestly unsure about how to proceed with this situation.
On one hand, these men had to be punished for daring to go against the empire. On the other hand, given the empire's current situation, such a force armed with that device which rained fire was highly desirable.
Just when the old general found himself losing his precious few remaining hairs over this problem, the boy emperor intruded and offered a solution. The solution was simple; Ferdinand's forces will have their punishments temporarily stayed. The men will be reassigned to form new forces with the empire's own army. With this new army, which now numbered almost 50,000 men, the empire will push forward to seize the remaining lands and cities underneath Ferdinand's control!
Just a solution was entirely radical. General Arlo even stated his doubts about the functionality and effectiveness of the idea. He argued that combining recent enemies would have disastrous effects on the army as a whole.
Alexandros, however, stuck to his idea and promised the old general its application. The boy emperor personally took over the burden of bringing it to fruition.
The subsequent events were not easy. Many tumultuous situations arose and Alexandros' ability in kingship was routinely tested to the extreme. Fortunately, Wuzhi's coaching had proved to be far more effective than what he gave it credit for. More than once, Alexandros found himself drawing advice from his lessons.
And the more such difficult situations that he solved, the more the boy emperor realised; meeting Wuzhi was truly the most fortunate thing that had ever happened to him.
In just two short months since their meeting, Alexandros had overcome his thirst for revenge, developed his abilities in kingship, established his footsteps on the path of the emperor, and was in the process of growing into an existence whose renown and feats would be no less than the First Emperor's own!
Two more weeks passed and a whole three new cities had fallen to the empire. Alexandros' army had grown to surpass seventy-five thousand men, and his stock of weaponry had widened to encompass more devices built by the Central Commonwealth. It was only after conquering Ferdinand's main base of power did the empire realise just how much the backers in the Central Commonwealth had invested in this faction. Materials were one thing, but the technology was simply priceless.
The sieges and conquering of the cities themselves were not too difficult. Without Ferdinand, who had now gone entirely missing, to lead the forces most of the turncoats either surrendered or were quickly routed by the empire's army.
Alexandros' declaration of granting amnesty to those who surrendered also helped to simplify the process.
Another two weeks went by –a month having passed altogether since Alexandros' departure from the empire's capital— and the empire's army found itself reclaiming another three cities. At this point, nearly 90% of Ferdinand's territories and forces had been reclaimed by the empire.
Events occurred smoothly and the army experienced no great difficulty.
---
On a particular afternoon.
"Did we receive any response from the capital?" asked Alexandros; the youth's face had grown thinner and more mature.
At his question, General Arlo shook his head and replied, "No, your royal eminence. There has been no news from the capital for the past month. Even the scouts and messengers whom we had sent have not returned."
"Some unnatural is definitely afoot." Alexandros grew worried. The ominous feeling returned to his heart as he grew worried about the safety of the capital, its people, his uncle, Wuzhi, the servants, etc.
Just as Alexandros was about to announce his decision to turn the army towards the capital, a hurried shout interrupted their meeting.
"General Arlo, Venerable Emperor! A messenger carrying an urgent message has appeared! It's regarding the capital!" An announcer announced.
Not a moment after the announcement fell, a shabby, dishevelled individual burst into the meeting room. His panicked eyes landed on the figures of the boy emperor and the old general, causing him to immediately fall to his knees and announce.
"Venerable Emperor! I come bearing grim news! The capital—!"
The ominousness within Alexandros' heart exploded in that instant.
"The capital is under siege by the Duke of Auberville's forces! Please! You must return immediately and save the city!
Alexandros leapt onto his feet with a shocked expression on his face.