Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

September 12th, the tenth year of Yongsheng.

This is destined to be a year full of bombshells.

Zhuo Yongwang issued a nationwide telegram: Effective immediately, the provinces of Yuzhou, Liaozhou, Honghai, Yuncang, and Jizhou have officially seceded from the Great Qian Dynasty, declared their allegiance, and established the Independent State of Yongchang!

This news came as a complete shock!

Over the years, the vast and incomparable Great Qian Empire has long been rotten to the core, and the Great Qian imperial power has become a complete joke. The warlord separatism over the decades has long created a situation of a state within a state.

However, Zhuo Yongwang is truly the first person to openly declare his independence from the Great Qian Empire and change his flag!

However, in his telegram announcing his independence, Zhuo Yongwang made no mention of the fact that his decision to lead five provinces to break away from the Daqian Dynasty was directly caused by Shen Moshen's policy of abolishing the military governorship system.

Zhuo Yongwang's stated reason for independence was that it was in accordance with the will of the people of the five provinces and in order to seek better development for the five provinces and a path more suitable for the five provinces themselves. The final decision was to change flags and become independent based on the results of the "referendum" held by the people of the five provinces!

This was a plan that Zhuo Yongwang and the generals of the five-province allied forces came up with after repeated discussions.

Adhering to the principle of going all out, Zhuo Yongwang also ordered a public vote to be held in five provinces and invited many newspapers to give it prominent coverage to create a favorable public opinion environment.

Of course, everyone knows perfectly well what the actual results of this so-called "public vote" were.

Although at the meeting, Zhuo Yongwang and his trusted subordinates clamored to fight the Youzhou army to the death in the five provinces, and their scathing criticisms of Shen Moshen and the Youzhou army were increasingly fierce.

However, in order to minimize the impact of the change of flags in the five provinces on Shen Moshen, they still found a reason that would at least not embarrass Shen Moshen.

Moreover, in his telegram, Zhuo Yongwang specifically emphasized that the change of flags in the five provinces was not due to dissatisfaction with the new reform policies promulgated by Chief of Staff Shen, but simply to comply with the will of the people in the five provinces.

On the contrary, Zhuo Yongwang himself was very "supportive" of Chief Shen's reform policies and looked forward to seeing a revitalized and powerful Great Qian Empire.

However, "the will of the people is hard to defy," and they had no choice but to obey the "choice" of the people in the five provinces.

Finally, Zhuo Yongwang also stated in his telegram: He hoped that Chief of Staff Shen, who was far away in the capital, would not overthink the matter of the change of flags in the five provinces, and that everyone could respect and understand the common choice of the people of the five provinces.

Furthermore, the newly independent Yongchang State also hoped to maintain a good cooperative relationship with the Great Qian Empire.........................

The telegram announcing the independence of the five provinces was presented throughout with a tone of "humility," "for the people," and "desire for peace."

Several key points were clearly expressed.

First, the change of allegiance in the five provinces was by no means a result of confrontation caused by dissatisfaction with the revitalization and reforms implemented by General Shen Moshen.

Secondly, this is not about splitting the country; it's simply about complying with the wishes of the people in the five provinces.

Third, although the five provinces have broken away from the Great Qian Empire, they still hope to maintain good relations with the Great Qian Empire and will firmly support the Great Qian Empire internationally.

Fourth, the people of the five provinces cherish peace. We hope everyone can respect and understand their common aspirations and refrain from maliciously stirring up trouble or escalating this issue to incite conflict or create conflict.

To put it bluntly, Zhuo Yongwang's telegram announcing the change of flags boils down to one word: cowardice!

He wanted to change the flag, but he also wanted to minimize the offense to Shen Moshen, so he made an official announcement of the change of flags in the five provinces in a low-key manner that was almost flattering and ingratiating.

Of course, Zhuo Yongwang wasn't just "soft" all the time.

While believing that they had given Shen Moshen enough face on the surface.

Zhuo Yongwang also sent someone to pay a special visit to Shen Moshen, who was far away in the capital.

However, two other people also visited Shen Moshen along with the representatives from the five provinces—Puran Gustav, the Salo ambassador to the capital, and Gojo Sho, the Yi Kingdom ambassador to the capital.

The reason for bringing these two people along to visit Shen Moshen is self-evident.

That is to tell Shen Moshen – we have outside help behind us!

The change of flags in the five provinces was strongly supported by the Salo people and the Yi people.

We've already given you plenty of face, so don't be ungrateful and make things difficult for us in this matter.

Anyway, the territory of Daqian is huge. Even if we remove our five provinces, the Daqian Empire is still the largest country in terms of territory. You, Shen Moshen, are not at a loss!

Besides—I just fought tooth and nail to get to the capital and finally got in, and then you gave it back in less than a month. You've already gotten a huge advantage!

Almost got it!

People! Don't be too greedy! Learn to be content...

Zhuo Yongwang believed that he had considered things thoroughly enough for Shen Moshen.

However, he failed to consider whether his actions of splitting the Great Qian Dynasty had touched a nerve with Shen Moshen's insistence on national integrity.

This also reflects the mainstream views and true colors of the local warlords in the Great Qian Empire today—they think that everyone else is just like them: they only have personal interests in their hearts, and they have no sense of national righteousness whatsoever.

What about the pride of the Qian people, the integrity of their territory...?

That's all bullshit!

Stop joking! Enough with the high-sounding rhetoric. Among all the warlords, big and small, in the Great Qian Empire, who really takes this seriously?

Therefore, Zhuo Yongwang believed that since he had made such a big concession and Shen Moshen had gained such a big advantage, it was not too much for him to just change the flags of five provinces, right?

-------------------------------------

The Imperial Capital – Imperial Chief's Office.

"Oh?"

"So, I should really thank your Commander Zhuo properly?"

"Thank you, Commander Zhuo, for not accepting the requests of the other warlords to stand up and lead the attack against me?"

"Oh! No, wait! Shouldn't we start calling him President Zhuo now?"

Shen Moshen glanced disdainfully at Xu Yuankui, the representative from the five provinces who had come to him, and felt it was unnecessary to even invite him to sit down.

The situation was even more awkward for Sara's ambassador to the capital, Pulan Gustav, and the foreign ambassador to the capital, Gojo Sho, who came with Xu Yuankui.

Because, from the moment they entered, Shen Moshen didn't let Pulan Gustav and Gojo Sho say a single word—he completely treated the two of them like they were invisible!

Shen Moshen's disregard infuriated and angered Pulan Gustav and Wutiao Xiang.

However, glancing at the guards at the door who already had their hands on their guns and were ready to draw them at the slightest provocation, the two suppressed their dissatisfaction and anger.

After all, everything Shen Moshen is doing now gives the impression of being completely unpredictable.

Although the two did not believe that Shen Moshen would really dare to do anything to the two people representing the Shaluo Kingdom and the Yi Kingdom in this kind of occasion.

However, adhering to the principles of prudence and avoiding immediate losses, Pulan Gustav and Gojo Sho made a wise choice—to wait until Shen Moshen allowed them to speak before revealing their purpose.