Deposed Crown Prince: After three years of service on the frontier, the entire court knelt and begge

While observing Xiao Ce's expression, Murata Hiroshi spoke cautiously.

“Your thinking is correct, but if you cut off all their escape routes, then they will only have one path left... that is to fight you with a death wish.”

"Although they are certainly no match for you... it's never easy to deal with people who are determined to die... If they are given a chance to escape, they won't think about fighting to the death, they'll just think about running away."

"According to my information, most of them are now cargo ships, with only a few warships left... Once they've reached the sea, sinking them should be much easier..."

Xiao Ce nodded in agreement as he listened to Murata Hiroshi's words.

What he said makes sense; it's true that you shouldn't pursue a cornered enemy too far, lest you push them too far.

There's no benefit in doing anything extreme.

"Okay, then let's do it your way..."

Then Xiao Ce said to Da Lei, "Go give them this sea map, and then set up more minefields here... Also, prepare in advance so that when they come, we can sink them..."

Da Lei nodded.

After Da Lei left, Murata Hiroshi had a forced smile on his face.

Xiao Ce then said, "Murata Hiroshi, you did well. After we've subdued this area, I won't treat you unfairly..."

As he spoke, Xiao Ce looked at the other advisors: "And you all..."

The staff members nodded with delight.

"Thank you, Your Highness... You are a divine being; following you will not be a mistake..."

Xiao Ce then said, "By the way, since you're all here, I have something to ask you..."

Murata Hiroshi said to Xiao Ce, "Your Highness, what do you intend to do with the ordinary people of Fusang after you unify the country?"

Xiao Ce nodded to Murata Hiroshi: "Not bad... clever!"

Hiroshi Murata said, "We did consider it, but of course we can't just follow what they say. After all, some of the soldiers you killed had their families, and if they were allowed to live here, it would definitely be a problem."

"So, we've actually come up with a few solutions. First, Your Highness, don't you have the Carefree Pill? You can use it to control them, since we still need quite a few laborers here."

"After we take control of them, we'll make them do the lowest-level, hardest jobs... We'll also transport a batch to your side, since that's where your roots are. In their place, we'll replace them with some of your Xiao people."

"Any place inhabited by your Xiao people can be completely turned into your territory. We can help you enslave those ordinary people..."

Listening to what Murata Hiroshi said, Xiao Ce suddenly found it quite interesting.

"As expected, it's only when one's own people do they know how to hurt their own people."

"Alright, I need you to tame them... Of course, you have to trick them slowly, so they don't rebel. I also need you to do some basic construction here."

Hiroshi Murata and some of his staff members nodded in agreement.

The task of dealing with and enslaving the people of Fusang is left to them.

Xiao Ce didn't bother to care anymore, but it was still necessary to bring some people here.

Moreover, it would be best if they were from the Northern Desert Royal Palace.

Because only the people of the Northern Desert Royal Palace worshipped him in a superstitious way.

Only after those people arrived could Xiao Ce feel at ease.

As for coming here, we must give them some good benefits.

Actually, coming to Japan wasn't about pioneering new lands...

However, I still need to think about it carefully.

Xiao Ce was well aware that the reason they had been so successful was entirely because two-thirds of the military strength of the Fusang Kingdom was located elsewhere.

Otherwise, although Xiao Ce and his men could have taken this place, it wouldn't have been so easy.

His conquest of this area was merely the beginning.

..

Inside the royal palace of Fusang.

The Emperor's face looks worse than if he'd eaten shit.

The heads of the various families present all wore dark expressions and remained silent.

After all, they had all heard about the battle situation at the front lines and the crushing defeat.

It has never appeared since the Meiji Restoration.

Tojo was even relieved that he wasn't in command this time.

He had no doubt that such a crushing defeat would have resulted in the same outcome had he been in command.

Not only Tojo Seisuke, but also the heads of other families thought the same way.

Seeing this, the Emperor addressed the crowd: "Gentlemen, you are all aware of the situation at the front. Furthermore, I have heard that you have already brought your respective troops back..."

"What are you all thinking now? Are you just going to let those lowly Xiao people attack us?"

The heads of the Yixing family all had dark faces, and none of them spoke beforehand.

After all, when it comes to running...

The army under his control has also fled.

Moreover, it was the Emperor who made similar remarks, saying that the people of Xiao were no match for him.

They suspected that even the Emperor's words made Tokugawa Heiyasu underestimate his enemy.

However, they would never say these words aloud.

After all, you have to understand that their sugar daddy was found by their Emperor.

This is actually one of the main reasons why Tojo Seisuke always said he would never betray the Emperor.

After all, Tojo Seisuke knew very well that the reason they were able to overcome all obstacles was entirely due to the support of the Emperor's financial backers.

Otherwise, they wouldn't have this ability.

Seeing that no one spoke, the Emperor addressed Tojo Seisuke, "Head of the Tojo family, what do you say..."

When Tojo Seisuke saw that the Emperor had called his name, he could no longer remain silent.

He hurriedly said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, I think Tokugawa Heiyasu has become too reckless. If we don't withdraw our troops soon, given Tokugawa Heiyasu's attitude, I'm afraid we're going too far."

"As everyone knows, the worst thing you can do in war is to let your emotions control your reason..."

"Moreover, this time the Xiao Kingdom's army is advancing so rapidly that we are not only no match for them in terms of land forces, but we are also completely suppressed in terms of the navy..."

“These troops are clearly not the Xiao Kingdom troops we know! They are definitely not that simple... So, we need to stay calm. Moreover, according to the information Tokugawa Heiyasu sent earlier, they have a large force... and are very skilled in battle.”

"In any case, we need to pause. Firstly, to stop their unstoppable winning streak, and secondly, to adjust our own disastrous defeat."

Tojo Seisuke's analysis was logical and persuasive, winning the approval of the other family heads.

The Emperor nodded: "Then what do you suggest we do now? How can we defend ourselves against them...?"

Tojo Seisuke said to the Emperor, "Your Majesty, in truth, we only have two paths before us. One path is to organize our forces, recall our troops from other regions, and then, with their combined strength, encircle them..."

"Of course, if we do that, we'll need to hold them off for at least half a month. Given their current military strength, that won't be easy for us..."

After Tojo Seisuke finished speaking, he subconsciously glanced at the Emperor.

He actually knew that the Emperor did not want things to be this way.

He knew even better that the Emperor wanted to flee.

However, the Emperor was unwilling to say these words and needed someone to say them for him.

Tojo Seisuke isn't stupid either; even if it were him speaking...

He wouldn't speak rashly...

"What's another way?" The Emperor saw that Tojo Seisuke was not telling him, even though he didn't ask.

Tojo Seisuke's face was grim as he said, "I was thinking that this method should only be chosen as a last resort..."

Seeing Tojo Seisuke layering armor on himself, the Emperor inwardly cursed Tojo Seisuke for being so cunning and scheming.

"Tell me what you think, let's all discuss it, let's talk it over."

Tojo Seisuke said, "What I mean is, if possible, we should retreat first. After all, the current situation is unfavorable to us no matter what. We are outnumbered, which is a huge loss!"

"The territories we conquered are actually better than this island! While our losses are still manageable and while we still have several ports that we can fully utilize, let's take our elite troops and leave now."

"At that time, we'll slow down and then launch our attack... Of course, if we do that... we'll lose our roots!"

The Emperor nodded upon hearing Tojo Seisuke's words.

He actually wanted to hear Tojo Seisuke say those words.

After Tojo Seisuke uttered those words, the Emperor addressed the other family heads, saying, "What are your thoughts, other family heads...?"

These family heads looked at each other.

The head of the Okamoto family spoke first: "Head of the Tojo family seems to have offered two choices, but although we are unwilling to accept them! There is only one fact: we must retreat now. Not only must we retreat, but we must escape before the Xiao people can react..."

“If we don’t run away, what will happen? They will attack our port. You know, under Tokugawa Heiyasu’s command, we only have ten warships available now… Once they find out, they will attack our port and bomb our ships.”

"Once our port is bombed and the ships are destroyed, we'll fight them to the death here."

"To put it bluntly, Tokugawa Heiji's army was stronger than all of you here, yet they suffered a crushing defeat. What chance do you have of winning?"

"They clearly came prepared this time! We only have one option left: to run!"

"Your Majesty, we've actually given up on this wretched island a long time ago. In my opinion, if they want to stay here, let them stay here... We should find a place to establish a foothold first, and then we can directly attack their Xiao Kingdom's territory..."

"They like this place, don't they? Let's drive all the people from Xiao Kingdom over here!"

Okamoto was speaking with great emotion and passion.

Another head of the Fukuda family spoke up, saying, "Although head Okamoto's words were a bit direct, I think he makes a good point... When we went out to attack other countries before, we originally intended to use a base-exchange tactic! Now, we're just implementing it sooner!"

"Let's leave while we can... Their forces outnumber ours several times over. They must have found out from Tojo Koichi that we're vulnerable here. Our elite troops aren't here either..."

“Your Majesty, I may not know about other families, but I know my family very well. Those left behind are all old, weak, and disabled… If we continue fighting, we'll only be dying for the sake of dying…”

"That's right. Actually, our Fusang Kingdom is not great because of this island. Our broken island is poor in resources and suffers from disasters. The reason why our Fusang Kingdom is great is because of Your Majesty's existence."

"Yes, Your Majesty, the Kingdom of Fusang is great because of you. If it weren't for the technology you introduced from abroad, we wouldn't even be as good as those Xiao Kingdoms. We'd still be struggling to feed ourselves. And we'd have to rob those Xiao Kingdoms for food."

"As long as Your Majesty the Emperor is here... our Fusang Empire will rise..."

"I think this might be a sign from heaven! A sign that we should leave this place as soon as possible. Leave this place sooner and start building our new Fusang Kingdom..."

After the heads of several families expressed this sentiment, the Emperor finally showed a troubled expression.

They also discovered the Emperor, but now they lack a stepping stone.

As a result, these individuals frantically offered the Emperor a way out.

The Emperor saw that the time was almost right!

“What you say is correct, and it makes perfect sense. There's a saying in the Xiao Kingdom: ‘Where there's life, there's hope.’ Let's retreat now!”

The group of people all let out a long sigh of relief as they watched the Emperor speak.

After all, none of them wanted to stay here.

"Should we leave all our people here?" the Emperor asked.

Tojo Seisuke said, "Your Majesty, I have inquired. The people of Xiao have not harmed our people; in fact, he seems to be trying to influence them..."

The Emperor sneered, "It seems they truly don't understand our people."

Tojo Seisuke nodded: "That's right. So, Your Majesty, if we really choose to leave, perhaps we can leave some trusted confidants here. They can then infiltrate the populace and cause chaos among them! If things go smoothly for them, we might not even need to come here; our people could overthrow them..."

Upon hearing Tojo Seisuke's words, the Emperor smiled and said, "Not bad...not bad! Alright, let's hurry up and make arrangements for our people."

The group nodded in agreement.

Seeing that Tojo Seisuke seemed hesitant to speak, the Emperor quickly asked, "Head of the Tojo family, what's wrong? Is there anything else you'd like to say? Since things have come to this, please speak freely!"