Faced with the commander-in-chief's obvious attempt to change the subject, Najenda had no intention of going along with it.
She still stood at the doorway, her eyes locked with the middle-aged man in front of her, showing no sign of compromise.
"Commander-in-chief, you said earlier that you wanted to exchange three provinces for the cooperation of the mountain tribes. I have no objection to that, since those three provinces originally belonged to them a thousand years ago. Even if we give them away, it's merely returning them to their rightful owners." Najenda tone carried a chill. "But the other two provinces never belonged to them. Giving them five provinces in one go would directly reduce the Empire's southern territory by one-third."
"These godforsaken lands don't bring in much tax revenue, yet the Empire invests a great deal of resources in them every year. It's an unbalanced investment for the Empire,"
Seeing that Najenda wouldn't back down, the commander-in-chief helplessly took a sip of tea and said calmly, "Throwing away these bloated, unprofitable lands to the mountain tribes not only relieves the Empire of a burden but also earns us their friendship. Why not?"
"This is a matter of national territory and sovereignty. It cannot be weighed by profit and loss alone," anger flickered in Najenda eyes. "Though I disagreed with Esdeath methods, I too participated in the war against the southern mountain tribes. Now you're handing over the Empire's land—what then was the point of our efforts and sacrifices?"
"Ah… such a headache," the commander-in-chief waved his hand tiredly. "General Najenda, your duty is to carry out orders, not to question decisions made by higher-ups. You don't understand politics. Don't overstep your boundaries."
"I may not understand politics," Najenda snorted coldly, "but I can still recognize treason when I see it."
"But the truth is, you can't recognize it."
Seeing that Najenda was determined not to let go of this issue, and that the conversation could not continue unless he gave her a satisfactory answer, the smile faded from the commander-in-chief's face.
He took another sip of the not-so-fragrant tea, smacked his lips, and mulled over his words.
After a moment, he suddenly asked, "You were once a general of the former Empire, but within the Revolutionary Army, I only placed you as the leader of an assassination squad. Do you know why?"
"Because Night Raid is…"
Just as Najenda was about to elaborate on the importance of Night Raid, the commander-in-chief raised his hand to cut her off.
Putting down his teacup, he looked at her sincerely and said, "Because you're not smart enough."
In truth, Night Raid's importance in the eyes of the commander-in-chief was nowhere near as high as it appeared.
Assassinating a noble today, an official tomorrow, and a wealthy businessman the day after—did that really have any effect on the Empire?
Both Honest and Esdeath weren't entirely wrong.
Night Raid was nothing more than a group of annoying flies.
They couldn't deal any substantial damage to the Empire, only cause irritation under its very nose.
But that was enough.
The commander-in-chief had created Night Raid solely to distract the Empire, so he could focus on more important matters.
And in this regard, his strategy had been extremely successful.
When Esdeath returned from her campaign against the northern barbarians, her first mission wasn't to suppress the Revolutionary Army—it was to eliminate Night Raid.
This bought him a significant amount of precious time and opportunity.
Still, it did not change the true nature of Night Raid.
A group of bait.
And Najenda was the biggest bait of them all.
Although she was a former general of the Empire, in the eyes of the commander-in-chief, that was her only use.
After that blunt personal attack, and before Najenda could erupt in anger, the commander-in-chief continued, "After overthrowing the old regime and establishing a new one, General, how many years do you think it will take for the Empire to recover from the corruption of the Honest faction?"
"At least… twenty years."
"That's a conservative estimate. I believe it'll only take ten, but let's go with twenty." The commander-in-chief said indifferently. "Now, how many years do you think the mountain tribes need to recover to a normal level?"
Najenda expression shifted slightly at this second question.
"Twenty years," the commander-in-chief answered himself. "That's thanks to General Esdeath brutal massacres—one tribe after another, mass slaughter—cutting the mountain tribes' population to less than half of what it was a decade ago. For them to recover to normal levels, they too will need twenty years."
"In other words, twenty years from now, both the Empire and the mountain tribes will be back at the starting line?"
"Exactly," the commander-in-chief smiled. "But they can't resist the temptation of reclaiming their ancestral lands. They're squeezing out every bit of strength, especially from their vital working-age population. After I proposed the addition of two more provinces, their promised aid force increased from 80,000 to 100,000."
As he spoke, the smile on his lips grew wider. "So, under these circumstances, how many more years will they need to recover?"
Now, Najenda fully understood his intentions.
In any country, men are the backbone of productivity.
Now, after suffering population devastation from Esdeath campaign, the mountain tribes, under the commander-in-chief's enticing offer, had squeezed out 100,000 troops.
This made an already unhealthy demographic structure even more distorted.
Clearly, the commander-in-chief had intended from the beginning to use this mountain army as cannon fodder.
Once these 100,000 able-bodied mountain warriors died in battle, the already severely wounded mountain tribes would need even more time to recover.
"The new Empire may only need twenty years to recover, but the mountain tribes—who already need at least twenty—will now require thirty years because of this 100,000-strong army. Even if they receive those five provinces, they won't be able to integrate them quickly. Instead, they'll be drained of more manpower, resources, and energy due to the vast territory."
As he spoke, the commander-in-chief's smile turned into a cold smirk. "Stabilizing domestic affairs is more important than fending off external threats. Once the Empire recovers, taking back those five provinces from those savages will be as easy as flipping a hand."
After saying this, the commander-in-chief cast Najenda a slightly disdainful glance. "Those uncivilized, primitive barbarians can't foresee the future—that's understandable. But even you, a former Imperial general, can't see it? Now you understand why I said you weren't smart?"
Najenda could only respond with silence.
On the surface, it looked like the commander-in-chief was seeking aid from the mountain tribes by offering territory—as if he was willing to compromise for the sake of overthrowing the Empire.
But in reality, he was stepping on the very future of those tribes.
By then, not only would they lose those five provinces, the Empire might even gain more land than it originally had.
Still, the commander-in-chief knew that no matter how beneficial his scheme was for the Empire, it couldn't be openly publicized.
After all, it was a conspiracy.
In the eyes of the Empire's people, he would be the one who handed over their land to the enemy. For the next twenty years, he would be criticized and condemned.
But he had to do it.
Because the enemy he was now fighting—was the Empire itself.
This was a giant that had stood strong for a thousand years. Until the Revolutionary Army replaced it and became the new giant, any means were acceptable.
Not only had he gained 100,000 reinforcements from the mountain tribes, but their futures would also be shaped by this decision.
And the cost?
Just a few words of gossip.
But so what?
"The will of heaven is not to be feared, the rules of the ancestors are not to be blindly followed, and the words of others are not to be heeded." The commander-in-chief said calmly. "Those who achieve great things do not fuss over trifles."
Najenda took a deep breath. The resentment and anger in her heart toward the commander-in-chief had long since dissipated.
She smiled bitterly and shook her head, not pursuing the topic any further.
She could only admit that anyone capable of organizing the Revolutionary Army under the Empire's watchful eye had far greater vision and capacity than she could ever match.
"So, can we talk now about the reason for your return, General?"
When Najenda yielded, the Grand Commander's face once again returned to its rustic, sincere smile, as if the intense conversation just now had never taken place.
Naturally, Najenda no longer refused and immediately poured out all the reasons for her return, including the deal proposed by Yoshino.
As he listened, the Grand Commander couldn't help but nod, showing an expression of admiration.
"It truly is a very perfect plan."
Once Najenda had fully explained everything, the Grand Commander stroked his handlebar mustache and gave his evaluation.
However, just as a look of joy was beginning to emerge on Najenda face, his next sentence caused her expression to freeze.
"But I cannot agree."
"Why?" Najenda quickly pressed, "Didn't you just say this was a perfect plan? Why can't you agree?"
"If this Yoshino had come five years earlier, I would have agreed to cooperate with her without hesitation," the Grand Commander shrugged, "But she came too late."
"What do you mean?"
Najenda frowned, clearly not understanding what he meant.
Seeing that he had to go through the trouble of explaining again, the Grand Commander let out a deep sigh.
He set down the teacup in his hand, stood up, and patted the imperial map hanging on the wall.
"Currently, the Revolutionary Army's 200,000 troops have already begun mobilization. My eight deputy commanders will complete their full deployment within a month," the Grand Commander said, pointing at several red-marked spots on the map. "The 100,000 mountain tribesmen are the same. Enticed by the opportunity to seize the Five Provinces, they are enthusiastically mobilizing each tribe. The leader of the Anning Dao cult is also ready to coordinate with the Revolutionary Army and can summon a million believers to clear the path for us at any moment. Many officials exiled to the southern borders have long been waiting to open the gates for us. And even in the imperial court, quite a few officials have already begun leaning toward our side."
After he finished, the Grand Commander gave Najenda a helpless look: "At this point, the Revolutionary Army is like an arrow on a drawn bow—we have no choice but to release it. Everything has already been prepared. And now, you're telling me that actually, there's a better plan? What am I supposed to do?"
Though this great movement had originally been started by him alone, by now, it was no longer something he alone could halt.
Behind him stood countless people who wanted to overthrow the empire's rule.
Some out of hatred for the empire, others driven by grand ambition, and still others who had staked everything in the hope of becoming founding ministers of a new empire...
These people would never allow him to stop at such a critical juncture.
If he truly gave the order to abandon everything prepared over the past decade, he could forget about seeing the next sunrise.
Countless people would chop off his head, choose a new Grand Commander, and continue the unfinished revolution.
"Besides," the Grand Commander sighed again, "even if all of us were willing to stop the war, you've forgotten one very important thing."
"If we're willing to stop... does that mean His Majesty the Emperor will be willing to stop as well?"
Upon hearing this, Najenda pupils slightly contracted.
That's right—she did ignore it.
Yoshino plan was undoubtedly perfect.
But its perfection only held true when seen from the Empire's perspective.
From the perspective of the Revolutionary Army, the plan became... somewhat ambiguous.
After all, even if Honest died, there was no guarantee that the Emperor would forgive the Revolutionary Army.
At the end of the day, the Revolutionary Army was still a group of rebels waving the banner of overthrowing the empire. Regardless of any righteous banner they carried, they were still enemies of the royal family.
The Emperor had no reason to let these treasonous mobs go free.
On the contrary, killing them all would be the surest way to ensure the empire's future stability.
Otherwise, who knew whether these Revolutionary Army members would raise the banner of revolution again during the next national crisis?
Rebels cannot be allowed to live.
Especially those who have already rebelled once—if they rebel again, they will do so with greater determination and speed.
From the Emperor's standpoint, whether it was Honest or the Revolutionary Army, they were all traitors attempting to infringe on royal authority.
"So I'm sorry, but we cannot accept Yoshino proposal."
The Grand Commander's voice paused, and then he changed the topic: "However... she could still contribute something to our revolutionary cause."
"I already asked her—she doesn't want to join the Revolutionary Army."
"Then where do you plan to send her?" The Grand Commander scoffed, "She's that Esdeath little sister. Are you planning to send her back to Esdeath?"
"Grand Commander, what are you planning to do?" Najenda instinctively sensed something ominous. "She possesses an Imperial Arm, and a very powerful one at that. You'd better not lay a hand on her."
"Oh? All the more reason I can't let her go," the Grand Commander raised an eyebrow. "We'll strip her of her Imperial Arm and use it to threaten Esdeath, to prevent her from aiding the Empire. General, how does this new proposal sound?"
"Grand Commander!" Rage reignited in Najenda eyes. "She's just an innocent child!"
But the Grand Commander merely chuckled and clapped his hands.
Najenda was instantly on alert. Her mechanical limb was about to swing backward—
But before she could act, a powerful blow struck the back of her neck, instantly rendering her unconscious.
Najenda didn't fall, though. She was caught by the secret guard who had knocked her out.
"Take her away," the Grand Commander waved his hand, "and have someone prepare another dose of sleeping gas. Then call that girl Yoshino in."
"Yes, sir."
The guard gave a slight nod, and the next instant, his figure vanished from the spot.
Only the Grand Commander remained in place.
"Heh heh... General Najenda, while the good news you brought isn't quite as good as you thought, it has indeed brought me an unexpected delight."
The Grand Commander chuckled lightly, then turned to look at the imperial map hanging on the wall and muttered to himself:
"To achieve great things, one cannot sweat the small stuff."