Superhumans of the Dome City-Chapter 1413 - 19: The Art of Imperial Rule (Part 3)

Chi Zijing waved his hands excitedly: "Dad, you have to stop this war right now! Innocent people can’t keep dying!!"

Emperor Chong Xiao patiently waited for him to finish his outburst, then stood up from the throne. His tall and burly figure was illuminated by candlelight, casting a dark shadow that completely covered his son.

"Zijing, I always thought you were a smart and capable child. But today your performance is very disappointing to me," he said coldly, "What do you think war is? Do you think war has a distinction between good and evil, or conflict has hierarchies?"

"Foolish!" He raised his voice, his rebuke carrying an incontestable authority, "War is a means of rule, the blood necessary for the Empire’s long-lasting peace. When your nation becomes complacent in prolonged peace, bloated, like a sick man waiting to die in bed, you must use war to consume the population, to purge the dirty blood, to pressure your people to change the system with external threats, and to force them to engage their minds with the crises of death and bloodshed, making this vast empire stronger. Only when war has achieved the tasks you assigned can you bring it to an end... with your authority, wisdom, and power!"

Chi Zijing was stunned by this rebuke, momentarily unable even to think: "What nonsense are you talking about..."

"When you hear something you don’t understand, you plan to stop thinking," the emperor coldly said, "Then let me help you think properly. Without secret wars, how can I have a reason to promote new people, expel the worthless from the court? How can I force the Empire’s technology to quickly develop to catch up with United Allies? On what grounds can I get the Fan Ding Realm to agree to release the largest disorder factor, to fill this unprecedented inner circle of the Imperial Academy? And by what means can I control the conflicts that will eventually escalate among these many nations?"

"But... but..." Chi Zijing’s voice trembled, "But it’s war..."

The emperor sighed, suddenly showing anger: "Damn it, Chi Zijing, have you trained martial arts into becoming a woman?! You are the future emperor of the Empire, you must have an emperor’s perspective! For the ordinary people, war is unforgivable. But for the emperor of the Empire, if the ’big picture’ requires it, war is something you must do!"

"How do you know it’s necessary?" Chi Zijing shouted angrily, "How do you know you’re not making a mistake!"

"Use your ministers as your eyes, your generals as your swords, and then rely on your own wisdom to judge," said the emperor, "Zijing, you must remember. Once you become emperor, no one can make decisions for you... you must make absolutely correct judgments by yourself, relying only on yourself!"

Rely on myself? Decide on war by myself? Decide the lives of 2 billion people... decide their future, their destiny?

billion people. 2 billion. Chi Zijing raised his head dazedly, seeing many, many people behind his father, and then many, many corpses. Blown apart by grenades, pierced through the heart by bayonets, bodies obliterated by Impermanence Skill, so much death and blood piled on the Empire’s border, all because of a single word.

Because the emperor decided on war.

"Then what about the blood these people shed? Those who died or were injured in the process, who will bear their pain... who?"

He looked into his father’s dark eyes. He understood.

"No." Chi Zijing stepped back, "I don’t want... I don’t want people to die..."

He cried and wailed, "I would rather die than be this emperor!! I don’t want it even if I die!!!"

Chi Zijing fled in terror, leaving as if chasing an enemy for a thousand miles, but now fleeing like a defeated dog, in a wretched escape.

Emperor Chong Xiao said nothing, sitting back on the throne, watching as his son became a tiny dot in his vision, eventually disappearing.

A touch of white light appeared in his eyes, this pale light embedded in the emperor’s pupils like a nail, not only undispersed but growing more intense. Emperor Chong Xiao silently closed his eyes, locking the light in the pure blackness of his eyes.

"Don’t rush..." he murmured.

Outside the palace, Chi Zijing ran past another person approaching the palace. Yan Qi did not look at the crying Crown Prince, silently moving up the steps until a richly dressed old man blocked his path.

"Yan Qi, go back." Zhang Hongzheng said.

"None of your business."

"I know you have many things you want to say." Zhang Hongzheng grabbed the disciple’s shoulder, "But this is the palace, let’s go back to the Imperial Academy first—"

Yan Qi suddenly pulled out a writing brush, brandishing it with a surge of ink.

"Get out of my way!"