The Demon Lords-Chapter 619 - 106: Falling_1

CRACK! CRACK! CRACK! The sound of whipping echoed, followed closely by the resounding blast of a bugle.

Situ Lei, in military attire, stood on a war chariot. His left hand clung to the front railing, while his right hand held up a flag embossed with the Situ Family crest. Behind the chariot were the memorial tablets of the ancestral heads of the Situ Family, retrieved from the Grand Temple.

Indeed, Situ Lei possessed the Sword of the Son of Heaven and a complete set of imperial regalia. However, Cheng State had been established less than a year ago. Not only his soldiers, but even Situ Lei himself felt that all the decorative regalia, including the so-called Sword of the Son of Heaven and Dragon Robes, were merely burdensome.

Situ Lei remembered a saying his father often used when punishing his sons:

"A turtle in a pond pretends to be the Divine Turtle."

Long ago, Situ Lei had assumed himself to be the Divine Turtle. He was the most outstanding heir of the Situ Family's generation, an assessment acknowledged by everyone.

After coming of age, he defended the southern border, repelling several invasions by the Chu State army. Later, his performance in the imperial court further showcased his adeptness.

He expertly maneuvered, recruited talent, and won public support. Though neither the eldest nor the legitimate son, he managed to far outpace his two older brothers, effectively banishing them to the harsh snowfields.

His father's increasing senility and his own maturation had allowed him to gain control over much of the Situ Family's power long ago.

He was the Divine Turtle, the Divine Turtle destined to guard the East. He had always believed this.

When the Yan Army entered Jin State, Situ Lei chose not to resist. Instead, he led his army to the northeast to counter the rising threat of the Wild People.

Whispers spread through the court and among the populace that he was cleverly leveraging a righteous cause—defending against the Wild People—to put pressure on the Yan Emperor.

However, no emperor or ruler dares entrust their nation to the integrity of a neighboring country's ruler.

It was his pride that had led him to issue such commands. What surprised him somewhat was that the Yan Emperor, to some extent, actually understood him.

Not only did the Yan Emperor cease hostilities, but he also dispatched one of Yan's most formidable lords to the Snow Sea to help alleviate Situ Lei's pressure.

The dignity of the weak is merely the last vestige of pathetic pride, while the benevolence of the strong is true magnanimity.

Situ Lei did indeed want to visit Yanjing, to meet the Yan Emperor, have a drink, and share a hearty laugh with His Majesty.

Of course, such a meeting would inevitably mean bowing his head, a form of submission in terms of legal standing.

Frankly, if he truly had to bow to Yan State, Situ Lei didn't think it would be so unacceptable.

After all, proud people only acknowledge those even prouder than themselves.

However, the pride that was rightfully his had been utterly shattered at Snow Sea Pass. The most elite troops, painstakingly cultivated by the Situ Family over generations, were almost entirely annihilated in those vast snowfields.

The Wild People, who had not breached the borders for hundreds of years, began to rampage across the lands of the Three Jin. This was a humiliation—whether as a Jin native, a descendant of the Situ Family, or a remnant of the Great Xia dynasty, it was a disgrace that cut to the bone.

There were many reasons for the defeat: his own underestimation of the enemy, the betrayal of his two brothers, the fracturing of their family's power, and so on.

On many nights, he couldn't help but ponder what he would do differently if given another chance. But deep down, he knew there was no second chance; everything was irretrievably lost.

Outside Ying Capital City, the rebel soldiers had gathered. Behind them, Wild People forces were arrayed. They hadn't launched an attack on Ying Capital City. Situ Lei understood all too well what they were waiting for, what his two brothers were waiting for, what they were thinking.

That's how a power struggle worked—if there were no external interferences, it was rare for both sides to end in mutual destruction. More often than not, one side would diminish while the other grew.

Many people thought he was losing. Most believed he could no longer win.

"I will not concede!"

These words, bitten out through Situ Lei's gritted teeth, brought a faint flush of color to his pale complexion.

He was the young phoenix of the Situ Family, the one who upheld their pride. When his aging and muddle-headed father began to fear the Yan people, he had decisively borrowed the Sword Saint's blade to send his decaying father on his way.

He had to prove to the world that his choice was right, that he could take over his father's mantle and carry on the family's mission even better.

Better…

The eunuchs in the palace started moving trunk after trunk of wealth out.

The maids, in turn, brought out the cellar liquor to distribute among the surrounding soldiers.

In front of the war chariot where Situ Lei stood, generals knelt en masse.

Their ears still echoed with the two statements His Majesty had made when he summoned them the previous night:

"Twenty to thirty years from now, when your grandchildren face you and ask about today, how will you tell them what their ancestors did on this day?"

"We have already sent an official dispatch to Yan State, declaring Cheng State's submission to Yan; this is now a settled matter. You do not have to fight this war for Us. But you must show the Yan people that the men of Jin are not all cowards, not all weaklings! This is a battle for your own future. The Yan people respect true warriors. Fight with valor and show them what you are made of! Only then, in the future, will you still have a place to stand!"

...

Ying Capital City was a large city. Its scale was far greater than that of Quhe or Li Tian City. The tripartite division of Jin had persisted for a hundred years, and for a long time, Ying Capital City had served as a political center, its influence radiating outwards.

Consequently, the Jin imperial city within the capital region had grown increasingly dilapidated and cramped. In contrast, the "capitals" of the three great houses that had divided Jin gradually revealed their own burgeoning grandeur.