Chapter 365

On the flagship of the black ships, the seven Western Continent true gods stared, both wary and furious, at the over a hundred true gods seated opposite them:

Utter humiliation! Utter humiliation! How dare they call our great Augustus/Sultan a 'foreigner' and tell him to get lost! The seven gods secretly swore: they would repay a hundredfold! And unlike the anger of the seven Western Continent true gods, the lame old man, the protagonist of this incident, remained calm from start to finish, as if he had long anticipated this situation……

【"Foreigner! If you don't scram, don't blame us for being ruthless!"】

【The true god opposite shouted.】

【"Exactly! This is purely our Southern Jambu Continent's internal affair; it's no place for an outsider like you to meddle!"】

【"Foreigner! Get out of Great Shun!"】

【"……"】

【Faced with the gods' unanimous condemnation, the seven dared to be angry but not speak, only clenching their fists tighter……while you calmly nodded.】

【"Good."】

【"That's more like it!"】

【After ordering you to withdraw within a deadline, the gods left satisfied.】

【After the gods departed arrogantly, you ordered the seven gods to issue the command, take the harvest from two years of farming, and organize the million-strong eastern expeditionary army to withdraw from the Liangzhou region……】

【Only when you were alone on the flagship did you finally sigh: "Indeed, trying to conquer Great Shun by force is impossible……"】

【In fact, you had long anticipated the reaction of the Great Shun gods; although they are divided among themselves, they are unanimous on the issue of belonging to Southern Jambu Continent: the meat can only rot in the pot!】

【Any military intervention by an external continent will cause them to unite against outsiders; even if you declare your Great Shun origin, they will not acknowledge you……】

【Thus from the start, you never hoped to sweep Southern Jambu Continent in one go; this expedition was merely a probe of Great Shun to test your hypothesis……Of course, if the gods hadn't interfered with your intentions, you would indeed have planned to occupy it this time!】

【Prepare with both hands, adapt to circumstances—that's what you should do……And now that the probe has failed, you naturally must follow the original plan and obediently withdraw from Southern Jambu Continent.】

【As for a forced attack?】

【Impossible—don't look at their warfare being currently limited to the mortal level; once you make your invasion intent clear, they won't bother with martial courtesy—when the time comes, the true gods will definitely intervene, first kicking you out, then letting the mortals continue their petty squabbles……】

【Thus, a withdrawal filled with resignation yet anticipated began.】

【……】

"What? You're leaving?"

Upon hearing that the Western Continent farming army was to leave, the Liangzhou civilians, who had been going about their daily lives, were stunned: "If you leave, what will we do?!"

This is no joke!

Insiders know their own affairs; although being occupied by the Western Continent isn't pleasant, since the arrival of the Western Continent's Lin Pasha, the previously heavy taxes were basically cut entirely!

Besides taxes, there was land; Lin Pasha also redistributed land, punished landlords and tyrants, corrupt officials, and even used divine power to dispel flood and drought disasters, making Liangzhou completely renewed.

Although we've only been together for a short two years, the new Liangzhou hasn't yet become very prosperous and peaceful, but indisputably, it is moving in a good direction……

As a result, you now tell me you're leaving immediately?! No, Pasha, if you go, won't the landlords and corrupt officials just come back?! The populace panicked, all urging you to stay.

The eastern expeditionary army didn't want to leave either, since life had just begun to improve, and leaving again… wouldn't that be all for nothing? But Augustus's order couldn't be defied, so they could only bleed in heart while handing over the two years of newly cultivated farmland to the locals for free, acting as great benefactors……

【Soon, amidst reluctance and pleas, the million Western Continent farming soldiers took only some rations, left their new home of two years, and boarded the departing warships with heads bowed and spirits low.】

【Until they vanished into the distant sea, the Liangzhou folks who came to see them off remained dazed, as if in a dream……】

【In just two years, you left few traces on this land, and even as the Great Shun court and various rebel armies took over, those scant traces would be wiped out again and again until nothing remained.】

【But you seem to have left certain indelible marks on this land……】

【"Dad, will Lin Sultan come back?"】

【The young child asked cautiously.】

【The father opened his mouth; in fact he wanted to say "He probably won't return in his lifetime," but the words stuck in his throat……】

【"He will!"】

【The father nodded, speaking in a low voice.】

【"The Sultan will return like a flash of lightning!"】

【……】

【In the second year of the New Heavenly Court, the 151st year of Great Shun, the lame Lin Sultan led a million-strong army eastward to conquer Great Shun, without losing a single soldier, and secured the surrender of Liangzhou!】

【However, in the fourth year of the New Heavenly Court, the 153rd year of Great Shun, you, who had just established a foothold here, were confronted by a joint expulsion from over a hundred true gods; weak and isolated, you were forced to abandon this tract of Southern Jambu Continent land.】

【Yet your footsteps were silently remembered by the locals, who believe you will ultimately return like a flash of lightning……】

【Remember the key numbers: one, four, fifty-three!】

【Remember the key phrase: return like a flash of lightning!】

【Again, grasp the key figures: Augustus, Sultan!】【Case closed, 1453 Jingluo tears……wrong! How come you're both Augustus and Sultan……】

【……】

【In short, you were forced to leave Southern Jambu Continent.】

【But if you just went back like that, it would obviously not be what you wanted: you went through all this trouble—you can't possibly have gained nothing, right?】

【After careful consideration, you decided to continue sailing……】

【In the fourth year of the New Heavenly Court, you led tens of thousands of warships away from Southern Jambu Continent, which you had operated for two years, and then continued eastward.】

【The following year, you arrived at Eastern Victory Divine Continent……】

【Unlike Southern Jambu Continent, where true gods congregate, Eastern Victory Divine Continent lacks any significant true god presence—at most a few carefree cranes acting as local emperors here.】

【Faced with your side's eight true gods and a million-strong army, the tiny island states of Eastern Victory Divine Continent had no will to resist; often, before your black ships even reached the shore, the opposite side would come trembling to surrender.】

【Occasionally, a few hotheads dared to fight back, and you would crush them without mercy!】

【The million-strong eastern expeditionary army, bearing the "undead" buff, though not elite in itself, could overwhelm any resistance below true god level purely through sheer numbers.】

【Thus, the armies, having pent up their frustration along the way, finally unleashed a spectacular human‑machine welfare showdown, with all kinds of unstoppable combos and triumphant roars……】

【With a million charging forward, they could outright dismantle the island nations!】

【And the occasional true gods you encounter are no match for your Eight Immortals; you beat them down one by one until they kneel, then, in their terrified gazes, you send each a Blood God Son……】

【After completely subduing Eastern Victory Divine Continent, you began governance, maintaining the same old policy: abolish heavy taxes, equalize land, punish corrupt officials, dispel flood and drought……simple and brutal, yet highly effective!】

Afterwards, you left some people behind to maintain governance, keeping East Victory God Continent on a developmental trend…… As for you, you continued to lead the fleet on an expedition to Northern Kuru Continent.

Not long after you arrived in Northern Kuru Continent, you then followed the classic pattern, and soon Northern Kuru Continent also received effective governance.

By this point, you had seized all lands except Southern Jambudvipa Continent; after smashing their old era for them, you personally led them into a new age!

However, speaking of it, these tasks were actually things you had already done in your previous life, so even after accomplishing them, you felt little sense of achievement.

Even what you have done in this life falls short of your previous life, for in your past life you variously abused divine power, pushing welfare policies to the max…… Unlike this life, aside from using divine power to dispel some flood and drought disasters, everything you did could be done by mortals……

But no matter how you say it, after your governance, the three great continents aside from Great Shun are indeed better off than before; for this reason alone, your endeavors are beneficial!

……

In the fifth year of the New Heavenly Court, you, who had circled the world once, returned again to the Xiniu Hezhou headquarters you hadn't visited in five years.

As soon as you returned, you announced to the populace the gains and achievements of this trip: effective immediately, the New Heavenly Court now possesses three continents!

Once the news spread, it aroused astonishment among the folk: 'It really came true?!'

To be frank, regarding your expeditionary undertakings, everyone actually didn't pay much attention, merely thinking you, this dim-witted ruler, would at most go out for a couple of laps and return, but now it actually happened……

Before the crowd could even think it over, you further declared: since the newly added Northern Kuru Continent and East Victory God Continent are both impoverished, we need substantial manpower and material resources to undertake construction.

As long as land reclamation is done well, getting rich and wealthy is no longer a dream!

Get rich?

The crowd, which had originally been indifferent, instantly perked up their ears……

"East Victory God Continent has many islands abundant in spices; Northern Kuru Continent is vast and sparsely populated, with vast fertile lands lying fallow, and it also has gold and silver mines……"

Under your deliberate guidance and promotion, the crowd's enthusiasm gradually rose!

Holding onto dreams of spices, gold, and manors, countless people set out to sea excitedly, following the safe sea routes you provided, heading for that distant promised land……

Of course, leaving development solely to private individuals would certainly not work; you must also employ governmental power as the 'visible hand' to carry out comprehensive development everywhere!

Thus you halted the earlier development plan of 'using war to drive industry' and instead launched the plan of 'overseas development to drive industry'.

To this end, you placed many orders across all industries, further pushing their development; you even used divine power for scientific research, doing everything possible to support mortals and ensure they walk the path to independence and self-reliance.

Time flew by, and the mortal realm's development changed day by day; although it still falls far short of the peak of your previous life, it is visibly better than before……

And you also threw yourself wholeheartedly into it, continually bringing everyone valuable new discoveries: steel, grain production, machinery…… myriad things.

You were so immersed that you truly stopped thinking about matters of the Eternal Primordial Chaos; it seemed as if you had never been a protagonist, never known of any Eternal Primordial Chaos, and you even forgot the monkey who painstakingly practiced the wondrous cultivation method in Lingtai Fangcun Shan……

You all, as if you had never lived in the same worldview.

But…… can it truly all be forgotten?

You silently lowered your head and continued with the research at hand……

……

(End of chapter)