[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-peace-decree":3,"chapter-the-peace-decree-the-peace-decree-chapter-566":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Peace Decree",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2328741,4553,"Chapter 566","the-peace-decree-chapter-566",566,"\u003Cp>Who dares attack my great city!?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It’s the Taiping Army…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Taiping Army?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Taiping Army is long dead! Don’t mock us here!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Chuanning, the garrison commander near the northern border of Ying Guo, was awakened by the commotion; enraged, he led his troops onto the walls—only to see the ancient Taiping Army banner whipping wildly in the wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the Taiping Army, several generals stood in a single line.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One weapon after another was raised high.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, a glimpse of the Taiping Army’s former glory was revealed; weapons lowered, Yan Xuanji roared—and Wang Chuanning’s limbs turned icy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Me?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Facing even a single shard of the Taiping Army at its peak?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse still, these veteran generals were now stronger than in their prime; though their qi and physique had declined, a fiercer emotion surged within them now—stronger than even that of the grieving army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This will be the Taiping Army’s final battle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Regardless of victory or defeat, after this battle, they will retire from the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The words “Taiping Army” may ultimately be swept into a corner of time, forgotten in the end—but before our glory is drowned by the age, there remains this one battle!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This battle cannot be lost!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In less than a day, this city gate was breached.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Wang Chuanning of Ying Guo was slain on the spot by Yuan Shitong; morale soared. After consecutive victories, the Taiping Army no longer sealed off rear areas or occupied cities as usual—instead, like a sharp blade, they surged straight toward the Eastern Capital.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this time, top generals and frontline units faced each other in standoff.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The remaining second-line units were forced to suppress rebel forces; yet now, this same elite Taiping Army advanced like a spear thrust, meeting almost no resistance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Without distraction, they could reach the gates of the Eastern Capital in mere days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This news spread with lightning speed to the imperial palace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao sat in the palace hall, dazed and vacant; he had not slept for days, resting only with brief, closed eyes. Before him, scrolls upon scrolls lay unrolled, each marked in vermilion ink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These were the most urgent, most critical military reports in the realm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such reports were as grave as battles involving a hundred thousand troops.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In past eras, such emergencies occurred no more than a few times in ten years.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Now, they came with terrifying frequency.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report!!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Qin Yulong has been defeated by Yue Qianfeng and must retreat fifty li, holding position amid the mountains and rivers—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Troop losses: three tenths!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rebel raid on Zhenbeicheng has failed; the city still holds its general!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report—!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Grand Tutor Jiang Su seeks to retreat; Emperor Li Guanyi advances, pinning Grand Tutor Jiang Su and preventing his withdrawal for aid!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report, urgent military intelligence!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>General Taishu Yi has executed the imperial envoy, declared himself general, and proclaimed himself king!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Report—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One report after another poured in without pause; scouts and elite cavalry raced into Ying Guo’s palace without end. To accelerate intelligence delivery, Jiang Gao had even ordered the palace gates opened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He halted all prior security screenings meant to guard against assassins.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All for the sake of speed—so intelligence could flow faster across Ying Guo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen warned this was reckless; such measures endangered the emperor’s safety. Jiang Gao replied only: the realm has reached this state; even one delayed report could alter the entire course of war.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could we, fearing phantom assassins, place the realm and the state last?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, the palace gates were torn down entirely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Intelligence poured in unceasingly; ministers and strategists processed it swiftly, then dispatched orders with equal speed. But the realm was too exhausted now—no single man could turn the tide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Jiang Gao, pushing himself to the brink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked up—scrolls and reports still piled like mountains, not diminished, but increased since before!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen’s eye bags had deepened; even Jiang Cai looked weary, now dozing against a red pillar, clutching scrolls as she leaned on the pillar supporting the imperial hall.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what truly upheld the palace and imperial dignity—the pillars, or the people?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao did not wake them. He stepped quietly out, gazing at the sky. Night had fallen, yet summer’s heavens still held a faint blue glow, the clouds’ contours barely visible.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao had not slept for days. Now, staring at the sky, he was lost in thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This solemn, opulent palace was like a lock—locking away the vast sky, locking Jiang Gao in. He stood quietly. The palace remained splendid, yet strangely desolate, pulling him into its melancholy, urging him to flee the present.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Footsteps came from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“…Your Majesty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao turned. Wei Yiwen stood behind him, exhaustion etched on his face. Once, Wei Yiwen had cared deeply for his health; his white hair still held streaks of black, lustrous and glossy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He carried an air of noble ease, of refined comfort.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet only days had passed—fifteen, perhaps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His hair was now entirely white, like ash after flame burned out. Wrinkles deepened daily; in half a month, he had aged more than a decade.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The toll on his spirit was immense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day passed like a season.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen knew his body was like oil poured onto fire; he still stood only because the fate of the realm held him up, because one breath remained trapped in his chest, refusing to leave!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once this crisis passed—even if Ying Guo survived, even if Emperor Li Guanyi did not break it—he would have little time left. Perhaps a month, perhaps mere days, he would pass away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He suddenly understood Jiang Wanxiang’s state of mind from years past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To die, let it be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only regret: my wishes unfulfilled, my body already decayed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao said: “Grand Tutor, you’ve labored long. Won’t you rest?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen replied: “Your Majesty endures as you do—how could your humble servant speak of fatigue?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao said no empty pleasantries. He gazed into the distance, hands behind his back: “When I was crown prince, I thought solving one matter was just one matter—a battlefield victory was simply a victory.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Now I see the truth.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This realm is vast. Even one battlefield drains such spirit. Zhenbeicheng, Beiyu Pass, the southern front—each is but a fragment of this vast war. One victory, one defeat, only shifts the final outcome slightly.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“This realm breathes—it changes with time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only now…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Do I understand: a battlefield is not merely battlefields. It is the people, the underworld, terrain, and circumstance. Layer upon layer, complex and three-dimensional—that is the true battlefield.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Each day, each front, brings countless reports.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“From the people, from the past, from the enemy, from the battlefield—even from logistics…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These reports are already overwhelming, intricate.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Each one influences, interferes with, or supports the others. Each directly affects the entire war and the realm’s fate. Countless pieces of intelligence converge—and must be judged in moments.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Each judgment alters future intelligence.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It drains the mind utterly…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao reached up, pinching a strand of hair at his temple. Black strands were now thick with white. His expression was complex, faintly self-mocking:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A war waged across the entire realm, with the future as its outcome—a grand campaign, long frontlines, multiple theaters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Never in history has such a thing existed.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“In just these fifteen days, I feel utterly drained. Even the greatest generals could not endure such a war more than a few times in their lives.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Li Guanyi… Li Guanyi—how, at this age, could he summon such a storm? Is he a martial legend?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did he become a legend through his martial deeds—or did his deeds forge his legendary name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Only fifteen days.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And my Ying Guo already reeks of a collapsing empire.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen fell silent for a long while.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The old minister bowed his head and said:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, I have a word I do not know whether to speak.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao said: “Speak freely.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen exhaled, then spoke: “Your Majesty—move the capital.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao froze, staring at the white-haired elder, whose life seemed spent in fifteen days. Wei Yiwen’s face was bitter: “All troops have been deployed. Only the imperial guards remain in the Eastern Capital.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“These guards hold no great strength.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Listen to your humble servant.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The art of war speaks of heaven’s timing, earth’s advantage, and men’s harmony.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Emperor Li Guanyi seized heaven’s timing from the start, striking at Ying Guo’s weakest moment. We’ve been on the defensive since day one. In barely half a month, smoke and fire have risen everywhere.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, only flight offers a sliver of hope.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Preserve the momentum—perhaps we may rise again!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao looked at the old minister, then smiled faintly: “You have given your all—I know. You were close to my father—I know. And because of Yuan’s death, you carry guilt toward me and my father—I know.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know you have given your all; I know you have had a harmonious relationship with your emperor, my father; and I know that because of Yuan’s affair, you feel guilt toward me and my father.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I know you wish for the Great Ying Empire to continue existing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But if one loses the people, the land, the ancestral temples, and the capital—what kind of survival is that? Merely clinging to life by a thread.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao smiled and said, “I am also the Emperor of Daying.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even in death, we shall perish with the state.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Rest time is nearly over, Minister Wei, let us return to the scrolls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen spun around violently; the old minister could barely contain himself, his voice rising: “But Your Majesty, the Imperial Guard and the Imperial Forest Army combined in the Eastern Capital number barely twenty thousand—yet the Taiping Army has nearly one hundred thousand!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Majesty, one hundred thousand! Filled with the spirit of the aggrieved, their strategists and generals surge forward in unison—we cannot stop them!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen was a renowned minister, and quite a strategist.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But precisely because he was a renowned minister, a strategist, only now, in retrospect, could he grasp the terrifying brilliance of the strategist within the Taiping Army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was nearly worthy of a place among the top ten greatest strategists in all history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He also knew that when the Taiping Army, absent from the world for twenty-two years, returned, it would blaze with dazzling brilliance, revealing unmatched combat resolve and razor-sharp edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forget twenty thousand troops against one hundred thousand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if we truly had one hundred thousand Imperial Guards—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We still lack generals capable of matching the Taiping Army. We are no match.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Imperial Palace Guards, no matter how you praise them, are merely elite second-tier forces. But the Taiping Army, returned to the world and the battlefield, may lack many things—but in this assault on the Eastern Capital, they are unquestionably a top-tier frontline force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A force capable of shattering twenty thousand Imperial Guards with merely eight thousand men.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, they have eighty thousand!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Add to that the twenty thousand Iron Cavalry reorganized by Prince A Shi Na.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Twenty thousand Imperial Guards against this force?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>We simply cannot win.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In these three days since receiving the intelligence, Wei Yiwen had not slept a wink; every moment, he wrestled with how to defeat—no, even that was too much to ask—how to delay, how to hold out against this force.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He was a renowned scholar of the realm, and had racked his brain over countless ideas and stratagems—but before this despairing, overwhelming disparity of power, even the finest scholar’s schemes meant nothing.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was why Wei Yiwen, in utter despair, proposed the idea of [relocating the capital].\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao looked at the old minister and said, “If we cannot win, do we just stop fighting?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Avoiding harm and seeking advantage—that is the way of the strategist.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“But it is never the choice of a sovereign.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao walked forward slowly; his imperial sleeves fluttered, his brow weary, yet within that weariness lay a regal calm. “If we win, we still have a future. But if we lose…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A sovereign dies with his state.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It is only right.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Let my death open the curtain of the Taiping era.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao, spine straight, passed by Wei Yiwen, who bowed with clasped hands, tears streaming. His temples grayed, his expression open, calm, and resolute—so much so that, for a moment, it seemed as though a venerable monarch, striding with dragon’s grace and tiger’s might, spoke:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And what an honor it is!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yiwen opened his mouth, but choked on sobs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a sovereign, with such courage and resolve—if he had appeared earlier, Wei Yiwen would have been overjoyed, proud beyond measure. But now, in this desperate hour, such a sovereign only deepened his grief, his anguish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not that Jiang Su, He Ruo, or Yu Wenlie were weak—these three, in the old Taiping era, each had the potential to vie for the title of the realm’s greatest. Nor was Daying’s territory insufficient—tens of thousands of li of land, worthy of a great central kingdom. Nor was Jiang Gao’s presence lacking in majesty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao had already transformed rapidly under this pressure.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In any other age, this combination of men would have been enough to crush the world’s chaos and forge a new era. They were strong—truly among the greatest in history.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But this time, they faced an even stronger foe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This unification of the realm, this peace across the four seas, was not the hollow ascension of weaklings who bullied orphans and widows, betrayed their lords, and deceived the world. It was the grandest sovereign, with peerless generals and elite armies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Colliding head-on with the most magnificent, overwhelming force, to determine victory and defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was grandeur in this clash.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But the defeated side—how bitter their refusal to yield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao returned to the grand hall. He stared at the scrolls brought from every corner of the realm—each one filled with military intelligence, the very foundation of warfare: the exchange of pieces. But now, Daying had no power left.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These countless reports, each from different regions, interwoven and coordinated, each capable of shifting the fate of the realm—now converged like chains, like a thousand tangled knots of chaos.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao stared for a long time, sensing the suffocating atmosphere.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a minister as renowned as Wei Yiwen had no solution.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even a strategist as brilliant as Jiang Cai was powerless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao gripped his sword, then rose suddenly. The gentleman’s blade leapt from its scabbard, its light cold and lethal, slashing downward—cleaving the desk and the scrolls upon it in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao gripped his sword and suddenly rose; the Gentleman’s Blade flew from its scabbard, its light cold and lethal, slashing down with such force that it cleaved the desk and the intelligence upon it cleanly in two.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The strategists and ministers here—Jiang Cai, Wei Yiwen—were struck by this force, as if needles pricked their skin, a tingling numbness spreading, their scalps tightening, their bodies tensing, their eyes snapping to the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao, clad in the imperial dragon robe, gazed calmly: “There is no turning back now. You have worked hard. The rest is mine.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao, clad in the imperial robe embroidered with the Azure Dragon, gazed calmly: “The matter has reached this point—there is no room for compromise. You have worked hard; the rest I shall handle.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Issue my edict…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Eastern Capital was the greatest city in the Central Plains. Though not as lavish as Jiangzhou in Chen Guo, it stood majestic and solemn. On this day, Emperor Jiang Gao personally ordered the people summoned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then he commanded them to lock their doors and leave the city.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people stood stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao stood atop the altar where heaven and earth were once worshipped. Beside him, Jiang Cai held a tray bearing the imperial seal. Jiang Gao looked out over the dense sea of people and spoke softly: “The Qin Army’s Taiping forces will arrive soon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A great battle will come here—but this war is ours alone, not yours. Please leave now. Wait until the final day of battle, when the swords fall silent, before you return!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Wait until the realm is at peace, and then return!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao’s voice carried far, carried by the realm’s destiny.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had read history—he knew that in sieges, rulers conscripted civilians, even women and children, to defend walls, and sometimes resorted to eating their flesh, all to hold the city. Jiang Gao did not know if he, in desperation, would do the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had read history and knew that during sieges, rulers conscripted civilians—even women and children—to defend the walls, and at last resorted to eating their flesh and blood, all to hold the city. Jiang Gao did not know whether he himself would do the same when pushed to the brink.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he could prevent this possibility in advance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Our struggle is not yours.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao exhaled, then placed his right hand over his left, bowed deeply before the sea of people, his voice choked but loud: “I, Jiang Gao, am a man of meager virtue. I hold this throne only by fortune.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I have failed to protect my homeland, failed to secure the peace of my people.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“My fellow townsfolk—I am sorry…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I am, after all, not a worthy sovereign.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The people of the Eastern Capital knew Jiang Gao’s kindness; they knew the crimes of the past were Jiang Yuan’s doing. Moved by the need to abandon their homeland, they wept—but Jiang Gao persuaded and guided them away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Within the Eastern Capital, only ten thousand guards and twenty thousand Imperial Guards remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One day after he sent the people away, the Taiping Army arrived nearby.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Cai and Wei Yiwen gazed at Jiang Gao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had discarded the imperial robe woven with finest silk and gold thread. Now he wore only armor, over which draped a dark blue battle robe with martial and civil sleeves. In his hand, he held a long spear, his fingers slowly tracing its surface.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His fingertips felt the cold, lethal aura of steel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grew distant.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He remembered long ago.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When his mother still lived, when he was still a boy, when Jiang Yuan was still innocent, when their father had seated them both on his shoulders, holding a spear, laughing as he practiced martial forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After that incident, his mother was still alive; he was still a boy, and Jiang Yuan was still a naive child. Their father had seated both boys on his shoulders, gripped his spear, and laughed as he practiced martial forms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To enjoy privilege, one must first bear responsibility.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“The world speaks of cause and effect. But to me, the royal family’s karmic debt is inverted. I have already enjoyed all the honors of my lineage. Now, I need only fulfill the [cause]—the duty.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao gripped the weapon—the Spear of Jiang Wanxiang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He turned, his sleeves swirling.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at Jiang Cai, at Wei Yiwen—the once-gentle scholar, the later patricide king—now his bearing had changed utterly. He spoke softly: “The rules of warfare are merely exchanges of pieces.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“All around, pieces are being traded. They have gained Dou De and their former Taiping forces. But they do not know—we still have one piece outside the board.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The banners of the Taiping Army rippled across the land like waves. On the towering walls of the Eastern Capital, Jiang Gao himself stepped onto the battlefield. Banners flapped in every direction; eagles carried word far and wide.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Emperor of Daying Jiang Gao issued his order—\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All armies, follow your previous orders: intercept Dou De and the other rebel bands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even if the sovereign falls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Continue to ride the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sovereign may die—but the state must not!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Jiang Gao may perish—but the homeland must not!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I shall be a single piece.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“To open the path for you all!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The sovereign, clad in battle robe and armor, stepped onto the battlefield, standing atop the Eastern Capital. He had sent all the people away, and now led his final guards forward—the Azure Dragon banner whipping above his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even among the realm’s greatest generals, I am still one piece!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Not yet in the game!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“COME!!!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>?? Please vote for monthly tickets, friends\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Please vote for monthly tickets, friends!\u003C\u002Fp>",3379,"2026-06-20T19:20:36.387Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","c31bb9feb606700b75d57df5f8fdc855de141e4cac104fc0aa3b34235332ff6c","the-peace-decree-chapter-567","the-peace-decree-chapter-565",593,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-peace-decree-cover.jpg"]