Chapter 121: Future

On a November night in Jinling, the cold grew stronger. Li Yuxuan stood by the study window, staring toward the Southwest, the cigarette in his hand already burned to the end. Only a desk lamp was lit in the study, its dim yellow light casting his upright silhouette on the wall, making it especially lonely.

"What are you looking at again?" Li Nian'an pushed the door open, his voice carrying the youthful vigor of a young man. He had just turned seventeen this year, the age of boiling blood.

"Southwest," Li Yuxuan replied briefly, his gaze still fixed on the dark night sky outside.

Li Nian'an walked to his father's side, his tone tinged with displeasure: "You spent all the family savings I asked you to save, and now you're still looking at the Southwest. Moreover, will Xinan Wang Longyun now let you go in?"

"If he lets me in, I'll go in; if he doesn't, I'll fight," Li Yuxuan finally turned around, a complex expression on his face that his son couldn't read, "I originally planned to have you stay with the Chairman."

"Damn, doesn't the family have any listening devices?" Li Nian'an instinctively lowered his voice.

"Don't worry, there aren't any," Li Yuxuan walked to the desk and sat down slowly, "That's fine, why do you want to send me over there?"

"I've been a servant all my life. I don't want you to be like me," Li Yuxuan's voice suddenly deepened, "When we get there, regardless of whether they believe us, something big may happen in the future over there, so I won't join that commotion."

So why are you looking at the Southwest? Li Nian'an asked, puzzled.

Li Yuxuan didn't answer immediately, but took a Brocade Box from the drawer. Opening it, inside was a rubbing of a Jade Seal. "Do you know, every man has something he cannot refuse."

"What thing?"

"Mandated by Heaven, Eternal Longevity." Li Yuxuan pronounced the eight characters one by one, his eyes flashing with an odd light. Of course the thing was fake, but I would make it real.

Li Nian'an stepped back in shock, "Damn, Dad, are you crazy? Is your brain still okay? The Chairman hasn't died yet?"

"Who says I'm opposing him," Li Yuxuan said with a meaning‑laden smile.

"If not his, then whose?"

"Xuewen, from now on you must remember every word I say. In the 38th year of the Republic, go straight to Nanyang, establish a nation there, create the realm you envision."

"What about you?" Li Nian'an's voice trembled a bit.

"If one day the Young Master truly loses to them, I will stay behind as a captive," Li Yuxuan said, his tone unusually calm, "That way, even if you establish a nation in Nanyang, the Young Master will have no face to come back. Moreover, I have acquaintances over there, so I need not worry about my safety."

"Why?" Li Nian'an couldn't understand his father's decision.

"Have you heard a poem?"

"Which poem?"

"Report to you the intention on the Golden Terrace, lift the Jade Dragon to die for you," Li Yuxuan recited the poem, a flash of resolve passing through his eyes.

Li Nian'an's tears welled up, "I thought you had come to terms, but I didn't expect you to be so Foolish Loyalty. What is so good about the Chairman? He has you completely bewitched."

"He may have countless faults, but I cannot oppose him," Li Yuxuan's voice, though gentle, carried undeniable firmness, "I've already thought out a fallback for you; I've proposed to the Young Master to raise a Private Army. The plan to go to Nanyang I've also arranged for you."

Li Yuxuan walked to the map, his finger tracing the Southeast Asia region: "First step: conquer French Indochina, its rubber and rice are the foundation of our livelihood.

Second step: occupy Siam, control the Mekong River Plain.

Third step: seize British Burma, open an Indian Ocean outlet.

Fourth step: capture British Malaya and Singapore, control the Strait of Malacca.

Fifth step: take British Brunei, acquire oil resources.

Sixth step: capture Dutch East Indies, its spices and minerals enough to sustain an empire.

Seventh step: seize the Philippines, establish a Pacific Ocean defense line.

Eighth step: cleanse Portuguese Timor, complete Nanyang unification.

Li Nian'an watched his father's silhouette pointing at the map, suddenly feeling a pang of heartache. The father he had idolized since childhood yet also despised was now both familiar and strange.

"Dad, do you really think this plan is feasible?"

"Things are made by people," Li Yuxuan turned, his eyes flashing with wisdom, "The European Great Powers are now preoccupied with themselves, Japan will sooner or later go to war with the United States. This is a once‑in‑a‑thousand‑years opportunity."

"But..."

"There is no 'but'." Li Yuxuan cut off his son, "Remember, those who achieve great deeds do not fuss over trivialities. When you reach Nanyang, you must learn to unite the local Chinese, but always maintain our independence."

It was late at night, and Li Nian'an returned to his room, yet could not sleep. He opened his diary, the steel pen lingering on the paper for a long time before finally writing this passage: "I despise my father's feudal thinking, I can feel sorry for his tireless striving for country and people... My father always hesitates before speaking. Yet the love in his eyes also hesitates to be spoken. Therefore my father appears rarely in my diary, because I cannot describe his love for me."

"Tonight, father revealed an earth‑shattering plan to me. He wants me, after eighteen years, to go to Nanyang to found a nation, while he himself will stay behind, willingly becoming a captive. I don't understand why he is so Foolish Loyalty to the Chairman? Why would he rather sacrifice himself to pave the way for me?"

"Father said, 'Report to you the intention on the Golden Terrace, lift the Jade Dragon to die for you.' This sentence is like a knife, cutting through the deepest rift between father and son. He is the last scholar‑official of the Old Era, and I, destined to become a pioneer of the New Era."

"Perhaps this is the irony of fate. Father used all his wisdom and stratagems to map a path he could never tread. I will carry his expectations, cross the distant seas, and realize the grand undertaking he could only imagine in his dreams."

Writing this, Li Nian'an's tears surged again, dripping onto the diary, blurring the ink.

Meanwhile, in the study, Li Yuxuan still stood before the map. His finger gently brushed over the various islands of Nanyang, his eyes filled with both longing and reluctance.

"Son, don't blame me," he murmured to himself, "In this chaotic world, someone must make sacrifices. I've chosen my path, and you should also forge your own."

Outside, the night sky over Jinling was speckled with countless stars.