Chapter Thirty-Four: Civil War

After Sun Li, the Emperor of the Song Empire, swept across the fertile Golden Province from the savage Orc Continent, the military landscape of the Europa Continent underwent yet another transformation.

Faced with the Song Empire—a nation that repeatedly demonstrated an unscientific ability to erupt with overwhelming combat power—the Dwarf Empire, which had overextended itself, and the Elf Empire, which had finally managed to extricate one foot from the quagmire of guerrilla warfare, formed a defensive alliance. Since their territories did not share a border, the alliance was more of a symbolic gesture of strength.

Meanwhile, the Triple Alliance of human nations grew more tightly knit. Moving beyond mere paper agreements, they engaged in frequent joint military exercises. With the help of his allies, General Paris expanded his army to 100,000 men. In terms of numbers, they could at least be ranked among the powerful nations, though as for the quality of these troops—well, it is better left unsaid.

The two main opposing factions on the Europa Continent—the Dwarf-Elf Alliance and the Triple Alliance—reached a harmonious and friendly non-aggression pact. Even though both sides knew it was worth nothing more than the paper it was written on, as long as the Song Empire was not defeated or weakened, the treaty held immense authority.

Interestingly, the once-greatest human power, the English Empire, was magnificently ignored by all the continental powers. It was merely an island nation, and aside from its developed industrial system, it possessed nothing to attract these continental hegemons. Furthermore, any monarch could see that the English Empire was sitting on a powder keg of internal crisis. Rather than forming an alliance with a nation that couldn't even manage its own people, it was far more profitable to wait for an opportunity to scavenge whatever one could.

Inside a luxurious conference room within the English Empire, the Earl of Glamorgan—one of the wealthiest capitalists in the land—held court. An earldom did not mean much in the English Empire, as there were plenty of marquesses and dukes who looked down upon him. However, the vast factory assets owned by the Earl of Glamorgan were such that even the King treated him with a degree of respect; after all, even kings have times when they are short on cash.

The Earl of Glamorgan had no long-standing family history, let alone a powerful lineage. He had started his fortune through war bonds and opportunistic plundering of the colonies. His title was merely an honorific bought with money; he possessed no fiefdom and no subjects. Yet, this title allowed him to better integrate into the upper echelons of English society. Ultimately, the English Empire remained a feudal society where the bourgeoisie had not yet achieved absolute control, and the Earl’s greatest ambition was to ensure that capital would eventually rule the nation entirely.

The English Empire’s defeat on the Europa Continent provided the Earl with an opportunity and significantly weakened the military authority of the once-all-powerful Norman family. Meanwhile, the public dissatisfaction caused by the series of defeats inflicted by the Song Empire in the Golden Province gave the Earl hope of overthrowing the feudal dynasty. Today, in his private conference room, he was orchestrating the prelude to a revolt, gathering numerous fellow capitalists.

One should not underestimate these local tycoons, who held little political power in the empire. Any one of them could, at a moment’s notice, use their wealth to organize thousands of ruthless men, well-armed, as many of them were weapon manufacturers themselves.

When news arrived that the Golden Province had been completely occupied by the Song Empire, the entire English Empire erupted in a wave of massive protests. Who didn’t have friends or relatives in the Golden Province? After a decade of colonial rule and the province's rich output, countless impoverished youths with dreams of fortune had flocked to the New Continent. Now, the government’s inaction had left all of the Golden Province to suffer as slaves under the dictator Sun Li. From the reports filtering back, the English citizenry felt that the white people there were being treated as nothing more than slaves.

The continuous defeats and heavy loss of life had brought public sentiment to a breaking point. The common people cared little for the precarious external situation of the English Empire; they only knew that their investments, their friends, and their families were gone.

If it were just the commoners, they would naturally have been powerless. Leaving aside the ineffective police force, the 100,000 newly equipped regular army troops were not something a mob could easily challenge. However, what the commoners could not handle, the capitalists saw as a resource to be exploited. Using their various advantages, these wealthy men continuously infiltrated and corrupted the empire’s indigenous army. The decline of the Norman family’s influence further doubled the power of the capitalists.

Coupled with the surge in public opinion, everything seemed ripe for the taking. As for reclaiming the distant Golden Province to save national face, the greedy capitalists discarded such notions entirely. The empire was not yet the private property of the capitalist bloc led by the Earl of Glamorgan, and they cared little whether the national interest suffered.

Thus, it was only natural that less than three months after Sun Li pacified the Golden Province, the revolution erupted.

It began with a group of underworld thugs hired by the capitalists protesting before the government, demanding that it reclaim the lost colonies—or resign and get out. The target of this demand included the Emperor of the English Empire.

How could that be possible? The navy was currently struggling just to defend the home islands; launching an expedition to the Golden Province to confront the Song Empire’s ironclads would be suicide. As for the second demand, the result was that the protesters were simply arrested and thrown into prison.

Immediately afterward, through the spread of various rumors, every English citizen became convinced that the Emperor did not see them as human beings—that he was a dictatorial tyrant. And so, the revolution exploded.

At the onset, Victoria and the imperial family did not believe a mob could achieve anything. However, soon after, more than 60,000 of the 100,000 standing troops defected on the spot, crushing the Emperor’s loyalist forces. With the support of the Earl of Glamorgan and his fellow capitalists, these revolutionary forces quickly coalesced, advancing steadily and defeating the empire’s second-line troops time and again.

With the help of insiders, the capital changed hands easily, and the Emperor of the English Empire was sent to the guillotine by his own subjects.

Believing victory was assured, the Earl of Glamorgan extended an olive branch to the remnants of the Norman family—or at least what he considered an olive branch—demanding that Grand Duchess Victoria marry him. Looking at the Earl’s ugly, greedy face, Victoria sneered. Marry an old man old enough to be her father? And then hand over her family’s power on a silver platter? Did he truly believe he had achieved a decisive victory?

Victoria tore up the agreement without hesitation and drove the Earl’s envoys from the gates of the Norman estate, leaving only one message: "We shall meet on the battlefield." The Earl of Glamorgan was enraged; he had intended to spare her life, but the ungrateful Victoria had refused.

The Earl and his capitalists directed the 100,000-strong revolutionary army, which had effectively overthrown the English Empire, to march toward the traditional territories of the Norman family. At that time, the Norman family had only about 30,000 household infantry and 6,000 family knights who had been loyal for generations. Yet, the Norman family possessed a massive, century-old infrastructure, and their accumulated strength was quite formidable.

The equipment on both sides was roughly equal, but the revolutionary army outnumbered the Norman family by more than two to one. Confident, the faction led by the Earl of Glamorgan launched the first attack.

Initially, the revolutionary army used its sheer numbers and the shock of the several thousand core regular army veterans to gain a tactical advantage. Wave after wave of offensives crashed against the fortifications built by the Norman family. But the guards were steadfast, persistently wearing down the enemy’s numbers. Relying on their defenses, the Norman family achieved an excellent exchange ratio, while the mob-like elements of the revolutionary army could not breach the solid defensive system, leaving the burden of the fighting to the remaining core of the regular army.

After three days of war of attrition, soldiers on both sides were exhausted, and morale plummeted day by day. The Norman guards fared better, as they were effectively defending their own property; they had served the family for generations and were already one with it. Conversely, the revolutionary army began to show signs of war weariness. Since they had already overthrown the Emperor, why continue to attack these impregnable fortifications?

If the battle had been easier, they wouldn't have minded getting their hands on the Norman family’s vast wealth. But seeing nothing but death every day with zero progress, a sentiment of "let's just leave it at this" spread through the ranks. Most soldiers wanted to stop fighting and go home to collect the various benefits promised by the capitalists.

Thus, although the officer corps controlled by the Earl of Glamorgan issued strict orders to attack daily, the intensity of the assaults diminished. This gave the battle-weary Norman guards increasing confidence that they could defend their home.

A week into the siege, even the officers of the revolutionary army abandoned the unrealistic idea of destroying the Norman family. The pace of the offensive slowed from multiple waves a day to a "daily stroll," just to go through the motions. After all, the combat subsidies were quite generous, and the Earl was very lavish in his desire to vent his anger.

Seeing the enemy grow lax, the Norman generals organized all their family knights. These elite cavalry, clad in breastplates and mounted on massive steeds, waited for the revolutionary army to finish their "daily stroll" before charging out. Caught off guard, the revolutionary forces were routed by the powerful cavalry group.

The 100,000-strong army was decimated by fewer than 10,000 cavalrymen. If the household guards hadn't suffered such heavy casualties over the previous days, this battle might have resulted in the total annihilation of the revolutionary army.

Even so, although tens of thousands of the revolutionary troops managed to retreat, the remaining officers and men flatly refused to fight the Norman family again. The Earl of Glamorgan was helpless, and the civil war between the revolution and the Norman family entered a stalemate.