Free Web NovelChapter 189: The Grand Concord Dynasty Surrenders
After the birth of radio technology, Newhaven City’s intelligence gathering and communication capabilities grew far beyond anything the Grand Concord Dynasty or Thalric could imagine.
The western expeditionary army had caused enormous turmoil within Grand Concord territory.
Caelum had noticed them long ago.
His reason for targeting them was simple.
He wanted to learn about the current state of the western world from the expeditionary army itself.
After advancing two thousand li into the Grand Concord Dynasty, Newhaven’s forces constructed an airfield on the front line as quickly as possible.
Supplies began arriving without pause.
Then ten air squadrons took off.
Thirty aircraft in total flew directly toward Prosperity Crown.
The Newhaven front line was only a little over one thousand kilometers from the capital.
Prosperity Crown had already entered the bombers’ operational range.
The propeller bombers could fly at nearly five hundred kilometers per hour.
Within three hours, they could reach the skies above Prosperity Crown and carry out a complete bombardment.
In an age incapable of striking targets at high altitude, whoever controlled the skies ruled the land below.
A little over two hours later, a deep roar spread across the heavens.
Thirty bombers flew over Prosperity Crown in a vast formation.
The emperor and his officials had already learned from front line reports that these were Newhaven’s new weapons. freewebnøvel.coɱ
They could drop enormous quantities of thunder and fire.
Their destructive power was astonishing.
Most of the hundreds of thousands of soldiers sent to the front had been shattered before ever seeing Newhaven’s army.
They had no means of resisting these machines.
Now, those same machines had appeared above Prosperity Crown.
The meaning was obvious.
Whenever Newhaven wished, it could turn the capital into a sea of flames and ruins.
The people of Prosperity Crown stared upward and cried out in amazement.
They had no idea how much danger those iron birds represented.
Inside the palace, every civil and military official had gone pale.
"Your Majesty, you must not!"
"Release me!"
The emperor threw off the officials trying to stop him and ordered the guards aside.
He led the court out of the hall and stood before the palace steps, looking up at the aircraft roaring through the sky.
Only sorrow remained in his eyes.
"Heh. The capital of a great dynasty allows the enemy to violate its skies without any means of resistance. How absurd. What a humiliation."
The officials thought the bombers were about to drop thunder and fire.
Instead, the sky filled with leaflets and battle reports.
The emperor caught one of the leaflets.
It announced that Prosperity Crown would be bombed at noon three days later.
He picked up another sheet.
It clearly described the disastrous defeats suffered by Grand Concord forces at the front.
The imperial court had not even received its own emergency reports yet.
Newhaven had already printed the news and spread it across the capital.
Now that the people of Prosperity Crown had seen it, the court could no longer conceal the truth.
Panic would spread through the city.
Even the armies that had not yet departed for the front would begin to waver.
The emperor let out a long sigh.
His hand trembled slightly.
Words caught in his throat and refused to come out.
After a long silence, the strength left his once upright posture.
He seemed to age many years in an instant.
"My ministers, we should surrender."
No one spoke.
They all knew the war could not continue.
The Grand Concord Dynasty had no strength to resist Newhaven.
If they fought on, Prosperity Crown itself would be reduced to ashes.
A letter of surrender was urgently sent toward the front.
If it failed to reach Newhaven’s army within three days, Prosperity Crown would become a sea of fire and ruins.
That same day, the emperor of the Grand Concord Dynasty drank poisoned wine and died in his study.
The entire capital entered mourning.
Ten days later, Newhaven’s army marched south.
The officials welcomed them outside Prosperity Crown and escorted them into the city.
Along the way, the remaining western expeditionary forces stationed in separate camps were swept away.
The survivors were imprisoned and placed under interrogation.
Not long afterward, the Leader flew directly into the imperial district of Prosperity Crown.
The people of the capital looked up in astonishment.
For the first time, they truly felt the power of Newhaven.
"How did Newhaven build something so enormous?"
"This is unbelievable."
The Leader descended inside the palace grounds.
Caelum stepped out of the cabin.
Newhaven’s soldiers remained silent.
They formed perfect rows on both sides and saluted him.
The civil and military officials of the Grand Concord court knelt across the ground.
They bowed their heads and did not dare look directly at him, hoping to display their submission.
Caelum ignored them completely.
He had no need for their loyalty.
In truth, he felt somewhat disappointed.
From the beginning, he had treated this war with absolute seriousness.
Even with the enormous technological gap between the two sides, Caelum had never lowered his guard.
Whenever airships were needed, he deployed them. freēwēbnovel.com
Whenever aircraft were needed, he sent them.
Only the Armored Army had remained behind because the roads could not support a thousand li advance.
In every other respect, he had shown the Grand Concord Dynasty no mercy.
Yet the war ended even faster than he expected.
Caelum climbed the stone steps and entered the great hall.
He looked around and had to admit that the Grand Concord palace was more magnificent than the one in Newhaven.
Edrick seemed to notice his mood.
"Leader, you seem dissatisfied."
Caelum glanced coldly at the officials kneeling outside.
"I do not need their submission. Even if they refused to surrender, I would still have reached Prosperity Crown. Of the entire Grand Concord court, only the emperor showed any backbone."
Edrick understood exactly what the officials were thinking.
"Most of them probably believe they can continue serving the new state and preserve the wealth and influence of their great houses."
Many of these ministers already had deep ties to the old dynasty.
When the old dynasty fell, its officials had simply gone on to serve the Grand Concord Dynasty.
But the age had changed.
Caelum had no intention of repeating the old pattern.
Newhaven’s technology and institutions would create a stronger and more advanced nation.
These corrupt and outdated men had no value left.
The young scholars of Newhaven would become the pillars of the new state.
"Confiscate all property belonging to the great houses and powerful clans of Prosperity Crown."
"Understood."
After giving the order, Caelum never looked at the officials again.
That day, Caelum entered the imperial palace of Prosperity Crown as the Leader of Newhaven City.
The Grand Concord Dynasty officially came to an end after four hundred and fifty years.
The entire realm was shaken.
Although Caelum had taken Prosperity Crown, he had no intention of moving the capital.
Newhaven City’s industry and economy far surpassed anything Prosperity Crown could offer.
There was no reason to relocate.
Besides, the war was not over yet.
With the Grand Concord Dynasty destroyed and Prosperity Crown under new rule, the southern regions would inevitably become restless.
Countless warlords might emerge.
Newhaven’s forces would divide, and part of the army would continue south until every warlord within former Grand Concord territory had been suppressed.
Those were minor problems.
None could create a serious threat.
During that time, Caelum returned to Newhaven City and convened another high level meeting.
The subject was the founding of a nation.
The time had come.
After discussion within the council, Caelum made the final decision.
All territory once belonging to the Grand Concord Dynasty would be incorporated into Newhaven.
A new country would be established upon that foundation.
Its name would be Steel.
