bookbashuk Chapter 348 The Collapse of the Three Princes
Chapter 348 The Collapse of the Three Princes
The daimyo of the Land of Earth reclined on a soft couch covered in white tiger skin, feeling a vague unease.
"call out......"
A sharp whooshing sound suddenly came from outside the hall.
Immediately afterwards, the palace door was pushed open violently, and Onoki staggered in.
His earthen robe was covered in dust, and his once neatly combed white hair was now disheveled and stuck to his forehead.
The daimyo of the Land of Earth gripped the jade pendant tightly, his brows furrowing instantly, his expression displeased: "Onoki, what's the matter with your flustered state?"
Seeing Onoki's disheveled appearance, he vaguely guessed that something serious must have happened.
Onoki showed no intention of sitting down, and instead stretched out a trembling finger and stabbed it heavily on the territory of the Land of Water.
"I just returned from the border of the Land of Water. Did you know? The Land of Water is now several times stronger than the Land of Fire at its peak! Their treasury is overflowing, and their ninja forces are equipped with the latest ninja tools. If the Land of Water and the Land of Akatsuki continue to develop like this, our Land of Earth will be swallowed up by them sooner or later!"
The daimyo's eyes flickered uncertainly. He had long heard that the Land of Water was growing stronger under the rule of the Uchiha Three Peaks, but he never expected it to be this strong.
"Oonoki, what are your thoughts?"
Instead of giving a direct answer, he threw the question back at the cunning Tsuchikage, wanting to see what countermeasures this experienced and shrewd man had in mind.
Onoki leaned over the sand table, his expression serious. "The Akatsuki's expansion is accelerating; last month they even conquered a city in the Kuma Country. Meanwhile, the Land of Water has the Uchiha Three Peaks at its helm, and their strength grows stronger every day. Rather than watching them dominate, we should find a way to make them fight each other first... and give the spoils to the Land of Water..."
Upon hearing this, the daimyo seemed somewhat surprised and puzzled by the suggestion: "You mean, the Land of Fire should cede its territory to the Land of Water? But the second prince of the Land of Fire, Enichi, was someone we paid a considerable price to put on the throne. Wouldn't it be a huge loss to have him surrender the city now?"
Onoki's expression was somewhat serious as he slowly explained, "Your Excellency, there's no need to worry. Yuan Shiqiang will either comply with our arrangements and surrender the castle voluntarily, or we'll find someone else who's obedient to be this 'prince'! We've already recouped the resources we invested; the benefits he can offer now are limited, so we might as well make use of him."
After saying that, he bent down, took out a scroll of intelligence, and slowly unfolded it in front of the daimyo.
Above is the "National Welfare List" of the Land of Water, which is densely written on three pages, including tax reductions for the people and pensions for the ninjas.
"The Land of Water has many welfare benefits. Commoners receive subsidies for having children, and the compensation for a fallen ninja is twice that of us. Even building a road requires compensating the people along the route. If they were to take over the Land of Fire's territory, they would have to invest massive amounts of resources in water conservancy projects and disaster relief. In the long run, even the most wealthy nation would be bankrupted!"
The daimyo stared at the list, then hesitantly asked, "Onoki, what do you think the success rate is?"
Onoki leaned closer to the daimyo, his voice extremely low: "Very high. Once the Land of Fire surrenders its castle, the Land of Water's border will be directly connected to the Land of Akatsuki. We only need to sow discord between them to make them fight each other. Once they're both exhausted, we can reap the benefits! Then the entire Land of Fire will be ours!"
The daimyo of the Land of Earth casually stroked his chin, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Alright, then let's do it your way... Send my order to send an envoy to the Land of Fire immediately, and make sure that Enichi surrenders the city within seven days."
Almost simultaneously, similar conversations were taking place in the royal palaces of the Land of Wind and the Land of Thunder.
The daimyo of the Land of Wind looked at the intelligence report in his hand and said coldly to the envoy, "Tell Madoka Kaname that he either has to surrender the city or wait to be destroyed by the Land of Dawn. We, the Land of Wind, will not send another soldier to support him."
The Daimyo of the Land of Lightning slammed the ultimatum on the table, his tone forceful: "Tell Enichi to face reality. His forces can't even hold off a small squad from the Land of Akatsuki. He'd better surrender the castle now!"
Soon, the envoys of the three great nations entered the cities of the Land of Fire.
Suddenly, the palace doors were pushed open, and Shi Daishan, the envoy from the Land of Earth, wearing a dark court robe and holding a letter from the daimyo in both hands, strode in.
He was followed by several elite ninjas, whom the guards in the hall could not stop even if they tried.
"Your Highness, stop tidying up."
Envoy Shi Dashan's eyes were cold, and his gaze swept over the portraits of previous daimyo on the wall with a hint of contempt. Then it landed on Yuan Shiqiang, without the slightest respect in his eyes.
Yuan Shi turned around abruptly, the jade pendant hanging from his waist not having time to be put away properly, and it hit the corner of the table with a "clang," making a crisp sound.
Seeing Shi Dashan's rude behavior, his face instantly flushed red, and he angrily shouted, "Shi Dashan! You barged in without announcing yourself and dare to be so disrespectful to me? Do you have no respect for the royal family of the Fire Kingdom?!"
Shi Dashan completely ignored his anger and handed him the letter: "Second Prince, this is the decision of the Daimyo of the Land of Earth. Please surrender all your territories to the Daimyo of the Land of Water, Uchiha Sanfeng, within seven days."
"What did you say? Give up your territory? Are you crazy?"
Yuan Shiqiang's voice suddenly rose, almost roaring as he uttered those two words.
He snatched the letter, his fingers trembling violently with anger, and it took him a great deal of effort to open it.
When he saw the two bold characters "Surrender the City," he could no longer control his emotions and violently threw the letter from Prince Xin to the ground, scattering the papers all over the floor.
He pointed at Shi Dashan, trembling with rage: "This is outrageous! They actually want me to surrender the city? Lord Shi, do you know this is treason and collusion with the enemy! I am the prince of the Fire Kingdom, and I would never do such a thing that betrays my country!"
Shi Dashan sneered, stepped forward, and said in a blatantly threatening tone, "Treason? Your Highness, you should face reality. According to our intelligence, the army of the Land of Dawn has already amassed on the border of the Land of Fire. With your meager forces, you won't last a day. Rather than seeing your city fall and your people die, earning the infamy of a traitor, you should surrender the city and exchange it for the protection of the Land of Water. At that time, you and your family can still retain your wealth and status. This is the last bit of dignity our daimyo will leave you."
Yuan Shiqiang's eyes were bloodshot with anxiety, his hands were clenched into fists, his nails dug deep into his palms, and blood seeped out.
"Impossible! I will never surrender the city!"
"I am the prince of the Land of Fire. Even if I die in battle, I will defend the city of the Land of Fire! I will never allow the legacy of my ancestors to be destroyed in my hands!"
Seeing Yuan Shiqiang's stubbornness, Shi Dashan's eyes suddenly turned cold.
He pulled a neatly folded order to withdraw troops from his sleeve and slammed it on the table with a "thud".
The paper unfolded, bearing the bright red seal of the Land of Earth's daimyo: "To tell you the truth, your surrender of the castle is a joint decision of the three great nations. This noon, all troops stationed in the Land of Fire will be withdrawn to their homelands. At that time, the Land of Dawn will be at your gates, and you will be isolated and helpless. Not only will you lose the castle, but your wife and children will also be in danger. Our daimyo has said that this is your last chance, your last vestige of dignity."
These words struck Yuan Shiqiang's heart like a heavy hammer.
He staggered back two steps, his back slamming heavily against a pillar. The cold wooden touch spread down his spine, making him shiver involuntarily.
Looking at Shi Dashan's indifferent eyes, and then at the withdrawal order on the table, he finally realized that he had been nothing more than a pawn in the hands of the three great powers from beginning to end, and now that the pawn was no longer useful, he was about to be completely discarded.
He slowly slumped to the ground, his legs went weak, and all his strength seemed to have been drained away in an instant.
His eyes, initially filled with anger, gradually turned to confusion, and finally were completely consumed by despair.
"You... you've already decided to abandon the Land of Fire, haven't you?"
Shi Dashan's lips curled into a mocking smile. He bent down to pick up the letter from the ground and handed it back to the prince: "Second Prince, it's not too late for you to understand now. Be sensible and obediently sign the surrender of the city, and you'll still have a sliver of hope. Otherwise, what awaits you is utter annihilation."
Yuan Shiqiang clutched his head in his hands and closed his eyes in anguish.
The images of the Fire Kingdom's past wealth and prosperity kept flashing through his mind, causing him immense heartache.
"No... I can't give up like this... Perhaps... there's another way?"
Suddenly, as if electrocuted, he jerked his head up, and a flicker of fighting spirit rekindled in his previously dull eyes.
At that very moment, a series of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.
The sound of "thump...thump...thump..." grew closer and closer, as if something urgent was happening.
Immediately afterwards, a soldier rushed into the hall in a panic. His armor was covered in dust, his hair was disheveled, and he was breathing rapidly.
"Your Highness... Your Highness! Something terrible has happened! The ninja stationed in the Land of Earth have begun to withdraw from the city and are heading directly towards the northern border!"
Upon hearing this, the second prince, Yuan Shiqiang, turned ashen-faced. He forced himself to stand up abruptly.
His gaze was like fire as he stared directly at Shi Dashan, gritting his teeth as he asked, "I'm asking you one last time, is there really no room for negotiation?"
Faced with Yuan Shiqiang's questioning, Shi Dashan simply shook his head coldly, his eyes indifferent and resolute.
Upon seeing this, Yuan Shiqiang felt a surge of despair welling up inside him.
Unable to contain his anger any longer, he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which splattered on the ground.
"I...I will surrender to the Land of Water. Please stay for a few more days!"
Yuan Shiqiang's voice was filled with helplessness and pleading, and his body was swaying precariously due to extreme weakness.
At the same time, the third prince, Enichi Takashi, and the fourth prince, Enichi Oki, also received the same ultimatum.
The cold threats from the envoy of the Land of Wind and the forceful pressure from the envoy of the Land of Lightning caused the three princes, who were already acting independently, to completely break down.
Seeing the plight of his three elder brothers, the fifth prince, Yuan Shihong, pondered deeply...