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Chapter One Hundred Forty-Three: The Madman
The experiences of repeated encounters with Xuan Ziming had led Ye Huan to conclude that Xuan Ziming was undoubtedly a thoroughgoing ambitious man. If someone were to say that he would hesitate to attack out of fear of Ye Huan's existence, Ye Huan might have believed it to some extent. However, if it were suggested that he would withdraw his troops, Ye Huan would find that hard to believe. Yet, when Ye Huan witnessed with his own eyes the retreat of over a million soldiers slowly moving away, he finally accepted that Xuan Ziming had indeed pulled back.
'Could there be some kind of conspiracy?'
Ye Huan couldn't shake the feeling that Xuan Ziming was not the type to retreat at such a moment. He found himself mulling over this suspicion, but as he struggled to make sense of the situation, he ultimately decided to cast aside his doubts and joined the crowd celebrating, which lasted for over an hour.
An hour later, before midnight, the sky grew increasingly dark. After a prolonged period of anxiety and fear, both the little princess Zhao Ziyu and Weiyang, along with the soldiers and citizens of the capital, had all fallen into a deep sleep, leaving Ye Huan alone atop the city wall of the capital.
"Xuan Ziming, although I do not know why you retreated, as a citizen of Huaxia Nation, I will reclaim every inch of land lost by Huaxia Nation. Those lands do not belong to me, Ye Huan, or to Zhao Ziyu; they belong to all the people of Huaxia Nation!"
Gazing toward the north, Ye Huan spoke softly, his expression revealing an unmasked madness and belligerence. If anyone could see Ye Huan at that moment, they would surely think they had encountered a madman. It was no wonder; having once been an ordinary commoner, since gaining power in this world, he was destined to make it vibrant and colorful through his very existence.
If Xuan Ziming was an aggressive ambitious man, then Ye Huan was undoubtedly a madman—one who wished to protect this nation simply because it bore the name 'Huaxia,' which connected it to a certain country from the Twenty-First Century!
The next day arrived on New Year's Day. As the sun slowly rose, its light illuminated every corner of the capital blanketed in white snow. Every citizen stepping out of their homes could see that every nook and cranny of the capital was plastered with imperial edicts. The first decree announced that Princess Zhao Ziyu had changed the era name to Huaxing, signifying the rise of Huaxia. The second decree called for examinations—both literary and martial—to select talented individuals. The third decree was for conscription; all able-bodied individuals aged sixteen to forty were eligible for enlistment.
Fortunately, over the years, the food reserves in the Royal Capital were quite substantial, so recruiting soldiers was not particularly difficult. Once the announcement was made, no one paid attention to the year or anything else; instead, many who considered themselves capable rushed to participate in the exam organized by Princess Zhao Ziyu. This left Ye Huan, who was responsible for recruitment, feeling both amused and helpless. However, he had his own plans.
Eventually, Ye Huan handed over the recruitment task to the experienced Zuo Yi and took Ye San with him to the current Dragon Hall.
The Dragon Hall was not what it used to be. As soon as Ye Huan entered, he noticed the difference. In the past, anyone who could enter the Dragon Hall would at least hold a Professional status within the royal capital's residences. Now, however, there were hardly any Professionals left; instead, a large number of commoners filled the space, making the already small Dragon Hall feel even more crowded.
After pushing through the crowd and sweating profusely, they finally arrived at the designated conference hall within Dragon Hall. Ye Huan immediately turned to Ye San and asked, "Ye San, what on earth happened? How did Dragon Hall end up like this?"
With a bitter smile, Ye San explained.
It turned out that after Ye San and Weiyang had completely taken over Dragon Hall, the war in Huaxia Nation had reached its final stages. Due to a lack of military strength in Huaxia Nation, they decided to send all the elites from Dragon Hall to man the city walls. In the end, many of Dragon Hall's elite either died or were injured, leaving only those few hundred who had gone with Ye Huan to confront the million-strong Southern Xiongnu Empire army.
On the other hand, these commoners came seeking glory; they wanted to join this war under the banner of Dragon Hall. Even if they died in battle, at least they could die honorably.
After listening to Ye San's account, Ye Huan couldn't help but sigh. His initial plan to utilize Dragon Hall's elite to form a new force had to be set aside for now.
After wandering around Dragon Hall for a bit and encouraging those commoners to consider enlisting, Ye Huan was unexpectedly recognized by someone who had once lived next door to the Ye Family. This recognition caused quite a stir among the crowd as people rushed toward the recruitment registration point. Within a few minutes, Dragon Hall was nearly empty; only Ye Huan and Ye San remained, exchanging glances in surprise.
Little did Ye Huan know that after last night's battle, he had become almost a mythical figure in this area due to rumors circulating about him. Many commoners claimed that as long as Ye Huan remained in the royal capital, it would never fall. It was easy to imagine how much weight his words carried now.
Unaware of his newfound status, Ye Huan and Ye San returned to the recruitment registration point. However, before they could even get close, they found that it was surrounded by people clamoring to get in. There was no way for them to squeeze through; even if Ye Huan used Shrink the Earth to an Inch now, he probably wouldn't be able to make it through.
Feeling frustrated and scratching his head, he instructed Ye San to find Weiyang and Zhang Ren. Ye Huan felt that there were some matters that needed discussing with them.
Twenty minutes later, in a tavern in the royal capital, Ye Huan shared his future plans with Weiyang, Zhang Ren, and Ye San. His intention was to reclaim all the territory of Huaxia Nation, which earned him nothing but disdainful looks from Weiyang and the others. Zhang Ren, who came from the prestigious town enforcement team, was the first to speak after hearing Ye Huan's words. "Ye Huan, are you joking? We have no intelligence, no weapons, and no soldiers. How are we supposed to fight? Are we supposed to send ordinary citizens to their deaths?"
It was understandable that Zhang Ren wanted to persuade Ye Huan to abandon this idea. After all, they had just experienced a war, and the royal capital could not withstand another one.
Listening to Zhang Ren, Ye Huan understood the reasoning behind his words. However, this only made him more anxious. When it came to conflicts between nations, whether or not to go to war was one thing; what he feared most was the plundering of cities and the assimilation of the people. By that time, even if they managed to reclaim the cities, it would lose its significance if the citizens no longer felt a sense of belonging to their nation.
Fortunately, Ye Huan was aware of the current situation. Last night on the city wall, he had actually come up with a rather good idea and couldn't help but share it with Zhang Ren and the others like spilling beans…
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