"Your Majesty.."
"You can promote equal rights over all, but conquest is a must to achieve peace All Under Heaven. To have peace, everyone must be unified under one absolute ruler, one that is benevolent but cruel, dignified yet crafty, mindful over his subjects. Someone who can watch over them with righteousness yet would make them feel fearful of the Royal Authority."
"To have peace, one must end war. To end war, one must do war. Chaos is never-ending and we can only adjust and face all the problems and conflicts that would be thrown at us. Internal strife would be there, but if we can control it to be minimal, it would be as if nothing ever happened." Matthias threw arguments one after another, drowning Li Tiangong's belief. With Matthias' words came visuals from his divine will. Everyone saw peace and war intertwining, and everything being drowned in chaos.
"One must look not at individuality but on the bigger scope of things. If you achieved peace inside a city, that doesn't mean that the whole dominion is at peace."
"There's no such thing as Absolute Peace, but we can achieve Harmony by unifying all lands. Yin and Yang promotes balance and harmony, and that is how a ruler must be. Not a cruel dictator nor a too softhearted and unselfish and tolerant leader."
"I-I apologize, Your Majesty. I didn't see the broadness of such matters and only looked at the small scope of things. Forgive me." Not being able to counter him, Li Tiangong couldn't help but to kneel down and kowtow towards him.
Matthias stayed silent for a while and finally spoke, "Retain your philosophy, but know where to use it. Your benevolent ideals are great for the future of the Dynasty." He consoled and waved his hand, letting the debates continue.
The assembly went on for hours and paused when they reached nighttime. Everyone retired to their palaces and rested for the next day's resume of the assembly.
Inside the highest room of the Golden Lotus Palace, the members of the Royal Court gathered together. "Your Majesty, you have done well there. Making a stubborn man like Li Tiangong reflect on his philosophy and resulting in him becoming speechless is very much impressive."
"I just couldn't tolerate such benevolence inside a government." Matthias spat with annoyance, "How could a leader tolerate such dumb humanitarians who couldn't help but talk and talk and counter their goals just because 'it shows cruelty upon human lives'? Don't even."
"Still, you handled it really well." Isabelle remarked while smiling at him.
Matthias sighed and gazed at the far horizon where the moon hung from the sky, casting a cold light over the land.
All over the Firmament, thousands of Dynastic Guards and Shadows of the Order of The Black Crow roamed and watched over the mountain range's perimeter. Although Qin still doesn't have too many enemies, it's better to be cautious and prepared for anything.
The Dynastic Guards captured some assassins that tried to assassinate some members of the parliament due to personal grudges. Of course, they were investigated.
There were also some who wanted to ruin the talks by spreading fake news that were easily subjugated.
The next day, everyone was invited for a feast inside the Golden Lotus Palace. They threw a huge banquet for everyone's breakfast. An hour after the banquet, they resumed the talks.
The assembly lasted for seven more hours before concluding. The members of the Parliament dispersed and the Royal House was the last one to leave.
When they left the Firmament's perimeters, Matthias and the others saw people setting up markets, selling different candies, souvenirs, and other stuff to tourists that were traveling and looking at the Lotus Firmament.
Alexander even bought cotton candy, which made the vendor popular.
Weeks after they returned to the Imperial Palace, inside the Throne Room, Matthias sat on the Dragon Throne, below him stood Alexander and Wang Long donned in armor. "Father, the army is ready and waiting. Should we start?"
"You can go." Matthias nodded and replied.
With the confirmation, the Crowned Prince and the Grand General knelt down and cupped their fists at the Emperor before leaving to the Western Region, where the army was already in place.
Inside a tent outside of the Western Region's walls, Alexander gazed at the map laid down in front of him with a serious face. Surrounding him were Wang Long, Gongsun Pei's son Gongsun Yan, and the generals of the Western Army.
"Your Highness, the army is prepared. We only wait for your signal." Wang Long stated.
Alexander sighed solemnly and uttered with a noble tone, "Then, may the heavens bless our endeavour."
After that, the start of Qin's first conquest began.
Inside Matheon Galaxy…
Because of the dark ball, the galaxy has long since been in a high state of emergency. The angels and demons travel different worlds to quell the anomalies present, the Sentinel beings are watching over the different areas of the galaxy, and the Overseers travel everywhere to seek information.
The highest echelons of the galaxy, the deities of the Highest Supreme Council, gathered together once every month to be alert at all times.
For the past few decades, it has been proven by them that the dark ball can cause catastrophic-level damages, resulting in their due alertness.
The affected worlds were closely surveyed by them, one of which is the world of Gaius, the world that is ten times larger than Earth. It was a direct mold of Earth, but larger.
Oxford University, Oxford, England, United Kingdom.
Inside the quarters of the university, the students walked to their respective buildings while chatting with their friends.
"Good morning, Professor Andre!" While walking, one group of friends saw an exceptionally handsome man in a suit walking towards the philosophy department. They nodded towards him and greeted him politely with the girls blushing in front of him
Mr. Andre smiled and nodded in return. "Hurry to your classes, students. Professor Angleberi wouldn't want any late students in her class." He advised with a gentle smile on his face.
"We'll hurry up, Professor!" The male students chirped while the girls sighed and nodded reluctantly and rushed towards their building.
Looking at them, Andre smiled amiably and continued to walk towards his destination, the Radcliffe Camera
When he arrived there, he was greeted by both students and fellow lecturers and professors. He then sat on his favourite spot and read his book peacefully.
After an hour, a man suddenly walked up to him and whispered, "Your Excellency, I am afraid that we need to return to the Philippines immediately."
Andre didn't look at him until he finished the chapter of the book. When he did, he looked up and inquired, "Why?"
"The Sultanate of Mindanao has attacked the ports of Dumaguete, Tagbilaran, Iloilo, and Bacolod. The Senate is afraid that the Sultan and their parliament would decide to continue their conquest towards the mainland." The man answered seriously.
"Sigh." Andre massaged his forehead and gestured to the man to sit down. "I just don't understand why Your Excellency let the government liberate Mindanao from our rule. We would've been a strong body in the Southeast if not for the Sultanate breaking apart from us." The man complained after he had seated.
"Abel, even in the 1800s when the Spaniards surrendered Mindanao to the Monarchy and the government, the Mindanao still was governed by their independent laws and doesn't yield to the decision of the mainland. Even if the two nations were one 'till today, it would've just caused much chaos as time passed."
"When it was given independence in the late 1800s, it was as if nothing even happened, because even when they were a part of us, they were still under their own rules. And at the time that they weren't bound by our laws, they immediately re-established the Sultanate and started developing with the help of their allies from all over."
"Anyways, we can't do anything about that. Now that the Sultan wants to extend his reach upwards, the only move we can do is fight back." Andre answered with resolution. "Over the years, the Sultanate has developed by quite a lot, with its territory already larger than our sovereign state after conquering Sabah and Northern Kalimantan and the eastern coasts of Borneo, and holding dominance over the Celebes Sea. They have also established close ties with Indonesia, The Lesser Ottoman Empire, Iran, and the Istan countries."
"They have accumulated their economy, turning them into a powerful nation in the southeast. They have also built their military into a powerful naval force, rivaling that of China's."
"Although the Philippines has also developed a lot from the 1900s, because of that war that delayed the development of our economy equivalent to sixteen years because of that incapable ruler, we are far behind the Sultanate's naval strength. I didn't interfere with that revolution because indeed, Allan was already sick and wouldn't be able to lead properly, so it could be a good thing for him to stop. But, unexpectedly, someone who did almost nothing right and always gave me a headache took office. I would've just healed Allan if I knew that that would happen." He hissed.
"But, the past is the past, we wouldn't be able to do anything about it even if we wanted to." He sighed before standing up, "Anyways, Let's go." He stood up and said before walking out.
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