Chapter 150: The Roman Empire Deserves a Lesson

"Brothers, charge! For Great Xia, and for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

The soldiers shouted with excitement as they surged toward the port of the Western Nation.

Although the artillery of Great Xia possessed greater destructive power and longer range than that of the Western Nation, the warships of the Western Nation launched a counterattack, which, coordinated with coastal defense guns, inflicted heavy casualties upon Great Xia.

All of this had been anticipated; however, the forces of the Roman Empire made no move whatsoever.

"What is happening? If the Roman Empire were attacking the Western Nation from the rear, they should have tied down a massive portion of the Western forces."

"Why is their artillery fire still so fierce, and their troop numbers still so large?"

Chen Mu frowned and promptly dispatched his scouts to reconnoiter the area outside.

Before long, the scout returned to report, wearing a grim expression.

"Reporting to Your Royal Highness, I have investigated the situation there. The Roman Empire—the Roman Empire has sent no troops at all!"

"The rear of the Western Nation remains entirely intact!"

Chen Mu’s expression shifted drastically, followed by a cold, derisive laugh.

"Well played, Roman Empire. Truly vicious, playing us for fools. I understand your intentions now; those not of our kin are bound to have different hearts."

Seeing Chen Mu in such a foul mood, Zhang Zhong hurriedly asked,

"Your Royal Highness, what should we do now?"

"We shall temporarily retreat. Do not rush to press the attack here; we will return and make further plans."

Chen Mu waved his hand, ordering his army to execute an immediate withdrawal.

The defenders at the Western port were overjoyed, pursuing the Great Xia forces for half the day before finally turning back when they realized they could not catch them.

The entire port of the Western Nation was suffused with the joy of victory.

Their commander-in-chief, William, excitedly popped a bottle of champagne.

"The people of Great Xia have failed; their army has retreated! Issue an order to our troops, instructing them to compose a war song specifically designed to mock the soldiers of Great Xia."

"Proclaim that the soldiers of Great Xia are the most foolish of all, and that they are no match for the might of our Western Nation."

William burst into hearty laughter, and he and his subordinates indulged in unbridled mockery of Great Xia.

Upon hearing the news, the Roman Emperor was deeply displeased.

"Why is this Chen Mu so utterly useless? He fought for such a short while and then fled?"

A minister nearby chimed in, "Indeed, indeed. The soldiers of Great Xia are simply weak. It is the troops of our Roman Empire who are truly valorous."

The Roman Emperor nodded. "Quite right. Had our grand Roman army taken the field, the people of the Western Nation would have been begging for mercy by now."

"Furthermore, those Westerners are trash as well, letting the Great Xia army escape just like that. Why didn't they pursue and finish them off?"

"Indeed, Your Imperial Majesty is truly wise."

Surrounded by sycophantic ministers and generals who vied to shower him with flattery, the Roman Emperor ordered the grand Roman army to return.

When Su Shide heard that the Roman Emperor had failed to attack the Western Nation according to the established strategy, choosing instead to watch Great Xia and the Western Nation fight among themselves, he was terrified and rushed to find the City Lord.

"Lord City Lord, did our great army truly refuse to coordinate with Great Xia? Why is this happening?"

The City Lord sighed.

"Su Shide, you should not involve yourself in this matter. You cannot alter the Emperor's decisions."

With a wry chuckle, the City Lord continued,

"The Emperor's mindset right now is quite simple. Whether it is Great Xia or the Western Nation, they are both our competitors. Our role is to let the two of them fight each other to exhaustion."

"Once the Emperor waits for them to inflict grievous injuries upon one another, he can devour the Latins. By then, neither Great Xia nor the Western Nation will possess sufficient strength to threaten the Emperor."

Hearing the City Lord's words, the wise counselor shook his head vehemently and declared,

"How utterly foolish! How can he possibly imagine—how can he possibly know—just how powerful Great Xia is right now?"

"I have examined their latest technologies and weapon equipment; they far surpass those of the Western Nation. Moreover, Great Xia's population vastly outnumbers ours. If they dispatch another hundred thousand elite troops, how could we ever hope to be their opponents?"

"By acting clever in this manner, we are actually failing to maintain good relations with any nation. Everyone regards us as an enemy. The Roman Empire may very well face destruction because of this."

The wise counselor let out a long sigh. This foolish Emperor had offended the formidable power of Great Xia, and in doing so, he was merely courting disaster.

At the Great Xia strait port, Chen Mu and his officers gathered to deliberate on their next course of action.

Upon learning that the Roman Empire had offered mere lip service without contributing actual effort, everyone was consumed with fury, launching into bitter curses.

Chen Mu quietly waited for them to vent their anger before asking for their opinions on the next strategic move.

Some suggested retreating first, waiting for the imperial court to dispatch more reinforcements before launching a joint assault.

Others argued that they could not afford to drag things out and should instead launch a preemptive strike, reasoning that lingering too long would allow the enemy's defensive fortifications to grow stronger by the day.

Furthermore, while the imperial court in the capital might send reinforcements, the enemy would do the same, and perhaps even move faster, placing their own side at an even greater disadvantage.

Still others maintained that they ought to teach the Roman Empire a lesson first.

Chen Mu nodded. "Well said. We shall set the Western Nation aside for the moment and deal with the Roman Empire first."

Hearing this proposition from Chen Mu, many of the officers were utterly stunned.

One regimental commander stepped forward to say,

"Your Royal Highness, this is a cardinal taboo in military strategy! Dealing with the Western Nation alone is already a formidable task; if we declare war on the Roman Empire as well, our forces will be divided, leaving us vulnerable to attack from all sides."

Chen Mu smiled.

"Your concerns are naturally reasonable, but viewed from another perspective, we currently hold distinct advantages."

Chen Mu stood up, swept his gaze across the map, and picked up a brush from the side. With a few swift strokes, he outlined several points and jotted down several notes.

"Firstly, we possess the advantage of timing. The Roman Empire likely never imagined that we would dare to launch a surprise attack against them. They still believe we are bogged down in a war with the Western Nation, and consequently, they have made no preparations whatsoever."

"The second reason is simple: in terms of weaponry, we are vastly more advanced. We hold an overwhelming technological advantage over them."

"We possess steam warships, mechanized transport, and modern firearms; what do they have? They rely on cavalry, swords, shields, and lances. Such a generational gap in technology is supremely advantageous to us."

"If we execute a lightning campaign, a sudden assault, they will certainly be caught completely unprepared. Moreover, since their capital is situated right here, we can achieve complete surprise, catching them off guard and striking a fatal blow to their command structure before they can react."

The officers listened in a daze. As Chen Mu explained it, the vast Roman Empire suddenly sounded as defenseless as sheep waiting for slaughter.

Yet, upon further reflection, they realized that Chen Mu's reasoning held a solid grain of truth—they truly did possess numerous advantages at present.

Zhang Zhong asked once more, "Your Royal Highness, once we capture the capital of the Roman state, what shall we do when the enemy armies from other regions converge upon us?"