It wasn't an apple that hit Newton.

Chapter 387 More Fearful of Gunfire Than Injury

What kind of FLAG maniac is this?

Why did they have to plant a flag for themselves when they were winning victory after victory at the front?

Facing Holly, who was staring at him nervously, Li Cheng's lips twitched, and he turned his head away, intending to ignore her bizarre request.

"Don't ignore me."

Holly became a little anxious when she saw that Li Cheng was ignoring her.

Li Cheng had previously delivered a long lecture on grand principles.

But the little maid's most basic values ​​never wavered in the slightest. She firmly believed from beginning to end that people always want to be with the people they like. Even if spiritual companionship is real, she would definitely prefer the dual companionship of spiritual and physical companionship.

Holly's experience at Li Cheng's home for just a day and a half only reinforced her belief in this.

They're having such a great time!

And she, Holly, also hoped that His Highness could be so happy.

Although His Highness has never said this before, he did say it when he was pregnant, and then he had one child and it wasn't enough, so now he's pregnant with a second one.

So, taking advantage of this trip with just the two of them, Holly brought up what she had been hoping for.

However, Li Cheng immediately ignored her death flag-level rhetoric of "after the war ends, everyone will live happily together," intending to avoid the possible director's dimensional reduction attack by gazing into the distance and pretending not to hear.

Holly, however, thought he didn't want to agree and was a little worried.

She was willing to promise some favor to get this scoundrel to agree to make His Highness happier, but what could a mere maid like her promise? Even her only possession...

Thinking of this, Holly lowered her head and looked at herself, feeling a little inferior.

Beneath that pale green dress lay an ordinary body, with ordinary curves—not as voluptuous and alluring as His Highness's, nor as slender and lovely as Newton Louise, whom she had seen a few days prior, and certainly lacking the wild, explosive energy of Anne. All she possessed was fair and delicate skin, a sliver of something to be proud of, thanks to her relatively comfortable living conditions and youth.

There is at least one commendable aspect...

Holly gritted her teeth: "If you promise me, if you promise me... I'll sleep with you."

"?"

Li Cheng, who was admiring the scenery, typed a question mark and turned to look at her with a puzzled expression—wait, the day before yesterday when I threatened to rape you, you acted like you were going to die, vowing to resist to the death, how come you're suddenly giving in for free now? ??

Noticing that Li Cheng was looking at her, Holly carefully added in a low voice, "This is the first time I've slept with a man."

That's not the point, okay?

Li Cheng inwardly cursed, then looked with a rather annoyed expression at the little maid across the carriage who had uttered such a startling remark.

Looking down at first, the little maid's long legs and feet were tightly pressed together, without a single gap, as if she were afraid of some foreign object, which was a very fitting expression for the scene.

However, looking further up, Holly's emerald eyes were firm and pure, devoid of any shyness, embarrassment, or fear. Instead, they were filled with a faint, martyr-like radiance, leaving one speechless.

What, you think giving yourself to a man and ruining him will solidify your loyalty?

Li Cheng shook his head.

can only say.

It's not that it lacks flavor, but it doesn't suit his pure love style.

"Go! Go! Go."

Li Cheng then gestured to Holly to shoo her away with a look of disdain: "I'm not interested in you. I heard what you just said. You're just worrying unnecessarily—once the war is over, who would want to spend all their time having virtual pen pal exchanges?"

"hey-hey."

Holly, having received the promise, didn't care about the disdainful attitude.

However, she was a very trustworthy maid, and while she was happy, she didn't forget to remind Li Cheng, "You can come to me anytime if you're interested."

"hehe."

......

Lincoln was not far from Peterborough, and even traveling with a convoy of supplies, it took only a few days to reach its destination.

Not far from Peterborough, in a small town, was the encampment of Veronica's princess army. Having visited several times before, Li Cheng was readily admitted and received a warm welcome from the guards at the gate—who wouldn't welcome a high-ranking figure in charge of logistics?

Li Cheng entered the town with ease.

The town's defenses were not tight, and could even be described as somewhat lax, unlike the front lines.

For example, at this moment, Philip, dressed in a smart officer's uniform, was training a group of soldiers to form various formations on the town's parade ground, seemingly without any concern about being ambushed.

Just like the enfeoffment system in the Western Zhou Dynasty, wars under aristocratic rule often had a classical elegance. There were not many sneak attacks that lacked martial ethics; the victories and losers were determined fairly and squarely.

After all, fighting to the death is a matter for ordinary peasants. Moreover, in the case of an imperfect bureaucratic system, the victor in a war needs to rely on the loser in order to better govern the occupied territories.

Therefore, it was perfectly normal for captured nobles to exchange money for their freedom. The victor would even treat the other party to good food and drink, and the two sides would clink glasses, not at all like enemies who had fought to the death.

This is what's known as the unspoken rule; if you don't follow it, you'll be ostracized.

When Li Cheng first read the relevant records, he felt a deep-seated disgust for this unspoken rule. It meant that nobles enjoyed the vast majority of the benefits of war without paying any price, while the common people, forced to endure the war, had to fight to the death.

But undeniably, for him now, this unspoken rule can indeed minimize the chances of him encountering unexpected situations with people he knows.

This is probably what they call "your position determines your stance".

Li Cheng shook his head, stood some distance from the playground, and gazed at Philip in the distance.

Months of war have given Philip, who has always dressed as a woman and whose temperament is somewhat effeminate, a more resolute and decisive air. If he were to dress as a woman again now, he could probably pass for a dashing female officer without being exposed—although there were almost no female officers in this era.

But pretending is just pretending.

In previous exchanges, Philip expressed that he was "more concerned about the damage to his skin from gunpowder than about getting injured," which left Li Cheng somewhat speechless.

How do you feel about the results of the training?

Suddenly, a calm, female voice asked from behind him.

While he was lost in thought and gazing at the soldiers training on the parade ground, Holly had already run all the way to the villa in the town center to report her progress to a princess who had occupied the former mayor's residence, and also invited her over.

Chapter 388 The Declaration of the Great Thief

"It's alright. As a means of training discipline, standing at attention and turning around are indeed the quickest types."

Li Cheng didn't turn his head, just stared into the distance: "Speaking of which, your personal maid told me something very interesting on the way here. Would you like to hear it?"

"Oh?"

Veronica raised an eyebrow with interest.

Her face was still as fair and delicate as when we first met, like a peeled hard-boiled egg. Coupled with that cute eyebrow-raising gesture that made her look even younger, the princess, though already in her mid-twenties, looked like a 17 or 8-year-old girl. She could easily sneak into a school and pretend to be a high school student if she changed into a school uniform.

If it weren't for the voluptuous figure and composed demeanor that she inadvertently displayed as she walked, no one would believe that she was a mother pregnant with her second child.

Li Cheng had no intention of keeping it a secret and betrayed the poor little maid without hesitation.

Li Cheng laughed and said, "She hopes I'm not lying to you, and she also hopes that after the war ends, I can 'often go out and play with Her Highness the Princess, with a large group of people having a lively barbecue and playing board games together.'"

Veronique: "You agreed?"

Holly believed that the two requests were purely for Veronica's sake.

But in reality, these two requests also helped Li Cheng, as he was no longer troubled by a problem and could finally let go of his worries.

Recalling the crazy idea that had been nagging at his mind, Li Cheng gave a mysterious smile: "I agreed, or rather, I should thank her for helping me make up my mind about something—by the way, what do you think? Do you want to live that kind of life?"

Veronica pondered: "Occasionally, yes, but often, I probably wouldn't have that much time."

Li Cheng smiled and said, "Really?"

Veronica retorted, "But you, I used to think you were always up to no good, what's gotten into you now?"

Li Cheng shook his head: "Maybe he's finally come to some understanding."

Veronica frowned: "How so?"

Li Cheng didn't answer directly: "You know what? I've really thought about a lot of things over the past year."

A year is neither long nor short.

But for Li Cheng, the past year, especially the last five months, has been a time of great reflection.

All those thoughts became fuel, and through the spark of Veronica's second pregnancy and Holly's catalyst, the flame of thought was completely ignited.

Li Cheng: "When I first left London, my thoughts were very simple: revenge against Edward VII. But as time went by, I began to think differently. This thought intensified, especially as the war progressed and victory seemed within reach."

Li Cheng: "And that thought was—what exactly do I intend to do?"

Li Cheng: "I used to think that with my abilities, I should develop technology as quickly as possible and promote social development. But later I realized that I was wrong. My abilities are limited to the technical level. What I can do is what others can do. I cannot do what others cannot do."

Veronica looked out at the parade ground and denied it, saying, "In my opinion, many things are things that only you can do, such as the guns in the hands of those soldiers right now."

Li Cheng shook his head: "No, you're wrong too. Even without me, Li Cheng, someone else could do it. The only difference is that it will happen a little later. There will always be someone who invents a newer type of gun, someone else who invents a loom, someone else who invents a flying shuttle, someone else who invents ether. These are not things that I can do alone."

Veronica coldly replied, "So what? Are you planning to give up on yourself and just stay in the countryside as a small landowner, spending your days doing AI-related things with a bunch of pretty girls?"

From the princess's gradually cooling words, one could hear an undisguised disappointment—it was like watching a friend who had pursued their dreams together choose to give up in the face of reality, like watching a comrade-in-arms who had shared life and death choose to succumb to self-interest, like watching a like-minded comrade choose to betray because of complacency.

"Of course... no."

Li Cheng turned his face and looked at the princess with burning eyes: "Veronica, do you know? The more I think about it, the more I realize that my power has its limits."

"My knowledge is limited, and so is my ideology. If I continue, I will only be returning to the right track of history—like a pebble falling from a height into a pond, which may cause a ripple, but the pond will eventually return to calm."

"what do you want to say in the end?"

The princess's scalp tingled slightly, a stimulating and thrilling sensation spreading through her nerves, captivating her.

This Li Cheng was the one who truly interested her—the Li Cheng she first met in London, the one in the dark prison, the one who had nothing yet spoke so eloquently with her. The Li Cheng who went to Paris alone, attempting to manipulate the monarchs of two countries single-handedly.

Li Cheng's gaze remained intense: "I want to leave something different behind, rather than being swept along by the tides of the times."

Veronica listened quietly without interrupting.

Li Cheng then changed the subject: "To tell you the truth, in the beginning, I envisioned using this opportunity, this opportunity of you being supported by the capitalists to ascend the throne, to sign some laws that would restrict royal power, and ultimately gradually erode it to achieve the goal of a bourgeois revolution."

Veronica remained silent for a full minute: "You mean, you originally intended to betray me?"

Li Cheng shrugged: "Betrayal? You're not wrong to think that way, but as expected, you will be the first Prime Minister—you can simply understand the Prime Minister as a king who has completely lost legislative power, has a limited term, and is elected by a group of 'minority elites'."

Li Cheng continued, "But now I've figured it out. Instead of wasting time and effort doing something that someone else will do sooner or later, I might as well do something big."

Veronica: "What exactly are you trying to say?"

Li Cheng's tone was no longer impassioned, but instead extremely calm as he said, "It's very simple. I want to do something that has never been done before and will never be done again, something that is truly unprecedented in history."