I really didn't want to burn it.

Chapter 309 The Divided Empire

Joan of Arc stared at Li Ang as if she'd been struck by lightning. She didn't know if he was testing her or if he'd lost his mind to ask such a question.

"What's wrong with your brain?"

Joan of Arc, being outspoken, blurted out her words directly.

“I’m perfectly clear-headed and I know what I’m doing.” Li Ang’s smile faded. “I need your help, that’s all.”

"Who would actually need something from a dragon witch like me?"

Joan of Arc grinned, revealing her small, white canine teeth.

"Well, I originally thought that after I killed your Spirit Origin and Spirit Core due to their incompatibility, I would catch your sister."

Leon sighed regretfully, "Although it's not what I wanted most, this Jeanne Alter will do..."

"Get out of here!"

Upon hearing that she was actually her sister's backup boyfriend, Jeanne Alt's face immediately darkened, and she yelled and shouted at Li Ang.

Li Ang chuckled and shrugged. He wasn't surprised at all by Joan of Arc's reaction, clearly having anticipated it.

"Then, next one..."

Leon ignored the still-shouting Jeanne d'Arc Alt and turned to Mash.

"Li Ang, what do you want?" Mashu asked softly.

"I feel a little nostalgic." Li Ang gently stroked Mashu's short hair. "When we first met, we were the same people as we are now."

"Indeed, you are a villain who wants to destroy humanity."

Unsure of Leon's reaction, Mashu avoided mentioning their past as comrades-in-arms, revealing their opposing stances.

"Fate is cruel."

Li Ang sighed regretfully.

He hadn't originally planned to confront Chaldea so soon, but things didn't go according to plan.

"Leon, what do you plan to do with me and Miss Jeanne Alt?"

Mashu showed no fear; she looked directly into Li Ang's eyes and asked.

"After the war, the Tang Dynasty was already divided."

"It's split up!?"

Although they didn't know why Leon suddenly brought up the outcome of the war, it didn't stop Mash and Jeanne Alter from eagerly wanting to know the specifics.

"Although your Chaldea suffered a defeat in the Battle of Luoyang, you successfully protected the Empress as she entered the eastern region. Thanks to the Empress's legitimacy and propaganda efforts, the eastern region supported her formal independence. Your predecessor is currently with the main Chaldea force and is perfectly safe."

Seeing that Mashu was only concerned about Ritsuka and Chaldea, Leon naturally only told her that part of the story.

In reality, the current situation in the Tang Dynasty is much more complex than this. The entire country has been divided into four regions, each belonging to one of three different powers.

First, there was the Qin forces led by Li Ang, also known publicly as the Afghan troops. They were the victors in that war and the ultimate owners of the right to rule Luoyang.

The so-called Afghan Autonomous Region has now expanded from the original Afghanistan to the central and western regions of what was once the Tang Dynasty's territory. From Afghanistan all the way to the middle reaches of the Yellow River west of Luoyang, this area has become Li Ang's current sphere of influence.

Here we must mention Zhang Yangong, that eccentric opportunist. In the final stages of the war, seeing how powerful the Penglai was, he chose to lead his troops to surrender directly to Li Ang.

In Zhang Yangong's own words, Emperor Taizu was the legitimate successor of the Tang Dynasty, so Zhang naturally had to defect and surrender.

Li Ang knew, of course, that Zhang Yangong was spouting nonsense; this opportunist had no concept of loyalty or righteousness. But the man's timing in his opportunism was impeccable, earning Li Ang high praise. Because without Zhang Yangong, Li Ang might not have been able to so easily seize control of the western part of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Ang and the Empress's forces occupy the east and west of the Tang Dynasty respectively, leaving the remaining area divided into two parts, one in the north and one in the south. These two parts are currently occupied by Group A, led by Kirshtalia Wodim.

Originally, Li Ang planned to eliminate the annoying Group A on the battlefield, but Kirshtalia Wodim made an even more decisive decision than Zhang Yangong.

He had foreseen Zhang Yangong's actions before Zhang Yangong surrendered, and decisively led his A group and the imperial guards who obeyed him away from the battlefield.

From Kirshtalia Wodim's perspective, Group A suffered the most in this war. They didn't get the Empress, they didn't occupy Luoyang, and they were even chased by Li Ang.

Fortunately, after all this commotion, Kirshtalia Wodim didn't come away empty-handed. Taking advantage of the opportunity when Leon and the Queen were occupying territory, he also seized two large tracts of land.

However, Kirshtalia Wodim was unlucky. His cool territory was divided in the middle by Leon and the Queen, so he couldn't take care of the end of the battle. He had to split his Group A into two parts and manage the two areas separately.

This has created the current stalemate in the three regions and four locations of the Tang Dynasty.

While all three are still observing the situation, they have all deployed significant forces to their respective border regions, maintaining continuous pressure on the other two.

Everyone knew that this temporary state of division would not last long. Once the three families had integrated their internal affairs, a war to unify the country would naturally follow.

Moreover, due to the intervention of Servants, this war is absolutely unprecedented.

"Is that so..."

Mashu's expression softened noticeably. The current chaos was meaningless to her, as long as her senior was alright.

"Mash, just stay here for now. Don't worry about this mess in the singularity."

Li Ang really didn't want Mashu to get involved in this strange singularity, and temporarily protecting her under the guise of imprisonment was probably the best outcome at the moment.

"However, if you wish to become my Servant, please feel free to do so. I would be happy to accept you."

"Hey, that's discrimination!"

Jeanne Alt was so angry that she bared her fangs when she saw that Leon treated her and Mash completely differently.

"I, Jeanne d'Arc Alt, would rather die, even if I had to jump off this wrecked ship, than become your Servant!"

Do you realize you're setting a high bar for yourself?

Looking at Joan of Arc's "unyielding" appearance, Li Ang scratched his cheek with a black line on his face.

"Don't even think about it!"

Jeanne Alt gave a slightly arrogant snort. Having played quite a few video games, she understood Li Ang's words, which made her feel a little embarrassed.

Upon seeing Joan of Arc's expression of gritted teeth, Leon shrugged and turned to leave.

"Then you'd better stay here obediently."

With Li Ang's words, the cell door closed again.

Joan of Arc, who had been looking irritable, suddenly curled the corners of her lips into a smile after Li Ang left.

"Idiot, go to sleep and stay here obediently!"

Chapter 310 The Easiest Job in the World

"...Currently, the great Mr. Kirshtalia Wodim is still negotiating with all parties regarding the specific arrangements for the election. However, the other party has guaranteed that the first round of elections will be absolutely fair and just."

"Kirshtalia Wodim appeared very calm and composed as he walked out of the Speaker's building, but he still refused to answer any questions."

"However, the Speaker who defeated that corrupt and cowardly empress stated that he would do everything in his power to recover the lost territories and once again raise the banners of the Tang Dynasty across the Central Plains..."

Snapped.

Her Majesty the Queen slammed a newspaper on the table.

"The nominal speaker, a bunch of so-called members of parliament, and those chattering ministers... to be honest, this is just a monkey in a crown."

Her Majesty the Empress played with her dark hair, closed her eyes, and revealed a playful smile.

"Why did you have to learn the British political system of all things? Do you think you're funny, Kirshtalia Wodim?" Her Majesty the Queen said sarcastically.

"Your Majesty, do you understand this too?"

Ritsuka, sitting on the other side of the table, asked curiously.

The other person was clearly from the 8th century AD, so how would they know about modern British politics?

"Hmm, I've heard a little about it." The Empress smiled and explained, half-jokingly, "His Majesty the Great Ancestor often explained the politics of various countries to the previous Empress, and I was fortunate enough to hear some of it from her."

It's true that Li Ang used an alias to satirize politics, but the Empress herself certainly has a considerable understanding of modern politics.

However, compared to his previous limited understanding, Li Ang, who had received a complete modern education, saw things much more clearly.

"The key to British politics has never been how much you do, but whether you make mistakes. Covering up your mistakes and delaying your official position by even one day is a victory for those so-called 'democratic' people."

"So, Sir Humphrey sees politicians much more clearly. Although I don't like bureaucrats, at least they can keep the country going into the next century for the sake of their own positions. But those politicians only care about whether they can get off work on Friday afternoon."

The Queen couldn't help but recall Li Ang's earlier teasing remarks.

Come to think of it, what other questions did I ask back then?

it seems that……

Is political election completely useless?

Ritsuka recreated the problem Her Majesty the Empress faced back then.

"There are still benefits. At least it can solve the employment problem for many people. After all, politicians are one of the few professions in the world that do not require diplomas, pre-job training, or even IQ tests and physical examinations. They can give orders simply by performing."

"Is...is that so?"

The Empress's repeated answer left Ritsuka speechless.

Although she wanted to refute it, thinking about the ugly faces of those politicians before the destruction of humanity, Ritsuka felt that what they said made perfect sense.

"hehe."

The Empress seemed to realize something, and she couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle.

"His Majesty?"

A look of surprise flashed in Ritsuka's eyes upon hearing the laughter.

"It's nothing, I just feel like I'm worrying unnecessarily," the Empress said, raising her head.

"Hey?"

"Kirshtalia Wodim's biggest problem is that he lacks a base of support. This so-called election is just a sweet treat to buy off local forces."

Thanks to the phenomenal development of Emperors Li Ang and Empress Wu Zetian, the Tang Dynasty had almost reached the early standards of what is known as "democratic elections."

But if such an election were actually held, the landlords and powerful families would still be the ones who would ultimately be elected.

As for Kirshtalia Wodim's use of this roundabout way to curry favor with local forces, it was more about securing a firm grip on power in his own hands.

Otherwise, Kirshtalia Wodim could have simply appointed and dismissed local officials directly, without having to go through all this trouble.

"By doing this, he is both bribing local forces and focusing their attention entirely on the so-called election. It seems that the other side must have more important and urgent matters to attend to, so they can only resort to such tricks."

“Other targets?” Ritsuka stood up. “I’ll have Hyakko find out Captain Kirshtalia Wodim’s true intentions.”

"Ah."

The Empress nodded, her expression ambiguous.

"Go ahead, I want to sleep for a while first."

After saying this, Her Majesty the Queen rested one hand on her head and closed her eyes for a short rest.

"I see."

Ritsuka scratched her head and walked out.

For some reason, she had the illusion that she had become the queen's mouthpiece.

Maybe... it's not an illusion?

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"Sure enough, politicians are all the same, no matter the era."

Kirshtalia Wodim was very satisfied with the gentleman giving a passionate speech on the podium.

"Despite having other options at hand, they're still thinking about fighting for power and profit. Humans are so boring." Katniss leaned against a pillar, looking at the sky with her hands on her hands and said sarcastically.

"Anyway, all they need to do is cooperate with our actions; I don't plan to let them do anything else."

Kirshtalia Wodim looked at the Command Seals on the back of his hand and spoke slowly.

"Although using the spiritual vein temporarily ensures that the fox cannot threaten our lives, such conservatism is not my style."

"So what are you planning to do?" Katniss opened one eye. "You know, just looking at the territory, we're the ones who are at the biggest disadvantage."