Chapter 166 — The Duchy of Karls

When Li Qiang and General Karls met again, both sides showed a sincere willingness to cooperate. On the finer points they refused to haggle back and forth; General Karls readily surrendered some of his own interests, and in return gained a great deal for himself.

For instance, all military authority in Country X would fall entirely under Li Qiang's command. General Karls would no longer keep an army of his own; instead Li Qiang's troops would be garrisoned across the whole country, including at his presidential palace.

Civil administration in Country X, meanwhile, would be handled in full by Karls's government. Only the drafting of laws and major policy shifts needed to be submitted to Yang Ce for review; everything else was Karls's to decide.

In other words, General Karls would manage internal affairs while Li Qiang and his people handled external ones. In truth the agreement was hardly equal, but General Karls had no choice in the matter, for he was in no position to quell the civil strife. Whether it was the Changge Alliance or the Southern Coalition, he could not have bested either one alone, so if he wished to keep sitting in the presidential chair, his only path was cooperation with Yang Ce.

The principal officials of the Karls faction likewise approved of the present arrangement. After all, cooperation was their only way out; without it they would be driven from power by the Southern Coalition and the Changge Alliance together, whereas with it they could hold on to their present posts, and public order in Country X would improve by a quantum leap. Only thus could General Karls devote himself with peace of mind to national development—no war, no taxes, no revenue. So General Karls was only too glad to see it.

After signing the pact, General Karls felt a rare lightness of heart; and Yang Ce had actually agreed, readily enough, that the new Country X could be named the Duchy of Karls—which left Karls, as founding father, fairly floating on air.

In fact Yang Minlan cared little what Country X was called; it was a matter of no consequence. Yang Ce could only remain hidden behind the scenes now, not stand in the foreground, and so to outsiders it still appeared that General Karls held full authority over Country X.

Once the treaty was signed, Li Qiang's side launched a devastating attack on the Changge Alliance with the speed of a thunderclap. Yang Shuoxuan had said he would not tolerate the existence of any other armed force within the borders, so Li Qiang's task was to hunt them down to the last man.

The leader of the Changge Alliance, John Dun, was happily daydreaming about the future with his ally.

"Hey, buddy, our strength is formidable now—more than enough to reach General Karls's city walls," John Dun said with considerable pride.

"That's right. When the time comes, John Dun, you'll be the new president of Country X." His partner was excited too. He had once been the chief of a small armed faction with no chance of rising, but this time, if John Dun's coup succeeded, he would at the very least count as a founding contributor—enough to trade for a seat as prime minister.

But just as the two were dreaming of the future, John Dun's orderly came running in, drenched in sweat. "Bad news, General John Dun!"

"What bad news? What's all this panic about?" John Dun frowned and rebuked the orderly sharply. He was about to take the throne—why were his men still flustering about like this?

"General Karls's army is already marching on us—what do we do?" the orderly said anxiously.

"General Karls?" John Dun sneered with contempt. "Do you think I don't know how little strength he has? How could he compare with us now? We outnumber him two to one."

What John Dun did not know was that numbers matter less than quality. His ragtag force, cobbled together overnight, might have held its own against General Karls's old armed forces, but against Li Qiang's it was the difference between heaven and earth.

Just as John Dun was speaking in that arrogant tone, a bomb fell from the sky and blasted the Changge Alliance command post into rubble. John Dun died with his eyes open, unable to understand how General Karls had come to possess bombers.

The Southern Coalition suffered the same devastating blow, and even the small and medium-sized armed factions were struck to varying degrees. For a time darkness fell over all of Country X; every surviving armed force lived in daily dread, each fearing for its own skin. They could not fathom when General Karls had acquired such a powerful foreign patron.

Li Qiang's military equipment was shipped over without cease by old Buffon. Indeed, old Buffon was itching to do something for Yang Ce just now—he and his wife had both become disciples of Yang Juehuan, and he seized every chance to curry favor. So without Yang Yanzhou having to say a word, every weapon and piece of gear within old Buffon's power was rushed into Country X without pause, and in no time Li Qiang's reserves were plentiful.

Every day General Karls received detailed reports of victory. The victories were in fact Li Qiang's, but since the two had joined forces, Karls shamelessly counted Li Qiang's triumphs as his own.

His own side had suffered not a single casualty; the campaign to expel the armed factions was, one might say, entirely one-sided. General Karls felt his whole body buoyant—at last he could rest easy.

You damned rivals, now at last you know how powerful my partner, General Karls's partner, is! In truth Li Qiang's speed had exceeded even General Karls's expectations. He had known Li Qiang and his men were strong, but only upon witnessing it firsthand did he realize they were far stronger than he had imagined.

To fight on multiple fronts at once, to annihilate eighty percent of the armed forces within Country X in a single day—that was beyond anything General Karls could have conceived of before, and yet it had now become reality.

One could say his partnership with Yan had been a wise move; from now on there would be no more chaos within Country X. That evening, at Yang Juehuan's diamond mine—now converted into the headquarters of the Black Butterfly Joint Force, responsible not only for assassins and mercenary affairs but also for the security of Country X—Li Qiang hosted a victory banquet.

Karls had now become the second—even third—figure in Country X, for before Li Qiang and Yan he could not possibly maintain the dignity and poise he showed the outside world. At Li Qiang's side, General Karls was wholly like a subordinate awaiting instruction.

"Captain Li, we truly owe you our thanks this time," General Karls said from the bottom of his heart.

Li Qiang only smiled faintly and waved a hand. "No need for thanks. Country X belongs to Mr. Yang now too, so what we did, we did for ourselves as well."

"Yes." Hearing this, General Karls felt a certain bitterness. True enough—he had to face reality. He was no longer the supreme authority; Yang Ce was.

So there was no need for words of thanks; from now on, simply obeying Yang Juehuan's orders would suffice.

"Mr. Yang says that once the war is over, he will come here in person to appoint you the country's first prime minister," Li Qiang said.

"Then I must trouble Mr. Yang." General Karls understood as well that in the present circumstances he was no longer suited to be called president, for Country X's future politics would resemble a hidden imperial rule: Yang Ce would remain behind the scenes, while he became the front-stage administrator.

And Li Qiang's words had plainly told General Karls that his future appointment and dismissal rested entirely in Yang Juehuan's hands. If he obeyed, he would keep this seat; otherwise Yang Ce could appoint someone else.

General Karls knew this well, and so his words and manner had grown considerably more modest.