As the words fell, a stone stirred up a thousand waves.

"Fight!"

"The Marshal is right! Beat the hell out of them!"

"What if there are six SS-Rank Experts? Our Great Xia Military Department has never feared strong enemies!"

"Let's do it!"

Inside the entire Zhenguo Hall, it was instantly ignited by a wave of fanatical Battle Intent.

Most of the generals stood up excitedly, their faces flushed red, echoing loudly.

The humiliation suppressed for a century and the blood debts accumulated for forty years found an outlet for release at this moment.

However, just at this moment of public indignation.

A slightly aged voice rang out unhurriedly.

"Everyone, calm down."

Everyone looked towards the source of the sound.

They saw an old man with white hair sitting in the front row slowly stand up.

He ignored the surrounding gazes, only quietly looking at Zhao Qingcang on the platform, his turbid eyes filled with deep worry.

"Marshal."

"Since you want to go to a full-scale war with Sakura Country, this old man wants to ask a question."

"What are your chances of winning?"

Zhao Qingcang looked at the other person; that was his old buddy Qi Zhenyun, who had crawled out of a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood in the same era as him.

He was silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"Less than twenty percent."

As soon as these words came out, the generals whose blood had just rushed to their heads silently kept quiet.

Less than twenty percent?

This was almost equivalent to certain defeat.

After hearing this, the Old General surnamed Qi showed a bitter smile on his face.

"Twenty percent? Marshal, your statement is already considered very optimistic."

"In this old man's view, I'm afraid there isn't even ten percent chance of winning."

"Six SS-Rank Experts, this power is enough to sweep across any Theater of Operations in our Great Xia."

"What's more, they are still planning to resurrect that legendary SSS-Rank."

The Old General looked around at the faces that were either unwilling or angry.

"I know what you are thinking, feeling that this old man is boosting others' morale and destroying our own prestige."

"But a war cannot be won solely by a burst of hot blood."

"To take a step back."

"Even if they truly resurrect that Amaterasu, it doesn't necessarily mean she will definitely strike against our Great Xia Nation."

"Aren't we forcing ourselves into a dead end by actively declaring war now?"

"Old Qi!"

An angry roar interrupted Qi Zhenyun's words.

The one-armed general Wang Zhenbei suddenly stood up, staring at him with crimson eyes.

"It is you! All these years you've always advocated making peace with Sakura Country!"

"And the result? Any progress?"

"Those damn bastards are becoming increasingly rampant nowadays, and they are about to shit and piss on the heads of our Great Xia citizens!"

Hearing this, Qi Zhenyun's wrinkle-covered old face instantly flushed red.

He slammed the table fiercely, making a loud bang.

"Wang Zhenbei! Do you think I've done all this for my own consideration?"

He pointed at all the generals present, his voice trembling slightly with excitement.

"We are soldiers! We can rely on our hot blood to fight Sakura Country to the death! At worst, we die!"

"But what about the over one billion citizens of Great Xia Nation?"

"Who will be responsible for their lives and deaths?!"

"If it weren't for me bearing the infamy and maneuvering between various countries all these years, could Great Xia have transitioned smoothly to this day?"

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

Even the furious Wang Zhenbei opened his mouth, but couldn't say a single word.

That's right.

Soldiers can have their corpses wrapped in horse hides and die on the battlefield.

Yet they are not only the sharp blades of Great Xia Nation, but also its barrier.

Behind them are over one billion compatriots who need protection.

Any decision could bring about monstrous disaster and eternal damnation.

Right in this suffocating silence.

Zhao Qingcang on the platform slowly spoke.

"Old Qi's words are not without reason."

"None of us can guarantee whether that resurrected Amaterasu will strike against us."

"Going to war, our chances of winning are slim, and the common people will suffer."

"Not going to war, we swallow our anger and drag out an ignoble existence."

"These past few days, I have been considering this problem."

Zhao Qingcang's gaze became sharp, sweeping across every person in the hall.

"There is an old saying in Great Xia."

"How can anyone allow others to snore soundly beside their bed?"

"Once Sakura Country rises in momentum, they will definitely not let us go, this is certain."

"If it were us, it would be the same."

"Someone told me, rather than passively waiting for death, it's better to fight with all one's might."

"I think it makes a lot of sense."

He paused, his tone slightly easing.

"Of course, the Great Xia Military Department is not my, Zhao Qingcang's, personal dictation."

"Some agree, and naturally others oppose."

"This is also the purpose of me summoning you all here today."

Zhao Qingcang took a deep breath, and announced in an unprecedented solemn tone and deep voice.

"Now, initiate the highest military vote."

"Those who agree to a full-scale war against Sakura Country, please raise your hands."

"If there are more supporters, then start a national war, fighting to the death!"

"If there are more opponents, then we will immediately discuss the second plan and look for another way out!"

As Zhao Qingcang's voice fell, he was the first to raise his calloused hand.

The movement was slow, yet incomparably resolute.

Everyone's gaze converged on that raised arm, as if that was not a hand, but a battle flag fluttering in the wind, old yet never falling.

"Bang!"

A loud bang broke the silence.

The one-armed general Wang Zhenbei slammed his remaining right hand heavily onto the table, and his whole body suddenly stood up.

That hand of his raised high without hesitation, like a sharp sword out of its sheath, pointing directly at the dome.

"My Northwest Theater seconds it!"

This angry roar was like a signal.

"Seconded!"

"Central Plains Theater, agrees to go to war!"

"Southeast Military Region, requests to fight!"

For a moment, a harsh sound of tables and chairs rubbing against the floor resounded in the hall.

Figure after figure stood up consecutively, arm after arm raised resolutely.

The main-faction generals led by Wang Zhenbei had raging fires burning in their eyes, which were the humiliation and hatred accumulated for a century.

Originally thinking there would be a stalemate between the two sides' opinions, unexpectedly it turned out to be a one-sided fanaticism.

Right at this moment, a loud and resonant voice drowned out all the noise.

"I, Chuan Capital, am willing to be the vanguard army!"

Everyone looked toward the source of the sound, and saw that Chuan Capital Governor wearing gold-rimmed glasses who looked gentle and refined, not only holding his hand high, but also standing directly on the chair.

As soon as these words came out, it was like pouring a basin of cold water into a boiling wok, instantly exploding the pot.

"Why?!"

Wang Zhenbei suddenly turned his head, his single eye wide open, staring fixedly at the Chuan Capital Governor.

"When it comes to fighting Sakura Country, our Northwest Army has guarded the border for decades, has the most experience, and has made the greatest sacrifices!"

"Nobody else even thinks about snatching this vanguard other than our Northwest Army!"

Before his voice fell, another stocky general also stepped out; he was the person in charge of the Southeast Military Region.

"Old Wang, you can't put it that way."

"This time the main battlefield will inevitably be on the eastern coast. Our Southeast Military Region has favorable weather and geographical advantages, and troop projection is the fastest!"

"The vanguard army should naturally be taken by us!"

"Bullshit!"

"Our Northern Territory Army has been fighting those barbarians of the Great Bear Country all year round, and we are best at fighting hard and fierce battles! This first hard bone must be chewed by us!"