Peace Treaty

With over 750,000 new blood injected into western lines, the castles, which were falling one by one from cannon strikes of the Republic, finally caught a break.

The republic's army had to reorganize to strategize how to deal with the empire after the arrival of the 750,000-strong reinforcements.

As for the north, the kingdom's army also temporarily retreated from the frontlines, strategizing about dealing with 250,000 new troops from the empire.

On both sides, however, the empire was outnumbered. In the west, it was 850,000 to 900,000; in the north, it was 400,000 to 650,000.

...

Kampaku didn't want the battle to continue, so he sent envoys to both sides.

The North kingdom's leadership, who blamed Kampaku for the crown prince's death, didn't even respond to the letters; as for the republic, the hardline president there sent a letter demanding harsh conditions from the empire.

Kashu, president of the republic, was a hardliner and a member of the Supremes party, but though a bit crazy, was not an idiot. From the beginning, he didn't want to conquer the entire empire; he knew it was extremely difficult, borderline impossible. Even if he actually managed to conquer the entire empire, he could only do it at terrible costs to the republic; in that situation, other countries could use this opportunity and fish out of muddy water.

Unlike the northern kingdom, he was willing to negotiate.

Kampaku, who was desperate from internal rebellion and external invasion, was also willing to concede. So, he ignored the insulting terms in Kashu's letter and sent a negotiating team.

Over the next 2 weeks, the two sides negotiated and agreed on the terms of the peace deal.

First, the republic keeps all of the land it currently has.

Second, the empire agreed to abandon Westflower City and its surrounding area, transferring it to the republic's jurisdiction. The Westflower City was a border city between UPWC and the republic; With it, the republic finally gained a land border with a country beside the empire.

Third, the empire agreed not to tax any trade group from the republic for 25 years.

Fourth, both sides agreed to withdraw troops and demilitarize the border immediately.

Fifth, both sides agreed on removing trade barriers and encouraging trade.

Sixth, both sides agreed to compensate their own fallen soldiers and not seek any damages for the destruction of land, houses, cities, castles, etc.

The deal was extremely one-sided; the empire conceded everything and gave the republic whatever it wanted.

It was an unbelievable win for Kashu, the hardliner president.

For over 100 years, the empire suppressed the republic, levied unreasonable taxes on them, and even, in many cases, prevented them from trading with other countries. Yet, only months after the people of the republic elected Kashu, he defeated the empire so badly that it was like a dream for many.

After the deal was announced, Kashu's popularity soared to degrees unseen before; basically, the two moderate parties of left and right were in shock. Throughout the war, they lamented Kashu, calling him crazy and insulting him each day, yet the war resulted in such an amazing win for the country; how will they campaign in the next election? If they U-turn on war, they lose all their credibility. Yet, because the war had such an amazing result, they couldn't criticize Kashu for anything.

The local elections, held a week after the deal was announced, proved this point; the Supremes party completely destroyed all other parties.

In the republic, presidents have one 7-year term. Still, with the popularity Kashu gained through this war, it became very plausible for him to change the constitution, turning the Republic from a democracy to a kingdom.

...

The peace treaty with the Republic greatly affected Kampaku's reputation; the empire lost so badly that nobles, even those appointed by Kampaku, unanimously issued a statement condemning it.

Samurais, who usually took 30% of the tax levied on the Republic's merchants, also became angry.

It can be said that the treaty endangered Kampaku's position more than ever before. Still, the country was at war with the kingdom, so nobles and samurais held their nooses and tolerated Kampaku.

Kampaku, for his part, blamed everything on the kingdom; he said that he would extract war reputation from them which would make up for their loss in the west.

...

With the war in the west done, the Empire shifted its troops and even pulled them from the southern and eastern borders. In addition, nobles and samurais sent more troops, and Kampaku finally drew from royal reserves. The empire formed an unbelievable army of 1,800,000 troops in the north. This army also included cannons and musketeers.

With Inazuma missing, Kampaku appointed another peak human peak skill to the position. He was named Hasami, who was considered the best swordsman in the empire. He was usually one of Kampaku's bodyguards but was also good at commanding big armies.

Seeing such a massive army, the kingdom finally started sending envoys to negotiate for peace.

But it was too late.

Kampaku was already planning on destroying the kingdom; honestly, he needed a massive win against the kingdom at this point. After the disastrous treaty against the republic, the only thing that could restore his reputation was the absolute annihilation of the kingdom.

Therefore, this time, Kampaku ignored the kingdom's letters.

Hasami, as commander, started conquering back castles on the northern border. Only after 15 days, all lost northern territory was taken back.

Then, the empire's forces started their march into the kingdom's territory.

The kingdom, panicked, formed a 900,000 conscripted army to defend against the kingdom. The battle resulted in a win for the empire. The empire lost 200,000, while the kingdom lost 350,000.

Still, the kingdom's army wasn't destroyed; it retreated and started reorganizing.

Empire's forces marched as fast as possible, but conquering castles took time; it took a month for them to conquer castles and cities, allowing them to march closer to the kingdom's capital.

The kingdom, which was terrified at this moment, recalled all their troops, police officers, etc., all their armed forces from all over the country. Many didn't respond to the call, but a lot did. After all, people saw their country was about to be destroyed, so they rushed to help.

Using all resources available, the kingdom built up defenses around the capital, along with 2,500,000 troops guarding it. Most of those 2,500,000 were untrained for war, but still, they were the ones who, despite terrible circumstances, rushed to defend their country; they were the most loyal warriors the kingdom could hope for.

The empire, with its 1,550,000 troops, cannons, and musketeers, attacked but failed to defeat the kingdom's forces. The result was 300,000 losses for the empire and 350,000 losses for the kingdom.

The empire knew it must act fast; otherwise, the kingdom could mobilize more troops, so it attacked again, using all its cannons and musketeers.

The result was another disappointment, losing 250,000 to the kingdom's 350,000.

By now, both armies were absolutely exhausted; they had shrunk greatly compared to their previous state.

The empire had only 650,000 troops available, with 550,000 deaths and 350,000 incapacitating injuries.

The kingdom lost 700,000 and had 400,000 incapacitating injuries, bringing its available troops to 1,400,000.

Both sides had amazing commanders, so they didn't commit grave mistakes; no one could outsmart the other.

Seeing the stalemate, Kampaku wanted to start peace negotiations. Now that he saw he could not win, he finally decided to end the war; after all, if he pushed it and lost, that would be a political and practical disaster.

However, this time, the kingdom wasn't willing to negotiate. In the empire's assault, they looted and destroyed most of the kingdom's big cities and economic hubs. Even if the empire retreats right now, the kingdom will still be left with unimaginable losses. The kingdom wanted revenge.

Leaving aside defense, the kingdom attacked the empire's 650,000 with its 1,400,000.

The result? Another disaster for the empire. Empire lost 200,000 and was forced to retreat! The kingdom lost only 200,000. The reason was that the empire's forces didn't have good defenses, as they were invasive.

The kingdom chased them and started reconquering their lost castles and cities; they pushed it until they reached the empire's border.

By now, the empire had trained more troops and had 800,000 guarding its northern borders. The kingdom's forces couldn't infiltrate the Empire this time.

By this point, the kingdom's top echelons finally gave up on revenge and signed a peace treaty with the empire. Both sides agreed to de-escalate, but no one won any advantage. The kingdom refused any notion of paying war reparations, and the empire couldn't extract any concessions.

So, the war ended.

Even though this deal was neutral, it was still a disaster for the empire. After all, it was the kingdom that attacked, so any deal that didn't include at least some war reparation to the empire was a loss.

Still, in total, the war was an absolute catastrophe to the kingdom, while for the empire, though very costly, it wasn't that big of a deal. The kingdom never managed to infiltrate further than the Empire's border cities; the empire's economic hubs, royal cities, and important economic centers remained unharmed.

On the other hand, the kingdom was devastated by the loss of its economic centers.

In the long run, the empire might be weakened due to the treaty with the republic, but it would not be in danger of failing. The kingdom, on the other hand, may not survive the aftermath of the war.

Kampaku and the empire could have completely conquered the kingdom. But they didn't. Maybe it was the most rational course of action for the empire to conquer the kingdom to completely make up for its loss, but it was not the most rational act for Kampaku.

Even while they were fighting the kingdom, the ninjas, this time united with samurai and many nobles, were uniting and conspiring against him. At first, Kampaku was trying to win the war to restore his reputation, but it was made clear to him that even if he destroyed the kingdom, they would not let him off.

So, he decided to end the war with the kingdom with that treaty, solely so he could start focusing his royal forces and royal army on defending his own position.

Because he wanted to conquer the kingdom so badly, he only had 100,000 total troops guarding the capital; with such low numbers, an internal rebellion could have threatened him.

With the main army back, however, he finally brought up the numbers guarding the capital to 500,000, making him feel secure.

...

Five people were seated in a secret room.

A representative from ninjas, a representative from samurai, a representative from nobles, and a representative from a criminal organization were seated around the table.

Someone with long green hair was sitting at the table's head.

It was Jack.

With a smile, he said, "So, let's talk about Kampaku!"