CH 54

Chapter 54 – Invasion of Fukashiro

The two months from April to May in 443 of the Monarchy Calendar were the second deadliest months in human history.

The death toll was 21.25 billion.

The deaths from planetary attacks by celestial rushes and fusion rounds wiped out 85% of the total population of the Shinkyō and Kyūyama Systems. There are 3.75 billion survivors, all of whom have become refugees.

Many of the refugees who did not lose their emotions were overcome with despair or burned with flames of anger. The words of curse were lined up in billions, many of which were sent towards the executioners of the Monarchy and to Hart.

However, the Tenka ruling class had more to do than spin cursed words.

Líng Yīng, the successor to Shinkyō, who became the rear-guard, had to immediately select the evacuation destinations for several billion refugees.

“What the 3.75 billion people of Shinkyō and Kyūyama need is a planet they can settle on immediately.”

It had been 989 years since humanity established an interstellar civilization.

Compared to 1,000 years ago, the means of water acquisition and food production technology have improved dramatically, but they have not yet come to the point of producing everything from nothing.

In order for humans to live with a certain dignity as people, rather than being raised like chickens in poultry farms, it is necessary to obtain a stable supply of air, water, land, food, resources, etc. to a certain quantity.

An inexpensive, safe, and large scale supply is a planet that has all of these.

Shinkyō’s inhabited planet, Suān, was packed with 14.7 billion people, three times the ideal population of 4-5 billion people despite the severe temperature difference between day and night and food productivity being difficult to maintain.

Planets can be forcefully pushed, but there is a limit to what can be done.

The habitability of people crammed in an area is inversely proportional to the population growth, the wear and tear of infrastructure facilities would intensify, the labor cost of the human beings who are swept away would drop, crime among low-wage workers would increase, and the government would have to implement a policy of population control.

The same was true in the three systems of Ten-to, Ōizumi, and Honyō, which had not been attacked by Fortress Kerviel, and the systems could not afford to accept billions of refugees.

If accepted, refugees would turn to crime due to poverty, and the deterioration of security would lead to a chain of events that would turn the dissatisfaction of the people towards the ruling class. As the relationship between the five families fighting together deteriorates, internal strife could be expected.

Such conflict is difficult to suppress by force.

Shinkyō and Kyūyama, which suffered heavy losses of 85% to their total population, were not inferior to the other three star systems in terms of their military strength.

At the start of the war, they had provided their forces in perfect condition. The remaining fleet of the main army was about 160,000 ships, they left a fleet of about 50,000 ships at their main planets, and the troops that had been recruited and dispatched to the reinforcement fleet before the main planet was destroyed were 190,000 ships.

Even without bringing in the survivors of the next generation of national mages, 400,000 ships can be operated, and resources outside the main planet remain untouched.

On the other hand, Yúnlán of Ōizumi, which is attacking the Monarchy of Deite’s Capital planet, Diros, Honyō, which accompanied Ōizumi on its mission, and Ten-to, which is taking on various burdens in addition to the diversion, will be reducing their forces from now on.

If two nations that still have military strength and the three nations that are about to consume theirs compete, they will all collapse and be defeated by the Monarchy.

After establishing communication with Yuen of the main force and Kyūyama’s successor Liú Hào, Líng Yīng had no choice but to reconfirm the difficulty of the situation.

“Immigration to the three star systems is extremely difficult. But we can’t immigrate to the one star system we have already acquired either.”

Yuen and others agreed with Líng Yīng’s point.

The three acquired star systems, Myrna, Thor, and Freyja, had their surface blown off by the Monarchy of Diete the previous year. The current planetary environment is worse than when the dinosaurs died out on Earth.

The Hercules system, which was conquered by the main force, also has 1.8 times the gravity of Earth, and countless dwarves that are unfriendly to other ethnic groups settle underground. From now on, each planet controlled by the Monarchy of Diete must be permanently conquered, and there is no room for ground battles with the dwarves.

The MacLir system has not yet been subdued. There is also an abnormality in the magic engine output, and even if it can be suppressed, it cannot be defended. Unless safety is ensured, it will not be possible to relocate.

It is not possible to evacuate to the other three Tenka star systems nor to the other systems they have taken.

Líng Yīng, who holds the lives of 1.5 billion people of Kyūyama in addition to 2.2 billion people of his own country, was forced to find a third path that involved neither the Tenka star systems nor a former Coalition territory that they had taken.

“To save our refugee compatriots, we will take the Fukashiro system”

Líng Yīng’s declaration was a thunderbolt to Yuen’s bold, iron heart.

[…… you will take Fukashiro?]

“That’s right. We, the Tenka people, absolutely have our birthplace in Fukashiro, so it can be said that we are returning to the land of our ancestors.”

Next to Yuen, Liú Hào of Kyūyama was also amazed and revealed his astonishment.

Fukashiro, the birthplace of Tenka, has a system population of 21 billion. But the habitable population is estimated to be over 50 billion.

The rationale is that the population of the Solar System in 3482 AD, when celestial bodies were rushed in by the Monarchy of Diete, was 40 billion.

As a G-type main-sequence star, Fukashiro’s inhabited planet, Lián Shāng, has a diameter 1.3 times that of Earth, and a land area 1.25 times that of Earth. In other words, if the land area is 1.25 times larger and the technology is more advanced, Lián Shāng in Fukashiro should be able to accommodate 50 billion people.

The ocean area of Lián Shāng is larger than that of Earth, and its depth is on average 2.6 times, so it has abundant water. The atmosphere is thicker than Earth, making it an excellent cradle for life.

The planet’s rotation is 26 hours, while Diros, the Diete Monarchy’s Capital planet, is 28 hours, so it is closer to Earth’s environment than the Monarchy’s best planet.

For the human race that originated from Earth, planets that are more habitable than Earth are rarely found. The Fukashiro system, which gave rise to the Tenka Federation, was an extremely exceptional system.

The only reason Tenka didn’t touch it is because Fukashiro was a Tenkan star system from the beginning.

It was a Tenkan star system until the Sòng family separated from them.

There are great advantages and disadvantages in taking Fukashiro.

The merits, of course, is that the five Tenka nations can get what they want. Not only will they gain a habitable planet, but also the property that Fukashiro possesses.

The disadvantage is they would make enemies of the Sòng family. Fukashiro has a standing fleet of 200,000 national mages, even though they have not conscripted. And given a few months’ time, their forces will double. Other problems include the reluctance of the people of Tenka to start a war within Tenka, and the deterioration of relations with the various prominent families and corporations with ties to the Sòng family.

And, if the precedent which affirms civil war is set, they could be on the receiving end of it in the future.

From the long-term perspective of the rise and fall of a nation, is there enough merits to offset the demerits of creating one trigger that could bring the current Tenka to ruin? The refugees of Shinkyō and Kyūyama have no choice, but can Yuen of Ten-to give a good reason to persuade his home nation?

After recovering from the shock, Yuen questioned Líng Yīng’s argument.

[Líng Yīng, what are the benefits of taking Fukashiro? Is there more to it than settling the refugees?]

Líng Yīng must have given it plenty of consideration by the time of his declaration.

The benefits proposed by Líng Yīng went beyond saving the lives of 3.75 billion people.

“We will annex Fukashiro and execute the key figures of the Sòng family for their betrayal of Tenka, and after suppressing their anxiety, we incorporate their national mages into our war potential. If so, the five nations’ depleted strength will be restored, and we will be able to increase our wings in the war with the Monarchy. If we have a separate force attack other Monarchy systems, Tenka will be victorious.”

Yuen was strongly attracted by the temptation to incorporate Fukashiro’s national mages.

The national mages are Tenka outsiders educated to obey Tenka.

Tenkans are the people who settled in Fukashiro in 3045 AD, and the subjects to follow are not limited to the Sòng family of Fukashiro.

In terms of ideological education, it is also possible to follow the other five families, and it will be easier to make them obey if a just cause is created, such as the Sòng family betraying Tenka. If you take control of the androids that physically enforce order, the national mages of Fukashiro will belong to the five nations.

[What are your plans?]

“Because the movement of Fortress Kerviel is unknown, we will use 400,000 ships from Shinkyō and Kyūyama as well as civilian vessels. The refugees will be put on civilian ships equipped with nuclear fusion rounds, and hard-armed all over Fukashiro to control the entire sector. If they are blocked, they can be used as cover to go into battle. If we surprise them with twice the force, we won’t lose.”

[We can extract up to 100,000 ships from the main force. It is a force that was scheduled to confront Fortress Kerviel in the Hercules system. I’ll send them over just in case.]

“…… It’ll help.”

Following Yúnlán of Xǔ’s proposal to attack the Diete system, the Commander-in-Chief, Yuen also took advantage of the Fukashiro System invasion proposed by Líng Yīng.

Liú Hào of the Lin family, the ruling family of Kyūyama, was appointed as the commander of the reinforcement force, and he sent the maximum force that could be put into the invasion of Fukashiro in a short time.

July 443 of the Monarchy Calendar.

When Hart returned to the MacLir System, Fukashiro, the oldest on the Tenka side, was about to be invaded by the same Tenka people.

The first wave was a huge number of civilian ships.

The news of the destruction of the inhabited planets of Shinkyō and Kyūyama had reached Fukashiro. As a result, Fukashiro failed to recognize the refugees as hostile forces in the beginning.

[Attention, refugee ships. Follow our protocol and guidance. Otherwise, you will be dropped.]

Fukashiro’s control system was capable of guiding millions of civilian ships, but there were no more than a few million warships that could be stopped using force when the other party did not comply.

In response to the unusual situation, Fukashiro gathered its forces, and when they opened fire on several ships that had rushed in without following protocol to protect only the inhabited planet Lián Shāng, Líng Yīng of Shinkyō appeared.

[We have confirmed an attack by Fukashiro on unarmed Tenkan refugees, the Sòng family is not neutral. It is an enemy of Tenka connected with the Monarchy of Diete. We, the Gāo family of Shinkyō, and the Lin family of Kyūyama, for the sake of the Tenkan people, will overthrow the Sòng family, which has become an enemy of Tenka.]

In the Fukashiro system, when several civilian ships that did not comply with Fukashiro’s laws and regulations were fired on, the two nations accused them of treason and then declared war unilaterally.

Moreover, the 500,000 ships that had attacked at the same time as the declaration of war were ready for battle from the beginning, and were densely packed among the huge number of civilian ships, and they attacked Fukashiro’s ships, which were in a small group, with sheer numbers.

Fukashiro retaliated by hurling lasers and missiles along with curses against the camouflaged refugees who were clearly intent on attacking from the beginning.

[You are the enemies of Tenka. Such shameless betrayal, you gave up on conquering the Monarchy and invaded Fukashiro after waging war on the Monarchy and having your resident star systems destroyed. Who gave you a share of their national mages? Who provided resources during the migration?]

Missiles fired from Fukashiro’s defense system swept away hundreds of civilian ships from Shinkyō and Kyūyama. From the perspective of the entire civilian ships, only 1/10,000 were the refugees who learned of Fukashiro’s anger and fled.

In response, the fleet led by Shinkyō and Kyūyama launched a strong counterattack.

An avalanche of missiles, originally prepared for use against the Monarchy, surged in, destroying the system’s defense system one after another.

With 500,000 ships already organized for a surprise attack and a total of 200,000 ships caught off guard, the battle would be forced into a one-sided development.

The system defense system is useful, but the protagonists of the war are laser weapons using magic element engines, and missiles only play a supporting role. It was impossible to reverse the force difference of 300,000 ships. Fukashiro introduced tens of thousands of additional ships in a short period of time, but even these had to be defeated individually.

Storms of curses were thrown at Shinkyō and Kyūyama, but the two nations had lost their home systems, and would not back down no matter what was said. Ignoring all the taunts as the howls of the losing dog, they overrun the warships of Fukashiro.

History textbooks are written by the victors.

Even if the warring parties understand that, “this is an invasion by Shinkyō and Kyūyama”, it will be written in the textbooks as, “Fukashiro, who sided with the Monarchy, attacked refugees”,

The Sòng dynasty in Fukashiro had no way of overturning their inferiority against the violence of both nations.

Instead, the Sòng family took steps that went against the plans of Shinkyō and Kyūyama. They made a declaration to the 21 billion people of Fukashiro and the Monarchy of Diete using interstellar communication lines connected to the Monarchy and the communication network connected to the entire Fukashiro.

[I am the current head of the Sòng family. As of the moment when Fukashiro was invaded by Shinkyō and Kyūyama, I assumed all responsibility and handed over leadership of the Sòng family to my son, Hào Lán.]

A bedridden old man with total gray hair half rose his body from his bed to make the declaration.

Hào Lán, who was standing beside him, took over the declaration from his father and began to speak.

[I Hào Lán, who took over the Sòng family, and in light of the current situation where Fukashiro is being invaded by Shinkyō and Kyūyama, will nominate Xuě Lì, the second child of my fifth wife, as my successor. Xuě Lì’s husband is Marquis Amakawa, commander of the Royal Army’s Fortress Kerviel, who destroyed Shinkyō and Kyūyama.]

Footage from the Sòng family shows Xuě Lì and Hart meeting at the ceremony to commemorate the establishment of diplomatic relations.

[Fukashiro and the Sòng family apply for nationalization or subordination to the Monarchy and request rescue from the invaders. I will end my life if the hands of Shinkyō and Kyūyama reach out to me, allowing Xuě Lì to inherit Fukashiro and the Sòng family. The Sòng family has only one request in the case for nationalization or subordination. Please do not destroy Fukashiro.]

When Hào Lán’s proclamation was broadcast, Líng Yīng, who had maintained silence until then, appeared on the transmission and spoke to Hào Lán.

“Selling out the system is the ultimate betrayal of Tenka. I’d say you’re doing us a favor by reinforcing our cause.”

The sarcastic expression on Líng Yīng’s face exuded resentment.

The invasion carried out by Líng Yīng, although the battle is proceeding smoothly, has resulted in the unfavorable result of reducing each other’s strength.

It wasn’t the worst in terms of being able to secure the previous generation and the next generation of national mages, and in terms of being able to safely secure the planet, but it was far from ideal.

And because of Hào Lán, their plan to marry a woman of Sòng family blood to the successor of the Gāo and Lin families and take over Fukashiro moderately was thwarted. That couldn’t have put them in a good mood.

Of course, Hào Lán had no reason to improve the mood of the invaders trying to kill him.

[Someone has forced me to sell our independence to protect my planet and my people. If you give them a cause and show the merits of being able to control Fukashiro easily, they will not drop celestial bodies on opponents who have surrendered. It doesn’t matter if we become a subordinate nation or aristocrats of the Monarchy, as long as the ruler of Fukashiro is a descendant of Xuě Lì of the Sòng family. Fortunately, the Marquis of Amakawa is in a position not to be despised by the Monarchy. The people of Fukashiro should understand and stand by that well.]

Líng Yīng asked Hào Lán, who persuaded the people at the same time, with a grim expression, while saying calmly by the communication.

“You are talking on the premise that the Monarchy can win, but do you think the Monarchy can win?”

[Do you believe there is no third time even after the celestial raid occurred twice? My top priority is to protect Fukashiro. The Five Tenka families have taken in blood from the Sòng family for 700 years. If the Five Tenka families win, then so be it.]

As far as Líng Yīng knew, Hào Lán’s principle of action is consistent. And although they could not agree, he had to concede that the arguments were rational.

Líng Yīng, who had somewhat recovered from his temper, suppressed his emotions and asked Hào Lán.

“Just because you surrendered, doesn’t mean they will allow you to rule a whole planet.”

[How many star systems do you think there are in the galaxy? As the Monarchy’s territory expands, senior aristocrats will be able to govern at least one star system. And in the future, the number of governed star systems will increase. There are many Fukashiro people, so we can mix with the people of the Monarchy. And as a result, our descendants dominate the galaxy.]

Hào Lán’s choice made sense for a creature that thrives by leaving offspring.

Although the direction was different from that of Líng Yīng and Yuen, it still held the rational aspect of Tenka.

‘If you don’t care if the five Tenka families win, then surrender immediately. There will be fewer and fewer people to leave the descendants of Fukashiro.”

[If you compare the conditions of subordination to the Monarchy and retaining a certain level of authority, and the path of surrendering to the invaders and losing all authority, it will be clear for yourself which one we will cooperate with.]

The Monarchy needs to leave the subordinate Sòng family in order to peacefully rule the people of Tenka.

The five kingdoms cannot afford to have the Sòng family remain in order to control Fukashiro.

It was obvious which one Hào Lán of the Sòng family would cooperate with.

“If you surrender, you may remain as a prominent family”

[The burglars who broke into our house are insinuating that we will be given preferential treatment if we drop our weapons? If it was you, Líng Yīng, what would you do?]

Ryo’s white words were cut off by Hào Lán and discarded.

“If you have too bad an attitude, you will be treated poorly after the suppression of Fukashiro.”

[If you have a bad attitude, you will face unfortunate consequences when my daughter and son-in-law win. Also don’t look down on the Sòng family.]

Líng Yīng would learn that Hào Lán’s words were not those of a sore loser as he continued to conquer Fukashiro. From strategic resources, military factories, and even to the isolated production island of the national mages, the places where Líng Yīng’s hands reached had all been obliterated by self-destruction.

Hào Lán’s purpose in extinguishing the national mage production facility was to avoid celestial raid attacks on Fukashiro by the Monarchy, and footage of the destruction was sent to the Monarchy via interstellar communication.

For Líng Yīng, the most coveted national mages of Fukashiro was lost, military facilities were lost, and more than 100,000 invading ships were lost in the Battle of the Fukashiro Star System.

And on the habitable planet, Lián Shāng, there are 21 billion people who are dissatisfied with the invasion. Among them, there are probably some people hiding who are planning to revolt.

Líng Yīng’s invasion of Fukashiro provided shelter for 3.75 billion refugees, but that was the only result he had achieved.