Empire Conquest
Chapter 196 - 192: Time and Circumstance Have Changed

Chapter 196: Chapter 192: Time and Circumstance Have Changed

After Hale finished speaking, Rofuss remained silent, perhaps unsure what to say.

Having clarified Bulan Kingdom’s position, Rofuss shifted his focus on the Locke Republic and Tiaoman Empire, and also probed the stance of Luosha Federation.

In brief, the goal was to unite all countries that could be allied to isolate the Liangxia Empire as much as possible.

However, the problem did not arise from Tiaoman Empire, which had allied with Liangxia Empire in the last great war, nor from Luosha Empire, which had reconciled with Liangxia Empire after the war, but from their former ally who had achieved victory in the last great war together and dominated the West Continent: the Locke Republic.

The Locke Ambassador’s response was straightforward: the Locke Republic would not get involved in conflicts and wars unrelated to its core interests.

Implicitly, the Locke Republic would not consider any actions that might lead to hostile relations with the Liangxia Empire and would maintain strict neutrality.

This outcome did not surprise Rofuss.

Fundamentally, it boiled down to one point.

The Locke Republic had been terrified, perhaps even heartbroken, during the last great war!

The battlefront of the Western Front during the last great war was in the Locke Republic, specifically in the densely populated northern region. The Locke Republic fought a four-year defensive war on its soil and thus became one of the countries with the heaviest casualties. If calculated proportionately, it was the most heavily affected.

According to incomplete statistics, during the last great war, one in every five eligible males in the Locke Republic was killed in action, and out of the remaining four, one and a half were disabled.

Such massive, tragic casualties led to a reconciliation between the Locke Republic and the Tiaoman Empire.

If there were to be another such war in twenty years, the Locke Republic might see half of its families die out.

In slightly unpleasant terms, due to the large number of male deaths, the Locke Republic was like it had been castrated and could not rise again.

Of course, there were no serious conflicts of interest between the Locke Republic and the Liangxia Empire.

If anything, it was about the South Toe area.

Before the Liangxia Empire emerged, the entire Toe Country, including Northern Toe, were colonies of Locke. After the rise of the Liangxia Empire, Toe Country became independent and subsequently a vassal state of the Liangxia Empire. After the last great war, South Toe was returned to the Locke Republic.

That place was simply too small to even catch the eye of the Liangxia Empire.

Moreover, even if the Liangxia Empire wanted to take back South Toe, it would let Northern Toe intervene, giving no direct reason for the Locke Republic to engage in war.

It was unlikely that the Locke Republic would deploy an expeditionary force for a distant colony of negligible value far across mountains and seas.

Interestingly, a few years ago, the authorities in Locke proposed to the Newland Federation to exchange South Toe for one of Newland’s colonial territories on the western side of the Sunset Ocean, such as Boli Island, and were willing to pay compensation. Unfortunately, the negotiation never succeeded.

What truly surprised, and even shocked Rofuss, were the attitudes of the Tiaoman Empire and the Luosha Federation.

The Tiaoman Empire’s response was very straightforward.

Should the Newland Federation support and recognize the interests of the Tiaoman Empire in the West Continent and sign an alliance treaty, then the Tiaoman Empire would be willing to join in sanctioning the Liangxia Empire, even providing direct aid to the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom in sync with Newland.

Of course, if Newland were to declare war on Liangxia, Tiaoman would follow suit.

According to the Tiaoman Ambassador, this was fulfilling the duties of an alliance.

Unfortunately, there was no way the Newland Federation would ever sign an alliance treaty with the Tiaoman Empire.

The ambition of the Tiaoman Empire was clear: to redeem their past humiliation, dominate the West Continent, defeat and replace Bulan Kingdom as the sole ruler on the western side of the World Island and the eastern coast of the Sunset Ocean, and thus become a superpower like the Liangxia Empire and Newland Federation. Setting up such a formidable enemy was foolish enough, not to mention supporting the Tiaoman Empire’s dominance in the West Continent would inevitably make them enemies of the Locke Republic and disrupt the alliance with the Bulan Kingdom.

Moreover, could the Tiaoman Empire be trusted?

"Don’t forget, during the last great war, the Tiaoman Empire fought side by side with the Liangxia Empire!

There is ample reason to believe that the Tiaoman Empire sent out such a signal to figure out the Newland Federation’s true intentions and then use it to seek accolades from the Liangxia Empire.

The key point is, in recent years within the Tiaoman Empire, the ’Conservatives,’ who advocate for an alliance with the Liangxia Empire, have regained dominance and led public opinion, with more and more of Tiaoman’s military and civilians beginning to admit that the main responsibility for their last defeat actually lay with them.

While reflecting, the Tiaoman Empire was also adjusting its policies towards the Locke Republic and the Bulan Kingdom, striving to improve relations with the Liangxia Empire.

It must be said, the Liangxia Empire is too powerful.

Moreover, the Tiaoman Empire and the Liangxia Empire have no direct conflicting interests, and can be said to be natural allies.

This geopolitical relationship was also reflected in the attitude of the Luosha Federation.

The Luosha Ambassador did not keep Hale out of the door but patiently listened to Hale’s ramblings for several hours, only to give no clear answer in the end.

This was already the best outcome.

Don’t forget, it’s the Luosha Federation that is the ally of the Liangxia Empire.

On the other hand, the Newland Federation and the Luosha Federation also have no direct conflicts.

More than a decade ago, the Newland Federation was the first to recognize the Luosha Federation and subsequently established diplomatic relations and exchanged ambassadors.

It was only after the Newland Federation that the other Western Powers gradually recognized the Luosha Federation.

From this perspective, the relationship between the two countries is still manageable.

But importantly, after the Liangxia Empire officially declared war on the Saiyi Imperial Country, and several days had already passed, the Luosha Federation had not yet made its stance clear.

Don’t forget, this series of conflicts was all brought about by the Luosha Federation.

Even if the Liangxia Empire and the Saiyi Imperial Country were merely capitalizing on the contradictions between the Luosha Federation and the Bay Sea Three Countries, the Luosha Federation definitely could not disassociate itself from it.

Not to mention war declarations against the Saiyi Imperial Country by the Liangxia Empire, the Luosha Federation should have also made some diplomatic gestures, such as condemning the surprise attack launched by the Saiyi Imperial Country.

Furthermore, ever since reconciliation with the Liangxia Empire, the Luosha Federation has consistently pursued a policy of alliance with the Liangxia Empire.

Strictly speaking, this is the fundamental strategy of the Luosha Federation.

So, what reason does the Luosha Federation have to stay uninvolved, and why did the Luosha Ambassador listen to Hale’s ramblings for hours?

There’s only one answer: The Luosha Federation does not trust the Liangxia Empire.

In peacetime, alliances and such are merely a piece of paper, plus the diplomacy of officials. Without serious conflicts, it’s all just about making life easier for you, for me, for everyone.

Whatever the treaty, it’s always aimed at securing, achieving, and defending national interests, and there are no true friends or foes.

But wartime is different.

To put it bluntly, if the Tiaoman Empire were to have a change of heart one day, and the Liangxia Empire were to let bygones be bygones, could the Luosha Federation, caught in the middle, still survive?

If the scenario from the last great war were to replay now, there are no more members of the Imperial Family to sacrifice.

Clearly, the Luosha Federation must consider such a situation, and thus there’s no reason to refuse the goodwill of the Newland Federation since, among the many Great Powers, only the Newland Federation and the Luosha Federation have no direct severe conflicts and are most likely to become reliable allies for the Luosha Federation.

But the question remains, can the Luosha Federation be a reliable ally for the Newland Federation?"

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