Empire Conquest
Chapter 207 - 203: Indomitable Spirit Despite Physical Disability

Chapter 207: Chapter 203: Indomitable Spirit Despite Physical Disability

Lian Xusheng’s opponent wasn’t the nouveau riche leader who had just moved into the Prime Minister’s Mansion of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom; it was Rofuss on the other side of East Ocean, preparing for his third presidential election bid.

This wasn’t about diminishing one’s own prestige or enhancing someone else’s spirit. The Empire’s war plans were indeed influenced by Rofuss.

Seven years earlier, this Democrat who had once served as Assistant Secretary of the Navy and Governor, and who could only keep company with a wheelchair due to polio, had drawn significant attention from the Imperial Intelligence Agency upon announcing his participation in the presidential election, and they deemed him one of the most threatening foreign politicians.

It wasn’t an overestimation of him.

A man who, only at the age of fifty, had been confined to a wheelchair for over a decade and would never stand again dared to step forward amid the worsening economic crisis of the Great Depression, challenging formidable electoral opponents and striking at the unattainable presidential throne.

Such courage alone was admirable.

Rofuss had more than just courage; he also possessed extraordinary foresight and the ability to find opportunities in danger and seize them.

Four years before his first presidential bid, in New Calendar year 88, the year before the Great Depression broke out, Democrats had hoped Rofuss would step forward and even suggested he run as a vice-presidential candidate. He tactfully declined all offers, thereby avoiding the subsequent disaster.

When the economic crisis struck and the situation became uncontrollable, that’s when he stepped forward.

With that single move, he became the savior in the hearts of more than two hundred million Newland citizens.

Such was his brilliance and cunning.

It could also be described as political acumen.

After being elected, Rofuss’s capabilities fully justified the Imperial Intelligence Agency’s "endorsement" and "recognition."

Just to mention one aspect: the New Deal.

Fundamentally, the New Deal introduced by Rofuss was really a replica of the economic reforms carried out by Xue Yuanzheng in the Liangxia Empire; it was, to put it accurately, a rebranding. The core of both was to stimulate investment and construction through deficit spending and government borrowing, in turn propelling economic development.

This alone was enough to prove that Rofuss was an opponent worth paying attention to.

Had Rofuss not implemented the New Deal in the Newland Federation, Liangxia Empire might have reigned supreme without even igniting the flames of war.

The only entity globally with the stature to contest the Liangxia Empire was the Newland Federation.

If the Newland Federation hadn’t undertaken reforms and stood up to compete with the Liangxia Empire on a global scale—if not for the economic crisis caused by the Great Depression, especially the trade war during the crisis—the Liangxia Empire could have crushed almost all opponents.

By New Calendar year 93, when Rofuss moved into the Grey Palace, even the Newland Federation was nearly at its breaking point.

That is why many people believed that the Great Depression of New Calendar year 89 was orchestrated by the Liangxia Empire or, at the very least, manipulated by it behind the scenes.

Regardless, Rofuss became the man who altered the course of history.

Starting from New Calendar year 96, the year before the annulment of the "Huacheng Treaty" and "Luntai Treaty," every war plan the Empire formulated took Rofuss into account, and in later revisions, the plan to initiate war with the Newland Federation was postponed to New Calendar year 101.

The reason was this: Rofuss’s second term would conclude at the beginning of year 101.

Let’s not forget that since the Founding Fathers retired after serving two terms, each and every Federation President, without exception, has stepped down after completing two terms.

Would Rofuss be the exception?

If he were preparing to lead the Newland Federation into the next global war, he’d need to maintain his leader’s image and certainly couldn’t risk committing an absolute taboo.

Would he dare to do what even the Founding Fathers hadn’t?

If he didn’t dare, then he would have to move out of the Grey Palace after the end of his second term.

Certainly, the guy who moved into the Grey Palace after Rofuss wouldn’t be any easier to deal with than Rofuss himself.

Even if Rofuss was influencing politics from behind the scenes, it definitely wasn’t as effective as issuing orders directly from the Grey Palace.

From this reverse deduction, there was the strategic setting of going to war with the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom at the end of the year 99 or the beginning of 100, as well as the resulting war plan.

The problem now was that Rofuss was actually preparing to run in the third presidential election.

According to the information Bai Zhizhan had obtained, Rofuss’s reason was that the international situation was complex and interwoven, necessitating internal stability to face external threats.

Moreover, current laws of the Newland Federation did not prohibit running for a third consecutive term as president.

The key point was that nearly half of the Democracy Party’s elders had already expressed support for Rofuss running for a third time, and the Republican Party simply had no suitable candidate.

Theoretically, Rofuss’s third presidential victory was all but assured.

This made the situation incredibly delicate.

If we were to stick strictly to the original plan, which was to defeat the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom within a year, the war against Saiyi would conclude in the second half of the New Calendar year 100. The problem was, the likelihood of sticking strictly to the plan was practically zero. If it’s not postponed, it couldn’t be called a "plan." Even a delay of a few months was bound to cause a multitude of unexpected issues.

The critical point was simple: if the war dragged on to the end of New Calendar year 100, Rofuss would inevitably be re-elected as president.

On the contrary, if the war against the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom could be concluded earlier, say by June of New Calendar year 100, before the start of the Newland Federation elections, perhaps concessions in the political and diplomatic realms could influence the outcome of the Newland presidential race.

This was actually part of the war plan.

The Newland Federation had warmongers like Rofuss, but it also had powerful Conservatives committed to isolationism.

In recent years, with the economy showing signs of improvement, the Conservatives had gained momentum.

Of course, this could also be seen as the Newland public’s reconsideration of the last major conflict.

No matter how loudly Rofuss touted his achievements, unless he could convince voters that in the next great war, the Newland Federation wouldn’t be the foolish nice guy who contributes troops, pays money, works hard, and yet gains nothing, he would be unable to garner support for his expansionist strategies.

To stand a chance of defeating Rofuss at the polls, or at least work towards that effort, it was necessary to strive to finish the war against the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom as soon as possible, ideally within half a year, then shift to a strategic defensive stance, reaching out to the Newland Federation proactively, and even sacrificing some war dividends if necessary.

In a nutshell, the objective was to convince the Newland public that the Liangxia Empire was a friend, not a foe.

Without an external threat, Newland voters would cast their ballots for the Conservatives who advocated an isolationist policy!

Even if Rofuss made a comeback four years later, during those four years under a Republican president, the Liangxia Empire would surely sweep across the Four Seas!

No matter how formidable Rofuss was, surely he couldn’t fight against the entire world single-handedly!

The Imperial Guard Army was making rapid advances on the Ice Storm Peninsula specifically to hasten the war process to defeat the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom within half a year.

But how could the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom be thoroughly defeated?

Landing on Saiyi territory?

The thought startled Bai Zhizhan!

Among all the military strategies, landing on the Saiyi mainland was always the last resort, a reluctant option.

Had it come to a point where there were no other choices?

The war had just begun, and if we couldn’t advance according to the plan from now on, who could guarantee that the Empire would achieve final victory in the years to come?