Empire Conquest
Chapter 262 - 258: The Three Powerhouses on Land

Chapter 262: Chapter 258: The Three Powerhouses on Land

Although he had mentally prepared himself, Bai Zhizhan was still a little surprised when he entered the Commander-in-chief’s office and saw Xue Yuanzheng.

Then, he noticed that the Grand Secretary was in casual clothes.

It certainly wasn’t to see Liu Changxun; it was something very important that could not be conveyed through official channels and had to be discussed in person.

While Bai Zhizhan was greeting Xue Yuanzheng, Liu Changxun poured a cup of coffee for Bai Zhizhan.

This was to hint to Bai Zhizhan that the Grand Secretary was bringing up a subject that couldn’t possibly be summarized in just a few words, so he should take it easy for the moment.

"This was brought by the Bulan Ambassador this morning, you take a look."

A diplomatic note?

Catching the document that Xue Yuanzheng handed over, Bai Zhizhan immediately furrowed his brows.

To call it a diplomatic note would be an understatement; it was more of an ultimatum.

If the Liangxia Empire didn’t officially announce by midnight on March 1 that it accepted the initiative launched by the Newland Federation and Bulan Kingdom, the Bulan Kingdom would impose a strategic embargo on both warring parties starting on March 1, ceasing the export of strategic materials, including oil, to the warring nations.

"Hasn’t there been rumors about this for some time?"

"Before, it was rumors; now, it’s a fact," Xue Yuanzheng replied.

Setting down the document, Bai Zhizhan rubbed his forehead vigorously.

"Before you came, Commander Liu already mentioned that we don’t stand much chance if we start a war with the Bulan Kingdom. I want to ask, what is your opinion on this issue?"

Bai Zhizhan didn’t rush to speak; this wasn’t a question that could be answered casually.

This was not just a matter of starting a war with the Bulan Kingdom.

Since the Bulan Kingdom had not been involved in the war, imposing an embargo on the warring nations was a right recognized by international conventions. Hence, if the Liangxia Empire took this as pretext to declare war on the Bulan Kingdom, the Newland Federation would surely fight for the Bulan Kingdom.

At its core, this was clearly a trick played by the Newland Federation.

If a war did break out, the Newland Federation had to be taken into account.

Fighting both the Newland Federation and the Bulan Kingdom simultaneously indeed offered no chance of victory.

It was already extremely difficult to triumph over the Newland Navy in the East Ocean, and facing the Bulan Royal Navy in the Fan Flame Ocean would surely lead to certain defeat.

But could we afford to back down?

Sitting down to negotiate now would render all previous efforts futile. The Saiyi Imperial Country, once rejuvenated with blood transfusions, would quickly become the Empire’s thorn in the flesh once again.

From a military perspective, with the Newland Federation’s full support, it would take as little as a few months, at most a year, for the Saiyi Imperial Country to recover and return to the battlefield revitalized, ready to engage in a real war of attrition with the eighty million military and civilian forces on its home soil against the Empire.

Moreover, negotiations themselves were meaningless.

If it really were possible to reach an agreement, the Newland Federation would also have to come forward and declare a strategic embargo on both warring parties on March 1.

The Newland Federation’s lack of declaration was clearly an indication of an intent to give the Saiyi Imperial Country a break.

So with that being the case, what was there to talk about?

If we couldn’t back down, how should we fight, or rather, how could we fight with a chance of victory?

Obviously, this was the question Xue Yuanzheng was hinting at.

After much contemplation, Bai Zhizhan finally spoke up, "If there’s no way to drag this out until next year, the best option is to find a way to tie down the Bulan Kingdom."

"Keep the Bulan Kingdom out of the affair?" Xue Yuanzheng was clearly a bit surprised.

"Why not the Newland Federation?" Liu Changxun immediately followed up with another question.

Before Bai Zhizhan arrived, the two had already been discussing this issue and had mostly reached the same conclusion, which was to first deal with the Bulan Kingdom.

The rationale was simple: go for the low-hanging fruit first.

"Although our main enemy is not the Bulan Kingdom, is there any way we can hold back the Newland Federation?"

After Bai Zhizhan said this, Xue Yuanzheng merely nodded, and Liu Changxun appeared somewhat embarrassed; perhaps it was he who had proposed the containment of the Newland Federation.

"The ’isolationism’ argument within the Newland Federation restricts its actions. In my opinion, that thing is just metaphysics," Bai Zhizhan paused briefly before continuing, "To think badly, isolationism is mostly something Rofuss came up with."

"How could...?"

Before Liu Changxun could finish speaking, Xue Yuanzheng shook his head at him, signaling him to close his mouth.

"Is this only speculation?"

"Essentially. The truth is actually right in front of us—it just depends on whether we believe it or not."

Xue Yuanzheng did not speak; he just gave a slight nod, urging Bai Zhizhan to continue.

"No matter how you look at it, as soon as we go to war with the Bulan Kingdom, Rofuss will have the Newland Federation join the war as an ally. On the other hand, if we start with the Newland Federation, under certain specific conditions, the Bulan Kingdom may not immediately fulfill its alliance obligations."

"What specific conditions?" Liu Changxun followed up.

"The emergence of a powerful enemy that directly hits the core interests of the Bulan Kingdom, such as the Tiaoman Empire." It was not Bai Zhizhan who answered this question, but Xue Yuanzheng.

Liu Changxun was surprised, thinking he had heard wrong.

Bai Zhizhan furrowed his brows; although it was he who raised this perspective, before Xue Yuanzheng declared it, he had never considered the Tiaoman Empire.

Could it be possible?

Even though the Tiaoman Empire was a staunch ally in the last major war and had fought alongside the Liangxia Empire until the very last moment, after the war, the relationship between the two countries plummeted sharply. Even if they never openly fell out, they were only just passable on the surface and were no longer allies.

There were many reasons, mainly related to national core interests. For example, during the Seba Conference, to retain the status as a "non-defeated country," the Liangxia Empire did not come forward to protect the core interests of the Tiaoman Empire, ultimately resulting in the disputed Alor area being given to the Locke Republic.

Of course, this also related to the twenty years of peace that followed the war.

After twenty years of peace, neither the Liangxia Empire nor the Tiaoman Empire had a foundation for re-forming a military alliance.

Influence from the military and government was secondary; the key was public sentiment, with populations from both sides not having a high regard for each other.

"To hold back the Bulan Kingdom, we can only rely on the Tiaoman Empire." Xue Yuanzheng let out a sigh. "Fortunately, the Tiaoman Empire has also expressed the desire to form an alliance with us again."

Even Bai Zhizhan was shocked by this news.

"Just this morning, the newly-appointed ambassador from the Tiaoman Empire took the opportunity of presenting his credentials to propose to us the hope of forming an alliance treaty anew. The key point is, the Tiaoman Empire does not oppose a tripartite agreement and is willing to reconcile with the Luosha Federation as long as we are willing to provide guarantees."

This was beyond surprise; it was outright dumbfounding!

With the guarantee of the Liangxia Empire, the Tiaoman Empire was willing to reconcile with the Luosha Federation!?

Had there been a misunderstanding?

"What about the Luosha Federation...?"

"Same."

This time, Bai Zhizhan clearly recognized he had not heard wrong.

Was it just deception, or could they truly form an alliance?

Could three powerful land-based nations on the same line come together?

During the last major war, the Luosha Empire, caught between the Liangxia Empire and the Tiaoman Empire, endured much suffering and even fell apart in the end. Now it is the Luosha Federation, but they are the same people; how could they forget the losses they suffered being caught between the two in the last war?

The Luosha Federation held the most resentment against the Tiaoman Empire.

After the last war, the Liangxia Empire did not occupy the land it had captured, and shortly afterward signed a peace treaty with the Luosha Federation.

However, the Tiaoman Empire, in concert with the Locke Republic, nearly dismembered half of the Luosha Federation, causing the Luosha Federation to lose a considerable amount of territory and not recover from the blow.

Did the Luosha Federation truly want to reconcile with the Tiaoman Empire?

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.