Empire Conquest
Chapter 266 - 262: The Imperial Family’s Secondary Palace

Chapter 266: Chapter 262: The Imperial Family’s Secondary Palace

Perhaps it had been too long since it had been renovated, so the exterior walls made this secondary palace of the Luosha Imperial Family look quite unimpressive, even slightly lacking in class.

Once inside, however, it was a completely different world.

"A dazzling splendor" would not be sufficient to describe it!

Not to mention anything else, each corridor had a dome made from colorful glazed tiles, and the walls on both sides were covered with hand-painted murals.

Although Bai Zhizhan didn’t understand much about art and couldn’t fully appreciate it, the paint used for the murals was gilded.

It was simply blinding!

If a secondary palace used by the ladies for skin care was already like this, one could only imagine what the Imperial Palace and Winter Palace were like!

On this journey, Bai Zhizhan truly broadened his horizons.

From the opulence of this palace, it was evident how indulgent the Luosha Imperial Family was, no wonder they were utterly vanquished in the last war.

Although he had never been to the Imperial Palace of the Empire, Bai Zhizhan had read related reports.

The Imperial Palace of the Empire was luxurious too but far from matching Luosha, at most being luxurious without the unnecessary extravagance and waste that served no purpose in showcasing the Imperial Family’s dignity.

To be fair, in terms of self-restraint, the Imperial Family of the Empire could be said to be very strict. They not only insisted on military service for royal family members, sending them to fight at the front lines during wartime, but also practiced moderation in daily life, at least not deliberately pursuing pleasure.

Take Li Qing, for example, who did not seek special treatment despite being the Eldest Prince.

Moreover, after the Constitutional Amendment, the Imperial Family of the Empire became even more low-key.

Aside from receiving a considerable annual rent from leasing royal properties, the yearly expenditure of the Imperial Family was kept within one-thousandth of that year’s fiscal revenue.

This was a rule set by Emperor Shiwu and had even been incorporated into the law.

In terms of overall national strength, the Liangxia Empire far surpassed the Luosha Empire, and while the Liangxia Imperial Family was capable of self-discipline, the Luosha Imperial Family indulged in excessive luxury.

Though he had not participated in ground warfare or been to the Western Front, Bai Zhizhan had gained some understanding of the situation on the battlefield through Lian Xusheng.

At the war’s end, many Luosha soldiers would kill each other over a steamed bun.

While the soldiers were fighting bloody battles on the front lines, struggling with hunger, the members of the royal family in the rear were indulging in pleasure, even squandering resources.

And the key point was, much of the royal family’s expenses were misappropriated from military funds!

In the last year of the war, the Luosha Emperor spent ten million Lu Coins on a birthday party for the Empress. That same year, hundreds of thousands of Luosha officers and soldiers suffered from frostbite due to the lack of winter clothing, with many freezing to death and others forced to amputate due to lack of medical treatment.

If there hadn’t been a mutiny, that would have been the real surprise.

Bai Zhizhan felt deeply moved.

With this comparison, it wasn’t hard to understand one thing.

The first Grand Secretary to hold real power after the constitutional reforms, Sage Tang of the Tang Family, was the nation’s greatest figure following Emperor Shiwu!

Without the Constitutional Amendment pushed by Sage Tang and the restrictions on the Imperial Family that were established as a result, there would be no Empire as it stands today!

If contribution were the measure, the significance of the Constitutional Amendment was no less than the founding of the Empire itself.

As the old saying goes: it’s easier to conquer a kingdom than to maintain it.

Emperor Shiwu founded the kingdom, laying the everlasting foundation of the Empire.

The Constitutional Amendment promoted by Sage Tang marked the beginning of the Empire’s prosperity and power, or rather, it cleared the biggest obstacle for the Empire’s prosperity and power.

It was for this reason that Sage Tang ranked first among the Eight Pillars of the Empire, and the prominence of the Tang Family through the generations was no surprise.

This also reflected, from another aspect, that Emperor Shiwu truly was a once-in-a-millennium sovereign.

Emperor Shiwu not only appointed Sage Tang as Grand Secretary in his later years, but through his will, he authorized Sage Tang to carry out the Constitutional Amendment a hundred years after his death.

Without Emperor Shiwu, where would Sage Tang be?

Throughout the tour, Bai Zhizhan also noticed that Li Qing showed little interest in the exquisite murals, as if all this was nothing new to him.

He must be the Empire’s Eldest Prince.

Growing up in the Imperial Palace, one naturally wouldn’t catch a cold.

What surprised Bai Zhizhan was that Zhang Xiaoqing seemed indifferent, much like Li Qin.

Was she also used to such sights?

If so, the Zhang family must indeed be very wealthy.

What puzzled Bai Zhizhan even more was that Li Qing treated Zhang Xiaoqing with great respect, occasionally conversing with her in soft tones.

They definitely knew each other.

As Fang Suqing’s cousin, even if Zhang Xiaoqing couldn’t be linked directly to the current Holy Emperor, by common social seniority, she was an elder of the current Eldest Prince.

With seniority established, the Imperial Family must acknowledge it.

It took over ten minutes of walking to finally reach the destination.

The secondary palace’s east yard.

The meeting place was set within the secondary palace, where all three parties’ negotiators were staying to promptly convene meetings as needed.

The Liangxia Empire’s negotiators were located in the east yard as per direction.

The negotiators from the Luosha Federation stayed in the main yard, while the Tiaoman Empire’s negotiators were in the west yard.

Such arrangements were also to keep the personnel of the Liangxia Empire away from those of the Tiaoman Empire.

It took at least half an hour to walk from the east yard to the west yard by circling the main yard. It was now deep winter, and Baku featured a continental climate with temperatures even during daytime going down to negative twenty degrees Celsius and dropping below negative thirty-five at night, unbearable for anyone outdoors.

Inside, however, it was a different story.

Each room had its own fireplace and heating. The east yard even featured a hot springs bathhouse that could accommodate dozens of people, with some rooms also equipped with bathtubs.

Due to stopping twice en route mainly for refueling the plane, they arrived in the early morning.

Considering everyone was exhausted from the journey, the hosts didn’t make special arrangements, simply reminding that a full banquet was scheduled for the evening.

As a representative of the Navy, Bai Zhizhan was given a deluxe suite.

Having slept throughout the journey, Bai Zhizhan was somewhat the opposite of tired.

After soaking in the hot springs, he had planned to get some sleep, but found himself wide awake and increasingly alert.

By noon, it seemed time for lunch, and Bai Zhizhan finally left his room.

The east yard’s kitchen and dining area were at the disposal of the Empire’s delegation, but the accompanying chefs were still preparing ingredients, so it wasn’t possible to provide lunch.

The problem was, most of the ingredients had been transported by rail several days in advance, but had yet to arrive.

It would have been alright if it were just Bai Zhizhan and his party, but with the Eldest Prince present, they couldn’t be too casual. Moreover, there would undoubtedly be banquets for the negotiators from other countries during the talks.

No matter how frugal the Imperial Family might be, they couldn’t afford to lose face on an international stage.

Fortunately, the main yard’s restaurant was open to all negotiators and offered a variety of free meals.

The hosts had also arranged over a dozen vehicles specifically for the negotiators’ use.

As for credentials, none were needed; a facial scan would suffice.

To Bai Zhizhan’s knowledge, the service staff at the meeting were all agents from the Luosha Federation’s intelligence agency, who had already received all participants’ data.

They were even tasked with one-to-one surveillance on key individuals.

Not for the sake of monitoring, but for safety.

After all, this was an Imperial-level diplomatic event, and not just for members of the Imperial Family. Even an ordinary delegate could not afford a single mishap.

The driver who took Bai Zhizhan to the main yard might well have been the one specifically assigned to him, given the enthusiastic welcome as Bai came out.

However, this was normal.

Had the negotiations been held in the Empire, the Imperial Guard Fifth Bureau would have made similar arrangements.