Empire Conquest
Chapter 274 - 270: The Empire’s Grudges and Affections

Chapter 274: Chapter 270: The Empire’s Grudges and Affections

"Thank you."

After Wang Kaiyuan and Li Qing left, Bai Zhizhan suddenly blurted out a phrase, his voice kept low, which actually made Zhang Xiaoqing very puzzled.

She looked at the two people who had gone out, seemed to understand something, and nodded towards Bai Zhizhan.

Bai Zhizhan didn’t say much, after all, the room was just so big.

Indeed, the reply from the Prime Minister Mansion about several key issues had been received, there were no major issues, except for the inappropriate part about the distribution of post-war benefits.

The reply mentioned "subject to discussion."

Initially, Bai Zhizhan was also taken aback by this part of the content.

Rather than calling it benefit distribution, it was more about setting up an international order led by the three powerhouses, the core of which involved dividing the spheres of influence of these powerhouses.

Fundamentally, it was about how much living space the Liangxia Empire and the Tiaoman Empire planned to leave for the Luosha Federation.

After all, there was no direct severe conflict between the Liangxia Empire and the Tiaoman Empire.

In harsher terms, the Luosha Federation, stuck in the middle, was more like a buffer zone separating the two great empires, preventing them from coming into direct military conflict.

In the West Continent, it was divided into southern, central, and northern parts.

The southern part designated the Ter Republic, along with the traditional areas of influence on the eastern coast of the Land Heart Sea controlled by the Ter Empire, as a buffer zone to ensure the continued independence of the Ter Republic. The area to the west of the buffer zone, including the southern part of the West Continent and the area north of the Saha Desert on the Xuan Continent, was within the sphere of influence of the Tiaoman Empire. To the east of the buffer zone, mainly the Mo Sea and the two countries on the western coast of the Mo Sea, was designated as part of the Luosha Federation’s sphere of influence.

The central part referred to the eastern areas of the West Continent. The countries that became independent when the Luosha Empire dissolved were all assigned to the Luosha Federation, which was allowed to adopt measures including military action to absorb or annex these countries. The area east of the Viva River, where Polan Country was founded independently after the last great war, was within the sphere of influence of the Tiaoman Empire, though the Tiaoman Empire had to promise not to seek to annex Polan Country.

The northern part, the Svia Peninsula, used the central Huangrui Kingdom as a buffer zone. On the east, the Finn Kingdom, a former vassal state of the Luosha Empire before the last great war, was within the sphere of influence of the Luosha Federation. On the west, from the Svia Mountain Range east to the shores of the North Sunset Ocean, the Kingdom of Viking was within the sphere of influence of the Tiaoman Empire. However, both the Luosha Federation and the Tiaoman Empire had to ensure not to launch territorial expansion initiatives aimed at annexation in that region.

In Giant Road, mainly the western areas of the Gangaro Plain and the Boss Bay area.

Simply put, the area west of the Fanluo River Plain, north of the Boss Bay, and north of the Twin River Plain was within the sphere of influence of the Luosha Federation, including the north of Boss Bay and a stretch of coastline on the north of the Mua Sea. East of the Fanluo River Plain, between Boss Bay and the Narrow Sea, the Kuangsha Peninsula, and the northeastern Jibu area of the Xuan Continent, were within the Liangxia Empire’s sphere, and the Liangxia Empire guaranteed not to engage in territorial annexation.

Just by looking at the content, there weren’t many problems.

Ever since the war with the Luosha Empire aimed at dominating the Giant Continent, which catapulted it to the status of a global powerhouse, the Liangxia Empire had never considered territorial expansion as a goal in its subsequent outward expansions; even when necessary, it chose easily controllable islands.

In its outward expansion, the Liangxia Empire had always adhered to an "economic and trade prioritization" strategy.

Most representatively, in the Fanluo area.

As early as during Chen Bingxun’s era, the Imperial Navy had defeated the Bulan Royal Navy, becoming the hegemon of the Fan Flame Ocean, thus initiating its military advance into the Fan Flame Ocean. In the decades that followed, the Empire did not advance into the Fanluo area, but merely demanded that the Bulan Kingdom open all its ports and provided the Empire equal preferential treatment in the region, allowing Imperial enterprises to engage in fair trade under Bulan Kingdom’s controlled local territories.

This situation persisted until the last major war broke out.

In fact, this also became the catalyst for a full-scale confrontation between the Liangxia Empire and the Bulan Kingdom.

The reason was very simple: through this economic invasion primarily conducted through trade, the Liangxia Empire captured a substantial amount of benefits almost without any cost, while the Bulan Kingdom, incurring the high costs of occupation and control, did not receive corresponding economic returns.

The losses suffered in the Fanluo area marked the beginning of the Bulan Kingdom’s decline.

What else did the Bulan Kingdom have left after losing Fanluo?

The barren lands on the Xuan Continent?

The Red Maple Country, with a population of less than ten million?

Ao Country, located on the other side of the Earth, also thinly populated?

Although Fanluo is not very large, covering less than four million square kilometers, it is home to two hundred million people on the Fanluo River Plain and the Gangaro Plain!

Moreover, the local climate is very warm and the produce extremely abundant.

In the hundred years before the rise of the Liangxia Empire, the prosperity of Bulan Kingdom, which even dominated globally, depended on the fertile lands of Fanluo.

In the words of a somewhat conscientious Bulan noble, "Every jewel in the Bulan crown is forged from the lives and blood of the Fanluo people."

Losing the Fanluo market meant losing global dominance was merely a matter of time.

The "economic trade priority" strategy of the Empire shared a clever likeness with the "Open Door" strategy of the Newland Federation.

Strictly speaking, it was after the Empire’s success that the Newland Federation proposed the "Open Door" strategy.

Interestingly, this also led to the two superpowers becoming rivals.

For a long period before the outbreak of the last great war, the Liangxia Empire and the Newland Federation had shared interests, both possessing the capital to dominate globally. However, because they rose and were established later, they missed the prime opportunity and had to snatch from the old empires.

The same could be said for the Tiaoman Empire.

Additionally, the histories of these three emerging powers were strikingly similar.

The Liangxia Empire became a Great Power by defeating the Luosha Empire, and by leveraging the benefits gained in war, it rapidly developed and industrialized.

The Newland Federation expanded its territory by defeating neighboring countries to the south, gaining a seaport on the East Ocean, and later defeating the declining Sban Empire to dominate the Gu Continent.

The Tiaoman Empire used Locke Empire as a stepping stone by seizing the opportunity to surround and elevate from a kingdom to an empire, consequently becoming the only major land power in the West Continent.

However, the "economic priority" policy of the Liangxia Empire, the "Open Door" strategy of the Newland Federation, and the "Sunshine Land" policy of the Tiaoman Empire were inevitably going to conflict in certain areas, particularly those involving core national economic interests.

For example, the Liangxia Empire would definitely expand into the Sban-speaking Nangu Continent, which is the backyard of the Newland Federation!

Similarly, the Newland Federation had been active in the West East Ocean area, trying to secure a foothold to advance into the Giant Continent and interfere with Eastern affairs.

Such contradictions led the Newland Federation into the arms of the old empires, while the Liangxia Empire aligned with the Tiaoman Empire.

Of course, all this is history.

The current situation is that the great war has just broken out. More precisely, the battle on the Eastern front has just begun; it isn’t even a full-scale outbreak yet, and here we are discussing the division of post-war benefits.

Isn’t it a bit too early?

Regardless, once the great war fully erupts and a decisive victory is achieved, there will still be time to discuss the distribution of post-war benefits.

Clearly, the return telegram from the Grand Secretary means just that.

It’s not yet time to set the rules for the post-war world!

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