Empire Conquest
Chapter 377 - 373: The Fence Sitter

Chapter 377: Chapter 373: The Fence Sitter

Adhering to the Army’s longstanding tradition, Xue Yuanzheng did not discuss serious matters during mealtime.

In fact, the so-called dinner was just a set meal for each person, consisting of two meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a bowl of soup. Compared with fast food restaurants outside, it was just a bit more refined.

Of course, the taste was quite good.

This dinner took only 15 minutes.

After eating, the group returned to the study.

Xue Yuanzheng excused himself to use the restroom, leaving Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen time to seriously read two top-secret documents.

The first document came from the Tiaoman Empire.

The "Prime Minister" Battleship had officially entered service, and although training was ongoing vigorously, it could be ready to sail as early as next month if needed.

The Tiaoman Navy had made deployments for this.

They assigned two Large Cruisers, the "Shane" and the "Gnai," to accompany the "Prime Minister" into the North Sunset Ocean, feigning blockade-running operations to attract the Bulan Royal Navy. However, the real objective was a southern strike. If, by that time, the Tiaoman forces had already initiated a southern offensive, these three warships would bombard the Nara Fortress to draw the local Bulan Fleet and create an opportunity for the Tiaoman Army to cross the Land Heart Sea and advance into the Xuan Continent. If the Tiaoman forces had not moved south or for some other reason, these three warships would head directly for the South Sunset Ocean, and later decide whether to go east to the Fan Flame Ocean or west to the East Ocean, although the ultimate goal was to join forces with the Liangxia Navy.

The key lay in the Liangxia Navy providing support and reception.

The Tiaoman Navy also mentioned that it hoped to delay the departure of the "Prime Minister" until the first half of next year, to act together with the "Navy Marshal" when it was completed.

This way, even if they were to undertake blockade-running missions in the North Sunset Ocean, it would still pose a significant threat to the Bulan Kingdom.

Indeed, this involved a secret pact between the two sides.

The Tiaoman Navy’s dispatch of two "Prime Minister" class Battleships into the North Sunset Ocean was essentially a ploy to tie up the Bulan Royal Navy, with all losses to be borne by the Imperial Navy.

For this purpose, the Imperial Navy would use two "Xu Sea" class Fast Battleships as collateral.

If the "Prime Minister" and "Navy Marshal" were to be sunk by the Bulan Royal Navy in combat, the Imperial Navy would unconditionally transfer the "Xu Sea" and "Flame Sea" to the Tiaoman Navy. Moreover, during the war, they would help the Tiaoman Navy build two Fast Battleships with combat capabilities not inferior to the "Xu Sea" class at cost price, as well as train officers and men, ensuring transfer to the Tiaoman Navy during wartime.

At the time this guarantee was made, the hope was for the Tiaoman Navy to go all out without any concerns.

Now, the problem was that the Tiaoman Navy apparently saw this as a very profitable deal.

It must be said that after the Northwest East Ocean Battle, the Tiaoman Navy had gained a much deeper understanding of the combat power of the two "Xu Sea" class battleships.

To put it one way, the two "Xu Sea" class ships are the most powerful battleships to date.

So, should the Tiaoman Navy be allowed to dispatch the "Prime Minister"?

It was not about being reluctant to part with two Fast Battleships, but the Tiaoman Navy’s meddling could potentially wreak havoc downstream, possibly causing trouble for the Imperial Navy.

The other piece of intelligence came from the Sixth Bureau.

Five days ago, on the evening of the 15th, the Newland President Envoy arrived at the Luosha Federation Capital and secretly met with the top leader of the Luosha Federation.

To this day, the Newland Federation’s Envoy had stayed in the Luosha Federation Capital.

However, the Sixth Bureau had not obtained detailed information about the secret meeting between the two parties.

According to the Sixth Bureau’s speculation, the Newland President Envoy must have offered the Luosha Federation’s top leader an even higher price, making the final effort.

For the Luosha Federation, this was the best, and even the last, opportunity to switch sides.

The Newland Federation, now more than ever, desired the Luosha Federation’s support. If a year, or even half a year, were to pass, the significance of the Luosha Federation’s defection would be much diminished.

The Newland Federation might not need the Luosha Federation’s support to turn defeat into victory.

Conversely, if the Newland Federation continued on a downward trajectory, it probably was already considering how to end the war gracefully, even less likely to form an alliance with the Luosha Federation.

Under such circumstances, the Luosha Federation would certainly not join a side doomed to lose.

According to Xue Yuanzheng, the Luosha Federation had been holding out for the highest bid, and their value had peaked; if they didn’t sell now, it would depreciate.

It’s safe to say the price currently offered by the Newland Federation must be very tempting.

Will the leaders of the Luosha Federation be tempted?

Professional analysts from the Sixth Bureau concluded that the supreme leader of the Luosha Federation would make the final decision within a matter of days.

In fact, it boiled down to whether to declare war on the Newland Federation and Bulan Kingdom, alongside the Liangxia Empire and Tiaoman Empire.

This obligation was clearly stipulated in the covert pact.

Following the declarations of war by the Liangxia Empire and Tiaoman Empire against the Newland Federation and Bulan Kingdom, the Luosha Federation was required to declare war as an ally within ten days, or it would be considered an act of renouncing alliance obligations.

Without fulfilling obligations, there could be no talk of enjoying rights.

Absent the rights bestowed by the tripartite alliance, could the strategic security of the Luosha Federation still be guaranteed?

It was clear, then, that the Luosha Federation had to pick a side and couldn’t continue to sit on the fence.

Because the Bulan Kingdom had formally declared war on the Liangxia Empire on the 13th, the Luosha Federation had to issue its declaration of war by the 23rd, as per the ten-day agreement.

The matter of declaring war was not a game.

To put it bluntly, once the supreme leader of the Luosha Federation publicly declared war on the Newland Federation and Bulan Kingdom, there was no turning back.

Covert pacts could be managed privately however one pleased.

But a public declaration of war was no child’s play; great nations had to keep their word.

The Newland President Envoy refused to leave, waiting for the supreme leader of the Luosha Federation to make a decision.

Who would they declare war on?

When Bai Zhizhan and Liu Xiangzhen had finished reading the two documents, Xue Yuanzheng had just returned to the study, holding a document that had just been received.

"Take a look at this first; it’s just come in."

After catching it, Bai Zhizhan glanced over and passed it to Liu Xiangzhen beside him.

It was labeled a document, but in reality, it was only one page, and it contained only a single sentence.

The Raleigh Kingdom, located at the southern part of the West Continent on the northern shore of the Land Heart Sea, had formally requested alignment with the Tiaoman Empire.

According to the tripartite alliance, the Tiaoman Empire had the right to induct other countries into the alliance, but it had to provide guarantees for any nation it sponsored.

To put it simply, after joining the alliance, the Raleigh Kingdom would have a status akin to a vassal state of the Tiaoman Empire.

Previously, the Liangxia Empire had provided guarantees for the Gaoju Kingdom to join the Consortium Group as a vassal state.

Thus, the Gaoju Kingdom became the first non-core member state of the Consortium Group.

On the day of its accession, the Gaoju Kingdom held a grand ceremony, as if joining the Consortium Group elevated them to a higher status among powerful nations.

Afterwards, the King of the Gaoju Kingdom made a special trip to the Imperial Capital. While he claimed it was to thank the Empire for helping in the realization of national unification, it was essentially a pilgrimage.

Nevertheless, the status of the Gaoju Kingdom could not possibly be compared to that of the Raleigh Kingdom.

The crux was that the southward expansion plan formulated by the Tiaoman Empire targeted, or rather was to attack, the Raleigh Kingdom!

With the Raleigh Kingdom joining the Consortium Group, there would be no need to launch a military offensive, and through the Raleigh Kingdom, they could directly invade the Xuan Continent.

Still, should this be a cause for celebration?

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