Empire Conquest

Chapter 620 - 616: Maximizing Benefits

He had waited until daybreak, but what arrived was not the latest news, but Zheng Jiangming.

Of course, Zheng Jiangming also brought more detailed information.

In fact, the Tiaoman Empire had been secretly contacting the Bulan Kingdom’s Peace Faction, and secret negotiations had been ongoing for over half a year.

The final outcome was conditional surrender by the Bulan Kingdom.

The main conditions were threefold.

First was to preserve the Royal Family, ensuring the Stuart Dynasty remained the legitimate ruler of the Bulan Kingdom and the supreme commander of the entire kingdom.

Second was to ensure the integrity of the kingdom’s territory and sovereignty.

Third was to not pursue war crimes charges against officials and military personnel other than those in the War Faction, like Chur.

Of course, the Bulan Kingdom also paid a necessary price.

The first was to lease ports and naval bases including, but not limited to, Portsmouth, Bristol, and Scapa Bay unconditionally to the Tiaoman Empire for a period of 99 years.

The second was to detain and guard all military personnel of the Alliance Group member countries within its territory, and after the surrender, hand them over to the Tiaoman military.

Of course, this also included war reparations and the division of overseas territories.

The most representative was the unconditional cession to the Tiaoman Empire of Aus and Maple Country, which nominally still belonged to the Bulan Kingdom, after the war.

To speak of it, just this clause alone could render the secret agreement null and void.

After the last great war, Aus and Maple Country had substantially gained independence and were no longer colonies of the Bulan Kingdom.

They were merely part of the "Bulan Federation," and recognized the governor appointed by the Bulan Royal Family as the head of state.

Clearly, the Bulan Kingdom had no right to decide the fate of Aus and Maple Country.

Moreover, the ownership of these two locations involved the direct interests of the Liangxia Empire, especially Aus.

To put it bluntly, if the Tiaoman Empire obtained the rights to Aus without doing anything, the Liangxia Empire definitely could not accept it.

Clearly, the Tiaoman Authorities had already recognized this point.

In the official memo to the Empire, the Tiaoman Authorities did not emphasize the ownership of Aus and Maple Country, only mentioning that it belonged to the entire Consortium Group.

To say the most critical point, it was actually that the Tiaoman Empire, without informing or notifying the Liangxia Empire, had secretly completed the surrender negotiations with the Bulan Kingdom and signed an agreement tantamount to a ceasefire, essentially presenting a fait accompli to the Liangxia Authorities.

Not to mention the issue of face, this move was clearly a challenge to the leadership of the Liangxia Empire within the Consortium Group.

But what could the Imperial Authorities do?

In Zheng Jiangming’s words, they had no choice.

After the incident, the Imperial Ambassador to the Tiaoman Empire immediately met with the Tiaoman Prime Minister and submitted a formal memo, requesting the Tiaoman Authorities to provide a reasonable explanation.

Subsequently, the Ambassador, in the capacity of a special envoy, began negotiations with the Tiaoman Authorities.

The first matter of business was to elevate the treaty signed between the Tiaoman Empire and the Bulan Kingdom to one signed between the Consortium Group and the Bulan Kingdom.

Of course, only after this could other matters be discussed.

According to the news brought by Zheng Jiangming, what the Imperial Authorities could now strive for was to obtain the right to station troops in the Bulan Kingdom and a portion of the war reparations.

As for the internal situation in the Bulan Kingdom, there was nothing to worry about.

The military coup in the Bulan Kingdom had been orchestrated by the Tiaoman intelligence agencies.

Before the coup was launched, the Peace Faction had already secured the support of most of the Royal Army’s senior officers, especially those of the homeland garrison.

In addition, they had successfully won over a group of Royal Air Force generals.

Through these generals, the Peace Faction controlled 80% of the homeland garrison and all the airports in the southern region of the homeland.

This was also the key reason why the Tiaoman forces dared to launch an airborne operation.

Although the Airborne Force carried out the assault, most of the combat troops were transported to the airports by transport planes, ensuring seamless integrity.

The key was that, upon arriving in the Bulan homeland, these airborne troops were able to engage in battle immediately.

Moreover, support from the Garrison allowed the Peace Faction to immediately take control of Luntai city after the coup succeeded.

As for the Newland forces stationed in the Bulan homeland, they posed little threat due to severe lack of tanks and other armored weapons, and they were all infantry.

"Before I departed, the Bulan military had already taken control of Luntai city and the main military bases, but were still clashing with unyielding forces and the Newland garrison at several locations. According to the higher-ups, our urgent task is to dispatch combat troops to the Bulan Kingdom as quickly as possible."

"Has the Land Air Force already taken action?" Bai Zhizhan was surprised.

Such a large-scale military operation had previously been entirely undisclosed, at least in terms of secrecy, the Tiaoman military and intelligence agencies had performed exceptionally well.

Zheng Jiangming nodded, saying, "The Land Air Force expeditionary group has already participated in the combat operations in the Bulan Kingdom, bombing the Bulan troops that refused to surrender, and providing air support for the Tiaoman Airborne Force, expanding the airborne field in the southern region of Bulan. As for the combat troops of the Army, they are also being mobilized and will soon be sent there. Initially, it mainly involves the Airborne Force, and once the sea transport routes are opened, the Armored Forces can be dispatched. The fleet commanded by Liu Xiangzhen will be able to arrive within a week. Once we capture sea control, combat operations in the Bulan homeland will no longer be an issue."

"Do we need to pause our operations on this side?" Bai Zhizhan was surprised, but he had already realized that the primary task now was to defeat the Bulan Kingdom.

"Not only is there no need, but quite the opposite."

Bai Zhizhan’s eyebrows jumped a few times, clearly not understanding Zheng Jiangming’s meaning.

"Intelligence indicates that the newly commissioned ’Ethe’ and several ’Fenjin’ class ships are all in the Sunset Ocean, possibly active in the Gulf of Mexico or the Caribbean. Over on the Bulan side, there are only two Special Mixed Fleets, and the Thirty-second Special Mixed Fleet consists of four small carriers. According to the higher-ups, it would be best to initiate the operation to attack the Howay Islands early, keeping the Newland Navy too distracted to focus elsewhere."

Hearing Zheng Jiangming explain it like this, Bai Zhizhan understood.

"The higher-ups sent me here for another matter."

Bai Zhizhan remained silent, knowing full well that Zheng Jiangming would not come solely to report details in person.

"Regardless of what happens in the Bulan Kingdom, it’s no longer a threat. Therefore, there’s reason to believe that within a few months, we can defeat the Luosha Federation. After the two main allies are defeated, how much longer can the isolated Newland Federation hold out, and will they still want to continue fighting?"

"Are you saying..."

"That the Tiaoman Empire’s secret negotiations with the Bulan Kingdom’s Peace Faction effectively declare that our efforts to secure a decisive victory have lost their meaning. This time it’s the Bulan Kingdom, but what about next time? If we persist in fighting, I’m afraid it will all be in vain."

"Is this the Grand Secretary’s intent?" Bai Zhizhan asked knowingly.

Zheng Jiangming merely nodded, offering no further explanation.

Indeed, there was no need for further explanation.

For such a significant decision, without the Grand Secretary’s approval, neither Zheng Jiangming nor Liu Changxun would dare to decide to speed up their advances.

Bai Zhizhan let out a long sigh.

Undoubtedly, it was a very tough decision, yet equally a rational one.

Since the main allies were fighting for their own immediate benefits and pursuing maximum gains, the Liangxia Empire could only face and accept the fait accompli.