Munitions Empire

In the conference room, the Ministry of Rites Official from the Dahua Empire envied the Tang Country officials' privilege of wearing watches of city-level value on their wrists.

What he didn't know was that the apparently invaluable watch worn on the opponent's wrist was actually standard issue for officials within Tang Country. Every person was given one upon taking their position, and engraved on the back cover were the four big characters for "Serve the Country with Utmost Loyalty."

Tang Country treated its officials quite well; many senior officials were assigned frighteningly powerful Rolls-Royce luxury cars.

Even mid-level managers had access to official cars, and these vehicles were of no lesser quality. In other nations, even the nobility might not afford such luxury cars.

It was precisely because Tang Country provided such generous compensation for its officials that their measures for dealing with official corruption and dereliction of duty were also exceptionally brutal. Those who took bribes could implicate their families, and those who used their power for personal gain faced merciless punishment.

"In my country, if an official shows off their wealth, they will be impeached by the Imperial Censor and punished by His Majesty," a Dahua official said as he picked up the tea cup and gently sipped.

The fragrance of the tea was overwhelming and soul-soothing—certainly a rare and fine tea. The ostentation of Tang Country was beyond the imaginings of Dahua officials; they couldn't comprehend the actions of Tang officials.

These people rode in the finest automobiles and enjoyed the highest-end technologies but often made vulgar decisions: They could be found eating and chatting in crowded noodle shops just like other citizens and could even be seen smiling as a group of complaining old women pointed fingers and scolded them, as if they had a split personality.

They couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that the foreign ministry of Dahua could afford a can of fine tea that could bring prosperity to many tea farmers, nor could they understand how Tang Country could spend a lavish 30 million Gold Coins to build the Forbidden City.

If in the Dahua Empire, an Emperor dared to say he would spend 1 million Gold Coins on a garden, there would probably be Imperial Censors hurling themselves to death in the grand hall the very next day.

Yet in Great Tang, when the King of Tang Country announced he would spend 30 million Gold Coins to construct an unprecedented palace, everyone stood up and applauded as if they were a group of devout pilgrims.

When the common people of Chang'an heard about this, they miraculously spread the news and many even began to celebrate grandly.

The officials from the Dahua Empire's Ministry of Rites might never understand that the entire construction project of the Forbidden City could generate countless jobs in Tang Country, make many contractors rich, implement numerous new technologies, and give rise to many new enterprises...

"So you can only wear it secretly at home?" The young diplomat from Tang Country said as he swung his arm, making the watch emit a pleasant jingle.

Preoccupied with his tea, the official from Dahua's Ministry of Rites did not answer the question from the Tang diplomat, or perhaps he felt it beneath him to answer, or dared not answer...

"His Majesty The Emperor believes that the return and ransom of prisoners of war needs further detailed discussion, as it's of great significance, and thus cannot be taken lightly," said the Ministry of Rites Official from Dahua after a few seconds of silence, speaking leisurely as he put down his teacup.

"We might sell you half of the Fengjiang captives, but Xicong... I'm afraid we won't be able to return any to you," the Tang diplomat said with a smile that suggested, "What are you going to do about it?" facing the Dahua official across the table.

Different from before, the Dahua Ministry of Rites Official seemed much more resolute, his hand pressing on the table as he fixated on the Tang diplomat: "In Xicong, we have 700,000 of our finest soldiers! You're unwilling to return a single one, which shows a total lack of sincerity."

"Xicong is devastated, those people are war criminals, some have been executed, and others must toil as slaves for three years to pay for their actions! They have already been sent where they belong, how could we return them to you?" the Tang diplomat gave no ground.

The Ministry of Rites Official from Dahua also held firm: "Then we want all of the captives from Fengjiang! Not a single one less!"

The Tang Country diplomat's brow furrowed imperceptibly, sensing a slight difference in the attitude of the Ministry of Rites Official today.

However, in a typically accustomed fashion, he still promptly replied: "We can only give you half!"

"Then the terms we previously agreed upon regarding the prisoners of war are null and void!" The official from the Dahua Empire's Ministry of Rites seemed quite satisfied, a look of scorn appearing on his face.

Seeing the opposition's stance so tough, the Tang diplomat immediately made a decision: "Let's take a break..."

He stood up, left his seat, and exited the room to enter another where many people were already waiting, even including a few military officers.

"It's clear, they're intentionally picking a fight this time," a middle-aged official with a lit cigarette between his fingers said to the diplomat who entered the room.

"Do they think there's still a chance in this war?" a few officials from the foreign ministry looked toward the military representatives.

The representatives were visibly uncomfortable; one colonel shook his head: "They no longer have any chance of turning defeat into victory... unless they can consume the 1st Armored Division, repel the 3rd Armored Division on the flank, break back into Fengjiang, and defeat the 9th Infantry Army stationed there..."

"If they had that capability, we would be the ones seeking peace talks with them by now," another officer explained. "The Air Force's reconnaissance planes have confirmed they haven't amassed a force capable of counterattacking with more than a hundred thousand."

"Could it be that they're bluffing? Trying to intimidate us to negotiate paying a lesser price?" An official looked towards the diplomat in charge of the negotiations.

"Have they gone mad? The situation is so unfavorable to them, yet they'd risk doing this, just to take back an extra hundred thousand prisoners?" The official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs found this speculation unbelievable. "Do they have such audacity?"

"Unlikely. Their recent actions suggest that they want to buy some time, but it shouldn't be for the purpose of prepping a counterattack," the diplomat in charge of negotiations analyzed. "If they were really gearing up for a counterattack, they would be keeping a much lower profile than they are now."

Everyone nodded in agreement with the diplomat's opinion—if the other side was indeed preparing for a counterattack, they certainly wouldn't make it so obvious—they would use a more cautious approach to conceal their intentions.

Putting on an air of confidence just to make Tang Country cautious would likely be counterproductive. After all, Tang Country held the advantage. If Tang became vigilant, any counterattack by the Dahua Empire would be tantamount to suicide.

"What does the intelligence department think?" Everyone turned their attention to an intelligence officer nearby.

"We don't have any concrete information here; there are all kinds of rumors." The official in charge of intelligence shook his head, emphasizing the need for accuracy in their reports and refusing to speculate without basis.

As he shook his head, another intelligence officer interjected, "However, we just received some intelligence. It's not from our channels; it was provided by Chu Country."

He paused for a second, then continued amidst surprised looks, "Chu Country had previously planted a spy in Fengjiang, a completely loyal dead-agent… Chu Yangren, have you heard of him?"

Seeing many people nod, he went on, "We were looking for various pieces of intelligence in Fengjiang City, and to curry favor with us, Chu Country gave us an interesting piece of information. They confirmed that during the days we were surrounding Fengjiang City, General Feng Kezhi of the Dahua Empire was still within the encirclement and had no intention of retreating."

For a moment, everyone fell silent.

General Feng Kezhi had been in Fengjiang City just before the siege, a fact that inevitably led to wild speculations.

"He's still in the city?" An officer looked incredulously at his colleague. "He's in the encirclement?"

"This makes things interesting. Shouldn't the Dahua Empire be more eager to negotiate, to rescue the troops inside Fengjiang City? Even if only half of them could escape, we're not likely to be able to stop Feng Kezhi from returning to his country, right?" An official, puzzled, turned towards a diplomat beside him.

After a moment of thought, one of the diplomats had a realization, "They couldn't be aiming to let Feng Kezhi die in there, could they?"

"Buying time, waiting for us to fully occupy Fengjiang, and then Feng Kezhi would be doomed?" someone quickly added, "Yes, that's a reasonable explanation."

"If Fengjiang falls, even if Feng Kezhi returns to his country, he could be disposed of at will. If he dies in battle, that would be even better... but being captured by us would mean the same thing. He certainly wouldn't be able to continue serving as the Great General of Dahua," a few people who grasped the key point quickly pieced together several possibilities.

"My goodness, what a shocking secret," a group of people exchanged glances, one of them couldn't help but remark.

The diplomat in charge looked at his colleagues, seeking their advice, "So, what do we do now?"

Almost unanimously, the diplomats said, "What to do? Since the Dahua Empire is not in a hurry, let's play along and give them a show."

The leading official patted the shoulder of the diplomat, "You go back, and since they want to buy time, let's just play along and drag it out! As for Fengjiang City... we won't be returning a single prisoner!"

When he returned to the conference room, the official from the Dahua Empire's Ministry of Rites noticed a change in the demeanor of the Tang Country's diplomat.

The negotiations, initially dominated by his own strong opening, were immediately taken over by the Tang Country's diplomat. The two people, or rather two teams, kept throwing out conditions, revisiting and rehashing the peace agreement that had nearly been secured.

"If you're not satisfied, then wait until we've taken Fengjiang! Come back to discuss these terms then!" Narrowing his eyes, the Tang Country's diplomat made a sharp probe.

As expected, upon hearing these words, the official from the Dahua Empire's Ministry of Rites immediately laughed, "It's a deal then! If Fengjiang City is lost, we will agree to all the terms you mentioned today!"

"Good! Let's settle on that!" The Tang Country's diplomat put on an act as though he had been outwitted.

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Today's writing is slow, so the update will have to wait until later in the night. Don't wait up, folks; just check it out tomorrow morning.