Chapter 457: He Didn't Come to Negotiate; He Came to Pronounce Judgment!

In the study, the bowl of mushroom soup was already empty. Lu Qingshan dabbed his mouth corner with a napkin, moving with elegant composure, as if he had just finished tasting a state banquet.

The ashen‑faced Jonathan Rothschild looked as if all his bones had been pulled out, leaning against the doorframe and gasping violently. His mind was a blank, only the butler's words "Global Stability and Development Fund" echoed repeatedly, like a death knell.

Lu Qingshan didn't look at him again, but lightly instructed Li Zhi'an beside him. "The dishes here are too plain; go tell the friends outside that if they can't devise a good repayment plan, I wouldn't mind having a German Bank‑style sausage with French Bank red wine tomorrow morning."

Li Zhi'an nodded heavily, a flash of cold murderous intent in his eyes. He turned expressionlessly, dragging Jonathan like a dead dog, supporting the nearly collapsing Jonathan as he walked out of the study.

The door was shut once more.

Li Jiangqiang and Zhang Qianru watched their boss's calm silhouette and felt as if they were not in a castle but in the lair of a prehistoric beast, watching it leisurely pull the prey's bones one by one, preparing them as a dessert.

……

The oak door was pushed open.

When Jonathan Rothschild staggered back into the hall like a walking corpse, all the arguing ceased.

Dozens of eyes representing the pinnacle of European power and wealth swept over him. In those gazes, the previous anger and arrogance were gone, replaced by naked Fear born of the market's dire news.

"Jonathan!" the white‑bearded Feng Hais was the first to rush forward, grabbing Jonathan's collar, his anger‑twisted face thrust into view, spittle flying. "What does he want?! Our stock price is still falling! Every second! We're losing tens of millions! Even hundreds of millions! Frankfurt's DAX Index has already triggered a circuit breaker! It's the first since the opening!"

Jonathan made no resistance; he simply lifted his hollow eyes, stared at Feng Hais, his voice hoarse as if dreaming. "He… he wants me to ask you whether the German‑style sausage suits his palate."

"What?!" Feng Hais was stunned, unable to grasp the baffling remark.

A director from the French Bank, his face ashen, leaned on the table; the Satellite Phone in his hand fell to the floor with a harsh clang. "It's over… it's over… all our hedge funds in New York, London and Tokyo have simultaneously blown up! The opponent doesn't care about costs! Their capital… is incalculable! They're like… like printing money out of thin air!"

"My shipping company! We just received notice that all cargo ships queuing at the Suez Canal have been detained under the pretext of 'safety inspection'! It was the British! It was the damned James Reed's order! He said it was a directive from the Global Stability and Development Fund chairman!" a Xi La shipping magnate cried out in despair, his proud maritime empire suddenly choked.

Fear spread through the hall like a plague.

They finally realized that the one they faced was not a madman at all.

It was a devil who wielded the administrative power of both the United Kingdom and the United States, and could mobilize endless capital.

Their once‑proud wealth, under the dual crush of the state machine and absolute capital, was as fragile as a bubble in sunlight.

"We can't wait any longer!" an Italian banker shouted, "He will send us all to hell! Jonathan, we must negotiate with him! No matter the price! Whatever he wants, we will give!"

"Price?" Jonathan let out a chilling, bitter laugh, "Do you think he'll still negotiate with us?"

He shook off Feng Hais's hand, staggered to the head seat of the round table, and surveyed the once‑imperious, now trembling 'gods'.

"He didn't come to negotiate."

"He came to pronounce judgment."

……

In the study, Lu Qingshan paid no heed to the chaos in the hall. He approached the ancient parchment map, gazing at the empire borders long sealed by history and the colonial territories carved out with blood and plunder, his eyes turning deep.

The document from Capital City recorded not only money but centuries of blood and tears. Repaying with money alone was far too cheap for them. Financial hegemony can be overthrown, but as long as the rules remain in their hands, a new hegemony will inevitably rise again. To win, one must win completely. To make them lose even the qualification to set the rules.

"Zhang Qianru."

"Mr. Lu, I'm here!" Zhang Qianru sprang to her feet, her voice trembling with nerves.

Lu Qingshan didn't turn around, simply asking lightly, "How's your study of international law?"

"It's… okay," Zhang Qianru replied, unsure why, "My mentor was a former judge of The Hague International Court, and I've participated in several mock international commercial arbitration cases."

"Very well." Lu Qingshan nodded, "Now, draft a document."

"What document?"

"Preliminary Statutes for the Establishment of an International Special Arbitration Court on Historical Economic and Humanitarian Crime."

Lu Qingshan's voice was soft, yet it made Li Jiangqiang and Zhang Qianru in the study feel as if their eardrums had been hammered hard.

Arbitration court?

Zhang Qianru's mouth opened slightly, her mind completely crashed. She felt not fear but the ultimate shock and fervor of a jurist witnessing someone reshape world rules. Textbook law merely patches the existing framework, whereas her boss is creating law!

"The court's location will be the top floor of the Starry Sky Building in Central, Hong Kong Island," Lu Qingshan continued, as if arranging a routine departmental meeting. "Judges and prosecutors will be recruited worldwide, especially descendants of jurists who participated in the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials after World II; they have experience."

"As for the court's jurisdiction..." he turned, looking at the now stone‑frozen Zhang Qianru, a cold curve forming at his mouth. "It will exclusively handle and adjudicate the historical economic disputes arising since the Age of Exploration from colonization, aggression, and unfair trade practices."

"The first defendants are the group of friends outside our door."

"I will make them understand that repaying debt is a matter of principle. But how to repay, when, and how interest is calculated…"

"From now on, I decide."

Li Jiangqiang opened his mouth, feeling he wasn't hearing orders from his boss but the first decree of a creator god of a new world. This was no longer debt collection; it was the drafting of an entirely new set of Global Settlement Rules that would supersede all sovereign nations.

At that moment, the study's door was knocked once more.

Li Zhi'an pushed the door open and entered, his face still expressionless, but in his hand he bore a silver tray. On it lay not food but an ancient Golden Seal engraved with the Rothschild Family Crest.

"Boss," Li Zhi'an's voice was steady and strong, "The people outside say they are willing to negotiate. This is their Sincerity."