Chapter 691: First Volume, Chapter 691: How About Rounding Up?

First Volume, Chapter 691: How About Rounding Up?

Even if Liang Kingdom cannot annihilate the Northern Di, as long as it possesses the power to severely cripple them, the Northern Di will still hold Liang in deep respect. After all, between nations, might makes right.

What about principles, etiquette, legitimacy? Liang may care about these, but the Northern Di certainly do not!

Qin Feng immediately pinpointed the core conflict between the two nations.

Merely on this point alone, Lü Li placed extraordinary importance on today's peace talks—there was finally a genuine sign of negotiation.

Qin Feng, with intimate knowledge of all the stakes involved in this war, spoke as if listing household items. The entire Grand Hall fell utterly silent; whether the Northern Di envoy group or the Liang Kingdom's Peace Negotiation Minister, all listened in quiet attention.

"This hundred million taels in war reparations is not your bottom line."

"Let me be clearer: this bottom line is one you unilaterally drew based on your perceived power imbalance between the two nations."

"My Liang Kingdom will never acknowledge your arrogant bottom line."

"However, the debate over which side is weak and which is strong is not today's focus, so let us bypass this point entirely and move to the next topic."

"Since you Northern Di have already assumed a position, we too shall pre-emptively assume ours."

"You Northern Di are weaker than my Liang Kingdom—or rather, my Liang Kingdom possesses the power to annihilate you."

"Then, recalculating this account becomes far simpler."

Qin Feng's legs ached from sitting, so he stood up, clasped his hands behind his back, and paced along the negotiation table.

"A defeated nation paying war reparations to a victorious one consists of three parts."

"First, the losses suffered by the victorious nation, fully borne by the defeated nation."

"Second, the fee paid to induce the victorious nation to withdraw its troops."

"The third part, and by far the most important, is protection money."

"That is, for a certain period ahead, the victorious nation refrains from further attacks, and the defeated nation pays a sum as a sign of submission."

Although Qin Feng's words were brutally blunt,

neither Lü Li nor any member of the Northern Di envoy group spoke to refute them.

After all, from the very beginning, Qin Feng had made clear that all this was based on hypothetical assumptions.

In other words, Qin Feng was merely stating facts—facts that might not even affect the outcome of the peace talks.

To object now would be overreacting, even narrow-minded.

Qin Feng, hands behind his back, walked to Lü Li's rear and continued tallying accounts he had already calculated countless times.

"In this national war, my Liang Kingdom's losses fall into four main areas."

"First, depletion of weapons, armor, equipment, cities, and livestock."

"Second, compensation for fallen soldiers."

"Third, massive procurement of military grain, which drove up grain prices nationwide and indirectly burdened the common people."

"Fourth, because the people's burdens grew heavier, tax collection across regions became difficult, leading to an empty national treasury."

"These four categories of loss, after precise calculation by myself and the accountants of Tianji Camp, yield one figure."

"One hundred and fifty million taels of silver."

Hearing this number, Lü Li's heart lurched.

Because, given Qin Feng's nature, he was a man who would never accept a loss.

Since Qin Feng had calculated this figure, he would push relentlessly toward it—and this sum, for the entire Northern Di, equaled two years' worth of tax revenue.

The Northern Di could afford it, but the consequence would cripple their budding spirit, leaving them unable to recover strength in the short term.

Paying war reparations drains national strength even more severely than waging war itself.

Lü Li was growing restless, but Qin Feng showed no sign of stopping.

After all…

Qin Feng had already presented three aspects—and this one hundred and fifty million taels was merely the beginning.

"Now, regarding the withdrawal fee."

"This war was not initiated by my Liang Kingdom, but by you Northern Di, who coveted the Central Plains' rear areas, launched an invasion, and ultimately failed."

"Therefore, punishing you Northern Di is entirely necessary."

"This action will not only soothe the hearts of my Liang people, but also serve as a warning to surrounding nations: anyone who dares to violate the order will meet this fate."

"Conversely, if my Liang Kingdom withdraws its troops too easily, surrounding nations will surely perceive us as weak and vulnerable."

"To make my Liang Kingdom abandon thoughts of retribution, you must pay the withdrawal fee."

"This sum need not be large—just ten million taels of silver."

Lü Li clenched his fists so tightly they creaked with a sharp, grinding sound.

Lü Li tried several times to rise and refute, but Han Yu and Chen Si each grabbed his arm and held him down.

Both shook their heads at him, signaling him to remain calm.

After all, Qin Feng was speaking hypothetically—if Lü Li objected, wouldn't that mean he accepted Qin Feng's framing?

At this moment, Qin Feng had walked behind Qin Tianhu and was staring at Lü Li and the other peace negotiators.

This seemingly meaningless gesture was, in fact, deeply significant!

Before Qin Feng stood his father, the Minister of War; to his left and right sat the Minister of Revenue and the Director of Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

Every official at the negotiation table was Qin Feng's ally, holding half the power in the Liang Kingdom Court.

In essence, Qin Feng's words represented the very direction of Liang's officialdom!

This was no mere intimidation—it was to make the Northern Di envoy group understand that Qin Feng's words carried immense weight, enough to determine whether the two nations would sound the retreat or reignite war.

"As for the protection fee, that requires careful deliberation."

"Across all of Heaven, only you Northern Di and my Liang Kingdom possess the greatest national strength."

"You Northern Di will never willingly submit—that much is clear to both you and us."

"Our Shedynasty must deal with such a massive threat without launching an attack, so we naturally must strengthen our Border defenses—all of this costs money."

"Moreover, once your Northern Di pay the War Reparations, your National Strength will surely be drained; if anything goes wrong, our Shedynasty will still have to send troops to protect you."

"This Military Expenditure is naturally included in the protection fee."

"Adding the previous two portions of reparations, the total comes to two hundred million White Silver. Let's round it off—what do you say?"

Two...

Two hundred million taels!

At this figure, not only was the Northern Di Envoy Group stunned, but even the Peace Negotiation Minister of Shedynasty was caught off guard.

This is no longer mere extortion—it is an attempt to destroy the Northern Di!

Two hundred million White Silver, even for a great power like the Northern Di, equals three full years of Tax Revenue.

In other words, once the War Reparations are paid, the entire Northern Di will effectively work for Shedynasty for three years, for free.

The gap between the two nations will grow ever wider.

The Northern Di being completely crushed under Shedynasty's foot is merely a matter of time.

Lü Li could no longer hold back; he leapt to his feet and roared: "Qin Feng, I think you've gone mad!"

"True to your name—a madman of the Qin Family."

"Two hundred million White Silver? You dare to demand such a thing!"