Chapter 762: Talk with Sincerity, Not with Empty Words

Dubai, Presidential Office.

Wang Wenwu pushed the door open, holding a bundle of telegrams.

"President, the Yingguo people are here again."

Chen Feng was reading the Australia battle report, without raising his head.

"Again? Which number this time?"

"The third time. Through Switzerland, Spain, Meilika, various channels, all seeking peace."

Chen Feng set the documents down and lifted his head.

"What do they say?"

Wang Wenwu read the telegram.

"The Yingguo government is willing to hold peace talks with Lanfang at any time, any place. It hopes the President will consider halting military actions to avoid unnecessary bloodshed."

Chen Feng smiled.

"Unnecessary bloodshed? When they attack us, why don't they speak of avoiding unnecessary bloodshed?"

He stood up and walked to the window.

"Tell them, we will not meet."

Wang Wenwu hesitated for a moment.

"President, should we meet once? Hear what they have to say?"

Chen Feng turned and looked at him.

"Minister Wang, do you know why the Yingguo are now eager for peace?"

Wang Wenwu shook his head.

Chen Feng walked to the map and pointed at Australia.

"Because they know India cannot hold, and Australia cannot hold either. Their peace overture now aims to keep Australia. When our troops reach the outskirts of Melbourne, they won't even be able to keep Australia."

He turned and looked at Wang Wenwu.

"Tell them we are willing to talk, but only after we capture Melbourne."

Wang Wenwu nodded and turned to leave.

"Wait," Chen Feng called out.

Wang Wenwu stopped.

Chen Feng was silent for three seconds.

"Tell them Lanfang welcomes peace. But peace must be exchanged with sincerity, not with empty words."

Wang Wenwu nodded, turned, and left.

Chen Feng stood alone by the window, watching the distant shimmering sea.

He recalled the soldiers marching in Australia, the tanks racing across the desert, the youths riding in trucks.

They had traveled thousands of kilometers just to let the Yingguo know that Lanfang people are not easy to bully.

Now the Yingguo want to talk?

Let them speak after they reach Melbourne.

Australia, northern front.

The vanguard of the Fourth Division had advanced to a point five hundred kilometers from Darwin. In ten days they covered eight hundred kilometers. The tank tracks were worn thin, the truck tires burst, and the soldiers' soles were full of blood blisters.

But no one stopped.

Liu Zhenjie stood on a jeep, holding a binocular, watching the coastline ahead draw nearer.

Chief of Staff Zhang Haiyang ran over and handed over a water flask.

"Division commander, have a sip. You haven't had a drop of water since this morning."

Liu Zhenjie took the flask, gulped a large mouthful, and wiped his mouth.

"How much farther?"

Zhang Haiyang pointed at the map.

"Distance to Darwin is still five hundred kilometers. Recon reports that the British Army is reinforcing the city defenses, concentrating all troops inside. About three thousand men."

Liu Zhenjie nodded.

"Three thousand. Enough for us to fight for a while."

He set down the binoculars and looked at the marching troops.

"Tell the brothers to push harder. In three days we'll reach Darwin. In five days we'll take it."

Zhang Haiyang nodded, turned, and went to deliver the order.

Liu Zhenjie continued to watch the sky ahead brightening.

Getting close.

Getting close.

Dubai, Presidential Office.

A week later, Wang Wenwu pushed the door in again.

"President, the Yingguo people are here again. This time it's an official delegation. The head is the former Governor of India, Lord Chelmsford."

Chen Feng was reading the Australia battle report, without raising his head.

"Make them wait."

Two hours later, Chen Feng finally appeared in the reception hall.

Lord Chelmsford stood up and bowed deeply. This once‑high‑minded British noble now lowered his head and said in the most humble tone:

"Your Excellency President, the British Empire can no longer continue the fight. We hope to hold peace talks with you."

Chen Feng looked at him and was silent for three seconds.

Then he stood up and walked to the huge world map on the wall. He picked up a red pen and drew a massive circle on Yingguo's territories in Yazhou and Oceania.

"Yingguo people will completely withdraw from Yazhou. Lanfang will not launch an attack on Africa."

Qie Er Mu Si Fu De's complexion turned pale in an instant.

"President, this... this is impossible. India can accept autonomy, but Australia— that is a territory of the British Empire, it has been for hundreds of years..."

Chen Feng cut him off.

"Hundreds of years? You have been in Australia for hundreds of years, yet it is still indigenous people's land. What you seized can be taken away by others."

Qie Er Mu Si Fu De opened his mouth but could not speak.

Chen Feng walked back to his seat and sat down.

"The first negotiation ends like this. You may return to London to discuss. Come back once you have reached an agreement."

Qie Er Mu Si Fu De stood there dumbfounded, and Wang Wenwu "invited" him out.

In the conference room at Number Ten Downing Street, the smoke was so thick it choked. Both sides of the long table were filled with people—Army Minister Ji Qin Na, Navy Minister Jie Li Ke, Foreign Minister Ge Lei, Colonial Affairs Minister Sai Xi Er, and a large crowd of generals, staff officers, and secretaries. Each had a thick stack of telegrams before them, and each face bore varying degrees of despair.

A Si Kui Si sat in the chief seat, holding the report that had just been transmitted from Dubai.

"The first negotiation has broken down. Chen Feng refuses any compromise."

He set the telegram down, lifted his head, and looked at those silent faces.

The conference room fell into dead silence.

Ji Qin Na finally spoke, his voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding steel.

"Prime Minister, have you read the battle report on Australia?"

A Si Kui Si nodded.

"Read it. On the northern front, Lanfang forces have approached Darwin; on the southern front they have crossed Adelaide and are advancing toward Melbourne."

Ji Qin Na stood up, walked to the huge world map on the wall, and pointed at Australia's location, tapping it once before slowly tracing across the entire continent.

"We have thirty thousand people in Australia. Lanfang has forty thousand. The force ratio is 1 to 1.3. Yet we are scattered across six cities, while they concentrate their troops and eat them one by one. Darwin has three thousand, cannot hold. Perth has three thousand, cannot hold. Adelaide has two thousand, already lost. Melbourne has five thousand—how long can it last?"

No one answered.

Ji Qin Na continued, "Moreover, they have no reinforcements. Our fleet cannot break out, and reinforcements cannot pass through. Lanfang has the whole of Yazhou as backing, factories in Dubai producing tanks, and troops supplied by the Sakura Nation. What do we have?"

He walked back to his seat and sat down.

"We have nothing left."

The conference room grew even more dead silent.

Foreign Minister Ge Lei said softly, "Prime Minister, could we negotiate once more? Change the person, change the method, perhaps..."

A Si Kui Si looked at him.

"Change whom? Qie Er Mu Si Fu De not influential enough? What Chen Feng wants is not a person, but land. He will not stop until he gets Australia."

Sai Xi Er suddenly spoke. His voice was calm, but each word was as heavy as stone.

"Prime Minister, let me go."

Everyone stared at him.

Sai Xi Er stood up and walked to the map.

"Qie Er Mu Si Fu De is too soft. His approach does nothing against Chen Feng. Let me go. I know how to deal with Easterners."

A Si Kui Si looked at him and was silent for three seconds.

"How do you deal with them?"

Sai Xi Er turned around, looking at the people seated.

"Tell them the truth. We cannot hold it. But we can give them what they want—except Australia. India autonomy, Myanmar independence, Malaya to them. But Australia, we cannot give."

Ji Qin Na sneered.

"Sai Xi Er, do you think Chen Feng is a fool? Malaya is already his, Myanmar is already his, India he is fighting for. You offer him what he already has in exchange for what he hasn't obtained?"

Sai Xi Er looked at him.

"Then what do you propose?"

Ji Qin Na said nothing.

Sai Xi Er turned toward A Si Kui Si.

"Prime Minister, let me go. At least I will make Chen Feng know that Yingguo is not a soft persimmon. We are willing to negotiate, but not on our knees."

A Si Kui Si was silent for a long time.

Then he nodded.

"Fine. You may go."

Sai Xi Er stood at attention, turned, and left.

After the conference room door closed, A Si Kui Si leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

He suddenly thought of a question.

If Sai Xi Er also fails to negotiate, what then?

He did not know.

But he knew that it was the final chance.