The Relationship Between War and Money

The Federal's war-weariness stemmed from some war documentaries from the early stages of this World War. Some Federal journalists, risking their lives, went to the front lines of the fighting, interviewed and filmed a large amount of material, and sent it back to the Federal.

These war correspondents quickly became household names throughout the Federal, but they didn't realize, nor did the people of the Federal, that it was these real battlefield accounts that made the Federal people begin to fear war.

Considering the difficulty of recording videos on the battlefield, these videos were all filmed in silent format, with absolutely no sound from the first frame to the last second.

On television and in movie theaters, people might still be laughing and looking forward to the scenes from the front lines, after all, there hasn't been a war here for a long time, not even any friction with other countries.

People have long forgotten the cruelty of war, only remembering the romance that does not exist in war. A few years before the outbreak of war, someone even made a film that won an award called "Cannon Fire Beauty," a romantic love story and a romantic war. This left a false impression on the two generations of people in the Federal who had not experienced war.

It wasn't until these real-life images began to impact people's minds that they realized war was neither romantic nor something to look forward to.

Bullets, invisible bullets, are like the Grim Reaper's scythe, randomly and indiscriminately reaping lives on the battlefield. In the scene, soldiers are constantly seen suddenly jerking backward or tilting their heads back, then quickly falling down, twitching a few times, and becoming corpses.

There was no sound of bullets whistling, no screams of agony before death. Watching the soldiers who weren't quite dead yet silently howl on camera with their chillingly miserable faces, every member of the Federal went from excitement and anticipation to silence.

Every time it's played, people fall silent. The brutal war shatters everyone's unrealistic fantasies. There is no love here, no battle of wits or courage; there are only those who carry out death and those who are carried out.

One person after another died, some of their own, some of others. One scene in particular is unforgettable: a shell landed near a war correspondent, the camera lens shook rapidly before collapsing to the ground, and then some black liquid covered part of the lens.

Then the camera appeared to be picked up, but it fell back to the ground amidst the shaking, and a war correspondent collapsed in front of the camera as several shrapnel fragments pierced through his body.

He knelt on the ground with his buttocks sticking out, his upper body drooping limply to the ground. This comical scene was anything but funny, because a vibrant life was being lost.

He was spitting out large amounts of blood, somewhat like someone vomiting. His chest was heaving, and then large amounts of fresh blood flowed from his mouth and nostrils, followed by some blood foam.

He wasn't completely dead yet. He tried to sit up, but he had no strength left. He tried to push himself up with his arms several times but couldn't. His chest heaved more and more violently. Finally, his body trembled violently a few times, and then everything returned to calm.

Until his death, his eyes were fixed on the camera, as if he had foreseen his final fate. He left the Federal people with nothing he might have wanted to show—no fearlessness or courage in the face of death, or any warning. He left Federal with only endless fear.

Everyone is afraid of death. When people watch a Federal die in such a tragic way on the battlefield, in front of the camera, and clearly see the pain, struggle, and helplessness in the last half minute of his life, the anti-war sentiment instantly erupts.

It's important to know that before this, the Federal had not considered pursuing an isolation policy. In fact, the then-president and his Presidential Cabinet were even considering taking sides and actively joining the movement.

But this sudden and inexplicable wave of war-weariness instantly gave the Conservative Party a stage to perform. They followed public opinion, put forward isolationism, and won the support of the entire population.

Everyone is afraid of death, not only of their own but also of their loved ones dying on the battlefield, just like the journalists in the photos.

So when Lin Qi mentioned the word "war" in such a setting, the entire hall fell almost silent.

In fact, it's not just the lower classes who have war-weariness; this sentiment is contagious, spreading to the middle and upper classes as well.

Of course, war aversion does not mean they do not want to engage with the International Community; these are not the same thing.

Everyone was watching Lin Qi, Lin Qi remained remarkably calm, seemingly unfazed by the gazes of countless important figures.

He smiled calmly and reservedly, standing a little off to the side of the crowd. Sai Weiruila stared at Lin Qi in a daze. For some reason, at that moment, she saw a bit of her father in Lin Qi.

She wasn't sure if that was the right way to describe it, but that was how she felt at that moment. Lin Qi was younger, but his demeanor, his composure, his confidence, and even his smile gave people a very special feeling.

He makes people trust what he says and what he does, makes them feel safe, and makes them feel that he is someone they can rely on.

"Economic Warfare?" the man who had asked the question earlier repeated. "That's a novel and interesting idea. It seems we have a good topic for tonight. Mr. Lin Qi, could you elaborate?"

Lin Qi nodded to the gentleman again, indicating that he could.

He also noticed a small detail: people were making way for this gentleman, which indicated that he must be an extraordinary person, or at least someone with a respectable status.

"Of course, sir."

"You can call me Truman..."

At that moment, Wo Delike, who appeared out of nowhere, walked to a spot not far from Lin Qi and whispered a reminder, "Mr. Truman is currently a special advisor to the Presidential Cabinet, specifically responsible for the discussion and formulation of international policy."

Lin Qi expressed his gratitude to Wo Delike with a nod; the Special Advisor on International Policy was no ordinary position.

In fact, before the event even started, Lin Qi had already heard a rumor from others that the president had decided to add a new office to the cabinet, called the "International Policy Research Office".

This office's job is to study international trends and formulate policies in response to them. It includes not only politics but also military matters. In other words, it may not be as high-profile, but it is definitely a very important department.

Truman is currently the Chief of this yet-to-be-established office and the President's most trusted advisor on international affairs and policy.

As for Lin Qi finding his voice somewhat familiar, it was because he had watched a political talk show featuring Truman.

Many people worked hard to overthrow the "demon king" old president and bring a new president to power, Truman was also involved.

This brief interruption lasted less than thirty seconds before Lin Qi resumed stating his points.

"I am a businessman, and my perspective on things is sometimes different from others."

"Looking at all the countries that participated in this world war, I don't know if others have noticed, but I have found something that deserves my attention, namely the role and status of money in war."

"Wealth plays a much larger role in war than we imagine. Many people think that war only requires soldiers, but in fact, it also requires money, a lot of money."

"I asked some arms dealers, and they told me that even a small-scale skirmish, or even a major victory, could destroy hundreds of thousands of munitions and result in tens or hundreds of thousands of casualties."

"The end of this war, which affected most of the world, was not because anyone admitted that they were on the wrong side, but simply because some people ran out of money and could no longer fight, so they had no choice but to surrender!"

"I believe that war is not only a contest of military strength, but also a contest of the overall strength and wealth of a country!"

Lin Qi's tone became slightly more serious, "Especially money, money plays an incredibly important role in war."

"We can do without people, but if we have money, we can hire people who are willing to take risks for money to fight for us!"

"But if we don't have money, even if every one of our Young Men is fearless, all of them combined can't defeat a single artillery company holding a position!"

"So, could we perhaps shift our thinking slightly and realize that war isn't really about fighting people, but about fighting for money?!"

"If our goal is simply to make some forces surrender as if they were defeated in battle, is it possible to achieve this through Economic Warfare alone, without resorting to artillery fire?"

This viewpoint was easily accepted by people, even if many of them were fools. But even fools know that a small-scale skirmish that is won can result in losses of hundreds of thousands, so a large-scale battle would cost even more.

Many people looked thoughtful. They may have noticed this problem before, but they had not studied it in depth or considered it carefully.

Now that Lin Qi has suddenly brought these things up, it seems that they have suddenly understood things that they didn't quite understand before.

Especially Lin Qi's last few sentences directly pointed out the core of what he had said before: war is about money. If we skip the specific people involved and just focus on money, will that work? If we're talking about war, the Federal might not be very good at it, but of course, they might be very good at it. The Federal has never participated in a large-scale group war, so no one knows whether the Federal's military strength is up to par.

But when it comes to playing the game of money, the Federal is definitely number one in the world!

In a short time, Lin Qi's ideas were implanted into the minds of some people, deeply embedded, and they began to receive the nourishment of new ideas, taking root and sprouting!