Power Diplomacy

The president recounted everything that had happened, including how the Fleet Commander ordered the complete annihilation of Gefra's navy after the enemy surrendered.

Some people who were not clear about the inside story stood up in horror after hearing this, and some even demanded that the Fleet Commander be severely punished.

Everyone was expressing their views appropriately, providing the president and his Presidential Cabinet with more information within their respective fields, until Wo Delike began to speak.

"Mr. President, Cabinet Member of the cabinet, I have a question..." After receiving permission from the President to continue speaking, Wo Delike asked a question that no one else had noticed, "Is our victory against the Gefra Royal Navy a result that can be replicated?"

Not only the President and the Minister of Defense, but also Mr. Truman and everyone else in the conference room had their eyes on Wo Delike.

They were so terrified by the news that they didn't realize why they were so afraid if the outcome of the naval battle wasn't just a matter of luck.

The Secretary of Defense nodded. "Our new torpedoes can easily destroy the hulls of all currently serving battleships. If you ask whether this can be replicated, I think it can."

In fact, what truly secured the victory in this battle was not the heavy artillery duel between the Federal fleet and the Gefra Royal Fleet. It is no exaggeration to say that the Federal naval soldiers were far inferior to the Gefra naval soldiers in terms of personal qualities and abilities.

If it weren't for bridging the technological gap between people, and without those submarines and new torpedoes, the Federal Navy would very likely have lost this naval battle.

Any strategic or tactical advantage has little practical value in actual combat, because it is ultimately the individual soldiers who execute the strategy. If the individual's quality does not meet the standards for executing the strategy and tactics, then no matter how well the strategy and tactics are formulated, it will be of no use.

Fortunately, submarines and torpedoes saved the naval battle.

Wo Delike nodded. "I have a suggestion: hold a press conference immediately to show the world the data on our submarines, and also the data on our torpedoes..."

"Impossible!" the Secretary of Defense blurted out, rejecting Wo Delike's proposal. "These are all military secrets!"

Wo Delike shook his head. "It's not like that now. People will soon get the specific data on these things through various means. Rather than letting them send countless spies to drill holes in some of our systems, only to have them lose this data in the end, we might as well process it a little and release it to the entire International Community."

"Now is the best time to demonstrate our strength. By releasing these data, we can tell anyone in the world that we can achieve the greatest benefits with the least cost."

"Whether it's Gefra or those restless ones, if they dare to come, we can sink them to the bottom of the sea!"

The president found it very reasonable. Although Wo Delike did not say it explicitly, everyone knew that he had omitted the Congressional Military Committee.

The Senate has a Federal Military Committee, composed of 24 senators who are permanent members. They have the power to access all Federal documents and materials related to the military.

Each of these individuals controls various clandestine foundations, and the Military Industrial Group showers them with money every year.

If these people can comfortably take over the money from Military Industrial Group, then they are naturally likely to take over other people's money as well, using the pretext of reviewing specific data to check the parameters of some equipment. This is actually a very normal practice.

This is how competition works among many Military Industrial Group: before a new tender begins, they are intimately familiar with the parameters of every competitor's upcoming new equipment.

The President looked at Mr. Truman, who nodded slightly. "I think it's acceptable. Wo Delike's proposal is very constructive. It makes me think of some other things, but overall, I think it's acceptable."

The president made his first decision of the evening. "Then you must immediately arrange for someone to do it!"

Mr. Truman walked over to the Minister of Defense, pulled him aside, and whispered something to him.

There wasn't anything particularly special about it; it was just to increase the data released by the Minister of Defense after dawn by about 15% to 20%, and at the same time, to get him to quickly acquire some low-cost, high-return combat equipment.

For example, a speedboat equipped with only one torpedo tube that can be operated by just one person.

The Federal made a huge profit by acquiring even a destroyer in battle for less than 100,000 dollars.

It's shameless, despicable, but also very effective.

If anyone dares to approach the Federal coastal waters, they can easily launch thousands of torpedo boats.

While arranging how the Minister of Defense could professionally deceive the media and the International Community, Mr. Truman noticed Lin Qi sitting casually in the corner.

He immediately ended his conversation with the Minister of Defense, walked over to the President and whispered something in his ear. The President glanced back at Mr. Truman before turning his gaze to Lin Qi.

Most people followed the president's gaze and looked at Lin Qi.

"Mr. Lin Qi, we've all shared our opinions and offered suggestions to the best of our ability. Could you perhaps offer some valuable insights as well?"

Lin Qi hasn't said a word all evening, and Mr. Truman thinks that Lin Qi isn't without something to say, but just unwilling to say it right now.

Those who know Lin Qi know that he has avant-garde ideas that sometimes go against the mainstream of society. At this moment, his thoughts must be different from those of the people in the room, and even their directions are different or opposite, which is why he remained silent.

Otherwise, he would have stood up and turned this place into his stage long ago.

This is why Mr. Truman didn't personally invite Lin Qi to share his views; his status and influence weren't enough for everyone here to give him face, but the President did.

Lin Qi's gaze lingered on the president's face for three to five seconds before shifting to Mr. Truman's face. He didn't speak immediately, still hesitating.

At this moment, Wo Delike also stepped forward. "Mr. Lin Qi, now is the time for us to unite. If you have any good ideas, please be sure to speak up."

"Mr. President and Wo Delike, the two of them are enough," Lin Qi nodded slightly. "Actually, you've both misunderstood something. It's not the Gefra Royal Navy that's fighting us, but the Preton Pirate Group..."

"Impossible!" the Minister of Foreign Affairs immediately denied. "We all know that it is the Royal Navy of Gefra!"

Lin Qi looked at him like he was an idiot, but you can't blame him; you can blame the previous president.

Isolationism is so terrible that diplomacy has almost been abandoned. This abandonment does not mean that Federal diplomats are not working, nor does it mean that the Federal has absolutely no international diplomatic activities.

Rather, it means that the Federal Ministry of Ministry of Foreign Affairs is backward or even regressive in its handling of international diplomatic affairs. Their diplomatic thinking is still stuck in the past, even more than a decade ago, and they have not yet figured out that in this world, only force can protect interests.

In the past, international diplomacy was more strategic because, although the International Community had established connections with each other, it was unlikely to have close contact due to technological and other reasons.

Unable to launch large-scale invasions, countries tended to adopt a more rational and pragmatic approach to foreign policy until the outbreak of World War.

Political diplomacy is no longer the mainstream; power diplomacy is the current trend. Whoever has the ability has a louder voice.

Now that the Gefra have lost, whatever the Federal says must be the truth.

However, work can't be done like that; there needs to be a method. Lin Qi nodded in agreement, "What you said makes sense. So I think what you should do now is contact the Gefra Diplomatic Ambassador, condemn their Royal Fleet for colluding with the pirate group, and then see how they respond!"

The first half of Lin Qi's statement was somewhat disappointing, but the second half immediately impressed people.

What would they say? They certainly wouldn't admit it. If they did admit that Gefra's Royal Navy and the Preton Pirate Group were in cahoots, would Preton's control of the Nagaril United Kingdom's economy be at Gefra's behest?

Once the seeds of doubt are sown, they can never be eradicated. Gefra is not popular, and this will ruin Gefra reputation in the International Community, while also making it a target of suspicion and isolation! "We can first isolate Gefra diplomatically, spend some money, promise some benefits, and get some people with guilty consciences to come forward, such as Anti-Government Armed Forces Leader, to tell the International Community that they were also instructed by the Gefra to do so."

"Secondly, I also have a question: where is our fleet now?"

Mr. Truman, already used to Lin Qi's rapid-fire train of thought, immediately replied, "On my way back."

"I just noticed that we did not completely annihilate the Gefra Royal Navy's First Fleet in Gefra. They still have two battleships and some other warships that did not participate in this naval battle, and they have been transferred to the Amelia Region."

The Minister of Defense nodded. This information was not some Top Secret information that had been kept under wraps; in fact, Gefra Emperor had made the decision public to the International Community.

What they were trying to do was to deter some people with ulterior motives in the Amelia Region, and to openly tell everyone that their fleet was coming, so that those who were not being honest would behave themselves.

"Go after them!" Lin Qi's words caused the atmosphere in the room to freeze for a moment.

If annihilating their entire fleet that participated in the naval battle and blatantly denying that the enemy was the Gefra Navy was somewhat understandable, then pursuing the remaining warships now... well...

Is this going too far? "We don't need to start new battles, nor do we need to make close contact with them. We just need to keep our fleet at a distance where we can launch an attack at any time."

"As for the reason..." Lin Qi shook his head slightly, "We are hunting down the remnants of the Preton Pirate Group!"

The Minister of Foreign Affairs couldn't help but say again, "The Emperor of Gefra is going mad; no one has ever insulted them like this before!"

"No!" Lin Qi's tone was also very firm, "Because we have a reason he can't refuse!"