Benefit Exchange, Agreement Reached

Clearly discerning the reservations held by Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others, Xu Mochen merely offered a faint smile. "You are all overthinking this. Our concessions are not strictly governed by our own whims. In fact, we are more than happy to discuss with your esteemed nation the necessary restrictions on our concession within your borders, including limits on the number of garrisoned troops and the removal of any inappropriate legal clauses."

"Furthermore, our nation is willing to pay a reasonable price to lease this land. For instance, we are prepared to provide your nation with an annual rental fee, and we are also willing to voluntarily share the tax revenue generated from the various commercial activities within this concession. To demonstrate our sincerity, we are even prepared to provide your nation with a batch of military aid, free of charge!"

Following this, as if fearing the Heaven Dou Empire might refuse, Xu Mochen immediately added, "Of course, this request to establish a concession is not a mandatory diplomatic condition; your nation has the right to refuse! We are fully prepared to respect your wishes, and this matter will absolutely not affect the friendly relations between our two nations."

"We are not specifically targeting your nation with these somewhat offensive conditions. We intend to visit the other nations of the Douluo Continent as well as Martial Soul Hall, and we will be presenting the same request for a concession treaty to them as well."

Upon hearing these words, Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, and the others maintained a calm and indifferent facade, but internally, they were already cursing wildly: Xu Mochen might appear magnanimous and generous, but this was nothing more than a naked threat!

The underlying message was clear: if you refuse, I may not say anything on the surface, but I will certainly remember it. I will immediately provide military aid to another nation willing to accept these terms, and then, using even more military aid as leverage, incite them to attack you, seize your territory, and plunder your assets! Then, once you are beaten to a pulp, you will have no choice but to buy weapons from me! By then, won't your nation still be at the mercy of our whims? Only by that time, the conditions certainly won't be this lenient!

How calculating! How despicable! Who would have thought that despite his young age, this little brat would be so wicked! Playing both sides to reap the rewards! And yet, one has to willingly and smilingly beg to be fleeced! But there is no help for it; when the situation is stronger than the people, what can one do? In this world, who doesn't have to take a few hits?

Forget it, forget it! Let us just endure this for a while. Once we have fully grasped the technology behind these weapons, we will no longer be at his beck and call! Although veins bulged on the foreheads of Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi and they gritted their teeth, with ten thousand alpacas stampeding through their hearts, they ultimately and humiliatingly agreed to Xu Mochen's "friendly request" to establish a concession.

And so, after a round of intense negotiation and debate, both sides finally reached a final agreement, titled the Sun Moon-Heaven Dou Empire Diplomatic Agreement.

The contents of the agreement generally included: First, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Sun Moon Empire agree to develop friendly cooperative relations based on the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-aggression, non-interference in internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit, and peaceful coexistence. Both sides shall establish embassies and consulates in each other's countries to facilitate communication.

Second, the Heaven Dou Empire and the Sun Moon Empire shall fully open their customs borders to each other and establish a series of exchanges in state affairs, commerce, and academics. During this period, citizens of one nation must strictly abide by the local laws of the other. If citizens of one nation encounter problems or incidents in the other, the host nation is obligated to provide all necessary assistance and reasonable handling.

Third, effective immediately, the Sun Moon Empire shall establish a concession in the area of Luoyu Village, Linghai City, Fasino Province, Heaven Dou Empire. The area of the concession shall be approximately sixty square kilometers. Within the concession, the number of Sun Moon Empire garrison troops shall not exceed five thousand, and no laws detrimental to the territorial sovereignty of the Heaven Dou Empire or discriminatory toward its citizens shall be enacted.

In addition to paying thirty percent of the net profit from taxes within the concession to the Heaven Dou Empire annually, the Sun Moon Empire shall also pay an additional five million Gold Soul Coins in land rental tax to the Heaven Dou Empire each year! In exchange, the Heaven Dou Empire may grant exemptions or reductions on import and export tariffs for goods circulating inside and outside the concession.

Naturally, the Sun Moon and Heaven Dou Empires also signed an additional military aid agreement. In this agreement, the Sun Moon Empire expressed its willingness to provide the Heaven Dou Empire with three thousand Silver Star 332-Type semi-automatic rifles and three hundred Silver Star 333-Type semi-automatic rifles, free of charge, along with four hundred thousand rounds of standard rifle ammunition and forty thousand rounds of armor-piercing rifle ammunition.

Additionally, they included one thousand five hundred T132-Type attack grenades, one thousand five hundred T232-Type defensive grenades, one hundred T333-Type high-explosive grenades, one hundred and fifty T133-Type attack grenades, one hundred and fifty T233-Type defensive grenades, and twenty T334-Type high-explosive grenades. Of course, further arms trade would have to wait until currency circulation between the two continents was established.

These treaties might seem like the Sun Moon Empire had suffered a significant loss, trading vast sums of money and weapons for a piece of barren land—and a leased one at that! But Xu Mochen knew clearly that the Sun Moon Empire had not lost; on the contrary, it had profited immensely.

First, the Sun Moon Empire demonstrated absolute, overwhelming military force to deter those nations harboring ulterior motives, warning them that the cost of provoking the Sun Moon Empire would be more than they could bear! This was a display of power.

On the other hand, the Sun Moon Empire projected an image of peace-loving, a nation that, while fond of stirring up the Douluo Continent to serve its own interests, was still willing to engage in friendly exchanges with other countries. As long as you become our friend and allow us to gain some benefits, we are willing to provide money and weapons! This was an act of grace.

This combination of tactics would create an illusion for the people of the Douluo Continent: that the Sun Moon Empire had no interest in the territory of the Douluo Continent and was merely a merchant-like nation that enjoyed making money by exploiting the contradictions between various factions and loved to highlight its own presence.

Although some would certainly be skeptical or wary of the Sun Moon Empire at first, after a period of time, under the infiltration and the lure of financial gain, the immense benefits would cause the nations of the Douluo Continent to gradually become self-numbed. They would truly begin to convince themselves that the Sun Moon Empire was just a powerful overseas nation with no desire to seize territory, interested only in making money and doing business, and would only retaliate if provoked.

In the long run, the various factions of the Douluo Continent would come to believe that cooperating with the Sun Moon Empire meant sharing in the spoils, while opposing it meant facing guns and cannons! Only by playing this role on the Douluo Continent could the Sun Moon Empire create the most opportune moment, where all parties were unwilling and afraid to offend them, focusing instead on internal strife, while the Sun Moon Empire sat on the mountain watching the tigers fight, maintaining the balance until it could deliver a fatal blow to all factions of the Douluo Continent!

However, thinking this far ahead was still a bit premature. At the very least, both sides had reached a basic consensus. As for the subsequent detailed discussions, Xu Mochen would no longer interfere, leaving it to the staff he left behind. His main force would continue its journey toward the next target nation: the Star Luo Empire.

In truth, Xu Mochen had already made his plans. According to the second trial of the Purple Imperial Chaos Dragon King, he not only had to complete his visit to the Douluo Continent but also officially visit the places on the continent where divine inheritances existed and cultivate there to absorb divinity!

Currently, he only knew of three such places on the Douluo Continent: Martial Soul Hall, Sea God Island, and the Capital of Killing. The latter two were clearly unsuitable for his current level of strength, and these two major powers were located in remote areas, detached from worldly affairs. The ordinary secular benefits the Sun Moon Empire offered would be of little use to them.

Rashly attacking these two places was definitely not a good choice! After all, Sea God Island was the territory of the Sea God, and the current strength of the Sun Moon Empire was not enough to provoke a god who still possessed divinity in the lower realm. As for the Capital of Killing, he didn't even know where it was located.

Therefore, if he could leverage interests and use them as a form of exchange to allow himself to stay in Martial Soul Hall for a period of time, that might be a good choice. At the very least, Martial Soul Hall was a power involved in secular affairs, so it would have more concerns regarding the Sun Moon Empire than the other two. Furthermore, they had specialized academies, and his chances of staying safely in Martial Soul Hall were definitely much higher than in the other two locations. Incidentally, he could also stay in Martial Soul Hall to gather more intelligence about the Douluo Continent—killing two birds with one stone.

Thus, Xu Mochen had decided that after visiting the Star Luo Empire, he would go directly to Martial Soul City, where Martial Soul Hall was located. Once the Sun Moon Empire established diplomatic relations with these two, there would be no need to visit the remaining seven kingdoms and duchies one by one; he would leave that to his subordinates!

As for whether his safety in Martial Soul Hall would be at risk, he was not particularly worried. Everything that happened in Linghai City, Heaven Dou Empire, must have already been known to spies from various countries, including Martial Soul Hall. Therefore, unless Martial Soul Hall had lost its mind, they would never dare to provoke the Sun Moon Empire!

And if he expressed a desire to cultivate in Martial Soul Hall, they would likely be very happy to accept. This would not only allow them to demonstrate the close relationship between the Sun Moon Empire and Martial Soul Hall to the outside world but also provide them with an opportunity to monitor him and, likewise, seize the chance to probe for classified information about the Sun Moon Empire.

With a plan in mind, the subsequent matters proceeded much more smoothly. Although Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi sincerely invited Xu Mochen to visit Heaven Dou City and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect several times, Xu Mochen politely declined. However, he did indicate that once all affairs were settled, he would certainly pay a visit in the future.

Finally, after a reluctant farewell between the two sides, Xu Mochen set sail under the watchful eyes of the Heaven Dou Empire's delegation. Once the Sun Moon Empire's fleet had moved into the distance and the remaining personnel had boarded the prepared carriages, the expressions of reluctance on the faces of Xue Qinghe and Ning Fengzhi vanished instantly, replaced by a sharp, indescribable glint in their eyes.

"Teacher, it seems the arrival of this Sun Moon Empire will cause the situation across the entire continent to undergo drastic changes once again!" Xue Qinghe's eyes flashed with a solemn expression.

Ning Fengzhi sighed softly and said, "Sigh, I do not know if this is a blessing or a curse for the Heaven Dou Empire. However, one thing is certain: in the future, the Sun Moon Empire will inevitably play a crucial role in the landscape of the Douluo Continent! Whoever the Sun Moon Empire supports will gain a clear advantage in the upcoming power struggle!"

"The geographical location of the Sun Moon Empire is too superior! Being isolated in the distant ocean means no one can pose a threat to them! Yet, such a nation is powerful, and if they intervene in the affairs of the Douluo Continent at will, I fear they could turn the entire continent upside down! To be honest, even I have no good way to deal with this at the moment; we can only take it one step at a time!"

Xu Mochen, sitting on the Tianyang battleship, clearly could not hear these words. Even if he had, he would have merely dismissed them with a smile. He had never intended to hide the Sun Moon Empire's true objectives in this regard. But even if you know, so what? Can you afford not to interact with the Sun Moon Empire? Can you afford not to engage in trade or arms deals with them? Do you have the courage to make an enemy of the Sun Moon Empire?

To put it bluntly, these were all open conspiracies. What Xu Mochen enjoyed most was watching these nations and powers of the Douluo Continent being toyed with in the palm of his hand, knowing full well who the mastermind was, yet having no choice but to helplessly accept the reality.