The Star Luo Empire Cedes Land and Pays Indemnity!

The Star Luo Empire, forced to cede territory and pay reparations!

First, territorial division. The Star Luo Empire must unconditionally renounce its overseas colonies (kingdoms) and recognize their independence. (PS: This refers to the newly established Heaven Realm Kingdom, which is currently the only one clamoring for independence.) Of course, Xu Nian'an will not return the territory he personally conquered (the Tiger Roar Defense Line). As for the Great God Circle Defense Line, it has long since been razed to the ground and contaminated by radiation; that place is useless anyway.

Second, military restrictions. As the defeated nation that initiated the conflict and declared war, the Star Luo Empire has been designated as an aggressor. To limit its actions and prevent such issues from recurring, a direct cap has been placed on its total military strength. The Star Luo Empire's future forces shall not exceed three hundred thousand. This is a number that is neither too large nor too small. Three hundred thousand is far beyond the scope of a typical kingdom, yet it is not so powerful as to be absurdly overwhelming. One must remember that in the beginning, the Starry Sky Kingdom—the predecessor to the Great Ming Empire—had a total force of exactly three hundred thousand. When this figure was proposed, it immediately met with the Star Luo Emperor's dissatisfaction. After a day of deliberation, the initial demand of six hundred thousand was lowered to five hundred and fifty thousand, and finally to five hundred thousand. In truth, Xu Nian'an did not care much about this aspect, because on the battlefields of the future, ordinary soldiers will be reduced to cannon fodder. The outcome of a war will not be decided by numbers. This is why Xu Nian'an agreed to the other side's terms—it was not just because he was preparing to establish a Soul Master Academy, but also because he planned to implement his vision of universal soul mastery.

Third, war reparations. Xu Nian'an could afford to concede on the first two points because he did not care about them, but he must insist on this third point. The Great Ming Empire requires financial support to develop rapidly. "As the defeated nation, you, the Star Luo Empire, must pay the Great Ming Empire one billion Gold Soul Coins as war compensation." Upon hearing Xu Nian'an's words, the Star Luo Emperor, Dai Haochen, stood up instantly. "One... one billion? Your Majesty of the Great Ming, have you gone mad, or have I?" "Do you have any idea how much one billion Gold Soul Coins is?" "A mountain of gold, a dozen mountains of silver, and hundreds of mountains of copper might not even be enough to exchange for that amount!" Perhaps many people lack a concept of what one billion Gold Soul Coins represents; ten thousand years from now, a Snow Empress Embryo could be mistaken for a hundred-thousand-year soul beast embryo and auctioned for hundreds of millions, and a top-tier soul bone could easily fetch over ten million. But Xu Nian'an would argue that this is the economic development of ten thousand years later, achieved through constant growth and the exploitation of gold mines across empires. The present is not like the future; the current primary productivity relies on ordinary manual labor. Judging by the fact that Xu Nian'an only managed to accumulate thirty million Gold Soul Coins after wiping out several nations, even an empire cannot simply produce hundreds of millions of Gold Soul Coins at will.

"Emperor of Star Luo, I hope you understand your current position." Xu Nian'an sat on the massive throne, looking at the Star Luo Emperor, Dai Haochen, with a hint of disdain. "You are a defeated nation. If the Great Ming is willing to make concessions in certain areas, it is not because we fear Star Luo, but because we are certain that even if you had more men, you would never pose a threat to the Great Ming." Upon hearing Xu Nian'an's mocking tone, Dai Haochen's expression turned grim. Xu Nian'an did not even look at Dai Haochen's face. What kind of person was he to deserve Xu Nian'an's consideration? He shouldn't have even agreed to the five hundred thousand limit on the military restriction clause. Now, just because he asked for one billion Gold Soul Coins, the man dared to haggle with him. Bastard, is one billion Gold Soul Coins really that much? Isn't it just hollowing out the Star Luo Empire's economy for the next few hundred years? What does a defeated nation need an economy for? If he dares to demand economic stability today, he will dare to send troops to conquer kingdoms and colonies tomorrow, and the day after, he will dare to attack the Great Ming Empire again. If he doesn't make them feel the pain the first time—if he doesn't make them realize that war is built step by step on money—how will they ever cherish the peace that was so hard-won? "Rest assured, I am not asking the Star Luo Empire to pay it all at once; we can do it in installments." Upon hearing Xu Nian'an's words, Dai Haochen let out a long, deep breath. It could be paid in installments, not all at once. Seeing that the Star Luo Empire truly could not produce that much money, Xu Nian'an could not help but feel a twinge of regret.

If the Star Luo Empire could truly produce this much money, the Great Ming Empire could instantly enter a mode of rapid development.

"No less than ten million annually, with the interest rate increasing by five percent every ten years."

Xu Nian'an added this offhandedly.

The final clause was nothing more than a safeguard, fearing that the Star Luo Empire might drag its feet and refuse to pay even when it had the funds.

OK.

The primary conditions of Xu Nian'an's negotiation were finally settled.

As for the remaining items to be negotiated—such as metal mines, gold mines, silver mines, and the stationing of Great Ming troops in Star Luo—those could be handled by others.

Xu Nian'an's time was incredibly precious.

Right now, time was quite literally money; the news of the Star Luo Empire's defeat and the siege of Star Luo City likely hadn't spread yet.

Even if it had, it wouldn't have traveled far.

Xu Nian'an could fully take advantage of this opportunity to head north, return to the Great Ming border, and catch the Heaven Dou Empire off guard.

When the Star Luo Emperor, Dai Haochen, finally signed the treaty in resignation, a cold system prompt rang out in Xu Nian'an's mind.

"Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the main quest: Lead the Imperial Expedition, Defend the Homeland, Defeat the Invaders, and Become Renowned Across the Continent!"

In truth, Xu Nian'an's reputation had already spread across the continent when he defeated the Galloping Wolf Kingdom.

This was merely the icing on the cake.

Just as Xu Nian'an was about to confirm the completion of the quest and claim his rewards, the Imperial Guard reported again.

"Report, Your Majesty! The Hadrian Kingdom has declared independence, joined the Western Alliance United Nations, and is willing to offer a tribute of ten million Gold Soul Coins to the Great Ming!"

Oh, this is interesting.

Upon hearing this news, Xu Nian'an couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

It seemed they must have caught wind of something to so decisively break away from the Star Luo Empire, join the Western Alliance United Nations, and even offer "protection money" to scrub away any pretext for the Great Ming Empire to declare war on them.

In reality, Xu Nian'an's guess was spot on.

Ever since the Haagen-Dazs Kingdom approached the Hadrian Kingdom under the banner of the Western Alliance United Nations, the Hadrian Kingdom had been closely monitoring the battlefield between the Star Luo Empire and the Great Ming Empire.

The very day they discovered Star Luo City was surrounded by the Great Ming army and flying the Great Ming flag, they declared their independence.

And just like that, the very next day, they arrived with money to pay their protection fees.

In the first year, the Star Luo Empire paid 150 million Gold Soul Coins in war reparations.

One must realize that this was the accumulation of over a thousand years for the Star Luo Empire; now, their national treasury was bottomed out in one fell swoop.

Seeing this, Xu Nian'an grinned from ear to ear.

160 million in hand—wahahaha, do you have any idea how much 160 million is?

You couldn't even haul it all away with horse-drawn carriages!