CHAPTER 1920: CHAPTER 1913: APPEASING QIN WITH LAND

After all, being able to buy peace with some industrial products, even if only temporarily, is particularly precious.

As the saying goes, "Soft mouth when eating others’ food, short hand when taking others’ things." If material power can stabilize Oklo Laf, I believe Luo’er would be very willing to pay such a price.

You must know, when the cannon goes off, it costs a great deal of money.

The supplies provided by Lipei might be equivalent to the ammunition base of an artillery battalion.

Rather than turning this money into shells for bombardment, Luo’er would prefer to use it to avoid conflict.

Of course, this approach is inevitably subject to criticism. Some might think of it as catering to Qin with land, something fundamentally unsustainable.

But as the saying goes, one must analyze specific problems specifically. If you constantly draw lessons from history for any analysis, you can easily fall into mechanical materialism, thinking that everything must follow certain laws and the worries of yesterday inevitably become the worries of today.

In fact, Lipei possesses a formidable armed force with powerful support fire. Attacking Lipei with a hundred thousand men would be a suicide mission.

Hence, under such circumstances, Oklo Laf’s hesitation is quite normal. After all, there’s always someone willing to risk their head, but no one does a losing deal.

If at this time, Lipei extends an olive branch and offers financial inducements, then both parties could easily reach a compromise. The Aud Army would allow Lipei to buy them off with money to prevent a military conflict between the two sides.

Lipei is backed by Earth’s most powerful industrial group, with virtually infinite logistics support. Such power is highly coveted in both the Otherworld and on Earth, and impossible to completely ignore.

"Your Excellency must be very clear about why we have come this time," said Oklo Laf facing Cheng Ziang directly, "His Majesty is very angry with Lipei’s actions. If Lipei can stop angering His Majesty, perhaps conflict can be avoided."

"Hehe."

Cheng Ziang smiled slightly, not responding directly, but instead starting a new topic: "What does the Legion Commander think of Lipei’s defense efforts?"

Oklo Laf squinted, as if trying to digest these words and explore Cheng Ziang’s intention.

"If I remember correctly, your Excellency must have undergone modern military training on Earth?" Cheng Ziang continued.

"Of course, Earth is a very beautiful place," Oklo Laf nodded and said.

"Then your Excellency should be very familiar with Earth’s tactics and strategies. How much advantage do you think a hundred thousand men would have in attacking Lipei, Legion Commander?"

Cheng Ziang got straight to the point.

"As long as you don’t anger His Majesty, there will be no war."

Oklo Laf’s words did not directly answer Cheng Ziang’s question.

Cheng Ziang listened, calmly picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and pursed his lips, pondering what to say next.

Oklo Laf’s notion of not angering His Majesty was actually a hint for Lipei to cut ties with the Church Court.

But that was clearly impossible; Lipei and the Church Court were as close as lips and teeth. Only a fool would think of severing ties at such a time.

After thinking for a long time, he decided not to answer the question but to open up the topic once more.

Then Cheng Ziang gestured, and an attendant stepped forward and placed a pearwood box in front of the two.

He opened the lid and slowly pushed the box towards Oklo Laf with a mysterious smile.

The moment the lid was opened, Oklo Laf’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but widen his eyes.

Inside the box lay a vintage-style Browning 1911 pistol, with the body plated in gold, shining brightly, adorned with intricate carvings, and fitted with jade handle inlays.

This was more a masterpiece than a mere weapon.

"A small gift, not enough to express our respect. If the Legion Commander likes it, we have plenty more and can deliver them all to you later."

Seeing his expression, Cheng Ziang’s lips involuntarily curled up slightly.

Before coming, they already gathered intelligence that Oklo Laf had an interest in military goods.

Among the noble class in the Otherworld, there were quite a few who favored military goods, whether firearms or swords.

Many weapons they couldn’t manufacture could be produced on Earth, so gifting military goods was a choice less prone to mistakes.

"Is this... for me?"

Oklo Laf forced himself to remain calm, but his eyes betrayed his thoughts, and he visibly swallowed a gulp of saliva as he spoke.

"If the Legion Commander doesn’t like it, we have plenty more options."

Cheng Ziang’s words became more straightforward.

"No no no, I am very satisfied,"

Oklo Laf was taken aback, instinctively placing his hands around the box, unable to hide a smile.

"That’s good," Cheng Ziang nodded in satisfaction, then added, "You all came from afar; I wonder about your living conditions regarding food and drink. Does Lipei need to assist you? If so, please feel free to let us know. Although we are more than a hundred kilometers from the main city, daily supplies can be provided as needed."

"But we are enemies, isn’t this inappropriate?"

Obviously, Oklo Laf was already intrigued, but he still couldn’t help but worry.

"Hmm..."

Cheng Ziang nodded, his eyes rolling as he pondered a strategy.

Clearly, Oklo Laf was more proactive; he immediately came up with a solution: "How about this, you find an abandoned village within Lipei’s territory, leave the supplies there for us to collect, and we’ll publicly declare it as looting, how about that?"

"Like this..."

Cheng Ziang was stunned, not expecting him to be so blunt and unpolished.

"Of course, within Lipei, we promise not to take anything, not a single brick or tile." Oklo Laf thought he was hesitating and quickly added.

"That works too," Cheng Ziang nodded, then said, "If the Legion Commander has any requests, you can let us know through a message. We will specially leave a box for you, containing your personal items."

"Alright, alright, that settles it then."

Oklo Laf eagerly nodded and clapped.

Cheng Ziang was surprised at how easily this man could be persuaded. It seemed, despite being royal, he hadn’t gained many real benefits.

"Regarding the war between us..." Cheng Ziang hesitated to say.

"Don’t worry," Oklo Laf assured confidently, "We will try our best to avoid conflict with Lipei’s army. Even if it’s unavoidable, we will inform you in advance. We just need to put on a bit of a show for each other."

"I still hope this matter remains as hidden as possible," Cheng Ziang said, feigning concern.

"Rest assured, what I, Oklo Laf, say, I’ll do..."

He paused, seemingly unable to convince Cheng Ziang, so he added: "To be honest, I know very well what it means to attack Lipei with a hundred thousand troops. On our way here, I repeatedly practiced with military chess. Whether trench warfare, guerrilla warfare, or blitzkrieg, it is very difficult to take Lipei in a short time, and it would require a heavy cost on our part..."

"Such a cost is unacceptable," Oklo Laf continued, "The Western United Army has other missions and cannot just lose soldiers and generals in this battle. So... I guess... his Majesty would approve of my actions..."

"But..." he showed a somewhat embarrassed expression, "Your Excellency should know the reason for his Majesty’s anger; in this regard, I hope your side can restrain a little, so I can report back to his Majesty..."

"Alright, then I’ll go back and discuss it with the Commander."

Cheng Ziang said as he got up.

"Won’t you stay for a few more days?" Oklo Laf courteously offered to keep him.

"With two armies confronting each other, communicating with the enemy is not quite appropriate, better to be a bit restrained," Cheng Ziang said with a smile.

Just as he turned, he seemed to think of something else and turned back to say, "Oh, by the way, Lipei is short of hands, so we may not be able to fully meet all the needs of your army. I hope the Legion Commander can understand this point."