Warlords: Rising from the Northwest Border and Sweeping Across the Powers

Sergei took a step back unconsciously.

"You said returning the territory is the biggest concession?" Su Zhengyang sneered, "Returning the stolen things to the owner, is this also called a concession? Minister Sergei, you think too highly of yourself."

He turned and walked to the window: "If you ask me, letting you solve the problem with money is already my greatest kindness. Otherwise..."

He turned around, his eyes sharp as a knife: "Otherwise, how about letting the Northern Division collect the debt? I believe General Gudean will be happy to take on this task."

There was dead silence in the office.

Sergei then realized that he had said the wrong thing. Saying "rude" in front of this young man was simply humiliating himself.

"So," Su Zhengyang sat back in his seat, his tone calm again, "Should we continue to discuss the issue of compensation, or should we let the army solve it?"

He looked at his watch: "It's still early. I can wait for Minister Sergei to think it over."

"Mr. President," Sergei suddenly became excited, "Do you know what the loss of the Far East means? The tax revenue of the entire Tsarist Russia will be reduced by 34%!"

His voice began to tremble: "Adding to the consumption of this war, the treasury of the Russian Empire is already empty. We cannot accept this compensation!"

Su Zhengyang put down the teacup and looked at him with a smile. But Sergei Mo could no longer care about that.

"We Tsarist Russia are now like a rabbit that has been cornered," he said in a louder voice, "even a rabbit will bite when it gets angry! China cannot just take the initiative and ask for too much! This is totally..."

&34;Snap!&34;

Su Zhengyang suddenly slammed the table, interrupting Sergei's words. The office suddenly became eerily quiet.

"So," Su Zhengyang slowly stood up, his eyes cold, "are you saying that Tsarist Russia is prepared to resist to the end?"

There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice: "A rabbit wants to fight to the death with a lion?"

Sergei suddenly realized how inappropriate his metaphor was. Instead of showing the determination of the Tsarist Russia, he exposed his own weakness.

"Old Zhang," Su Zhengyang said calmly, "Notify Gudean and ask the Northern Division to prepare. Since Minister Sergei thinks they are just cornered rabbits, let's show him what a real beast is."

"Wait!" Sergei panicked, "Mr. President, that's not what I meant..."

"No, that's what you mean," Su Zhengyang interrupted him, "You think Tsarist Russia can still resist. You think you still have room for bargaining."

He walked up to Sergei and said, "Let me tell you a cruel reality: you have no choice. Either accept the compensation or..."

He paused meaningfully and said, "Let the Northern Division collect the debt. By the way, I'm curious, when the army reaches Vladivostok, how much will the Russian tax revenue be reduced?"

The atmosphere in the office froze.

Sergeimo then realized that his metaphor not only failed to save the situation, but made it even more passive. In front of this young man, even showing weakness would become a fatal handle.

Sergei fell silent again. This amount of compensation was hard to accept no matter what.

&34;Seems familiar, doesn't it?&34;

Su Zhengyang suddenly spoke with a sneer on his face: "Several decades ago, when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded Beilong City, it was the same scene."

Sergei's heart shuddered.

"At that time," Su Zhengyang stood up and walked to the wall with historical maps, "that's how you used your powerful ships and cannons to open the door to China, flaunted your power on our land, and forced the unpromising Qing Empire to cede territory and pay compensation."

His voice became colder and colder: "Shui Qing at that time became a laughing stock of the whole world. You acted recklessly at the negotiation table, thinking you could bully me like this forever."

Turning around, his eyes were as sharp as a knife: "Now that the roles have been reversed, Minister Sergei finds it hard to accept?"

Sergei opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

"Do you know how much the compensation was at that time?" Su Zhengyang sneered, "Converted into today's gold rubles, it is at least ten times what we asked for. And that was shared by eight countries. We only need 34 million now."

He sat back down: "So, Minister Sergei thinks this is too much? Or... "

He looked at Sergei meaningfully: "The Russian Empire only knows how to bully the weak, but can't stand being treated in the same way?"

There was dead silence in the office.

Sergei felt his throat dry. He finally understood Su Zhengyang's intention - this was not just a compensation, but also a historical reckoning.

And this young man is using the same methods that the great powers used to bully China to make them feel the pain of being coerced.

"That's enough."

Su Zhengyang suddenly interrupted the silence, with obvious impatience in his voice: "My patience has run out, Minister Sergei."

He stood up and walked to the window: "If you continue to waste time here, all previous negotiation results will be invalid."

Sergei's heart sank.

"The Northern Division is ready to go to war at any time," Su Zhengyang's voice was as cold as ice, "General Gudean was just complaining that his soldiers were getting impatient."

He turned around, his eyes sharp: "So, either accept the compensation terms now, or..."

He looked at his watch and said, "I can call Guden right away and ask him to bring his troops to Moscow to negotiate with you in person."

The atmosphere in the office froze instantly.

"You know, Minister Sergei," Su Zhengyang suddenly changed the subject, his tone becoming meaningful, "China is never afraid of any enemy, nor is it afraid of war."

He stood at the window, looking into the distance: "If we go to war now..."

He turned around with a sneer on his face: "Hitler will not miss this opportunity."

Sergei felt his breath was choking.

"You have already lost three divisions on the Western Front," Su Zhengyang continued, "If we launch an attack from the Eastern Front, what will Hidler do?"

He slowly walked up to Sergei and said, "Perhaps it won't be long before your Tsar will become Hitler's prisoner."

This sentence was like a heavy hammer, almost suffocating Sergei.

He knew very well that this was not a threat. Hidler's ambitions against Tsarist Russia were well known to the whole of Europe. If China really started a war on the Eastern Front, Germany would definitely seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

By then, the Russian Empire, which was under attack from all sides, would...

Sergei didn't dare to think about it anymore.

Su Zhengyang sat back in his seat, speaking calmly, as if he was just talking about the weather: "So, Minister Sergei, is 34 million gold rubles really a lot?"