Imperial warlords: Cannons are the only truth

a few days later.

The Anti-Qian Alliance formally lodged a strong protest with the Daqian side regarding the issue of southern Qianzhou, and strongly condemned the Daqian Zhenguo Army for its "shameless" acts of blatantly and arrogantly interfering in the affairs of other countries in violation of international rules and for its armed invasion of other countries' territories.

In response, the Daqian government immediately gave a positive reply: the Daqian Zhenguo Army will never interfere in the affairs of other countries without cause, let alone use force against other countries without cause!

If the Daqian Zhenguo Army does that, it must be for a legitimate reason.

Every effect has a cause.

Before criticizing or attacking others, think about what you've done yourself...

The capital city—the scene of the press conference of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Great Qian Dynasty.

"I think everyone knows what the Western Luo Kingdoms have been doing in the southern region of Qianzhou without me having to say more, right?"

"We in the Great Qian Dynasty had no intention of getting involved in the bandit-like acts committed by the Western Luo Kingdoms outside of the Great Qian Dynasty."

Colonel Yao Yuanwu, the spokesperson for the Daqian Zhenguo Army, looked around at the reporters attending the press conference and intentionally or unintentionally focused his gaze on the foreign reporters.

The deeper meaning in his eyes was self-evident.

"I'm sure everyone knows why the Western Luo Kingdoms suddenly strengthened their military deployment in southern Qianzhou at this time."

"It's nothing more than implementing their so-called containment strategy against China."

"To be honest, we in Daqian have long been aware of these petty actions and schemes of the Western Luo Kingdoms."

"The Secret Intelligence Service has done a fairly good job in this regard."

"But it doesn't matter!"

"Our Chief of Staff Shen said—if they want to cause trouble, then let them cause trouble to their heart's content."

Yao Yuanwu said with an indifferent expression, "If they want to encircle and blockade our Great Qian, we'll have to see if they have the ability."

"Whether you can withstand the onslaught of the Daqian Zhenguo Army, you should think it over carefully."

"What we, the Great Qian Zhenguo Army, believe in is that in the face of absolute strength, all schemes and tricks will be crushed to dust!"

"A group of overconfident ants trying to fight against an awakened dragon is a huge joke in itself."

Yao Yuanwu looked at the foreign media reporters with special status with disdain and said again: "Therefore, our Great Qian has never taken these petty tricks of the Western Luo countries seriously."

"but................."

At this point, Yao Yuanwu changed his tone, and his expression changed from calm to cold: "We'll take your troubles with us."

"But you openly attacked and killed my people outside the Great Qian border, which is a completely different matter!"

"According to our confirmed information, in less than a week, the regular armed forces of the Lanxi people massacred more than 20,000 Daqian citizens living in Puwa Kingdom alone!"

"If we also include the casualties in the five countries of Thonglo, Hova, Dantu, Gala, and Ganla, the casualty figures are even more horrifying..."

"Upon hearing the news, the entire Great Qian court was furious!"

"Chief of Staff Shen immediately gave instructions—there is no lawless zone outside of Daqian!"

"As long as they are citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty, whether they are within or outside the Great Qian Dynasty, any external force that dares to lay a sword on a citizen of the Great Qian Dynasty or dares to harm a citizen of the Great Qian Dynasty."

"These are all provocations against the entire Great Qian Empire!"

Yao Yuanwu's gaze was sharp as lightning, and he declared with a firm and domineering tone: "The Great Qian Dynasty will absolutely not tolerate such a thing happening."

"In short—those who offend our mighty power, no matter how far away, shall be punished!"

"This is the promise that the Great Qian Empire makes to every citizen of the Great Qian Empire."

"As long as you have a place of origin in the Great Qian Dynasty, you have nothing to fear anywhere in the world!"

"Because, behind you stands the entire Great Qian Empire!"

"If anyone dares to cross this red line and challenge the majesty of the Great Qian, the Great Qian Zhenguo Army will surely seek justice for every citizen of the Great Qian..."

As he spoke, Yao Yuanwu's gaze turned even colder: "It is very clear that the series of excessive actions taken by the Western Luo Kingdoms in southern Qianzhou have seriously crossed the bottom line of the Great Qian Empire!"

"Tens of thousands of citizens of the Great Qian Dynasty were slaughtered outside the Great Qian borders. Does it need further explanation how heinous this was?"

"Do you still think there's anything wrong with the military actions taken by the Daqian Zhenguo Army in southern Qianzhou?"

"We are holding this press conference today to encourage everyone to speak freely and address the issues directly."

"Now we will proceed to the Q&A session."

"If you have any questions, please feel free to raise them face-to-face. This will save us from some people always gossiping behind our backs..."

-------------------------------------

"Colonel Yao, I am Johnson Rodrik, a reporter from the Daily Democracy Watch."

"Before discussing what happened in southern Qianzhou, I would like to ask a question."

"You just compared the Western Luo Kingdoms to a group of overconfident ants. Is such an obviously insulting metaphor appropriate to appear in a public setting like today?"

"Hasn't the Great Qian Dynasty always called itself a country of gentlemen and a land of propriety?"

"Excuse my bluntness—Colonel Yao, as the official spokesperson for the Great Qian Zhenguo Army, represents the official image of Great Qian."

"However, from Colonel Yao's remarks just now, what we sensed was an extremely arrogant, barbaric, haughty, and rude Qian Kingdom!"

"Is this the attitude of the people of Qian Kingdom towards foreign countries?"

"Mr. Rodrik from the Democracy Observer Daily, is that right?"

Yao Yuanwu smiled and said, "First of all, I appreciate Mr. Rodrik's fluent Mandarin."

"Moreover, from Mr. Rodrik's remarks, we can see that he must have done a lot of research on our Daqian culture."

"However, I still need to make a proper correction—the title of 'the land of gentlemen' and 'the land of etiquette' is not entirely self-proclaimed."

"If Mr. Rodrik is interested in this topic, he may wish to learn more about it."

"This land of gentlemen and the land of etiquette was also the recognition of our Great Qian by all the nations of the world. It was a name that was passed down by word of mouth and bestowed upon us by all nations."

"To be honest, the assessment of us by the international community is quite fair."

"So please don't question us on this issue."

"However, things are different now than before."

"When petty people gain power, they become arrogant and rampant. A group of barbarians suddenly became bandits after gaining power, turning what was once a beautiful world into a chaotic mess..."

"The world has changed, and our Great Qian must naturally change with the times."

Yao Yuanwu said in a serious tone, "Therefore, our Great Qian Dynasty now is to be polite when it is appropriate, but also to be absolutely lenient when it is necessary to punish!"

"My friend from the Democratic Observer Daily said that my remarks just now were contrary to gentlemanly manners and etiquette."

"They even labeled me with a series of negative terms."

"To this, I would like to say—can a factual account of the facts really be elevated to such a level?"

Yao Yuanwu shrugged: "Everyone, don't be so sensitive, don't overinterpret or misunderstand what others mean."

"My example was just stating a fact from a realistic perspective. What's wrong with that?"

"I don't think there's anything wrong with this!"

"As everyone knows, the Great Qian Empire is the world's number one power."

"Whether it's the territory, population, resources, or the current level of development and national defense capabilities."

"If we're second, then who's qualified to be first?"

"The Great Qian Dynasty is a dragon; is this metaphor appropriate?"

"As for the Western Luo Kingdoms, their insignificance before our Great Qian Dynasty is no less than that of ants, isn't it?"

"Did everyone hear that clearly? The word I used as a metaphor was 'ant,' not 'ant'."

“If I used the word ‘ant,’ it would indeed be a bit inappropriate in this context, and it would be a bit excessive.”

"But I don't think there's anything wrong with the word 'ant'?"

"The written language of our Great Qian Dynasty is profound and complex, with vastly different usages between characters and words."

"It is indeed very easy to misunderstand if you only know the basics, which is a difficulty that many Western Luo people encounter when learning the language of our Great Qian."

"So, as I said before—some of us shouldn't be so sensitive or overthink things."

"A factual metaphor has been labeled as extremely arrogant, barbaric, rude, and haughty..."

Yao Yuanwu looked at Johnson Rodrik, whose face had turned extremely ugly but dared not continue to argue on the spot, with an expression that was both funny and exasperating, as if he were "coaxing a child".

Seeing that Johnson Rodrik didn't intend to press the matter further, Yao Yuanwu nodded slightly in satisfaction, and then said, "Today's scene has suddenly given me a profound insight."

"I wonder if everyone remembers—back then, how the Western Luo Kingdoms treated the Great Qian, both in public and in private?"

"At that time, you didn't seem to realize that there was anything wrong with your behavior, did you?"

"You have wantonly trampled on and humiliated the dignity of the Great Qian, forced the Great Qian to sign a series of ceding treaties, and openly classified the people of the Qian Kingdom as a synonym for 'inferior people'."

"These all seem to have been made by you Xiluo people, right?"

"Back then, it seems that none of you media outlets, which pride yourselves on treating everyone equally and speaking out for 'truth' and 'justice,' said a single word about the injustices suffered by the Great Qian Dynasty, did you?"

"You trampled the dignity of the entire Great Qian Dynasty under your feet, showing no regard for the feelings of the Qian people. At that time, you didn't bring up the labels of arrogance, haughtiness, barbarity, or rudeness, did you?"

Yao Yuanwu, moved by the situation, retorted sarcastically, "Isn't your double standard a bit too obvious?"

These words made the foreign journalists present somewhat embarrassed.

In particular, Johnson Rodriguez of the Daily Democracy Watch, who sparked the discussion, felt as if he had inadvertently stirred up a hornet's nest...

The original intention was to embarrass Daqian from an international perspective, but it backfired unexpectedly.

Instead, Yao Yuanwu, with just a few words, slightly extended the original topic and tore away the fig leaf covering the entire Western Luo world.

Back when the Great Qian Dynasty was weak, did the Western Luo Kingdoms ever teach the Great Qian Dynasty any etiquette, respect, or rules?

At that time, the Western Luo states were oppressing and exploiting the Great Qian Dynasty, signing unequal treaties.

At the signing ceremony, the Daqian representatives weren't even allowed to sit down and negotiate.

The humiliation was unimaginable—ceding territory and paying reparations, while the foreigners sat there like lords when the treaty was signed, practically crossing their legs in the air.

On the other hand, the people of Qian were groveling and servile, without even a seat, and had to smile and sign the document!

The reporters in Xiluo were not unaware of these things.