Koshevol was furious and wanted to probe further, but seeing Liu Erniu behind Zhu Gang with a face full of anticipation, as if "hope for war" was carved onto his face, Zhu Gang chuckled and said, "How about you all take a few more days to consider?"
Zhu Gang's words were the last straw – if they considered for a few more days, what other changes would occur in Sha'e? Would the newly enthroned Alexander die mysteriously? Or would the serfs in various regions of Sha'e revolt?
Helpless, Koshevol could only suppress his anger and said sternly, "We agree to your conditions, but what about the Ottoman Empire? You did not mention the Ottoman Empire before."
Koshevol had completely given up. Since they had to concede, it was better to directly address the issue of the Ottoman Empire instead of beating around the bush. Although Sha'e and the Ottoman Empire had sent representatives to the "Small Broken Pot" conference and accused each other there, Sha'e and the Ottoman Empire were still in a state of conflict.
Simply put, verbal arguments did not affect artillery.
Now that Sha'e was to concede, what would the Ottoman Empire, which had been severely beaten by Sha'e, say? Would both sides agree to peace and an armistice, with the Ottoman Empire making concessions? Or would Sha'e return what it had already gained?
However, Zhu Gang chuckled and said, "Are the problems between your Sha'e and the Ottoman Empire not being discussed at the 'Small Broken Pot' now? Once a result is reached, you can just follow it."
After Zhu Gang's remark, Koshevol and Batitsky felt even more stifled.
If they had privately negotiated a settlement, Sha'e, even if it had lost all face, could at least have retained some dignity.
But if the matter was discussed at the "Small Broken Pot" conference, Sha'e would probably not be able to save any face at all.
Despite Koshevol's unwillingness, he could only nod in resignation, "Alright, we'll do as you say."
Zhu Gang then nodded with satisfaction, the mocking expression on his face disappearing. "See, both sides can reach an agreement – Sha'e and Da Ming have common interests. We should work together to maintain peace and stability in the world."
After both sides signed the peace treaty, Zhu Gang got up and left. Koshevol and Batitsky slumped into their chairs.
After a long silence, Koshevol sighed and said to Batitsky, "You take the signed treaty back to Moscow. Explain clearly to His Majesty Alexander whatever you can, and if you can't explain it clearly, just blame it on me."
Batitsky shook his head and also sighed, "What is there to explain? We all understand that His Majesty Alexander has chickened out. He is afraid. He worries that he will die mysteriously like His Majesty Paul I, and he worries that he will lose all four legs like his warhorse."
At this point, Batitsky laughed self-deprecatingly. "It's all self-inflicted. If His Majesty Paul I hadn't tried to test the bottom line of the Ming people, he wouldn't have died mysteriously. If His Majesty Alexander hadn't dreamed of profiting from the position between the Ming country and Europe, he wouldn't have ended up in this situation."
Koshevol's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only let out a long sigh.
What else could be said? That Sha'e still had a chance to make a comeback? Or that Alexander could lead Sha'e to rise?
...
While Koshevol and Batitsky were wracked with worry, a large number of inexplicable articles appeared in some newspapers in Da Ming.
"To protect a sparrow on a power line, a magistrate in Da Ming ordered the entire county to cut power."
"Da Ming, please don't always build roads. Wait for your people."
"We cannot just destroy the environment. We must also pay attention to protection!"
"The lives of Kunlun slaves are also lives!"
In short, a lot of messy articles appeared in some newspapers, confusing the people of Da Ming.
Although magistrates were called "esteemed magistrates" or "benevolent officials" or "parental officials," could the "blue sky magistrates" interfere in matters of power lines? If the Censorate found out, wouldn't they impeach him to death?
Although Da Ming had been building railways, roads, reservoirs, canals, bridges, and other miscellaneous projects for more than a decade, there were still many places without railways or roads. What was the meaning of stopping and waiting for the people? Was it because the people living in places without railways were few, and they would build when there were more people?
What about the environmental issues and the lives of the Kunlun slaves...
However, unlike the confusion of the people of Da Ming, when similar articles were translated into French, English, Sha'e, Ottoman, and other languages, they caused a huge sensation in Europe, Sha'e, the United States of America, and the Ottoman Empire.
Look at the officials of Da Ming, they even cherish a sparrow. How can we not do the same?
Then, the nobles and officials in Europe, Sha'e, and the United States of America began to make a fuss.
A large number of European nobles and officials believed that Da Ming's statements were correct, and their own countries should not destroy the environment for the sake of industrial development.
Some officials in England even believed that they should abandon the research and development plans for firearms and artillery – they could buy them from Da Ming, so why spend their own money to develop them?
Emperor Zhu was very satisfied with this, while Zeng Cheng and other leaders found it somewhat magical.
Zeng Cheng couldn't figure out what the nobles of Europe were thinking – they hadn't even solved the problem of feeding their people, and what were they making a fuss about? Was the environment more important than whether their people were starving?
Or were the lives of Kunlun slaves more important than the lives of their own people?
"I can't figure it out," Zeng Cheng pulled his hair and looked at Liu Huaiwen and the others with confusion. "Has anyone analyzed it? Don't those barbarian nobles know what a power outage means?"
Liu Huaiwen also pulled his hair and said, "Let's not talk about whether those magistrates had the right to order a power outage. Even if they did, would anyone dare to issue such an order?"
Liu Heming chuckled and said, "What I admire most is the United States of America – the Northern Eagle and the Southern Eagle are actually fighting over Kunlun slaves?"
After Liu Heming's words, the leaders present fell into deep thought.
If one said that the nobles of Europe, the United States of America, and Sha'e were brainless, they could at least read Da Ming's newspapers, and they even specifically requested the original Chinese versions, completely ignoring the translated versions in their native languages.
But if one said they had brains... Zeng Cheng and the others really couldn't stomach it – who would have thought that the United States of America would fight itself?