The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 318 Negotiation
November, the fifth year of the Holy Dynasty, Habsburg.

Ladies and nobles from all over Europe as well as members of the royal family gathered in Habsburg to welcome His Majesty the Holy Emperor, the greatest of the Holy Dynasty.

There was Queen Charlotte and husband King George from England.

There was the surrendered king of the Spanish royal family.

There was the Pope of the Holy Roman Empire.

There was King Louis XIV of France.

There were Italian Habsburg nobles.

There is Queen Christina of Sweden.

Nobles and ladies from various countries, as well as military generals and civil servants, all gathered here, waiting for the arrival of the Holy King.

Also nearby were the civil and military officials of the Western Expedition Corps. These soldiers, equipped with advanced firearms, were carefully selected, and each of them was tall and heroic.

The scheduled time was three o'clock in the afternoon, and everyone arrived at the venue at two-thirty.

Most people here speak two or three foreign languages, some even more.

As the Holy Dynasty grew more powerful over the years, some royal nobles also had to master this language.

The elderly Queen Charlotte sat on a chair with her husband waiting. The weather today was not good and it was still so cold.

Before Queen Charlotte could speak, Queen Christina beside her spoke first.

Christina said in German: "I heard that the emperor of the Holy Dynasty will come from the sky on a giant black bird, and it will make a loud noise."

Sophia, a noblewoman nearby who spoke German, responded, "I can't imagine what that sound is."

Christina said: "The Holy Emperor is already 32 years old, still very young, but I know that his achievements in literature, art, science, medicine, and military have surpassed everyone else."

Everyone in the neighborhood knew that the Swedish queen was known for her erudition and support of the arts.

During her reign she promoted cultural development in Sweden and was a patron of the arts and sciences.

The Grand Duke of Tuscany from the Medici family of Italy chatted with the men about military topics.

"Is the war coming to an end?"

"I heard that this war happened because Spain angered the Holy Emperor. And because Spain was defeated by the Holy Dynasty Navy, this war ended."

"Their navy is stronger than their army?"

"Yes, the navy's artillery can fire farther than ours, and the ships are faster. Those ships are wrapped in a layer of iron armor and are rushing towards the fleet with black smoke."

"Spain's time is over. I hope the war ends soon."

“Don’t worry, the Lord will protect us!”

While the Pope was comforting everyone, a strange sound suddenly came from the sky.

Everyone stood up quickly and looked up at the sky.

Not long after, a black spot appeared from the northeast and was getting closer and closer.

A minister who looked like a civil servant quickly shouted at these barbarians who were either blond, brown or bald.

"Kneel down! Welcome the Holy Emperor!"

The noble translator nearby quickly translated the minister's words to the various nobles.

Soon the Pope stood up and shouted, "I am the Pope! I will not kneel to anyone!"

The civil officials couldn't hear clearly what he said, and the military officers nearby couldn't understand him even more.

Soon the translator conveyed the Pope's original words to everyone.

"Don't kneel?! Then you will die!" The marshal angrily took out his gun, loaded the bullet, and quickly fired.

boom!
The Pope is dead.

The female nobles saw the big shot being shot and screamed quickly.

Soon, with the guns pointed at them, the men knelt down in silence, and the women also knelt down in tears.

The guards did not need to kneel, but the senior officers of the navy and army all knelt respectfully on the cold floor to welcome the arrival of the Holy Emperor.

The male and female nobles who were also kneeling felt inexplicably ridiculous and funny to see these bullies and bandits who controlled their lives and deaths kneeling on the ground in such a humbly and ridiculous manner.

But the cold corpses nearby and the nervous and vigilant soldiers also reminded them of their current humble position.

The devil's roar continued for quite some time. After everyone knelt down and waited for a long time, the sound became clearer and clearer, shocking the ears and hearts of everyone below.

With a loud bang and a violent noise that seemed to be friction, a giant black bird moved towards the gate.

After more than a minute of friction and sliding, the frightening sound finally quieted down.

When the soldier in charge of shouting saw Jia Rong get up from the plane, he quickly shouted: "The Holy Emperor has arrived!!"

The civil and military officials and generals below quickly shouted in unison: "Greetings to the Holy Emperor! Long live the Holy Emperor!"

Jia Rong stood on the top of the plane and smiled at the people below, "Stand up."

"Thank you, Holy Emperor!"

Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked up at the young man standing on the bow of the plane.

Christina did not expect that the Holy Emperor would be the young man in front of her. He was too young, not like a man in his thirties, but more like a young man under twenty years old.

Jia Rong quickly jumped off the plane. It was Archduchess Theresa who was sitting in the back driver's seat who needed a ladder. Jia Rong always tried to save trouble.

As Jia Rong walked toward the building in front, the main generals of the Western Expedition Army, as well as the local nobles and guests, all stood up and looked at the Holy Emperor.

Just as Jia Rong passed by a guard, a strong blond man suddenly bumped into Jia Rong.

"Your Majesty, be careful!" the Grand Marshal exclaimed quickly.

The civil officials nearby also looked at the assassin who suddenly appeared in horror, "Protect the emperor!"

Jia Rong watched this scene quietly. Although it was only a little over a second, it seemed very slow to Jia Rong. It was even enough to do a lot of things.

Jia Rong easily grabbed the arm of the man who looked to weigh more than 200 pounds and threw him into the sky.

With a quick glance, Jia Rong quickly saw someone holding a gun and pointing it at him.

To deal with these people, Jia Rong naturally responded by taking out his homemade Desert Eagle.

"boom!"

"boom!"

"boom!"

Jia Rong shot and killed three armed assassins casually, then walked forward with a smile.

"boom!"

The blond man fell to the ground and was quickly pinned to the ground by the guards who rushed over.

The Generalissimo and the Governor-General of Luzon quickly knelt down and kowtowed.

"I deserve to die! I didn't expect an assassin to sneak into the arena!"

"I failed to save you! Your Majesty, please punish me!" Jia Rong smiled and said, "It doesn't matter. We are so far apart and it's an away game. It's normal to have more accidents. Stand up and talk."

The two were so moved that they shouted, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jia Rong quickly looked at the group of foreign guests nearby and said directly in Latin: "I am the emperor of the Holy Dynasty, the Holy Emperor I. You can call me the Holy Emperor, or you can call me by my name: Rong."

Christina smiled and responded, "Hello, it is a pleasure to meet you, the powerful Emperor Shengrong. I am Queen Christina of Sweden. May our countries live in harmony."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "Of course, although I have the power, I don't want to interfere with other people's affairs. Except for Spain and the road connecting to Spain from the east, I will not interfere in other places. We are already at peace."

Sweden was not on the advance route of the Western Expedition Army, so when Jia Rong was willing to make peace, countries such as Britain and Sweden all breathed a sigh of relief.

Soon everyone gathered at the banquet to discuss the next arrangements.

As the defeated and assassinated party, Spain had no right to sit at the table.

The navy and army marshals were also not qualified to sit down. They stood behind Jia Rong, which was a more respectable position than sitting down.

Jia Rong said forcefully: "This time, in the war with our Western European and Central European countries, theoretically, we are the losing party."

Charlotte retorted, "But we have always wanted to be partners with the Holy Dynasty, not enemies."

Jia Rong did not accept this explanation. "If you lose, you lose. If you are not convinced, you can fight. You can choose the battlefield yourself, whether it is the sea, land, or even the sky."

King George sighed, "We admit defeat and are willing to pay compensation."

Jia Rong nodded, "I am not a cruel person, it is just that the necessary force can allow us to talk calmly."

"Except for the land I currently occupy, I don't need the rest of the land, and I won't attack your cities, but in addition to war reparations, I need to impose some restrictions on you."

Louis XIV felt very bad, and the others felt almost the same.

Christina inquired, "What are the restrictions?"

Jia Rong said directly: "First of all, as you can see, the plane I am riding is a flying object that I researched and made myself. It can naturally be used in war, but I don't want this kind of weapon to be used in war. It will cause great damage to cities, castles and innocent people."

"So I stipulate that your royal family can only own three planes, the Grand Duke can own one, and the rest of the people are not allowed to own planes, let alone use them for war."

"And I can sell you planes and help you train pilots. However, apart from delivering messages and transporting royal personnel, these planes cannot be used for military purposes, and you are not allowed to manufacture these planes privately."

Louis XIV looked at Jia Rong, "So what would the Holy Dynasty do with airplanes?"

Jia Rong said directly: "I will not use these planes for war. I hope for world peace and do not want to create more destructive weapons for war."

Archduchess Theresa of Habsburg offered: "I have no problem with that. If I can get a plane, I am willing to exchange my castle for it!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "There is only one at the moment, and it will take a few years at the earliest to have a second one, but the third and fourth ones will be much easier, and perhaps we can build more than a dozen planes a year."

Charlotte asked, "In other words, apart from restrictions and some compensation, is that all? Thank you, Your Majesty the Great Holy Emperor!"

Jia Rong has never been a person who cares about face. He said casually: "There are also concessions and schools. The areas I occupy are connected into a passage. These areas are in the transportation area. I think there will be travelers from various countries passing through here in the future."

"I am not an unenlightened emperor. I allow the rest of you to pass through here. You just need to pay taxes on time and not disrupt the order of these places."

"In the future, I will use the railway to transport goods from the East, and I will also accept merchants from various countries to travel to the East by train."

"For the purpose of spreading information and communication, I will establish concessions in Britain, France and Germany, mainly embassies, churches and schools."

"Also, as the defeated nation, you should send me gifts every year before the New Year. It can be beautiful women, money, artworks, or even land."

“I will also provide knowledge to help underdeveloped countries.”

Jia Rong smiled confidently and said, "Many years ago, I asked scholars and scientists here to ask them why apples fall from trees, but no one has ever given a scientific answer to explain this."

"This time I brought my book with me, called 'Universal Gravitation'. Only after solving the problem of gravity can we understand why airplanes can fly into the sky."

"Science is the soil, and I will provide you with technology and products, whether it is airplanes, ships, artillery or trains, you don't need to make them yourself, I will do everything for you."

Although the others had their objections, Jia Rong would not accept any rebuttal, so they had no choice but to accept it.

Jia Rong, a capable man, sometimes doesn't need to follow rules, let alone fall in love.

Spain did not have to pay compensation, but the entire royal family was killed. This was the consequence of offending the Holy Emperor.

No men were left alive, and the women were demoted to commoners.

France soon signed a long-term compensation agreement of 800 million taels of silver, and the same was true for Britain, Italy and other countries.

Jia Rong did not throw away at the negotiating table what he had taken on the battlefield, which was more than most emperors.

Jia Rong was not as concerned about his reputation as other emperors. Not only did he take everything he should take, he also abused the local young and beautiful female nobles.

Soon the Western Expedition Army began to return home by boat.

Most of the navy that stayed behind were responsible for taking over the Spanish provinces, and some people were also arranged along the way as consuls to supervise the work of the local people.

Fortunately, the number of guides and puppet troops who defected along the way far exceeded the number of regular troops. Even if the regular troops all went home, the puppet troops who stayed behind would still work.

The larger the territory, the higher the maintenance cost. After Jia Rong had enough fun, he drove his tattered plane back to the capital safely.

All the women he played with along the way were left outside and he didn't take any of them back.

As the world's first emperor to fly and build an airplane, and the first emperor to complete a tour of Central Europe, Jia Rong himself was already very satisfied.

In the fifth year of the Holy Dynasty, on the eleventh day of the twelfth lunar month, the Holy Emperor returned to the capital. The West paid 5 billion silver coins as compensation, and the whole world celebrated.

In the court, all the officials congratulated and praised Jia Rong.

At this time, princes from all over the country also arrived in the capital to prepare for the New Year.

The King of Donghai said excitedly: "Since the beginning of history, whether it was the Qin Emperor, Han Emperor, Tang Emperor, or Song Emperor, they all fought wars in a militaristic manner. There were even tyrants like Emperor Yang of Sui who destroyed their country through war."

"Only our Holy Emperor is a man of both civil and military powers. Since ascending the throne, he has expanded the territory more than five times, and has also made the treasury and granary so rich that it can't be spent. He is truly a Holy Ancestor!"

Jia Rong had no idea, and said calmly: "After fighting for so many years, everyone is tired. Now we need to calm down and cultivate ourselves, build more livelihood facilities, and encourage our people to live and work in peace and contentment."

All the ministers said: "As ordered!"

Jia Rong had nothing to say, so he asked the people from the Ministry of Industry to go to the museum to study how to build airplanes, and gave them his own notes and drawings on how to build airplanes.

Of course, we cannot forget to reward meritorious officials.

"Since you are unwilling to be a king outside, then just be a duke."

"This time the navy has made great contributions, so he will be named Duke of Zheng. The former residence of King Zhou will be given to him. From now on, he will be treated as a prince. Two earls and five viscounts will be given to the rest of the navy. The Ministry of Personnel and the Prime Minister will be responsible for this, and they will also consult the opinion of Duke Zheng."

The left and right prime ministers and the Minister of Personnel agreed, "I obey your order!"

Jia Rong casually said, "The army has worked hard, too. I'll make the Grand Marshal the Duke of Zhenguo and give him a reward of 100,000 taels of silver. Let him find a place to build a house, either in his hometown or in the capital."

"Confer three more county earls and ten more viscounts, and find places to settle them in their hometowns."

"Next year, the land tax will be exempted for one year across the country. Let's celebrate together!"

Everyone shouted in unison: "Long live the Holy Emperor!"

Jia Rong is no longer short of money, and his biggest trouble now is how to save and spend billions of silver.

If you can't figure out this kind of thing, then don't think about it. Jia Rong actually has no intention of going through fire and water for this country.

Even if this country was destroyed, Jia Rong would not think it was a bad thing.

(End of this chapter)