Conquer Europe from the West

Chapter 127 What right does your kingdom have to make decisions for other countries!
With just a few simple words, Ryan directly drew the members of both houses of Congress to his side.

He was satisfied with the result, but also somewhat dissatisfied.

After all, Rein's current identity is only that of an Imperial officer, so he cannot completely pull those councilors to his side.

The other party is trying to protect their assets and international standing, so a few simple jokes obviously shouldn't be taken seriously.

Therefore, Rennes needs to take another drastic measure.

He raised his hands high, palms slightly open, signaling everyone to stop for a moment.

Then Renn looked at Churchill and moved slightly closer to the microphone: "Your Excellency the Chancellor, the Empire is well aware of the Kingdom's desire to maintain peace with the Empire."

"The Empire thanks your cabinet staff, all the members of parliament who supported the formation of your cabinet, the citizens of the Kingdom who elected such a fair, just, peace-loving, and compassionate group of national parliamentarians, and His Majesty the King who is steadfast in upholding peace between the two nations."

Before he could finish speaking, another round of enthusiastic applause erupted from the seats throughout the kingdom.

Those royal councilors, used to being treated like royalty, really enjoyed this kind of flattery.

But this time, Ryan didn't stop.

This made Churchill immediately realize that Ryan was ready to attack.

He tensed all his muscles, his overweight body stiffened, and he even forgot to exhale the smoke from his cigar, which just dripped down the cigar's outer shell...

Asquith, standing to the side, clenched his fists nervously; his aged hands were completely bloodless.

Ryan noticed Churchill's unusual behavior and also saw the nervous Asquith.

Sensing the time was right, he coughed briefly, silencing the applause and immediately dispelling Churchill's earlier accusation of "not applauding him."

He said, "The reason I applauded last was because I had been thinking about His Excellency the Prime Minister's speech."

"At the very beginning of the meeting, my Imperial Foreign Minister, Duke Draven, presented with great sincerity a total of more than 160 articles of regulations and implementation plans to effectively safeguard trade and cultural exchange between the Empire and the Kingdom."

"This includes not only a unilateral tax exemption policy for goods exported from the Kingdom, but also the establishment and protection of channels for Kingdom citizens to visit the Empire and enhance exchanges between the two peoples."

"I believe these terms will be the most tempting thing ever offered to the kingdom since the founding of the empire."

As soon as he finished speaking, whispers began to circulate among the people in the kingdom's seats.

Whispers of "That's right," "Indeed," and "The Empire's sincerity is truly remarkable" could be heard at one point.

This made Churchill's face even more somber.

Because he finally realized that Raine's previous remarks were intended to bring the kingdom closer to him, and now that he was bringing up terms, it was clear that he was trying to tie Raine personally to the empire.

For those lawmakers who only care about themselves, the previous clauses have now become capital for Ryan to use to win their favor.

But that's not the worst part.

The crucial point is that Churchill finally realized what Ryan was trying to say.

He wanted to deliberately portray Churchill's previous remarks as the Kingdom wanting to ensure the smooth signing of a peace and non-aggression treaty between the two countries, but being unwilling to voluntarily relinquish some benefits in order to gain the Empire's trust!
as predicted.

Just as Churchill came to this realization, Ryan spoke up.

But he guessed wrong.

Raine: "In fact, as an Imperial soldier..."

"I have some questions about the Prime Minister's remarks regarding peace."

"Please speak, Colonel." Churchill was taken aback by Ryan's implied meaning and almost instinctively raised his hand, signaling Ryan to continue.

Then, like someone who had been tricked into eating a lemon, he belatedly realized what had happened and his face contorted in pain.

It's fortunate that he's gained a lot of weight compared to a few years ago, otherwise the reporters around him would definitely have been snapping away at him.

Churchill was practically screaming in his mind: Damn it, I'm such an idiot, why did I have to let him do it!

Asquith, standing to the side, was also bewildered by Churchill's terrible move. He covered his eyes with one hand, then immediately rubbed his face and covered his mouth, thinking to himself that something was wrong.

Ryan was not about to let this golden opportunity slip by.

He spoke immediately.

"Just now, the Prime Minister only mentioned the hope for peace between the two countries, but did not mention at all the Kingdom's opinion on the proposal put forward by our Empire."

"I am not very knowledgeable, but I am worried that perhaps the Kingdom is dissatisfied with the Empire's proposed plan, which is why Your Excellency the Prime Minister is unwilling to mention the Kingdom's bilateral and mutually beneficial decisions for creating a peaceful and friendly future for both countries."

"If that's the case, the Empire is willing to modify all mutually beneficial proposals put forward by the Empire to the Kingdom on an equal footing, based on the reciprocal proposals put forward by the Kingdom."

After speaking, Renn nodded slightly and gestured to the Kingdom's side, indicating to everyone present that his speech was finished.

The entire venue fell silent.

On the Imperial side, officials from various government agencies turned their heads in surprise, all of them stunned by the extremely standard and professional trap-laying techniques that Rein had just used.

The few officials who had guessed from the beginning that Renn wanted to force the Kingdom to reveal its reciprocal terms as soon as possible stared wide-eyed, their long beards twitching, and their facial expressions were incredibly interesting.

Because Ryan's explanation was simply too clever.

He first interpreted all the regulations proposed by the empire that benefited the kingdom as a sign of the empire's sincerity.

Then, by mentioning Churchill's statement that he only talked about peace and not about the terms, he implied to everyone present that the Kingdom might look down on the Empire's terms and that the Empire was not sincere enough.

Immediately afterwards, Raine elevated this so-called sincerity to the level of being on par with the kingdom.

In other words, if the sincerity that the kingdom has set for them in advance cannot meet the empire's standards, then the empire will take back some of what it said before and raise the benefits that it has already ceded to the same level as the kingdom.

This will greatly affect those wealthy members of parliament who thought they could gain a lot of benefits from the treaty for a long time to come.

The saying goes, "Nothing cuts off a person's livelihood more dangerous than killing their parents." If the Empire were to retract its statement because of Churchill's remarks, these members of parliament would undoubtedly want to kill Churchill.

This will severely limit the Royal Cabinet, especially Prime Minister Churchill's, freedom of negotiation in the future.

There are two other important points in Ryan's statement.

Firstly, the empire's previous proposal almost involved opening up the border between the kingdom and the empire.

If the Kingdom's government, or rather Churchill's cabinet, wants to ensure they won't be impeached and removed from office on the very day this meeting ends, then they will inevitably have to agree to and propose reciprocal policies on par with the Empire for the sake of those wealthy nobles and high-ranking members of parliament who control the Kingdom's economic lifeline.

This would completely bind the kingdom to the empire, and from then on, the civil governments and armies of both countries would enjoy a long period of peace that would be virtually impossible to break due to any external force.

Because the interests of the two countries are completely intertwined and almost inseparable—who can blame them when their goods are almost entirely tax-free, and flights can transport more than 10,000 people a day? It's as easy for citizens of the two countries to visit each other as visiting their neighbors!
But this is just a small appetizer.

The second point is actually more important.

And that is the real killer move by Rennes.

The second point is that Rennes used the term "equal".

The term "equal modification" is often used in exchanges between different countries.

But this is being said to the United Kingdom!

To use the term "equal" with the world's leading powers today.

In the past, this was something the people of the Empire would never have dared to even dream of.

Those quick-witted imperial officials almost immediately realized just how shocking Rein's words were.

Because they had long been prepared to make the empire cede more benefits in exchange for a short period of peace.

The empire did this a hundred years ago, and it did this a few decades ago.

Now, they actually intend to do just that.

But not Renn.

He directly proposed the concept that empires should be on par with kingdoms, displaying neither arrogance nor servility, and exuding confidence.

And clearly, the members of parliament in the kingdom, as well as the cabinet members headed by Churchill, and the King of the United Kingdom, all noticed this.

They all began to look at Renn with a peculiar gaze.

But most people—especially those who actually profited—didn't pay much attention to Ryan's words.

On the contrary, it was the very few high-ranking nobles in the upper house, members of parliament who came from military backgrounds, people who were already hostile to the empire, and the king of the United Kingdom who showed great surprise.

They had never imagined that the United Kingdom would one day have to negotiate on equal footing with a nation whose naval power was far inferior to their own. And now, however, they had no other choice but to negotiate with the Empire on equal footing.

The reason is very simple.

They are too few in number.

They don't have enough say.

Churchill and Asquith were in turmoil.

After hearing what Renn said, the two looked at each other almost simultaneously, and then exchanged glances with the king of the kingdom sitting in the center.

They understood perfectly what Ryan's words meant.

If they actually make their original demands, such as promising certain benefits to the Empire, symbolic tariff adjustments, and a certain degree of cultural exchange, it will inevitably lead to a sharp drop in their support in both houses of Congress.

Because most members of parliament don't care what happens to the kingdom; all they really care about is whether their own wallets are full and whether more Union Pounds are going into their pockets today.

Asquith stared intently at Renn.

He wanted to see even the slightest hint from Ryan's expression that this was all part of a script set up by someone else.

Churchill was the same.

But they all failed.

Renn remained calm and composed, showing no signs of being manipulated.

He stood on the podium, looking at the kingdom's delegation with a smile, as if all developments were under his control.

King George V of the United Kingdom looked at Raine and saw the confident expression on his face. He then looked at his former prime minister Asquith and then at his current prime minister Winston Churchill.

The young king wanted to see the composure, steadiness, and grasp of the underlying dynamics of events that an imperial prime minister should possess, as demonstrated by the head of his prized think tank.

But what he saw were the fine beads of sweat on the forehead of former Chancellor Asquith and the white knuckles of the clenched fist of current Chancellor Winston Churchill.

King George V then turned his gaze to the imperial delegation sitting directly opposite him, in a manner that was as inconspicuous as possible.

The emperor, whom he had known for fifty years, was now leaning back in his chair, his eyes closed and bathed in the warm sunlight, looking quite content, as if everything was as he wished, and even more satisfying than he had expected.

The two Imperial Navy admirals beside him and Foreign Minister Duke Draven were all smiling and whispering to each other from time to time.

But their voices were not quiet; they were loud enough for George V to hear.

Duke Draven was discussing with Tirpitz whether to take the train to Lundern that evening to see if there was any good wine or a decent theater.

Meanwhile, Herlingen, the Baltic coast guard commander, was talking to the emperor about his family affairs, hinting that his eldest son seemed to want to join the air force rather than the navy, and that his daughter had taken a liking to a wild boy who had appeared out of nowhere. He wanted the emperor to help him make some decisions.

It can be said that they completely treated such an important bilateral negotiation as a private chat, showing no regard for the United Kingdom whatsoever.

As a king who possessed the world's most powerful navy, George V almost immediately recalled the events of the previous day when he welcomed the Imperial Emperor.

Since he ascended the throne, there has never been a time when he would open his arms to welcome any foreign king, foreign prime minister, or foreign emperor.

But it happened yesterday.

That was the young Imperial Colonel speaking on the podium—Rain Frieger.

He simply stood there and successfully humiliated the entire kingdom.

Now, the demons of this empire are preparing to use that mouth that connects to hell to trample the kingdom's world-leading hegemony, which it has spent hundreds of years establishing.

King George V could not bear it any longer. His body trembled slightly, and his mind was filled with the thought of immediately standing up, overturning the table in front of him, and declaring war on the Empire on the spot.

He wanted to teach these imperialists a lesson, to let them know that the United Kingdom's international standing was earned through cannons and warships, not through some bullshit peace negotiations.

But Asquith, as if he had known all along, grabbed George V’s wrist with his withered hand.

"No, Your Majesty."

Asquith's voice was very soft; a jewel on his suit lapel emitted a faint, soft glow, delivering his voice precisely to George V's ears.

"Our fleet can only launch an attack at the earliest next spring. The Empire is a land power. Without the help of the Imperial State and Farland, we have absolutely no chance of defeating the Empire on land!"

Asquith knew better than anyone that his words had dealt a more severe blow to George V than the attitude of the Imperial Colonel.

But he was, after all, the kingdom's former prime minister, someone who had sworn allegiance to the king. Under the witness of the goddess, he could never do anything to harm the kingdom.

King George V was stiff all over.

He glanced at the loyal former prime minister and finally held back.

However, all of this was witnessed by Renn.

Ryan stood there, smiling as he looked at the whispering members of parliament, at the king who dared not speak out, and at Churchill who knew he was being looked down upon but had to protect his official position and therefore dared not speak, and could only rack his brains for a solution in the short time he had left.

But Ryan knew it too.

As long as Churchill and Asquith aren't idiots.

They will inevitably be vague about this matter.

In Earth's history, the French encountered a similar situation when the Germans violated agreements by openly sending troops into the Rhineland, breaking the Treaty of Versailles and the Locarno Treaties.

Then-French Prime Minister Albert Saraud once wanted to send troops to expel the German army.

However, due to his insufficient influence in France, he was unable to mobilize the army, so Albert Salo turned to the British.

He told the British that he only needed their stance: if they were willing to support France internationally, he would immediately expel the Germans.

As a result, the stupid British guy talked a lot of nonsense that had nothing to do with the important matter, but he didn't mention any support. This not only angered Albert Saroo to death, but also directly led to irreparable consequences.

Ryan considered that the United Kingdom and the British were cut from the same cloth, so he knew very well what Churchill would decide next.

If nothing unexpected happens, this stupid fat pig will surely realize that he cannot answer Renn's question to his face, and will immediately shift the topic back to the so-called peace in Europe, rather than peace between the two countries.

Such a decision will inevitably affect Farland and the Empire, which were unable to attend the meeting.

This is an old problem of the United Kingdom; they look down on all other countries because they believe they have a large enough navy on this planet to protect their homeland from invasion by any other nation.

And a senior leader must also have the ability to manage his subordinates.

Clearly, Churchill shared the same views as the rest of the kingdom.

As long as they can steer the conversation toward other countries and use peace in Europe as an excuse.

The United Kingdom would then immediately gain a respite in the negotiations and be given enough time to complete discussions on how to deal with the Empire.

It was a ruthless move, but also a foolish one.

Because the United Kingdom clearly underestimated the complexity of this meeting.

They became too arrogant and forgot to consider the sovereignty of the Empire and the Kingdom of France.

Meanwhile, Renn would seize upon any statement Churchill made concerning the Empire and Farland, forcing him to explain in front of a world of journalists how he planned to negotiate with the Empire and the Empire on behalf of Farland in the absence of Farland and the Empire's representatives.

Inside the venue.

Ryan watched Churchill as he waited for him to fall into the elaborate traps he had meticulously designed for him and for the United Kingdom.

soon.

Churchill, having figured things out, finally spoke.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and said.

"Colonel Frieger is absolutely right."

"But for the Kingdom, the fundamental reason for supporting the signing of a peace agreement between the Kingdom and the Empire is not only to consider the mutual benefit between the two countries, but also the serious impact of the current war in Europe."

Hear this.

Ryan's lips almost uncontrollably curled into a smile.

Churchill, that idiot, actually took the bait!

(End of this chapter)