Imperial Capital, Privy Council.
Before the constitutional andnt, the Privy Council was a specialized institution under the direct orders of the Emperor, responsible for conveying the Emperor’s decrees in written form to the administrative departnts of the Cabinet. After the andnt, the Privy Council beca independent, taking charge of the Imperial seal and handling communications between the Imperial Family and the Cabinet. Now, it appears more like a conference departnt under the Cabinet. During the war, many top-secret military etings were held here.
There was nothing surprising about this.
The so-called Privy Council was nothing more than a small courtyard south of the Imperial Palace gates, encircled by walls and guarded by the Imperial Palace Guard Army.
Even during peaceti, the security here was extrely tight.
Not only because it was adjacent to the Imperial Palace, but there were also rumors of a secret tunnel built by Emperor Shiwu himself, leading directly to the inner chambers. Legend had it that over seventy years ago, Emperor Shiwu had entered the Imperial Palace through this secret tunnel and seized the throne overnight without shedding blood.
Holding secret etings here was intended for peace and confidentiality.
Yet today, the Privy Council was anything but tranquil.
From early morning to late night, nearing dawn now, they had delivered food three tis; not to ntion tea and water.
At eleven-fifty, the staff brought in a late-night snack into the conference room. However, the Grand Secretary did not announce a break, nor did he suggest everyone rest for a while.
Judging by the Grand Secretary’s attitude, the eting would continue until they reached a resolution.
The late-night snack was millet porridge with red dates and goji berries, accompanied by a dish of brown sugar water slowly simred with white sesa.
Though lacking an appetite, Zhu Shijian still thodically added so brown sugar water to his millet porridge and stirred it with importance.
In fact, Zhu Shijian kept an eye on Grand Secretary Tang Zude, seated in the chief position, and on Army Commander Ma Zhongyi across from him.
It was just a bowl of red dates and goji berry millet porridge, yet Tang Dezhu looked wholly absorbed, as if he were partaking in ambrosia and nectar from a banquet hosted by the Queen Mother.
Ma Zhongyi, on the other hand, represented the opposite extre.
Before the server even left, he had gulped down the millet porridge in just a few bites, shoved the bowl aside as if he had just drunk a cup of poisoned wine.
The other Cabinet mbers focused solely on their bowls with a variety of expressions and gestures.
The atmosphere was rather eerie.
A few days ago, following a proposal initiated by the Newland Federation, the Alliance Group suggested signing a peace treaty to solidify the hard-earned peace.
No longer negotiating separately but having all countries involved, regardless of whether they were victors or defeated.
The great war was over, what was there to talk about?
How could they ensure that peace would last forever, how could they ensure that the fires of war wouldn’t ravage the world again in a few decades?
The Newland Federation, Bulan Kingdom, and Locke Republic each proposed solutions, such as a global disarmant, redrawing the territories of the Great Powers, and establishing a global international organization. However, their core principle was the sa: strict limitations on armant construction.
Since the Liangxia Empire had not been defeated, any issues related to armant limitations could only be addressed through negotiated consultations.
This was precisely why the Newland Federation proposed holding peace talks.
Creating a global treaty to impose strict limitations on the military capacities and armant construction of all Great Powers, including victorious nations from the Alliance Group.
According to the Newland President, who initiated this proposal, peace was assured if armant was strictly controlled.
Clearly, this view was overly idealistic, even naive.
Military power was rely a tool to safeguard interests, and what actually determined the international situation were the conflicts between the Great Powers over colonial interests and other issues.
As long as there are conflicts of interest, peace will be hard to sustain.
Every politician would scoff at the naive thoughts of the Newland President.
The public and the dia, however, did not see it this way.
When the Newland President proposed negotiating a global treaty and forming an equally global institution, which would include all the Great Powers to ensure the treaty’s enforcent, it imdiately sparked international public opinion, becoming today’s hottest topic.
For a ti, signing the global treaty and establishing the International Alliance beca the protective "Golden Bell Shield" for peace.
Even if it was a waste of ti, they had to vocally agree, or else they would be labeled as public enemies of peace by international public opinion.
Who would dare to be the public enemy of peace just after a war that had taken millions of lives?
Even in the Liangxia Empire, no politician dared to risk such a taboo and oppose the forty million people eager for a stable life.
The fact was just so.
After the initiative by the Newland President, the Pri Minister of the Bulan Kingdom, the Pri Minister of the Locke Republic, and leaders from other smaller countries showed imdiate support. The Pri Minister of the Saiyi Imperial Kingdom initially opposed it but changed his stance when he sensed the adverse direction, expressing willingness to join the peace talks if national interests were fully safeguarded. The Tiaoman Empire and Ter Republic also expressed their willingness to send representatives to the peace talks.
The Liangxia Empire did not delay either and also agreed to send representatives.
Subsequently, the Alliance Group unilaterally decided to set the location of the negotiations in Seba City, the capital of the Locke Republic, with the ti tentatively set for late April.
The key was actually the content of the negotiations.
Although the Newland President had assured that the peace talks would not target the Liangxia Empire, at most making the Tiaoman Empire offer reparations to compensate the Locke Republic for losses incurred during the war, and would give the Liangxia Empire an equal status throughout the negotiations while safeguarding its core interests, the Liangxia Empire had to ensure the formation of an International Alliance based on the Alliance Group, and support a global military disarmant.
International Alliance?
That was a joke.
As Tang Zude had clearly stated, even if the International Alliance was established and the Liangxia Empire beca a founding mber, they should not expect to rely on this institution to defend the Empire’s core interests.
As for disarmant, as long as it was reciprocal, everything was negotiable.
This was also the Empire’s basic principle: to align with the Newland Federation, whether signing treaties, forming alliances, or disarming, all were based on the standard set by the Newland Federation.
According to the Newland President, that idealistic and romantically naive thinker, countries only need to maintain a military force sufficient for dostic stability, perhaps including border defense, and additionally retain a navy equipped with light vessels for dealing with pirates and other illegal ard groups.
In his words, without a military capable of waging war, wars would not erupt, and peace could be everlasting.
This was far too idealistic, so idealistic that it was simply unachievable.
Still, disarmant was definite.
Not from idealism but as a compromise to reality.
The war was over; there was no need to maintain such a large army. Demobilizing soldiers quickly was necessary for the devastated social and economic recovery.
What needed consideration was actually the scale of disarmant.
This was also the main purpose of holding the peace conference.
Therefore, before the peace conference began, the disarmant plan had to be finalized, or at least strategic guidelines had to be set to guide the negotiations.
That was the issue!
Tomorrow, the Empire’s full representative needed to submit relevant docunts to the organizers of the peace talks, and the Imperial Authority had to decide on a strategy before dawn today.
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