Chapter 569: Chapter 333, Father King, The Era Has Changed_2
It was nothing significant, but thanks to the Governor’s favor, he was transferred to the Alliance Foreign Affairs Department. The work there seemed even more suited to his expertise than teaching at Loyal Heir Academy.
So, he came without any hesitation.
To contribute to the Governor was his greatest honor.
In reality, the diplomatic mission that followed was not simple at all.
Since the end of the great decisive battle, a month had passed without either side reaching any ceasefire agreement, and the war continued unabated.
Although the Alliance Army emerged victorious in the great battle, it still suffered significant losses. Indeed, they had pursued several victorious engagements following that battle, but as the enemy fell back in full retreat, while territory was gained, the impact on the enemy’s living forces was not as great.
The kingdom’s military certainly lacked the capacity to win the war, but if the Alliance were to rely purely on military means for victory, it would take a considerable amount of time.
There was no need for that.
So, the remainder fell to him.
Of course, there was also the possibility that Panbos’s old King, the current leader of the kingdom’s parliament and the foremost country of Heijian Star, would go crazy and have him, the arriving diplomat, seized and executed upon landing.
Then so be it, he would die.
But he felt the risk of that was not significant.
His guess was correct.
After he used the release of the important prisoner of war, Prince Eureka, as both a conversation starter and a welcome gift, he was treated with considerable respect.
But that was all it was—respect.
During the first meeting with the old King, after briefly exchanging conditional terms for a ceasefire, Salihoovich lost interest in seriously negotiating further.
With his ability to judge character, he felt that the old King of Panbos truly regarded ‘maintaining independence’ as the ultimate negotiation baseline, willing only to surrender certain populations, wealth, and cede some territory, but not sovereignty. The country had to remain independent; he would not accept the Alliance’s special envoy to meddle in national politics…
Clearly, the Alliance found this unacceptable.
From the very beginning, there was no room for further negotiation between the two.
Yet Salihoovich continued to maintain the progress of the negotiations.
The old King had his bottom line, but… what about others?
The remaining forces on Heijian Star resisting the Alliance were not limited to Panbos Kingdom; even within Panbos Kingdom itself, could the old King’s word be truly absolute? What were the attitudes of those generals and nobles with actual power?
Under the pretext of peace talks, Salihoovich made frequent contact with the high-level figures of Panbos Kingdom.
Actually, this was not proper. Strictly speaking, Salihoovich should only have been able to legitimately contact the Panbos Kingdom’s liaison personnel and Prime Minister.
But… he had persuaded the Prime Minister.
And many of his contacts with key figures were conducted in secret.
By himself, of course, he would not have been able to secretly meet ministers and generals in another country.
But wasn’t that where someone provided the necessary help?
…
Two months had passed since the end of the great decisive battle; Salihoovich, as the envoy of the Alliance, had been in the ruling region of Panbos Kingdom for one month already.
Peace negotiations and exchanges over ceasefire conditions were ongoing, with both sides ‘fully’ sharing their views. Salihoovich had already had four official meetings with Panbos’s old King, each time ending in disagreement; and countless negotiations with various ministers, as both sides probed each other’s bottom line.
At least, that was how it appeared.
Meanwhile, the war continued.
The scale was small, but everyone knew that the Panbos Kingdom, or rather all remaining kingdom forces, were already dead in the water, just not yet buried.
Under Perbov’s command, the Alliance Army advanced step by step, resolutely capturing one strategic location after another.
The kingdom’s military, lacking both strength and morale, could not resist and crumbled upon contact.
As Salihoovich put it in the diplomatic arena to Panbos and other countries’ envoys:
“What you cannot obtain on the battlefield, do not expect to obtain at the negotiation table. The Alliance’s demands are all reasonable. The only difference is, if we reach an agreement now, you may end this all with dignity and perhaps have hopes to continue; or you can keep waiting, waiting for our warriors to send each and every one of you to the judge and the gallows. Then, we can take everything we want, and what you’ll have left by that time is uncertain to anyone.”
Without a doubt, the previous major defeat not only broke the back of the kingdom’s military but also spine of those rulers behind the scenes.
And now, the steady stream of news of cities being conquered and troops being encircled was like a series of relentless cuts to their paralyzed, defenseless bodies on the ground.
For most, their psychological defenses had collapsed after the decisive battle; among the few who hadn’t, during the constant stream of bad news, they too collapsed.
Against such a backdrop, the fifth official negotiation between Salihoovich and the old King of Panbos began.
They went through the usual negotiating of terms as they always had.