Empire Conquest-Chapter 734 - 40 Unanimous Approval_2
Pouring oil on the fire, international grain prices had already entered a rapid upward trajectory.
Since May, because the Newland Republic, Maple Country, Aus, and Brazil, which are the four main grain exporting countries globally, announced a reduction in export volumes due to objective factors, the prices of several major grains on the international market had nearly doubled.
To a large extent, the current contradictions of the West Continent Group actually originated from the rise in grain prices.
To put it simply, the Luosha Democratic Republic insisted on raising the price of natural gas exports precisely because importing grain required spending more foreign exchange.
Moreover, the Bulan Kingdom making an issue out of its North Sea oil fields was also related to grain imports.
Many people attributed the current "food crisis" to external factors, such as the suppression by the Liangxia Empire, instead of admitting that the West Continent Group had its own problems.
Fundamentally, it was the extreme emphasis on the heavy industry represented by the military-industrial complex, not only neglecting light industry but also failing to pay attention to the chemical industry related to agriculture.
In addition, water conservancy facilities, which are closely related to agriculture, had not been developed for a long time!
From this perspective, the most severe drought on record was largely a man-made disaster.
The Eastern Group and the Beigu Group were not as severely afflicted, thanks in large part to relatively more advanced water conservancy systems and a vast production of fertilizers.
Of course, external factors should not be overlooked.
Speaking of which, the Newland Republic bore an inescapable responsibility!
At the meeting, Reinhardt highlighted this issue.
He had sent an envoy to Huacheng well before the situation in Boss Bay became tense, hoping to get help from the Newland Republic regarding grain imports, to import grain from several countries including Brazil and Argentina in the Nangu Region in a state purchasing manner through the Newland Republic.
However, the Newland Authority had expressed their helplessness!
Given the situation at the time, the Newland Authority actually wanted to use this issue to force the Tiaoman Empire to accept a referendum by the Bulan Kingdom on whether to leave the West Continent Group.
Simply put, they wanted to carve the Bulan Kingdom out of the West Continent Group.
For this matter, the Newland Republic had been operating for nearly 20 years.
Even if it couldn’t be done in one step, they still planned to separate the Bulan Kingdom from the West Continent Group, laying the groundwork for controlling the Bulan Kingdom afterward.
That being said, in the decades following the war, especially after their status was confirmed, the Newland Republic had always been coveting the Bulan Kingdom, vainly attempting to return to the West Continent through the Bulan Kingdom and thus force the Tiaoman Empire to compromise, making them hand over control of the West Continent Group.
Of course, fundamentally, it was actually about replacing the Tiaoman Empire and becoming the Commander of Western countries.
Reinhardt bringing up the issue of the Newland Republic again was also telling the Cabinet Minister not to hold out too much hope for the country across the Sunset Ocean.
However, Reinhardt was the first to harbor illusions.
Aside from the negotiations at the beginning of the year, just last month, he had sent an envoy to Huacheng to secretly contact the Newland Authority about Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait.
At that time, Reinhardt still believed that the Newland Authority would actively participate.
Unfortunately, a few days ago, the message delivered by a Newland President Envoy completely shattered Reinhardt’s illusions.
Although the Newland Envoy spoke with certainty, saying that the Newland Republic would definitely not stand idly by, that they would definitely support the Tiaoman Empire, and the West Continent Group, this smooth-talker also made it clear that, for the greater good, the Newland Republic would definitely not enter the war immediately.
The reason was quite clear; the Newland Republic needed time to complete the mobilization work before joining the war.
According to the envoy, only if the Newland Republic completed the war mobilization and entered the war in the best state could they hope to defeat the powerful Liangxia Empire.
From this point, at the initial stages of the war, the Tiaoman Empire would have to face the Liangxia Empire alone, and what the Newland Republic could provide was indirect support, using proxies in other directions or adopting other methods to tie up a part of the Liangxia Empire’s forces.
In another sense, the Tiaoman Empire was a stepping-stone on the Newland Republic’s path to victory!
At that time, Reinhardt had countered the Newland Envoy.
Would the Liangxia Authorities consider the Newland Republic to be air?
Once the all-out war broke out, would the Liangxia Empire let the more powerful Newland Republic off the hook?
When they resumed diplomatic relations with the Newland Republic at the beginning, the Liangxia Empire had already acknowledged that the Newland Republic was their number one formidable opponent.
Even if the Liangxia Empire wouldn’t declare war on the Newland Republic proactively, they would also prepare for war as if they were at war with the Newland Republic.
Could the Newland Republic possibly overtake a mobilizing Liangxia Empire in military buildup without mobilizing itself?
That was obviously impossible!
So, what reason did the Newland Republic have for standing aside?
Using Reinhardt’s words, after the Tiaoman Empire’s defeat, and the destruction of the West Continent Group, the Newland Republic should not expect to remain securely uninvolved.
After taking control of World Island, the next objective of the Liangxia Empire was undoubtedly to dominate the globe, and they would declare war on the Newland Republic when the time was appropriate.
With the might of the victorious nation, defeating the Newland Republic would hardly be difficult.
Don’t forget, the Liangxia Empire possessed the strongest navy in the world and had already crossed the East Ocean more than forty years ago.
The Newland Envoy did not answer this question but instead acted as if he had not understood and gave no reply before leaving Bailin.
One thing for certain was that the Newland Republic would not join the war at the outset.
That’s exactly why Reinhardt no longer held any illusions about the Newland Republic.
In his words, the Newland Republic, controlled by the Traveler Clan conglomerate, preferred to feast on the flesh of the West Continent Group and suck the marrow from the Tiaoman Empire to grow and strengthen.
Once the West Continent Group collapsed, it would be good enough if the Newland Republic didn’t stab them in the back!
At this point, the Tiaoman Empire had no other choice.
To delay was to embark on a path to certain destruction.
To act now, there was still a glimmer of hope!
After explaining the situation, Reinhardt, as usual, gave other ministers the opportunity to speak.
Only a few ministers spoke, and they all shared the Prime Minister’s view that there was no alternative to war.
After the Minister of Finance sat down, Reinhardt waited about half a minute.
Finally, after confirming no other minister wished to express their opinion, he said, "Everyone has expressed their views and opinions. If there are no objections, I propose we vote on whether or not to seize this opportunity to launch a military operation based on today’s discussion."
After speaking, Reinhardt nodded at the secretary standing at the conference room door.
Without asking further questions, the secretary called the other staff assisting with the meeting to leave the conference room and locked the door on his way out.
Such a significant decision was bound to be made behind closed doors.
Then, Reinhardt raised his right hand first and simultaneously closed his eyes.
In truth, raising the left hand would have been the same.
To raise a hand signified agreement, to refrain signified opposition, and in the end, it only took counting the number of hands raised to determine if the vote had passed.
Of course, it wasn’t really about counting.
Since there were only 27 ministers in total, and with the Prime Minister’s inclusion, there were 28.
Because the Prime Minister’s vote carried more weight, it would only take 13 ministers raising their hands to pass if the Prime Minister supported the measure.
If the Prime Minister did not raise his hand, then it would take 15 ministerial hands to pass the vote.
Typically, the Prime Minister initiated the voting and would often be the first to raise his hand, so only 13 additional ministers were needed for the vote to pass.
It was a bit complicated, but since the conference room was only so large, one could easily count and see how many ministers had raised their hands.
After about half a minute, Reinhardt finally opened his eyes.
He took a quick look, not even needing to count to know the result.
All 27 ministers had raised their hands. There were none opposed!
Even the typically moderate Minister of Foreign Affairs raised his hand in agreement.
"The result of the vote is clear to everyone. After signing the voting paper, you may all return to rest," he stated.
After finishing, Reinhardt pressed the call button on the table, summoning the secretary back into the room.
Actually, Reinhardt’s mood was very heavy.
He knew the vote would pass, but what he hadn’t expected was that it would be with unanimous support, even from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was most likely and more appropriately in a position to oppose!
Over the past several decades, the Minister of Foreign Affairs had voted against every war-related decision.
What did this indicate?
The internal conflicts within the Tiaoman Empire had become so severe that even the Minister of Foreign Affairs felt a war was needed to resolve them.
So, could this war proceed and conclude as envisioned!?
