Chapter 682: Chapter 545: A Man with a Story

However, at this moment, in the headquarters of the Eye of the White Dragon, the ’Boss’ was alone, polishing his absurdly large armor.

"What kind of person can be indifferent to this kind of victory?"

A voice sounded, and Long Yi slowly walked in.

"This is a sad story."

The ’Boss’ turned around. The face looking back was that of the deceased Emperor of the White Dragon Empire, Youtu Kandela.

"I’ve always thought that a cunning fox wouldn’t die so easily. I just didn’t expect such a result," Long Yi said.

"I’m different. From the beginning, I saw this coming," Emperor Kandela replied.

Long Yi was silent. He didn’t know what to say. Standing before a father who had just lost his child, he had no idea how to approach the conversation.

"Perhaps you’ll ask me if I feel sorrow?"

Emperor Kandela spoke first.

"Sorrowful, of course I am! He was my own flesh and blood! Every time he suffered injustice or unfairness, I felt sorrow. But, I am the Emperor, the Emperor of the Empire, and I should give everything for the Empire! Without this resolution, I’m just a pig dwelling in a golden palace!"

"My child, Kirei, he was a good boy. He was courteous, understood appropriate conduct, and yes, sometimes he may be arrogant, but he knew when and what to do. He was a born king. But, an Emperor who does not undergo the baptism of blood and fire can never triumph during wars. His first lesson as an Emperor was to understand that his throne can only be secured with steel and blood!"

"That’s why, as his father, I gave him blood and fire. Only through these experiences could he truly grow into an everlasting Emperor!"

"And I have another child, Tilian. He’s my youngest child, and he’s even smarter. His intelligence surpasses his older brother’s and mine combined. But, he’s not a ruler. A true ruler sometimes requires foolishness. Nevertheless, his intelligence has its own use. So, as a father, I personally made a choice for him."

"It’s the path of destruction. Once you step onto it, there’s no turning back. You must be resolute! But my child is intelligent enough. He clearly knows what lies ahead, yet he doesn’t have any complaints. He’s very clear about what he’s doing and why!""

"As his father, there are times when I want to end all this. It was torment for him and me. But as an Emperor, I can’t do that because once it ends, perhaps we won’t have another chance."

"This is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Even though it was done in the name of justice, it can’t change the fact that it was a foolish act."

"I have no pride in it."

The once-Emperor was narrating slowly and steadily. Yet, Long Yi could tell the deep sorrow hiding within.

Long Yi was never a father; he couldn’t understand this level of sorrow.

"Do you regret it?" Long Yi asked.

"Every moment of every day," replied the Emperor.

Then, Long Yi didn’t say anything more. From his personal space, he brought out some wine and threw away the rag the Emperor was using to clean the armor.

"What you need now is wine."

Alcohol is the best way to numb a person’s senses. When one is drunk, all worries are forgotten. So the retired Emperor didn’t say anything more and started drinking. Glass after glass, until he finally collapsed on the table, and Long Yi heard a vague sentence from his mouth.

"My child..."

Long Yi heaved a heavy sigh and left the Eye of the White Dragon.

The intelligence of these three Kandela family members had truly reached an unprecedented peak. They entangled the entire world in their war, slowly causing the Black Dragon Empire to collapse from within. Truth be told, Long Yi never even dare to think a war could reach such a state.

The Black Dragon Empire had been vanquished. With the trend of the war, it has been unavoidable for the White Dragon Empire to dominate the world; there is no doubt that they will be tremendously prosperous in the future.

However, a significant uncertainty was now in front of Long Yi.

The Dragon Clan.

Long Yi understood that Dragon Island was attempting to break their curse through war. But it was quite clear that not everyone approved of this method. Therefore, the Black and White Dragons joining the war should have been the result of internal struggle within the White Dragon Empire. The issue now is that the war ended too swiftly. Within the Dragon Clan, they gained many benefits from Long Yi. The power of the Dragon Breath increased thirty-two times, and the range increased drastically. Such benefits, would they be able to keep the Dragon Clan quiet temporarily?

Long Yi didn’t know. But nobody has the mood to consider these problems now. Maybe, after some days, Long Yi should gather some intellectuals to discuss the topic of the Dragon Clan.

The White Dragon Empire’s victory changed the world’s momentum. A centralized world with the White Dragon Empire’s dominance is inevitable now. The former allies of the Black Dragon Empire began to send envoys to the White Dragon Empire. They delicately expressed their condemnation towards the fallen Black Dragon Empire, and tentatively mentioned that they had only aligned themselves with the Black Dragon Empire out of fear of its power.

As to these overtures, Kirei’s response was simply:

To forgive and forget.

At this point, Kirei demonstrated the pragmatic approach typical to the White Dragon Empire when handling their affairs.

Practicality.

Compensation was undeniably a requirement, though beyond that, the White Dragon Empire did not demand much more.

The refugees who had initially fled the Black Dragon Empire were now returning home. The civilian cities were barely damaged due to the distinct nature of the war. So when the refugees returned home, they were able to quickly resume their lives.

Generally, there wasn’t much change in the life of the residents of the former Black Dragon Empire. Of course, except for the fact that all the officials of the Black Dragon Empire had disappeared.

Kirei established a post-war committee even before the war ended, and the sole purpose of this committee was to take over everything from the Black Dragon Empire.

Admittedly, Kirei’s trust in Long Yi reached groundbreaking levels, since he began preparing for victory even before the hostilities ceased.

The post-war committee, composed of experienced old officials from the White Dragon Empire, completed the power transition from the Black Dragon Empire in a remarkably short time.

By the arrival of spring, before the willows budded, the current Black Dragon Empire was already fully incorporated into the territories of the White Dragon Empire.

The original laws of the Black Dragon Empire were abolished and replaced wholesale with those of the White Dragon Empire. The currency of the Black Dragon Empire was discarded, exchanged for White Dragon Coins.

There were some who tried to stir up trouble during the transition, but they were swiftly suppressed.

The White Dragon Empire showed no mercy in this regard. At such times, no dissenting voices could be tolerated.

The common citizens of the Black Dragon Empire were not at all dissatisfied with these changes, for they had thoroughly lost hope in the Black Dragon Empire after all that had taken place. And the White Dragon Empire had a good reputation. Afterall, no matter how bad it was, it couldn’t be worse than Yake, right?

Next, Kirei hosted a world conference.

This was the first conference in the Human Realm involving all nations.

At the conference, Kirei detailed the course of events before and after the war to each emperor, leader, and chairman of every country. Most in attendance were already familiar with these events, but hearing them directly from Kirei gave them a different weight.

The leaders present listened attentively, with the White Dragon Empire now indisputably the world’s leading empire, even the youthful Kirei was no longer met with any opposition.

At the conclusion, Kirei informed all in attendance.

The White Dragon Empire will endeavor to maintain world peace and strive to turn the Human Realm into a prosperous human paradise. To this end, the White Dragon Empire will voluntarily reduce its military power and hopes that the countries of the world will respond to the call of the White Dragon Empire, likewise reducing their military forces. In compensation, the White Dragon Empire will provide some degree of business assistance and compensation to all countries."

This plan was suggested by Long Yi to Kirei.

Initially, Kirei was left scratching his head about how to clear up the aftermath of the war. After all, it wouldn’t be odd for the rise of the White Dragon Empire to mean swallowing up the whole world under its rule.

But Long Yi thought differently.

"First, even if you conquer them by force, they might not truly want to listen to you."

"Second, even if they sincerely listen to you, what difference will a trivial amount of tax revenue make?"

Those were Long Yi’s exact words.

"Then tell me, what’s your solution?" Kirei was willing to hear Long Yi’s thoughts. After all, Long Yi always came up with bizarre ideas - some impractical, some incredibly innovative.

"What’s the White Dragon Empire best at?" asked Long Yi.

"Commerce, I guess?" Kirei was unsure what Long Yi was referring to, but when talking about the White Dragon Empire, its excellent commercial activities invariably came to mind.

"Right! Our White Dragon Empire excels at making money! We’re top-notch in this respect! If that’s the case, why don’t we use our White Dragon Coins to conquer them? Utilize the low-cost labor of small countries to manufacture goods, provide business support to the medium-sized countries, cultivate markets... Well, I don’t really understand it all, but I think conquering enemies with money is much more stable than conquering them with swords and Dragon Breath."

Long Yi said with a grin.

At the time, this conversation gave Kirei a whole new perspective.

War exhausts the people and drains wealth, just as Long Yi said. Even if the world were unified after conquering them, the expansion of territory for the White Dragon Empire yields limited returns!

But, what about using money instead?

Hence, with the help of the Eye of the White Dragon, Kirei formulated a series of plans.

The first directive was to reduce military power.

To all the countries in the world, annual military expenses were a significant burden – this money had no value. Now if the White Dragon Empire decided to prevent wars from starting, which country in the world would dare cause any trouble?

Even though the military power was reduced, the White Dragon Empire remained the most potent force in the world. Especially significant was that the majority of the White Dragon Empire’s power was held in weapons, which could be repurposed at any time despite being stored away.

However, the other countries’ military capabilities were primarily dependent on their soldiers. If the soldiers spent a long time inactive and then were suddenly summoned to the battlefield, could they still exhibit their original combat strength?

Kirei clearly understood this, in fact, all the countries in the world did as well, but what could they do even if they did understand? At this time, the White Dragon Empire was the boss of the world. You could see it, but dare you say a word against it?

Wasn’t the Black Dragon Empire mighty? It was directly wiped out by the White Dragon Empire!

Therefore, countries quickly released their own plans to reduce military power.

At the same time, the White Dragon Empire’s merchants, who had long been informed of the situation, began preparations of their own.

The target this time was the whole world!

Merchants, previously frustrated by market saturation in their home country, were now throwing themselves into this opportunity, their hot money rushing into these small nations not yet swept up in the frenzy.

The leaders of these small countries never expected that what waited for them at the end of war would be the flood of the White Dragon Empire’s gold!

Suddenly, the whole world was in an uproar. (To be continued. If you like this piece, please visit qidian.com to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)