Munitions Empire-Chapter 1115 - 1036 treason

"How can there be so much?" After seeing the bill, Zhao Yu could hardly believe his eyes: he had never seen so much money in his life, let alone owed so much.

To support his "restoration", the Great Tang Empire spent a total of 300 million Tang yuan, not including materials and loans.

Such a huge amount of money, let alone Zhao Yu now, even in the heyday of the Dahua Empire, Zhao Kai could not come up with that much. It can be said that even selling Zhao Yu now would not fetch that much!

"Your Highness, every bill here is signed by you personally, you had approved them," an official from the finance department of the Great Tang Empire handed over bills and IOUs to Zhao Yu, urging him to look them over carefully.

Zhao Yu didn’t dare to look, only letting a trusted aide double-check: in fact, the Great Tang Empire had not falsified anything, every item was real and had been approved by Zhao Yu himself.

Included were purchases of arms, food, fuel, hiring of advisory groups, and training of pilots... Of course, there were also advances for hiring mercenaries.

These advancements included interest, and although the Great Tang Empire very kindly waived a portion of the interest, the remaining part of the interest was enough to bankrupt Zhao Yu.

"Is there... another way?" Zhao Yu also knew that his current position was entirely dependent on the support of the Great Tang Empire; dodging debt was definitely not an option, unless he wanted to die.

Moreover, the throne was nearly within reach, he was about to become the Emperor of the Dahua Empire, how could he back down at such a time? Wouldn’t retreating now make him a fool?

"Dodging debt?" The finance official from the Great Tang Empire was taken aback, quite admiring Zhao Yu for having such courage.

"No! No! Not at all! How could I dodge debt!" Zhao Yu immediately waved his hands: "Misunderstanding! It was a misunderstanding! I was asking if there could be another method, a method of repayment."

"According to the previous secret agreement, for the Great Tang Empire helping you to become the Emperor of the Dahua Empire, your recompense to the Great Tang Empire is the sovereignty of Sword Pavilion and Nanku, as well as the demotion of the Dahua Empire to the Kingdom of Dahua," reminded a diplomat sitting aside. "You cannot change this part."

"Understood, understood! Then I’ll cede Fengjiang to the Great Tang Empire... What do you think, sirs?" Zhao Yu, gritting his teeth, decided to use some territories to repay the related debts.

That was almost the only option he could choose: the financial state of the Dahua Empire had already collapsed, hoping that the tax profits of the Dahua Empire could repay the debt in this lifetime was impossible.

What was left in the Dahua Empire, then, was essentially land and human resources—hard assets. Zhao Yu knew the ambitions of the Great Tang Empire, he suggested using land to repay the debt, and the Great Tang Empire would definitely agree.

Indeed, officials from the foreign department of the Great Tang Empire immediately began whispering to each other, and finance officials began writing and calculating on rough paper.

After a buzz of discussion, a foreign department official of the Great Tang Empire spoke up, "We can consider it, but we need to calculate the specific value of each city, every piece of land."

"Fengjiang alone isn’t worth 300 million?" Zhao Yu, of course, hoped he could sell Fengjiang for 300 million, or even better for 500 million, so that he’d have money to squander for a few more years. But in reality, the Great Tang Empire wasn’t willing to spend 500 million to purchase it now.

"Your Majesty! Fengjiang is now a ruin, such a ruin isn’t worth 300 million! We’ve calculated, its value is only about 40 million," a finance official from the Great Tang Empire shook his head and handed a piece of paper to Zhao Yu’s confidante.

The confidante looked over the reconstruction data, costs, and inputs of manpower and resources on the paper, and awkwardly nodded to Zhao Yu: the other side hadn’t shortchanged them, even gave a bit more.

Seeing his confidante had no objections, Zhao Yu could only grit his teeth and accept: "Then add Shanping! Shanping hasn’t gone through war, it must be worth 100 million, right?"

"Shanping is not a traffic hub, its price cannot be so high, we plan to invest 30 million to purchase Shanping," the Great Tang Empire official provided a relatively reasonable rationale.

They absolutely didn’t need to scheme in this regard, just buying with real money was enough. Anyway, much of this money was used by the Great Tang Empire to balance the global trade deficit, money goes out and comes back in, it’s just flow.

"Then Guiguang! Guiguang is a traffic hub, and the city has not experienced war, it’s very important to you... One billion for Guiguang!" Zhao Yu ultimately could only sell bigger, more important cities, because only such cities were worth more.

"Actually, Your Majesty, you calculated less, we plan to invest 110 million to purchase Guiguang. If you decide to sell Guiguang, Shanping, Fengjiang... then you still owe us 120 million," the officials from the Great Tang Empire said, smiling as they added another 10 million to Zhao Yu’s tally.

Guiguang is an important transport hub connecting Sword Pavilion and Shanping. By controlling here, the Great Tang Empire would be thoroughly crossing Hidden Sword Gorge, making the occupied area west of Hidden Sword Gorge contiguous.

The only city Zhao Yu was willing to sell now was the northern border city, Wilderness, an economically poor area with only animal husbandry, a harsh and cold place, he wouldn’t mind selling it.

But to sell Wilderness, he would first have to sell Hezhe, and Hezhe was a vital transportation town that Zhao Yu was reluctant to sell. Moreover, if Hezhe was sold, then Wanliang would become an isolated enclave, definitely not feasible.

Therefore, the only option was to sell Hezhe, Wilderness, and Wanliang together! Essentially, that meant selling off all the areas Zhao Yu currently controlled.

With a heavy heart, Zhao Yu gritted his teeth and said: "Hezhe, Wanliang, Wilderness! I want 300 million!"

He knew he was going to sell these places anyway; might as well ask for a high price to reserve some funds for himself.

"270 million!" Many officials from the Great Tang Empire gathered and discussed quietly for a while before providing a figure that somewhat surprised Zhao Yu.

He thought the Great Tang Empire would not accept his outrageous demand, perhaps only offering a maximum of 100 million. In the end, he would still owe the Great Tang Empire tens of millions in debt that he had to pay back urgently.

Who would have thought, the Great Tang Empire only cut 30 million from the price, generously leaving him with 150 million in liquid assets.

"Sorry, we cannot provide you with the additional 150 million all in cash. We will provide you with 20 million in cash, plus another 40 million in military hardware and provisions, and after the war, 60 million in construction funds support..."

"Agreed!" After pondering, Zhao Yu still reluctantly accepted as his finances were nearly collapsed. Getting 20 million in cash was considered quite good already.

Speaking frankly, it was questionable whether his father Zhao Kai even had 20 million in cash during his most financially challenging times.

The Great Tang Empire actually got a bargain here: Wanliang is an important grain-producing area of the Dahua Empire, a place truly invaluable, and would not have been sold in the past regardless of the price.

Now not only has Wanliang been sold, but it was sold so "fairly and reasonably," which itself was a steal for the Great Tang Empire.

Further north is Hezhe, which is Fengjiang’s barrier and also a transportation hub, its value is also incalculable.

Offering 270 million just for these two places is already not too much; the Wilderness City is simply a giveaway, a total freebie.

"If Your Majesty has no objections, then please sign these documents." Not attempting to hide their preparedness, the diplomats from the Great Tang Empire pulled agreement documents from their briefcases.

Zhao Yu’s close associates looked extremely distressed, but they knew, once these documents were signed, they would receive support worth 150 million in goods, and within two months, become the ruling lords of the Dahua Empire & or rather, the Dahua Kingdom!

Zhao Yu would become the King of Dahua, and his confidants would soon be the Ministers of the kingdom, controlling the entire kingdom’s power.

Therefore, when Zhao Yu looked towards them, they could only nod slightly, showing their support. Zhao Yu clenched his teeth and began signing his name on the documents. freeweɓnøvel.com

Each time he finished one, he passed it to his subordinate who stamped Zhao Yu’s seal on it. Meanwhile, the finance department officials of the Great Tang Empire handed over the corresponding IOUs to the other party.

Minutes passed, and the vast lands of the Dahua Empire became part of the Great Tang Empire, and Zhao Yu achieved his desire, becoming the "Honorific Majesty" King of the Dahua Kingdom.

"Rest assured, Your Majesty! We will dutifully help you capture the Imperial Capital..." The diplomats from the Great Tang Empire reached out and gave Zhao Yu a gentle handshake, then left with the signed agreements.

"Your, Your Majesty... these, these…" The confidants, holding the IOUs and promissory notes, carefully reminded Zhao Yu.

"Burn them! Burn them all!" Zhao Yu waved his hand, ordering irritably.

He now faced a more pressing problem and had to seriously consider how to resolve it.

He needed to think about how to explain to the citizens of Dahua how he had nearly sold a third of the national territory to offset debts to the Great Tang Empire...

A few somewhat foresighted confidants also looked worried: they had attained wealth and power, but from the standpoint of the Dahua Empire, they were now unforgivable historical traitors.

"Ah…" Someone let out a long sigh unknowingly.

Zhao Yu heard it, and without getting angry, seemed to empathize and also sighed deeply, full of mixed feelings: "Ah…"

However, he soon cheered up: now, he was the King of Dahua! His enemies, be it Zhao Jie or Zhao Ji… how could they possibly be his or the Great Tang Empire’s match?

Jokingly, he, Zhao Yu, in alliance with the Great Tang Empire, would create chaos!

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Update tomorrow