Pioneer Lord: Starting From Daily Intelligence

Chapter 452: Chapter 183: Signing Unequal Treaties and Establishing the Suzerainty Tribute Trade System

He truly possesses the extraordinary talent for governing and managing the world.

This strategic plan is undoubtedly very clear.

If humans win this war but are completely unable to expand their influence even slightly into the Blood Pine Forest, then it is undoubtedly a strategic fail, and the entire war cannot be considered a victory.

The dense forest is like the northern grasslands of the Eastern Dynasty; even if the farming humans defeat the monsters in the forest, they cannot stand firm there for long.

The Green Dragon can easily recuperate inside, and a large number of monsters will flow in from other parts of the forest to hunt and survive. By the time these monsters fall under the Green Dragon’s command, the scale of the Green Dragon’s Fang will quickly expand, and once again pose a fatal threat to the Hesse Territory.

Even by then, the recovery speed of the human territories may not be as fast as that of the Green Dragon! Su Li is not confident of securing victory in another war.

This victory against the Green Dragon, at least fifty to sixty percent, is owed to the intense internal strife within the Green Dragon Legion.

But if humans completely wipe out the Green Dragon’s forces or occupy the western part of the Blood Pine Forest, it would also be unfeasible because humans do not have the ability to control such a vast area.

Currently, human forces can barely resist in the western part of the Blood Pine Forest. If this barrier is lost, who knows what strength the forest’s internal forces will have next time they infiltrate?

If they are relatively weak, it’s fine. At most, they will constantly harass humans, causing them to endure the losses of living in such an unsuitable environment within the forest every month.

But if they are extremely powerful and integrate the vast land in the western part of the Blood Pine Forest, then it would be like driving away one hungry wolf at the front door, only to have a fierce tiger enter through the back!

Su Li has no desire to experience a situation where he escapes the dragon’s den only to fall into a tiger’s lair.

Such a desperate situation is quite likely to occur in this world, because the Green Dragon is far from being the most dangerous creature in the forest. Chaos Creatures and Beastmen include a large number of Minotaurs and powerful Dragon Apes.

This is also why Hilude and Oerstein unanimously chose the Green Dragon over the Chaos Monster Chimera, because after killing the Green Dragon, the Chaos Monster is highly likely to merge with other Chaos Creatures, gathering a large number of Beastmen and Dragon Apes.

The agreement signed with the Green Dragon perfectly cedes the most fertile land and the most resource-rich mining areas in the western part of the Blood Pine Forest to the Hesse Territory, and allows humans to build fortresses and station troops at strategic points.

Humans naturally hope to support this force to continue maintaining the vast forest land.

But Su Li also fears raising a tiger to court calamity. If this force is not properly controlled and allowed to recuperate, leading to an ambush later, it could spell disaster for the Hesse Territory.

So Su Li pondered for a moment and said to Vandar, ”Let Dean Oliver come over, I need to discuss with him how to weaken and control this Green Dragon.”

Oliver is extremely busy right now. The brutal war and the great fire have almost completely destroyed the governance order of the territory, with wounded soldiers everywhere. They are so weak they can’t even suppress looters and rebels taking advantage of the chaos, relying on the help of Dwarves to stabilize the order.

As the dean of the Provincial Affairs Council, he is so busy that he can’t keep his feet on the ground, cursing his inability to clone himself. He needs to tally casualties, resettle the wounded, assess losses, resettle farmers and herders, and maintain prices to appease public grievances.

When order is destroyed, with collapses in finance, healthcare, agriculture, and commerce, it takes multiple times the effort to achieve recovery.

So Oliver hasn’t slept in days and nights. After listening to Su Li’s greedy and harsh ideas with dark circles under his eyes, he immediately became more awake and asked, ”Lord, you are brewing the next war! You want the Green Dragon to pay us a tribute of 500 Golden Crowns every month? Each tribute, to the greedy Green Dragon, is akin to cutting flesh from its heart!”

”I think if you really add this clause to the treaty, even if the Green Dragon signs it through gritted teeth now, it will definitely retaliate fiercely against us in the future.”

Hearing this, Su Li pondered slightly. Could it really be unfeasible to add a tribute clause to the treaty signed with the Green Dragon?

However, based on the conventions of this world, the defeated party, in addition to a one-time payment of war reparation, is also required to pay a tribute annually.

The defeated Green Dragon should pay the price for this, especially now when it urgently needs human help to defeat the rebels in the forest. If we don’t take the opportunity to greatly weaken it, we won’t have such a good chance in the future.

So Su Li frowned and said, ”But we also can’t count on the opponent’s weakness and compliance. If we truly want long-lasting peace, weakening the opponent and strengthening ourselves is our most reliable means.”

But Oliver still firmly shook his head, saying, ”Your demand for the Green Dragon to pay a tribute of 8,000 Golden Crowns annually is more acceptable than demanding 500 every month. However, even so, it will merely delay the Green Dragon’s launch of another war.”

”Once this treaty is signed, it implies that we must face a ten-month truce, and at most, the Green Dragon will return in ten months.”

Su Li, with a firm attitude, clenched his fist and struck the bedside, saying, ”No matter what, we must weaken the Green Dragon’s forces. This is the predetermined strategy of our territory, and you need to come up with a strategy to execute it.”