The Ninth Inheritance of Ancestral Secret Recipe, Absolutely Effective

  "Consul, I'm also quite tired of this meaningless debate. No matter how you reason, if one side is unwilling to talk, it's just a waste of energy. So, since you want me to bring out something substantial, let the facts speak for themselves." Roger smiled and said, "If I'm not mistaken, that compensation request wasn't actually from an order within the United States, but rather something you and your friends came up with on your own to make a profit, right? This is easy to investigate. I just returned from the US and still have some connections in the political circle there. A little inquiry will clarify things."

  Looking at Tan Ni's expression, Roger knew he was right! In fact, from the historical records of compensation amounts dropping from one million to thirty thousand, this ridiculous episode already showed that it was absolutely not a formal diplomatic request that could be made by a national government! Even when bargaining for goods in a night market, there wasn't such a drastic reduction! If any country were to agree to such an abnormal reduction in compensation, and the other party was a local separatist regime thousands of times weaker than itself, it would be laughed to death!

  So, this must be a move by Tan Ni and others to secretly make a profit from the domestic market. In their view, China is the best place to make money, especially for retirement funds. Therefore, they put forward this request. If things go well, no one at home will bother to take care of China's interests. If everyone gets a share of the money and is happy, it might even be considered an achievement. This kind of thing has been common since ancient times, both domestically and internationally.

  "Respected Consul, although I don't want to admit it, but under normal circumstances, our country's warlords are all very afraid of you foreigners, so they often get extorted and swallow their pride, admitting defeat. As long as Deng Benyin quietly hands over the one million, then even if people in China find out about your actions later, they can only say that you have ability and won't pursue it further. After all, China is now weak and feeble, once something has become a fait accompli, no one will care how much money you embezzled from the 'barbarians'. Of course, on the condition that you share some of the profits. But, have you thought about what would happen if this matter becomes an international incident, and you don't get a single penny?"

  Tan was shocked, he had not considered such a situation, but with his understanding of the Chinese warlords, the possibility of this happening was absolutely less than one in a hundred. He hadn't seen many warlords who dared to say no to foreign consuls! Especially Deng Benyin, whose strength was not strong and was eager to expand his power by finding backers everywhere, didn't have the strength to challenge him at all! It was precisely because of this that he dared to be so reckless!

  Tan Ni let out a sigh of relief, thinking that the guy in front of him was just bluffing, and couldn't help but laugh: "Indeed, it can't be denied that it would be a very bad situation, but do you think such a thing would happen?"

  I asked you, what is Deng Benying's identity? He is a warlord. What is a warlord then? It refers to someone who has an army. So, what does an army need? Of course, it needs guns and ammunition! Those who hold kitchen knives are rioters, not an army! If he gets into trouble with us, he will deeply feel how difficult it is to get even one bullet in China where there is currently an arms embargo!

  "So, although the thing you're worried about is terrible, it won't happen at all. And as far as I know, Mr. Deng has already started raising funds, right? Even if he knew this was our own private action, what could he do? Would he really dare to offend us and ruin his relationship with the US government? Don't be silly!"

  Indeed, even if it was a private action by the underlings, they were still Americans. The fact that the yellow race dared to say no to American whites was absolutely unacceptable in the eyes of the US government. Even if Teng Pao-yu stubbornly refused to pay and resisted to the end, he would inevitably lose the goodwill of the US government, which was something he dared not do. After all, behind every warlord there were more or less shadows of foreign powers, and behind Teng Pao-yu was precisely the shadow of the United States, his half-master.

  Although Tan Ni said it was correct, Roger seemed to be somewhat dismissive and calmly said: "Oh? Is that really the case? Deng Commander is indeed raising funds, but he's currently financially strained and can only raise 400,000."

  "400,000? Hmm... Although it's a bit less, but it's also acceptable." Tan Ni said, stroking his chin.

  "I haven't finished yet," Roger interrupted Tanni's thoughts, "In fact, the people already know about this matter. I think you're also aware that although the warlords may not be able to refuse your demands, the people are different. With just a little incitement, they will gather, march, go on strike and so on, of course, they will also boycott American goods. Isn't this kind of thing easy to predict?"

  "That's right, if the news leaks out, this kind of thing is almost bound to happen, it's just that it may not be so serious, as long as it's handled properly."

  "Handled properly? This is rich!" Roger burst out laughing, "The ruler here is Deng Benying Deng, isn't it? So the ones handling assemblies, parades and strikes are also Mr. Deng. That means you're expecting the victims of extortion to beat up those who dare curse the extortionists, then come over shouting 'No one can stop me from being extorted!' and hand over 10 million to you?"

  Tan Ni shrugged: "I know this is a strange thing, but... in fact, we really think so. And if you look at the previous actions of your country's warlords, you will find that such strange behavior is normal for them. So, those terrible things you mentioned seem unlikely to happen. If Mr. Deng still wants to maintain good relations with our country, he will definitely pay up, even if he knows that this money may not be what our government means, but just me and my friends, which is absolutely not something Mr. Deng would want to offend."

  "The problem is, Mr. Deng doesn't have that much money in his hands right now. If he pays you the money, it will only lead to one result for him - financial bankruptcy. So, if a warlord goes bankrupt and can't pay salaries and military expenses to his officials, soldiers, and officers, how long do you think Mr. Deng can stay in the position of commander-in-chief? If he offends you, he won't be able to buy smuggled weapons, but if he really agrees to your conditions, he still won't have money to buy weapons... Therefore, in order to stay in the commander-in-chief position for a longer time, he will inevitably take measures to pay less or even not pay at all, including tolerating and encouraging public opinion to pressure you."

  Tan Ni shrugged and said disapprovingly, "Although what you say makes some sense, I still believe in the intelligence and perseverance of you Chinese people. Respected Mr. Deng will surely fully utilize his wisdom and endurance to make up for the compensation."

  Roger sighed helplessly, although he knew what the true history was like, but he couldn't make others believe that the usually soft China warlord would dare to haggle with them this time. So, he decided to end this topic - after all, he wasn't working for Deng Benying or Tan Ni, if they could talk it out, they would, and if not, let them go to hell.

  "Alright, alright, it seems we've both understood each other's views. Since we can't reach a consensus in a short period of time, let's let time take care of it. By the way, Consul, you just mentioned that your wife is about to return home, would it be possible for me to meet with her and offer my blessings as well as some small gifts?"

  Even if compensation issues cannot be negotiated, maintaining a good relationship with the US consul will not have any adverse effects. Many times, a feminine approach is a good choice.

  When the topic turned to his wife, Tan Ni's face suddenly turned pale and he looked extremely dejected: "I'm afraid I won't be able to grant your request. Although it's not my intention, but Dana's condition is already very serious. The infection is taking her life away bit by bit... I hope she can hold on until the day we return home. I really regret why I agreed to let her go camping, if not for that car accident, her leg wouldn't have been injured! Oh god, it was just a scratch, how did it get infected?!"

  "Infection!?" Roger was overjoyed in his heart, originally he had prepared to give some small gifts such as cosmetics, but unexpectedly, the wife of the American consul actually got infected!? To think that the heavy bomb he had prepared to bring to the Republic of China's founding momentum was the legendary divine medicine - penicillin!

  Although he was excited in his heart, Roger's face showed a concerned expression: "If you don't mind, let me help out, I just so happen to have a special medicine for infections that I got from an old Chinese doctor - a secret family recipe! I've personally tested it and it's very effective!"