I'm in the Teyvat running group

"145%... We lost nearly half of our strength. Of course, the monsters' counterattack in the final stage caused additional casualties, with a final death toll of 580,000. The Soul-Nourishing Jade recovery rate was 96.1%, but many people didn't recover it in the last round." Tianxuan sighed, holding his crystal plate, and said with a hint of bitterness, "The subsequent compensation and resurrection costs were around 2.6 trillion. Adding the additional expenses during the war, the final cost of this battle was about 14.76 trillion, slightly more than we expected, but barely acceptable."

“Consider the artifacts a voluntary gift from me and the immortals. I will compensate them later. The guild will also cover half of the cost of the talismans and mecha units.” Yunxiu sighed, then looked at Yanfei beside her and pondered for a moment: “The remainder can be repaid interest-free for ten years. This should greatly reduce the pressure.”

“I do not agree to a full interest waiver. I reiterate, I only approve interest waivers for Liyue, Inazuma, and Fontaine.” Yanfei took out a form and distributed it to the people present, saying, “Fontaine and Inazuma have already pledged to bear part of the reconstruction costs of Nordkalai. In particular, Inazuma is willing to provide 3000 energy crystals per year for free, which is quite good. We refuse to waive interest for other countries, especially Winter.”

“Zhi Dong… Miss Yan Fei, Zhi Dong has already paid a heavy price.” The rooster coldly looked at everyone present and said with some resentment, “Zhi Dong’s retired soldiers and logistics personnel have applied for immigration 550,000 times, and 90% of those at the Genshin Impact level or above have left! This is even more than what was lost on the battlefield!”

“Pu… well, I’ll just call you Rooster then, Mr. Rooster. I want you to understand one thing: the ‘Regulations on the Calculation and Redemption of War Merits’ that we signed before the war were signed by every single country, as was the ‘Measures for the Placement of Veterans.’” Navia stood up abruptly, put her feet on the chair, and looked at Rooster with a provocative expression. “When you signed them before the war, did you think you, Zhidong, had made a profit? Do you need me to produce the video recordings from that time? These two documents have the signatures of the highest-ranking officials of the seven countries and the seven gods!”

"But……"

“Mr. Puccinella, I also think Miss Navia is right. If Inazuma were to face such a day, I don’t think I would stop them either. I would even ask myself, who caused all this?” Ayaka Kamisato covered her mouth and chuckled softly. She glanced at Yunxiu, who was lost in thought, and said, “Besides, I don’t think my husband’s actions are wrong. Furthermore, isn’t Shifu very wealthy? As far as I know, those families have made a fortune from the war. Are they really unwilling to give up even a little bit?”

"Alright, after this revision, the final cost has dropped to 12.8 trillion, of which 780 billion can be repaid over ten years. Based on the revenue data submitted by the Spirit Realm and various countries over the next three years, Liyue will ultimately bear 21%, Sumeru 19%, Inazuma 16%, Nata 15%, Mondstadt 14%, Fontaine 9%, and Winter 6%. This is a comprehensive calculation based on the pre-war contributions and resources provided by each country."

After reading the data, Tianxuan glanced at the rooster meaningfully: "Mr. Puccinella, Zhidong has indeed provided enough elite troops and lost the Nordkalai, which was nominally still under Zhidong's control. Therefore, our final conclusion is to give Zhidong the greatest possible benefits. I believe this is already a very good treatment."

"But they all went to Liyue after the war!"

"I need to remind you of something: their coming to Liyue also means that many of the costs of exchanging battle merits are borne by Liyue." Tianxuan stood up and looked coldly at the head steward of Zhidong, and sneered, "Don't you know what they can get in Zhidong? They even wrote that 5,000 points can get them into the Royal Military Academy. Why are you telling us they're exchanging that?"

“Yes, to accumulate this many points, one would usually be close to Genshin Impact. What is their purpose in exchanging for this?” Yan Fei’s words were as sharp as the cold wind of Nordkal: “It’s simply that when the rules were made, there had to be enough high-value resources, and you just wrote this down. But is it really worth this much?”

Puccinella fell silent. This thing wasn't really worth that much money, but most of the good stuff from the Winter Solstice was in the hands of a few prominent families, and even he couldn't do anything about it…

This spot is indeed the best he can offer; at least he can get involved in the military academy.

As for houses and Mora, Winter can indeed provide them, but they're not worth much. The truly valuable things are the disciples of powerful clansmen, the exchange of holy relics, and even divine artifacts...

He did not.

This is also why many powerful figures are disheartened. Many of the powerful figures' artifacts were issued by the Allied Forces, but everyone knows that they were given by Liyue. In fact, artifacts can indeed be kept after the war, and can be exchanged for 50,000 battle merit points. For many Genshin Impact level captains, they really have them.

However, the exchange must be for the benefit of Liyue, otherwise the artifact must be returned.

If you don't want to serve Liyue, your points will be multiplied tenfold.

Only legendary powerhouses have 500,000 points, but most of them already possess divine artifacts and don't need to claim them before the battle.

This is one of the reasons why many powerful individuals in Winter choose Liyue. Having an artifact can provide a terrifying boost to their strength, and they may even have the hope of taking risks to obtain opportunities and break through to the legendary level.

Of the more than sixty elite squads, fourteen were Winterborn. Almost all of them chose to leave Winterborn for Liyue. Only one did not choose to leave. The reason for not choosing was still uncertain, as he was still loading.

Puccini closed her eyes in anguish. Although the departure of these people did not explain everything, one thing was certain: it would cause a huge uproar in the winter, and the number of people who left in the end might not be 550,000, but five or ten times that number.

He certainly knew what the situation was like at the bottom of the winter, but was it something he could handle?

Unless the Empress is willing to intervene, who can eliminate those remaining forces?

Perhaps... even the Empress wouldn't work.

Even when it comes to reform, he doesn't have enough manpower to implement it.

The fundamental reason why Liyue was able to successfully reform is that Liyue was originally the most prosperous country, with a well-established system and institutions. Yunxiu was just an amplifier.

Even more terrifying is the fact that this war was almost entirely orchestrated by Liyue.

Without Liyue, they had no way to quickly kill powerful familiar-level monsters and god-level monsters. They could only rely on their precious familiar combat power to fight them head-on. However, in this battle, they killed a total of more than 3,000 familiar-level monsters and 242 god-level monsters.

The other six countries combined have a little over a hundred strong individuals of this level, but fewer than twenty of them are peak-level members of the retinue of god-level demons, and even they would become tired and injured.

But as long as the spatial anchoring array is in place, no monster can threaten the Jade Pavilion and the War Fortress. Puchinella has been working in the Pidamira City War Fortress for the past few days, watching the four Jade Pavilions and two War Fortresses clean up these monsters like chickens being slaughtered on an assembly line.

He replaced the other side of the scale with the Fools of Winter, but he never got the answer.

If Liyue were to deploy four Jade Towers above Winterfell, the vast majority of Winterfell residents would be terrified by these godlike devices, and the terrifying power of the Hyperbeam Cannons could quickly wipe out all opponents on the ground.

Even without the participation of the other six nations, Liyue could still withstand this war by mobilizing all its forces; the only question is the cost.

However, while postwar Liyue may not do anything to the six nations, it will certainly not hesitate to launch a full-chain sanction.

This is why the six states did everything they could to get involved in the flood control war. Even though they had no money, technology, or food, Zhi Dong mobilized 800,000 troops and more than 3 million logistics personnel to participate in the war. This was all they had to offer.

After all, for the men, it wasn't them who were going to their deaths.

However, no one expected that a large number of soldiers and staff who were shocked by Liyue's logistical support would leave after the war. The authority to exchange and approve the retirement of soldiers was in the hands of the Flood War Joint Command, and it could be implemented with the approval of an absolute majority of 70% of senior generals.

Furthermore, they completed their combat missions and signed relevant regulations before the Winter War, so their retirement and departure to Liyue were entirely in accordance with military discipline.

It's just that no one expected there to be so many at first.

“Puchnera.” A voice echoed in his mind: “Sign, implement the established regulations of each country, and then ask Yunxiu to come see me once.”

"Yes." Hearing the voice in his mind, the rooster sighed and quickly signed his name on various documents. With his signature, the document would be executed immediately.

He stood up, slowly walked to Yunxiu, and looked at the young man, saying, "Mr. Yunxiu, our Empress wishes to see you."

"Interesting, it seems she's finally figured it out."

Chapter 456 The Empress's Spark Ignites New Fire

Although she had seen Zhi Dong's videos before, this was Yun Xiu's first time visiting Zhi Dong. She was accompanied by Columbia and Yan Fei.

You can take a train directly from the Nordkale border to Winterfell, but the Queen chose a border city as the meeting place, not Winterfell Palace.

Yarengeler.

Before the war, this place was one of the core strongholds of the Winter Fools. After the war, a large number of officers left here and went to Liyue. Because the permanent residency quota allowed for one extra person, many officers also took their relatives with them.

After all, while obtaining residency in Liyue is a bit troublesome, these high-level experts always find a way to do it even without relying on battle merits. It's just that Liyue hasn't opened such a big door before.

As for the review process, there's naturally no way there could be any problems.

The Little Lucky Grass King was in charge of verifying and distributing the battle merits. With her powers, she could easily distinguish between good and evil. However, most of the Fools were just trying to make a living, so only a few were eliminated.

Stepping out of the station, the group entered the small town, which was steeped in wintery atmosphere, and boarded a rather exquisite and luxurious carriage—the Queen's carriage.

The car slowly drove towards the outskirts of the city, and in less than half an hour it stopped in front of a small country villa.

“I’ve been here before.” Columbia gently opened the car door and led Yunxiu and Yanfei inside. She familiarly led the two out of the house, but did not linger there. Instead, she went straight to the back garden.

A heating array was installed in the back garden, and beautiful flowers also grow there.

In front of the flower bed, a cold and stern figure stood with his back to them.

"Your Majesty," Columbia said softly.

“Columbia… thank you for still addressing me that way.” The cold, stern figure turned around, revealing an inscrutable smile, the expression on her face unreadable. “However, you haven’t yet been relieved of your duties as an executive officer of the Fools… would you still be willing to return?”

"If I return, will the Queen treat me as her 'lover'? Will she help me regain my power and give me a lot of money?"

"But you can do it the same way as before."

"Then... is it the same if Dotole extracts its power for research?"

"You still can't speak properly." The Empress actually laughed and turned her gaze to Yunxiu: "Strictly speaking, this is not our first meeting. If you don't want to call me Your Majesty, you can call me Ice Goddess or Anastasia."

“The Empress’s full name is Anastasia Feodorovna Schneitsnaya. It would be too long to call her by her given name.” Columbia turned to look at Yunxiu, her eyes now open. “Besides, I don’t think she’s a bad person.”

Yunxiu nodded and performed the traditional Liyue greeting: "Your Majesty, may I ask what brings you here?"

"Actually, it's nothing much. If you're willing, could you assist Zhidong in carrying out a reform?" The Empress said calmly, "Zhidong can provide sufficient support. Do it in the Liyue style, and I can give you full authority."

Yunxiu's first reaction upon hearing those words was fear!

He didn't think that Zhi Dong and he had such a good relationship, especially now that he had already poached hundreds of thousands of Zhi Dong's people.

After thinking carefully for a long time, Yunxiu finally spoke: "I don't know what Your Majesty means."

“You designed almost the entire system of Liyue yourself, so of course you know about it.” The Empress shook her head, then sighed and said, “You might think I’m joking, but I’m not. Puchnera has already submitted a report to me that a third of all the Genshin Impact level experts, including those who didn’t even participate in the battle, have left, and another third are still observing.”

"and……"

She waved her hand, and a clear projection appeared before them. It was the Queen's Palace at the Winter Solstice, and in the square in front of the palace were thousands of soldiers and their families.

Most people just sat there quietly.

They didn't speak or take any action; they simply placed their ration cards and the standard storage bags issued to each person during the flood control war to the side. No one drank the kerosene; everyone calmly looked at the Queen's Palace ahead.

“I know what they’re waiting for,” the Queen said quietly. “They’re waiting for me to announce a new plan, waiting for me to shift the blame to some official, waiting for me to punish Puccinella and Pantalone, and waiting for me to give a passionate speech.”

“They got their confessions, I replaced them with a clean person, and then we repeated everything from the past, starting the next cycle.”

“But I know that the problem with Winter actually lies with me.” The Queen looked at Yunxiu quietly: “I know that the Heart of God was your doing. You used a Heart of God to scheme against me, Tilvett, and Viserfnir. And this time you achieved this with ordinary treatment. You are indeed one of the most powerful people in Teyvat.”

"So, I'm serious."

“Your Majesty, I understand what you mean, but I am not capable of helping you to do this.” Yunxiu shook her head, spread her hands and said, “The most important thing about Liyue is that it is the Liyue of the Liyue people. Even without my existence, I believe that the Liyue people will definitely win in the end.”

"But whose winter is this? Is this snow country truly the land you cherish?"

"Just as you said, this is a cycle of reincarnation, so how can we change this cycle?"

“I don’t know,” the Queen said. “So, I want to ask you, Morax’s child.”

“I can recommend someone who can truly make a difference right now. At the same time, the Chamber of Commerce is willing to provide enough heating arrays and related talismans for Zhidong, at least enough for him to get through this winter.” Yunxiu shrugged before continuing, “Past punitive measures can also be waived. I can even provide Zhidong with a Tai Academy. I only have one request.”

"any request?"

"As winter approaches, the existing wartime support system will continue, and free heating, free learning, and two 25-minute hot showers will be provided to every person who is in winter."

"And what about Mora?"

“Your Majesty, there’s no need. You just need to delegate these tasks to those people in front of the Empress’s Palace. They will find a way themselves. The Merchant Guild can provide opportunities and sell them heating and water-generating arrays. They will find a way. All those gentlemen need to do is lend a hand, and life will naturally find a way out.” Yunxiu shook her head and said, “As for who will back them up, I will recommend this person to you now. I hope you will not interfere with her actions.”

"Who...is she? Your woman, which one?"

“I have absolutely no interest in Winter, and I have no interest in being the Crown Prince of Liyue. My recommendation is Scarlett Evgenia, the head of the Evocation Department of the Mage Association and a witch named J.”

The Queen remained silent, but in the end she nodded slightly. Yunxiu also sighed. Zhidong's current situation was not what he wanted, but in fact he had already caused a great deal of impact. Yunxiu could not let Zhidong really collapse, otherwise who would command and manage the northern border of Teyvat?

Yunxiu then led the two women away from the villa, leaving the Empress behind.

He was indeed not used to this atmosphere. He glanced around, sighed, and said to Yan Fei, "Just approve an aid quota of 50 billion for Zhi Dong. Provide them with enough heating arrays and a batch of talismans. The money will go through my private account and be deducted directly from my dividends. I don't need that much money anyway."

“The Chamber of Commerce can provide this money. Zhidong has great potential.” Yan Fei looked around seriously and said, “They are not without hope. They just need a spark. This 50 billion is worthwhile. I can earn it back in two years at most. How could a country with abundant resources, a large population, and a strong artistic atmosphere not have potential?”

“There are just too many vampires, right?” Columbia suddenly turned to look at Yunxiu and said, “This is a word Arecino told me. She said that Winter is such a country.”

“Of course I can’t do it myself, but Scarlett can. Besides, we can get Alice to help us.” Yunxiu revealed a sly smile: “The former witch J, Joanna Ivanovna, was an old friend of Alice’s and ended up owing Alice a favor. Let the current witch J continue to owe her that favor, after all, she’s a scheming witch.”

"You're much worse than I thought." Yan Fei shook her head. "Never mind, it's not important. Take me to Zhidong to have some fun! I want to explore and see what interesting things there are!"

"I think reconstruction work might be more meaningful, and it could also make a lot of money..."

“Making money isn’t like that. Precisely because the pie of rebuilding Nordkale is too big, the Merchant Guild can’t swallow it all. The best way is to divide it among the seven kingdoms and then sell them supplies and necessities.” Yan Fei smiled as she looked at Yun Xiu, and then jumped onto Yun Xiu’s back with unusual joy: “They need talismans to build the city, they need spirit realms after it’s built, they need mages for purification, and they need storage bags for transportation. The Merchant Guild has too many ways to make money, there’s no need for them to take a bite out of this.”