All the talks should be discussed, and the directions should be decided have been decided. When the giant sun gradually rises to the high point of the sky, the glorious crown with a faint wood grain shines on the entire Silver Stand No. 112, Gowen clinked a cup with Rosetta Augustus for the last time - after that, it is the area that diplomats from both countries need to work hard.

Gao Wen didn't know how the nobles of Tifeng would view the results of this closed-door meeting, nor did he know how historians in later generations would record and speculate on the negotiations. For him alone, these exchanges of interests between Cecil and Tifeng were actually not the focus. All of this... were just a part of his promotion and transformation of the world.

Everything is for a greater victory - he doesn't know whether Rosetta Augustus has realized his ambitious goal, but judging from his performance... this talented and savvy ruler may not be invisible.

Gao Wen left his seat, but before leaving with Amber, he finally couldn't resist his last little doubt: "I'm very curious, how did you realize the real effect of the cold winter number?"

This is what he was very curious about: In the context of an era when all humans in this world are far away from the sea, and in the premise that everyone has no awareness of sea rights, how did Tifeng think of the concept of offshore blockade from a warship hovering on the sea, and even think of the way to repair outposts in the blind spots of the warship to protect his maritime sovereignty?

"I was not the first to realize it," To Gao Wen's surprise, Rosetta shook his head and pointed at Matilda, who rarely spoke throughout the whole process. "It's my daughter, she first realized that your goal might not be in Winter Wolf Castle from the beginning."

Gao Wen finally set his eyes on Matilda, and fell on this "Pearl of Empire" who did not have much presence throughout the whole process, like a humble and listened junior who rarely spoke. Matilda raised her head calmly and responded to Gao Wen's gaze with a calm gaze.

"Can you tell me what you think?" Gao Wen's expression was very gentle, and he asked casually as if he was a gossip.

"Actually, from the beginning, I didn't think you would really occupy the Winter Wolf Castle - even you would make any trouble or give any conditions on the issue of Winter Wolf Castle," Matilda smiled lightly, and responded like a gentle junior who answered the questions from his elders. "You will definitely withdraw the soldiers who occupy the Winter Wolf Castle unconditionally, and will withdraw them in a high-profile manner, so that all countries will know that you have not asked for any compensation or exchange conditions in the process."

Gao Wen's eyes became serious and nodded slightly to Matilda: "Continue."

"You will do this because your biggest goal is not Tifeng at all. What you want is the highest voice in the league, and what you want is to become the rulemaker in the league - Winter Wolf Castle must not be occupied, because the whole world is paying attention to Cecil's next move, and paying attention to what purpose the future "Alliance Leader" is promoting its own order. Of course, you can have countless reasons to occupy the Winter Wolf region, and these reasons can even be reasonable: the first to "start a war" was Tifeng, and the moral loss was Tifeng. Cecil's occupation of the Winter Wolf region is a legal counterattack, but no matter how tenable these reasons stand, it will damage the cohesion of the future alliance.

"Because for those small countries that are cautiously waiting and watching, they don't care whether the occupation is justified - they only care about the outcome. You can occupy Winter Wolf Castle for reasonable reasons, and of course, you can occupy other places with more reasonable reasons, so in the future, even if they bow their heads and join the league, no one will completely believe most of your commitments.

"What's more, the truth about this 'war' will be revealed in the future. This truth will further affect the legitimacy of your occupation of the Winter Wolf region, which you will definitely consider."

Gao Wen was surprised to listen to Matilda's analysis, and he showed an admiration on his face: "You are right, you have a good ability to judge the situation."

"Actually, there is no judgment, it's just a simple comparison of returns," Matilda lowered her head, "Winter Wolf Castle is too small compared to the entire Loren continent, isn't it?"

"...The era of seizing war benefits by primitive and crude means such as occupying land and plundering resources is over," Gao Wen said in a deep voice, and then changed his subject, "But why did you think of my target on those islands? Isn't it occupied the islands?"

"...Because in most people's conception, the 'territories' are limited to the mainland, and the distribution of interests on the ocean is a blind spot of the vision of each country, and it is not even considered the territory of a certain country," Matilda replied immediately. "They stare at the Winter Wolf Castle, but they will not pay attention to whether you have occupied several islands far away from the land - only countries that have begun to step towards the sea can realize that gold and silver are flowing outside the coastline, and according to our investigation, the trajectory of the Winter's navigation has always wandered near those islands."

Gao Wen smiled: "Child, you seem to think badly about me."

"No, I admire you, even second only to my father. I just think you are very powerful, so powerful that it makes people a little scary that I must always carefully observe whether you have shown an offensive posture," Matilda raised her head, her clear but deep eyes fixed on Gao Wen's face. "You are a hero, but a hero is not necessarily a saint - a qualified ruler must be greedy, even for the sake of the thousands of people under her rule, he will always calculate the gains and losses of interests, and unfortunately... in this accidental war, Tifeng lost the initiative."

"Heroes are not necessarily saints..." Gao Wen was silent for a few seconds and nodded slightly, "I have recorded this comment, right, Matilda."

He withdrew his gaze toward the other party and turned around to leave, but at this moment, Matilda suddenly called him from behind and said, "Please wait a moment."

Gao Wen stopped and looked back at the black-haired Princess Tifeng: "Is there anything else?"

"If, I mean, what would you do if—if we didn't set out posts on those islands? What would you do if you didn't have one winter ship?"

Gao Wen thought for a moment and gave his own answer frankly: "If I had more warships, I would occupy all the islands as soon as possible. If you did not respond, I would not only occupy them, but I would also ask you for a hundred years of free and unlimited navigation rights on the entire East Coast - from the Dragon Fjord to Mobius, from Mobius to the southeast coast of the Gaoling Kingdom."

Matilda opened her eyes slightly and looked at Gao Wen with some surprise. Then she lowered her head and replied softly: "...I understand."

Gao Wen took Amber to leave the room, and only Rosetta and Matilda were left in the sunny reception room.

After this, the silence in the room lasted for a long time until a few minutes later, Rosetta suddenly broke the silence: "No, he won't do that."

Matilda raised her head unexpectedly: "Father, what did you say?"

"He will not occupy those islands, nor will he ask for any free and unlimited navigation rights," Rosetta's expression became very serious at some point. He frowned and thought, and was silent for a long time in his contemplation, but in the end he still opened his eyebrows, and the serious expression on his face turned into a complicated smile. "I thought I had already confirmed his intention when he made the second 'concession'..."

“…We have only signed an internal memorandum now, and the real negotiations have not yet begun,” Matilda said immediately, “We still have some room for ​​​…”

"No," Rosetta interrupted Matilda, the smile on his face seemed a little more complicated than before. "If he hadn't mentioned Tallond and the Theocracy, I wouldn't mind losing some face, but now... he has shown me a more difficult future, and he offered a high price, but worthy of the challenge."

Then he gradually put away the complicated smile on his face, turned to Matilda, and said quickly and seriously: "Immediately contact the ambassadors of the Kaoling Kingdom and the Silver Empire to finalize those plans for trading and opening ports, which can reduce our conditions if necessary. In any case, before the agreement on the route to the mainland takes effect, we must maintain the market and voice at the southern end of the mainland as much as possible."

"Is it still too late? The Cecils probably have begun to prepare for these things. Gowan Cecil even met the Silver Queen yesterday afternoon... They have personal relationships."

"The friendship that I had been in seven hundred years ago..." Rosetta's expression was a little complicated for a moment. He subconsciously glanced at the red fruits on the coffee table not far away, and once again deeply felt the powerlessness of dealing with a person who came out of history. But he quickly shook his head and said in a deep tone, "How much can we keep - although Cecil was ahead of us, they were too far from the Southern Continent. They could not eat all of such a big meal."

...

In the town with a elven style, a lively atmosphere is everywhere. The magic car with the Cecil emblem is driving on the avenue. Members of a mission from a certain country or the elf affairs officer responsible for maintaining order and receiving guests can be seen on the roadside at any time. Gao Wen and Amber sit in the back row of the magic car, enjoying the architectural scenery of this foreign country and relaxing their slightly tight nerves.

In the corner of the inner wall of the car, some inconspicuous runes shine. The small sound insulation barrier blocks the noise outside the car well, making the car look particularly quiet and comfortable.

I don’t know how long it took for Amber to suddenly break the silence: “You didn’t plan to ask for those islands from the beginning?”

"...Not that," Gao Wen smiled, "If it was really free, I wouldn't refuse - if Tifeng didn't realize the preciousness of the ocean's foothold, why should I consider the future for them?"

Amber scratched the back of her head. Although she was an outstanding talent in intelligence, she was obviously not that professional in other fields: "...Is a route to the mainland really worth such a high value?"

Gao Wen glanced at the half-elf who was trying to think about the problem: "At least it is more valuable than those islands. A continental route itself is just a 'route', but after adding a premise, the situation is not that simple - at this stage, Cecil is the only country capable of forming a large-scale trade fleet and a long-distance combat fleet."

Amber subconsciously repeated Gao Wen's words: "Only..."

"If our fleet can circle the mainland, and any country on the route needs to rely on us to maintain the maritime trade line, and even their modern trading system itself is assisted by us, then all the coastal areas of the entire Loren continent will become our coasts - those countries that rely on the continental route and obtain huge profits from the maritime trade route will even take the initiative to maintain this route for us, because we are both their parents of food and clothing, and their maritime bodyguards. The reason here is actually not difficult to understand."

Amber finally reacted: "...Whoever is the first to stand up and shake Cecil's maritime authority is threatening the economic lifeline of all coastal countries."

Gao Wen nodded slightly, but there was one thing he didn't actually say.

Although his plan to travel around the mainland is far-reaching, there is still a country on the Loren continent that he is unable to influence, that is, the Silver Empire, located in the extreme south of the continent, with most of its territory on a giant island. Although the elves have declined for many years, their ancestors' legacy is still not to be underestimated, and their deep national strength is also difficult to shake. With such strong capital, the silver elves will naturally have more say in front of this route.

However, he was not worried about this - the background of the silver elves was also their constraints. The powerful ancestors' heritage gave them strong national strength, but like the deep blue well back then, they were firmly bound to the "fortress" interwoven by the temple of stars and various ancient factories. This constraint shaped the "non-expansion" characteristic of the Silver Empire. At least in the stage that Gao Wen could foresee, this "non-expansion" characteristic was not so easy to change.

This means that the Silver Empire will fully enjoy the benefits brought by the route around the mainland and will maintain the operation of this route to a certain extent. For Gao Wen, this has achieved his goal.

Of course, the Violet Kingdom in the north of the mainland is also a problem... But he doesn't have much thought about this "hermit country" hidden in layers of fog. Anyway, in the limited contacts before, the mages have recognized the existence of North Port and opened the strait between the Violet Kingdom and the North Coast, which is enough.

Gao Wen rubbed his tight forehead, and slowly cooled down his mind, which had been running at high speed for a long time.

At this moment, a figure appeared on the side of the road, and the speed of the magic car suddenly slowed down.

Amber casually opened a gap in the car window, and a note was handed in a note on the roadside. Then the figure instantly merged into the nearby pedestrians. Amber opened the note and glanced quickly.

"Two groups of people left the hall where the Tifeng mission lived, one went to the mission's residence in the Gaoling Kingdom, and another went to the east of the city."

"They are going to find the Silver Queen." Gao Wen said casually.

"It seems like the reaction is very fast," Amber blinked, "Do you want to do something?"
Chapter completed!