Vientiane Throne of Civilization

Chapter 1951 Two Cooperations
Prince Morton spoke as he fled for his life.

Looking at his younger brother's slightly disheveled back, Wright couldn't help but laugh and cry at the same time.

However, Prince Morton's words did give him some ideas and greatly relieved his anxiety.

Indeed, as long as I am still here, the Elven race can hold its ground. Even if we are slightly passive in terms of power, it is not a big deal.

As a long-lived race, the elves have long lifespans, and short-term gains and losses mean nothing to them; they can simply wait hundreds or thousands of years to see what happens next.

It's hard to say who will dominate this alliance in the future.

With this in mind, Wright had an idea.

"Kong Daqian of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Great Zhou Dynasty greets the Elf King."

On this new day, Kong Daqian, who is now a diplomatic representative and can be said to be getting younger and younger, also had his first contact with the Elf King Light.

After a few pleasantries, Wright quickly got to the point and told Kong Daqian about the predicament they were facing.

Kong Daqian had extensive experience in handling such matters; in fact, he had already made a guess before even setting off.

At this point, Wright had only just begun to make his point, but he had already basically confirmed his suspicions.

However, Kong Daqian patiently listened to Wright's entire narration before throwing out a question at him.

"Then may I ask what Your Majesty the Elf King needs our Great Zhou to do?"

Kong Daqian directly handed the topic back to the other party without directly stating what he wanted to do.

This surprised Wright, and at the same time, it really caught him off guard.

Having probably discerned this, Kong Daqian hesitated for a moment before slowly speaking…

"Your Majesty the Elf King may not know this, but in principle, our Great Zhou Dynasty never interferes in the internal affairs of other countries. What Your Majesty just said is related to your country's internal affairs and development, so I cannot offer any opinions."

Before this, when Zhou Xu and Wright exchanged ideas on governance and philosophy, it was more like a conversation between like-minded people. Under such circumstances, Zhou Xu naturally wouldn't emphasize to Wright the rule that their Great Zhou would never interfere in the internal affairs of other countries.

Hearing this from Kong Daqian now undoubtedly disrupted Wright's original plans.

From Wright's perspective, 'I was already prepared to sacrifice some control, and now you're telling me you don't interfere in other countries' internal affairs? That's just awkward!'

For a moment, Wright really didn't know whether to admire the high moral character of the Great Zhou Dynasty or feel a headache over the mess he was in.

At that moment, Kong Daqian subtly changed the subject.

"However, as the diplomatic representative of the Great Zhou Dynasty and also the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I can actually offer you two cooperation opportunities."

"Minister Kong, please speak."

"The first cooperation is that our Great Zhou is willing to buy the mine directly from you at a reasonable price. This transaction will allow you to receive a considerable sum of money directly. As for how Your Majesty the Elf King wants to operate, that is your own business."

The Elven race's current problem, to put it bluntly, is that they don't have money.

If we had money, we could just raise the wages and benefits of the elves, or even create more jobs. It wouldn't be a problem, since we have the money to pay them.

Therefore, the meaning of this first cooperation was to let Wright directly use money to settle domestic issues.

If Wright can weather this storm, he'll have a chance to adjust. What he can achieve after that depends on him. If he still can't make it, then it'll all be for nothing.

"What is the second collaboration?"

"The second cooperation is that our Great Zhou can provide some job opportunities for you. However, considering that you are not official citizens of our Great Zhou, the job options we can offer are very limited. In addition, the elves can only work in our border cities and cannot leave the cities where they work to travel to other cities." This second cooperation was undoubtedly more straightforward.

Aren't you short of jobs? I'll just give you jobs; all you elves can come and work for our Great Zhou, and that'll solve everything.

Although the job options available to these elves are very limited, from a labor perspective, they are definitely not at a disadvantage.

At the same time, we should stand from the perspective of Kong Daqian, or rather, from the perspective of the Zhou Dynasty.

If Wright chooses the first option for cooperation, then their Great Zhou mining team will be able to directly settle in the Elf Forest, allowing them to make further contact with the elves and increase the spread of their culture.

Conversely, if Wright chooses the second option of cooperation, it would be even simpler. When the elves come to their Great Zhou city, even if it is just a border city, they will soon be overwhelmed by the culture of their Great Zhou.

But Wright clearly didn't have the concept of cultural invasion; he genuinely didn't understand it.

Rather than selling the mine and losing ownership of it, Wright would prefer to have the elves work in the Great Zhou.

In Wright's view, even if the elves went to work and live in the Great Zhou, they would still be his people in essence, and that would not change.

To some extent, this line of thinking isn't wrong.

With this in mind, Wright pondered it carefully again and then said...

"I choose the second option."

"no problem."

Kong Daqian smiled and nodded.

"Your Majesty the Elf King, you can first count the number of elves who want to work in our Great Zhou. In one month, or thirty days, they can gather outside the trade market, and we will send someone to pick them up."

Thirty days was a timeframe that Kong Daqian had clearly taken into account the elves' efficiency, so it wasn't too stressful for them, and Wright naturally had no objections.

Afterwards, both parties confirmed the detailed procedures.

After seeing Kong Daqian off, Wright immediately announced the news to the public and instructed the elves who wanted to work in Da Zhou to make a decision within fifteen days and come to register for confirmation.

It was said to be thirty days, but in reality, the number of people had to be reported within twenty days. After all, the Great Zhou also needed to make some preparations, so there wasn't actually that much time to spare.

The news, once released, was like a bombshell exploding among the elves.

Thanks to the influence of the Great Zhou's cuisine and goods, coupled with the story of the "Emperor's Chronicle," many elves now yearn for the Great Zhou, especially the younger generation of elves.

They were at an age where curiosity was at its peak and they were easily swayed by emotions; their curiosity about the Great Zhou was practically overflowing.

Now that this news has been announced, those who signed up without hesitation are mostly from the younger generation.

"Brother Jenny, are you going or not?"

"go with!"

As a typical example of someone who takes the lead and stays ahead in the elf community, Jenny, having already tasted the benefits, is even less likely to hesitate.

Upon hearing this, Carter, who was standing nearby, stopped hesitating and made a decision immediately.

"Then I'll go too!"

(End of this chapter)