Blood Dragon

Chapter [-] Exotic

"What... what happened?" Ah Jin asked a little uneasy. "Ashrufat, you don't have to hide from me, friends should have everything to say."

"Well, in fact, there is no need to hide it." Ashuruffat replied. "Ajin, on my way back, I met a person sent by Her Majesty the Queen. He revealed a piece of news to me."

"What kind of news?"

"The public opinion in Falcon City is very unfavorable to me, and I have to be prepared to go to jail." When talking about this matter, Ashuruffat smiled slightly. "Well, it's the thing about Fornoros City."

"But...but... this is a last resort." A Jin replied cautiously.He is a businessman, but as we all know, the treacherous business world is no less dangerous than the officialdom.Although Ah Jin is young, his childhood education, immersion, and practical experience make him a qualified businessman in all aspects.In other words, don't look at him shouting "to be honest" all day long, but he is no stranger to intrigue. "...It's not from the original intention. Public opinion is like a wave, and it will be calm after it passes..."

"I think so too." Ashuruffat replied lightly.

"I admit that she did something wrong..."

"She did nothing wrong." Ashuruffat replied softly. "People, the first instinctive choice is to protect themselves. This is not a mistake. Well, it should be said that this is a normal choice for a king."

That's what he said, but Ah Jin could clearly feel the weariness in Ashuruffat's voice.He wanted to speak, but suddenly found that he didn't know how to speak.

"But...but..." After hesitating for a long time, Ah Jin finally said. "She is the queen, your sovereign."

"Well, from the beginning."

"According to...the moral norms of modern humans, a subject cannot make demands on the monarch, right?"

"I didn't ask for it." Ashuruffat laughed. "You see, I have already decided to let her decide everything in this matter. I submit everything to her arrangement."

"Ashrufat, are you dissatisfied?"

"Do I have it?" Ashuruffat asked back. "In fact, this should be considered in this way. She made this choice according to the logic of a monarch. Then I should also obey her choice according to the logic of a subject. Don't you think so?"

"Ashrufat, what on earth do you want to do? Don't do anything stupid!"

"Don't worry, I won't do anything stupid. I'm just... doing my duty as a courtier. I will sacrifice myself to free her from this trouble. Just like I was her bodyguard before, my duty is to protect Her safety... well, that's all. I will do my best to fulfill my obligations."

"To be honest, I think you are going to do something stupid." A Jin said suspiciously.Although Ashurfat said so with a strong oath, the tiredness in his voice was still lingering.

The carriage stopped at this moment.What A Jin said before was not entirely an excuse, because at this time the carriage stopped at the door of a tavern.The two got out of the car.

"Ashrufat, the wine here is very good." Ajin pointed to the hotel in front of him and said. "Don't look at the inconspicuous appearance, this tavern has dozens of fine wines to taste!"

"Really?" Ashuruffat followed Ajin into the hotel.A Jin's recommendation was not entirely unreasonable, because as far as the eye could see, the business in the hotel was so good that there were no empty tables.However, Ah Jin had already prepared for this. After declaring his identity, they were taken upstairs to a private seat.Here, they can talk about everything.But this time, their topic broke away from the previous one, and turned to what happened in Falcon City in the near future.

"Hmm... So, someone came to track down the source of the power of attorney of those elf princes?" Ashuruffat asked while holding a wine glass.Since he woke up, he found that he was not sensitive to alcohol—it should be said that he could not feel the anesthesia effect of alcohol on the human body at all.

"Of course, hahahaha... The people of Turan are impatient... They will definitely take action..."

"Is it that exaggerated?"

"Hey, the Turan people rely on monopolizing the trade between humans and elves for a living! It is said that one-third or even one-half of their treasury's income comes from this business. If it weren't for such a ratio of income...they Can such a strong army be maintained?"

"Oh, they got you? Don't tell me you told the truth!"

"What are you talking about? Am I, Ah Jin, that kind of person? The most basic rule of a businessman is honesty. I promised you to keep it a secret, and of course I will keep it to the end. Hehe, they couldn't find anything, but I tricked them out a lot talk."

"What?"

"Well, it is said that the elves do not attach much importance to the Turan people. The elves have only done business with the Turan people before, but it is just a... a habit. In other words, these licenses have directly shaken Turan. People's monopoly rights. But it may be another situation, that is, the Turan people are afraid that the elf prince will write a letter, directly vetoing the communication with the Turan people. Hey, in short, they are very nervous. This is the country problem!"

"Guoben? It's just an income..."

"Ashrufat," Ah Jin called out. "You are also a former chancellor of the exchequer, how can you not understand such a trivial matter? This is a matter related to half of the national treasury's income! People die for money, and the country is the same. This matter can directly provoke a war! You don't even look at it Look, both Turan and Tiberius suffered heavy losses during the Battle of Calaean. But Tiberius is still in financial difficulties, while the Turanians have recovered. Isn't it all due to this source of income? To be honest, Ashurfat, if you didn't sell these license documents back then, but let our country directly intervene in the name of the queen... I'm afraid our two countries have officially done it! The Turan people would not hesitate All to protect this goose that lays golden eggs."

"Haha... It seems that my choice is correct."

"It's more than correct." Ajin picked up his wine glass and took a big sip. "For this reason, the Turans turned their attention to Sham."

"What's the relationship between the two?"

"The problem of the port." Ajin replied.It didn't take him too long for Ashurfat to understand the problem.There are two conditions for the Turan people to monopolize the trade with the elves. One is the exclusive right to operate out of habit, and the other is that Turan owns the port closest to the elves.In the past, the second condition did not work.But now with the permission document of Elf Prince Ashurfat, the first condition is abolished, and the Turans hope to rely on the latter condition to continue to achieve monopoly.But how can merchants who spend millions on licensed files allow this kind of exploitation?So they simply came to a bottom line. After the ship set off from the kingdom of the elves, it did not pass through the port of the Turan people and went south to Sham.

In Sham, there are much better tax conditions and social environment.

Of course, the Turan people are unwilling to watch their golden river go to other people's homes.At first they tried to thwart these merchant ships with warships and dragon knights at sea, but they were warned by the elves.Although Turan is known as a powerful country, he dare not challenge the elves alone.Because the Turan people know very well that the elves have hundreds of times more war dragons than them, a navy ten times stronger than them, and an army that is enough to make any human country fearful.According to the principle of "picking the soft persimmons", they aimed at Sham.The Turans made a request to Sham to block the port and refuse the entry of these merchant ships traveling to and from the kingdom of the elves.

From a neutral point of view, this kind of request is very arrogant and selfish in terms of emotion and reason.Which country a businessman travels to and who he wants to do business with is entirely the businessman's freedom, and no outsiders can interfere.In fact, let alone a businessman, even a wanted criminal in one country can often swagger around openly in another country.

However, the problems between countries never talk about the four words "in terms of emotion and reason", but about the level of strength.There is no reason between the strong and the weak, but only the logic of the strong—the logic that favors the strong.For Turan, because Sham opened the port to these merchants, which affected the financial income of the Turan people, this is a big crime.

A fool also knows the disparity in strength between the two countries.Since the last time they participated in the coalition expedition to Kalean, the Turanians have hardly used weapons.Moreover, due to the monopoly of elf trade, the country has obtained huge financial revenue.The current Turan is at a time when the national power is strong. If there is also a hidden danger of ethnic minority rebellion in the country, which has involved a lot of energy, I am afraid that there has been an idea of ​​expansion there.

Sham, on the other hand, has had bad luck all the way.First, the young and promising king died suddenly, leaving only a baby as king and an incompetent empress dowager as regent.Then they encountered a large-scale invasion of green skins and suffered a heavy blow. Although they took this opportunity to regain a lot of benefits from the church, in the final analysis, the losses outweighed the gains.Then there was the rebellion and eventual independence of the Beru people, which basically shook the foundation of the country this time.The current Sham, with its military strength greatly weakened, financial difficulties, and people's turmoil, is really powerless to fight against the Turanians.

But no matter what, seeing a piece of fat fly away, the Sham people must be very unwilling.The two sides are conducting diplomatic consultations, with the Turanites presenting troops at the border as a threat of force, while the Shamites are trying to introduce a third-party force to try to resolve the crisis through diplomatic means.

"So...the current situation is very delicate." A Jin took another big sip of wine. "It can be called an eventful autumn."

"But it has nothing to do with our country..."

"Of course it has something to do with our country," Ajin said. "The last time the barbarians invaded, the church gathered forces from all over the world to support our country. But this time... it may be difficult."

Ashurfat knows this history.Although in fact only Tiberius was the only country that actually sent troops to help, all countries provided substantial support in terms of materials and money.

"The Ryans have been crippled by vampires and civil war." Akin counted with his fingers. "Turan and Sham confronted each other... half of it was removed."