Mage Joan

"I have talked with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Far East, Kun Tiliang three times. That guy is very annoying. He can't wait to squeeze the oil from the stone. If he doesn't take advantage of it, he will suffer a loss. The cooperation conditions offered are harsh enough to the point of madness. If I dare to agree , I am afraid that all revolutionaries in the colony will be scolded as'traitors'!"

The old man Franklin shrugged helplessly, held his pipe, and continued to say to Qiao An: "Relatively speaking, His Majesty Roland is more reasonable than his foreign minister. He understands our difficulties and knows very well where our bottom line is. It’s also a bit harsh, but it deserves serious consideration."

"It is not convenient for Fang to disclose, what conditions did Your Majesty Roland offer?" Qiao An asked curiously.

The old man Franklin nodded lightly, and casually used a "mage's secret room" to cover this area in a secluded corner of the coffee shop to prevent eavesdropping.

"His Majesty Roland put forward three conditions. As long as the Continental Congress accepts it, he and the Far East Government will publicly recognize the legal status of the Continental Congress and the Continental Army, and promise to support us against the Fijian invading army. If necessary, he will send Far Eastern troops across the border. Dayang went to the New World to join the war."

The old man Franklin opened his briefcase, took out a file and handed it to Joan.

"The first condition is represented by the Continental Congress. The "Federal Republic of Wilnoa", which is composed of Jotunheim, Midgard, and Alfheim, must sign an agreement with the Kolas Empire in the Far East. The full name of this free trade agreement is the Treaty on Friendship, Mutual Assistance, Trade and Navigation. The draft of the treaty is here, you can take a look."

Qiao An opened the file bag, took out the draft and browsed it, and found that the content was quite complicated, with a total of 30 items and 68 paragraphs listed.

The summary of this treaty is as follows:

The nationals of this contracting party have the right to live, travel, and engage in various occupations such as commerce, industry, culture, education, religion, etc., as well as the right to mine and develop mineral resources, lease and retain land in the "territory" of the other party; and Enjoy national treatment economically.

The goods of this party enjoy no less than the treatment of any third country and the goods of the other country. This party shall not impose any prohibition or restriction on the import of any items from the other party, and any items transported by this party to the other party.

Ships and airships of this side can navigate freely in any ports, places, territorial waters, and airspaces open to the other side, and their personnel and articles have the freedom to pass through the territory of the other side through the "easiest way".

Ships of this party, including warships, can enter any port, place, territorial water or airspace that is not open to foreign commerce or shipping when encountering "any danger".

...

Generally speaking, this is an economic cooperation treaty with free trade and free navigation. Since both parties enjoy the same rights and obligations, there is no so-called "unilateral most-favored-nation" clause, which is fairer than Qiao'an expected. reasonable.

"I originally thought that the Far East government wanted to force the Continental Congress to sign a treaty similar to the'Empire Preferences' system. Now it doesn't seem like that. The content of the treaty is fair."

Qiao An's evaluation of the draft treaty caused Mr. Franklin to shake his head and laugh.

"You have no experience working in the diplomatic service, and you can't see through the pitfalls behind the words. My child, you must know that fairness in the literal sense is not equivalent to fairness in fact."

"What do you say?" Qiao An asked in surprise.

The old man Franklin spit out a string of smoke rings, making a popular and vivid analogy.

"The two parties who concluded this treaty are like two boxers in an open duel in the ring. Boxing rules are transparent and fair. There are also referees who ensure that the two sides play according to the rules. However, one player is a professional boxer weighing 150 pounds, and the other is a professional boxer. He is a short-sighted young civil servant of the same weight, who has never received boxing training, and sits in the office from morning to night to copy and write. Do you think this kind of competition is really fair?"

"Joan, what do you think of this city when you came to Colasburgh today?"

"Very prosperous and orderly, the Magic Industry is not only very developed, but also the industrial achievements have been widely used in all areas of citizens' clothing, food, housing and transportation."

Qiao An objectively commented.

"Then what do you think is the difference between the cities in our New World, such as Midgard and Leiden in your hometown, compared with Colasburg?" Old Franklin asked.

Qiao An frowned slightly and replied reluctantly: "I have to admit that there is a big gap. Even in peaceful years, Midgard and Leiden are unlikely to reach Kolassberg in a short time. The level of prosperity, let alone being ravaged by war."

"The more sad reality is that the country where Kolasburg is located has quelled internal and external troubles through a series of wars and basically achieved industrialization. It is in the golden period of rapid economic development. In the foreseeable future, the Kolas Empire The gap with our New World in the industrial and commercial fields will only widen."

The old man Franklin sighed, and then said to Qiao An: "The Kolas Empire has the ability to export industrial production capacity to the New World, and has the ability to drive fleets and airships over our bays and even cities. On the contrary, even if the New World ends the war, industry and military It is impossible for the ability to catch up with the Far East within a generation."

"If we sign this so-called "Treaty of Friendship, Mutual Aid, Trade and Navigation," we can only be regarded by the Far Easterners as the source of bulk raw material purchases, and have been dumped in trade activities for a long time. The market is flooded with industrial products produced in the Far East. But our children and grandchildren are unable to develop their own industrial system, let alone participate in international competition."

“In this way, the Far Easterners do not need to occupy our land, manage our people, and do not need to bear any governance costs. They can in fact become our suzerain state, and at the national economic level, turn the New World into a dependency. Colony of the Kolas Empire."

"Qiao An, now you know why Roland is opposed to the current colonial system? It is not because of the inhumane way of dividing up colonies by the great powers, but because this kind of behavior with the main purpose of fighting for land is too outdated in his opinion, far inferior to economic colonization. More efficient."

"If the traditional powers in the world of Vares are a group of greedy and cruel hungry wolves, our Majesty Roland is like a handsome devil who drinks human blood and wipes the corners of his mouth with a white napkin!"

"Joan, my child, who is more terrifying, the hungry wolf or the devil? Needless to say, you should know it in your heart."

The young mage nodded heavily.

"Old Dean, thank you for your advice. I understand that there is no advantage in the world. In order to get rid of the iron-hoe ravages of the ‘empire that does not set the sun’ and seek independence and liberation, we have to endure the exploitation of another powerful empire."

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