Doctor Amnesiac, but not completely amnesiac

Chapter 114 You must show the evil spirit your worth

The old man's eyes dimmed for a moment, but the gloom did not linger in his eyes. Instead, it was replaced by determination in an instant.

"So, the one in there is the bloodline of the former Victorian Red Dragon King?"

"Well, he is probably the only one left. I have also seen the ring - the key to the resting place of the kings beneath Londinium."

Qiao Yelan spread out his hands.

"This is probably the only real red dragon I've found in such a long time - seriously, is King Gael's bloodline really that hidden? I feel like there's something wrong here."

"Are you sure that after King Gael was assassinated, his descendants who escaped from Londinium really escaped all the subsequent pursuits from Aslan and the unicorn - the unicorn in the parliament, you should know how powerful she is."

Wellington stroked his sword with a strange hilt without saying a word.

"Forget it, forget it. Anyway, as long as I can find a red dragon named Gale, you will agree to do something for me. Is this deal still valid?"

"efficient."

The old man finally spoke.

"Well then - if you really can't find it, do you want the Victoria Red Dragon or not?"

"When I really can't find it, I will use a Victoria Draco as a sacrifice to declare Tara's independence. It's also a last resort. I still have decades to live. Please help me find the bloodline of King Gael first."

But in the end, Wellington relented.

"That's it then - but seriously, after I gave Victoria a run for her money, your situation isn't very good."

Qiao Yelan changed the subject and spoke half teasingly and half jokingly.

"Humph, I'm used to it."

Wellington wasn't being arrogant when he said this - as a Tara native, he was really used to being treated this way.

He got the name "Iron Duke" because the windows of Wellington's mansion in Londinium were always smashed by people marching outside. Finally, he ordered his servants to replace the shutters with all-metal ones, and he has been called that ever since.

"The Victorians don't like you, but as for the other group..."

The man raised his chin and pointed to the south.

"A Gaul? The Duke of Normandy?"

Wellington frowned slightly.

"You two were friends before."

"We only cooperated when we beat Leitania. When the Four Emperors fight, there is no room for friendship."

The tone was as firm as ever.

"Just be prepared. I've received a lot of intelligence. The steel trade volume in the Grand Duchy of Normandy is problematic."

"I have never taken him lightly. Only those Victorians who are foolish enough to play politics would believe that the Duke of Normandy has really surrendered to them."

It's a bitter sarcasm, but it's true.

"Windermere, Normandy, Cavendish, and Castor, plus the Electors of Leithania in the west... Are you sure that making enemies on all sides is really a good thing for your [Tara Restoration Plan]?"

Qiao Yelan asked slowly.

"This plan has been delayed until now, and it will probably continue to be delayed in the foreseeable future. After the establishment of this country, if you are alive, nothing will happen. But if you die and lose the name of [Empire's Death Knell] that commands everyone, can the new Tara really withstand the wolves around it?"

"I'll certainly take care of this before I die."

"Kill them all? Conquer them?"

Qiao Yelan asked back.

"—like Victoria did to Tara and Gaul?"

The Duke of Wellington swallowed the rest of his words.

"...Do you have any good ideas?"

“I think you should try to use some non-military means to deal with your relationship with your neighbors. Longmen Coin is a good starting point.”

"For your sake, I won't object to this Dragon Gate Coin, but I don't think it will be an opportunity for Tara."

The old man frowned.

Grand Duke Wellington's economic ability is probably slightly higher than Black Snake's. At least he can understand things within his territory - but that's all.

"Trade circulation - relying on the output of your own territory to patch up your fleet, this must be a bad feeling."

"Humph, I'm not a war maniac. I have to be responsible for the people in my territory! This is just the pain of the transition period. Over the past few decades, the Duchy of Wellington has been able to gradually afford such an army."

"The price is the decline of the military manufacturing industry. Even the high-speed warship production docks are now less than a handful. The senior ship engineers we have have to be rented out in exchange for foreign exchange. In a few years, I'm afraid it will be difficult to maintain the ability to maintain the fleet, right?"

Qiao Yelan ruthlessly burst that bubble.

"What do you want to say, or do you intend to cancel the deal between us? Those senior engineers of the Principality of Wellington are unique. If I really can't afford them, I won't rent them to you!"

Wellington glared at Qiao Yelan. If he wasn't really weak, he would never have done such a thing - looking at the warships of the Ursus Empire galloping on the battlefield, the one who was most worried might not be the attacked country, but the old man in front of him.

It should have been his men, his fleet, his war!

But what can he do?

After the Four Emperors' War, his identity as a Tara was inexplicably exposed, and the [Tara-Victoria Equality Policy] he had previously implemented in the territory was directly distorted and understood as a symbol of evil intentions and an attempt to overthrow King Aslan's rule.

Well, strictly speaking it cannot be considered a distorted understanding, but rather it is understood correctly.

This made Emperor Victoria Frederick III, who was already wary of the grand dukes, even more dissatisfied. He completely lost trust in Grand Duke Wellington, who commanded the strongest army under his command, and indulged the messages and protests within Londinium, and even the exclusion of Wellington by other grand dukes.

The result of this was that the Grand Duke of Wellington was forced to leave Londinium forever and no longer participate in any political decisions within Victoria. He stayed in his own Duchy of Wellington, wholeheartedly maintaining his fleet and territory.

To the north is Windermere, also a border duke, to the south is the Grand Duchy of Normandy, which is gritting its teeth at itself, to the east is Leithnia under the reign of terror of the Witch King Helhunzoran, and to the west is the hostile Victorian political alliance.

Wellington felt furious when he thought about it. It would be better not to catch the guy who leaked his identity. It would not be enough to vent his anger if he didn't stuff him into the main gun of his flagship and shoot him out.

Qiao Yelan frowned and suppressed the urge to sneeze.

Well, it’s probably because I’ve been traveling back and forth between the north and the south recently, and the temperature difference is too big, so I might have caught a cold.

When Wellington's identity as a Tara man was leaked, it was actually a clever move provided by Qiao Yelan to Frederick - the Qiao Yelan at that time had never thought of demolishing Victoria at all.

At least not at the time when the Four Emperors' War had just ended.

The "Great Silence" incident in Iberia broke out in 1038. At that time, Qiao Yelan did not know that there was such a terrible power hidden in the southern ocean. Therefore, the original plan of Longmen Coin was not to give it to Dayan, but to leave it to Victoria, which has a unique geographical location.

But that would require a strong leader to emerge in Victoria.

[Glory] Queen Elizabeth was indeed such a great ruler, but unfortunately she has passed away, and the fate of her son, Frederick III, remains to be seen.

The Battle of the Four Emperors was only the first step. Frederick III threw himself into the war without hesitation, which made Qiao Yelan very satisfied. Therefore, after the war, he made a final test on Frederick - if the other party passed this time, then he would help him integrate Victoria and establish his position as the overlord of the world center.

That is to expose the identity of Grand Duke Wellington, Tara.

If Frederick III was calm enough, he would surely realize that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity - he would have the opportunity to take into his possession the most prestigious war commander in Victoria at the time, as well as his elite army that was the best in Terra.

All he needed to do was to continue to confer the title of Duke of Wellington on the country, and then reach a secret agreement with the other party - the Grand Duke of Wellington's territory would be transferred to the newly incorporated Gaul region, while the people of Tara would be allowed to migrate freely, and it would be promised that Tara would be allowed to become independent in the future and exist as a Victorian Union country with a high degree of autonomy.

Frederick III would gain an entire well-run duchy with a heavy industrial base, as well as the sworn loyalty of a legendary commander and his army - all he would have to pay was some newly occupied Gallic lands that would inevitably not fall into his hands, and the Tara people who had already given him a headache.

Even the local security war problem that was difficult to deal with after the conquest of Gaul was solved, because Archduke Wellington would certainly be willing to bear any infamy and pay any price to open up new living space for the Tara people.

At the same time, including the Duke of Cumberland and the Duke of Windermere, there was no position for the Grand Duke of Normandy at that time - Aslan would completely control more than half of the entire Victorian army, as well as almost all high-end forces including the Steam Knights and Wellington Fleet.

At that time, Castor had just risen thanks to the Colombian War of Independence, and Godottin was being trampled upon by the Iberian Navy in the Krasnian Sea. How could the archdukes have enough strength and courage to play any tricks of lip service and double-crossing with Frederick III?

This was the opportunity given to him by Qiao Yelan, and also a test for him.

Unfortunately, he didn't seize the opportunity.

Frederick III chose the most political and stupidest approach - he chose to isolate Grand Duke Wellington.

He thought that ousting Archduke Wellington from the Archduke's ranks was a victory, but he completely forgot the saying, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

So Qiao Yelan immediately gave up all expectations of him.

He turned around and began to contact Emmanuel, who was the leader of the resistance at the time - now the Grand Duke of Normandy. Relying on sweet words, the mutual constraints among the grand dukes, and their common fear of Wellington, he supported this deformed and huge grand duchy in the south of Wellington.

Gaul's hatred for Victoria was also accumulated there, as a chess piece that Qiao Yelan might use.

Of course, as a comrade who had fought side by side during the War of the Four Emperors, Qiao Yelan, as a messenger of justice, was filled with righteous indignation and felt obligated to "stand by his side" for Grand Duke Wellington, who was already surrounded by enemies at the time.

Giving timely assistance is always more memorable than adding icing on the cake——

Don't worry about who made the snow, just tell me whether the charcoal was delivered or not.

Grand Duke Wellington, who was completely unable to bear the pressure of military expenditure at the time, held Qiao Yelan's hand with tears in his eyes.

After that, the design drawings of high-speed battleships, lathe equipment for factory construction, and skilled workers for construction and repair, these materials and personnel that were simply impossible to buy outside, under the secret arrangement of Qiao Yelan, flowed into Vladimir's territory through Letania, which had signed a non-aggression treaty with Ursus at the time.

The wheat, crude oil, gold and countless supplies that flowed out of Ursus also helped the Duchy of Wellington through its most difficult times.

As for why Vladimir could come up with so much money and supplies, it was of course because -

He won more wars.

What? Do you think Qiao Yelan will pay for it himself?

As for how Vladimir transformed these things into the actual combat power of the Ursus army at such a fast speed...

Wellington would never tell anyone why a large number of middle and lower-level officers and combat staff retired at the same time after following him back to the country, and did not return to their hometowns after retirement, but instead returned to their families several years or even decades later with countless wealth and medals that were not awarded by Victoria.

Of course, sometimes all that comes back is a large pension.

How could Qiao Yelan have the ability to make an army that is still a serfdom country suddenly transformed and win every battle after fighting a battle of the Four Emperors - that would definitely require some unconventional tactics.

Victoria's time-tested combat staff brought a new era of combat thinking to the corrupt Ursus generals.

Countless grassroots officers who have gone through the test of blood and fire have engraved discipline and basic tactics into the minds of soldiers who were once belittled as "gray cattle."

The war behemoths, which have been tested by both technology and the battlefield, are fed by skilled technical workers using the vast resources of Ursus, and sweep across the battlefield with incredible numbers and power.

Unfortunately, these were originally the wealth that Qiao Yelan provided to Frederick III.

As for now, all that was left for Frederick III was a hemp rope around his son's neck.

If you can't become the carrier of Qiao Yelan's plan——

Then you'd better pray that you don't become a victim of Qiao Yelan's plan.

Chapter 115: As long as the money is in hand

After calming down his anger, Wellington calmed down and began to rethink what Qiao Yelan said.

"Except for the Grand Duke of Normandy, the Duchy of Wellington does not have any irreconcilable conflicts with other surrounding forces. I think you also know that if things really get to this point, besides other people's fear of you, your own tough attitude has also caused others to take the initiative to block the path of negotiation."

This is true.

Wellington has always presented himself as a resolute and ruthless person, and his horrific military record has become his greatest intimidation, so the surrounding forces have never considered the possibility of building good relations with the Grand Duke Wellington through negotiations.

As a commander rather than a politician, Wellington was disdainful of many unspoken rules, so he could not tell whether the other side's behavior was a sign of caution or an olive branch - so in order to maintain his deterrent power, he chose to remain indifferent.

“You should try to start something, like, sign a non-aggression pact with one of your neighbors—so that you can let other people know that you can communicate through political means.”

Qiao Yelan patiently and persuadingly.

"The treaty is nothing but waste paper."

"But at least it's a good start, isn't it? With the issuance of Longmen Coin at this point, I think most of the other forces around you think that you are also tempted by the fat piece of meat of international trade, so you are doing this. Then more people will be willing to talk to you in the future."

Wellington stroked his sword and was somewhat moved by Qiao Yelan's words.

Swords are naturally an indispensable part of establishing a country, but if a country is established only by swords - then just look at how the Gallic Empire of Corsica I ended, and you will know what kind of terrible backlash this will bring.

If the newly born Tara could be given a more harmonious environment, then his motherland would not have once again become part of a big country's pie just a few decades after independence.

If you want to get off to a good start...

The Grand Duchy of Normandy in the south is definitely not an option. Emmanuel, that crazy guy, will definitely have a war with him, and this will also be the battle for the founding of Tara.

Leithania in the east is not suitable either. After all, the two sides have been fighting for too long. Whether the other side comes to them or they take the initiative to negotiate with the other side, it will have a great impact on the people and military morale in their respective territories.

Those Victorian political prisoners in the west... No, he's a bit disgusting.

That leaves only——

"Grand Duke of Windermere... not bad."

He said slowly.

Qiao Yelan thought for a while and narrowed his eyes.