People in Terra, governing a weird little country

Dai Feien reacted belatedly, his pupils trembling. Just as he was about to stand up to stop Vina from doing this "poison testing" behavior, there was a knock on the door of the room.

The atmosphere of charm and anxiety was suddenly swept away. Vina sighed with a little rapid breathing, whether out of regret or relief, and stuffed the melon-flavored fruit tart in her hand into her mouth. Daphne sat up straight, moved away from Ernst, sat upright, and looked at Vina with half shock and half vigilance.

Only Ernst, the snow leopard who had just smelled great danger, truly breathed a sigh of relief.

Damn, it seems that they shouldn’t recruit only college students. There is no personal affection within the system. Ernst has been single for nearly fifty years, but he has forgotten about it.

Although neither Vina nor Dafen are college students.

I have to strengthen my ideological and moral education when I go back. How can I do such provocative behavior to my boss? Although this is far from office harassment, I guess Vina's reaction after the incident was just a moment of excitement. But this little cat dares to do this now. Will he challenge my weakness directly next time?

Are you trying to see if my soft spot is strong enough?

After adjusting his mood and posture, Ernst stood up and greeted the white-bearded old man who opened the door and came in.

The person who pushed the door open was naturally none other than the current Pope of the Lateran, Evangelista XI.

Fiammetta was right. The old man was indeed very busy these days. He was busy not because of anything else but to investigate the outsiders who had recently illegally sneaked into Lateran and the rumors that had been circulating in the city.

[The Lateran is not a real paradise. The Sacotas invented this heaven on earth, but they were never willing to share it generously. Even the Liberi of the Lateran never really received the gospel of the Lateran. The Sacotas’ own people are always just themselves.]

This statement actually makes no sense. Apart from anything else, Evangelista XI has never withheld the welfare of residents of other races in the city. Not only him, but also all the popes have never withheld it.

The living standards of the Sakota, Liberi, and a few other races living in Lateran City are at least roughly balanced. The only difference may be that the Sakota are qualified to use the [gun] and have the ability of empathy.

But this was not something that Evangelista XI could decide. Lateran had tried to distribute guns to other races. In fact, Lateran had always kept the door open to the well-trained Liberi to use guns.

However, even if Liberi was experienced, his grasp of the gun might not be as good as that of Sakota, who had been using the gun for a few months. This was an objective fact. As for promoting the gun on a wider scale, even if he wanted to give the gun to others, they would not be able to use it.

Moreover, even if we take a step back, there are also imitation guns on the market. Rutland authorized the founder of Black Steel International, Cliff "Bridge Clamp" from Sakota, to make imitation guns and distribute them to his employees. The only requirement is to control the quantity and not cause an overflow.

If this attitude can be criticized, it does make some sense.

As for empathy, let alone that.

Racial talent, just like Vaifan's strong physique, the legendary Draco's ability to control temperature, and the fact that Quetzalcoatl can fly in the sky no matter how fat it is, are things that cannot be helped.

If that doesn't work, just find a legal machine and let it give you a halo.

Unfortunately, even though these things were not to blame, some people spread rumors and some people believed them. Feeling that they were treated differently, Liberi began to make trouble, and some of the Sakotas also wanted to see the fun and shout for "fairness", making it difficult for Evangelista XI to spread rumors. The notary office and the Papal Office's special operations team have been tracing the source of the rumors for days, searching for the person who spread them.

It was strange. The Lateran was not very big, and Ernst had mentioned that the Vatican had a very high degree of control over it. In the past, rumor spreaders like this would be arrested in two or three days. But this time, the rumor had been circulating in the Lateran for more than five days, and the suspect might have been in the Lateran for more than a week. But the Vatican still had not received any intelligence information about him.

Evangelista XI didn't even know the name of the guy who was causing him trouble, let alone what his purpose was.

If it were someone else, they would probably be too busy by now to even think about the meeting.

But no matter how busy Evangelista XI was, he never forgot about Ernst's affairs.

If the "rumors" were to shake the stability within Lateran, then the topic he was going to talk about next with Ernst would be about the stability outside Lateran, the stability of the entire land of Terra.

Evangelista XI sat down on the main seat and asked seriously:

"Prime Minister Ernst, have you ever thought about one thing?"

"Is it necessary for the nations of the earth, especially small nations like Kjerag and Lateran, to promote the establishment of an institution that maintains international peace and stability?"

I have an exam tomorrow at noon, so I’m taking today off to cram for the exam. Hopefully I can pass it!

.................................. ....................................................

Chapter 220: No rush, stabilize him first

Evangelista XI had a serious expression on his face, and his eyes were completely free of the turbidity and fatigue of an ordinary old man. Instead, they were full of passion and vitality.

Ernst didn’t know whether this could be considered a racial talent of the Sakota people. He heard that people with a good mentality don’t age easily?

Joking aside, the fact that Evangelista XI suddenly brought up this matter with him was indeed a little beyond Ernst's expectations.

"An international organization dedicated to maintaining international peace and building a stable development environment? Isn't this the United Nations you are talking about?"

Ernst muttered to himself.

As for how this proposal is, Ernst commented that it is a very good proposal and extremely visionary. However, it was actually proposed by Sakota, which made Ernst feel a little unbelievable.

Are the Sakota people so far-sighted and visionary?

You know, Lateran is a direct beneficiary of the current international situation in this land. It is precisely because most of the time, the great powers are attacking each other, and few countries can spare their hands to bite a country that is united, has a high reputation, and has special weapons. Lateran can exist as an independent small country for a long time. It is also because of the constant conflicts between the great powers, the displacement of the people, and the widespread poverty and hardship that the Lateran religion can accumulate a large number of believers and prestige among the people, and thus obtain support.

It can be said realistically that the reason why Sakota has such a transcendent status today and why Lateran can be independent of the myriad nations and become a utopian city-state is inseparable from the leaders of the Terran nations' use of the Lateran religion's stability-maintaining effect. It is also because the current world situation forces the two sides to use each other that Lateran was created.

As a vested interest, trying to change the current situation is not something that Pope Evangelista XI should say.

Ernst did not express his position immediately, but followed the usual practice of negotiations, first stabilizing himself and answering questions with questions:

"Why would His Holiness have such an idea? Is it possible for an organization to maintain peace on earth to exist?"

Ernst pretended to be surprised. He wanted to test Evangelista XI and see where the Pope's confidence in making this suggestion came from.

The reason why he did this was very simple, because he had been asked the same question before - in Xiosta, when he proposed the idea of ​​building the Terra Community to Ceylon's father, Hermann, the mayor of the independent city-state Xiosta.

As Ernst expected, Evangelista XI did not show any embarrassment when faced with this question.

Obviously, he guessed that Ernst would ask this question. Rather, if Ernst did not ask this question, he would be surprised and suspicious, thinking that Ernst was somewhat immature - for a mature leader, thinking twice before acting is a basic quality.

He then said:

"Prime Minister Ernst, I believe you should also know where the concept of a modern country comes from in today's Terra?"

This is not just a statement, it is also a question.

Ernst answered with understanding: "The book The Origin of Terra Countries compiled by Victorian historians contains a discussion on modern countries."

"Unlike the fragile tribal alliances of the Classical Period, which could collapse and be destroyed by a natural disaster, the rolling of a giant beast, the wrath of a god, a Sarkaz, or an unknown creature (referring to the unnamed lynx spirit that destroyed the country), today's Terran countries are built on the hub of a mobile city."

“The concept of the modern state was established with the birth of the mobile city.”

This is the biggest difference between the countries on Terra and those on Earth.

If the countries on Earth evolved from settlements in the tribal era, gradually developed into a collection of feudal lords, and finally centralized to form a modern national system, then the way the Terran country was formed was much more bizarre.

People did not form a country as a political entity on the premise of spontaneously seeking to become stronger, but were forced to stick together because of external factors such as fear of natural disasters, Sarkaz, behemoths, etc.

At that time, the borders of the country were the borders of vision. Whenever you closed your eyes, fear would turn you into a human being again.

Today, the rise of mobile cities has brought stronger adaptability to the countries on Terra. The countries finally have the ability to stably avoid natural disasters, fight against behemoths, and even destroy the Sarkaz.

At least if they can't beat them, they can run away.

Evangelista XI showed a gentle smile on his face, and it was obvious that he was very satisfied with Ernst's answer.

This at least shows that the reputation Ernst has accumulated today is not just empty talk or false reputation.

He deserves this special invitation.

"That's a correct answer." He nodded. "It's just like humans. When the direct threat to survival no longer exists or is no longer the main threat, another threat will arise. The exchanges between countries are becoming increasingly close, and frictions are beginning to occur frequently."

"Friction. I don't think I should use such a light word to summarize history."

"Prime Minister Ernst, at your age, you may not have witnessed the war, but I have seen it. I witnessed the fall of Gaul with my own eyes."

"The glorious "World Capital" was destroyed overnight, the roaring armored warships fell into silence, and the invincible Gallic Old Guards turned into fire and smoke."

Just like the ancient Chinese philosophers always like to use ancient allusions, the Terrans always mention Gaul when talking about their country.

As a country that was once the closest to world hegemony and even promoted its own language [Gallic] as [Esperanto], the demise of Gaul is regrettable.

But it is not just the destruction of Gaul that is a cause for regret and warning.

It was the entire civilization that paid the price for this war.

This is the first war of annihilation level in history since modern countries were built on mobile cities.

This set a very bad precedent - the leaders of the nations of Earth finally realized, or were allowed to realize, that when the Scourge, the Behemoths, the Sarkaz, and the Lynx could not destroy their countries, the only threat to their countries was each other.

The Gaul Emperor Corsica I was the last national leader to declare war on the pretext of a "vassal state", and in the Ursus era of expansion that followed, the Ursus emperor, who had been tempered on the battlefield of the Battle of the Four Emperors, put the experience he had gained on the battlefield into practice with his own empire.

Every war he launched was a war of annihilation.

Ernst fell into deep thought, and Evangelista XI continued:

"When the 'Emperor of the Gauls' and his fearless legions can't even keep an empire in the center of the earth, we have to think about what can maintain the civilization that the Terrans have painstakingly woven and accumulated under the brilliance of natural disasters."

"You asked me why I had this thought, and this is my answer."

"No reason, just to survive."

Ernst had to admit that Evangelista XI was an outstanding orator and debater.

He could believe that if the person Evangelista XI was facing at this moment was not him, but a figure like the Duke of Castile, the President of Colombia, then what he said would certainly be much more magnificent.

Precisely because he was facing Ernst at the moment, he accurately grasped the core demands of each small country.

[Survive], it is easy to say but so difficult to do.

Allende's experience shows that focused development is not necessarily feasible, the rise and fall of Benin shows that playing both sides is not necessarily feasible, the fate of Burundi proves that even a strong man sent from heaven cannot withstand the interference of big powers, and Iceland's history highlights that it is good to lean on a big tree for shade.

The history of this peculiar little country is full of contradictions, and there is never a standard answer that applies to the future.

He had to admit that if there really was an organization like what Evangelista XI mentioned, which could uphold justice for the country, seek fairness, and gain a chance to survive, then it would indeed be an extremely exciting future.

If it were someone else, they might have been persuaded by Evangelista XI.

But Ernst was still lucid.

Because mere hope and expectation could no longer move him. It was not because he had turned so dark that he no longer believed in hope, but because he knew himself. And he had seen the organization that Evangelista XI mentioned.

All in all, this is just a UN concept. It is unrealistic to have too high expectations of it before it is realized.

Who knows if what you’ll end up putting together is a League of Nations?

We expect the League of Nations to do things for weak and small countries. As a Chinese, we have learned this lesson from history books.

However, Ernst did not waste Evangelista XI's words. He stopped pretending to be stupid and asked directly:

"How many major countries have supported this idea?"

This is the key.

Even if the United Nations General Assembly roars thousands of times and passes a thousand resolutions and appeals, it cannot be as effective as a single show of hands vote in the Security Council.

International pressure and public opinion have no actual killing power. If it does not get the support of major powers, the organization established by Lateran may not even be as good as the League of Nations.

At least the League of Nations has a function that allows people to withdraw and increase the world's tension~

Evangelista XI stared at Ernst, seemingly puzzled.

For some reason, although Ernst's question was reasonable and understandable, he always had an inexplicable feeling, as if Ernst was not moved by his speech at all, but was annoyed by his speech, so he spoke.

Seeing that Evangelista XI looked puzzled, Ernst explained:

"To be honest, Your Holiness, this question is also one I received."

"I actually have a similar idea to yours, but when I invited a friend of mine, he asked me this question."

"I have been working hard to answer his question honestly, and now, this is the level I can reach."

Ernst turned his head slightly and glanced calmly at Dai Finn and Vina sitting on the sofa beside him, or to be exact, Dai Finn.

If he went to lobby in person, he could at least convince the Duke of Windermere, who was a quarter of Victoria, to join the organization. As for the Duke of Caster and the Duke of Wellington, he was not completely sure.

Evangelista XI naturally noticed his gaze and immediately fell into deep thought.

Ernst had been honest with him. He didn't say it explicitly, but he did agree with the idea.

Although he said that Evangelista XI's idea was imperfect here and there, Ernst essentially still hoped that it could succeed - having a place to argue could at least solve 80% of the problems of fighting.

Especially for small countries, before the United Nations, if two countries were unhappy, they would just go to war. But with the United Nations, at least there is an international organization that acts as an arbitrator. If you don't have a special background and want to cause trouble, you really have to consider the face of the five permanent members who act as arbitrators.

When it does not involve their own interests, big countries are still happy to do "good things". After all, upholding justice itself is a cost-free business and can also enhance their international reputation.

Evangelista XI thought for a moment and decided to tell Ernst some of his secrets as well.

He smiled slightly, asked Ernst to wait a moment, then walked to the inside of the lounge and turned on a phonograph with a large speaker.

"We've been talking for so long, and we're tired. This phonograph was a gift from the twin queens of Leitania to the Lateran envoy at the last Queen's Day celebration. It contains many golden songs of the Royal Orchestra. We can relax while enjoying the music."

Ernst nodded in understanding.