People in Terra, governing a weird little country

She did not express any opinions at the meeting, not entirely because of Duke Caister, but also because, in the current situation, there was indeed no way to have the best of both worlds.

If we want to wipe out the Sarkaz as quickly as possible, then the Duke of Wellington's method is indeed fast and fierce, but the casualties it will cause can be imagined. But if we choose the Duke of Caster's safe plan...

The Duchy of Windermere is not as wealthy as the Duchy of Caster. Even though Kent is in Lyingarden to manage the affairs of the Duchy on her behalf, allowing her to fight on the front line without worry, there is a time limit.

The sound of a cannon is worth a fortune. The Duke of Caster can afford the consumption of a low-intensity protracted war, but the Duke of Windermere cannot.

From this point of view, the Duke of Caster undoubtedly proposed an open conspiracy, which seemed to be the best way to preserve the strength of the grand dukes, but in fact, you can't say that it was not completely preserved, but the one who was least weakened was undoubtedly herself, and as the saying goes, the less I regress, it means I progress a lot.

And that old guy Wellington...Amphelice Windermere's intuition told her that the Duke of Wellington could not be trusted.

Until now, he had not shown himself to be a soldier who wanted to win the battle, but more like a politician who was putting on a show. Especially the move of trying to attract everyone's attention by leaving the meeting room, which was too deliberate!

If anyone is going to leave, she should be the first to leave since she is openly at odds with Kaster!

After pondering for a moment, the Duke of Windermere sighed.

Well, let's wait and see what happens.

The Duke of Windermere suddenly missed Delphine a little.

Her daughter is very smart. When she analyzed the World Summit with her last time, she made very clear arguments.

The Duke of Windermere expressed distress at the absence of Kent and the lack of an external brain.

Why not write a letter to Daphne?

The Duke of Windermere took out his writing paper and began to write.

[My dear Delphine, how are you doing recently? Have you learned anything new from Ernst? ]

[Everything is fine here with my mother. You should also listen to Ernst in Kjerag.]

[The battle situation in Londinium has reached a stalemate. The time I originally agreed to visit you may have to be postponed, but I believe that Ernst will take good care of you...]

Ernst's office in the Kjerag Government Building, Tukarim, Kjerag.

"So, this letter from my mother is not written to me, it's clearly written to you!"

Daphne rolled his eyes at Ernst and pouted, but he couldn't hide his smile.

"Your name appears more often than mine!"

PS: June 6th is coming soon, get ready and fight in the shadow of the golden tree! The old man's ring is still fun!

Speaking of which, I saw news recently that the people who presided over the sacrifice were arrested and were on the Focus Interview. It seems like Hegou is going to cry behind bars now!

Chapter 521: Breath of the Kings

Ernst's office in the Kjerag Government Building, Tukarim, Kjerag.

There is still one month before the World Summit officially begins.

Ernst has been trying to postpone the date of the Summit of All Nations, not only because many urgent issues are still pending, but also because he is observing the situation on Terra, especially the situation in Londinium.

If the Duke's coalition army wins the first battle and the Sarkaz army is defeated, Ernst can speed up the convening of the Summit of Nations, because the Sarkaz who gather in Londinium and occupy the mountain are undoubtedly the radicals in the entire Sarkaz community. They are systematically wiped out, and the remaining Sarkaz will naturally fall into a state of shrinking for a certain period of time. This will help him to gain more support for the "recruitment" plan of the Sarkaz from ordinary people who have no political stance and are just scared - because this is the only choice they have.

To say the least, the Dukes' coalition forces were in a stalemate with the Sarkaz around Londinium, which was also beneficial to Ernst, because if the situation in Londinium was not clear, Victoria's representative at the World Summit would always be controversial, and as long as there was controversy over the representative's selection, the Dukes would not agree to hold the first World Summit in such a simple manner. Ernst would have enough time to continue to promote the Sarkaz nation-building plan to gain support from more countries, as well as the construction of Kazdelnia Sky City.

And if, although the possibility is very small, Victoria, the most powerful country on this earth and the former land hegemony, capsized in the gutter, and was outnumbered by four and killed by Tracy, then the situation would be really bad.

If the Sarkaz far-right radicals gained huge benefits through war, and these benefits were cut from an extremely powerful core circle country that was considered invincible, then what kind of chain reaction this would trigger, Ernst could imagine it, but he was not willing to think about it.

Ernst had read similar content in history books in his previous life. The Ottoman Empire and the Qing Empire were exactly the same as Victoria, where the same situation occurred. The ending was also "obvious and self-evident."

However, as the alien isotope of the British Empire on Terra, which is greatly lacking in virtue, if the Victoria Empire is really overturned by the Kazdel Military Committee, and then leads to the Terran countries re-evaluating its strength and eroding and plundering its sphere of influence, then to some extent, this can be regarded as a kind of black humor.

There will probably be many people clapping and cheering loudly: Victoria, you have come to this day!

But Ernst probably wouldn't be among those opening the champagne.

Ernst couldn't stand Victoria's hegemony and power politics, and even more so the corruption and feudal remnants within it, but it was undeniable that its existence was useful enough for Kjerag.

The collapse of Victoria would bring about a huge, irreparable power vacuum on Terra, which would lead to unprecedented unrest, something that Ernst did not want to see as he hoped to minimize casualties, complete a peaceful transition of the international order, and realize Kjerag's "peaceful rise."

What's more, the real trouble is not even the collapse of Victoria, but the rise of the far-right radicals of the Sarkaz.

Create a massacre in Londinium, claiming that this is blood for blood, tooth for tooth. Defeat the Duke's coalition forces in Victoria and further demonstrate the power of the radicals. If the military committee continues at this pace, what will they become?

More Sarkaz without a stance will be attracted by the extreme nationalism of Tresis and the Military Committee, and more wavering Sarkaz will be brainwashed by the fanatical atmosphere created after the victory. Even more Sarkaz who have already given up their desire to fight and hope to live a stable life will be infected by this collective obsession and develop an illusion: Tresis actually beat Victoria? Maybe we can really fight again!

This is not a joke, but the most classic development process of extreme populism. Extreme populists can never occupy an absolute majority in a group. They are just a small group at the beginning, but they are like viruses. As long as there is room for development, they will quickly infect and spread, just like ink stains on white paper, which are hard to prevent.

Ernst didn't know whether Tracy's reputation would undergo a 180-degree turn in a few decades or hundreds of years, but Ernst knew that if Tracy was not contained, the Sarkaz would have no future.

They will be greeted by the coalition forces of Terra. Whoever takes Teresis's head first may be rewarded and get the largest piece of meat from Victoria's body - just like the Duke of Wellington harvested from the body of the Gallic Empire.

Therefore, Ernst attached great importance to the letter from the Duke of Windermere conveyed by Delphine.

"I'm afraid none of us expected that the situation in Londinium would be so unfavorable."

He frowned slightly and sighed. Vina, who was also present as a stakeholder, pursed her lips and sighed after hearing this.

Given her status and position, she could have made a few sarcastic remarks in a private setting like this: "Isn't this the fault of the dukes themselves?"

If the dukes had not let the Sarkaz into the city, if the Duke of Caster had not plotted against the Duke of Cavendish and the Duke of Stafford, if the duke had not destroyed what he could not get and tried to kill the steam knights who were loyal to Victoria rather than someone else, if the Lion King had not been hanged, Victoria would still have a nominal public speaker.

Things do not necessarily develop to the point where they must be resolved by war.

But the dukes naturally made the worst choice for Victoria for their own interests.

If the grand dukes of Victoria could think more about the big picture and calculate the big accounts, and think less about the small details and calculate the small accounts, and integrate the regional and departmental affairs into the central affairs, so as to not only bring glory to the dukedom, but also add color to the overall situation, and unify their thoughts and actions with the central government's decision-making and deployment, and work hard, spare no effort, recharge, and work hard to promote various undertakings, achieve new breakthroughs, and reach a higher level, then who knows, the Victorian Empire may still be the hegemonic empire.

It's a pity that it can't be done.

Vina did not make any sarcastic remarks, not just because of Dafen's presence.

As Kjerag's foreign minister and a member of Kjerag, and having once wandered the streets of the Londinium slums, Vina knew very well that no matter what the situation on the front line was, the people of Londinium would always suffer.

The Grand Dukes have won, and the Sarkaz are doomed to be defeated. They will be angry and massacre civilians.

The Grand Dukes are in a stalemate, and the Sarkaz are short of military supplies, so they will force civilians to work and produce, and those who refuse will be killed.

The grand dukes were defeated, and the extreme populist fanaticism of the Sarkaz spread. These Victorian civilians will still face attacks from the fanatical Sarkaz.

War has winners at the macro level, but when it comes to each individual, when the country prospers, the people suffer, and when the country perishes, the people suffer.

How could Vina still laugh?

"Ernst, do you have any ideas?"

Dai Finn looked at Ernst with some anticipation.

Ernst, is there a solution?

You say no, but he does.

The high walls and cannons of Londinium are enough to deter any invader. Even a high-speed warship seems dwarfed by the towering walls. It has more than one main gun, which is enough to make anyone who wants to attack by force consider his own weight.

But all these defense measures, not only in Londinium, but also in the defense facilities of the mobile cities of the entire earth, have an absolute blank area.

--Sky.

As long as the airships were deployed, the towering walls and countless turrets of Londinium would become mere decorations. They were used to shoot at the troops under the walls, and had never been used to guard against invaders from the sky. The airships could easily bypass them and directly carry out air strikes and airdrops into the city of Londinium, or even directly break into the palace and send elite troops to carry out decapitation operations.

But the prerequisite is that airships can be used in this war.

The prerequisite for an airship to fly in the sky is the stable high-altitude environment provided by the great god Yelagund. Although engineers have never stopped their research and technological progress on airships for more than half a year, it is still far from reaching the stage where it can be "perfectly deployed on the battlefield."

Anyone who drives this thing over here without the protection of the great god Yelagund would have to pray that this first, only and largest airship on Terra doesn't copy a certain Zeppelin and "spontaneously combust" in the air or something.

Oh my goodness! When do we enter the Queen Victoria Line?

Moreover, the more important reason was that Ernst did not want Kjerag to be involved in the war between Victoria and Sarkaz.

Kjerag must be pure and innocent. If the airship appears and helps the Victorians, then all the Sarkaz will know that Kjerag supported Victoria in the war. How can Ernst win the hearts of the Sarkaz in the future? Who will be willing to surrender to the "Sarkaz Butcher" who annihilated a "Sarkaz Hero" and "Hope"?

So, he does have a solution, but it doesn't work.

Apart from airships, Ernst really had no idea what could directly solve the predicament of the Duke's coalition forces around Londinium.

We can't just explode if we disagree with something, right?

Fortunately, before Ernst could answer, the door of the room was knocked, and Xinteleya's voice came:

"Boss, the Duke of Caister's messenger is looking for you."

Ernst subconsciously glanced at Dai Finn beside him. Dai Finn curled his lips, but did not intend to leave or stop Ernst from meeting the gray hat.

"Please come in."

The door opened and in walked the man in the grey hat that Ernst was quite familiar with - Sir Bellingham, or the Poet.

He and Ernst were old acquaintances. He was the first man in the gray hat that Ernst knew, he was also the one who played the harp on the train, and he was also the one who represented the Duke of Castor in Casimir and showed him the investigation report on the four-city meltdown incident.

Whenever there is something concerning Kjerag, he is always there, and he is a hard-working veteran.

As soon as he entered the room, Gray Hat naturally noticed the little blue cat sitting on the sofa with his legs crossed. He immediately bent down and bowed respectfully to Daphne:

"I didn't expect the Duke of Windermere's daughter to be here. I apologize for being impolite."

Dai Feien rolled her eyes. She had no good temper towards these intelligence officers, but she didn't blame them too much either. She just nodded slightly and turned her gaze to Ernst, indicating that he was the protagonist.

Gray Hat naturally understood this truth. He certainly didn't come here to look for Daphne.

He was looking for Ernst.

To be more precise, he came to look for the two people who were currently at Ernst's place.

"Prime Minister Ernst, since Lord Daphne is here, you should have some understanding of what is happening around Londinium. This saves me a lot of trouble."

"I came here on the orders of the Duke of Caister to seek your help. To be more precise, I came here to seek your consent."

Ernst's expression remained unchanged: "I don't think that as Prime Minister Kjerag, I can play any special role in the Duke's coalition's special military operation against Londinium."

"Yes, of course. Military matters should be handled by professionals. Duke Caister certainly won't want to involve you in this matter. I came here to borrow someone's name from you."

The man in the gray hat raised his head and looked at Vina and Lavshini behind Ernst.

"Duke Caister hopes that you can agree to let Her Highness Alexandrina or Her Highness Lavishini write a letter to His Excellency Wei Yanwu, the Governor of Longmen, in their names."

"Dragon Gate?"

Ernst frowned.

How does this matter involve Longmen?

"What do you want?"

An awkward smile appeared on his face hidden under the collar of his grey hat. He looked helplessly at Delphine Windermere, who still had no reaction, and sighed slightly, saying bluntly:

"His Lordship has not ordered this to be shared with the Duke of Windermere."

Daphne frowned, straightened his body slightly, which would have made Sintela ashamed, and uttered a dissatisfied voice:

"Ok?"

Gray Hat immediately changed his tone:

"But the Duke of Caister has not issued an order to forbid it."

"Being able to adapt to situations without orders and focusing on achieving the ultimate goal is a must for every gray hat."

He saved himself some trouble, then rubbed his hands and brought the topic back to the original point:

"The last descendant of the orthodox lineage of Victoria Drake, [Yatrias], died in Longmen 28 years ago."

"His death is of no importance to Victoria as a whole, but he took away an item that belonged to Victoria. If nothing unexpected happens, this item should be kept in the hands of Longmen Governor Wei Yanwu."

"The Duke wants that."

Daphne questioned, "Why doesn't Duke Caister go get it himself?"

The man in the gray hat shrugged: "The Duke and Wei Yanwu are not familiar with each other."

There was no such thing as familiar or unfamiliar. To put it bluntly, she asked for it herself, and Wei Yanwu would not give it to her. Even if Wei Yanwu was willing to give it, the Duke of Kaster could not afford it, or was unwilling to pay the price.

It is related to Vina and Ravshini. This thing must be something that only the Victorian royal family could access.

"last question."

Ernst said,

"If we get this thing, what effect will it have on the battle situation?"

"The power of the Sarkaz's strange witchcraft will be greatly reduced, and Victoria's advantages in technology and equipment will be fully demonstrated."