People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

Anyway, I'll be the one hosting the opening ceremony, so I won't let your hard-earned speech go to waste.

King Ivangelista XI took a deep breath, and a rare look of pity and heaviness appeared on his usually cheerful face.

"Dukes, representatives, journalists, and guests, good afternoon."

“I am Pope Ivangelista XI of Lateran.”

“I am standing here not to preach, nor to make repeated verbal appeals. Before I explain my purpose, I would like to ask you a question.”

How has our civilization been able to continue?

The Sarkaz lived amidst war, which is the most direct and realistic description of their situation in modern times. But Ivangelista XI had to say that it wasn't just the Sarkaz who were affected.

Terra was born amidst war.

War never ceases, geopolitical conflicts are constant, and conspiracies and schemes with obvious implications are constantly unfolding. Secret treaties that could destroy a country are signed in private, only to collapse at unexpected moments, subverting the country's peace and stability.

Admittedly, Ivangelista XI had not witnessed a continent-sweeping conquest and expansion for a long time, but various tacit agreements or deals still influenced the fate of nations and peoples beyond what was visible to the public.

Therefore, he had to ask this question, which led to even more questions.

"How many people are the challenges to peace?"

"The security of one country means the security of how many countries?"

No one answered his question.

There's no way around it; these are indeed three unforgettable questions, and they certainly deserve to resonate with people.

It's a bit of a shame that the person being questioned was sitting in the audience. Naturally, one can't expect that someone with a face thicker than the walls of Lentinium and a vacuum of morality would be swayed by a few questions.

But this did not stop Ivangelista XI from continuing.

There could be no better time. Representatives from all nations have gathered here: the Great Yan, who are indifferent to worldly affairs; the reclusive Sami; the Iberian mentor who begs for alms in Terra; and even Ursus has belatedly sent a group of reporters.

King Ivangelista XI dared to say that even with Lateran's prestige, he might not be able to gather so many people, so complete.

He sincerely thanked Ernst, who made the idea of ​​the World Summit truly reach the threshold of "worldwide participation."

Then he paused:

"I discussed this issue with Prime Minister Sherag for several days and finally reached an irrefutable consensus."

King Ivangelista XI scrolled down the PowerPoint presentation on the projector.

"Latland's economy depends on trade with Victoria; Sherag's achievements are thanks to Colombia's help; Letania and Syracuse were originally one family but later split into two; Da Yan and Ursus jointly guard the borders and exchange goods with each other."

With each sentence he spoke, a slide of the PowerPoint presentation would jump to the next, displaying photos from various locations: the dessert trade between Lateran and Victoria, a photo of the Prime Minister of Sherag shaking hands with the Vice President of Colombia (a gesture of sympathy for the Flame Demon incident), the ambiguous musical tastes of the Letanian and Syracuse people, and the generational transition between the Great Flame and Ursus in Lungmen.

King Ivangelista XI arrived at that self-evident conclusion:

"The survival of each of us, each of our countries, and each of our civilizations is inseparable from one another."

"Therefore, on this land, survival depends on civilization. Peace cannot be granted to me alone unless it extends to others."

He paused, then flipped to the last slide of the PowerPoint presentation, which displayed the four large characters for "International Summit" and its concept:

"At Ernst's request, Scherrag and Lateran will hereby appeal to establish such an agreement entity, based on a common agreement, with the aim of providing mutual guarantees of security to all nations."

"Our interests and safety are far more intertwined than many people realize."

"Terra should fight side by side to the very end."

The audience below held their breath.

Perhaps they were captivated by Ivangelista XI's brilliant speech, or perhaps they hadn't yet fully grasped the implications.

But Holhaya, who was standing to the side, thought that those of them who were staring wide-eyed had probably seen the line of text on the PPT.

[International Science Research Sharing Session]

[Provided by Sherag: The Star-Picking Project process and procedures. Airship technology.]

[Latran provides: replica gun manufacturing technology and hand cannon optimization and adjustment solutions.]

Yes, register as a member and get a free gift with just one click!

Just tell me if you want it or not!

Chapter 348 This position is worth fighting for!

Shelag, Tukarim, cheese fondue restaurant, private room.

The Grand Tutor was not from Shangshu, so he wasn't as particular about hot pot. Even so, cheese fondue was still a novel and somewhat bizarre thing for him.

Not only her, but Ning Ciqiu was the same. The young lady, a vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, didn't know why the Grand Tutor would choose to bring her to this cheese fondue restaurant to try something new after the press conference, but to be honest, she didn't have high expectations for this stuff.

Once the cheese pot on the small stove was steaming, the chef reached out with a spoon, stirring the cheese at the bottom of the pot as the other guests did, and looked up with a smile, asking:

"What, Ciqiu, do you find this novel?"

Ning Ciqiu nodded:

"To be honest, this is the first time I've ever eaten this kind of hot pot."

"This is my first time too," the Grand Tutor nodded slightly and echoed, "so I also find it very novel."

"It's not just the cheese fondue; many things in Sherag are quite novel to me. For example, the pack animal race that Ernst's brother organizes—at first glance, it seems rather amusing, but upon closer examination, one discovers there's some truth to it. A mere pack animal, simply dressed up with some money, can gain such fame and amass a fortune; it's truly..."

The Grand Tutor pondered and sighed with feigned seriousness:

"Oh dear, when it comes to keeping up with the times, I'm really no match for you young people. Sometimes, I just can't figure out what's going on in your heads."

Ning Ciqiu immediately volunteered, saying, "If the Grand Tutor has any questions, please feel free to ask me. I, Ciqiu, will certainly answer every question!"

The Grand Tutor paused in his actions, glanced at Ning Ciqiu with a hint of helplessness, and did not respond or actually ask any "problems of a young person".

No, I was just being modest. Why are you so honest, kid? You actually believed me?

Such a young kid, I don't know what Old Ning was thinking, recommending someone so quickly without considering kinship. He's perfectly healthy, and no one can touch the position of Minister of Rites.

The Grand Tutor's mind raced for a moment, and he came up with a possibility.

Tsk...that's true. Sitting in that position for too long, too securely, isn't a good thing. Promoting his daughter into his department—that could be called forming a faction, but father and daughter are naturally a faction; why would he need to form one? Besides, the Ministry of Rites has long been under Lord Ning's absolute control; why would he need to form factions for personal gain?

This move seems more like self-degradation.

Thinking of this, the Grand Tutor couldn't help but sigh with some worry.

Although the Great Yan Dynasty can now be described as a peaceful and prosperous nation with a secure imperial regalia, Your Majesty need not worry, every prominent figure in the court knows that the conflicts accumulated over thousands of years are likely just waiting to erupt in the next few years.

According to apocryphal texts, this matter can be attributed to the true dragon's jealousy and suspicion, hence the warning from Heaven.

But everyone knows that this job shouldn't have been given to him in the first place. If you have to say, he's more like a scapegoat. He wasn't the eldest son of the legitimate wife, and with the crown prince running away, he was pushed up from a princely position. He's facing this situation right from the start, so it's only natural that he's suspicious and jealous.

This is like a civil engineering student graduating from university and looking for a job. They've only been at the company for a few days when they're suddenly assigned the role of legal representative for a building construction project. They're inexplicably forced to sign documents, only to find out later that the previous legal representative has already absconded with the money.

In this situation, if you were in that position, would you be suspicious? Would you be prone to jealousy?

Those without brains are still standing there laughing like idiots! Those with brains are already itching to drag everyone down with them!

It's only because the current ruler is responsible and knows that there are millions of people in the Great Yan Dynasty, and that a country cannot be without a ruler for a day, and a court cannot be without a leader for a day, that he took over this mess.

Given this, it's perfectly normal for him to want to exert some influence among the various departments. Minister Ning probably realized this as well, which is why he resorted to this self-deprecating tactic.

Of course, it's also possible that he's overthinking it. Perhaps Minister Ning is just too eager to get into the Ministry of Rites, treating it like his own personal property and planning to pave the way for his daughter to inherit the family business.

Who can say for sure? Political struggles have existed since ancient times. At least the fact that Minister Ning sent his daughter to him for instruction, thus securing a "teacher-student" relationship, already shows that in this internal struggle within the Great Yan court, the Ministry of Rites has sided with Grand Tutor Ning.

His tutor, naturally, should reciprocate. This teaching will require considerable effort.

The Grand Tutor dipped a piece of bread into the fragrant cheese bubbling in the pot, savoring it as he spoke:

"Ciqiu, do you know why this cheese fondue, while novel to me, doesn't surprise me?"

Ning Ciqiu, who was enjoying her meal with black tea, thought for a moment and replied:

"Because this cheese fondue, although it looks novel, is actually not much different from Shangshu hot pot. The only difference is that the soup base is replaced with melted cheese, and the dishes to be 'hot-fried' are bread, fruit, and vegetables, instead of meat, tripe, or fish."

The Grand Tutor smiled with satisfaction:

"That's right. That makes sense."

"Then let me ask you, do you find the initiatives proposed by Sherag and Lateran at today's press conference novel or surprising?"

Ning Ciqiu frowned and began to think.

Cheese fondue is similar to Shangshu fondue, so the Grand Tutor wasn't surprised. And what is the Universal Summit initiative proposed by Sherag and Lateran similar to?

Ning Ciqiu naturally thought of the "alliance".

Alliance, or alliance, is known in the Great Yan Kingdom as the strategy of "vertical and horizontal alliances".

Vertical means uniting the weak to attack the strong; horizontal means serving the strong to attack the weak.

This is a profound and extensive field of knowledge, applicable not only to diplomacy but also to business, learning, and interpersonal communication.

The World Summit appears to be a massive "alliance".

King Ivangelista XI called for "Terra to survive side by side!" This initiative can be seen as the slogan of the covenant.

There are many similar slogans. For example, an official from the Ministry of Rites of Yan recorded that when the various countries attacked Kazdel, the slogan was "If the demons are not eliminated, they will surely cause harm!", and later, during the war between the four countries, Victoria, Letania, and Ursus used the slogan "Gaul is tyrannical and cannot be tolerated by Heaven. We should attack them now to comply with the will of Heaven!"

These slogans carry a certain degree of localization to Yan, undoubtedly due to translation and embellishment during historical revision. However, they also retain the original essence, ensuring that you know this is foreign history, not Yan's.

However, while the slogans of the oath might be somewhat accurate, the other characteristics of the alliance seem rather far-fetched.

While Scherrag and Lateran proposed establishing a "volunteer force" or "peacekeeping force" within the World Summit, primarily through "international hiring," they did not require participating countries to sign highly alliance-oriented documents such as "non-aggression pacts" or "defensive alliance treaties."

In other words, war between nations is not completely prohibited; the World Summit merely provides a platform, other than war, to allow everyone to resolve disputes peacefully as much as possible.

This is different from an alliance.

But Ning Ciqiu felt that this would render the World Summit useless.

If a major war were to break out between nations, no one could stop it. Even if the World Summit possessed armed forces, it wouldn't be a match for a fully-fledged, regular army group. And as everyone knows, non-aggression pacts are meant to be torn up; once a war breaks out, who cares about them?

Therefore, in a sense, this requirement is not very practical. Of all the alliances throughout history, which ones have continued after the common enemy was defeated?

On the contrary, the form and platform of international summits are often stronger than individuals and collectives. When the number of members of international summits increases, and when the major powers that benefit from international summits find that they can maintain the current international order, that is, maintain their own status, more efficiently and at a lower cost through international summits, they will naturally become supporters of this system.

When the dominant and influential powers in Terra become supporters of this system, smaller nations will flock to it, eager to participate and provide resources.

Therefore, the fundamental goal of this system is to stabilize major powers, win over smaller powers, maintain order, and thus ensure peace!

An alliance not built on the existence of a common enemy, but a community bound together by common interests—this is the ideal state of this system!

But if that's the case...

Ning Ciqiu shook his head: "Grand Tutor, I find it quite surprising!"

"The person who came up with this system is undoubtedly a genius. He accomplished the most with the least cost and satisfied most people. Novelty is not enough to describe him. He is not forming an alliance; he is building a new order."

The Grand Tutor nodded: "New Order, that's a good term. Terra has been in chaos for thousands of years; it's indeed time for a new order."

"Ernst is indeed an extraordinary young man; a golden carp is no ordinary fish. However, Ciqiu..."

The Grand Tutor paused suddenly, his expression momentarily stunned, then shook his head:

"Forget it, it's a bit too early to tell you all this."

Ning Ciqiu tilted her head in confusion.

What the Grand Tutor didn't say was that he suddenly realized something.

The most ingenious aspect of the system Ernst wanted to build was not maintaining peace through shared interests, but rather maintaining stability through a detached position.

In his vision, the World Summit should have five major powers as permanent administrators. These five countries, as the foundation and pillars of this platform, would enjoy convenience and power, as well as, but not explicitly stated, a significant hidden interest.

These five constants are both messengers of justice and bosses who maintain order.

The word "BOSS" in Victorian has many meanings, but the one chosen by the Grand Tutor here is "the ultimate, the strongest, the greatest enemy".

Once this international order is established, emerging small countries will no longer face a single country if they want to rise, but rather five major powers acting as "order maintainers."

Unless someone can open five instances simultaneously, clear at least three of them, or completely defeat one, no matter how strong it is, it is only invincible below the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Note that this is happening simultaneously! Which country has this kind of potential?

Unless technology makes a leap forward, and it is the only technology that has taken the lead over everyone else, creating a generational gap.

But if that were to actually happen, and the scientific research capabilities of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council were no match for those of a small, backward country, it would demonstrate that the existing order had indeed become corrupt.

That's a really ruthless move! Putting everything else aside, Terra now has more than one major power.

Even in Ursus, although they have already missed a crucial opportunity, there are still ruthless individuals within their country. If they realize the feasibility of this matter, given their personalities, the commotion they would make would be considerable!