Chapter 913 Idealist (Part 2)
Roland looked at the other party after expressing his thoughts, "Do you really think it is worse for Earl Quinn to manage Dawn than a corrupt neighboring country?"
Facing the questioning, Edith didn't show the slightest surprise, "In fact, I think the two are comparable in the short term. A stable ally can provide you with resources, population, and Assisting you in your actions - this point may be full of variables for other nobles, but Earl Quinn has Andrea as a guarantee, so he is still somewhat sure of this point."
She... admitted this? This made Roland a little puzzled. He thought that the other party's rebuttal would be on the untrustworthiness of the nobles. In addition—what did she mean by short-term?
"On the other hand, after Dawn fell into chaos, the new order needs to be recast with blood and fire. During this period, the kingdom will definitely be weakened. If the devil's invasion is added, the neighboring countries will become like the eastern and southern borders of Graycastle, where refugees are everywhere , overgrown with weeds. With a little arrangement at that time, Graycastle will be able to gain a large number of people—different from the previous situation, these people will belong to you forever.”
"But didn't you just say that in addition to population, allies can also provide resources and war assistance?" Nightingale said displeased, "If you don't mention one benefit first, how can it be comparable to three benefits? Haven't you considered it? How many of those fleeing refugees will die helplessly because of lack of food and clothing during the migration process?"
Edith said tit-for-tat: "Three benefits seem to be greater than one benefit, but there are prerequisites. In order to make full use of the resources of allies, His Majesty needs to invest certain chips - such as steam engines, Gold No. 2, and even gunpowder firearms. Without these, it would be impossible to fight against the devil with Chenxi's own strength alone, let alone support Graycastle on the battlefield. This is a lot of money, although it can be exchanged for more benefits, but in Neverwinter When the city’s own needs have not been met, the weight of the bargaining chip cannot be ignored. Therefore, after one increase and one decrease, I think the two are basically equal.”
Roland couldn't help raising his eyebrows. People who can see the benefits from providing assistance are rare in the entire Graycastle. If it were Barov, he would definitely not agree to send his own goods and technology to neighboring countries as "support items".
"Since the benefits are basically equal, why do you still insist that Chaotic Dawn is better?"
"Because of the witch, Your Majesty." Edith's answer was beyond their expectations.
"Female...witch?" Roland asked in surprise.
Pearl of the Northland stretched out a finger, "Yes, please imagine that the new Dawn no longer takes the persecution of witches for granted, and even under the influence of Andrea, it is very likely that Earl Quinn will support witches , and follow your policy to let them participate in production and construction. Without the pressure of survival, the newly awakened witches will not move to Graycastle again. This move has already caused losses to you-this is one of them. "
"Secondly, the Kingdom of Dawn's location is more advantageous than that of Graycastle. Whether it's the devil's invasion of Wolfheart and Eternal Winter, or the Church's fugitives, the embers will never die, they will push the witches of the two countries to the south—once Dawn is in a stable state, Will they continue to migrate to Graycastle? The answer is obviously no, maybe in a few decades, the neighboring countries will have more witches than Graycastle, this trend makes me feel more disturbed than the former.”
"Everyone can live well... Isn't that good? What are you so worried about?" Nightingale's tone unknowingly lost the previous momentum.
Edith didn't look at Nightingale, but raised her head to look directly at Roland, "Have you ever thought about the possibility that one or several witches with incredible abilities can instantly change the gap between kingdoms?"
"Like Anna?"
"That's right, like Anna, like Agatha, like Soraya...their abilities can be called inconceivable. The moment you own them, Neverwinter City will be separated from other noble territories. This is also the reason why you have come to this point today." Edith said slowly, "Besides, your knowledge and vision are unmatched, as long as you are still in position-0--- 0---Small--say---this is the gorgeous dividing line--let go of that witch -0---Small--say---this is a gorgeous dividing line---, there are quite a few members of the Witch Alliance, and it is very difficult for Graycastle to meet challengers other than devils."
Speaking of this, she paused slightly, "But what happened after that? Over a hundred years later, the neighboring countries are no different from Graycastle, witches work in various fields, and the knowledge you write cannot be limited to Neverwinter. They can learn How to make machines, master everything you teach... Then, as long as a Dawn Witch awakens an irreplaceable ability, Graycastle will probably be the one behind!"
"This can't be—" Nightingale subconsciously wanted to refute, but stopped midway through her speech.
"What's more, this is only based on the magical ability like Anna, and can you guarantee that Anna is the pinnacle of all witches?" Edith asked word by word, "If the other party's ability is stronger than Anna's, can you guarantee that Anna is the pinnacle of all witches?" Amazing, would the successor of Dawn still want to regard Graycastle as an ally again!"
Roland almost wanted to applaud these words.
It turned out that Edith didn't think too far, but thought too far - most people can only see the changes in recent years, but she has already set her sights on a hundred years later!
It would be fine if it was just like this, but in her words, Roland actually heard a hint of technological explosion. As an "experienced person", he naturally knows that the advancement of human science and technology is constantly increasing. From the ape-man to the bonfire, and then from the steam power to the information age, a person in modern society has only a short life. Can witness changes that could not be reflected in the past tens of thousands of years.
Now that witches have joined the process, this process may be further shortened, and the appearance of one or two key witches is likely to lead to a technological change. In fact, just as the other party said, if Anna awakens in Glory City instead of Border Town, it is still a question mark how far he can go.
When the members of the Witch Union continue to age, and a new key witch appears in the dawn, the result is almost self-evident. This is why Edith insisted that if she couldn't control Dawn, she might as well let them fall into chaos.
Roland thought that if he was an indigenous lord, he would undoubtedly be convinced by Edith at this moment. Any king hopes that his country will last forever and be immortal, and he also hopes that future generations can continue his glory. Behaviors such as cultivating an opponent who may threaten the kingdom absolutely need to be put an end to.
It was still too late to change his mind, and the price he had to pay was nothing more than a small breach of contract and deception, and then let Otto resign himself to fate.
But he is not.
The country Roland cares about is not here.
In addition, he doesn't care what his kingdom looks like after his death. He is more inclined to see the progress of the entire human race than to establish a ruler that will last forever. No matter who the successor of Graycastle is, he does not have any responsibility or obligation to escort him. As long as he can improve his development to a new height as much as possible in this life and solve the mystery of the battle of divine will, he already feels Well worth the trip.
As for which of the Four Great Kingdoms is stronger or weaker, that is their own choice.
In the end, there was a seemingly small but hard to ignore obsession in his heart. To easily cancel the agreement for the sake of profit and turn lies into bargaining chips - when he realized this reflexive resistance, he clearly understood that it was impossible for him to become a real politician in this life.
"Excellent inference," Roland looked at Edith with relief, "but I will not take back the order I have issued."
"Your Majesty—" the latter said in surprise.
"I know what you want to say, for example, a real king should put his interests first, or for example, cheating is just a common thing in the king's family," he interrupted the other party, "but what I want to say is that, except for the king, there is no king in this world. There are other rulers..."
"Other... rulers?" Edith repeated in confusion.
"That's right, like an idealistic person."