"Ladies and gentlemen, hesitation will lead to the destruction of the kingdom, and we can only move forward!"

There was a noise at the conference table, and the man held on to the edge of the table with one hand and slapped the other on the thick paperwork.

"If we stop negotiating peace now, all the efforts we have made so far will be in vain! The people will not accept such a thing! The soldiers who are fighting bloody battles on the front line will not be able to accept it! This is simply a stab in the back!!"

This is obviously the military's consistent rhetoric, if it really comes from the military, or more precisely, the mouth of the army staff officers, the red deer only have war in their minds, and whoever dares to stop them will be "a national thief stabbed in the back", and the "national thief" must be "punished by heaven". That's what they've always thought and done.

We were ready to deal with the military's indiscriminate entanglement, and to promote peace negotiations no matter what. What made Roland feel suffocated, and even dizzy, was that it was actually a civilian official of the government who made the above statement, and he was also an important minister in charge of foreign affairs. Did he have a cold and fever that caused him to hallucinate? Or did the Ministry of Foreign Affairs change its brand and change its line to the "Ministry of War"?

Before he could figure out an idea, the Foreign Secretary made up for it again.

"Even if the country becomes a scorched earth, we will never give up any territory!!"

- This is simply crazy!!

No sooner had the Foreign Office man sat down than another man got up from his seat, and Roland remembered that he was from the Home Office.

"The Ministry of the Interior has the same opinion. ”

The tone was not intense, and the gentle tone like a spring breeze spoke with the smell of gunpowder.

"If peace is negotiated on such terms, even if peace is obtained, the kingdom will lose its future. ”

"What does that mean?"

Confused from the bottom of his heart, unable to understand the long-awaited abandonment of peace by the important ministers and bureaucrats, Roland couldn't help but ask.

"What do you mean?

A pair of eyes that were about to fly out stared at Roland, and after understanding the fact that the two sides had no intersection in their thinking, the bureaucrat of the Ministry of the Interior sighed softly.

"Separatists and heretics are allowed to steal the land, criminals go unpunished, and the spoils are enjoyed with peace of mind, while the victims are not even compensated...... No one will accept this outcome. ”

In fact, there are not many such things, and justice and justice do not always come as scheduled, but most people just can't emotionally accept the conclusion that "the world is not fair".

That's right, it's just emotionally unacceptable.

It's like gambling where the red-eyed gambler looks forward to the next time again and again, completely ignoring the fact that he has already lost everything. Charlemagne has invested too much money in this war, money, resources, human lives...... A steady stream of meat grinder-like wars has vanished without a trace. Now the country has reached a point where the young and strong labor force has been exhausted, and women and old people have to be allowed to enter the factories, children to produce the necessities of life, and the fields to be cultivated by the exiled foreigners. If we compare Charlemagne to a critically ill patient, he has now reached a state where he is about to decide whether to treat conservatively or be sent to the intensive care unit, cut open the trachea and esophagus, and rely on a machine to maintain his life.

It is for this reason that the victory over the Iserren Fort was so inspiring, and the opportunity for peace that was exchanged for so many lives was all the more precious.

"With all due respect, this is the best armistice we can hope for at the moment. ”

Regardless of whether the other party understands it or not, Roland decides to make things clear, completely shatter those unrealistic delusions, and let everyone face the reality correctly.

"The kingdom has now reached its limit, and if the protracted war continues, the attitude of the kingdoms will change. At that point, we will have to re-confront the situation we had before the Iserlohn Battery Raiders, and even worse than that. ”

-- Do you have to wait for the mountains of corpses and blood of young people to cover the entire territory of the country, and then you think that "it would be nice if there were peace talks at that time"?

Before he could continue to explain, people from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took the case.

"The best conditions? What do you call this the best condition?"

The paper, which had been ravaged several times, was once again slapped on the table, and in terms of diplomatic documents, a piece of paper was obviously too short, in fact, there were only three contents on it.

First, the renunciation of the occupation of Castile;

secondly, to renounce the exercise of sovereignty over the crown of Ostoria and San István;

thirdly, the recognition of the autonomy of Yarfheim and the power to have an army, and negotiations on ownership and border demarcation at the appropriate time;

To sum up, in fact, it is for Charlemagne to recognize the national border drawn for him by the United Duchy of Albion and Rus, to spit out all the territories that he had swallowed before, and to recognize the de facto independence of Alfheim, as for whether Alfheim is a sovereign independent state or a subject with self-governing rights. After the armistice, let's talk about it while dancing.

Such an armistice was undoubtedly quite unfavorable to Charlemagne, who in fact lost half of his country out of thin air, and also fell into the encirclement of a bunch of unfriendly countries around him. In particular, there is a newly established elven country in the east, which is far superior in technology and economic power, and only slightly inferior in terms of population, and thinks day and night about how to swallow Charlemagne. The mere mere thought of this besieged strategic dilemma sends shivers down the spines of Charlemagne's military and politicians.

From the standpoint of the two enemy countries that have suffered from "undeclared war" and "imposed war," Charlemagne should pay the price for his actions. Just an acknowledgment of the status quo is already a great tolerance for Charlemagne in their eyes.

Ten thousand steps back, an armistice that is unpleasant, but does curb the pace of the Yalfheim war, is much better than continuing the war until the entire country is exhausted and even subjugated. Compared to the whole world being turned into a desolate wasteland by some impatient guy, it is too good to be foolish.

How could they not understand such a simple truth?

"Your Excellency, do you know the current state of public opinion? What will the people who have lost their loved ones and endure material deprivation think when they accept such humiliating conditions? How will they react when they face a more impoverished life in the future? When the citizens roar and ask us why we don't fight for better conditions when we can still win, can we justifiably tell them, 'This is already the best condition?' Have you thought about this?"

The barrage of questioning was unanimously nodded in agreement by the military bureaucrats present, and it also made Roland understand that the civilian officials, who had never liked to expand the war and worsen their finances, would be unconventional this time and determined to continue the war.

In the final analysis, it is still a matter of finance, that is, money.

The fact that the United Duchy of Albion and Rus did not include demands such as reparations in the terms of peace did not mean that Charlemagne's financial problems were alleviated. Charlemagne had been evacuated from the consortium, and the industrial city of Alfheim and the Ostoria and San István Crowns in the agricultural barn had been separated from the map, and even the occupation of Castile had to be abandoned. Charlemagne was temporarily cut off from revenue. Maybe after a few years of running the colony and receiving some foreign aid, the situation will change a little, but do the citizens have the patience and rationality to wait slowly? Besides, do you think that the aid of the bastards of Hairy Bear and Albion is so easy to take? All kinds of harsh conditions and the future of letting the adversary control the economic context be fully expected. In addition, there is also a Yalfheim who has a lot of experience in economic warfare...... Charlemagne's future of a slowly weakened death seems to be in sight.

Even so—

"If this condition is accepted, not only will the finances go bankrupt, but even the credit of the state will collapse along with it! Do you know how many banknotes are currently circulating in the market? If the credit of the state collapses, those banknotes that have value because they have a credit guarantee will turn back into worthless pieces of paper, which means that the whole people will go bankrupt collectively overnight! Do you want to watch them die on the side of the road because of hunger, or rise up to riot? !"

"Isn't it still possible to print it?"

"How many more are you going to print? No, how big are you going to print on the banknotes? 100 million? 1 trillion (1 trillion)? Do you want the people to push a whole cart of money to buy bread?"

"But because of the previous war, our country is already exhausted! Where is the spare strength to continue the war?

“...... Win again. ”

Roland stopped thinking because of this extremely stupid sentence, and asked blankly:

"What did you say?"

"As long as we win one more time, let other countries realize that our military is strong, and our country's advantage is something they will not shake. They're going to give up on their current demands and offer more lenient compromises, right?"

"At the moment the enemy's line of defense has been pried open, as long as they rush across the Rhine, it is their industrial heartland, as long as they take it. Even if Albion and the United Principalities of Rus refuse to compromise, we can be self-sufficient!"

"That's right, as long as the victory continues, there is still hope for the kingdom!!"

- What are these guys talking about?

As the officials spoke more and more enthusiastically, a pinprick chill rushed up from the soles of his feet, and Roland looked at the bloodshot eyes in amazement.

It seems that the well-dressed people in front of them are not polite government officials, but a group of gamblers who have been in the casino for several days and nights in a row, and they look like a pack of hungry wolves.

No.

It's not like.

After taking too many narcotics and stimulants called "victory", there are symptoms of addiction up and down the country, and now that "victory" is regarded as a panacea, I am afraid that few people in Charlemagne's country can think normally and rationally. They have become struggling to see the reality and only want more victories, as if then everything will be solved.

Slightly ironically, the culprit for this is none other than himself.

Ignoring Roland, who was sitting still, all the civil officials said almost in unison:

"For the sake of the future of the Kingdom, the Royal Family, and all the people, we sincerely implore Her Excellency the Holy Maiden to once again lead us to victory. ”

The corners of Roland's mouth twitched a few times, and the twisted lip line didn't know whether he wanted to cry or laugh.