"Your Excellency, the Ostolian envoy is already waiting outside. Are you going to meet them now?"

The secretary asked respectfully, and after Li Lin nodded, the little girl immediately retreated obediently. After a while, the low-key guests approached the president's special reception room.

The envoys were also from aristocratic backgrounds, and they had seen many big scenes, so they were still surprised when they saw this reception room.

The president of the consortium has always been very simple in life, but he is famous for his extravagance, which can be seen from his meticulous care for his adopted son. But this meeting room ...... Not to mention the tightly cut marble floors, huge crystal chandeliers, and a gold sandalwood desk with gold candlesticks, gold photo frames, gold ink stands, and stationery clips. Just to see the crystal bowl on the coffee table, filled with uncut diamonds, ruby sapphires, opals, emeralds, agate and emeralds, the president in a white silk suit with gold trim, gold thread, gold buttons, and gold cufflinks reached into the bowl and buried it deep in the cold gem - this scene alone made their little hearts a little unbearable.

Flaunting wealth is also a means of diplomacy, after all, financial resources are also a sign of strength, and they are particularly effective against backward civilizations. However, Li Lin's purpose is not this, and the envoys are not completely here for money.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. President. ”

The envoy at the front nodded his head as a greeting, this is a man with individual hair, a receding hairline, a sparse forehead, and a thick mustache. At first glance, it looks like a senate teacher in a humanities high school or a civilian bureaucrat somewhere, and his demeanor is polite. The gaze is cold and hard. There was also a little cunning, coldness, and arrogance in this man's politeness, which could not be seen through the eyes of a small person.

After turning out the other party's information, Li Lin got up and bowed deeply to the other party, and said with a smile:

"I was really flattered that Albelici had just told me that I had two guests from Ostoria, but I did not expect that two of the most prominent political leaders of the crown would actually stand in front of me. Your Excellency the Chancellor, and Your Excellency the Earl. ”

"Mr. President, not everyone is like you, just by seeing our faces, you immediately know who we are. ”

The former Chancellor of the High Court of the Crown of San István, D'Ac Ferenc, spoke in an urn, and the Count Andráci Gyulo, who was beside him, put his right hand on his waist. The Counts of De Acre and Baugeny Lajos were the moderate leaders of the crown lordship. When the crown prince invaded the crown realm. He took the initiative to hang up the crown and responded to the crown prince's arrogance with passive resistance. After Titans suppressed the revolution, Count Baugheni Lajos was executed, and Deacre and Andráci went into exile. During this period, he was sentenced to death in absentia. and carried out a mock hanging. Now they appear in the Consortium Reception Room as Ostolian envoys. The implications of this are worth pondering.

It is planned to learn Jing Ke to assassinate Qin. Or is there any interesting news about Ostoria and the Crown Collar?

"Your Excellency, we are here to find a compromise. ”

"I'm sorry. ”

Li Lin raised his hand and looked at the two exiles with a mocking grim smile. And then he said:

"I think it would be more effective to find Prime Minister Richelieu in this kind of national affairs, you see, he is just a businessman, and he has no idea about the relationship between the territory and the royal government. ”

"No, Mr. President, we are not going to make any compromise with the perfidious Charlemagne, we just want to make a compromise with the consortium - or more precisely the northern country of Charlemagne, which you lead. ”

Ka -

Fingers clicked on the coffee table, and the guards hiding in the dark room to make a move stopped, their fingers still on the trigger of the submachine gun, listening with bated breath to the conversation in the reception room.

"Your Excellency, this kind of joke is not funny at all. ”

"Your disguise is also clumsy. ”

De Ake also sneered in return.

"If we don't know anything, why should we come to you? ”

"Not necessarily. The meeting between a group of exiles and the president of a consortium that sells arms for profit - this state of affairs looks like the plot of a conspiracy novel by any means, and people who are hostile to the consortium must be interested in reading this plot and making it public. ”

"That sounds like that, so who is behind the scenes writing the script?"

"Your Excellency, do you think that I have few enemies to be able to target them by speculating on motives?"

"Since we cannot be sure of each other's sincerity, it is better to change the subject and talk about what will benefit both of us, and I believe that your judgment should be able to discern the sincerity. ”

"Let's talk about it. ”

For the next half-hour, Deacke and Andráhi slowly peddled what they called a "compromise" and what Li Lin called a "three-element empire."

The compromise - Ausgleich in Elvish and Kiegyezse in Crown Collar is essentially a contract between Ostoria, the Crown of San István, and the Consortium. After the Consortium broke up Charlemagne's northern part and became an independent kingdom, the three parties formed a common empire (Reich), which consisted of three separate constitutional states in internal affairs - the "Emperor's Domain" (Alfheim), the Parliamentary Princes and Territories (Ostoria), and the Crown of St. Istvan. Each of the three countries has a bicameral parliament and its own executive branch, each headed by a prime minister. In addition to a common monarchy, the three countries have a common diplomatic, military, financial, and customs union that is revised every ten years. The common affairs of the three countries are led by an organization established in the "direct domain of the emperor", which is overseen by a committee of 60 members of equal numbers elected by the parliaments of the three countries, and the regular meetings of the committee and the delegation are held alternately in the capital of the three countries. The three countries shared the national debt, with the crown and Ostoria each bearing 20% of the common costs.

From a technical point of view, this "compromise" would create an unprecedented three-dimensional monarchy, and Alfheim could expand at a fraction of the cost and build a power strong enough to rival Charlemagne.

But-

"The abacus is really good. ”

Listen to two humans babbling about empty promises. Brunhill in the dark room let out a contemptuous sneer.

Nominally a triadial monarchy, but the benefits of Ostoria and the Crown Collar are so numerous that it is more appropriate to say "Ostoria - Crown Collar - Alfheim". The two economically and technologically and militarily backward territories were each responsible for only 20 per cent of their common expenditures, but enjoyed the same rights as Yalfheim, who bore 60 per cent of the expenses and almost all of the defense responsibilities, while at the same time guaranteeing that Yalfheim had no right to meddle in their internal affairs.

This is absolutely not a no-go.

Alfheim did have plans to bring these two territories under his command and give them considerable autonomy. For this reason, some of the bureaucrats who privately supported the consuls also suggested that when he ascended the throne and was crowned in the future, Li Lin's title would no longer be the traditional "Emperor of Gilmania", and that the exclusive Von (of) should be removed and replaced with the relatively moderate "Emperor of Gilmania". lest they infringe on the traditional rights cherished by the unified areas, thus incurring unnecessary resistance. At the expense of this. Alfheim could naturally become a "guiding state" above the transcendent nations. Unify the countries in a form similar to a federation.

That's the bottom line for Alfheim, and Ostoria and the Crown, two territories that can't even do independence, want more......

Absolutely not, there is no room for negotiation at all. In fact, the military and radicals were not satisfied with this proposal either. Considered too soft for conquered areas. It only strengthens the separatist tendencies of the vanquished. Even if they don't say it, these humans must have more or less hoped for the decline of the elven regime, and would resist any move that would strengthen the power of New Gilmania. Now they want to create a three-way empire that pays less and gains more? These guys should really get a brain doctor to check if they are brain-dead.

If you change to a young man who has no political experience and is impulsive, to negotiate. I'm afraid that he would have rejected De Ak and Andráhi's statement on the spot, but Li Lin is not a hairy boy, but a cunning fox. After expressing a ** attitude such as "I will think about it, give me a little time", he politely sent off the two envoys. As soon as the door to the reception room closed, Brunhill stepped out from behind the secret door disguised as a portrait.

"Did Albion get our affair out?"

"There's no definite evidence, but most of the time it's not wrong. Walsingham is really a cautious person, and it is not enough to give us verbal assurances, but also to recruit a group of helpers to use as alarm clocks. ”

In these troubled times, what was Alfheim's way of doing things? The more common view within the interior was to co-opt Charlemagne's suppressed possessions and make peace with the United Duchy of Albion and Rus', while trying to incite Castile to war with Charlemagne. But the reality is that, judging from the experience of the siege of Riga, Albion's army is too small to help in a full-scale continental war, and Alfheim, even if it allied with Charlemagne's possessions, is only a semi-middle power against the conservative forces of the whole world, and the odds are not great. What's more, "the territory of the new empire is too small to accommodate two masters", and if Alfheim does not want to "pay" for the reconstruction of Ostoria and the crown of the people, which lack an industrial base and the people's livelihood is withering, he will inevitably not be able to accept the proposal of the Trinity Empire. The only way to do this is to defeat Charlemagne, the dominant player of the continent, with a crisp blitzkrieg, and then form a new system with Alfheim at its core.

At such times, Ostoria, who was supposed to be thrown out as outcasts, suddenly sent two exiles from the crown as envoys, who came up with things like "We know you are preparing to rebel, let's form an alliance". It's hard to understand who is threading the needle.

Even the purpose is clear.

"Ostoria and the Crown Collar have not been very secretive, and only a few people in the upper echelons know a few words about us from Albion. But as time went on, it was only a matter of time before the news leaked out to Richelieu. Probably...... It's going to take a year or so, and it's exactly the time we agreed with Walsingham to make sure we don't break our promises and get things done according to the schedule. Oops, everyone is quite hard. ”

Walsingham and most of his contemporaries did not yet think of the intricacies of Alfheim's strategy, and in a world where geostrategy had not yet developed concrete doctrines and laws, one could only act on the basis of experience. The same is true for Albion.

It is dangerous to fight a strong enemy, but to cultivate a new and stronger enemy;

The best way to deal with a potential threat is to nip it in the bud, and even if you can't do this, you must stumble on them, and you can't let them comfortably swallow the results;

Queen Elizabeth and Walsingham thought so, and they did take action and limited it to Cheng Dù that would not unduly irritate the consortium. This alone is worthy of praise, there is no need to be too them, and they have to be compared with the cheating Alfheim.

"Anyway, let's deal with it first, and when the yellow plan is completed, they will know how to stand in line. Until then, don't take them too seriously and don't snub them too much. ”

"Understood. ”

"Next...... He's an envoy of the principality, right?, I hope he can bring us good news. ”

The Orlov envoy did bring good news, so good that Brunhill, who was eavesdropping, was startled.

"You mean that the Duchy wants to grant me a knighthood?"

"Yes, in recognition of the outstanding contribution made by Your Excellency and the Consortium in the war, His Majesty the Great Nicholas has decided to grant you a title and a knighthood. ”

With an impeccable smile of hypocrisy, Count Orlov handed Li Lin an edict, and out of the corner of his eye, he peeked at the crystal sea bowl full of precious stones.

The glittering gem tickled the envoy's jealousy, even though he maintained an unconventionally indifferent attitude towards work, women, and things other than power. But now he couldn't help but be jealous of Li Lin, a guy who was too rich and got the same title as him at once. And if it weren't for the opposition of Grand Elder Werther, Li Lin might have been directly named Duke of Auschwitz, instead of the current Count of Birkenau.

Money, power, future - no one can think calmly in the face of these, and no matter how open-minded, it is difficult not to have negative feelings when faced with the easy acquisition of this qiē by a young profiteer.

- This kid's luck is too good!

When Count Orlov was indignant, the object of his envy was putting on a complex expression of flattery and forcibly suppressed ecstasy, disguising his mood as not in the slightest from the knighthood, paralyzing his opponent.

Princely generals. These revered titles mean little to Li Lin and will have some influence on his plans at best. However, what kind of impact these titles that sound inexplicably like concentration camp commanders will have will need further intelligence to analyze and judge.

So—

"His Majesty the Tsar's mercy order is very touched, I don't know what can be used in the next place?"

Carefully putting away the edict, Li Lin stared at Orlov through the mask of gratitude. (To be continued......)