Like most high-level summits or formal networking meetings, the Governors' Conference has a dedicated session called a "round table." At the welcome dinner, Weiss didn't have to worry about how the other governors were governed, he had a drink with Evans and Asker, and they were all in a slightly drunken state, and then the other governors came to chat with each other, all kinds of compliments, jokes, and jokes, until Gunevere was invited on stage by the organizers to sing the timeless classic "Looking Up at the Stars".

Touching melodies, brilliant lyrics, and the original singer in person, what could be more stylish and expressive?

At the climax, the gentlemen and ladies in the audience involuntarily sang in unison, the faces of different faces, all disgruntled, pious and full of gratitude—it was the faith, hope and sacrifice of countless people who pulled the country back from the brink of defeat and brought millions of people back to their own peaceful lives......

After the song, which brought many to tears, the band began to play dance music, and fewer and fewer men gathered together to chat and drink, and finally only a few people remained. Weiss suddenly found himself alone again, he looked at the dancing crowd, but he didn't find Gunevere's figure, could it be that he left after singing? Suddenly I looked back and saw her sitting in a corner. It's a bit strange - she's a real big star in the audience, how can she be left out in the cold?

Weiss asked for a glass of juice, rinsed his mouth, so as not to be too drunk when he spoke, and then walked over: "Why is our big star sitting here alone, doesn't a man dare to come forward and invite you to dance?" ”

Gunevere grimaced at him, "Talk to me for a while!" I'm suffocating. ”

"How so?" Weiss was even more curious, "Everyone would love to have a few words with you!" ”

"Come on! You haven't tasted it before. Every day people keep asking you questions, curious to know about your situation, and the questions are repeated over and over again, and many of the answers I have to say hundreds of times a month, do you find it interesting? ”

I see...... The troubles that only big stars have, Weiss certainly won't have personal experience.

"I've turned down at least 20 men's invitations to dance tonight on the grounds that I wasn't feeling comfortable." Gunevere said helplessly.

"Do they keep asking you questions while you're dancing?" Weiss asked.

"No," replied Gunniwell, "although my ears are calmer when I dance, I am really tired and do not want to dance a dozen or twenty tunes one after another. Once you've accepted someone's invitation, it's rude to turn down someone else, so either don't dance a single tune or dance until the last one. ”

Weiss nodded, it was a compromise.

"Why don't we go out for a walk?" He proposed.

Gunevere sighed helplessly, pursed her lips and said, "Forget it, we're friends, why bother with all that gossip?" ”

This kind of thing needs to be worried about too! Wei Siwu shook his head. Being a star is probably the most free profession, and there is too much sadness behind the scenery. However, she has already reached this position, is there any other choice? Is there a way back? Can you go back to living an ordinary life?

Looking at the haggard expression behind Gunevere's delicate complexion, she felt helpless and sympathetic. Octavir is the invincible King Kong with a strong heart, and Gunevere is like a delicate flower, and I feel sorry for her.

"Let's stop talking about that, let's talk about something interesting!" Gunevere forced a smile herself, she turned her head to stare at Weiss up and down a few times: "The last time we met, you were just a candidate for local council, and in just a few months, you have become the governor of Lorraine, it's incredible!" In this way, you are still bright and promising. ”

These two words feel strange when put together, what do they mean?

"What, do you think you've lost sight of it in the first place? Regretted it? ”

Regret? Something that doesn't exist! Gunnivel told Weiss with an expression.

"I just think you have more hope of pursuing Octavir now."

"Forget it! She doesn't look down on me, and I don't dare to climb high. Weiss was speaking from the heart.

"So what are you going to do? With Nikolai? But the university professor you mentioned last time? What's upset you? Is it because both accept you, or do both reject both? As if she had found what she called something interesting, Gunevere asked inquiringly.

This is actually an unspeakable question, if both people accept it, it may be a happy annoyance, if both people refuse, it will be a hundred times. The problem now is that he is more inclined to Nikolai in his heart, but Nikolai has made it clear that he is not married. Professor Xiao Yang is also a good choice now, the conditions are very good in all aspects, and he has been getting along very well recently. But in the strong friendship, I always feel that there is something missing, which is probably the unforgettable feeling that young people are pursuing!

"It's hard to say, it's hard to say!" Weiss replied vaguely.

"You must not be like some people, who put all their minds on their careers, only to wait year after year, miss one after another, and end up with a very embarrassing ending." Gunniwell reminded earnestly.

Weiss heard the implication, it should be Li, 30 years old is not considered a late marriage in the current society, but on the planet Orens, the legal minimum age for marriage is 18 for men and 16 for women, and some people are about to become grandparents at the age of 30. At this age, it seems that he is in the prime of life, and all conditions are mature, but in traditional thinking, he has actually missed the best years.

"Your teaching tone is a little old-fashioned!" Weiss quipped.

"Actually, I have already thought about announcing my retirement from the stage by next year at the latest. Find a quiet place to be my music teacher, and then find a suitable partner for a lifetime. Gunnevere said thoughtfully.

The ideal is plump, while the reality is always too skinny. Weiss couldn't help but sigh.

"Forget it, don't say that some of these are gone. I ran into you today, and I just remembered something. We are preparing an industrial conference to invite industry players from all over the federation to Lorraine, hoping to increase communication, promote exchanges and promote the development of Lorraine industry. Since it's a conference, it's indispensable to invite celebrities, but we have a limited budget. You see...... Can you make a friendly offer? ”

"Are you serious?" Gunevere asked him with a smile.

"Ah, I'm serious." Weiss replied.

"If you're serious, my appearance fee is quite high. It's not just my personal benefit, it's the team, the company, and our commitment to donate 20% of all show costs to charity. So, you have to be mentally prepared. ”

"And what if it's not serious?" Weiss stripped another option from her words.

"If you consider me a friend and invite me to this conference, as long as I arrange the time, to be precise, to use my vacation time to attend your event, it doesn't cost anything. You only need to arrange food and accommodation in Lorraine, and the time will not exceed two days. Very simple! Gunnivel said very boldly.

After saying that, she probably felt that something was wrong, and she added: "I have three or four days off every month, and the time can be arranged by me, as long as there is no big conflict in the itinerary, I can go to Lorraine." Of course, considering the long journey and the long time it takes to travel by train, if possible, I would like to ask you to provide a more convenient mode of transportation, or I can contact a friend in the military myself to see if I can take one of their flying transports. ”

"That's not a problem." Weiss took over and said, "With Nikolai's help, we have formed a small agro-forestry aviation team. Although airplanes are used to sow pesticide seeds and guard the forest, it is still feasible to make a short and medium-distance flight. Besides, Nikolai is the best pilot in our Federation, and maybe I'll have him fly for you himself!" ”

"She's President Lebold's daughter, the technical director of Star Group, and I don't dare bother her to be my pilot. Besides, every time I see her, I always have a strange feeling, and this feeling affects my state. If you don't want me to play out of style, I'd suggest you change pilots! Gunniwell said solemnly.

The past is unbearable...... Weiss smiled but didn't say anything.

On the second day, the Governor and the District Governor from the Capital Region exchanged speeches in turn, which gave Weiss a real insight. If the federation is regarded as a group company, these people are equivalent to the CEOs of the branches, although they are not in the core of the group's power, they are also the cornerstone of the overall situation of the group. Some of them are born with a leadership temperament, impeccable words and deeds, and their speeches and exchanges are watertight; Some people are simple and unpretentious, as if they are unknown to everyone, but they have real vision and real skills.

Not everyone is good at giving long speeches, and not everyone has the patience to listen. The Governors' Conference had two parts, the first part was free expression and the second part was topical discussion. In the free expression section, it is customary for each person to give no more than 10 minutes of free expression, followed by a free discussion on a number of topics. The meeting lasted from morning to afternoon, except for the noon break, which is seven or eight hours, and once every two or three years, that is, these seven or eight hours are formal communication time, and the rest are relatively fragmented and free communication. If you are interested in a colleague's topic, you can find them for a long conversation. Weiss, the youngest and newest governor, offered to speak at the back of the line.

As host, Lee was the first to speak, and although he was a first-time governor, Middlegar was well in his third year of tenure because he was less affected by the war. Two years of experience as governor allowed him to accumulate some experience, and also kept him quite fresh and motivated, so his speech basically satisfied Weiss. Because he not only summed up some successes and some shortcomings, but also looked forward to the future positively. Of course, 10 minutes will not be too detailed, but Weiss has already found the details he wants to know more about, and will wait for the opportunity to talk about it after the meeting.

The second speaker was last night's "drinking buddy", Asker, the regional governor of Liberty City. If there is one thing that distinguishes Liberty City from the federal states, it is the political and economic center of the entire federation. Its population grew to more than 40 million before the war, and its economy soared to about 30% of the Union before the war, after soaring to 30% during the war. Asker spoke like a hospitable gentleman, warmly inviting everyone to travel to Liberty City. He introduced only the attractions that really deserve attention and some cost-effective commercial areas, as well as some interesting experiences of tourist shopping. Halfway through the conversation, it made people feel a little low-level, but in the next half, he changed his conversation and talked about the free spirit of the capital, Liberty City.

As the name suggests, Villefranche is the birthplace of the Ulster's Commonwealth of Spirits. He talked about the embodiment of these free spirits in concrete work and life, as if a philosopher's master was talking about it, and the 10 minutes slipped away in a blink of an eye, but everyone felt that it seemed to be just the beginning. Some people chanted "My 10 minutes will give you", and then someone echoed "Mine is also for you". Asker straightened his chest and looked proud, his burly figure looking imposing. He continued for a while, about 5 minutes, and it didn't take up much of everyone's time after all.

Hall Scott, the governor of the Federal Governor of Ames, who spoke next, had the previous big man in charge, and his aura seemed a little insufficient, but fortunately, after the initial imitation, he adjusted his mentality later, and soon entered the state of speech that he was sure of. The development of Arms is relatively rapid in recent years, this state located in the central part of the federation was originally very backward, but in the past 20 years with the rapid development of light industry, has become the center of the textile industry of the federation. Scott introduced how Arms from a poor place, with only a generation of prosperity, has become a very developed textile industry, these experiences for Weiss really inspired a lot - the government should have a clear plan and feasible measures, there are real incentives and subsidies, these measures to implement just met the textile technology from the traditional machine to the assembly line development of the innovation period, the efficiency of the improvement of the new factory suddenly overwhelmed the original traditional handicraft industry.

However, as Holscott spoke, Weiss heard whispers that Arms's development was based on the collapse or bankruptcy of many traditional artisan owners, and that its development had upset the original equilibrium, forcing tens of thousands of textile workers to move into the cities to survive.

The governors who followed made Weiss feel like he was chatting with Asker and Evans yesterday, and they had a typical Buddhist mentality for social and economic development, or they believed that the development of society should conform to the development of the market. As long as the distribution of income and the fairness of the legal system are maintained as much as possible within the operational framework of the constitution and laws, this equilibrium can be achieved, and equilibrium is a good medicine for regional stability. In their speeches, they talked more about the general direction of dealing with people and things and dealing with and resolving social contradictions. It sounded lackluster to Weiss, but many listened with relish and gave them a round of applause at the end of their speech.

As he listened to the speeches of the previous bigwigs, Weiss took notes carefully and selected a few people of the same kind among them, such as the mediocre middle-aged man of Holscott who actively promoted economic development, while Miller of the federal state of Neuchâtel and Smith of the federal state of Clevaud, and the two neighbors of Lorraine, were somewhere between a casual mind and a positive attitude.

Finally, it was Weiss's turn to speak, he cleared his throat, adjusted his mentality, and said in a humble and non-inferior tone: "Hello everyone, I am from Lorraine. Maybe some of you go to Lorraine, maybe many of you just hear about it. It is located in the eastern part of the Moralmoren Mountains and is a remote and backward area. People gather in the central and eastern regions, where the climate is relatively cold, and the western and northern parts of the country are covered with snowy forests from late autumn, but even such a remote place is still difficult to escape the threat of war, and almost every war is always the first to be attacked by the enemy. From this point of view, Lorraine is also a very unfortunate place, but the tenacious Lorraine people face the enemy's aggression again and again, and hold on again and again to drive the enemy away. ”

"The first Lorraine people were called loggers, old miners, because logging and mining are the two oldest jobs here. However, if you want to come to Lorraine to invest in the development of industry, it is not recommended that you engage in these two ancient industries, because it is difficult to make money in these two industries. We have carefully studied the laws of industrial development in modern times and found a trend: the higher the technological content of the industry, the higher the economic added value and the higher the realized income. For example, in the case of metals, which ran through the industrial age, miners dig 10,000 pounds of iron ore out of the ground, and the costs are discarded, so that the mine owner can pay a group of miners a day's wages. The ore is sent to the metallurgical factory and refined into crude iron or steel ingots, and the profit brought not only pays the wages of a group of workers for the day, but also presumably allows the factory owner to buy a decent piece of furniture; These crude iron or steel ingots are converted into industrial castings for use in machinery and equipment and even military equipment, and it is worth about three to five times as much, or even more...... The more high-end the industry, the more competitive it is. However, there is also a paradox of development, that is, the higher the technical content, the higher the added value, and the fewer workers are employed. 10,000 jobs can be employed in the same value of mining, 2,000 in metallurgical plants, and 200 in higher-end manufacturing companies. This is like an X-shaped intersection for social stability, and it is necessary to find a balance or, as discussed earlier, to strengthen the confidant by weakening the development productivity of other regions, but the two are not irreconcilable. ”

"If you look at Lorraine as a whole, its development may indirectly weaken other regions, but if you look at it as a whole. Then the vigorous and sustainable development of the federation brings about competitive pressure. Therefore, I think it is necessary to call on the federal government to increase its efforts to export abroad, so as to fundamentally resolve the contradiction of unbalanced development of various states. Maybe you will worry about whether it will be very dangerous for us to sell our products to other countries, even to potential military opponents like Wessex and the Norman Empire? In fact, from an economic point of view, this does not pose a threat to us, but on the contrary, it will weaken the investment of competing countries in certain industries, making it dependent on our economy. If these countries become more dependent on us, the greater the economic constraints on them if we cut or stop exporting once relations are strained. Of course, this is a military and strategic consideration. ”