The marquis listened to the blueprint drawn by his son, and couldn't help nodding his head again and again. Coming from the desert, the Zion family knows that behind the dryness and desolation of the desert surface lies a wealth of wealth, from the mysterious legacy of the ancient psionic dynasty to the sandstorms, as well as nature's bounty, as exemplified by the Magic Crystal Mine. Joshua certainly does not forget that his grandfather, Jacob IV, dreamed of bringing the Twilight Valley to Canaan, and that his father, Albert VI, had worked hard to achieve this dream, but was unable to do so in his lifetime. Today, the Twilight Valley is recognized as the richest Magic Crystal Mining Area in the Far East and even in the entire Atlas continent, but unfortunately this "cornucopia" is firmly occupied by the Naluo Order and Parnia, and the Canaanites can only drool at it.

Joshua VIII, of course, wanted to follow in his father's footsteps and push the borders of Canaan into the Twilight Valley. However, it is not easy to realize this strategy, first to ensure the security of the northern border to dispel worries, second, to eliminate the constraints of many sand bandits, barbarian tribes and witch kings in the desert, and finally to face the two hard bones of the Naluo Order and Parnia, which can be said to have a long way to go. But then again, if the Colossa could really get what he wanted, pull the agriculturally developed Far East into the camp of the Canaanites, open up new markets to the north through border trade, and obtain food and security, the "Eastern Strategy" that had been in the dust for many years could be put into practice. Thinking of this, Joshua VIII, who was nearly half a hundred years old, couldn't help but clench his fists, and the passionate pride of his youth awakened again, churning and stirring in his chest.

The Marquis paced back and forth, only to stop when his mind had calmed down, and turned to look at Weinberg.

"Prime Minister, do you think the Colossa's vision is feasible?"

"Your Majesty, I can't think of a better framework for dealing with the sensitive relationship between Canaan and the Far East than His Highness Gorofa, but frankly, I still have some links that I can't figure out about His Highness's concept."

"I like your frankness, Glofa, get ready for the challenge, trying to convince our prime minister is not an easy task, and if you can do it, I will appoint you with full authority to preside over the negotiations." The Marquis smiled and gestured, signaling his son to accept the Prime Minister's questioning.

Corofa nodded to Weinberg, "Your Excellency, I'm ready for the challenge. ”

"Your Highness, as we all know, the Kingdom of Kolas has just gotten rid of the slavery of the Empire, its industrial base is very weak, the most competitive commodity of that country is nothing more than grain, and it is still an agricultural country in nature, in contrast, our country's industrial strength is stronger than that of the Far East, and the commodities are more abundant and exquisite than the Far East, if the Kingdom of Kolas accepts trade cooperation and lowers the tariff threshold, trade will prompt a large influx of our industrial products into the Far East, and at the same time make more gold and silver flow into our country, and the Far Easterners can endure such a trade deficit? Aren't the Koras sons worried that Southern Xinjiang and even the entire Far East will become an economic colony of Canaan? ”

Grofa smiled slightly, and replied calmly: "Your Excellency, if the authorities of Krasbourg are as concerned about the outflow of gold and silver as you are, based on mercantilist logic, it is true that they can only draw such a conclusion from international trade that it is either to the detriment of themselves or to the detriment of others, but the helmsman of the national economy of the Far East is Prince Roland, and I believe that he will look at trade issues in a new framework and come to a more optimistic conclusion that both sides of trade can benefit from it." ”

"Are you sure?" The prime minister was skeptical.

"I'm sure!" "Others may not be able to understand my ideas, but Roland will understand, and even if my ideas are not mature enough, Roland can try to help me perfect them." ”

"It's funny, the prince of a neighboring country knows my son better than I am as a father," said Marquis Joshua, patting him on the shoulder, and smiling, "Try as you say, Coropha, and try to avoid war, even if it is just to preserve your friendship with Prince Koras." ”

Grofa nodded, and was about to speak, when Lady Judy suddenly stood up.

"Gropha, I don't know what the prince of the Far East intends to do with his captives, and with what you know about him, is there any hope of survival for those unfortunates?"

"Rest assured, Roland will not harm the opponent who laid down his arms, Meyer and they are all safe, but they have temporarily lost their freedom......" Colossa hesitated for a moment, and then said to his stepmother, "Since Roland does not admit that there was a military conflict between Canaan and the Far East, he cannot recognize Mayer as a captured Canaanite soldier, and only regard them as drunks who entered the country without permission to make trouble, and according to the custom in the desert, Meyer and they must pay the corresponding ransom if they want to regain their freedom." ”

Madame Judy first looked at her husband's face, and seemed to have a bottom in her heart, and said to Corophas with a solemn face: "Please tell Prince Koras on my behalf—this is a disaster caused by Mayer himself, and the ransom is to be raised by himself, and if he can't pay the money for his life, don't come back!" ”

"Rest assured, I will tell Roland the truth, and I believe that he will not make things difficult for Meyer on the ransom issue, after all, this is nothing compared to the prospect of cooperation between the two countries." Colossa's words were mainly to comfort his stepmother, in fact, according to his understanding of Roland, Mayer was afraid that he would have to contribute all the money he had accumulated over the years in order to get back his free body, and this was purely self-inflicted and not worthy of sympathy.

"I don't want to get to the bottom of his guilt for the many problems that have been exposed by this turmoil, but he is clearly unfit to continue in the position of governor of the Medes." The Marquis of Joshua ignored the change in his wife's expression, his eyes fell on the eldest son, and there was high hope in his eyes, "Colopha, the post of governor of Medes will be represented by you for the time being, and we will consider a more suitable candidate when order is restored in the border area." ”

Glova nodded solemnly, his father's arrangement had brought great convenience to his plans.

"Okay, that's it, the others can leave, Glova, Raymond, you two don't leave yet, I still have something to say."

Raymond looked at his mother hesitantly, and returned to his father silently. Madame Judy couldn't guess her husband's thoughts, and she knew that now was not the right time to inquire, so she threw an encouraging glance at Raymond and quietly left the study with the crystal cat in her arms.

When only father and son were left in the room, the Marquis sat back in his armchair and re-lit his pipe, finally breaking the silence after a long spitting of clouds.

"Glofa, Raymond, you two brothers have different mothers, live in different environments, have very different personalities, and have their own strengths, I don't force you to be close, but I don't want you to be estranged from each other." Spuffling out a puff of cigarette, the marquis looked at his two sons, his eyes showing melancholy: "Recently I have heard some not very good rumors, some people are trying to create antagonism between your brothers under your banner, I hate these so-called factional disputes, but avoiding them will not solve the problem, there are some things I have to make clear to you brothers." ”