Anthony and Alberton Jr. were relieved to be relieved of their responsibilities to witness the contest and took a break in the reading room.

Roland often comes here to read books in his spare time, and the small kitchen next door is equipped with tea sets, boiling a pot of water with magic, and bringing out his treasured collection of Zoche green tea and Canaanite coffee to entertain guests.

Little Alberton took a sip of the refreshing and fragrant green tea and smiled appreciatively. Putting down the teacup, he said with emotion: "Before coming to the Far East, I had two questions about this trip, and today I witnessed the duel between Roland and Palatina, and one of the doubts was mostly solved, in the face of such a powerful opponent as Roland, no wonder Philip and Krautz could not keep the Far Eastern Province." ”

Roland smiled at his compliment, and replied without humility or arrogance: "The independence of the Far East is the result of the joint efforts of my father and many comrades-in-arms, and of course it is inseparable from the support of the people of the Far East. ”

"Five years ago, I visited the Far East, which was still a frontier province of the Empire, and was considered the poorest and most backward of all the administrative regions, and I had a very bad impression of the Far East at that time, and after the inspection, I had to give up the original intention of building a factory here, but after only a few years, I visited the Far East again, and the scene I saw on the way completely exceeded my impression, the dirty and messy Fort of Atonement was renovated into a neat and beautiful metropolis, the street shops were prosperous, and the citizens lived quite richly, He even started a comprehensive university! What I heard and witnessed made me wonder: what kind of magic did the militia-started rebel group, under the difficult circumstances of the total blockade of the Assanian Empire, use to build the poor countryside of the Far Eastern Province into a thriving paradise in less than three years? ”

Little Alberton stared at Roland with burning eyes, expecting him to answer.

"Mr. Weinstein, in order to run the Far East, our government has worked hard from top to bottom, issued countless plans, designed countless plans, including administration, law, agriculture, industry, trade, finance, culture and education, and many other aspects, some of which were originally very well-intentioned, but after they were implemented, they did not receive the expected results, or could not win the support of the people, so they had to reinvent the wheel, and three years was not a short time, but not a long time, you only saw the achievements we made, but did not see the failures we encountered, in my opinion, The latter is the more valuable lesson. ”

Roland's words sound very reasonable, but a closer analysis will reveal that he actually said nothing, all empty words! Little Alberton frowned slightly, quite dissatisfied with his attitude of going around in circles.

Roland smiled bitterly. Friends should treat each other with sincerity, of course he wants to make a friend of little Alberton, but the other party's problems are related to the major decisions of the country's development, how can he easily tell each other? What's more, the other party is an imperial envoy after all, and this trip is shouldering the heavy task of spying on intelligence in the Far East. Roland values friendship, but must not betray his country in order to make friends.

Alberton Jr. was an introspective man, and on a second thought he realized that he had asked an inappropriate question, for which Roland should not be blamed for hypocrisy. Palatina, on the other hand, has always been self-centered, and is very unhappy with Roland's attitude of being fooled, and can't help but want to stimulate him and force him to say a few words of truth.

"Roland, don't be complacent, I'm not as easy to fool as little Alberton, there are a few words I have to make clear to you."

"I guess it's not a good word, can you choose not to listen to it?" Roland cocked his legs and yawned listlessly.

"No way!" Palatina was so amused by him that she slapped the table with a bang, "Look at whether you stand or sit or not, you look like a little rascal!" You sit down for me and listen to me! ”

Alberton Jr. and Anthony couldn't help but laugh. Roland shrugged helplessly, slowly straightened his upper body, and sat upright, his eyes level at Palatina, like a poor student who was being tutored by the class leader.

Paladina took a sip of tea to moisten her throat, and her smile was solemn.

"We had a very tight schedule all the way, boarding the airship from the Turbid Wave River, sailing for half a day only to see the blue sky and white clouds, and we didn't know anything about the situation on the ground, and we got off the airship and entered the city, and the situation in the city looked very good, but ...... Who knows if what we see is a picture of a pristine life or a deliberately set stage? As the rulers of the city, you and your father have the incentive to hide the truth from visitors from the opposing camp, to hire your own people to play the role of street townspeople, to create a scene of harmony and prosperity, to show that you have won the hearts of the people over the years in the Far East, and to convey to us that although you are a rebel who started a rebellion, you have done a better life in governing the Far East than in the days of the imperial provinces, so the imperial authorities should obey the voice of the people of the Far East, Recognize the legitimacy of your rebel group! ”

Sensing that Roland wanted to speak, Palatina raised her hand to stop: "Don't be in a hurry to defend yourself, I haven't finished my words yet." ”

Roland smiled helplessly and motioned for her to continue.

"The doubts I just raised may be conspiracy theories, but no one can deny that there is such a possibility, right?" Glancing over everyone present to make sure that there were no objections, Palatina continued, "Besides, my suspicions are not created in a vacuum, and there is solid and reliable evidence!" ”

"Can you tell us about your evidence?" Roland looked curious.

"I'll say it if you don't ask!" Palatina puffed up confidently, "The authorities of the Far East offered to the Imperial Cabinet to cooperate in setting grain export prices, monopolizing the international grain market, and claiming to have 6 million tons of grain reserves for export, this exaggerated figure is really suspicious! I have checked the agricultural data of the Far Eastern provinces, and the harvest year is only two million tons, and the rebel groups have seized power for only three years, and even if all the newly opened farmland in these three years is included, the increase in output is limited, how can you collect so much grain? The exploitation is so ruthless, how many grains are left in the hands of the peasants, so you are not afraid that the peasants will rise up and rebel? Later, I heard that soon after you usurped the power in the Far East, you claimed that the agricultural tax had been halved compared to the imperial land tax, but in the end you collected twice as much grain as during the empire's rule, which is obviously contrary to common sense, either your tax reduction decree is only in words, and instead of being implemented, it has increased the tax burden on the peasants, or the data you have published is seriously falsified, in fact, there is not so much grain in the warehouse! ”

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