"Can you guarantee that Giovanni will never return to Eastern Vecchia?"

Kalinin, having heard that my original family was only a baron, showed no interest in my family story. He knew that Svadia had already fallen countless families because of the civil war, and these families were all opportunities for the future, but for the current Kalinin, he did not have the slightest strength to grasp the future nothingness. He was only interested in East Wikia.

"Yes." I said to Kalinin, "Little East Lake has already paid enough in this siege, and the Romanov soldiers should not continue to bleed." ”

"That's a light thing to say." Kalinin pinched the corner of Yuri's letter and let the flames in the iron basin consume it, "It's not just Little East Lake City that is besieging the city. ”

"But it's dominated by Xiaodonghu City."

"You also know that Xiaodonghu City is just the leader." Kalinin said, "Do you think the parliament will agree to peace?" Do you think the council will agree while Giovanni and I are still able to threaten them?"

"You can make peace with Giovanni privately, or even just make an agreement." I said to Kalinin, "Giovanni can't deal with the parliament and you at the same time, but if you don't intervene, Giovanni will have no problem with the parliament's army." ”

"You're not right," Kalinin's expression was tinged with a strange interest, as if he was a little surprised that I had juxtaposed Little East Lake City with the Council, "Little East Lake City is also under the jurisdiction of the Council. When the council elects the king, I will pledge allegiance to him along with the other princes. ”

"Do you want to tell me that besides yourself, you think there are other princes who are worthy of being kings?"

Kalinin pursed his lips and said vaguely, "There are many princes, and not the most powerful can become kings." ”

"Prince?" I was a little dissatisfied with Kalinin's attitude, I was in a hurry to get into the city, and he always went around in circles with me, "I'll come all the way." Seeing the Maharaja of Denia burning down the village like a demon, with new graves on the roadside, can such a person become a king? In parliament, I heard about the exception of a few nobles. Most people turn a blind eye to this, can these princes become kings? The prince of Denia committed such a heinous crime, he first openly disobeyed the decision of the parliament, withdrew his troops without authorization, and plundered the territories of other princes without any reason, and the parliament was powerless to punish him, and did not justially condemn him, such a council, let it be finished! If there's anyone in Eastern Wikia who can become king, it's you. After you die. The Romanovs also have the right to take this crown! ”

"You expect me to get excited when I hear you? And then do what you say?"

"I never counted on that. I just hope you will consider my opinion. "I looked Kalinin in the eye and felt that it was not too difficult to look him directly," and the opinion was very simple: send me to negotiate peace. Once Giovanni was able to peacefully withdraw from Varankov and disappear into Eastern Wikia. For you, the toughest enemies are gone. Those princes who are like wine bags and rice bags. What else can be done? Could it be that they also gathered to besiege Little East Lake City once?"

"Giovanni withdrew peacefully? Disappeared in Eastern Wikia?" Kalinin laughed, "This is the best joke I've heard recently." ”

"When you can eat meat and you can eat enough, who will knock open the bone and suck the bone marrow? When you can choose a weak enemy, who will specifically look for hard bones to be the opponent?"

"What do you mean?"

"All Giovanni thinks about is to establish the Duchy of Valan." At this moment, a group of cavalry roared through the outside, and the rumbling sound caused dust to fall on the roof of the tent, waiting for the cavalry to go away. I continued, "Actually, this is also the dream of all Valans. Even after Giovanni's death, rebellions to establish the Duchy of Valan would continue to erupt. ”

"It's not going to be any harder than killing Giovanni."

"But the difficulty will last forever. Every year, he tries his best to fight the locusts, but there is a drought. Locusts will still appear everywhere. Can you kill every Valan? Once the Duchy of Valan is established, as long as a Valanite still has the strength to draw his sword, he will never forget the establishment of the Duchy. ”

"You can talk to the council about that." Kalinin sarcastically said, "Let them canonize a principality as noble as their status." ”

"It doesn't matter if they canonize or not, as long as they can't destroy the principality. It's going to exist. Let the Duchy of Valan exist, it will not hurt you. Although many Valans will leave you, you will find a land of peace and a myriad of peaceful people. That's what you want, right?"

Kalinin poured himself a glass of wine and took a shallow sip, "I heard you right, on the one hand, you said that I would condone the Varans to establish a rebellious principality, and on the other hand, you said that I would get a peaceful land because of it?" Don't you think it's impossible for these two to happen at the same time?"

"The Valans are an alien people," I said to Kalinin, "why did their principality have to be founded in Vecchia!" ”

"Huh?" Kalinin's brow furrowed.

I began to explain to Kalinin what I had seen along the way.

Creel.

Creel had always been a dependency of the Salanders, where the Bey and the emir were weak and ununited, and they had been ruled by the Salanders from a long time ago. As early as the time of the Chanda, the Creel region was dotted with trading cities, and olive oil and pottery were probably among the earliest commodities in the world. Today, Creel's population has suffered greatly, but it is still much denser than many parts of Vecchia. More advantageously, Creel was located in the center of the trade routes, and by crossing the desert to the east, it was able to bypass the Burks and trade directly with the Orientals. The long coastline of the south, as long as it occupies any city, can establish a permanent trading post, so that the goods from the east continue to pour into the west. The Creelis, accustomed to business, and the weakness of the people, who could not afford to form a strong army on their own, often pinned their fate on mercenaries. But the mercenaries could use it once in a while, and when they encountered a large number of elite soldiers like the Salander army, who fought all year round, they immediately succumbed.

Creel has been the pearl of the Salander people for so many years. The people of Salander became so rich because of the trade routes of Creel: the rich forcibly erected waterwheels in the desert where there was no water, and transported water from far away, just to water a garden of flowers that bloomed all year round; The temples of the Salanders on the snow-capped mountains were also covered with colored bricks and built a golden dome; The capital of Salander fed almost half of the poor people in the country who did nothing. Such a huge wealth. In large part, it was because the trade routes of Creel were occupied by the Salanders for many years, and they occupied the trade routes as if they were a constant river of gold and silver.

The battle of the crown prince of the Salanders allowed the Salanders to send soldiers to Creel. The number dropped from 9,000 to less than 2,000. This made the Crelian city-states ready to move, and countless frictions followed. The Salanders have far less control over the Creelians than they once were. The recent uprising of the black slaves has hollowed out the Creelians and wiped out many of the Salander garrisons here. Creel is now a plate of delicious roasted meat, and the many barriers that guard it are no longer there because of the plague. Today, even three or four hundred armed men can gallop across the Creel, and as long as they are not stupid enough to look for the main force of the Creelians, these hundreds of people can comfortably ravage the Creelians' weak hinterland. If there are more than a thousand soldiers, their leader can threaten the trading cities along the coast. to bring it to its knees and pay the tribute. If the number of soldiers is larger, they can directly drive away the past governor and establish their own rule, just like Jill.

Let Giovanni go to Creel. Let him take the 'principality faction' from the Valans and leave the 'parliamentarians' behind. The seeds of unrest will then disappear, and the remaining Valans will accept the rule of Little East Lake City. Even if the remaining Valans had any other ideas in the future, the Duchy of Valan would not be stupid enough to provoke a prince of the twin cities of East Wiki who could mobilize tens of thousands of soldiers because of Creel's wealth.

"In the past," I continued to Kalinin, "there were many goods in Eastern Wiki. All relied on trade with the Burkes. And their own goods were not so attractive, some amber and leather coats, in peacetime, perhaps sought-after objects, in wartime, these things simply did not sell for a price. I have seen bundles of skins rot in the riverland. In the end, a few bags of grain can be exchanged. When you came here, you had a grain trade agreement with Jill, and I knew about that agreement. With that agreement, you can get much cheaper food than other princes. But there has been a rift in your alliance with Jill for a long time, hasn't it? It starts with your acceptance of Varankov. Jill realizes that he can't control you anymore. Gil wants a broken Wiki and a weakened Romanov family. Your presence has thwarted his plans to expand in East Wikia, and I don't believe you will be able to renew the trade agreement when it expires. I was also used as a bargaining chip, right? It's just an illegitimate child, so you can see that you are ready to break with Jill at any time. ”

"The land of Vikia was self-sufficient, but that was before the war. When I was in Giovanni's barracks, hundreds of his soldiers were fed on more than a dozen protected villages. But now, wars and plagues have greatly weakened the ability of villages to produce food, and if you extort food, the population will increase slowly; If you allow the village to repopulate, then you don't get enough food. So now Jill doesn't need you, but you want Jill instead, or rather, for many years to come, until Eastern Wikia can produce cheap and abundant food again, you'll need Jill to ship grain in a boat. In the past, Gil had to trade through Vekia to exchange for spices, porcelain, and silk from the East. But a few months ago, I saw with my own eyes that Gil's fleet burned down a Creelian city in one night, and now I don't know if the emir of Creel is still alive. Gil is taking a vantage point in Creel. Once Gil has secured his rule in Creel, will he continue to trade with you, Your Excellency the Maharaja Kalinin?"

"So, to get Jill back to the negotiating table, you'll need to sabotage Jill's plans! Let Giovanni go to Creel, let him restore the country there, exchange the blood of the Valans for the blood of the Nords, and let the Duchy of Valan smash the dreams of the Nords! ”

"As for the Burkes. Are their goods as expensive as those of the Orientals? Is their food as cheap as Gil's? Their soldiers, will there be the vulnerability of the East Wiki Council? You told me to make the right decisions. I think you should make the right decision now: keep the Duchy of Valan and let it bleed for your future, not for the sake of the Parliament's machinations! ”

"The Principality of Valan is weak, and what benefits will it bring to you if it has its back to you? First, you'll get your own trade route to the East without having to send even a single soldier for it. Second, when Gil can't meet your requirements for food, weapons, horses, and armor, you can incite Giovanni to attack Gil's trading post. When will the offense stop? It's up to Jill to agree to all your conditions. The Nords, as foreigners, already have too many privileges in the East, there is no reason not to interfere, you will get good fame, and Jill will embrace notoriety. As for the council, with Jill's cheap grain and Giovanni's trade routes dedicated for peace, I believe that Little East Lake City will surely reach unprecedented heights. If you would follow my advice and let me go and negotiate with Giovanni, I am sure that I would not be at all surprised if a natural gate told me more than ten years later that the crown was on the head of a Romanov. ”

"Your Excellency!" I knelt down on one knee to Kalinin, "I need your support." Let me go inside the siege, let me take your token, and let me talk to Giovanni. ”

Kalinin listened to me all the time, and after listening to me, he didn't ask me any other details, but asked me, "Victor, how old are you?"

I was a little surprised. "Sixteen years old, Your Excellency."

He pinched his chin and motioned for me to get up.

Kalinin fell into deep thought, he walked over to the table and examined me.

"Who taught you that evil?"

"I was thinking about these things when I was wandering in the desert of Creel. My family's bachelors have also inspired me a lot. ”

"I'd like to meet the maester."

"When I go to Varykov, he is always waiting for your summons."

"Why do you want to advise me?"

"I want to be a boyar."

"That's a far-fetched reason." Kalinin said, "If you go to the riverland honestly, you will become a boyar in no time." After marrying Catherine, you can even become a count. ”

"Whatever you want." I said to him, "I'm not going to Riverlands." I'm going back to the west to deal with family grievances. ”

"Stay, Victor. Yuri told me who your enemies are, and how weak your family is. It would be unwise to be loyal to such a family. ”

"If I had been born in the Valley of the White Pigeon, I would not have been able to be loyal to it," I said to Kalinin, "could it be that I have become a loyal member of your family because I have taken the Count of the Romanovs?" There is no such truth in the world. ”

"Haha," Kalinin smiled with an appreciative smile I've never seen before. "Haha, Vidor. Alexey and Giovanni taught you well. After the laughter was over, he regained his composure, and he thought about something to himself for a while, "Vidor, you need to quietly go to Varynkov at night." Of course, when the Valans find out about you, their first instinct is probably to cut off your head. You have to make sure you survive. If you were caught by the soldiers of the council, I would not admit to seeing you. ”

"If I die. You can still contact Giovanni, and if Giovanni also dies, you can contact his heirs. My plans have nothing to do with whether we live or not. ”

Kalinin's brow furrowed, "Then why are you so keen on my peace talks with Giovanni?"

"I'm Victor the Valan! When I established a principality in the middle of the forest, I was one of the founders who took the oath. That night, I was given double the meat and wine, and drank with my comrades in front of the campfire until dawn. I smiled at Kalinin and said, "How can I stand idly by while the duchy is destroyed!" We can die, and the principality, it must continue! ”