Customs Union, Zollverein.

Literally, it means an alliance formed by franchisees to remove trade barriers between each other, forming a close trade and emergency area, but in reality it is not so simple.

Just as the famous economist Friedrich Liszt proposed the construction of the "German Customs Union" in order to exclude Austria's influence on the German states and lead the states to the "Little German Unification Program" dominated by Prussia; a certain lighthouse country proposed TTP and TTIP in order to exclude a certain rabbit; Li Lin's proposal for the Customs Union also had the intention of excluding the influence of the suzerain, and even went further, leaving room at the political level and reaching a substantive split at the economic level one step ahead. Finally, there is the intention of forcing Charlemagne to act first and make him lose the moral high ground.

Due to the highest level of permanent secrecy of the documents related to this period, Alfheim was not allowed to declassify them under any circumstances, and later historians can only infer the situation from a series of later developments and some indirect words. One of the most convincing pieces of evidence is the long message sent by the Supreme Governor of Alfheim to Maria Theresa of Ostoria, known as the "Prachtbericht". This cable, along with Albiang's Claude Memorandum and Roland Dahlke's "Long Telegram" on the analysis of the Holy Gilmanian Empire, is regarded as one of the most brilliant analyses in the history of international relations.

In the telegram, Li Lin made it clear that defeating Albion at sea would make it impossible for the United Principality of Rus' to advance westward. The Dauphin Louis will inevitably concentrate his efforts on tackling his domestic political opponents, and if he succeeds in achieving this goal, he will be in the best position among the nations. After Castile lost its sea aid access, it was difficult to defend itself, let alone contain Charlemagne's troops to attack Britannia and Normandy, and Albion before regaining control of the sea. It was also difficult to make a difference, as Rus's had no time to look west because of the attrition of the previous series of wars and the turmoil brought about by the new king's accession to the throne, and now, in order to test the loyalty of the army to him, the Dauphin Louis might launch a short but intense war of purges against local powers such as conglomerates and vassals on the pretext of something "not very unreasonable and not large-scale".

"Ostoria and the Crown of San István are the first to bear the brunt. The Crown Prince's obsession with the humiliation and frustration he suffered at the Crown Realm, fueled by fears that the three parties would join forces to fight the suzerain, gave him plenty of excuses. ”

It is not difficult to see from this passage that the sudden civil war was completely calculated by Li Lin.

The Habsburgs were well aware of the Crown Prince's cautiousness and retribution, but now, if they hastily integrate the three parties and fight Charlemagne, I am afraid that it will be difficult to win.

Alfheim is well aware of the delicate psychological state of potential allies. Don't look at the enthusiastic appearance of these people before, it seems that once the Sanyuan Empire is born. can immediately kill the Quartet, the world is like a martial arts, in fact, it is all a show to raise one's own value. A quarter of the military reform in Ostolia had been carried out, and the St. István Crown had no regular army at all, and the hundreds of local armed and partisan armies of various sizes, shapes, and affiliations of different affiliations and lack of training were all apparitions of the Mother Goddess to Charlemagne. In addition to serving as a wild monster for Charlemagne's army, what these scum are best at and keen on is to fight each other, settle old scores, and annex each other.

Expecting this group of pig teammates to be good cannon fodder characters is either too much drunk or insane. Really send them to the front line, and if you can't get it, they will rush to sell you. But you don't need to put the power that can contain Charlemagne. It's also a waste.

Therefore, Li Lin pointed out a very appetizing strategy for the "allies" - "non-violent non-cooperation", that is, the customs union.

According to Li Lin, the consortium controls the factory, and the areas under its control and the sites of the other two are the key sales places for Charlemagne's goods. As long as an internal trade cycle that excludes the suzerains is established, Charlemagne's economy will suffer a heavy blow. Under the horrific spectacle of starvation, unemployed workers walking the streets, and people going bankrupt and committing suicide every day. As arrogant as the crown prince Louis, he had to compromise and retreat. When the time comes, de facto independence will be achieved without a single shot, and you will be able to make a lot of money afterwards.

The allies were thrilled by the beautiful money scene depicted in the letter, and after making up the beautiful picture of Charlemagne jumping off the building and raining under the economic crisis, and their own vaults were full of gold coins, they did not hesitate to sign the pledge.

Where do they know. This is a pit that Li Lin dug for everyone, and they jumped into it happily one by one.

Objectively speaking, Li Lin's proposal of "non-violent non-cooperation" is sincere, but he translates Mahatma Gandhi's political ideas into Chinese and sells them with a different meaning.

Non-violent non-cooperation - You cooperate unless you are given violence.

The economic blockade will certainly take a heavy toll on Charlemagne, but no one can guarantee that he will not flip the table. You must know that Charlemagne's kings did a lot of murder and stealing goods for money, and in order to repay the loan, even some knights who promoted the spirit of saving lives and helping the wounded in the name of the temple were killed. How much better would it be to be the crown prince Louis? Don't forget the lord who openly sent troops to smash and loot.

Therefore, the essence of the Customs Union is a red cloth to tease the crown prince, a brute bull, to take the lead, to seize the moral high ground and the sympathy of international public opinion, and to block the possibility of the Church intervening in mediation.

"The church?"

Blazer turned his face to the side in confusion, and the coffee cup stopped in mid-air.

Minerva nodded.

"If the Consortium and the Elven faction take the initiative to provoke a war, the Church will have an excellent name to intervene in the conflict between the nations and unite against the heresy of the different races. Although the influence of the Church cannot be compared with that of the past, at least it can alleviate the current isolation situation in our country and prevent it from being attacked internally and externally. But if we were the first to act, the countries that wanted to defeat us once and for all would not accept mediation. ”

Roland's reasoning was spoken, and the lingering sense of weakness became clear again, and the conversation of last night echoed in Minerva's ears again.

"A clever genius is not necessarily scary, but a genius is often shrewd and decisive but lacks patience. In contrast, the opponent who knows how to endure is the real fear. ”

Regarding the elven camp's actions yesterday, Roland commented.

When it comes to the genius who strives for progress and the person who is good at forbearance and waits for the right moment, people often think of the "Monkey Taiko" Toyotomi Hideyoshi and the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" Tokugawa Ieyasu. The elven camp has surpassed the old Tokugawa tortoise to the level of King Frederick Wilhelm of Prussia, the father of the famous Frederick the Great. It was the good intentions of the old king. By disguising himself as having a special quirk of collecting money and tall soldiers, two things he was completely uninterested in, he amassed a great deal of wealth and a powerful army without attracting the attention of his opponents. Later, in the Seven Years' War, Prussia had the capital to face Russia, France and Austria, and with Frederick the Great's eloquence, good luck and the Emperor's true friend Peter III, Prussia finally persevered to the end. The role played by the old king, who endured until his death, cannot be overstated.

Forbearance is not only the humiliation of the crotch that can be endured, but also the loneliness. It is not launched until it is fully prepared. Like the Japanese, the economy has just caught up with the back of the rice country, and they can't wait to show off everywhere, and they publish the book "Japan Can Say No", and buy the landmark buildings of the United States. died to this extent, and I can't complain that Eagle Sauce has taken action to educate the footpot chicken what is called "father's love is like a mountain", what is called "Square Agreement", and what is "lost ten years, ten years, and another decade".

Now Charlemagne is faced with the perfect preparation, about to take off his disguise. The officially rising elven camp. The other party had already set up the last set and was waiting for Charlemagne to jump in.

In the face of the current predicament, Charlemagne actually has one last chance to solve the problem. That is to acquiesce in the existence of the Customs Union, to confuse and delay the elven camp to start a war with a gesture of concession. Induce the Crown Lords of Ostoria and San István to raise the price so that the Customs Union no longer has a moral advantage. At the same time, he lowered his position, eased relations with other countries, and then temporarily froze the possibility of war, and finally brought Yalfheim into the line of compromise and coordination of "moderate independence" by political means.

This strategy is unprecedentedly tortuous and complex. In the process, it is inevitable to suffer economic, political and even national sovereignty losses, but it is still operable. At least until yesterday.

"If the elven camp can't intervene within us, it's possible. Although Brother Wang is like that, but the father is still there, we don't have a chance. But now—"

Minerva glanced out the window, the news broadcast floating in the air continued. Because I don't know what kind of technique and what kind of technique the other party used, plus the huge base throughout the country. The elimination work has not been carried out smoothly. The only way to do this was to let the army and other violent agencies take to the streets, stop pedestrians from stopping and watch, and order residents along the streets to close their windows. But it didn't help at all, as long as it was still broadcasting, the soldiers on the street had to listen to those messages. The brutal execution only widened and deepened the gap between the military and the civilians. The gains outweigh the losses.

Of course, these are all minutiae, and what really matters is that the elven camp has spread the news of "de facto independence" throughout Charlemagne, and the princes and nobles, the common people, and the ill-intentioned foreign and subject nations are all watching how Charlemagne will respond, and the kingdom has been forced into a corner that has to respond immediately.

"If we show weakness, our subjects and territories will surely rush to stand on our own feet, if we delay in vagueness, the Customs Union will continue to bleed the already fragile economy of the kingdom, and in either case it will lead to the collapse and division of the kingdom, and we have no choice but to respond with war. ”

It was only at this point that Blazer's always calm and elegant face wavered slightly.

The term "public opinion" was never within the realm of the nobility's concern, at least not a priority. The more high-ranking and long-standing the aristocracy, the stronger the tendency to disregard the common people as human beings. Social status and institutions are one thing, but ******** is also an important reason. In a society based on magic, the aristocracy saw commoners as not human beings at all, but servants who would follow instructions to work and pay taxes.

Because of contempt, we will not pay attention, and because of differences, we will ignore.

As long as the people don't rebel, as long as they can control everything, they won't care about what the people think.

Thanks to this "obtuseness," there are so far very few in Charlemagne's upper echelons who truly understand the horrors of yesterday's events. Even Minerva's factions, such as the Secretary of State, failed to understand the fact that "the investment in a certain technology changed the world overnight."

High-speed information dissemination network - this invention changed the world more profoundly than muskets, artillery, and railroads.

Intelligence that is slow and has a weak ability to spread will be extinguished by national forces before it can have an impact. Even if you want to pass on information abroad, a common person or a letter without a family seal, will those people in foreign countries take it seriously?

The age of letters and words to convey information. It is relatively easy for the state to control information.

But when the elven camp instantly increased the speed of information transmission throughout Charlemagne's territory to the level of Alfheim, the methods that had worked well in the past became waste in the blink of an eye.

The unstoppable and unstoppable unilateral transmission of information is not only for the people, but also for the military and police, and when they hear and see what is happening in their location being released, they will also compare and verify it. Unlike traditional official documents and pamphlets, illiterate people know the content of the information. It can be easily verified. Eventually, not only civilians, but also the military and police will gradually tend to believe the truth of the news from the elven camp.

This is tantamount to depriving the government of its voice, and everyone will dance to the baton of the elven camp's propaganda machine.

In the battle of public opinion alone, Charlemagne had already lost so much that he didn't even have his underwear left, and Minerva shuddered at the thought of Li Lin having a more powerful follow-up method.

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"Inducing Charlemagne to strike first by all means is only the beginning, and the real first step should be to do everything in its power to try to eliminate the expeditionary force that is still confronting the Duchy on the Lapland front. ”

A bucket of cold water was poured down, Roland shook his head vigorously, opened his eyes and subconsciously stared at the ****.

Very good. Didn't show up.

The plump bulge did not appear in the field of vision, and the boy immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

Now Roland's identity is very delicate, and appearing in public will inevitably attract a large number of people who do not know the truth. When he appears as a man, he is greeted with sacks, sticks, fists, and Rotten Tomatoes, and when he appears as a woman, there are screams, flowers, applause, and a large number of gifts.

It's chaotic enough outside, and it's even more unsafe on campus. Under the leadership of Mr. Gilles de Ray, organizations with the name "Holy Maiden" have sprung up one after another. The largest is headed by Gilles de Ray. The "Holy Maiden Support Group", which is mostly composed of men, is slightly inferior, and the "Holy Maiden Lily Group", which is composed of women, is slightly inferior. Settle for second. There are no less than twenty other organizations in total, and some people have seen a certain organization called the "Lily Pregnancy Society" holding a ritual in the cemetery, and the women in black hooded robes hold up heavy books labeled "Dark Bible" and silently chant "scum scum, Nastana Road, scum" or something......

In the campus where the demons are dancing, there is only a warehouse where MDS "unicorns" are left to enjoy the peace of mind. Because the short-tempered unicorn "Links" given to him by Archbishop Li is also here, the girl who doesn't want to be entangled by the beast and the teenager who is afraid of "cutting off his children and grandchildren" dare not approach.

Now. The warehouses are not as empty as they used to be. In addition to an MDS and MA, as well as a backup part equivalent to a complete aircraft, there are also 2 "Stalker" assault guns and a "Recon Panther" combat vehicle. All three vehicles were abandoned due to mechanical problems that were too late to be towed away, perhaps because time was too tight and there was no time to self-detonate. Analysis and repair are now underway. Let's see if we can find out the weaknesses of these armored monsters.

A group of dwarven craftsmen circled around the three chariots for 2 days and could not see the ugliness, and the preliminary conclusion was that in addition to suicide tactics or attacking the engine fence with variations, ******, and bombs, the soldiers and grandfathers either knelt down and sang "Conquest" or performed "100 Ways to Die by Chariots", and there was no other choice. In front of the load-bearing wheels of the elven chariot, no matter how many people are just gangsters with mantis arms as a car, people only need to step on the accelerator. Long live the weight-bearing wheel, the weight-bearing wheel Dafa is good, and believe in the weight-bearing wheel to gain eternal life.

In the face of such a "non-national" and "defeatist" report, the reaction of the upper echelons can be described as "the ground shakes", and the battle of Lüddes has fully demonstrated the crushing superiority of motor vehicles over the equipment in service. In street fighting, a "stalker" can make an infantry company or the same number of cavalry kneel in various positions, and if you go into battle, under the cover of artillery fire and armored vehicles, what fortifications are not possible to hold by sharp-eared ghost animals?

People who are severely stimulated tend to do things that are mind-blowing. Just like the Germans who bumped into the T-34 in 1941, the tiger-like Americans who bumped into the Tiger in 1943 in the ******, Charlemagne, who was deeply involved in the "Stalker Crisis" and the "Panther Crisis", also began to sketch his crazy chariot on the drawing board, and invested a lot of resources into this bottomless pit without hesitation, just to create the ideal mantis in his mind.

Roland knew nothing about the above brain holes, otherwise he would have advised to stop this wasteful effort that wasted time and resources. In his opinion, copying the E-10 "Stalker" is a difficult task for Charlemagne, and giving orders against the will of the commander will will only bring chaos to the military-industrial system.

Not to mention, there are more pressing matters that need to be dealt with immediately.

"It is understandable that the priority of the North is solved, and in order to be able to give it a free run on the Western Front without worries, the expeditionary force must feed the bears without any leftovers. But now that the Duchy has no strength left to contain Charlemagne, what is he going to do?"

Valrhona handed over the towel. She provoked the topic and had a certain degree of grasp of the general strategic direction of the elf camp, but she had no clue about the specific tactical details.

If Li Lin personally ended up, then there was no need to guess anything, countless pillars of cross light stood on the ground, mushroom clouds soared upward, and the world was pure. But now that the script of lifting the table and restarting the world has not been opened, Li Lin will never directly intervene in the battlefield until the extraordinary period.

In the case of conventional warfare, the elves will face the problem of being attacked on the back and abdomen just mentioned. What are the tricks they're going to use to break this situation? )