"Give me the letter from Earl Bolly."
The queen sat down in the high-backed chair by the window and gave orders.
The sun has risen, and the queen is sitting in the light falling through the stained glass window, wearing a long dress of bright silver satin, and the edge reflects the shimmer to form a silhouette like the statue of the holy spirit in the church. The silvery light was sacred and majestic, but without warmth.
Mrs Kelly touched the Queen's finger as she handed the letter to her.
With the coolness of the morning mist, it was cold and hard.
Mrs. Kelly's heart skipped a beat.
The queen took the letter, lowered her head and read it,
Mrs. Kelly looked at her silver hair, which was painted with brilliant colors by the sun, and the light yellow letter paper was flipped between her slender and pale fingers. The queen's complexion is very fair, and the faint blue blood veins under the skin can be seen clearly, giving people a feeling of coldness and silence.
Vaguely resembles another person.
"It's neither good nor bad news." The queen folded the letter with Earl Boli's private coat of arms with her fingertips. The sun was a little glaring, she narrowed her eyes slightly, and her long and narrow eyes became more dazzling The sharp, jewel-like iris reveals a trace of sarcasm and coldness unique to those in power in the gaps in the shadow of the eyelashes, "The earl's sparrow found something interesting at sea."
The "Tulip" was handed over from Earl Bolly to Abigail, marking the end of the old era of the Imperial Navy and the beginning of a new era. The familiar "Sword of the Empire" no longer fought in the sea, but chose to take risks, The splendor and glory were given to the young Xue Ye, and he disappeared into the shadows.
But this does not mean that Earl Boli is far away from the ocean of the empire.
In other words, he just changed his way to serve the empire.
Earl Bolly spent nearly two-thirds of his life guarding the Strait of Roses. He was familiar with the passing ships and the disappearing routes of sailing ships, just as he was familiar with the lines on his palm. After retiring from the position of admiral, he became the person who searched and identified sea spies for the Queen.
Before the decisive battle in the Sea of Heaven began, Earl Boli discovered that there were three ordinary sailing ships disguised as merchant ships of the Pope's kingdom suspiciously. Three days ago, Earl Boli tracked down the real departure and destination of the three sailing ships.
"The Root Empire has contacted Elmia."
Mrs. Kelly frowned, and then her eyes slowly became angry: "Are they trying to break the covenant? They are betraying your trust and goodwill."
"There's no need to be so angry, Kelly." The queen said softly, "It's just human nature."
After all, the Root Empire was influenced by Prince Arthur—that warship full of explosives was really an ingenious gift, and the Root Empire's efforts in the decisive battle in the Sea of Heaven were not proportional to the rewards. According to the plan of the Root people, they should have used this to monopolize the main route of "Sea of Mercury-Sea of Heaven-Sea of Roses", and establish the authority after Jager on the Sea of Heaven... Unfortunately, those things followed the three The miracle of rising into the sky disappeared.
Today, although the Root Empire has the title of "emperor", it does not have the reality of an emperor. Although the Roland Empire does not have the title of "emperor", it has the potential to become the secular leader of various church countries.
No country wants its neighbors to rise and prosper. Roland would do everything in his power to suppress Root. The Roland Empire has opened up a new market, and as long as the Root Empire is not a fool, it will definitely do its best to carve up the cake of Ermia—there is no first-come, first-served rule.
It is worth deliberating that the Queen's order to openly establish a trading station in the new market within the Roland Empire was not long after the war started. According to Earl Boli's investigation, the three merchant ships that set off from Root to Elmia set sail earlier than the Roland Empire released the news of the new market.
The nautical chart leading to the new market has so far been a secret that only the royal fleet can grasp. When Captain Saran opened up a new sea route, he largely relied on Gurion, a member of the exiled royal family of Elmia.
Then, where did the Lute Empire, whose commercial focus is in the Sea of Heaven and the Sea of Mercury, almost never conduct research or adventure in the Elmia Sea, get its route map
"Having only one friend is a very dangerous thing." The queen said in a low voice. "At least two friends are needed before there is room for negotiation. Gurion has traveled in the sea of heaven for so many years, and one of them can be hidden in the belly of a cow." The crown prince for three days and three nights, does he have no ambitions in his heart?"
"It was Roland who supported him to ascend the throne."
Mrs. Kelly pursed her lips unhappily.
"We even gave St. Trefus II a triple crown." The queen smiled without warmth. "There is no difference between the two."
"But what we gave to Ermia, even if the devil sees it, he should be generous." Mrs. Kelly said.
"Only in relative terms."
The queen speaks without pretense.
Admittedly, based on the will of the Queen and Archbishop Rodri, the treaty they signed with the Elmia Empire is not harsh—but it must be clearly recognized that this is compared with the inclusion of Elmia as an overseas colony. Equal trade reciprocity is only a relative term. As a powerful country that provides military support and strength, Roland is naturally and destined to occupy a dominant and strong position in the covenant.
For the weak and mediocre, attachment to a powerful empire is not a bad thing.
It's a pity that Gurion is not mediocre, and he is not lacking in ambition.
Perhaps the people of Elmia will be immersed in the glory of the past, or tremble at the might of the artillery brought by Captain Saran, but Gurion will never be included in it. It can be said with certainty that Gurion must have a net in his hands, an information network that has spread all over the coast of the Sea of Heaven along with his adventurous business career. Gurion carefully and closely watched everything that happened in the sea of heaven on the distant continent of Ermia.
He knows how to take risks and gamble in a chaotic world.
While maintaining the covenant with Roland, it is very important to get in touch with the Root Empire and even more church countries. When there are only wolves and sheep on a grassland, the fate of the sheep depends on the will of the wolf—a wolf is willing to be merciful today, but who knows if it will show its fangs tomorrow? And if... let the enemies of the wolf join the battle, things will be different.
A new market means a new world, a new turning point.
In order to curb Roland's expansion, the Root Empire is destined to fight Roland in the new market. So what are they going to do to impress Elmia, who came into contact with Roland earlier? Only bid higher... Higher than Roland. In the future, it is foreseeable that more countries will arrive in Elmia.
In the interval between fierce beasts fighting and killing, the sheep have the opportunity and road to transform into new carnivores.
Of course, this is a tightrope walk, and one who doesn't care about the flock is likely to be eaten by the herd and torn apart.
but...
The gods always deliberately arrange many coincidences.
Gurian was lucky, and so was the Elmian Empire.
He and the Elmian Empire are at a particularly good point in time for them.
The four most powerful church nations had to break out the largest naval battle in history in the Sea of Heaven because of old feuds. No matter whether it was a winner or a loser, no one could afford to send troops on an expedition in a short period of time. The Papal States and Sioule were at war, and could not be distracted from denouncing restrictions on trade with the heathen. The treacherous sea routes provide natural protection... They do have room for negotiation and maneuvering.
It is worth mentioning that the goodwill of the Queen and Archbishop Rodriguez—although this kindness is not only out of humanitarianism, but also out of reality—is not without fruit.
No matter what the Elmian Empire thinks or what ghosts they conceive, at least they dutifully provided enough food and supplies during the decisive battle in the Sea of Heaven. If there is no food from Elmia, the pride and victory of the East Berkeley merchant "War Hyena" can continue, and the famine will plague most of Roland. Even if the empire wins in the end, the harvest and bitter fruit may not be much different.
It can be said that Roland's naval warships became the Queen's sword in this war, and Hermia's food became the Queen's shield.
As for the present matter... The Queen and Archbishop Rodriguez had expected this to happen a long time ago, but it came so early and so quickly. Although it was not unexpected, it was reasonable for Mrs. Kelly to feel unhappy.
"They are too impatient." Mrs. Kelly frowned, "You know, Captain Saran and the others are still in Ermia!"
Captain Saran and Gulian are friends.
She swallowed the second half, because Lady Kelly wasn't sure how Gurion, the new queen of Ermia, saw his erstwhile fellow pirates.
"Oh, this." The queen saw what she was thinking, "There is no doubt about it, they are indeed friends."
paused.
"They were indeed friends."
The queen gave a perfect, spine-chilling smile that meant a lot.
"It's a good thing."
Mrs. Kelly, who had been by her side since she was born, was taken aback, and almost immediately noticed that something had changed...harder and more ruthless.
It was a change that terrified ordinary people, but Mrs. Kelly felt so sour that she almost shed tears. Her fingers curled up uncontrollably. When the fingers of Earl Boli's letter were just handed to the queen, the moment the fingers touched, the coolness of the morning mist that had not yet dissipated on the queen's fingers returned at this moment, penetrated into her spine, and pressed heavily on her heart.
It was shiveringly cold.
The deep love of a mother to a child surged, almost making Mrs. Kelly forget everything, and walked up to give her mistress a hug, giving her all her warmth, and driving away all the cold for her, no matter it was the sea fog. It was still morning fog.
The Queen bowed her head and pulled out a piece of paper.
The quill was dipped in ink, and the decisive order was written. The five fingers of her left hand were pointing to the table, and they were clasped together as if covering the vast and boundless sea in the palm of her hand. She sat on a high-backed carved chair with her back straight, the crown pressed on her hair, reflecting the light in the sun, and the silver bright calcined close-fitting palace dress at the waist has lost weight quickly and unnoticed in the past few days .
The haggardness that would have been caused by being thin was suppressed by her aura, leaving only a more compelling sharpness than ever.
So Mrs. Carey stood there silently, with tears in her eyes, motionless.