Roland said his thoughts and looked at the other party, "Do you really think that it is worse for Earl Quinn to manage Dawn than a rotten neighboring country?"
Facing the questioning, Edith did not show any surprise, "In fact, I think the two are comparable in the short term, a stable ally can provide you with resources, population, and in the battle of divine will. Assisting you in your actions may be uncertain for other nobles, but Count Quinn has Andrea's link as a guarantee, so I'm somewhat sure about this."
Did she... admit it? This made Roland a little confused. He thought that the opponent's rebuttal would lie in the untrustworthiness of the nobles, and what did she mean by short-term
"On the other hand, after Dawn has fallen into chaos, the new order needs blood and fire to recreate, and this period will inevitably lead to the weakening of the kingdom. If the invasion of the devil is added, the neighboring countries will become like the east and south of Graycastle, with refugees everywhere. , weeds are overgrown. With a little arrangement, Greycastle will be able to gain a large population. Unlike the previous situation, these people will always belong to you."
"But didn't you just say that in addition to the population, allies can also provide resources and war assistance?" Nightingale said displeased, "If you don't mention one benefit, how can it be comparable to three benefits? Haven't you considered it? How many of those refugees will die helplessly due to lack of clothing and food during the migration?"
Edith said tit-for-tat: "Three benefits seem to be greater than one, but there are prerequisites. In order to make full use of the resources of allies, His Majesty needs to invest a certain amount of chips, such as steam engines, gold No. 2, and even gunpowder firearms. If not These, it is impossible to fight against the devil with Dawn's own strength, let alone support Greycastle on the battlefield. This is a lot of money, although it can be exchanged for more benefits, but in Neverwinter City itself When the demand has not been met, the weight of the chips cannot be ignored. Therefore, with an increase and a decrease, I think the two are basically equal.”
Roland couldn't help but raised his eyebrows. Those who could see the benefits from providing assistance were very rare in the entire Greycastle. If it were Barov, he would definitely not agree to send his own goods and technologies to neighboring countries as "support items".
"Since the benefits are basically equal, why do you still insist that the chaotic morning light is better?"
"Because of the witch, Your Majesty." Edith's answer was beyond their expectations.
"Witch... witch?" Roland asked in surprise.
Northland Pearl stretched out a finger, "Yes, please imagine that the new dawn no longer regards persecuting witches as a matter of course, and even under the influence of Andrea, Earl Quin is very likely to support witches. , and follow your policy to let them participate in production and construction. Without the pressure of survival, the newly awakened witches will not migrate to Greycastle, and this move has already caused you losses. This is one of them."
"Secondly, the location of the Kingdom of Dawn is more advantageous than that of Greycastle. Whether it is the Devil's invasion of Wolf Heart and Eternal Winter, or the Church of the Eternal Ashes, they will push the witches of both countries to the south. Once Dawn is in a stable state, they will also Will it continue to migrate to Greycastle? The answer is obviously not, maybe in a few decades, the number of witches in neighboring countries will exceed Greycastle, and this trend makes me more uneasy than the former."
"Everyone can live well... Isn't that bad? What are you so uneasy about?" Nightingale's tone lost its previous momentum.
Edith didn't look at Nightingale, but raised her head to look directly at Roland, "Have you ever thought of a possibility that one or several witches with incredible abilities could instantly change the gap between the kingdom and the kingdom?"
"Like Anna?"
"That's right, like Anna, like Agatha, like Soraya... Their abilities are incredible. The moment you own them, Neverwinter opened the gap with other noble territories. It is also the reason why you have come this far." Edith said slowly, "Besides, the knowledge and vision you possess are unparalleled. As long as you are still in power, there will be many members of the Witch League. , it will be very difficult for Graycastle to meet a challenger other than the devil."
Speaking of this, she paused slightly, "But what about after that? Over a hundred years have passed, and the neighboring country is no different from Greycastle. Witches work in various fields, and the knowledge you write cannot be limited to Neverwinter. They can learn from it. The manufacturing method of the machine, mastering everything you have taught... Then, as long as a Dawn Witch awakens an irreplaceable ability, Graycastle will probably become the one behind!"
"This can't be!" Nightingale subconsciously wanted to refute, but she stopped halfway.
"What's more, this is only based on the magical ability of Anna, and can you guarantee that Anna is one of all witches?" Edith asked word by word, "If the other party's ability is even more amazing than Anna's. Will the successor of Chen Xi still consider Greycastle as an ally!"
Roland almost wanted to applaud these words.
It turned out that Edith didn't think too far, but thought too far. Most people can only see the changes in recent years, but she has already set her sights on a hundred years later!
It would be fine if it was just like that, but in her words, Roland could actually hear a hint of a technological explosion. As a "come here", he naturally understands that the speed of technological advancement of mankind is constantly increasing. From ape-man to lighting a bonfire, and then from steam power to the information age, a person in modern society is in his short life. You can witness changes that have not been reflected in the past tens of thousands of years.
Now that witches join the process, the process may be further shortened, and the emergence of one or two key witches may very well lead to a technological change. In fact, as the other party said, if Anna awakened in Glorious City instead of Border Town, there is still a question mark as to how far he can go.
When the members of the Witch Union continue to grow old, and the new key witch appears in the morning light, the result is almost self-evident. This is why Edith insisted that if she could not control the dawn, it would be better to let them fall into chaos.
Roland believed that if he was an indigenous lord, he would undoubtedly have been persuaded by Edith at this moment. Every king hopes that his kingdom will last forever and ever, and he also hopes that future generations can continue his glory. Such behavior as cultivating an opponent who may threaten the kingdom is absolutely necessary to put an end to it.
It is still too late to change his mind, and the price he has to pay is just a small breach of contract and deception, and then let Otto resign.
But he is not.
The country Roland cared about was not here.
In addition, he doesn't care what the kingdom looks like after he passes away, and he is more inclined to see the progress of the entire human race than to establish a ruler that lasts for thousands of generations. No matter who the successor of Greycastle is, he does not have any responsibility or obligation to protect him. As long as he can improve his development to a new height in this life and solve the mystery of the battle of divine will, he will feel that Not worth it.
As for the strength of the four kingdoms in the future, it is their own choice.
In the end, there was a seemingly small but hard-to-ignore obsession in his heart. It is easy to erase the agreement for the sake of profit and turn the lie into a bargaining chip. When he realizes this conditioned reflex resistance, he clearly understands that he will never become a real politician in this life.
"Excellent inference," Roland looked at Edith with relief, "but I will not withdraw the order that has been issued."
"Your Majesty," the latter said in surprise.
"I know what you want to say. For example, a real king should put his own interests first, and for example, deception is just a common thing in the royal family," he interrupted the other party, "but what I want to say is that other than the king, in this world, There are other rulers..."
"Other... rulers?" Edith repeated, puzzled.
"Yes, like an idealistic person."