Railway investment and construction assistance, transnational business cooperation plans, the concept of the settlement area, the new ambassador plan …
The people of Cecil clearly attached great importance to this exchange with the Duchy of Holy Dragon, and had prepared enough plans and proposals for this.
So much so that Sir Golos was somewhat unaccustomed to it.
This dragon descendant realized one thing — even though the Duchy of Holy Dragon had always thought that they were paying attention to the changes in the situation on the mainland, and that they had not completely closed themselves off from the outside world, but in the face of this rapidly rising new empire, the dragon descendants were still too isolated and slow.
If these things presented by Gwen Cecil were to be placed in front of the councilors and elders of the Duchy, most of them would probably be at a loss.
But fortunately, Duke Balogel had always been well-prepared. At least in this diplomatic group led by Sir Golos, everyone had done a lot of "homework" in advance. They had done a basic understanding and investigation of the new things that had emerged from the land of Cecil, so they were not completely ignorant of the things presented by Gwen.
The documents were distributed to everyone, and Sir Golos quickly browsed through a portion of them. After he had a general understanding of the contents, he raised his head and said, "This seems to require a serious discussion — I hope you can understand that many of these things are more sensitive."
"Of course," Gwen nodded with a smile. "Today is only an initial meeting, mainly to exchange some ideas. Moreover, all these business plans are only the opinions of Cecil. Compared to them, establishing a stable diplomatic relationship between the Duchy of Holy Dragon and the Empire of Cecil is more important."
Sir Gorosh smiled when he heard that. "That's exactly what I was thinking."
… …
This closed-door meeting lasted for almost the entire day, from morning to afternoon. During this time, Sir Golos and a few dragon descendant representatives accepted the invitation to have lunch with Gwen in the Cecil Palace. When the meeting finally ended, the giant sun had gradually sunk below the horizon.
Even Gwen felt a little tired after the discussion that had lasted for almost an entire day in a friendly manner.
"We need to have an internal discussion when we get back." Sir Golos stood up with a smile on his face. "Many of your business proposals seem very … meaningful to me, but we can't give an answer now. We'll try to come up with a preliminary result before tomorrow's meeting."
"That's understandable." Gwen was not surprised by today's result. He had achieved his goal today by successfully conveying the business plan and future diplomatic outlook. "Then, I hope you can have a good rest tonight. Let's look forward to tomorrow's meeting."
The Dragonkin left, taking with them a pile of business plans that Emperor Cecil had stuffed into their hands.
Gawain sat back on the high-back chair that belonged to him and rubbed his eyebrows in the orange afterglow of the setting sun.
The window on one side of the room was open. A breeze blew in from the window and circled Gwen twice. Then Amber came out of the air and stood beside Gwen with a smile.
"I saw the dragon descendants leave. I thought you were going to hold the meeting until night time!" The Shame of the Elves said with a smile. "After all, you seem to have prepared a lot of materials …"
Gwen looked up and glanced at the half-elf. "It's spring. It's warm. The cold north wind has turned to the east wind. You can come in through the window again, right?"
Amber immediately crossed her arms and looked up proudly. "You don't say. I haven't been there all winter. When I jumped down from the window just now, I missed the touch …"
Gwen was speechless.
If he was not worried about causing misunderstandings in front of the foreign envoys, he would have put mousetraps on every window sill in Cecil Palace yesterday!
Amber seemed to be happy when she saw Gwen's helpless expression. She played the trick of jumping out of the window again and again and never got tired of it. She was satisfied after jumping out of the window again in front of Gwen today. Then, she stopped while she was ahead and changed the topic. "So, what's the progress of today's meeting? How much consensus do you think we can reach with the Duchy of Holy Dragon? "
Gwen smiled and tapped his finger on the armrest of the chair. He said casually, "If old Mr. Godwin was here, he would write: Both sides had a fruitful discussion. During the meeting, they exchanged views and finally ended the conversation in a friendly atmosphere."
Amber nodded. "Oh, that means there's no consensus … It sounds like there's no progress."
After all, she had been in an important position in the government office for a long time. She was now quite familiar with these 'professional terms'.
"It's not that there's no progress." Gwen shook his head. "At least we did exchange views. I believe that the business plan, new technology, and new products have fully aroused their interest. In the letter from Duke Balogel, he also expressed that the Duchy of Holy Dragon was willing to open its door to establish diplomatic relations with Cecil. But on the other hand, the Dragonkin are also very cautious. They are not dazzled by the variety of new things. Even in the face of the railway system, Sir Golos was very calm. "
"So, the 'prosperous and advanced new world' is not as effective for the Dragonkin as it is for the Typhon people? Although they come from the mountains, they look at the human world with pride and reserve. "Amber raised her eyebrows." I was right this time. You owe me five pounds. "
"Accurately judging a target's psychological inclination and possible actions is the basic ability of the Minister of Intelligence …"
Amber simply stretched out her hand. "Five pounds."
Gwen casually slapped away Amber's hand. "I didn't say I'm not going to give it to you."
"That's fine. I'll remember. Five pounds." Amber withdrew her hand in satisfaction. Then, she suddenly rolled her eyes. "By the way, I have something to tell you. I've talked to Margie about it. She will meet with Sir Golos."
Hearing Amber's words, Gwen was silent for a second before saying softly, "Actually, I don't like to use family as a card. I also don't want the relationship between Margie and Sir Golos to become part of this diplomatic activity …"
"Of course I know, but sometimes the card isn't in your hand. It's on the table from the beginning." Amber curled her lips. "Your arrangement is already very intimate. Sir Golos should be able to feel it. And to be honest, after talking to Margie, I can feel her ambivalence. She's not against her father. She's just against the environment she used to live in. If she can meet Sir Golos outside of the Duchy of Holy Dragon, she'll be quite happy. "
"That's good." Gwen breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, he smiled and shook his head. "Actually, when I first learned about the relationship between Margie and the 'Dragonborn Ambassador' from Victoria's letter, I was really shocked … None of us thought that Margie, who usually keeps a low profile, actually has such an identity …"
"Anyway, I just have a feeling that the Dragonborn are very … how do you say the word, 'hardcore'?" Amber recalled the words of Emperor Gwen Cecil in her mind. With a slightly strange expression, she said, "Jumping off the Dragon Leaping Cliff and gliding all the way to the Northern Region just to 'run away from home'. There's also the 'children's game' of using a wooden barrel to roll all the way from the top of the mountain to the foot of the mountain …
"Ah, I also found out that Lady Asalena of the Dragonborn Ambassador also ran away from home when she was traveling in the human world. And the process of her running to the Southern Region was even more shocking than Margie's running to the Northern Region. Lady Asalena sold herself to the bandits and persuaded them to 'transport' her to the Southern Region for free. Then, she sold the bandits to the lord of Calore at that time. In exchange, she bought a long sword and became a mercenary for five years … Anton was stunned when he collected all the information."
Gwen looked at Amber, dumbfounded. "… You even found out about this?"
"I don't get my monthly salary for nothing." Amber spread out her hands. "I also found out something even more shocking. Lady Asalena was actually a mercenary under Byron …"
Gwen was speechless.
He looked at Amber from head to toe. Although he had seen her ability to gather information more than once, he still could not help but feel a little amazed at this Director of Intelligence.
Some investigations did not need to be done in depth — he wanted to remind Amber.
But this matter sounded too interesting.
He leaned over and said, "Tell me in detail …"
…
After returning to the Autumn Palace, Sir Golos summoned several advisers in the diplomatic mission, including the Dragon Mark Witch Asalena.
In a spacious room with a style completely different from the north, the light of the magic crystal lamp dispelled the darkness. A cool night breeze blew in from the window. The red-haired Asalena slowly walked around the four corners of the room. As she walked, invisible magic formed a barrier, and the glimmering Dragon Mark Runes flashed in the air.
"The 'confidentiality' of this room has been completed." She returned to Sir Golos and the other advisers and nodded slightly.
The dragonkin believed in the sincerity and enthusiasm of the Cecil people for this "diplomatic activity," but they also believed that the humans had relied on more than sincerity and enthusiasm to survive on this continent for so many years. When going out, the necessary caution was never superfluous.
"The Cecil people have come up with a lot of interesting things." Sir Golos sat on a leather chair and looked at the other advisers. "I'd like to hear your views on these things."
"There is no doubt that these things are valuable," a middle-aged man with short brown hair said after pondering for a moment. "This is true for us, and even more so for the Cecil people. They must seek certain benefits when dealing with us, but as long as the benefits are within a reasonable range, we can consider accepting. After all, whether it is magical technology or alchemy potions, they are all good things, and commercial flows … In the long run, this is also an inevitable step after the duchy opens its door."
"Since His Majesty Balogel has decided to open the door to the human world, it means that he is ready for these exchanges. I think you should have no objection to this," Asalena said as she looked around at her compatriots. "But I want to remind you that when making a deal, humans often don't reveal all their expected profit targets. When you deal with a human, and he says that he wants to make a copper coin from you, then you should be prepared that he has his eyes on all the copper coins in your pocket."
Sir Golos frowned slightly. "You mean, Cecil people want to make more than just money from us in these business plans?"
"This is obvious. There is a long-term plan behind these investment plans." Asalena shrugged. "They provide the money, manpower, and technology to open a factory on our land, which means that they are ready to earn back ten factories. I have dealt with human 'merchants' before, Sir Golos. Magical technology and investment companies are new things, but humans are not. But then again, who would want to deal with a country that was forever shrouded in snow and mountains without the motivation of benefits? So we only need to judge one thing: are these plans of Cecil people worth it to the dragonborn?
"As for my personal opinion … I am very uneasy about all projects involving resource development and engineering construction."
It was not the first day that Sir Golos and Asalena knew each other. He understood the meaning of her words. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully and said, "You mean …"
"The 'relationship' that Cecil people want to establish has exceeded our expectations when we set out. We are only here to discuss the establishment of diplomacy and the opening of conventional commercial channels, but they obviously want more. This part of the content is not off-limits, but I think we need to report these details to Duke Balogel first. Sir Golos, believe me, Duke Balogel will be gratified by our timely report. "
Sir Golos frowned slightly, but soon his brows relaxed.
He looked at the red-haired witch in front of him and nodded slightly. "Then we will do as you say. Use your ability as a 'Dragonmark Witch' and contact Dragon's Arrival Castle."
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