"What? They agreed?! "
Oscar stared at the magic letter, dumbfounded. The group of ministers around him were also dumbfounded.
"They actually agreed?!"
Oscar repeated the words, still unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! "
The ministers immediately congratulated him. "This way, you don't have to worry about the Irus Empire sending troops south for the time being."
"But why?"
Oscar couldn't figure it out. "It's impossible that he didn't guess our intentions, and it's impossible that he didn't understand the consequences of doing so. Why did he agree?"
Although it was a good thing, Oscar still felt that there was some conspiracy behind it.
Tang En, who was always smiling, was definitely not as kind as he appeared to be. If he was really so kind and pure, how could he have become the regent for no reason? Oscar even suspected that the things that happened in the Irus Empire and the Solant Kingdom were all the results of that guy's secret plot!
"Perhaps it's because Queen Olina acted as a lobbyist?"
Duke Domir asked tentatively. "After all, Queen Olina and you have been so close since you were young. Even if she married into the Irus, she couldn't possibly watch as Tang En sent troops to attack Your Majesty, right?"
It sounds very reasonable … Olina really does love me very much …
Oscar's mind was in a daze, and he almost got distracted by his sister complex.
"Your Majesty, no matter what the reason is, at least we don't have to worry for the time being."
Duke Domir asked, "But Your Majesty, did he mention other conditions?"
Oscar came back to his senses, looked at the magic letter, and said, "After signing the trade contract, the Irus Empire will fully open the border cities of Preston, Paganis, Fila, and other border cities, establish special economic zones, and open trade ports. At the same time, in order to promote bilateral trade relations, a zero-tariff policy will be implemented at the trade ports, reducing the trade costs of merchants … Wait!? Zero tariff!? "
Oscar suddenly came back to his senses and stared at the few words on the magic letter with a look of disbelief. "Is he crazy?! That's zero tariff! Does he know how much revenue he will lose?! "
Zero tariff!
Oscar was not the only one who was shocked. Even the ministers below were stunned.
As a trading and economic powerhouse, any merchant in the Ronitant Kingdom was well aware of the impact of various taxes on commerce. Among them, the most important cost of long-distance trade routes was the import and export tariffs. In the past, when passing through the Irus Empire and heading to the Solant Kingdom, the price of goods would increase by 50% to 200%. This was all due to the import and export tariffs.
If the Irus Empire really implemented a comprehensive trade policy at the trading port and guaranteed a zero-tariff policy, the cost of the Ronitant's goods would be greatly reduced, and their profits would also be greatly increased!
"This is a good thing, Your Majesty!"
Another minister was overjoyed. "With the strength of our Ronitan merchants, under this policy, our import and export trade will definitely soar again. Next year's economic growth will definitely increase by a large margin, and we might even surpass the Irus Empire!"
Overtake Irus? … No!
Duke Domir was also pleasantly surprised, but after hearing this, a thought flashed through his mind. Something was wrong!
"Your Majesty."
Duke Domir looked at Oscar cautiously. "Is this all there is in the magic letter? There are no other suggestions? "
Oscar took a deep breath and continued to read Olina's handwritten letter. "… Based on the principle of reciprocity in bilateral trade, we request that the Ronitant Kingdom also open the same number of trading ports and implement the same tariff policy. If there are no objections, please set a date. The Tang En Majesty will personally go to Nanilla to sign the contract. That's all. "
At first, it sounded like there was nothing much to say, but …
"Opening the trading ports doesn't seem to have much to say, implement the same tariff policy … Wait? Same tariff policy? Zero tariff? Irus Empire? Datang Chamber of Commerce?! "
Duke Domir finally cleared the fog in his mind, and his expression became more and more unsightly.
Hearing his words, the other ministers also came to their senses.
One-way zero tariff was good, but two-way zero tariff?
F * ck, this doesn't seem like it's possible!
They were not stupid. The Ronitant Kingdom's main trading partners and goods were mainly cheap and beautiful. They seized the widest low-end market, and then gradually spread to the mid-end and high-end markets. They won by quality and quantity, and their financial income was achieved through the sale of a large number of cheap goods.
However, even if they sold a hundred Ronitant Grey-hoofed Horses, the profit would not be as much as the Datang Chamber of Commerce selling a Harley motorcycle!
If zero tariff was implemented, their income would increase greatly, but so would Irus!
Trade and import would inevitably generate a large amount of capital flow. Although Prandal did not have the concept of trade surplus and deficit, they had vaguely sensed where the problem was.
If the competitiveness and profitability of goods could not compete with the other party, the wealth of the Ronitant Kingdom would definitely flow to Irus. They would have been completely held hostage by the Irus Empire's economy, and their every move would have to follow the orders of the Irus Empire. At that time, whether or not the Ronitant Kingdom was an independent country would be meaningless. It was no different from a province.
Thinking of this, the faces of everyone in the throne room became extremely ugly.
Now, Oscar was in a dilemma.
Agreeing to sign the contract could only save them from a temporary crisis, but he could only watch as the country walked step by step into the trap set by the other party, and eventually become a puppet.
If he did not agree to sign the contract, although economic independence could be guaranteed, it was very likely that he would immediately face the crisis of being forced to abdicate, and eventually be forcefully taken back by Tang En …
Although Tang En, this shameless bastard, did not seem like a qualified monarch at all, he could play a trump card just by relying on the Datang Chamber of Commerce and the powerful power that looked down on all living things, and others could not resist at all.
If you played four Ks, he would play the king bomb!
If you played four As, he would play the king bomb!
If you played four 2s, he would still play the king bomb!
His hand was full of king bombs, how the f * ck could they play?!
He was obviously cheating!
But the most annoying thing was that even if they knew that he was cheating, they could not do anything about it and could only continue to play with him within the rules!
At this moment, Oscar could almost imagine Tang En's smug look. But even if he hated it, he could only choose one of these two difficult choices to continue.
"Agree to sign the contract on a date."
Oscar stood up with a constipated expression. "I'm not feeling well, that's all for today."
Oscar walked into the corridor behind him with a dark face. Queen Shikarin glanced at her father and chased after him with a worried expression.
"Let's go, let's all go."
Duke Domir was also very frustrated at this moment. What could he do? He was also very desperate!
Because this was a request that they had taken the initiative to make!
They knew that there was a trap, but they still had to jump in with their eyes wide open! And they had to jump happily!
So what if they were unhappy?
In front of Tang En, they did not even have the right to flip the table!
The Irus Empire had now become a monster!
A monster that had awakened and could not be stopped!
Tang En now had no idea that his simple overt scheme had made all the nobles in Ronitant gnash their teeth in hatred.
Although he had expected this day to come, he did not expect that those people would discover the trap so quickly.
At this moment, Tang En, who was being cursed by countless people in their hearts, was looking at the kobold army in front of him with satisfaction.
Yes, the dwarves who had obtained Tang En's "training" skills had finally succeeded in training a group of obedient kobolds.
These kobolds were still timid and afraid of death, but at least they were obedient enough.
When they were told to stand, they never dared to sit. When they were told to lie down, they never dared to get up. When they were told to starve, they never dared to eat. Those who disobeyed orders had been killed.
After experiencing the lesson of the blood of thousands of their compatriots, the kobolds finally understood that as long as they obeyed orders and did what they were told, they would be able to eat delicious food and fill their stomachs!
Compared to working themselves to death in the soil and eating insects and plant roots, the food that the dwarves rewarded them was simply delicious!
In fact, what the dwarves fed them was only the distillers grains left after making wine.
This group of people who used to be afraid of starvation could not bear to feed these kobolds with fresh food.
But the kobolds did not mind!
They were even moved to tears. The alcohol left in the distillers grains was used as a condiment and they ate with relish.
Too pitiful, really too pitiful …
Tang En looked at the kobolds scrambling for food in a trough and pretended to wipe the corners of his eyes.
Brian sighed with emotion. Big brother is really kind. He is so moved when he sees the kobolds suffer.
Tang En suddenly turned his head and asked, "Did you implement the last place elimination system?"
Brian was startled. "Eh? The last place elimination system? "
Tang En said with dissatisfaction, "It means that those who make mistakes, don't listen to orders, or perform the worst are directly eliminated and killed. This can serve as a warning to the other kobolds and encourage them to be more proactive in obeying orders."
"…"
Hurry up and give me back the feeling of being moved!
The corner of Brian's mouth twitched. "Are you a demon?"
"What are you talking about? Didn't I say that I don't treat them as intelligent beings?"
Tang En spread his hands. "To deal with these guys who like to betray their masters, of course I have to use high-pressure policies."
Brian was speechless.
Tang En stepped forward. "All kobolds, listen to my order. Stop eating immediately and line up!"
The group of kobolds was stunned and immediately began to line up in a flurry. But at this time, there were still a few kobolds who were reluctant to leave the trough and were lying on it.
Tang En did not hesitate to use Hand of Magic to catch them in the air and then directly burned them to ashes.
The kobolds below were stunned for a while, but their efficiency suddenly increased a lot. After a few seconds, they lined up neatly.
"Look."
Tang En pouted at Brian. "The effect is outstanding."
You really are a demon!
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