I will be crowned king

After a brief interlude and exchange of conditions, the negotiation was over; Igor Mossfield also knew that he actually had no trump cards at all, and it was a blessing to be able to obtain such a result.

After all, in a sense, Anson Bach's cynicism is not wrong: if the current Elf Kingdom of Yser continues to maintain such a large area and too many troops, it will only bring harm, and the imbalance of the proportion of humans and elves will also be serious. It threatens the very foundation of the kingdom and may even lead to its destruction.

It would be better to reduce the size of the territory, drive non-elf human races to the land ceded to Hantu, and increase the proportion of elves to the same level as in the past, or even higher, which can effectively alleviate internal conflicts; reduce the number of troops Scale, placing all armed forces completely in one's own hands can also strengthen the authority as the Elf King.

But having said that, it is definitely difficult to accept... After the signing of the treaty, the Elf Kingdom of Ysel, which lost a large area in the west, not only lost a large number of people and land, but also completely lost its strategic position to Hantu and Clovis. The fortification is completely at the mercy of others.

To put it bluntly, it is not an exaggeration to regard this treaty as an epitaph for the future of the Yser elves.

But without a funeral, can the Ysel elves still have a place? Obviously it's impossible. If it doesn't work, it's even more likely that there will be no bones left.

Between great destruction and humiliation, Igor Mossfield decisively chose the latter.

Of course, all of this is observed from the perspective of Anson Bach. If viewed from the perspective of the former Elf King, things are likely to have a completely different "new look":

First of all, although the Yser elves made huge sacrifices in this "war of aggression", it was actually the newly rising human forces in the kingdom that suffered heavy casualties and even suffered destruction.

As a king, of course Igor would not have "disdain for humans" written directly on his face, but to say how much goodwill he had, it would definitely not exist; sacrificing the interests of humans in the kingdom in exchange for the survival guarantee of the Iser elves , from Igor’s point of view, this is simply not a multiple-choice question.

In the final analysis, although they all claim to be "kingdoms", "republics" or at least countries, the differences between them may be greater than the differences in species; who is the master of this country, who is the real citizen, and whose interests Will get absolute guarantee, what is the fundamental interest of this country... If these most basic things are not clarified first, the two sides will probably not be able to achieve any cooperation.

Clovis needed absolute security in the southeast, Hantu was eager to expand its territory, and the Ysel elves wanted to ensure the survival of the race... The three parties worked together to maximize the interests of the Ysir human forces and successfully achieved a win-win situation. .

The agreement was finalized, followed by the customary dinner. After a day of exhaustion, little Leon even showed a look of anticipation on his face; as a native Hantu, especially one who comes from a country most affected by the Ysel elves. In the Principality of En, the term "Elven Banquet" was inherently attractive to him.

Candies with exquisite shapes and unique flavors, various desserts based on pickled and fresh fruits, layers of puff pastry pies, soup stock with distinct flavors... Hantu is famous for its light taste and passion for fresh fruits and vegetables, and Yise Your elf will take it to the next level and create the so-called "fruit and vegetable garden art".

Nobles under the knightly culture often ate whatever they could grow in the manor in their own territory, whatever prey or fruits and vegetables were in the mountains and forests, and whatever fish were in the rivers. The cooking methods were often relatively monotonous; but the Yser elves were different. , they will manage their fruit and vegetable plots like courtyards and gardens, discipline the wild beasts in the forest, and focus on cultivating improved varieties to make them better in taste and flavor than native varieties.

If the special food of the countries in the Order World is regarded as the vast countryside, the Yser Elf delicacies are the castle of the food world - at least Leon thinks so.

But when the waiter brought the long-awaited dinner delicacies to the table, his full anticipation was immediately replaced by confusion, and he even couldn't help but frown.

"How about it, are you surprised?"

Looking at the troubled expression of His Highness the Crown Prince of Hantu, Igor smiled casually, took his bowl of thick soup very skillfully, picked up the weird-shaped bread next to him, and broke it into small pieces bit by bit. Block: "These foods have been 'popular' in the Royal Court of Yser for some time; not only the common people, but also the food in the palace are basically them."

"Popular, you mean..." Little Leon's eyes lit up: "Are these the new trends in Yser food right now?"

"Well, that term is a little subjective."

Igor thought about it seriously: "If it is regarded as the 'mainstream', it is indeed true."

This introduction once again aroused little Leon's curiosity, and he endured the discomfort in his sense of smell. He picked up the spoon and took a small sip of the thick soup in the bowl. As a result, the spicy taste made him almost spit out the soup. :

"Cough cough cough...w-what the hell is this?!"

"This, it's called bread soup."

"Noodle, bread soup?!" The blushing little Leon's eyes widened: "But, but I didn't taste even a little bit of bread, or maybe it was because the spices were too heavy, which caused my taste buds to change. Problem."

"No, no, your highness, your sense of taste is normal. There is indeed no bread in the soup." Igor's expression was still very indifferent, and he explained with a smile:

"The reason why it is called this name is because it can eat a lot of bread and greatly save the waste of vegetables, so it was named this by the common people of the Yser Royal Court."

"Then, what is it made of?"

"What is it made of? Your Highness, you are really stumping me."

Igor took another sip of the soup without changing his expression: "Not even me, even the chef in the palace can't guess what the specific ingredients are. If I had to ask, maybe only the servant responsible for purchasing vegetables would be able to guess it. Bar."

"This...why is this?"

"Because a... ah, 'authentic' bread soup is made with whatever vegetables you can find on hand and the leftovers from the day before yesterday." Igor said seriously:

"Potato soup, pumpkin pie, boiled corn...any leftovers from the day before yesterday combined with the first vegetables you find, cooked in a strong way, will qualify for one night...well, bread soup."

This...little Leon was stunned.

With incredible shock, he tasted the bread in the basket in front of him again, and found that it was dry and hard, and did not have the texture that normal bread baked with wheat flour should have - not to mention fine white bread, even the poorest bread. It's not as good as the rye bread. After breaking it apart, it breaks into small pieces like hard sun-dried soil.

Of course... Anson secretly thought in his heart. When the bread in the basket was just brought up, he discovered that these "elf breads", let alone whether they are made of wheat or not, whether there are any wheat ingredients in them are quite worth it. Something to doubt.

Well, why do you know this? That's of course because the great city of Clovis is also good at "inventing" in this area: acorns, potatoes, sawdust, bean dregs, chaff... Anyway, anything that can be ground into powder and made into dough with water can be used in this area. Turned into bread in ovens outside Clovis.

Even though the city of Clovis has tried its best to collect food to feed the residents of the city, there are still people who are hungry. Cheap bread is always quite tempting: as long as it is cheap enough, no one cares whether it is Made of flour.

After that, the three of them also tasted desserts that were only wine-like in color and definitely had no sugar, which made people seriously doubt what kind of meat the meat pie was made of. Although Igor repeatedly emphasized that it was squirrel meat, he had eaten it. Squirrel's little Leon also vouched for it, saying that the weird taste was very different from squirrel meat, more like...

"Well, I can finally see that the Yser Royal Court is indeed in great difficulty right now and urgently needs relief from Hantu and Clovis."

Wiping the sauce from the corner of his mouth - if it was really sauce - Anson nodded without changing his expression: "If even the royal family can only eat this kind of food, to be honest, I can't imagine it anymore, Ise How do the ordinary elves in your royal court survive to this day?"

"To be honest, I can't even imagine it." Igor smiled bitterly:

"The war and division have caused unprecedented damage to the agricultural economy of Iser. We don't mind ceding land and giving the population that we can no longer feed to our Hantu neighbors, but please also understand the difficulties on the Iser side. —Our lands in the east are not very suitable for farming compared to the west.”

"I've felt this deeply."

Little Leon's expression was a bit unsightly. He actually didn't like this roundabout way of talking. When he understood the other party's difficulties: "Although Hantu's food is not particularly rich, if it is limited to the royal court, It should be okay to find ways to squeeze some out.”

"In addition, if there are people who are really unable to feed themselves, they can also be asked to leave Yser and come to Hantu. I will do my best to allow them to have a job that can feed themselves, or have land that can feed their families. "Hunger is unavoidable, but it can be alleviated with little effort."

"Then I will first express my most sincere gratitude to Your Highness on behalf of the thousands of lives that are about to be saved by you." Igor picked up the wine glass, his expression obviously much more serious:

"It is already a very noble act to take the initiative to protect your relatives and friends, but even strangers and even former enemies can ignore past grudges... You are indeed an amazing knight!"

Anson also nodded, expressing his approval.

This is of course not because the two suddenly become soft-hearted and want to let the Ysel Elf go. It is purely because the other party has become non-threatening from now on and can show a little kindness.

If I have to say it, this kind of goodwill behavior is actually included in the scope of the plan to "end the war": only a thousand days of being a thief and not a thousand days of guarding against thieves. No matter how the other party is not a threat, if the hatred remains, it can still be counted. It is an important potential threat; paying a small price to alleviate the conflicts between the two parties is definitely a sure-profit deal.

"Of course, your generosity is touching, but the Ysel elves are not so greedy that they only know how to take unilaterally." The Elf King suddenly said:

"Such a huge favor would be unjustifiable without a corresponding return; but at present, the Ysel elves are indeed at the end of their rope, and if we insist on saying that there is only one thing left that can be of help to you, then I am afraid that the only thing left is I have some information about the empire."

As soon as he finished speaking, Anson and Little Leon's innermost colleagues said, "It's finally here!"

Yes, it is not enough just to make the Ysel elves no longer pose a threat. It is best to take the opportunity to dig out more important intelligence by disintegrating the alliance between the empire and the Ysel elves.

"As you both know 100%, no matter in the past or in the future, the empire will never give up the possibility of incorporating Hantu and Clovis into its own ruling system; this is not just a simple obsession, but also a A certain necessity of the imperial system." Igor said solemnly:

"This is somewhat like the inevitable unification of the land, and Clovis's desire to realize his own hegemony; this is something that must be done, the only difference is who will complete it."

"According to the information provided to us by the empire, the emperor has assembled an army of no less than 100,000 people through various means, but this army is probably not as united as in the past; the current internal situation within the empire is due to the loss of With the colonization of the colonies, and the loss of the emperor’s prestige due to the failure of many wars, the emperor’s need for victory was probably more urgent than ever before.”

"Of course, this is just my personal judgment, but I know that the Emperor's Grand Duke, and even the knights who are supposed to be absolutely loyal to him, have indeed begun to feel a little tired of their Majesty."

The Elf King's expression became more and more meaningful: "I am not a particularly good knight, and my ability has never been proven on the island nation on the battlefield, but maybe...I mean maybe, if we start a full-scale war with the empire at this time, , taking the initiative may not be a particularly good idea.”

"Perhaps... try your best to defend the important strongholds, fortresses and defense lines on the border, so that the emperor's army cannot obtain any substantial results, so that the knights loyal to the emperor can only face meaningless sacrifices and deaths, so that within the empire More voices of doubt continue to appear, maybe..."

Igor paused: "That's the best strategy to truly win."

There was a moment of silence, and the three people at the table stared at each other.

After being stunned for about ten seconds, Anson suddenly laughed out loud, picked up the wine glass, and gently stepped forward to touch Igor's glass:

"Dinner was good, thanks for the treat."