Endless Silver Machine

Lan Ming rushed to the August Center early this morning to discuss matters concerning the joint establishment of a cooperative trading city between the Bisi Empire and the Tebiri Kingdom.

This idea has been proposed by her for some time and has now been brought back to the parliament after the two countries signed an agreement.

At this meeting, the Emperor of the Bes Empire and Pope Thetis also attended.

"Your Highness, why did you choose the location of the cooperative trading city in the Tebiri Kingdom instead of the Bisi Empire?"

Faced with the questions raised by ministers from various departments participating in the review, Lan Ming gave the answers he had already prepared.

As long as it can pass this parliament, the plan to establish a cooperative trade city will pass the final threshold.

"The Kingdom of Tebiri is now in the middle of its reconstruction work. If you help the Kingdom develop small cities that it has no time to take care of, not only can the local economy develop, but the reputation of the Bisi Empire will also be improved."

"For the empire, this is indeed conducive to the development of long-term peace and stability between countries."

The Foreign Minister seemed very satisfied with this answer. Lan Ming was not surprised because the Foreign Minister was from his side.

His questions were more like creating a platform for Lan Ming to push the issue forward.

But since some people express their support, there will definitely be voices of opposition.

"Your Highness Princess, is the only place we benefit from is reputation?"

The Minister of Military Affairs firmly grasped a certain point in Lan Ming's answer and raised a question after the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

This man in his forties was looking at Lan Ming's figure with eagle eyes, as if he just wanted to see what kind of response she could make.

"I think judging from the current situation of the Bis Empire, what is urgently needed now is to establish an image between countries. This is also the most direct way to increase allies and reduce threats without causing war."

The Bis Empire has still not established clear relationships with other races on the mainland.

Between the end of the cross-border war, the relationship between the various races was very ambiguous. Whether they were allies or enemies, they now start from scratch.

Perhaps the Bisi Empire, which has developed magic technology to this day, has undoubted strength, but other races also have their own unknown technologies.

In Lan Ming's eyes, the Bisi Empire being the most powerful country in the mainland is just an unfounded fantasy. Anyone who is not stupid can understand this truth.

Of course, she would not say such words on this occasion, but this meaning was already implicit in her opinion.

"People are unpredictable. Investing so many resources in the Tebiri Kingdom does not guarantee that it will not bite us back in the future."

The Minister of Military Affairs, who rarely speaks in parliament on weekdays, seems to be particularly difficult to deal with today.

Lan Ming couldn't see through her position. He seemed to have a deep connection with the first prince who was not in the Bisi Empire. If he had to say it, he should be the type of person who was watching the fire from the other side.

Maybe it was because his previous actions attracted his attention, but Lan Ming could see that he was just deliberately making things difficult for him.

However, this is only an expected difficulty, and it is still within the range that can be dealt with.

"The Kingdom of Tebiri will not make stupid moves like striking an egg against a stone. I think you think so too, as you know something about their military strength."

Denying Lan Ming's words was tantamount to admitting his own ignorance. The Minister of Military Affairs raised the corner of his mouth slightly when he was opposed to General Yijun.

"The establishment of a cooperative trading city means that some of the citizens of the Bisi Empire will move into the Tebiri Kingdom, right? If we take them as hostages, can we still resist?"

With the personality of the Minister of Military Affairs, there is no need to ask this kind of question. If it were him, he would choose to use force to solve all problems and cut through the mess quickly.

Lan Ming had considered this issue before, but she knew that the approach of "acting with reason and understanding with emotion" would not convince this man.

Parliament was at a standstill.

"Have you, Your Excellency, got into trouble? If the Tebiri Kingdom hijacks the cooperative trading city, their citizens will inevitably be involved. We will naturally monitor the cooperative trading city, and even if we secretly evacuate their citizens, we will also evacuate their citizens in advance. aware."

Although at the royal meeting, one could not speak at will without asking the royal family for instructions, but the Minister of Foreign Affairs ignored these cumbersome details and came to help Lan Ming solve the problem.

In this kind of parliament, the most taboo thing is to magnify the loopholes in the issue due to hesitation, which will be out of control.

"The goodwill of His Excellency the Emperor and His Majesty the Princess in working for the people is not something that every ruler has."

"I have something to say about that."

The old man who intervened in the stalemate was Junius of the Senate.

The radicals led by Aemilius did not speak because the current direction of the issue was exactly what they wanted to see.

Although Junius's voice was not loud, it silenced both the Minister of Military Affairs and the Minister of Foreign Affairs.

After the conference hall became quiet, Junius slowly spoke.

"The establishment of a cooperative trade city will take time to prove whether it is correct. Choosing a small city as the location is exactly the purpose. We need to take a step forward to understand the information that cannot be resolved."

"So, those citizens were just abandoned?"

Aemilius defiantly contradicted Junius's remarks. In response, Junius only responded with a faint denial.

"As the Foreign Minister said, the Bis Empire will monitor the operation of the cooperative trade city. Preventing it before it happens is the purpose of this measure."

Aemilius stopped talking, and Junius used the Bes Empire's unwarranted affirmation of his strength to enhance his convincing persuasion.

The Minister of Military Affairs was silent for only a few seconds, then he relaxed and straightened his back and leaned back on the chair, waving his hands as if he was no longer interested in this issue.

"I understand, no objection."

Lan Ming was relieved by the sudden relaxed attitude of the Minister of Military Affairs, not because he was no longer involved, but because he saw clearly that he was not attracted by the radical faction of the Senate.

"The implementation of the cooperative trade city system is precisely to consolidate the cooperation agreement signed with the Tebiri Kingdom. Information on the city's operations will be fed back to the Intelligence Department at any time."

Lan Ming did not give up the opportunity Junius provided her and concluded the issue early.

Neither the Senate nor the ministers raised any new questions, and they just waited for the emperor to make a judgment.

Although the emperor usually did not speak a word in the parliament, his decisions were the beacon that guided the Bes Empire to this day.

"Lan Ming Yiela's plan can be passed."

After receiving these words, Lan Ming finally let go of the huge stone in his heart.

However, the emperor moved his eyes away from the bill and fell on Lan Ming, who was still sitting upright.

Lan Ming knew that his father had additional conditions.

"This plan is entirely your responsibility and all liability arising therefrom will be borne by you."

"I understand. As the third princess of the Bis Empire, this is the responsibility I should bear."

This is an expected condition. Although it was too heavy, Lan Ming still accepted the important task personally delivered by the emperor as a royal family in front of the Senate and ministers.

Lan Ming has not yet independently assumed the responsibilities of the royal family. She has received recognition for her growth in this important task assigned by the emperor.

I will definitely live up to my father’s expectations...

Not only for the future of the Bis Empire, but also to prove that what he did was indeed correct.

…………

After the meeting, Lan Ming walked towards the motorcycle that came to greet him.

Today, Lan Ming's escort is the head of the knights directly under her, and Xia Luo is not traveling with him.

Wildman Egas is a middle-aged man in his thirties. He and Olvega Lane, the leader of the Order of the Purple Rose, had a bad relationship during their childhood.

During the parliament, the accompanying knight had to wait outside. He bowed slightly to Lan Ming who was approaching and opened the car door for her.

"Your Highness Princess, are you returning to the castle now?"

"We won't be in the castle for the time being, Egas. Just go to the Fourth Precinct. We can already make arrangements."

"Your proposal has indeed been approved."

"Although it was not passed unanimously, I'm afraid there will be 'trouble' in the future."

"We'll do the best we can."

"Thanks, Egas."

Lan Ming got into the car, and Wideman Egas also had the job of driver.

Through the single-view car window, Lan Ming saw Aemilius and the Minister of Military Affairs chatting for a few words outside the parliament hall. It seemed that the Minister of Military Affairs ended the conversation first.

The Minister of Military Affairs is not cooperating with the radical faction of the Senate, at least not hindering the cooperation between the two countries.

The questioning of myself in the parliament today seemed to be just a whim. But Lan Ming was not negligent towards that man.

If possible, I hope he can become a friend. Although the Senate has the power to rule on military issues, only the Minister of Military Affairs can actually mobilize the military.

Junius also mentioned this to Lan Ming. Through today's parliament, Lan Ming paid attention to this suggestion again.

It took only a few seconds for these thoughts to come to mind. Wideman Egas started the motorcycle, and the figure of the Minister of War was no longer visible.

…………

Charlotte Ezein was supposed to accompany Lan Ming to attend the important meeting this morning, but Lan Ming temporarily assigned other tasks to her.

Wildman Egas was the escort who went to the parliament on his behalf. Although he was a reassuring man in every aspect, Charlotte still felt a little depressed.

Because Lan Ming told herself that this was as important a task as guarding, she reluctantly accepted it.

"Sir Ai Zein, this is the information you need."

The staff of the Fourth Branch of the Imperial Intelligence Agency displayed the data on the idle monitor.

Charlotte brought a letter signed by Lan Ming and stamped with the coat of arms of the "Iela" family, and received assistance from the Fourth Branch without any obstruction.

"Thanks."

Lan Ming came to the monitor and began to search for the information Lan Ming had entrusted to him in the dense electronic file folders.

The Imperial Intelligence Bureau is a collection of imperial information. It is divided into four branches, each with its own division.

The Fourth Branch is mainly responsible for intelligence on domestic and foreign activities, that is, paying close attention to the trends of domestic and foreign organizations through intelligence personnel disguised as various identities.

The target of foreign surveillance is the Kingdom of Tebiri. When the kingdom was first established, the empire's spies had already penetrated it.

This approach is what Lan Ming calls "monitoring", in order to prevent uncontrollable situations from happening and take precautions before they happen.

If at a critical moment, the eyeliner can also be turned into a sharp blade to cut off threats from invisible places in time.

Fortunately, both the Fourth Precinct and the Second Precinct, responsible for personnel intelligence, were now under the control of the Senate conservatives.

This does not mean that the Fourth Precinct and the Second Precinct are all friendly parties, but it is just that they can be more "convenient" in doing things.

"I found it...it should be this one."

Charlotte opened the file folder, which contained information on some important members of the Tebiri Kingdom's Science and Technology Party.

Lan Ming entrusted her to collect information on the trends of the Tebiri Kingdom's science and technology party during the parliament.

The Science and Technology Party resists the existence of magic and overemphasizes the power of science and technology to promote human progress. It is not friendly to the Bis Empire, which advocates the combination of magic and technology.

They are one of the most unstable factors in this cooperative trade city plan. After all, the Technology Party once caused riots during the signing of the cooperation agreement between the two countries.

That riot did not target the Bisi Empire, but planned to sacrifice Shigetsu Academy, which happened to visit Tebiri Royal Academy at that time, but was suppressed by the two academies working together.

The analysis made by the Fourth Branch is that although the Technology Party adopts an unfriendly attitude, it is also afraid of confronting the Bisi Empire.

Lan Ming also agrees that the Technology Party will not directly attack the cooperative trade city, but without force, harassment tactics must be avoided.

A thousand-mile embankment was destroyed by an ant nest. Lan Ming knew that in order to carry out the cooperative trade city plan in the Tebiri Kingdom, he must always pay attention to the trends of the Science and Technology Party.

"Have they not made any moves recently?"

In the information that Charlotte saw, the names of several important people were underlined with dates next to them.

"Yes, the Tebiri Kingdom Government has suppressed the Science and Technology Party on both sides after that incident. Some of the leaders have been killed, and the party is now in internal chaos."

"That's right..."

After listening to the staff's explanation, Charlotte understood the meaning of these crossed out names.

The date marked next to it is the date of death, which is within this month.

During the seemingly peaceful time in the Empire, people were actually dying every minute. Charlotte clearly knew this fact, but still felt emotional after seeing these files.

The citizens of the Tebiri Kingdom who hope for peace probably hate these terrorists who gather to make trouble, and their death may be a good thing for the whole country to celebrate.

But Charlotte, who was in the Bisi Empire, could not understand that feeling. She prayed in her heart for these strangers.

"Is the internal chaos due to competition for the position of leader?"

Charlotte suddenly thought of what the staff just mentioned, and she asked one more question out of curiosity.

“The technology party doesn’t seem to pay special attention to the position of leader. Now there are just two extremes.”

"Two extremes?"

"Some people began to waver in their ideas, or they felt fear because of the death of the leader."

"After all, before this, the government of the Tebiri Kingdom had only symbolically suppressed the civil unrest caused by the Science and Technology Party, and had never taken any serious action."

"Other people are so emotional that they even kill party members who don't agree with their ideas."

"Are they this crazy?"

This development was unexpected by Charlotte. Even his companions were regarded as enemies. This group of people could no longer be called human beings.

"That's right. But if things continue like this, the Science and Technology Party may be on its own, so we and the government of the Kingdom of Tebiri have adopted a passive attitude."

I'm afraid if this continues, the flames of hatred will leak to the outside world before they can fend for themselves.

This was just Charlotte's personal opinion, but she didn't say it out loud.

Closing the folder related to the Science and Technology Party, Charlotte continued to browse other information that Lan Ming needed.

…………