Chapter 1062: Night in the Palace
Chapter 1062: Night Talk in the Palace
"I think... they may have a little misunderstanding about me."
Leaning on the soft cushion wrapped in silk at the head of the bed, recalling the previous meeting at Taurus Palace, Leon couldn't help but frowned slightly, and said a little unhappily:
"I'm pretty cautious when I do things, right? I'll basically think things through before I take action, right?"
"Well, that's right."
After nodding slightly, Queen Veronica, with a thin layer of sweat on her forehead and messy hair, arched her body upwards, leaned lazily on Leon's shoulder, and answered with her eyes closed:
"My man is very careful. He will always be well prepared before doing anything... By the way, where is Miss Leila who always rides a big dog? Why didn't she come today?"
"In order to prevent her from doing bad things, I asked the director to assign her a task before I came to see you. Now she is probably out of the country... Why did you mention her? I'm talking to you about business."
"Mmmmm~"
Perhaps because she had exhausted her energy, Her Majesty, who had always worked hard and dragged her ladies-in-waiting to work overtime every night, was too lazy to even open her eyes at this moment. She responded with a voice as soft as a mosquito's hum:
"Then let's get down to business...where were we talking about before?"
"Speaking of Lord Taurus, do they have a misunderstanding about me?"
After wrapping his arms around Queen Veronica's smooth and slightly cool waist and tucking in the quilt, Leon, who felt that his mind was unusually clear at the moment, couldn't help but frown and said:
"I feel like even though they don't doubt my intelligence, they seem to have some kind of stereotype about me. They always think I will solve problems in the most extreme way, as if I can't tolerate any grain of sand in my eyes. If I see something I don't like, I will force it to change."
"Is that you?"
"Of course I'm not."
Leon replied with some dissatisfaction:
"Take the current kingdom as an example. Although I still don't like many things, I haven't taken action, right?"
"for example?"
"For example, the House of Commons, which still controls the departments of road administration and agriculture, the Business Federation that is arguing with you over working hours and wages, and the old nobles who are demanding money when redeeming plantations and mines... Even though I don't like them, I didn't interfere, did I?"
"So, you're not going to touch them?"
"Isn't it you?"
After listening to Queen Veronica's question, Leon, whose mind began to wander unconsciously, said as a matter of course:
"I don't understand agriculture and road administration, let alone industry and commerce and redemption. If I were to deal with them, I would probably have to resort to coercion. Even if I could solve the problem in the end, it would certainly cause long-term chaos.
But you are different from me. You are a born politician. You are much more skilled in dividing and winning over, exchanging interests, scheming, fanning the flames, stabbing behind the scenes, and turning your back on people... than I am.
Although it will be slower for you to deal with those bastards, the process will definitely be the smoothest and will have the least impact on ordinary people... Hey? Why are you pinching me?"
Why do you say?
After twisting her fingers slightly with force for a small half circle, Queen Veronica opened her eyes and said with a hint of resentment in her moist eyes:
"Although I understand that you are praising me, could you use some better words? What do you mean by stabbing someone in the back? I can't force the old nobles to disband their plantations in the name of reorganizing their fiefdoms, and then specifically notify them in advance and ask them to join forces to resist the reorganization, right?"
"Forehead……"
“As for turning against someone, that’s even more unpleasant. On the surface, I have a good relationship with the Business Federation and have given them policy support, but that doesn’t mean I’m their ally.
They have created a more efficient and prosperous market environment, so I naturally support them. However, they refuse to guarantee working hours and minimum wage levels, and they are still thinking of living off a patent until death, bribing the House of Commons to pass legislation to protect permanent patent rights. Can I say that they have turned their backs on me if I sanction them?"
"This one……"
"Besides, it's been a while since we've had time to see each other. You're not going to keep talking to me about this, are you?"
Her fingertips touched Leon's chest, and after making a small circle, her slightly hot body came closer again. Under the moonlight shining in from the windowsill, Queen Veronica's eyes sparkled, and she whispered softly with a breath as fragrant as orchid:
"There is still more than an hour until dawn. How about we ..."
"Shall we talk about the Gathering of the Twelve Kingdoms again?"
"???"
"Well... although the directors of our bureau are all good people, they are not ordinary conservative. It is actually not easy to convince them once."
After grabbing the soft hand that suddenly increased its strength on his waist and squeezing it lightly in his palm, Leon coughed dryly and said:
"Veronica, this gathering of the Twelve Kingdoms is a very, very rare opportunity for you, me, the Cleanup Bureau, and the Twelve Kingdoms. If I mess it up this time, I'm afraid I'll have to wait for several years if I want to persuade them again, so..."
"So you think I know more about the situation in the Twelve Kingdoms and you want me to check it for you?"
"Um……"
"..."
I really lost to you...
After sighing helplessly, Queen Veronica closed her eyes again, turned her head and buried her face in Leon's shoulder, then said in a muffled voice:
"Then tell me... What do you hope to achieve through this rally?"
“Exchange what we have and eliminate war.”
Leon, who already had a goal in mind, said seriously:
"The conditions for what I really want to achieve are not yet fully met. It may take several generations to achieve it, but these two small goals are still achievable."
"These two are not small goals~"
Queen Veronica snorted, rubbed Leon's shoulder with the tip of her chin twice, and then closed her eyes and said:
"It's easy to exchange what you have, but it's not easy to put an end to war. Territory, resources, population, old grudges, religion, customs... there are too many things that can cause conflicts and then lead to war. Even if you have the support of the Cleanup Bureau, it's not that easy to do~"
"Even if I can't do 100%, 80% is fine."
Lyon, who also had no hope for this, spoke up:
"Resource issues can be resolved through allocation. Disputes over territory and old grudges can be suppressed by the Cleanup Bureau. Population and customs can be coordinated. As for religious issues, I can capture the corresponding true gods...
In short, my idea is to bring the twelve kingdoms together first, and create as many communication meetings as possible before the conflicts between them become too strong to be resolved. Even if the conflicts cannot be completely resolved in the end, with the intervention of the Cleanup Bureau, the intensity and scope of the war can be relatively controlled. "
"That won't be a big problem."
After thinking about Leon's goal, Queen Veronica nodded slightly and said:
"This goal is quite 'realistic'. If it is just to ensure a significant reduction and is relatively controllable, then judging from the current situation, it is indeed not a big problem... Is the same true for the mutual exchange of what is available?"
"Correct."
Lyon nodded and said:
"I don't intend to destroy all the existing systems of the Twelve Kingdoms in one go and directly establish material allocation across the entire world. In terms of the issue of mutual exchange, my expectation is actually similar to the elimination of war, as long as it is better than before. The first Twelve Kingdoms Gathering will still focus on negotiations. We will try our best to exchange surplus resources without causing the collapse of the original systems of each country, and improve the resource problems faced by each kingdom as much as possible."
"But this kind of exchange is still a transaction, and as long as it is a transaction, there will always be someone who benefits and someone who suffers."
Queen Veronica opened her eyes and reminded with a frown:
"Especially for this kind of national-level super-large-scale transaction, the difficulty of mining, demand quantity, shortage, transportation difficulty... these will be very different on both sides, and it is impossible to achieve a complete balance.
For example, the transportation of food in the Green Country, the mining of minerals in the Morna Kingdom, the storage of meat and fur products in the Northern Kingdom, the research and development costs of medicines and medical technologies in the Perti Kingdom, the subsequent maintenance and replacement of our industrial products, etc. ”
"Lyon, the advantaged party in this kind of transaction is naturally a thousand times willing, but the disadvantaged party may not be so cooperative, or even quite resistant... For example, the transaction between the Green Country and the three kingdoms of Perti and Morna has a big problem.
The green country of Alesund is restricted by its location and the wars with its neighbors. It has always sold its grain to several nearby kingdoms. Because the grain price is too low and a lot of land is even abandoned, it would be a great idea to use the grain that is surplus to them to exchange for the minerals and medicines that they lack.
However, the situation is different for the Perti Kingdom and the Morna Kingdom. Both the production of medicines and the mining of minerals have very high costs. Although they have a food shortage, they also control minerals and medicines and can easily obtain very high premiums. It is definitely a loss to exchange them for food.
These two relatively wealthy kingdoms did not lack channels to obtain food. The resources that they really needed were in the hands of the Sea Cliff Kingdom across the sea.
Even if the Green Country could exchange food, there was not only an ocean between the two countries, but also more than one kingdom. The loss in long-distance transportation would be astonishingly large, and who would bear this loss was a bigger problem.
Even if you can solve this problem with the Cleanup Bureau, it will severely damage the transportation industry of the Thousand Sails Sea Nation. In addition to plundering, they also handle large-scale trade between the Sea Cliff Nation and the Perti Kingdom..."
Stop chanting, Master! Stop chanting!
Just after listening to Veronica's few small questions, Leon's mind, which had been particularly clear during the sage time, became a mess again. He couldn't help but look up at the ceiling and sighed softly in his heart.
There are so many problems at first glance. Fortunately, I didn't force it. Although I can achieve the goal by force, it is only a temporary solution. Only by finding the "balance" can the root cause be truly solved.
All I can say is that although my brain is pretty good, I am really incapable of dealing with this kind of problem... But luckily I still have a cheat!
"How about this!"
After pondering the "trump card" in his hand, Leon tentatively suggested:
"On behalf of the Cleanup Bureau, shall I give some special compensation to those kingdoms that suffered losses in the transaction and those that made concessions in resolving the war?"
"Special compensation?"
"Just like what I did in our Robin Kingdom and the Northern Kingdom, completing some projects that are difficult for other kingdoms to handle on their own."
After raising his hand to form a false map illusion, Leon gestured on it and said:
"For example, turning difficult-to-mine minerals onto the surface, removing mountains that block water vapor to alleviate drought, adjusting large rivers that often change course, and making a gap in the middle of the entire mountain range that blocks transportation... Why are you pinching me again?"
I don’t know, maybe my hands are itchy.
Queen Veronica, who knew the conditions for activating the [Soft Rice] badge, snorted, then suppressed the sour feeling in her heart and spoke up to remind her:
"Leon, if you plan to use this as a 'reward', then you can definitely ask for more, especially for the Thunderstorm Kingdom and the Refraction Kingdom, which are prone to disasters. As long as you can really solve their disaster problems, then your previous two goals can only be considered small goals.
No one would like to let the kingdoms suffer losses in the transaction, but if they could get a project that originally required the whole country's efforts in exchange for just a small loss in the transaction, they would scramble for it.
In addition, in addition to not giving out all the 'rewards' at once, but only doing a portion at a time so that you can control each kingdom, I also suggest that you bring the entire Cleanup Bureau with you."
"Together? What?"
"Make a slightly more 'selfish' change."
Queen Veronica blinked and said meaningfully:
"Don't you think that the work of the Cleanup Bureau can actually be 'charged'?"
"???"
"If we are the 'protector' of humanity, then the Cleanup Bureau's work of handling abnormal incidents, protecting ordinary people from abnormal intrusions, and guarding the royal families of various countries is naturally free of charge.
But just like you and those directors said, the greatest arrogance of the Cleanup Bureau is that you do not regard yourself as part of the human race. As a part of the human race, the things you do can be "paid."
“I’ve actually thought about this.”
Lyon nodded and said:
"The Cleanup Bureau has established a branch in the underworld. Cleanup workers who died during a mission can be resurrected as soon as possible, extend the lifespan of their families, and even receive preferential treatment after death..."
"No, that's not what I meant by 'paid'."
Veronica chuckled and said:
"What you said is the remuneration that the Cleanup Bureau pays to the cleaners. What I mean is that you should ask the Twelve Kingdoms to pay the Cleanup Bureau remuneration from the perspective of the Cleanup Bureau."
The Twelve Kingdoms pay the Cleanup Bureau...hiss!
After hearing Veronica's words, Leon suddenly woke up from his dream.
That's right! The most difficult part of the problems he wanted to solve was that any change would affect the interests of the Twelve Kingdoms.
My previous idea was to use the power of the [Soft Rice] badge as compensation and let the Twelve Kingdoms accept the result of being at a disadvantage, but this method is only a temporary solution and can only achieve a temporary balance.
Trade between countries will continue, and no one can accept being at a disadvantage forever. As time goes on, the benefits brought by changing the landform will be taken for granted by other countries, and new complaints will inevitably arise, but the protection of the Cleanup Bureau will continue.
Therefore, if we follow Veronica's method, we and the Cleanup Bureau don't need to make any changes at all. As long as we change the original free asylum to "paid" on the surface, it will be enough to make the major kingdoms continue to make concessions, and we can do more, even...
"Good job!"
After hugging Veronica excitedly and kissing her hard, Leon couldn’t help but clenched his fist and said:
"Your method can definitely solve more than 90% of the problems! In addition, the Cleanup Bureau also needs to strengthen communication with the Twelve Kingdoms. In addition to providing protection, it can also solve other needs such as disaster relief! It's perfect!"
"If you think it's perfect, then pay for it."
"what?"
"I didn't say helping you solve the problem is free~"
"Um...then you want..."
"Isn't it obvious?"
After moving her body slightly, Veronica pressed Leon’s shoulders with her slightly hot palms, and hummed softly with a slightly red cheek:
"Pay with your body!"
(End of this chapter)