Volume 3: Artifacts Chapter 66: Turning to Confrontation
The third round of negotiations between the Golden Shield Empire and the World Bank has ended.
It ended very quickly, much faster than the second round of negotiations. After less than an hour of dialogue, the Prime Minister of the Golden Shield Empire, Meteorite, was the first to leave the venue with the imperial delegation.
The elders of the Shining Gold people then left.
The two sides still haven't released details of the talks, but officials from all countries know... the talks have broken down.
The status of the Gold Voucher is so important to the World Bank that it is not allowed to be challenged, but the Golden Shield Empire insists on pursuing its own energy monetary policy.
Now you can give up your fantasies...the world will officially enter turmoil from this moment on.
After knowing the result, the dignitaries and observers from various countries were no longer as panicked as before. The entire Golden Hotel was extremely peaceful and everyone was ready to leave Golden Valley.
In Luke's room, staff and servants were packing up documents and belongings.
Luke stood on the terrace and looked at the beach outside. Kylena reported, "Master Prime Minister, we have contacted the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet. The fleet is sailing towards the coast of Golden Valley. The airship that will pick you up has come and is expected to arrive in half an hour.
The Sandpaper Squad is in place, ready to protect you as you leave.
Miss Clear Sky sent Jennifer to deliver the message that they were ready and could leave at any time.
At present, there is no unusual movement from the Shining Gold people, and our fleet and airship have been allowed to approach.
…
Miss Yin sent someone to deliver a letter saying that she would not come to see you off."
Luke didn't respond.
Kailina said: "Miss Yin must have thought that if she went with you , she would definitely cause you trouble, and there is really no place for her to go in this world. The fact that Miss Yin was able to send a message shows that the Golden Man did not make things too difficult for her. Your statement at the meeting was still useful..."
Luke then said, “This is all I can do for her. Although I feel a little regretful for not taking her away, I respect her choice.
I hope she will be fine in the future.
Let’s go!
…
In the prison at the bottom of the Golden Valley, Herkekin, as the leader of the Art County Alliance in the meteorite assassination incident, was also given a single room.
Except for the fact that someone brought him food and drink on time every day, no one came to see him, and he was not interrogated or questioned. He stayed in the cell like this, without the opportunity to go out for fresh air, without knowing the news outside, and without knowing what was waiting for him.
Until the prison door was opened for the first time.
"Lord Herkkin, the elders invite you to the Elders' House."
Invitation! Elders Council!
This simple message helped Helkkin to understand most of the situation. He stood up and said to the Golden Guard, "Please give me some time. I need to take care of my personal hygiene. Can you go to my room and get me some decent clothes? After all, I'm going to meet the Golden Elders."
"sure."
The golden guard retreated without closing the cell door.
Helkkin became more certain of his judgment: I will take all the credit for this visit to Golden Valley. Speaker Potrovich, you ran away too early.
The Golden Man quickly brought the clothes. After Helkkin washed up, he changed his clothes and followed the Golden Man who came to pick him up to the Elders' House in high spirits.
In the Elder Council of the Shining Gold People, Elder Lie, who has always advocated a tough stance against the Golden Shield Empire, became the presiding elder for the meeting with the representatives of the At County Federation.
Hulking was brought to the center of the venue.
The high and mighty Elder Lie asked Heerke Jin, "Lord Heerke Jin, are you now the highest official of the Art County Alliance in the Golden Valley?"
"Yes!" Helkkin replied, "I am an assistant officer of the Foreign Affairs Department of Art County Federation. This time I came to Golden Valley to follow Speaker Potrovich to discuss cooperation with the World Bank. Speaker Potrovich returned to the County Federation in advance for something. Now I am the highest official of Art County Federation in Golden Valley. I have also received instructions from the Speaker to handle all cooperation matters with the World Bank."
After Elder Lie had a conversation with other elders, he said to Hercules, “The negotiations between the World Bank and the Golden Shield Empire have encountered difficulties. The Prime Minister of the Empire, Meteor, unilaterally terminated the dialogue and will leave the Golden Valley soon.
Do you have any ideas? "
Helkkin said without hesitation: "We have long seen that Meteorite has no sincerity in visiting Golden Valley this time, and the ambition of the Golden Shield Empire has long been exposed. It is the people of Shining Gold who still have hope for him, so that the comprehensive cooperation between the County Federation and the World Bank has not been implemented.
The Shining Gold People have already made a serious mistake. If they let the meteorite leave the Golden Valley, it will be another irreparable mistake."
Elder Lie asked, "Are you suggesting that we not let Meteorite leave?"
"Yes!" Helkkin said firmly: "Meteorite is now the absolute center of the Golden Shield Empire. Even Queen Christina and Princess Agatha listen to him on major matters.
He controls the Golden Shield Empire's economic center, Raging Waves City. He leads the Reform Society that holds power in the Imperial Court. He suppresses the Empire's second prince, Alec, the emperor's grandson, Sinclair, and all the ambitious people.
As long as he dies, the Golden Shield Empire will collapse in a short time.
..."
Helkkin carefully analyzed the benefits of eliminating the meteorite in the Golden Valley.
But he knew that his suggestion would not be accepted by the elders of the Shining Gold People. If the Shining Gold People decided to kill Meteorite in the Golden Valley, he would not be brought to the Council of Elders.
Before summoning Helkin, the elders of the Shining Gold people did discuss the siege and killing of Meteor in the Golden Valley.
But Meteorite was well prepared for this visit to Golden Valley. He brought with him the strongest fleet in the maritime world, and Clear Sky was by his side.
Qingkong has already proved her strength through the battle with Tan, and when meeting with Qingkong to discuss cooperation these days, Qingkong warned her... not to do anything that goes against diplomatic ethics.
If we can kill the meteorite, that would be great, and all losses would be within an acceptable range.
But if the meteorite cannot be killed, Golden Valley will not only suffer heavy losses, but will also become an international laughing stock. Its credibility and authority will be gone, and its original advantages will no longer exist.
And who will benefit in the end if the meteorite is killed?
Of course, it is the Art County Alliance that is fighting with the Golden Shield Empire. Once the Art County Alliance's army breaks through the Golden Shield Empire's northern defense, they will be able to march straight south to attack the City of Saint Lun, and the fragmented empire will soon be annexed by the Art County Alliance.
With the merger of two powerful human nations, the Shining Gold People will face a stronger enemy.
The fact that Helkkin was so enthusiastic in suggesting killing Meteorite in the Golden Valley also proved that the Art County Alliance had always been greedy for the Golden Shield Empire.
The elders of the Shining Gold people had already reached a consensus that the next confrontation would not only be a blow to the Golden Shield Empire, but a blow to the entire human civilization.
The Golden Shield Empire must be weakened, the At County Alliance must also be weakened, and any country that shows strength must be weakened. The World Bank has made the Golden Valley a safe haven, hiding behind it to make profits, thereby step by step controlling the entire human civilization.
Therefore, it is necessary to establish good credit.
The Golden Shield Empire delegation was invited by the Shuojin people. Even though they knew that the two sides were now enemies, the Shuojin people would still let the guests return safely.
This is magnanimity, allowing the outside world to see the confidence of the Shuojin people in their own strength.
Therefore, when Helkkin finished his speech, Elder Lie said indifferently: "The World Bank is a commercial entity, and the people of Shuojin have never thought of using extreme means to resolve commercial disputes.
Nothing is out of the control of the World Bank.
Lord Herkkin, the reason why we invite you to the Council of Elders is that the World Bank wants to discuss a large cooperation plan with Art County Union. Art County Union will receive full support from the World Bank in terms of funds, technology, agriculture, industry, etc. We will strengthen the steam industry of the County Union and assist the County Union in establishing a magic system.
I believe that the Art County Alliance will soon have its own magic corps and dreadnought-class fleet."
For Helkkin, this feeling of happiness came too quickly. Even though he was a former Ice Cave agent, he couldn't hide his excitement.
In order to hold this unique achievement in his hands, Helkkin said: "I can sign a preliminary agreement with the World Bank on behalf of Art County Federation to confirm this comprehensive cooperation first. Then Art County Federation will organize a professional delegation to Golden Valley as soon as possible to discuss and determine the formal agreement with the World Bank, and sign it for implementation!"
The reason why the Golden Elders' Council was so anxious to summon Helkkin was that they wanted to publicize the World Bank's comprehensive investment in the At County Federation while officials and observers from various countries had not left the Golden Valley, so as to lay a solid foundation for the "International Alliance" as soon as possible.
Therefore, the Council of Elders agreed to Helkkin to sign a pre-cooperation agreement and jointly issue a statement to the outside world.
At this time, Luke had already boarded the flagship of the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet, the "Augustine the Great".
The entire fleet changed from a bombardment posture to a sailing formation, drawing a long arc-shaped wake on the sea, and turned to head towards the Golden Shield Empire.
Between the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet and the Golden Valley was the Golden Valley Defense Fleet, which was composed of armed ships mobilized by the World Bank from various branches during the negotiations. The fleet was very large, except for more than a dozen Unit-01-class all-metal battleships, the rest were wooden dome-armored ships.
Such a fleet is certainly no match for the Dreadnought-class fleet. Fortunately, there are enough airships in the Golden Valley and the Shining Gold warriors to hold on to their dignity.
After the departure of the Grand Fleet, the fleet of airships of the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet turned to retreat one after another.
A tense confrontation finally ended with the departure of the Golden Shield Empire delegation.
But the impact of the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet on the improvised Golden Valley Defense Fleet was far from over.
The World Bank's business is all over the world, and it also has a large number of high-quality armed fleets, which makes the crew of the World Bank's armed fleet very conceited. But during the days of guarding the Golden Shield Empire Royal Ocean Escort Fleet, every crew member of the Golden Valley Defense Fleet spent every day under high pressure.
They originally thought that the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet was only as powerful as the eight main guns of the Dreadnought class that could fit a person inside. But the longer they observed the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet at close range, the more they realized how terrifying it was.
The Dreadnought-class battleship is not only a dense firepower delivery platform with super defensive capabilities, but also has the ability to integrate and coordinate the resources of the entire fleet.
By observing the training of the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet, the Golden Valley Defense Fleet can determine that the two dreadnought-class battleships have two fleet command and staff teams of a certain size. Their presence effectively integrates every unit in the entire fleet into a whole.
What was demonstrated was that the entire fleet's execution capability was very efficient, and the fleet's actions were swift and well-structured. It can be said that in the vast combat area at sea, the strength of each unit of the fleet was brought into play.
On the other hand, the tonnage and protection capabilities of the ships were not enough to place a large enough staff on the flagship. Therefore, the flagship could not issue detailed instructions, and the ability to understand and execute the instructions would be subject to various deviations due to the uneven command systems of each ship.
When applied to naval battles, it means the fleet's slow response and waste of combat power.
The Golden Valley Defense Fleet has conducted many simulations of encounters with the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet, and the results are all... If the Shining Gold People cannot rush into the Dreadnought-class in the early stages of the war and destroy the two command systems of the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet, the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet can easily break through the blockade of the Golden Valley Defense Fleet and bombard the urban area.
But the Golden People were scattered all over the world with the World Bank. There were not many Golden People in the Golden Valley, and a large part of them were children who were trained in the valley. In the urban area, dignitaries from various countries gathered, and the number of spies, detectives, thieves, and assassins reached a peak. A large number of Golden People were tied up in the urban area. If they were to hunt meteorites, they would not be able to send enough powerful Golden People to break through the protection system of the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet.
After repeated tabletop exercises, the Golden Valley Defense Fleet had to admit that not only were their weapons and equipment behind their opponents, but they were also lagging behind in everything from command systems to combat thinking.
Watching the Royal Ocean Escort Fleet gradually moving away and disappearing on the sea, all the ship commanders standing on the bows and looking out had only one thought... If they wanted to defeat such a fleet in the future, they had to start catching up with their opponents from now on. The fleet needed new naval warfare ideas, learned systematic warfare, and needed a combat platform that could implement new ideas and tactics.
Build huge ships and cannons.
This idea quickly swept the world with the appearance of the Golden Shield Empire's Royal Ocean Escort Fleet in the Golden Valley. Since the confrontation between factions will become the mainstream for a long time in the future, any country that relies on the ocean has to pay attention to the construction of its own navy.
One after another, 10,000-ton warship projects were launched, and a large number of personnel, materials and funds were invested into this bottomless pit.
The maritime arms race begins.
Moreover, countries are not only strengthening their navies, but also further increasing military spending by developing new weapons and forming new armies.
However, the turbulent international situation and the increasingly distinct camp confrontation have caused the world economy to fall into a slump. On the one hand, the cost of arms is constantly increasing, and on the other hand, income is decreasing. Countries with weak financial resources are all complaining.
However, not only was the economy of Nutao City not affected, but its import and export transaction volume broke through one peak after another.
