Broad World

Talking to Elminster was definitely not a pleasant experience, especially as he often talked and talked and indulged in the past memories, and then at some point suddenly began to be an elder. for, and point out the stupid parts of it. His words are sharp and sometimes even embarrassing.

Fortunately, Henry's tolerance for the elderly and children has always been good, he just listened with a smile and never refuted. He knew very well that this old man who liked to act recklessly was born in 212 DR, and has lived for more than one thousand one hundred years. According to the folk saying, the older he gets, the more he looks like a child. His eccentric personality is unbearable even for many acquaintances.

Of course, some of his words still make sense. For example, what should be paid attention to when fighting against evil gods, and what kind of attitude should be used to face those uncontrollable forces.

Obviously, the old mage believed that Henry's power did not come from himself, but was obtained by accident during an adventure. He repeatedly emphasized how he sealed the out-of-control powerful power in his body during the time when the goddess of magic Mystra fell, and how he ensured that he restrained himself from using it.

For more than an hour, Elminster kept expounding on a theme, that is, the stronger the power, the more it needs to be restrained, otherwise it will bring irreparable disaster to the world. He is like a chattering old man, instilling those ancient and conservative values, as if all forces that are too powerful but uncontrollable are scourges, and it is best to ban them permanently and completely.

Although Henry scoffed at this point of view, he was not stupid enough to argue with a stubborn old man. In his opinion, being uncontrollable temporarily does not necessarily mean uncontrollable in the future, and fear of power itself is a very ridiculous thing.

Could it be that the research on new magic was stopped because it was out of control?

Is it possible to cause a catastrophic society to stop progress?

No one in their right mind would think so. Maybe the great sage of the Valley of Shadows is really getting old and starts to hate change, thinking that the world is best kept as it is. There should be no turmoil, and at the same time, there should be no progress, and the permanent frame will be in peacetime. From being keen on helping others and solving crises before, he has gradually become afraid of trouble and tired of participating in it himself, which you can see from his love of hiring young adventurers.

When the sun went down completely, Elminster finally finished his long speech, stood up and shook the ashes from his body: "Okay, thank you for patiently listening to an old guy like me for a long time. But I sincerely Hope for you. Young mages like you don’t get lost in the power. See its essence clearly, and don’t let the power affect your thinking in reverse.”

"Please rest assured, Sammaster and I are two completely different people, and we will never act as crazy as him." Henry also stood up after speaking. He knew very well that the number one voter of the goddess of magic was nothing more than worrying that he would follow the old path of the leader of the dracolich, so he made a promise without hesitation.

But Elminster didn't believe in this guarantee, and sighed slightly: "That's exactly what I'm worried about. You are more talented than him, and you are also more aggressive in dealing with enemies, and you even have the ability to impress the gods." The power of fear. Yes, you two are different. Although he caused us a lot of trouble after he fell into evil, he did not really threaten the balance of good and evil. Once you fall into evil, the entire main plane It is very likely that the situation will change dramatically, and a war that will sweep half of the Western Continent will be unavoidable."

"Falling into evil?" A trace of disdain appeared on Henry's face.

"Don't compare me with those idiots whose minds are full of destruction. In fact, I also follow the principle of neutrality like you. People will not offend me, and I will not offend others. In terms of territorial development, I support the goddess of agriculture Doctrine, on the premise of not destroying the ecological environment, reclaim as much wasteland as possible, through the principle of equal emphasis on handicrafts, agriculture and commerce, try to let every ordinary person live a prosperous life. Do you think that my approach can Do you have something to do with evil? What I like is creation, and only creation can bring civilization."

"I'm very pleased that you can do this. At the same time, I have also read the report of the Harper Alliance, especially the city of Blue Winter can almost be called one of the wealthiest cities in the Western Continent." Speaking of this, Irmin Ster paused suddenly, and then showed a look that seemed to be able to see through everything.

"But your other actions are not so reassuring. For example, not long ago, it seems that some officers under your command returned to Tumis with a guy named Dick. As far as I know, he seems to be a member of the royalist party. Many of the former nobles are trying to secretly train the army and overthrow the current republic. Don't you think this needs an explanation?"

After hearing these accusations, Henry not only showed any panic, but nodded with a big smile: "You are right, I am indeed supporting the royalists in Tumis. To be precise, I am supporting Dick. You I seem to have forgotten that I am still the king of West Hartland. Of course, the official enthronement ceremony has not yet been held. As a feudal monarch, of course I have to consider the stability of the surrounding area. Trand's interests. And I suppose it's a purely political act, with nothing to do with good or evil."

"Goddess of Magic! I really didn't realize that you are still an ambitious monarch." Elminster trembled in surprise, and almost threw his beloved pipe on the ground.

Henry shook his head with a smile and explained: "No, this is not for rights, but for more resources. My goal is to reproduce the glorious magic civilization of the Netheril era. I believe you should know that this requires Cultivating a large number of mages also requires massive resources. Only after mastering more land, population and wealth can we have enough funds to invest in education, maybe ten, twenty, thirty, or even In a hundred years, one day I will make the city float in the air again."

Elminster shook his head with a wry smile and sighed, "It's crazy! Now I finally know where that palpitation comes from."

Speaking of this, his eyes inadvertently showed a trace of nostalgia for the past: "I have to say, this is a great dream, whether it is the floating city or the core of Mythra that can infinitely extract energy from the magic net, It is the yearning of all mages. But I advise you to give up. I have seen a real core of Mythra in Myth Drannor. It is a perfect combination of magic and alchemy. It is not the current one at all. The level of craftsmanship can do it.”

"If you can't do it now, it doesn't mean you can't do it in the future. Since the great arcanist Iolum was able to create it thousands of years ago, why can't we modern people. If the craft can't be done, it can be improved, and the principle can't be improved." It is clear that it can be studied, but if you don’t even dare to think about it, then the future magic will only decline more and more. As a user of arcane magic, I think this is a kind of sadness.” Henry directly refuted without any scruples about the other party’s face road.

In this regard, he has always insisted on his views. What kind of lost technology, to put it bluntly, is that the modern mages lack the spirit of exploration, and they all cling to the magic net, and only study the spells that can be released through the magic net. Perhaps only those legendary mages dabble in primitive magic. But the research progress is far behind that of the Arcanists of the Netheril era.

Although the magic net gave mages a more convenient and safer way to cast spells, it imprisoned their thinking. What Henry has to do now is to increase investment in education first, so that more people can join the team of mages, and then select the best part from them to rejoin the study of primitive magic.

This is a huge project. Even with the guidance of an arcanist from the Netheril era——Borken, it will take more than a few years to see initial results. But the funds invested in it will definitely not be less than a few million gold coins, most of which will be used to improve people's livelihood and education. Only when there are more smart people can we recruit enough apprentices.

As a seasoned legendary mage, Elminster obviously knew what was involved. At the same time, I can also feel the strong aggressiveness of the young man in front of me, so I can only shake my head helplessly in the end: "Well, I hope your country will not become like Serre. I heard that you built a new state in the north. The new cities of the city have begun to openly sell slaves."

"Please rest assured. I only allow those orcs to capture those evil monsters. There will never be any kind races such as humans, elves, dwarves, dwarves, and halflings. Of course, you can understand this as a kind of self-defense, anyway, those monsters They often kill passing merchants and rob them of their goods. Isn’t it more kind to let the monsters work than to kill them directly?” Henry spread his hands indifferently as he spoke.

He didn't think there was anything to be surprised about. Instead of killing these guys who only know destruction on the spot, it is better to capture them as slaves, which can not only make up for the shortage of a large number of labor force, but also earn a lot of profits and taxes. At the same time, the orcs who advocate bravery can also have a place to vent their excessive energy.

The most important thing is that under such continuous siege, the monsters in the high wasteland will retreat to the depths in a short time, and the large swamps that will be vacated can be developed by then, which can completely become a large piece of fertile farmland.

In Henry's impression, if a country wants to become strong, it must have one or several pillar industries. In this continent full of conspiracy, turmoil and war, nothing is more important than food. So he wants to make his country the most important food producer.

Just like the United States on Earth, the dollar is first pegged to gold, and then the dollar is pegged to oil. Through two financial reforms, it has made itself the only settlement currency in the world, so it can wantonly plunder the wealth of other countries.

But what Henry has to do doesn't need to be that complicated. It is only necessary to use food to pry open the doors of all surrounding countries, and then promote cash crops to these countries. Thus. Their food production will gradually decrease, and when it exceeds a certain level, it will be too late to change it back.

As long as food exports are banned, food prices in these countries will inevitably skyrocket, followed by severe turmoil. In such a bad situation, no matter what exorbitant conditions he puts forward, the other party can only grit his teeth and agree. If you firmly grasp this point, you can manipulate the economy, politics, and military of other countries, thus turning them into complete vassal states.

It can be said that this is a relatively mild method that does not require war or bloodshed. Although it is a bit despicable, it does not violate the bottom line of the Harper Alliance.

Bow down and thank the immortals of Feisheng, Light of Faith, book friends 140127072008595, kstg2024532 and other book friends for their monthly votes, and at the same time thank book friends 140127072008595 for their rewards. (to be continued ~^~)