People in Terra, governing a bizarre little country

But what interest could the Duke of Wellington have in Scherrag? His territory has nothing to do with Scherrag.

Unable to discern the other party's intentions, Ernst calmly extended his hand towards "Abrahana":

"Please convey my gratitude to His Excellency the Duke of Wellington. I will be troubling you all again in Leinstershire."

Upon hearing this, "Abrahana" also extended her hand and shook Ernst's hand in return.

The moment Ernst touched that hand, he had only one thought.

"Good ice."

He then realized and confirmed something.

She was shaking.

"It's definitely not cold."

Chapter 120 Ernst: I see, I completely understand now.

Leinstershire, a relatively unremarkable mobile city within the Duchy of Wellington.

With no particularly famous specialties, no noteworthy culture, and no striking scenery, everything about Leinstershire seems rather mediocre. Perhaps the only noteworthy thing it left in Victorian history is the length of its existence.

From the reign of King Victoria Drak to the reign of King Aslan, and now to the era of aristocratic warlordism.

The battle between the Red Dragon of Londinium and the Red Dragon King of Tarragale did not destroy it, the conquest of Aslanpasha did not destroy it, the Four Emperors War only brought it to decline, and the division of power among the nobles only reduced it from a county in Victoria to a county in the Duke of Wellington.

They never retreated a single step when faced with an enemy they could handle, and when faced with an enemy they couldn't defeat, they could create a miracle in the history of efficiency by having Parliament pass a surrender bill in three minutes. These achievements may not sound very glorious, but there is no doubt that from the perspective of civilization, this is already an extraordinary achievement.

After all, so many people and so many civilizations want to continue their existence, but the survival of civilizations remains a challenge to this day.

Ernst had no doubt that the former rulers of Leinstershire were a group of realistic politicians, who might even have relished sharing a few words about their life principles with the conquerors:

"Existence is everything, and everything is for the sake of existence!"

"Lensberg millet is good for you, eat more, eat more."

This is not a politician's motto; it was said by Ahmoni.

The Duke of Wellington's deputy seemed far more active than her leader. During Ernst's reception, Miss Abrahine, aside from her initial self-introduction, remained almost completely silent; it was Ahmoni who did all the questioning Ernst.

"The Duke of Wellington is quite surprised by your arrival. As far as she knows, Sherag should have already contacted the Duke of Castle."

Ernst nodded without hesitation.

This kind of thing can't be hidden, and there's no need to hide it anyway.

Indeed, Ernst and Enciodis's parents, the two true pioneers of modernizing the Sherlock Holmes, had already met Viscount Walton of Victoria.

Although viscount may seem like a lowly noble title, those familiar with the Western peerage system know that the rank of a peerage generally does not represent actual power; most of the time, it can only serve as a side indicator.

Not to mention that this Viscount Walton also had another identity.

His last name was Kester.

Unlike the Duke of Gaudouin, who implemented a city council system within his territory and spent most of his time leisurely in his winery rather than personally participating in decision-making, the Duke of Castells and the Castells family behind him governed their territory through nepotism.

In any city within the Duke of Caesar's sphere of influence, even if its supreme leader is not a member of the Caesar family, there will always be a member of the Caesar family among those surrounding the supreme leader. Otherwise, their position would be unstable.

Undeniably, the influence of Viscount Walton and the Cactus family was evident in both Ernst's parents' early gradual and moderate modernization in Sherag and later in Enciodis's studies in Victoria.

It's perfectly normal for the Duke of Wellington to ask that question. Anyone who knows the details would ask a few more questions. Who knows if I might unwittingly put a gray hat on your head?

The Victorian aristocracy suffered from PTSD from this action as much as a fool seeing Amon wearing a monocle.

But Ernst's answer was also concise: "It was my brother who had contact with the Duke of Caesar. I myself had contact with the Duke of Windermere."

Ahmoni nodded knowingly and breathed a sigh of relief.

"Then you certainly can't have any contact with the Duke of Caster."

Everyone knows that the Duke of Windermere and the Duke of Caster are at odds, and this is no joke.

Nobles are very particular about propriety. Generally, everyone maintains a polite social demeanor of smiling on the surface while cursing on the inside.

People like the Duke of Windermere, who openly tore off the mask in his annual speech to the Duchy, declaring, "The Duke of Caesar, huh? Don't let me catch you! If I do, I'll give you a good beating every time I see you!" are indeed quite rare, on the whole.

With relations so strained, to put it bluntly, within the Duke of Windermere's sphere of influence, even a dog would bark a few times at the Duke of Castle's men.

Of course, this did not come without a price. The Duke of Windermere openly opposed the Duke of Caesar, which naturally drew retaliation from the Duke of Caesar's faction.

The Duke of Windermere, being a military man, was indeed somewhat out of his element to engage in a public spat with the civil nobleman Caesar, who was known for forming cliques.

Ahmoni had heard that while the community on Duke Windermere's side was still using "nmsl" as a swear word, the community on Kester's side had already upgraded and improved it.

The response was, "How dare you talk like that? Is your mother a wholesaler?"

Regarding dogs, some have said, "How dare you talk like that? Was your father neutered?"

They even targeted machine products and electronic devices produced in the Duchy of Windermere: "How dare you say that? Is your mother open source?"

But what does this have to do with the Duke of Wellington?

The Duke of Wellington would love to see the Duke of Windermere and the Duke of Castle fight each other.

why?

It's very simple. Just put aside national and personal grievances, the Tara people, and the greater good of Victoria.

No matter the era, watching two women fight is always entertaining. Who knows, when the Duke of Windermere is losing, old man Wellington might have to lend a hand, pay for some online trolls, add fuel to the fire, and watch for a while longer.

"In that case, may I assume that your visit to the Duchy of Wellington is to seek the Duke of Wellington's support in order to counter your brother's Castle faction?"

Ernst leaned back slightly, his expression showing some surprise.

"Against my brother's Kester faction?"

Seeing Ernst's reaction, Ahmoni rolled her eyes and couldn't help but think to herself, "We're all old foxes, why are you pretending to be a ghost story?"

Do you think I haven't read the letter you wrote to the Duke of Wellington or something?

"Isn't that so? Your side specially sent a messenger to visit the Duke of Wellington, stating in the letter that you wish to meet with the Duke of Wellington and hope that the Duke of Wellington can allow and arrange for your activities in the cities within the duchy, so as to recruit talents and revitalize Sherag. Isn't that what your letter contained?"

Ernst blinked:

"Ah...that's true."

“That settles it then.” Mandela, who had been silent until now, seemed to have had enough of Ernst’s feigned ignorance and said bluntly, “Even an idiot could see that. Do you think we and the Duke of Wellington couldn’t see it?”

"You're visiting the Duke of Wellington to seek his support, not to curry favor with him, are you?"

"Isn't conducting recruitment activities in cities within the duchy just an excuse to get the duke to send you a few people to bolster your image?"

"Returning to Shelag and working with the Shelag government to revitalize Shelag—isn't that just a blatant way of saying you want to use the Duke's power to deal with the Kast faction in the country so you can take control of Shelag?"

Mandela finished speaking in one breath, only then noticing the surprised looks on the faces of the people around him. He panicked for a moment, then stiffened his neck and said:

"Am I wrong?"

“Well, there’s no problem, but when did you become so smart?” Ahmoni exclaimed in genuine amazement.

If Ahmoni hadn't known that someone like Mandela couldn't be won over, she would have suspected that the child was secretly hiding a gray hat somewhere on his person.

Lavshini, on the other hand, was completely bewildered. Before her sister forcibly sent her here, her sister had told her two things.

First: Listen to Ahmoni.

Second: Don't wander around in unfamiliar places.

She had no idea that this trip had so much hidden meaning.

Ernst silently pulled out a tissue, swallowing back the words "It's over," which were almost uttered after "I will defeat the Caesar faction." He then nodded solemnly.

"I see... Oh no, so you already knew."

"Then, I wonder what His Excellency the Duke of Wellington's opinion is on this matter?"

"We are here to make our stance clear."

Ahmoni possessed a certain arrogance reminiscent of a little devil.

"The Duke of Wellington has important business to attend to and is unable to meet with you all, but she has sent us as special envoys."

"This special envoy is not just a simple host."

Ahmoni said,

“Miss Abrahina has volunteered to go to Sherag as the Duke of Wellington’s special envoy and collaborator, and Mandra and I will accompany her. The Duke has also promised that as long as Sherag can achieve results in the work against the Duke of Castle, we will definitely give you our full support.”

What were the results? Did they put anti-Kester slogans all over the camels in Sherag? So that when people see the camels baring their teeth, they can also take the opportunity to criticize Kester?

That won't work either. It's not that Ernst's stance is weak; if you offer him money, everything is negotiable.

But are there really that many literate people in Shelag?

"What do you think, Your Excellency?"

Ahmoni asked.

Ernst snapped out of his thoughts, pondered for a moment, and said:

"Could you allow me a moment to consider this?"

“Of course,” Ahmoni readily agreed.

She hadn't expected Ernst to agree immediately. If Mandela hadn't once again disobeyed orders and made a rash decision, she would have planned to stall for a few more days and test Ernst's limits.

Ernst's attitude was simple: regardless of whether this matter was beneficial or detrimental to Sherag, whether the benefits outweighed the drawbacks or vice versa, as a politician, one must always remain calm and never let superficial interests cloud one's judgment when making a choice.

Careful and prudent thinking is a fine virtue. Making decisions without repeated consideration is irresponsible to everyone under one's command.

Moreover, Ernst was quite concerned about Miss Abrahana, whom Ahmoni had described as having "volunteered."

Speak up, little sister! Why aren't you saying a word?

Chapter 121 Testing

Having just arrived at the booked hotel and seen Ahmoni and the other two off, Jesston eagerly stepped forward, calling out anxiously:

"Your Excellency, we cannot accept the conditions set by those three women!"

Ernst was stunned by the shout and stood there for a long time before he reacted. He looked at Jeston in confusion and asked in return:

"Why not? They offered pretty good terms."

“But they’re sending spies! Those three people, they claim to be special envoys, but they’re clearly spies for the Duke of Wellington!”

Jeston explained.

Ernst couldn't help but laugh.

"Yes, but what's so strange about that? Diplomats are spies, after all."

Jeston was taken aback, somewhat confused.

"Are diplomats spies?"

"Yes and no," Ernst shrugged.

Let's not even talk about the fact that Sherag had nothing to hide. Even if he did, so what?

Purge all foreigners from the country? Am I isolating the whole world by myself?

How could that be? Ernst didn't build bunkers all over Shelag, nor did he want to experience the treatment of Colonel Gatchai.

Besides, don't you see, even at the height of the Cold War, the Soviet Union maintained an embassy in Britain? Diplomats are essentially an upgraded version of legal spies; they're there when not needed, and when needed, they can issue diplomatic notes or condemnations. If the situation is urgent and there's a need to quickly divert the attention of the domestic population, then a group can be expelled.

This is basically standard practice.

However, Jeston's sensitivity is understandable. He's Colombian and doesn't have much affection for Victoria. Furthermore, he joined Ernst's team relatively late and didn't experience the Duke of Windermere incident, so he naturally wouldn't know that, aside from Abrahma, Ahmoni, and Mandela, others had already acted as spies in Shelag.

Yes, Ernst was referring to Daphne's little cat.

From the day the child arrived in Shelag, she began wandering around the area, ostensibly to "learn about the local customs and culture," but Ernst knew perfectly well what she was thinking.

She was a spy, and she didn't hide it from anyone. She mentioned to Ernst more than once that she had received "intelligence training," using it as something to brag about.

This is why Ernst immediately informed Defien when responding to the snow mountain incident in Ensiodes.