"If our opponent in Xihuang is divided and disorganized, he will be more fragile. It will be helpful for us to plan separately and defeat each other."

He shrugged, looking disgusted:

"But...Williams?"

Gilbert looked at his exaggerated expression and smiled.

"Make plans separately and defeat them one by one."

Gilbert looked at him like he did in class six years ago, with admiration in his eyes:

"Like you did at Exeter six years ago?"

Thales had a meal.

He found that compared with the old crow's encouraging questions that had no preconditions and were instructive, Gilbert's questions were more specific, intentional, and pointed.

"Yes, just like Exter."

The prince frowned and nodded:

"Unless we force them to stand together, put aside their past grudges, and jointly resist... against the Bright Star."

Thales swallowed hard the complaint at the end, "Thanks to a certain handsome boy who wields a double-ended gun."

Gilbert nodded and laughed.

"Don't misunderstand me, Your Majesty the Duke. In fact, I appreciate your idea."

"But Your Highness, what strategy to adopt, I think it depends on what kind of opponent we face."

Thales also found that compared to Putilai's rhetorical questions that were full of sarcasm and personal bad taste, Gilbert preferred direct narration.

"Exter, it has been the biggest enemy of Xingchen Kingdom for hundreds of years since its founding. The country is thousands of miles away, easy to defend and difficult to attack. The people are fierce and ferocious. In addition, the army is strong and the horses are strong, and there are many heroes. Even in the peak of our prosperity,

We may not be able to defeat the fateful and powerful natural enemy in the future."

The Foreign Minister seemed to be feeling something, and after a pause for a few seconds, he said quietly:

"For us, a divided Exter is naturally more in line with the interests of the stars than a unified dragon kingdom."

The next second, Gilbert's eyes changed.

"But, Xihuang?"

"This is the territory of the stars, and its lords are His Majesty's vassals. They are just the corner of the chessboard. For us, they are all under our control and we are sure to win."

Gilbert's eyes sharpened:

"In this case, is the chaos and division in this corner of the chessboard really good for us?"

Thales frowned and wondered:

"How to say?"

Gilbert smiled and cleared his throat, first looked at the lights in the distance, and then spoke.

"More than two thousand years ago, at its peak, the ancient empire spanned the continent, with two territories, five districts, and 19 provinces under its jurisdiction."

At this moment, Thales discovered a hint of the story told by Old Crow and Putilai in his tone.

"But among the twenty-six known places, what troubles the Capital of Triumph and Pegasus the most is not the powerful Northland, not the ancient chauvinism, not the precipitous barren mountains, not the complex green heart, not the untamable

Gisery and the wild Nieda, not even the flame sea and the far east that are beyond the reach of the enemy..."

Gilbert's voice changed:

"Instead, it is the southwest of the empire, a remote and insignificant thorny land."

A land of thorns.

Thales recalled the world geography he learned when he was in the Northland. Fortunately, the Northlanders had nothing to hide about the Thornlands.

Relying on his memories, the prince tentatively asked:

"Because they are conservative and xenophobic and never submit to outsiders, even imperial rule?"

"I read a thousand-year-old proverb from the land of thorns in the books of the Northlanders: 'The sons of thorns are all born to resist'."

Gilbert nodded, with a sense of relief in his eyes that "Northlanders are finally willing to read":

"Yes, Your Highness, yes, but it is more than that: not only do the Sons of Thorns disobey the rule of outsiders, they also disobey the rule of their own people."

Thales looked puzzled.

Gilbert smiled:

"Long before the rise of the empire, the little thorny place was known for its divisions and chaos: warlords sprang up, many parties were established, oligarchs appeared everywhere, and turmoil was frequent. Even the internal religious beliefs were difficult to unify, let alone find a leader who could convince the masses.

.”

"And this caused trouble for the empire at that time: after the easy conquest, their subsequent rule was like a quagmire, making it difficult to move forward."

"If you want to win over Huairou, there will be no agent in the entire province who can convince the people and can be relied on; if you want to intimidate and shock, every time a leading rebel leader is killed, there will always be his opponents or supporters.

It will emerge after a few years and create thorns again."

Gilbert snorted softly, with a touch of disdain in his words:

"This characteristic of the Thornlands lasted for thousands of years, until the empire was no longer there, and it remains to this day."

"Even today after the Ending War, on the old land of thorns, neither the Kingdom of Ellenbia nor the common rule of Talundi has ever ceased: the royal family of the former is like a fleeting horse, changing every season, and the internal strife of the latter is a common occurrence.

, regularly scheduled.”

Thales listened to the other party's words carefully:

"You mean, the Western Wilderness is to us what the Thorny Land is to the Empire?"

"Is it difficult to maintain stable rule?"

Gilbert paused for a few seconds, seeming to be looking for some appropriate words.

"Not exactly, but..."

Gilbert looked at Thales seriously:

"Tell me, Your Highness, if you were your father, who should you reward, attack or win over when faced with the three powerful families in Xihuang who seem to have different political opinions, each with their own ideas and back-and-forth stances, and whose enemies are difficult to distinguish from friends?

Who do you attack, who do you support, and who do you let go?"

This question stunned Thales for a moment.

"As far as I saw..."

He reviewed what he had seen and heard in the past few days and answered carefully:

"Reward Croma because they know right from wrong and are aware of current affairs?"

Gilbert didn't speak, but looked at him expectantly.

So Thales continued tentatively:

"Fight Bozdorf because they are arrogant and confrontational and have a clear attitude?"

"Winning over Falkenhauser, because they haven't expressed their stance for a long time, maybe they are waiting for a price to sell?"

Gilbert's eyes lit up.

"That's good, because that's what we thought at the beginning."

Hearing this strange tone, Thales frowned:

"but?"

Gilbert smiled as expected and continued what Thales said:

"but."

"In the years just after the Year of Blood, before Williams was knighted, everything was as big as conscription, tax changes, and land annexation, as small as rewards and punishments, canonization, and appointments. No matter what kind of national policy was to be promoted in the Western Wilderness, what kind of laws

It will be implemented in Xihuang..."

Gilbert's eyes became sharp, just like his tone:

“While the Fuxing Palace Masters are known for their work and follow the steps, such as implementing the Fixed Time Recruitment Act and the Emergency Supplementary Plan for the Desert War, conservatives like Croma tend to be sloppy and defy the rules;”

"When His Majesty responds with gentleness, supports and win over, such as suspending the "Border County Development Tax Exemption Order" as a compromise and a show of goodwill, stubborn people like Bozdov will jump out and push forward, and resist to the end;"

"When Yongxing City decided to take action, with a thunderous blow, such as punishing the nobles who violated the "Central Tax Act", the unpopular Falkenholz suddenly appeared again, making jokes, pretending to be stupid, and even disrupting the muddy waters of the Western Wilderness.

Go to the whole country and let our plans come to an end."

What?

Listening to these specific matters, Thales felt dizzy and his brows furrowed more and more tightly.

This is……

Another perspective of Xihuang?

"Other small and medium-sized nobles have taken sides, with few exceptions."

Gilbert's words were filled with a hint of resentment:
To be continued...