The doctor suffers from amnesia, but not complete amnesia.

A silent silence spread, and the Duke closed his eyes.

"So, all you want to do now is fight Wellington?"

“If I win, I can use the momentum of a great victory to achieve complete independence, which would be the rebirth of Gaul. If I lose, then everything will cease to exist. It’s not that I don’t want to rebuild Gaul, but that I know the order of things.”

He sat up straight again, his imposing posture enough to astonish any nobleman who knew him.

"Gaul has been destroyed for forty years, too many Victorians have come here, and the young people rarely utter those two words anymore—now I am fighting Wellington in the name of civil war, which will drive my army and my duchy more than the name of restoring Gaul."

"No nation can be established through conspiracy and division. Syracuse is nothing more than a bunch of unruly people that even the Witch King couldn't be bothered to manage. Let them fend for themselves. Only a war, a war where victory means certain death, can allow a new kingdom to rise from the ashes!"

He gazed at Qiao Yelan.

"So I need steel—lots and lots of steel."

"You'll get it."

Qiao Yelan promised.

"I'm here on a mission from Great Yan—Great Yan needs you to issue a statement supporting the promotion of Lungmen Dollar as a universal currency for international settlements. I'm just here to give you a heads-up; the real negotiating and benefit-giving team is behind us."

"What benefits would I gain—not from the subsequent negotiations, but from promoting this Lungmen Coin?"

"A new trade route, and one that is wide enough."

Qiao Yelan's words cheered up Emmanuel.

The Duchy of Normandy now has many trade routes, after all, Victoria's geographical location is what it is—but unfortunately, most of these trade routes lead to Victoria itself.

The limited number of trade routes to the south, particularly those leading to Iberia, offered little benefit. Since the destruction of the Armada, the people there had lived in constant fear, deprived of the trade and goods brought by the maritime fleets. Life in Iberia was already difficult, let alone the prospect of regaining its former glory in foreign trade.

The trade route to Sargon had to pass through the Krasd Inland Sea, and similarly, since Alfonso and the Golden Fleet disappeared, Duke Godotin's navy had recovered from its humiliating defeat and was once again baring its fangs here, with any merchant fleet under its watchful eye.

That leaves only one trade route leading to Lateran.

The problem is that Lateran itself doesn't produce much, and other merchants would rather take the Letania-Victoria route than travel through Lateran and the vast wilderness, since there aren't large areas of uninhabited land there.

"The goal of the Great Yan is to promote the widespread use of Lungmen currency, so many business routes will grit their teeth and push forward even if they know that they are not very effective and the profits are meager."

Qiao Yelan spread out his hands.

"In other words, I will have more ways to get those things that Victoria restricts you from shipping in."

"make a deal."

Emmanuel agreed without hesitation.

Ever since Gaul's defeat in that decisive battle, his decisions have always been so swift and decisive.

With the general direction set, the details can be negotiated later.

"In that case, I will depart after the usual seven-day visit."

"Are you planning to tour all the other grand duchies?"

"It is the Great Yan that plans to tour all the other great ducal territories."

Qiao Yelan corrected.

"Also, there is no Duke of Stafford."

"Huh? What happened to that guy? Isn't he in charge of the western passage to Londinium?"

"The official reason given was that he had previously sent a letter questioning whether the Great Yan Dynasty was protecting any remaining bloodline of the King of Delac, and His Majesty the Emperor had already dismissed it as a rumor."

"The internal reason is that the western region of Victoria is already supported by the Duke of Caster—it's better to give the Duke of Caster two gifts than to go through the trouble of giving him one more."

"Now that Da Yan has stated its reasons, what are yours?"

The Grand Duke of Normandy was not fooled.

“My reason? My reason is simple—Grand Duke Scafford is a gambler, and I can’t allow him to obtain enough gambling funds through public channels, so the Lungmen Dollar Project can’t let him get a share of it.”

Qiao Yelan manually moved the control lever, maneuvering the wheelchair out of the secret room.

"Otherwise, how could I possibly use money to lure this Duke Scafford?"

"Hey, that guy, with his meager skills, what can he possibly accomplish?"

Emmanuel made no attempt to hide his mockery.

“You’re right, Grand Duke Scafford is indeed incapable of accomplishing anything, but he’s more of a hindrance than a help—to put it another way, at least he can be used to cause trouble, isn’t he?”

Qiao Yelan lowered her eyes and smiled faintly.

In the hands of evil spirits, there is never any worthless trash.

Because things that have lost their value have long been discarded.

---------------------------------------------------------

Completely unsurprising to the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies and the other members of the delegation, they had only attended a few banquets, and after some pointless chatting, joking, eating and drinking, they received the news that the Grand Duke of Normandy was willing to accept Lungmen currency.

Okay, now it's time to go to the next place and freeload some food and drinks.

The delegation packed their things with practiced ease and set off again with their elder brother.

"The next person we need to visit is Grand Duke Godottin, who is located in the western part of the Duchy of Normandy."

"Ah."

"The Grand Duchy of Godottin is located right next to the sea, so its ports and shipbuilding industries are very developed, and maritime trade has flourished as a result."

"Yes."

"Therefore, Grand Duke Godotin is a tough nut to crack, and negotiating with him is not so easy."

"Correct."

"Are you listening?"

"Yes, I am—am I involved in this negotiation?"

Shaoqing looked up in confusion.

"...Yes, we need you to attend the formal talks."

"okay."

Qiao Yelan looked at the Honglu Temple Vice Minister, who had become indifferent to worldly affairs, and the confusion in his heart was indescribable.

what's the situation,

Back in Kyoto, this young lord was a clever, witty, and eloquent outstanding person—how has he now evolved into a piece of barbecued pork?

Filled with confusion and bewilderment, the delegation left the Grand Duchy of Normandy and arrived at the Duchy of Gaudottin.

The welcome was as warm as ever, and the banquet as lavish as ever, but there was no "secret meeting" this time.

However, Qiao Yelan was not in a hurry. There was a reason why he did not have much contact with this Duke Godotin—the other party's value was not even comparable to that of Duke Scafford.

Skaford at least has close ties with Lentinium and commands an army that at least looks intimidating—what does Godottin have?

The Duchy of Godottin is situated on the Krasdead Sea, so it focuses more on controlling its naval power than on land development. As a result, it possesses a large naval fleet but only a pitifully small land force.

As for why Qiao Yelan couldn't be bothered to pay him any attention...

Because back then, Marshal Alfonso of Iberia, relying solely on the Iberian fleet in the Krasdea Inland Sea, utterly defeated Gaudottin's fleet and almost captured him.

In other words, this guy has no dominance in this area, whether on land or at sea.

Then what would I do with you?

Shall we serve the food?

Therefore, he was not surprised at all by the treatment he received this time—which is why he wanted to prepare the mission members in advance and tell them that they would stay longer.

It's not that Grand Duke Gao Duoting is too difficult to deal with, but rather that he's too incompetent, so there's no way to communicate with him.

Therefore, for the first time, the Great Yan delegation sat down at a proper negotiating table with its leader.

As for the negotiation process, there's not much to say. Godotdin was very resistant to Lungmen currency because his main trade routes were with the kings and chieftains of Sargon, not with other countries.

Most of the trade there is based on barter, and Grand Duke Godotdin can make a lot of extra money through this method. Therefore, he does not want a universal settlement unit in international trade, otherwise how can he fool those kings and chieftains?

"It's a real pity, but since Your Excellency has no such intention, we, as guests, will naturally not say anything more. Please do not hold a grudge because of this. The Great Yan is still willing to maintain a friendly relationship with Your Excellency."

"That's natural. His Excellency the Grand Duke is also pleased to maintain a friendly relationship with the Great Yan."

Both sides maintained polite, fake smiles, shook hands amicably, and chatted happily.

"My lord, is there even a time when you can't handle this? Should we communicate with the people back home and try to persuade Grand Duke Godotin to cooperate again?"

Shaoqing leaned close to Qiao Yelan's ear and whispered a question.

"Forget it, there will always be times when we fail. Who can have a smooth journey? Don't worry about His Majesty the Emperor blaming me, I will take responsibility."

Qiao Yelan patted Shaoqing's shoulder reassuringly.

failure?

Which eye of yours saw that I failed?

It's a good thing that Godottin refused—otherwise, where would he get so many reasons to send things to the Duchy of Normandy?

Since Godottin refused, they couldn't travel south via the domestic trade routes in Victoria, so wouldn't they have to take a detour?

Does taking a detour necessarily mean going all the way to the Duchy of Normandy?