Chapter 2429: Persuading Yinaole

"Teacher, to what extent do you think the Seven Towers can achieve?"

"It's hard to say. If I were the one to propose it, perhaps the Seven Towers would agree to forbid others from intercepting mountain peaks in the future. In that case, their retaining the only natural mountain peak might not be an expression of authority."

Yinaole stated a result that was not easy for Xia Duo to accept; if the Seven Towers were allowed to keep that mountain peak, it would actually be very difficult to reach any restrictions on others.

After all, according to the Seville Covenant, the various Territory lords and the Seven Towers are equal, it is just that the two sides have different divisions of labor within this system.

The precedent of privilege is not so easily opened. Since one wants to restrict others from intercepting mountain peaks, one must certainly trace back to the past, which means making the Seven Towers hand over the mountain peak they intercepted.

As for Yinaole mentioning that he should be the one to propose it, Xia Duo did not really care about that. While accomplishing this matter could certainly lead to an increase in prestige, it would more easily invite the hostility of the Seven Towers.

His original intention was actually that if Yinaole was willing, he would let Yinaole propose it—whatever was most convenient. If the other party did not have that inclination, then he would do it himself; he did not fear clashing with the Seven Towers.

Or rather, if he did not have the resolve to clash with the Seven Towers, then by what right did he harbor the thought of usurping Netheril?

"Teacher, you say to let the Seven Towers keep that mountain peak while imposing restrictions on others, but I fear the others will not agree. Moreover, letting the Seven Towers retain privileges is not good. I still believe that if we are to prohibit it, we should prohibit it for the Seven Towers as well."

Xia Duo's tone was feignedly relaxed, but his attitude was quite firm. After hearing this, Yelram could not help but frown slightly. In truth, he did not care much about whether Netherese Mages were prohibited from intercepting mountain peaks; the reasons Xia Shao gave were still far from enough to persuade him to help regardless of the cost.

"Do you really think this issue is that important?"

But now, asking so carefully meant that the other party was willing to mobilize power beyond the normal teacher-student relationship to support him, provided, of course, that he could persuade the other party.

It was just that this kind of argument was somewhat cheeky, but it was indeed correct. In Yelram's own view, if Xia Shao's phrasing were changed to "humans are a common race," it might be more appropriate and more easily accepted by others.

Setting aside Dan Zuo for the moment, Yierlan would certainly be unwilling to give up meat already in its mouth. As long as there was no consensus within Netheril, it could completely pay a portion of its interests to bribe those lords without Mithril Mines to oppose the agreement update at the Seven Cities Council.

"People always instinctively want to occupy more."

After speaking, Yelram could not help but sigh. "Actually, I do not think signing the Mithril Agreement back then was a bad thing, but so much time has passed, and the current situation is long since different from the past."

"Does Teacher consider yourself a member of the common people?"

Only then did Yelram begin to seriously consider the impact of this matter on the future. It was just that, living in the classical era, even with extraordinary talent for Magic, he was no different from a layman when it came to social humanities.

"That is correct. I know what you want to say. You want to say that if we people now use up the mountain peaks within Netheril's borders, there will be none left for our descendants, right?"

Upon hearing this question, Yelram knew that Xia Shao wanted to use his own territory to persuade him. Although he certainly did not think of himself as a common person, he still followed Xia Shao's line of reasoning.

Publicly speaking, this was the Seven Towers striving for interests for Netheril; privately, it was the Seven Towers and other lords with Mithril Mines being dissatisfied with their current gains and wanting more.

"Yes, but I must explain here: the 'common people' I speak of are not distinguished by power or Spellcasting ability, but from the perspective of 'humanity' and 'self.' We are all common humans possessing self-awareness. Does Teacher agree with this point?"

"Of course, I am serious."

"Yes. And not just mountain peaks, but various resources in Nature that are difficult to regenerate quickly, such as Mithril Mines. In the past, Netheril, Yierlan, and Dan Zuo signed the Mithril Agreement. People in the past thought they made the correct decision, but people now feel they suffered a great loss. Why does Teacher think that is?"

"This—" Yelram hesitated for a moment and raised an objection, "You cannot compare people who do not yet exist with people who exist now, can you?"

Yelram shook his head; he could not figure out this question, but there was someone right in front of him who could explain it to him. Thinking of this, he looked at Xia Shao with a solemn expression:

But in reality, this matter was not as simple as imagined to carry out. Almost no Netheril Lord was simple, including those lords who did not have Mithril Mines.

"Yes, the Netherese of the past had no choice. If they wanted to develop, they could only sign such agreements with Yinaole and Dan Zuo. Now that Netheril has developed, it can naturally seek to change or even abolish the agreement."

Based on his existing experience, he could foresee a scene in the future where mountain peaks were insufficient, but what did that have to do with the future of Netheril?

"Teacher, since we are all common people, are you willing for the common people born in our future generations to possess the same rights as us?"

It could be said that every lord, including the Seven Towers, had selfish motives, but countless selfish motives converged into morality. As long as Yinaole did not want to go to war with Netheril immediately, he would inevitably agree to revise the agreement. Xia Shao understood that if he could not even persuade Yelram on this issue, wanting to persuade the Seven Towers would likely be no better than a dream.

Speaking of this matter, Xia Shao also felt quite a bit of emotion. The Mithril Agreement issue could not be said to be the fault of any of the three parties; one could only say that everything was the fault of the times. The world was developing and changing, so the agreement should naturally change as well.

"Whether I am a member of the common people?"

Not to mention that he had long heard of the Bloodline Sequencing Project at Jilan High Tower. Bloodline could not be counted as a reliance for being superior to others; like himself, he had no special bloodline, yet had he not reached his current level?

"According to your definition, I should be a member of the common people."

Xia Shao changed his phrasing, and Yelram understood completely. Although there were beings with special bloodlines in this world, as far as the human race was concerned, there were indeed no beings superior to others; everything could be discussed within the framework of humanity.

"A simple comparison is, of course, unnecessary, but if a civilization wants to develop, it cannot rely solely on our generation, right? We must always leave some leeway for those who come after us, right?"

As long as the interests paid out were less than the gains from Netheril's Mithril Mines, it would suffice.

The Netherese did not live on mountains; it was nothing more than having one less natural landscape. Could it be that if humans wanted to develop, they must learn from the Elves?

After thinking for a moment, Xia Shao did not start directly from the issue of whether to intercept mountain peaks itself, but took a detour and asked Yelram in return:

But in reality, if a matter lacked moral support, even if the Seven Towers and the few lords possessing Mithril Mines wanted it, it would likely be very difficult to accomplish.

Yelram's questioning did not make him feel discouraged; on the contrary, he felt happy. Because if Yelram had not even asked, it would mean the other party actually did not take this matter to heart, and even if he could provide help, it would be very limited.

The reason he was willing to help Xia Shao was more because Xia Shao was his student, and because of the future scenes Xia Shao had once described to him, but for the present, those were all still unknowns.

It was just that no matter how good Yinaole's enticement was, it was only a one-off deal. If the family discovered a Mithril Mine in the future, they would likely regret their current decision.