Chapter 3074: The Only Solution for a Three-Party Win-Win

————Still rushing, about another half hour left~~

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"Ambassador Aosi, first please clarify one thing: it is not that I sent people to Ailan to teach Netheril Magic, but that the Ailan Elves, admiring the superiority of Netheril Magic, requested to send Apprentices to the Tower of Time for advanced study.

"If spreading magic externally is considered incorrect and interference in another country's internal affairs, then how should the widespread dissemination of magic by Yierlan in Netheril in the early years be characterized?

"Of course, you could argue that the Northland Alliance did not exist at that time and was not subject to the rules of the Northland Alliance, but please be aware, Your Excellency, that the rules of the Northland Alliance were not born out of thin air, but were established upon the consensus of the various countries in the Northland!

"In other words, even without the existence of the Northland Alliance, similar matters would still be open to question in the eyes of various countries. As for improving the local level of magic, why was Yierlan allowed to do it back then, but I am not allowed to now?"

Regarding the dissemination of Netheril Magic, Xia Duo was not worried about being questioned by Yierlan, mainly because Yierlan had also made this mistake in the past; as long as they did not want to admit that this was a mistake, they would have no way to use this matter to attack him.

Secondly, it was, of course, something he had thought through before doing it: requiring Ailan to send exchange students to Daxia Territory, rather than Daxia Territory sending Teachers to Ailan.

The latter was prone to bickering, but the former was entirely the voluntary choice of the Ailan Elves. If they were unwilling, who could force them to come to Daxia Territory under the protection of Yierlan?

Yierlan's protection of Ailan was recognized by the Northland Alliance, but protection did not equate to confinement. Why would Yierlan block normal personnel exchanges?

It was merely a transfer of the right of protection, not a cancellation.

But he still acknowledged Aosi's approach, because everything was within the rules, and maintaining that set of rule systems for the Northland Alliance was more important than the insignificant loss he himself suffered.

Yierlan being unwilling to give up the right of protection over Ailan ≠ Yierlan being unwilling to support Ailan's full transition to Netheril Magic.

However, all of this was the same for Ailan; as long as it was handled properly, they could achieve development while shaking off Aosi's control.

Although Yierlantusi did not explicitly state that Xia Shao's grain was not allowed to enter Ailan territory, that was the implication between the lines, and there was not even the slightest attempt to conceal it.

"At the same time, we must strengthen inspections of the sources of new grain within Ailan to ensure that no smuggled, substandard grain appears to harm the people of Ailan."

In a sense, this could actually be considered Xia Shao being "deceived by the righteous" (being forced into a disadvantageous position by someone using high-minded principles).

So what could Xia Shao gain from this?

And the prerequisite for all this was that Ailan could demonstrate a certain power to protect itself, or could unite the interests of the vast majority of countries in the Northland, so as to persuade all countries to help him in unison.

"Not a single grain of problematic food can be allowed to flow into Ailan territory; only grain that has been inspected and qualified through regular channels can enter Ailan."

"However, grain is, after all, related to the survival of every Ailan person. We cannot just send any grain to Ailan; the lower the price of the grain, the more strictly we must control the quality."

Possessing the so-called right of protection is good; one can easily come up with various means. You say I sell high-priced grain? I also sell low-priced grain, and in order to protect the physical health of the Ailan people, all grain, especially low-priced grain, must be inspected, and if it is unqualified, it is not allowed to enter.

Targeted measures within the rules naturally require countermeasures within the rules. Before Aosi overturned the table, Xia Shao would not be the one to actively overturn it.

Ailan's approach of fully transitioning to Netheril Magic to obtain quick-success magic power was to a certain extent very feasible, but the prerequisite was that Aosi agreed.

Representatives of the four major countries, including Netheril and Aosi, could directly convene the Alliance General Assembly, while representatives of small countries needed at least five to initiate a convocation together, or find a representative of a major country to help.

However, as a member of the newly established Alliance Advisory Committee, Xia Shao himself also had the right to convene the Alliance General Assembly, which meant that even if Yierlantusi was unwilling, Xia Shao could still forcibly convene the assembly.

The development and growth of Ailan, and even its true independence, were conducive to the strengthening of the Alliance order. Aosi losing control over Ailan was equivalent to Netheril gaining another potential ally.

If Xia Shao really convened the Alliance General Assembly and publicized what Aosi had done, although Aosi would not suffer any direct losses immediately, the indirect negative impact would be very difficult to quell.

There was indeed a certain correlation between the two, but it was not an inevitable causal relationship. As long as it was operated properly, Aosi could become the absolute winner who could handle both big and small matters—

Finally, Xia Shao brought the topic back to the grain issue that Yierlantusi had mentioned at the beginning, "Currently, the people of Ailan are in dire straits, and many local Elves cannot even get enough to eat!"

"High-priced grain is indeed in line with market laws, but it is not in line with the aspirations of the people of the Northland. If Ambassador Yierlantusi feels that I have done something wrong, why not convene the Alliance General Assembly and let the representatives of various countries judge who is right and who is wrong in this matter!"

The one who would be unlucky in the end was him; who told him to provoke Xia Shao!

Therefore, upon hearing that Xia Shao was going to take this issue to the Alliance General Assembly for discussion, Yierlantusi decisively chickened out. He knew very well that the things Aosi had done in Ailan could be done privately, but could not be brought to the table to be discussed.

The current situation was indeed very favorable to Aosi. Even if he could play the time difference, in the long run, Aosi would still occupy the advantage.

Moreover, he did not deny the trading qualifications between Xia Shao and Ailan, but merely added a process. If Xia Shao could not accept even that, then it would be Xia Shao's problem instead.

"Consultant Xia Shao, the representatives of various countries all have their own things to busy themselves with. There is no need for us to trouble them with such trifles. Just now, I was just speaking casually; in fact, Aosi also has plans to import cheap grain into Ailan!"

"Consultant Xia Shao, what do you think?"

The basis here, besides national strength, also included the factor of population size.

The benefits of controlling a developing and growing Ailan far outweighed controlling this weak and burdensome one.

It was the same for Xia Shao.

Regarding this, Xia Shao was of course very dissatisfied, and he also knew that this method was indeed useful against him. He did indeed possess the qualification for free trade with Ailan, but the inspection link set up by Aosi based on the right of protection was also well-founded.

Therefore, one must get rid of Aosi's core advantage in order to solve the Ailan problem from the root, which was to take away Aosi's right of protection over Ailan.

Or rather, Aosi supporting Ailan's full transition to Netheril Magic ≠ inevitably losing the right of protection over Ailan.