Chapter 496: Strategic Shift

In his seventh year at Hogwarts, Harry could be considered idle and loafing. However, Hermione was still immersed in the ocean of knowledge, and it was precisely because of this that the only opportunity for him to find a chance to chat with Hermione casually was during Friday dinner time—one of the few relaxation opportunities she left for herself.

Hermione fiddled with the roasted vegetables on her plate while briefly expounding her thoughts to Harry, or rather, her thinking process: "First of all, there is no doubt that our comprehensive national strength is not outstanding, so if Great Britain wants to gain more presence internationally, it must rely on the power of alliances."

"Based on this premise, we easily notice the existence of the EU, but the EU may not be able to accept our dominant position in the alliance, and even some EU countries are trying to influence and manipulate us, which is why the pro-European and Euro-skeptic factions are arguing endlessly."

"I think the situation of the EU is almost a dead end. Great Britain must consider plans for revival and rise from other angles. That's right, the more I think about how to deal with the European problem, the more I firmly realize that the best method we can adopt is to use the advantage of the English language to establish an ETO organization to expand our influence."

Harry listened to her preliminary train of thought, and immediately couldn't wait to ask that important question: "But, we all know that Great Britain is not the most powerful English-speaking country, so do you think we can really expand our influence by relying on ETO?"

"Yeah, so at present, this is just a hypothesis." Hermione sighed. "The Anglo-American relationship is really a very subtle thing. We got a lot of benefits from them, but the price was completely losing the opportunity to become a superpower."

"I only have some preliminary ideas at present, Harry," she muttered. "Yanayev will be a very key character. I think it's necessary for you to have a good relationship with him."

"But I feel we don't necessarily need to obsess over any superpower." Harry said sincerely. "What meaning does that have?"

"That is a beautiful vision, and we have already completed half of it, all thanks to you." Hermione looked at him with burning eyes. "Our magical power has reached the world's peak, and our diplomatic relationship with the Celestial Empire far exceeds other countries, which makes others, not just me, I believe the Prime Minister is too. This makes us involuntarily think about how to make our status and strength in the Muggle world match the Wizarding World."

"Of course, for a very long time before, just as you said, many people didn't think about the superpower thing, which led to our current situation being somewhat backward. Fortunately, this is a very special era. One of the big reasons we can still play an important role internationally is the existence of the Cold War; and if the Cold War ends, no matter who wins or loses, we will be reduced to a marginal country that no one cares about."

"The Cold War ends, then what counts as the end?" Harry asked. "And, do we have to constantly push this dangerous situation that is not conducive to world peace for the ambition of one country?"

"That's also true, but how much strength do we have that can influence the Cold War situation, and even make one side completely fail?"

Harry was silent. The more he understood the situation in the Muggle world, the more he felt that Yanayev was hard to defeat. Unless, they pinned their hopes on the Celestial Empire, but many Celestial officials had clearly stated that they only intended to do some simple expansion in Southeast Asia. After Xuanjun finished his work, they would return to that state of closing the country and not asking about world affairs.

"And you notice, I'm not saying we want to defeat the Soviet side." Hermione prompted. "Just like the large-scale offshore balancing proposed by the Prime Minister, perhaps, we should consider how to defeat the US side. Can you imagine in which world Great Britain would have more room for development?"

Some childhood memories hit Harry again. If the Wizarding World is taken as the core competitiveness, then for the Great Britain with growing ambition, it indeed has sufficient motivation and channels to contact and help that enemy on the surface.

But, in what form will they distinguish the winner and loser and declare the end of the Cold War? Optimistically, Harry felt that it would be the emergence of a new technology, pulling a huge gap in strategy and forcing one side to bow down—but pessimistically, perhaps the result would be the economic collapse of one side, forcing them to launch an external war.

Looking at Harry who had fallen into deep thought, Hermione shook her head and forked the last piece of vegetable into her mouth. "Those are not things we can do at this stage. Let's focus on the right thing first."

"The right thing, for example, our magic university." Harry found a topic that might make Hermione happy after coming back to his senses. "The first batch of funds from the royal family has already arrived. The Ministry of Magic is preparing to go to Cambridge next week to talk in detail with the school authorities. This can be considered a pretty good progress, right?"

"Oh, of course, this is also a right thing." Hermione nodded with a smile. "I originally wanted to remind you that the Prince invited Jin Ni and Ivy to watch the Manchester United vs. Liverpool football match. That will be a very exciting game, and I believe they can also benefit a lot."

"What is that, football?" Harry was stunned for a moment.

"Yes, from some aspects, it has a strong similarity to Quidditch, and it will become a very suitable and appropriate common topic between the Prince and Jin Ni." Hermione explained. "And on the other hand, the things learned from the legendary Muggle coach can also help Ivy better participate in and handle Quidditch affairs, which will provide great help for her to pursue Luo En."

"My God, according to this, Ivy suddenly showing special insights in Quidditch is also because..."

"That's right, it was my suggestion." Hermione admitted very generously. "Of course, I originally just suggested she consult some relevant books or theories, but I didn't expect the Earl of Grantham's face to be so big that she could get an appointment with Ferguson to ask for advice in person."

"So Ferguson is?"

"The most successful and legendary football coach in recent years. The Manchester United he coached has already won four Premier League titles, and some genius players he cultivated are constantly showing their edge." Hermione introduced. "Considering Ivy's future, I think her continuing to delve into the Quidditch field and bringing a more standardized professional system to Quidditch is a thing that is both easy and has far-reaching significance."

Harry touched his chin. "When you say it's easy, are you considering that the professional system of the Premier League is already quite perfect, and Ivy only needs to refer to the Premier League, move that set to the Wizarding World, and she can very easily become a successful Quidditch coach?"

"Uh, considering the sparse population of the Wizarding World, she might have to concurrently hold multiple positions such as manager, coach, data analyst, etc. However, another factor is that Jin Ni's plan is to become a professional Quidditch player in the future. With a good friend by her side, I believe both of their work will become beautiful and full of passion." After Hermione explained these, her originally relaxed expression became a bit more solemn. "And not only this, I think Quidditch also has very important significance for the British Wizarding World. We can use Quidditch to open up the situation and enhance our cultural influence globally. Of course, this is complementary to our magic university."

"And another factor, I think you might not have noticed, that is from the 80s to now," Hermione sighed. "Putting aside those fields that already have advantages, the only field in our country that has progressed from backwardness and being laughed at to a world-leading position is football. Note, I said the only one."

Harry quickly recalled the various changes in the Muggle world in his mind. Indeed, in the general environment where most fields were slowly going downhill and a small number of fields were maintaining advantages, football contributed the only success story that showed a journey from the bottom to the peak.

"I think, in the Quidditch field that is closest to football, we can try to summarize and imitate this set of methods, and further think about how to borrow this successful experience in more fields—even if we don't talk that far, at least everyone is willing to see more exciting Quidditch matches, right?"

When Harry left the auditorium, he was still amazed by Hermione's whimsical ideas, so much so that when he met Zhang Qiu again, the first thing he brought up was not the world pattern, but the wonderful combination of Quidditch and football.

"Yes, yes, don't tell me you two only chatted about these." Zhang Qiu looked at him sideways. "I want to remind you that the technical assistance team sent by the Celestial Empire will arrive soon. Regarding the floating city, we must have a preset, unified stance first."

However, when Harry recalled the first half of his conversation with Hermione, he suddenly had a feeling of waking up from a dream and suddenly seeing the light.

The floating city, if according to Tang Nade's suggestion, adding space teleportation technology and the Focus of the Rainbow weapon system to this Anglo-American cooperative floating city, it will become an indestructible and elusive fortress, a terrifying strategic weapon. Even in a sense, the ascent of this city might be the period at the end of the Cold War.

However, from the perspective of the British Empire, are they really willing to completely suppress Yanayev? If it is for their ambition, then on this item of the floating city, they cannot let the White House get too many benefits. Even more narrowly, why allow the Magical Congress, or even Tang Nade privately, to share the glory of the pinnacle of magic with a few stinking coins?

Harry suddenly raised his head and said very firmly: "We can no longer develop weapon systems. This is not conducive to world peace. We should build it into a prosperous city of science, education, and culture." ===== CHAPTER 497 =====