Chapter 10 Chapter two

Anthem How Rhodek was King Anacreon's emissary to Terminus, and he was Plomar's second-in-command, among a half-dozen other titles.The "Hao" in the middle of his name represents the noble blood.When he arrived at the terminal star, Harding specially went to the space station to meet him personally, and also arranged grand diplomatic etiquette. Now with a stiff smile on his face, the envoy bent slightly, took the pistol out of its holster, and handed it to Harding with the handle forward.Then Harding returned the same courtesy, and the pistol he handed to Lord Rhodek was specially borrowed from someone else.After the ceremony is completed, it represents the establishment of friendship and goodwill between the two parties.Harding noticed Rhodeke's protruding shoulders, and seemed to be wearing some kind of sidearm, but cautiously said nothing.

Around the limousine that greeted the special envoy, there were crowds of lower-ranking officials.The entire convoy drove towards the "Quanshu Square" at a very slow speed like a parade, and many enthusiastic people lined the road to welcome them along the way. The special envoy has always accepted the cheers of the crowd with the modesty that soldiers and nobles should have. Suddenly he turned to Harding and said, "Is this city your whole world?" Harding tried to raise the volume so that he could overwhelm the crowd of voices: "This is a new world, Your Excellency. In the pitifully short history of our humble planet, there have been few nobles like you who have visited here, That's why the crowd is so crazy."

Of course, this "noble nobleman" did not hear the irony in the words.He thoughtfully said to Harding: "It was established fifty years ago, um, mayor, you must still have a lot of undeveloped land here, have you never thought of planning it?" "So far, there has been no need for this. Our population is fairly concentrated, and we must be, for the sake of the encyclopedia. Maybe one day, when our population grows to..." "It's a strange world, don't you have civilians who work in agriculture?" Harding felt that the grown-up was constantly trying to trick him, but his technique was so clumsy that anyone could detect it.So Harding simply replied casually: "No—but no nobility, either."

Lord Rhodek raised his eyebrows: "Then your leader... the one I'm going to meet with later?" "Do you mean Dr. Pihaner? Yes, he is the chairman of the council, or His Majesty's appointed representative." "Doctor? That's all, no other titles? He's just a scholar? His status is even higher than that of you, the mayor?" "Oh, of course!" Harding replied cordially: "People here can be regarded as scholars to some extent. After all, this is a scientific base directly under the emperor's control, not an ordinary world." Harding deliberately emphasized "His Majesty directly governs" a little bit, which seemed to make the special envoy a little bit at a loss.He didn't speak any more along the way, looking thoughtful.

The convoy finally arrived at Quanshu Square slowly. Even if Harding was bored with his afternoon and evening activities, there was at least one thing that satisfied him.That is, he noticed that Pihaner and Rhodek, although they were very warm and respectful when they met, they were deeply disgusted by each other. When Lord Rhodek went to the Encyclopedia Building for an "inspection", he listened to Pihaner's explanation with a blank expression.They passed the huge data storage room and the countless projection rooms. Lord Rodrick was always polite, always smiling hollowly, listening patiently to Pihaner's hasty introduction.

Lord Rhodeke walked down one floor after another, passing through the writing department, editorial department, publishing department, film and television department, and finally said his first sentence: "It's all very interesting, but for adults To me, it seems like a very strange occupation. What is the use of this kind of work?" Harding noticed that Pihaner had nothing to say about this comment.But from the expression on Pihaner's face, it can be seen that he absolutely disagrees. The situation at dinner was almost the opposite of what it was in the afternoon, with Lord Rhodek talking the whole time.He tirelessly recounted the brilliant military exploits he made as battalion commander when Anacreon recently fought against its neighbor, the newly independent Kingdom of Smirnor.He went on and on, getting more and more excited, and even went into all the technical details.

The story of the special envoy has been told until the end of the dinner.One by one the lower-ranking officials took the opportunity to resign, and Pihaner and Harding accompanied Rhodek to the balcony for a while in the warm summer evening air.Only then did he finally report the glorious results of defeating the enemy starship. "Now," said Lord Rhodek brightly, "we shall get down to business." "Please," murmured Harding, lighting a long cigar made of tobacco imported from the Vega system, of which it occurred to him that there were not many left.Then he leaned back on the chair, propping up the legs and rocking back and forth.

The Milky Way hangs high in the sky, a lenticular haze stretching from one horizon to the other.This place is located on the edge of the Milky Way, so the stars are sparse, and only a few blink in the sky, which cannot be compared with the magnificent Milky Way. "Of course," Lord Rhodek said, "all formal talks, including signing documents and other boring professional procedures, will be with you...what do you call your council?" "Council." Pihaner replied in a nonchalant tone. "What a strange name. That's supposed to happen tomorrow anyway. But I think it's best to clear up some possible obstacles to the talks now, and let's all be open and honest, shall we?"

"What do you mean..." Harding asked immediately. "It's very simple. In this area on the outer edge of the galaxy, the current situation has changed somewhat, and the status quo of your planet has also become a bit unclear. If we can reach a consensus on the current situation, it will be beneficial to both parties. Help. By the way, Mayor, are there any more of these cigars?" Even though Harding was very reluctant, he still gave him one as promised. Lord Rodrick sniffed the cigar, and immediately let out a happy laugh: "Weaver Girl Tobacco! Where did you get it?"

"Here are the supplies from the last delivery, but there aren't many left. God knows when we'll get another supply." Pihaner frowned. He didn't know how to smoke, so he hated the smell.He suppressed his cough and said, "Your Excellency, please tell us, is your task just to sort out the status quo?" Lord Rodrick nodded, and exhaled the first puff of smoke vigorously. "In this way, it can be finished in a few words. The status of Encyclopedia Base No. 1 is still exactly the same as before." "Ah, then what is your so-called status in the past?"

"It is a national scientific institution, and it is a domain directly under the authority of His Majesty the Emperor." But Lord Rhodek was not at all moved. He puffed out smoke rings leisurely, and then said: "Dr. What about the actual situation? Facing Smirno, how do you deal with yourself? You must know that their capital is very close to you, not as far away as fifty parsecs. Besides, don’t forget that there is Gornum and Loris." Pihaner said: "We have nothing to do with any county, we belong to His Majesty the Emperor..." "They are not counties," Lord Rhodek reminded Pihaner. "They are already kingdoms." "Even if it's a kingdom, we still have nothing to do with them. As a scientific institution..." "Scientific ass!" Rhodek suddenly cursed in a foul language: "You have a fucking name? We're going to watch Terminus being taken down by Smirnor!" "But what about His Majesty the Emperor? How could he sit idly by?" Lord Rhodek was a little quieter, and continued: "Well, Dr. Pihaner, I know that you respect the emperor's royal property, and Anacreon's attitude is the same on this point. The problem is that Smirno Don't think so. Please remember one thing. We have just signed a treaty with the emperor. I will send a copy to your council tomorrow. According to this treaty, we are obliged to maintain the current Anacreon on behalf of the emperor. Order in the county. Our responsibilities are pretty clear, aren't we?" "Of course, but Terminus does not belong to Anacreon County." "But Smirno..." "We don't belong to Smirnor either, we don't belong to any county." "Does Smirno know what you said?" "I don't care if they know or not." "But we have to take care of it. The war between our two countries has just ended, and they still occupy our two galaxies. The terminal star is located between this kingdom and Smirnor, and it has an extremely important strategic position." Harding got tired of hearing it, so he interjected, "Your Excellency, what proposal do you have?" Lord Rodrick seemed unwilling to beat around the bush for a long time, and immediately said straightforwardly: "Because Terminus cannot defend itself, Anacreon must take the responsibility of defending Terminus for his own safety, and the necessity of this action is very obvious. I believe you also understand that we have absolutely no intention of interfering in internal affairs..." "Huh-hum--" Harding let out a few dry laughs. "But we believe that it would be the best course of action for both of us to have Anacreon establish a military base here." "Is this what you want? A military base in the vast and uninhabited land of Terminus, is that all?" "Oh, of course, there is also the issue of supplying the defensive force." Harding put the chair back on all fours, put his elbows on his knees, and said: "Now that we've come to the crux of the matter, let's make it clear—Terminus is going to be under your protection from now on, so it's important to Tribute to you, right?" "It's not paying tribute, it's paying taxes. We protect you, and of course you have to pay a reasonable price." Pihaner suddenly slapped hard on the back of the chair and made a loud noise: "Harding, let me tell you. Your Excellency, I will never pay Anacreon or Smirno for half a copper coin. No funding for your local politics or mini-wars. I tell you, this is a tax-free state institution." "National? Anacreon is the 'country' here, Dr. Pihaner, but let's not 'establish' any more." Pihana stood up, looking angry: "Your Excellency, I am Holy Majesty..." "...the imperial representative of His Majesty the Emperor." Lord Rhodek echoed Pihaner's words in a bitter tone, and then continued: "I am the imperial representative of King Anacreon, Anacreon Ang is much nearer here, Dr. Pihaner." "Let's get down to business," advised Harding. "How are you going to collect your so-called taxes, sir? Are you willing to accept something in kind? Wheat, potatoes, vegetables, livestock, for example?" Lord Rhodek glared at him and said, "What the hell do we want with that? We've overproduced it ourselves. I mean gold, of course, and if you happen to be rich in chromium or vanadium, all the better." Harding laughed immediately after hearing this: "Prosperity? We don't even produce iron! You want gold? Come, look at our coins." Then he threw a coin over. Lord Rhodek seized the coin, looked at it, and said, "What is it made of? Steel?" "That's right." "I don't understand." "Terminal produces almost no metal, all metal is imported, so we don't have any gold at all. We can't give you anything other than paying you thousands of bags of potatoes." "And... what about industrial products?" "Since there is no metal, how can we make machinery?" There was a silence, and then Pihaner tried again to persuade Lord Rhodek: "This whole discussion is outrageous. Terminus is not a world, it is just a scientific base dedicated to the compilation of the Great Encyclopedia of the Galactic Encyclopedia. God, don't you have any respect for science?" "The encyclopedia won't let me win the battle." Lord Rhodek frowned. "A world that is completely unproductive, and nine out of ten are uninhabited. Well, you may be able to use land to pay for it. " "What do you mean by that?" asked Pihaner at once. "There are not many people in your world. Those uninhabited lands may be very fertile. Many nobles in Anacreon hope to expand their territories." "Do you want to suggest that..." "Don't be so alarmed, Dr. Pihaner, there is absolutely enough land here for us. If everything goes according to plan and you cooperate fully, we may be able to arrange things so that the two of you will not only have nothing If you lose, you can also get the title of nobility and part of the territory. I think you two should understand what I mean, right?" Pihaner snorted: "Thank you for your kindness!" At this time, Harding deliberately changed the subject: "Can Anacreon provide us with enough cerium? Our nuclear power plant has only a few years left." Pihaner immediately gasped, and several minutes of dead silence followed.When Master Rudrick spoke again, his tone was completely different from before. "You have nuclear power?" he asked dubiously. "Of course. Is that unusual? I believe nuclear power has been around for at least fifty thousand years. Why can't we use it? The only problem is that plutonium is a little hard to come by." "Yes... yes." Lord Rhodeke paused for a moment before he said guiltily, "Okay, gentlemen, let's continue discussing this issue tomorrow. I'm taking my leave..." Pihaner looked at his back, and said through gritted teeth, "This super stupid donkey! It's unbearable..." Harding interjected, "Not really. He's just a product of that environment. He only knows one thing, and that's 'Government grows out of the barrel of a gun.'" Then Pihaner turned on Harding again, yelling at him, "What the hell do you mean by talking about military bases and tributes? Are you crazy?" "No, I'm just pushing the boat along so that he can say what's on his mind. I think you've noticed that he's slipped up and revealed to us Anacreon's real intention, which is to put the terminal The stars are my own. Of course, I don't want this to happen." "You don't want to, don't you count if you don't want to? Who do you think you are? I also want to ask you, what do you mean by bragging about our nuclear power plant? Well, you say that, the only result is to make us change immediately become a military objective." "That's right," Harding said with a smile, "but strictly speaking, it should be that we will become 'a target that must not be attacked by military operations'. I ask this question, can't you understand my intention? This proves that One thing I was quite skeptical about." "What is that?" "Anakreon no longer possesses nuclear power. If they still have, this lord should know that I am talking nonsense. Because apart from the ancient nuclear power plants, nuclear power has long since used cerium as a raw material. From here on At one point we can infer that none of the other worlds on the outer rim of the galaxy have nuclear power either. At least Smirnor definitely does not, otherwise Anacreon would not have won most of the battles in their recent conflict. It is very It's worth noting, right?" "Hmph!" Pihaner left angrily, but Harding just smiled politely. Then Harding threw away the finished cigar, looked up at the Milky Way stretching across the sky, and muttered to himself, "They're back to the age of oil and coal, right?" keep it in your heart.