"Your Majesty Cassius, this is"
Sha Lin's eyes were full of doubts, and his copper face was filled with disbelief.
The fire dwarf noble hesitated for a long time before making up his mind to refuse. He was already prepared to face the wrath of the Red Dragon Emperor, but he never thought that things would turn around.
Cassius nodded slightly.
"Yes, they are allies."
"Allies of equal cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships."
"Don't worry, Sir Shalin. The empire will never break its promise like the efreeti. I can even sign a contract with you."
"Can you be more specific?"
Shalin asked tentatively, his face full of surprise.
Allies in an equal relationship.
Mutually beneficial cooperation.
He couldn't even believe it - this was a condition that a proud dragon and an emperor could put forward.
Cassius responded calmly: "The empire will send troops to help you resist the invasion of the efreeti."
"At the same time, we will also sell you advanced weapons and diversified imperial products, exempt from various taxes."
"But as a basic condition for cooperation, you need to allow the empire's troops to enter the Brass Fortress and pay a certain military expenditure."
"You will also allow merchants in the empire to summon and hire fire dwarves to forge items, but don't worry, they will pay enough gold."
"We need to have an Ember Imperial Concession in the Brass Fortress and set up an Imperial Embassy to handle all matters between the Empire and the Brass Fortress."
Cassius waved his hand gently, and the flames gathered in mid-air, forming a magical contract. The terms on it were particularly clear, almost exactly the same as what he had said before.
"This"
"Your Majesty Cassius, are these the only conditions?"
Shalin asked doubtfully, he still couldn't believe it.
The reason is simple——
In his opinion, this is a completely equal treaty! Even the fire dwarves will profit more!
Open goods trade, pay military expenses for protection, allow imperial employment, establish concessions and embassies
Although these seemed novel to him, they were all normal matters.
There is no forced labor on the fire dwarves, and more importantly, there is no violation of the authority of the fire dwarf nobles, and no interference in his rule at all.
Could it be that this seemingly ferocious Dragon Emperor is really a peace-loving monarch?
At least in his current view, this treaty has no problems at all and is only good for the fire dwarves.
Thinking of this, Shalin lowered his head and said in a grateful and slightly guilty tone:
"Sorry, Your Majesty."
"I misunderstood you just now. I actually thought you wanted to enslave us! Thank you for your generosity."
"I have to say that you are actually the most tolerant and kind monarch I have ever seen."
Shalin picked up the scepter, signaled the fire dwarves to come behind him, and then said solemnly:
"Your Majesty Cassius, if this is the case, the Fire Dwarves of the Brass Bastion are willing to become loyal allies of the Empire."
"We will wield the copper hammer and use the unique skills of the fire dwarves to create the most exquisite items for you and your people."
"Dang, Dang, Dang!"
The fire dwarves behind him all hit their shields with copper hammers, making a crisp sound.
They cheered loudly, and the flames above their heads burned brightly, making the air in the hall even hotter.
After this conversation, the banquet continued until early the next morning. The excited fire dwarves drank wine, got drunk, and fist-bumped with the soldiers of the empire to brag.
This is how the cooperation between the Ember Empire and the Fire Dwarves began. The elemental plane of fire, the burning wilderness.
Cassius transformed into a huge dragon body, lying on the hills made of dark brown basalt, looking at the orange-red sky.
The fire element energy in his body was constantly gathering, and the dragon crystal on his chest flickered slightly.
The half-red dragon Serkan came to the side of the red dragon and half-knelt down.
"Your Majesty, I'm here."
Cassius nodded slightly and praised: "You did a good job, there is no trace of acting at all."
This is his plan.
One is a good person and the other is a bad person, in order to get the fire dwarves to accept their treaty.
But Serkan hesitated for a moment and couldn't help but said:
"But, Your Majesty, I still don't understand. The conditions you gave those fire dwarves are too good."
"With a population of only a few thousand and occupying a small fortress, why should they become equal allies of the empire?"
Cassius just smiled and asked: "Have you read the "On Colonization" officially issued by the empire?"
Serkan's face turned slightly hot, but he still responded truthfully: "I'm sorry, Your Majesty."
"I haven't had time to see it yet."
Cassius continued: "If we are equal to the Brass Fortress, then this is indeed a treaty of equality, mutual military exchanges, and mutual exemption from tariffs"
He paused, grinned, and exhaled a puff of sulfur-smelling smoke.
"But when the strength gap between the two parties to the treaty is too large, the so-called equal treaty is just a joke."
"Give the empire the right to garrison troops, and they lose their territory; give the empire the right to trade, and they lose control of their economic lifeline; give the empire the right to hire fire dwarves, and the fire dwarves will become slaves of the empire's capital."
"And these fire dwarf nobles will also become loyal puppets of the empire."
"This kind of thing, called 'neo-colonialism' by scholars of the empire, is much better than direct slavery. The Brass Fortress will become the empire's first stronghold on the elemental plane of fire."
"This"
Serkan lowered his head in thought, savoring what the emperor said.
On the surface of the treaty, both parties enjoy equal rights, but in fact due to the underdevelopment of the fire dwarves, they cannot realize the rights stipulated in it on an equal basis with the empire. And by treaty, the entire Brass Fortress would be open to the Empire.
Cassius stretched his body, slowly stood up from the basalt hill, and spread his broad wings.
"Go ahead, Serkan, if you want to become the governor of the empire on the fire elemental plane, learn more about this."
Hearing Cassius's words, Serkan was immediately inspired and quickly knelt down and bowed his head.
"Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Colonial Governor, this is another rather unfamiliar term.
Because the Burning Ember Empire adopts a vertical management system in the Anzeta Wilderness, local officials do not have particularly great autonomy.
But at this moment, Serkan has a new goal - to manage the fire elemental plane for His Majesty Cassius!
The red dragon nodded slightly, then waved its wings vigorously, setting off a hurricane full of ashes and sparks on the burning wasteland, and the huge dragon body also rose into the sky.
Subduing thousands of fire dwarves is just a trivial matter for him. The kingdom of efreets across the planes is truly worthy of his attention.
——Asking for monthly tickets——(End of chapter)