Rosetta's question was straight to the point, and Gao Wen was not surprised at all - everyone sitting in this room knew very well that they were here today to talk about this issue.

The "war" between Tifon and Cecil has ended. The armistice agreement signed on the battlefield of the Winter Fort has taken effect for some time, but for the soldiers of both countries, this matter has not been completely over. To this day, the reconstruction of the Winter Fort defense line is still continuing, while the Winter Wolf Fort is still under the control of the Cecil Legion. Although in the sincere attitude of implementing the armistice agreement, Gao Wen has ordered the withdrawal of half of the troops in the Winter Wolf Fortress area, everyone knows that the blue-bottomed and golden-patterned swords and plow flags are still flying over the Tifon Fortress - and the huge Iron Throne armored train is still on the border between the two countries.

Sooner or later, this matter needs to be solved positively.

Gao Wen listened to Rosetta finishing his words calmly. He knew very well that the Cecil army stationed at Winter Wolf Castle in the current situation actually had no reason to continue occupying the fortress, unless he planned to upgrade the ending "war" to an aggressive war, he never really focused on the defense line of Winter Wolf Castle - but until the real goal was achieved, the Winter Wolf Castle army was still a good card.

"I understand your concerns about this - but you can rest assured that Cecil has never intended to occupy the land of neighboring countries," said Gao Wen slowly. "Our occupation of the Winter Wolf Castle was initially due to the situation. You also know that at that time, the army of Tifeng was out of control and your command system was in chaos. We had to avoid the spread of war on our own land, so we had to push the front forward. But now that the war has ended, the land that already belonged to Tifeng must be repaid, but... we also have our own difficulties.

"In the battle of the Winter Fort, not only Tifeng suffered heavy losses, but Cecil's armored legion was also attacked violently after entering the attack range of the God of War. We lost two light armored trains and one main armored train. The losses of various main combat vehicles were countless. In addition, there were heavy artillery paralyzed on the battlefield and countless wounded soldiers... We cannot throw all this away on the battlefield.

"We want to transport heavy weapons back to China, but the railway line to Changfeng Fortress has been completely blown up, and it will take a long time to repair it. The wounded also need care. Many of them are seriously injured and cannot withstand the long-distance bumps. In addition, the railway line is interrupted, they have to stay in the Winter Wolf Castle. To be honest, I am more anxious than you to take them home, but I can't let the injured return to Changfeng Fortress on foot..."

Rosetta frowned. Of course he knew that what Gao Wen said was an excuse--these words might be true, but the truth could be mixed with a lot of water, but he still asked in this direction: "Then what you mean..."

"When we repair the main railway line and when the wounded can move to the rear, my army will immediately withdraw from the Winter Wolf area," said Gao Wen. "In fact, you should know that I have let most of the local troops evacuate, and the units that can be transferred have left. The rest... are not evacuated overnight."

"So how long will this process take?" Matilda looked at Gao Wen, "One month? Or a year? Or longer?"

"I can only say as soon as possible," Gao Wen spread his hands, "but many factors are not something I can control."

Rosetta looked at Gao Wen's eyes and looked for a long time before suddenly breaking the silence: "We actually don't need to bargain for too long on such a huge amount of moisture, right? We are not here to polish our lips and tongue today-"

As he said, he adjusted his sitting posture and looked at Gao Wen with a more serious attitude: "We each rule a powerful empire. If it weren't for the special circumstances, we wouldn't even have to meet in person. If we were just to argue about the ownership of a fortress, our diplomats could complete all negotiations, but now you and I have come in person, sitting here face to face, I hope we can talk more with heart. Without considering any diplomatic rhetoric, no suggestive metaphors, openly and straightforwardly - it's a disadvantage to mention moral integrity in this matter, so you can mention your conditions, what do you want?"

It was not until this time that Gao Wen finally showed a real smile, and then he sighed and made himself sit more comfortable: "So you should have said this earlier, instead of taking out the matter of Winter Wolf Castle for a test first. Since this has been said, I will talk about my thoughts - Amber."

As soon as he finished speaking, Amber on the side had already taken out a folded map. After putting the map on the coffee table and spreading it out, a partial picture of the northeastern region of Loren Continent was presented to everyone.

The moment he saw the map, Rosetta's pupils shrank significantly, but what he noticed was not any sign on the map, but the astonishing accuracy of the map and the specific description of the large number of islands and coasts in the coastal areas, especially the latter - some coastal islands that no one knows and the unmanned coastline that local residents may not necessarily know are clearly outlined. The information revealed in these details is enough to alert him.

While Rosetta's attention was attracted by the map, Gao Wen's fingers were already pointing to a certain location connected to the borders of Tifon and Cecil.

"As far as I know, Tifeng calls this place the same," he pressed his fingers on the map, and his eyes looked at Emperor Tifeng in front of him. "I will build a port here - to serve as a northeastern node for the continental route. In addition, in order to provide necessary maritime protection and turbulence warning for the Lofeng Fjord, I also need to set up some strongholds in the coastal areas outside the port... In short, I want these islands."

The room was quiet.

Rosetta Augustus' expression was as quiet as a deep pool, and Matilda, who was beside him, took a light breath. At this moment, it seemed as if a cold wind blew across the surrounding space, and the air at the scene even became stagnant as if it were any substance. At the same time, a name appeared in Rosetta and Matilda's hearts at the same time--

Winter number.

The terrifying steel warship still lingers in the offshore area of ​​the eastern part of Winter Fort. It has been there for a long time and there is no sign of returning. It is like a nail, nailed firmly on the edge of the coastline of the Tifeng Empire.

I see.

Gao Wen didn't say anything, and waited patiently for Rosetta's answer. His expression had never changed much, so that others could not tell whether he was confident or full of complacent at this moment. The silence in the room continued for a long time in this confrontation state, until Rosetta suddenly raised his head, and his dark eyes were frozen in the will of ice: "Tifeng cannot accept it."

"You have to think clearly," Gao Wen's face did not look surprised at all. He just said patiently and calmly, "I have not asked for your coastline, no land, or even your offshore waters - what I have asked for is the island group outside the southern coast of the Long Fjord, which is close to the area dominated by storm turbulence, and is not within your territory."

"Tifeng can permanently give up its territorial claim on the Dragon Fjord - it is a disputed area, but we can admit that it belongs to Cecil, but those islands... they are on Tifeng's side," Rosetta said firmly. "This has nothing to do with whether it is located in the offshore waters. Even those islands that penetrate deep into the violent oceans are still on Tifeng's territory."

"The endless ocean is vast and boundless. The people of Tifeng cannot spread their control areas infinitely to the sea - those islands have no belonging. This is factual and will not change just because you paint them on the map," Gao Wen said without giving in. "We can let those islands play their due role, which is better than allowing them to continue to receive wind and rain erosion on the sea."

At this moment, Matilda, who was sitting aside, suddenly said, "What if those islands belong to?"

Gao Wen frowned: "What are you referring to?"

"I think you should have a way to contact that warship at any time, right?" Matilda looked at Gao Wen's eyes, "Why not confirm it with your own eyes?"

Gao Wen had already vaguely realized something. He looked at Rosetta and Matilda deeply and said in a deep voice: "It seems... we will continue to talk about some things tomorrow."

...

In the boundless ocean, a towering and huge steel warship was floating quietly on the sea under the night sky. The waves kept surging around. The sea breeze from the southeast direction hit the steel guardrail on the side of the warship. However, this most powerful warship in history only swayed slightly, calm like a hill.

Byron stood on a high platform on the front deck, looking at the sea in the distance with some boredom, but he could not see anything except the undulating waves near and slightly lit ups and downs under the starlight.

The Winter Hot has already left the land far away. At this distance, you can't see anything even during the day, let alone at night.

The ship has been floating on the ocean for a long time, and the soldiers have lived on the ocean for a long time. This is probably the longest experience of human beings in the ocean since the second pioneering (the experience of a legendary explorer drifting on the sea does not count). After experiencing the initial adaptation period, life on the sea became boring, and even Byron began to miss the days on land a little, but the strict military discipline still played a role on the ship. The well-trained sailors planned their well-organized life as if they were on the shore, and at the same time they had accumulated valuable experience in the past period.

Experience in performing long-term ocean missions, experience in maintaining ship machinery at sea, experience in maritime environment and response plans... These things are extremely valuable technical accumulation and are also essential first-hand information for further construction of naval forces in the future. Although Byron led his soldiers to perform many simulation exercises in the offshore area before this mission, no matter how real the simulation exercises are, they are ultimately real and reliable without practical experience.

While collecting and accumulating these valuable materials, Byron also performed an important task that he had delivered to himself: monitoring the coastline of the Tifeng people and waiting for orders from behind at any time.

The soldiers on this ship all knew the significance of doing this: as a steel fortress floating on the ocean, as long as the Winter Hot is floating here, it can create enough deterrence to the Tifeng people.

Just then, a sound of footsteps suddenly came from behind. Byron turned his head and saw a lower-level officer walking onto the platform.

"General, I received the secret order," the officer quickly came to Byron, and after saluting, he said with a serious look, "The superior ordered us to move southeast immediately and investigate the situation of the three islands and reefs, H-6, H-9 and H-12."

...

Accompanied by a slight buzzing sound, a lightweight Dragoon aircraft specially modified for reconnaissance missions soared from the circular platform at the tail of the cold winter and flew into the distance in the night.

The undulating sea surface and low-altitude mist retreated rapidly in his field of view. With the assistance of the observation lens with night vision and Hawkeye enchantment, the distant scene was clearly presented to the air detective. The young scout stared at the situation on the sea. After flying for a while, some things different from the sea water finally appeared in his field of view, as well as a small light source that seemed to be extinguished at any time.

There was the first island and reef he was responsible for reconnaissance - a bare stone was soaked in the cold and bone-blooded sea water. This deserted "island" was even rare, but a little tenacious fire rose on the island, illuminating the entire island and reef and the nearby sea surface.

A simple tent stood in the cold sea breeze, and two sentries holding short staff stood in front of the simple tent. They stared alertly at the sea in the distance, and behind the sentry, above the tent, the flag of the Tifeng Empire was fluttering in the wind in the dark.

On the distant sea level, a little bit of the rising sun glow has slowly faded along the undulating waves.

In the bridge of the Winter, Byron was sitting on the captain's seat with a stern face, while the communications soldier reported the information sent by the scouts in front of the magic network terminal:

"The sentries and flags of Tifeng people were found on the islands and reefs of H-6, H-9 and H-12. Those that seem to have been set up recently... No Tifeng people's warships were found nearby..."

"General," said an officer standing next to Byron, bowing his head hesitantly, "those 'outposts' are fragile, but we may not..."

"It's not 'I'm afraid', it's 'absolute'," Byron sighed. "We must not attack, even if the tents and flags are pushed down..."

He shook his head and raised his gaze. His eyes passed the window on the side of the bridge and looked at the wide deck outside - the huge rainbow light generator crouched on the deck like a giant beast, and there were also sub-cannons of large and small guards next to the terrifying main gun. The magic wings of the battleship extended from one side. Under the starlight that had gradually begun to fade, the rune array on the wings was wandering with dim light.

This ship can destroy strong fortresses, sink warships from the old era, sweep the fortifications and bunkers on the coast, and even execute the weak true gods-

But it cannot knock out "outposts" with only two or three sentries and a tent.

"Report to the upper hand," Byron sighed again, "Leave this matter to His Majesty for judgment."
Chapter completed!