"On another occasion, a merchant who claimed to represent multiple kingdoms approached me and told me that he had a large amount of grain that he could supply to us."
"I sent someone to negotiate with him, only to find out that the price was ten times the market price!"
“Brother Pharaoh, you may not know this, but at that time, the price of grain in the Inca market was already twenty times higher than before.”
"According to what you said, even one German gold coin and this merchant couldn't buy grain, not even a handful of wheat like this!"
As he spoke, Pachakutek made a gesture of clenching his hands.
Lin Ke nodded, his brows furrowing slightly. What Pachakutek said made Lin Ke realize that developing agriculture was indeed the most important thing.
After all, ensuring that everyone has enough to eat and no longer goes hungry is the most basic and important thing.
Everything else—development, population, technology, whatever it may be—must be built upon this foundation.
Otherwise, you'll end up like Pachakutk, constantly at the mercy of others.
At this point, Pachakutk spoke again.
When I questioned him, the merchant bluntly stated: "This isn't just about the price of grain, it also includes a protection fee for the grain. After all, without our protection, do you think the grain could safely reach your country?"
At this point, Pachakutk's expression became even more serious.
"What pained me most was that I raised the issue of food shortages in the Inca with some leaders of neighboring civilizations, hoping they could lend a helping hand."
"After all, we have always maintained a pretty good trade relationship."
"But after I expressed my need for help, I received indifference and ridicule instead of sympathy and support."
"A fat island lord actually told me openly: 'Famine? That's because you don't know how to do business! If every civilization needed aid, the world would have collapsed long ago!'"
"Another person privately advised me: 'Close the borders and let the people weed out themselves; that's how your country will become stronger.'"
"So, Brother Pharaoh! Those guys don't care about the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives; they only care about whether their own interests will be affected!"
"In fact, I later learned that they wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to greatly weaken our Inca civilization through famine, so that they could secretly look for an opportunity to defeat us in one fell swoop!"
Pachakutk swallowed hard, but he continued talking.
“Some civilization leaders even proposed a ‘food-for-territory’ deal, demanding that we cede the most fertile land in the east in order to obtain enough food to last a year.”
"When I refused, they threatened to cut off all trade."
When Pachakutek talked about these "old and new grudges," he could no longer sit calmly.
He stood up and paced back and forth, his emotions growing increasingly agitated.
"That's right, Brother Pharaoh, and the people from the World Conference!"
"And those so-called 'relief organizations' at the World Conference!"
“Those guys are wearing a mask of hypocrisy, promising to distribute food for free.”
"But in reality, for every bag of food distributed, ten bags of gold ore were taken away!"
"They forced starving people to sign unequal contracts, exchanging a few months' worth of food for their right to lifelong enslavement!"
Upon hearing this, Nan Tong's expression turned slightly angry.
Lin Ke's expression remained unchanged; he still maintained that slightly furrowed brow.
“Once, a mysterious organization contacted us and told me that they had advanced agricultural technology that could help us increase our yield.”
“I sent people there with high hopes to negotiate, only to find that the so-called ‘technology transfer’ actually required us to promote their crops nationwide and pay ‘seed usage fees’ every year!”
“What’s even more frightening is that we can’t save this crop for seed at all, so we have to buy it from them every year!”
"And their prices are several times higher than the grain prices of previous years!"
"No matter what I choose, the result will be the same!"
"Brother Pharaoh!"
As Pachakutek finished speaking, his gaze returned to Lin Ke's face.
"Tell me, if anyone had experienced what I just said, how would they react after hearing that you're buying two tons of grain with ten Deben gold coins?"
"That's why I'm so excited, Brother Pharaoh!"
“Look, Brother Pharaoh! Look at all this food of yours, made from such fine crops!”
"Your food is several times the quality of theirs, but the price is less than a tenth of theirs!"
Pachakutek then picked up the half-bread on the table, tore off a small piece, and stuffed it into his mouth.
"Therefore, after experiencing countless deceptions and betrayals, I no longer believe that any civilization would genuinely help others!"
"I had prepared for the worst, and even thought about how to compromise and how to obtain food at the World Conference while sacrificing the fewest rights."
“But Brother Pharaoh! You have offered such a price, a fair price that even I find unbelievable!”
"oh--"
Pachakutk's emotions started to become unstable again. Lin Ke couldn't imagine how many times this guy had been tricked in the past.
Even Pachakutk himself probably couldn't figure it out.
“You didn’t ask for any special privileges, you didn’t impose any conditions, and you didn’t even ask for much of the most basic profit!”
"In all my years of experience, this is something I've never heard of before!"
Pachakutek choked up again, while the servants behind him looked at Link with the eyes of someone looking up at a god.
"You remind me of a traveling merchant I met many years ago when I was still a prince!"
He once told me that there are two kinds of leaders in the world.
"One is to sow in order to reap, and the other is to sow in order to reap."
"The former focuses on immediate gains and losses, while the latter focuses on long-term win-win cooperation."
"Today, I finally understand the meaning of this sentence."
"Because I met a different kind of leader, a leader I had never met before!"
"I originally thought that such a person might not exist..."
Upon hearing this, everyone in Holy Egypt cast admiring glances at Lin Ke.
Lin Ke merely glanced at him out of the corner of his eye, maintaining his previous expression.
"Brother Pharaoh! You are not only a monarch, but also a true sage!"
What you are seeing is not a temporary gain or loss, but a lasting friendship and common development between civilizations!
"In today's world conference, filled with scheming and deception, your actions are like a dazzling ray of light, dispelling that stinking corner!"
As Lin Ke listened to the other person's increasingly loud voice, she couldn't help but swallow hard.
After all, even in Holy Egypt, he rarely encountered anyone who could praise him so eloquently.
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