There is a reason why Sharlayan left the spring-like Eversong Forest and came to the ice-covered Alterac. He had three goals to achieve during this trip.
The first is to find the whereabouts of Meri Dongfeng and bring back this lich who has been fishing for many years to start work again.
The second is to uncover the secrets left by Emperor Thoradin.
The third is to assist Alterac in restoring its kingdom and drive a nail into Lordaeron's butt in order to divert Terenas' attention and allow Quel'Thalas, which is in the throes of reform, to have more opportunities. Plenty of time to complete the final preparations before entering high-speed development.
Today, goals one and two have been achieved, and Sarlayan has focused most of his energy on the third goal.
Quel'Thalas needs someone to contain Lordaeron, but it doesn't want this containment force to be too strong and out of control, allowing them to expand to the point of eating the weakening Lordaeron alive.
As the saying goes, a skinny camel is bigger than a horse.
As Terenas becomes more and more old and stubborn, and the new generation of heirs has not yet grown up, Lordaeron's national power is undoubtedly slowly declining.
There are many reasons for the decline of Lordaeron's national power, such as Terenas's poor decision-making in hastily challenging Quel'Thalas, the increasing expenses of orc shelters year after year, the hostility of surrounding countries and the interruption of trade, etc., which cannot be generalized.
Even so, Lordaeron still retains a strong enough military strength. Once the anti-Lordaeron alliance and the desperately resisting Lordaeron come to blows... that scene is definitely not what Quel'Thalas wants to see.
The development of Quel'Thalas requires a relatively stable development environment. The fundamental purpose of diverting Lordaeron's attention is this, and we cannot put the cart before the horse.
Seeing that the situation was at risk of getting out of control, Sarlayan planned to use his connections as much as possible to control the situation so that the two sides, who already had profound historical conflicts, would not sink deeper into the battlefield.
The Barov family started out in business. Businessmen have always valued peace, and they do not want this local war to expand blindly.
After listening to Thalayan's detailed explanation, Alex decided without hesitation to stand with him...or Quel'Thalas, and try to mediate this war that was gradually getting out of control.
As Sharlayan said before, Terenas is now like a gambler who has lost his sights. He is eager to rebuild his prestige with the help of Alterac's counterinsurgency battle, and even takes the risk to destroy Lordaeron's kingdom. The national destiny is on the gambling table.
His desperate decision was not in the interests of all Lordaeron's top leaders. If Terenas continued to act arbitrarily, it would most likely trigger a strong backlash from the nobles and ministers.
This is also true. Even neutral lords like Mayor Matthew of Andorhal who favor the royal family are beginning to feel dissatisfied. The rising opposition in the Royal City of Lordaeron will definitely become stronger.
With years of accumulated prestige, Terenas can still control the situation for the time being.
But his physical condition is a dangerous time bomb, and now he has to rely on the assistance of Princess Calia even to read the memorial.
No one can guarantee when the old king will fall ill in bed due to overwork.
Terenas also tried his best to avoid this situation. In order to keep his body as warm as possible, he who always refused to let go of power was actually willing to give part of the governing power to his daughter, who had never received political education.
Sarlayan: "Actually, Terenas' mentality is easy to understand. As he entered his later years, he became more stubborn and suspicious. He even worried that his children would take advantage of his illness to seize power."
"The Prince of Alsace, who was ordered to shut himself up and reflect on his past, is a typical example."
"It is true that Arthas did make some stupid decisions when he was supervising the country, but in the final analysis, it was because Terenas did not pay enough attention to training successors."
"Alsace, who has the right to inherit the throne, was put under house arrest in disguise, and Princess Calia, who had always played the role of a vase, was pushed out. It was precisely because Terenas believed that his vase daughter could not threaten his status."
"But...is that really the case?"
Sarlayan turned over the letter of intent for peace talks handed over by Alex, and his meaningful eyes fell on the white rose pattern deliberately drawn on the back of the letter.
"Alex, if I remember correctly, the rose is the national flower of the Kingdom of Lordaeron, right?"
Alex nodded thoughtfully: "Yes, the rose is also the main image on the Menethil family emblem."
"However, the royal family of Menethil only uses pink roses in public. This kind of white rose mark... has never been seen before."
"Ha~"
Sarlayan pointedly flicked the letter paper exuding an elegant fragrance with his fingers: "Is there a possibility that this letter of intent for peace talks secretly represents the intention of a certain member of the Menethil royal family?"
Alex is not a political novice, and his expression immediately changed when Sarlayan reminded him.
"You mean...Princess Calia?"
"That's right."
Sarlayan sat up straight and said solemnly: "Only members of the Menethil royal family are qualified to use the national flower rose as a personal symbol."
"Terenas has been in office for more than 40 years. It is known that he likes pink roses, so...there must be someone else who drew the white rose symbol."
"Arthas is still under house arrest in his palace, and according to my understanding, the Crown Prince of Lordaeron likes yellow roses, not white ones."
This information came from Jaina. Arthas had given her bouquets of yellow roses many times when he was stalking her in Dalaran.
Sarlayan was not interested in the language of flowers or anything like that, and did not intend to delve into Alsace's intention of sending flowers. He only needed to know that the crown prince liked yellow roses. It was enough.
Alex pondered and touched his chin: "The Queen of Lordaeron died young, and Terenas never renewed her marriage. Since it's not Terenas himself and Prince Arthas, only that one has been regarded as the marriage partner. Princess Calia was raised in a vase, right?"
"Haha~" Sarlayan smiled meaningfully: "It seems that Her Royal Highness the Princess is not willing to be used as a marriage tool, and has her own plan in mind."
"Terenas, as a father, really failed. He failed to see clearly the true nature of his child."
Alex felt that there was something in Sarlayan's words, and it seemed that this sentence was not just directed at Princess Calia, but he knew enough not to delve deeper.
After some discussion, Alex made a decision.
He will use the communication channel established by Alex to continue to maintain contact with Andorhal, expressing the Barov family's position in this war and the same desire for peace.
The seeds have been planted. In barrage terms, Sarlayan has to let the bullets fly for a while.
When the Lordaeron peace faction can no longer tolerate Terenas' arbitrary actions, it will be natural for heavyweights to come to Andorhal in person to communicate with the Barov family in depth.
…
On the other side, Valeera mounted her horse and quickly returned to Stannblad, the temporary capital of the Kingdom of Alterac.
After secretly taking out Trollbane's battle ax, Merry went into seclusion again and worked hard to study the structure and principles of this artifact battle ax.
Before Merry went into seclusion, he told Tinargosa about his goal. He planned to solidify Trollbane's battle ax at the level of an artifact, instead of only getting a temporary upgrade when facing trolls.
In this regard, Meili appeared quite confident and seemed to have a plan in mind.
Valeela lacked research on the academic theory of arcana and did not intend to get involved in depth. After all, there are specialties in magic.
The arcane expert in Sarlayan's team did not follow. Tina was barely an expert in the fracture version, and she couldn't understand Merry's intentions.
Since she can't figure it out yet, Valeela doesn't plan to continue exploring. She will find out after Meili comes out of seclusion.
After Tinagosa obtained Sharlayan's letter, she immediately teleported it back to Unicorn Town.
After being relayed by Little Star, the encrypted letter was delivered to the Sun King who was still staying up late at 1 a.m. that day.
"Is there a risk of the war expanding..."
In his letter, Sarlayan clearly mentioned his mistake. He misjudged the strength of other human kingdoms' bottoming out after long-term oppression.
Kael'thas didn't care.
No one is perfect, and no one can 100% guarantee that he will never make mistakes.
Moreover, hatred, an emotional thing, does not have a clear scale. It is difficult to conduct statistical analysis on it, and it is not surprising that there are deviations.
Sharlayan mentioned in the letter that he hopes Quel'Thalas can officially call on both warring parties to exercise restraint to avoid further expansion of the war and affect Quel'Thalas' original intention of peaceful development.
This dry statement will not have any substantive effect, but it can indicate to the outside world a subtle change in Quel'Thalas' position.
Salayan believes that countries related to this war should be able to read some profound meanings from it.
Kael'thas pondered for a moment, and the royal advisers were still urging him to go to bed as soon as possible and take good care of his body.
"This is the last job of the day."
Kael'thas stamped Sharlayan's letter with the Sun King's exclusive seal and delivered it to one of his most trusted advisors.
"No need to persuade me, I'm going to rest now. There won't be a court meeting tomorrow, so I can sleep a little longer."
"Kevin, please remember to hand this letter to the ministers after the cabinet opens and let them vote on the proposals in the letter."
"yes!"
