Genshin Impact: Towards Godhood

Rama never considered the possibility of failure.

In diplomacy, the main force isn't really the envoy's rhetoric. Skilled diplomats, akin to the strategists of ancient alliances, are always a minority. These are people who can achieve great things with a mix of personal talent and a bit of national power.

But such individuals are rare. When a country's weak, yet still manages to hold a strong position at the negotiation table, convincing a nation's nobles that you're right and they should follow your lead—such diplomats are rare indeed.

Most diplomacy is actually built on the foundation of national strength.

When a country is strong, diplomacy becomes much simpler and more straightforward.

When a country is weak, eloquence and argumentation are of little use.

Tadhla isn't a persuasive envoy. She's excellent at hunting down enemies but falls short when it comes to reasoning and presenting facts.

But Candace is a smart person.

She would refuse Lumine because Lumine's stance isn't forceful, and besides, their plan doesn't necessarily require her involvement.

But she wouldn't refuse Rama.

Lumine is an individual, whereas Rama is on the verge of becoming the king of the desert.

"It's really not easy to meet you."

Dori clicked her tongue in amazement. "I never imagined you could accomplish so much in such a short time."

She said somewhat ruefully, "With things as they are, the chips I brought aren't enough."

Before coming here, Dori was merely curious and willing to waste a bit of time.

One's time is valuable, but rarely is it so valuable that any delay is completely intolerable.

Interested, thinking it might be an investment opportunity, she decided to come.

Dori brought her camel beast caravan, and the most she prepared for was trade with a tribe.

Considering Dori's business scale, she was ready for the possibility of a failed investment.

Regardless, she could afford both success and failure.

When you have the margin for trial and error, many things become simpler.

Not wanting to lose and not being able to lose are two different scenarios.

Dori looked at Rama, unable to suppress a sigh.

Things weren't like this before she came.

Halfway through the caravan's journey, she heard about the major actions of the Tanit tribe.

Dori excitedly urged the caravan to quicken their pace.

Such small-scale wars could allow many goods to be sold at higher prices. If Tanit won, there would also be war spoils to dispose of.

Strictly speaking, Dori wasn't in dire need of this extra Mora, but her nature was such that if there was money to be made, she'd take it seriously, no matter the amount.

The only thing she didn't expect was that the caravan couldn't keep up with the speed of Tanit's military advances.

It was unbelievable!

These tribal people could kill faster than her camel beasts could travel. By the time she arrived at the tribe, Tanit had already swept away all the opposition in the desert.

The remaining tribes surrendered without resistance.

"How could it not be enough?" Rama sized up Dori. "Your wealth may not be with you, but just being rich is a valuable chip."

"You have your eyes on my assets... that's not really a problem." The little merchant's smile was enthusiastic. "But if it's business, please pardon my boldness."

Dori spoke earnestly, "What can you offer in exchange?"

"You've lived in the rainforest for a long time, so you must understand that wealth alone is far from enough."

Rama's words were calm. "If you were in Liyue, the wealth from legitimate business could make you one of the Qixing."

"Power is greater than wealth, but in Sumeru, you can't obtain these things."

Leaving a country in the hands of merchants can only be said to work because Morax hasn't died yet.

He isn't dead; whoever he hands power to, the results are the same.

If you knew a god was watching you, ready to step in if you faltered, you would also tremble in fear and serve Liyue's people diligently.

Do you want to seek personal gain?

Look at the celestial beings and gods above you.

He's merely wandering the mortal world but hasn't left Liyue.

The Qixing know he's alive, and the immortals do too. Under these circumstances, no Qixing would dare to test whether he could detect their little tricks.

Sumeru, however, is entirely different from Liyue.

"Liyue's Qixing..." Dori's eyes showed a hint of envy. "Well, there's nothing to argue about."

As an expert in business, she knew that compared to a merchant's methods, power could extract Mora much faster.

In Liyue, where merchants can enter the upper echelons, Dori couldn't help but be envious.

There's no need to play tricks. If the power you wield can influence some law-making, you don't need underhanded tactics to amass wealth.

"Sumeru is a society of scholars. You're not a scholar, nor qualified to integrate into their system."

Rama recalled briefly, "Under normal circumstances, you should use Mora to cultivate your own scholars and then lead them into the Akademiya."

"By continually providing them with academic resources through Mora, you support them in rising to high positions in the Akademiya."

"And once they succeed, their power will feed back into your wealth."

That should be the normal approach.

If wealth can't directly enter the power system, then use it to cultivate those who can.

This method was used by the ancient landlord class and the Fatui in Teyvat.

Because he had no Mora.

Without Mora, accomplishing things is tough.

In the same task, if you have the ability but no money, you must form alliances and explain benefits to allies to get their funding.

But if you have money, you can directly buy achievements, and your family will support you without question.

Liyue supports this logic, but Rama's wallet didn't.

The Fatui provided him with Mora and connections. With Rama's ability and status, it was easy to give him a significant political resource. With achievements, he had a chance to climb higher.

Accepting investment wasn't a big problem. Rama stumbled at the "audit" step.

At that time, the Fatui were already Liyue's official enemies. Merchants and officials accepting their investments couldn't pass the audit.

Rama glanced at Dori.

Dori probably attempted such things, understanding the value a high-ranking Akademiya scholar could bring.

But she couldn't achieve it.

She hadn't been a big merchant for long enough, and there wasn't time to cultivate loyal scholars.

Sumeru's unique scholar society ensures top scholars generally don't lack academic resources, and those needing external Mora for experiments are usually deemed less competent.

Finding a gem among rubble is extremely difficult.

(End of the chapter)