Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1065 1047. Appeasement
Appeasement policy.

In Lan's home world, this refers to the situation on the eve of World War II, when countries represented by Britain did not stop or curb the increasingly violent aggressive activities in the world.

The act of standing idly by or even lending a helping hand to the aggressors with the intention of reaching an agreement after helping.

It was not until the end, when these aggressive actions had spread like wildfire and even endangered the countries that had implemented the policy of appeasement, that these countries began to mobilize resistance as if they had just opened their eyes and saw the atrocities of the invaders.

World War II officially begins.

Lan has a good foundation in history, and these contents are also compulsory knowledge of world history in his education process.

The causes of the appeasement policy are complex and profound, but they can be traced back to three major directions.

After experiencing the First World War, because so many people died in the countries involved in the war, every citizen still remembered the tragic past, so there was an overall fear and no one dared to face war.

Moreover, the world economy was at a great low at that time, and the weakness of the domestic economy also made war, a money-consuming activity, less easy to carry out.

Moreover, the countries that implemented the appeasement policy at that time always had an optimistic estimate of the enemy's threat. Or in order to avoid war, they forced themselves to believe in those optimistic estimates.

Believe that the enemy's ambitions are not too big: after taking advantage of a lot of benefits, they will wisely stop.

I think the enemy is not very courageous: they should feel guilty after gaining so many benefits under the watchful eyes of other countries.

He believed that the enemy's strength would not be too strong: after all, the enemy was the losing side in the last World War, and the cost of the defeat would almost certainly make it impossible for him to recover forever.

There are also various optimistic estimates.

When applied to Saruman in front of us, these characteristics are extremely obvious.

Sauron was the dark enemy of Middle-earth, and the battle in which he was defeated was called the 'Battle of the Last Alliance'.

This is enough to show how determined the light camp was to fight this battle.

Although Lan En did not know more about this battle, it was enough for him to imagine how cruel it was.

Participants and witnesses of the war must have been terrified.

They don't want such a brutal war to happen again, and this psychological subconscious escape is understandable.

Saruman does not have to worry too much about economic issues, but his contempt for Sauron is even more serious than the optimism of a country that implements a policy of appeasement.

Because he gives people a naturally domineering feeling, coupled with his own powerful strength.
Arrogance from such a person is to be expected.

In his eyes, Sauron was a lost cause. What was there for a loser to care about or make a fuss about?
'To sum it up,' Lann complained to Mentos in his head, 'I think you should transfer your British accent to Saruman. He's too British!'

The biological intelligent brain can only respond with a string of ellipsis to the subject.

'.'

"Okay!" Saruman completely understood what Lan meant. He tapped the stone table with his knuckles with an expressionless face.

"I suppose our young agent of Radagast is saying that we deceive ourselves into believing that the Dark Lord does not exist because we are afraid to face him?"

"Please allow me to restate my words more carefully." Lan En said, choosing his words carefully.

In important meetings, it is important not to let others misinterpret your meaning.

"I don't think you are afraid of fighting. I just want to say that it is too passive and unwise to put your hopes on the enemy not being strong enough or not having recovered yet."

"Is it wise to form a dwarven expedition?"

Saruman retorted bluntly.

"Risking the dragon to help the dwarves restore their country, huh? When you could have slowly weakened the leaderless dark forces, why do you have to force them into a corner and gather them together for a battle?"

Saruman's lips twitched under his hooked nose, and it seemed that he wanted to say something.

But before he could open his mouth, there was the sound of light and hurried footsteps on the stairs.

Lindir, the steward of Rivendell, walked onto the meeting platform with an anxious look but still gracefully.

Everyone's eyes were focused on him at this moment.

But the elf just bowed his head and said: "Those dwarves, my lord"

"What happened to the dwarf?"

Elrond asked his steward.

Lindir's face showed a bit of embarrassment, as if he had done something wrong, and these expressions were very rare on elves.

"They, they're gone!"

The scene was silent for a while, and finally Elrond waved his hand and asked his steward to go down.

"The fire of hope ignited by someone with ulterior motives"

Saruman looked unhappy, and looked at Gandalf and Lann meaningfully, then he shook his robe and stood up.

"This kind of inexplicable hope is often fatal. If they had consulted me before they set out, I would never have let them think that they could succeed."

"Yes." Lan En said with his arms folded across his chest. "Let the dragon continue to sleep in the Lonely Mountain. Maybe it will die in its sleep."

Saruman ignored Lan's words and walked away first.

Originally, this meeting was to discuss how to deal with the dwarves' expedition team.

The reason why this small team of 14 people convened the White Council was because of the existence of the dragon and the important geographical location of the Lonely Mountain. The Lonely Mountain was located in the north of Middle-earth, dividing the evil forces in the northeast and the Kingdom of Angmar, which had been defeated before.

This prevents the evil forces from uniting and supporting each other, and provides a foundation for the strategic layout of the entire northern Middle-earth continent.

And once the evil dragon in Lonely Mountain really reaches a cooperation with those evil forces, the entire northern part of the continent will fall.

The legal basis for Thorin's restoration of his country is impeccable, so even if he wants to stop it, he must be convincing. If he uses force without reason, then who is the evil party?
Will good people be able to come together and work together in the future?
Before the dwarf left, there was room for discussion, but now that he had left, blocking him halfway was like using force.

Elrond is not such a person, he has a noble character. And even if they consider the overall situation, they cannot stop Thorin's team.

"I always feel like Saruman doesn't like you."

After the figure of the white-robed wizard completely disappeared under the stairs, the young witcher complained to Gandalf.

"He's always like this? How do you endure it?"

The gray-robed wizard smiled carefreely.

"It's all for a bright future, so please bear with me."

Seeing Elrond also walking down the stairs, Lan raised his eyebrows at Gandalf.

"You knew they were gone?"

"I don't dispute that."

Gandalf smiled slightly sheepishly.

The demon hunter understood that this old guy was probably holding a meeting here to delay time.

"Lady Galadriel felt it too, didn't she?"

Gandalf complimented the Elf Queen as she stood under the arch at the edge of the platform, looking out at the dawn.

Now there are only three of them left on the platform.

The moonlight has disappeared, leaving only the warm and soft golden sunlight shining on the mountains and woods.

"I approve of Thorin Oakenshield's expedition to restore his country."

The Elf Queen looked at Lann and Gandalf with a smile. Her soft voice, though soft, naturally drowned out the noise of the waterfall.

"But I am indeed worried that this action to retake Lonely Mountain will stimulate those forces lurking in the dark."

"They have been quietly accumulating strength since the war. For example, the Blade of Morgul should never have seen the light of day again."

Gandalf nodded solemnly.

"But why did you bring Bilbo into this, Gandalf?"

Lan En asked with a frown beside him.

"Hobbits are weak and helpless. You said you needed a master thief, but Hobbits have nothing but their own unique talents and the most important experience and skills. This is too dangerous for Bilbo, Gandalf."

"Do you really believe that Bilbo can trick the dragon?"

Gandalf's eyes showed deep thought.

"Do I trust Bilbo? To be honest I don't know, Lann, and Lady Galadriel."

"But Saruman believes that only great power can suppress evil. I do not agree with this idea."

"Where does the righteous force that can fight against evil come from? It can only come from the ordinary people. When their little contributions in daily life come together, they form a force that can defeat evil."

The gray-robed wizard's voice was low, not passionate, nor confident, he just stated his ideas calmly.

But it is precisely because of this plainness that it shows that this is an unshakable belief in his heart.

Just like the dawn sunshine shining on him, it exists forever.

"People raise their offspring with love, and heroes are born from countless offspring. These heroes inspired by kindness and love will bring more goodness. The cycle of cause and effect is the key to goodwill curbing darkness."

“Is the kindness of small people worthless?”

"Do not."

Gandalf shook his head.

"Why did I choose a hobbit? Bilbo Baggins?"

"Because the darkness frightened me, but this little hobbit gave me courage!"

Lan pursed his lips and looked at Gandalf. After a long time, he exhaled, shook his head, and walked down the stairs.

"Then you'd better take good care of 'your courage', Gandalf. The fluff-ball is already friends with Bilbo. It would be very sad if anything happened to it."

"Of course, of course! After all, you have a heart of stone, right? Only the kitten is sad."

Gandalf smiled teasingly, then prepared to turn around and leave, he was going to chase the dwarf expedition.

Without his help, it is hard to imagine what trouble these dwarves could get into in the dangerous wilderness.

(End of this chapter)