Realm of Power

"What's going on?" Little Emperor Gangfei was awakened by the noise coming from outside. He stood at the gate wearing a thick fox fur cloak. He looked at the sky with childish eyes, and there was unconcealable worry on his face. , tap tap" There was a sound of tiny footsteps from below, Marcos, the undersecretary of the Congolese Military Affairs Department who was in charge of commanding the Guards, was hurriedly passing by with a dozen Guards officers. Marcos was fully dressed in military uniform, and his long cloak was dragged to the ground. The firelight in the corridor illuminated these officers. The armor is like flames dancing

"Is it a turmoil?" Little Emperor Gangfei held his hand on the wooden block, tried his best to suppress the shock in his heart with his eyes, and asked loudly from a high place in the palace,

"People have been sent to investigate! Your Majesty," Marcos quickly turned around and replied respectfully, "It is said that there was a conflict between the officers of the ninth legion in the city and the ministers. In order to avoid danger, his subordinates have ordered the four guards to Close the door leading to the outside. No one is allowed to open the door without His Majesty’s order. The whole army is on alert. Anyone who attacks the four guards’ garrison will be punished as a rebel!”

"Closing all roads?" The little emperor's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he continued to ask, "Doesn't that mean that my uncle, His Royal Highness Prince Dunard, is also in danger?"

"Your Majesty, don't worry. Your Majesty has a bear-control army of 1,500 people. Even if there is a small fluctuation, there will be no danger!" Marcos's eyes flashed with a complex look, and then quickly disappeared.

"Do you think I'm worried about that traitor? I'd rather he died!" The little emperor curled his lips in disdain and fiddled with the gray-white fox fur on his body with his fingers, his eyes sharp, "Don't think that I am young. I don’t know that the traitor wearing a human skin is actually a villain who wants to seize the crown on my head every moment.”

"Your Majesty is so bright-eyed!" Marcos responded.

The little emperor paused, glanced at Marcos who lowered his head and did not dare to look at him, and asked childishly, "Marcos, my deputy minister of military affairs and commander of the Imperial Guard. Tell me, if we kill all these Hateful minister, will there be problems with the operation of the empire?"

"With all due respect, Your Majesty, because of these ministers, the operation of the empire has already been full of problems! But without these ministers, the empire will collapse immediately!" Marcos' eyes were as sharp as a sword. He hesitated for a while and said word by word. , he didn’t expect the little emperor to be so direct.

Just like a child who had his toys robbed, he said viciously, "I won't play with you anymore." But Marcos also felt a little funny. The emperor was only seven years old, wasn't he just a child? But on the shoulders of this only child carries the hope of the rise of an empire.

"So, you will let them all die, right?" A trace of disappointment flashed in the little emperor's eyes

"Are they going to kill this evil thief?" The little emperor finally withdrew his gaze from a distance and turned his head. His young and slightly majestic face was red under the distant firelight. Seeing it, The young emperor did not show the fear of his peers. Was it the kind of courage shown at a critical moment? Marcos' body trembled slightly. That’s it. . . It is indeed the blood of a century-old king.”

Should I reward them? Or punish them? "The little emperor blinked and continued to ask, very dissatisfied with Marcos's hesitation.

"They are the sharp swords in His Majesty's hands and the guards who defend the empire. They will naturally eradicate the traitors for Your Majesty!"

Marcos took a deep breath and suddenly knelt down on one knee first. A dozen officers behind him knelt down on one knee in unison. He said loudly, "As a member of the imperial army, he attacked Shangguan and caused turmoil. He relied on unbridled force to achieve his goal. Although it was beneficial to the country, it was also an act of rebellion, so there was only one result!" Marcos did not continue. Go down, but the meaning is very clear. Those officers involved have only one option: death.

"What does this mean? Mr. Marcos, since it is beneficial to the country, why should we punish him?" The little emperor was stunned for a moment.

Marcos raised his head and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Your Majesty, can you please listen to me in private?"

"Forget it, I don't want to hear it." The little emperor hesitated, shook his head, and said with a formidable solemnity on his seven-year-old face, "Can you stay with me until dawn? You know, I'm always scared at night!"

"Of course, Your Majesty!" Marcos waved to the Guards behind him, and the Guards officers left. Marcos stepped onto the steps of the palace alone. In the hall, the attendants quickly lit the entire row of candles, like stars in the sky. Bright as day,

"What are you afraid of, Your Majesty?" Marcos looked around. There were so many candles that were just used for lighting. It couldn't be justified.

"Ghost!" The little emperor was wrapped in a blanket and leaned on the bench. He looked around awkwardly. "Although I know it is a bit extravagant to light so many candles when the country is in crisis, I am just a little scared. My The maid said there are ghosts here, following us all the way to the south! And only the light of candles can help them rest! And it seems like many people will die tonight, right?"

"Ghosts are just a manifestation of the cowardice in the heart," Marcos said softly.

The little emperor blinked, as if he understood what Marcos meant, took a deep breath, and asked, "Have you ever had a ghost?"

Marcos's face was very calm. He hesitated and said, "Yes, her name is Linnis."

"Is it your wife?"

"My second wife." Marcos looked very sad when he mentioned her. The little emperor could see that he wanted to know the truth. "That's all?" The blanket slipped from one of his shoulders, and he reached out to pull it up. "Is she beautiful? I heard from others that Lord Marcos's wife didn't seem to be..."

"Very beautiful." Marcos' eyes flickered. "When I first saw her, I really thought she was a goddess. At that time, my background was far less than it is now. And she is the youngest daughter of the earl of the jurisdiction area. Her family has a long history, a lot of wealth, and she is very proud. The former deputy commander of the Imperial Guard, Borasco, is her nephew."

"Borasco," the little emperor said, "I remember that Borasco was the general of the Imperial Guard who was executed because of my father's death."

"Yes, it's him. In terms of loyalty and status, the Bora family is a wealthy family in the empire, and I was just a small logistics officer at the time." Marcos agreed.

"Did your father arrange a marriage for you?"

"No," he said, "our marriage... Your Majesty. It's a long and boring story, so I'd better not talk about it."

"I have nothing to do anyway, so I'll just talk about it. Hearing about Lord Marcos's past can also make me pick up the sword called courage," the little emperor said coquettishly,

"As you wish, my majesty." Marcos frowned helplessly, "My hometown... You must know this before you can understand the rest. Although Malu Island is beautiful, it is located in a remote area. Imagine the scene. The tangled old oaks and towering ancient pines, the flowering hawthorn forest, the gray stones covered with moss, the small rivers running through the steep hills, and the water is clear. Even the halls of the noble families are built with simple garden wood and surrounded by earth fences. Except for a few tenant farmers, my people live by the sea and make a living by fishing. How harsh the winter there is. You can't imagine it. "

"Even so, I grew up there, I never lacked women, I had relationships with many fishermen and farm girls. Both before and after marriage. I got married very early, my father picked my bride, she was a girl from a small noble family in Shenlin. We were married... for about ten years, she was plain-looking. But her personality was not bad. She was my wife, although our relationship was more like fulfilling obligations than true feelings. But she still showed no regrets!"

The little emperor smiled slightly, "I feel sorry for you. Really."

Marcos nodded, "Not long after, I inherited my father's position, joined the Guards, and my status was improved. Many people have come to propose marriage, but I haven't made a final decision. The final battle of the war with the South 30 years ago was fought under the capital of the Pike people. "

"More than 100,000 troops attacked the city for eleven days, and the dead were piled on the ground like sacks."

"When the catapult broke a crack in the wall of the Pike people, a guard went in first, and I was not left behind. In the chaos, I chopped off the head of the Pike crown prince with a sword. The Pike army was in chaos. I was promoted to general because of this battle. Your grandfather, the emperor at that time, called me a lucky guy!"

"To celebrate the victory, the emperor issued an edict to hold a martial arts competition in Kyoto. That's where I met Linnis. She was only half my age at the time, and she came from other places with her father to watch her brothers compete. I couldn't take my eyes off her. On impulse, I begged her to give me a token so that I could fight for her. I didn't dare to dream that she would agree, but she agreed. "

"Although I am old, I was also a warrior who took the heads of enemy generals in an army of ten thousand people."

Markos' eyes were shining with memories. I won many competitions one after another. Lord Jester was defeated by me, and Enroyce, the 'Blue Bronze Spear', was no match for me. Lord Lai, the two pillars of the empire, and his brother Lord Ding, Lord An, the chief of staff, Rubinsak, the 'strong pig', and even Lord Persien, the captain of the emperor's personal guard at that time, were all defeated by me. In the last competition, I With your father, the late emperor, he was just an unappreciated prince at that time, brave and fierce, always causing trouble in Kyoto. I fought with him nine times, but there was no winner. In the end, the emperor thought that the prince had an advantage in participating in the competition, so he awarded the championship to me. I put the crown of love and beauty on Linnis, and was completely immersed in wine and glory.

"I got drunk that night"

Marcos' eyes were blurred, and the corners of his eyes were scattered like wrinkled skin. He said happily, "I went to propose to her father that night. I was worried that I would be rejected mercilessly, but I didn't expect that Lord Leighton agreed to the marriage. So we got married in Kyoto, and in the two weeks after the marriage, I was the happiest man in the world."

"Only two weeks? "

The little emperor was slightly stunned. What a wonderful era! It was the golden age of the empire. The two pillars of the empire, the blue bronze spear, and the chief of staff, Lord Chang'an, who was praised as the planner of the empire. Even Rubinsak, a pillar of the empire, was just a rough man with a funny nickname like "Strong Pig" at that time.

If the empire still had these famous generals, it would never fall into such a situation!

"It takes exactly two weeks to return by boat from the outer port of Kyoto. Linnis was very disappointed with my hometown. She felt that the island was too cold, too wet and too remote. My residence was just a long wooden hall. We had no masquerade, no pantomime performances, and no luxurious dinners. We had to wait for several years before a singer came to sing, and there was not even a goldsmith on the island. Every meal was a torture for her, because my chef knew very little except roasting meat and making soup, and Linnis soon got tired of the taste of fish and venison. "

"All I want in life is to see her happy, so I hired a new cook all the way from Kyoto. I also hired a harpist from the port. Goldsmith, jeweler, dressmaker, I could do whatever she wanted, but why? Not enough! Although I was promoted to a general of the Imperial Guard, it was not enough. I am a member of the front-line army in name only, so I am not rich. Apart from being rich in wild bears and timber, the island is quite short of other resources. In the end, I cannot afford the wages of so many servants, cooks and harpists. When he heard that I wanted to pawn her jewelry, he became furious."

"If I say, I even did a lot of things that I was ashamed to say, all for money, to keep Lynesse's jewelry, harpist and cook. In the end, I lost everything, my honor, my military courage , my bad reputation even spread to the Imperial Kyoto, and I was directly ordered to be removed from the list of imperial guards by the angry emperor!

"I almost became a mercenary. If I hadn't received a letter from your father, the late king who was the regional constable at the time, recruiting him as an officer. When I fought in a bloody battle on the banks of the Rio River, I was besieged by thousands of bandits. In Mengmeng When I was lying in the mud waiting for death with six stab wounds in the drizzle, the news your father brought me was:

"Lynis moved into the mansion of a wealthy man in Kyoto"

"How could she do this..." The little emperor's eyes bulged when he heard this.

"It's really a bolt from the blue! Isn't it?" Marcos smiled bitterly. "It is said that she is his most favored lover, even his wife is afraid of her." Marcos' tone was incomprehensible,

"You must be very sad!" The little emperor really didn't want to force him to continue. But he wanted to know the final outcome. The little emperor asked, "Where did she die?".

“Yes for me”

Marcos shrugged and said with an excited expression, "The wealthy family was involved in the battle for the throne half a year later. In the end, it dissipated like the wind! And I followed the horse hooves of the late emperor and once again acted as one of the six heroes who quelled the chaos. Entering Kyoto! The scenery is dazzling, and the status is much more noble than that wealthy family."

"Just like tonight, why should Your Majesty feel sad for those greedy people who have no idea of ​​the rewards behind their backs? As for the ghosts, my Majesty has been fighting for many years and has killed tens of thousands of people. Having seen what ghosts look like, and if there are real ones, no amount of candles can dispel them,

"Only your Majesty's courage can put those ghosts to rest. Just like those ministers who seek to protect themselves, if your Majesty can be firmer in the face of their alarmism, Kyoto will not give up! As a result, the morale of the military and the people are as scattered as sand, and the south The army stood still, filled with resentment.

"This turmoil can be used to correct these mistakes. Your Majesty can also use this to reshape the people's confidence in you, turn the injustice in the army into a weapon to fight the enemy, and prevent thousands of wronged souls in the Imperial Kyoto from crying! "Marcos stood up and bowed to the pensive little emperor. With a military salute, he walked silently outside the palace and raised his head. The city was already in flames. The red light illuminated half of the city. There were 6,000 people in the ninth legion in the city. As long as the imperial guards did not take action, they could control the whole city. In the wind, , there were constant cries coming from the minister's residence, as shrill as the souls of injustice in the wind.

"Sir, the Ninth Legion has begun to attack the residence of His Royal Highness Prince Dunard!" A guard officer hurried past to report,

"Are the death squads ready?" Marcos nodded slightly.

"Yes, the bravest and most loyal soldiers among the three hundred Praetorian Guards," said the officer.

"That's good!" Marcos said coldly, "Pay attention to the trends over there and look for opportunities! This battle to bring order to the chaos has finally reached its core stage. As the sharpest sword in the empire, it's time to unsheath it and seal its throat. "

The early morning light slightly revealed a white line on the eastern horizon. After successively killing the Imperial Minister of Internal Affairs, the Minister of Finance and some important ministers of various ministries, the soldiers of the Ninth Legion began to gather at the White Lu Villa where Prince Dunard was located. In front, the 1,500-strong Prince's Bear Control Army was already waiting in formation. Prince Dunard, wearing white armor, narrowed his eyes and looked at the opponents in front, with a slight sneer at the corner of his mouth, the ninth legion? After the continuous weakening, they are just a ragtag group. Do you still think they are the elite troops who defended Kyoto? At that time, you had Kyoto as your support, the best armor in the empire, and the sharpest swords. Now, what do you have?

"Attack again and be sure to overwhelm them!"

Mekaia, who launched a military revolt, looked at the countless fallen corpses in front of her, her eyes filled with bloodshot eyes. The Prince's Bear Control Army was indeed a famous elite. The equipment is far better than that of the weakened Ninth Legion, and they are all real professional soldiers. The queue spreads out like a fan, like a giant hedgehog, with rows of spears stacked on top of each other. The spears protrude from the shields in a staggered manner, with almost no gaps to follow.

The bear warrior's eyes were cold and unwavering, holding the iron spear handle tightly, like a forest of spears suddenly appearing on the ground. The tip of the gun flashed with a terrifying metallic light. Compared to it, the soldiers of the Ninth Army in front were a little helpless.

"rush!"

The soldiers of the Ninth Army shouted and stepped forward, but were immediately resisted by well-trained spear guns. In an instant, their bodies fell down and blood spattered. The battle line showed a one-sided trend, and they attacked four waves in a row. The queue of the Bear Guards is still densely packed, like a thick stack of absorbent paper, each one is ready to absorb the blood.

"Advance the entire army and defeat them!"

Prince Dunard raised his hand. After taking a look at the light in the east, he realized that as long as he waited until dawn, the situation would completely turn to his side, allowing the soldiers to remonstrate. By killing the minister, the little emperor's reputation will completely turn into a stinky ditch. Then he can join forces with other forces. The time for you to ascend the throne of the empire is just around the corner.

"What's that?"

At this moment, he heard the exclamation of the attendant beside him, turned his head and looked, and his face suddenly turned clear. His face was twisted into a ball, anger flashed in his eyes, and his fists clenched. I saw dots of bright spots appearing on the side of the Bear Guards at the end of the snowy long street.

The bright spots increased rapidly and merged into a shining band of light.

That was clearly a heavy cavalry body covered with armor! The sound of hooves rumbled. The torches were shining brightly, with men like tigers and horses like dragons. Before the team could get closer, a powerful aura of elites who had been fighting for a long time had already hit their faces. Prince Dunard knew what he had encountered. The most elite cavalry in the empire was not an elite cavalry in iron armor.

The Ninth Legion cannot have such a thing. The only thing it has is the Emperor's Imperial Guard!

"It's the heavy cavalry!" The most elite Bear Control Army also panicked. In such an unimpeded area, encountering the Empire's armored elite cavalry was as good as death.

"Go forward and hold them down!" Mekaya of the Ninth Legion looked overjoyed. She drew her sword and shouted, hoping to cooperate with the cavalry to overwhelm the bear warriors in front.

"attack!"

At the same time, the cavalry came like a landslide, the ground shook violently under their feet, people could stand unsteadily, and the hoofs of the horses thundered by their ears.

The orderly armored cavalry pressed against the front array like a wave. The enemies in the front row didn't even have time to shout out the first exclamation before they were blown away by the huge impact, and then fell under the iron hooves of the rear row. , the third row, one row after another, was swept down by an unstoppable torrent of steel.

"This is...."

Mekaya was stunned. The sword he held high slipped from his hand and fell to the ground. Prince Dunard, who thought the situation had been reversed, was also stunned. He looked at the target that the armored cavalry was ruthlessly crushing. His mouth was wide open. It turned out to be the third one. The soldiers of the Ninth Legion and the armored cavalry shouted "Counter the rebellion!"

"Counter rebellion... Haha! As if he thought of something, Prince Dunard laughed hysterically. As expected, that little thing still didn't have the guts to order the death of his own uncle. What kind of born king is just a seven-year-old? Little brat!

A sudden change!

An attendant standing on his left suddenly drew his sword and slashed at his neck from behind. It was an ordinary sword strike without any posture. The only characteristic was that it was sudden and fast! It has almost reached an incredible point. Everyone's attention is on the front, watching the armored cavalry crushing the soldiers of the Ninth Legion.

No one noticed that the attendant secretly moved forward one meter, reaching a position where he could cut off the prince's head with one sword. What was even more frightening was that the sword moved without warning. No movement was seen, and it flashed in an instant. The bright sword blade has already cut Prince Dunard's neck,

"Pfft!" The prince's head was rushed into the air by the hot blood, and his bulging eyes remained unblinking!

At the dawn of the 1.12 military remonstrance, His Royal Highness Prince Dunard personally led the bear-controlling army to stop the rebels from advancing towards the emperor, finally buying time for His Majesty the emperor to quell the rebellion. (To be continued...)