Realm of Power

At noon, the May sun is not hot, and the Imperial Kyoto, which is close to the sea, is refreshing and invigorating.

Tillnarant wore a black political officer uniform embroidered with a green ring. He walked steadily into the hall of the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs. There were not many people in the hall. The sunlight filtered in through the windows and fell on the ground, forming spots. A man wearing a political officer's uniform was sitting on another seat, chatting leisurely about recent events in the empire, "I am a political officer from the province of Salandwijk, Tierlonte, with orders. Come and report!"

Tillnarant announced his name and asked at the reception desk about the time of the afternoon meeting. Tilsat "This is Tillnarant's new name. Just last year, he had moved from Tiha in the Nordic region." Administrative Officer of the Port, promoted to Administrative Officer of the Northern Province of Salander, Veco Province, And with the fat man's acquiescence, he restored the surname Tier, but he could no longer call him by his original name. For Tiernarant, who had already thought he was dead once, this was already very good. This time he was I was ordered to report to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but the details are unclear.

Tillnarant saw one of the people chatting, turned his head curiously, and glanced at the green ring on Tillnarant's body. When he saw that the other person turned out to be one of the four green rings at the provincial level, his expression showed I was stunned for a second, but then I quickly turned my head and continued talking to my companion. This is the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Empire. The most common ones are political officers. The empire is expanding very fast. In five years, it has expanded by three to four times. times, the number of provinces in the empire has exceeded one hundred, even at the provincial level Administrative officers are not uncommon here, "Your Excellency Tierlont, Minister Burke is scheduled to meet with you at four in the afternoon. Why don't you go to the restaurant and wait first?" At this time, the attendant at the reception desk had already checked the roster, and his expression Respectfully pointed out the restaurant to him location, and also said, "Although the tea is not rich, it is more delicious. The cooks are personally selected by Her Royal Highness the Princess, so that you can appropriately reduce some fatigue after coming from afar." "Okay, time It’s here, please remind me!”

Hearing that it was still early for the meeting, Tillnarant nodded. Coming from the restaurant of the Ministry of Internal Affairs not far across the way, he chose a seat by the window to sit down. He came immediately after getting off the boat. As expected, it was a bit early, and he was looking forward to this meeting in his heart. Undersecretary Burke is the person in charge of personnel transfer at the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He was promoted only once last year, and it shouldn't be that fast this year! There were only about a dozen people in the restaurant. It seemed that they all came too early like me, but these people looked at me strangely. Some of them were sitting together and pointing, asking Tiernalan to Particularly unhappy

Tirnalant ordered a glass of wine. Gently stir it with your hands, no longer caring about those people's eyes, and look out the window. In May in the north of Oparo continent, the winter snow has melted, and it is the warmest and sleepiest climate. The golden sunshine is shining on the clear stone platform, and the green vines are climbing on the eaves of the streets. A slight breeze blew through the wind chimes hanging at the door of the shop, stirring the sleepy air. Under the sun, the northwest corner of the huge city. A huge harbor stands in the sky, like a pale golden embankment, raising a swaying cursor on the horizon.

Tillnarant, who has been in the southern port of Nord for three years, knows that it is the reflection of the metal on the top mast of the empire's large merchant ship. It is said that the empire's sea trade in Obarro has far exceeded that of the empire itself, and he was not yet there. I believe it, but this time when I entered the Imperial Port, I saw a sea of ​​white sails stretching for more than ten miles, with no end in sight. Tiernarant was still shocked, thinking that it took him half a month to take a boat to get here from the mainland of the empire. , Tiernarant felt like he was in a trance.

When did the empire grow to be so huge, and what I saw was just a corner of this huge empire, so how big was the territory of the empire? "Hello, I am Phipson from the Hawa area in northern Congo. I wonder if I can sit down?" A loud voice sounded, and Tiernalant realized that among the people who just talked, the one looked at him. A middle-aged man walked over with a glass of wine, "Of course, I'm from..." Tiernarant stood up and said, "Of course, I'm from..." Your Excellency Tyrlont from the province of Vico in the north of Salander, what I just heard! "The middle-aged administrative officer smiled with an obvious Salander accent in his voice." Your Excellency is also from the Salander region. "Tilnarant was slightly surprised. He didn't remember that there were other colleagues from the Salander region coming together this time. "Was it me? "Right, it's no longer due to some special reasons." The middle-aged administrative officer's face was a little strange, and there was a hint of military in his hearty smile. "Northern Congo? From the Northern Congo Corps?" Ternalant's eyes flashed. , he had heard that the Northern Congolese Army was only established last year, and it had not even had time to establish a political officer. It happened to run into a large-scale invasion of hundreds of thousands of Central European Barro troops. Although the Empire finally used this to defeat the Central European Barro coalition forces, the areas where they fought were almost blank. As a last resort, the Ministry of Internal Affairs temporarily selected officers from within the Congolese Legion. As a regional administrative officer, the so-called administrative affairs are still in the most basic stage of road construction and leveling.

Some of the soldiers are said to have come from the Salander Expeditionary Force, which was a big deal back then. The middle-aged man in front of him probably has such a background. It’s no wonder that the other party’s expression is so weird, because the expeditionary force is defined by the empire. As rebels, the imperial officers who were originally from the expeditionary force all avoided being Salanders. This mentality did not mean betraying their own race, but making adjustments for their own development. The fact that the empire ruled Salanders It has been accepted by most Salanders, "You know?"

The middle-aged political officer who called himself Phipson had an awkward smile on his face, took a sip of the wine in his hand, looked at Tiernarant, and said with a wry smile, "It's rare to see a political officer from Salander walking over like this. I want to ask about Salander’s current situation. I don’t want to cause trouble to you. If there is any inconvenience, I will leave immediately. It is really rude!”

"How could that happen? We are all political officers. Only through proper communication can we achieve better development!"

After several years of hard work, the water chestnuts of the head of the Tire family had been smoothed out a lot. Tier Nalant smiled slightly, saying that he had stayed in the country for a long time. He had no idea about the situation in Obaro, so he just wanted to know something about it. He said calmly, "Saland's current situation is still very good. There is no war, and the empire's taxes are not high. Ports have been opened in the coastal areas, and there is trade. The place will not starve to death. Princess Niya treats the common people very well. Friendly and stable in the north, I can’t say that life is very good, at least it’s much better than during the war! But I’m a little surprised. Why do they look at me strangely? “It’s nothing, it’s just that there are very few administrative officers in the empire. So...haha!" Phipson grinned with white teeth.

"How do they know that I am a local political officer?" Tiernalant looked confused. He signed up at the reception. Did everyone know it so quickly? "The black cuffs on your body are in the style of folded arrow sleeves. This was the uniform of the Empire's local political affairs officers three years ago. This year's new uniforms have eliminated the arrow sleeves!" Phipson gave him a wink. , continued slowly, "It was as if the empire had just begun to conquer During the time of Opalo, the local administrative officers looked down on the administrative officers of the Opalo area, thinking that they were pioneers. Now some of the administrative officers of the Opalo area look down on the local administrative officers of the empire. ""Why?" Tillnarant looked surprised. He has been in the empire, and everyone is a local political officer. He really didn't realize this.

"The local administrative officers of the empire are called "rubbers" in their mouths. Phippson paused in his voice and said calmly. "According to them, the thugs will not understand the empire's manipulation in the Obaro region. That's not true. Will understand the greatness of imperial wars of conquest"

"You know, the mainland of the empire has been pacified. The administrative officers are responsible for regional government affairs, development, agriculture, etc. They are the defenders of the empire, and they do not have much power." Phippson looked around. He lowered his voice and said, "In Obarro, most of the political officers are half-soldiers. The political officers have a certain regional army, are the conquerors of the occupied areas, and are the swords and knives of the empire. How can the spirit of both sides be possible?" Similarly, if the imperial administrative officer is a watchdog, , They are the wolves guarding the trophies. "Do you know the reason for this meeting? "Phipson was from the Second Legion of Ganglin, and he obviously knew some inside information in advance. "It should be about personnel transfers, right?" He hesitated and said, "Are you only half right?" Phipson shrugged his shoulders and said with shining eyes, "The empire is about to conquer Feishan. I heard that it has reached the eastern coast of the inland sea. In the north, beyond the long wall, it has expanded to thousands of miles in one winter. , how big is the area of ​​the empire now? Even we political affairs officers may not be able to explain clearly, because many places are still occupied by the army, and the political affairs officers wait until the war subsides before entering the second wave. "There are internal sources saying that this time the Ministry of Internal Affairs came from the empire. One hundred and fifty people were selected from one hundred provinces The political affairs officer agreed to give these new areas "one hundred and fifty people!" Tiernarant's inner excitement was swept away, and he thought he might be promoted again. It seems to be a transfer. "The possibility is relatively high" among the 150 people, there should be some left Half of it! "Phipson asked the restaurant waiter for another steak. He seemed to have a good appetite." I heard that there are eight cuts in the province alone, and there are seven or eighty at the regional level. Of course, the fatness also varies. " "The area close to the long northern wall is naturally the most barren. Most of the areas are newly reclaimed wild lands, and the population is not large. The areas in the south of the empire are the best, especially those close to the coast. The entire northern part of the inland sea is under the control of the empire. The bustling ocean trade drives The entire coastline is booming, these It is much easier to develop the region, and the population and resources will naturally be concentrated. As a political officer, using a little bit of authority to protect your family's business is enough to bring huge dividends. ""Your Excellency is from Salander and is located in the south. The greatest possibility!"

Phipson blinked and said somewhat mysteriously, "And I heard that among the locations released this time, there is also the province of Lisbonto in the south. It is the richest oil-rich place in the empire. The person who goes there must be the emperor." His Majesty’s confidant, so everyone is waiting eagerly to see who can gain such trust from the emperor!”

"Lisbonto!"

Tiernarant was already a little shocked. Even in the empire, he was very familiar with the largest trading seaport in the south of the empire. He heard that Lisbon entrusted a region with taxes. It's enough to support half a million Imperial troops, what's the concept... The previous person in charge of the Lisbonto region was the military general Varisien who had been promoted to the governor of the Feishan region. The Vekia Falcon wanted to Let Lisbonto go? No way! This was too ridiculous, even though Tillnarant had unlimited fantasies about this meeting. But I didn't imagine it to such an outrageous level. "There is another news, I don't know if you know it." Phipson had a rare serious look this time, looked around, and then whispered, "The emperor has entered the Northern Changchun." Qiang, our boss, Miss Bertrand Bonnie, the commander of the Gangfei Second Army, has already rushed over! I heard that the emperor returned to Beijing this time to prepare for negotiations with the six southern countries! "

"Six-Nation Negotiations!" After taking a sip of the red wine in his glass, Tillnarant's heart felt like ten thousand horses were stampeding through it. From the bottom of his heart, his resentment towards the Vekia Falcon was gone. The Vecian Falcon did not retaliate against the Tire family after occupying Tire. The two sides were not mortal enemies. Although there was some slight jealousy, Tiernalant had to admit that compared with the Vecian Falcon, , the gap is as big as the distance between the torch and the sun

His war with the Vekia Falcon back then seemed like a joke, and his biggest concern was to cheer up the Tire family. It’s just a matter of winning the southern guardian of Wikiia in troubled times. Let’s look at what the Wikiya Falcon has done. It’s a unified battle for Wikiya. The unification war of Iscava is now a war of conquest against the entire Obaro,

Although he has been staying in the empire, Tillnarant still knows the scale of some of the empire's conquest wars. The empire has launched no less than ten battles in a few years, involving hundreds of thousands of people. There were even millions of troops, and millions of troops were wiped out by the Vekia Falcon. The two empires were beaten to the point of collapse, and now they simply suppressed the six countries' request for negotiations. Although I don't know which six countries it is, it sounds like it is quite important. Compared with it, my own little Tire is nothing!

At this time, the door of the restaurant was pushed open, and a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs walked in in a panic. His hair was a little bald and his face was rosy. The whole restaurant suddenly became quiet, and everyone's eyes were focused here. There was a middle-aged man, but the middle-aged man's eyes fell on Tiernalante, and he quickly came over and asked, "Is this Your Excellency Tierlonte?"

"Yes, I am Tyrlont!" Tyrnarant looked at the middle-aged man in confusion and nodded. The silence around him indicated that this middle-aged man should be an official of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"Well, isn't the meeting with Undersecretary Burke scheduled for four in the afternoon?" Tillnarant thought that the other party might be the adjutant of the big shot in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. He straightened his collar and glanced at the hanging The clock on the wall said it was 1:40 in the afternoon, and the red arrow on the pendulum stubbornly reminded the time. At this time... did Undersecretary Burke want to see him? Opposite him, Phipson also stood up at this time, with an extremely nervous expression on his face. He was tearing off the napkin in a panic. The middle-aged man's eyes swept across him like a knife, completely ignoring him.

"Meeting with Undersecretary Burke? No need!"

There was an indescribable luster in the middle-aged man's eyes under his eyebrows, which seemed to be a bit surprised and shocked, which even made Ternalant feel flattering. The middle-aged man took out a document from his arms and handed it to Tire. Narant, with a very kind smile on his face, said

"The meeting has been cancelled. This is a new appointment given to you by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The carriage is ready. Don't delay. Let's set off immediately!" The whole restaurant was filled with the sound of broken glass. No one has ever seen it. Undersecretary Burke, who has a cold face and is known as ruthless, can still have such a kind smile. "Oh my god, this dream is too scary. You should wake up right away!" Phipson next to him looked stupid. As if, he pinched his thigh hard with his fingers.

Tillnarant was put on the carriage for no reason, and he sat in the carriage that was speeding towards the north gate of the imperial capital. Tillnarant opened the appointment letter in his hand, glanced at it, and suddenly felt dizzy. The most unlikely name written on it, Lisbonto, turned out to be Lisbonto’s regional political officer! Why! Tiernalant still wanted to ask this question in his heart. It was absolutely impossible to get such an important position just by relying on his unclear relationship with Vecia Falcon. Is Vecia Falcon crazy, or is he crazy? ?

At the northern city gate of the Imperial Capital, the tall city gate, the carriage finally stopped. A man opened the door and walked in and sat opposite Tiernarant. He stretched out without hesitation, and his whole body looked like a hibernating head. Xiong curled up on the leather sofa and said, "I'm really tired. If you have any questions, just wait until I wake up."

"Why was I appointed?'

Tillnarant looked at this uninvited guest, with blood in his eyes, and knew that this guy must have a conspiracy, "I've already said I won't answer, but you're really talkative when I take you on a ride to the south!" said the fat man opposite. Shrugging his shoulders, he lay on the sofa regardless.

The news that the emperor was returning to the capital came back yesterday. Many people thought that the emperor had just entered the Great Northern Wall, but no one thought that the emperor had already arrived in the imperial capital and even took the time to take a bath and change into comfortable clothes. clothing,

It was because the Imperial Capital had concealed it so well. This morning, Princess Maomonaqing, who was in charge of the internal affairs of the empire, personally led the crown prince to the northern long wall. Princess Ruierdian and Princess Nord also rushed there. Even the emperor's lover, Berlant Bonnie, went there. Who dared to say that the emperor was not in the direction of the long wall? (To be continued)