Realm of Power

The carriage is traveling on the road with green wheat seedlings in northern Congo.

Under the wheels, the main main road of the empire was built with solid raw stones. The six-meter-wide stone strips were polished with smooth white spots. The length of the southwest district that had been left a day ago was like a long snake with no end in sight. Stretching down the southern coastline, the road is long and the sky is blue like a huge transparent mirror.

Through the window curtains on the right side of the carriage, you can see the white-capped sea cliffs and beaches, with the waves lapping on the cliffs, while the window on the left side shows some sparse villages, and the white pine trees on the roadside are left and right in the May wind. Swinging and making a roaring sound, a jet-black falcon flew into the white clouds above the sky like a lonely king's arrow.

If it weren't for the arrow sign marked Moro that I saw an hour ago, I'm afraid not many people would know that this was once one of the most densely populated areas in the Congo Empire. The main roads in the empire were all cleaned up. Naturally, it looks like You can't see the tragic scene of pale corpses in the meadow, but as long as you go deeper inside, the dilapidated scene will jump into your eyes, with broken walls and ruins. The ruins of the city, the black broken walls left after being burned by the fire, what grows in the fields of the village is not green wheat grass, but large tracts of wild chrysanthemum as tall as a man, which is a kind of grass with roots and leaves that are both tall and tall. The wild plants are covered with thorns, and even animals are reluctant to approach them. In addition to the chirping of cicadas in summer, the surrounding air is empty and somewhat unbearably chilly.

"What's going on here? This area should be a very good grain-producing land. If there is a little bit of human development, the landscape here will be greatly changed. :../..." Tiernarant's face turned ugly. He withdrew his gaze from the car window and couldn't help but ask to the other side. After working as a political officer for several years, he had already erased his water chestnuts, but he still felt very uncomfortable with the scene in front of him. His tone unconsciously revealed a few words. inconceivable indignation

"This is caused by insufficient manpower!"

The fat man was looking at a delivered document without raising his head. He just told the facts in a calm and scary voice. This was not the first time that he heard Tiernalant complaining along the way. This person who is famous for his coldness has been tempered for several years. He actually devoted himself whole-heartedly to daily government affairs, and did it in an orderly manner, which made people admire him with admiration. Even Nilai in the northern part of Salander mentioned Tiernarant under the pseudonym Tierlont. This is also the reason why Fatty finally decided to choose Tiernalant to be the political administrator of Lisbon.

Lisbonto served as the headquarters of the empire's maritime trade. It has always been the target of close attention from all forces. This time, Lisbon asked the political affairs officer to let go, which immediately stirred up troubles in all parties. Such an important position is a weight that affects the balance of forces.

One of the two most prosperous business circles in the empire is the Southwest District, the core area of ​​inland commerce in the empire. It is personally controlled by the one-eyed Salon, who is known as the emperor's most loyal confidant. The integration of military and government is controlled by Li Yuehua's Intelligence Department. It can be said that it is like an iron barrel, and no one can get in.

The other one is Lisbonto in the south. Tens of thousands of merchant ships from all over the country come and go here. The trading house here is open 24 hours a day. Even late at night, you can hear the sound of business carriages coming and going. Daily transactions The amount is in the millions, it is like a flowing river of gold. How not to make people jealous,

It’s not that no high-level officials in the empire have tried to take action. Princess Ruidian and Imperial Princess Haraudian sent their most confidant maids. As a result, Tuo disappeared without a trace in Lisbon, with no one alive or dead body!

Tulit Colleen, the imperial princess, the head of the top family in Obaro, and a native of Lisbonto. One of the emperor's favorite concubines who was in charge of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs with one hand and supported the prosperity of the Imperial Ministry of Foreign Affairs with all his strength. Such a person ended up with a bruised head and blood. But with such an identity, the emperor's order forced him to leave in disgrace. It was said that it was a normal relocation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, but in fact the entire empire was shaken to its core by this incident. This was a warning from the emperor.

This time the Imperial Ministry of Internal Affairs released a vacancy for Lisbon's political affairs officer. Under the calm situation, there were all kinds of strange waves.

The person in charge of the internal affairs of the empire is Princess Maumona Qing, the first princess who gave birth to the crown prince of the empire. At such a critical moment, she chose to go to the northern city wall. The frustrated Princess Haraudian of Ruidian also left the puddle to plead. He hurriedly followed,

Hu Keqili, an important minister of the military and the Minister of Imperial Affairs, went to northern Congo in the night in the name of inspection. All the prominent military and political figures left the Imperial Kyoto at the same time, so that when all the forces learned about the whereabouts of the political affairs official in Lisbon, When it comes to the unknown Tierlont, I don’t know how to react!

The report that Fatty is reviewing contains the contents of these imperial forces on this matter. All forces are taking various measures to find out who Tierlont, who has picked the biggest peach, is. A powerful person,

I'm afraid only the emperor knows that Tierlont is Tiernalant, the lord of Tier County, and does not belong to any faction. If it really counts, it is the emperor's faction, and Tiernalant is the one who created it himself. a chess piece,

This new Lisbon political officer is attracting the attention of the entire empire, which is what the fat man needs.

At this time, the empire needs an appearance to the outside world, and it must have a matter of sufficient weight to show that at this time, the empire has not yet had the consciousness to fight with the six countries, so it is not ready to be related to the war. The main force of the empire is in The Northern Wall is being repaired, and the entire empire's top brass is still fighting over Lisbon's trust. At this time, who will pay attention to the six southern countries?

Only in this way will the six southern countries reveal their hidden layout. In terms of land, the empire does not have many weaknesses. If there are any, they should be in the newly conquered Feishan and the Eastern Province. In terms of sea areas , the control of the Imperial Navy is there, so it is unlikely that the six countries will attack militarily, but it is difficult to say economically. If there is, then the battlefield will undoubtedly be in Lisbon, the base camp of the Imperial maritime trade!

Tiernarant in the carriage obviously didn't know how important his role was. His face was obviously stunned after hearing what the emperor said. What did the emperor mean? Insufficient manpower basically means insufficient population. , this is easy to understand. The question is, how can the population be insufficient? Kill them all! Tillnarant's body trembled, although he saw something. But I didn't expect that the emperor would say it so openly. Walking in a place where corpses were once covered, what was the emperor's inner thoughts? This is an area controlled by the empire, so naturally it was the empire that did it. Are you appreciating the results of your own slaughter?

It's no wonder that Tiernarant's thinking went astray. You know, if the empire had just entered Obarro, it would be understandable to say that there was a shortage of manpower, but now it is said that there is a shortage of manpower. It seems a bit far-fetched. The population of the empire has exceeded 200 million last summer. This is what Tiernarant saw in the monthly Imperial Government Affairs Bulletin, which is published by the Imperial Ministry of the Interior. Internal publications are mainly used to inform local government officials of some government affairs information in the empire. Because the scope of the empire is so large, the publication period can only be set once a month.

What is the concept of two hundred million? The population of the entire Ikadiva is only 60 million, which is more than the total population of the three Ikadiva continents combined, so Tillnarant had to be convinced by the Vecian Falcon. Facing such an opponent who is like a god in both government and military matters, any dissatisfaction is just a joke.

"The administrative officials in this land are so lazy that large tracts of farmland have been left idle. Even if it is due to lack of manpower, at least more villages should be built on the main roads of the empire. After all, there are many caravans coming and going. There are still quite a few. Caravans need a place to rest when passing by, and the passing caravans will also bring more business opportunities. Selling local products is also a good choice."

Tillnarant said. Having been a political officer for several years, he is no longer the closed-minded little lord that he once was in terms of knowledge, and is more ideologically accepting of the idea of ​​rejuvenating the country through commerce. He has only just experienced the northern part of the empire. Before the dazzling and messy bustling scene could be digested, a huge contrast suddenly hit our face. Everything in front of us showed the inaction and laissez-faire of the regional political affairs officials.

"Also, why is there a shortage of manpower here? If I read it correctly, this is the best land and rich in fisheries, enough to become a densely populated area."

There was a hint of caution in Tillnarant's tone, and he spoke very lightly. In fact, his hands were clenched together under the table unconsciously. Facing the pressure of an emperor, it was not something that ordinary people could bear, and he himself The reason why I dare to ask this question is because I know that the Vekia Falcon takes good care of me. It seems that the subtle relationship between enemies and friends has given me a chance to make a comeback. Of course, my sister and The emperor's complicated relationship should also be a factor.

The emperor's war with Tire was rumored by the outside world to be the emperor's revenge for women, so that now, his sister does not even have a suitor. Whoever dares to marry the emperor's woman will follow him to Salander's Tire. Ernuris began to believe in the teachings of the sky and decided to live her whole life alone. Thinking of the withered and lonely figure of her sister who stood at the port to see her off before leaving from the empire, for some reason, Tilnarant wanted to kill her severely. Make a mockery of the man in front of you,

"I don't massacre civilians"

The fat man heard the chill in Tiernalant's words, and finally looked away from the report. He was a little surprised at what happened to this guy, and raised his head to look at him.

Fatty had already been rumored to be a demon who killed millions during the local unification war. He didn't resent being called a murderous demon, but Fatty definitely didn't like to take the blame for others. When he saw Tiernarant, his face turned blue. , then said in a slow tone, "Logically speaking, after conquering an area, I will make great efforts to reorganize the conquered area and restore production. The massacre of civilians will only become a stumbling block to rapid recovery. The only time King Weixia The fire in the capital, you know better than me what’s going on.”

"The capital is in flames!"

Tillnarant's face suddenly turned pale. I'm afraid he knows what happened in the fire in the royal capital. His madness at the time makes Tillnarant feel scared when he thinks about it now. But it's not him. It has become very big, but the ruthlessness in troubled times. In peacetime, some humanity will eventually recover. That fire burned to death 80,000 people and also burned down a dynasty." Icardi The Unification War of Va, a battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops, and the total casualties of our army exceeded 100,000. I still accepted the surrender of Palaven, the royal capital of Rendian, the royal capital of Nord, and the central city of Aaron of Dorok." The fat man's voice paused before continuing, "And I have forgiven most of the nobles in these countries who opposed me. This is why after the unification of Ikadiva, various places chose after slight fluctuations." The reason why they chose to admit my rule is that I have the name of a devil, but I do the things of angels. "The farmers got the land they wanted, the businessmen got the opportunity to make big money, and the nobles took the industry compensation, or worked as A manor owner spends his life leisurely, or transforms into a businessman to continue to fight for the rise of his family again. The elite among the soldiers continue to serve in the empire. , except for the change of the object of allegiance, and the no longer unnecessary internal friction, the real changes are not very big. "Whether you believe it or not, the people in the occupied areas are my people, and I have always upheld this This has never changed!" Something like starlight flashed in the fat man's black pupils. He glanced at the silent wilderness outside the window and took a deep breath.

"The desolation here has nothing to do with me. This is the Moro Province, which is only seventy miles away from Kyoto. Emperor Istan's army first broke through the Moro Province, and then with lightning speed, a Day and night, the vanguard reached a place thirty miles away from Gangfei Kyoto, which eventually led to the second move of the Gangfei Empire to the capital. More than two million Gangfei people died in this area."

"The massive loss of population has caused this area, which was originally the core of the Confederate Empire, to become a deserted wilderness. In addition, the empire deliberately left it empty in the early stages of the war between China, Europe and Pakistan. It happens to be geographically located in the southwest region of the empire. , this inland area of ​​the empire is recognized as the first Between this prosperous place and Lisbonto, the southern sea trade base camp, most of the manpower and materials will be unknowingly attracted away, so that in the area where the north and south of the Empire Obarro meet, there is a three-dimensional area between the north and the south. A huge blank area of ​​more than a hundred miles and nearly a thousand miles in length.”

The fat man calmly closed the document in his hand. Tiernalant went south as Lisbon's political affairs officer, so it was normal to receive government affairs reports along the way. No one would know that most of the documents were delivered to the carriage. another person,

"This place is called the Scar of the Empire! It requires not only patience, but also opportunity!" "Opportunity?" Tillanat's face was slightly stunned,

"You'll know when you get to Lisbonto! It should have already started there!" The fat man did not continue to explain, and looked out the window. The long grass was also a kind of scenery, but Tiernarante saw the corner of the emperor's mouth on the opposite side showing A cold smile, slightly raised corners of the mouth, but more like an extremely sharp knife (To be continued.)