Realm of Power

The sun was dazzling, shining on Potamia's skirt from the car window. The female pope was holding a report that had just been completed. Outside the car window, there was a stream of people, a bustling scene with a dazzling array of goods, and the sound of people was like It was coming like a tidal wave. Although he was mentally prepared, Putamia was still shocked by the power of the imperial merchants.

In just over a month, the number of Imperial Chambers of Commerce stationed in the Holy Capital of the Order State has reached 167, and the number of various personnel in the Imperial Chamber of Commerce has also expanded from only three to four thousand before to more than 50,000 people. You know , the population of the entire Holy City was only about 200,000 after the war, that is to say , there is one member of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce for every five people in the Holy Capital. Of course, not all of these Chamber of Commerce personnel are businessmen, there are also various staff of the Chamber of Commerce, caravans transporting goods, etc., but what makes Pudami the most What impressed Ya deeply was the merchants from various countries attracted by these imperial caravans.

You must know that this battle for the hegemony of the Southern European Barro, which lasted for four months on the battlefield of the Order State, caused the entire Southern European Barro trade route to be cut off. It was a fatal blow to the commerce of the entire Southern European Barro region. Looking at the entire Southern European Barro The winding and magnificent coastline in the north, the Feishan Hokuriku Plateau in the west, and the undulating mountains naturally block the transportation of trade routes. This is the coastline of the Order State, but because this war has completely come to a standstill, a large number of imperial commodities are hoarded on the coastline, and commodities from various southern regions cannot enter the imperial market from here, and the only passable Ero In the northern ports, because the coalition of princes from the south of Hérault cut off transportation routes in the former royal capital of Hérault,

The final result was that for four months, business in the Barrow region of southern Europe came to a standstill.

For the Barro businessmen in southern Europe who were already vulnerable to the impact of the last financial crisis, the blow they suffered this time can be described as brutal. Bodies were everywhere. Industrial riots broke out in many countries. Conservative estimates involve as many as seven or eight people. Thousands of people, and the reason for the riots is speechless. It was because the merchants who had previously stocked up goods and prepared to transport them to the Barro region of Northern Europe before winter and made a lot of money went bankrupt because the goods could not be sold. The bankruptcy of these merchants directly affects the survival of industrial farmers. Industrial farmers are only responsible for production, and sales have always been the business of merchants. But now merchants are unable to purchase their goods. Because these goods cannot be transported, they can only be disposed of at low prices, and even A large number of them were thrown away, and a large number of handicraftsmen were in trouble. However, the tax officials from above did not care about this. Instead of reducing taxes, they actually increased them significantly.

For civilian craftsmen, in this extremely cold winter, they are hungry. Although they know that their products cannot be sold, they can only continue to produce, because stopping production means starving to death, and for the monarchs of various countries , this war for southern hegemony that lasted for several months was a once-in-a-lifetime gamble. The great powers in the northern coastal region had collapsed. The era when powerful forces such as Fezer, the Order State, and the Ero Empire had the dominance of Barro in southern Europe was over. Never to return, the original big power structure was broken, and what followed was the rise of heroes. There are many small forces who want to establish a country, while small and medium-sized countries want to take this opportunity to step onto the ladder of great powers and become the new South Europe. Among the powerful states of Luo, they also greatly expanded their armies, resorted to militarism, and experienced an explosive increase in military expenditures and taxes. However, these increased military expenditures ultimately fell on civilians, and the unbearable industrial civilians eventually triggered resentment against tax officials in the city. riot

Such riots continued until the stalemate on the battlefield of the holy capital of the Order State was over. The Martin Liya people were defeated miserably. The empire once again proved its transcendent strength as the strongest country in the continent. The blocked commercial routes were once again opened, and goods from all over the country were almost They were gathering like crazy towards the holy capital of the Order. In order to restore vitality to the nearly destroyed country as soon as possible, Putamia almost copied the empire's business policy. Caravans from various countries are exempted from toll taxes before the goods are sold, and the tax collection on the domestic pass roads of the Order has been cancelled. In fact, even if she does not want to cancel it, because under the ravages of the Martin Liya people, the Holy Capital has The provinces to the south have long been dilapidated. Many areas have turned into white fields. The previous roads were covered with weeds. Even if you want to collect toll taxes, it is unrealistic in itself. It is better to just let them go.

Sure enough, the measures of the Order State to liberalize trade routes were like throwing a bomb into the crater for the South European Barro trade that had been suppressed for four months. At this moment, merchants in the entire South European Barro region It also exploded, rushing towards the Holy Capital of the Order like a tide, and the Chamber of Commerce personnel quickly broke through. The original 50,000, 70,000, 100,000 people, and now one-third of the people in the entire Holy City are related to the Chamber of Commerce. With so many Chamber of Commerce personnel, mountains of goods and commodities, the daily transaction quota is still there. Ascending, the holy capital of the Order, which had just gone through the cold winter, seemed to have entered the maroon color of spring overnight.

The weather in the Holy City changes almost every day. Originally, Putamia was still considering how big the obstacles he would face if he were to suddenly turn a country that had been tyrannical for decades into a centralized monarchy system. , after all, in the hearts of most devout religious people, businessmen have always been despised, but now the situation in the religious country seems to have changed overnight. The people accepted the existence of commerce and became accustomed to the various conveniences brought by merchants. Everything came naturally and naturally, with no trace of coercion at all. It can be seen that the original temple governance system has evolved with the temple. The myth of the army has been shattered and has been completely abandoned by the public. Even Pope Potamia himself is no longer regarded as a representative of the aloft God.

"Such a huge change happened in just over a month. You know that I thought it would take three to five years to make the preparations that I had painstakingly planned. How did your Majesty do it?" Damia stood in front of the emperor's desk, her long cloud-like hair tied into an exquisite bun on the back of her head, straight and slender. Her beautiful nose and bright red lips gave the pope, known as the Valkyrie to the outside world, an even more heroic appearance. Her skin was as white as if she had rarely been exposed to the sun, and her two strong and plump breasts were shining in silver. Wrapped in a long gray silk skirt, which contrasts sharply with her slender waist, she reaches out her white hands to flip through a report.

"Actually, this is not surprising. People must live first, and then they can have spiritual beliefs. When the public does not care about the existence of the temple, then it is not surprising that His Highness the Pope has become a queen, so you will have seven temples. The value of the sale, this alone is enough to earn back the original price." The black-haired emperor stood on the window sill, wearing a black imperial officer uniform, and his short black hair showed a bit of golden color in the sun.

"I came here specifically to discuss something with Your Majesty that will be of great benefit to the empire." Putamiya put down the report with a charming smile on her lips.

"A huge benefit?" The black-haired emperor raised his hand indifferently. "I am busy with the reconstruction and layout of the twenty-eight provinces south of the Holy Capital, and I also have to discuss the agreements with dozens of large chambers of commerce in the empire. I thought it would take at least another half a month for you to remember that there is someone like me in the Holy City? Tell me, what is it? If it involves Martin Liya’s captives, then there will be no need for it."

The black-haired emperor's seduction of the female pope's beauty is like a sugar-coated bomb. The emperor always eats the sugar-coated food and throws away the bomb.

Putamia's delicate body trembled slightly, and there was a hint of trance in her pretty eyes, but she was immediately relieved. Knowing that she couldn't hide it, she simply said it directly. "How did your Majesty know that Martin Liya was the prisoner? He was from the Imperial Intelligence Department. Report it, it is indeed the Mount Edmon that has been fighting with the Martin Liya people for decades. Just like in the temple, there are also many secrets about Martin Liya! Yes, it is indeed Martin Liya! The Ya sent people to find me and promised to return half of the property snatched from the Order Country as long as I killed Spike of the El tribe and a dozen lords. This is just a piece of cake for us in the Order Country. I really have no reason to refuse. , now the entire Holy Capital is filled with imperial businessmen, and the imperial businessmen are the spies of the Imperial Intelligence Department. Although the people sent by Martin Liya are secretive, it is still a bit difficult to avoid the eyes of the Imperial Intelligence Department. "

"Kill Spike and return the looted property. Aren't you afraid that the Martin Liya people will not admit their guilt afterwards?" The black-haired emperor snorted calmly. The Martin Liya people will send people to find Pudami. Ya, in fact, it was completely expected. On his desk, there were the recent movements of the Sam tribe in Martin Liya, and the Sam tribe The Young Highness of the Mu Tribe, Sam Tamara, went to the Holy Capital of the Order to discuss the release of prisoners with the Empire. This was supposed to be an extremely secret matter, but it was revealed by a personal guard of the Sam Tribe leader while he was drunk. Although the bodyguard was executed afterwards, the news of His Royal Highness going to the Order Country has spread widely.

When Si Green met the emperor yesterday, he said that there were probably many people in the Sam clan who did not want His Highness to succeed, and there were even more people who wanted to use the empire's help to kill Sam Tamara. However, few people within the Sam tribe know about the secret agreement between Siglin and the Empire, so someone is bound to take action secretly.

And those few people who knew the secret agreement were all the Sam tribe lords who signed the surrender letter together on that day. Naturally, they would never betray Si Green, because to a certain extent, Si Green held an absolutely important position in the secret agreement. status, if something happens to Si Green, the empire is likely to immediately announce this secret agreement to the entire continent, and then the entire Martinliya Kingdom will be turned upside down and plunged into the flames of civil war.

"Don't admit it? Haha, of course I have my own way to prevent the Martin Liya people from going back on their word. Although the Imperial Intelligence Department is very powerful, I believe that Your Majesty would not have thought that His Highness, the Young Highness of the Sam tribe, one of the three major tribes of Martin Liya, You are also in my holy capital at this moment. If the people of Martinliya don’t admit their guilt, I will send the head of the Sam tribe’s young highness back to Martinliya.”

There was a hint of pride on Potamia's lips, and she thought in her heart that the Empire's Southern Intelligence Department was powerful, but her intelligence network was not a vegetarian. She believed that even the Emperor of the Empire might not know about this shocking information obtained at a high price. Otherwise, I am afraid that the Young Highness of the Sam Tribe would have been detained long ago. How could he have been allowed to stay in the Holy Capital under the banner of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce? Haha, even if it’s the Empire, it doesn’t matter that a Sam woman sneaked into the Empire for so long without being noticed, and she even established a top-level Imperial Chamber of Commerce. This kind of thing would never happen in the Order Country!

Looking at Putamiya's pretty and proud face, the fat man curled his lips slightly. They are probably just waiting for you to send Sam Tamara's head away.

In the end, Pudamia did not get Martin Liya as a prisoner from the emperor, and left angrily.

"Let the person in charge of the Intelligence Department come over."

The black-haired emperor walked to the door of the office and ordered to the guard on duty at the door. Soon the person in charge of the Southern Intelligence Department in the Holy City appeared in front of the emperor.

"What's your name?" The emperor blinked curiously. This man is so unique. He is a strong man like granite, which makes the emperor slightly curious. This man is a branch of the Southern Intelligence Department. The person in charge, at first glance, looks like a fierce general, exuding a masculine aura, which is completely inconsistent with the traditional Assassin's label of Etmon.

"Replying to your Majesty, my subordinate is Lou Wuyard, the director of the Holy Capital Region of the Southern Intelligence Department of the Empire." The strong man looked respectful. Seeing the strange look on the emperor's face, his scalp became numb. Although Mount Edmon was powerful, it was nothing more than It's just a hunting dog raised by the emperor. He quickly explained, "Actually, your majesty doesn't look like an intelligence officer to your subordinates. That's because this is the Holy City, our Mount Edmond and the Dark Palace of the Holy Capital." Fighting against dozens of Years ago, both sides did not know how many people died at the hands of the other side. Although the Order State and the Empire have united, it does not mean that they are in harmony. Although they dare not secretly kill each other, it is common to have fights every now and then. , the former head of the Holy City Branch was blatantly beaten and vomited blood by the opponent due to physical reasons. In the end, the Intelligence Department decided to send subordinates. Even if the Temple Anbu provoked trouble, the subordinates could beat them all to the ground! "

"Of course there is such a thing..."

The black-haired emperor looked surprised, but considering that this was once the base camp of the Temple Army, the Temple Army was extremely hostile to the Empire, and even wanted to expel the Empire's Southern Intelligence Department unceremoniously. When the Salon Southwest Army left the Holy It is because of the group fight between Imperial officers and Temple officers. It is not difficult to understand that if the Southern Intelligence Department does not have a head of the intelligence department with high force value, it will be really difficult to gain a foothold in the Holy City.

The emperor sat down on his seat. Luwuyard seemed to feel that his size was a bit too big for the emperor, and he even shrank his neck. This made the emperor smile, and asked him, "How many people are there in the Sam tribe?" Approximately how many people have sneaked into the Holy City?"

Luwuyard's eyes flashed and he replied in a solemn voice, "According to the statistics of the Ministry of Intelligence, there are six batches of Martinli Yasam tribesmen who have entered the Holy City in the past few days, with more than two hundred people in total, and three of them are carrying horses." There are more than a hundred horses. Although they claim to be here to auction horses in the Holy City market, my subordinates have personally seen those horses. They are all well-trained war horses and are not the captured wild horses that the other party said."

"If they take action, can you stop them?" the black-haired emperor said nonchalantly.

"My subordinates have deployed manpower to monitor them comprehensively. As long as there is any abnormality, I am sure to kill all these Martin Liya people within half an hour." Lou Wuyard showed a mouth of white teeth, matched with his two-meter-tall stout figure. The figure makes people feel ferocious.

"Then prepare, it should be in the next few days."

"Yes, I understand." Louvyard saluted and turned around to leave. The emperor was the only one left in the room. The emperor took out a report from the pile of documents on the table and opened it with his right hand. He did not put Sam Tamara in the room. The empire's spokesperson told Lou Wuyard that these Sam tribesmen had bad intentions and sneaked in quietly. They made it clear that they wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife. Even if they were beaten to death, they would not realize that Sam Tamara had been recommended by Si Green. empire

Yesterday, Si Green said a series of good things about Sam Tamara in front of the emperor, but the emperor was actually not very satisfied with this young girl from the Sam tribe. It can be seen from her risk of coming to the Holy Capital for negotiations. , this Young Highness of the Sam tribe is indeed a bit too impulsive and too idealistic. , Relatively speaking, Spike, the Young Highness of the Il Tribe, showed grandeur, was forbearing enough, sized up the situation, and was courageous and courageous. He was really more than the young Highness of the Sam Tribe, but there was one thing that Si Green said that moved him. Emperor, that is Sam Tamara's shortcomings, precisely the advantages

"Your Highness indeed lacks ambition for power and is not suitable to be a person in power, but he is one of the few people among the top nobles of Martin Liya who has a good impression of business. He also established his own Imperial Chamber of Commerce. As for power, the Empire has With the surrender letter in hand, there is already enough power to control the entire Martin force. One point more or one point less. There is no difference, but if the person who pushes him is an ambitious careerist, I believe it will be even more detrimental to the empire!" Si Green's eyes flashed and he spoke categorically. In fact, Si Green was the one who negotiated with the empire! He strongly recommended Samtamara to the emperor, but Samtamara did not know this.

"Although you are right, how can I guarantee that the empire's support will not be wasted halfway? For such an impulsive and reckless spokesperson, to be honest, I really doubt how long she can survive?" The emperor stretched out his hand. I touched my chin and took a deep breath.

"That's why Your Majesty should give her a sufficiently prominent favor, such as helping to release the prisoner Martin Liya this time. In this way, the three major clans will owe her a big favor. Anyone who wants to harm her must consider "Revenge from the Three Major Tribes" Si Green had already drafted it when he came, and what he said now was irrefutable.

"Sigrin, I was actually planning to push you up from the beginning. With an army of 200,000 in hand, even if you Sigrin wants to become the king of Martin Liya, who can stop you!" In silence, the emperor sighed. , staring at him with fierce aura, and his eyes were so sharp that they seemed to burn two holes in his face.

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry. I, Si Green, am already old and cannot bear this crime. I don't have the courage to raise the butcher's knife against my own people, nor do I have the courage to kill all the other two races. I thank His Majesty the Emperor for his love." Si Green looked up calmly. Facing the emperor's gaze, his eyes were sincere. Neither of them made a sound, and the room was silent. You could hear the footsteps of the guards walking back and forth at the door, and the air was filled with silent murderous intent.

"There are not many people in this world who can hold the sword of power and let go of it calmly."

The emperor suddenly smiled calmly and said, "You are definitely the most calm person who can lie in front of me. But no matter how smart you are, there is one thing you can't pretend. Just now, your pupils suddenly shrank, which shows that you have been My heart has been beating. Although I don’t know how you noticed it, I still want to express my admiration." The emperor paused, shook his head and sighed: For your sake, I will believe it once, as long as Martinliya ceded the four eastern provinces, and the empire released the captive Martinliya people, including Crown Prince Spike. In fact, I have no interest in the land of the Martinliya people. The degree of development is too low, so I gave it to This condition is completely to help you push Sam Tamara to Si Green. Also, before leaving the Holy City, I think it is necessary to teach this young highness a lesson. The betrayers are often familiar with her. people! , otherwise I am really worried whether my investment will die halfway."

"I understand, Your Majesty." Si Green lowered his right hand and bent down to salute.