Realm of Power

"What is His Majesty's attitude toward the Harvey Plateau?"

Sokutus Stellan gently turned the handle of the cyan flower tea cup with her fingers, stared at the sparkling waterway at the Sanchakou in the distance with shining eyes, and asked in a deep voice,

Putamiya smiled coldly at the corner of her mouth, "The storm stirred up by the war on the Wei Plateau has really spread at this moment. The Harveys and the Ikars killed each other in rivers of blood, and the heads were beaten into pig heads. The Harveys reluctantly It was a tragic victory to save the royal capital, but the entire Harvey royal capital area was turned into mud by an earthquake. There was a loss of population, material loss, and town destruction. It took twenty years to recover. The Ikar people used all the strength of the country to suppress the Harvey people. The royal capital was reversed in the first battle, and both sides suffered losses. Isn't that what the empire wanted to see the most? To be honest, If I hadn't been in the Royal Capital of Eero at that time, I wouldn't have believed it even to death. The battle on the Harvey Plateau that almost destroyed the two kingdoms was actually the result of manipulation."

"I heard that the first thing King Ikar and King Harvey did when they returned to the country was to immediately order the army to stop attacking." Pudamia turned his head and looked at Sokutus Stellan, who had a leisurely look on his face. Under the bright sunshine, with blue sky and white clouds, waterbirds rise and fall on the masts, and the quietly flowing river will eventually merge into the swamp of the Holy City. Such a beautiful and peaceful place is in such a wolf-like and tiger-like environment. The most dangerous area in the eyes of imperial businessmen is because Sokutus Stellan, known as the Queen of Commerce, is here. The behemoth Imperial Bank is centered here, and it seems to cover the entire northern part of the Order Kingdom. , this is also the reason why the major chambers of commerce are fighting for each other in the southern part of the Order State, but there is peace in the northern part of the Order State.

In front of the Business Queen Sokutus Stellan, no wealthy businessman in the empire dared to stand up straight. Even the Empire Business Alliance did not dare to have too much resistance in the face of the former Thirteenth Deacon.

As for who has the greatest power in the Order State, it is naturally the Imperial Bank, which has invested the most and gained the most benefits. If Pope Potamia wanted to clean up the businessmen in the Holy City, without her Sokutu Stellan's acquiescence is absolutely impossible. Don't look at the fact that the emperor allocated three thousand imperial guards to Potamia, but these are not ordinary mercenaries, but He is a true professional soldier of the empire. Because he is a true professional soldier, there are strict restrictions on any larger military operations. The empire has extremely strict management of the army. The transfer of more than a hundred people requires the personal signature of the regional governor. Three hundred people The above transfers even require documents from the Ministry of Military Affairs. If the three thousand imperial guards want to be transferred, without a warrant from His Majesty the Emperor, it is considered treason.

Potamia naturally carries the emperor's warrant, but once it is used, it will take a long time for the military to identify the authenticity of the warrant.

Sokutus Stellan raised his head and glanced at Potamia before saying, "His Majesty has been planning the penetration of imperial influence into Southern Europe. At this moment, these businessmen will never be allowed to cause damage for their own benefit." , you must know that whether it is the Harvey people or the Ikar people, Not only will they no longer block the entry of imperial merchant forces, but they will vigorously attract these imperial chambers of commerce to enter to recover losses as soon as possible. However, it is natural to expel merchants in the best interests. As far as I know, now I see that the two countries are weak and are squeezing the empire to death. There are as many as eight large chambers of commerce.

"His Highness the Pope, just let it go. Although the Imperial Bank is nothing, there are at least 40,000 private troops available. I really don't believe that those guys dare to change the world." Sokutus Stellan smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth and pressed his fingers gently. On the teacup, she understood the emperor's methods better than anyone else. Once the merchants loosened control, their predatory nature was astonishing. The Order State In the past, we encountered the ravages of the Martinites, and half of the country was in ruins. If these businessmen were not given enough benefits, who would be willing to spend the huge sums of money to rebuild these areas? The benefits should be enough, and now it is time to regulate. Because the Order State has been officially included in the empire area, it is impossible for the emperor to allow merchants to do whatever they want in the empire area.

How has the Holy City fallen? After Pudamiya left Moser, what kept lingering in her mind was the smile on the corner of Sokutus Stellan's mouth. At five o'clock in the afternoon, when the smoke outside the Holy City was The drizzle is like thick fog hanging over the broad-leaved forest, Lingering on the branches, Potamia saw the Holy City again. Under the escort of three thousand meters of imperial cavalry, Pope Potamia's high-profile return shocked the entire Holy City. Potamia returned to the Holy City and saw nothing. He didn't do it, but just ordered the four gates of the Holy City to be closed.

"Why is this woman back?" "What are you afraid of? Don't forget, who is in charge of the Holy City now? Tomorrow we will continue to open the city gate as usual, and there are still several batches of goods to leave. If something goes wrong, who will bear the responsibility? ? "After receiving the order from Pope Potamia, most of the gatekeepers of the four gates of the Holy City just threw them on the ground casually. Instead of closing the gates, they opened them earlier than the prescribed time.

"I hope His Holiness the Pope can see the situation clearly and stop fooling around!"

"The Holy City is no longer what it used to be. Offending those imperial chambers of commerce will not bring good results."

In the past few months of Potamia's absence, the original management system of the Holy City has long been disintegrated. In front of the shining gold of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce, officials of all sizes who have long lost faith in the Order State, as long as they have All the powers that can be exchanged for imperial gold are being thrown away. No one can talk about loyalty now. His Highness the Pope is missing. The forces of the Imperial Chamber of Commerce are involved in the storm. In the face of these beast-like chambers of commerce, Shunchang rebelled and smuggling rose up in the Holy Capital. This city that was once regarded as a holy place is now known as the City of Darkness. Smuggling, armed fighting, and slave trading are all aboveboard affairs. , most of the people who have the ability to organize smuggling have inextricable connections with major chambers of commerce. The entire city is like a huge colosseum where various forces are mixed.

In this case, the non-smuggling group is like a huge dark kingdom entrenched here. Although it has not yet blatantly claimed to be a manager, it is normal to collect protection fees in each block, and people are killed in order to snatch business interests and territory. It's commonplace, the Holy City The result of local people's resistance is often that their homes are smashed up, or they turn into a bruised corpse lying in the sewer the next day. The city guards of the Holy City itself have long been controlled by the Chamber of Commerce, and they almost completely ignore such things. , in the Holy Capital, the major chambers of commerce are like the monarchs of the underground kingdom.

"The east gate belongs to the Sixiu Chamber of Commerce, and behind the south gate is the Kalea Chamber of Commerce. The guard at the north gate has collected a full five thousand imperial gold from the Habidia Chamber of Commerce, so it was used by Karimo, the opponent of the Habidia Chamber of Commerce. The Sri Lankan Chamber of Commerce has been killed. As for Ximen, the jailer died unexpectedly last month and there is no one there now. In fact, it is a back door for several other large smuggling organizations." A man with a serious expression said Su's middle-aged woman in palace attire put the document in her hand in front of Putamia and told Putamia about the current situation in the Holy City. This was a person sent by Sokutus Dailan, named Xin'eluo. , can be regarded as a middle-level person in the Imperial Bank, and she is also the person in charge of the Imperial Bank's business in the Holy City. It was she who made the suggestion to close the four gates as soon as Putamiya returned to the Holy Capital.

"Judging from the reaction after receiving your order, they don't attach much importance to His Highness's return. They just held a meeting. At the meeting, most chambers of commerce believed that even if His Highness returned, he would not be able to control the Holy City at present, and they would only need to isolate His Highness. That’s it,” Xin Eluo said.

"So, no one proposed to kill me?" Putamia snorted.

"The ones who escort His Highness back are His Majesty's Guards. Their eyes are not blind."

Xin'eluo shrugged his shoulders, turned around and glanced at the undulating mountains to the east, and said in a deep voice, "Sir Dailan specially told me that it is best to cut through the mess quickly with a quick knife. The major chambers of commerce have not yet felt the crisis. At that time, control the Holy City in one fell swoop, otherwise once the major chambers of commerce react, even if they dare not use force against the Holy City rashly, they can still block the Holy City."

"So you won't take action in the Holy City at all!" Putamia's pretty face was stern.

"Miss Dailan believes that as long as a unified effect can be achieved, why does it matter if His Highness personally initiates it?" Xin'eluo calmly took out a report from the table and opened the previous list in front of Putamia. He said, "Your Highness just needs to show that everything is calm now. For example, this list, His Highness can take a look at it."

"This is a list of slaves bought and sold"

Potamia's eyes were stunned. Potamia was no stranger to the slave trade, because the Order State was a big country in the slave trade before. The identity on the list made Potamia hesitate for a moment. They are all Harvey women. They are women from aristocratic families that were affected by the war some time ago. There are even some women among them. There are even a few women with extraordinary surnames. These noble ladies in the past were secretly kidnapped by smuggling groups during the chaos on the Harvey Plateau. They were used as private goods to be auctioned in the underground market. Slavery is prohibited in the empire. , but it can be bought and sold openly in the Holy Capital. This kind of appearance has both appearance and appearance. Young women of this status should be worth a lot of money in the underground market. Depending on their appearance and status, the prices listed above are between 5,000 and 10,000. In order to prevent these women from resisting, the smugglers only give them a small amount of food every day. and drinking water. For most buyers participating in the underground market, they look pale and Beautiful ladies who are fragile and unable to resist the temptation are far more interesting than unruly women who are stubborn and rebellious, so this is the custom. Smugglers use hunger to defeat the will and resistance of these noble ladies, so that they can learn to obey, and they can also It can be guaranteed that these women do not have too many scars on their bodies.

"Yes, tonight, Your Highness

"Tonight, are you taking action?"

Putamiya paused for a moment, opened her eyes wide, suppressed some speculation in her heart and said

The return of the Holy Father of the Order State and the order to close the four doors were actually deliberately released smoke. Sokutus Stellan, the business queen, may have arranged everything a long time ago. The reason why it was not triggered was actually Just waiting for myself, the bigger Things, the more people are needed to take the blame, this is the Holy Capital of the Order, and Sokutus Stellan is going to take action here. The one who takes the blame seems to be sent to him naturally, and he comes back in such a high-profile manner, No matter how you look at it, you are the perfect candidate to take the blame.

Outside the Holy Capital City, the rain washed away the woods, and the sharp spear points reflected a frightening light in the rain. The soldiers' stern faces showed a sinister murderous look. A group of cavalry passed by, and only heard "Pfft" There was a low thud of horse hooves and the crisp clang of armor, and then rapid horse hooves sounded from the front, "Reporting to your lord, the entire army is ready."

The general leading the team lifted the visor of his helmet, revealing a chiseled face with Chinese characters. His thin lips were pursed tightly and his eyes were slightly squinted. Potamia had already entered the Holy City, so no matter whether this order was issued by Potamia or not, Yes, in the eyes of others, he is a descendant of Potamia,

In front of the sight of the general leading the team was a low-lying wilderness. A large villa with a blue roof stood there. The guardrails were vaguely positioned, and the guards standing in front of the guardrails could be seen.

The villa of Roham's family is also the headquarters of the largest smuggling organization in the Holy City. The outer wall of the low manor was suddenly brightly lit. Countless large lanterns were lit up on time and in exactly the same rhythm as a dating couple. , arrogant and domineering to the extreme,

If you want to take action, naturally you have to do the biggest thing

Five thousand private troops of the Imperial Bank are lurking here. With an order,

"Do it!" The battle-hardened commander looked grim. A group of tall and strong heavy infantrymen brandished heavy hammers and directly broke the outer door of the villa with a continuous cracking sound of "click, click, click".

"Who are you? This is the property of the Luoham Chamber of Commerce." A strong man with a ferocious face stood under the night wind and roared wildly, the sound shaking the countryside. In response to him, the sound of a crossbow being raised was heard.

The strong man's whole body was shaking, and countless arrows shot into his body. He felt like a dead leaf that would wither at any time in the autumn wind.

"Go forward, take no prisoners!" The officer leading the team drew his command sword with a low and hoarse voice. The arrow rain was like a black waterfall falling from the sky, flooding the poor manor.

The resistance in the entire manor only lasted for an hour. After the last person was shot into a sieve, empty carriages slowly drove into the manor where the ground was still bleeding. The empty carriages went in, and then were shipped out full of unknown goods. Initially The items transported were the property of the smuggling group, and then included gold and jewelry. The accumulated wealth was astonishing. Although there was no time to count it in detail, the list in front of him still made the leading officer take a deep breath.

Folding the list in his hand and putting it into his pocket, his eyes were full of shock that could not be concealed. It was really amazing. If he hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it to death just by smuggling. There were only four people entrenched outside the Holy City. How could the Luoham Chamber of Commerce accumulate such a level of wealth?

It’s no wonder that the above made it the first target.

When the pigs are fattened, they must be slaughtered. I turned a blind eye to the smuggling. This is the secret! It has to be an admirable approach,

Precise intelligence, precise strikes, and then quick escape. If such an attack had been launched before, everyone would immediately think of the Imperial Bank, which has professional mercenaries.

But now, everyone's eyes will only be on Pope Potamia, who has just entered the Holy City.