Realm of Power

524 The Elegy of the Royal Court (2)

A not-so-large earthquake in Palawan, Kyoto, has just hit here. There are collapsed houses and homeless refugees everywhere. Although the Ministry of Government and the Ministry of Internal Affairs immediately arranged manpower and material resources to repair them. , but due to the vastness of the project and the high requirements of King Haraus

"It must be built more beautiful and luxurious than before to show the majesty of Rui Erdian"

Therefore, it has been delayed in completion, including the Palace of Freire, the seat of His Majesty the King's court. * The court of Eredian has not been held after the earthquake.

Things that had to be decided through group discussion and debate became a situation where His Majesty the King and the eight core ministers discussed it and then promulgated and implemented it.

This kind of small-scale meeting in the name of the entire kingdom is usually called a royal meeting, because His Majesty the King is less than three meters away from the participants, instead of being at least eight meters away like the morning court, standing behind Even His Majesty the Emperor's face could not be seen clearly.

The location of the imperial meeting has been changed to the Omolan Palace on the west side of the palace. It is the palace closest to His Majesty the King's bedroom and is most convenient for the emperor's movements.

He only needs to get up from his beautiful personal escort, and he can appear in front of the most important courtiers within three minutes. This makes the imperial meeting often held in the middle of the night or early in the morning, as long as the king likes it, 8 A minister must be on call at all times

The government affairs reached Dilinad, who has been deeply tired recently and almost unable to deal with it. The situation has become so serious. Although the Dongting people's offensive on Palavon was defeated, according to the latest intelligence, in the northern territory where the Kugits are raging, Some poorly equipped Dongting herdsmen are taking up their garrison duties in the occupied area.

This is not good news. The appearance of these defending militiamen means that these guys from the prairie no longer just grab a handful and leave like in previous years, but have plans to stay for a long time.

However, the Ministry of Government was unable to come up with effective measures to stop it, which greatly affected the prestige that the Ministry of Government had just established. In the past, His Majesty the King would take the initiative to seek the advice of the Ministry of Government, but now, at some point, the Ministry of Government has He ignored all the suggestions from the department. He neither said yes nor no, he just said lightly "I understand" and let it go.

When he didn't know what he should do, he even had nightmares, dreaming that he was no longer liked by His Majesty the King. In this kind of suffering, he felt that he was so haggard, so haggard that even His Majesty the King couldn't bear it. The newly gifted Dorok beauty is not even excited to enjoy it. It has been a month, and the smooth skin that shines like cow's milk is not yet there.

At five o'clock in the morning, when people sleep most soundly, the guard standing at the door gently opened his Dilinade and was woken up by the guard. It turned out that it was His Majesty the King who sent a decree to him to enter the palace immediately to discuss matters.

He got up in a hurry, and with the help of the guards, he walked to the waiting carriage at the entrance. In order to be on call, Dilinard specially arranged 4 carriages to wait at the entrance 24 hours a day.

Just to reduce the time to reach the goal, if dozens of people attend the court meeting, it seems insignificant who arrives first and who arrives later.

But if it is a small circle of only 8 people, this becomes very critical.

His Majesty, His Majesty, developed the habit of being punctual when he was young. For the last minister to arrive, he is often greeted by His Majesty's sharp eyes. The feeling is like a knife gently sliding across the throat, giving people a sense of punctuality. A suffocating depression,

Last time, Dilinard enjoyed this unique experience because a carriage overturned on the road. After the meeting, he learned that several ministers who were lucky enough to attend the meeting were also blocked on that road.

It's just that these cunning guys didn't care about the face of their nobles and ran across the less than one kilometer road in front of them on foot.

As for the grumpy new Minister of Military Affairs Plais, he even snatched the war horse of a guard and forced it over the top of an overturned vehicle, fully demonstrating his fierce and iron-blooded style.

The icy cold moon hangs high in the sky, and the dark sky is filled with twinkling stars. A cold night wind lifts the curtain of the carriage and blows in from the outside, making the people who are still half-conscious

The cold wind was blowing, and the sky-wide dust shrouded the night streets of Palavon, making it look gloomier and gloomier. This great city has experienced too many changes in the past year or so.

On the way to the palace in a hurry, he saw two carriages with the logo of the Royal Ministry of Affairs coming out of the dark street corner in front of them one after another. The ruts in front of them were covered with red soil that was not found in the city.

That should be the Minister of Military Affairs Plais who has just returned from the Bordeaux front line. Only the soil there is reddish-brown and salt-alkali. The car behind him looks much stingy. Except for the logo of the Ministry of Military Affairs on the car, it almost looks like There is no sign of identity, it should be the carriage of a confidential officer accompanying the team.

The two carriages were driving very hastily and almost collided with each other. Even on a road with no traffic, they were swaying violently from side to side. At first glance, they looked like they were constantly urging the carriage drivers behind them.

"Did something happen on the front line again?" Dilinard's pale face looked a little unnatural, with a hint of ominous premonition. The past year has been a disaster for the Kingdom of Redian.

First, there was the huge southern offensive, which became exhausted in the wars of attrition, and then there was the unprecedented failure of the northern strategy of Wikiia. Not only did it lose control of the northern part of Wikiya, but its own dominant hegemony in the north was also affected. Threatened, and finally had to send troops to fight back against the prairie people as a last resort to save face.

But no one expected that the powerful Northern Army of more than 100,000 Ruidian would be defeated by the critical Wekiyans in the unstoppable western grasslands. The Git Dongting Cavalry took advantage of the empty military strength in the north and occupied Aichemore with an unstoppable momentum, and then swept across the entire northern territory.

The northern towns that used to have a large population were turned into uninhabited ruins in this brutal northern war. Even the sharp fronts of the Kujit cavalry once reached the outskirts of Palaven. If it hadn't been for the great victory of Yeruige, The March flag of Kugit East Courtyard has been displayed on the top of Palawan City now.

Rui Erdian's past glory, past glory, past pride in the world,

They were all eclipsed by that ferocious grassland storm. Although under the leadership of the new Minister of Military Affairs Plais, the Ruidian people gained some advantages in counterattack and pushed the front to the north through steady advancement. More than a hundred miles,

But how can the cultural accumulation accumulated over thousands of years in the north and the prosperous urban trade with a population of millions in the north be made up for in just a hundred miles?

The entire continent knows that the era of domination by the Ruidian people is gone. The ambitious Roder people, the rapidly rising Wikiyan people, and the Kugit people running on the grasslands are all working to create a world of their own. The era of our own nation is struggling,

Even the Dorok people in the eastern mountains have begun to become restless. There is some news that the Dorok people seem to be preparing to win the support of the Kugit people and break out from the northeastern mountains of the kingdom to establish a Dorok people. kingdom of man

Full of doubts, Dilinard's carriage pulled up in front of the palace. He quickly stopped his thoughts and got off the carriage. Under the leadership of the kingdom's guard knights, he walked through the beautiful palace gardens and passed several palaces. Arrive at the meeting venue, Omolan Palace

Dilinard finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw several ministers standing in clusters in the east and west of the palace in front of him. The ministers' dispersal showed that His Majesty had not arrived yet, and they hurriedly jumped and ran. I went over and saw the guard knights laughing in my heart. The 1i of these adults are even more agile than the real knights.

The first thing that caught my eye was the Minister of State Affairs, Degrana. This pot-bellied, bald nobleman stood on the right side of the room. He first waved to Dilinard who walked in. As the Minister of Finance, he talked with the person in charge of government affairs. Dilinard has a good relationship. In this majestic little palace, he did not dare to speak loudly. He just made a friendly gesture with his arms as a greeting. At the same time, he also quietly told him through his eyes that today's meeting may There will be some unexpected scenes.

The two people whispering to his left,

One is Dispin, the skinny Foreign Minister. This guy with a fierce and cunning face is like a vendor in the vegetable market. He has a double eye when he sees anything beneficial. The other is Bolotov, who is the chief of the palace's internal affairs. He is tall and has shoulders as wide as two people. From a distance, he looks like a winter bear that has just woken up.

The whole of Kyoto knew that he and the thin Foreign Minister had the same hobby, which was to play v-person. It was also said that their favorite posture was 2-on-1. When they were chatting happily, they would occasionally 1ù made a low chuckle full of obscenity, and it was known that these two guys had probably just been woken up from a woman's sex, and they looked quite excited. Any man would understand this kind of abnormal excitement.

The eldest prince Alexas stood at the front with an uplifted figure, wearing silver armor with an expressionless face. He ignored Dilinard who walked in and turned a blind eye. Since the Battle of Yeruige, After that, the arrogant eldest prince has become more and more likely to become the first general of Ruidian. With his strong prestige and royal status, it is naturally impossible for him to take seriously a minister of state who has lost power.

Someone said that the eldest prince told His Majesty the King many times that the reason why the northern part of the kingdom fell so quickly was related to the Ministry of Government’s failure to mobilize the entire people to resist in time. If millions of people in the north could be armed, a mere Kujit’s tens of thousands of cavalry are nothing.

"Dillinard what are you looking for?"

As if he sensed that Dilinard was looking for something among the ministers, the Minister of State, Dai Grana, who had just greeted him, quietly came over and whispered passionately in a voice that only the two of them could hear, "

"Plais is back," Dilinard said eagerly. "Just outside the palace, I saw the carriage of the Ministry of Military Affairs. The dirt on the ruts showed that he should have come back from the front line just now. His Majesty summoned us. I’m afraid it’s directly related to this matter.”

"What did you say? Prais is back."

Dai Gelan's fat body trembled, his face changed with fear, his pair of chubby little eyes suddenly became hazy, and he rubbed his hands uneasily.

For him, the name Plais was as terrifying as a nightmare.

War requires money, recruiting soldiers requires money, weapons require money, death compensation requires money, and rewards require money. For the previous series of wars and the purchase of weapons from Wikiya, Ruidian has emptied the treasury for many years, plus the North As the situation worsens, the kingdom's finances have reached a point where it cannot make ends meet.

After Plais became Minister of Military Affairs, he intensified his efforts to significantly improve the treatment of Ruidian soldiers, purchase more weapons and equipment to expand the size of the army, and proposed a so-called Great Northern Reconstruction Plan to His Majesty the King at the beginning of the month to prepare On the basis of the original Northern Army, we will expand it by another 100,000 people to reach a huge scale of 200,000 people. We will take advantage of this counterattack to regain the dominance of the North.

Regarding this plan of standing up and talking without pain, His Majesty the Kingdom just hesitated for a moment and nodded in agreement.

It is undeniable that this Great Northern Plan is very popular with His Majesty the King.

Ruidian's disaster was because the northern army was not strong enough. Ruidian, who lost his northern hegemony, was simply a prostitute who opened his doors to Kugit prostitutes. No one could stand it if he kept doing this without paying.

This is going to cost Degrana his life. In just one month, he has been robbed of the treasury by Plais and his men three times. Not only was every corner of the wall scraped clean, but it is said that even the large items in the treasury were wiped clean. Not even a mouse has escaped the clutches of these soldiers, and they even threatened to sell Deglan's dozen or so estates outside the city to repay the arrears of military expenses, which made the relationship between the frontline generals and the Ministry of Finance extremely serious. I was nervous, and the two sides didn’t fight for several times.

In the end, Deglana made harsh words: "Whoever comes to the Finance Ministry to make trouble again will fight for it and will not pay a penny." The farce was finally settled, but this also made the conflict between the Minister of Finance and the Minister of Military Affairs become a A joke in Palavon

"Yes, I saw him just now. Why did he disappear after entering the palace?"

Dilinard responded with a depressed look, then suddenly lowered his head, not daring to speak any more. This very representative action made Deglan quickly imitate him, standing on both sides with his head lowered.

The figure of His Majesty the King Harraus has been walking down the path not far away. He is a tall old man with curly hair like a lion. He looks as majestic as ever and hardly needs anyone's support. , striding at the front, the king’s demeanor is undoubtedly shown 1ù

The suffering he suffered in his youth left a lot of scars on his body, causing his left side to sometimes become unnaturally splayed when he walked. This was the sequelae of being pierced by an arrow cluster when he was young in battle.

"Everyone, please sit down." King Haraus sat down behind the lacquered nanmu tea table. He looked at the ministers who were standing with their heads down, and weakly waved his hand, indicating that everyone could sit down casually.

The moment he raised his head, the Dilinard army realized that the Minister of Ministry of Affairs, Prais, who had just disappeared, was among them.

This guy stood on the left side of His Majesty the King without any scruples, ranking at the front of all the ministers, which clearly indicated that he was the protagonist of today's imperial meeting. Even the arrogant prince was outclassed by him. Although Plais was not the king's favorite, with his status as a noble leader and his reputation for assassinating the traitor Dale William, even His Majesty Harlaus wanted him. a bit

I don't know why, but Dilinard felt that Plais's always tall and strong body looked a little hunched tonight. His Majesty the King probably didn't sleep very well either. There were dense bloodshot eyes in his eyes, which were dark. His face was an unhealthy gray, making people wonder if he was also called out of bed.

Naturally, the only one who has the courage and ability to impress His Majesty the King in the middle of the night is this fiery-tempered Minister of Military Affairs.

Sure enough, Harlaus leaned forward and mumbled feebly.

"Now that we are all here, let's have a meeting≌Rais, please explain the situation clearly and let these guys know what our enemies are doing now."

Plais's majestic body leaned forward slightly, even if it was to thank His Majesty the King for the court etiquette. His sharp eyes swept over the standing colleagues, and he said loudly and with a strong voice.

"Three days ago, the Kujit East Court Cavalry tried to occupy our fortress in Belakt, which is the center of our army's upcoming offensive and the most central node of the Bogut Corridor that blocks our northward advance. We went to Belakt. Special is equivalent to losing the Boggart Corridor. Fortunately, we defended the raid and severely damaged the 10,000-strong Dongting Cavalry team. We plan to counterattack."

Plais spoke eloquently, supplemented by contagious gestures, which quickly attracted everyone's attention.

Finance Minister Deglana and Parliamentary Secretary Dilinard are obviously very interested in his plan. If the counterattack is successful, more financial revenue and government benefits can undoubtedly be restored.

Only the eldest prince Aklisas became more and more frowning as he listened. He lowered his head and drank the soup in a depressed manner. He had already heard that there was no mention of himself in this counterattack plan.

This made him feel very angry. Plais seemed to have completely forgotten that he existed. How could he say that he was also the latest number one general of Ruidian?

If there hadn’t been a great victory at Ye Ruige, we still don’t know where we would have fled. Where would we still be able to sit here and listen to your nonsense?

Taking the faces of the ministers into his eyes, Harlaus, who was sitting on the main seat, just quietly took a sip of the steaming pearl cup,

A cup was placed in front of each person. The pure white soup is mixed with pure pearl powder produced in Nanhu Lande, exuding an elegant and tranquil fragrance.

""This is a perfect and seamless plan." Plais ended his speech with an passionate voice. He picked up the soup cup without changing and drank it all in one breath. The others just shook the tea cup and warmed it up. He touched the palm of his hand and then let go,

His fierce eyes swept around and saw the absent-minded look of the eldest prince Aklisas. A trace of anger flashed across his eyes, but it quickly dissipated and disappeared. If Dilinard had not observed carefully, he would not have noticed this slight changef

[……524 Royal Court Elegy (II……]a!!