Realm of Power

The castle of the Bollein family is located on the back hill of the Hutubane Civic Center. In the middle of the emerald green lawn, a white castle that does not look grand, but makes people feel bright, stands there.

Behind you is the blue sky, and in front is a bright water-colored corridor. The graceful straight lines reveal a pleasing beauty. The simple and bright white frame makes people feel elegance from the heart. The sky blue back and the castle The white teeth form a dreamy picture.

It seems to have been abandoned for a long time. Several corridors outside the castle have just been tidied up, but traces of the original mess can still be seen. Search them in ixi

The flowers and plants on both sides of the cobblestone path have also been uprooted, and all the precious varieties have been uprooted.

There is already a lot of black dust on the murals in the corridor. The window sills on both sides of the corridor are also thick with dust. The red carpet on the floor is also a bit worn. The surface has just been cleaned, and there are still many broom marks left.

The dilapidated scene in front of him made Burnlet, who was leading the way, feel a little embarrassed. It is said that the Northern Commander-in-Chief Jajardo, who had lived here for nearly two months, did not like the overly romantic castle of Hutubien. ,

It was believed that people would lose the courage of a Mamunuk knight if they lived in such an environment for a long time, so they set up their office in the city hall below the castle. For a while, it became an inaccessible "forbidden area"

In fact, most people in Hutubane know that all the lies about degenerate courage told by the new chief general are lies. The real reason for leaving this beautiful castle idle is to eliminate the Boleyn family's influence in Hutubane. The last thought in Tubei's heart was that the Northern Commander-in-Chief himself did not expect that the Bollain family, who had been expelled from the mansion by force, would return here so quickly, and he himself became the expelled person. object

After a simple report, Fatty was arranged to meet the former kingdom minister from Kyoto in the living room. Fatty and Nilai sat down at a long elm table and glanced at the living room in front of them. Fatty His eyebrows were slightly frowned, while Nilai had a forlorn look on her face, with inexplicable emotions flashing in her eyes.

The living room looked very simple, not as grand and luxurious as when I first came here. Some furniture with ordinary decorations and a few other long wooden tables plundered from unknown sources made it a poor living room. The extent of this made the fat man, who had been here once and seen the luxury of the Salander nobles, feel uneasy for a moment.

"What on earth is going on? Why is Hu Tubein so depressed after not seeing each other for several months?" The fat man looked slightly stunned. Taking advantage of the time before Duke Besa arrived, he softly asked Nilai next to him, who had just entered the city. The empty and cold scene he saw when he arrived made him, a person who had a great influence on Hu Tubein, extremely shocked.

Hutubein is now a complete mess. This beautiful city, once known as the Garden of the North, is withered like a rose that has just suffered frost, with dilapidated towns, mostly destroyed villages, and an empty castle. When Fat Man first came, there were about 20,000 citizens in the city. Now there are less than 7,000 people staying in Hutubeien, including a large number of refugees resettled from Vic City.

"This is all the result of the presence of the Mamunuk knights under Jajardo's command," Nilai said with a cold face. "Because Kyoto's financial resources are tight, the kingdom had privately allowed the Mamunuk knights to embezzle the spoils last year. This behavior undoubtedly greatly increased the power of the Mamunuk Knights, even surpassing the local lords!

When force loses its restraint, violence becomes the most terrible disaster." Nilai paused in her voice, clasping her fair and slender fingers together, with a hint of anger in her tone. "During the two months they were stationed in Hutu Beien, Two-thirds of the shops in the city were brutally looted, and the noble families in the city The valuable furniture and decorations in the house were forcibly dismantled and shipped away. The people's livelihood was in ruins and the economic situation was getting worse day by day. For these violent kingdom knights who refused to pay for shopping, ate and drank for free, and smashed shops at every turn, Hu Tubei The benefactor had no good feelings at all and privately called them "

"What? Are these Mamunuk knights not even sparing their own countrymen?" The fat man's eyebrows couldn't help but twist into a solemn word "Sichuan" between his eyebrows. This was the first time that the knights who robbed his countrymen heard this

"The north is a potential enemy in the eyes of these Kyoto people. How can they treat us northerners sincerely?" Nilai's eyes flickered, and the corner of her mouth curled up disdainfully. "You may not know yet, Hu Tubein was placed under After His Majesty the King took direct control of the country, Jajardo can be said to be the most important person in Hutubein. Covering the sky with one hand, the Mamunuk knights under his command who came from Kyoto and considered themselves superior naturally regarded this beautiful city that once represented luxury and wealth as their most proud trophy. The situation in the city was relatively better, and the surrounding villages were It is the hardest-hit area that has suffered "

"Village! I came all the way just now and found that many places that used to be villages are now in ruins. What is going on? The fat man's face was solemn.

"What else could be going on? It's naturally the work of those Mamunuk knights who are crazy about money!" Nilai said angrily. "These Mamunuk knights, who hold the title of heroes of the kingdom against the Normans, are... In the name of collecting protection fees, almost all villages were extorted. If they couldn't raise the money within the stipulated time, they would forcibly drive all the men, women, and children in the village to Guangping, the center of the village, and then use burning torches in their hands to kill them one by one in front of all the villagers. And the flimsy thatched house burned,

Let these poor people who have just escaped the war just watch their lives and destruction turn gray in the red flames. You know how cold last winter was. If I hadn't ordered the border to be opened and take in these poor people, I'm afraid most of them will freeze to death.

But that's it, because a large number of houses and properties were burned to the ground. In the past winter alone, more than 3,000 people died of frostbite in the villages near Hutubei'en, 80% of which were frail old people and Children, accounting for almost one-third of Hutu Bein’s population”

After listening to Nilai's accusation, Fatty felt a fire burning in his heart. He did not expect Salander Kyoto's attitude to be so cold-blooded. This kind of wanton robbery was simply treating the north as a colony where he wanted everything he wanted.

Although Nilai didn't say it, Fatty knew that these unscrupulous and brutal acts would never have happened without the acquiescence of the military commander Jiehardo. If the entire north really fell into the hands of such a person, then what would happen? It is the deepest disaster,

"Well, now that I'm here, all this will pass! Within three years, I will make Hutu Beien more prosperous and stable than before!" The fat man comforted softly, holding Nilai under the table and shaking slightly due to the force. trembling hands,

A smooth and silky feeling came from the palm of his hand, and a feeling of heart-to-heart was spreading. He could feel the grief and anger in the heart of this beautiful duchess. No wonder that when he came to Salander again this time, Nile turned out to have some feelings for her. Salander's longing for Kyoto seemed much calmer.

"You once promised me that you would bring peace to Salander!" At this time, Nilai's delicate body trembled slightly, and she suddenly raised her beautiful neck, looking at the fat man with a pair of pretty eyes, her voice was so cold and heartbreaking

"I used to dream about peaceful coexistence with Kyoto, but Hu Tubein made me understand one thing. Except for the lack of blatant killings and arson, in the eyes of these Kyoto people who think they are collecting spoils of war, the north is just one of them. It's just an object of random plunder,

Nilai paused and said, "The only good thing is that Jajardo is an ascetic knight. He believes that the strength of a knight comes from his blood. He strictly prohibits his knights from raping women, which is why many women in Hu Tubein Escaped. Otherwise, it would not just be some small-scale bloodshed, but a fierce resistance in the entire Hutu Bein, and blood would flow across every inch of the city. I really don’t want to think about that! "

At this moment, there was a sound of footsteps coming from the direction of the living room door.

Burnlake walked in with a very respectful middle-aged nobleman who was about 50 years old. This nobleman was wearing very ordinary clothes, but he had a look of contentment when he walked. At first glance, he looked like that He was the kind of person who was surrounded by people in the center. Seeing the fat man's appearance, Duke Bessa's face looked a little unnatural. His expression of worrying about gains and losses made his face full of frustration.

"Hello, noble Duke Besa, I am Vic Seton from Vic! This is my administrator, Duchess Nile." The fat man stood up and introduced himself, while Nilai next to him saluted. ,

This strange pairing made Duke Besa stunned for a moment. His eyes first swept over Nile's beautiful face, and then settled on the fat man's too ordinary face. His bright eyes were full of surprise. and curiosity,

Victonsey, this little marquis who rose up in the north like lightning, felt the influence of this man all the time from the moment he entered the north.

From the checkpoint in Kuronze to the dozen or so territories he visited along the way, this man's name was exactly like the thunderous but well-informed Duke Besa of the northern leader. I still can’t relate to this silly fat man in front of me.

"Your Excellency is the Marquis of Wicktonsee of the Northern Territory!"

Duke Besa seemed to feel that it was very rude for him to keep staring like this. He quickly adjusted his clothes and gave the fat man a very solemn gift. The depression that was still spreading on his face just now seemed to dim because of this name. many,

"I heard that the Duke has some difficulties and needs help?" The fat man gestured to Duke Besa and asked straight to the point. "If I, Victonsey, can help, please just speak out. As long as it is not against the rules of the nobility, I will Victonsee will never stand idly by! "

Seeing the fat man's cheerful words, Duke Besa sat down on the seat opposite him. He hesitated for a moment before asking, "Has the Marquis heard about the southern decree just promulgated in Kyoto?"

"Yes, I heard some! This is an extremely bad decision." The fat man nodded. He could hear from Duke Besa's tone that the Duke was disgusted with this new law. The fat man put on a face Said in an angry tone

"I don't know what's going on in Kyoto. When it needs to unite all its forces to deal with the Normans the most, it puts the butcher's knife on the heads of its own people first! Didn't the price paid by the South in this war be enough? Despite the loss acquired land, but southerners did not realize it Weak as they were, they were still fighting hard to resist the Normans, even at the cost of their precious lives. I heard that in a recent battle, more than 10,000 southern soldiers were killed. Kyoto was in such a precarious position at this moment. , even we northerners feel chilled!”

"Thank you very much!" Duke Besa's pale face turned rosy with excitement. There was a trace of crystal moisture in his eyes, and his voice trembled. "In the eyes of most Salanders, it is the cowardice and loss of us southerners that make us so proud." Attracting the ferocious beasts of Normandy, your lordship is the first lord I have ever heard speak positively of us southerners.”

"Actually, this time I came to the north, not only to ask for help, but more importantly, to give something to the northerners!" Duke Besa paused in his voice, with a look of determination on his face, and suddenly took it out of his arms A golden document was placed on the table with great caution, and he said in a solemn voice, "This is a document that has just been handed down by the royal family secretaries." The secretly signed treaty will determine the fate of all Salanders, and is also the biggest root cause of all these unreasonable actions. Before coming to Hutubein, I secretly visited the Duke of Ode in the northern mountainous area. He suggested to me very carefully that this thing should be given to you, Marquis of Victonsee!"

"Oh [a treaty?"] The fat man's face was stunned for a moment. He could tell from Duke Besa's cautious face that this thing was extraordinary. It must be something extraordinary that could make even the old fox Duke Oder feel troublesome.

"At the beginning of March this year, the Salander royal family secretly started peace negotiations with the Normans!"

Duke Besa's face was as heavy as water dripping, and he looked extremely distressed, "That is to say, the kingdom is ready to give up its plan to recover the south, and is preparing to focus on the area north of Kyoto!

We paid a very high price to steal a copy of this treaty from the royal family. It was because of the discovery of the leak that King Sultan Manhad ordered the activation of the Southern Decree in advance to brutally suppress anyone who might rise up against him. Naturally, the Mainly southern nobles! "

"What? How could this happen!" The fat man stood up with a surprised look on his face. He now knew why Duke Bessa was so depressed.

By doing this, the Salander royal family undoubtedly sold the entire southern nobility and southern land to the Normans, which was a true act of treason.

"No wonder he doesn't hesitate to use force to suppress all objections. That's it!" The fat man paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, and the atmosphere in the hall was solemn.

"And the Kyoto army has been mobilized frequently recently," Duke Besa said with a wry smile. "As far as I know, the navy that was originally suppressed in the inner harbor has been activated, and about 25,000 troops are gathering in the port area.

According to the analysis of the Grand Duke of Russia, Kyoto may attack the north from two routes at the same time! The territory of the Grand Duke of Russia and Germany has begun to mobilize, and he strongly recommended you to me, saying that if there is a war in Kyoto, his family of Russia and Germany is willing to stand on your side."