The Sun King's Evidence

"I don't quite understand what you mean, my Majesty." Ryan replied calmly. He walked to Sulia's side calmly and hugged the female knight's waist.

"Let's talk somewhere else." Emperor Karl-Franz smiled slightly, his expression unchanged. The emperor raised his hand and motioned for Ryan to follow him to the corner of the town.

There was the emperor's temporary palace, with heavy troops stationed there.

Ryan was still hesitant, but Lidya Su squeezed Ryan's hand: "My husband, let's go together."

"But……"

"You should go, and so should I." Sulia said gently: "The emperor obviously has something to say to you, and he will not hurt you."

"This doesn't seem like a friendly invitation." Ryan was still hesitating.

"You have to consider the cost. The emperor is a mature politician. He obviously has some private issues to talk to you about." Sulia took Ryan's hand and said in his ear: "Obviously, this has nothing to do with you and your relationship. Something to do with the arrival of Teclis.”

"Understood." Ryan nodded and followed quickly.

A group of people came to the garden of the emperor's palace. The emperor's temporary palace was a famous local baron's mansion. However, the baron did not like to live here. Normally, the baron usually lived in a castle fifteen kilometers away, only collecting taxes and summer vacation. Will come to the mansion from time to time.

A large table and chairs were set up in the courtyard, and the emperor signaled all the Reich guards to retreat, leaving only his flag officer Ludwig, a taciturn old man with a white beard, standing behind the emperor.

The weather was very cold, and the cold wind was blowing. When the Lanes sat down opposite Emperor Karl-Franz, someone immediately brought hot coffee. The emperor picked up the coffee cup with a look on his face. Laughing: "Drink it. I swear on the name of the Friedrich family that there is no poison in the coffee."

"Your Majesty, you don't have to do this. I believe you won't poison." Both Ryan and Sulia picked up the coffee cups and took a full sip.

"The arrival of Teclis surprised me. The High Elf Supreme Mage has always been unable to come to the empire without important matters. His appearance both makes me happy and worries me." Emperor Karl sat on the wooden Sitting on the armchair, he said to Ryan: "Because every time he appears, it means something big has happened."

"He came because of me." Ryan picked up the coffee.

Coffee is a high-quality luxury product in southern countries. The price of a kilogram of coffee ranges from tens of gold marks (equivalent to gold crowns and gold dinars). The emperor drank obviously good coffee. The smell of coffee Rich and fragrant, Ryan focused his gaze on the emperor's face.

There was only sincerity and enthusiasm on Karl Franz's face. The emperor smiled and said: "Yes, he may indeed have come because of you, Lion Malcador, and killed the chosen champion of Khorne, 'Red-Eyed' Aegir-S." Tyrbjorn, the king of Scarins has brought deep pain to all the order races. Therefore, it is not surprising that he comes because of you, but this does not mean that Lord Tigris has , there is no higher or more important mission, am I right? Teclis has been in your territory for more than a month. In addition to contacting the wood elves, you must also have reached some kind of deal with Teclis, even Is it an alliance?"

"Your Majesty, your observation skills are so keen. I think you already have the answer in your mind when I say yes or no." Ryan did not directly answer Emperor Karl-Franz's question.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to answer, I understand." Emperor Karl-Franz continued, with a smile still on his face: "You are the divinely chosen champion of the Lady of the Lake, and Teclis is the supreme champion of the high elves. Mage, you are all God's favored ones, and there are certain things that you cannot say casually. I understand, but what I want to ask is, Ryan, what do you think of me? Or, what is your evaluation of me?"

"His Majesty Karl, you are strong, confident, enthusiastic, and perseverant. You are an excellent politician and general. However, your talents as an emperor have yet to be tested by time." Ryan squinted his eyes and gave his complete evaluation. .

"Yes, you are right." Karl Franz's face became serious: "I have one last question, Mr. Lane, what do you think the emperor is?"

"The democratically elected monarch, the ruler of darkness, the inheritor of all the sacred heritage of Charlemagne from the mountains to the sea..." Ryan subconsciously wanted to give a standard answer.

"That's for the civilians. Let me tell you, Ryan, in the eyes of the elector, what is the emperor?" Karl-Franz sneered: "The emperor of the empire is a mercenary who helps the elector fight! That's it! Just like the mercenary group called Blood Ax you saw today!"

Lidya Su noticed Ludwig snorting slightly.

"The electors have all the military and political power in their own provinces. The empire is unified on the surface, but in fact each province is an independent kingdom. The electors are content with their own rule. Only when they find their enemies When they are unable to deal with it, they will think of the emperor they elected." Karl-Franz continued: "Don't think about the problem too simply. The only things that I, the emperor of the empire, can really control are the Reikland and the important town in the south. These two places."

"I know this." Ryan said softly: "But, my lord, such independence is necessary."

The empire is closer to a confederal system. Each province's military, law, diplomacy, conscription, and finance are independent. The emperor is the nominal leader of the country, but in fact, the emperor can only command and control his own territory directly under his jurisdiction.

Emperor Karl-Franz and his family relied on owning the richest and most powerful Reikland in the empire to occupy the emperor's position all year round under this elector system. All provinces were autonomous in peacetime, and only in The Imperial Parliament will be jointly convened when facing a huge foreign invasion. Normally, Karl Franz is just a "number one" elector with equal status as other electors.

The only contribution of the major provinces to the emperor was the "Princes' Tax", which was about 3%-4% of the total tax revenue of a province. This tax was often "ignored" by the elected emperors, but Emperor Karl-Franz's The strong push to reinstate this ignored tax.

"Yes, this is necessary." Karl Franz nodded.

Why divide the electors instead of continuing the unification? Because this kind of independence is necessary for the empire. As we all know, the empire is surrounded by enemies on all sides, and there are countless evils and darkness hidden in the dense forests and mountains inside. Many electors fought endlessly from the time they took office to their death. If the "security war" is relaxed for a moment, towns will be destroyed, villages will be reduced to scorched earth, and mankind will fall in the face of darkness.

Therefore, the provinces of the empire need to be so independent, and they need to firmly control their own armies to ensure that they fight against evil as soon as possible.

When a province is unable to fight against a terrible threat, the Imperial Parliament will be convened, and the emperor will summon the electors to jointly resist foreign enemies.

"The nobility is corrupt, officials are corrupt, the electors argue endlessly because of their own interests, and the empire is not always united as expected like Charlemagne or Ludwig the Savior." The emperor took a sip of coffee and continued Said: "It's useless to just convince me, Ryan. I understand that Teclis has made a great contribution to the history of the empire, but this is not a reason to blackmail us into obeying his words."

The emperor's implication was that the political situation in the empire was far more complicated than everyone imagined. It was useless to convince Emperor Karl-Franz alone. He could only represent himself and the Reikland.

"The internal affairs and palace intrigues of the high elves are far more complicated than those of humans. Your Majesty Franz, I believe His Excellency Tigris can handle all this." Seeing Ryan's silence, Sulia took over the topic empathetically. , the female knight smiled and said: "You just need to convene the Imperial Parliament."

"It is not difficult to convene the Imperial Parliament. I believe that the arrival of His Excellency Teclis will give all the electors a reason and excuse to gather together." Karl-Franz nodded, and the emperor continued calmly: "The difficulty is , what does Lord Teclis want? Or, what does he want the empire to do for the high elves?"

At this time, Ryan knew that the conversation could not continue without some "dry information". The Emperor had already stated his hopes and difficulties to them. Through clever dialogue skills and environmental pressure, the Emperor had already taken over the conversation. Take the initiative.

The fundamental reason is that Lion and Teclis need the Empire. The greatest and most powerful human country in the old world has faced the threat of Chaos since its establishment, and has persisted for two thousand years. If it were not for the Empire, Chaos might have destroyed the world long ago. , maybe the green wave has engulfed the world.

"Facing the threat of Chaos, everyone must unite and prepare for the next invasion. According to the prophecy, the next large-scale invasion of Chaos will not be too far away." Ryan finally came up with some useful information.

"What a coincidence, my advisor, the great alchemist Belshazer Geert also said the same thing." Karl Franz nodded: "My great alchemist told me that maybe the northern barbarians won't know how to do it for decades." They will move south on a large scale, but once they go south under the leadership of a Chaos Eternal Chosen God, it will be another terrifying war comparable to the 'Great Holy War'."

"Now the Eternal Chosen God of Chaos has appeared." Ryan said calmly.

"Then...it is not difficult to understand why Lord Teclis came to the empire." The emperor then nodded with understanding: "I will cooperate with you."

"It has nothing to do with me specifically what Lord Tigris wants to talk to His Majesty and the electors, but please believe that Lord Tigris must be thinking about the overall situation." Ryan said in a deep voice: "Everyone in this world has To face the threat of Chaos.”

"Of course I believe that Lord Teclis will consider the overall situation. He and the things he has done in history have proven that he is a noble person, but the overall situation of the elves is not the overall situation of mankind, Lord Lane." Karl-Fran Ci put away her seriousness and smiled again.

"The overall situation of the empire is not the overall situation of Britannia, His Majesty Franz." Ryan said tit for tat: "I know what you want to do."

"Hahaha~ Then I think we have something to talk about. You have your position, and I have mine. We fight against evil together. This is called an alliance." The emperor laughed, and he was no longer concerned about this issue. "Okay, I will fully support you and Tigris."

The conversation with the emperor made Ryan feel the pressure. The emperor in front of him was wise, decisive, enthusiastic and full of faith. This was not in Britannia. Ryan could rely on his strong strength to challenge the king with the gods of the fairy in the lake. , this is the Empire. As the most powerful human country in the old world, the Empire never needs to look at other people's faces. It is precisely because they have firmly stopped Chaos from moving south that Britannia can be relatively peaceful. .

"Your Majesty is really humorous." Sulia said with a smile.

"This is all forced out. In the imperial court, you have to learn to smile. A smile can make your allies confident in you and make your enemies uneasy." Emperor Karl-Franz relaxed a little, he had already After getting the information he wanted, the emperor turned his attention to Ryan: "Your Excellency Ryan, sometimes I feel very sorry. You understand that the empire is your home."

"I already have a home." Ryan smiled and hugged his wife's slender waist: "This is my home."

"Hey, I passed you by in Miljödenhaven. This has always made me feel very regretful. An excellent warrior was poached by the Kingdom of Knights. In fact, if you have such a feat, I can also seal you An earldom." The emperor shook his head regretfully.

"I did this series of feats only after I received the lady's favor, not because I had a series of feats before I received the lady's favor. When I was in a critical situation, it was the lady who helped me." Ryan thought I want you to come and poach me too.

"Yes, that's right." Karl-Franz knew that Lane had made up his mind and the emperor was asking for trouble. He continued: "So I am very optimistic about you, Lord Lane."

"I also think highly of myself, my lord."

"No, you don't understand that I am optimistic about you. I am optimistic about you, just like your maid is optimistic about you." The emperor was still smiling, and the ruler of the empire only had amusement in his eyes: "I am optimistic about you becoming King, King of Britannia."

"..." Ryan's face changed slightly.

"I know a lot of things, Sir Ryan, I know everything."

…………

Coming out of the courtyard, Ryan shook his head with a wry smile: "The emperor of the empire is really not simple. Compared with him, Richard is just a tinker. He knows human nature very well and knows when to advance and when to retreat. Be consistent about when to compromise.”

Sulia held her husband's arm. The female knight rolled her sea-blue eyes and suddenly said, "I think you will gain a lot from this trip to the empire."

"How can I see it?"

"Because you need each other." Sulia continued: "Teclis needs you because you are the hero of mankind. Everyone in the old world knows Ryan Malcador, and you come to mediate and coordinate. The suggestions and ideas of high elves are more easily understood and accepted by humans. Teclis brings you here to serve as the 'leading party', and you will be the one to open the gap."

"You need Teclis, because Teclis's high prestige and status in the old world can allow you to accomplish many things easily. With the flag of Teclis, my husband, this will be beneficial to you in many things in the future. plan."

"Emperor Karl-Franz needs the two of you. The appearance of the two of you is to add two shining diamonds to his emperor's throne of authority. Your appearance and introduction to the Elector by him is to increase his leverage in the Imperial Parliament. , a powerful weapon to strengthen your imperial power and status, both you and Teclis will be subconsciously considered by the selected emperors to be his allies of Karl Franz."

Lidya Su summarized it briefly: "In this way, a solid iron triangle is formed. You need each other and help each other. You have both feelings and interests. This is a perfect alliance."

Ryan laughed so much that he burst into tears: "Lidya Su, it's such an honor to marry you. It's over. I feel like I can't live without you."

"Me too, my husband."

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