The situation in Violet City almost became Erte's personal lecture, describing the current situation from various angles. One point caught An Fei's attention. Erte seemed very extreme on the issue of military development in Violet City. The empire has express regulations that nobles with status like An Fei can have about a thousand private soldiers, but Utter impassionedly pointed out several times that this amount of troops is far from enough. He wants to use the expansion of the garrison and The method of forming a militia is to increase Violet's garrison strength. The number of people must be at least 10,000, and it is repeatedly guaranteed that as long as Violet's economy returns to pre-war levels, these soldiers can be fully supported.
An Fei initially thought that this was what Aroben meant, and after making some insinuations, he finally understood that Erte's thoughts represented the mainstream thinking of the Violet people. In other words, the people of Violet City no longer trust the empire's army. They hope that they can protect themselves and at least have a chance to resist the enemy's invasion, instead of sitting at home and waiting for the enemy's massacre.
Speaking of darkness, Erte prepared a simple banquet. At this time, the Lord of Arrowben learned the news of An Fei's return, and despite the servant's obstruction, he forced the servant to carry him down below. His hands and feet were disabled, and he needed help to walk, sit, and lie down. He looked extremely miserable, but he was in good spirits, chatting and laughing, as if he didn't care about anything.
During the banquet, Aroben winked at Utter several times, but Utter seemed a little hesitant. Upon seeing this, An Fei put down the tableware and asked softly: "Utter, what is embarrassing you?"
"It's not that you're trying to embarrass me." Utter saw that he couldn't hide it anymore and forced a smile: "Sir, you should know that when the Shansha Empire invaded, some nobles got the news in advance and fled the Violet City. Now the war is over , and they came back one after another.”
"Are they giving you a hard time?"
"No, they are still very polite to me, but..." Utter pondered for a moment: "Sir, let me give you an example. When Baron David escaped, he only took away some gold and silver jewelry and most of his family property. After they all stayed, the army of the Shansha Empire broke into the Violet City. The three brothers of the Deng family rose up and led a group of young men to resist the invaders. Unfortunately, they could not match the army. They fought and fled, and finally Fleeing to Baron David's home. The three brothers were all junior swordsmen and took advantage of the geographical advantage to kill and injure many intruders. In anger, the Shansha Emperor's team set fire to Baron David's house. Mansion, the three brothers of the Deng family who rushed out of the sea of fire were also killed."
"Then what?"
"After Baron David came back, he was very angry. He believed that he had lost almost all his family property due to the stupid actions of the three brothers, so he asked the families of the three brothers to make compensation. But all the men in the family were dead. After everything was gone, only the elderly, widows and a group of children were left. How could they afford compensation? Baron David arrested the widows and children and forced them to sign slave contracts. The impact of this incident was very..."
Before Erte finished speaking, Bravi became angry and slammed the table. He yelled: "Asshole!"
"They are indeed bastards." Utter said with a bitter smile: "But I have no power to restrain them. Even if this matter is brought to the cabinet, it will be a muddy lawsuit. Baron David's property has indeed suffered heavy losses, and the cause is also the three brothers of the Deng family. I broke into his home without permission. But it cannot be said that resisting the invasion is wrong. Who will be willing to work for the empire in the future? Even if His Majesty personally decides on this matter, it will be a headache, let alone me. This is a little peace officer."
"Did civilians respond?"
"Civilians...civilians are too simple." Utter sighed. The civilians have the courage to fight against the invaders, but they will not easily go against the nobles of their own country. The privilege system has existed for too long. Many people think that This is fair and natural, and they are used to being under heavy pressure, of course. That is if they survive.
Arrowben started to hint Utter to tell the story, but now he became more relaxed and relaxed, just waiting for Anfei to make a decision. Maybe he wanted to test Anfei's heart, or maybe he was testing Anfei's ability. .
"Chris, what do you think?" An Fei said softly.
"Utter is right, this matter is very difficult." Chris shook his head slightly: "Nobles have the right to protect their own property. If you touch Baron David, it is equivalent to violating the rights of all nobles. They will unite of."
"Now the nobles of all sizes in Violet City are learning from Baron David and doing everything possible to pass on their losses. Marquis Zuose... also strongly supports them." Utter continued. He was hinting to Anfei that Marquis Zuosei was already wooing these nobles, and he had to step up his actions. Otherwise, after Marquis Zuosei's goal was achieved, the power of Anfei, the master, would be greatly restricted.
"What's the attitude of those nobles?" Chris asked anxiously. He knew very well how powerful the influence the nobles would have.
"They know that there is irresolvable hatred between the Marquis of Djoser and your Excellency, so
All very ambiguous. "
"Hmph! I think they want to get more benefits from An Fei!" Bravi snorted coldly.
"No need for more, as long as your Excellency behaves the same as the Marquis of Djoser, they will definitely choose to alienate the Marquis of Djoser." Arobin said softly: "Although the title of Marquis sounds scary, you are the rightful master of the Violet City. , If they can’t even see this clearly, they have received many years of good education in vain.”
"How many civilians are there in Violet City? How many nobles are there?" An Fei smiled: "Let's not talk about this anymore."
"Sir, you..." Utter's face showed an anxious look.
"Don't worry, when it comes to how to handle the official affairs of Violet City, I'm not as good as you, but when it comes to how to carry out intrigues, even ten of you can't compare to me. Since I am the legitimate master of Violet City, then I don't need more. It's a justifiable fact." An Fei stood up slowly: "I want to go for a walk by myself, Chris, Susanna, you are very tired along the way, go and rest, I will be back in a while."
"Sir, the security in Violet City is very tight now. It is always inconvenient for you to go out by yourself. It is better to let me accompany you." Utter understood and stood up.
"That's fine." An Fei nodded.
"An Fei, come back soon." Susanna whispered.
"Yeah." An Fei smiled and walked out slowly.
The hall was warm as spring, but the cold wind was howling outside. Looking at the bright stars, An Fei couldn't help but feel in a trance. If it were anyone else, they might have allowed those nobles to do whatever they wanted in order to compete for the real leadership position, but An Fei was different. He always retained an insurmountable bottom line in his heart, and he still had the passion that had been suppressed for a long time. To An Fei, the three brothers from the Deng family are martyrs. Most men who grew up in a certain era are unwilling and dare not insult heroic spirits. What's more, he is not a politician and will not do anything purely for the sake of peace. Fighting for interests, let alone living only for interests. This kind of thing is not that it is difficult to make a choice, but that there is no choice.
"Sir." Utter called softly from behind An Fei.
"Utter, how's the matter with the maze going?"
"Sir, do you want to go and see for yourself? Don't worry, the people staying there are all soldiers from the original patrol. Their loyalty is not a problem, and they don't know what is down there. At most, they feel strange."
"Well, let's talk while we walk."
"There are magic circles everywhere in the maze. I'm not a magician, so I can only deal with them in the stupidest way." Utter looked around as he walked.
"Stupid method?"
"Just add people inside. Those magic arrays are very old, and most of the magic crystals store magic power. It can't be done once or twice, or twice or three times. Anyway, I asked for nearly a thousand people from General Winkler. A prisoner of war is enough to wear me down for a while."
"This is a solution." An Fei smiled and said: "How many prisoners of war are left now?"
"There are still more than six hundred left."
"Those all died in the maze?"
"Um."
"Did you attract anyone's attention?"
"This... is definitely unavoidable, but they don't know what's inside, and they won't talk nonsense outside." Utter said slowly: "I did the work of moving the dead bodies myself, and I have never used it. Others, but I really can’t pull the dead body out of the maze, so I can only let a few close associates do it.”
"Thank you for your hard work."
"This is nothing. I have always been a hard worker. If I don't do something, I will feel uncomfortable." Utter said with a smile: "Sir, you must be mentally prepared. The air in the maze is quite bad."
"So... did you find anything?"
"No, the first level of the maze has come to an end. I can't get down to the second level."
"Is there a second floor?"
"Yes, sir, you didn't expect it, right?" Utter sighed softly: "I am becoming more and more interested in the things in the maze. I am almost certain that no matter what is in it, it will not let us Disappointed."
"It seems we need help from others."
"Sir, you have so many magicians under you. If they help, our progress will be greatly accelerated. It would be even better if... we can find an alchemist again."
"Alchemist? Haha, that's no problem." An Fei's steps suddenly stopped: "Where are you going? Isn't it the wrong direction?"
"Sir, just come with me." Utter smiled mysteriously.