Before dawn, the heroic city of Osgilia was still asleep and did not wake up. This heroic city on the mainland, the most prosperous city of miracles, seemed to be still sleeping. The street was cold and clear. Occasionally, a cool breeze blew by, which alarmed a shivering wild dog in the corner of the wall. The crystal raised his head to look around, and then leaned over and ran into a garbage dump next to him.
The road was cold and clear, and the huge streets were empty. Only occasionally a team of city defense patrols walked by shivering in the cold wind. When walking, the cold armor made a clinking sound, and the soldiers said The heat of his breath turned into a cloud of white mist, and he cursed the damned weather in his heart.
Indeed, compared to previous years, this year's early spring was surprisingly cold.
Osgiliari is still at peace, the rich and aristocratic people are intoxicated, and the war last year seems to be far away from everyone. Anyway, there are always two or three fights with the Odins every once in a while. Said it was already a habit.
Because the Byzantines have a deep-rooted concept: no matter what, with the strong national strength of the Byzantine Empire, no matter how vicious the barbarians of the Odins are, it is absolutely impossible to really defeat us.
This view was very marketable among the upper classes of the Byzantine Empire, and even many scholars of the empire held this view: whether it is comparing the population base or the vastness of the country, even if the Odins temporarily occupy the battlefield Some cheap, but they did not destroy the strength of the Byzantine Empire at all. Byzantium has a population of tens of millions, the population base is several times that of the Odins, and the land area is even wider - although the land of the Odins is also very vast, most of them are the ice and snow of the North, and the real arable land is more than Byzantium. Much less, and the Odins were known for their savagery, far inferior to Byzantium in terms of overall national strength and civilization.
From this point of view, the occasional war, won or lost, doesn't seem to matter that much.
In the upper echelons of the empire, everyone has more things that seem to be more worthy of attention. The warlord party is busy fighting for power with the royal family, trying to force the royal family to make concessions, carve out more administrative regions to set up new military regions, and the royal family is busy fighting against the big bosses of the military. The nobles were busy quarreling with the Senate, and repeatedly demanded that the Senate be abolished and replaced by the Council of Nobility in order to gain a higher political status.
In the past few days, everyone in the imperial capital has undoubtedly been paying attention to the health of the supreme majesty in the palace.
The current Emperor of the Empire, His Majesty Cantos, the Great Lancer, has been very ill in recent days.
The severe cold in early spring was the hardest for a sick old man like him.
In fact, since the spring hunting meeting, His Majesty's health has not been very good. It seems that the drinking and drunkenness on the hunting ground has added a lot of burden to his already sleepy body. His Majesty returned to the palace that time. After that, the body has not been getting better. I heard that eating has become more and more rare recently. The medical officer of the palace has repeatedly asked His Majesty to stop drinking, but the heroic Cantos the Great has been unable to do so.
According to some news in the palace, I heard that the emperor vomited blood again two days ago, the entanglement of the disease, coupled with the severe cold in early spring, some old wounds left by the emperor's early military career broke out together, and it is said that he was in a coma. A day later, after the palace medical officer conducted a consultation for the emperor, I heard that when they left, the faces of several palace medical officers were very gray.
Many sensitive people can't help but guess: I'm afraid, it's time to change the imperial power again
Just when everyone thought that Emperor Cantos was dying, in those days, even the prime minister and the ministers kept going into the palace to visit His Majesty's condition, and the one most trusted by His Majesty, Mr. , and simply moved into the palace. Junker, the leader of the dark night forest, the emperor's most loyal dead man and the notorious butcher who made the upper class of the empire talk about discoloration, guarded Emperor Cantos. , and even near the palace where the emperor lived, all the original garrison troops had been replaced.
It's time, it's time...
Everyone has such a thought in their hearts, that the old man who has ruled the empire for decades should have reached the end of his life.
But in the end, something surprising happened.
The emperor was seriously ill and finally summoned His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Garcia. When the father and son met, the emperor also summoned several important officials such as the Prime Minister of the Empire and the Duke of Minas, but that meeting turned out to be a farce.
I heard that the emperor originally planned to pass the throne, but I don't know what happened. After seeing the crown prince, His Majesty suddenly became furious, and in front of several bigwigs, he scolded the crown prince, The words are very sharp, and they have even torn his face! I will scolded all the previous words that were fundamentally unworthy of the table.
It is said that His Majesty the Emperor actually scolded the Crown Prince in front of the Prime Minister and the Duke of Minas and others, scolding the Crown Prince as a waste and not thinking about progress, and the focus of the accusation was mainly on the Crown Prince's private life. On the crown prince, it is almost impossible to name the crown prince's quirk that he likes men and does not like women.
As His Majesty spoke, he was furious. He sat up from the sickbed, grabbed a candlestick at the head of the bed and smashed it in the face. The Crown Prince knelt on the head of the bed and was hit on the forehead by the metal candlestick on the spot. Immediately there was blood all over his face.
Seeing such a scene, the prime minister, the Duke of Minas, and the ministers were all stunned, so they hurried up to explain.
The crown prince himself knelt there silently, letting the blood flow on his face, dyeing his collar red. The always silent and rigorous His Royal Highness did not seem to have any reaction, and there seemed to be no expression of anger or shame. , still the same indifferent and silent expression that has remained unchanged for many years, silently took out a silk scarf to wipe the blood, and then knelt there without saying a word.
He was like a piece of dough, no matter how much His Majesty pinched it, there was no reaction.
As a crown prince, he was so weak that many ministers could not help but sigh in their hearts.
With such a strong character as Emperor Cantos, he was almost overwhelmed by the warlords and henchmen of the military. After the cowardly and cowardly His Royal Highness Garcia was replaced in the future, I am afraid that he still does not know how to let those warlords and henchmen take over. Arrogant and domineering...
That night, according to unreliable news and rumors, it is said that after the Crown Prince and the ministers retired, His Majesty the Emperor coughed up three bowls of blood on the sickbed! The emperor was so frightened that the valet around him was pale, and he hurriedly called back the crown prince and ministers who had already returned home.
At that time, everyone thought that His Majesty might not be able to do it this time. According to the custom, the ministers waited outside His Majesty's palace until dawn, and even the Prime Minister had silently planned the emperor's funeral and new appointments in their hearts. How should the emperor's coronation ceremony be carried out, and even sent someone to inform His Majesty the Pope overnight, to wake up His Majesty the Pope in his sleep, in order to deal with the emperor's death at any time.
But this time, a miracle happened.
After waiting all night in the cold night, when the day dawned, Emperor Cantos miraculously got better!
When His Majesty summoned the ministers again, his complexion was obviously much better. Although he still occasionally coughed, his face was no longer so gray and frightening.
And soon, in just two days, His Majesty will be able to get out of bed again. He seems to have regained the health of the past. He even took the time to review the performance of the Imperial Forest Army. Some people say that His Majesty walks like a fly, There was no need to support him when he got on the horse, and he also rode a few laps in the palace's horse farm.
However, after reviewing the exercises of the Royal Forest Army, His Majesty seemed to be very dissatisfied with the training of the Royal Forest Army. He revoked the position of the Royal Forest Army Commander on the same day, and demoted the Royal Forest Army leader who was loyal to the royal family to the local army to be a bad general. .
Then the emperor ordered that a banner regiment be drawn from the Osgilia City Guards and incorporated into the Royal Forest Army, and a banner regiment was drawn from the Sixth Corps of the Central Standing Army, that is, the old unit of Rabbit Ruhr, and incorporated into Osgilia. City Guard.
This kind of transfer immediately aroused the sensitivity of the military, but considering the poor health of the emperor, every generation of emperors has always made some similar transfers when handing over power before the final death to stabilize the imperial power, so the military is still silent. Endured, and did not obstruct.
It was the emperor's subsequent order that made everyone in an uproar.
Emperor Cantos ordered the Crown Prince Garcia to be sent to the 13th Corps for training! Let him assume the false title of an observer, and then ordered him to take office immediately after receiving the order.
Throwing the dignified crown prince of the empire to the thirteenth corps, the most painful and dangerous part of the imperial army, to experience? This decision immediately shocked everyone!
In the past, even if the emperor wanted to let his successor experience it, although he was also assigned to the army to cultivate his military strategy, he would try to choose some relatively safe places, such as the city guard army, or In the standing corps, choose a place that is closer to the imperial capital to experience it.
But the 13th Corps, the famous Rodriguen Corps! Although it is the first iron army of the empire, the synonym of this iron army is: dangerous, harsh, and... The casualty rate is extremely high!
Moreover, after the battle of the Odins, after Ruhr took over the Roderian cavalry regiment, this army is currently stationed in the northeastern frontier of the empire. The conditions there are very difficult, but the people are sturdy. His Majesty ordered to allow Ruhr Recruit troops on the spot to replace the troops lost in the last war. And that place is not far from the Wildfire Plains to the north. Once there is a new battle with the Odins, there is no doubt that the Roderian cavalry regiment will go to the battlefield as soon as possible!
Going to serve as an observer in the Rodriguez Cavalry Regiment is really not a good choice!
Some people may think that if there is going to be a war, then the crown prince should be recalled immediately, and there will be no danger - but you must know that the order to send the crown prince back is clearly announced! Everyone knows about it with great fanfare, but if the crown prince is recalled once the war is fought, then this face will be embarrassed! If nothing else, a timid and withdrawn evaluation will never get rid of it! As an emperor, how could he harm his successor so much
More importantly... the time for the experience is not right!
As usual, it would be nothing to leave the crown prince to experience. But the problem is that now the old emperor is seriously ill. Although his body has suddenly recovered a lot recently, who can guarantee that this is not the last time to return to the light? In case the old emperor suddenly kicks his legs... Then the crown prince is at the border of the empire, far away from the imperial capital... At that time, it is impossible to guarantee that there will be no trouble when the throne is handed over!
At such a time, it would be unwise to let the crown prince go out!
If you change to another country or another dynasty, I am afraid that the emperor will be so tossing the crown prince, then everyone will definitely think that the emperor is probably dissatisfied with the crown prince and wants to appoint another prince!
But the problem is, Emperor Cantos, but such a son!
For this order, the prime minister and other ministers of the empire persuaded the emperor for a day, but Emperor Cantos was firm and unshakable. On the other hand, the Crown Prince himself, after receiving the order, did not resist. He packed his bags that day, went to the military headquarters to get the official document of the appointment, and took a team of guards out of the north of the city that day, without even entering the palace to take a look at his own. Father. Many people think that the crown prince is afraid that he will go away with anger!
In any case, the crown prince left Osgilia very quickly, and Emperor Cantos swept away his earlier illness and appeared in front of the ministers in high spirits every day, and issued sixteen orders in one breath within three days. These sixteen orders are mainly aimed at the preparation of the Imperial Central Standing Corps after the war. Especially during the war, the Second Corps and the Ninth Corps, which were destroyed by Hasting's raid, were rebuilt. It was ordered that the backbone of the Imperial City Guard be transferred to the 2nd and 9th Corps, and then a group of graduates were transferred from the Imperial Military Academy to serve as low-level officers.
As for the selection of the generals of the Corps, the emperor and the big men of the army fought for several back and forth, and finally made a compromise with each other.
Tune the former flag officer of the 13th Corps First Banner Regiment, Sosia, to be the general of the Second Corps!
Tune the former flag officer of the 4th Banner Regiment of the 13th Corps, Butler, to appoint the general of the 9th Corps! !
These two candidates were the royal family swearing to the death, and after a few days of tough resistance by the military, the emperor made compromises in other aspects: the original three counties in the south of the empire, from the imperial administrative region, were assigned to the adjacent ones on the spot. Tema Military Region!
Three counties, in exchange for the positions of generals of two corps, it is difficult to say who won the battle between the royal family and the military.
But no matter what, after this series of orders was issued, everyone set their sights on one person!
Adric! !
Many people were surprised to find that after this series of appointments, the biggest beneficiary was actually the newly appointed Deputy Minister of Military Affairs of the Empire! !
You must know that Adric has worked in the 13th Corps for nine years, and it can be said that he has the heart of the army!
This time, two flag officers were transferred from the 13th Corps to be promoted to generals of other corps—the most important in the army is their seniority and background! In particular, it is the relationship between the old subordinates and the superiors!
The new generals of the 2nd and 9th Corps are all Adric's old subordinates. In this way, his influence in the army has been greatly improved in the future!
In addition, the 13th Corps was originally his old army. Although Ruhr took over the position of general, how can the influence of nine years be easily eliminated? Moreover, Ruhr himself is not a person who likes to take power. With Adrick's nine years of management in the Thirteenth Corps, who doesn't think of him well
In this way, the empire has a total of thirteen standing corps, and there are already three corps, all of which can be regarded as Adric's door! !
Even in the upper echelons of the empire, there is a point of view: in the imperial military, after the original Duke of Minas line, a new "Adric line" will be born in the next ten years.
Of course, when calculating this "Adrick Clan", many people also include Xi Ya, because Xi Ya was once Adrick's personal soldier, and was born in the 13th Corps. After he became the military commander of a county , of course, it is regarded as Adrick's direct line.
Many people have been discussing that His Majesty is cultivating Adric on purpose. After all, although the Duke of Minas is very influential, the Duke is old after all, and no one knows how many years this elder in the imperial army can live. His Majesty now relies on the influence of Duke Minas to quell the army, but once Duke Minas passes away, a new heavyweight is needed to replace the role of Duke Minas.
There is no doubt that Adric, who was born in the Eagle family, has outstanding military exploits, is loyal to the empire, and has a clear distinction with the warlord party, is a very suitable candidate.
But some people think that the emperor is just confused!
Although Adrick has many benefits, he is not suitable to replace the Duke of Minas!
The existence of the Duke of Minas, the biggest use, in fact, mainly lies in his shock to the warlord party! This veteran in the army has countless people in the army, and even many people in the warlord party have served under the old duke. No matter how the warlord party and the royal family fought, he has always maintained his respect for the Duke of Minas. Three points of respect.
The biggest role of the duke is to act as a lubricant for the two sides every time the royal family and the warlord party are fighting too fiercely, so as to keep the overall situation of the empire stable.
And there is no doubt that Adrick does not have such a role! This domineering general is too stubborn, and can be said to be incompatible with the warlord party! His Majesty cultivated him like this, although he valued his prestige and military exploits, but ignored his relationship with the warlord party! I'm afraid that after such a tough figure comes to power, instead of lubricating the relationship between the royal family and the warlords, it will add fuel to the fire! !
For a time, the upper echelons of the empire were surging, and many people were carefully observing the situation...
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"Bah!!!" Ruhl spat fiercely.
He held a sweet potato in his hand, chewed a few bites, spit out the scum, sat in the tent, and carelessly put a pair of fat thighs on the case.
"Fuck, you say that the emperor is confused? I think these guys who say this are confused." Ruhl was very unscrupulous in evaluating the emperor, but the flag officers of the 13th Corps in the big tent did not have the slightest Heterochromatic.
After all, the tradition of the Thirteenth Corps is arrogant and domineering! Since Ruhl took office, everyone's impression of him was: this guy is too fucking cunning, and too fucking able to run!
But I didn't expect that after Ruhl came, he wiped away the cunning and rascal appearance before, and turned into a domineering iron-blooded image! After he came, he reorganized his armament in a drastic manner. This guy, who was always lazy, actually went down to the flag regiment himself, lived with the soldiers, ate together, and trained together! During the cavalry drills every day, Ruhr ate and lived in the barracks, and he was frank and upright, with clear rewards and punishments. Immediately, the 13th Corps went up and down, and his impression of this general who "only ran away" was greatly changed.
Moreover, the emperor ordered Sosia and Butler to be transferred from the Thirteenth Corps, and Ruhl was also very grateful.
In this matter, he is also considered a profit.
Although Socia and Butler are both rare and excellent generals in the army, after all, both of them are old subordinates of Adric and have always been arrogant. This kind of veteran in the army, it is difficult for Ruhr to subdue them, and it is difficult for the veterans in the 13th Corps like them to be suppressed by Ruhr.
And especially Sosia, this guy used to lead the Heavy Cavalry Flag Regiment in the 13th Corps. It was the elite of the 13th Corps, and it was also the person that Adrick originally valued the most. He succeeded himself as the general of the Thirteenth Corps in the future. But in the end, with an order from His Majesty, Adrick transferred away, but sent this fat Luer.
In the 13th Corps, these veteran flag officers may not be convinced. Fortunately, in the last war, Ruhr's troops and the Thirteenth Corps fought together, which was considered to be some friendship, and this did not cause any open opposition from below. It's just that someone like Sosia, who was originally the future general of the 13th Corps, was naturally disappointed.
His Majesty ordered him to be transferred away. Although Ruhl was distressed for the loss of an excellent cavalry general, he was relieved.
In the last war, there were originally several flag regiments in the 13th Corps, among which Funnata, who was originally the 3rd flag regiment, died in the battle in charge of the aftermath. But now Sosia and the silver-haired man Butler have been transferred away, and several veteran flag commanders have left most of the time. It will be much less difficult for Ruhr to conquer this army in the future.
Today I just sent off Sosia and the silver-haired man Butler, who were ordered to be transferred. The two old men of the 13th Corps had no emotional dissatisfaction. After all, they jumped from the flag regiment level to the general level. Ruhr's same-level army leader. On the contrary, the two of them opened up their hearts and had a deep conversation with Ruhr, asking Ruhr to lead the iron army of the Thirteenth Corps well, and never fall into the spirit of the Thirteenth Corps.
The two admitted frankly that in the days when Ruhl was transferred, everyone could see clearly and understand that this General Rabbit was not a slapstick, he was indeed a capable person. The spirit of the Corps is somewhat incompatible, and everyone has a little more concern in their hearts.
After sending the two away at this moment, Fatty held a military meeting in the tent, and now all that was left were the old confidants he had brought from the 6th Corps, including a few old men from the 13th Corps. They all fell in love with Ruhl.
Ruhl recklessly commented on the emperor's recent actions, and sighed: "Who said His Majesty is confused, these recent actions are awe-inspiring! Hmm... But among them, I am afraid that more of it is the one from Kavisher. Wisdom of the old man."
After speaking, he paused and ordered: "All flag regiments prepare, let's prepare for the arrival of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, His Majesty sent the Crown Prince to us, which is the greatest trust in the Thirteenth Corps, everyone should be careful. , don't fall for the prestige of our Thirteenth Corps!"
After the order was completed and everyone left, Luer sat heavily on the chair padded with fur, took a bite of the sweet potato, chewed it a few times, his cheeks bulged, and his expression looked a little grim.
"Damn... This move is very dangerous. The emperor is afraid that he is determined to openly fight with the warlords! This is the opportunity to deliberately demote the crown prince to me. The Thirteenth Corps has always been the most loyal to the empire. Troops, once your Majesty breaks with the army, it may cause a rebellion! The imperial capital has become the most dangerous place, and the crown prince was sent to me to let me protect the future prince."
After a pause, Ruhl dropped the sweet potato in his hand, walked quickly to the wall, and looked at the map above, his brows furrowed tightly.
"What is Your Majesty going to do? From the inside out? Or from the outside to the inside? Once they break with the warlords, those guys are not willing to sit still, and I'm afraid they will turn back immediately! Well... I have to be prepared here, and I will pull up troops at any time and go south. King Qin. It's just... this place is the key! Damn, why did this place become a military area in the first place, isn't that putting a shackle on your neck!"
The place where the finger is on the map is the Armenian Military Region next to the northern part of the imperial capital Osgilia!
This military region is rich in iron ore and is famous for its armored soldiers. The most important thing is that it is geographically close to the administrative district of the Imperial Capital of Osgilia! If you start from Armenia and march quickly, as long as you don't encounter obstacles, you can appear under the city of the imperial capital Osgilia in two days!
The important force of such a warlord party is under the eyes of the capital, and it is undoubtedly a sharp blade on the neck of the royal family!
After a pause, Ruhl suddenly gave a strange laugh.
"Observer, it's a fucking observer again! Last time, the dead rabbit from Bonfret became the observer, and it was also down to the Thirteenth Corps, and that guy really turned into a dead rabbit. Hmph, Let the Crown Prince himself come this time as an observer... Damn, it's too unlucky!"
Thinking of this, Ruhl sighed, hesitated for a moment, and finally shouted: "Come on!!"
Immediately outside the tent, a personal soldier with an order ran in.
"Pass my order! The 3rd Banner Regiment will go south immediately! Station a hundred miles to the south! Then ask them to move me ten miles south every three days! If the local government comes and asks, it is said that we are training new recruits and are doing long-distance travel in the spring. Pull the drill!"
The messenger straightened up and saluted and went out, but Ruhl seemed a little nervous, his eyes flashed, and he stared at the map on the wall.
The civil unrest is about to begin... Fuck, we mess up, and the Odins will take advantage of it! Odin... Grandma, you, Char, are just in the northern frontier. As soon as the Odins call, you are the first stone under the Odins' iron hoofs! Haha, if you understand the reasoning, I'm afraid this kid will be so angry that he will curse his mother.
Humph, boy, is it a hero or a bear, it depends on your performance in the future.