From any point of view, General Hughes, the current governor of the Armenian Military Region, can be regarded as a powerful figure in the Byzantine Empire, and it is still the top class.
If there is a list of "people hated in the emperor's heart", then Governor Hughes will be one of them, and there is no doubt that it will be at the top.
The Armenian Military Region is centered on the capital city of Merika, plus six surrounding cities and dozens of villages and towns. Importantly, Armenia is also rich in iron ore - this makes the Armenian Military Region's comprehensive strength enough to rank it into the fifth empire of the Empire. The top three in more than ten military regions!
What worries the royal family even more is that the Armenian Military Region is too close to the imperial capital Osgilia. It is the closest military region to the imperial capital. If it goes smoothly, it will only take three days for the rapid march from Merica to Osgilia!
Next to the couch, there is such a big tiger sleeping, I am afraid that no emperor can sleep well.
Governor Hughes is not yet fifty years old, and in the usual sense, it is the peak period of a man's power - with enough experience and rich experience accumulated over the years, and at the same time not too old to be old and confused. level.
And what also worries the royal family is that this Governor Hughes can indeed be regarded as an excellent leader. His family has owned the Armenian Military District for seventy years, and he is the third generation. Among the three generations of governors, in his hands, the strength of the Armenian military region has developed to its peak state. The Armenian military region under his rule is more prosperous and powerful than the era of previous governors.
As the third-generation governor of the family, General Hughes has considerable intelligence, and his character also has the advantages of success: decisive, tough, ambitious, and when it comes to compromise, he will show enough cunning.
It is worth mentioning that this Governor Hughes also has a "feature" that is widely circulated among the upper echelons of the empire.
Despite his official rank as Governor of the "Military District" and the rank of Imperial General, Governor Hughes was never a qualified soldier. In his resume, he has only experienced one war, and that was in a war when the current emperor, His Majesty Cantos, led the imperial army against the invasion of the Odins. In that war, Hughes, who was still serving in the army at the time (the Governor of Armenia was Hughes' father at that time.) served as a deputy flag officer of the flag regiment and experienced that war and experienced him during the war. The only battle in his life that ended with the defeat of the Imperial army.
The only thing Hughes learned in that fight was that the Odins went mad, far more savage than you might think.
This became one of his character flaws: throughout his life he had held an indescribable fear of Odin's country, though he had kept it deep and deep. It can be said that Governor Hughes is the kind: the internal iron fist rule, the lack of a tough leader externally.
Another characteristic of character is: General Hughes seems to be born with an irresistible yearning for "noble".
That is, although he was nominally a soldier, an imperial general, and a governor. But he seemed to wish that he could become a real noble all the time.
Yes, this Governor Hughes is a standard "noble control".
Even in his daily life, he strictly demands himself by the standard of an aristocrat - it can be said that if you don't know Governor Hughes, then you will feel that he is more than 90% of the nobles in the empire, More like a nobleman!
First of all, he pays great attention to etiquette. Basically, the etiquette and behavior of the nobles are almost completely and meticulously implemented in his life. He likes to wear fancy clothes, and at the same time he has learned the "kindness" of the nobles. The definition of this "aristocratic kindness" is that he may often show his kindness to some lower class people. But this kindness is just displayed for the sake of showing, it does not mean that he really has mercy, just to show his benevolent side properly. He may occasionally say a few kind words to his groom or even the gardener, or even pat the other person on the shoulder affectionately, but the real effect of his politeness is to remind the other person: I will always be the master, and you Always be a servant. I can show my kindness every now and then and I can look great, and if you dare to forget who you are, you're overstepping.
In addition, Governor Hughes pays special attention to the aristocratic lifestyle. For example, he is very picky about food and clothing. He likes to hold a banquet in his splendid Governor's mansion after each prayer day, and invite celebrities from all walks of life to participate in the grand event. During these balls or banquets, he would wear the most traditional aristocratic dress, and even on some major festivals, he would wear a wig.
Also, Governor Hughes fanatical yearning for aristocratic culture and civilization. Everyone knows that the real aristocrats pay great attention to "tradition" and "family glory". Regrettably, the family of Governor Hughes has no proud traditions: his family is only three generations old, his grandfather was the first Governor of the Armenian Military District, and in fact his grandfather was only a young The top soldier in the army only made his fortune through the opportunity of war—even his grandfather didn't learn to write his own name until he was 20 years old. By the time of Governor Hughes' generation, Hughes had learned at least three languages and could write poetry in aristocratic squiggles.
What's more, in order to satisfy the "noble dream" in his heart, he once hired the empire's first-class heraldry experts and historians, and passed a series of unthinkable textual research, trying to verify their family from his ancestors. Ancestors of noble blood: Under the influence of large sums of gold coins, some scholars succumbed, and they "discovered" that the ancestors of Governor Hughes had the blood of an ancient royal family. Of course, more people think that this so-called discovery is simply made up. However, Governor Hughes did not think so. He spent more money to have those experts verify the family emblem and various traditions of the noble blood, and also revised a thick genealogy - it is said that the book The genealogy is thicker than the Imperial Code.
It can be said that Governor Hughes is an anomaly among all the governors of the military region. On the one hand, he is the governor of the military region and a beneficiary of the Tema military region system. At the same time, he must also try his best to safeguard the interests of this group. On the other hand, Governor Hughes seems to be a little disdainful of being in the company of those governors by nature, and he is more inclined to make friends with those noble classes.
In this regard, he is actually a very contradictory person. Because everyone knows that the existence of the governors of the military region is for the purpose of confronting the imperial family. The aristocracy, on the other hand, is the heartfelt supporter of royal rule.
Therefore, if Governor Hughes really wants to be a complete aristocrat, then he must first be truly loyal to the royal family.
On the other hand, to the embarrassment of Governor Hughes, he did not have a true title of nobility.
Until now, the title on his head is only a "Lord", the lowest title, not even recognized as a real noble title at all.
Everyone knows that Governor Hughes dreamed that the emperor would give him a real title of nobility - there was even a joke in the upper echelons of the empire: if the emperor wanted to relieve the threat of the Armenian military region, he would not have to have thousands of troops, he only had to promise to seal him off. The title of an earl or a marquis, maybe the governor of Hughes will lead his ministry to come down.
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Salvador and Hughes were old acquaintances, so he was familiar with his colleague's peculiar hobbies. After killing the imperial capital, he led people all the way into the Armenian military region, got rid of the pursuers behind him, and finally came to Merika City and the Governor's Palace.
Although El Salvador urgently needed to meet with Governor Hughes immediately to discuss important matters, he was politely informed by the butler in a dress at the Governor's Palace: The Governor is having afternoon tea, please wait for the distinguished Lord El Salvador. When the Governor-General finished his afternoon tea and changed his clothes, he would come to see him immediately.
Looking at the butler dressed like a palace steward, Salvador endured his anxiety.
He was familiar with Hughes, and knew that this guy's fanaticism about noble life, the noble afternoon tea time, was simply sacred and inviolable in this guy's heart.
However, Salvador and his party still received generous hospitality from the Governor's Palace, and everyone got food and rest.
In the process of breaking through the siege, among the more than 100 elites in El Salvador, only less than 60 people ran into the city of Merica. And among the 60 people, there are still several injured, and they have also been fully taken care of here.
At this moment, in the small conference room of the Governor's Palace, Salvador only brought two trusted guards by his side, as well as two ladies, Adeline and Daphne. The two ladies rubbed their numb wrists and sat helplessly. In the chair, looking depressed.
After half an hour, Governor Hughes finally appeared.
The governor of Hughes, who was less than fifty years old, was slender and tall, looking much younger than El Salvador, his face was the kind of slightly sickly pale that nobles dreamed of, and he even had his left cheek. There is a black mole on it, and the beard is trimmed extremely neatly.
When the Governor Hughes walked into the reception room, his first move was not to go up and say hello to El Salvador. His eyes fell on the two girls for the first time, and then his eyes suddenly lit up. He walked quickly past Salvador's side and came to the front of the two girls. With an elegant smile on his face, he nodded slightly, bowed his head, took Daphne's hand, and gestured with his mouth. For a moment, a standard hand-kissing ceremony could no longer be standard: "It's an honor to meet you, Your Highness." Taking a step back, he took Adeline's hand and gave a hand-kissing ceremony: "I hope that your two highnesses will be there at the same time. You can enjoy a happy mood here, and I promise that here, you two will be treated as you are."
El Salvador didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and just watched Hughes finish his "aristocratic" etiquette. Finally, when Governor Hughes finally turned to face him, Salvador stepped forward and gave him a hug. Hughes seems to be very uncomfortable with this kind of hug. In fact, in his understanding, nobles with status will never greet with such a slightly vulgar etiquette.
"I need to have a good talk with you right away." Salvador stared into Hughes' eyes, this guy who has always been a bit of a tongue-in-cheek, although everyone knows each other for a long time, but the two have never been friends, never been.
"I know you're in a hurry." Hughes was not in a hurry: "But, not in a hurry at this moment."
Next, the "Governor of Nobles" actually pretended to chat with the two female highnesses for a long time, complimented each other's beauty for a while, and also talked a few words about the weather. Adeline and Daphne were obviously embarrassed. Their identities were the captives of these rebels and the lambs that fell into the enemy's hands, but this Governor Hughes seemed to be the one who entertained the two distinguished guests who attended the banquet. Kind of style.
When El Salvador's face became more and more ugly, Hughes finally ended his aristocratic performance. He seemed very satisfied with the process, so he slowly raised his hand and summoned the bells and whistles butler: " Take the two distinguished ladies down to rest, give them the best courtesy, and be sure to satisfy our distinguished guests."
Salvador frowned immediately. He did not expect that as soon as they met, this guy would blatantly want to take these two important prisoners away from his hands, but Salvador hesitated a little and acquiesced to this move, after all You are now in the opponent's territory.
"Okay, can we start talking about business now?" When the two girls were taken out, Salvador asked in a low voice. Anyone who knew him knew that this was the adult's patience reaching a critical point. omen.
"Don't worry, my friend." Hughes sat down slowly, he took out a handkerchief and wiped the corner of his mouth, then smiled: "In fact, I have made all the preparations, my elite infantry regiment Made all the preparations yesterday - hopefully this news will ease your anxiety."
Salvador breathed a sigh of relief, his face a little better.
"However, I also have a problem." Hughes still had a smile on his face: "I only have a standing army of 20,000, and in the imperial capital Osgilia, there are now more than 40,000 troops. This does not include hearing the news that the army was quickly assembled. The rest of the Central Standing Corps. What do you think I should do? I could mobilize more troops, but you know, my territory just had a snowstorm last winter, and I was short on food, and…”
"Enough." Salvador interrupted Hughes coldly, he stared at Hughes: "I think you understand what we are facing now! That old lunatic with the crown has finally gone crazy! Now is our worst Good opportunity! The emperor wants to eradicate us all, Hughes! All!! This is a war, this is an official declaration of war, and all the governors of the Tema military district will be involved! I need your army to attack immediately , make an offensive gesture to Osgilia! Because you are the closest military region to Osgilia! You must march immediately to show our tough attitude! Let all people in this empire know that we are special The supporters of Mara will never compromise!! Do you understand!!"
Hughes smiled.
"I don't think I need to remind you to understand that, also because of the location of the Armenian military region, while the old emperor is cleaning the imperial capital, he will gather all the troops in his hand to attack here as quickly as possible!" Salvador sneered: "The city guards' One corps, plus the Royal Forest Army, and the 2nd and 9th Corps that have just been reorganized, add up to more than 60,000 troops! These troops will appear under your eyes at the fastest speed! The emperor will take the first step first Trying to wipe out Armenia and get rid of the biggest threat around him. So, Hughes, you can go round with me here, or put on a pose with me—and honestly I hate that kind of aristocratic tone of yours, you're not a noble at all, No! You know this very well in your own heart. Those nobles hate us and despise us! In their hearts, we military governors are just a bunch of upstarts."
Hughes finally put away his smile, and he said slowly: "As you said, the emperor will gather at least 60,000 troops. Our Armenian military region is not strong enough to face the three central standing corps alone."
"You are not alone," Salvador assured: "My territory is already being mobilized, and my army will move as quickly as possible. Also all of our fifty-four military regions, each of which will show their Of course, as the vanguard, Armenia will be compensated to a certain extent." Salvador said here, he took a deep breath: "I personally make a promise that in the future, once Osgilia is captured, then the original Osgilia and the imperial capital will be included in your future territory! You can get the greatest heroic city in the world as your capital! Although this is only my personal commitment, I promise that in the When it comes time to make a collective decision, my allies and I will support this proposal, and I think, with you and your allies, we have more than half of the votes at the roundtable."
"A very tempting proposal." Hughes squinted, his eyes were full of smiles: "Osgilia, the city of miracles... As the new capital of my 'Armenian district' in the future... Sounds like It's a very good proposal."