In the city of Osgilia, in the urban area of the rich and powerful forest to the west of the city, a building that is not too conspicuous, under this dark cloud, also seems to be dyed with a layer of gray color.
There were no pedestrians on the long street, only the occasional group of soldiers hurried past.
The door of the tall house was closed, but only one side door was open. An old servant sat on a chair by the door, looking at the sky lazily, sighing softly: "Come and go, go and go again. Come on... It's been decades of fighting, and I haven't seen a rest."
The wealthy and common people in the city are all worried about their future destiny. This old servant in a linen robe, but his face is leisurely and indifferent, as if he has no fear at all.
It happened that when the alleys were empty, a few luxurious carriages stopped outside the gate of the house, and a few people in colorful clothes stood outside the gate anxiously waiting for something.
These guys, looking at the clothes, I am afraid that they are usually those who stand in the clouds. If they know them, they will probably exclaim when they see these guys. The titles and official positions of these guys, if they are placed on weekdays, are simply a condensed version of the central government of the empire.
But at this moment, they lowered their brows and pleasing to the eye, standing at the door, looking at the reserved and arrogant look of the old servant, they did not dare to attack at all, and waited anxiously.
"Just wait if you want, we old duke, no one is there!" The old servant sighed, and continued to shrink back in the chair, squinting his eyes and blowing in the cool breeze. The wind blew the messy hair on his head, but revealed a shocking scar on his forehead.
In a big mansion in the mansion, a mighty old man with silver hair stood there with a stern face, a whip in his hand, and he let out a cold snort from his nostrils!
There was blood on the whip in his hand, and a few pieces of broken clothes were hooked!
Snapped!
The whip was thrown heavily on the ground, and the old man seemed to have finally calmed down his anger. He raised his eyes and looked at the person in front of him: "Do you understand?"
The young man in front of him has a handsome face, but a pair of flying eyebrows, which makes his appearance a bit more innately heroic and domineering than handsome. He was wrapped in a few beef tendon ropes, and he was very sleepy. His clothes had been torn in many places by the whip, blood was already seen in several places, and his skin was ripped open. But there was still unwillingness and unyielding in those eyes, and looked at the old man proudly.
"Father, no matter what you say, I don't understand!" After a pause, the next sentence became even more ruthless: "The country is in trouble to see a loyal minister! Everything I said and did was only to make myself a worthy person. The surname Minas!!!"
Duke Minas swayed, looking at his son's stubborn eyes, those two eyes seemed to penetrate the old man's heart at this moment!
The old duke finally breathed a sigh of relief, slowly walked to the side, sat down on the armrest of the chair, looked at his son's unyielding eyes, and suddenly gave a wry smile.
… "madness!"
This short word took a long time to spit out of Duke Minas' mouth.
Roddy looked at his father, at the military veteran who had held his prestige for decades, at the duke of the empire who stomped his feet even to those arrogant warlords who had to give three points to his father - father in recent years. Old age, his father's cowardice, his father's keeping a low profile, the dissatisfaction accumulated over the years, at this moment, under the stimulation of the whip and blood, suddenly erupted.
"Father! I'm not stupid!!" Roddy straightened his spine, stared at Duke Minas, and shouted: "You can't understand what I'm thinking! You've never understood what I'm asking for! "
The old duke squinted his eyes, and he didn't know how many thoughts were hidden in his eyes. After listening to Roddy's two sentences, he still shook his head slowly.
"Stupid... and... opinionated!"
The old man's Adam's apple moved, he raised his eyelids again, and looked at the son in front of him, but his voice became softer, as if he was talking to himself: "You think I'm getting old and I don't have the courage... You think that with you This immature shoulder can carry the glory of the Minas family... You are against me everywhere. In the past few years, you expressed your dissatisfaction with me with self-defilement, and I put up with you. You want to make a career. , I'm worried, and I've done it for you. Well, if you want to build a career, I'll send you to the north! That kid named Xia Yaleiming, I'll send you to his side. Alas... The only thing I did wrong, I just didn't urge you to get on the road! I had already expected this big change. I had already guessed that this place in the Imperial City would turn into a whirlpool. Hmph, the old man Caviehir has been calculating for a lifetime, what he has in mind. , Although I don't know everything, I can always guess a few points. Seeking to live in death, hehe! It is nothing more than seeking to live in death! I am wholeheartedly, just want to throw you out of the imperial capital, and throw this far away A whirlpool that will devour countless people!! Hmph, that kid named Xia Yaleiming, Caviehir is so fond of him, he must have already made his way back, and only by that kid is the safest place to go. ...Unfortunately, you don't understand, you don't understand my plan, you just think that with blood and recklessness, it is called courage? Stupid... Self-righteous stupid... "
Speaking of this, the old duke seemed a little tired, raised his hand, and wanted to touch the teacup on the case, but it was empty. Then he remembered that the teacup had been smashed into pieces by his anger before. . After licking his chapped lips, he looked at Rhodey in front of him again.
"...You blame me for keeping you at home. Hey! Good! When the national disaster is on the cards, you Minas, you will go to the city to fight bloody battles! You have to be loyal to the empire, and you have to be a real hero! Sword, protect this imperial capital!! You blame me, you hate me, you hate me for keeping you at home, hate my old man for not allowing you to go out, hate my old man for tying you up and shrinking, hate my old man for hindering your pace of retribution! You secretly wanted to run out today, you wore the armor hidden under the bed, you took the sword I gave you back then, and you took your eighteen guards with you! Haha! It’s good! You Once on the city wall, the sword sees blood, with your martial skills, you can always cut down a few rebel generals, and when others see you, they will shout, 'The Duke of Minas is mighty, worthy of being a member of the Minas family. Man'... hey! That's what you think, right?!"
Roddy was stunned, opened his mouth, looked at his father, but couldn't say a word.
What my father said was exactly what I thought. Originally, these words should have been said confidently by himself, but his father said it on his behalf, and he used that kind of understatement, even... even a little disdainful tone. Word by word, why did it become so unpleasant? Why does it seem to have a tinge of inappropriate smell? !
"You are young and full of blood. My old man doesn't blame you. He is even a little happy." Duke Minas shook his head: "It's a pity that what Caviehir said back then was a good one! "
He looked up at Roddy: "A few years ago, after a banquet, Cavie Hill commented on you, do you remember?"
Roddy opened his mouth, his face suddenly flushed red, he gritted his teeth, but said it reluctantly: "Mr. Cavie Hill said I... said I..." He took a deep breath: "The layout It is biased, not handsome, or a good general!"
If someone else said this comment, Roddy's arrogance would be disdainful at all. But it happened to come from the mouth of the almost legendary Cavie Hill...
Not handsome, or good general!
This sentence, if you evaluate others, is already a rare praise, but it is on his Rody!
... It's just swearing! !
His father, Duke Minas, was the military veteran of the empire, and he was the real commander of the empire! But when you get to yourself, you can only be a general, not handsome... Doesn't this point to your nose and say that you are unworthy? !
"Although the old man Cavie Hill has not dealt with me for decades, I admire his vision. Now it seems that your vision is indeed not enough... Hmph, it is better to say that you are biased. Now! I'm afraid it's still in my face! To me, you are simply stupid! Self-righteous stupid!"
The old man said, his tone became more and more solemn.
He looked left and right, only the father and son were in the room, and there were only a few loyal family iron guards in the courtyard outside the door, and there was no one else, the old man sneered.
"The glory of the Minas family... Hmph, a joke, it's a joke at all. You stupid boy, don't you think about the glory of the Minas family? Since your sister married the crown prince, I have I've become a tortoise with a shriveled head, and I don't care much about military affairs anymore, I'm just a gantry. You say I'm cowardly, you say I'm old, you say I'm sullen... Humph! Why don't you understand? The real one doesn't want anything The face of the Minas family reappears, not my old man, but... Your Majesty!"
After Duke Minas finally uttered the last word, his body couldn't help singing, as if he sighed: "The glory of the Minas family, in my hands, has reached its peak. The number one in the empire. Military veteran, hum, it is enough to say that it is honorable. But when this honor is reached to the extreme, what does it become?"
The old man's eyes suddenly changed color, staring at his son, and his voice was full of coldness: "Do you really think that our family will become like the Tulip family, and we will die!"
Roddy's face turned pale and his eyes widened at his father.
"The empire doesn't need any 'the glory of the Minas family'! Your Majesty doesn't need any more 'the glory of the Minas family'!! You didn't understand this truth back then, but now, don't you understand it? Your sister married After the crown prince, this is a line drawn by His Majesty for us, a circle! In the circle behind this line, the royal family can accommodate us! Once this circle is out, it will be a disaster! Stupid! Stupid! I I want you to read more books and look at the general history of the mainland... Don't you see something in the way?" The old duke shook his head: "The empire has been founded for thousands of years, except for the part of the founding of the country... Who is the emperor behind? When you are on the throne, you can let your foreign relatives lead the army?! You don’t understand what Your Majesty means! Your sister has become a crown princess and will become a queen in the future! My Minas family, as long as the Byzantine Empire is not destroyed, then there is no need to be rich. Worry! But you must never be in power again!! You are full of years of blood and retribution... Hmph, don't you understand that our Minas family must never have any relationship with the army in the future!"
"You were dissatisfied with that marriage back then. I understand that you thought I sold my daughter for peace. Hmph..." The old duke shook his head: "In the war against Odin last year, you were outside my study. Kneeling for a day and begging me, let me throw you into the army, go to the north, go to the front line, and I didn't fulfill your wish, you doubled your prostitution, ruined your reputation, drank, played with women, and those whore in the imperial capital. We've been in trouble all day... I thought to myself, let it go, even if you really become a dummy, with your sister and me, how can you keep the status of the family. You don't understand the truth, your sister But they all understand!! She, sees it better than you!
Later, when the war was over, His Majesty gave an order, and Adric came to Beijing. You run to see Adric again, begging him to get you into the army... Well, you've learned to be smart! I know it's useless to beg me, so I ran to beg others! However, although Adric is upright, he is not a fool after all.
Alas, when your sister married the crown prince, you didn't understand why.
Then at the beginning of this year, His Majesty brought Adrick to the position of Minister of Military Affairs, and also got two of his direct descendants to the position of Corps generals, and created an 'Adrick' line, don't you think? Do not understand yet!
Empire... No need for the Minas family to come forward! ! This is what Your Majesty means! ! "
Roddy has been stunned, staring at his father, looking at his old father, as if talking to himself.
"I don't need it... I really don't need it anymore. Haha... Do you remember? The night before Adric took office, he came to see me. He was my student. However, he stood outside the door for a I didn't even see him that night, he just saluted the door of our house and asked the doorman to bring me a sentence, saying that he understood. My old man is relieved... Hmph, although Adric Upright, but he is smarter than you! He understands that His Majesty lifted him up to replace me!"
"Father, father, I don't understand, Your Majesty..." Roddy stammered.
"I don't understand what? I don't understand why Your Majesty abandoned our Minas family to support Adric on power? Why didn't you support a ready-made veteran of the military like my old man? Or, why didn't you train a rising star like you?" Duke Minas A smile, but a little deep smile!
He stared at his son and took a deep breath, but the last two sentences made Roddy's heart tremble!
"... Think about it carefully! If Your Majesty supports Adric on the throne, you can still support others to balance him! At that time, it is better to support Sarum Bonelli, or choose another loyal aristocratic family. Adric Although he is in the limelight, it is still not as prestige as I was in the past. If you hold him up, the royal family also has the power to restrict him!
But if... the emperor holds us Minas... Looking at the entire empire, where can I find a person who is qualified to fight with my old man in the ring to limit me? "
thump!
Hearing this sentence, Roddy was originally kneeling on the ground, but suddenly he sat back and fell on the floor! Staring at his father with wide eyes, Chichi couldn't say a word!
"If you want to blame... It's because you were born in our Minas family. Don't mention the glory of the Minas family, hehe, just because your surname is Minas, you'd better not touch any military power in your life. This is your mission as a member of the Minas family!"
The father and son looked at each other for a long time, but this time, there was no longer a trace of fiery and eagerness in Roddy's eyes, and only the deep loneliness and depression remained.
Finally, the sound of hurried footsteps came from the corridor outside the door, and a servant wearing a samurai robe ran in quickly. When he came in, his face was a bit solemn: "Sir Duke... outside the door..."
The old Duke of Minas' face sank, looked at the servant, and said coldly: "Didn't I say, no matter who asks to see, it will be blocked!"
With the news of the defeat of the reinforcements in the south last night, the hearts of the people in the empire were relaxed, and many people began to think of ways to prepare backup. Seeing that the Byzantine ship was afraid of sinking, at this time, loyal Of course there are those who are going to die, but there are also a lot of those who miss him.
The warlords in the city have long since been cleaned up, and at this time, it is very rare to want to connect with the road and the other side.
Some people, after thinking about it, suddenly remembered that the elder Duke of Minas was here.
Whether the empire survives or the rebels enter the city, the lives of others may be at risk, but this old duke is rock solid.
Not for anything else, but only for the old duke's entire life, and he has outstanding prestige in the army. Even the governors of the former Tema military region among the rebels have many people who used to serve under the old duke. , and some even have teacher-student friendship with the old duke.
Even if the disaster is coming, the old duke is still a way to survive!
Since last night, many interested people have begun to place Duke Minas one after another, but the old Duke ordered the door to be closed, and no matter who it is, it will be blocked from the outside.
The servant who came in, after being reprimanded by the old duke, hurriedly said in a low voice, "Your Excellency... It was sent by Sarumbonelli, the eldest son of the Prime Minister!"
Sarum Bonelli sent his son
Duke Minas was stunned, and a strong sense of unease immediately surged in his heart!
When others come to see me, maybe they are just looking for a way to prepare for the future. But...Salem Bonelli definitely won't! The Sorom family is the leader of the noble faction, and the warlord party is inseparable, others will be shaken... But the only way for Sarumbonelli is to carry on the ship of the Byzantine Empire! There is no other way!
"What about people!" The old duke asked subconsciously.
"Already gone." The servant bowed his head and replied, "The prime minister's son only came with a sentence. It was the prime minister who entrusted him to tell you..."
"what?"
The servant's expression was also somewhat awe-inspiring, and said: "The Prime Minister has said that Your Majesty has, has... already..."
"What the hell!" The old duke stared suddenly, and with his majesty, the stabbing servant hurriedly bent over and said quickly, "Your Majesty granted him the power to control all defenses in the city, the Prime Minister said that he was not adept at military strategy, so I thought Master Roddy can be hired as a military adviser to his staff."
As soon as he heard this, the old duke's face suddenly collapsed!
He took a few steps back in a row, as if he wanted to sit in a chair, but this time, he sat in an empty space, and he fell to the ground in such a chaotic situation!
The old man immediately wanted to get up subconsciously, and when he moved his arm, he suddenly opened his mouth, and a mouthful of blood spurted out! !
Roddy on the side, who was still tied with a tendon rope, saw his father fell and vomited blood, exclaimed, his arms shook, and a few crisp sounds, the tendon on his body suddenly broke inch by inch, and quickly He strode to his father's side, picked up the old man, put it on the chair and lay down halfway, and quickly wiped his chest.
"Father! Father!!"
Duke Minas opened his eyelids, and there was blood on the corner of his mouth and beard. He looked at his son, took a deep breath, and his voice was a little weak: "Help me up..."
"Father, you just vomited blood..." Roddy looked anxious.
"Damn!!!" The old man glared suddenly, the light in his eyes was so piercing that people didn't dare to look at him: "Help me up!!!"
How could Roddy dare to disobey? He quickly put the old man on his back and sat up straight, the old man closed his eyes, and was silent for a few seconds. When he opened his eyes, his eyes were full of light - but his face became more and more bloodless!
"Prepare the horse, gather the people... Bring me my robe!! And... those guys outside the door, let them go, and if they don't go, the stick will hit them! It's all scattered! Hurry up!!" The old man quickly got down After a few orders, the servant was still hesitating, but the old duke snorted heavily, "It's a military order!"
The servant immediately raised his chest, saluted with a snap, turned around and strode out, full of murderous aura! Obviously, the servants of the Minas family were all the personal soldiers of his army in the past.
"Your Majesty authorizes Saron Bonelli... The Prime Minister has hired you to be an incompetent military advisor..." The old duke looked at his son: "Do you know what it means?"
Roddy shook his head anxiously.
"Yes... Tuogu!" The old duke suddenly burst into tears: "Your Majesty, we're going!"