As an alliance of many warlords in the empire, the organization of the Red Round Table is naturally united, sharing weal and woe—at least that’s how it’s externally presented.
In fact, the group has always been united. After all, it is impossible for any individual Tema military region to compete with an ancient empire like the Byzantine Empire, and it is impossible to compete with the royal family alone. And the royal family has been trying their best to abolish the Tema military district system for decades, and tried every means to weaken the strength of the warlord party. It is only possible for the group of the Roundtable to survive—with external pressure, internal cohesion will emerge.
Previously, this organization had been bearing most of the pressure from the royal family, and most of the heads of the military regions were very clear about their situation. As a separatist warlord in the Tema military region, if he does not fight against the royal family, then he will be dead.
There is an episode here. Decades ago, the empire had encountered a miraculous opportunity—the empire at that time had begun to realize that things like the Tema military district had become a parasitic tumor on the body of the empire. Having begun to realize this problem, they set about trying to weaken the power of the warlords. At that time, I encountered a rare opportunity. Among the many leaders of the Tema military region, there was such a governor. I don’t know if his brain was flooded, or this person was really altruistic or sincere. With the idea of serving the country, he actually accepted the order to abolish him from the central government of the empire.
That Governor-General had a heroic soldier in his hand, and had land and materials, but under the abolition order from the center of the empire, he actually gave up his land and army obediently, resigned with his entourage, and ran to the imperial capital of Osgili. Ya went.
Such a situation, whether at that time or in the eyes of later generations, was simply an opportunity given to the Byzantine Empire to rejuvenate! Because at that time, the Tema Military Region had not really formed a climate, and most of the Governors of the Military Region may not be really resentful, and even many people only saved their own prosperity and wealth, or had the existing The idea of status, most people do not have the idea of subverting the empire.
It can be said that if the feudal vassal was to be cut at that time, and seized this opportunity, it may not have been possible for a major breakthrough to be achieved!
As long as the Empire can adopt the correct strategy after the surrendered governor obediently leaves office, then maybe things can be bright...
But in the end, the emperor of the empire at that time was a fool!
The emperor of the empire not only lacked the wisdom and wisdom, but also lacked the mind and courage that an emperor should have. After the surrendered governor handed over his army and came to the imperial capital obediently with his entourage, the emperor did something that was criticized and laughed at for a long time by future generations—he could hardly wait to show the majesty of his imperial power. He ordered the governor to be arrested and imprisoned! Then three days later, the unfortunate governor was hanged on the execution ground, along with all the entourages who followed the governor into Beijing!
The emperor seems to want to use this naive method to show his majesty, thinking that he can intimidate the governors of the military region who are unruly.
As a result, such a stupid act naturally cannot get the result expected by the emperor...
The governors of the military districts who were still swaying in their hearts and were still watching, and many warlords who had no resentment in their hearts, were stimulated by this incident!
If the empire at that time could treat the surrendered governor kindly, give high-ranking officials a great title, and give enough preferential treatment, even if it was just a pretence to set up a signboard... Then there might be many governors of the military region who did not have much ambition. They will probably follow suit. After all - not everyone is too ambitious.
For most people, being able to be rich and rich is enough to comfort their lives.
But as a result, after the news spread that the surrendered governor and all his entourages were executed, the entire continent was shaken!
First of all, the governors of other military regions, the guys who had been swaying and hesitating in their hearts, immediately made a decision - they would not surrender if they were killed!
The end is just around the corner! The guy who gave up his army and territory was arrested and killed as soon as he arrived in the imperial capital! At such a time, who would do such a thing again, wouldn't he be courting death himself
While not everyone has huge ambitions, many just want to be rich.
But... everyone doesn't want to die!
The emperor's absurd actions cut off the last illusions of the warlords, and even pushed most of the warlords to stand on the opposite side of the royal family immediately without hesitation! People who didn't want to be opposed at first can only be opposed!
Otherwise, it means death! What is there to hesitate about this matter
It was at that time, when the first military region suddenly stood up and made a public statement: In order to strengthen the military region's armament, the military region will no longer pay taxes to the imperial center...
When the first person to take the lead made such a move, other military districts followed suit, and even some places began to expel officials appointed by the empire.
For a time, the military regions in various regions withheld the fiscal taxes that should have been paid to the central government of the empire. Immediately, a more serious situation happened: many military regions began to jointly protect themselves, and several military regions bordering the territory often began to negotiate secretly between the governor and the governor, and then agreed to a covenant to jointly advance and jointly protect themselves.
Soon, small alliances began to appear on the mainland.
At such a time, in the face of such chaos, the incompetent emperor in the center of the empire once again made a wrong decision!
If it is said that his previous execution of the surrendered governor was because he wanted to show the majesty of the imperial power - then, at this time, things have developed to this point. In the view of later scholars, the only correct way that the emperor can take The way to do this is: just make mistakes!
Now that the situation is out of control, let's just be tough to the end! At that time, the national strength of the empire had not yet weakened to this point. The royal family still held a considerable number of troops, and the financial reserves were far stronger than that of the central Byzantine Empire today!
Taking advantage of that time, since he has made a tough head, it is better to fight to the detriment, and launch a counter-insurgency war immediately while there is still strength in the center of the empire!
Since it is tough, it is better to be tough to the end!
If that was the case, even if the empire would suffer a great deal of damage afterward, but... at least at the time, the power of the imperial family at that time could still suppress those military districts.
But the result... No!
That ridiculous emperor, after being tough at the beginning, was actually frightened by the resistance of the military districts below!
Obviously, he is nothing but a soft-hearted bastard. When it is time to be tender, he is not tender, but when it is time to be tough, he can't be tough.
In the face of the aggressive persecution of the governors from all over the country, the emperor immediately became weak. He had no courage to start a war, and even only adopted a tacit attitude in the face of the practice of withholding financial taxes by the governors of various places... Fear of war, fear of strong enemy!
The attitude of the center of the empire has increased the confidence of the warlords below.
Since that era, the imperial center has been declining day by day. Originally, if the central government of the empire had made up its mind to suppress the rebellion, at least there would still be capital to fight this war.
But after the compromise of the soft egg emperor, the military regions around the world withheld financial revenue and openly recruited troops to expand the army, while the central government of the empire lost most of its financial revenue, gradually weakened, and gradually formed a situation of strong and weak.
After that, when the successor emperor wants to make a difference, such as the emperor Cantos, even if he has the will to fight with the local warlords, he is powerless.
It was also after that opportunity that the Central Empire of the Empire did not seize that rare opportunity and ruined the good situation in vain.
What followed was that the attitude of the local warlords became more and more arrogant, and finally, those small alliances in twos and threes in various places gradually turned into big alliances. Soon after, the Red Roundtable was officially established, and the members of the first circle included almost half of the military governors at that time.
After this organization formed a climate, it became the core group against the royal family.
For decades, the Red Roundtable has been united internally, and at least on major issues, they have maintained a consistent external attitude. Internally, it can be considered to be able to communicate with each other. For example, the Armenian military region is rich in high-quality iron ore and sophisticated armor and weapons. When it is sold to the outside world, it is only supplied to the member military regions of the round table, and even refused to sell to the Empire Central!
It is precisely because such a group has displayed a gesture of sincerity and solidarity for decades. This time, when the Corsica military region was destroyed, Gaia, the son of the governor who escaped, naturally The hope for help was placed on his allies.
On the day of the defeat, Gaia was ambushed by Manninger in the field, and under the protection of a group of die-hard soldiers, he fought a bloody way to escape.
At that time, he did not return to the city—the field army was defeated, and most of the army was finished. Gaia also understood that the city would definitely not be able to hold, so he simply did not go back.
And he and his people originally wanted to flee to the east of the military area to reorganize the troops and then try to recover, but Manninger's speed was faster than he expected!
Manninger took the capital city of Corsica in one go, and after capturing the old governor Carlos, he immediately ordered the surrender.
Gaia was originally the second son of the Governor! Although he served in the army, and also mastered some loyal troops, he was only a second son after all!
It has always been the eldest son Cardoso who competed with him for the right of inheritance! The eldest son is in charge of the government and the second son is in charge of the army. This is a strange phenomenon in the Corsican military region.
Although Cardoso died mysteriously on the way to the peace talks (ambushed and killed by Char's people), Gaia removed one of the biggest enemies for the inheritance.
But after all, when Cardoso was alive, as the eldest son of the governor, he still got the support of many people, although most of the supporters were local officials and a small number of local garrison troops. And Gaia's supporters are his direct line army and the core elite main force of the Corsica Military Region.
But the problem is that in the battle with the Odins, the main force loyal to Gaia suffered the most! Gaia was ambushed by Manninger and almost lost all his belongings! After the troops loyal to him disintegrated, when he took a small number of people to the eastern part of the military region to try to rectify the local forces... The officials in those places did not feel very interested in this second son! They were originally centered on the eldest son Cardoso.
There were even secret rumors that Cardoso's death had nothing to do with this young master Gaia.
Under such circumstances, one can imagine how much appeal Gaia can have.
Manninger's troops were very fast, and he immediately marched eastward, and soon he was in a rush, conquering towns and cities in the Corsica military region one after another.
Gaia and his subordinates could not do anything, so they could only embark on the road of escape again.
This time, they put their hope for help on their allies.
The Besta Military Region, located in the south of the Corsica Military Region, has a border of nearly three hundred miles with the Corsica Military Region.
Moreover, the land and population of the Besta Military Region exceeded that of the Corsica Military Region, and its strength was stronger than that of the Corsica Military Region.
More importantly, the Besta Military Region is a staunch supporter of El Salvador, the speaker of the Red Roundtable. As a staunch ally of the speaker, it will naturally receive great preferential treatment.
The Besta Military Region and the Corsica Military Region are located on the border, and the relationship has always been good. The Corsica Military Region is a grain-producing region. Every year, the Besta Military Region purchases a lot of food from Corsica, so the two have always been close. allies.
This time the Corsicans suffered a disaster, and in desperation, Gaia naturally chose to flee to the Besta Military Region.
Moreover, the status of the Besta Military Region in the alliance is also quite high. Gaia tried to hope that the Red Roundtable Alliance would come forward to seek justice for himself. Then, come to the Besta Military Region for help, and then obtain it from the alliance group. Getting in touch and asking for help is also what the title should mean.
At the beginning, it was smooth, at least after escaping all the way to the Besta military area, Gaia and others received very good preferential treatment.
Not only Yuri, the governor of the Besta Military Region, but also the beautiful and moving governor's wife came to greet Gaia.
On the night of arriving at the capital of the Besta Military Region, a banquet was held in the Governor's Palace, although it was not large in scale, but it was not low in size to surprise Gaia. And the specifications of the one should be carried out in accordance with the etiquette of the governor. That is to say, even if the Corsica military region has actually perished, and Gaia is only the second son of a governor, the etiquette shown by the Bestas seems to have tacitly accepted Gaia as the new governor of Corsica. identity of.
This gave Gaia a little peace of mind.
In the following discussion, the Governor Yuri of the Besta Military Region did not participate in the whole process, but just sat for a while and left on the pretext of leaving, and the protagonist who mainly negotiated with Gaia and others became that A charming lady of the Governor.
For this, Gaia and others felt that it was reasonable.
Because on the mainland, there is such a joke not only in the Red Round Table, but even in the royal family: There are two governors in the Besta Military Region, one outer governor and one inner governor, a male governor, a female governor, and a female governor. A real governor and a fake governor. Among them, the former is talking about your Excellency Governor Yuri, while the latter is talking about the Governor's wife.
This Governor's wife is a hero among women, she is extremely smart and wise. I heard that Governor Yuri was fascinated by her and was fascinated by her. She obeyed her wife in everything and was the most famous fear in the mainland. Wife's useless waste. Governor Yuri's talents are mediocre in all aspects, and there is nothing extraordinary. It seems that he has not done any outstanding deeds in his life, but the only thing that is most proud of is to marry such an excellent wife. .
The governor's wife is not only beautiful, but also has admirable wisdom and brains. With her existence, almost all the political strategies in the Besta Military Region are from the governor's wife. ! If in other places, a woman is in power, how can the officials and generals below be convinced? But this governor's wife is really talented and practical, and her skills are amazing. After she married Governor Yuri, in these years, she has managed the Besta Military Region to a great extent! Almost no one from top to bottom was dissatisfied with her, even those arrogant soldiers in the army were obedient to the governor's wife.
Governor Yuri is rumored to be in poor health. He and the Governor's wife are considered old couples and young wives. In recent years, their eyes have been spent, and their ears are said to be a little bit back. Flowers play birds, happy leisure.
What is admirable about this governor's wife is that although she is trusted by her husband and holds the power of the general region, in the Besta military region, at least the relatives of the wife did not appear! In other words, the governor's wife never reused her family. Her two brothers, one of them is still a small civil servant in a small town in the military region, while the other brother runs his own business in business , and never intervene in the military affairs of the military region.
Not cultivating foreign relatives has greatly relieved the officials of the military region who were originally hostile to the governor's wife. And from the actions of the governor's wife, one by one, over the years, almost all of them are measures that are of great benefit to the development of the military region, and there is no sign of profiting from it for herself or her family. . Some people even think that this "fake governor" is almost the best among all the governors of the Besta Military Region!
It is also the talent of the Governor's wife that makes the Besta military region more and more powerful, and will have a pivotal position in the Red Roundtable Alliance and become a staunch ally of Speaker El Salvador - otherwise, if you are too weak If you want to be someone else's ally, others may not like you.
Of course, the Governor's wife is not without regrets.
In other words, the entire Besta Military Region is worried about one thing.
Governor Yuri is over fifty years old, but so far there is no one male and half female, and the problem of no heir is becoming more and more serious.
Of course, this has also become a problem for the Governor's wife... But, no one will actually blame her.
Because Governor Yuri was extremely romantic when he was young, and he had countless lovers, but unfortunately, none of those lovers could give birth to a child for Governor Yuri.
It can be seen that the responsibility for not being able to raise offspring may lie with the Governor himself, and has nothing to do with this beautiful lady.
And one of the actions of this lady also won the hearts of everyone. In order to pray to the gods to bless her to give birth to an heir for the military region, the governor's wife once went to the church to pray for the blessings of the gods, and she personally performed an event in the church. The heaviest prayer ritual among them—she locked herself in the prayer hall of the church and prayed day and night for seven days and seven nights, during which she fainted several times, and even the clergy in the church finally They all advised the lady to go down and rest, but the governor's wife insisted on completing all the prayer ceremonies.
Afterwards, she became seriously ill, and she lost a lot of weight.
Although she still failed to give birth to a child later, but up and down, no one would blame this respectable woman.
Such a governor's wife who has the actual power of the Besta military region came forward to talk with Gaia and others, but instead made Gaia and others believe in the sincerity of the Besta military region - if the old and indifferent Governor Yuri personally To come forward, but to make people worry about whether the Besta people are perfunctory to deal with themselves.
During that meeting, the beautiful Governor's wife first comforted the despondent Gaia with a dignified air, and then rebuked the Odins for their perfidy with undisguised words, and at the same time vowed that the Besta Military Region had never There is no tradition of giving up allies, and in the face of allies in distress, Besta Military Region will definitely do its best to lend a helping hand.
Regarding the request made by Gaia and others for the Besta Military Region to support the Corsica Military Region in the alliance, the Governor's wife agreed without hesitation, and said it was a matter of course.
After that, under the arrangement of the governor's wife, Gaia and others lived in the capital of Besta. The governor's wife gave them a house that was comfortable and stylish enough, and also worthy of Gaia's identity. And sent a lot of servants to serve and serve, and at the same time, he went to visit Gaia in person almost every day, and there was no lack of comfort and encouragement in his words.
She also said that she had asked Governor Yuri to handwrite a document and handed it over to the alliance group outside the city of Osgilia as soon as possible, and strongly advocated that the alliance must stand up to support the Corsicans in restoring the military area, At the same time take tough measures against the Odins.
It seems that everything is going in the best direction as envisioned by Gaia et al...
But, all of a sudden, these things fell apart completely overnight!