Sarumbonelli was uneasy, but there was no better way. He could only dispatch his capable family elites to quietly inquire about the news around the Duke of Minas Mansion.
As time passed, the old prime minister's heart had never been so nervous—even the last time the city of Osgilia was broken and the rebels entered the city, the old man had never been so nervous. At that time, although the situation was bad and almost in a desperate situation, the old prime minister's idea was very simple: if the country was subjugated, then the prime minister himself would be nothing more than a death, and his full name would be the festival.
But tonight's situation is different!
In his unease, most of them have a guilty conscience. Although he trusts these elite warriors raised in his family - after all, in the empire, every wealthy noble has a tradition of raising elite private soldiers. Destiny and honor and disgrace have been completely tied to the family. There is no doubt about the loyalty to the family, and there is almost no possibility of rebellion. The nobles often have no tolerance for the behavior of rebelling against the family. Once this happens, the rebels will be cast aside by the entire noble class.
He made preparations today, and the target was naturally the Duke of Minas—the Duke of Minas had already decided to come to a banquet to meet with him, but suddenly canceled the trip before going out. Could it be…
Could it be that the shrewd old guy noticed his change
Literally impossible! The elite dead men of their own family will never act rebellious and inform!
But the old prime minister who has lived in Huanhai all his life knows one more truth: there are no absolutes in the world! It is often those things that seem impossible to happen. Once they happen, they will bring disaster!
With the deep heritage of the Duke Minas family in the army, if the old duke knew that he actually wanted to kill him, then the immediate rebound and revenge of the Minas family would also be...
Shaking his head lightly. The old prime minister tried his best to suppress the distracting thoughts in his heart.
Will not! If he had noticed, he would have launched a counterattack at this moment! Don't look at the old duke who has kept a low profile for the past few years. He is very calm, and looks like an old man who is indifferent to the world, but Salon Bonelli is also an old man. He has personally experienced the old Duke Minas's reign Military power time! The Duke of Minas back then was resolute and determined, and he never hesitated for a moment! If he knew that he had the intention to harm him, then at this moment, the old duke had sent his elite men kept in Duke Minas' mansion to fight!
The old duke was a soldier all his life, and the elite warriors raised in his family were undoubtedly second to none among the wealthy nobles of the empire in terms of quantity and quality! The quality of the private soldiers of the Minas family is comparable to that of the emperor's private army, the "Dark Night Royal Forest"!
If the Duke of Minas really made up his mind to fight back, then everyone will fight, and the loser must be himself!
This is a life-or-death moment, a life-threatening moment!
The old prime minister did not feel that his ideas would be too exaggerated!
He knows the temperament of Duke Minas too well! This guy seems to be in a good mood for the past few years, but his temperament will never change! As the prime minister, and the number one minister of the emperor's confidant, if the old duke knew that he was going to attack him, then the other party would definitely interpret it as the emperor's intention! Once he is convinced that the emperor himself wants to attack the Minas family, then the Minas family will no longer have any concerns!
"May the gods bless you." The old prime minister's face was cold and his eyes were full of cold light: "If the Minas family can have no dissent and serve the royal family, it will be a great blessing for the country! If it really turns into chaos... Then, this is The catastrophe of the empire!"
Until it was completely dark, Lao Zai didn't even eat half of his dinner, and waited quietly in the study.
Finally, when it was almost midnight, the people who were sent out to inquire about the news finally came back to report.
The one sent out was the head of the bodyguard of the old prime minister. This was a capable middle-aged warrior. He ran into the prime minister's study with sweat on his forehead and was panting quickly. Obviously, this journey was very hard.
"Sir! There is news!" The chief guard was about to kneel and salute when the old prime minister frowned, "Speak! It's time, no need to salute! Hurry up!"
"Yes!" The head guard was cautious and meticulous, took a breath, and then quickly whispered: "I divided my staff into two groups, one group went to check near the city gate, and the other group followed me to hide in the Duke's Mansion. Nearby. Just a while ago, there was finally news that the team of knights brought by Sir Roddy returned from outside the city. At night, the city gate was closed and a curfew was imposed. It was Roddy who came forward and showed the old Duke's handwriting. , let the generals guarding the city open the city gate and let them in. My people were nearby at the time, and they saw it very realistically, and there was no mistake."
After a pause, the head guard added: "There is an unusual detail: I heard that when Lord Roddy took people out of the city, all of them were horse teams. When they came back, there was a light carriage in the team. The carriage was very crude. It was obviously collected temporarily outside the city. Some of my subordinates recognized that it was a freight car, but it had been temporarily refitted, and a shed was added to the carriage! When they entered the city, the horse team would The car was in the middle of the team, the carport was down, and it was covered tightly. Obviously, they didn't want people to see what was inside. Because they brought the old Duke's handwritten letter, the general guard did not dare to interrogate, and just directly Let them enter the city. After that group of people entered the city, they went directly back to the Duke's Mansion."
"What else?" The old prime minister nodded.
The captain of the guard pondered for a while: "I saw the carriage outside the Duke's Mansion. Judging from the wheel marks, the carriage did not carry much weight, and the wheel marks left on the road were light and shallow."
"Very well, you are very careful." The old prime minister nodded again, but frowned: "Do you think... what will be hidden in the carriage?"
"My subordinates don't know, and I don't dare to guess." The captain of the guard shook his head honestly: "After the carriage entered the mansion, the gate of the duke's mansion was closed. It can be seen that their whole mansion is very closely guarded, and the number of guards is very strict. At least doubled."
Sarum Bonelli took a deep breath, walked around the room for a while, then quickly walked to the table, picked up a pen and wrote a warrant, and handed it to the captain of the guard: "It is now curfew. The city is over, you immediately take my warrant and go out to the city to investigate the news. Where did Roddy take the people out of the city before, who they met where, and where the carriage was recruited, check them all. Um… "
Speaking of which, the old prime minister hesitated for a moment, and the head guard moved in a low voice, "Sir, do you want to do something more clean... Do the people involved in the inquiry all have to..." After speaking, he did A single-handed cut.
"...No need." The old prime minister suddenly smiled, the haze and tension in his eyes had disappeared: "The situation doesn't seem to be as bad as I thought. Well, check carefully, just don't show any traces, don't let People know that you belong to my mansion. Didn’t the military dispatch a lot of garrison troops from the south these days
After the captain of the guard took his orders, the old prime minister heaved a long sigh of relief and slowly sat back on his chair.
It seems... The Minas family's change was not due to discovering their own movements. Is it something that matters in their own home...
What was in the carriage that Roddy brought back
What can fit in a small freight wagon? Prohibited stuff? Naturally not. For prohibited things, the first recommendation is weapons and equipment, but Duke Minas has been in a high position in the army for half his life. Those prohibited weapons and equipment may be rare items to others, but in his house There must be many. So... is it some kind of private goods
The Duke of Minas is also not short of money to spend, so he can't do such a thing.
Is it...
people! !
Or did the old duke contact some old subordinates of the southern garrison to come to the city to meet and discuss some secret important matters
When the old prime minister thought of this, he suddenly gave a wry smile, and it didn't seem right to think so: unless he wanted to summon the old subordinates to rebel, the old duke would never start summoning the old subordinates now - he has been keeping a low profile for so many years, and he will not be present now This is facing the need to summon his subordinates before his revival, which arouses suspicion from others. He should only be more low-key now!
Thinking of this, the old prime minister moved in his heart and remembered one thing...
"Counting the days, it shouldn't be here yet. The large group is coming from the north. Even if they go fast, there should still be half a month..."
When it was almost dawn, the head guard finally came back with the result of inquiring about the news.
The captain of the bodyguard is very effective in doing things, and the information he inquired back is also very detailed.
"When little Lord Roddy went out of the city, he took people to a small village and town in the northwest, less than twenty miles away from the emperor. I took people to inquire about the news in the village and town, and the carriage was also in the village. I bought it from the carriage shop. We asked the people at the carriage shop. At that time, the little duke led people to surround the carriage and horse shop, so that no strangers could come in and out, but the people with the carriage and horse shop could hear it from a distance. There was a sound of crying, even the little Duke Roddy, when he came out, his eyes were red, but his expression was very excited, as if he was very happy..."
"Got it." The Prime Minister's reaction this time was much calmer, and the news he brought back obviously further confirmed his suspicions.
"Sir, we..."
"Come on, let everyone rest, nothing major will happen." The prime minister let out a sigh of relief, his eyes were a little complicated: "The next thing is not something you can understand."
After the chief guard went out, the old prime minister called his personal housekeeper again.
"Prepare the car, I'm going out."
The steward looked at the tired face of the master and couldn't help but said, "Master... You haven't had a bite tonight, and it's getting late..."
"What do you know, whether my big event will be successful or not, it will be tonight! Go quickly, don't follow the guards, change to an old carriage that is not dazzling, I will go to the military headquarters."
The old prime minister went out of the house quietly in the middle of the night, with only two personal attendants following him, and even the groom was the steward of the house himself.
Visiting the Imperial Military Department in the middle of the night, the old Prime Minister did not show up, but only asked his subordinates to show a highest-level pass, and the guards of the Military Department immediately let go.
The person Salon Bonelli was going to visit was Adrick—although it was already midnight, the old chancellor had no doubt that Adrick must not have fallen asleep at this time.
Although the old prime minister knew that his political goal was how to limit the overly powerful leader of the army. But in private, he also admired the current pillar of the empire's army. Adric is selfless and selfless. Since he took office as Minister of Military Affairs, he has been busy with official business and forgets to eat and sleep. It can almost be said that he is the most diligent Minister of Military Affairs in the empire for a hundred years.
Although everyone is in different camps, Lao Zai still admires the diligent administration of Adrick.
Adric was surprised by the late-night visit of the Prime Minister, but he immediately realized that the other party must have something important and secret to discuss with him, so he chose to come at such a time.
Adric returned to the prime minister calmly, and asked his guards to closely guard the room where the two met.
After closing the door with his own hands, Adric turned around and looked at the old prime minister who was already sitting leisurely in the chair.
"My lord came late at night, I don't know..."
Before Adrick could finish speaking, the prime minister sighed deeply: "General Adrick, you work hard on the military affairs of the Empire and forget to eat and sleep. I really admire you."
Saying that, the Prime Minister's eyes deliberately fell on Adric's table - it was a food tray, which was obviously Adric's dinner, and there were two cold and hard dough cakes, with only a slice in the middle. bacon. Because it was cold, there was a layer of disgusting white oil on it.
The dignified Imperial Minister of Military Affairs, the number one figure in the Imperial Army, actually eats so poorly! The prime minister could naturally see that the bread was only made from the most common coarse grains, and as for the bacon, it was no different from what ordinary soldiers in the army ate.
Adrick saw the Prime Minister's eyes and smiled lightly: "The Prime Minister is serious. This kind of food is already good, at least there is meat to eat. If the army is marching and fighting in the field, it is good to have bread to satisfy hunger. yes."
The old man nodded, his eyes were a bit complicated, he sighed deeply, looked at Adric's tired face, and said in a low voice, "Master General, haven't you slept for a few days?"
"..." Adric frowned slightly and said lightly: "The Prime Minister is visiting late at night. I'm afraid he didn't come to discuss room and board with me, right?"
In fact, Adrick hadn't slept his eyes for two days. At this moment, he was tired and a little impatient.
"The general has worked hard." The old prime minister said lightly: "Just, I have something to ask you... What do you think is the most difficult thing for you right now?"