"The little emperor has no choice at all. He has no one to choose from."
Hughes looked at his generals, and the pride in his expression was beyond words.
The news of the large-scale rebellion in the southern part of the empire reached the imperial capital, and naturally it also spread to the north. The Armenian Military Region was close to the imperial capital, and the news naturally reached Hughes as quickly as possible. As the leader of many rebel factions in the north and the leader of the rebel leaders in the north, Hughes immediately sensed the huge opportunity.
The elated Hughes issued a mobilization order almost immediately, calling his confidants and ministers together to discuss in one room.
"The biggest weakness of the Rabbit Emperor is time! Hmph, as the supreme ruler of a country, the so-called emperor's skills are nothing more than two things, one is balance, and the other is to employ people. The art of balance, this little emperor seems to be very good. Do it with your heart. However, he is far from being able to use people. But this little rabbit is really pitiful. When Cantos was in power, he pressed him too hard, and the old emperor died suddenly. , the little emperor hastily succeeded to the throne, and there is no time for him to calmly cultivate his confidants and the available talents. Now all the empires are old people left from the Cantos era. There is no one in the little emperor's own pocket, Naturally, there are fewer choices. In my opinion, to pacify the bandits in the south, either Minas will go south, or Adric will lead the army. No matter who these two go, the imperial capital will inevitably be unstable…”
When one of the civilians under his command heard it, he immediately got up and said, "Sir, should we prepare our army for battle immediately? Once Osgilia sends troops to the south, we will immediately attack and take Osgilia? A battle can be determined. Big picture!"
"madness!"
Hughes sneered, scolded the subordinate who entered Yan Yan, and said lightly: "No one can guess the mind of that old guy Minas, when we entered the imperial capital, this old man did not assume the posture of coexisting and dying with the empire, I understood that this old man had no intention of tying himself with the Byzantine Empire to be buried. After a series of actions, from my point of view, Duke Minas was only afraid of ulterior motives. Hmph, this old man was also suppressed. For more than ten years, the pressure has been ruthless, and I am afraid that he has long held resentment. Think about it carefully, more than ten years ago, he held the imperial military power and was in charge of the military department, but he was stripped of all power and became famous at home as an empty man. The powerless duke has endured for more than ten years. Now that he is in power again, his mind will definitely be different from more than ten years ago. He has tasted the bitter fruit of being stripped of power. Allow that kind of thing to happen again! So..."
Hughes narrowed his eyes and thought for a while, then said with a slight smile: "Things need to be looked at separately. If Adric leads the army south, once the army starts to march south, we will immediately attack Osgilia, and we must let them start and end. No worries! Adric must not be allowed to calmly conquer the south with all his strength. But if... If the army that went south to counter the rebellion is commanded by Duke Minas, then... we might as well wait a little longer and see the limelight."
"Look at the wind?"
The subordinates looked suspicious.
(A bunch of idiots.)
Hughes sighed helplessly in his heart, and glanced at the people in front of him. Looking at each of the faces, I can only see that they are all confused and puzzled, and I feel a bit of annoyance and dissatisfaction in my heart: Why are there such a group of ignorant idiots under my command
Feeling helpless in his heart, he suddenly saw a young face standing at the end of the crowd, with a vague look in his eyes, Hughes moved in his heart, pointed at the man and said with a smile: "Gerry, you want to understand Is it?"
The one who stood at the bottom of the crowd was, in the midst of the chaos in the imperial capital, Gerry, who turned his back and became the rebel's internal response.
Although in the Armenian military region, Gerry, a new recruit, has no foundation, but after all, he is a nobleman, and he fell to Hughes, although he does not have a very important position in the Armenian military region, but Hughes However, he is quite polite to him, just because it is rare for nobles to rely on him. If he is too cold to him, wouldn't he cut himself off from other people's way of serving? Even as a benchmark and a role model, Hughes pays great attention to the fact that he values Gerry everywhere on weekdays.
Hearing Hughes calling his name, Gerry quickly walked out and performed a standard aristocratic etiquette. He came from a noble family, but this kind of aristocratic etiquette was even more favored by Hughes, and suddenly made Hughes feel a little bit in his heart. Satisfied. The smile on your face was also much gentler: "Gerry, I saw you nodded again and again, but you understand my intention?"
Gerry raised his head and said slowly: "Your lord's intention must be to split the Osgilia army? Since Duke Minas has a different mind, if he leads the army south, he will definitely support his troops. I'm afraid that after a long time, it will be out of the control of Osgilia. We might as well wait a little longer, and then they themselves will be in chaos first, and then we will attack, won't it save a lot of effort. "
Hughes sighed secretly in his heart. Although Gerry didn't have much talent, he was born in a noble family after all. He had been in the imperial capital for a long time. This kind of strife among the rich and powerful was quite a bit sensitive.
※※※
In the imperial capital, in the living room of the duke's mansion, Duke Minas looked at the anxious nobles in front of him, sneered in his heart, but deliberately made a calm and calm expression on his face: "Everyone, calm down, the situation in the south is all up to me. In my heart, as long as your majesty orders, the pacification of the south is only a matter of ten days. My old man has fought for half his life, and the army of the Odin Empire in the north has fought. "
The nobles looked at each other for a while, and one of them, a bloated old man in a black luxurious robe, stood up and said: "Lord Duke, we naturally believe in you, but the momentum in the south is unstable, and the territory of everyone here is very good. They are all in the south. It should be sooner rather than later to suppress the rebellion. If it is too late, those rebels will spread to your territory. Even if the duke will capture and hang all those mud legs and hang them, our The loss cannot be recovered.”
The others nodded in succession, and some responded: "What Lord Banks said is exactly what he said."
Duke Minas smiled, looked at the leading Marquis Banks, and said lightly: "What you mean is also what I think in my heart. However, His Majesty's mind is still undecided. If you want to send troops early, you have to rely on you. I urge Your Majesty to make a decision early. And... this trip to the south, my old man may not be the candidate to lead the army. General Adric is young and strong, and has a high prestige in the army. Perhaps His Majesty is even more... "
All the nobles shook their heads one after another, and some people kept praising Duke Minas.
Hearing your compliments, the old duke sneered in his heart.
The places in the south are rotten. Every county, every place, and those local officials must be inextricably linked with these aristocratic and wealthy families. Which one is not trying to make a big profit in the local area? Who doesn't have a bad account? Who's not a piece of shit
Adrick is upright and impartial, never showing favoritism. If Adric goes south, defeating those traitors is not a problem, but it is definitely not what these nobles want to see! Let Adric, who doesn't rub the sand in his eyes, run to the south, and after the place is settled, how can you hide the bad debts under everyone's buttocks from Adric
Therefore, these nobles are absolutely reluctant to see Adrick become the candidate for the southern army!
The emperor already distrusted Adric, distrusted Saran Bonelli. Even the emperor's trust in himself may not be that deep, but for these noble groups, the emperor has to rely on them. If these nobles collectively advocated to lead their troops to the south, the emperor would not be able to refuse the requests of all nobles.
Thinking of this, Duke Minas comforted the dignitaries a few words at will, and smiled: "Since you all support me, then I will shamelessly ask you for some requests. Going to the south to use troops is not only for the country, to put it bluntly, but also For everyone, go to Mibao's territory and homeland. Everyone knows the current situation. The rebels in the north are eyeing them, and the elites of the central army in the imperial capital cannot move without authorization. If you want to use troops in the south, you need your full support. I am at your majesty's place. He also boasted that if you give me 30,000 people, you can reach the South. For these 30,000 people, the Central Army will send 10,000, the Southern Garrison Army will send 5,000, and my Minas Private Army will send 5,000. The remaining 10,000 people , you need everyone…”
Each family's private army is the private property of each wealthy family. Who wants to pull out their own army and give it to others
No one can refuse the reason given by Duke Minas. For the nobles, most of their territories are in the south, and some have even fallen into the range of rebels. Whether for self-protection or for anything else, asking them to contribute troops is a reasonable reason, and no one can refuse.
Fortunately, 10,000 people, although it seems that the number is not small, but if it is divided into the heads of many giants, the number of contributions from each family is not too much, and it will not cause everyone too much pain.
Moreover, it is just to contribute some soldiers. As long as you keep your own territory and territory, it will not be difficult to pull up thousands of people in the future.
Regarding the request of Duke Minas, the nobles patted their chests and made a pledge almost on the spot. At the moment, each family allocated it, more than two or three thousand, and less than five or six hundred, and ten thousand people. , but it came together quickly.
Duke Minas added a few more words: "Here we go south, after all, we want to see the battle with real swords and real guns. I don't need to elaborate on what your private army looks like. My old man has Confidently quell the rebellion, but each family also needs to support me sincerely. Please don’t be stingy with the elites who have contributed to the private army. I’m going to tell you the ugly thing in front of me. Don't blame my old man for not telling the love for many years!"
The words of Duke Minas were naturally guaranteed by everyone. The old duke is not afraid that these nobles will go against the grain. After all, he leads his troops to the south, and these people's territories and homes are all under the direction of their own troops. If anyone secretly messes up, he will have 10,000 ways to make these guys regret it.
If nothing else, when marching to fight a war, as long as you do a little bit of tricks yourself, deliberately miss a omission on the battlefield, and deliberately put the rebels into someone's territory to wreak havoc...
It's just that these words don't have to be said too clearly. If you mention them a little secretly, you won't be afraid that these nobles will be disobedient.
"Naturally, we don't have to worry about the Duke going south to quell the rebellion, but... things in the north are still worrying. If after the Lord goes south... if that guy from Hughes calls, this Osgilia..."
Nobles are nobles after all, and the cowardice and fear of death in their bones always linger.
Duke Minas smiled faintly: "There are still 100,000 troops in the city, with elites like the Central Army, and the pillars of the empire like General Adric, the foothold is safe for the imperial capital. Besides... I naturally have a back-up, let those The rebels in the north cannot act recklessly, hum... Your Majesty has appointed a Grand Duke of Noz, a northern garrison, and tens of thousands of northern troops can't be used as a display in the north. You can speak to Your Majesty, when our army goes south. , please ask Your Majesty to issue a strict order to order the general of the northern garrison, Duke Xia Leiming, to raise troops to conquer the northern rebels. With the actions of the northern army, those northern rebels are too busy to take care of themselves, and they still have the strength to find our bad luck. As long as we fight for more than a month In time, I have pacified the South, and the overall situation has been decided by then, so there is no need to worry about anything else.”
※※※
vertical day.
Sure enough, at Duke Minas's cue, several leaders of the top wealthy aristocrats in the imperial capital entered the palace to meet the emperor, and they all asked the emperor to immediately send troops south to quell the rebellion.
The territories of many aristocratic families are mostly in the south, which is related to the most important interests of each family, and these requirements cannot be ignored by the emperor. Moreover, many aristocrats of wealthy families, most of them agree that the Duke of Minas is the candidate to fight the rebels in the south. As for Adrick, everyone thinks that General Adrick has made outstanding contributions in the defense of the imperial capital and defeated the rebels. Such Talents should stay in the imperial capital to protect the emperor, so as to prevent the rebels from the north from taking advantage of it.
What is the purpose of the nobles' request? Garcia is not a fool. He understands a little bit. Most of these nobles are worried that a man like Adric who does not rub the sand will run to the south and find out the bad debts under their butts. Come.
It's just that, the voice of the crowd, the will of the noble group, the emperor can never ignore! As an emperor, the power he trusts and relies on the most is the noble group. Even though he still has some doubts in his heart, he has to finally compromise and make a decision.
Although the emperor did not believe the words of Sarumbonelli, no matter what, he always listened to a few words. He is by no means completely trusting the Duke of Minas, but... The Central Army only dispatched 10,000 people, which is still within the bottom line that the emperor can accept.
With the emperor's relief, the Duke of Minas has already started to transfer and select people among the private armies of the various wealthy families in the imperial capital.
Although most of the private armies of the nobles are mixed, but the total number is tens of thousands, and it is not impossible to select a small number of elites.
What's more, most of the soldiers who commanded the private armies of the nobles were the children of the nobles themselves, but when they heard that they were going to fight in the south, how many of them really dared to go? Many people immediately found various excuses to retreat. Duke Minas naturally took this situation into consideration. Those noble children who didn't want to go to the south to fight, he gave them all kinds of excuses, as long as they handed over the army obediently, they could do whatever they wanted to do. .
10,000 nobles' private army, but the deployment was completed within three days.
And in the prime minister's mansion, the seriously ill Saron Bonelli heard that the Duke of Minas had selected a private army among the various wealthy families, and immediately vomited blood and was bedridden.
The only thing that is puzzling is that when it comes to going south to suppress the rebellion, everyone originally thought that General Adric and Duke Minas would have a fight, but that General Adric unexpectedly kept Silence, the emperor ordered the Duke of Minas to be the candidate for the commander of the south, and Adric also made a very straightforward attitude of cooperation, drawing 5,000 people from the City Guard and the Second Corps each to the Duke of Minas. .
Adric, who has always been strong, did not express any objection on this matter, nor did he even enter the palace to argue with the emperor.
Even Minas requested to allocate all kinds of armaments, materials and military expenses needed for the Southern Expedition.
Two days later, the Duke of Minas' southward counter-insurgency army had not yet started, but Roddy had already been appointed as the vanguard of the southward counter-insurgency, and personally led 2,000 cavalry to head south.
It was the main force of Duke Minas, but it took two more days to finally raise the army. Nearly 30,000 troops went out of the city and headed south, and the emperor Garcia also personally came forward and held a ceremony for the expedition. Send the Duke of Minas to go out, and even put on the Duke of Minas who is a military uniform in front of everyone.
There was even more news from the palace. In order to show his closeness to the Minas family, the emperor finally lived with the queen in recent days. For two consecutive days, the emperor slept in the queen's residence overnight.
In any case, the emperor, who always liked male style, finally agreed to live in the same room as the queen. It was a good thing for the empire... Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the emperor finally returned to his heart, if after a year and a half It is even more fortunate to be able to give birth to descendants of the royal family...
But no one knew that for several consecutive nights, although Garcia slept in the Queen's residence, the husband and wife were still strangers and slept in separate beds.
What made Garcia even more angry was that he thought he had made great concessions. In order to tie the Minas family firmly, he half-drunk himself the night before, and had already made up his mind to make peace with him. The queen is really in the same room - although Garcia doesn't like women, he has to be masculine, but as an emperor, he also understands that he must make some compromises sooner or later: in the royal family, descendants are always needed. If he has not given birth to a son and heir, the throne will also be unstable.
For the sake of the descendants of the royal family, and to win over the Minas family, he had already compromised and prepared to have sex with that woman, but... But who knows, that abominable woman actually held a dagger in her hand and threatened her with death, not allowing herself Half a step closer to her!
This hateful woman who doesn't know how to lift her up! ! To actually do such a thing! Hmph, if it wasn't for... Even if she begged herself, she wouldn't be willing to touch her with a finger!
On the day of the expedition, at the ceremony, the queen herself also appeared, standing aside, watching her husband with her own eyes, and tying the cloak on her father's body.
From the beginning to the end, Daphne's face was unusually calm, without the slightest turbulence. Even though his father mounted the horse in high spirits, amid the shouts of tens of thousands of people, the queen herself kept her mouth shut and said nothing.
At the same time, different from the riotous scene of the imperial capital's southward expedition ceremony, a strictly worded military order has been quietly transmitted through the magic circle to the northern garrison capital Xincheng in the northern new city.