"I want to kill him... kill him... I want him to die, I want him to die, I want him to die..."
In the inner chamber of the palace, the young Emperor Garcia was still shivering. His clothes had already been soaked in rain, and his hair was wet and stuck to his forehead.
He looked really pitiful at the moment, like a bird shivering in the wind and rain.
In the inner room, all the attendants had already retreated, and there was only the old prime minister Sarum Bonelli by his side. The old man stood there, looking at the shivering and muttering emperor, calmly took a blanket from the couch beside him, and put his hands on the emperor's shoulders.
The old man knew very well that what happened today was almost fatal to the emperor!
Such a blow, such a fear, far surpassed the one when the rebels broke the city!
Such a mutiny completely tore off the so-called "majesty" and "imperial power" that was already weak on the emperor! Thoroughly exposed the weakness, incompetence, and power of the emperor in broad daylight!
The royal family's prestige was wiped out, and he was forced into a desperate situation by a general!
Under such stimulation, the young emperor was afraid that he would really collapse.
The rebel army has withdrawn from the palace - to Salon Bonelli's slight reassurance, Adrick did not take the opportunity to make more and more excessive demands. He originally thought that Adrick would take the opportunity to request the city defense of the imperial city to be taken over. But fortunately, Adrick did not do this, the rebel army completely withdrew from the imperial city, and the imperial city returned to the control of the Imperial Forest Army.
but…
What made the old prime minister sigh is, can the current Royal Forest Army be trusted
When the rebels were persecuting, it was the Imperial Forest Army who opened the gate of the imperial city and let the rebels in. When the chaotic army rushed into the main hall square and persecuted His Majesty, there were only two or three hundred members of the huge Royal Forest Army standing loyally under His Majesty.
Such a royal army... It is no longer possible for the royal family to trust him.
How ridiculous!
The empire has come to this day, looking around, there are only two or three hundred people who are willing to die for His Majesty.
As for Adrick - he became the "Marshal of Protecting the Country", you must know that no one has ever obtained such a title since the founding of the empire! The marshal of protecting the country, in charge of military affairs inside and outside the empire, has the right to dispatch all troops within the empire, and appoint and remove officers in the army! Such authority is by no means a human subject!
But he Adric really did it.
And after the military remonstrance was over, Adrick didn't pretend like the emperor made a gesture of apologizing as he had expected - this upright guy, doesn't he even disdain simple gestures
He just stubbornly asked His Majesty to issue another secret order.
And this secret order is what the old prime minister is most worried about now!
"Call Duke Minas back to the imperial capital!"
※※※
The messenger who was chasing the southward counter-insurgency army had already set off, and along with the messenger was the first-class, most severe and urgent order from the Imperial Army: the Golden Order.
In addition, the golden decree signed by His Majesty the Emperor himself, the Minister of Military Affairs and the Prime Minister of the Empire represents the highest authority of the Empire!
Such a golden order was sent to the army that went south to counter the rebellion. Unless the Duke of Minas immediately rebelled, he would have absolutely no reason to resist such a supreme order.
As for the anti…
Adrick believes that even if Duke Minas really has ambitions, he will never be able to reach that step now. He has only just gone south for a few days. Although he has dismissed the commanders of the sixteen troops and took over military power, such a short period of time is not enough to really make the entire army surrender. If he really wants to rebel, even if his confidants are willing to follow him, how many soldiers in the army are willing to follow him to do such a big crime of raiding their homes and destroying their homes
In the golden order sent, the wording was extremely severe and rebuked Duke Minas for dismissing the sixteen commanders in one go—this was indeed a kind of ultra vires, even the military commander had no right to Remove so many front-line commanders before being authorized by the military! ! Such an approach is difficult to justify, both rationally and legally.
The order has already been made in the golden order, ordering the southward anti-rebel army to station on the spot immediately, and not to go further south! The commander-in-chief, Duke Minas, immediately resigned from the army and returned to the imperial capital to meet the Emperor and defend himself!
At the same time, General Ruhr, the former Rodriguet Corps of the Empire, was sent south to take over as the commander-in-chief of the counter-insurgency army.
The messenger sent more than ten horses in one breath, and more than ten orders of the highest gold were sent, and Luer and his accompanying officials were also preparing to take office from the imperial capital south.
There were more than 20 subordinate officers accompanying Ruhr, all officers selected from the City Guard Army and the Central Army. They were ready to take over all the command once they took over the counter-insurgency army in the south.
In addition, there was a squadron of cavalry escorts drawn from the city.
※※※
Although it can be said that all the preparations that can be done have been made, when he left the city, Luer was still beating drums in his heart.
I don't know why, but he always had some bad premonitions in his heart. The officers accompanying him were all loyal and loyal to Adrick drawn from the Central Army, and the escort cavalry of that squadron were also trusted from the city 's direct line.
but…
※※※
Going south out of Osgilia, Ruhr and his party only went to the main road. A squadron of fifty cavalrymen fully armed, plus Ruhr and the accompanying twenty officers, a total of seventy-six cavalry galloped south. , with the emperor's own handwritten orders.
Going south for a day, the whole team did not dare to neglect under the strict order of Ruhr. Ruhr himself is even more energetic. He is a meticulous person, and he specially sent more than ten scouts to explore the way in front of him, but it took only a day's journey, and he didn't even run out of the administrative area of the imperial capital of the Osgilia Empire. The worst situation!
The pathfinder cavalry found an accident beside the road ahead, and found a dead imperial cavalry under a big tree beside the road. He was wearing the clothes of the Central Army. He was already dead. He fell to his death under a tree. Obviously, the person who killed him had no interest in burying the body to cover it up, and seemed to have deliberately left the body beside the road!
After Luer received the news, he brought people over to catch up. When he arrived at the scene, he just took a look, and his face suddenly became extremely gloomy!
He recognized that the dead Central Army cavalry was a member of the messengers sent from the imperial capital to the south before he set off!
These military envoys dispatched more than ten cavalry in one breath, but some people died here!
You must know that this place has not yet exceeded the scope of the Osgilia Imperial Capital Administrative Region! The distance from the imperial capital is only a day's drive away! In a place so close to the imperial capital, killing the messenger in the army is simply daring!
"Lord Duke... You acted so ruthlessly this time..."
Ruhr muttered in a low voice, and his face gradually became ruthless. He took a deep breath, looked at the people around him, and immediately ordered the whole team to move forward.
When the envoy was killed in the middle of the road, the whole team had already sensed the danger of the trip, and the cavalry in charge of guarding them even more cheered up and took full precautions.
After walking for only a few hours, two more corpses were found on the road. Ruhl saw that it was the military envoy sent before!
It's only been a day since we left Osgilia, and I actually saw three dead envoys. Now that I think about it, although there were more than ten cavalry of the messengers sent earlier, but... those who can go to the south, I'm afraid...
"Send the order, the whole team stops!"
Ruhl suddenly said such a strange order.
The officers around him all looked solemn, no one spoke, everyone just looked at Ruhr.
These officers were all recruited from the Central Army. After being in the army for a long time, naturally some of them were thoughtful. When they saw three envoys being killed in the middle of the road in a row, they could guess that something was wrong.
Someone intercepted and killed the messenger envoy halfway, and naturally they did not want the order of the imperial capital to be passed on to the Southern Expedition Army in the south...
Who is it that deliberately used such a ruthless method to try to cut off the connection between the imperial capital and the Nanzheng Army? The answer... I'm afraid, many people do not understand, but dare not think about it!
"The whole team turns around, let's go back to the imperial capital!"
Ruhl sighed, looking very ugly.
I can only go back to the imperial capital!
Even Ruhl didn't expect that Duke Minas would act so ruthlessly and decisively!
You must know that the Duke of Minas has taken the army to the south, and those who are hiding on the road to the south to kill the messengers must be the heirs of the Duke of Minas—the most important thing is that these heirs, the elite direct descendants, must be It was a force that Duke Minas had reserved before going south!
You know... At that time, before the Duke of Minas went south, there was no mutiny in the imperial capital!
At that time, the Duke of Minas had already left behind such a ruthless backhand, and directly sent people to start intercepting the envoys on the road, so there is only one explanation!
From the very beginning, the old duke had already made up his mind to completely seize the Nanzheng Army regardless of the consequences! He was so resolute that he did not leave any room or retreat for himself at all!
That is to say, at the moment when the Duke of Minas took the army out of Osgilia and went south - he actually turned against it!
Originally, Ruhr and Adric's idea was to send people south to take over the army immediately after the mutiny, and summon Duke Minas back to the emperor, thinking that as long as he moves quickly and there is a time difference, Duke Minas still doesn't know that the capital has been mutiny…
But now it seems that both of them underestimated the determination of Duke Minas! The old man had no intention of delaying or holding out any other hope at all. The moment he led the army south, he was already ready for the opposite!
No matter what the situation of your emperor is, whether your emperor is a mutiny or not, anyway, he turned against it from the beginning!
In this case, Ruhr knew that it was a dream if he wanted to go to the south to take over the officers with only a few dozen cavalry!
Since the old man has already made it clear that the chariots and horses were treasonous, and even dared to kill the imperial army envoy, what else could he dare not do? Dozens of cavalry of his own... I'm afraid that if you don't even think about running to the south safely, you will be brutally intercepted halfway... Even if you have your life to run to the south, the old duke will never give himself any chance to directly kill these tens of cavalry. Extinct!
The old man acted ruthlessly and had great means, but Luer deeply understood it.
"Go back to the imperial capital." Ruhl took a deep breath, his face uncertain.
If you want to regain the military power of the Nanzheng Army, it is impossible to do it in a peaceful way.
There is no need for my dozens of cavalry to forcibly go south to find death. It is better to return to the imperial capital to find a way. The best thing is... to draw an elite army from the defenders of the imperial capital, lead the army south, and use the army to threaten Duke Minas into submission. After all, the old duke has just purged the army, and he has not really completely controlled the army in the south. As long as he leads the army south, even if the old duke wants to go against it, the army below will not all agree with him.
There is only such a way.
"Go back." Ruhr added his order: "Everyone hold on, let's rush back to Osgilia overnight." Having said this, Ruhl sighed softly and whispered to himself: " This time, I think it is a step behind, I didn't expect the old man to do such a wonderful thing..."
Saying that, Ruhl ordered to leave several cavalry behind to bury the bodies of the killed army envoys, and he was about to return to the imperial capital with the brigade, but when he was about to leave, he suddenly heard the cavalry guarding in the distance. A warning sound came.
The sharp warning whistle of the army sounded, and Ruulton's expression froze! Could it be that he met the elite who was killed by Duke Minas
But then he knew he was wrong.
Just on the south side of the road, a cavalry team came slowly. There were about a hundred cavalry in size. It was under the banner of the Southern Expedition Army, but it seemed that the speed of walking was not fast. Far away was discovered by the guard riding post under Ruhr.
It seems that there is no hostility to this cavalry team from the south, and the team is walking on the road with great fanfare. Ruhr immediately made a decision and sent his men to run to contact the other party. Prepared for the challenge.
After a while, the cavalry who went to contact returned, but brought news that made Ruhr very unexpected.
It turned out that the cavalry that came from the south actually came from the Southern Expedition Army, and was ordered to go to the imperial capital Osgilia to respond.
What surprised Ruhr even more was that the mission of this cavalry team was actually "escort".
According to the news that the military envoy sent by the Duke of Minas reported to the imperial capital, he had dismissed sixteen commanders of the first-line army in the army on various charges, and this cavalry was the commander of the army. By order of Duke Nas, the sixteen dismissed officers who had been "suspected" were escorted back to the imperial capital.
This change made Ruhr a little surprised. Although he knew the news for a long time, he did not expect to meet this group of officers who were dismissed by the old duke.
However, he immediately went up and summoned these people - from these people, you may be able to know the latest situation of the Southern Expedition Army!
However, when Jean saw the sixteen officers who were dismissed, Ruhl was shocked again!
Because, along with the escort of the sixteen officers "to be punished", at the same time, there was another latest battle report sent to the imperial capital by Duke Minas, the commander of the Southern Expedition Army!
…
A few days ago, on the same day that the sixteen officers of the Duke of Minas were dismissed, it was only three days after the vanguard cavalry of Rhodey swept a county in the south and won the first victory.
According to this battle report, the main force of Duke Minas' army had marched for hundreds of miles day and night, besieging a large rebel army that had been forced by Rhodey's vanguard cavalry and assembled in a large city.
The Duke of Minas immediately ordered a general attack, attacking the city overnight. With lightning speed, the rebel army was smashed and the city was broken. The rebel army disintegrated immediately, and defeated the rebel brigade of 60,000 people, of whom over 10,000 were killed and captured. Over forty thousand!
In this battle, one of the three largest forces in the southern rebel army was almost completely wiped out!
Such a major victory, coming so fast! So suddenly! !
A great victory!
Great victory... hehe! !
Ruhl looked at the battle report in his hand, only to feel that his heart was completely cold!
Just when he and Adrick had just made a mutiny in the imperial capital and wanted to send someone south to retake the military power in the south, Duke Minas made such a great victory? !
quick! too fast!
Ruhr is very clear that this is not the response that Duke Minas took after he learned of the mutiny in the imperial capital between himself and Adric, but... Duke Minas simply followed himself and Adric every step of the way. Before! He walked down step by step early, and whether Adric and his mutiny, or going south to take back power, step by step behind the action of the old duke!
Great Southern Victory…
With such a great victory, one-third of the rebels in the south were wiped out in one battle, and the land of a county was recovered. Under such a great victory, with the momentum of such a great victory, what reason and excuse did the imperial capital have to take back the south? Military power
After a victory, all excuses have become pale - they have won a big victory, and at this time to take back the military power, there is no reason to say anything, and it can't stand. Unless it is really torn face... there is no other choice!
If it was said before, the Duke of Minas may not be able to really grasp the army in a hurry, and he may not be able to really control the heart of the army.
But things are different now! Ruhr is a veteran of the military. He knows very well that for an unfamiliar commander-in-chief, the quickest and most direct way to take full advantage of the army is nothing more than two ways: one is to clean up the middle-level officers and replace them with his own henchmen. ! The other one is a big win!
The cleaning action has already been done by the old man. And now with a big win...
Things in the army have always been straightforward. As a commander, if you can lead everyone to victory, you will get the true heart and admiration of the soldiers. What's more, the old duke was originally of great prestige. After this great victory, even those in the army who had the heart to wait and see would immediately return to the old man.
People have always been accustomed to stand by the victor.
Now, even if he did send someone to the army, to show the order of the imperial capital in public, to remove the old man from the position of commander-in-chief, the old man does not even need to resist forcibly. dissatisfied.
Stripped of a commander-in-chief who had just led them to a great victory, whose side would the soldiers be on? You can think of it with your ass!
Ruhl's heart was cold, and he slowly put away the battle report, his heart was in chaos.
The situation has gotten to the extreme!
But right at this time...
"General Ruhr! I want to see General Ruhr!!"
An angry voice came from the "escorted" team.
Ruhl looked up and saw that the sixteen officers who had been dismissed from their positions were in public in the escorting team. Although they were not bound and bound, everyone was disarmed and only wearing a cotton military uniform.
It was one of the officers who was "to be punished" who roared in anger.
"Who is shouting?" Ruhl sighed.
Soon, his men brought the shouting officer to Ruhr's side. Luer glanced at the officer in front of him, tall, with a sharp face, sharp eyes, full of anger, Luer pondered a little, and said: "I recognize you, you are from the Ninth Corps of the Central Army, you It's called... Ned?"
"Yes General!" The officer raised his head and looked angry: "My lord, I am Ned, from the Ninth Corps. I have seen you in the military!"
"I remember, you're a flag officer, aren't you?"
"Deputy, my lord." The Ned gritted his teeth: "My lord, I want to sue! I want to sue!! I want to sue Mina..."
Ruhr's heart moved, and he immediately interrupted the other party's words, shouting sharply: "Your Excellency Ned, please think about your words!"
As he said that, he glanced left and right, and said in a low voice, "Take him with me."
Ruhr Zema came to a remote place on the side of the road, and a guard behind him brought this Ned to his side. Ruhr looked at the angry officer: "Mr. Ned, what do you want to accuse?"
"I want to sue!" Ned stood up straight, straightened his back, and said solemnly: "I want to sue Duke Minas, the marshal of the empire, I accuse him of treason, colluding with parties, and... treason! "
Ruulton suddenly changed color and looked at the officer named Ned: "Your Excellency Ned! Do you know what you are talking about now?"
"I know very well, General." The officer said fiercely: "I know more about the seriousness of these allegations, but I will not take back my words!"
"... Go on!" Ruhl narrowed his eyes.
Ned took a deep breath and looked at Ruhl: "My lord, I personally experienced the great victory a few days ago! I have sufficient reasons and evidence to accuse Lord Minas of secretly colluding with those rebels!"
With that said, this Ned started his story.
The "great victory" just a few days ago, that is, the situation of the decisive battle described in the battle report just sent by Duke Minas, was indeed somewhat intriguing.
"At that time, the army I led was in the second line, and we were originally listed as the second batch of siege sequence. I remember that in the evening, the general attack began, and the front began to beat drums and shouts of killing. My subordinates and I were in We are all guessing how long it will take to get us up there." The Ned said slowly, "My lord, I have also fought old battles, and although I don't think highly of those rebels, In a field battle, a thousand of us can fight ten thousand of them! However, this is a siege! The rebels have tens of thousands, and they occupy a large city. They have sufficient equipment to defend the city. When we arrived at the city, The woods outside the city have been cut down, and it is obvious that the city is fully prepared. I saw the stones piled up on the top of the city, huge trees, and the billowing smoke. They have prepared enough kerosene! Such a siege battle will definitely be a head-to-head contest! A solid city defense will greatly shorten the quality gap between the two armies! Even if the opponent is a group of rebels, even if we are a regular army, but according to With the advantages of city defense, based on my years of experience in rebellion, if we want to capture such a large city with tens of thousands of rebels, it will be several times more difficult than field warfare. Even if we make up our minds to attack, the soldiers will die. According to my judgment, I am afraid that the third wave of offensive will have to wait for the city to be broken!"
Ruhr thought for a while, nodded and affirmed the other party's statement: "You have a good calculation."
"However, I was waiting in the back, and the drum was beaten for less than a quarter of an hour before I heard cheers coming from the front, and the shouting 'the city was broken' was heard everywhere! My army is preparing for the second wave of the sequence. The team didn't even get a chance to go into battle, and the city was already broken - no, even I learned the truth later, the first wave of the offensive sequence was not fully launched. In a moment, the city gate was broken, and soon, the banner of the rebels at the top of the city fell, and the imperial eagle-headed banner was erected. The rebels in the city defense retreated like a tide and collapsed, and the teams surrendered on the spot. Even after we entered the city, the rebels had no intention of fighting in the streets. Our forward quickly broke through the garrison in the city. I heard... The leader of the rebels killed himself when we entered, And the No. 2 figure in the rebels gave the order to surrender immediately."
This Ned gave a wry smile: "My soldiers, the blades in our hands didn't see blood at all, we just ran around and shouted for a while, and then the city was inexplicably broken. The army collapsed inexplicably, and in almost half an hour, a team came up from behind to gather up and surrender the prisoners of war! Sir... You are also fighting an old battle. This kind of decisive battle of tens of thousands of people, and it is still a siege battle, It's over in less than half an hour... Hmph, my subordinates are stupid, and I've been fighting all my life, but I've never won such an easy victory."
"However, you are a caring guy." Ruhl nodded: "But, you also said that the leader of the rebels committed suicide, and the number two rebels ordered to surrender..."
"Sir, here's the problem. When I drove into the city with my troops, I saw the surrendered No. 2 rebel figure from the garrison far away. Although it was dark at that time, luckily, I recognized That guy came out." Ned looked very serious: "I know that guy, and I am very familiar! We used to serve in the same army a few years ago, I know the name of that person, few people in the army knew at that time. , he was the personal guard of the Duke of Minas, so he had the opportunity to be sent to the Central Army for training. However, after our army was transferred, he was transferred. I haven't seen him for a few years, but I didn't expect that, Seeing him this time, he turned into the number two figure among the rebels."
Ned said this, his expression became more and more gloomy: "Sir, with your wisdom, you will not fail to see the problem! This guy, there is absolutely no possibility that our army will be inserted into the rebel army after the southward suppression of the rebellion. You must know that it only took us more than ten days to fight the rebels in the south. Even if we want to install the rebels, these ten days are definitely not enough! Besides, even if we really put people in... In more than ten days, this should be able to become the No. 2 figure among the rebels? I'm afraid that people will not believe it! Is it the only explanation... "
The only explanation is... This "internal response" was already among the rebels at the time of the rebellion.
Ruhl sighed inwardly.
Almost instantly, a complete and huge plan has completely emerged in Ruhr's heart!
The Duke of Minas comes back - the southern rebellion - the Duke of Minas seizes the commander of the southern expedition - leads the army to the south - a great victory...
"The old man is vying for the first step, and Adric and I are behind every step of the way..."
For a time, Ruhl found that what was in front of him had become a dead end!
In the current situation, it is impossible to face the Duke of Minas. The only way is to take back the military power in the south in a peaceful way, and call the Duke of Minas back to the imperial capital to control him.
And now that plan has been completely bankrupt. The rebellion in the south seems to be inextricably linked with Duke Minas, and even... there is his shadow! The old duke has mastered the military power to fight the rebels in the south, and because of his internal response, he can easily defeat the rebels and earn the great prestige brought by the victory. With the prestige of this great victory, he controls the whole army and makes the army return to its heart. With the capital to challenge the imperial capital!
At this time, it was impossible for Minas to hand over the military power peacefully. The army will definitely be on his side, and the soldiers at the bottom will not understand the inside story at all. The soldiers will only instinctively express their heartfelt support for a prestige commander who can lead them to victory. At this time, if the imperial capital forcibly ordered the deprivation of Duke Minas' commander position, the old man would be able to provoke the army to mutiny and rebound, thus further controlling the army. But - this road cannot be taken! The Duke of Minas can break jars, but not in the imperial capital! Once the Duke of Minas provoked the southern army to rebound and mutiny, then for the northern rebels, especially Hughes... It is definitely a big pie falling from the sky!
As for directly taking the Central Army south from the imperial capital to fight Minas directly, it is even more impossible.
Hughes, those northern rebels, will wake up laughing even when they sleep!