The same mutilated siblings, the same waiter's dress, the same military temperament. All this immediately reminded Du Wei of the night he was assassinated in Jumu Town on the way to the imperial capital!
As soon as a trace of evil spirit appeared on his face, the waiter immediately noticed it, and a trace of vigilance flashed across his originally calm expression as a rock. After taking a step back, a gleam suddenly appeared in his eyes and stared at him Live Du Wei!
Du Wei's hand has touched a magic scroll in his sleeve. Since the assassination incident, Du Wei has developed a good habit. He has specially sewed two pockets in the sleeves of his magician's robe. The wide sleeves of the magician's robe are a good place to hide weapons. There are several magic scrolls in the pockets of the two sleeve robes, so that they can quickly protect themselves in case of danger.
At this moment, Du Wei was holding a magic petrification scroll in his hand, staring at the waiter carefully, as long as he dared to make a slight movement, he was ready to pop the scroll out of his sleeve immediately.
"My dear friend, what's wrong with you? Judging by your face, you seem to be a little uncomfortable?" With a gentle greeting, Prince Chen suddenly took a step slowly. This kind of gentle breath immediately dispelled the murderous aura between Du Wei and the waiter, instantly dissipating the crisis invisible. Prince Chen's step seemed simple, but he seemed to be standing between Du Wei and the waiter intentionally or unintentionally.
Du Wei forced a smile, and took a deep look at His Royal Highness: "It's nothing, it's just that I suddenly have a headache." Then, his eyes passed over Prince Chen. It landed on the waiter's hand, and said with a smile: "I'm just curious, in this kind of place, why the waiter's hand..."
The waiter also seemed relieved, bent down silently, and bowed respectfully to Du Wei. But even when bowing. His body was tense. It seems to be always ready. Du Wei looked at him without moving. After the waiter bowed, he quietly backed away.
"This is not the right place." Prince Chen's whisper fell into Du Wei's ears quietly. In a blink of an eye, Du Wei saw the young His Highness's deep eyes, and he coughed in disguise: " I'm just a little curious."
subsequently. Prince Chen had already pulled Du Wei out of the door and onto the terrace.
This terrace is huge. Under the dark night, the cyan stone carving looks mysterious in its outline. Du Wei deliberately looked at the statue of an ancient warrior in front of him. The statue warrior held a long sword and wore armor, standing quietly on the stone platform. Du Wei walked closer and saw that the warrior was on the ground. The eyes are actually inlaid with precious stones, and the long sword in his hand is also carved out of ivory. Under the faint moonlight around, a faint warm and soft luster appeared on the ivory.
"The backstage of this place. It should be the military." I stared at the warrior statue for a long time. Du Wei suddenly said something.
Prince Chen held on to the railing on the balcony with one hand, and held a crystal wine glass with the other. Hearing Du Wei's words, he didn't answer immediately, but took a sip of the wine first, then took a deep breath, smiled and said, "Look, the terrace is better. The roses in the garden below are so beautiful... If It will definitely be a wonderful thing to be able to bring your beloved girl in front of such moonlight and flowers." After speaking, Prince Chen turned and glanced at Du Wei: "My friend, tell me. Do you have a beloved girl?"
"..." Du Wei glanced at His Highness silently, and thought carefully for a while...
Beloved girl
do not know why. Thinking of this sentence, Du Wei's mind suddenly flashed that day when he said goodbye to little Vivienne at the port of Walker, the little beautiful magician who stuttered and blushed lightly on his cheek timidly. A light kiss, and then leave the scene.
"Maybe, yes." Du Wei replied with a smile involuntarily.
Prince Chen glanced at Du Wei quietly, his handsome face showed a trace of sadness: "Unfortunately, I don't have one."
talking. He shook his head, drank the wine in the glass, then put down the glass, walked to Du Wei's side, smiled and said: "You guessed right just now, the backstage of this place is indeed the military."
The expression on Du Wei's face didn't change.
"I don't know what happened to you just now." Prince Chen frowned slightly: "But I have to remind you that in this place, you'd better not do anything beyond the routine. The depth of the water in this place is beyond your imagination. Having said that, Prince Chen glanced at Du Wei: "What are you thinking? "
"It's nothing." Du Wei said lightly: "I just feel that such a place is actually opened by the military... It's a bit unexpected. The majestic imperial military would actually create such a... place."
"Yes." A trace of worry flashed in Prince Chen's eyes, and he said in a low voice, "It's very sad... perhaps, this is also one of the signs before the chaos comes."
Immediately he sighed, and stood side by side with Du Wei: "It's actually not a secret. In the aristocratic circle of the imperial capital, everyone knows it well, but no one will point it out. Even if I My father, he also knows the existence of this place, and knows that the military has built such a place around the imperial capital... Hehe! The majestic imperial army, the army guarding the glory of the empire, actually did such a thing. Do you think my father is doing this? Are you happy? Every time this place is mentioned, he will be so angry that he smashes things... But what can I do? Even the big guys in the military command, including your father, don't like this place. , but to no avail."
"Why?"
"Because of money!" Prince Chen smiled wryly: "Because of the lack of military expenses!"
Then, Prince Chen raised his head, looked at the crescent moon in the sky, and sighed softly: "My father, His Majesty Emperor Augustine VI, the ruler of this continent, the monarch who has reigned for forty-four years ... To be honest, if he was born in a war-torn era... such as the Aragon era, or the turbulent era when our Augustine family came to the throne to save the empire, with my father's character, I am afraid that he could become a generation of bright and powerful rulers! He likes martial arts , I am so happy, my favorite thing is to go to war in the south and north, and use the constant conquest to satisfy his inner need for glory... In fact, this is not a shortcoming. If it is in times of war, it will be a very good character advantage of a monarch. But it is a pity that he was born in an era when the empire was stable... moreover, it was still in an empire with a thousand-year history. Monarch. That would not be the blessing of a nation."
Du Wei didn't speak - the other party was His Majesty the current emperor. It is a serious crime to belittle the monarch behind his back. The other party was the emperor's favorite youngest son, and he said behind his back that his father's words were not good, even if people knew about it, it didn't matter, but he absolutely couldn't answer!
"My father has been in power for forty-four years. Unfortunately, the entire continent has been unified. How can he conquer and vent his desire to conquer? The only thing is the alien races behind the desert in the northwest that have always changed a bit. .Twenty years ago, my father organized an expedition to the desert, slaughtered a whole hundred thousand aliens, and the blood stained the yellow sand. That year was called "the year of bloodshed".
Alas... Father is too anxious. Although those alien races change frequently, they are all small troubles, and generally speaking, they are still under the rule and control of the empire. But because my father was anxious. I found a target that could vent, and I did it desperately... The pride that I had held back for a lifetime turned into a murderous aura. Although that conquest severely injured the alien race, it slaughtered a blood feud of 100,000 people. However, those alien races have forged a blood feud with the empire since then, and the original appeasement policy has no effect anymore. Alas... It's a pity that the previous emperor and my grandfather's hard work for thirty years were all wiped out by my father's butcher knife! "Speaking of which, Prince Chen glanced at Du Wei: "That expedition to the desert war. you know "
Du Wei nodded.
Although the war took place twenty years ago, Du Wei did not come to this world at that time, but after reading a lot of historical books and documents, Du Wei probably knew the place of the war.
There is a vast desert in the northwest of the mainland. In the depths of the desert, it is a long and narrow grassland from the geographical point of view. Backed by snow-capped mountains. On that piece of land, there is a nomadic alien race, who are rebellious in nature and brave in defense. That nation was once conquered by the empire in the Aragon era, but after all, there was a desert between the inland of the empire and the grassland nation, which became the biggest obstacle for the empire to control that area. For hundreds of years, the empire's control over that conquered nation was weak. That nation also often set off small-scale rebellions. The empire has conquered many times, and in the end it always wins. However, the vast desert has caused heavy losses in the empire's supplies. Every time it wins a war, it is often not worth the loss.
When the father of the current emperor, His Majesty Augustine VI, was on the throne, it was a generous monarch who carried out a policy of appeasement against this nation that had repeatedly harassed the empire. He gave up the policy of stationing troops on the grassland and replaced blindly At the same time, they tried to use internal differentiation methods to weaken those stubborn prairie wolves.
Thirty years of hard work, and it worked out well. For thirty years, those alien races have not had any rebellion.
However, after Augustine VI succeeded to the throne, he changed his policy and adopted a high-pressure policy against the alien races. As a result, the alien races that had been divided into pieces were finally reunited, and a rebellion was set off 20 years ago. The empire organized an army of 100,000 Crossing the desert to conquer, spent nearly tens of millions of gold coins in military expenditure, killed and injured almost half of the army, and bloodbathed the grasslands. Finally, the rebellion was quelled, and for demonstrations, 100,000 people were massacred, including prisoners of war. There are also civilians!
"In that war, the empire spent nearly tens of millions of gold coins and lost tens of thousands of elite troops, a large number of which were non-combat losses in the desert! What did the empire gain? What was obtained was to satisfy the father's desire to conquer, but But he failed to get even a single gold coin from those alien races, and even forged a bloody feud with them! Now there are 20,000 troops stationed on the grasslands. Those 20,000 troops are far from the interior of the empire, and supplies are difficult. To cross a desert to supply an army of 20,000 people, and to suppress those alien races, you must use all expensive cavalry! The consumption is almost ten times that of an army of the same size! It is equivalent to a local garrison of 20,000 people. But it has to spend the military expenses of consuming one legion! The empire spends more military expenses for raising one legion every year. But it is only to maintain such an army of 20,000! It has been maintained for so many years... the military expenditure is a terrifying figure!"
Hearing this, Du Wei suddenly couldn't help but said: "It's a pity, if it was done once and for all..."
A strange color suddenly flashed in Prince Chen's eyes, and he took a deep look at Du Wei: "What did you say?"
With a cold look on Du Wei's face, he said coldly: "The war 20 years ago killed 100,000 people on the other side. The deep hatred has been forged! If this is the case, why not. If you don't do it, don't stop..." He Raising his hand, he made a gesture of cutting down with one palm, and said lightly: "That narrow grassland. The area is only the area of a province of the empire! How many people can there be in total for the alien races on the grassland? A population of one million is almost enough, among one million people. Excluding the old, weak, women and children, there are 300,000 strong and strong men, which is already the limit! With such a force, why not just completely wipe out the grass? Ten thousand, then killing another 900,000 is not impossible! With the national power of the empire, another legion will be conscripted to wipe out those alien races once and for all! Although it will cost a lot in the short term, it will be avoided in the future. Frequent small rebellions can be regarded as a cure for the cancer on the empire!"
Prince Chen was surprised... Where did this little boy in front of him come from such cruel means? !
"You're right." Prince Chen smiled wryly: "Back then, my father also had the same meaning... Huh. After all, my father is not confused, and knows the truth that long-term pain is better than short-term pain. Although his methods and ideas are violent, but if he really If you do this, even if you bear the reputation of a butcher, it will at least bring the empire a permanent and peaceful northwest! However, it is the temple that came out to obstruct him! Those god sticks have ulterior motives. Naturally, we don’t want to see our royal family sit peacefully Humph! At that time, the Pope suddenly entered the palace, talked with his father all night, and forced his father to submit with doctrine... Humph! When he had already killed 100,000 people, the Pope did not appear! But he came to obstruct father from continuing! Such a way. The intention is extremely insidious!"
Du Wei nodded, thinking to himself: Naturally, the temple will not see the peace of the royal family of the empire... It is naturally good for the temple to leave an internal trouble in the northwest and distract the royal family. From the perspective of Du Wei's previous life, the contradiction between the temple and the empire is absolutely irreparable! Theocratic power and imperial power are opposed, how can it be possible to merge
"The troubles in the Northwest, here we go! Twenty years have passed, and the military expenses of a legion have been spent every year. Countless military expenses have been spent to support those 20,000 people... Hmph, but if the other party really wants to rebel, across a desert, The army of the empire cannot be rescued, and the 20,000 garrison alone will probably be eaten by the other party in less than ten days! Twenty years have passed, and the vitality of those alien races has recovered. I am afraid that this turmoil will break out sooner or later! "Prince Chen sneered: "But what about now? With national power, fighting a fruitless war in the desert, how long can the empire last? The problem, at least it hasn't exploded... But the biggest problem now is in Nanyang!"
Mentioning Nanyang, Du Wei's spirit lifted. Because his father, Earl Raymond, was promoted to the current position of military leader by virtue of his military exploits in leading the fleet on three expeditions to Nanyang.
"The opening of the Nanyang sea route and the frequent expeditions of the empire were a big mistake! Hmph, the sea route is difficult and dangerous. Although Nanyang is rich, no matter how fertile the land is, it cannot withstand such frequent harvesting! Based on my calculations. Yes It is not impossible to conduct expeditions to the South Seas. But it is better to conduct them at least once every seven or eight years! But now, the fleet expeditions are almost once every two or three years...the result is a show of force. The empire built a huge army for this purpose. An almost wasteful navy! Hmph... But is it just to deal with those natives in the South Seas?! I calculated it. Twenty years ago, Mr. Du Wei, your father, Earl Raymond, led three expeditions, and at least enough to maintain military expenses Balanced with the harvested land. But in the past fifteen years, four more South Sea expeditions have been carried out... Especially the most recent one, the Empire's navy spent 16 million gold coins in military expenditures, and the final harvest from the expedition was only so small. To one million gold coins... The fertile South Seas. It has become barren! Those natives have gone far south, and formed the United Kingdom in the far south, a place that is difficult for our imperial navy to reach... Alas. This is also a Worry! It's a pity that my father didn't listen to my advice. In order to satisfy his great success, he recently planned to go on another expedition... Recently, he forced the finance department to approve three million gold coins for the construction of giant ships."
Prince Chen frowned: "With such fruitless expeditions again and again, and such acts of showing off force at the cost of wasting the empire's national power again and again... the current financial situation of the empire has reached an extremely dangerous situation! The empire must maintain Nearly 500,000 local garrison troops have to maintain several main battle corps headed by the Storm Legion, as well as the guard corps of the imperial capital, as well as the 20,000 expensive garrisons in the northwest, and the military expenses of the naval expedition... All these are added up, Coupled with the great success of his father, the grand triumphant ceremony every two or three years, the celebration... You may not know, because of the issue of military expenses, several big bosses in the command department are almost graying. When I went home and saw my father's appearance, he was indeed much older.
"Now the local garrison has begun to be partially self-sufficient. I know that several local garrisons in the south have not changed their weapons and equipment for three years! Even the elite Stormtroopers can only get 60% of their military expenses every year! The only one The only place where the full amount of military expenses can be approved is the Guards Corps of the Imperial Capital. The other main battle armies can only get 50% to 60% of the military expenses, and the rest can only be figured out by themselves." Prince Chen smiled bitterly, pointing behind him The banquet hall at the ground, and then pointed around: "Here, this place! Its background is some military generals and commanders headed by the Storm Legion in the north! They have no choice but to use this method to make money, otherwise If you don't, you won't be able to raise enough military expenses!"
Du Wei was sighing. He has long felt that there are many hidden dangers in the empire. But I didn't expect the situation to have rotted to such an extent!
Seeing the singing and dancing in the banquet hall behind him, the streets of the imperial capital are still bustling every day, but the foundation of this huge empire has quietly and slowly corroded without anyone knowing!
"So, I advise you not to make any trouble here." Prince Chen smiled wryly: "This place is for raising military expenses. If something goes wrong here, then it will offend those powerful generals in the military and offend them. You have offended the Storm Legion, and offended several main battle legions! Now, money is their lifeblood. If you touch people’s lifeblood, how can the other party stop with you?! Therefore, even I will not easily provoke you here. What happened."
Du Wei bowed lightly: "Your Highness, thank you for your reminder, I will remember your words... but I have some questions." He raised his head and looked directly at the prince: "What you told me just now These, there are a lot of things, I am afraid that they have already involved confidentiality? Your Highness, you are so confiding in me, I really don't understand, how can I, Du Wei, be so favored by His Highness?"
"Du Wei." Prince Chen met Du Wei's gaze, and suddenly said in a deep voice, "Are you willing to be loyal to me?"
Du Wei was taken aback.