Along the way, the carriage was speeding on the main road of the imperial capital. Both of them were high-ranking officials. The guards in front were leading the way, so majestic! After all, Rody was young and lacked patience. He couldn't help but inquire about Count Mero's story in the carriage along the way. However, the minister in charge of the empire's finances was extremely cunning, and he was even more sophisticated in his ability to make big moves. No matter how much Roddy tried to test him, he just acted like "I am just assisting the Duke" and refused to reveal his inner thoughts at all. It seems that he is also a smart man. He knows that this peace negotiation is probably about signing a humiliating treaty, and he is unwilling to take the blame for this.
After the carriage stopped, Rody was stunned as soon as he got off the car. There was a tall building in front of me, and the sound of singing and dancing came from inside. I saw pink sleeves fluttering, and I actually arrived at the famous ** cave in the imperial capital!
Looking at Count Mero with a leisurely expression next to him, Rody really didn't expect that he would actually bring him to this place. You know, Roddy is not a real Duke. When he came here for the first time, he came with Didi, Count Mero's son. This time I came with Didi's father again, and I couldn't help but feel a little weird.
With a smile on his face, Count Mero pulled Roddy in and walked in swaggeringly. Ms. Shafei, whom she hadn't seen for many days, immediately rushed out after hearing the news, said all kinds of good things, and lured the two of them into a side cabinet. This side pavilion is on the second floor next to the lobby. Facing the lobby, a rolling curtain is slowly lowered. From behind the rolling curtain, you can see the song and dance performance in the lobby.
Two beautiful beauties slowly waited on both sides, holding gold cups in their hands and slowly serving the bright red wine juice. Count Mero looked relaxed and drank three glasses of wine in a row. Then, with the smell of alcohol on his face, he slowly lay down on the fur on the ground and lazily watched the maiko performance in the lobby downstairs.
Rody was puzzled and said, "Mr. Mero, what are we doing here?"
Mero chuckled: "Your Majesty the Duke, don't you think this is an excellent place for conversation?"
Rody frowned, looked at the two pretty women next to him, and said: "I didn't expect that Lord Earl is also a romantic person. It's just that I am worried about the peace talks."
Mero laughed, glanced at Roddy, and said calmly: "You and Didi have been here hundreds of times, why are you so formal? Besides, I invite you here, of course it has deep meaning, and you will be here soon. Got it." After a pause, the earl showed a mysterious smile on his face: "I heard that Miss Miu Ge here is your special one and can't be seen easily by others. I heard Didi say that she comes with you every time. It was a pleasure to meet him. ”
Rody's face turned slightly red, remembering the agreement he had made with Miu Ge, but he just remained silent.
Mero changed the subject and just made some small talk. After waiting for a while, he heard a burst of excitement downstairs, and then a dozen strong men wearing prairie leather robes strode in. Under the welcome of Ms. Sophie, behind them Followed by a slender old man. The old man was wearing a gorgeous fur coat, with a golden scimitar on his waist. His face was rosy, but his eyes were squinted.
"Look, that's Prince Memnon who was sent by the Great Moon Kingdom for peace talks this time. He is the younger brother of King Yue and the uncle of Reuenthar." Mero smiled slightly, with a proud look in his eyes.
Rody's heart moved, and he looked at the group of people coming up the stairs, and whispered: "Reuenthal's uncle? I don't know whether this prince supports Reuenthal or Prince Songtsan. I heard that The competition for the Longtai Golden Tent in Dayue Kingdom is quite fierce now.”
When Mero heard Rody's words, his expression changed slightly, and a glimmer of light appeared in his eyes. He said in a deep voice: "I didn't expect that the Duke could see clearly. This prince, I heard that he is loyal to King Dayue. It's just that. I don’t know which prince he supports. If we can open a gap here, we can gain some advantages in the peace talks.”
"oh?"
Mero smiled slightly: "This time you made such a fuss in the northwest grassland, the Longtai Golden Tent was shaken, and the tribal leaders all blamed Luo Yantar for not leading the troops effectively. Now Prince Songtsan gathered in the Dayue Kingdom The tribes challenged Luo Yantar. King Dayue was old, and his two sons Luo Yantar and Songtsan knew that whoever could control the army would be the king in the future. The barbarians on their grasslands were different from our empire. Whoever has the most soldiers in the future will be the crown prince. Now Reuenthar is the main battler, and although Songtsan doesn't know his true thoughts, since he wants to fight with his If my brother is against me, then the only way is to make peace. But now that they are internally unstable, and the empire is not preparing for a big war, peace is definitely going to happen, but Reuenthar's attitude is tougher, and Songzan, The attitude should be more gentle. As long as we know which faction this prince belongs to, we can at least understand the bottom line of their peace talks. "
Rody's heart moved, he didn't expect him to say these words. He couldn't help but said: "I didn't expect that Mr. Mero already had an idea in mind. I asked so many questions along the way, but I was just worrying about it."
Mero put away the smile on his face, and his eyes fell on Roddy's face. He stared at him for a long time, and then slowly said: "Set, there is an undercurrent surging in the imperial capital. You and I need to be more careful."
"Huh?" Rody was shocked. Hearing that Mero no longer called him "Duke", but called the word "Set", and then heard him say such a sentence, he didn't know what to do for a moment. response.
Mero smiled slightly, but there was a deep meaning in his smile: "No matter what the outcome of this peace negotiation is, it will definitely attract a lot of scolding in the end. Of course, His Majesty will not bear this dark nest. But who is willing to bear it? I I don’t want to, but His Majesty ordered me to negotiate, and I have no choice but to obey.”
Rody's heart moved and he tested: "Mr. Mero, what do you mean..."
Mero smiled faintly: "The peace talks between the two countries are of great importance. I am just a small finance minister with the title of earl. I cannot bear such a burden. Ordinarily, the person your Majesty relies on most now is the Duke. There is no need for you, my lord, but you are still young after all, so you are still a little lacking in these matters. And it is a pity that Marquis Caroline is busy with things and cannot do it in person. When I came to preside over the peace talks, Your Majesty, the Marquis, suggested to Your Majesty that you should hand over such a burden to me. It is really difficult for me, but fortunately, I have you, Your Majesty, to shoulder this important task with me... "
After saying that, he looked at Rody with bright eyes.
Roddy didn't know how to answer yet, but he already heard Andy's voice in his mind: "Boy, don't you understand this? He is hinting to you that he was also framed by the old Marquis Caroline to host this peace negotiation. This Don’t you understand? The peace talks are like shit on the roadside. Anyone who sees him will stay away. He is actually being squeezed out by Caroline to host the peace talks. Naturally, he is not the same person as that old bastard. "
"What should we do?"
Andy's voice was very calm: "Don't trust him easily. Try it again."
Hearing this, Rody understood. He cleared his throat and spoke slowly: "Master Mero, Marquis Caroline is also busy with things. He is in charge of military affairs. He also has a heavy responsibility."
Mero looked at Rody and suddenly laughed loudly, with a bit of sarcasm on his face: "Set, you just entered the officialdom, and you actually learned to be duplicitous."
Rody blushed and whispered: "Master Mero, what are you talking about! I don't understand!"
Count Mero snorted and said slowly: "I don't blame you either. It's just that I brought you here just to tell you that there is no need for us to hide anything from each other. Otherwise, I won't go anywhere else. But he brought you here? To be honest, Marquis Caroline is in charge of military affairs, which is certainly important. But now that His Majesty listens to him in everything, he has gradually gone too far. In the end, he is just a military affairs officer. He is just a minister, do you really think he is the prime minister?"
When Count Mero said these words, although his face looked angry, his eyes were bright and he looked at Rody with deep meaning.
Rody didn't expect that he would say these words to him directly. After being silent for a while, he slowly said: "Master Mero, what do you mean by saying this to me?"
"Old Caroline is just a minister of military affairs. All he wants is to hope that the Lionheart family can surpass Tulip and become the first family in the empire. Seth, are you just sitting there and not doing anything?"
Rody nodded, looked into Mero's eyes, and said solemnly: "Count Mero, I am just a duke without real power now. Regarding the things you said, I am a complete layman..."
"Amateur? Seth! I know what you did in Xilin! Back then, others thought you were a playboy, but I didn't believe it! That's why I let Didi get close to you... My own son, I I know in my heart that it is impossible for him to inherit the title in this life. Now it seems that I was not wrong after all. If you can beat Reuenthal away and suppress dissidents with thunder in Xilin, why should you do this, Duke Tulip? Be careful? I have told you everything from my heart today, and you still don’t believe me?”
Rody was silent, his heart was extremely complicated, and he was really at a loss about these intrigues in the officialdom. He sighed and said slowly: "Lord Mero, do you mean to overthrow Marquis Caroline? This may not be easy."
"Hmph!" Mero smiled coldly: "The Lionheart family is nothing! A few years ago, it was not about the Tulip family's face. It's just that they took the opportunity to persuade you while you were still young in the past few years. Caroline placed his nephew in the army and promoted him to the position of commander of the Northwest Army. In the past two years, I am afraid that the entire Northwest Army will be his. Seth, if you don't take action, in a few years, he will be defeated. I'm afraid... hum."
Rody frowned, smiled coldly, and said proudly: "Lord Mero, you are trying so hard to win me over to deal with Marquis Caroline, what do you hope to gain?"
A slight smile appeared on Mero's lips: "Me, I am the finance minister of the empire, and I have reached the title of earl. I don't expect to be a prime minister in this life. I just want my son to have a good life in the future. Hey, I'm in charge of the empire's finances for His Majesty. Do you think I don't know anything about the Lionheart family in the army? He sees me as a thorn in his side. He can't really do anything to me now. In the future... Humph, I’m afraid not only my son, but even my family won’t be able to tolerate him!”
At this point, everything that needs to be said has been said. Mero looked at Rody who was in deep thought, smiled slightly, swept away his deep look, and said lazily: "That Prince Memnon of the Big Moon Kingdom must be... He's next door, we might as well go and meet him for a while." After that, he pulled Rody to his feet and walked to the corridor, heading towards a side hall on the left.
There were several prairie warriors in leather robes standing in front of the side hall, each with a fierce look on his face. Before the two of them approached, someone immediately shouted: "Go away, go away! Don't come over!"
Rody was angry and said coldly: "Are the people from Dayue Kingdom so arrogant in the Imperial Capital?"
Mero's expression remained unchanged and he said calmly: "They didn't lose any battles in the northwest, and they didn't lose any troops or land. Of course they are very confident."
There were also guard warriors beside the two of them, and they immediately rushed forward and glared at the grassland barbarians. Rody's Lant bodyguard was the tallest and stood firmly in front of Rody.
Mero smiled lightly and said, "Tell your master that Duke Tulip and Count Mero have come to see him."
Before the warriors could answer, a calm voice slowly came out from the side hall: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Duke, please come in."
Rody strode in without even looking at the hands of the warriors on the handles of their swords.
Prince Memnon was lying lazily on a piece of animal skin. When he saw the two people walking in, he just smiled and said lightly: "My son is rude, please don't be offended by the two nobles of the empire." He winked and looked aside. The two servants immediately presented two gold cups filled with wine.
"Count Mero, this must be the Duke of Tulip. The Duke has such a great reputation in the northwest. I didn't expect to finally see him in the imperial capital today." With a smile on his face, Prince Memnon slowly sat up and raised his hand. Looking at the golden cup in front of him, he said: "This is the fine wine I brought from Dayue Kingdom. It is not available in the Imperial City. Your Excellency, the Duke, may wish to try it."
Before Rody could speak, a burly man standing behind Memnon said coldly: "Your Highness, the royal wine of our Dayue Kingdom has always been awarded only to the strongest warriors! Their Bright Empire has Such a warrior?"
Rody's guards all glared angrily, and Mero frowned slightly.
Prince Memnon just smiled and said calmly: "This is General Sager, the commander of the Royal Cavalry of our Dayue Kingdom."
A soldier of the Wolf Fang Army next to Roddy couldn't help but said coldly: "Captain of the Cavalry? We, the Duke, fought under the Watt Fortress and two of your commanders were killed. Who is the captain of the regiment?" …”
Prince Memnon's color changed slightly, and his eyes gradually became colder. General Sager shouted loudly: "Okay! I have long heard that Duke Tulip is the most powerful warrior in your empire, but I am not convinced! Hum, what are the commanders under Reuenthal, they are all idiots! "
As soon as these words came out, a strange color flashed in Mero's eyes, and a meaningful smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. Prince Memnon deliberately darkened his face and said calmly: "General Sager, we are guests from afar, don't be too presumptuous."
Sagar snorted heavily, but still closed his mouth, but kept looking at Rody with cold eyes. I really don't believe how powerful this handsome boy can be.
Mero smiled before saying anything and said slowly: "His Royal Highness, our Emperor has given an order today that Duke Tulip will also participate in this peace talk. I just saw His Highness the Prince coming here. We will have to deal with each other a lot in the next few days. , let’s have a drink together, you might as well make friends first.”
Seeing Rody holding up the gold cup, that Sag whispered: "Make friends. The Imperial people are weak. They can't defeat us on the battlefield, so they say they want to make friends..."
Rody smiled coldly, slowly put down the golden cup in his hand, and looked at Sag coldly. Mero's heart moved, and he thought that he might as well take this opportunity to kill the people of the Dayue Kingdom, let them know how powerful it is, and it will be good for future peace. Then he put down the golden cup in his hand with a smile, and said calmly: "This General Sager, what do you mean?"
Seeing that his master did not speak, Sage immediately opened his mouth and loudly shouted: "The people in your empire are weak and are not worthy of drinking the wine of our Dayue Kingdom! This wine is exclusively for the Wang family, and only the bravest warriors can drink it!"
Roddy wasn't angry either, he just smiled faintly. He had killed so many people in the northwest. Although he was smiling at the moment, there was a bit of murderous intent in his eyes.
Mero said slowly: "General Sager, you keep saying warrior. Does it mean that Duke Tulip is not worthy of the word 'warrior'?"
"Hmph! Let's try it first before talking!" Seeing that his master still didn't say anything, Sage became bolder.
Rant, who was behind Roddy, looked at this guy coldly and said angrily: "Try? Our Lord Duke is the number one among the emperors! Who do you think you are? Are you worthy of taking action against our Lord Duke? Your army in the Big Moon Kingdom What’s the ranking?”
That Sage was immediately speechless, and his dark face turned red. Although he was reckless, he knew in his heart that no matter how arrogant he was, he would never dare to shamelessly say that he was the number one warrior in the Great Moon Kingdom.
Mero smiled faintly: "I heard that His Royal Highness the Prince was also a warrior from the Dayue Kingdom, and our Lord Duke is the commander-in-chief of the army. It is boring for everyone to drink here. Why not go to the hall below and let your subordinates compete. Don't take off your clothes. The true nature of a warrior!”
Prince Memnon smiled slightly, with a haughty expression on his face, and said slowly: "Since it is the Earl's proposal, how can we refuse! We people in the grassland are the most cheerful! Let's go down now!"