As night fell, the lights in the city of Saint-Sunil lit up one after another in the night.
This ancient city, which had experienced the crisis of destruction, seemed extraordinarily quiet in the night. For many days, it finally ushered in a night without shouts of killing and explosions. Saint-Sunil was like a giant scarred beast, in the In this rare quiet night, he quietly licked his wound.
The lights in this city are much less than that of Cecil City, and the bright magic crystal lights are basically only maintained in the castle area and the inner city area. Outside of this, the lights that illuminate the streets and alleys are not so bright The candlelight and the dimly flickering brazier, but such a lack of bright light, created a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere in the night.
Victoria stood in front of the window, looking at the distant scenery, and turned around after a long time: "When do you plan to hold the coronation ceremony? Or... what other ceremony is used to announce the founding of the empire?"
"Tomorrow, the news of the establishment of the empire will be sent to the whole territory to stabilize the situation everywhere. As for the so-called coronation..." Gao Wen shook his head, "Don't worry, wait until we resolve the biggest crisis."
"Are you referring to the remaining crystal cluster monsters in the southeast of the Holy Spirit Plain?" Victoria blinked, "A large number of their main forces have been hit hard, and it seems that they have no ability to launch another general attack... The threat you are referring to is others of what?"
Gawain nodded. Here, at this moment, he felt that he could let the two guardian dukes know the existence of that "time bomb".
"I suspect that the death of all things will activate an ancient god's legacy. Those crystal cluster monsters fell into frenzy because of the sudden loss of control of this ancient legacy. I have obtained relatively definite evidence that this god's legacy is 'active', and it is in the Holy Spirit Deep in the eastern part of the plain... near the eastern border. Now my legion is trying to collect information on the relevant area, but so far no clues have been found. Its energy response is increasing day by day, and it is only a matter of time before it erupts... and it won't be too long. "
Victoria and Baldwin glanced at each other subconsciously, and they both saw shock in each other's eyes.
This disaster... this disaster that has already destroyed Ansu, actually has a deeper crisis? !
"I know what you want to say-the soldiers have tried their best to save Saint-Sunil in the disaster, and they have sacrificed a lot, but they only blocked the first wave of this disaster. Now I suddenly know that it is far from over, and even There is a greater crisis, which is definitely not acceptable, but fate will never cater to our ability to accept it," Gawain said before the two guardian dukes spoke, "What we are about to face is a challenge that may affect the fate of mankind —This not only refers to the crisis created by the death of all things, but also includes the situation for a long time to come.
"The shadows on the wasteland of Gondor are about to move, the harbinger of the demon tide has loomed, the figure of the giant dragon has appeared in the world, and two of the three major dark sects are still active in the shadows...
"Our neighbor, Typhon, has risen, and it is also a huge threat. In the future, in order to survive, to survive disasters, to survive competition, we must also rise, and we must become the strongest …
"I can confess to you here that building an empire is not the best plan for reform. It will leave many hidden dangers and residues in the reform. I can think of more thorough reform methods and more advanced social systems. , However, time is running out, we have no time to choose the best, we can only choose the most suitable for the time being.
"We have to survive - I'm ready and I hope you are."
Faced with the sudden utterance of Gawain, the two guardian dukes fell into a brief silence.
This is not the first time they have heard similar words from Gao Wen. At the earliest time, when the founding hero had just been resurrected, he had brought a warning about the demon tide. After that, he also Warnings were made from all angles about the crisis at hand—but at the time, no one took the warnings seriously.
Today, no one thinks these things are alarmist anymore.
"We should restart the research on the magic tide and the wasteland, and restart those ancient libraries and archives," Baldwin said, "it's time to wake up from the numbness-compared with this world, we have really slept too much Long."
"The crisis of the end of all things is a top priority," Victoria also said, "but now the Kingdom Army and the Northern and Western Legions are almost powerless, relying on the Cecil Legion... can solve the crisis you mentioned? "
"I have already made arrangements, and there will be no major surprises," Gao Wen said. "What I need you to do is to maintain stability. No matter what method is used, before the dust settles, the western part of the plains and San Sunil will be absolutely stable." Can't be chaotic—this year is halfway through, and the next harvest month will be the key to whether we can survive this winter safely. We have already lost half of our grain production land and a large amount of grain reserves. If bandits appear again in the western plains And large-scale refugees... Even if the Cecil Legion solves the cult crisis, we will also face the winter crisis."
The two guardian dukes nodded solemnly, and then Gawain looked at Victoria again: "How many reserve troops are there in the northern border?"
"The Mountain Legion was seriously injured. Even if you count the reserve soldiers who stayed in the northern border and did not fight, there are only four to five thousand people left. If you add the conscripts, private soldiers, and mercenaries from all over the country, there will be about 10,000 people. to fifteen thousand people."
"Have you eliminated the army guarding the border?"
"Excluded—the corps defending the northern countries will not be transferred from the northern border under any circumstances."
"More than 10,000 people... not enough, but we can't ask for too much," Gawain sighed, "You send reliable people to lead troops to the east, from the hills north of Solinburg, where Cecil's army has already built I have established a safe passage—before the end of summer, I will take over the stronghold of Changfeng in the east and guard against Typhon. In addition, I will also send my second army to the border for joint defense. The reorganization and modernization of the mountain army is in the east Let’s go ahead, we have limited time and we must race against the clock.”
Victoria nodded slightly: "I understand."
"The Legion of the Western Territory will stay in the Holy Spirit Plain to recuperate and maintain order in the grain-producing areas." Gawain looked at Duke Baldwin again. "The reorganization and modernization of the Legion of the Western Territory is also taking place on the plain."
Baldwin lowered his head: "This arrangement is very appropriate."
Gao Wen looked at the two of them. When talking about the reorganization and modernization of the army, the expressions on the faces of the two guardian dukes were all indifferent.
"I hope you understand that the process of reorganizing and reforming the northern and western legions is the process of recovering your military power," Gao Wen said, "I will replace their command system and rebuild their discipline and order. They will change from being loyal to you to being loyal to you." In order to be loyal to the Cecil Empire—of course, considering the stability of the army and your personal abilities, the reorganized legion will still be under your command, but at that time it will no longer be a private soldier... "
There are some things he has to say more clearly. Even if the content of the military system reform has been clarified during the previous discussions, now it is specific to the two guardian dukes, he must emphasize it again, because this issue is both sensitive and important, and Due to the actual situation, he could not completely deprive the two guardian dukes of the power to command their original regiments - on the one hand, because he could not find capable people to replace the two dukes, on the other hand, he had to Considering the stability of the morale of the original two corps.
If it was in peacetime, he would of course choose a restructuring plan that would leave no hidden dangers, but now that there are internal and external troubles, the empire has not many available troops, and he must try his best to avoid a decline in the combat effectiveness of the existing legions, even if it is a temporary decline.
After all, the weakest stage of a country is not before change, but during change.
On the premise of retaining this huge hidden danger, he must ensure the reliability and cooperation of Victoria and Baldwin, at least within the constraints of the rules.
After all, he didn't want to see such things as warlords in the newborn empire.
"Of course we understand," Duke Baldwin laughed, "and we will make sure that every family in the northern and western borders understands this."
Gao Wen nodded slightly, and before today's long talk ended, he mentioned one last thing.
"Finally, regarding the capital of the empire—when the dust settles, the ruling center of this country will move to Cecil City."
Victoria and Baldwin glanced at each other, but neither of them had much surprise.
"It is necessary to cut off the foundation of the old forces more thoroughly, isn't it?" Victoria said with a calm expression and a cold voice.
"Not only that, there are several other factors," Gao Wen said, "Saint-Sunil has been severely damaged, and its ruling function as the capital has actually stopped now-the old aristocratic system has disintegrated, and military power has almost disappeared. , a large number of traffic arteries are covered by polluted areas, and cannot be restored in a short time. It is not meaningful to continue to use it as the capital. This is one of them;
"Secondly, the new order of the empire is based on the magic industry. The high production capacity provided by the magic industry is the key to ensuring the rapid recovery of society and the foundation of our rise. The industrial foundation of San Sunil can be said to be a Blank—Although there are some new-style factories, they have all been shut down, and there are several magic nets, but they are not systematic. Cecil City is already a relatively mature industrial center, and it is also a developed commercial and cultural center. There are a large number of fully functional new cities, and Cecil City is more suitable as the capital of the new empire than San Sunil.
"Finally, what you just mentioned, Victoria, is to completely cut off the foundation of the old forces."
The various families of Saint-Sunil have been in business for many years, and their pedigrees are intricate, and their power network has even penetrated into the gangsters and scoundrels in the streets and alleys. This mess will not dissipate in a short time, and Gawain has no time to guard a family. The dilapidated ancient city and this mess are fighting wits and courage, and moving the capital directly is obviously the most time-saving and labor-saving solution.
"But if the capital is located in the south, will it be too close to the south in terms of geographical location?" Bai Dewen thought for a while, and raised his own doubts, "On the one hand, it is far away from the population center in the north, and on the other hand, it is too far away from the population center." Near the wastelands…”
"It's not a problem to be close to the wasteland, because I'm already expanding the land to the south and building a multi-layered progressive defense line. One day we will take back the land at the southern foot of the Dark Mountains, and to be honest, the southern area itself is It is more suitable for survival than the north - the land is fertile and the climate is relatively mild. If it is not deserted, it should be a better food producing area than the Holy Spirit Plains, while the north is... too cold.
"As for the other point, if you understand the new means of transportation in the southern border, you won't have this concern. From the map, San Sunil is located in the center of the intersection of Ansu, which is the situation of the year and the subsequent technological decline However, without convenient transportation, the capital can only be located in the middle of the territory, but if the transportation problem is solved, the geographical location is not so important."
Duke Baldwin thought for a while, then nodded slightly: "If it is true, then I have no worries."
The night was getting darker, and the cool wind blew through the study room. Gao Wen rubbed the center of his brows, and then heaved a long sigh of relief: "The things we discussed today cannot be completed overnight, and besides the big picture, the details also need to be completed. It is still to be discussed, let’s stop here today, and we all rest early... "
"When... when... when..."
A melodious bell with a hint of holiness suddenly came from a distance, interrupting the second half of Gao Wen's sentence.
It was the bell from the direction of the Holy Light Cathedral.
The three people in the room (Hetty had already hung up the communication) raised their heads at the same time and looked in the direction from which the bell was ringing.
"The blockade of the Holy Light Cathedral has been lifted," Baldwin said, "...it seems that we will have to wait a while before we can rest."
"Let's go and have a look together," Gao Wen said while looking out the window, and at the same time couldn't help thinking a little bit divergently, "I don't know how the people in the cathedral will feel after learning about the changes in the outside world..."
After the divine descent technique ended, probably in order to calm down the turbulent energy of the holy light, or maybe because the severely worn-out clergy needed to recuperate, the cathedral of the holy light remained locked down until now.
In this situation, Gao Wen couldn't help but make some interesting associations—
Before closing the gate, the king of Ansu was still commanding the defense of the city.
After opening the door, let alone the king, Ansu is gone.
Those in the cathedral will probably be taken aback.