In the long river of history, an empire that is about to decay does not fail to give birth to one or two wise kings with noble minds. However, when the decay has spread deep into the bones of the empire, no wise king can make a difference. Although the monarch's power is nominally supreme, no matter how high the imperial power is, it is still based on countless noble classes. When the imperial power directly touches the self-interests of the vast majority of the nobles, that is when the imperial power comes to an end.
The legendary tyrant, the lewd, tyrannical, unscrupulous and extravagant Emperor Durotar knew this very well, so he did not choose to become a wise king who worked hard to govern and vowed to fight the dark side of the empire, because he knew what to do. There will only be one consequence. Before he can consolidate his imperial power, he will be overthrown by the united aristocratic class and the wave of the "Skull and Bones", the Shadow Council that has been deeply rooted in the empire for thousands of years. This is not even a big deal for a country. The Skull and Bones Society only needs to select another obedient and well-behaved royal who is willing to do nothing to replace itself among the hundreds of heirs to the throne.
So the first thing Durotar did after taking the throne was to launch a seemingly meaningless, hopeless, and utterly stupid all-out war. In this war, the people had to bear huge war taxes and their living burden increased. However, because the war was not fought locally, the loss of civilian lives except combatants was not serious.
Of course, almost all the aristocrats from top to bottom made a fortune during this war. They committed corruption, embezzled strategic materials, sold slaves, plundered the enemy's people, etc. Although the country was poor due to the war, as long as its brains were not The aristocrats who were too stupid have doubled their wealth. This is the direct reason why Durotar's throne became more stable after launching this war that was reviled by everyone.
Precisely because those nobles were making a lot of money, almost no one noticed other facts...
Because of this war, the well-trained private soldiers accumulated by the nobles suffered heavy losses. Although the materials and equipment were compensated with huge gold coins, the personnel losses could not be made up overnight. Because Durotar hinted that any wealth plundered in the war would be considered his own no matter how much, and the empire had additional rewards, so he was competing for military glory. Many nobles were not only crazy about war, but they were aggressive and eager to fight, and they even did not hesitate to kill each other on the battlefield.
Although the wealth of these nobles increased several times overnight. However, the private army in their hands was in name only, and it lost the ability to protect itself and intimidate, which foreshadowed its future fate. Durotar is equivalent to using the private soldiers in the hands of nobles to consume the effective forces of all surrounding countries, buying precious peace time for his own plan. Because of the active aristocratic private armies, the empire's official legions actually suffered limited losses. Moreover, because of the existence of the legendary hero Retusus, Durotar did not worry much about counter-invasion retaliation from other countries.
Then comes the second step of the plan... "The Rebirth of the Empire."
The focus of the plan is to use endless blood to cleanse the rotten filth deeply rooted in the soil of the empire.
However, this matter is far more difficult than starting a war...
Historically, when an empire was terminally ill and the number of "bad guys" far outnumbered the "good guys," a hasty anti-corruption campaign would only affect the whole body and cause resistance from all aristocratic classes.
First of all, in order to prevent others from discovering his true intentions, so that the parasites of the empire will not be provoked to immediately join forces to fight against him, a reasonable and logical reason becomes necessary... What else can be compared? Is a treacherous minister's male favorite who is favored by a faint king more qualified for this task
these years. Earl Amanda successfully created the image of a favorite of the emperor who was "moody", "greedy and murderous", and acted "unscrupulously". Because of accidentally offending this beautiful bastard, insufficient bribes, flattery, and other reasons that could not be promoted, the guillotine in Montenegro, the imperial capital, has never been idle for a moment in these years, and the nobles were killed and their blood flowed like rivers. Although everyone is in danger, but because the concept of "as long as you don't provoke the most beautiful woman in the empire, nothing will happen" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, no one will take the risk of offending the cruel and cruel Emperor Durotar. Take some drastic measures that you would only do when you are in a desperate situation. The last thought many a man has as he is pushed to the guillotine. I am also worried about why I provoke that beautiful poisonous snake inexplicably? Unknowingly, the wings of the Skull and Bones Society have been reduced to seven or eighty-eight. Just like the authority of the emperor is based on those noble classes, the energy of the Skull and Bones Society is also composed of these middle and lower nobles.
But just as this "tyrant"'s "empire rebirth plan" progressed to the next step. It was also the most important step. When he was about to directly attack the core members of the Skull and Bones Society, Durotar was infected with an incurable poison, causing his efforts to fall short. It’s no wonder that this emperor, who was vengeful and wanted to bring this ancient empire back from the ashes even if he bore the name of a tyrant and a coward, shed tears of regret...
Count Amanda left the Peak Castle through a secret passage, just like before. When his figure disappeared with the closed secret door, a female knight in full armor appeared out of thin air in the emperor's secret room. When the emperor's series of almost cruel coughs gradually subsided, the woman said: "Your Majesty Why let him go?"
"Why..." Durotar held the corner of the table and smiled weakly: "What's the point of killing him? Besides... he has always been my best friend. Haha, the outside world says that he is my lover, but in a sense this is also true... "
"But he violated your trust in him. I even have reason to suspect that he was the one who directly cursed Your Majesty!"
"Hehehe... It is true that except for Amanda, no one else can cast a curse on me when I am on guard against everything. But, what does it matter... .. No one knows Amanda better than me. He actually doesn’t have that much courage and wisdom, nor does he have much ambition or ideals. Even this game of saving the empire is only because of me that he got involved. To put it bluntly, He was used by me, and he would betray me, probably because he was coerced by someone else using some means that he could not resist. Even if I kill him now, it will be insignificant to my real enemy, not to mention , I do owe Amanda a lot... His life is more meaningful than me killing him to vent my anger."
"But under the guise of Your Majesty, he has been making trouble in the imperial capital these years. Although it is because of your instructions, I think he is also enjoying it. Hehe hehe... Even Retusus' Wife, the Emerald Dragon Ysera dares to get involved, I don’t think it’s for your Majesty’s sake.”
Durotar shook his head slightly, noncommittal, and after a long time he suddenly said: "Let's not talk about Amanda, how far has that thing... progressed?"
The woman seemed to still be sulking about Count Amanda, but she immediately replied: "The giant monster's bloodline is indeed extremely pure, even better than we expected before, plus the living things we have secretly collected over the years. "Festival, and the 'beautiful men and beauties' that those idiots presented to you, we may be only one step away from the final success."
"Very good, this thing may be my final trump card for a comeback. I will give an unforgettable lesson to all my opponents who are on the surface and hiding in the dark. You are personally responsible for this matter. No accidents are allowed." . Speaking of which, this may be the last chance that fate gives me to struggle. Otherwise, how can I explain that when I was at my wits' end, first a giant monster that had not been seen for a century suddenly appeared, and then the bloodline that I had been searching for for more than ten years to no avail. There is news about the seeds..."
Noticing a look of embarrassment on the female knight's face, Emperor Durotar frowned and asked, "Why, has there been any accident?"
The female knight suddenly knelt on the ground and replied: "Your Majesty, please atone for your sins. We have progressed to the final stage. We have already made a major breakthrough in searching for the blood descendants of Ice Queen Christine. Elsa has re-determined the exact identity of the girl." But just when I was about to arrest her, she was moved."
"So what." The incomparable majesty and evil spirit suddenly appeared on the face of Emperor Durotar: "As long as you know where she is, just bring her back to me, no matter where she is hiding, no matter where she will be. It doesn’t matter who the person she is hiding is Zuo De, Buckingham, Oga, or Lao Mentu, kill all the obstacles, I don’t have time anymore.”
At this moment, Durotar's majesty and terror as the Terror Emperor Tyrant were undoubtedly revealed, but the female knight's answer made him frown again...
"Your Majesty, please calm down. The girl was originally hidden in a circus owned by a relatively powerful rebel organization. According to our informant, the girl did not attract the attention of those people. Even the girl herself did not pay attention to it. She didn’t know the secret hidden in her body. But not long ago, she was suddenly taken to an island. This matter was not only very confidential, but also happened so quickly that even my intelligence officer had no time to report it to me. "
"Island?" The emperor seemed to suddenly think of something, his face suddenly became serious and said: "Which island is it? Isn't it the 'Island of the Relics of the Twelve Demon Emperors' that many people have become interested in recently?"
The female knight showed a wry smile, not daring to raise her head at all, and replied in a low voice: "Yes, Your Majesty, it is that island. According to the latest intelligence, those rebels are using the power of the ghost ship Rainbow Bird to forcibly Attack the island's protective barrier, and the Holy See has begun to intervene, and may even have sent out the 'Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse'."
"Hmph!" The emperor's eyes flashed with anger, and he snorted coldly: "Are these fools, including the old fox from the Holy See, also overwhelmed by greed? Do they really think that the island can be breached so easily? Damn it, that girl was involved in it anyway, there is no way out, and that girl is our last hope, we must not lose her, go, help me contact Retusus, just say I am willing to give up the last part of the contract in exchange for her to do something for me... "(~^~)