Kingdom's Bloodline

In Ballard\'s room, King Kessel\'s voice came steadily, solemnly and decisively.

As he used to, every time a decision was made for the discussion of the Imperial Conference.

It seems that the ending is set.

With this mind in mind, the ministers restrained their emotions and arranged their postures. Some people were slightly relaxed, ready to welcome the end of another meeting.

But not this time.

Under everyone\'s eyes, the iron-fisted king raised his head and scanned the officials.

"You are right."

As he spoke, the king\'s right hand protruded from the shadow of the throne, flipped gently towards the crowd, with his palm up, hovering on the discussion table.

Just like a cold out of the sheath.

The warm sun in autumn cannot reduce the cold a little.

Gilbert, Cullen, Jok, Sodor...all the officials were taken aback, and it was unknown why.

But Ironfist King just showed no expression, still raising his right palm:

"Thinking well."

While looking at each other, only the scarfaced spy of the secret department moved his eyes, and he stepped forward, holding up the "Emerald City Alternative Service Petition" from the table.

The scarfaced man crossed every stunned minister, and respectfully and decently delivered the letter into the king\'s palm.

"This letter is an unkind barb."

King Kessel\'s words came out faintly.

"It seems to compromise and retreat, but it is the weakness of the Fuxing Palace, which has hidden mystery."

The king slowly erected the letter, revealing the iris print on it.

"We can\'t even make it public, otherwise we will fall into passivity and injustice."

Every servant was swept by his gaze, subconsciously tensing his nerves and sitting upright.

"\'Ning to die because of friends, not the enemy\', old Leinster has a son like this..."

In the next second, the Ironfist King\'s fingers suddenly pressed hard, pinching the letter firmly!

The few people whose eyes were focused on the letter trembled and were taken aback.

Kessel said lightly:

"Live up to your family name."

In the unspeakable silence, the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, Viscount Connie, coughed hard, trying to forget the depression.

"He will pay," Connie bowed his head respectfully to the king.

"Just for this letter."

King Kessel glanced at him and said nothing.

The letter paper was still in his hand, crumpled.

"Of course," Suoduo gritted his teeth bitterly: "Also because of his disrespect and disloyalty to you and His Highness..."

Prime Minister Cullen’s trembling voice sounded:

"But not this time."

He seemed to have changed back to the old man, coughing, and ending the exciting meeting:

"At least, the reduction of levies and the expansion of the standing army will wait until the next season..."

Just now.

"But it spread."

The king\'s words have no beginning or end, no waves, as if muttering to himself.

No one reacted.

"Pass...what?" Qiu Ke looked ignorant.

"My, Your Majesty?" Suduo asked tentatively.

"I said."

At that moment, the iron-fisted king raised his gaze, especially in the small Ballard room:

"As we speak, every sentence, every word, every letter in this petition has been made public, leaked and spread, and rumors abound."

There was a moment of silence in the conference room.

Gilbert couldn\'t believe it:

"What, what?"

Viscount Connie’s surprised eyes kept coming back and forth: "You mean, this letter has been leaked?"

Prime Minister Cullen sat upright, extremely serious:

"When? Why?"

However, the king just shook his head calmly, answering the facts.

"The secret branch is still processing, but if it is not as expected...I think it will not be long before everyone in the kingdom will know that the Fuxing Palace will start from the Emerald City, change the traditional rules, seize the power of the lord, reduce the levy, and expand the standing army. "

"It has been changed to... the entire star."

Fuxing Palace, Emerald City, Tradition, Lord...

Every time the iron-fisted king said a word, the chill in his tone increased.

The Prime Minister understood first, his eyes widened slightly:

"That means……"

"As you just said, Bob," the king said in the most calm and unwavering tone of his voice, without evasiveness:

"From top to bottom, the Star Kingdom is about to erupt into an uproar."

"From this moment on, we are on the cusp of the storm."

"There is no refund."

The imperial court officials quickly understood the significance of this matter, and the atmosphere suddenly became tense.

"What\'s up?"

"Who did it?"

"Has anyone caught it?"

"What should we do now?"

"Strictly investigate the master behind the scenes!"

Amidst the mixed words and the same panic, the king leaned back thoughtfully, into the darkness.

"How can such an important correspondence be leaked?"

Consultant Sodor turned to the other side angrily, with accusations:

"What did Secret Science say? What about the rumors? What is the situation now?"

At the side of the conference table, the scarface scout from Secret Department bowed steadily.

"We are still tracing the source, chasing and blocking, trying to reduce the impact of rumors."

His tone was calm, as if what he was about to face was not a huge wave shaking the country:

"But the delivery of the letter, the defense on the way, and the secrecy in the palace are all right."

The Scarfaced Man said this, but there was an interesting ups and downs in his voice:

"There is only one thing that can\'t be taken into account-this letter, it was delivered directly into the palace by the messenger of the Duke of Iris."

Everyone was silent.

"You mean, Jen?" Prime Minister Cullen frowned.

"While he delivered the letter, he made up his mind to leak the content and spread the rumors?"

The scarface man neither denies nor affirms:

"Still investigating."

With a goal, the anger of the Imperial Conference suddenly erupted:

"Kevin Deere, how dare he!"

"Damn..."

"More cunning than him!"

"Is it annoyed to become angry, just overturned the chessboard?"

Among the officials, Gilbert only observed quietly at first, and sighed slightly at the end:

"Perhaps after the banquet, when your Majesty asked him for compensation," the Minister of Foreign Affairs put away his dazed expression and said tiredly:

"The Emerald City has seen our weakness from the negotiation conditions."

But Prime Minister Cullen scratched his chin with a solemn expression:

"Not quite right."

"Jen is not a kind, but he is not a lunatic. Will write this letter, it is enough to prove his sophistication, and he will protect himself."

The Prime Minister thought:

"He has not been so stupid that he has forced Fuxing Palace and himself to have no retreat."

"That\'s worse--someone else did it," Viscount Connie looked suspicious.

"Calculate both of us at the same time."

"Someone is looking forward to the great chaos in the kingdom, just like before..."

The voice at the end of the long table came out again:

"Not important anymore."

Everyone was quiet, and all looked towards the king.

"It doesn\'t matter whether he did it or not."

A cold light flashed in the king\'s eyes:

"The kingdom never lacks enemies."

"The important thing is..."

"How should we respond."

After King Kessel said this, he let the "petition" slip from his fingers and fell between the setting sun and the shadow, with the folds of iris pattern facing the ceiling alone.

A few seconds later, the royal meeting was like a group of lions awakened by the crisis, not up to the lazy and slow before, and everyone became smart and capable.

"Let the secret department work overtime and take action. We also send a letter to clarify and put an end to such rumors..."

"Starting from the feudal nobles who recently expressed their dissatisfaction, maybe we can find out the clue..."

"Be careful with the wording of the announcement, there may be room for maneuver..."

"The response of the nobles, especially the fief princes, we need to make plans immediately..."

"Send a special envoy to appease the lords of the grain-producing area first and explain to them..."

"The preparations for the reform of the military system will probably be delayed, so we can\'t leave a handle to cause misunderstanding..."

During the heated discussion, only Prime Minister Cullen and Gilbert remained silent.

The former looked at Kevin Deere\'s letter faintly, while the latter quietly sorted out the documents at hand, thoughtfully.

And Kessel V sat quietly in his seat, no anger, no smile, neither lukewarm nor hot, and seemed to be the only outsider.

boom!

There was a muffled sound, but it was military advisor So Duo who slapped the case, attracting the attention of the Imperial Conference.

"Everyone!"

Suoduo looked serious, his eyes hesitated, but he quickly became concentrated and firm.

"I think that at this point, the situation is inevitable, and our next choice is actually simple."

Gilbert frowned and turned his head, as if expecting something:

"Suo Duo?"

I saw Suoduo resolutely said:

"Since you can\'t go back, why not go forward with all your strength?"

At that moment, the military advisor was energetic:

"Your Majesty, please answer Kevin Deere formally, answer his petition, and announce the whole country: starting from the Emerald City, the reform of the military system is imperative!"

Everyone was stunned, or rather, frightened by this proposal.

"Sodor, have you ever thought about the consequences," Gilbert said with difficulty in silence: "including what we just discussed..."

"of course!"

So Duo turned around and interrupted him.

"But this is the end of the matter. The gradual plan has gone bankrupt. We have no chance to conceal it, and there is no room for compromise."

So Duo paused, and his voice was harsh:

"We do."

"Or never do it again."

"There is no such thing as\'next time\'."

His gaze swept across, and many of his colleagues couldn\'t help but bow their heads. Some looked solemn and some stopped talking.

Only at the end of the long table, the king remained silent, seeming to ponder.

But Shuduo didn\'t care about so much, he waved his hand:

"Juke, find the money."

The treasurer raised his eyebrows:

"what?"

So Duo stared at the treasurer:

"If it was made by Emerald City, then we don\'t need to count on their financial aid, but in this case, the military system reform must be put on the agenda! According to the previous plan, first around Yongxing City, from the royal family directly In the hands of the ministers, we can reduce the private soldiers of the Canstar and expand the standing army, so that we can have enough energy to deal with the next thing."

Joker paused for three seconds, and became furious.

"Well, let\'s not say that the situation may not be so bad, nor that your majesty has not agreed with your bad idea..."

"Our budget is already very tight. Once this letter is leaked to cause trouble, the financial pressure will only be greater. If there is no input, other parts of the subsidy, such as the salaries of officials and even tax increases, will be even worse. ..."

Qiu Ke looked battered:

"Furthermore, reorganizing the army, this is not as simple as registering, even if you have all the officers ready to be deployed, but you know the maintenance cost of a standing army soldier, from salary, equipment and logistics to garrison, how many times can it be worth? Is it a recruited Canstar private soldier?"

"I know!"

Shuoduo smashed his fist on the discussion table, shocking everyone.

"Juke, I know, I know your difficulties, but I know your anger better!"

He shouted angrily: "Whether it was your irritation when you were being fooled by those southern country guys with the ledger when collecting taxes, or the anger of your majesty when you were just rebelled against General Kevin Deere, I feel the same!"

Qiu Ke pursed his mouth.

So Duo stood up suddenly, pressing his arms on the table and leaning forward:

"But I swear to you, Joke, the standing army is the key to changing all of this. Expansion and restructuring are just the beginning..."

So Duo\'s expression was unspeakably enthusiastic, which made Prime Minister Cullen frowned.

"The temporary price is for the future prosperity of the kingdom, and one day, the wrath of the kingdom will take the will of your majesty, surrounded by countless soldiers, personally walk into the Kongming Palace of the Emerald City, and\'convince\' Jen. Kevin Deere and his cunning accountants paid taxes honestly, recovered all the costs today, and made steady profits without losing money."

Speaking of this, Suoduo is optimistic, beyond doubt.

"Stable profit without losing?"

The answer to So Duo was Jo Ke\'s sneer:

"Yes, when I was a child, there was a relative who liked to gamble. He said the same when he came to my house to borrow money for ‘business’-until he was taken away by the loan shark from the blood bottle gang."

Having said this, the Treasurer left the back of his chair and leaned forward and said:

"What is the difference between you and him? Gambler?"

The conflict between the two made everyone frowned.

The military advisor clenched his fists, the emotion in his eyes developed from disappointment to anger.

"Why don\'t you understand?"

So Duo is heartbroken:

"With the standing army, you will have money!"

"Why don\'t you understand?" Qiu Ke was equally upset:

"Without money, you don\'t have a standing army!"

"Then find the money!" Shuoduo\'s angrily shook Ballard\'s room:

"You are the treasurer of the kingdom! Whether you be a beggar or sell your ass, even if you borrow usury-for the kingdom, find me the **** army expansion budget!"

The disregarding yelling of the two adults made their colleagues frowned, but the prime minister and the prestigious foreign minister who should have presided over the meeting did not say anything, and the king sat on the throne and remained motionless.

"You **** finally got one thing right! Soldier!"

Qiu Ke stood up, although Shuoduo was shorter, his momentum was not lost at all:

"I am the treasurer!"

"Remember? In the last year, it was your Military Affairs Department who was here too. It was brazen and arrogant, blowing the benefits of sending troops to the sky! Forcing the Finance and Taxation Department to approve the budget and forcing the Agriculture and Herdsmen to contribute food and grass. Force the Department of Foreign Affairs to open up the joints for you, force the Department of Secrets to explore the way for you, and somehow send a large number of retired, active, reserve, training, and new military standing troops to the Blade Ya camp! Waste! Send into the desert!"

The expressions of the people at the Imperial Conference moved, thinking of the time, their hearts were afflicted.

"Without your loss-making business, do we need to ask for money from Emerald City? As for being played by Kevin Deere?"

Qiu Ke glanced at the surrounding colleagues who agreed with him, and said:

"Why, do you want to do it again?"

"Hey!"

Suoduo clenched his fists:

"That is to welcome back Prince Thales, the blood of Canxing, the heir of the kingdom!"

"That\'s right!"

Qiu Ke angrily retorted:

"Then you are going to ask him for money!"

Suoduo was speechless at the rogue\'s sophistry, and his tongue was dumbfounded.

"Juke, be careful!"

Gilbert couldn\'t stand it anymore, he sternly stopped:

"Sit down, don\'t try to defend yourself."

Qiu Ke sat down on the donkey, and deliberately rang the chair to show his dissatisfaction.

Shuduo snorted and sat down heavily, but did not intend to extinguish the flames of war:

"Let\'s stay here less yin and yang, shirk responsibility and pretend to be innocent, money bag."

"As for sending troops to the Western Wilderness to meet the prince, you know or even support it-you are selfish, trying to profit from it!"

Now it\'s Qiu Ke\'s turn to startled.

"Me? Selfish? For profit?"

Jo Ke was caught off guard, shocked and angry:

"Well, you vulgar hillbilly from vine..."

But So Duo was not polite, and pointed to the opponent\'s nose:

"I just wanted to understand after the banquet, but that\'s right, Joke, you are you!"

"After the Desert War, many aristocrats in the central government aimed at the Western Famine, which had changed dramatically, and illegally occupied and annexed land there for personal gain."

"Now, the liquidation period of "Landing Order" is approaching, and they are doing everything possible to clean themselves..."

Qiu Ke paled.

"You originally supported our expedition to the desert, and you also privately bribed several frontline officers, just for the standing army to make a big battle and turmoil in the Western Desolation! These greedy noble landlords were caught off guard and forced them to show their feet and change. Become a source of money for your taxation bureau to confiscate your home!"

The news broke by the military adviser was not trivial. There was a sudden uproar in the Imperial Conference, and King Kessel\'s eyes moved along with it.

Qiu Ke was furious: "Blood, nonsense..."

"I have a list of those officers. Why, do you want to confront them? Or let the Secret Section check it?"

"You, Your Majesty, I—" Qiu Ke was anxious, but he was speechless.

So Duo gritted his teeth and chased him:

"For this reason, you even secretly revealed the news of the standing army\'s west expedition!"

"And the one who was unlucky at the royal banquet, Doyle in Jinghe?"

"They are just one of the fat sheep on your list!"

At the Imperial Conference, the ministers were surprised and couldn\'t help but look at Qiu Ke with admiration.

Viscount Connie coughed and asked worriedly:

"Well, my father-in-law\'s family also has a few businesses in Xihuang, don\'t you..."

"How come, Lord Connie!" Qiu Ke smiled flatly.

But then he turned to the king, crying and crying:

"Your Majesty, I just, that..."

King Kessel just squinted at him.

"Juke, you are worthy of being a "pocket"." Gilbert could not help sighing as he saw the expression on Joke\'s expression and already guessed the truth:

"No wonder they all say that you can even get money out of your crotch to make money and feed the kingdom."

Jo Ke\'s cheek twitched.

"Yes."

On the other side, Prime Minister Cullen snorted and added an inexplicable sentence:

"Other people\'s crotch."

So Duo snorted angrily, his attitude was self-explanatory.

Facing everyone\'s gaze, Qiu Ke swallowed desperately and quickly raised his hand:

"Well, your Majesty, listen to me..."

"Yes, for this expedition, we originally had a few extra fines and forfeiture income, which can be included in the next quarter\'s fiscal budget..."

"Doyle\'s house?" Gilbert whispered.

Qiu Ke stopped, feeling everyone\'s eyes full of suspicion, and his voice suddenly weakened.

He took a deep breath:

"Yes! But the Doyle family, it deserves the crime! These years they crossed the border and occupied land, illegally rented land, smuggled taxes, concealed the population, and violated traditions and other crimes. It should have been done long ago! Our finance and taxation The hall is dedicated to serving the country and doing things impartially..."

"Stop talking nonsense, where\'s the money?" So Duo ignored his excuse and went straight to the most critical point:

"Now, it has been a few months since the prince has returned, and our mission has been completed. You should have enough food and drink in the Finance and Taxation Department, right?"

The military adviser is aggressive:

"Why are we still shouting poor at the imperial conference! When the South Bank leader forced us to retreat and inevitably, we still clutched our wallets, hindering your majesty\'s military reform!"

This accusation was justified and arrogant, making Qiu Ke furious:

"You, you, me, I—"

He looked around, but none of his colleagues dared to interrupt, So Duo\'s eyes were sharp and pressing.

Qiu Ke only felt dizzy before his eyes, he had to take a deep breath, and said with his throat:

"Prince Thales!"

As soon as this remark came out, everyone was startled again.

"What?" Suoduo doubted.

Qiu Ke took a few breaths and said angrily:

"Sorry, I didn\'t want to talk about the following words here, after all..."

He calmed his breath and said:

"That\'s right, Doyle\'s case, Shuduo, according to the standing army\'s standards, can be enough for you to expand the staffing of eight hundred to one thousand heavy cavalry, plus their sergeant equipment and logistics, maybe there is more."

Shuduo hammered the table and made an "I just know" mouth shape.

But Qiu Ke turned around:

"But! After Prince Thales, I mean that at the banquet, Doyle’s affairs were exposed to the sun. From a simple case to a hot potato with national attention, even the case files were The Kingdom\'s Secret Section was taken away overnight!"

Some people couldn\'t help turning their heads: The scarfaced man from Secret Department was expressionless, as if he didn\'t notice.

Suoduo frowned: "The Western Wasteland is vast, and your financial resources are definitely not limited to their family."

Qiu sighed pitifully:

"Yes! But don\'t forget, Prince Thales took the lead last night in the name of His Majesty and saved the Doyle family! Now everyone thinks that Doyle is the Duke of Star Lake and the heir to the dignified kingdom..."

"This has affected our other cases. Now, as long as it involves the merger of the land and the old and new nobles, no one dares to touch it, let alone deal with it."

Shuoduo\'s complexion changed slightly.

Qiu Ke said angrily: "So when I said\'Go to Prince Thales for money\', hey, that\'s true!"

Gilbert scolded:

"Juke!"

Joke reacted and waved his hand regretfully:

"I know I know, so I said, sorry! I don\'t want to say that either!"

Regarding the royal family, no one dared to speak easily. Many people secretly glanced at the king at the end of the long table.

But King Kessel remained calm, as if what Jooke had just complained about was not his son and heir.

The Treasurer recovered and saw no one speak out, and his confidence immediately recovered three points:

"Well, we won\'t mention the prince... so don\'t always rest on me, soldier."

"If you can do more beautifully in the Western Wilderness, be more economical, efficient, and profitable, why are we here?"

So Duo wanted to refute, but hesitated again and again.

"For more than half a year, I spent a lot of time moving the teacher, traveling long distances, and inexplicably fought with my family. How much money did you spend in the air?"

Qiu Ke said more and more smoothly, so that he slapped the table fiercely, his voice clearly spread throughout the narrow meeting room:

"What did the result bring back? Aha, a report saying that you are going to expand the army!"

"After eating such a large budget for the kingdom, not only did the **** fail, let alone the spoils..."

"Not even the money for the horseshoe was earned!"

"Then what do you want?"

So Duo couldn\'t help it anymore, and started to shoot the case:

"Should my soldiers throw their skulls and sprinkle blood in the Western Desolation to attack the ruins? Loot the Wing Fort? Or swallow the Valiant Fort? All the homes of the local nobles?"

"Would you like to burn the entire Western Wilderness to a piece of white ground, and send all the spoils to the Finance and Taxation Department, so that you don\'t have so many babbles when you sit here and count the copper plates?"

Qiu Ke lightly snorted:

"Then you guys are doing it!"

"The result? You just went to travel after a long time, and even the prince himself was sent back by the nobles of the Western Wilderness!

The military advisor angered:

"Fuck? His Royal Highness\'s whereabouts are uncertain in the Western Wilderness, and he also took a sword and a flag from others!"

"The team of Chroma and Bozdorf escorting him back to the royal capital is mighty, respectful!"

"What can we do? What should we do? What should we do?"

Regaining his confidence, Qiu is so knowledgeable and not afraid: "Then what do you mean by me?"

"Go to the prince!"

"Why don\'t you tell him about your suffering? Ask him why he mingled with the enemy, blocked your army, also cut off my money, and gave Kevin Deer the opportunity to take advantage of it, so that everyone can\'t do anything, and his Majesty is in a dilemma. , And ultimately ruined the kingdom\'s military reform..."

"You two, enough!"

Gilbert reminded sharply.

"You will never understand, money bag!"

So Duo laughed back and did not hear the foreign minister\'s reprimand:

"You can only see the reflection of the copper plate, you can only hear the buzzing of gold coins, and you will never understand the meaning of our troops to the west, and you don\'t understand that we are for the kingdom--"

Boom! Boom!

Everyone turned their heads together, and saw the scarface scout of Secret Department standing apologetically, and on the ground was a broken teapot.

"Sorry," the scarfaced man bowed hurriedly: "My fault."

"I\'m just... thirsty."

Qunchen turned around now.

"Yes," Prime Minister Cullen lowered his head and muttered, but his eyes lit up:

"It is indeed your fault."

After being interrupted for a while, Suoduo and Qiu Ke both hummed, sat back to their original positions, and turned their heads away from each other.

But the foreign secretary was full of anger.

"Suo Duo, Jo Ke, pay attention to your words, this is nothing to do with Your Highness Thales!"

Gilbert spoke harshly:

"His Royal Highness, the body of ten thousand gold, safely returning to the capital is the greatest contribution to the kingdom! Nothing else!"

"Don\'t forget, we are to discuss countermeasures to face the dilemma caused by the leak of this letter. It is the official business of the kingdom. Don\'t turn this into a personal grievance."

So Duo and Qiu Ke only slightly reduced their expressions.

The Prime Minister coughed at this moment.

"Don\'t blame them, Count Caso, Sodor and Joker are also unable to..."

Duke Cullen shook his head:

"It doesn\'t matter whether you send troops to the Western Desolation, or the royal family banquet, who made the timing of His Royal Highness Thales appear too coincidental..."

"Like this letter."

The prime minister shook his head at the king, meaning something.

"We are overwhelmed."

"Desperate."

(End of this chapter)