Deep Sea Embers

The cold atmosphere in the room seemed to calm down a bit, and the living people who were shivering due to the cold finally breathed a sigh of relief.

But Tirian still didn't respond to a series of "suggestions" put forward by the confidential secretary. He just calmly watched the things on the table, as if a century had passed.

When everyone was almost overwhelmed by the silence, he finally raised his head: "This is the wisdom to maintain order. It must have played a big role half a century ago."

"You should know how far the frost has reached." The confidential secretary did not evade in his eyes, "Great people will do many great things, but the mistakes they make will be as fatal as their great achievements—— In order to control the situation, we have to do some things. General Tirian, I have studied history, in fact...I personally always think that His Majesty Ray Nora is a great ruler, but this cannot conceal the failure of the Abyss Project mess."

"Yes, you have studied history—and I have experienced history myself," Tirian said calmly. "We all know the situation back then, so I don't mean to be harsh. In all fairness, you at least let Frost recover after that stable for half a century."

The tense nerves of the confidential secretary finally seemed to relax a little bit, and he subconsciously leaned forward: "So, you mean that you agree..."

Tirian didn't speak, but pressed his hand on the documents and exerted a little force.

The power of extreme cold soaked through the paper, and the fine ice crystals quickly condensed and shattered. With the sound of rustling, those records enough to leave countless thick traces in history were reduced to debris.

The confidential secretary's eyes widened in an instant, and General Lister, who hadn't spoken much, couldn't help but exclaimed in a low voice: "You are..."

"That's not what I want." Tirian raised his head and looked at the Frost Man opposite, "What I want is the real record—what's wrong with that mine, how did the cultists infiltrate the city-state, In the end, who is responsible and who is not responsible, and the real track of the Winston Consul's administration—without considering the premise of 'quick restoration of order', give me the most authentic first-hand information."

He paused, and continued: "This is something necessary to control the situation."

The confidential secretary was stunned for a moment, and quickly reacted: "You have agreed to Frost's 'invitation'... But with all due respect, you still need the information on the table just now. Of course you can grasp the real information, but you also We need to find a way to divert people's attention—"

When he said this, he hesitated for two seconds, as if he had made up his mind, and then continued: "To be honest, the situation in the city will be very bad in the future. A lot of infrastructure may have to be shut down for a while, and those 'mud' The resulting pollution will lead to shortage of fuel supply, problems in food distribution, deterioration of law and order, and the resulting outrage. We must find a way to divert the attention of the people, and the most effective way is to transfer to the previous government and the consul. way..."

"If the fuel is tight, use the reserves. If it doesn't work, I can think of a way. If the food distribution is chaotic, strict supervision and punishment will be implemented. The whole city, including the upper city, will implement a rationing system. When public security deteriorates, there will be temporary military control. People need someone to vent their anger on. ——Then really go after the cultists, subversives, and those who are really responsible,” Tirian said seriously, “Of course, this series of things will be more difficult, but at least, it can be done in a real way.” Solving problems on the ground and really 'making more people live'."

The room was quiet for a while, and people could even hear the sound of breathing. The confidential secretary who always appeared elegant and decent seemed to be a little stiff for a while, and seemed to be at a loss as to how to respond to Tirian's imposing words.

Tirian just smiled lightly and shook his head slightly: "I will not belittle your efforts and your solutions - because within your capabilities, there is no better alternative path, you choose But now the situation is different, and I don’t want to repeat the past fifty years, Mr. Secretary, the Sea Fog Fleet has the sea fog fleet’s method, so you might as well raise your expectations a bit.”

The confidential secretary seemed to have finally come to his senses. He blinked, adjusted his posture, and looked at Tirian with burning eyes: "You can really do what you said?"

"As long as the remaining power of the city hall can cooperate to the greatest extent, as for the rest..." Tirian paused deliberately, and then a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Mr. Secretary, you know that the most orderly people in the boundless sea Who is it?"

"The most orderly one?" The confidential secretary was stunned for a moment, as if he didn't realize it, "Is it the city-state navy? Or an ocean-going caravan?"

"It's pirates, the great pirates of the Cold Sea," Tirian laughed, "The city-state navy will always have stable supply ports and safe ports, and ocean-going caravans will always have church protection and naval escort. Only pirates—to fight against the infinite Sea, all we can count on is strict discipline and order."

The confidential secretary didn't speak for a while, as if he didn't know how to discuss this topic—this was obviously beyond his daily work scope and professional ability.

When Tirian saw this, he just smiled, and reached out to pat the opponent's shoulder.

"Relax, Mr. Secretary. Compared with fifty years ago, the current frost situation is not too bad. I also know many 'trade partners'. I believe that if I let them know the real situation here , there will be many people who are willing to help, at least in terms of secular order, you don't have to worry too much, as for the part outside the 'secular order'..."

Tyrian paused suddenly and looked up out of the window.

A dark night enveloped the city, the radiance of gas lamps snaked around the port area, the snow stopped at some point, the clouds cleared, and the cold and pale radiance of the World Creator was covering the world—and under this clear radiance , the city is peaceful tonight.

"The part outside the secular order... I think my father will figure it out."

The big pirate hesitated for a few seconds, and finally spoke slowly in a strange tone.

Many people in the room visibly shivered.

"Your father, he..." General Liszt couldn't help but use the word "he" subconsciously in the address, "Is he still watching Frost? Where is he now?"

Watching Frost, of course, maybe even from a second-floor window, living at 44 Oak Street, rented from your Civic Service Center...  

A series of answers instantly appeared in Tirian's mind, but he hesitated to speak out.

After all, it seems that the Frost people in front of me don't know the situation of "he" in the city at the moment. If I talk nonsense without my father's permission, if I don't keep it all back, I will be hurt by my father-I will soon A person who becomes a consul can't bear the face.

"He's still paying attention to this matter, but he can't disclose the specifics." After hesitating for a long time, the big pirate could only say vaguely, "He's usually very busy, so he doesn't just want to contact me."

Liszt was startled, and nodded quickly: "Ah... I can understand."

I don't know how he understood it.

And the confidential secretary couldn't help asking a little curiously: "Your father...what does he do on weekdays?"

Tirian resisted the urge to roll his eyes—where would he know? After my father came back from the subspace, his whole body was shrouded in mystery. Who knows what his old man is doing on weekdays? He can't just go fishing, walk his dog, and feed pigeons like a normal retired old man...

The confidential secretary noticed the subtle change in Tirian's expression, realized that his question had been crossed, and quickly straightened his expression: "Sorry, I was too talkative."

"It's okay, but it's really not appropriate for ordinary people to discuss too much about 'him'. It's for the sake of physical and mental health. Let's end this topic." Tirian waved his hand and quickly changed the subject.

Then he breathed a long sigh of relief, slowly got up from the sofa, and came to the floor-to-ceiling windows.

The lights outside the window were still on, and at several intersections leading to the city, the temporary barricades built in the previous battles could still be vaguely seen.

At sunrise tomorrow, those barricades will be dismantled, and after that... it's up to the city's administrators to do everything they can to restore order here.

The lights of thousands of houses in the distant city blocks came into Tirian's eyes.

"I haven't seen the scenery here for many years, and it hasn't changed much since then."

General Lister came over and stood behind Tirian: "But after today, there should be a lot of changes."

"...Fifty years ago, the last royalists left the city, the rebels set up a new city hall, and I became a rebel. Fifty years later, I came back, and this city is still my own. The way he left..." Looking at the distant scenery, Tirian suddenly felt emotional, "Going around, everything seems to come back—General Liszt, tell me, our past fifty years...in the end has no meaning?"

Liszt didn't make a sound for a while, as if he was lost in thought.

But the confidential secretary walked over from the side, raised his finger and pointed out the window.

"General Tirian, these are the meanings."