In the Name of the Queen

"Is this a letter from home?"

Sophia looked at the letter that suddenly had handwriting appearing on it, and had mixed feelings.

No magic item will appear for no reason, and the letter paper used by Roland is also an artifact.

Auxiliary artifact [Endless Letter].

No matter how many times it is used, the artifact core can restore the letter to its original location.

Not only that, the contents of the letterhead can also be connected to each other in a short time.

Endless Letter is a very romantic artifact.

No matter how far apart we are, even in the deep sea or in the sky, as long as we write down the words on the letter, the other end of the letter can quickly know.

For lovers in love, this is a true artifact.

In addition to being used for dating, the Endless Letter is also an auxiliary artifact. Through the letter, you can communicate and convey information across thousands of miles.

The battlefield situation changes rapidly, and frontline commanders and rear base camps are often thousands of miles apart, making communication very difficult.

With this endless letter, confidence can cross mountains and seas.

This artifact has no direct combat effectiveness and looks very inconspicuous, but its functionality is very good.

However, this artifact has been gathering dust for a long time and has never been used.

This was the dowry that Sophia brought with her when she left the family. At that time, the family did not know that it was an artifact, so they treated it like a magic prop.

Although there was no relationship between her and her husband, Ivan IV, and it was purely a political marriage, Sophia still shared the artifact with her husband.

But she hid the artifact properties of the endless letter and only said that this letter can be contacted at any time.

Sophia's kindness was indifferently ignored by Ivan IV.

Endless letters are gathering dust at the bottom of the bookcase, never used.

After Sophia left the Winter Palace, she gradually forgot about this artifact until Roland wrote a letter on the other side of the letter.

She didn't want to pry into Roland's letters home, but...

She had to know if Roland had any bad intentions.

Although she believed that Roland would not be short-sighted, she couldn't help but pick up the letter.

Curiosity is human nature.

In her subconscious mind, Roland would eagerly tell Sif about his lovesickness, and even complain about the unaccustomed life in Fort St. Rurik.

However, this letter home contains no such content at all.

Roland told Sif in a calm tone that he was safe, and then talked about his work and life here.

The leader (Sophia) was not too enthusiastic but still cared about him and arranged the best accommodation for him.

His colleagues (Sakhalin, Angelina) are very reliable. Although his work here is somewhat difficult, the problems are not major and can be solved.

Sophia looked at the letter and almost suspected that she was hallucinating.

She closed her eyes and opened them again. The contents did not change at all.

She seemed to see a small language that was highly similar to Sussex.

After a moment of astonishment, she understood the letter.

The highest level of reporting safety is not "Everything is fine here", but "Although the conditions here are not as good as at home, the conditions are pretty good and I can score 80%".

A whitewash based on slightly exaggerated objective facts.

So it was so, Sophia suddenly realized.

The right amount of embellishment would not make Sif worry too much, nor would Sif see through it because of excessive whitewashing.

Is this how normal couples get along?

Sophia's eyes were a little distracted, and her thoughts had already drifted into the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, she smiled and shook her head, no longer looking for trouble.

Even God cannot be omniscient and omnipotent, so why should she worry about it.

Sophia inexplicably thought of the former little sister of light, now the goddess of light Tia.

She was once Poseidon's lover, but she stabbed Poseidon severely.

Before she fell asleep, in addition to the four goddess candidates, Poseidon, the Emperor of the Sea, also qualified to ascend to the divine realm.

The Neptune Emperor's ranking is even higher than that of the Three Goddesses and her, and his potential is endless.

His relationship with Tia was also a good story.

However, after Sophia returned from hibernation, the three goddesses boarded the divine realm, closed the passage, and left a back door to return.

They calculate everything clearly.

Sophia initially thought that the missing Poseidon was also in cahoots with them, and deliberately isolated her from others, so that there would be one less person to share the fruits.

Later, she went to the bottom of the sea and made a lot of noise, only to find that all the ocean races were paying homage to Poseidon.

She finally understood that he was also a victim.

Poseidon was in a worse situation than her. Not only did he fall from the altar, but his ocean energy core was also stolen, and he lost the chance to become a god forever.

These past events made Sophia feel a little depressed.

After all, she is not a god. She still has the emotions of a mortal and cannot perfectly control her emotions.

In order to calm down, she continued to open Roland's letters home.

It makes sense to buffer the bitter memories with some sweet candies.

Every sentence written by Roland is very plain, a bit like a running account. At first glance, it does not have the literary grace of a champion in an essay contest, but in Sophia's opinion, plain writing is the best writing.

There is not a single word of love or love between the lines, but the feelings are poured into it.

Sif is so lucky to have such a loved one.

Sophia sighed softly in her heart, feeling a little sad.

Roland racked his brains to make Sif feel at ease. He even had to think carefully about how much to whitewash it. Sif...

She must know it too.

Sophia quickly felt relieved. Roland knew Sif, so how could Sif not know him?

Of course she knew that this was a safe letter, and she also knew that Roland was afraid that she would worry, so how would she respond to Roland?

Sophia's curiosity was instantly ignited and then quickly extinguished.

Of course, Sif couldn't reply on the written letter paper, and Sophia was destined not to see her reply.

Sophia shook her head with some regret and quickly put this little thing behind her.

She was just curious, not interested in prying into privacy, she was not that boring.

If she couldn't see it, she couldn't see it. She could totally guess what Sif would write.

It was nothing more than those love words of a little girl in love.

Such boring things that only young people like, it's better not to read!

With some regret, Sophia turned to the last page of the letter paper and finally saw Roland's strength as the champion of the essay contest.

He expressed his feelings with classic elf poems.

Missing his wife and children at home, wandering northern elves.

Sophia was silent for a long time, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

Wait, wife and children?

She hadn't had such gossipy thoughts for a long time. This semi-public and semi-private letter made her regain some memories of being an ordinary person, but this memory soon dissipated into the void.

Putting down the endless letter, Sophia came to the window, her solemn expression returned to calm.

Just now, she was just occasionally satisfying her curiosity. She would never look at this endless letter again.

Tomorrow, she might as well give it to Sif, so that she and Roland can communicate conveniently.

They are married and still have endless things to say. It's disgusting to look at them.

Sophia took a deep breath and adjusted her mood.

Perhaps because she gave up the power to control winter, or perhaps because of the loss of strength, she found herself more like an ordinary person now.

When Roland stabilizes the situation and doesn't need her to support him, she will go to the Arctic glacier to collect ice spirit and recast the blue rage.

What I promised Angelina, I must do.

Cabinet meeting room.

Roland's first cabinet meeting after becoming the Cardinal Minister of the Empire.

When he walked into the office building, the guards on both sides turned their eyes 45 degrees, and the guns in their hands suddenly stood up to salute him.

The guards have all received emergency training and recognize the new Cardinal Minister.

Although it was a bit absurd that the Prime Minister of an enemy country became the Cardinal Minister of their own country, the guards knew that this was politics and was not an area they should touch.

Not to mention the foreign Cardinal Minister, even Her Majesty the Queen was once a Pruden noble.

No matter where they came from, as long as they were members of the Empire now, it would be fine.

Walking into the cabinet meeting hall, Roland ignored the ministers who came up to greet him, walked straight to his seat, turned around and looked around the room.

Under his cold eyes, the expressions of several ministers were obviously unnatural, some ministers pretended to be indifferent, and some ministers silently lowered their heads and did not want to look at Roland.

Roland put down the folder and took out a scepter from under his robe.

The white chrysanthemum pattern, the double-headed eagle emblem, and the scepter made of special metal collected from the Arctic, the scepter emitting a fascinating cold light, represents the authority of the Queen.

The ministers were stunned and did not know how to respond for a while.

Looking at their expressions of looking at each other, Roland spoke coldly.

"Everyone, I hope you remember one thing, it was Queen Sophia who asked me to reform the old and innovate. She will give me the scepter that represents her, and at the same time give me the absolute authority equivalent to that of the emperor."

"As long as I think it is necessary, any official can be dismissed and dealt with."

Roland's words were loud and clear, and he took out his trump card directly and slapped everyone in the face fairly.

He was too lazy to intrigue with these people and spend several months to rectify the order.

Time waits for no one.

Peace talks will be held soon, and he must rectify the cabinet as soon as possible so that the entire cabinet will only have his voice.

If he needs to listen, they can speak.

If he doesn't think it's necessary, they just need to execute it.

It is no less difficult to make these stubborn bureaucrats understand the significance of change than to persuade elephants to wear stockings.

Roland doesn't have such good patience, and he doesn't care what the cabinet ministers think.

If someone doesn't know what's good for him, he doesn't mind killing the chicken to scare the monkey.

According to his estimation, the Rurik people have a bad temper, and there are many military people in the cabinet, and they will definitely not tolerate it.

It was just right that he couldn't help but jump out. He could easily replace a few troublemakers with their young deputies.

In the officialdom, no favor is more important than recognition and promotion.

Some old ministers, relying on their experience of three emperors, are not friendly to young people.

Roland's target is them.

However, to his surprise, no one jumped out to oppose.

He looked at the cabinet members who had military experience with some doubts, and found that they had more admiration and appreciation in their eyes.

Wow, these old guys are really good at acting.

Roland silently complained.

Just as he was thinking about how to write lyrics on the spot, applause broke out.

I don't know who took the lead, more and more cabinet ministers joined the applause.

Just when Roland was confused, Prime Minister Angelina smiled and explained to him:

"Roland, you don't know the Rurik people. We admire the strong and respect the brave."

Roland still didn't understand. He was always labeled as cunning, morally corrupt, and full of scandals. How could he be linked to courage?

Angelina didn't continue to explain, but glanced in the direction of the Summer Palace.

Roland suddenly realized that he challenged Sophia head-on, which was courage.

He was able to survive after the challenge, which was strength.

As for his cunning, everyone had already experienced it, so there was no need to elaborate.

Angelina didn't say anything else. Roland underestimated Sophia's supreme status in the Vladimir Empire.

Rurik people may not necessarily believe in God, but they must believe in Sophia.

Her status here is comparable to or even surpassing that of gods.

Sophia said that Roland leads everyone, and even if they have opinions, they have to keep it in their hearts.

Roland didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

The power of the fox and the tiger is quite enjoyable, but it is a pity that the process of replacing some old players has to be slowed down.

The others are veteran cabinet ministers after all, so how can they be replaced without major mistakes.

Good news: It has the support of everyone in the cabinet.

The bad news: Too many people are supporting it.

Fortunately, Roland responded quickly. Since everyone supported him, there was no need to make his appointment so bloody and ruthless. People in the province thought he was a disaster.

Since everyone had at least reached a consensus on the surface, Roland got straight to the point and took out the development blueprint, took out his pointer, pointed at the map and began to analyze.

He has done a lot of homework, and his understanding of Vladimir's empire is no less than that of professional officials.

The attitudes of cabinet ministers who originally had reservations about him are gradually changing.

Everyone was very optimistic about the development blueprint proposed by Roland, but they did not approve of his plan to liberate slaves and slave labor.

When Roland spoke for more than an hour and took a drink from the water cup, the cabinet ministers who had been waiting for a long time finally took the opportunity to speak.

"Cardinal, you still don't understand our Vladimir Empire. Those mud-legged people who only know how to farm don't know anything. Providing them with food and shelter is not enough, so why should we give them freedom?"

"Your Majesty Cardinal, the sanctity of private property is a policy passed down from emperor to emperor throughout the ages. You cannot change it because of your personal likes and dislikes."

"Your Majesty Cardinal, this is the law of our ancestors."

Roland was not surprised at all by the emergence of these questions.

In fact, he had been waiting for someone to interrupt, so that he could take the opportunity to assert his authority. However, these cabinet ministers listened to his lectures politely.

Good news: The classroom is in good order.

Bad news: Classroom order is too good.

He had to stop to drink water and give cabinet ministers a chance to speak freely.

After patiently listening to their chatter, Roland raised his right hand and the venue fell silent for an instant.

"Everyone, I would like to ask, what is the meaning of raising serfs?"

"Let them work for the lords and create wealth!" a cabinet minister shouted.

"Very good, it's wealth, right?" Roland extracted the key words and stared at the person who answered.

The Interior Minister who had just spoken saw the corners of Roland's lips rising and vaguely felt that something was wrong. However, he could not figure out the trap of this sentence, so he had to add cautiously:

"Your Majesty Cardinal, serfs are also the property of the lord."

Roland clapped his hands, looked around the audience, and asked with a smile: "I understand, everyone wants to protect their own interests, right?"

These words were a bit naked, and the expressions of the cabinet ministers were somewhat unnatural.

The truth is this, but can it be said so straightforwardly?

It's like pursuing a girl. How can you directly say, "I think you have a sweet voice and I want to sleep with you."

They originally thought that they had some barbarian attributes, but they didn't expect Roland to be more direct.

Although Roland's words were too explicit, they invisibly brought him closer to the ministers.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Roland continued: "If I guarantee that the lords will get more substantial benefits after liberating the serfs, the country will also be stronger. Does anyone object?"

Roland guaranteed the interests of nobles and lords downwards, and raised the hat of national interests upwards. He had finished speaking, who dared to object?

Looking at Roland's expression of complete control, someone couldn't help but ask: "Cardinal, everyone can say nice things, what guarantee can you give?"

"Experiences of successful industrialization and international trade in the Sussex Empire."

Roland said calmly: "You shouldn't doubt the Sussex Empire's industrial strength and international trade capabilities, right?"

The cabinet ministers were speechless.

Forcibly opposing such an uncontroversial matter will only make you look stupid.

Although they felt uncomfortable inside, they accepted Roland's statement.

But some people still continued to ask doubtfully, "Your Majesty Cardinal, industrialization requires technology, and international trade requires a fleet. We are short of both."

"I have them all. To be precise, the Sussex Empire has them all."

Roland smiled and said: "The war is over. Post-war reconstruction requires a lot of things, so the future of international trade is very bright. If there are no ships, I can be responsible for getting them. I can even ask the Sussex Empire to support a group of emergency ships. Team."

No one doubts the authenticity of this promise.

The Queen of Sussex is his wife, so that’s nothing.

Everyone laughed along with Roland, and a cheerful atmosphere filled the hall.

But someone soon broke this beautiful atmosphere.

"We want peace, but the Empire cannot accept a peace that cedes its interests."

This sentence silenced the whole hall.

The ministers gradually calmed down.

Yes, Roland is from Sussex after all. He must be partial to the motherland in his heart, and he must let the Vladimir Empire transfer its interests to achieve peace.

Seeing everyone's worried expressions, Roland laughed and said:

"Stop being so sad. We are all winners and diners at the table. What we have to think about is how to get an extra piece of steak, rather than fighting with other diners with a fork."

Roland picked up the pointer and pointed it at the big map, and with a wave of his hand, he circled away part of the Wende Empire's territory.

"These places belong to us!"

Then he pointed to the Three Kingdoms of the North.

"This place belongs to us too."

"Here, here, and here, give them to our allies. As for the Sussex Empire and the Golden Kite Republic, these are all their demands."

In fact, the Free Alliance asked for no less than the Holy Alliance, but it sounded much less under Roland's rhetoric.

Roland's division plan was recognized by most ministers.

Although the Wende Empire was temporarily annexed, they had a strong sense of resistance and it was very difficult to rule here.

The areas drawn by Roland were all Western Ruriks who retained the traditional Rurik culture, which was easy to digest.

The territories allocated to the two allies, although fertile, were all areas where people identified as Wende people rather than Western Ruriks.

The cost of ruling these areas was too high.

After 70% of the territory was divided, the core area of ​​the Wende Empire's royal family was revived, but it had to be downgraded to a kingdom.

This reserved land was very clever, and it was basically directly governed by the royal family.

Although the empire was cut off, it was the meat of the nobles, and the royal family was not affected.

Although it was not eaten up, everyone felt it was reasonable.

Wende was an empire after all, and it couldn't be eaten in one bite.

Seeing that Roland was so sincere in protecting the interests of the empire, the ministers who originally didn't like him also looked at him differently.

Everyone gathered around the map enthusiastically to discuss the details of the division.

As for the opinions of the divided countries, no one has ever cared about them, and this time is no exception. (End of this chapter)