Kingdom’s Bloodline

Cohen stretched and let out a big yawn.

A little girl holding cloth passed by and couldn't help but glance at the tall Cohen.

"Small movements, the servants should look like servants," Raphael walked beside Cohen, frowning, "There are people from the North, so it's inevitable that there will be no Lumbard spies."

Cohen snorted dissatisfiedly, but still lowered his head obediently, pressing down his Northland linen cloak.

He touched his chin and sighed.

The dark oil paint on the face... is airtight and stuffy.

The security officer looked at the carriage behind him, frowned and said, "Does this really work?"

Raphael ignored him, just glanced at the carriage behind him, and then continued to move forward.

Soon, Raphael saw their destination.

He is dreaming.

he knows.

This time, Thales knew very clearly: this is a dream.

A familiar dream.

In the dream, he was still sitting leisurely and happily in the classroom.

"Poggi's book mentioned that on the way from feudalism to absolutist rule, the hierarchical state is a German word, st?

"The emerging city groups require a stable and safe political and economic environment. Obviously, this is incompatible with the traditional lord-vassal model of personal relationships, so these city groups have begun short-term cooperation with the ruler for the benefit of , began to participate in the rule through hierarchical meetings and other methods, and their appearance actually weakened the feudal factor, turning the long-standing dualistic feudal system of monarch-vassals into a complex triangular relationship."

"But it is far from the centralization we have in mind, it is just the process of achieving this result:

These third forces recognize and support the special status of the rulers, rather than just seeing the rulers as peers like the feudal princes;

Through the many taxes implemented by the hierarchical conference, the ruler has strengthened himself and strengthened the domain rule;

The ruler also used this to grant privileges to civilians and recruit servants. In the process, a large, professional, prudent, and institutionalized public management organization gradually took shape, laying the foundation for the subsequent absolutist rule. "

"The bureaucracy, bureaucracy, or bureaucracy, although I don't like this translation very much, it tends to give you some subjective bad impressions. This is a basic concept that you should have been exposed to from textbooks when you were in college. Students who are not from this major You might as well make up Weber's original work, although it is difficult to read, it is much more interesting than the second-hand summary you read from textbooks..."

Boom!

A slight vibration came, waking Thales from his deep sleep.

"What's wrong?"

In the carriage of the Commas people, Thales opened his dim sleepy eyes, wiped the saliva from the corners of his mouth in a hurry, and looked at the other people in the car in a daze: "I, did I fall asleep?"

Outside the carriage, the residents of the Northland who came and went looked worried. The White Blade Guards had already changed their costumes and dressed up as ordinary servants of the Northland. The stars beside the convoy, including Cohen and Miranda, put on The clothing of the Camusians,

These two commas carriages with the rice ear dagger logo are consistent with the ones Thales and the others were riding in.

"Be safe, Your Highness," Putilei beside him turned his head calmly, politely not looking at the prince's embarrassment, while observing the situation outside the car: "It seems that we are approaching the first city gate soon. gone."

Sure enough, at the end of the road outside the car, the outline of the city gate and the Palace of Heroes appeared in sight. Many curious civilians wanted to approach, but were driven away by the patrol team under the city gate.

When Thales first came to Dragon Clouds City, the first city gate that he stepped into had arrived.

But it is now in enemy hands.

The Palace of Heroes is right behind it.

Thales breathed a sigh of relief, calmed his beating heart, and drove the dream out of his mind.

His eyes turned to the serious Nicolai on the opposite side.

"It's time," the meteorite raised his head. "Let's part ways here. I'll go to another carriage. We have to take Miss Walton away..."

"As for you," Nicolai narrowed his eyes, "good luck."

Thales exhaled through his nose.

"Thank you and your brothers, thank you for bringing us here," the prince looked out the window to see the carriage behind them, frowning: "Take good care of her to be a Walton, in this case It's not a good thing."

"We'll do the rest."

Nicolai's face darkened.

But he immediately raised his head, looked at Marquis Shiles, the prisoner beside him, and said bitterly: "Be smart, old friend, otherwise...I assure you, you won't want to mess with a white-bladed guard lurking in the dark." Commander's."

With his mouth gagged and his hands tied behind his back, Shiles nodded and tried his best to show a calm and polite smile.

Unfortunately, because his mouth was gagged, his smile looked a bit awkward.

at this moment.

The carriage stopped.

Everyone in the car subconsciously looked out the window.

Outside the car, a dozen soldiers wearing patrol uniforms waved to the convoy and walked towards them.

Behind them, there are at least hundreds of colleagues, back and forth in all directions, as if they have drawn up a line of defense around the city gate.

"Patrol?" Thales was taken aback, "Is it from Lumbard?"

"Ah, not only have the city gates been closed, but they have also set up a cordon at such a long distance," Puttilai narrowed his eyes: "It seems that they have checked very strictly, even though they know it's a fake, but they still look like real ones. That's what happened."

"Get ready, it's time to start."

Thales' heart trembled. He looked at the first city gate in the distance, imagining the Palace of Heroes behind it and the figures in the palace. He couldn't help but clenched his fists and his eyes became firm.

coming.

my fight.

Opposite him, Nicolai's expression tightened.

The meteorite cut off the rope on Shiles, and then pulled out the cloth strip from his mouth.

Putilai smiled slightly at Shiles: "It's time for you to show your ability to negotiate, Lord Marquis."

"Do you know what to do?"

Only then did Shiles heave a sigh of relief, and he leaned against the carriage: "Ms. Harvest is here, of course, but I want to say..."

The next moment, the meteorite's hand pinched Marquis Shiles' shoulder in an instant.

The latter immediately bounced off the carriage like an electric shock.

"Be honest," Nicolai's voice contained a faint threat: "If I find out that you dare to play tricks..."

Shiles broke out in a cold sweat from the pain.

"Relax, relax, Your Excellency," the Kangmasian shook his head awkwardly while sweating, "Let me negotiate, and my safety must be guaranteed?"

"I can't guarantee your safety," Nicolai said coldly, "but if something happens, I guarantee that you will die before us."

In this regard, the understanding Shiles could only express "understanding" with a smile all over his face.

Thales took a deep breath and showed Puttilai a reassuring smile.

More than a dozen patrol members walked into the two carriages with the Comus logo, and looked at the northerners and foreigners surrounding the carriages with uneasy expressions.

The window was open.

"Good day, industrious sir."

"I'm Shiles Bermula from Shanliu City," the blond ponytailed, handsome Marquis Shiles had a relaxed expression and a relaxed tone, and nodded slightly to a nobleman who looked like an order officer under the car:

"Sorry, I have urgent business, I need to go to the Palace of Heroes, can you accommodate me?"

The order officer was slightly taken aback: "Komas?"

In the carriage, everyone remained silent, waiting for Shiles to negotiate.

If he suddenly regrets or...

Thales sighed.

Nikolai gently touched the hilt of his knife, staring at Shiles' back.

"If you can't make a decision, I think your superiors should know me. I mean 'the immediate superior'." Shiles nodded with a smile.

The leader-like order officer frowned. He turned around and patted the shoulder of a soldier beside him, whispering something to him.

The latter seemed to have received the order and turned to leave.

"I have heard your name before, my lord, you are one of His Majesty's honored guests." The order officer raised his head and nodded respectfully to Shiles: "But I am also sorry: every carriage trying to enter the Palace of Heroes, Every noble who tries to enter the Palace of Heroes must be checked."

"This is an order from the Prime Minister."

As soon as the words fell, everyone in the carriage was shocked!

Thales and Putillai looked at each other and saw the surprise in each other's eyes.

prime minister?

Not a rumba?

That means...

Shiles' expression was particularly astonished.

"Wait, you mean," Shiles frowned suspiciously, "this is an order from the Prime Minister?"

The Order Officer also seemed a little surprised by Lord Marquis's reaction. He first looked at his colleagues and subordinates, and then nodded to Shiles.

The Marquis in the car opened his mouth wide, looked at the patrols around, and asked nervously: "You mean, Earl of Lisbane, Prime Minister of Lisbane?"

"Yes, the patrols in the whole city are now directly under the command of the Prime Minister," the order officer replied with a serious face: "Is there any problem?"

Shiles looked at him blankly: "Prime Minister? Where is he? In the palace?"

The Order Officer shook his head.

"No, he's right here," the order officer pointed to a room guarded by soldiers on the street beside him: "He's working in a temporary stronghold behind us, and I've sent someone to invite him If you have any questions, you can ask him or directly."

Shiles raised his head with a complicated expression.

"City gate, the first gate," the Marquis looked at the first gate in the distance, looked at the looming figure above, and asked hesitantly, "Why is it not open now that the time has passed?"

"Could it be... something happened to the Heroic Spirit Palace?"

The order officer's expression changed.

"Of course not." The order officer shook his head very quickly, with a solemn expression, seemingly unquestionable: "You know, the disaster just came last night. We will be more cautious in extraordinary times, but please rest assured that everything is under control."

Shiles narrowed his eyes.

He took a deep breath and looked at the house where the prime minister was.

The Marquis asked keenly: "Then why didn't the prime minister go into the palace to sit in charge? Instead, he wanted to temporarily stay in a house?"

"The patrol team on the city gate is too far away from the cordon you set up, isn't it?"

"Could it be that... you dare not approach the city gate?"

The Order Officer frowned imperceptibly.

"You misunderstood, we purposely made the line of defense farther away from the city gate, this is for safety," he replied very seriously, as if to cut off all unnecessary associations of the foreign nobleman: "We must ensure that Before it is safe, keep all possible threats out of the Palace of Heroes, and of course, even the city gates cannot be taken lightly."

Shiles frowned.

While speaking, the soldier who delivered the order returned to the order officer and whispered a few words to him.

"Please bring your carriage to come with us." The Order Officer turned his head and nodded respectfully to the Marquis: "The Prime Minister wants to see you."

Shiles' expression changed.

"Oh," he nodded gently, hiding the fluctuations in his heart under a smile, "Okay, we'll come right away."

Shiles first gestured to the driver, then closed the window smoothly with a calm expression.

The carriage started to move again, and followed the patrol team slowly forward.

He turned to look at the people in the car.

The moment Shiles turned his head, his expression became tense and dignified.

Everyone in the carriage looked back at him with pale faces.

"These people, these soldiers." Although Shiles tried his best to restrain his emotions, Thales still heard a trace of unexpected panic in his tone: "They are not from Lumbard, not from Heisha collar!"

Shiles spoke more and more quickly, he didn't even care about the hilt of Nikolai's knife on his back, and said angrily: "They are the real Dragon Clouds City patrol team, the army! They are directly under the Office of Order and the garrison officers. , not fake!"

"The real deal!"

Thales' heart moved, and he looked at the serious-looking patrols on both sides.

genuine?

In other words, these people are all loyal to Dragon Clouds City and Walton?

"What's going on?" Puttilai asked calmly, "Prime Minister Lisbane appeared and brought the situation under control?"

"Probably not yet." Shiles shook his head, obviously trying to think about the current situation: "I found out after asking: the city gate is still in the hands of Luba. Obviously, they are confronting and even negotiating."

The two carriages, together with the Northlander and the Starman, were moving forward, the city gate was in front of them on the right, and the house where Lisbane was located was in front of the left.

Putilai clasped his hands together and squinted his eyes: "It seems that this Prime Minister is stronger than we imagined. He has already sensed something wrong in the city gate and even in the Palace of Heroes, so he led his troops here."

Thales sighed softly, and he looked at Nicolai with firm eyes: "Now is a good opportunity, you can take advantage of the situation and take Walton...take Miss Walton to evacuate, and go to your Prime Minister Lisbane for help. Well, it’s okay to leave here, you can do it.”

In front of his eyes, the frightened little girl in another carriage appeared.

Let's part here.

Little cunning.

Nikolai's expression changed

"Northern people are of course convenient, but the question is, what about us?" Shiles on the side gritted his teeth and frowned: "When we see Lisban, what should we say?" We are going to save your country, please Let us go'?"

Thales took a deep breath, thinking quickly.

The original plan was to rely on Shiles to trick the Heisha collar soldiers in the city gate, and then Shiles would find ways to send them to the Palace of Heroes.

But now, just before the city gate...

risbane.

prime minister?

what to do?

How should I face him?

Or, just don't face him?

Thinking of this, Thales raised his head, thoughtful: "If we suddenly rush to the city gate now and let Shiles take us in, will it succeed?"

"Will Lisbane and his patrol intercept and even attack us?"

The carriage passed another patrol of soldiers: they seemed more nervous than the others, gathered around a nobleman, and pointed at the gates.

Putilei frowned: "But in that case..."

He didn't go on.

Nicolai's expression changed, he looked at Thales.

"You know, in fact, you can go with me to meet the Prime Minister, and we will explain everything and act together with his power," Nicolai said flatly: "With his cooperation, it will be more convenient for us."

As he spoke, the meteorite glanced at Shiles with a cold look in his eyes: "Anyway, we have an 'enthusiastic' witness from Commas regarding the plot to assassinate King Nun."

The Marquis of Kangmasi suddenly changed his face!

Thales' heart skipped a beat.

The prince nodded, and asked Nicolai solemnly: "If we go to Lisbane...is he trustworthy?"

Nicole paused.

"Earl Lisbane, he is the prime minister of the kingdom, and has been His Majesty's right-hand man for many years." The meteorite lowered his head and said softly, "And he is a direct vassal of Dragon Clouds City..."

Thales frowned, feeling that something was wrong with Nicolai.