Kingdom’s Bloodline

In the Grand Duchess's study, Selma's eyes widened: "What?"

Thales also stared blankly at the new teacher who spoke amazing words.

this……

This, this, this...

Are you really here to be a teacher?

"I..." In the embarrassing atmosphere, the overwhelmed female archduke was speechless, but couldn't say a word for a long time, and could only habitually look at Thales for help.

"Mr. Hixer," Thales, who still couldn't stand it anymore, said bravely, "This joke is a little...Me and Selma, we..."

However, the culprit of this atmosphere, the thin Meri Heather was still holding his crutch, looking at Thelma with a half-smile.

The next second, the girl took a deep breath, as if she had made up her mind, and then——she lowered her head decisively, bent down, and picked up the "Selected Poems of Cahill Ye Luo" that fell under her feet.

Seems like that's very important.

Leave the embarrassment to Thales alone.

But he was soon out of embarrassment.

"Yes!" The old crow with glasses turned his head and interrupted Thales unceremoniously.

The eyes behind the old man's monocle blinked lightly, passing Thales who was about to speak, and staring at Selma:

"You must like him very much."

Thelma, who straightened up holding the book just now, froze in embarrassment again, and had to say: "Well, we are just good friends..."

Thales nodded approvingly.

"Otherwise, without the deliberate protection of the Grand Duchess, a hostage prince from the stars," Unexpectedly, the banter on the old crow's face slowly disappeared, he ignored the clarifications of Selma and Thales, He just shook his head and continued with his own words:

"It is absolutely impossible to stay in Longxiao City of the northerners for six full years in the midst of the hostility surrounded by wolves."

The two students were startled together.

I saw that Heather's expression had faded from the initial ease and comfort.

Although the smile remained the same, the cloudiness in his eyes had slowly disappeared.

He pulled the cane closer in his hand.

"What do you think, Thales?"

The prince came back to his senses.

He suddenly realized that what the old man said just now was definitely not just making fun of their relationship.

it seems...

It's because he thinks too much.

Facing Heather's question, Thales let go of his embarrassment and sighed slowly.

"I can't deny it," the boy glanced at the reddened girl, and nodded apprehensively. "Without Selma's protection, the people of the Northland would not be so polite to me—I am very grateful for that."

Thelma didn't speak.

Heather sighed softly.

"Then, may I ask a question, Thelma," the old crow called the Grand Duchess by her name without any scruples or scruples, just like addressing the prince: "Your people, your vassals, your vassals Excuse me, why are you so rude to Thales?"

"Has the prince done something unforgivable to them?"

Selma stared at Thales.

"No, Thales did nothing wrong," the Grand Duchess shook her head vigorously: "But he is a prince of the stars, so people in the North have reasons to hate him—this is the hatred between countries."

The new teacher narrowed his eyes: "Why? Why should people in the North hate the Prince of Stars?"

"Eighteen years ago, in the 'Year of Blood' of the stars," Thelma paused for a few seconds, she looked at Thales worriedly, and seeing Thales' face as usual, took a deep breath and spoke Answer: "We - Exeter and Star Kingdom fought a tragic war."

Thales looked seriously at the old crow who was still smiling, but gave people an inexplicable seriousness: he suddenly understood what Heather wanted to talk about.

"The Bloody Year, of course, that's what the stars are called," Sixer said with deep eyes, and said silently, "From the beginning of 660 to the middle of 661 in the Ending Calendar, the Bloody Year..."

The new teacher looked solemnly:

"so,

What did the Starmen do during the war? "

"That's why Exeter, who took the initiative to invade, is so full of hatred for Star Kingdom?"

Thales frowned.

Thelma hesitated for a second, but under Heather's smile, she still recalled the contents of the books and the past classes, and replied in the original: "Because of the "Fortress Peace Treaty."

"At the end of the war, under the pressure of many parties, the people of the North were forced to negotiate peace with Xingchen and even sign a peace treaty."

"Except for a piece of disputed forest land in the northwest of the fortress before the war, and some financial compensation, Exeter did not get much land and war spoils."

"Many people—from the grand duke to the vassals, from the nobles to the soldiers, all refused to accept the fact that they had broken through the northern border and won the victory on the battlefield, but they had to return to the north in despair, so," The Grand Duchess looked at Thales carefully again: "So they feel that this is a shame brought to them by the people of the stars with despicable means."

Listening to the question and answer of the old and the young, Thales remembered everything that Gilbert told him in the carriage on the eve of the state meeting.

[This is not so much a peace treaty as it is a record of humiliation. 】

"Very good, so this is the answer - the "Fortress Peace Treaty" that is disproportionate to the results of the battle, this is the source of the hatred of the Northlanders towards the stars." Speaking of this, Heather showed a puzzled expression at the right time: "However, this answer But it had to cause more problems.”

"Although none of you were born at that time," Heather tapped her crutches and let out a sigh of relief: "But, according to what I said just now, why?"

"Why was the Fort Peace Treaty signed like that when Exeter had already gained such a huge advantage that the entire northern border and half of the clifflands were defeated by them? Why did Exeter only claim money, but gave up every piece of land of stars that has been hard-earned and occupied for nearly half a year?"

Thales and Selma both frowned, and began to think about the old man's words.

Heather turned her head and looked at Star Prince kindly.

"Thales, what answer do you have? Would you like to guess?"

Thales raised his eyebrows slightly.

A memory of the long past flashed through his mind.

It was still in that bright classroom, and there were still the crackling sounds of keys and notes one after another.

【Xie Ren, what's your answer to this question? 】

In the past six years, there haven't been many such flashbacks of strange and familiar memories, at least not as frequently as he had in those thrilling adventures six years ago.

But they are by no means silent.

Like now.

[Social relations, or in other words, how does an individual's position in the social relationship circle affect individual behavior? 】

[According to the assumption of a "rational person"...then, knowing that the action will bring corresponding losses, or at least the risks are unpredictable, why do many individuals habitually follow and repeat the surroundings according to the closeness of the relationship? individual actions? 】

only……

In his memory, the owner of the gentle female voice, who was vague and indistinct, always made Thales feel uncontrollable, but could not be named, never appeared again.

"Thales?"

Under Heather's slight urging, Thales came back to his senses, and quickly said: "I think..."

"Is it because of the joint intervention of many countries? I think no matter whether it is Humble and Suye on the other side of the sea, or Kangmasi in the west and other small countries, they are unwilling to see an overly powerful dragon kingdom..."

But Thales, who kept talking, looked at the eye behind the lens, saw the inexplicable deep meaning and smile in that gaze, his heart moved slightly, and he subconsciously slowly stopped his words.

Sixer, sitting in the leather chair, smiled.

His shoulders trembled, and the hands holding the crutches trembled slightly.

His laughter was weak but cheerful, like a happy old man teasing a child, without any sense of gloom.

Like a...happy crow?

Thelma looked at the old man in confusion.

Finally, Heather stopped laughing and nodded, "Sorry...I remembered a book I read once."

Thales showed a puzzled expression.

"According to the "History of the War in the North", when the two countries started negotiations, although countries such as Commas and Humble expressed concerns, however, in terms of the conditions for Exeter's withdrawal, Commas For a long time, there was disagreement within the government, and Humble expressed respect for King Nun’s wishes, while Su Ye’s envoy was on his way, and he only sent a raven to show his attitude.”

"Looking at it this way, either the author of "History of the Northern Warfare" is bragging and perjurying the 'inside information' he has obtained, or... what do you think?" Heather raised her head and looked at it playfully Thales.

The prince frowned again.

So, this means that the so-called multinational intervention is actually quite weak, and it is not worth mentioning to Exeter?

There are other reasons for Exeter to give up the war, and even the peace talks between the two countries?

"Ah, I thought about it again. One of my students told me." The old man laughed: "King Nunn once generously divided the eight counties in the Star Northern Territory he occupied to six earls, as a reward for them. Similarly, the Grand Dukes of Jieshou City, Weiland Land and Heisha also tried to take the land they conquered as their own."

Heather's eyes rolled slightly: "Exter even managed to make many families in the original land of stars turn their allegiance to the new lord of the northerners."

Thales and Selma, who were more and more confused, looked at each other, and both showed puzzled expressions at the old man.

"But in the end, the Ext people still withdrew and gave up?" Thales asked suspiciously.

"It seems so," the old crow nodded lightly: "First, Earl Mende of the Black Sand Territory, then the Gray Family under the command of the Guard City, and finally the earls of Dragon Clouds City, when their troops withdrew , the stars and lands that still belonged to them in name changed their flags one after another, refused to pay taxes and go to service, drove away the left-behind Exeter nobles, and returned to the rule of the old master, even the families that were forced to submit to the Northlanders, There are also many defected again and returned to the star map."

Thales thought for a moment.

"Why?"

Selma asked curiously: "Could it be that the rule of King Changzhi has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people for a long time, so that the loyalty of the people and nobles is unshakable?"

Heather rubbed her wrists, and said with a tusk: "In that case, why did the loyal nobles surrender to Exeter in the first place - strictly speaking, the people in the northern border are also northerners, and they don't lack The courage to fight to the death."

Thelma was speechless.

But Thales on the side fell into deep thought.

etc……

Refusal to pay taxes and go to service...

Drive away the left-behind Exeter noble officials...

The prince's heart moved.

He suddenly remembered the tense and thrilling negotiation in the Hall of Heroes six years ago, the expression of Charmain Rumba, and... what he was really afraid of.

"I see."

Star Prince suddenly raised his head and looked at Sixer who was still smiling.

He solemnly said: "The Exeter back then did not have the ability to rule the northern border."

Thelma looked at him curiously.

Heather's eyes changed.

The next second, the old man raised his right hand with a smile and made a "please" gesture to him.

Facing the eyes of the other two, Thales, who was encouraged, took a deep breath and recalled the things he had thought about six years ago.

"Whether it's tax payment, refereeing, military service, or daily life affairs, from high to low, from noble to lowly, the people of the stars are gradually getting used to their country's ruling style: starting from a virtuous monarch, the system and rules have matured step by step."

"As for Exeter, they cannot follow the system of the stars, nor can they rule the land in the way of the stars - not only the nobles of the northerners are not used to it, but also the qualified bureaucrats that the dragon kingdom can send to rule the north Far from being enough, they can and will only rule the stars in Exeter's old way."

The prince frowned. He remembered what Little Joseph's chef father told him not long ago about the things in their village:

The cronies of the Lord of the North came to collect taxes from the farmers. This month’s tax may be a chicken or a sack of wheat, but in a few months, if your land is harvested, or if you change a tax collector, it may be as much as One cow and two sacks of wheat depend on the mood and greed of the tax collector, on whether the lord is kind or harsh.

If you are a handicraft craftsman, you use a good idea to start a small business in the market and make money. When you want to expand your business, you may have to face the coveting of the lord or noble—because you can’t even trade in the market. , are all their favor.

While Thales continued to conjecture in his mind, he said to Heather, who was smiling even more, and Selma, who was stunned: "So, if King Nun, like in the past, randomly distributes the land in the northern border of the stars to his subjects Nobles, let them manage their new territory according to the old tradition in the co-government oath, and there will be various problems..."

Heather coughed and smiled.

The old crow said indifferently: "As far as I know, during the period of Exeter's occupation of the northern border, the Grand Duke of Lombard who was in charge of managing the rear, which is now King Charman, tried to fulfill the responsibilities and rights of the lord just like in his own country. , on the condition of ensuring a safe life, collect taxes from residents in the northern border to subsidize consumption."

"But it's obviously quite inefficient—people don't want to deal with his tax collectors."

Thales's eyes lit up when his conjecture was confirmed:

"Of course, because the land of the stars is different."

"People in the northern border have gradually become accustomed to another way of life and rule, instead of blindly and obediently paying allegiance to a lord who came from the north and has the rough style of a dragon-this is just the northern border, the central border even It may be even worse in the south, because the cities there are bigger and the villages are more complex. I heard that craftsmen and merchants even formed guilds and have the right to negotiate with the lords."

Thinking of Lumbard's eyes back then, Thales felt emotional and realized: "Simply put, the Kingdom of Exeter at that time, after winning the victory, did not have the ability to rule the northern border stably."

"Correspondingly, once the invaders don't have this ability, the people in the northern border of the stars will certainly not accept Exeter's rule," the prince recalled the little boy who had defected from the Star Kingdom to the Black Sand Territory and served under the command of Luba. Tax collector: "Because the latter not only cannot give them the life they want, but also brutally damage their interests."

Thales sighed: "So, even if King Nun's army actually occupied the northern border, he is unable to effectively govern it and can only subdue it with violence."

Selma blinked, and as usual, gave Thales a surprised look.

The old crow Hickser shrugged, the groove on his face seemed to get deeper.

"From our discussion just now: Exter didn't turn the land and people affected by the invasion into beneficiaries," the skinny old man said faintly, "but turned into enemies?"

Thales nodded with a solemn expression: "So, if Exter wants to continue to occupy the northern border, it means that he must garrison for a long time, and use the violence of the princes to suppress the continuous rebellion and dissatisfaction, to quell the rebellion and dissatisfaction caused by Lives changed and the public outrage boiled over."

Or—Thales remembered the promise that Lumbard made to the Grand Dukes in "Dragon's Blood" six years ago.

Or the grand duke or even the king himself would station himself in the northern border to eliminate all possible sources of disaster, and then gradually... synchronize and move closer to the existing system of the Star Kingdom.

Make it truly... your own land.

The prince clenched his fists unconsciously.

So, is this what you learned in the bloody year eighteen years ago?

Charmain Rumba?