Kingdom’s Bloodline

Thales raised his head, took a breath, adjusted his breathing, and brought his heavy thoughts back to the classroom:

"I have seen relevant historical materials in two books, including "The Oath of Co-governance" and "The Disaster of the Black Eyes": Compared with the death of Nakaju, Exeter's melee is endless, and the stars are good at fighting and warlike. 'Black Eye' John Canxing I successfully inherited the army and territory of King Fuxing, and won the allegiance of his officials. m. Lewen Mobile Network”

Both Heather and Selma were listening to his words attentively, but only Thales knew that even now, he was still preoccupied, just looking at his notebook and following the scriptures.

"In less than a year, Black Eye almost unified the south and completed what King Fuxing did not finish. He brought part of the land including the Bladed Edge and the coast—that is, today's South Bank Territory—under his command, and the Kingdom of Stars became Getting stronger and stronger..."

Thales recalled the disdain on Puttilai's face and his explanation when Nicolai showed off the "Common Governance Pledge" to them when he first arrived in Exeter.

"At this stage, because of the failure of the peace treaty between Necaru and Tormund, and because of the conflicts and infighting among the lords in Exeter, the Kingdom of Stars began to take the opportunity to expand northward: the Arend family of Stars When there was a conflict with the Tan family in the Northland over the ownership of the Watch City, Black-Eyed John gathered an unprecedented star army and went north..."

"Just two days after 'Black Eye' entered the Overwatch City, the 'Smiler' Nunn Walton of Dragon Clouds City, who was also the first Nunn, issued a proposal. With the help of the Queen of Sky, he mediated In the conflict between Lanling and Qiyuan City, ten lords gathered in front of Naikaru's tombstone, and the co-governance oath was signed, Nun I was crowned king, and nine lords became grand dukes."

Thales let out a breath, flipping through the notes he had made in the library a few days ago: "So, to some extent, I think it is the threat from the newly rising Star Kingdom that made the ten lords full of conflicts Abandon the previous suspicions, compromise with each other, join forces to fight against the enemy, and what happens afterwards is the evidence."

"In response, the Tan family appealed to King Nuen I for help in the name of the "Covenant of Governance". Although the archdukes were still conflicted, under the influence of the "Oath", Nunn the Smiler still recruited what he wanted. The army and vassals fought against the Xingchen's army around the Watch City, forcing Black-Eyed John, who was in the upper hand, to give up his idea of ​​marching north, and turned west to attack the Western Wilderness."

"That was the first time that the Covenant of Governance came into effect, and it was also the first time that Exeter fought the stars head-on in the name of the kingdom. To a certain extent, it was also the first time that Exeter deterred the Western Land—no one It is conceivable that after the end of the war, which force can mobilize so many troops besides facing disasters."

Heather rolled her eyes, thoughtful.

Thales sighed: "So back to the topic,

The strength and rise of the stars also largely contributed to the "co-governance oath" and the unification of the most powerful country in the Western Continent, allowing the ten princes to put aside their past differences temporarily and create a system that the country will follow in the future. "

"That is to say," Selma asked strangely, "Xingchen wants to take the opportunity to attack the Northland, but promotes the unification of Exeter?"

"Yes," Thales nodded. "As far as this is concerned, Black Eyed John's idea of ​​launching a war and attacking Exeter in the north not only failed to come true, but also forged the strength of the Dragon Kingdom."

After Thales finished speaking, he found that Selma was already staring at him, and coughed involuntarily.

Heather laughed.

"Starting from the Covenant of Co-governance, we seem to have found a more interesting topic - you want to weaken a certain country, but you intend to crush the other party's fist, but instead help the other party," the old crow sighed slightly, from his mouth Chewing another language: "There's a word in the Far East called 'self-defeating'. Are there more examples?"

Thales narrowed his eyes: "Of course."

Unknowingly his attention was attracted, he lowered his head and rummaged through his notes: "It's still the stars and Exeter, but it's the other way around——the transformation of 'Xian Jun' Mindis III."

At that moment, Heather's eyes froze slightly.

"During the Fourth Continental War, Exeter's pressure and damage to the stars left gaps and opportunities while leaving devastation everywhere: the lords all over the stars were weak and urgently needed assistance and recovery. Fearing to seek help from Eternal Star City, this made the obstacles faced by the monarch unprecedentedly small. Mindis III was able to promote his officials on a piece of white paper, create his system, borrow debts and collect taxes without any scruples, and spent a lot of money. A small price to reconcile the dissatisfaction of the nobles: the threat and invasion of the dragon, on the contrary, made it easier for him to start his own chess game, and achieved the system of the Star Kingdom today."

Thales quickly summed up this familiar example in one sentence, raised his head, only to find that Heather was looking at him with a strange look.

"Honey, I really didn't expect that you would use 'Xianjun' as an example," the old crow snorted softly: "You should know that even in the Dragon Kiss Academy, there are mixed opinions on 'Xianjun'. Of course, it focuses on his imitation and innovation of the evaluation system for early and late officials, as well as his actions to support private establishment of academies.”

Thales scratched his head: "Sorry, uh, for various reasons, I'm still familiar with this period of history—so I try to find historical materials in this area in the library."

"So, according to what you said just now," Heather coughed softly: "War, this is a very complicated topic, because the temporary victory and defeat seem to be just appearances, and the positions of the victors and losers will change at any time? "

Thales' eyes had left the notebook.

He suddenly thought of King Nun and Rumba, King Kessel and Arend.

King Nun took the lead in Heisha and suppressed the Lunba family for decades, but he created a terrifying hero who would take his life in the future.

Arend conspired to usurp the throne, which once put the Star Kingdom into crisis, but after the failure gave Kessel a reason to fully control the northern border with kingship.

And what about himself?

He seemingly perfectly and skillfully saved the fate of the Walton family, put the Grand Duchess on the throne, and secured the interests of the stars.

But...all the self-righteous past became suspicious after Luba's visit.

Thales sighed slowly.

Suddenly, he had a deeper understanding of Xianjun's words: victory or defeat is momentary, but the waves are fleeting.

It's... interesting.

"In fact, I think it's ill-advised to describe the outcome of the war simply by victory or defeat." Thales raised his head and said silently.

The old crow raised his eyebrows slightly: "Would you mind saying more?"

Thales cleared his throat, as if returning to the past in his dream.

"War is not a carpentry game, and the opponent is not wood - here is a bulge, you give it a hammer, and it will behave, no."

Thales pondered for a while.

He continued: "War is a collection of many factors, and it is also a linkage between two parties or even multiple parties. The wood you hammer may become weaker, denser, harder, or rougher. It is difficult to touch, but it is not determined by whether you give the hammer or not, but depends on the conditions and factors of countless wars, as well as the angle of our observation."

Heather encouraged him to continue with her eyes.

Thales took a breath: "War, it is not only a moment to declare the unified concept of the warring states, to reconcile contradictions, to sharpen weapons, to define oneself in blood and fire..."

"But it is also an opportunity for the warring country to be forced to react spontaneously in a crisis, decisively break the mold, reshape itself, close loose fingers, hold tight iron fists, and meet the enemy with a brand new state."

"Even after the war is over, the impact continues."

He couldn't help but think of Xianjun.

"And after the war, neither of them will be what they used to be—I think the stars and the dragon are the best examples. On a longer historical scale, the two sides of the war have changed because of it, and their power has ebbed and flowed. , the balance moves, and the society and situation we live in will become what it is now, and it will profoundly affect our lives until now.”

"Maybe, compared to what we can see in a short time, the glory or pleasure of victory, the shame or pain of defeat, this is what we have been ignoring when we face war?"

After Thales finished speaking, he fell into deep thought.

"Very good," Heather applauded softly, "I have to say, it exceeded my expectations, Mr. Little."

Selma frowned and thought about it: "So, that is to say, when facing a war, we should think more about it, not just stop at 'whether we can win' or 'what will happen after failure'? Shallow layers?"

Thales' eyes lit up, and he gave her a thumbs up.

Heather smiled slightly: "That's right, dear Thelma, I like that conclusion very much."

He blinked a little casually, revealing a sly look.

"So, I can still sum it up."

Both students showed expressions of interest.

The old crow sighed, and his eyes trembled slightly behind the lens.

"First of all, stars and dragons, you are closely related to each other's destiny-this is by no means empty words: no matter in the past, present, or future, you have been entangled with each other for hundreds of years, inseparable: your origin is so deep, the distance between you So close, so closely connected, that any change in one party will have an impact on the other party that is difficult to detect immediately, but cannot be ignored and irreversible in the future."

"Right?"

The two students nodded violently.

Their teacher sighed and coughed rather uncomfortably: "I think we can at least reach a consensus: wars are not that simple, they are neither simple destruction and reconstruction, nor simple plunder and war. Reinvention—as for winning or losing, this is the most superficial thing in it.”

Heather looked out the window, and there seemed to be emotions flowing in her eyes: "So, both of you, you are the ones who have the conditions and the power to wage war in the future, even against each other—I am not exhorting you to hate war, but in your Before making up your mind to go to war, I thought, should you think clearly: Will this really achieve your goals? How many unexpected things will happen from this? What additional consequences will there be? In the longer term, it will mark What? How to calculate the impact on both of you?"

Thales and Selma Qiqi fell silent, thinking about something.

"War is not an overly ideal game, it is not a one-way assault by one side against the other, to decide whether to win or not - I wish it was that simple, so simple that apart from fighting, we just need to sit in the tent and count the number of chips, After listening to the shouts of killing outside the tent, even if the winner is decided, it will be completely over."

Heather looked out of the window in a daze, seeming to forget that she was just summarizing, just 'chatting', and said to herself: "But it's not."

"no."

"Death? Sacrifice? Benefits? Cost? Winning or losing? These are just the most superficial things in the war," the old crow said with emotion: "More importantly, the fate of thousands of people in the two countries will be determined by this, thousands of years ago. The direction of a century will be affected by it, and all factors will be tested in this cruel melting pot. And you and me, whether it is a high-ranking lord or a commoner who is ups and downs with the wind, are just the weakest pawns in it , because it is often not up to us to decide, even if you are the initiator or winner of the war."

"Remember, my dear gentlemen and ladies."

"Besides hypocritical moral accusations, simple benefit calculations, and vain warrior honor," Xixer sighed deeply, as if recalling something from the past: "Don't underestimate the war itself." ——It’s not as simple as you think, it’s not a game of win or lose, benefit or price, survival or death.”

Thales and Selma looked at the teacher's appearance, and seemed to feel the heaviness in it. They looked at each other in blank dismay, not daring to speak out.

"Okay, just some small emotions," Heather came back to her senses, and sighed nonchalantly: "Then, let's go back to the topic, like this kind of example where you can't judge the winner or loser by a momentary victory, do you have more examples?" Is there a lot?"

"If not for the time being," the old crow blinked the eyes in the lens intentionally or unintentionally without waiting for them to speak, "then I want you to continue to think about an example."

Thales and Selma were slightly taken aback.

Until the frail old man uttered a word:

"The Year of Blood."

"In addition to victory and defeat, from what angle and to what extent should we evaluate this tragic year full of wars?"

Telston stayed where he was, staring blankly at the teacher.

He had the illusion that Heather gave him a slight glance at the moment the word was finished.

It was a scrutinizing look, which was very different from his usual relaxed and comfortable look.

"It's your extra homework, but you don't have to give it to me, because we won't discuss it next time." The old crow stood up with difficulty, and laughed: "Then, that's it for today."

Before Thales had time to think about the significance of the topic, the two students hurriedly and respectfully sent the teacher who was in poor health out.

Click, click, click...

"Selma," looking at the teacher's back, Thales shook off the shadows in his mind, and said to Selma in the most solemn tone: "Listen."

Selma, who was packing up her notes, was slightly taken aback.

"What's wrong?"

Seeing the serious face of the prince, he took a deep breath and looked into Selma's eyes very seriously.

Seeing that the girl felt uneasy.

"Today, after the outdoor class, it's about dinner time."

Thales clenched his fists, thinking of what he saw and heard yesterday, his heart became more and more nervous.

"I...I have something very, very, very important to tell you."

The tone of voice was unprecedented.

Selma stared at him blankly, as if she was very unaccustomed to the prince being so serious: "Very important?"

"Yes," Thales seemed to feel that the other party didn't pay enough attention to it, so he quickly added: "You must seriously consider it! It's about—it's about the future of both of us!"

"It is a major event that will even affect our entire life!"

The Grand Duchess was stunned.

She blinked behind her pince-nez, and...

Blushed.

"Okay, okay," the girl cleared her throat, a little flustered, but she immediately showed the majesty of a grand duke, raised her neck proudly, and snorted softly: "I hope you are on time, Your Highness."

Before Thales could react, the next second, Thelma made a standard dance progress and left the study with a whoosh.

Huh?

Why did she run away without finishing the books?

Thales looked at her back and her red ears suspiciously.

Also, why is she...

In the next second, Thales suddenly remembered something.

The prince was taken aback. He stood up abruptly, stretched out his right hand, and chased after him with a strange expression:

"Hey, are you thinking too much again, little slicker!"

The other end of the Palace of Heroes.

Heather walked away on crutches, out of the corridor.

He took a breath of air from his weak lungs, coughed in pain, then waved his hands, rejecting the servant who came up to help him.

"Thanks, but I'm not that old..."

Click, click, click...

Heather looked at the fading scenery of the Northland outside the window, remembered the conversation just now, her expression was relaxed and laughing, and she became serious.

Although he is very smart, although he has such eyes.

but……

No.

"But he is neither like his father," the old crow sighed emotionally, and muttered in a low voice: "Nor like you..."

Heather raised the corner of her mouth, looked at the sky outside the window, and shook her head playfully.

What do you say, Seran?

The old man hunched over, limped, and walked out of the corridor of the Palace of Heroes alone.