Kingdom’s Bloodline

"The girl got help."

Sodor Red cuts to the chase:

"When she disappeared on the battlefield and her life and death were unknown."

Part of the doubts in the imperial meeting disappeared, but more questions followed.

"help?"

Viscount Coney, Minister of Commerce and Trade, laughed, quite a bit teasingly:

"Could it be a giant dragon?"

With a thought, Thales recalled the scene of the unkempt, silly little slick sitting in the ruins, silently staring at the huge and graceful faucet.

But Viscount Coney soon discovered that no one cheered for his joke.

On the contrary, Duke Cullen, who had always been smiling, had a stagnant expression, while Joke Man, the treasurer, looked ugly.

Clapham, the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry, woke up again from his sleepy eyes, his eyes were suspicious, and Stylianides, who had been silent all this time, lowered his head in thought.

Thales sat next to Gilbert, suppressing the curiosity and eagerness in his heart, and concentrated on watching the foreign minister hurriedly flip through the documents in his hand.

At the end of the long table, the king's figure remained motionless, like a stone sculpture.

The entire imperial meeting was extremely silent.

Viscount Connie's smile gradually faded.

"No."

In the silence, Advisor Sodor made a final decision, ending Viscount Connie's embarrassment:

"It's the poor people."

The military advisor put his hands on the table and looked at everyone.

Thales felt that after Soduo said "no", most of the important officials present breathed a sigh of relief.

"The local Xitao poor people."

Suo Duo frowned, his palm swept across the roads and towns on the map, and tapped lightly on the blank spaces without chess pieces.

"They helped the Grand Duchess so she survived the battle."

"And finally gather and retrieve some of the elite that belong to Dragon Clouds City.

"

The military advisor grabbed a few white pieces off the map and placed them back beside the white queen.

Thales felt relieved.

Therefore, Selma got the help of the locals and passed the dangerous battlefield safely.

But then he felt strange.

"Wait, didn't Earl Caso say that," Viscount Connie asked suspiciously:

"Suriel Walton once slaughtered Fort Liberty, and he has a deep hatred with the people of the Liberty Alliance? If the poor people know the identity of the Grand Duchess, why..."

Many people looked at Gilbert.

The foreign minister held up his glasses, his face was a little ugly, and his movements of flipping through the documents became faster and faster:

"About this—sorry, give me a few seconds—I remember just these few pages..."

Soduo coughed and looked at the person from the secret department.

The scar-faced man stepped forward calmly, unraveling Gilbert's embarrassment:

"Secret Science also thought so at the beginning-the bitter people of the Freedom Alliance and the people of the Northland are fighting to the death."

"It was only later discovered that the intelligence we had was incomplete."

"So I quickly contacted the local intelligence station, and then corroborated it with the historical data of the Department of Foreign Affairs."

The Foreign Secretary finally turned to the page he needed, he let out a breath, and took up the conversation:

"Hey, gentlemen, the national conditions of the Freedom Alliance are quite special."

Gilbert raised his head and turned back to the star cunning fox Thales was familiar with:

"In fact, unlike the poor people in Qiyuan City, most of the poor people in the Freedom Alliance—especially the part mentioned by Suduo—mainly live in the suburbs and countryside, with low status, poverty, and discrimination , even if they entered Liberty Castle to seek a living, they would still do the most humble work."

"The ones who really hate them are not the Northland invaders who are only eyeing the noble families, but the upper-class people living in Liberty Castle."

Thales frowned. He remembered that Ronnie Jr. had hinted to him that the suffering people were one of the problems faced by the Qiyuan City, but he never knew that the problem of the suffering people was not limited to just one corner of Qiyuan City.

"A bit...complicated?" Viscount Connie asked his heart.

"No."

Everyone puffed up their chests and looked at the speaker.

"It's not complicated at all."

King Kessel stared at the ring on his hand, his eyes turned on the brass-colored luster:

"Like what happened last night."

last night.

The imperial meeting suddenly fell silent.

Thales turned his head subconsciously, avoiding everyone's intentional or unintentional eyes.

Gilbert's words sounded at the right time, attracting everyone's attention and relieving the atmosphere:

"A hundred years ago, the Commas Alliance implemented the strategy of 'Business Roads of Hundred Nations', expanding its power eastward, and the entire Golden Corridor was in turmoil."

"At that time, Exeter was ruled by the soon-to-be 'Broken Steel' Nun VI. He played back and forth with the Commas people, and finally reached a compromise: support local forces at the eastern end of the Golden Corridor, and establish an open business road, but it still regards Exeter as its suzerain."

Advisor Sodor frowned:

"Free League."

Gilbert nodded:

"As an intermediate product of the compromise between the two great powers, the structure of the Liberal Alliance is inherently deformed: its source of power and the foundation of its rule are not internal but external, and it is not against the bottom but only the top, and it has developed in the cracks between the big powers by taking advantage of the huge profits of the trade route. .”

Gilbert turned a page and was extremely serious:

"After nearly a hundred years of rule, the dignitaries and elders in Liberty Castle and their powerful families, although shed the same blood as the poor people, are used to being superior, exploiting, holding important positions, and enjoying privileges. Be regarded as one of the poor people."

Thales felt relieved.

I see.

The real reality is far more complicated and specific than the dry sentence in the book, "The Liberty Alliance lives in the west of Qiyuan, in the east of good flow, and enjoys business profits."

As for Thelma, what she has to face is much more difficult than what I have to face.

"So, the low-level poor people in the alliance are actually local forces that can be drawn in to fight against the high-level people in Fort Liberty."

Prime Minister Cullen scratched his chin, looking naive:

"It's just that in the past few decades, the eyes of the Northlanders have stayed on the nobles in the castle, and on the regime that they compromised with the Commas people?"

Gilbert sighed:

"Don't talk about subdividing the poor and the noble... To be precise, in the past few decades, the entire Freedom Alliance has been ignored by the Northlanders."

The foreign minister frowned and said nothing: Even we, didn't we rush to update the information after the battle report came out, and we were surprised?

Thales calmed down, but couldn't stop another doubt.

But what about Thelma...

"So, that girl has won the support of several waves of poor people from the lower classes, but..."

"Money Bag" Joke Man squinted and asked:

"We are talking about real swords and guns, costly and expensive wars, not logging and clearing up wasteland, plowing the fields."

"A group of ragged poor people, can they really help her win?"

This question asked everyone's most puzzled point, even though all the gentlemen present here are well-mannered, they still couldn't help but lean forward together, hoping for an answer.

"cannot."

So Duo's answer was as usual, vigorous and resolute:

"But at least I can give her a channel to secretly sneak into Fort Liberty, which is only known to low-class poor people who do dirty work."

Thales' eyelids twitched.

"According to our information, one night after the Liberty Alliance's victory and returning to the division, the Grand Duchess of Dragon Clouds City led the elite Grand Duke's personal guards around her—many of them were the White Blade Guards from King Nun's era—invaded silently. the inner city of Fort Liberty."

Thales leaned forward unknowingly, joined the ranks of the ministers present, and stared at the white chess piece.

Sodor Reid leaned down, and on the battlefield where the white pieces retreated and the black pieces re-established, he pushed the special white queen against the momentum, but unstoppably pushed it to Fort Liberty.

Like the sun that finally breaks through the clouds and pierces the sky.

"With the help of the poor people's guides, she captured all the top leaders of the Freedom Alliance with a mere army of hundreds of people."

"Draw the curtain for the entire war."

Su Duo's voice fell.

There was a small exclamation from the Imperial Council.

Only Thales bit his lower lip.

He imagined the scene of that night.

A small number of elites sneaked in secretly, without bloodshed, and captured high-level officials...

it sounds...

Very familiar.

Thales was a little dazed.

It seems that six years ago, he was not the only one who learned from Charmain Rumba's madness.

"Up to the governor and veterans, down to the bureaucratic generals."

Soduo methodically overthrew the few black chess pieces left in Fort Liberty one by one:

"Including Josh Kenya, who is the most critical, and Ivan Pollardo, who became famous at a young age."

"Not one will fall."

"Catch them all."

"I became a prisoner overnight."

So Duo withdrew his fingers, looked at the only white queen standing on the battlefield, and sighed:

"Just when they were immersed in the big victory and completely lost their vigilance."

The imperial meeting experienced a long silence.

"What?"

After a long while, Viscount Coney spoke out in disbelief, staring at the map where the chess pieces were scattered:

"Dare to love this war to set off each other, to see who is more stupid than whom?"

He can't laugh or cry, I don't know whether it is ridicule or sigh.

The rest more or less felt the same way.

"If you look through the battle examples, Your Excellency the Viscount, you may find that this is true of many wars in history."

Su Duo replied coldly, obviously in a bad mood:

"Many times, the outcome of a war is not because of how powerful the victor is..."

"It's thanks to how stupid losers are."

Sudo lowered his head.

What's more, the factors involved in war are complicated, too confusing, too accidental, and too unknown.

Even if we sit here, no matter how good our calculations are on paper.

If you end up in person and face reality...

Probably not much better.

"At least, the Northlanders took Fort Liberty," Gilbert sighed, smoothing things over intentionally or unintentionally:

"Didn't embarrass the title of 'Front Invincible'."

Thales let out a sigh of relief.

Duke Cullen raised his voice and asked:

"So she captured the high-level and took control of the inner city, but the rest of the soldiers and civilians in Fort Liberty..."

Soduo nodded and turned to the scar-faced man.

The person from the secret department stepped forward respectfully:

"After Kierkegaard was rescued, the remnants of Dragon Clouds City soon regrouped and the chain of command was restored."

"Coupled with the help of the poor people, they entered the city in batches within a few days to join the command of the Grand Duchess."

"In the end, we won Fort Liberty without any risk."

So Duo took over the conversation:

"Just like that, Qi Yuan was defeated and retreated in a hurry. When Exter's situation was over, Dragon Clouds City suddenly emerged and turned the tide of the battle."

"Shocked everyone."

The "big soldier" shut his mouth, and there was silence around the table.

Everyone is feeling the aftermath of the battle on the table, immersed in different emotions, and it is difficult to recover for a while.

"snort."

The financial manager with a gray beard, Joke Man snorted disdainfully:

"After a crushing defeat on the battlefield, it is only by relying on a bitch to steal chickens and dogs to save the situation."

"Even if he wins the war, Exter will lose all face, and I'm afraid he will become a laughing stock."

Everyone present was in a complicated mood, and no one answered for a while.

Until a young voice sounded:

"Lord Mann, this room is called the Ballard Room, right?"

All the princes in front of the imperial court turned their heads together, only to be surprised to find that the person who answered was the Duke of Xinghu, who had participated in the meeting for the first time and had always been cautious and had never spoken out.

Joke Man didn't dare to neglect, and sat upright:

"Of course, Your Highness, this is the Great Ballard Room, so?"

Thales looked at him for a while, then narrowed his eyes and smiled:

"nothing."

"Let's go back to the laughing stock country where women can save the situation."

Joke Man was at a loss.

The expressions of those present are different.

Only Gilbert coughed lightly and gestured to Thales with his eyes, and the latter leaned back without making a sound.

"That girl did more than that."

Suduo's words brought everyone back to the battle.

The military advisor raised his head and motioned to the scar-faced man beside him: "The secret department has more detailed information."

The spy from the secret department bowed and exchanged a document:

"Fort Liberty fell, high-level officials were captured, and the army was disarmed..."

"The Grand Duchess of Longxiao City, who was sure of winning, gave an order: starting with the governor of the alliance, take these captives, those who broke the promise of the Freedom Alliance, senior officials, generals and soldiers, and none of them will fall..."

The scar-faced man's eyes lifted from the paper, revealing a stern look:

"Send them all to the guillotine."

Thales took a breath.

What?

The princes at the meeting whispered to each other for a while.

"Again?"

Prime Minister Cullen frowned and said:

"It is worthy of the blood of Nun and Suriel, with a ruthless heart and vicious methods, not inferior to his father and grandfather."

"Women, you know," Joke Man exhaled:

"I have always been small-minded and narrow-minded. I will always compare pennies and vengeance."

"It's such a big loss, I would have done the same thing," Viscount Connie sighed:

"At least she was straightforward and didn't torture them."

Thales didn't speak, he just frowned and thought.

"How many?"

Gilbert turned his head and interrupted the discussion on the long table:

"How many people did she kill?"

The scar-faced weirdo from the secret department glanced at the adults.

He was expressionless, just changed a piece of paper, and read out an unexpected number:

"zero."

The entire Ballard Room fell silent for a moment.

The adults stared and opened their mouths in disbelief, and it took several seconds to digest this information.

At an angle invisible to others, Thales slightly curled the corners of his mouth.

"What, what?"

The scar-faced man nodded in affirmation.

"On the guillotine, when the cutting blade is about to fall."

"The Grand Duchess took off her helmet and shed her armor."

The scar-faced man's words were smooth and natural, but there was a faint force of a different kind, telling a legend thousands of miles away:

"The little girl left the crowd of the army, walked to the front of the stage, and announced to the trembling people in the audience."

Someone from the secret department exchanged a piece of paper, and the adults present were engrossed in surprise, doubt, disdain, vigilance and other emotions.

"She said there were enough dead in this war."

"There is enough blood shed on both sides."

The ministers looked at each other in blank dismay, unable to understand.

"She said that the lives and livelihoods of thousands of people and the families and children of countless people should not be paid for the selfishness and self-errors of a few high-ranking people."

The scar-faced man raised his head:

"She said someone had told her that."

"War cannot bring peace any more than death can repay life."

Thales' expression changed.

"And she, the ruler of Dragon Clouds City, will not repeat the mistakes of her grandfather and father."

At the end of the long table, the king moved abruptly. He raised his head and revealed his eyes in the shadow of the backlight.

"In the midst of the boiling discussions, in front of everyone, the Grand Duchess forgave and forgave the prisoners on the guillotine, and untied them one by one, and finally helped Ivan Borado, who was heartbroken, with her own hands. ,tell him……"

The scar-faced man changed to the next file, with a solemn tone:

"'On the battlefield you wounded my people, but in answer, 'Ivan the Surprise,' I will spare your life in exchange for an end to war and hatred.'"

The secret agent's voice fell.

The meeting room was silent again.

A few seconds later, Thales sighed with emotion, and said intentionally or unintentionally:

"Small-minded, narrow-minded?"

Joke Man's expression became very unnatural.

"absurd!"

Viscount Coney couldn't help but speak:

"The kindness of a woman! She dares to let the tiger go back to the mountain in a foreign land, all that awaits her is death..."

But before he finished speaking, the secret department's spies opened the next document:

"The Grand Duchess also issued a 'Peace Order' in public."

"Dragon Clouds City's entire army, regardless of generals or soldiers, must not kill or abuse prisoners of war, harass and loot residential buildings, obstruct public security, or affect the order of people's livelihood during their stay at Liberty Fort."

The scar-faced man raised his head:

"If there is any violation, she will punish them severely in the name of killing souls with the dragon spear."

As soon as this remark came out, not only Viscount Coney, but also Duke Cullen was startled.

"No way?"

The Prime Minister frowned and said:

"Then her vassals, can her army bear it? How will she satisfy their greed? What are they spending money and food for? Traveling to see the scenery? They have suffered countless casualties, how can they even out?"

"She really thought that if she didn't kill dozens of leaders as an example, the members of the Liberty Alliance would be obedient? Doesn't she have any smart people to stand up against her?"

The imperial ministers whispered one after another, and many of them also found it hard to understand.

Su Duo's words sounded steadily:

"After experiencing the fiasco before, and facing the prestige of the Grand Duchess's campaign, I guess, her subordinates don't have much courage to oppose it anymore."

The scar face of the secret department nodded:

"As the deputy commander, Kierkegaard with the highest status was the first to kneel down to obey orders."

"The rest followed suit."

"Don't dare to doubt."

Thales was in a daze, as if he had returned to the hearing day in the Hall of Heroes, where Selma shouted weakly, but all her vassals looked cold and unmoved.

"As for Liberty Castle..."

Scarface read his information:

"The Grand Duchess strongly recommends that the governor of the alliance ask the veterans of the alliance to take out their savings and donate land to help the poor to relieve their distress."

"Even adjust laws and regulations, reduce and exempt service taxes, reset courts, and retry old cases."

"By the way, solve the 'food and accommodation problem' of the armies of Dragon Clouds City."

As soon as this remark was made, Gilbert beside Thales took a deep breath with complicated eyes.

"Her? To 'suggest' the governor of the alliance, to 'suggest' the group of elders?"

Joke Man hehe twice:

"Ha, either the Grand Duchess' attitude is sincere and touching, or the elders of the alliance are of high moral character and listen to advice..."

"That's not clear," Gilbert said quietly:

"But I guess, no matter the sword in her hand or the cutting edge on the guillotine, they must be very sharp."

"At the beginning, some people were not very enthusiastic, and the 'suggestion' was positive and negative," the scar-faced man said with a frown:

"So later, the Grand Duchess sent Meteorites to have a sincere talk with the elders..."

Talk to the Meteorites...

Thales only felt a phantom pain in his left wrist.

"It is said that a few people were so eloquently said by the meteorite that 'the conscience died of shame', and the rest..."

The spy of the secret department raised his head to conclude, and stepped back respectfully:

"It's much more enthusiastic."

The princes in front of the imperial court exchanged a clear "oh" look with each other.

"It's changing the law again, and setting up a court," Connie the Minister of Commerce and Trade said with a frown:

"Why didn't she just put the red dragon flag on the black background on the top of the city, and seal it to a trustworthy Northlander, announcing that Fort Liberty belongs to Exeter from now on."

Thales smiled.

"Because she, or the people under her are smart enough."

Gilbert looked solemn:

"Know how to weigh advances and retreats, to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages."

"In this way, when she occupies it, she does not have to bear the burden and pressure of ruling."

"When you leave, you will only gain endless nostalgia and fame."

Boom.

The king tapped his finger on the long table, startling everyone.

But he didn't say anything, just continued to look at the military adviser.

Suduo got the signal and cleared his throat:

"Anyway, this life, the poor people all cheered."

"The veterans of the alliance are generally emotionally stable."

"The armies of Longxiao City have also been appeased."

"In this way, the Grand Duchess of Walton was soft and hard, and she was kind and powerful. Coupled with the loss of the previous war, Fort Liberty, which was already at the end of its battle, lost the last bit of strength and will to resist."

With complex sighs, Soduo looked at the white chess that stood out from the crowd:

"'Blazing Lady' took the city peacefully without any effort."

Unknowingly, Thales pursed his lips.

But he knew it must be far from "effortless."

"Lady Blazing Blood?"

Viscount Coney frowned and said:

"real?"

Sodo snorted softly:

"That's what people call her, or do you want me to call her 'Lady Dragon'?"

Connie smiled and said nothing.

Soto continued:

"Since the capital has fallen, coupled with the turbulent suffering, the other towns of the Freedom Alliance have no fighting spirit, and they are looking forward to surrender."

"The Exeters, such a dramatic comeback."

The military advisor sat down slowly, and stopped moving the chess pieces that had already been decided.

Minister "Money Bag" coughed:

"My question is, she was lost on the battlefield and far away from her home country. It was the most desolate time. She had no soldiers and no money. How did she get the support of those poor people from other lands?"

"You can't recommend yourself a pillow mat, let them all sleep together?"

Thales glanced at Joke Man expressionlessly.

This lord is really old...

In fact, you might as well retire early.

he thought so.

The secret department's spies stepped forward again.

"I don't know, but we discovered that the title of 'Blood Dragon' came from the mouths of these poor people, and then spread to the people of the Northland."

Connie wondered:

"Why is this nickname?"

"She set herself on fire, and then rode into town in a carriage?"

The scar-faced man shook his head.

"There are all kinds of versions. Some people say that they witnessed the flying dragon descending from the sky and captured the city for her..."

Connie frowned:

"Is it really a dragon?"

But he noticed that many ministers present were shaking their heads at him.

"impossible."

Thord Red spoke again, seemingly annoyed:

"You may have just entered the imperial meeting not long ago, Viscount Connie, so you don't know yet."

"But according to the secret agreement between 'Black Eyed' John and the entire Kingdom of Exeter hundreds of years ago," the military advisor snorted coldly:

"As an extraordinary existence, the queen of the sky will only intervene in the affairs of the world when disasters reappear."

"Otherwise, we would have been reduced to ashes five hundred years ago."

Gilbert coughed, reminding his old friend to be careful with his words.

"Just worry about disasters? I mean, it still appeared in Longxiao six years ago—"

Viscount Coney wanted to understand something, his face was a little livid.

"Oh, oh, so it turns out..."

Thales thought about the scene of dancing with the dragon six years ago, and remembered that the Queen of Sky told him "you have a nice name in dragon language", and couldn't help but glance at King Kessel in the distance.

But unfortunately, the king is still as stable as a stone sculpture, motionless.

"Of course, Lord Connie," the scar-faced man from the Secret Department said knowingly:

"For hundreds of years, we have always been vigilant against the possibility of the giant dragon breaking the oath."

"However, so far so good."

Connie nodded awkwardly.

The scar-faced man continued:

"As for the nickname of the Grand Duchess, some people say that she can burn enemies to death with dripping blood, and that she can spread dragon wings and fan the wind when she takes off her clothes, and some even say that she howls twice at the sky on a full moon night sound, you can become a dragon..."

"The one on the night of the full moon, that's the legendary werewolf," Suduo couldn't help interrupting when he heard these claims getting more and more outrageous:

"It was long ago killed by the 'Wolf Enemy' with the immortal hunter."

The secret department's spies understood the meaning of the military adviser, stopped chanting the information, and concluded along the way:

"So none of this is credible."

"Why this nickname came from is still puzzling."

The ministers whispered again, and Thales noticed that Gilbert gave Vicar Stylianides a questioning look, and the latter shook his head.

Right now.

"What kind of girl is that?"

A thunderous voice sounded, and all the officials stopped discussing and looked towards the end of the long table.

The scarfaced man bowed to the king's shadow:

"According to our information, her parents..."

But he is immediately interrupted:

"Thales."

The king's voice came slowly, making Thales startled:

"I'm asking you."

Joke Man's eyes lit up:

"That's right, His Royal Highness the Duke lived in Dragon Clouds City for six years, so he must be very familiar with her, maybe a friend..."

But the chief financial officer immediately thought of the scene where the prince interrupted him just now.

After figuring out the cause and effect, Qiu Ke's face immediately turned pale, and he quickly lowered his head, not daring to speak again.

What kind of girl is that?

Is it the little girl in the library with her glasses and bright eyes, or the shivering little girl in ragged clothes in the Palace of Heroes?

Is it the little girl who gritted her teeth in the ruins and dragged herself hard? Or was it the glaring, angry, raised-armed Grand Duchess in the Hall of Heroes?

For a moment, Thales had mixed feelings.

The Duke of Xinghu took a deep breath, then looked towards the end of the long table, and met those extraordinary eyes.

"That girl looks calm and gentle, safe and harmless," the prince said quietly:

"Even sometimes, it looks a little... dull."

"But little... Selma?"

Thinking of the scene where the girl refused to go with him, Thales lowered his head and curled the corners of his mouth unknowingly.

Gilbert frowned.

"She's a real fighter."

After reminiscing about the past, Thales raised his head, his words were extremely firm:

"No matter what you face."

"Blaze, dragon, or... king."

There were whispers from the ministers around.

Until the other side of the long table, the king said coldly:

"Is it."

Thales paused slightly: Gilbert's elbow touched him gently.

The second prince reacted and coughed:

"Cough...I mean, she could be a difficult enemy, and of course, a potential ally."

Facing the scrutiny of the whole table, Thales said seriously:

"Fortunately, I don't have a bad relationship with her... I mean, I can talk to her."

The princes looked at each other in blank dismay.

The king was silent for a while, and then he spoke:

"Is there any trick to deal with her?"

Thales frowned.

"There should be," he said without changing his face:

"I'll go back and think about it."

Thales couldn't see King Kessel's face clearly, but the other party's voice still came steadily:

"Can she be our ally?"

Taylor's eyes brightened:

"certainly."

"She holds real power in Longxiao City, not a puppet of her vassals?"

"certainly. "

"Have you ever slept with her?"

"certainly--"

Um?

Thales' face changed before he finished speaking, and he quickly added the second sentence after he realized it:

"--No."

There was a moment of silence on the long table.

For some reason, Thales inexplicably felt feverish in the face of many unclear gazes in the conference room.

After a few seconds, the king's scrutinizing eyes finally moved away from him.

Only a strange nasal voice was left to the boy:

"snort."

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