Kingdom’s Bloodline

"So His Highness is saying that Zhan used Kevin Deere's power and credibility as a guarantee to string together new chains of interests..."

A quarter of an hour later, Federico sat opposite Thales, crossing his hands and thinking carefully.

"...Wrapped the Emerald City airtight, and if you take him down, you will destroy the ruling order and institutional foundation of the Emerald City, which will then affect the current status of the industry, sources of funds and market conditions, and even endanger public safety and public confidence."

Thales sighed and nodded:

"When the Emerald City wants to preserve its own way of life, it must protect the Duke's family. Even if it is as powerful as the central royal power, it cannot overthrow the Kaiyuan alone without touching a single bit of the Emerald City and without affecting the existing interest structure. Vendir’s Reign.”

Federico's expression was solemn:

"And if His Highness insists on going his own way and is determined to implement arbitration and find out the truth..."

Thales hummed:

"What the Emerald City will have to bear is not just economic and profit losses, it may even be an overall decline in civilization and systems, which is not in the interest of everyone - including my father."

Federico was silent for a moment.

"Well, using the entire Emerald City and even the South Coast Territory as hostage to make you surrender is indeed something Zhan En can do."

He shook his head:

"It's a pity that this is an area that he has specialized in for many years after seizing the position of city lord. I am ashamed of myself and cannot defeat him in this field."

Thales' hope failed and he couldn't help but wonder:

"Even if you replace him as the city lord, ensure that Kevin Dill's prestige remains unchanged, and declare to the outside world that everything is business as usual, in order to restore the confidence and order of the Emerald City?"

Federico's eyes moved slightly.

Thales tried:

"Even if I use my power to weave the truth, remove the stigma on you and your father, and tell the entire kingdom that you are the orthodox heir to Iris?"

Federico looked back at Thales:

"And this is why you tested my ambition before?"

Thales smiled politely.

Federico's eyes flickered for a few seconds, but after a few seconds, he still shook his head slowly.

"Of course I can ascend to the position of city lord, but the problem is, your highness, neither you nor your majesty will allow 'business as usual'. Since I can't give Zhan the kind of guarantee and protection, the confidence and order of the Emerald City will also be There is no way to recover.”

Having said this, he looked at Thales cautiously:

"Unless you can promise: from money to personnel, from the army to taxes, not to touch a single penny of the Emerald City?"

Thales sneered upon hearing this.

How can it be.

Isn't that why he's here?

"If I could do it, why would I come to talk to you," Thales said disdainfully, "Why don't I just go knock on the door opposite and ask Zhann Kelvindir to re-assume the position of city lord? Everyone is satisfied and happy?”

Of course, we don’t know whether you, Federico, are satisfied or not.

"Exactly."

Federico thought seriously and couldn't help but sigh:

"As expected of Zhan, with the power of the duke and the foundation of generations of ancestors, he has a dual identity in the Emerald City: one is a ruler based on the old world, and the other is a changer who brings a new order, thus occupying the leading position in the Emerald City. Make the most of your advantage: In the old world, there was no one stronger than him in the Emerald City who could fight against him. In contrast, in the new order, all new forces relied on his breath, and they were grateful to him, provided him with nutrients, and received him. He has many restrictions.”

Hearing the other party's emotion, Thales frowned.

"Seeing that you are so happy, Feder, I am also very happy. But maybe I need to remind you one more thing: If I stand aside and let the situation develop, then the Emerald City will only collapse from now on, and everyone will break up. . And if I compromise and have to give in for the sake of the overall interests of Emerald City, then it goes without saying that my original intention will be defeated, but as for you..."

"As for the arbitration of my father's case, you will naturally have to compromise as well," Federico calmly took over the prince's words. "Zhan will escape punishment, and I will lose everything, and you will even end up taking it to fight with Zhan. The gift of peace.”

Thales raised his brows and raised his tea cup to him.

Exactly.

"So, for your sake, any new ideas?"

Federico did not speak immediately, but thought carefully.

Thales waited patiently.

Since everyone is going to die, there is no rush to do it right now.

"About my father and my uncle, Your Highness, you are right," Federico said a few seconds later, "Their political differences back then started from their different positions and the different people they cared about. ”

He continued:

"My uncle set an example and forced the nobles and vassals to sacrifice and change. He firmly believed that the renewal of power would eventually lead to the rebirth of the Emerald City and even the South Coast Territory. However, my father insisted on laying a solid foundation and working step by step. Nothing should be rushed."

Federico said, lost in thought:

"As brothers and blood relatives, they should have cooperated well and cooperated with each other to protect the Emerald City through the difficulties."

Seeing that the other party was distracted again and his words were inconsistent, Thales couldn't help coughing:

"Fed?"

"Sorry," Federico came to his senses, "Don't worry, my highness."

His eyes immediately lit up and he felt confident.

"Just imagine, if the Emerald City is really as interconnected and integrated as Zhan said, and if the new order created by him and his predecessors is really so powerful and invulnerable, then how did he end up in the predicament he is in now? As for using the Emerald City as a threat, using this final and weakest bargaining chip to threaten you in an ugly way? "

"How do you say that?" Thales rolled his eyes.

Federico smiled coldly:

"Your Highness, you might as well think back to how we defeated him before and made Zhan En so disgraced that he couldn't even sit on the position of city lord?"

How did you defeat Zhan?

Thales was thoughtful after hearing this.

"You dug up old scores, accused him of patricide and false accusations of marriage, denied his inheritance rights, and questioned the legitimacy of his position as city lord and title of duke."

The prince recalled:

"As for me, I invoked the law of the stars and brought up the old rules of the nobles, forcing him to give up his position as city lord and accept arbitration."

Federico nodded slowly.

"In Zhan's view, he cleverly used the power of Duke Kevin Dill to make guarantees, replace the old with the new, and force the South Coast Territory, from noble vassals to countless common people, to turn around, and successfully promoted the Emerald City to move forward and reform. Then he climbed into the car, hid behind the scenes, and let the Emerald City move forward, as if this would make him invisible and avoid the wind and rain. "

Federico looked sharply.

"But he forgot something."

Kevin Dill, known as Scarlet Iris, stood up with a smile on his face, but there was no trace of warmth:

"Kevin Dill's power to guarantee and win trust, and even to force and reform, still comes from the kingdom's old enfeoffment jurisprudence. That is to say, in the new world, the raw materials he uses to build a chain of power are still from the old era. of earth and stone.”

Thales' eyebrows moved.

"The so-called Queen of the City, the Emerald City is actually far less trendy, advanced, and civilized than Zhan boasted. In fact, this city is just a powerful old power rooted in this land to rob other weaker land dignitaries. , feeding new industries and classes, giving new powers, coaxing and deceiving, and building a shaky castle in the air. "

Federico began to pace in the room, and his words became more and more fierce:

"The so-called new order and new chain he created based on the Emerald City, which is integrated up and down, is nothing more than a hybrid monster of old and new. Among them, the oldest and most decadent one is also the most irreplaceable..."

"None more than the Duke of South Bank himself." Thales thought about something and murmured.

Federico nodded.

"Zhan, or the power he represents, is just hiding in hiding, but there is no essential change: the reason why he failed to step down this time is because the ducal throne he inherited from the blood of his surname was the most traditional, original and most traditional. Falling behind has also shaken him in the most despicable way, and it has become no longer stable and reliable.”

He walked slowly and sneered slightly:

"And we didn't even use any more advanced, newer, more advanced weapons, any system reforms, any business tools, or any interest transactions, none of them were needed. In fact, all we did was use an old legal shovel. Find the part of his dual identity that belongs to the old nobles, avoid the hardest and brightest patch on the throne, and pry directly at the most decayed and ancient soil underneath."

Thales' eyes moved, thoughtfully.

"You mean, we continue to use inheritance, ethics, morality, blood, and other old legal principles to pry it again?"

But Federico shook his head in denial.

"The soil has been loosened," he said excitedly. "All we need to do is to expose the rotten and stinky borers inside to the sun. In broad daylight, that's enough."

Having said this, Federico's eyes were as sharp as hidden blades: "Let Zhan, or rather, let Emerald City itself, do the rest for us."

"It is better to die because of friends than to die because of enemies."

But Thales couldn't help but frown:

"What do you mean? How to do it specifically?"

Federico turned his head and smiled coldly:

"Your Highness, do you still remember that when Zhan stepped down and the power of Emerald City changed, I wrote to you to recommend that Miss Cecilia be appointed as the regent of Emerald City."

Thales was startled:

"Yes?"

Federico nodded.

"It's not too late now. You can just announce that you will appoint Xi Lai as the regent or even the acting city lord." His eyes were sharp. "Just tell the public that you have finally stabilized the overall situation after the incident. Now is the time to shine." Yue, not interested in power, handed over the Emerald City to Kevin Dill, leaving Miss Hilley to worry about city affairs. "

"What?"

In shock, Thales was stunned for a while.

"I thought you had some clever plan to change the balance of the situation and force Zhan En to make concessions on his own. But the result was...using his sister?"

"She is also my cousin." Federico's eyes were complicated. He walked behind Thales' seat and stopped. "I said, Your Highness, when facing Zhan En, we don't need anything advanced or sophisticated. The simpler and more direct the political means or weapons are, the better. We should make use of our strengths and avoid our weaknesses, rather than using weakness to make us stronger.”

Thales did not look back, he shook his head in disbelief.

"First of all, Feder, you have to know that whether it is you who 'seeks the truth' and uses extraordinary means to remove Zhan En from the position of city lord, or I have tried my best to make the Emerald City temporarily agree and get used to being ruled without Zhan En. , we finally defeated him in Emerald City."

"That's right," Federico nodded. He rubbed the back of Thales' chair and sighed, "It's not easy."

"Secondly, you underestimated Heeley," Thales said as rationally as possible. "This girl is close to her brother and is dedicated to saving Zhan En from prison. It may not be a wise move to hand power to her: if she comes to power The first order after that is to summon Zhan En to participate in government affairs, so that he can actually return to the center of power? "

"It makes sense, but because of this," unexpectedly, Federico nodded in agreement with Thales' words, and he thought, "So Your Highness, you cannot give up the most critical bargaining chip - regarding the assassination of the Duke of Leinster. , Regarding the aristocratic arbitration of the conflict between me and Zhan, as long as this case is still in your hands, as long as you can decide how to investigate, how to arbitrate, and to what extent it will be pursued."

Thales' eyebrows jumped.

"In fact, not only can you not give up, you must also vigorously investigate, pursue with all your strength, and not let go of every detail of the old case, so that Zhan will know that you are not giving in, but pushing forward: his future is still at stake. In your hands, it is up to you to decide whether he is a repeat murderer of his father, or whether he is innocent, whether he is a man who seizes a high position, or whether he is a legitimate duke. "

Federico started pacing again.

"Then, you might as well explain to my cousin this way: The predicament in Emerald City has made you very anxious, and also made His Majesty furious. If the situation continues like this without improvement, I'm afraid Zhan En's life will not be saved..."

What?

Thales' eyes widened.

"Therefore, for the sake of her brother's life, I would like to ask Miss Heeley to help me regardless of the past grudges. As long as she overcomes all difficulties in the position of city lord, whether it is selling off her property or borrowing debts, as long as she can stabilize the rule of the Emerald City and keep the This kingdom’s cash cow…”

Federico's footsteps sounded behind Thales, and there seemed to be incurable poison in his voice:

"Then maybe you, no no no, I should say, will His Majesty the King be satisfied and treat her brother more 'fairly' when arbitrating for us, at least allowing him to save his life?"

At that moment, Thales felt chills all over his body.

He vaguely guessed the other party's intentions, which made him even more uneasy.

What are you doing?

In this way, Naxi Lai will definitely try his best to overcome all the difficulties and problems he is facing now...

But in that case...

"At the same time, don't forget to let Zhan - of course, from your highness - 'know' that my sister is lucky enough to be the city lord, and also let him 'know' what the female city lord is doing at the moment. Federico narrowed his eyes.

Thales was completely stunned.

If Jenn knew...

"What on earth are you talking about?"

Federico smiled grimly when he saw this.

"Zhan has used all kinds of traps and tricks to threaten you to give in, otherwise the Emerald City will collapse than what you want," he said patiently, "but if the person sitting in the seat is his sister, then Will the back-ups that Zhan left behind in advance still work? Will he still be willing to sit back and watch the fall of the Emerald City while waiting for you to compromise with him? "

Federico’s voice was low, but the words he spat out were extremely clear:

“If the carriage wants to keep its bright parts safe, it will have to reluctantly replace the ancient parts inside... If the Emerald City wants to maintain its self and independence, it will have to turn its back on the blood of Kevin Dill... …When the Duke’s dual identities of ‘protector’ and ‘ruler’ conflict with each other…”

Federico said coldly:

"Zhan, can he still sit in the car so calmly, detached and independent, without a leaf touching his body?"

In the extreme silence, Thales took a hard breath.

"No, if I were Zhan En, I would stand still," Thales shook his head with all his strength, "Let my sister be so anxious in her position, and even make countless enemies. Even if her reputation is ruined, I will not care about it at all, unless the prince takes the initiative to arbitrate. Give in and promise to close the case and let me get away with it.”

Federico walked across from Thales and shrugged:

"Then it depends on Zhan himself. See if he is so cold-blooded that he would rather choose power and let his sister spend all her energy to become the enemy of the Emerald City he built..."

At that moment, his voice was as cold as ice and snow:

"... Or do you really care about blood and family ties, and are you willing to stand up on your own, clean up your own basket, take back your own traps, and even... run counter to the carriage you have built?"

Thales clenched his fists.

"I always feel that there is something else you haven't told me about Zhan and Shilai, and about this seemingly ordinary move."

Federico turned around and smiled.

"Since birth, Xi Lai has inherited the weaknesses of her uncle. Like her brother, she has had abnormalities since she was a child..."

Federico paused and changed his words:

"She was frail and sick, and almost died. In order to save her daughter's life, her uncles and aunts, who were dukes, even went so far as to seek help from gods and witches, stirred up controversy, and even gave political opponents an excuse to criticize. My father, on the other hand, sympathized with his niece and also spared no effort. He visited famous doctors all over the world, and even when Zhan En traveled to the Eastern Continent to study and seek medical advice, it was largely because of this sister, the treasure that everyone in the family loved. "

"Now, all the relatives of the previous generation are gone," Federico's eyes moved. "Do you think he will inherit their legacy and take pity on this sister who was once protected by the whole family?"

Thales frowned.

Sure enough, the person who knows Kevin Deere best is the one who can hurt him the most...

Only themselves.

"The most ironic thing is that whether he would rather sacrifice his compatriots for the sake of family tradition, or sacrifice family interests for the sake of his compatriots' blood relatives..."

As he spoke, Federico was lost in thought again:

"The so-called family is made up of blood relatives one after another."

He said quietly:

"When Zhan En made a choice between his family and his blood relatives, did he protect his family or destroy his family? Did he protect his blood relatives or violate his blood relatives?"

Thales raised his head and looked directly at Federico.

He suddenly felt that everything in front of him was familiar.

"You are forcing Zhan to make a choice," Thales said in a daze, "Bad, or worse."

Federico was smiling but not smiling:

"Your Highness has a keen eye."

This time, Thales was silent for a long time.

"I once promised Zhan not to involve his sister."

"Then he must have anticipated today's situation at that time, so he would use your character of making promises to block this road," Federico said calmly, "But if you follow the rules, you will really get into his trap. ”

Thales sighed.

"But if we really have to take this move, it would be too cowardly and despicable."

"Is it more despicable and despicable than Zhan dragging the entire Emerald City with him to threaten you?"

Federico snorted disdainfully.

"Your Highness Thales, I came from the plight of having nothing and no money, overcame all difficulties, fought all the way back to the Emerald City, and struggled for myself to find myself in the current situation, so I know very well: if we follow the rules, we will never win against Zhan En of."

"Because like all the powerful men in the world who have ruled for a long time," he looked down at Thales in the chair, "he has already unknowingly turned the 'rules' into his own weapons and chess pieces. You If you follow the rules, you will definitely lose.”

He narrowed his eyes:

"Whether you want to sit back and wait for the entire Emerald City to destroy itself, and your wish is in vain, or force Kevin Dill to mess up your position and take care of the overall situation. His Highness has a reputation as a virtuous man, so he must have the answer already."

Thales breathed in a daze and remained silent for a long time.

"Well, if His Highness is upright and really unwilling to break his promise, and is also worried that Shilay will hand over power to Zhan when he comes to power, then he might as well make a gesture first," Federico saw this and had to step back, " Please ask Xi Lai to participate in government affairs as an advisor, and then tell Zhan that you have plans to give up your position to her, and see how he reacts?"

After several seconds, Thales raised his head with difficulty and looked at Federico.

The latter had some free time and slowly sat down in his place, still wearing thin clothes and a thin body.

"Your Highness, are you willing to believe me?"

At that moment, Federico Kevindil looked at His Highness the Prince with a smile, but the light in his eyes was extremely cold:

"Even if we have to use twists and turns to get straight and use power to weave the truth?"

After an unknown amount of time, Thales walked out of Federico's room in a daze after receiving strange looks from the Emerald Sergeants and Star Lake Guards.

"Your Highness?"

Under Glover's worried eyes, he walked in the corridor in a daze, feeling the emptiness of Kongming Palace at the moment.

"Your Highness! Your Highness Thales!"

Miranda's voice rang out hastily, and Thales turned around in a daze.

"Your Highness, I'm very sorry to disturb you!"

The female swordsman led Conmuto and others with a solemn expression.

"But just now, a very, very terrible thing happened in the Emerald City. I want to report to you..."

"Why, do you owe money again," Thales said dully, "Or is someone dead again?"

Miranda was speechless.

"You, how do you know?"

"Is someone really dead?" Glover asked in surprise.

Everyone looked at each other.

Damn, people are really dead again.

Thales's face turned gloomy. He held his forehead and let out a painful sound.

Damn it.

Apart from good things, what else is going on in this broken city?

Even if Miranda told him now that there is a magician in Kongming Palace, he would not be surprised.

Thales laughed at himself sarcastically and feebly.

No, there is already one now.

Just sleep on his bed.

"Your Highness?"

No, cheer up, Thales, you are still in charge of a city.

Thales took a deep breath, tried to adjust his mentality, and turned to his subordinates.

"Tell me, who is the deceased?"

For Miranda to lose his composure and rush to retaliate over Marius, the person who died must not be an unknown person.

"A very experienced old judge, with high moral standing and great influence," Miranda paused for a moment, "Speaking of which, you have met him."

Thales' eyes changed and his expression suddenly moved.

"The one I saw - Grand Inquisitor Brennan?"

Miranda nodded solemnly.

What are you doing?

Thales woke up completely. He straightened his clothes and quickened his pace:

"Is it Lausanne II?"

"I don't know yet. But the deceased this time, the old judge..."

Miranda hesitated:

"He left a suicide note and old case files."

Thales frowned.

"What do you mean? What case file?"

Miranda and Glover looked at each other.

"The death of the Duke of Leinster, Your Highness," the female swordsman whispered, "perhaps there was something fishy."