Law of the Devil

Earl Raymond's dungeon is at the bottom of this floor.

Robinski didn't lie, the place where Earl Raymond lives is indeed a clean single room that has been specially taken care of.

After his subordinates opened the iron gate, Du Wei saw his father sitting behind the desk reading a book with a relaxed face.

In one hand, he gently held the second volume of the heavy "General History of the Mainland". He read it intently. It was definitely not pretending, but he was really immersed in the book.

Even when Du Wei came in, the former Earl just raised his head, with a slightly relaxed face, and greeted casually:

"Oh, here you are."

This tone, this demeanor, is almost the same as the expression Du Wei had when he walked into his study in the Earl's Mansion.

Baron Robinski withdrew tactfully, leaving the father and son alone to figure it out.

Earl Raymond was still holding the book and didn't intend to put it down. Du Wei looked at the cell with his hands behind his back.

Objectively speaking, this is still a very clean room. The floor, wall and ceiling are all piled up with huge and solid stones. Moreover, it is said that in order to prevent the prisoners from escaping (many of the detained generals are martial arts masters) ), it looks like a wall made of stones, but in fact, a layer of steel plates are embedded inside.

There is only one big subway window in the room, which is very high from the ground. A little sunlight can come in from the outside. The subway railings on the window are already full of rust. The place where I live is deserted and musty, and there are some mottled ground in the crevices of the ground on the window sill.

Other than that, the room is still very clean, but as a prison cell, there is only one hard bed inside. Although it is covered with white sheets, it is conceivable that it is definitely not as comfortable as the bed in the Earl's Mansion.

A desk is an extra special care for the head of the Luo Lin family.

Besides that, the last thing left is a dung bucket placed in the corner.

Simple. Rough, cold.

This is the prison cell of a generation of famous imperial generals who once held a lot of power and led the imperial navy fleet to expedition thousands of miles to Nanyang.

Du Wei was not in a hurry to speak, and Earl Raymond didn't seem to be in a hurry either. He still calmly turned over the last few pages of the second volume of the Continental Mastery in his hand, and then he let out a sigh of relief. Stretching his waist, he slowly Standing up, he stretched his muscles and bones on the spot, turned his head to look at Du Wei, and said with a calm smile, "I guessed that you would come, but I didn't expect you to come so fast. I thought I would have to wait a few more days." .”

Then he pointed to his own bed: "Sit, the only place to sit here is the bed."

After Du Wei sat down, Earl Raymond had put down his book, looked at his son quietly for a while, and then asked slowly, "How is your family?"

"It's not bad." Du Wei hesitated for a moment. He said: "The deployed guards took control of the defense of the imperial capital, and the mansion at home was surrounded by the guards, so they couldn't enter or leave for the time being, but because of my relationship, they were a lot more polite. Apart from the inconvenience of getting in and out of the house, the rest of the place is relatively safe."

Count Raymond nodded: "Where are your mother and brother?"

Du Wei sighed: "Mother's mood is very bad, and the body is not very good. But I invited the teacher of the temple to see it, but I was worried, and there was no big problem. My brother is still young. I have been a little emotional recently, But I will protect him."

Earl Raymond pondered for a while. Then he raised his head, his eyes were shining brightly, and looked at Du Wei: "Then, what should I call you now? Or... just like everyone else. Call you Lord Duke?"

This tone made Du Wei feel as if a needle had been stabbed in his heart. He turned his head slightly and did not meet Earl Raymond's gaze directly: "Do these words make sense?"

Both father and son fell silent.

After a long time, Earl Raymond laughed, and he laughed a little self-deprecatingly: "Yes, what you said is right. It really doesn't make any sense for me to say that.

In fact, I just can't let it go. Although I have lived here for a few days, I have reminded myself that I have to face the reality of failure, but there are few people in this world who can really be willing to face such a situation. Ruoyi..."

After finishing speaking, Earl Raymond stared at Du Wei, his eyes seemed to be trembling, his lips parted and then opened slowly, and finally he uttered a sentence: "You are fine, fine... Son, you are stronger than me."

Seeing that Du Wei seemed to be about to speak, Earl Raymond waved his hand: "Listen to me first. I was locked up here for the past few days, and I was very unwilling at the beginning. But these two days, I have calmed down. , read quietly, read this general history of the mainland, and suddenly understood it in my heart.

We are born in the field of power, struggle, intrigue, life and death. Some people are famous, some people are ruined. But in the end..."

He casually pointed to the book next to him: "After a hundred years, everyone will be written in this book. No matter how beautiful it is, it will be just a sentence in the book."

Du Wei didn't speak, and carefully savored his father's words.

The count looked at his quiet son, his eyes were a little eager, and then he lowered his eyelids. He said in a low voice, "I've been thinking about where my biggest mistake is. I've been thinking about it for the past two days, but I can't figure it out. It was only later that I figured it out... I was wrong, not because I was fighting for the throne for the eldest prince, nor because I was on the wrong team. In the political arena, no one has a lifetime of glory. Some people win and some lose, it's nothing. I The biggest mistake is that I didn't see you—my son clearly from the beginning to the end."

"You are outstanding, even far beyond my expectations." Earl Raymond smiled sincerely, looking at his son: "On the square that day. You broke with the family in public... ...Actually, both you and I knew what was going on. Du Wei, I didn't really regret it until that moment! Because I saw you clearly, and saw that you were actually responsible for this family in your heart, You want to keep your family safe. That's why you broke with the family in public... That kind of behavior shocked me. If I said that when you returned to the imperial capital, many things I said to you were false, and even sent someone to The matter of assassinating you on the way was also my decision. I hurt your heart afterwards. In fact, I didn’t regret it at the time. Because I always thought that it was worthwhile to lose a son and protect the family. But that day, on the square You actually took the initiative..." Earl Raymond sighed, staring at Du Wei's eyes: "Until that moment, I regretted it! Du Wei, your excellence exceeded my expectations, and far exceeded! I suddenly understood .I lost not just a son, I lost an excellent heir I dreamed of! Unfortunately... I was wrong from the beginning. But it pushed you further and further away. When I understood, the crack between us was closed It cannot be made up."

Du Wei didn't speak.

"I lost the coup, but I don't hate you. Because of the incident that day, I think about it carefully now, and I feel that Prince Chen planned everything first, but he kept it secret. It's so smart, really It is not comparable to the First Prince. On that day, he followed one after another, from the temple to the magic union, from the guard army to the knight's gun. And his means of winning people's hearts, his foresight... These are far superior The eldest prince who supported me. I read the general history of the mainland in the past two days, and I saw one thing in the history. I suddenly understood. This is an inevitable law. The strong are respected, and the weak will naturally become the strong. Jishi. What happened that day, I guess you didn't expect that Prince Chen would win in the end?".

Du Wei nodded and admitted: "I really didn't expect that. Originally, I planned to be. If the First Prince's coup succeeds, I will take advantage of the chaos to rescue Prince Chen and save his life, and I will be worthy of him."

Earl Raymond smiled: "That day, with you and without you, we were all doomed to failure. So. I have become like this now, and it has nothing to do with you."

Du Wei heaved a sigh of relief. He looked at his father with a calm face, and then said slowly, "Father, tell me, what should I do to protect the family?"

"Huh?" Earl Raymond was taken aback, he really didn't expect Du Wei to ask such a question.

"I promised my mother." Du Wei said lightly: "One day when I'm here, I will definitely not let the glory of the family be destroyed."

Count Raymond was silent for a while, then sighed: "You have already done it."

He smiled wryly and said, "Although you have nothing to do with Luo Lin's family in name, who would really think that in the heart of those nobles and ministers? Although I have fallen, everyone will regard you as the Luo Lin family. Continuation. I used to be just an earl, but now you are a duke. Although you were given the surname Rudolph, who would take it seriously? You know that although I failed in the coup d'etat that day, after I was captured with nothing, I was not in despair, because at least , but you managed to save it, you stayed, no matter if, it was a seed left by the Luo Lin family."

"What should I do?" Du Wei asked in a deep voice, his eyes fixed on his father.

He came today to ask for advice from the bottom of his heart.

Although the coup in the imperial capital was over now, Du Wei was favored by Prince Chen, and he was made a duke when he was young. Pagandorf, now even among the magicians, he is considered one of the top in the mainland. Such a character can almost be said to be the most popular person in the imperial capital.

But Du Wei himself also understands his own problems. Although he has been a man in two lifetimes, he is conceited and smart, but he is not born to understand political things.

Although he was born in an aristocratic family all his life, he has tried his best to avoid curling up in these things since he was a child. His experience in politics is definitely not something that talent and intelligence can make up for.

In politics, in this field, Du Wei is very clear about his position, and he is still a complete rookie! Although he has been a man in two lifetimes, he has never experienced the real test of politics. No matter how good he is in other aspects, he still can't think of becoming a qualified politician.

Being in the imperial capital. Although the limelight has been gaining momentum recently, Du Wei has already faintly felt a sense of crisis.

Since that day, the prince gave him the map of the Roland Empire in public, and let him draw out the territory at will. At that moment, Du Wei could clearly feel the envious and even jealous and hostile gazes from his colleagues around him!

Du Wei's side. Although there are many strange companions, there is Hussein in martial arts, Gargamel in magic, and Medusa. But there has never been a think tank who can really serve as his staff—— Because in the past, he felt that it was unnecessary, his own brain was enough. With the experience of being a human being in two lifetimes, Du Wei even unconsciously developed a sense of superiority towards the people in this world.

However, it was none other than Prince Chen who shattered his superiority!

At that time, the prince was strategizing, one move after another. After driving the eldest prince to death, this prince who kept his secrets and was always smiling and gentle to others made Du Wei feel a little bit of deep fear!

Just to make a joke, sometimes Du Wei even had an absurd thought: Who is the one who came here? This prince Chen is even more like a person from time travel than himself!

It was only later that Du Wei realized that this had nothing to do with time travel or not. Political things, without the experience of being in it, without that kind of environment, absolutely cannot be tempered.

Since I was a child, I have been trying to avoid the vortex and live a peaceful and free life. Prince Chen has been in the fierce imperial power struggle in the palace since he was a child. The difference is really hard to calculate.

After much deliberation, perhaps only this father who has lost power can clear up his doubts.

It can be said that this strange pair of father and son has never really had such a heart-to-heart relationship like today. Du Wei is seeking advice wholeheartedly, and the Earl who has lost power is also wholeheartedly for his son at this moment: after all, he has already fallen. Taiwan, the hopes of the Luo Lin family are all pinned on this son!

"If you really want to preserve the hope of the family..." Earl Raymond smiled wryly: "Then the most important thing you should do now is to keep a distance from me! Keep a distance from the original Rowling family!"

The earl tapped his fingers lightly on the table, and slowly said: "As soon as I fall, Prince Chen will have to clean up! This is inevitable. No matter how much he values ​​you, it is impossible for you to save your face." And let the Luo Lin family go! Therefore, in the short term, the Luo Lin family has become a quagmire and vortex, whoever suffers will be unlucky. And now you are my only hope. To preserve the hope of the family, you must first protect yourself! So , for a period of time, the best way for you to stay away from the vortex of Luo Lin's family is to show a detached appearance to the outside world, expressing

You have really broken with the Luo Lin family, it has nothing to do with it! "

After a pause, Earl Raymond smiled and said, "Do you know why Prince Chen still puts us guys here instead of killing them?"

Du Wei nodded: "I know.

He sighed: "Whether it is Luo Lin's family or Solomon's family, they all have their own territory and their own private army. Prince Chen is such a smart person, of course he knows that if you rashly kill you now, then the first family The territory is in chaos! The Luolin Plain is almost the private property of the Luolin family, and everyone there is proud of being part of the Luolin family. If you act rashly, the territory will be in chaos, which will lead to civil strife in the empire and even lead to civil war... How could a person like Prince Chen not understand this truth?"

"That's right." Earl Raymond looked at his son with satisfaction: "You see it very clearly. So, I'm not dead now, because Prince Chen wants to free up his hands first, and play this game well. The family's territory has been taken back, and the private army has been dismissed. Finally, we will come to settle our charges. Anyway, we leaders are locked here, and we can't escape. We are always in his hands. One day earlier Kill. What difference does it make to kill one day later? So, he is not in a hurry, and he can still gain a good reputation for generosity."

Du Wei frowned: "Do you think he will kill you?"

"It's hard to say." Earl Raymond smiled wryly: "I can't help it..." At this point, his face suddenly changed, and he looked at Du Wei solemnly: "You must promise me two things!"

"Say." Du Wei sighed. He already guessed what his father's request was.

Sure enough, Earl Raymond's face was serious: "First, if Prince Chen orders me to be executed one day in the future, you must not try to dissuade him, let alone try to make him change his mind! Du Wei, you must understand that the emperor is Emperor. He may look at you differently, but the bottom line of the emperor's heart is absolutely not allowed to be challenged by anyone! Once you challenge his bottom line, no matter how good he treats you, he will never show mercy to you! So. As I said just now, at present, protecting yourself is the best way to leave hope for the Luo Lin family. Therefore, if he wants to kill me, you must not do anything from it. Best The way is to say nothing, don’t ask!”.

Du Wei said nothing: "What about the second one?"

"Second..." Earl Raymond's eyes showed a trace of loneliness: "After I die, take care of your mother and younger brother. If you read the words of affection. In the future, after you get married and have children, choose one at random. Son, changing his surname to Luo Lin is already my greatest request to you."

Du Wei was silent.

The downfall of Earl Raymond not only caused his own misfortune, but also Du Wei's younger brother Gabriel was implicated. The crime of a coup is not a common crime. Although the order has not yet been issued, the line of Earl Raymond is sure. In the future, I will never want to set foot in an official career.

A sentence of never being knighted is enough to make this line never turn around in the future.

That is to say, Gabriel will never be able to turn himself into a nobleman for the rest of his life, and the same is true for Gabriel's descendants.

After this coup, the final winner is undoubtedly Prince Chen himself. Or to put it further, in fact, such a coup has actually brought a certain degree of stability to the imperial power.

Although the Roland Empire owns the entire continent and has a vast territory, it has not known how many rich and noble families have been enshrined since the founding of the country for thousands of years, and the land on the continent has been seriously annexed. Moreover, every family of hereditary nobles has their own land and private army, as well as the right to tax. One country after another has been established. This is obviously a cancer growing on the empire.

And in this coup, many aristocratic families that supported the First Prince were almost wiped out. The nobles were cut, the territories were taken back, the private army was dismissed... and so on.

After some statistics, the central government of the empire has reaped a lot, and the territory directly under the central government has increased a lot.

Points can also be converted into a ready-made local garrison (of course, the transfer of changing regions is inevitable.)

Recovered a large area of ​​land, reduced a large number of private troops, and recovered the wealth accumulated by many wealthy families, which made the originally tense imperial finances eased a lot.

Prince Chen does have the potential to become a generation of Mingjun. He is very wise in dealing with the finishing work after the coup d'état. He is not in a hurry, little by little, cut off a little today, and cut off a little tomorrow, less than ten Today, he almost cut down the influence of several wealthy families in his hands. Obviously, he did not prepare these things today, and most of them were premeditated. Since he mobilized the local garrison non-stop, several areas He switched defenses back and forth between them, while monitoring the disturbances in the aristocratic territories involved in the coup, while cleaning them with lightning speed.

After doing one thing at a time, the order is clear and the effect is very good.

In less than half a month, the tense atmosphere after the coup d'état in the entire imperial capital was swept away. The imperial capital was bustling again, and after the coup, Prince Chen, who bought a lot of people's hearts, immediately gathered around him a group of people loyal to the imperial family. Noble family.

But at this moment, Prince Chen, who finished the preliminary work, finally turned his attention to the leaders of the coup d'état who were imprisoned in the inner prison of the Supervisory Office...

The property of the Solomon family has almost been confiscated. On the Rolling Plains, the four local garrison infantry regiments in the provinces of Cote and Lille have been driven from all sides, supervising the private army on the territory of the Rolling family. The resignation was completed. The Luo Lin family cooperated very well and did not show their stubborn resistance. This has a lot to do with Earl Raymond's wisdom. The old earl understands that the situation is over. .

In the end, the places on the Luolin Plain have been taken over by officials appointed by the central government of the empire, and teams of local garrison troops have replaced the original private army of the Luolin family.

However, extrajudicial favors are mostly because of Du Wei's face. The Luo Lin family still retains the Luo Lin Castle in their hometown and the surrounding land of more than ten miles.

Prince Chen has been very proud of himself recently, but he still has that calm look of not being surprised by favor or humiliation, without the slightest feeling of pride and complacency, but the extraordinary energy and wisdom of this young prince has already made many veterans of the empire look at him differently.

Originally, when Augustine VI was in power, this overjoyed old man had already tossed the empire's finances into a mess, and several finance ministers were finally swept home. The decline of the empire was seen by smart people. And this After the regent came to power, he wiped away his stagnation and acted decisively. Moreover, he arranged everything first, which immediately made the government of the imperial capital a little bit more vigorous.

It is said that the Minister of Finance who has been frowning every day to repair the land, after the first day of government administration of the Regent, returned home at night, this strict old man was so broken that he drank a pot of wine, and while he was drunk, he was lying in the yard. Shouting: "The empire is hopeful! The empire is hopeful!"

It is conceivable that Prince Dichen is very popular at this moment.

Finally, on this day, the Regent and the Minister of Finance looked at the list of the report, looked at the details of the land recovered by the empire, and the resigned land was expensive.

The family private army, and how much revenue can be added to the central government's revenue each year in the future, etc., the regent smiled slightly and sighed. Said: "The overall situation has been decided."

The Chancellor of the Exchequer was so excited that he almost shed tears on the spot.

He has worked in this position for ten years, and the most uncomfortable thing every year is that he can't make ends meet. He goes around tearing down the east to make up for the west, looking at the long income list in front of him, thinking that he doesn't have to worry about financial income in the future, without those military Boss Fang and people from other departments came to collect the money, and the depression in his heart was swept away.

And then, at an internal meeting of a small group of Prince Regents, Du Wei finally replied to Prince Chen's decision about his territory.

That day, Prince Chen boldly threw the map and asked Du Wei to choose it at will. Such a thing is no small matter. Facing the envious or hostile gazes from around, Du Wei is no longer the kid who just entered the political arena. He smiled at that time Laughing, just said to go back and think about it.

During these days, Du Wei went to the prison of the Supervisory Office three or five times. Each time, he talked with his father for a long time, and also gave Baron Robinski some money to treat the two hundred and five generals well.

Finally, on this day, Du Wei held the map with both hands in front of many of Prince Chen's cronies: "Your Highness, I have made up my mind."

"Oh?" Prince Chen said with a smile on his face, "Okay. I think you must be too picky. Tell me, which feng shui treasure land did you set your sights on?"

Surrounded by envious eyes.

Du Wei slowly unfolded the map, and everyone around couldn't help looking at it with their heads up. Most of them agreed: This young Duke will probably choose the southeast!

The southeast has fertile land, pleasant climate, favorable weather, and dense population. It is the most prosperous area on the mainland. In addition, the imperial navy has made overseas expeditions time and time again. The maritime trade is becoming more and more prosperous, and the wealth is also abundant.

With the title of Duke of Duvey, it must be no problem to point to a province near the sea in the southeast. On the contrary, it has a province with millions of people, fertile land, and several large ports far away. If you continue to do overseas trade, you will make a lot of money in the future, not to mention the wealth is incomparable to the country, I am afraid it will not be much worse! .

But after Du Wei slowly unfolded the map, he stretched out his hand and pointed on the map with a smile on his face: "This is the place I'm looking at."

He pointed his finger at a corner of the map, and everyone who looked at his finger was stunned!

Prince Chen originally had a warm smile on his face, but it gradually disappeared at this moment, and he took a deep look at Du Wei. His voice suddenly became a little dry: "You...have you really thought it through? Is this your final decision?"

Du Wei met the regent's eyes, and said slowly: "I figured it out, I want to be here."

Everyone around showed unbelievable expressions. For a moment, I am afraid everyone thought that the young Duke was crazy.

"Don't you regret it?" Prince Chen had already stood up, staring at Du Wei.

"I don't regret it." Du Wei shook his head, then he suddenly smiled, and slowly bowed his body: "Please the Regent!"

This time, Prince Chen's face was still calm and gentle. He gritted his teeth and stared at Du Wei. After a long time, he breathed a sigh of relief, dropped a word, and then didn't even look around. Many trusted subordinates turned around and walked out of the palace gate behind them.

"allow!"

On June 10, the summer of the 960th year of the Roland Empire, the coup d'état finally came to an end. All the aristocrats and wealthy families that participated in the coup d'état were wiped out, the land was cut and the army was disarmed, and even the capital of the empire and the mansion were left behind. Confiscated, the whole family can only leave the imperial capital in despair, seeking to survive on their own.

Afterwards, murderous orders came down from the palace!

The families involved in the coup d'état. Killed all the way down from Marquis Solomon.

But there is only one exception. Earl Raymond of Rollin's house has become "retired of all titles and never titled".

Just such a soft word, but Earl Raymond's death penalty was exempted. However, the earl's mansion of the Luo Lin family in the imperial capital was also taken back, and the Luo Lin family was ordered to leave the imperial capital immediately and return to the land on the Luolin Plain. Rollin Castle retired.

In addition, there is an episode: the empire has not conferred the title of duke in a hundred years, but the newly promoted young duke, Lord Du Wei, is so honored and favored by the regent. Don't let go of so many geomantic treasures, But it just pointed to a place that makes people dumbfounded...

Northwest, next to the Kilimaro Mountains, "Desa Province".

A barren, ignorant, and even barbaric backward area. From the perspective of financial income, the annual income of such a province is not even higher than that of a wealthy medium-sized city in the southeastern region.

Even more unknown. Because this scene will never be recorded in any orthodox historical materials:

After Du Wei pointed out the territory that day, Prince Chen returned to his room. The usually gentle and good regent suddenly became angry and smashed all the things in the bedroom that could be smashed into pieces. The trusted guards around him They were all dumbfounded, and they didn't know why the noble regent was so angry.

"He still refuses to be loyal to me! He still refuses!!" Prince Chen kicked over a three-foot-high coral shelf, and shouted angrily: "The Luo Lin family gave him the land, and I gave it! I gave it to him, and I gave it to him! But now! He takes the favor I gave him, but he only wants to exchange the life of old Raymond!! He is toward the family! To the family! One by one, only the family’s Loyalty is more important than me!! Could it be that in this world, I can’t find a person who is completely loyal to me!! Du Wei, Du Wei! I thought you were an alternative that could satisfy me! But You let me down! So disappointed!!!!!!!"

Father, you are right, if you want to protect yourself, I really shouldn't save your life...

But, I am Du Wei!

If I don't... I, am I?

Du Wei walked out of the palace with a smile. A sincere smile.

I, go the way I choose! .