Realm of Power

In the early morning, the personal servant tremblingly woke up the sleeping Deputy Minister of the Royal Ministry of Feize, Kurusdi, "Sir, someone from the palace is calling an emergency meeting."

"Emergency meeting? Did something go wrong in the battle ahead?"

Kurusdi, who was fifty years old, unexpectedly glanced outside. It was still dark. The war ahead had the Ministry of Military Affairs operating at full capacity. Not to mention the 200,000 troops isolated in Paput, they were confronting the Central Allied Forces. More than 100,000 Feize troops consume a large amount of military rations and supplies every day, which adds a lot of white spots to Kurusdi's hair.

"These are the Imperial Guards. It seems something terrible happened." The valet handed over a hot towel.

"Something serious?" Kurusdi frowned slightly, took off the washed and white uniform of the Ministry of Military Affairs from the hanger, walked to the hall, and saw a bright fire in front of the hall, on both sides of the road, All stood the Royal Palace Guards with long red and white tassels on their helmets hanging down to their waists.

"Lord Kurusdi," a Guards officer saw him and immediately came over, stood at attention and saluted.

"What's going on?" Kurusdi nodded to the Guards officer and asked with a serious expression. Although the other party was a Royal Guardsman, in Feize, the power of the military has never been completely subordinate to the royal authority. of

"Sir, we have just received a secret report that the six southern vassal states have rebelled together." The officer took a deep breath and said with a cold face. "His Majesty has just issued a blockade order and ordered the Imperial Guard to arrest all those who have relations with the six southern vassal states." The character ""What, how could the southern vassal rebel?"" Kurusdi was shocked, or felt very bad. Fezer's current situation was already quite embarrassing, although the war was still optimistic. situation, but actually. As the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs who coordinates the kingdom's military forces, Kurusdi is very aware that the kingdom's military forces have been deployed to the point of being almost empty without even realizing it. The entire kingdom has a standing army of 500,000, and 200,000 are deep in the Paput area. Two hundred thousand people confronted the central coalition forces. Most of the rest are on the coast to cope with the pressure from the Falcon Empire in the north. The Ministry of Military Affairs has just submitted a report on recruiting troops to the king, but His Majesty the King has not yet responded. The southern vassal rebelled at this time. What the hell? What's going on?

"I don't know the specific situation, but please get in the car!" The guard looked strange and made a gesture of invitation, which was obviously what he meant. It's not convenient here. If adults want to know, you can get in the car and ask again.

"Okay" Kurusdi coughed dryly and walked onto the carriage parked outside. As soon as he closed the door, he saw a group of guards holding torches coming and going, rushing like wolves into a southern vassal shop opposite his home. A scream and the sound of sharp weapons being cut into the body soon came from inside the noble's mansion.

Kurusdi knew the owner of that mansion, a duke from the southern vassal kingdom. He is an old man who has lived in King Feize for twenty years. He was received by Kurusdi personally. It would be a joke to say that this person is rebellious. However, nobles from the southern vassal kingdom like this, in The number of people in the capital of Feize is definitely not small. Along the dark long street, there were everywhere the guards holding torches who broke in in the name of hunting down traitors. At a corner of the street, Kurusdi saw a dozen headless corpses lying in a pool of blood. This bloody scene made him frown slightly, and the sound of dogs barking came from the dark streets around him. But it soon turned into a dead silence,

"If everything is handled like this, a lot of people will die tonight," Kurusdi said in his heart. "How was the southern rebellion confirmed?" Kurusdi put down the curtain of the carriage and asked the doubts in his heart. As a soldier, The deputy minister himself didn’t know about the rebellion in the south, but how did His Majesty the King, who lived deep in the palace, know about it?

"Your Excellency, do you still remember the report some time ago that all eleven important material warehouses of our army were destroyed at the same time?" the guard officer paused, glanced out the window, and said, he and Kuru were the only ones in the carriage. There were two of us, Sidi, so we had less worries about talking.

In fact, the officers of the Imperial Guard are also full of flattery. In Feize, the Imperial Guard belongs to the royal family and does not belong to the military. However, Feize has been a country for hundreds of years. The Imperial Guard, which was superior in combat power, has become a competition among the nobles. The place in the background is either seniority-based or the Imperial Guard's. Those general positions have always been occupied by several major branches of the royal family. A general Guards officer will reach the top if he can climb to the level of captain throughout his life, and this Guards officer is already a squadron leader. If you want to reach the level of general, the only way is to join the military.

It is not unconventional for the Royal Guards to be transferred into combat forces, but the premise is that the military must agree to accept it. As the deputy minister of the Ministry of Royal Affairs, Kurusdi has extraordinary weight in the military. If Kurusdi can be obtained With such a good comment from an important military official, the road from the Guards to the military will be much smoother.

After all, in Feize's military world, although the Imperial Guards have a good appearance, they are actually looked down upon by others. They wear extremely gorgeous uniforms and hold extremely bright weapons in their hands, but they have never been on the battlefield in their lives. To a certain extent, Fezer's royal guards are not a combat force. Their duties are more to protect the safety of the king and to be used as honor guards in major celebrations. That's why they have this waist-length helmet that is fancy but has no practical value. tassel,

There is even a joke in Feize's military circles. If His Majesty the King doesn't like anyone, he only needs to let the heir of this family enter the Guards. That basically declares that the heir of this family has no chance of military merit. A family, no matter how illustrious it is, will be quickly annihilated over time.

"I know about that matter. Didn't I find out later that the loss was due to the continuous rainy season, which caused damage to the material warehouse itself?" Kurusdi nodded, and he was grateful for the guards officer's flattery. When he saw Kurusdi Looking at Sidi's expression, the Guardsman was so excited that he couldn't contain himself and continued.

"I heard that it was just a false report to cover up the facts. In fact, these eleven supply warehouses were built by the servants of the southern vassal kingdom. These vassal servants did it deliberately, causing the kingdom to be in such a difficult moment. Suffered heavy losses." The guard officer's tone was full of anger. "I have long heard that those southern People are nothing anymore. If it weren't for the blessing of the kingdom, how could they have such a peaceful life now? You don't need to feel pity for these despicable southerners. The kingdom is so kind to them. Not only do they not know how to be grateful, but they also rebel against the kingdom's orders. , if decisive measures are not taken to deter, the consequences are unpredictable. "

"Bad Southerner?"

This word made Kurusdi a little stunned, and the guard officer in front of him looked sad and angry. It made him feel a little touched in his heart. This guard officer must have felt very hurt. This was probably the attitude of most Fezer people when they heard about this matter. Sure enough, the domestic information blockade against the southern vassal kingdom was very outstanding. In the minds of some Fezer people, it is the Fezer Kingdom that protects these southern vassals. Otherwise, these southern vassals would have been swallowed up by various enemies. It is the Fezer soldiers who are sacrificing their lives and blood for these southern vassal kingdoms. However, these southern vassals What did the vassal do? Expropriating a little material is like killing them.

In fact, how many people know how serious Fezer's exploitation of the southern vassal kingdoms is, because 80% of the food and materials are sent to Fezer. How many people in these kingdoms starve to death every winter? Only then can there be a long line of transportation from the south to Feize, only can the nobles of Fezer enjoy luxury, and only then can the kingdom of Fezer still maintain more than 500,000 people even though its business is not developed at all. In terms of military strength, even against the Conflict Empire in the north, there is no weak national power. How could the South, which had been suppressed by Fetzer and showed almost no resistance, suddenly rebel?

He was thinking about what the Guards officer opposite had revealed. Kurusdi's face suddenly darkened slightly, and a shocking guess flashed through his mind, no way! His Majesty the King can even do such a thing? Kurusdi took a deep breath, and even he was frightened by this conclusion.

The rebellion of the southern vassals is a farce directed and performed by His Majesty the King!

He suddenly identified the southern vassal rebellion, and vigorously mobilized the imperial guards to strangle all the nobles of the southern vassal kingdom in the capital of Fezer. This is not about suppressing the rebellion. It is obvious that the country's current material shortage has reached a considerable level. In order to maintain the frontline war from collapsing, His Majesty the King has taken plundering measures to target these southern vassals. In order to express his support for the Kingdom of Feize Surrender. Each of the southern vassal kingdoms has hostages stationed in King Feize, and they own considerable properties in King Feize. After more than a hundred years, one can imagine the wealth accumulated. If all were confiscated, it would definitely be a fortune. A sudden fortune that can support the continuation of the war! Even if the southern vassal kingdom resists fiercely, what use will it be under the heavy pressure of 200,000 Feize troops on the front line?

In Fezer Palace, between the cold and magnificent column decorations, Kurusdi seemed to smell a smell of killing and blood. Since His Majesty the King raised the butcher knife against the southern vassals, there should have been a follow-up Means, Kurusdi took a long breath, and guards holding torches stood on both sides of the corridor. The long walkway leading to the meeting hall is guarded by palace soldiers armed with sharp weapons. It is cold, gloomy and silent, with only the sound of heavy footsteps echoing, the flickering firelight and the shadows. This feeling makes people shudder.

"Kulusdi, you are late." King Fezer raised his head from the map he was examining and looked at Kurusdi who walked into the meeting hall.

"It's not that I'm late, it's that His Majesty's decision is surprising." Kurusdi looked around at the officers coming and going. The entire meeting hall was simply a headquarters. There were maps on the wall. Several staff officers of the Guards were talking about They were arguing about something while pointing at the coordinates. A sand table of the southern vassal kingdoms made of clay lay in the middle of the meeting hall, with colorful flags on it.

"It seems that you know, so I won't talk nonsense!" The king walked towards the sand table with a serious look, took the pointer from a guard officer, and pointed to an area in the sand table. "I will give you fifty thousand people, one How much food can you raise in the south within this month?"

"Fifty thousand?" Krusty was stunned. How could the kingdom spare fifty thousand now? He was the Deputy Minister of Military Affairs, how could he not know! Unless Krusty's face changed, was His Majesty the King crazy? With the moral character of the Royal Guards, they had long been rotten to the roots. Could they still be sent to fight? "All of you go down first!" King Fezer waved his hand to the officers around him, and the officers left quickly. After all the officers left, King Fezer turned around and looked at Krusti aggressively and said, "I know what you are thinking, but these are the only reserve forces that the kingdom can mobilize at present. I give you one month to fight whatever you can. In fact, I don't want to do this, but there is no way. The grain in the treasury is less than two months. The Falcon Empire in the north has cut off the grain trade, and no one in the south trades with us. If we can't get food in the south, it will not only be a problem of starvation, but also a problem of the collapse of hundreds of thousands of troops on the front line. I found that we fell into a trap from the beginning." (To be continued.)

...