When Thales was invited out of the Mindis Hall by Gilbert and Ji Ni with serious expressions, he still had no idea what happened.
"What's the matter?" Thales stepped out of the fir gate of Mindis Hall for the first time in twenty days, looking at the familiar dark carriage with a puzzled look on his face.
"Gilbert will explain to you." Ginny's unsmiling expression made him nervous, she flicked the whip in her hand, jumped onto the driver's seat lightly, and replied briefly: "All you have to do is get in the car immediately. "
Thales turned his head ignorantly. The middle-aged nobleman took out a car stool from nowhere and placed it gently on the ground.
"Please, Mr. Little."
"Ms. Ginny doesn't like to sit in the car. Sorry, you have to put up with an old man like me in the car with you." Gilbert's attempt to release humor failed completely, and even the two horses could sense what was on his mind Heavy, deliberately avoiding him.
What's going on here?
Feeling restless and apprehensive, Thales stepped onto the carriage bench and carriage pedals, and glanced back at the guards in Mindis Hall, only to see that they had no intention of leaving with him. As if sensing Thales' gaze, the swordsmen headed by Jorah bowed their heads in respect.
"They won't come with us - a carriage, it's more low-key." Gilbert said lightly.
Thales looked at the extremely dignified expressions of the two, held back the desire to ask the truth, and just asked, "We set off this time...will we come back?"
"It depends on His Majesty's will," Gilbert said in a heavy tone, "Excuse me for being rude, but we must set off as soon as possible."
The matter is so serious?
Thales stopped talking and simply got into the carriage, followed by Gilbert and gently closed the carriage door.
In the dimly lit carriage, there are still the crimson sofa from 20 days ago, the glass embellished with asphalt, the carriage decorated with the nine-pointed star emblem, and the shimmering luminous paint.
Jinny's whip was brisk and rhythmic, but the speed of the car was much faster than the last time Gilbert was driving, and of course, it was also bumpy a lot.
While the carriage was bumping up and down, Gilbert watched the Mindis Hall gradually disappear out of the window under the moonlight, and looked at Thales solemnly.
"Time is running out, so I'll pick the key points."
Except for the conversation in the secret room, Thales had never seen Gilbert so serious, which made him feel uneasy.
"The envoys of the Kingdom of Exeter are scheduled to visit the stars around the New Year." The middle-aged nobleman looked at Thales seriously.
Thales narrowed his eyes, trying hard to recall the history of the mainland in the past twenty days.
Kingdom of Exeter.
The human hero of the End War, the country established by Nakaru X in the Northland.
The Great Dragon of the North, the Kingdom of Heroes, the Blade of the Western Land, and the strong northern neighbor of the stars.
Gilbert continued solemnly: "An urgent report came from the northern border: three days ago, the Exeter mission was on the way south to the central government... all were robbed and killed, and no one was spared."
Thales opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
"The victims included six Exeter nobles, and... Prince Moral Walton." Gilbert sighed:
"He is King Exeter and Grand Duke of Dragon Clouds, the only son of Nun VII, the heir of the Walton family, and the next Grand Duke of Dragon Clouds."
The traverser gasped.
The most powerful country in the western continent, the only son of the king, and the heir to the territory.
Was robbed and killed in the territory of the stars?
"Including the accompanying star nobles, there are no survivors at the scene, and there are no clues. There is only a line of blood written on the ground with the blood of the victims..."
Gilbert looked straight into Thales' eyes, nodded slightly with worry on his face, and said, "If the stars are there, the empire will last forever."
The family motto of the Canxing royal family?
Thales was taken aback.
"This kind of clumsiness and naivety is obviously a means to blame and provoke conflicts between the two countries..." Thales thought carefully about the nature of this matter,
But he suddenly realized something, raised his head in disbelief and asked, "It really works?"
"Unfortunately—it's useful, and it's bad." Gilbert whispered.
Very bad? Thales' heart trembled.
The carriage drove out of the Evening Star District, entered King Street, and drove towards the Central District.
King's Avenue is one of the largest streets in Eternal Star City, second only to the traffic hub in the north of the Central District, Xingju Square where merchants and shops from all over the world gather, and the big bazaar where lower-level residents gather at the west gate.
Unlike the roads in the Xiacheng District and the West Ring District that are still illuminated by torches and animal oil lamps, the lights on King Street are all indelible lights second only to the Dongcheng District. Or, shop merchants shouting softly (some shops that do night business, such as clothing stores and watch shops are still open), domestic servants who come and go to the nobles in a hurry, officials who come and go to entertain, and even real nobles in carriages or walk by.
Here, their carriage is unremarkable.
Located at the junction of the Evening Star District and the Central District, King Street has a very high proportion of either rich or noble classes. Compared with the Xingju Square and the Grand Bazaar that Thales has seen, this place is more conservative and quiet, less The former is noisy and lively, and the latter is rude and vulgar, but even here, ragged beggars and tramps can be seen on both sides of the road from time to time, moaning and reaching out to passers-by.
Luckily, the carriage is equipped with one-way glass, so the movement inside the carriage was unexpectedly discovered by the outside.
But Thales's mind is now on Gilbert's words, and he hastily glanced at these street scenes.
The words of the former foreign minister continued to ring in my ears:
"The key lies in the "Fortress Peace Treaty."
"At the end of the Bloody Year, Exeter invaded, and Broken Dragon Fortress fell. From the northern border, Yadi, Xihuang to the East China Sea, most of the stars were caught in the flames of war. The major generals are weak, and the kingdom is almost desperate. Your Majesty who just succeeded It is even considered that children under the age of fourteen should be recruited into the army."
Gilbert let out a long sigh of relief, his eyes were lost in thought, as if he was thinking of the years of war.
"Because of the fear of the northern dragons from the Western Land countries, and the concern of the Eastern Land Suye and Hamble on the Western Land affairs, we did our best to mediate diplomatically and strive for the intervention of other countries, and finally forced Exeter's troops to attack Had to go back the same way and sign a peace treaty, and Exeter was even forced to vomit out a piece of wasteland occupied by the stars before the bloody year."
"I was the signatory of the "Fortress Peace Treaty" back then, and I couldn't be more clear about this."
Thales' eyes lit up: "We lost the war, but won the negotiation?"
Gilbert nodded, but there was no relief on his face: "This is too bad—this is not so much a peace agreement, but a record of humiliation."
The carriage drove forward for a while, and there were many more beggars on the road, some of them even extended their hands to Jine who was the driver, but the cold-faced court ladies ignored them all, and the whip became more brisk.
"At the moment of successive victories and the wealth of the land is within reach, being forced to truce or even cede land by the coalition of various countries is more shameful than losing the war-many lords of Exeter, especially the southern and The princes on the border of the stars were so angry that the "Peace Treaty" even shook the rule of King Nun. In the past ten years, the relationship between the dragon and the stars has been below freezing point, and a large number of asphalt deposits have been newly discovered in the northern border , the East China Sea has deep-sea whales rich in oil sources..."
Gilbert sighed.
Exeter, a country and nation that is still taking shape——Thales said in his heart: War is needed to sharpen the entire national community.
"The lords of Exeter, at least the three grand dukes bordering us, are all eagerly looking forward to the war—they are eager for a large amount of land, resources and wealth that were readily available twelve years ago, but ultimately missed."
Gilbert shook his head and looked out of the window with sadness in his eyes:
"That's why the Exeter Mission came to visit. They are determined to restore the "Fortress Peace Treaty", and they want to redefine the border between the two countries."
"And now, the envoys were robbed and killed halfway before reaching Eternal Star City—can you imagine the scene when the news was sent back to Exeter?"
The carriage bumped over an uneven road, and the entire carriage shook.
Thales frowned: "Do you think it was the lords in Exeter who planned this robbery? Just to provoke a war and compete for territory and resources?"
Gilbert raised his head, his eyes were very scary at this moment.
"It's worse than this." The former foreign minister said coldly: "Exter adopts the king election system, where the great lords vote and the king is jointly elected - in recent decades, the Walton family has been on the throne It has been sitting for two full generations—and Nun VII is by no means a beauty that everyone loves."
Thales suddenly said: "So, this is the common demand of some lords of Exeter to seek resources from the outside, and to change the king internally?"
"It's getting closer, Mr. Little, one more step forward, one step forward." Gilbert carefully guided the kingdom's only Canxing bloodline, and said indifferently:
"During the period from the assassination of the mission to the consequences, the pressure of this matter will be entirely on His Majesty Kessel's shoulders. How to make a decision, how to respond, whether it is war or peace, what method, strong and weak, honorable For the humiliation, His Majesty will bear all the responsibilities—from now on, all nobles in Xingchen will keep their eyes on Fuxing Palace."
"What do you mean?" Thales asked suspiciously—even if he was a genius, he was not in the context of the noble rules and could not understand the meaning of this matter.
At that moment, Gilbert's eyes suddenly became complicated and profound, making Thales unpredictable.
"First of all, although the handling of this matter is complicated, whether it is war or peace, His Majesty cannot escape the accusations of being cold-blooded, ruthless, indifferent to the people, or weak and deceitful, and humiliating the stars. This will greatly damage His Majesty and the Canxing royal family. Domestic prestige and authority."
Thales' pupils shrank suddenly - he began to understand the meaning of "worse than this".
"Secondly, to deal with this major event, whether it is military mobilization or national decision-making, it requires power far beyond the territory directly under the royal family. It requires the coordination of the entire star and the cooperation of the lords. This means——Your Majesty must obtain the lords, especially the six The full support of the big rich and the thirteen famous families, and this is not without price!"
The price—Thales was shocked—for example, the next candidate for the Star Supreme King?
"Once again, the war has advantages and disadvantages. It not only brings crisis, but also brings about the rewashing of power in the country of the stars - after the baptism of war, the weak will be eliminated, the old will lose their place, the strong will survive, and the living will be stronger - some lords We ushered in the end, while the other part got a new life."
Under Gilbert's scorching eyes, Thales sat in the carriage blankly, feeling the bumps and vibrations.
"Finally, there is no heir to the royal family, and the stars have not had an heir for twelve years," Gilbert's voice suddenly rose: "What could force His Majesty to choose an heir earlier than an imminent crisis in the kingdom, for A possible war, leaving a way out? Even, once in this crisis, a certain venerable family makes a move to obey the popularity and gather the support of small and medium nobles, who knows if they can become the next bright star, The next royal family?"
silence.
Thales looked out the window blankly.
He understood what Gilbert meant.
It's just that he was shocked by the fact that his brain was burning and thinking about it, and he couldn't let it go for a long time.
Gilbert looked at his expression and shook his head slightly.
I hope that this kind of cruel and bloody game for thousands of years will not scare off this clever and talented little gentleman.
After a while, Thales spoke dumbly.
"So, this is not just the wish of Exter: war and king change. It is also the wish of many people in Xingchen: to compete for the royal family." Thales added the final conclusion with difficulty:
"The assassination of the envoy was the result of many political factors... It was an inevitable thing that happened under the tacit understanding of the careerists of the two countries..."
"That's right." Thales spat out the last two words, using an affirmative sentence.
Gilbert looked at his state worriedly, blinked hesitantly, and said: "In view of the current situation of the royal family, your existence and appearance, whether facing the lords domestically or facing Egypt internationally Kester, will become the target of public criticism - for your safety, I will suggest to His Majesty to postpone the recognition of your..."
"Is it worth it?" Thales didn't pay attention to Gilbert's words, he spoke softly, interrupting the middle-aged nobleman.
Gilbert frowned.
"What kind of person is looking forward to and looking forward to the arrival of war?" Thales asked feebly.
"This is not a game of capturing and counting each other on the board." Thales slowly closed his eyes and clenched his fists: "This is war. It is two groups of living people standing face to face, depriving each other reasonably and legally." life, until one side is deprived of ... war."
"They have experienced the disaster of the Bloody Year, why are some people still looking forward to war?"
"Just for a crown? To enjoy authority and power in a dilapidated and decayed kingdom, on a barren and starving land, and among a numb people? Then rule for more than twenty years in hardship, fear, and suspicion, and then The same misfortune, imposed on your descendants?"
"does it worth?"
Gilbert wanted to answer, but was at a loss for words.
Thales, who had no answer, shook his head with a low expression.
However, this is probably history.
The history of human behavior.
There was another silence in the carriage.
The carriage drove away from the bustle of King's Street, and there were more and more beggars outside the carriage, and Jine had no choice but to use the whip to scare them away.
"This is not just war." Gilbert looked at his students with a worried face, and said softly, "This is politics."
"We are all gamblers aiming for power."
"Land and people are nothing but bargaining chips that can be exchanged."
"The difference between winning and losing is just a transfer of chips."
"This is the game between the nobility and the country."
Thales raised his gaze and chuckled helplessly: "Yes, war is a continuation of politics—a game of power, a feast for crows."
But I don't like this.
In his heart, a voice whispered.
The traverser's peripheral vision shifted to the window of the car, where a beggar stretched out his hand with a sad face, touching the axle.
Looking at the group of beggars in the royal capital, Thales thought in a low voice: This is already a dilapidated kingdom——
etc!
The carriage passed by a bright unextinguishable light, Thales focused his eyes, and instantly saw the beggar's hand clearly.
Those were a pair of rough and calloused hands.
But the calluses are not evenly distributed in the areas where the hands of laborers and beggars are used to touching and bearing weight, which are common to him. Instead, they are concentrated on the thumb and index finger, and near the tiger's mouth.
His brain immediately started spinning.
He has also seen such a unique callus on another person's hand.
Yara Surriton.
Thales was startled, and turned to another beggar, then the third, and the fourth...
"Gilbert!"
The middle-aged noble looked suspiciously.
Thales said calmly:
"Something's wrong."
"These people are not beggars."
The traverser took a deep breath:
"They...they are..."
Yordle's hoarse voice came faintly from the void, taking over his words:
"It's an assassin."