"What the hell are you talking about!"

After reacting, Grand Duke Ronny could no longer hold back his anger and shouted at Thales.

Thales eased his breathing and looked at Ronnie calmly.

They didn't like this suggestion. The prince took in everyone's expressions and came to this conclusion.

Not only Ronnie, but almost all the Grand Dukes except Lombard were extremely dissatisfied. Even the oily Trudida exhaled from his nose to express his disdain.

But Thales had already anticipated their reaction.

Next

"Look at me"

Archduke Alessio raised his heavy sword again, his eyes blazing: "Let's kill this poisonous snake first, and then kill each other?"

"Prince Thales!" Archduke Leko's deep voice was full of sternness at this moment: "I advise you"

Thales took a deep breath, Selma shook her head at him from a distance.

"Two minutes are not up yet," the prince put on the most serious expression he could imagine: "Keep your word, let me finish. After that, you can cut me into as many pieces as you want, no problem!"

Grand Duke Lecco remained silent, with a look of disgust and anger on his face.

Thales immediately turned his head.

Lumba was looking at him with a complicated expression.

I have to find what they care about, Thales said to himself.

"If you become their new king," Thales said to Lombard resolutely, "even if you let them walk out of here alive, the archdukes will not be able to openly disadvantage you, and they will not be able to make up reasons to attack their own king because

This is a violation of the oath of co-governance!"

"In addition to getting rid of their threats to you, you will also gain the status, prestige, and taxes of a king, and continue to practice your ideals in Exeter without having to face the angry Longxiao City after the death of the Grand Duke."

Lumba's brows furrowed and tightened, and he hesitated to speak.

"Impossible!" Grand Duke Ronnie interrupted them through gritted teeth: "I will never be able to choose a regicide as my king for the rest of my life!"

"This in itself is the greatest trampling and insult to the oath of co-governance!"

I knew Thales was saying silently in his heart.

Thales could only close his eyes again, take a breath, and turn to them.

"This is a necessary compromise!"

The prince said categorically: "Your Excellency Grand Duke Ronnie, I know that your vassals have always been unstable, and Nunn also used this as an opportunity to try to interfere with you. Please think about it: if your Qiyuan City lost its lord today."

"Think again about Longxiao City now!"

Ronnie suddenly choked on his words.

Thales looked at the others with an anxious expression and a sincere tone:

"Everyone, please put aside your unnecessary emotions and think carefully: this is already much better than your original ending!"

"If I hadn't appeared, think about what would have happened to you: stepping into Lombard's 'virtuous king' trap without knowing what was going on, falling apart in the war and interests, weakening in his successive schemes, and inexplicably...

Become the stepping stone of power for the Grand Duke of Black Sand, and sacrifice your own family as a burial object of the oath of co-governance."

"Laying the foundation for the new Kingdom of Exeter without the presence of the Grand Dukes," Thales gasped, "waiting helplessly for his family and territory to be wiped out."

Alessiu straightened his face and looked directly at the Duke of Black Sand.

Lumba lowered his head after hearing this, his eyes tightened, and his eyebrows raised, as if a storm was brewing.

"But now you have successfully avoided that outcome and learned such important information," the prince's words resounded: "But you have to die in the Palace of Heroes in vain, leaving an Eckster who doesn't know where to go, and let your family

And the territory is in turmoil?”

"Accept my proposal, at least you can safely return to the territory, return to your own family, go back and take a look at your brothers, wives, children, relatives and friends, arrange everything in an orderly manner, and then stand together again to fight against your new king

, be alert to the new threats in the undercurrent!”

Grand Duke Trudida snapped his fingers inexplicably, with a subtle expression.

Thales eagerly awaited the response from the archdukes.

"You mean," Grand Duke Lecco stabilized his emotions and stated the essence of the prince's suggestion word for word: "You want us to give this regicide the power and status of the king of a country, and give him the initiative and protection in the struggle.

We put our shield in the hands of this traitor in exchange for our own miserable existence."

The bald old man's tone changed and his eyes were like daggers.

"And then wait for him, as the king, to kill us one by one and build his own kingdom?" At this moment, the old Grand Duke was like a volcano before it erupted, which was disturbing: "You underestimate us Northerners too much.

Prince Thales."

"We would rather die here!"

Lombard sneered just right and received the angry looks of the archdukes.

Thales sighed painfully.

Damn Northlanders.

I have to solve their worries.

The prince closed his eyes, pulled his head to the left to the maximum arc, and then threw it back fiercely:

"No!"

"Even if he becomes king, he will not succeed," Thales winked with a headache: "At least, at this moment, you already know Lumba's plot, his ambitions, his threats, and be wary of his existence.

, even as his vassals, you can counter him accordingly."

Thales desperately recalled the current situation of Exeter that Gilbert, Putilai and Little Slippery once told him, trying to spell out a strong argument: "For example"

The prince's words were stuck midway, and he didn't know what reason to use to convince them.

"for example"

However, when Thales was in trouble, a childish female voice intervened in the conversation.

"You are not the Duke of the Kingdom of Stars. The power and status of Grand Duke Exeter is much greater and higher than that of the Guardian Duke."

Thales was stunned.

With surprise and surprise, the eyes of the princes all turned to one side.

The young Thelma's voice was trembling, and with a cowardice that had not yet diminished, she rubbed the triumphal ring on her hand and stammered:

"Even if the king has a higher status than you, even if you have to pay taxes to him, it's still the same as before."

"You guys" Thelma choked up, but then she swallowed her throat, clenched her little fists, and said hard with a blushing face:

"Article 7 of the Co-Government Oath stipulates: 'I obey the king's orders, and my land obeys me.' As long as there are legitimate reasons, you can still refuse the king's orders and refuse to implement his decrees on your own land."

The Duke was all startled.

"There is also Article 14: 'Under righteousness, you must not refuse war.' Its opposite meaning is that in the face of a war that violates principles and righteousness, as long as you give reasons and convince your vassals and subjects, you will have

You have the right to reject the king’s conscription order. Even if troops must be sent, it is up to you to decide how many people to send.”

Lumba's face turned ugly.

Thelma continued timidly: "Also, there are precedents that are not written in the oath, but are recorded: If the king wants to send officials to coordinate your territorial affairs or conflicts between lords, they must be nobles with considerable status.

"

"You may have to pay taxes to him, but the proportion of payment is generally determined by your own territory meeting, based on the annual harvest and income. This is the practice after the 'Tan Civil War', first proposed by the first Archduke Alessio

of."

Archduke Olesiu's expression suddenly became very exciting.

"So, you don't have to be afraid of the king," Thelma took a deep breath: "In Exeter, both the king and the grand duke are the owners of the land. This is the default power of the grand duke under the oath of co-governance."

Lombard closed his eyes tightly: So, this is why the oath of co-governance must be destroyed

There are such restrictions

Exeter will always be a ten-headed dragon.

Thelma continued: "It's just that in the past ninety years, under the high pressure of Longxiao City, many princes have been forced by various pressures and dare not openly raise it."

"But the Black Sand Territory is not Longxiao City. He neither controls your trade routes nor controls your grain storage output, nor is he your blood relative to interfere in your internal problems."

Thelma breathed a sigh of relief, her face flushed. After saying this, she suddenly realized that the princes were all looking at her.

The girl quickly lowered her head nervously.

The princes, including Lumba, looked at her in surprise, as if they were meeting this girl for the first time.

that girl

What exactly is

Thales breathed a sigh of relief and cast a grateful look at Thelma.

"right!"
To be continued...