The emperor was as unassuming as ever. Many people had a strange impression after meeting the emperor in the palace in Braunschweig. That was that Karl Franz had never had any airs. He was taller than many people imagined.
He is short, lacks dignity, and has a very crude sense of humor.
Metternich had a deep understanding of this. After seeing the King of Knights, who was 1.95 meters tall and nearly 2 meters tall, and Queen Surya, who was 1.75 meters tall, the emperor did seem a bit short, and not majestic enough.
Just like Ryan, when he opens his eyes, he can intimidate everyone near him, and it's not like Queen Surya, who can be the most beautiful just by puffing out her breasts.
But as a great imperialist and imperialist, Metternich believed that Karl Franz was the best and most suitable emperor for the empire. There were only two reasons. The first was that Karl Franz
It was his great-grandfather Prince William, his grandfather Emperor Leopold, and his father Luy
Emperor Tebald is the most pure and direct first-in-line successor, and the process of selecting the emperor is completely reasonable and legal. This means that the emperor never has to emphasize his legitimacy, because there is no need and there has never been a choice.
The imperial prince questioned Karl Franz's lineage and imperial authority.
The second is the emperor's excellent ability. Needless to say, although Karl Franz's ability may not be called the best in the old world, it is definitely better than the one in the north who is always prone to violence.
A wolf cub with little achievements in diplomacy, or the crazy woman Qiang from the south who knows nothing about military affairs and is keen on social afternoon tea parties, playing with fashion, arbitrating city council disputes and giving birth to children all day long.
Seeing the emperor laughing repeatedly, Metternich said nothing and waited for Karl Franz to finish laughing.
Unexpectedly, the emperor smiled, and the more he smiled, the more bitter he became, and the more he laughed, the more dry he became. Karl Franz almost pushed all the documents in front of him when he laughed. The emperor closed his eyes and endured his anger: "I think
I also want to arrange a great expedition, so that
By sending all these incompetent nobles to death, not only can we free up enough land, manors, and noble titles, but we can also select those who are truly useful from the corrupt nobles. I think it is not impossible for Rick to raise a team of 20,000 people here.
A human expeditionary force, right?”
"It is understandable that His Majesty is joking, but it must not be done." Metternich immediately denied: "This will make Your Majesty lose the support of the nobles."
"Lian can do it, why can't I?!" The emperor angrily took the towel from the table and wiped it twice randomly: "You know very well, Metternich, there are many problems among our nobles.
, I should let those greedy guys go on an expedition! All of them! Every noble family must show their loyalty through an expedition, and I not only need them to provide people, but I also need them to provide money!"
Your Majesty wants to rebel! Metternich thought to himself.
However, the diplomats also knew that the emperor's words were all angry. Karl Franz, who was rated 6 (highest) in internal affairs ability, 5 in military ability, and 4 in military ability by the dwarves, could not be so stupid. Otherwise, there would not be such a noble and noble man with such military merit.
Rick gained support from the civilian population.
Of course, there is still a gap. According to the latest correction of the dwarves, Knight King Ryan's numerical value has been raised to the legendary 667. His military ability has been rated as the highest level 7 by the dwarves, and his wife Queen Surya has formulated a plan to sell medals.
After relying on her own judgment and commanding ability to defeat the World Walker Legion of Ulfric Wanderer, her ability evaluation was also corrected, from 543 to 644.
Sure enough, Emperor Karl-Franz quickly calmed down after losing his temper. He restored his hearty smile: "I'm a little out of control. Sit down, Metternich, sit down. We still have many things to talk about."
"As you command, Your Majesty." Metternich sat down.
However, what Metternich did not know was that just as the count diplomat was observing the emperor, the emperor was also observing Metternich.
Karl-Franz's anger was all fake. He was testing Metternich's availability, and at the same time, he was also building a relationship between the two parties. Occasionally showing a little emotion in front of his subordinates would automatically make the other person feel close and trustworthy.
Now it seems that this diplomat is also a very dignified person, with no leaks, the emperor thought in his heart.
Have to try again.
"There have always been two empires, Metternich." Karl Franz decided to continue testing: "One is the empire of emperors, military nobles, wealthy merchants and manor owners. This country has fresh butter bread, lingering
"Exhausted wealth and boiling desires, as well as all kinds of devious political deals and secret operations."
"The second empire has much more people. This empire is full of people who work from dawn to dusk and are struggling on the line of hunger in poverty and ignorance. This is also an empire. Metternich, do you think I said
Is that right?"
"I don't think so." Metternich shook his head gently: "I also think there are two empires at the same time."
"One is to establish your emperor's authority under the glory and rule of our lord, by strengthening the legitimacy and maintaining the balance of power among the electors, to control the entire empire in your hands, to gather all the forces together, and to reappear as the savior
Glorious Holy Empire."
"The other is that the electors are in a state of division and ignore the authority of the emperor. They each have their own calculations. The army is scattered and weak. When encountering foreign enemies, they fight on their own. They only consider their own interests and only respect and believe in the traditional culture of their own provinces.
customs, gradually heading towards disintegration and decline of the empire.”
The emperor was silent, and Karl Franz suddenly leaned back with a smile on his face: "I give up convincing you, Metternich, maybe you are right, maybe I am right, but there is no point in discussing these now.
.”
"But your majesty, the knight kings on the other side of the mountain have completed their unification!" Metternich could not calm down at this time. He said eagerly: "I think you also understand how powerful the knight kingdom is now. It is an honor for one family and one family.
The country is prosperous and glorious, and the whole world knows that Knight King Ryan has become the hero of the great unity."
"Well said, Metternich." Karl-Franz agreed: "I also understand your request, but where is my Eight Peaks Mountain? Where is my Old Guard? The church and the church that support me.
Where is the Grail Knight?"
"..." Metternich was speechless for a moment.
"I have studied many times how Ryan achieved great unification." King Kaiser was a little frustrated: "It's enough to just talk about those great expeditions. I am also confident that the wealth of Rick's territory far exceeds anyone in Britannia.
Principality, but there are two things I can’t do.”
"The first is that Ryan has realized the unity of religious power and royal power for the first time in the Kingdom of Knights for thousands of years." The emperor gestured with a finger: "The empire was only established when Charlemagne was the chosen champion of Euric, and
The savior Ludwig came close to this standard when he was blessed by Charlemagne and the White Wolf God Ulric at the same time, but they also failed to achieve the complete unity of royal power and religious power.
Only Ryan has done this. No one knows how he did it. I tried countless methods in Vicman, but it is obviously impossible. No one can make a man with several powerful legions, independent and complete
A behemoth with a huge financial revenue and a huge administrative team can completely obey orders. His Majesty the Crown Prince cannot do it himself, but the Lady of the Lake Church can."
"Second, Ryan's personal strength... Even you have to admit that his personal strength has almost surpassed the limits of mortals." The emperor stretched out his second finger: "You know, Metternich,
Since the establishment of the Reik Guard, why did my grandfather build the Reik Guard Castle in a corner of the city instead of building it directly next to the palace?"
"There are many reasons, Your Majesty. For example, knights need space to charge, for example, eggs cannot be placed in one basket, and for example, due to land price considerations." Metternich finally spoke: "But the real reason is that the emperor will also be afraid.
The Reich Guard suddenly turned against him, so with this arrangement at least the Royal Guard, the Brunswick Honor Guard and the legendary War Court Guard will protect the emperor."
"Ryan is an army by himself." Karl Franz sneered: "And the two to three hundred Holy Grail Knights of the Holy Grail Knights... Assume that the Teutonic Guards of the White Wolf Knights and the Griffins of the Griffin Knights
If the knights don't come out, their fighting power is stronger than the thousands of knights of the eight major knights of the empire and those church knights combined."
"The Old Guards that the old world envied was actually a very difficult force to control. The strength of these elite veterans was so strong that any monarch would be afraid of the slightest problem with them and must
Immediately divide, win over, suppress and dismantle, even if the combat effectiveness is reduced, he will not hesitate." The emperor
He whispered: "Only Ryan, only Ryan can skillfully control this elite. He is not afraid of the possibility of the Old Guards rebelling. Naturally, he can completely trust the Old Guards, and the Old Guards are even more so."
Being able to feel this kind of trust, both parties can truly unleash their greatest fighting power under the binding of interests and emotions."
"This is really...impossible." Metternich had to admit that the emperor was right.
"I know you don't like Ryan very much, and you have done a lot of tricks in private." Karl Franz shook his head: "Give up, Metternich, if something really happens, I won't stand on your side, the whole of Switzerland
The same goes for Ke Ling.”
"I know." Metternich was shocked. His expression changed, and he finally lowered his head and admitted his mistake: "But Talleyrand has already accepted a lot of our belongings. If we just give up like this..."
"No, keep that one, Ryan must have acquiesced." Karl-Franz smiled and said: "We need such a secret communication channel, and you did a good job in this regard, knowing that Noor is located opposite the gate of the Baroness's palace.
That pastry shop is obviously mediocre and very expensive, so why are so many people buying it?"
"Because of what?"
"Because that store was opened by Talleyrand." The emperor wiped his mouth and said, "Well, you will attend the canonization ceremony of the ten marshals on behalf of the empire!"
"yes!"
…………I am the dividing line of the pastry shop…………
In early October, Curona, the capital of Britannia.
A grand welcome ceremony was held at the gate of Knight King Lane City to welcome the return of the Marquis of Badland and Lucien, the commander of the Three Guards of Badland.
Following Lucien's arrival was the second Haimenguan-customized ironclad, which was finally named the Varyag after many discussions.
Similarly, after receiving the name from Ryan, Lucien, the commander-in-chief of the Three Badlands Guards, also renamed his thousand-man personal guard the "Varyag Guards".
After staying in the Badland for a few years, Lucien's skin became much darker, and his whole person looked refined and hardy. Moreover, because of fighting in the desert and mountains for a long time, the temperament of this Winford man began to become like a vulture in the desert.
The same, the sharp edges are restrained, and the eyes seem to be searching for prey at all times.
Of course, his hair is also starting to go bald like a vulture.
"Commander of the Badlands, thank you for your hard work, Lucien." Knight King Ryan and Queen Surya greeted Lucien's arrival on the steps, with Morgiana standing behind Ryan.
"Everything is for the lady and the king, for Britannia." Lucien first knelt down on one knee, saluted Ryan and others, and then presented the registration list of all soldiers and residents of the entire Badland Guard, as well as tributes
and the gifts brought by the Belgato people, the king of the Eight Peaks Mountain, loaded into dozens of carts. Ryan didn’t have time to see what was packed inside, but this year Britannia also transported a huge amount of food as
The brewing materials are given to the dwarves of Bafeng Mountain.
The citizens of Curona also came out in droves, surrounding both sides of the street to welcome Lucien who had returned from the Badlands. There were also many Badland troops who had completed their rotations. Most of them had already served in the Badlands for three or four years.
A qualified and brave soldier, he also made enough wealth, and everyone had a smile on his face.
The Varangian Guards began to play music and sang the military music of the Three Guards of the Badlands. This was an Arabic-style song that seemed very familiar to Ryan.
"Ding~dengdeng~deng~dengdeng~dengdengdengdeng~"
"Ancestors, heroic spirits, ladies, gods of the old world~"
"Ancestors, heroic spirits, ladies, gods of the old world~"
"Brave and fearless, Brittany~"
"Your knight has been famous all over the world in many eras~his chivalry is unparalleled and has no equal~"
"Your knight has been famous all over the world in many eras~his chivalry is unparalleled and has no equal~"
"Knight Nation~Knight Nation~"
"Always love your lord!"
"In the name of lady, judge your enemies and let them get the punishment they deserve."
"In the name of lady, judge your enemies and let them get the punishment they deserve."
After listening to this song, Ryan was almost in tears. The King of Knights said with emotion: "This is when the Eastern Roman emperor, the third Roman tsar and the governor of the Venetian Roman Commercial Republic met in Istanbul in 1453, the Germanic court in Western Rome
The Praetorian Guards celebrated Rome's
A military song sung during the military parade held during the revival. Later, because Kasnik, the Roman Protector of the Eight Peaks, felt that this period of history was too magical, he changed the Roman orthodoxy to Britannia. Today, through Lucien Pasha you
Sultan Ben Laing is so happy to be able to hear again with his help!"
No one understood the meaning of this sentence. Only Sulia heard some strange words from Ryan all day long, such as "The green radish is also Luo" and "The emperor is also Luo". The knight queen was angry.
He patted Ryan on the arm. Seeing the awkward atmosphere, he took the initiative to take over the topic: "Your Majesty started talking weird things again. Let's ignore him. Knights and soldiers, please come in. The palace is ready.
for the banquet.”
Only then did everyone enter the palace. In the palace conference room of Kurona, Ryan and others took their seats.
"How is the current situation in the Eight Peaks Mountain?" After sitting down, Ryan asked Lucien: "How is the situation of the dwarves of the Angland clan?"
"Everything is fine with King Belegar and his clan." Lucien nodded. The commander of the Badland thought for a while, then picked out a few important things and said: "In the past few years in the Badland, we and the Angland clan have successively
He fought more than a hundred battles around the Eight Peaks Mountains and basically wiped out all the greenskin forces near the Eight Peaks Mountains. According to King Belegar's judgment, no greenskins will appear around the Eight Peaks Mountains for at least the next ten years.
.”
"Are there many casualties?" Ryan couldn't help but smile after hearing this.
"The dwarves basically had no casualties." Lucien said helplessly: "Most of them were small-scale security battles. We suffered more than 2,000 casualties before and after, but Durant was able to get us a lot of new soldiers.
"
The mercenary leader sitting at the bottom, inherited the identity of the Black-hearted Repp Border Baron, and is now the number one warlord in the Border Princely Territory. Durant smiled flatteringly: "Many people are willing to fight, as long as the price is right, my Majesty, Border
The prince is so rich that he accepts food and accommodation, and gets a young man of good family background for himself. Even though there are losses, everyone is willing to come."
"Well." Ryan asked some more questions and nodded repeatedly. The King of Knights thought for a while and suddenly asked: "In this case, I have a question for you, Lucien, please answer it in detail."