Chapter 978 (2/2)
”This... Is the price of reaching an agreement with you, Loren Turin and, of course, all the Archduke of the Royal sword order.”
Looking at the emperor's unpopular face, Brandon's expression also sank slightly.
He participated in the meeting of the former cabinet, and of course he knew what connord meant.
In short, the Empire... Even if it is the center, it is not the absolute emperor's decision alone; Even if this is the case on the face of it, if the nobles and ministers below are dissatisfied with a decree, they also have some ways not to implement it or delay its implementation.
After all, no matter what order the emperor issued, the executor will always be them.
The battle of eboden this time is the best example - Conrad mobilized enough manpower in the shortest time, established a solid and substantial supply line, and even directly mobilized royal guards to send recruitment orders to the Royal territory and every village, fortress and military camp in East Saxony, bypassing the cabinet and parliament to recruit legions.
A series of actions seem to go smoothly, but in fact, hidden dangers have been buried: from raising taxes on the church and the aristocracy to enrich the supply line, to directly ordering without consulting the cabinet and parliament, to negotiating and compromising with Brandon and Duke Byrne (which they can't bear the most)
Each time, it increased the dissatisfaction of the imperial nobles.
So they decided to resist ”little” and express their dissatisfaction.
Whether parliament or cabinet, they could not prevent the emperor from dispatching legions; However, they are involved in the progress of each order, can interfere with the soldiers' salary, armed and supply, and can decide whether the soldiers carry their luggage to assemble, or act with carriages or mules.
So a young army soldier from the countryside of East Saxony who was excited by the emperor's call-up order found that he had to walk to the town ten kilometers away to get the ”settlement fee”, and then go to an unheard of Castle in the north to gather equipment.
Finally, I had to take ten days' rations, go south with 79 other unlucky people, and cross the gem River to the military camp to report.
Of course, there must be no boat... So they have two choices, either grab one or swim over.
But in any case, they must arrive on time; Otherwise, once the time limit has passed, it will be military justice.
The direct consequence of this series of events is that more than a month has passed, and the Legion still has not completed its assembly; Moreover, this comprehensive mobilization led to chaos in the Empire, starvation and cold, or soldiers lacking transportation equipment turned into bandits and robbers, robbing villages and towns and passers-by everywhere.
The imperial nobles had only one purpose, that is, to make the emperor unable to lead the army north and allow eboden to perish.
The reason is also very simple, because eboden and Duke Byrne, eboden's commander, are all supporters of his highness Brandon.
Brandon believed that if the emperor decided to support lottel first, the nobles would definitely assemble as quickly as possible - because the Principality of lottel was the headquarters of church power, and once it was over, the power of the Holy Cross would be seriously weakened.
Conrad could, of course, force them to obey the nobles by means of death penalty and deprivation of titles; But the result is to destroy the final tacit understanding between the two sides and let their supporters completely deviate from themselves.
No emperor will personally destroy the foundation of his rule and completely destroy the forces and strata supporting him... That is tantamount to pushing himself to a dead end.
Brandon twitched his throat and looked up at connord.
The emperor still looked at him calmly and said nothing.
”So... It's not intentional?” the prince opened his mouth. Suddenly, he was embarrassed to ”misunderstand each other”, and his eyes drifted privately: ”but, but why don't you explain clearly...”
”Does it make sense?”
Connord said faintly, ”it's meaningful to complain to you about how much pressure I've endured, how much effort I've wasted, and how many setbacks I've experienced in exchange for your understanding?”
”You said that we are de sallion, the ruler of the Empire and the Savior - it is because of these two identities that de sallion can stand at the top of the world, in other words...”
”It is precisely because we are at the top that we must do all this; to win sympathy and desire to understand this weak idea... Should not appear in a desallion.”
”It should not appear on an emperor.”
The face of the supreme emperor of the Empire remained unchanged, and his tone was plain, just like chatting with his brother.
Instead, Brandon's expression became more and more complex.
”... I see.” with a slight sigh, the prince, who hesitated, raised his head: ”although I understand, I still have to leave with eboden's civilians and troops.”
”I promised them to take them to a safe place so that they can live safely... I'm sorry, but I can't break my promise.”
”Eboden was destroyed and the Azores invaded on a large scale...” connord glanced at him: ”you tell me, where is there a 'safe' place in the Empire?”
”Even so, I have to keep my promise - east Saxony and Bain can always find towns and villages for them to settle down.”
Brandon shrugged. ”Besides... Elliot is dead, I have to go to Jufeng mountain and tell the dragon family about it.”
”Of course, if they bake me into coke in a rage, you won't have to worry about the heirs anymore!”
”Dragon?”
Looking back, connord put his hands on his back and looked up at the dim starry sky. Finally, a little complex emotion appeared in his eyes.
”The 14th generation of the Empire... It has been so long that these guardians of the former empire have gradually become swords hanging over our heads - if we are careless, it may be scorched earth everywhere.”
Suddenly, Connor, with his back to Brandon, made a sound similar to ”sneer”, which made Brandon's heart ”click” and felt hairy all over.
This may be the first time he heard the ”laughter” of the emperor's brother, but it was more creepy than the roar of the dragon!
”In that case, go. If necessary, I will ask dreisis of duanjie mountain fortress to pick you up and provide you with all convenience... His Royal Highness The Prince of East Saxony.” connord whispered:
”After all, since they are willing to follow you faithfully, it is necessary to pay some price.”
Brandon, who had been seen through his mind, pulled out of his mouth and tried to keep calm: ”that, the battle to recapture eboden...”
”There will be no more. I have ordered the Minister of military affairs Severin de sallion to command the army. After the arrival of Archduke uly vilz of El Mans, we will block all the checkpoints and roads leading to the outside world with him and wait for the Legion to assemble.”
”Boi's Hussars will sweep around the city with the Legion cavalry and cut off all the enemy's sources of supply.”
As Connor left, he said in a deep voice: ”the rest depends on the war situation of Archduke lottel in shenlinbao, and then decide which side the army's next main attack direction is. Everything is flexible.”
When the voice fell, he had gone far and left Brandon standing alone.