Volume 2: Empire Chapter 163 Two Meetings
As time went by, the coup d'état by the eldest prince Fania gradually subsided, and most of the officials in the entire palace were affected. The dismissal and demotion left many important positions of power vacant. Queen Christina did not have her own team before, so she promoted a large number of officials from the City of Raging Waves.
For a time, the convoys of officials returning home after being dismissed and the convoys of officials entering the imperial capital to take up new positions became a scenic spot in the city.
The Reform Society, a young group of new nobles, has launched a new round of attacks on the Cross Society, which has always controlled the imperial court. As Viscount Iscolan, Lady Michel, and Ibur have successively arrived in the imperial capital, the Reform Society has formed a trend of competing with the Cross Society. And because Meteor is extremely trusted by the Queen Regent, it seems only a matter of time before he is promoted to the Prime Minister of the Empire and reorganizes the cabinet.
There were many opportunists among the new nobles, and applications to join the Reform Society piled up like a mountain.
In contrast to the Reform Society, which exploded with momentum as soon as it entered the core of the empire, the Cross Society was wailing. They bet heavily on both the eldest prince Fania and the second prince Alex, thinking that they would win without losing, but they did not expect that the second prince Alex was restricted to the Crescent Grassland, with an army but unable to deploy it.
The coup d'état by the eldest prince Fania ended in failure.
In the end, it was the queen who had been in the cold palace for three years who successfully ascended to the throne and was appointed as the regent queen by the ill Emperor Augustine.
Now Queen Christina has the three personal armies of the imperial royal family in her command, and has the full support of Princess Agatha and Governor Meteorite of Raging Waves City. She has both the soldiers and the officials she needs.
Although the Crusades have not completely lost, they are still struggling to survive.
So a group of Crusader leaders gathered at the home of Prime Minister Gabriel to discuss how to deal with the current situation.
A long table with more than twenty seats.
In the past, this place was jokingly called the small cabinet of the empire, and many decisions were made here before they were submitted to the imperial cabinet meeting.
But the atmosphere of today's meeting was extremely depressing.
"We can't give in any more!" An old cabinet minister complained angrily, "Today, the Imperial Finance and Taxation Undersecretary, Milips, was demoted and transferred to the Xilinburg Province. The new Undersecretary is Ibul, the Finance and Taxation Chief of Nutao City.
In addition, there are Viscount Iscolan who was placed in the Imperial Army, Madame Michelle, a staff member of the Supreme Technical Bureau, and Caesar, Deputy Director General of the Saint-Lun City Security Bureau.
If we continue to allow Meteorite to place officials from Nutao City in the palace, soon the entire imperial court will be the government office of Nutao City, and the cabinet will be replaced by Meteorite and his people.
Prime Minister Gabriel, we should do something."
Another minister said helplessly: "What can we do? Her Royal Highness is the Queen Regent appointed by His Majesty himself. She fought a victory in Snow City that was enough to be recorded in the annals of the empire, and crushed Fania's rebellion.
Her reputation and His Majesty's trust are enough for her to do whatever she wants.
Any action we take to disobey her could result in her charging us with participating in the Fania rebellion."
"We are fine now because we are still needed to maintain the stability of the court and the order of the empire. Once the incident is over and the officials of the Nutao City are familiar with their work, we will all get out!"
"We should find a way to meet His Majesty and let him know the current situation in the palace. If His Majesty knew that the Queen was cultivating confidants in this way, he would definitely come forward to stop it."
"But the problem is that only the Queen can see His Majesty. You all saw what happened to Fania when she broke into His Majesty's bedroom!"
When the officials could not think of a solution and could only complain, Gabriel, who had been silent, suddenly spoke up: "Everyone! Do you think that according to His Majesty's character, after knowing that Her Majesty won the Battle of Snow City and suppressed the Fania Rebellion, will he appoint her as the Regent Queen?"
Gabriel's words immediately plunged the venue into silence.
All those present were ministers who had lived in the palace for a long time, and they immediately understood what Gabriel wanted to express after being reminded of it.
Emperor Augustine held on to his power very tightly and had appointed the Queen to handle state affairs because she had no roots in the palace and he could take back power at any time if he wanted.
After the Battle of Snow City, the Queen in particular put down Fania's rebellion.
The capital the Queen had in the court and the empire was a subversive change compared to before.
Given Augustine the Great's character, how could he appoint the Queen as regent? He would definitely take back all power and let her return to the palace that belonged to her.
Abnormal!
Very abnormal!
unless……
Think of that unspeakable possibility.
An official said cautiously, "Prime Minister Gabriel... But Her Royal Highness the Princess, Governor Meteor, and Knight Milscombe all confirmed that this order was issued by His Majesty himself."
Gabriel did not answer.
Another official answered for him tactfully: "Anyone can lie when faced with profit."
The officials realized that they had found the key to overthrowing the Queen and the officials of Nutao City.
But what should be done?
Everyone looked at Gabriel together, their eyes filled with eagerness and hope.
Gabriel said calmly, "At this time, we'd better not do anything. The Queen is in the limelight, and we have no chance of success no matter what we do.
The best thing to do is to wait.”
"But Meteorite is pressing us hard. If we don't do anything, we will soon be sidelined by him and his people."
“It’s not something that can be done in a short period of time to sideline us, but he has to face a short-term crisis.
What is the current situation in the North? What is the response of the Northern Army to the order to move south? "
An official who knew the details immediately replied: "The Northern Army has no objection to the transfer order and is actively handing over defense to the newly formed Snow Army. His Royal Highness Sinclair and General Joshua are also afraid that the part of the Northern Army left in the north will be eroded, so they are also very cooperative with this transfer.
It is estimated that 36% of the North's military forces will be mobilized to the Tedega Hills in this mobilization, and the Empire's mobilized troops will gradually be added to the Snow Legion before the end of winter."
Gabriel smiled. "The main forces of the Northern Army have all gone to the Tedega Hills. Although the Snow Army has some of the foundation of the Northern Army, there are too many new recruits. They have numbers but their combat effectiveness is definitely far weaker than that of the Northern Army in the Winter War.
Do you think the Snow Legion will be able to stop the attack of the Art County Alliance when the Spring War begins? "
The military official just answered: "There are many factors that affect war, and the quality of soldiers is a very important factor. Especially in today's war, it is not enough to give farmers a knife to make them qualified soldiers. Soldiers need long-term training, especially professional technical soldiers.
The Snow Legion was established too recently and expanded too quickly. They cannot stop the attack of the Art County Alliance. "
Gabriel asked, "What will happen if the Snow Legion can't stop the Art County Alliance?"
"It's the same situation that the Winter Empire is facing. The army of the Art County Alliance breaks through the northern border defense line, then quickly passes through the plain area with no strategic location, and directly marches to the gates of the imperial capital."
Gabriel asked again: "Did the Meteorite City Guard have the ability to defend the Imperial Capital at that time?"
"No!" the official said firmly, "The City Guards participated in the Fania Rebellion, and almost all officers were implicated. Now the entire City Guards are confined to their respective barracks. If they want to restore their mobility, it will be impossible without half a year of officer replenishment and adaptation.
If the Art County Alliance came to the Imperial Capital during the Spring War, the City Garrison Corps would not be able to defend the Imperial Capital at all."
Gabriel asked again: "Who can guard the imperial capital at that time?"
The official immediately said excitedly: "Only the Western Border Army of the Second Prince Alex who is undergoing reorganization in the Crescent Oasis."
Gabriel said: "His Highness Sinclair's Northern Army... also has a chance."
All the officials' hearts immediately became hot again.
Whoever can lead troops to defend the imperial capital when the Art Legion approaches the city will be able to control the city by force.
Then he can expose the lies of the Queen, Agatha and Meteorite and become the new emperor of the empire.
The imperial ministers who still held real power could negotiate with Prince Alex and the grandson of the emperor Sinclair at this time. Whoever gave more would be assisted to enter the city first.
The atmosphere of the meeting improved greatly, and an official flattered him, saying, "Although Yunxing is a capable young man, he is still a little immature compared to the Prime Minister.
In fact, according to the trend, he still has a great chance to form a cabinet after the Prime Minister retires. But he is too impatient..."
"Young people tend to become impetuous once they are in a good position, but they don't realize that if they make a wrong move in this position, they will be doomed. What a pity..."
"And those who quit the Cross and joined the Reform Society, not knowing that they were on a sinking ship..."
While the bigwigs of the Cross Society were starting to mock, the Innovation Society was also holding an important member meeting.
The meeting place was in the villa that Luke got from Agatha.
In the conference room, Luke looked at his subordinates sitting on both sides, and felt like he was attending a meeting in the Government Hall of Nutao City.
At this time, Luke had been promoted from Viscount to Marquis, with the title of "Marquis of Raging Waves", and his fiefdom was the Cape District of Raging Waves City. The Cape District became Luke's private property, and Queen Christina gave him a generous gift this time.
In addition, Luke served as the commander of the Saint Lun City Garrison Corps.
Imperial Cabinet Minister.
He also serves as the Governor of Nutao City.
At the same time, Luke resigned as the director of the 6th Division of the Secret Service. At his suggestion, Thomas, the detective chief of the Secret Service of the Cape District of Nutao City, took over.
The Queen did not have her own team, so she relied heavily on Luke and the system of officials in Nutao City behind him. Many positions were not asked for by Luke, but the Queen directly asked him: Which official in the Nutao City Government Affairs Office is most suitable for this position?
So we have the current scene, Luke's team in Raging Waves City has almost moved to Saint Lun City.
Viscount Iscolan, Lady Michelle, Ibel, Caesar, Thomas, Shelley, Pisco, Kalina, Yomington...
And clear skies.
In the past, Qingkong would not attend such meetings because her opinions were absolutely consistent with those of Yunxing.
But now Qingkong is the awakening Qingkong. She is very curious about such a meeting and insists on attending it.
And said he would not talk nonsense in the meeting.
"You know I don't want anyone to discover our little secret. I just want to see how serious you are at the meeting."
Luke had promised Qingkong that unless there were special circumstances, she would be in charge of what to do during the awakening period.
Do what you say .
Luke had no choice but to agree to Qingkong and let her attend the meeting.
Qingkong also promised: "Don't worry, I won't embarrass you. I like to appreciate your embarrassment alone."
Therefore, the clear sky in the conference venue remained the same as before, cold and serious, revealing the nobleness of a scholar.
Everyone in the conference room looked over, and Secretary Kylena was ready to take notes. Luke turned his attention away from Qingkong and focused on the meeting.
"Because some bad things happened in the imperial capital in the previous period, you are given the opportunity to serve in the palace. I hope that you can continue to uphold the pragmatic attitude of the Government Affairs Office of Nutao City and fulfill your duties conscientiously.
The empire is facing many difficulties . Her Majesty the Queen's authority is not stable. Some of our opponents are in the open, while more are in the dark. Many people watched us come to the imperial capital in glory, and wanted to see how we would be driven out in disgrace.
If you don’t want this to happen, don’t do stupid things.”
The sudden rise of a group of officials from Nutao City in the palace did make many people feel a little proud. Not only did Luke receive many commissions to apply for official positions, he believed that his core subordinates received even more.
Arrogant soldiers will surely be defeated!
The situation in the imperial court is far from being a place where it can be reaped at will.
The old bureaucratic system will not willingly give up the power and interests in its hands. They will inevitably collude with foreign aid to accumulate strength for counterattack.
The more they can endure now, the greater the force of their counterattack will be.
That was why Luke seriously warned his capable subordinates at the beginning of the meeting not to be carried away by their temporary success.
Viscount Iscolan said: "The Marquis's reminder is very timely. The destruction of many things begins with unrestrained self-expansion. I propose to set up an inspection committee within the Reform Society to supervise members and prevent behaviors that endanger the collective interests."
Viscount Iscolan's suggestions have certain limitations due to the inherent limitations of his cognition, but internal supervision is better than no internal supervision.
Luke agreed without adding any suggestions that were beyond his time, "You will be responsible for setting up the internal review committee... Next, I have something important to discuss with you."
What's the important thing?
The officials at the meeting made their own guesses.
Is it a war between the North and the Ate County Alliance?
Is it a naval battle between the Raging Waves City Fleet and the Art County Allied Navy?
Is it the production of war materials?
Is it the development of new weapons?
Is it a Rio civil war?
Is it Sinclair? Alec? The Celtic Duke?
The relevant officials organized their thoughts and the materials they brought with them, preparing to answer the questions from the Marquis of Meteorite.
But Luke said: "Her Majesty the Queen has received a letter from Sky City, and a visiting angel team will arrive in Saint Lun City in the near future."
At this time, Qingkong said: "I also received a letter. The Shuojin people will also send a visiting team to Saint Lun City."
The officials were collectively stunned.
They were totally unprepared.
