Outside Duke Nick's office, two guards stood straight.

In the office, the violent quarrel stopped abruptly at the critical moment, and the guards who were listening attentively subconsciously glanced at each other, and then shrugged their shoulders at the same time.

In the morning, there were many officials coming and going in the corridor outside the Prime Minister's office, and the two guards were very conscientious, they would carefully observe everyone who tried to pass by the office door, and if there was any unusual behavior, they would blow the magic whistle hanging around their necks as soon as possible.

Therefore, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, whether it is an official of the Prime Minister's Office or an army general, if they do not come to see Duke Nick, they will subconsciously stay away from the door when passing by the Prime Minister's Office.

"Bang!"

Just when the two guards were bored, there was a loud noise in the prime minister's office that looked like something was shattering.

The sound was very loud, and the officials and generals passing by in the corridor subconsciously wanted to stop and watch, but when they realized where they were, the pace of their feet was faster.

The loud sound made the young guard on the left side of the office door tremble, and his left hand subconsciously pressed the scabbard of the sword at his waist, and his right hand lay on the hilt of the sword, and he was about to rush open the office door with a turn of his feet, but was immediately stopped by another guard next to him.

"If you don't want to die, don't go in. "Another guard had experienced firsthand that a reckless guard had broken into his master's room and seen something he shouldn't have seen and was secretly executed.

The young guard was stunned, he didn't understand his companion's words very well, but the content of his companion's words and his serious expression made him dare not make any more moves... Just as the guard was at a loss for choice, there was a dull sound of footsteps in the office.

Someone is coming out!

At this time, both the two guards and the officials passing by pretended not to hear anything.

The old wooden door was violently pushed open, shaking up a cloud of dust and making a strange sound that made the roots of the teeth soft... Immediately, the tall body of Count Devin, the commander of the First Legion, appeared at the door, his cold gaze scanned left and right, and he let out a cold 'snort' in his nose and walked away quickly.

"Bring the Marquis of Nepdo and Sir Pesso, the head of logistics, to my office. Duke Nick's voice rang out after Earl Devon had left, and as the words landed, the Prime Minister's assistant Kerman appeared silently at the door of his office.

The two guards glanced at each other, and both saw helplessness in each other's eyes, today, they had to act as the prime minister's temporary herald in the castle.

...

After trying to persuade his friend to no avail, Count Devon returned to the garrison camp of the First Legion, twenty miles northwest of the town of Kwyn.

In the Earl of Devon's private tent, his personal adviser, Sir Kopek, had been waiting for a long time, and when the Earl of Devin entered the tent, he asked, "How is it?"

"What else, he was sarcastic. Count Devin shrugged indifferently.

Sir Kopec was stunned, his eyes widened, "What was the reaction of our Prime Minister at that time?"

"Nick is as cunning as a wolf, what reaction can you expect him to give me?" Count Devin quickly took off his heavy armor, lay straight on the hardwood chair, and squinted at Kopec and said, "I have no interest in your plan for the Radiant Force, I just wish there was a better person to rule the Empire, thirteen years ago I thought I had found that man, but it turned out that I was wrong..."

At this point, Count Devon, who was over fifty years old, had a lonely look on his face, and he took a deep breath and continued: "I'm just making up for the mistakes of the year now, maybe my decision is still wrong, but one thing I firmly believe is that the only one who can lead the empire out of the predicament is Nick... As for His Royal Highness the Prince in the Lion Castle, he was too young to be able to lead the now exhausted empire forward. ”

"First of all, my lord, the 'Radiant Force' has been disbanded, and I am now nothing more than your personal advisor, and all my advice is based on your interests..."

Count Devin interrupted coldly: "The interests of the empire are above me, although most people are denying our honor and oath, but the Pang Po family will not, we will defend our honor and oath with our lives." ”

The history of the Pompo family can be traced back to before the founding of the Locke Empire, and it belongs to one of the two most important forces under the command of Grand Duke Patved.

The stubborn Pompo family has been sticking to their oath for hundreds of years, and they are loyal to the empire rather than the royal family, so although the clansmen of this family are often used, they have never been able to squeeze into the upper echelons of the empire.

"Thy glory is my glory, thy oath is my oath, my lord, I have sworn allegiance to thee under the gaze of the gods. Kopek bowed, "You don't have to doubt my loyalty and purpose. ”

"Your loyalty and purpose are in my business. Count Devin waved his hand, "Tell me how I can get Nick to follow my advice." ”

"My lord, what advice do you have?" Copek whispered, "to send troops against the orcs, or to have Duke Nick take the place of the little prince in Lion Castle... Today is the day when Prince Sinda and Duke Nick's eldest daughter get married. ”

"You have more questions than I do, you just need to tell me what to do now?"

Sir Kopec stared at his master and asked a strange question: "My lord, do you know how much gold you need each month to keep the First Imperial Legion running?"

"Nearly 20,000 gold coins. Count Devin raised his eyebrows, as if he had thought of something.

"Yes, just to feed the soldiers of one legion, the empire needs to spend 20,000 gold coins every month, so what is the amount of gold that the 200,000 army empire needs to support every month?"

Kopec continued as Count Devin fell into thought: "My lord, this is only the most basic expenses, plus the equipment, war horses, etc. consumed by daily training, this number is simply immeasurable... You should be well aware of the financial state of the Central Empire, so we are not in a position to fight a protracted war!"

The wrinkles on Count Devon's face after listening to his advisor's words piled up: "There are many rich merchants in the Empire, and now that the Empire has entered a state of all-out war, the Cabinet and the Lion Castle have the right to expropriate some of their assets, and besides, the citizens in the rear should also fully support this war!"

"A state of all-out war can only help the Cabinet and the Lion Castle to stabilize the current turmoil, do you think they really dare to forcibly expropriate the property of those great nobles?" Kopec shook his head, "They won't risk offending those nobles at this time." ”

"Don't you just give up this rare opportunity in vain, the goddess doesn't always take such good care of us!" Count Devin looked very unwilling.

"Believe me, neither Duke Nick nor Lion Castle nor the upper nobles will want to continue fighting!"

"Why?"

Kopec said in a mocking tone: "Think about the less than ten days of fighting on the Tefalo steppe some time ago, do you know how many gold coins the empire paid for this? Nearly a million gold coins!"

"The orcs pay a much worse price for this, and I don't believe the orcs will be richer than the Empire. ”

"Orcs have a natural advantage in warfare, as their warriors only need an axe to fight our fully armed soldiers, and the training they demonstrate is done by their families long before they reach adulthood. ”

"Bang"

Earl Devin kicked hard at his feet, knocked the bamboo bench in front of the chair to the ground, and shouted impatiently: "Having said so much, what is your opinion?"

"You can only wait quietly. Sir Kopec was silent for a few seconds and then said: "Peace talks with the orcs may be a good choice, as long as the orcs sign the peace agreement, war will immediately break out within them, and then, it will be our real chance!"

"I'm afraid the Empire will be in chaos sooner than the orcs. ”

"You mean the other legions?" Sir Kopec looked disdainful, "with the exception of the second, third, fourth, and fifth legions, the rest are nothing more than an army of mercenaries and bandits, and they are no match for Duke Nick, and as for these four legions... What you said to Duke Nick was enough to make him wary, right?"

Devin nodded, "Of course, Nick is cautious, I think from tomorrow onwards, each legion will implement a 'limited supply system'." ”

"In other words, our previous goal has been achieved, hasn't it?"