Nine days before Longqing.

The Flame Empire, Imperial Capital Province, outside the Imperial Capital Palace.

Since the day Ye Gu left the imperial capital, the empire has stepped up preparations for the upcoming Longqing. In addition to the military pavilion of the military institution, which worked all night to make the necessary preparations, the public opinion propaganda of the ruling office has never stopped.

From the beginning of the preparation three months ago to today, at least from the mouths of the people of the imperial capital, there is no way to find the slightest incomprehension and harsh criticism of Long Qing, they generally believe that Long Qing is one of the necessary to show the strength of the empire, and the dragon clan is not in the scope of their consideration.

From the Imperial Dormitory, where the emperor lived every day, to the slightly Western-style military hall, it is the largest lake in the imperial capital for people to see. The normal Imperial Avenue from the Imperial Palace to the Military Pavilion has only an iron bridge hanging over it.

The bridge could provide about five carriages at the same time, but for the little emperor, he was not as expensive as several emperors before him.

In the early days of the Emperor's reign, the empire's finances were in surplus year after year, and the emperor even needed to use sporadic foreign wars to consume the grain that was about to become moldy and spoiled in the granary of the empire. During that period, Imperial Silver Coins and Imperial Bronze Coins were often piled up with nowhere to place.

However, the Empire's prosperity did not last long. Only at the end of Emperor Shangwu and the beginning of Emperor Shangwu, the empire had already fallen into financial deficits for many years. The imperial family of the empire had to barely maintain the finances of the empire that was about to collapse amid various measures to reduce expenditure. Fortunately, at the end of Emperor Shangwu, after the empire thwarted the large-scale invasion of the Central Empire in the west, it finally stabilized its form after forcing the Central Empire to compensate for 80,000 gold coins equivalent to Yan coins.

However, the Lin family, due to financial problems for many years, became the head of the four major families in the empire.

Finally, three days ago, with the help of Lin Hai's affairs and the deterrence of the army gathered in the divine capital, the Lin family temporarily withdrew from the center of imperial power. In an informal reply to the emperor, the newly appointed prime minister, Luo Heng, expressed his loyalty.

"It is estimated that there are still four days left, and I trust that the Prime Minister Luo Heng will rush to the imperial capital and come to my side. ”

Sitting on an open-air dragon chariot in the imperial style specially made by imperial craftsmen, the little emperor wore a fiery red color that he rarely wears, embroidered with the emperor's uniform with a dragon pattern, and did not wear any style of hat, showing the joy and excitement in his heart.

"Yan Ling, do you believe it? The glory of the Imperial Ancestor will be completely reproduced by my generation. As long as we are vassals of the dragon clan, with the blood of our half-dragon, there will be no need for any imperial soldiers to fight, and everything in the continent will be reduced to flames. The little emperor sat with his head held high and said.

"Yes, Your Majesty, no one in the Flame Empire is afraid now. What dragon clan, what machinery, what Lin family, all will be controlled by us, and when the time comes, you will be the only emperor in the continent. Anyone else will submit to us, and when the time comes, you will not be the only one who cares about his order. ”

The one who spoke was the Imperial Guard General Yan Ling, who had stayed in the imperial capital since the failure of chasing Ye Mingyuan, and followed the little emperor all day long. Especially the arrest of Lin Zhao, except for the few days when the Lin family's forces were removed, he was inseparable from the little emperor.

"In terms of kinship, you should be my cousin. If you want to say that the people you can trust now, except for the people of your own royal family, there is no one who can be trusted. Ye Gu, who was sent down by me, and Lin Zhao, the number one traitor of the Lin family, including Lin Gu, the ruling Lin Gu of Gubin City, an important imperial town. They all want to fool and betray me. Sure enough, few of the generals and consuls who were not arranged by me were loyal. Pointing at them to open the Dragon Realm, it is better to give them my human head. Hahaha. The little emperor said with a laugh.

This laugh is not only a mockery of the stupidity of the betrayer, but also an expression of confidence in the self who is about to control the future.

The sixteen-year-old age of the little emperor, coupled with the fact that he was not tall and not vicissitudes, actually pretended to be much more calm and means than his age, which made Yan Ling, who was standing on the side, feel different, but more reverence.

He has lived with the emperor for a period of time since he was a child, and even if he has gained some power because of this, he still can't learn the kind of obsession with the goal hidden in the depths of his soul.

"Yan Ling, what is the future of the Dragon Clan and the Empire in your eyes?

Under the turbulence of the dragon's land, the little emperor suddenly looked down at Yan Ling and asked seriously.

"Your Majesty, you know, although I grew up in the royal family, I don't have any ideas. I just lead the guards into battle, and I'm naturally satisfied if I can continue to fight. As for the Dragons and the Empire, it would be nice to be able to give me such an opportunity all the time, I am a rough man. Speaking of this, Yan Ling actually smiled a little embarrassedly, and with the action of scratching his head, it also made the little emperor laugh.

"That can't be. You must know that the ultimate goal of war is the absence of war. If I can bring everyone to their knees, there will be no war. At that time, the whole world will be under the jurisdiction of a fiery empire, and there will be no five major empires in the east, west, south, north, south, and middle, and there will be no distinction between the Westerners and the people of the country, and everything will be unified into one rule. Isn't it a blessing that even the dragons must be transformed into human beings and merge with us? When the time comes, all under my rule, I will announce the abolition of all technologies used in warfare, including firearms, artillery, and all equipment of those air armies. The world will be governed by only one sun, and that is the sun of the Flame Empire. Wherever the river and the sun shine, it will be blessed by the Flame Empire. This is the future. Speaking of the back, the little emperor became more and more excited, and the expression on his face gradually changed from the previous calm to excited.

It seems that for him, Long Qing is no longer as simple as simply releasing the dragon clan, but in order to build a new world order.

"Your Majesty, I don't understand any of this, I only know that as the leader of the guard, I must always protect you in danger. It would be great if you could fight for it. Yan Ling said, clasping the sword around his waist tightly with his hand, as if he was ready to fight for the Empire.

"Alright. If you don't understand, you don't understand, such a profound thing, if even you can understand it casually, then what else do you need the dragon clan to do. But then again, we just dealt with Lin Zhao and attacked the Lin family, and now the imperial capital is not as safe as before. After all, Lin Zhao had served as the prime minister of the empire for more than thirty years, and I could not kill him or imprison him. He had to let him stay in a temporary place in the palace. Presumably, if he is still here, those people in the Lin family may also be unfavorable to me. From today until we enter the Dragon Realm for a few days, you are only responsible for the safety of one person. Do you know?" said the little emperor, patting Yan Ling on the shoulder.

"Yes, Your Majesty. ”

The little emperor's party, due to safety needs, changed to Imperial Guards soldiers with loaded guns before and after the trip. With him as the center, ten people in front and ten in front of him wrapped him and headed towards the military hall.

Walking on the huge iron bridge that has been built for more than 100 years, the little emperor and his party did not feel any bumps. The iron bridge was like an empire, as if it were impregnable and could last for thousands of years.

However, at the time of departure, the imperial capital, which was in the scorching sun, had become full of dark clouds when the group was marching. The sudden dim sky, mixed with a strong wind blowing from nowhere, made the little emperor suddenly feel strange and uneasy.

"Tell the people in front and behind to hurry up and rush to the military station. I must make all the arrangements for Longqing today. The little emperor leaned over and ordered Yan Ling.

"Your Majesty has an order, speed up, and keep up front and back. ”

With Yan Ling's shouting, the speed of the front and rear teams increased significantly.

However, for some reason, the speed at which the sky of the imperial capital darkened was the same as their decision, and the speed of dimming increased.

Only a few minutes later, the perspective around the Little Emperor and Yan Ling was already close to the darkness of the evening.

Speed always pays off, and with the acceleration of the run, the group can finally see the end of the iron bridge and the tall trees that have lived in the imperial capital for hundreds of years.

"Your Majesty, walk across the bridge, and there is the Military Pavilion not far away. Shall we still speed up?" Yan Ling, who felt the oppressive aura around him, suddenly asked.

Boom! Bang! Bang!

Just as the little emperor was about to open his mouth to order, a huge explosion suddenly came from under his feet. Accompanied by the explosion, the strong flames mixed with the sound of the fire guns suddenly spread throughout the vicinity of the iron bridge.

The explosion overturned the dragon chariot that the little emperor was riding in the first time, and blew up ten people in the front row on the spot. If it weren't for Yan Ling's quick eye to catch the little emperor, I'm afraid the future of the empire would have to be rewritten.

"Escort!"

Seeing this scene, Yan Ling shouted and pulled out the long sword beside him, and guarded the front with his back to the little emperor.

And the little emperor also silently took out the fire gun on his waist and looked around vigilantly.

There were only seven or eight people left in the team to surround the little emperor, leaving no gaps, and to prevent possible attacks with their physical bodies.

However, as darkness got closer, the surroundings suddenly became quiet.

This tranquility is a prelude to death.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, the sound of the fireball mixed with the accompanying fireball struck the center of the little emperor from two directions again.

Suddenly, the two Imperial soldiers quickly fell under the fireball and darkness.

Immediately after, three people who were completely wrapped in black clothes and wore masks quickly flashed from the darkness to the vicinity of the little emperor.

"Ahh

"Ahh

"Don't!!"

Because they didn't have time to react, a few people around the little emperor, except for Yan Ling, were instantly knocked down by the short sword that attacked.

Fortunately, Yan Ling was good at fighting, and in a hurry, his perspective kept looking around, and after the two sides fought a few times, he picked up the little emperor and jumped out.

With this jump, the two quickly got out of the Assassin's range.

At this time, under the protection of the sword and the firearm, the two finally faced the assassin who had just attacked.

There were three men dressed in black, two armed with short swords and one armed with a firecracker. After this blow was not immediately successful, the three of them actually took off their masks in front of the little emperor, revealing their original faces.