Mistakenly believing that Todd had agreed to his proposal, Ratledge was overjoyed: "Your Majesty, it's great that you can figure it out! If possible, I'd like to open a bottle of wine from my treasure now, and we all sit down and ......."

Todd interrupted the other party, "I want to know, how will you handle the affairs of the Silver Ring Kingdom?"

Hearing this question, Ratledge, who was originally excited, suddenly calmed down.

The problem of the Silver Ring Kingdom, after all, is the basis of the current cooperation between the two sides, and it is natural for the other party to have questions.

Ratledge nodded and said, "Although the Daurson family is a member of the old ministers of the Silver Ring, they have lived in Twilight City for many years, and they have long seen the aspirations of the people of this city. For the current citizens of the Twilight West to accept the rule of a silver ring kingdom is tantamount to a fool's dream. ”

"What's more, the current ruler of the Silver Ring Kingdom, that six-year-old boy, is nothing more than a distant nephew of Guy VI, which makes the restoration of the Silver Ring Kingdom seem like a joke. ”

"Over the years, the Daursons have mastered all the names of the former Silverring retainers and all their assets through infiltration and bribery, and on the other hand, they have tied up the top conglomerates and gatekeepers in Twilight City through marriages and alliances. ”

Rutledge said proudly: "It is no exaggeration to say that the Daurson family has now directly or indirectly controlled nearly one-third of the economic lifeline of the entire Dusk Kingdom. ”

Out of the city, the Daursons not only signed an offensive and defensive alliance with Barbarossa, the king of pirates, but also had a secret arms trade with the Southern Empire, and even maintained a good cooperative relationship with those well-known mercenary armies. ”

"Therefore, as long as the Holy King agrees to abdicate and solve the problem of the remnants of the silver ring, in the eyes of the Daurson family, it is just a trivial matter. ”

Ratledge pointed to the men behind him who were disposing of the corpses, and said in a deep voice, "Do you see these people? They could be guards, cooks, gardeners, tailors, or even mistresses, and they could get rid of their target at the first of my command. ”

Todd nodded and said, "It seems that the Daurson family is fully prepared for the throne. ”

Ratledge smiled, "So, Holy King, your worries are unnecessary. I can assure you that working with the Daursons will be the best decision you have ever made......"

"Tell me, Ratledge, how do you plan to manage the kingdom once the Dawelsens have the Dusk City?"

Todd's unexpected question made Rutledge stunned.

Rutledge frowned and repeated, "Manage the kingdom?"

Todd stood up from his throne, ignored Mary's warning, walked up to Ratledge, looked at the bright and ambitious young man, and said calmly, "If you are the king of the Twilight Kingdom, how are you going to run this country?"

Rutledge wondered in his mind, shouldn't ordinary people start bargaining at this time? For example, how much wealth can he have after abdication, how to ensure personal safety, and whether it is permissible to retain some privileges?

But the Holy King actually asked him how to govern the country?

Ratledge pondered for a moment and replied, "If I were the king, I would take advantage of the discord within the Southern Empire and provoke their infighting. and to take advantage of this opportunity to conquer the kingdoms of the diocese in one fell swoop, and to strengthen the kingdom's economic and military power through production, trade and commerce......"

Todd interrupted Rutledge with a shake of his hand, "You misunderstood me, I was asking you about your intention to continue the prosperity of this kingdom?"

Rutledge looked confused.

Todd made it clearer: "When you are in power, your ingenuity and cunning may make the Kingdom of Twilight prosperous. But you will die one day, how can you guarantee that your descendants will not destroy the empire you have worked so hard to build? ”

Rutledge was stunned, and he said incomprehensibly: "That may be decades, or even a hundred years from now! Is it meaningful to think about this? As a king, it is enough for me to develop Twilight City into a great empire, and let my own name be preserved in the annals of history for future generations to admire! As for those things in the future, it is too far away, and who cares?"

Todd's eyes showed endless disappointment: "For you, decades, a hundred years, maybe a long time. But for humans, for races, this time is as insignificant as a drop of water in the ocean. ”

Todd turned, his steps heavy, and slowly walked back to his throne: "Rutledge, you've been thinking about yourself all the time, and your eyes are limited to the size of a wellhead...... I thought you would be a smart person, but the truth disappointed me......"

"Are you crazy?!" Rutledge shouted at Todd, "What king would think about a hundred years from now! Isn't it enough to have wealth, power, women, and fame in this life?

Todd sat back on the throne, stared at Ratledge's arrogant face, and said quietly: "You are no different from those people, when you are alive, material and satisfaction blind you, so that you can never see the future, see forever. ”

Losing his patience, Rutledge yelled at Todd, "Don't stall with me any longer! Tell me, would you rather cooperate with the Dawelsen family or choose to die?!"

Todd looked at Rutledge with a smirk: "If I refuse you, what are you going to do?"

"Don't take yourself too seriously, don't take yourself too seriously, the sun will rise and the sea will flow without you!" Rutledge said, pointing to the corpse on the ground, "Originally, in order to prevent you from uncooperative, I devised an alternative. ”

"Do you think I'm lying? I've prepared some props and witnesses to disguise this rebellion of the Silverring Former Retainer as an attack by the Church of the Heavenly Father!"

Rutledge took out a letter from his bosom and shook it with his hand: "The cardinals of the Church of the Heavenly Father, in order to punish those Protestants who misinterpret God, and those atheists who keep shouting long live righteousness, have launched a holy war against Twilight. ”

Looking at the letter in Ratledge's hand, Mary sneered, "You want to forge the cardinal's signature and seal?"

Rutledge opened the letterhead, laughed, and said, "Forgery? Why should I forge it? This letter is genuine." ”

Looking at the handwriting and seal on the letterhead, Mary, who has the ability to remember the super, opened her eyes in surprise.

Rutledge put the letter back in his arms and said proudly: "In this world, there is nothing that money cannot buy, even the church in the hands of God has to surrender to the magic of money!"

Todd touched his chin and said softly: "Putting the responsibility for this unrest on the head of the church will allow you to cover up the traces of the silver ring, and second, it will mobilize the hatred of the masses towards the church, and then pave the way for you to enter the cabinet." ”

"That's right. Rutledge nodded, "So, Todd Fischer, let me ask you one last time! Would you like to work with the Daursons family?"

Todd looked into Ratlich's eyes and shook his head, "You're not fit to rule this kingdom. ”

Rutledge's face turned red with anger.

He looked at Todd and exclaimed, "I guess there's nothing more to say between us!

There was no fear or panic on Todd's face, and he sat there as if he were listening to something that had nothing to do with him.

Ratledge snapped his fingers, and his men quickly brought kerosene and poured it around the hall.

Smelling the pungent smell in the air, Ratledge gave Todd a cruel smile: "Church rebels, entered the palace through the secret passages, and died with the king in the fire...... Sounds like a good script, doesn't it? Thank you for giving you a decent way to die. ”

Ratledge turned around and was about to leave, when he suddenly stopped, glanced back at the cold and arrogant Queen Mary, and said to her, "As for you, I can give you a chance......"

Mary stood beside Todd, her night-like eyes shining coldly, and there was not a hint of a smile on her snow-white face, and before Ratledge could finish speaking, she spat out a word softly.

"Get out!"

In the face of Mary's angry rebuke, Rutledge looked at the fire slowly burning in the main hall, shrugged helplessly, and then ordered his men to close the door, and locked the door completely with iron hoops, and then left the scene satisfied.