Chapter 130: Coercion

Arcatio got up and paced for a moment, then asked, "And what do you want?"

"I have too few men to manage the security of such a large area unless you allow me to expand my army," William said, shaking his head, "or give me command of the rest of the army." ”

"The command of other armies is not good!" Alcatio flatly refused, he did not know the truth of power from the barrel of a gun, but out of the dignity of the nobility, William was just a little knight, or a new canonization, just give him the command of his own army, and it was impossible for other nobles to agree to give him the command of other armies.

"You can expand your army, but you still have to pay for your own military expenses. Alcatio said after thinking about it for a moment.

The construction of the city walls was already on the agenda, the state did not have the money to pay for William's army, and Alcatio and the other nobles had money, but they would not pay out of their own pockets.

"Solve it by yourself?" William cried out, "I can solve it by myself with three hundred people, but what about five hundred, or even thousands?"

Alcatio was furious: "What did you say when you wanted to be a noble!?"

"At first, I just said that it was to deal with Jerma 66 and make a show," William seemed to be frightened by Alcatio's anger for a moment, and then whispered unwillingly, "I can solve it myself, but I ask that I be given the power to reform the military system and expand law and order." ”

“…… Yes, I will discuss this with the Secretary of State," Arcatio said slowly, and then immediately added, "I don't care what you do with your power, but your first task is to protect the safety of the royal family and the nobility." ”

Alcatio suspected that William's request was to take advantage of the security environment, but given the current financial situation of the kingdom, he could only hold his nose and admit it, which made him feel a little dissatisfied.

"I understand, I'm a nobleman now," William said with a villainous expression, "Also, catching crimes and maintaining law and order is not what I and my people are good at, so I want to build a school to train professional troops." ”

Arcatio's answer was very pleasant, because William's suggestion was more like a better job to get the job done.

"Also, my lord, I have a proposal. William glanced at Arcatio and said thoughtfully.

"What proposal?"

"Have you ever thought about taking this opportunity to expand your liquor business and discourage your competitors?"

Alcatio frowned: "How?"

"A special police force has been set up to investigate smuggling and alcohol trafficking. William said.

Alcatio didn't respond, he looked at William for a moment, and suddenly laughed: "And then use your people?"

William nodded naturally: "Just like we used to cooperate at sea, you tell me the information of the competitor, I will help you fight the competitor, and then hand over the seized wine to you, and then divide the account at that time." ”

Arcatio was silent, he didn't know if William made this proposal because he was simply greedy for money, or if he was greedy for power, and he wanted to get his hands on more functions.

But for now, Arcatio thought about it for a while, and finally nodded in agreement: "Okay. ”

The two talked about some more details, and then William took his own initiative to leave.

"Stolt!" Before leaving, Alcatio suddenly spoke up and asked coldly, "Did you kill Andre?"

William looked back in amazement: "Why do you say that, why should I kill him?"

Alcatio stared into William's eyes: "He has offended you and reduced you and your crew to the militia. ”

William looked ridiculous: "Is it because of this? I have to rely on my own military expenses, does it matter whether it is the militia or the regular army?"

Speaking of this, William sneered: "If he hinders me from becoming a nobleman, I may also teach him a lesson." ”

Alcatio had been observing William's expression while he was speaking, but he couldn't find any problems, so he deliberately showed a slightly apologetic smile to ease the tension that had become a little tense because of his sudden attack:

"It seems that I was frightened by this case, and I have been a little suspicious lately. ”

William didn't look guilty, but asked, "If you're not worried about the security, I can send two crew members to protect you." ”

"No," Alcatio smiled and waved his hand, "you just let Chloe come back first." ”

William's heart moved, and then he nodded in agreement.

When William left, Alcatio, who still had a slight smile on his face, instantly turned cold, and after a while, he called a servant and ordered him: "Go and call Aureliano." ”

The servant bowed and left, and Arcatio waited for a long time, until he was impatient, and his only son, Aureliano, came to the reception room.

Looking at Aureliano, who was full of alcohol in broad daylight, Alcatio was angry and reprimanded him.

Although Aureliano is in his thirties, he is still like a child in front of Arcatio, obediently bowing his head and being trained.

When Alcatio was tired of reprimanding, he ordered: "You find a time to meet with Dennis, the sheriff of the city." ”

Aureliano said in surprise: "Father, that is a famous gambler, don't you usually allow me to contact such a person?"

"I'm asking you to talk about work," Arcatio said coldly, "tell him to investigate Andrea's case and ......." ”

Arcatio paused before saying, "...... Let him pay attention to Stolter. ”

……

After Aureliano also left, Alcatio kept pacing back and forth in the reception room, frowning and thinking about the whole case and how Willian had behaved all along.

But he really couldn't find anything wrong.

The matter of inviting William into the kingdom's army was proposed by Alcatio himself, and the security of the slums was also a problem that had existed for a long time, but because Andrei's death was suddenly taken seriously.

A series of events seem to show that William is just pushing the boat down the river from beginning to end, and the only suspicious thing may be Andre's death.

Alcatio couldn't convince himself that William, who was supposed to be a vulgar and short-sighted pirate leader, could make a plan by taking into account the security of the slums and the reactions that a group of princes and nobles might have, and he could only convince himself that his instinct-like reaction was too much of his heart.

Alcatio felt that his current reaction was only because William began to take advantage of his need for him and repeatedly raised conditions, and naturally became wary.

But in fact, empathy, William is just an ally of Alcatio, and it is normal for him to have his own interests.