The morning sun is bright but not dazzling, shining on people's bodies, warm and warm that people just want to get back into the bed and sleep again.

It's winter, and the weather is getting colder. The clothes worn by pedestrians on the street have also increased significantly, and each of them seems to be swollen and fat.

But the cold weather doesn't dampen people's enthusiasm for life, and the streets are lined with shops that have opened their doors early. Those who don't have the money to rent a shop also push a simple wooden cart or carry a burden to bring all kinds of goods such as breakfast, vegetables, fruits, and miscellaneous goods to the street.

The streets are crowded with people, crowded and crowded. Although the long street is long and there are many stalls, the big and small bosses don't have to worry about bad business.

Whether it is a poor man who earns hard money by making a lot of effort, or a well-dressed scholar with elegant manners, or a rich child who is dignified and luxurious, you can find your desired position in this bustling long street. Or sit in groups of three or five, or sit alone, comfortably fill your stomach, and then start a new life for the day.

It's lively, bustling and stable, and it's been the same every day for years, decades, or decades, without the slightest change.

Even if the glorious empire is already in turmoil at this time, the beacon smoke is everywhere. But here, in the province of Brussels, people go from sunrise to sunset, and life is dull but steady.

It is only because Brussels has a benevolent lord who is quite talented and loves his people like a son.

Suddenly, there was a commotion from the far side of the street, slowly spreading in this direction.

A group of brightly armored guards escorted a slightly worn carriage and walked slowly forward.

Those soldiers had resolute faces and capable movements, and at first glance they were well-trained soldiers. The carriage in the middle was inconspicuous, and the curtain on the carriage had even faded in some places, and it looked like the carriage of some down-and-out nobleman.

The contrast is so strong that it is like a richly dressed slave standing beside his master in patched old clothes.

If you change people or places, this kind of behavior will inevitably attract boos, and the infamy of hypocrisy, artificiality, and buying people's hearts will already come like a tidal wave.

But in Brussels, on this street, people look at the kind old man in the carriage, and some only love and gratitude from the heart.

The simplicity and frugality of the old man's life has reached a harsh level, and it will indeed make people think that he is deliberately acting for outsiders. But if a person has been deliberately putting on a show for decades, even if it was originally hypocritical, it has now become true.

The ordinary people don't understand any big truths, but whether their lives are good or bad, they naturally understand it as clearly as a mirror in their hearts. No matter what others think of this ruler of Brussels, but up and down the province, who does not admire and support him.

"Lord Duke! Lord Duke! ”

"Good morning, Lord Duke!"

"Your Excellency the Duke has worked hard! Take care of yourself! ”

There are many shops on both sides of the street, there are many customers, and with the pedestrians on the road, it can be said that it is quite crowded. But the wide, straight road in the middle is empty, and you can see the end at a glance.

Archduke Finney sat in the carriage, the curtains had long been lifted, and he looked at the bustling scene in the street, smiling and waving to the people on both sides.

The Grand Duke felt very relieved in his heart.

He did everything he could, at all costs, so that the scene in front of him would not be destroyed or destroyed.

One way or another, at least so far, his purpose has been achieved.

As for the future......

The carriage drove down the road into a tall building, and the smile on Grand Duke Finney's face slowly faded, replaced by worry and exhaustion.

At the moment when the door slammed shut, Duke Finney's eyes suddenly swept a figure.

The figure stood under a large tree not far from the door, looking at itself from a distance. He was a little short and stocky, wrapped in black, with a hat on his head and a long cloak behind him, and his neckline was raised so high that most of his face was obscured. In addition, the hat hung low, blocking his forehead, so that people couldn't see his face at all.

The only thing that was exposed was only a pair of eyes, a pair of eyes that were both gentle and sharp.

Gentle and sharp, two feelings that should be contradictory, but very strangely merged in such a pair of eyes.

Grand Duke Finney only felt that the eyes were familiar, and by the time he could take a closer look, the door had been closed tightly, cutting off the sight of each other.

The carriage slowly stopped, and the Grand Duke stepped out of the carriage, and there were already people from the palace waiting beside him.

"Grand Duke, there are people outside the door asking to see you."

"Who is it?"

The subordinate said respectfully: "The man didn't say anything. ”

Grand Duke Finney frowned, and said without looking back, "No! ”

There was already a lot of dissatisfaction in his tone.

This person is also an old man in the house, knowing that he has been upset a lot recently, this kind of hiding his head and showing his tail, and the person of unknown origin is just sent away, and he also uses it to annoy himself?

The servant seemed to have expected it, but he did not retreat, but presented an envelope and a stone in both hands.

"The man said that as long as the Grand Duke read this letter, he would definitely see him."

Grand Duke Finney turned his head to look at it and couldn't help but exclaim.

"The best philosopher's stone?"

Although the Grand Duke was frugal and simple, it did not mean that he had not seen good things. With his eyes, he could see at a glance that the fist-sized, crystal clear, enchanting and mysterious faint glow was a superb magic stone that was priceless, and even money could not necessarily buy it.

It is no wonder that a subordinate who is familiar with his temperament insists on informing himself, and that person uses a superb philosopher's stone as a waystone, obviously not for jokes or pranks. The only possibility is that the person really has something very important.

Archduke Finney did not hesitate, and reached out to take the envelope from his subordinate's hand.

The envelope was ordinary, plain, and there wasn't even any pattern or text on it. The Grand Duke opened it, pulled out the letter inside, and just glanced at it, and his face changed in an instant.

He finally remembered where he had seen those unique eyes.

But Grand Duke Finney still couldn't believe it, how could he be here?

"Lord Duke?"

The servant hesitated and called out, sobering Grand Duke Finney from his shock.

He coughed lightly and turned to walk back into the house.

"You go and bring someone in, and Duke Ben is waiting for him in the study."

The man was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly agreed, and walked out of the door, also surprised in his heart.

Who is that person who is dressed in a strange way and makes people unable to see their faces? actually asked the Grand Duke to meet him in the study.

When the man had brought him into the study, he turned and withdrew without waiting for an order, and closed the door tightly.

The person who came was dressed in black, and it was the mysterious person under the big tree outside the door who caught the attention of Grand Duke Finney.

As soon as the door closed, the man let out a low chuckle, his voice soft and clear.

"Grand Duke, don't you come unharmed, are you?"

Grand Duke Finney listened to the voice from memory, and became more and more sure of his suspicion and what was written in the letter, but he still had one last trace of doubt.

"You're really ......"

The man in black took off the hat on his head and took off the cloak on his body, revealing his true face of Lushan.

At the same time, there was a sudden crackling sound like fried beans all over his body, and his originally short and fat body seemed to be stretched by an invisible hand, and soon turned into a slender and well-proportioned young man.

Grand Duke Finney looked at everything in front of him in amazement, and finally confirmed the identity of the other party.

"You're Anthony!"

The Grand Duke took a breath of cold air, and even though everything in front of him was true, he still couldn't believe it.

Since he betrayed the glorious empire, the two have been considered enemies. And Anthony is different from the past, he is a high-ranking general, commanding thousands of troops and horses, and controlling the national war situation.

With such a noble and important status, how could he dare to come to his house alone like an ordinary person visiting a friend's house?

Anthony bowed his hand, still as gentle and polite as when the two met for the first time in the imperial capital.

"It's just down there. I was worried that when I came in, I would see a large group of guards waiting for me, but I underestimated the courage and courage of the Duke. ”

He swept his eyes and took in the situation in the study. Except for Grand Duke Finney, there was only a thin old man with electric eyes and hands in his sleeves, standing beside him without saying a word.

There is no doubt that this is a top martial arts powerhouse.

Grand Duke Finney had already put away his surprise, and there was neither anger nor nervousness on his face.

"If you talk about courage, how can this Duke be as good as General Anthony. Even if it is not a tiger's den in Longtan, it is also heavily guarded. The general was alone, and he came as soon as he said it, which really made the Duke admire. ”

With the position of the two now, such a conversation seems too gentle and harmonious. Combined with what he had just seen and heard on the streets outside, Anthony became more and more confident in his guesses.

So he no longer hesitated and went straight to the point.

"The Duke is busy with his daily affairs. It is also a duty in the body, and there is no spare time. Then no more going around in circles and delaying everyone's time. In the next visit, I only wanted to ask the Grand Duke for answers because I had doubts in my heart. ”

The Grand Duke was slightly stunned, but still responded: "Please speak." ”

Anthony slowly took a few steps closer, ignoring the top powerhouses who were nervous and on guard with all his might, just staring into the eyes of Grand Duke Finney.

"Dare to ask the Grand Duke, why did you betray the empire in the first place?"

The Grand Duke was stunned again, but he didn't expect him to spend a lot of time and take risks, just for this one problem.

"What's the point of talking about it now?"

"Meaningful!" Anthony said formally, his expression more serious than ever.

"It's not only meaningful, it's relevant. Please also ask the Grand Duke to give advice. ”

Grand Duke Finney groaned, but did not speak.

With the relationship between the two, he did not call the guards, and summoned the masters to encircle and suppress Anthony, which was already friendly and polite, and of course there was no obligation to answer his questions.

Anthony didn't care: "The Grand Duke doesn't say it, why don't you wait and guess next?" ”

Without waiting for the other party to respond, he half-turned around and pointed out the door with one hand.

"The Grand Duke is not greedy for money, does not want to enjoy, and does not have the ambition to compete for power in the world, but he is willing to risk the infamy of rebellion. What did they do, but the people of Brussels outside were spared the ravages of war? ”

Grand Duke Finney's eyes flickered, rather surprised.

"I have heard that the general is talented and intelligent, but now that I see it, it really deserves its reputation."

When Anthony saw him admit it, he immediately asked: "My lord loves the people like a son, and I admire him." But how many casualties did the people of the other provinces of the empire increase because of the Grand Duke's choice, did the Duke ever think about it? ”

A look of shame flashed across Grand Duke Finney's face.

If he didn't feel guilty in his heart, where would he sit here with the other party to ask questions and answers, and he had already stabbed each other, shouting and shouting to kill.

But he still replied categorically: "The old man is the duke of the province of Brussels, and his ability is limited, so he can only take care of himself." ”

"But when he came with his army, he had already entered the province of Brussels, ready to attack at any time. The Grand Duke's plan fell through in the end. ”

"Is the General threatening me?" Grand Duke Finney said coldly.

Anthony's smile is still the same: "I'm just telling a fact." ”

The old man was silent.

The current situation was something he had never thought about when he made the decision.

At the beginning of the war between the two countries, almost everyone thought that the glorious empire had lost. Taranto's rebellion made their situation even worse. Aberdeen decisively sent troops to quell the rebellion, but he also fell into Franky's calculations step by step.

In the Grand Duke's view, the defeat of the glorious empire was assured, and there was no point in resisting and resisting, only increasing the casualties of soldiers and civilians in vain.

If he had been the king of the Empire, he would have ordered the surrender to the Riga Empire. But His Majesty Beckenbauer chose to resist to the end.

In this case, the Grand Duke resolutely decided to defect from the empire. In his mind, the rebellion in Brussels could be regarded as a fatal blow, and His Majesty Beckenbauer, no matter how stubborn, should recognize the facts and surrender quickly.

He ordered troops to enter the province of Burgundy, but confronted them and did not really attack, precisely to exert pressure and hasten the complete collapse of the glorious empire.

In this way, the war of nations can be stopped, and neither the glorious empire nor the people of the province of Brussels will have to face a brutal war.

But the birth of the young man on the other side turned the tide of the battle in a direction that he had not expected at all. He ran around, bringing back the seemingly decadent situation little by little. If it weren't for the Riga Empire's alternative approach and sending an army into the heart of the glorious empire, perhaps the chaos at home would have been put to rest.

Even in the current situation, Grand Duke Finney did not dare to boldly predict the outcome. It's just that the young man in front of him has created too many miracles before.

Grand Duke Finney was silent, and Anthony saw that the center had already made a plan.

It seems that it is indeed worth the risk to take this trip yourself. It was just as I expected. Then, there is a good chance that the Grand Duke will accept the next proposal.

"Archduke Finney, here's a proposal for the Grand Duke to take a closer look at......"