The Marquis Marco, who hurried home, met his father, the Grand Duke of Smois, the de facto ruler of the mansion and the entire province of Hanover, in his study.

"Father, you are in such a hurry to call me back, but what happened?"

Recently, the glorious empire has been full of disasters, and various situations of various sizes have emerged one after another. It wouldn't be surprising if something happened again.

In this regard, His Majesty Beckenbauer, who is sitting on the throne, is of course unable to sleep, and although the province of Hanover, far away from the war, in the north of the empire, it is not delusional to deal with it safely and stay out of the matter.

The minor nobles below still knew the importance of seizing the opportunity, and as the supreme ruler of the province, the father and son of the Grand Duke of Smowa, could not have planned ahead.

Gatherings like today's have been held every now and then since the two empires went to war. Recently, banquets have become more and more frequent.

It is unswervingly on the side of the glorious empire and a loyal vassal; Or like Taranto and Brussels, he knows the times as a handsome man, and decisively changes the court. This is a multiple-choice question before all the Hanoverian aristocracy.

When it comes to the future and fate of the family, and even life and death, it is not surprising that the nobles make any choice. And even the high-ranking Grand Duke's Mansion can't make everyone follow him with all their hearts. It is necessary to pay close attention to the developments of all parties and carefully guard against and deal with all kinds of possible emergencies.

At this time, the banquet had just begun, and Marquis Marco was urgently summoned home by his old father, no wonder he had the same guess as the third young master.

Grand Duke Smowa waved his hand lightly, and asked without answering, "What is the gain from this banquet?" ”

Marco replied respectfully, "It's still the same, the heads of the various families are probing each other, testing each other, desperately trying to find out what others really think, and at the same time trying their best to hide their own intentions. As for the substantive actions, they have not yet been discovered. ”

After a pause, the Marquis continued.

"On the contrary, the younger generation of each family is very anxious and urgent, some words and actions have been quite explicit, communicating with each other, and even the taste of alliance is also very strong. I think those old foxes began to sit still, so the juniors tried to contact each other. It is the best thing to become, but if something happens, it can be inferred that young people are impulsive and inconsiderate. All at once, it was pushed clean. ”

The Duke of Small nodded, a faint smile on his face, not at all surprised by what his son had recounted.

"Understandably, such a far-reaching decision cannot be overstated. Without this attitude, their family would not have survived to this day. ”

The corner of Marco's mouth twitched slightly, and he said contemptuously: "No matter what, they still live on our territory under the rule of the province of Hanover. The Grand Duke's Mansion didn't say anything for a day, so what use could they make no matter how many small actions they made. ”

Duke Small glared at his son, his tone already tinged with sternness.

"Marko, your idea is dangerous, you know! Think about our Majesty King Beckenbauer, why is he so anxious and tired of coping now? Aren't Taranto and Brussels provinces under his rule? The two dukes, Curcis and Finney, are not saying the opposite. In Hanover, how much difference can we make in our relationship with the nobles below? ”

"What my father taught me was that I was negligent." Marquis Marco's face grimaced, and he admitted his mistake.

Duke Smowa nodded happily, satisfied with his attitude.

The Grand Duke is old, and in the last two years he has begun to consciously decentralize power. His son, Marquis Marco, was his chosen successor to the family.

And the Marquis of Marco did not disappoint his father either.

He was sociable and tactful, and tied the nobles of Hanover Province to the big tree of the Grand Duke's Palace. At the same time, he is not soft-hearted, he only knows how to blindly compromise and retreat. As long as necessary, he will not hesitate to kill his opponent and kill his opponent in a river of blood.

In the small circle of nobles outside, the nickname of Marquis Marco "Smiling Yama" is secretly circulated. In the eyes of the Duke of Smois, this nickname is a compliment and recognition of his son's skill.

Of course, no one is perfect. If there's anything else Marquis Marco doesn't quite like the Grand Duke, it's that his overall view is a little weaker.

If you draw a big framework and let the Marquis Marco do things under this big frame, he can do things completely well; But if you jump out of this framework and create and design an effective management structure by yourself in a blank or chaotic place, the Marquis is a little overwhelmed.

To put it simply, Marco is a capable general, but not a good leader.

If possible, the Duke of Smowa would rather have his son be mediocre in his ability to do things, and add all his talents to leadership.

The specific affairs can be completed by the people below, but judging the situation and guiding the Grand Duke's Palace can only be decided and grasped by themselves.

Especially now, when the situation is changing and unpredictable, it is even more necessary to have an excellent helmsman with precise vision and an overall perspective.

But things are not as good as they should be, and Marco, although he is still lacking, is already the best of all the heirs of the Grand Duke.

Alas~ I had to take advantage of the time when I was not dead to try to help Marco check the gates, hoping that he could grow up as soon as possible.

The Grand Duke sighed secretly in his heart, but Marquis Marco couldn't help but ask out loud.

"Father, according to my observations and analyses during this time, most of the nobles, big and small, tend to side with the Riga Empire. As you just said, they don't have to wait for us to take a stand. The only thing missing now is just the first person to stand up. If they were to take the lead in making their attitudes, the situation of the Grand Duke's Palace would become very embarrassing. Actually, what's going on in your mind? ”

Duke Smowa glanced at his son and asked lightly, "Now that you have begun to take over my position, what will you choose?" ”

When the Marquis Marco heard this, he perked up and knew that this was an examination school that his father had given him.

During this period of time, the upper circles of Hanover have been talking about this issue, and the Marquis has also put a lot of thought and energy into it, and has already formed his own set of opinions in his mind, which can be regarded as fully prepared.

"In my opinion, this battle should not be fought at all, because we have no chance of winning!"

To get straight to the point, the Marquis's first sentence made his attitude clear.

"The difference in power between the two empires is quite obvious, and this gap is all-encompassing. The quality of the soldiers, the training equipment, the size of the army, the ability of the generals, etc., etc., our glorious empire is much behind the other side. Under such a comparison of strengths, before the war officially began, we had already lost 30%. The most frightening thing is that, based on this realization, there is a general sense of pessimism and disappointment about the outcome of this war. The consequence of this was the successive rebellions of the two major provinces. Under the weight of such internal and external troubles, whether it is His Majesty the King or other pro-imperial forces, it is like carrying a heavy mountain on their shoulders. The slightest hint of wind and grass could be the last straw that broke the camel's back, causing the pro-royal alliance to collapse in an instant. ”

"Our Hannover stance and attitude are by no means just a straw, but have a huge weight!"

"If we stand up at this time, maybe we don't even need to send the army, as long as we show our attitude and show the flag, it will be enough to completely collapse those people who have been nervous."

"With such a great contribution, I guess the Riga Empire will not treat us badly."

After Marquis Marco finished speaking, he looked at his father nervously, hoping that his opinion would be affirmed by the other party.

The Duke of Smois, however, was noncommittal.

"On paper, your argument is valid. But after all, neither you nor I have actually been on the battlefield, and it is very doubtful whether the advantage will inevitably turn into the final victory. Like Aberdeen's counterinsurgency battle against Taranto, Aberdeen should have won the overall victory, according to you. But in the end, it turned out to be the opposite, and if it weren't for a little luck, General John and his army would probably have been handed over there. ”

Marquis Marco argued unconvinced: "That's because Taranto has the addition of the famous Riga general Francie, which has increased the strength of their army. This also illustrates the great advantage of the Riga Empire over us at the level of generals: even if we lead a weak army, we can defeat the strong with the weak. If the leader itself is an elite soldier, the glorious empire will not be able to resist. ”

"But the level of improvement should not be so high, allowing Taranto to instantly match or even overtake the Aberdeen army. At least on paper, this is not possible. ”

The Duke of Smowa was not impatient and replied indifferently.

"Whatever it may not be, since that's how it happened, we can only accept it. But from here, I learned a truth: the war is not until the last moment, and the outcome is unpredictable. No matter how clear and clear the data on paper is, it cannot completely determine the final result. ”

"What's more, Grand Duke Mattesias, who guards the gateway to the Eastern Empire, is not a general like General John, who can only talk on paper. He has rich experience in leading the army, has a brilliant record, and has played with the Riga Emperor ** team for decades, and he knows this opponent well. In addition, with Huaishui Pass, which has been operating for many years, as a reliant, the Riga Emperor ** team may not be able to break through. ”

Marco retorted: "That's just because General Dino didn't give the order to launch a strong attack because he was concerned about the loss of the siege. ”

The Grand Duke's eyes were blazing, and he looked into his son's eyes.

"Whether he can't or doesn't want to, it's a fact that the Riga people didn't break through. And the most direct result of this fact is that the resistance forces in the glorious empire can only rely on their own strength to resist the counterattack from the royalist front. withstands, only then is he qualified to talk about the future; If you can't stand it, it will have nothing to do with them no matter what happens in the future. ”

Marquis Marco paused for a moment, and then said, "If we betray the Glorious Empire now, there should be no risk, right?" The three hardcore allies of the royal family, Edinburgh is fully capable of dealing with General Dino's attack, Aberdeen and Burgundy are also pinned down by Taranto and Brussels respectively, who else can stop us Hanover? Whether it is a bluff or a formal dispatch of troops, we can make our own choice, and it is precisely because we can advance and retreat freely. Even if you don't help the attack of Curcis and Duke Finney, you can take advantage of the emptiness of the imperial capital...... Yes! ”

Marquis Marco followed the train of thought, and suddenly thought of something, and couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice.

Duke Smowa snorted, a "you just thought of it" expression of hatred.

"The Imperial Capital is not empty at all, and the strength of the six royal legions stationed there is not much better than that of the Aberdeen army, and the elite level is even surpassed. But even when the royal allies of Aberdeen Province were attacked by Taranto, they didn't move a moment, for what? What other reason could there be than to guard against us Hanover! ”

Marco's mouth opened wide, but he couldn't speak.

Of the six provinces, Hanover is the weakest militarily, and even worse than Taranto. If he confronted the Imperial Capital Guards head-on, the result would probably be even more miserable than the end of the glorious empire that he had analyzed just now.

The reason why this important military force was ignored was only because more than half of the territory of the empire was already burning with gunsmoke, but they were unmoved, so that the Marquis almost forgot their existence.

If Hanover really raised the anti-flag, the royal legions were afraid that they would immediately pour out and quickly extinguish the power of the Grand Duke's Palace.

They weren't as lucky as Taranto, with the famous Frankie in the side.

Thinking deeper, perhaps His Majesty King Beckenbauer would have wished for Hanover to rebel. After all, instead of leaving an unpredictable and powerful force behind it, threatening to contain the military power of the imperial capital at all times, it is impossible to fully support other battlefields. It is better to fight a happy battle, completely defeat the ruling power of the Grand Duke's Palace, and then bring the province of Hanover under the direct control of the royal family.

Lord Marquis shivered coldly, and a cold sweat instantly broke out behind his back.

My father's evaluation was not wrong, and he did have a big deficiency at the level of strategic decision-making. Fortunately, there is still an old father who helps in the end, otherwise the whole family may be taken to the abyss from which they will never recover.

After a long time, Marquis Marco asked in a low voice: "In this way, are you optimistic that the Brilliant Empire will survive this difficulty?" ”

Faced with his son's question, Grand Duke Smowa, who had always been wise and calm, also had a confused expression on his face for the first time.

"I don't know, the situation is complicated now, and it is far from the time when the winner is clear."

Soon, the confusion on the Grand Duke's face faded, and he returned to an indifferent look.

He stretched out his fingers, tapped a little on a document spread out on the table, and spoke leisurely.

"Now, however, there is a chance that we can get a glimpse of the Empire's chances of winning this national war. Well, at least as a reference. Before that, let's discuss how to receive the distinguished guests next. ”

"That's why I'm in such a hurry to get you back."

Marquis Marco hurriedly raised his eyes.

I saw a short sentence written on the document:

Princess Alina will lead a mission to Hannover tomorrow!