"Cheers!"

Several arms were raised, and everyone gracefully drank the wine from their glasses.

This is a simple and bright spacious living room, and a high-level reception banquet is going on. The hosts are the Archduke of Smois, the Marquis of Hanover, and the guests are the eldest princess of the glorious Empire, Arina, the "Azure Swordmaster" Carton, and the rising star of the Empire, Anthony.

After greeting Arina and Caton for a while, the Duke of Smowa turned to Anthony.

"I haven't seen you for a few months, but Mr. Anthony still looks good. The Duke also heard about the wonderful performance of the gentleman in Taranto, and sure enough, he was a hero. With the help of a man like Mr. Anthony, my glorious empire will surely be able to tide over the difficulties before it. ”

The top hat was a bit ridiculously tall, and Anthony felt like he couldn't wear it.

"The Duke is too awarded, the national disaster is at the head, and what can be relied on is the efforts of all the military and civilians in the empire. How can he be virtuous, how can he afford such praise from adults. ”

"I can afford it, sir, I can definitely stand it."

Although there is an element of exaggeration in the words, the Duke of Smois's appreciation of Anthony is real, without the slightest adulteration.

The first time the two met was at the imperial meeting that changed the fate of the empire.

The young man was calm and calmly waved his hand, cutting off the head of the waste prince of the Riga Empire, which also changed the trajectory of the future progress of the two empires.

Whether it was in the face of the reproach of the high-ranking Duke of Kochis, or the incomprehensible questions of others, the young man always behaved without impatience, humility or arrogance. Deal with it properly, like a wise old man full of confidence.

Since then, the Duke of Smoisa has been attentive to Anthony.

And the experience of the young man since then, which can be called an amazing performance again and again, also proves that he is indeed worthy of the attention of the Duke.

The two talked happily with each other, and it seemed that they had a good conversation, but they ignored the main princess Arlina and the veteran top powerhouse "Azure Sword Master" Caton. Marquis Marco could only accompany him to chat, and everyone talked without a match.

Both of the guests, Arlina and Caton, were flat, as if they were accustomed to having Anthony steal the limelight, and didn't feel anything wrong with it. On the contrary, Marquis Marco looked at the young man who was talking with his father, and a look of envy and jealousy flashed in his eyes.

From the father-son conversation last night, the Marquis Marco had fully felt his father's admiration and appreciation for the young man named Anthony. He was very sure that if this Anthony was his brother, then the position of heir to the Grand Duke's Mansion would definitely not be his turn.

At that time, he was still angry and dissatisfied with this young man who had never heard of him, and secretly slandered his father for being old and dizzy. Otherwise, how could he be so respectful of a weak-crowned teenager who was less than half his age?

After meeting today, Marquis Marco has been secretly observing each other, but has not found anything unusual.

Until now......

Seeing the performance of Arlina and Caton, it is natural for Anthony to be the main one. Although he still didn't know what to do, the Marquis couldn't help but be impressed by the accuracy of his father's vision.

His father's words rang in his head:

"The current situation of the glorious empire is very bad, and it is not easy to turn the tables around. Of course, before the moment when the winner is clear, no one dares to make a conclusion easily. But if you want to say that the biggest variable, in my opinion, I am afraid that it will fall on this young man! ”

As he spoke, the Duke stretched out his hand and pointed at a piece of information.

On the finger, a name is written:

Anthony!

That was the first time Marquis Marco had heard of this name, but judging from his father's tone and expression, he even had to suspect that the reason why his father, who was in his impression of being resolute, was hesitant was precisely because of this young man.

What he said about wanting to get a glimpse of the empire's odds of winning depends on how well this young man performs?

What is this Anthony's ability to be worthy of his father's attention, and even to tie the choice and future of the Hanover province to him alone!

So far, at least, the Marquis of Marco had found nothing unusual about the boy, except for his gentle manners and proper conversation.

Although it can be seen from the attitude of everyone else, this "anomaly" must be there, and it should be quite striking.

But he really didn't see it today.

The banquet went smoothly and ended smoothly. The atmosphere was not warm, but it was very harmonious, and the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.

The Grand Duke of Smowa, father and son, personally escorted Princess Arina and her party out of the gate of the mansion, put them in a carriage, and watched the carriage drive out of the street and disappear around the corner in the distance before returning home.

It was a purely courtesy reception, which was equivalent to saying hello to each other: "Hey, I'm here!" "Oh, you're here."

As for the substance, both sides tacitly did not talk about it in the slightest.

The princess's mission came this time to inspect and supervise the conscription training and preparation work of the provinces.

Both the Duke of Smoisa and the Marquis of Marco scoffed at this claim.

Patrol supervision? Can the patrol supervise and use such a gorgeous lineup? The empire is now in flames, and it is time to use troops. Don't put the two top combat forces and let the twenty silver fighters act as the honor guard? When did the glorious empire have such extravagant confidence.

As for the real purpose, Duke Smowa can roughly guess a few points. He believed that the other party could also estimate that he had understood their intentions. Everyone just tacitly understood it, and didn't say it.

Her Royal Highness the princess and her entourage are not good to say their intentions directly, and the Duke is also happy to pretend to be stupid and not say anything.

Anyway, he won't be the most anxious one, and it won't be his turn to be anxious.

Now this situation is just enough for him to see clearly how the young man he has been paying attention to will act and what method he will use to break this dilemma.

If his performance is not satisfactory enough, then don't blame Duke Ben for voting for the Riga Empire.

Do your best, boy!

The door to the Duke's Palace slammed shut, shielding the Duke's figure from the thick panels.

The arrival of the princess's mission was no secret, and soon the nobles in the capital of Hanover got the news. Not long after, the news also reached the ears of all the small and medium-sized nobles.

In fact, it doesn't matter if you don't receive the news, because in the next few days, Her Royal Highness the princess will take the initiative to visit the homes of these nobles.

From the Grand Duke's Mansion downwards, no matter how high or low the title is, the size of the energy, one is counted as one, and nothing is missing.

Similar to the welcome banquet at the Grand Duke's Palace, Her Royal Highness's visit to the princess this round was still mainly courteous. It did not focus on the topic of preparing for war and sending troops as the nobles expected. But let the words of shirk and justification that they had prepared long ago hold in their hearts, so they were not depressed.

Of course, each nobleman only knows what is going on in his own home. As for what Her Royal Highness the Princess talked about behind closed doors in someone else's house? Then only God knows, and both of them know.

Grand Duke Smowa, who was paying close attention to the actions of Her Royal Highness the Princess, couldn't help but secretly exclaim after hearing the return of his subordinates: "Good! ”

It was entirely reasonable for Her Royal Highness the Princess to come to Hanover Province to visit the local nobles, big and small, and no one could fault anything.

But it was such a simple action that made the hearts of those rebellious families uneasy and full of uneasiness.

Will someone hit my little report? Will anyone tell Her Royal Highness the Princess? Will those families who are also not optimistic about the glorious empire, and have even reached a preliminary alliance, change their minds because of the arrival of Her Royal Highness the Princess? Shouldn't we also take a break and see how the situation develops before making plans?

All of a sudden, the upper echelons of the Hannover province were surging, and the nobles were all planning their own little calculations.

Anthony found that it was really his luck to get acquainted with Tang Feng and other "Southern Union Four Heroes".

At first, Anthony thought that the so-called "Four Heroes of the Southern Union" was just a joking title made up by four Confederate people who came to a foreign land.

Gradually, several people slowly revealed their talents in different fields.

The most prominent of them is undoubtedly the silent and cold Tang Feng.

Solid and complete systematic knowledge of military theory, keen observation, coupled with a flexible mind. It can be said that Tang Feng already has all the conditions to become an excellent commander, and the only thing he lacks is time. Or to be precise, it's just experience.

Things are gathered by like, and people are grouped. The other three can mix with Tang Feng, and obviously they will not be useless waste.

Yang Haonian, the "little **" who was the first to be released, was originally arranged in the underground gang in the imperial capital, and he was already like a fish in water in a short period of time. In time, it may not be impossible to mix into the overlord of the underground world.

Lin Zhifeng, the "wind wolf" that Anthony first came into contact with, did not become depressed since his martial arts cultivation was abolished, but seemed to have seen through something, and the whole person became gentle and smooth. No matter how you treat people, communicate properly, and handle them appropriately. Although for the time being, the highlight is that he was sent to Burgundy to ask for help, but Anthony has seen in him the shadow of a good diplomat.

As for the last of the four, Xu Feng, nicknamed "Crazy", seems to be the most useless one. However, this trip to Hanover made Anthony and others fully realize the accuracy of the sentence "The reason why people in the world are divided into useful and useless is only whether they are placed in the right place".

Her Royal Highness the Princess and her entourage visited the nobles of the provincial capital of Hanover, and it was Xu Feng, a down-and-out little nobleman, who was mainly responsible for dealing with those old foxes and little foxes.

Although Anthony is also a genuine nobleman, he has received aristocratic education and training since he was a child. However, due to his cultivation physique, he and his relatives at home focused on this, and other things were put aside for the time being.

Princess Alina was in a similar situation, although her cultivation talent was completely opposite to Anthony's, but the result was very coincidentally consistent: she spent almost all of her energy on learning magic. Therefore, except for the only few girlfriends, Her Royal Highness the princess has hardly dealt with other nobles.

As for the Sword Master, well, forget it. Although because of his status as a top martial arts powerhouse, he also received the title of knighthood from His Majesty the King himself. But whether it was someone else or himself, everyone only regarded the Sword Saint as a top martial artist, not a nobleman.

So in the end, everyone found out that the most suitable person to deal with these nobles was Xu Feng, who didn't have much sense of existence.

To be able to talk about a topic like "today's weather hahaha" that is not nutritious and has no substance, the speaker is full of words, and the listener is full of interest, I have to say that this is also a kind of ability.

While quietly sipping the refreshments, while carefully listening to and observing the tones and expressions of the heads of the various families, Anthony, who speculated on their thoughts and positions, couldn't help but sigh: At least I can't do this.

Originally, Lin Zhifeng was also very suitable for playing this role, but unfortunately he was not a nobleman, and he did not have a deep understanding of the etiquette and habits of nobles.

Besides, the fact that Yalina, Caton, and Anthony don't go out in person is already a bit of a showcase. But after all, their status and strength are there, except for the Grand Duke's Mansion, there is no one in other noble families who is equal or equivalent to their status, and the patriarchs are not easy to say. It would be a bit too much to send another civilian to deal with them. It's hard to say if those arrogant nobles will be angry and do something they don't want to see.

In any case, the arrival of the princess's mission made the already unquiet pond of Hanover even more turbulent.

When the floodgates are breached, no one can guess where the raging water will go, except for a few people or forces, and no one can control it.