The beacon fire is still roaring, the military reports are frequent, and thick war clouds are floating in the sky above the Ostiga Empire, and the air breathed out seems to have the breath of flames.

However, this atmosphere did not affect Heidelberg...... To be precise, the atmosphere of life in aristocratic circles. Military reports from the south were transmitted to the military headquarters one after another, and although His Majesty the Emperor and most of the important ministers frequently reprimanded, the various extreme situations caused by the riots and the underground race did not improve.

A large number of fugitives fled from the south to the north, and the nobles were able to say that they took with them a great deal of wealth, and after escaping from the danger zone, most of them settled in a few provinces in the central part of the empire, while those of the more wealthy families carried a lot of wealth with them and still flourished in Heidelberg...... Although the empire has decreed that in the event of a foreign invasion, the first-line lords are not allowed to flee, and violators will be punished as treason.

There are policies and countermeasures, and many nobles will take advantage of loopholes, because the imperial decree does not prohibit them from escaping when their territory is breached, at most they lose their territory, as long as they operate it, they can still retain their noble status, and at most they will be punished by some defeat.

The nobility of the south has always represented wealth, which even the aristocracy of the imperial capital is extremely envious, but now they look at these nouveau riche with a condescending and gloating mentality. However, the news brought by the southern nobles and the various things they saw after the invasion of the underground races deeply terrified the nobles.

Before that, they were the rulers of the high, and although the empire experienced wars more than once, they never worried about their status, because they were the owners of wealth, land, and people.

But in the south, in the minds of the invaders, this qiē was nonsense...... For the first time, someone ignored their identity. For the first time, someone ignored their status, for the first time someone deprived them of their wealth and the right to live.

This! It's absolutely not allowed!

First of all, those nobles who had fled from the south organized a petition group to return to their hometowns, and jointly wrote a letter asking His Majesty the Emperor to intensify the crackdown on the underground races. Then, some nobles in the capital area who were full of 'justice' also took action. They took out money and goods one after another. Either organize mercenaries to join the front-line army, or ask for help for the nobles who have suffered heavy losses in the war...... No one is the only one who pays attention to the civilians who have suffered more in such wars.

In this farce. Fivinel XVIII has always been extremely determined, he doesn't care about the petitions of the southern nobles, he doesn't care about the territory encroached on by the underground races, he constantly urges the army to continue to attack those who betray the empire. He constantly convened the generals of the military department to discuss countermeasures. This majesty has been reported to the nobles who rebelled severely. Then his empire didn't have to wait until it was destroyed by the underground race, and the betrayal of those nobles alone was enough to make it fall apart and begin to disintegrate.

Under the urging of the emperor. While trying to block and delay the underground races, the Southern Legion launched a purge of the southern aristocracy, those who betrayed the empire. The nobles who surrendered to the underground races or rebelled were dealt a severe blow.

The most brutal means of the Southern Military Region is to clear the wilderness!

They burned every village in their path. They drove civilians to the north, and they took every grain of food from the occupied territories. This brutal approach quickly took effect, and the arms of the rebel nobles began to be retracted, and some nobles even joined the battle sequence of the underground race with their own troops, and they had no way to escape.

Judging from the strategy of the underground race, they deliberately relaxed the rhythm of their attacks, and their purpose was to let the humans fight to the death first...... Fei Wenlie XVIII knew the other party's intentions, but this was a conspiracy, and he had no means to crack it.

……

"So that is...... We got the victory? Fivinlie XVIII looked at the officers in front of him with a smile.

"Why don't you answer?" The emperor's face changed a little, although he knew that officials were used to reporting good news and not bad news, but the faces of these guys also changed too quickly!

"Majesty!" The first to step out of the officer queue was still Sexter. Field Marshal Tucker.

"The rebellion in the South, though settled, ...... The situation is not rosy. Because the most powerful rebels have completely thrown themselves into the camp of the underground races, and some of the rebel areas have been taken over by the underground races. It's the rainy season, which isn't conducive to war, but I'm afraid that once the rainy season is over, the coalition of the underground races will continue their footsteps. ”

Fei Wenlie XVIII nodded lightly, he was not very worried, since Marshal Tucker already had this kind of self-awareness, then he must have started to set up, for this old marshal, the emperor has always relied on him very much, and as long as the internal constraints are solved, it is much easier to concentrate on dealing with the underground race.

"Alright! My Excellency Marshal! The old emperor laughed happily, "Let the military department decide on this matter, and try to make a plan, I believe that the generals of the Southern Army will also do their best to cooperate, isn't that so?" ”

The officers fell silent again, and everyone could tell that the emperor was actually talking.

Field Marshal Tucker and Chief of the General Staff Shikvar. Marshal Prest glanced at each other, and finally the Chief of the General Staff stepped forward.

"Your Majesty, about the current ...... of the Southern Legion"

"That's it!"

Fivinlie XVIII waved his hand, and he threw a basket of papers in front of Marshal Prester, "These are letters from the military department and local nobles complaining about the Southern Legion, hum!" Some are not complaints at all, but false accusations. I know very well what the Southern Legion is doing, they are loyal to the Empire, to the Royalty, and especially to withstand the test of turmoil, and if they had not been at the forefront of the battle, I believe I would not have seen the news of victory so quickly. ”

"Your Majesty, regarding the complaints against some high-ranking officers of the Southern Army, I have also considered it with my colleagues in the General Staff and the War Department, although most of them are made out of nothing, but at least the points of resisting the decisions of the Military Department, acting arbitrarily, and sympathizing with the rebels have indeed happened!"

Almost as soon as Marshal Prester's words fell, a voice echoed among the officers.

Fei Wenlie XVIII still had an inexplicable smile, he knew better than anyone that the Southern Army had made great contributions in the process of counterinsurgency, so when victory came, it was inevitable to fight for merit, trap, and seize profit.

"My Chief of the General Staff, can you put aside the matter of the Southern Army's disobedience, I don't think there is much basis for those complaints. Like you said, they resisted the military department's resolutions and battle plans, but as a battlefield commander, I didn't feel that the general was violating his duties. Heidelberg is nearly 1,000 kilometers away from the war zone, do the front-line generals still have to wait for the decision of the military headquarters in everything? As for sympathizing with the rebels......"

Fei Wenlie XVIII sighed softly, "The war has only been going on for less than half a year, and the loss of population and property in the southern territory has reached a level that is unacceptable to the Empire. The elimination of the rebels must continue, but the invasion of the underground races must also be severely counterattacked. ”

Marshal Prest nodded in response to the Emperor's order, and he retreated into the ranks of officers, the chief of the General Staff already knew the Emperor's attitude towards the Southern Army, and the result of continuing to insist would only be to get himself in trouble.

"Alright! Let's talk about it here first...... Let's talk about the other border areas! The Emperor announced that he would move on to the next topic.

At 18 Queen's Road in Heidelberg, a horse-drawn carriage pulled up briskly in front of the door. The door opened, and Ilona jumped out of the carriage briskly, and when she landed, she turned around and reached out into the carriage, and Hathaway took her arm and stepped out of the carriage...... Although she did not think it was necessary, it was aristocratic etiquette, and in Heidelberg, it was quite important.

This is a new house she has purchased, and although she doesn't live here often, it is more convenient to come to Heidelberg and have a house of her own, not only for hospitality, but also for her own comfort.

Suddenly, a commotion in the opposite street caught their attention...... Just across from 18 Queen's Road, it's an aristocratic mansion with a long history. Normally, like the rest of the Queen's Road courtyards, behind the high walls and plane trees, you can only hear the laughter of women and children. But now it's different, with more than a dozen carriages bearing the insignia of the Justice Department pulling up at the entrance of the residence, and heavily armed police officers surrounding the mansion.

"What's going on?" Ilona looked at Hathaway suspiciously.

Hathaway looked coldly at the nobles who were pressed into the prisoner car one after another, "Didn't you see that?" That's a catch. ”

"Arrest!"

Ilona took a breath and subconsciously retracted her gaze, "I've seen the owner of the house, the marquis is a good person, their family is a good person, I can't believe they will break the law." ”

Hathaway couldn't help but laugh even colder when she heard this.

"Ilona, I don't know if they broke the law or not, but one thing is for sure! They must have disobeyed the Emperor's will, and if they understood the Emperor's intentions, then even if they broke the law, there would be no trouble! ”

Ilona nodded as if she didn't understand, she didn't understand this kind of thing involving politics.

"The current empire is completely under the control of His Majesty the Emperor, the southern aristocracy has always been against the imperial family, and the rebellion has provided a good excuse for the emperor, especially for the emperor to purge the discordant voices in the government, and I believe that no one will dare to stand up against the emperor's motion." Hathaway said worriedly, but even she didn't know what to worry about.

The meeting is still ongoing. (To be continued) R466