Chapter 2251: The Puppet King (2)

"Whew. Duke Cirnant laughed dryly, shrugged his shoulders and said, "It is precisely because you successfully completed the commission and brought back the head of the harpy that it is possible for us to meet in such a place." If you die in the Black Forest without even being able to complete the commission, and it proves that you don't have what it takes to be a king, then you can talk about the rest of the rest. ＂

Arthur was silent.

"Young man, I know you are ambitious, and I know what you are up to. I know Admiral Penzance is already on your side.

But I wonder, are you worth it?

His Majesty Henry VI, the current young king, is really just a puppet, and the Earl of Warwick has all this behind him. That Warwick guy had promised us, the lords, that if we sent troops to support him, he would take down France and give us a piece of the pie. And as a result, the incompetent guy just drained our forces for nothing, and the war went into a quagmire. The great Order of England, with hundreds of thousands of elite soldiers and a strengthened heavy crossbow in their hands, was still defeated by a young girl from the countryside in France. It's a loss-making business. And can you promise that you won't become another Earl of Warwick, and that the [investment] of our lords will become a loss-making deal?"

Arthur remained silent. Whether it is war or royal power, in the eyes of these nobles, it is just a transaction.

"That's right, you've come back from destroying the Harpy------ whether it's a real source of plague or not------ it's a testament to your skills. But fighting alone and leading troops behind the scenes are two completely different things. Are you really confident that you can do all this?" asked the Duke of Hillant, "what is the use of making you king if you are worse than Warwick?"

Speaking of which, Arthur was already a little unbearable. Ignoring the risk of offending the Duke of Hilnant, he retorted: "But the choice is not only war. ＂

"Huh?" the Duke furrowed, patiently waiting for Arthur to finish.

"The Count of Warwick advocated the invasion of France, and he continued to demand from you, the lords, and even from the common people of England, and the result was that the benefit from the war was very small, but it was a great drain on the strength of England. You knew from the beginning that he was bound to fail in doing so, but you just didn't dare to openly oppose him, right?

So enough is enough, really enough. No one with a bit of brains would approve of the continuation of such a war. France's hard bones, which cannot be gnawed, have no taste even if they are forcibly bitten, and will only damage their teeth. Let's let this senseless war end sooner. ＂

The Duke of Hillante's brows raised again: "So you advocate a truce with France?"

"As long as they don't come over, we won't attack it, yes. It's good for everyone. Arthur replied bluntly: "I think you must have thought this way before, Duke, right?" It's just that the nobles have always supported His Majesty Henry VI and the Earl of Warwick, and it is really difficult to find a step down the stairs to suddenly change their minds. That's why you need a truth------ for example, His Majesty Henry VI's throne is not orthodox, and the legitimate successor to the throne of England is someone else------ and so on. ＂

Arthur said this in a long tone and narrowed his eyes, revealing a scheming look. Although this is not his usual favorite expression, and he actually does not have such a deep calculation, but, everything depends on his acting skills, maybe this acting skills will work in front of the Duke of Sylnant?

As he spoke, he kept observing the slightest change of emotion on the duke's face. He didn't see anger, he didn't see doubt, but he could see a hint of joy in the duke's face. That's when Arthur knew that his words were working------ even if only a small part of them were working.

After listening to Arthur's words, the Duke of Hillant thought for a long time before finally answering, "You may be right, Mr. Aslan. Meaningless wars have been going on, consuming countless human and material resources from us. Maybe it's time to stop. It's better to get nothing than to keep losing. ＂

"I'll admit it. He glared at Arthur, "You, perhaps, are a little better than the Earl of Warwick or His Majesty Henry VI." Maybe that's what makes you a king. This appearance is also a little similar to the Edwards------ it doesn't matter what the blood is, what matters is that your appearance can be used to convince the nobles of the council. If you want to take power away from His Majesty Henry VI, you are not completely out of the question. What you lack at the moment is fame, recognition, and recognition. When you have all this, it's not too late for us to talk about the seizure of power. ＂

The attitude of the Duke of Hillant was almost the same as that of Admiral Penzance. As a result, they also "said that they would support Arthur", but in fact, Arthur had to work hard to build his prestige alone.

"However, if I don't give you anything, I want you to work alone, which is too impersonal. The Duke of Hillant took a large bag of gold coins from his bosom and placed them on the table. The table was a wooden table, and his action of putting the bag was light enough, but the moment the bag of gold coins landed on the table, there was still a sharp rustling sound of the tide, and you can imagine how heavy the gold coins in the bag were, and how amazing the number was.

"Take it. Use this money to hire a group of skilled mercenaries, and then choose a knight below the black robe from my knighthood to be your lieutenant. Then when you have the most basic military powers, go and deal with the bands of thieves [bone pickers] who are wreaking havoc in the local area. It's a win-win, you've established your prestige, and I've got one less pest in my territory. Agree?"

The Duke of Hillant was really smart (cunning). Stuffed some money to Arthur, wanting to borrow Arthur's hand to help him eliminate the harm. At the same time, he also arranged for his knights to be beside Arthur, so as to monitor Arthur's movements day and night. This was done in the name of helping Arthur establish his prestige, but in fact it was more than one stone, and most of the benefits ended up being owned by him. This old fox is really cunning to the extreme.

"If it's just a gang of thieves, I can wipe it out with Bedi and I. Others are nothing more than a liability. Arthur snorted. Of course, he wanted the money, but he didn't want to ask for mercenaries, and he was even more reluctant to let the Duke of Hillant arrange for a watchman to be by his side.

"I don't know how good you are, Lord Aslan. The Duke took another puff of his cigarette, exhaled the smoke ring, and then replied slowly, "But as I said, this time is not a test of your [ability to fight alone], but a test of your [ability to command operations]. If you want to be a true king, [Combat Command Ability] is much more important than [Solo Combat Ability]. As a king, you can't always run to the front of the battlefield in every battle, and use your life to fight the enemy. That's what a reckless man does, not what a king should do. What [leading by example] and [leading by example] is just saying good things, but in reality it is meaningless. ＂

Arthur couldn't argue because he knew that the Duke of Hillant was right------ at least partially. The combat effectiveness of the people in their other world is much worse than that of Arthur's original world nine hundred years ago. That is from equipment to combat technology, all-round weakness. And in a world made up of such weak people, in general, the commander, of course, did not dare to personally go to the battlefield and take risks.

Joan of Arc is certainly a special case. And she is a little girl born in the countryside, not a king, and the princes and nobles of France pushed her to the forefront of the battlefield to take risks, without the slightest distress.

"That's fine. Arthur blinked: "In your knights, what is the concept of knights below the black robe? The black robe is a commander-level knight, right? In other words, except for the commander-level knight, other knights can choose?------ even if it is a trainee?"

"Yes. Duke Cirnant said, "Of course, I also have several recommended candidates, all of whom are shrewd and capable talents. It's up to you which one you choose. ＂

The candidates recommended by the duke, of course, are all his confidants, or the children of his confidants. After all, it was a knight arranged by the Duke to monitor Arthur, how could the quality be poor. Although the Duke said that he wanted Arthur to choose any of the knights to be his lieutenant, in fact, Arthur's selection process was the process of the Duke testing Arthur's ability to be king. If Arthur had chosen someone indiscriminately and chosen an incompetent person to be his follower, the Duke's evaluation might have been lowered at the same time.

But he couldn't just follow the game the duke had set for him. Even if there is a request for others, being led by the nose by the other party is not King Arthur's style. He had to find a breakthrough in this limited range of options------ find a way (candidate) that would not make the Duke think badly of him, and would not easily let the Duke control him.

"Choosing an adjutant is a big deal, and I still don't look at your recommendation. Arthur said, "Can you give me permission to actually walk around your castle and see the quality of your knights in their daily work, and pick out the right ones among them?"

The Duke took another puff on his cigarette and thought for a moment: "Yes." It's fairer that way. ＂

He took out a fist-sized, medal-like object and handed it to Arthur: "This is a token of my family, you can take it first." If a knight wants to stop you while walking around the castle, show this token to keep you afloat. In one day, you'll be looking for the right person in my castle. ＂

"As long as it's a candidate below the black-robed knight, it's really okay?" Arthur confirmed again.

"As long as it's a candidate below the black-robed knight, it's all fine. The Duke of Hillant was also categorical, without the slightest hesitation, as if he had overconfidence in his plans.

"Good. Arthur smiled wickedly and pushed the door open with the money and tokens.