At the very least, Yitzhak Floyd doesn't mind revealing his identity as a Mind Flayer, Groom's style is more secretive than his, Weinberg has never seen this man's true face, only that he has a group of agents from the "shapeshifter" family, who can change their appearance and body shape at will, and blend in with the crowd to listen to information without revealing it. As for whether Grum himself is a "shapeshifter"? Then it is unknown.

A palace attendant walked briskly from across the corridor, stopped in front of the door, and bowed slightly to Weinberg: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister, summoned by Your Majesty. ”

Weinberg got up and straightened his clothes, and followed the attendant through the corridor that surrounded the flowerbeds and into the imperial study.

The midday sun illuminates the spacious lobby through crystal windows, and rows of towering ebony bookshelves line the walls, where the scent of books and tobacco is intoxicating.

Joshua VIII, the lord of Canaan's revival, sat in an armchair, his sturdy and upright figure worthy of the title of "Lion of Heaven", but the years were unforgiving, and his temples were already a little gray. A pair of jewel-encrusted glasses framed on the bridge of his nose obscured his falcon-like gaze, adding a bit of bookishness to the soldier-turned-king, and his ivory pipe brought it to his lips and took a deep breath, slowly exhaling purple mist in a moment.

Madame Judy sat beside her husband, her pale hair reflecting the sunlight and radiating a white gold sheen, her beautiful face delicately covered with delicate make-up that perfectly concealed the marks left on her face by the years, and her clear eyes were unusually bright. A translucent creature curled up in the queen's arms, its smooth skin shining with the white slender hands of the hostess. This crystal carved cat is actually a special kind of "spirit crystal servant", and the queen with a pet in her arms is not as weak as it seems, long before marrying into the court of Bethlehem, she was known as the "Queen of the Witch of Rosenthal", and it is said that spiritual cultivation has reached the legendary realm.

There were also two young men in the study, Grofa and Raymond. The half-brothers, who are five years apart in age, have little in common except for a slight resemblance in appearance. The personalities of the two princes are even more contrasting, Grofa is always very kind to people, and his gentle demeanor makes people feel like a spring breeze, but Raymond is withdrawn like a piece of ice, purses his lips and looks gloomy, and is silent all day long, as if he is thinking about some difficult problem, and he is extremely disgusted with participating in social activities.

Samuel Weinberg saluted the members of the royal family and then briefed the Marquis of Joshua on the details of the reception of the diplomats of Hailan and Fizhen, especially the position of the two countries on the border conflict in the Far East.

"Hailan and Fijin were so anxious to find their door, which shows that the grain exported from the Far East is vital to the food supply of the two countries, and the two countries had to do their best to maintain the rule of the Kingdom of Kolas in the Far East until the end of the colonial war." "Kaos and Konstantin are unlikely to directly intervene in the dispute on the Far Eastern border, but their warnings will not be mere words, and if Fijen and Hailan join forces to impose trade sanctions on our country, the economic damage caused alone will be immeasurable, not to mention the political pressure that will follow," Weinberg concluded. ”

The Marquis frowned, obviously dissatisfied with the current situation, but did not show any more emotion, and said lightly: "Foreign affairs will be put aside for now, let that person named Stig in, and before we can make appropriate countermeasures, we must first figure out who is responsible for this farce." ”

The guards opened the door, and a man in military uniform and epaulettes of a major general walked in. The moment he looked up and looked at the Marquis of Zion, his bloodless face became even paler, and locks of gray hair soaked in cold sweat stuck to his forehead, and he bowed deeply to the throne in an attempt to hide the panic in his heart.

Weinberg was not familiar with Stig as a person, only that he was from the Rosenthal family, a talented psychic mancer, and the most relied on brain trust of Meyer, the governor of Medes, who was appreciated by Madame Judy and the Marquis of Zion through Mayer's recommendation, and granted the important post of chief of staff of the Medesan border guards, and Mayer's military adventures on the Far Eastern border were mostly inseparable from this person. Since Mayer's adventure ended in failure and he himself became a captive of the Far Easterners, it was clear that Stig was to blame. Considering that Steig is an important player in the "Relatives Party", Mrs. Judy's mood may not be very good.

"How much do you know about the farce that happened on the Far Eastern border three days ago?" Joshua Zion asked, expressionless.

"Your Majesty, it was under my persuasion that Governor Mayer decided to take the risk of launching this military operation, and the battle plan was entirely planned by me, and I am willing to bear all the blame for the failure!" Steig's face was sad.

Joshua waved his hand to interrupt his self-reproach and said coldly: "Your guilt is subject to military court judgment, I don't care if you sincerely repent or take the blame for others, what really puzzles me is why you ended up in a fiasco when you have the advantage, say everything you know, and don't leave out any details." ”

"Your Majesty, our forces do have the advantage, and I also use this as a premise to conclude that this battle will be won, but unfortunately the advantage on paper is not presented on the battlefield, and we lost because of the failure of intelligence and underestimating the strength of the opponent."

Under the curious gaze of the royal family members and the Prime Minister, Stig used his ability to conjure up a realistic image suspended out of thin air, which was a map of the border along the Mochizuki-Crescent River. Stig sketched on the map, first explaining the battle plan of the Medes and the four major Kou alliances: first attack Sweetwater Town with sand bandits, attack the enemy and save the enemy, use the "Wind Knights" to cooperate with the sand bandits to encircle and send reinforcements, and at the same time send the "Sand Knights" to infiltrate Mochizuki City to seize the Governor's Palace.

Weinberg was not familiar with military affairs, but he felt from experience that Steger's battle plan could not find obvious loopholes. Looking up at Joshua VIII, the half-lifed, victorious king bowed slightly, which showed that Steg's plan was indeed feasible.

Why did seemingly plausible tactics fail?

Stig then demonstrated the course of the campaign from the perspective of the Far Eastern Border Guards, and with hindsight faithfully reproduced the enemy's response strategy.

When Stig finished his presentation, the room fell silent for a long time. No matter how quiet all the observers were, they could not hide their shock in their hearts, and they had to admit that Steger's reflection was right: the military strength of the Far Easterners, especially the two new types of armed forces, the airship air force and the armored knights, was greatly underestimated. In addition, the young prince of the Far East, Roland Kolas, also made a big impression on everyone. Previously, it had only been heard that His Royal Highness the prince was a good hand in finance, and today it is known that his military talent is also amazing, and even Steger, who prides himself on being a good strategist, has to admit that he lost this battle convincingly.