Count McNus is forty-two years old this year, the same age as the eldest prince Powell, and has been a classmate of the First Armament Academy of the Empire for more than two years, and his personal relationship is also very good on weekdays. Now that there are no outsiders present, the conversation between the two people is much more casual, and there are not so many cumbersome and hypocritical etiquette and politeness. Seeing Powell asking his son for some cigarettes, Count McNus was also interested, and he glared at Duang: "What are cigarettes?" Hey, boy, when did you get the problem? Have you learned to hide and tuck up good things? Come on, come on, take it out quickly, and bring me a ...... too."

"Uh...... Good! ”

Du Ang didn't expect that the eldest prince Powell was also a loyal smoker, and looking at this meaning, his addiction was quite big, thinking that this must be the credit of the second prince Karaze, and the first cigarette Powell smoked must have been given by him. Otherwise, Powell is usually busy with official duties and rarely goes out in the inner courtyard of the palace, how would he know what a cigarette is? Not to mention running over like this to ask for yourself.

It was just a cigarette, and Du Ang naturally did not hesitate, he smiled, took out a pack of red wine-flavored cigarettes that he had brought with him, and gave one to Powell and Count McNuss each. Looking at the strange-looking little white stick in his hand, Earl McNus wondered, "This is a cigarette?" Eat or use? ”

"Like me, light it, suck it in!"

Powell had a pair of small but very deep pale blue eyes, and his eyes were as bright as the bottomless ocean, and he affectionately called Count McNuss by name: "Simon, your son is very talented, this cigarette is a very interesting gadget he made, I didn't take it seriously when Caradze first gave it to me a few days ago, but after smoking two cigarettes, I became completely addicted." How about making a fuss if you don't smoke it for a while? A taste of your son's craft? ”

As he spoke, he lit a cigarette for Count McNuss.

"Ahem, ahem...... Count McNus couldn't help but cough as soon as he took a puff, pulling the wounds on his body, making him frown: "What the hell is this?" ”

"Hahaha!"

Without the presence of outsiders, Powell would have long since lost the solemnity of the aristocracy that could not be looked at directly, just like an ordinary friend who likes to see his buddy make a fool of himself, and he laughed back and forth when he saw his past sins replay in Count McNus. He took a pleasant breath of smoke, shook his fingers, and said with the posture of a passer-by: "It was like this at first, just get used to it, my dear Earl!" ”

A few more gossips. Powell's face became serious, and his words changed. Ready to get down to business. Count McNus waved his hand. asked Duang to go out, but was stopped by Powell: "Simon, you are seriously injured and bedridden, and you have difficulty moving, what if you need to drink water and go to the toilet for a while?" Do you want me to serve you myself? Don't dream about it, huh. Just let Du Ang stay here, he is not an outsider anyway, he will take over from you sooner or later, and now he is not too young. It doesn't hurt to know a little about government and military affairs. ”

Since Powell said so, Count McNuss naturally had nothing to object, so he asked Duang to stay in the house and temporarily act as a servant to serve tea and water to the two people, and by the way, he followed a long experience, but Count McNus was worried that the child's mouth was not strict, so he carefully told Duang that whatever he heard for a while would rot in his stomach, and he was not allowed to talk nonsense to anyone outside without any words.

An hour later......

With a snap, the eldest prince Powell slapped the table with an indignant face: "It's too much, those damn barbarians are really too much?" Do you really think that we will not dare to use troops to fight them? ”

Count McNus sneered: "Powell, you told the truth. ”

"What truth?"

"We really don't dare to hit them."

"Are you scared?" Powell's eyebrows furrowed, and there were faint signs of anger.

"Yes, I'm afraid, but I'm not afraid to fight hard on the battlefield with those damn barbarians, I'm afraid that once the fight starts, the empire will be completely dragged down by this war!"

"However, we can't bear it anymore, including me, everyone's opinion is to fight!"

"What about His Majesty's opinion?" Count McNus played: "I have heard that His Majesty the Emperor is still very hesitant. ”

"We'll persuade him to do it."

"So, I'm back!"

"Are you going to stop it?"

"No, I just want to calm down all your hot heads, I just want you to know that the empire can't afford to fight this battle now!"

The two people were-for-tat, you and I were talking about it, and the atmosphere in the room was very tense.

In this case, Du Ang was naturally inconvenient to interject, so he had to take the kettle and keep filling the cups of the two fiery people. Who said water can extinguish fires? Says who? These two people drank so much water, but how could they not even show a little sign of the anger subsiding?

Although they couldn't interject, Du Ang basically understood that what they were arguing about was the current situation in the northwest region. That is, the area where Count McNass was stationed. And the object of their argument is the barbarians who are far away from them.

Barbarian!

It's a contemptuous appellation.

In fact, it is not a group of barbarians who wear animal skins and eat raw meat and live in caves and only scream, it is also an empire, called the Byron Empire, compared to the civilization and prosperity of the Bauhinia Empire, the Byron Empire is a little behind, it is located in the northwest of the St. George continent, the people are rough and fierce, with vast grasslands, vast Gobi, galloping horses and shining scimitars, and the customs here are more casual and more brutal than the Bauhinia Empire.

Since ancient times, the relationship between the Bauhinia Empire and the Byron Empire has not been very good, and they don't look at each other, the Bauhinia Empire feels that the Byron Empire is arrogant and unreasonable, and calls them barbarians with contempt, while the Byron Empire thinks that although the Bauhinia Empire is prosperous and rich, people are very hypocritical, they are scheming villains, and they are liars who don't count.

Such a thought is deeply ingrained in the hearts of the people of the two countries, and although it is not a naked hatred, it is definitely not a cordial and friendly brotherly neighbor. For many years, the two sides have been constantly engaged in small frictions, you beat me, I beat you, and a little problem can make the two countries constantly quarrel with each other. However, after more than 100 years of fighting, these two countries that no one looks down on have not broken out into a large-scale war, and even in the last ten years, the relationship between the two sides has eased to a certain extent, last spring, the emperor of the Byron Empire, Prussia, unfortunately died, and the Bauhinia Empire also sent envoys to mourn, if this kind of thing was placed in the past, it is simply unimaginable!

There are two reasons for this situation, the first is the geographical reason, which makes it difficult for these two countries to really fight each other no matter how awkward they look.

Because in the middle of the border between the two countries, there is a vast desert that stretches for thousands of miles......

This place, called: the Sea of Death!

The sand, the wind, the white bones that can be seen everywhere left behind by the unknown years and months, and the fierce horse thieves who come and go like the wind, all these things block the communication between the two countries, good intentions, wars, or friendships.

If a large army is sent to attack the Byron Empire, it will inevitably pass through this sea of death, not to mention the long distance, the problem of food and sleep, the problem of logistics supply alone is enough to drive the most astute logistics staff officer crazy.

Ten carts of grain, people eat horses to feed, and it is already very good to be able to leave one cart when it is transported to the destination, and there is still the problem of drinking water, so you can't dig a well and gnaw sand in that desert, right?

In addition to this geographical problem, the second reason is the current foreign policy of the Bauhinia Empire.

One word: Fu!

Now the emperor of the Bauhinia Empire, His Majesty Charles XVI, is a relatively virtuous monarch, unlike the previous monarchs who have always dreamed of expanding their territory, since he ascended the throne and sat in the palace, he has been pursuing a policy of recuperation and recuperation, not attacking or fighting, forbearance if he can, cordial and kind to the outside world, and vigorously developing the economy and accumulating strength internally, and the attitude towards the Byron Empire ...... Charles XVI only commissioned the Northwest Army under the command of Count McNus to firmly garrison the border, only defending, not attacking, as long as it could ensure that the empire was not harassed, it was enough.

After more than ten years of painstaking development, the internal strength of the Bauhinia Empire has been greatly enhanced, and the national strength has increased several times compared with the reign of the previous monarchs.

However, it is in response to the old saying: the tree wants to be quiet, but the wind does not stop.

The Bauhinia Empire looked like a kind man under the rule of Charles XVI, and tried to ease relations with the Byron Empire, but in comparison, the Byron Empire was like an unfed wolf cub, taking the goodwill of the Bauhinia Empire as a proof of weakness and deception, especially the emperor of the Byron Empire, who had just succeeded to the throne for more than a year, was only a fourteen-year-old young monarch, but he was more belligerent and fanatical than his father, the dead Prussian emperor.

Even, there is an unconfirmed gossip that on the first day after he ascended the throne and became the emperor of the Byron Empire, he engraved his three major wishes in this life on a pillar in the palace, and the first one is to completely erase the name of the Bauhinia Empire from the continent of St. George, and to incorporate all the land that originally belonged to the Bauhinia Empire into the territory of the Byron Empire...... (To be continued......)