"Wow-"

There was a round of applause, whether it was true or not, people were applauding, and everyone had a smile on their faces. Paul Gibson looked at the guests in the audience with satisfaction, and introduced a few more words, but did not give the answer to the previous question. He left the doubts to the guests, and he also left the slightest ominous to the banquet. What is His Majesty's attitude towards His Royal Highness's two proposals, what is His Royal Highness's motivation for putting forward those two proposals, is it colluding with certain power groups, and what will happen to the political situation in Anken Rein in the future? No one could answer these questions, but they could always see some general context, which were hidden in the vague words and unclear attitudes of His Majesty, hidden in the speculations and messages that were privately disseminated during this banquet, but never surfaced.

“…… If you want me to say, Elena's Hongqi sedan is a bit unworthy of the name, I took their car once, and it was really good, but the price, tsk......"

Surrounded by a crowd of people, the fun-loving Garrell Owen, as usual, had a large number of playmates by his side. These people approached him, perhaps because he was the younger brother of the Prime Minister, or perhaps because he was an expert in the imperial capital, and they got together to talk about cars, women, and gossip about the imperial capital, but they didn't notice the slightest anxiety hidden under the cynicism of Garrell. The Thermidorian project has been launched, and there is no turning back for them. However, why did His Majesty's words just now always make him shudder?

According to the plan, from the very beginning of this banquet, from the moment His Majesty the Emperor walked into this banquet hall, the Thermidorian project had officially begun. The police and army that had already been put in place would quickly purge the loyalist royalists, while the top echelons who had communicated in advance would directly control and drive out the oppositionists who were involved. The whole action was rigorous and swift, with the bell as the signal. When the bell strikes five at four o'clock, Prince Wenfeng will lead all the members of the existing cabinet and tell His Majesty the Emperor directly that his time has passed.

This will be a bloodless coup d'état, the emperor will be abdicated, and Prince Wenfeng, who represents the interests of enlightened nobles, industrial capitalists, and trade brokers, and advocates cooperation with Elena, will become the new emperor of the country. If all goes well, the country will get rid of serfdom, get rid of feudal monarchy and go straight to constitutional monarchy. And such a decision, only Prince Wenfeng would agree. With an attitude close to decisiveness, he eliminated the imperial power he possessed, and what he obtained was a more civilized, prosperous, and powerful Anken Rein.

The clock is ticking. Emile Owen's granddaughter, the small and beautiful girl Minronia Owen is chatting with the young Prince Gary with the many guests at the scene. Everyone is very concerned about his salute to Elena, and they are also curious about Elena's state. After all, there is a strong sense of mystery and curiosity about this power, which has risen at a miraculous speed in two years. They wondered what had allowed Elena to develop so rapidly, and they wondered if Gastens magic had played a role in this.

Faced with these questions, Prince Gary's answer was both polite and appropriate, so the guests praised Prince Gary's intelligence and said that he was the person who knew Elena best in Anconrein. Between the words, it seems that Gary is already the next emperor who has been decided. Few people paid attention to Prince Wenfeng, who was following the emperor with a calm expression. It seems that after the Battle of Ronninger, the prince, who was born in literature and was put on the throne as a general, fell silent. Only people in the literary circle still know about the prince's recent paintings and long poems. It seems that after the death of Prince Eliot and the fact that Prince Gary was sent to Elena, Prince Wenfeng returned to his original state, obsessed with art and not interested in anything else.

As the clock ticked, Garrell glanced at the large, delicate clock on the wall, three forty, twenty minutes before the appointed time. At this time, Suanna's palace had been completely blocked by Prince Wenfeng's team, and news from outside could not come in. So, no one knows what's going on outside, neither anyone who knows anything about the Thermidorian Project or anyone who knows anything about the Thermidorian Project can only wait for the bell to ring.

His Majesty the Emperor and his entourage came to Garrel. Paul Gibson smiled and raised his glass at him, shook it, and bowed his head to tell his son.

"This is the Marquis Garrell Owen, the cousin of Emile Owen, who has little interest in politics, but likes to be chic and happy, and lives a much more comfortable life than we do. When you left two years ago, he came to see you off, do you remember? ”

"I remember, Father."

Gary replied respectfully, and then extended a friendly hand to Garrel.

"Uncle Garrel, thank you for giving me the self-defense chain mail, I wear it most of Elena's time, it's safe."

"That's my pleasure, and if you like it, I can give you another one, and one for your little lady at the same time."

Garrel's words made Minronia blush. The little girl, who knew Garrel, glared at him and did not speak. Gary smiled and took it.

"Then thank you, Uncle Garrel, I do really like the armor you gave me."

"My pleasure."

Garrell saluted again, watching the royal group in front of him move towards the next wave of guests. Prince Wenfeng, who was following behind the Emperor and Prince Gary, glanced at him as he passed by Garrel. The look was calm, as if nothing had happened.

The clock was still ticking, it was already three fifty, and the final plan was only ten minutes away. The insiders who walked around the banquet scene couldn't help but get nervous. Is the outside plan going well?

"Everybody......

With the little prince and all the guests present to say hello, His Majesty the Emperor's family returned to the stage in front of the venue, "I am very happy that you can join us today, and just now I also brought our little prince Gary to express my sincere gratitude to all the guests for coming, next, the state affairs are busy, I will go back first, please enjoy your happy time, don't be restrained!" ”

Hey, are you leaving?

Garrell suddenly became nervous, if His Majesty the Emperor left now, he would find out about the blockade of Suanna's palace, and once he found out about it, with his many years of political experience, he would definitely be able to guess what happened. At that time, the success of the Thermidorian project seemed to have gone from being a certainty to a matter of suspense.

What to do? Garrell was a little nervous, he looked left and right, and just happened to see his older brother, Emile Owen. Owen saw Garrel's somewhat flustered eyes and nodded at him slightly, reassuring him. Garrell received this signal and quietly breathed a sigh of relief.

His Majesty the Emperor is not a novice, but who is a novice in planning the Thermidorian plan? Everyone is a veteran who has been in the political arena for a long time, and it should be easy to deal with this kind of scene.

"Father, can I say a few words?"

Just when His Majesty the Emperor was about to leave, Prince Wenfeng walked to the front row of the stage with some recklessness. His words were transmitted directly through the loudspeaker throughout the venue without even the consent of His Majesty the Emperor. At this moment, Garrel's heart skipped a beat. Finally, His Highness couldn't help but shoot directly.

Seeing the unexpected appearance of his second son, Paul frowned imperceptibly. His son didn't do a good job before, and after he was forced to go to the battlefield, he didn't perform well at first, but then he slowly improved. However, in the immediate aftermath of Roninger's recovery, he massacred dissidents and suspected rebels, and even wiped out two archdukes. Although the elimination of the thieves was Paul's gesture, such a large-scale massacre without regard for the importance and impact had long exceeded Paul's original intention. Since then, Paul has had little interest in his own son, and if Gary hadn't been sent to Elena by him, he might not have bothered to make the most basic disguises.

"It's rare that the second son wants to speak, you can say anything you want, although this is Gary's welcome party, but you are his brother, you want to send a blessing alone, it's no problem at all."

"Thank you, Father," Wen Feng nodded at Paul, facing everyone, "Just now Father mentioned Gary's brother's proposal, including reforming serfdom, reducing the border garrison, and increasing cooperation with Elena. As a witness and participant in the war and watching my brother die on the battlefield, I am equally curious about the answer to this question. My father, His Majesty the Emperor of Ankenrein, what is your answer to these questions? ”

Hearing Prince Wenfeng's question, the venue suddenly fell silent. Even people like Garrell know how inappropriate this question of Prince Wenfeng is. When the court was arguing about this issue, he rashly provoked this topic at the welcome banquet of Prince Gary, and to put it maliciously, he basically deliberately wanted to slap Prince Gary and the old emperor in the face.

"You asked a good question", Paul Gibson's expression was calm, and there was no joy or anger to be seen. However, those who know him well will understand from the way he uses words that he is already angry.

"My answers to these questions have always been clear. In the final analysis, these problems all came from Elena, without Elena, there would be no fugitive slaves, no brokers who became rich because of the border trade, and the bourgeoisie of Ankenrein would not have developed so rapidly. To answer this question, we have to go back to the original question, to go back to the fundamental reason, how do we think of Elena? ”

Speaking of which, Paul Gibson raised a glass to Dilard Warren, the consul of Elena's office in Roseville, and received an understanding response from Dilard. So Paul nodded and continued.

And how to look at Elena, in the final analysis, the question comes back to one person, a man who relied on his own strength to save Elena from the brink of destruction, won Elena two years of peaceful development, and gave Elena the most precious period of strategic opportunity, the chairman of the Communist Party, the legendary closest to the Great Magister Gastens Warren. Honestly, after Gastens unleashed that forbidden spell, we thoroughly, carefully, exhausted all possibilities and all our powers, and thoroughly investigated Gastens. What did we get? ”

The venue became quieter and quieter, and many people began to look at Dillal Warren's face. Paul Gibson is now talking about a major secret. In the presence of Elena's official representatives, these words, these messages should not be revealed at all.

"Your Majesty—"

Emile Owen whispered to remind Paul Gibson that he had begun to leak state secrets. However, his kindness was interrupted by Paul's angry shout.

"Shut up!"

Emile Owen's eyes widened in surprise, for it had been a long time since Paul had spoken to him like this. His thoughts, paused in surprise, lost the last chance to interrupt Paul Gibson.

"The result was simple: Gastens, a serf born to a small landowner on the banks of the Willow River, Laurie Bass, had not received even a day of formal education since he was a child. His father and his mother, who were also serfs, were also illiterate. With such an environment and such a family background, how can we educate a descendant who can build a steam engine, be proficient in many Chinese, and even be proficient in magic? We can't explain it, no one can explain it. However, this fact still happened, and he defied all common sense, defied all understanding, and put before us such an erudite, proficient in steam engines, who knew the etiquette of high society, and who could even unleash magic. Therefore, we not only have to ask a question, is this Gastens now, really Gastens? ”

The atmosphere in the venue was much quieter, a question that no one had ever thought about. However, with Paul's categorical statement, people suddenly realized a topic that they were a little overlooked: can that serf Gastens, really become the current Gastens?

"All of you here, you all know the history of magic, and you know the magic of magic. Magic can completely change a person's appearance, or it can completely disguise a person as another person. It is not once or twice in history that well-known magicians have changed their identities and lived incognito. And if you are familiar with the history of magic, you should even know that this power of identity change, and even the process that every magician has to go through. When they get bored with life, they use a magic spell to turn themselves into another person and live another life. And those who were replaced by them have all changed dramatically. An illiterate person can suddenly write beautiful articles, a cowardly and obscene person suddenly becomes righteous and fearless, and a person who does not know how to fight suddenly becomes a military expert. Isn't this change familiar to you? Or, to put it more clearly, the current Gastens, the Gastens who unleashed the magic, really, is it still the original Gastens? ”

Brush –

Almost uncontrollably, all eyes in the room were on Dillard Warren. Faced with such a question that is almost provocative in person, how should he respond, as the consul of Elena in Roseville?