According to the established plan, Qiuchen should be sitting at the headquarters of the night attack and talking and laughing with their boss, to see if he can make a big news, and by the way, popularize water energy boat racing and boat racing for them. Assassination should also be based on the Basic Law, but today he doesn't know how many times he has lamented that his plan can't keep up with the changes in his life

In fact, Qiuchen was pulled out of the imperial capital by Nero in the wind and snow today, and asked him to accompany the former Roman emperor to the countryside for sightseeing, and in the name of going deep into the people to understand the people's feelings, he was fulfilling the duties of the Roman head of state and protector

"Actually, you just don't want to continue in the hotel with the desire to come out to breathe, right" Qiu Chen waved his hand and patted the snow on the fur hat, in order not to make them look too abnormal, Qiu Chen and Nero all wore clothes that were more in line with the temperature, although it took a lot of words to let Nero change out of her dress, but in the end she was persuaded to change into a fur dress that looked warmer on the outside

After all, who would run around in a thin dress on a snowy day!

It's just that after putting on the fur clothes, it is even more difficult for Qiuchen to tell the difference between her and Artoria

"Everywhere you go, you have to have a good understanding of the local folk customs, this is what a ruler should do" Nero opened his arms and looked intoxicated "Only under the cultivation of this natural beauty can the inspiration of the artist ~ The hustle and bustle in the bazaar is not bad, but Yu still prefers an elegant and noble atmosphere"

"But wouldn't it be more comfortable to lie lazily by the fireplace on a snowy day?" Qiuchen yawned boredly

After a day of rain, it snowed heavily around the imperial capital the next day, and it didn't stop until it was close to noon today, and I originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that there were not many people on the snowy streets, and the two of them went out of the city to go to the headquarters of the night attack, but in the end, under Nero's eyes as if they had been abandoned and forgotten, Qiuchen had to ask the general location of the headquarters of the night attack, and let the two of them take the first step and go another day

In the face of the autumn dusty scenery, Nero did not refute again, but swung his fist confidently

"Sooner or later, I will let Qing understand how great I am as an artist, and then thoroughly admire my artistic attainments."

"Okay, okay, I'm looking forward to that day" Qiuchen half-opened his eyes and rubbed the tip of his nose, obviously not taking it seriously. Today, she wandered outside for a long time, and if it weren't for Qiu Chen's hindrance of Nero, she would have planned to spend the night painting in the wild. I really don't understand where she is so fanatical about art

Suddenly, the sound of the wheels of a carriage sounded behind them, and Qiuchen turned around to see a convoy of soldiers slowly approaching the end of the road.

There were about twenty soldiers in total, each wearing heavy iron armor and with the cold glow of weapons in their hands, they looked like a group of elite soldiers. There was no obvious flag in the convoy, perhaps so aristocratic officials traveled. However, what made Qiu Chen even more concerned was that it was not a horse pulling the cart at the front, but a huge, wild boar-like creature

It's actually a pig cart...... It's really peculiar......

Seeing the carriage coming, Qiuchen pulled Nero back to the side of the road. But the carriage ...... The pig cart slowed down as it walked in front of them

The curtains were lifted, and Qiuchen saw a young girl with thick pink fur and a white shawl and a balding old man with a black headband and a white fur trench coat sitting inside

"Are you from a nearby village, or from the imperial capital?" asked the old man as the carriage stopped

Qiu Chen glanced at the old man with some doubts, it stands to reason that he and Nero are no different from ordinary people in appearance now, and it is impossible for someone to deliberately find trouble for themselves, but the noble official suddenly stopped traveling and asked a passer-by where they came from, Qiu Chen had never seen it

There was no way to see it in the old man, and Qiuchen looked at the young girl sitting beside him again. Meeting Qiuchen's eyes, the girl smiled lightly, "Don't worry, my father just wants to know about the situation near the imperial capital, if you are rushing to the imperial capital, please get in the car, we are also going to the imperial capital, we can give you a ride, my father just has some questions to ask you"

Qiuchen looked at Nero with an inquiring look, and Nero shrugged his shoulders and said it didn't matter

After thinking about it, they are going to the imperial capital anyway, and someone is willing to provide a carriage, so why not do it. So Qiuchen gladly accepted the young girl's proposal

In the carriage, the old man was very talkative, and to Qiu Chen's surprise, the old man in front of him, who seemed to be nothing more than a squire, was actually the former imperial minister Jolly, and his daughter Sibia was beside him

"Are you running an inn in the Imperial Capital?" Jolly coughed lightly, "The Empire's source of income mainly depends on the citizens in the Imperial Capital, but if your income is not good, it will affect the Empire's economy"

"Well~ Although it sounds very high-end and atmospheric, it is also a fact that the outlook is sluggish" Qiuchen scratched the back of his head, he has not seen the income of the hotel during this time, in short, if it weren't for the fact that he has a lot of gold in his hand, it is estimated that the hotel will not last for half a year "If the situation has not improved, it is estimated that I will have to sell the hotel and leave after a while"

"The Empire's economy is not good, and the Empire's food reserves are ......," Jolly said, pulling back the curtain on the other side. Now the pig cart is driving past a roadside village. There were only a handful of people in the village, gathered around the campfire outside to keep warm, and some even fell to the ground from hunger. The whole village was lifeless, "When I passed through this village before I left the imperial capital, this village was still thriving, but now it has become depressed...... The country is obviously built on the foundation of the people, and if this continues, the country will not be a country."

"My father is for the country and the people, and he does not hesitate to return to the imperial capital that has become a nest of poisonous snakes, I think it is very remarkable" Sibia on the side looked at his father with reverent eyes

"After all, now is no longer the time to continue to live in seclusion for the sake of Mingzhe's life," Jolly sighed, looking at the depressed scene outside, "If it comes to this point, the old man will be at odds with the minister"

"I don't know much about politics, but in this case, returning to the imperial capital controlled by the minister is tantamount to a sheep falling into the mouth of a tiger" Qiuchen smiled dryly, "The old gentleman wants to fight with the minister, but the decision of the political struggle is still in the hands of the emperor, but the emperor is only the minister's life, no matter from what point of view, there is no possibility of winning."

"But the old man will never watch the country fall apart and do nothing," Jolly tapped his cane, "The old man must do his part"

In fact, it is to hit a stone with an egg......

"But if the emperor can't listen to your advice, no matter how much you say, what's the use of more heartfelt words" Qiuchen waved his hand, "There must have been someone who admonished the emperor before the old gentleman, and there is more than one, but the minister has not been overthrown so far, precisely because all the decisions of the minister are issued by the emperor with his orders, and opposing the minister is against the emperor, even if it is a former minister, opposing the emperor will be charged with the crime of rebellion."

"Is it just because you can't do anything, do you all watch from the sidelines?" replied Spiya in an excited tone

"No, no, no, I think, to bring down the minister, the most important thing is to let the emperor find out that not all of what the minister did was right, as long as the emperor is suspicious of the minister, everything will be easy" Qiuchen pinched his chin and analyzed, "Rushing into Beijing will only waste your chance to defeat the minister, it is meaningless"

Jolly closed his eyes and thought for a moment, as one of the people who once stood at the top of the empire, his judgment did not decline because of old age, "Hmm...... I have to admit that what you said does have some truth, the old man is indeed a little anxious to see the signs of decay of the empire, but ......"

Jolly opened his eyes and looked straight at Qiuchen, as if he wanted to see him through, "You have such an eye, how can you only open a hotel?"

"If you want to see through the current affairs, you can't" Qiuchen chuckled, and said indifferently, "You only need to look at what happened in history, and you will find that many things that have happened in modern times are simply copies of ancient things."

For example, during the reign of Emperor Zhengde, Yang Tinghe got rid of Liu Jin, who was in power and leaned towards the government and the opposition, but to get rid of him, only a small note from the emperor was enough. The same is true of the ministers of the imperial capital, he does not have a strong imperial tool, the military power of the empire is controlled by General Bude, and his only source of power is the emperor

This former minister still feels quite good to Qiuchen, if he can replace the current minister and become the emperor's new assistant, presumably the empire will definitely be much better than now, if he helps him again, maybe it will be easier

As for why he wanted to help him, Qiu Chen hoped to learn more about the empire with the help of Jolly. At first, he placed the goal of searching for traces of the main god space on the people, but he has not been able to rule out the possibility that the main god space directly controls the entire empire from the top, especially after many investigations by the people, this possibility is getting bigger and bigger

It is not a good thing to meet this former minister of the empire who is worried about the country and the people here, and the investigation of him is not a good thing

Suddenly, the pig cart came to a sudden stop

"How...... What's going on"

Sibia opened the curtain in front of the carriage, and saw three men in black standing in the middle of the road on the road in front of her, looking directly at the convoy, obviously not good

"Is it another thief?!" Jolly said angrily: "No matter how bad the law and order is, there should be a limit!" ”

"As before, crush them," said Spia, pushing the car door open and rushing out

Seeing this, Qiuchen glanced at Nero, and the meaning was obvious

You stay here, I'll take care of it

Nero snapped his fingers and leaned back in the carriage seat, indicating that he understood

"I'm going to help too," Qiuchen scratched his hair, "It's really troublesome"

"Trust Spiya, she and the guards can deal with these bandits" Jolly was relieved, "I have raised a good daughter, although her bravery may not make her marry, she has a headache"

"Then let me see the heroic posture of the old gentleman's daughter" Qiuchen laughed and stepped out of the carriage, but in his hand he was ready to summon the Ash Messenger at any time

In his perception just now, although the three of them are inferior to Qiu Chen in terms of strength, they are definitely not something that a group of guards and Sibia outside can deal with, Qiu Chen does not go, and the guards may not escape death, "Nero, you can have a good chat with this old gentleman, maybe you can help something"

"Don't worry, Yu knows"