Emperor Nicholas I had a rare dinner with his family.

Because of the sudden fall of Midnight Fort, the situation became more and more unfavorable for Dewei, and the emperor almost ate and lived in the War Department these days, and he didn't even have time to rest. Finally, as the weekend approached, the emperor had some free time and returned to the palace of Tiamat to meet his children and grandchildren.

His Majesty Nicholas I, the Empress, had died a few years earlier, and she gave birth to two princes, Crown Prince Alexander and Minister of the Interior Beria. The heirs of Nicholas I were already relatively few in the royal family. The reason why the Gions were able to build and control such a large empire was also because the family was large enough. Not counting the branches, most of the kings and emperors of the past were very prolific. Edney Wayne II, who was not a celibate, had the fewest children before Emperor Nicholas I as the second emperor of the Silluer Empire, "the Great" Bag II, and his children were only the two princesses Karin and Sigrid and the miserable prince of Astrad.

Although they only had two princes, the relationship between the emperor and the empress has always been very harmonious, and the loyalty of the emperor is also one of the reasons for the small number of children. However, his two sons made up for the lack of royal staff, and Crown Prince Alexander had two sons and a daughter, although not very prolific, but the next generation of heirs was basically worry-free. Beria's children were a little more overflowing, and the unassuming Minister of the Interior was quite amorous, he had been married three times, and his three wives bore him a total of five sons and two daughters, and he had a large number of mistresses outside, and Beria himself did not necessarily remember the illegitimate children himself.

At the dining table, a large group of children gathered around the emperor, and at the emperor's age, the closest person was his grandchildren. Although he has always been very strict with his son, and sometimes punches and kicks, the emperor is no different from the old man who loves his children in general. While Alexander and Beria sat at the table in a proper manner and ate according to etiquette, their children would not be punished even if they plucked their grandfather's beard. Seeing his son and daughter do whatever they want, and he could only tremble under his father's tiger power, the two brothers who were not very good at dealing with each other had a rare tacit understanding, glanced at each other, and sighed lightly.

Such a dinner moment will naturally not be as simple as eating, and the emperor deliberately took time out to dine with his family at such an urgent time, obviously having something to say to his two sons. After snatching Yolo, the little grandson of the bear on him, and placing him beside his brother, the Emperor restrained the kind smile that the two brothers had never enjoyed, and looked at Alexander and Beria with a serious face.

"You know what happened to Midnight Castle, right?"

As the eldest son and crown prince, Alexander spoke first and replied: "Yes, father." I don't think we should overestimate the strength of the rebels because of the fall of Midnight Fort, which surrendered directly and didn't even fight a battle, which doesn't show how strong the rebels were. Moreover, the strength and defense of Midnight Fort were equal to zero, and Pritown used 30,000 men, but in reality it only took one company to take that castle, and this small defeat said nothing. ”

The emperor looked at his eldest son. Crown Prince Alexander looked quite similar to the emperor, and compared to his younger brother, the crown prince was taller and more handsome, but he did not have the emperor's unangry and arrogant imposing. But what is strange is that the eldest son is more like himself, but the emperor clearly favors the second son, Beria.

Alexander's answer did not satisfy the emperor, and he snorted coldly, which frightened the crown prince to shiver. "Is that it?" the Emperor's hand holding the spoon slammed on the table as if it were on the heart of Crown Prince Alexander, "You only see combat effectiveness, but war is never a head-on duel! Although Midnight Fort has no military significance at all, Michelle, that traitor, still gets a lot of things from Midnight Fort, you know what?"

"It's prestige and confidence. The crown prince lowered his head and whispered.

The emperor furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Beria again.

Beria bowed slightly to his brother, and then said unhurriedly: "There are two reasons for their claim this time, one of which is the legal claim of Midnight Fort. Taking the Midnight Fort will make their unreasonable demands gain a certain amount of recognition in the international community, especially since they have taken the Midnight Fort bloodlessly. When the time comes, other countries will have reason to support and support the rebels, and we will be in a passive position in public opinion. ”

Crown Prince Alexander had traveled to many countries, including Hadrian's empire, and was not a short-sighted person, and even had a deep understanding of the current ills of the empire, but compared to his younger brother, this crown prince was a little too idealistic, and his encouraged ideas were also the reason why the emperor did not like him.

Taken the lead by his younger brother, Crown Prince Alexander had to bow his head to show that he realized his shortcomings. Having lived with the emperor for so many years, he knows his father very well, no matter what, don't talk back to him.

"What do you think of what to do with Sven No. Jericho? He had promised me that Midnight Castle would remain loyal to the Empire until the very end, but his castle and vassals surrendered without firing a single shot when the enemy army reached the gate. Do you think I should punish him?"

The crown prince bit his lip and thought about it. This question is not so easy to answer, although at the moment he has not been in contact with the Earl of Midnight, and it seems that he can make the most objective evaluation and judgment, but people are all connected by inextricable invisible threads in society, and there are already quite a lot of indirect connections between them before two people meet. For example, Justice Wood, who has always been very close to Crown Prince Alexander, has a very close connection with the Jericho family, although he has also heard of the internal contradictions of the Jericho family, but for him, the relationship line that connects Swain is still closer than distant.

With connection, it is impossible to make the fairest judgment. If Swain is punished, then he will have to consider what Wood thinks, and if Swain is spared, he will have to consider his father's thoughts. He could hear the suppressed anger in the Emperor's tone, and who knew if this would be a test for him by the Emperor to see if he could handle the relationship between relatives and relatives?

After being silent for a while, seeing that the emperor's face was already a little impatient, the crown prince hurriedly said: "I think it's better not to punish Count Jericho for the time being?"

"Why?"

The emperor stared straight into Alexander's eyes, although there was no ghost in his heart, but he was shrouded by his father's power for many years, and the crown prince's heart was still a little empty.

"Since the rebels are now under the banner of taking Fort Midnight, it would be more beneficial for Earl Midnight to be on our side and clearly oppose Michel. Moreover, the fall of Midnight Fort was more the fault of those disloyal retainers, Count Jericho was not in Midnight Fort and he had only recently inherited the Midnight Earldom, and it was inevitable that he would not have enough control over his territory and vassals. ”

This time Crown Prince Alexander's answer was not a problem, and the emperor nodded, not giving Beria another chance to speak.

However, while agreeing with Alexander's assertion that it was not appropriate to punish Swain at this time, the Emperor was still haunted by the fact that Midnight Castle had fallen so soon.

"However, Fort Midnight fell so quickly, and our nominal legitimacy is now being questioned. Something must be done to reverse the situation, or the Hadrians will have the opportunity to extend their influence beyond Silesia and into our land. ”

The Emperor's words silenced the Crown Prince, in fact, his sense of Hadrian's empire was not as bad as that of the average Silieur. He had studied in Hadrian's capital, Iscontin, the center of the world, and the center of the world in the last era made an excellent impression on the prince of Siliul. The urban atmosphere of Iscontin is different from that of Deweide, which is the most prosperous capital, but at the same time, it also makes the city's copper smell too heavy, which is in line with the saying, "Glory to Siliuer, prosperity to Deweide". Iscontine, on the other hand, is the center of the world's ideas, surrounded by dozens of institutions of higher learning, where elite scholars from various fields gather, and even the air is filled with the smell of liberal scholarship.

However, as times have changed, the Hadrians, who had previously devoted themselves to academic research, have now had to bow their proud heads and take seriously the vast empire that had risen from the "Outer Lands" in Siliur. The defeat in Silesia ten years ago made the Hadrians finally realize that they were no longer the center of the world, and Hadrian was no longer the empire that could live in the clouds.

The silence of the crown prince was seen by the emperor, and the father certainly understood what his son was thinking, not to mention that this father was also the emperor of the most powerful empire in the world. He furrowed his brows in displeasure and looked at his other son again.

Beria understood, and quickly spoke: "Why don't you let the Imperial Capital Garrison also join the team of the crusade against the rebels?"

The idea did not make the emperor frown. Naturally, he had discussed the same problem with his cabinet ministers and the senior officers of the War Department, and this time he wanted to think more about his son, and did not expect them to really have any good solutions. However, Beria's proposal was beyond his expectations, and it was obvious that the integration of the imperial capital garrison into the crusading army was to play the card of Ernest No. Jericho, and use the personal participation of the Earl of Midnight's biological father to save the tide of public opinion.

The emperor was noncommittal about the quality of this idea, after all, the imperial capital garrison force, as an army establishment, has a symbolic meaning far greater than the actual significance, and it is impossible to expect this gendarmerie unit to give full play to the combat effectiveness of the regular army. What made the Emperor concerned was that he had heard such an offer today, and the person who proposed it was Sven No. Jericht.

"Why do you think that?"

The Emperor's gaze was extremely serious, and Beria couldn't help but feel chills down his spine when he saw it. Although he was favored by his father, he was actually treated like an imperial brother, and Nicholas I's fist was never diminished by personal favoritism.

"Naturally, taking into account the status of Viscount Jericho, the current Count Jericho is too young to serve as an officer. Then the only one who can join the army to show our righteousness is Viscount Jericho. Beria replied cautiously. After listening to Herbert's report, he also very much agreed with Swain's idea, and he also saw something beyond Herbert's vision. If he can take advantage of this opportunity to win over Count Jericho, then he can also use the Jericho's family's closeness to these families to fight against his brother in the fight for families like Metternich and Phil.

But the emperor was apparently not persuaded by his words, and he stared at his son with a more stern gaze. Being watched like this by his father, the Minister of the Interior, who was dominating outside, couldn't resist it, and sweat slowly oozed from his forehead.

The scene was frozen because of the aura exuded by the emperor, even those naughty children, at this time, they also felt that grandpa was different from usual, they all obediently lowered their heads and ate the things in front of them, and did not dare to make a sound again.

But there is one exception. Alexander's eldest daughter, the emperor's eldest grandson, Princess Otralina, gently rested the silver spoon on the plate in front of her, then stood up and left the dining room without saying a word.

"Karin!" Alexander called out to his daughter, "you are so rude, you are still eating, and you leave the table alone, have you forgotten all the court etiquette you learned from Sir Wiley?"

The emperor was not dissatisfied, he just looked at his granddaughter with questioning eyes. In the grandfather's eyes, this clever granddaughter must have her reasons for doing so.

"I'm full. ”

It was just a short sentence, and the eldest princess didn't even look at her father.

Alexander was a little angry, and he jerked himself to his feet, trying to scold his daughter. But the emperor snorted lightly, and the crown prince was so frightened that he hurriedly sat down.

"Karin. Come here, come to Grandpa, and see what you think of what we just said. ”

The eldest princess walked to the emperor's side with some reluctance, although she was very close to her grandfather when she was a child, but now that she is sixteen years old, she naturally does not like her younger siblings to be around her grandfather, she began to pay attention to showing her independent character.

"Say, Karin, if you have anything to say, just say it. The emperor stretched out his hand and wanted to touch his granddaughter's head, but found that his granddaughter was already too tall for him to reach, "Don't care about your father, where is he as smart as you." As he spoke, the emperor gave his son a look and sternly hinted at him not to talk too much.

This scene fell in Beria's eyes, but he was not happy because of the imperial brother's deflatedness, but felt a little sympathetic. Although the father prefers himself among the two brothers, compared to his granddaughter and grandson, he is like being born by a stepmother!

"Just let that viscount go to the battlefield, it doesn't matter anyway. ”

As soon as Alexander wanted to open his mouth to reprimand his daughter, the emperor glared at him, and his eyes were like saying, "If you dare to talk too much, I will beat you", so frightened that the crown prince quickly shrank back.

"Why, can you tell grandpa the reason?" treats his granddaughter, the emperor is a completely different kind appearance.

"Anyway, what they want to fight for is not ours, since they are willing to fight each other to the death, why don't they let them fight? The harder the fight, the better! That Michelle, in the end, is still going to make peace with us, his two reasons for declaration of belli and the pattern of demands are too small, where can he use such a big scene to show determination? This is really ridiculous, can incite the nobles of the entire south, why doesn't he just shout 'overthrow the tyrant'? It seems to me that he had made some kind of agreement with the desert people and Hadrians, and wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to take the title of Governor of Midnight Castle and Orknis. But he didn't believe in those two allies, and he didn't think he could maintain his independence under the full attack of the Empire, so he wanted to take this rare opportunity to reach a peace agreement with us in his favor. If that's the case, why don't you use Jericho to scare him and let him know that we're not so easy to bully. ”

The eldest princess's analysis made the two brothers Alexander and Beria look at each other, although some places are not very clear, but they did not expect that a sixteen-year-old girl could have such general knowledge, and even they could not think of this.

The Emperor laughed, and then glared at his sons with even more stern eyes. "Look at the two of you, you don't know as much as a little girl!"

When the poor two brothers saw their father's bearded appearance, they quickly lowered their heads and stared at the plate in front of them. The emperor reprimanded, and didn't bother to waste more time on these two boys, so he immediately changed his face and looked at his granddaughter with a smile.

"Karin, what do you think I should do with that Jericho who lost his territory now?"

The eldest princess pursed her lips and said casually: "It's good to find a scolding." ”

The emperor nodded with satisfaction, he felt that this granddaughter was much more pleasing to the eye than the two stupid sons. Speaking of which, there was no empress in the history of the empire, and wasn't the first empress also called Karin? The emperor suddenly thought of the ancestor who turned Dion into Dion-Godunov, and some thoughts began to germinate.

"Very well, then grandpa will do as you say, call that Jericho tomorrow and scold him severely. He's a year older than little Karin, well, as stupid as your father and uncle. ”

The brothers, who were inexplicably hit by another arrow, really wanted to cry without tears at this time.

Unexpectedly, grandpa was also surprised by the eldest princess who was so obedient to her, but at the same time, she also felt that an excellent opportunity was in front of her. In the past, although the emperor loved their grandchildren, he would not let them express their opinions on political affairs as he did today, and she felt that this might be a good opportunity for her to seize power.

After a moment's thought, she spoke again, "So, can you let me reprimand that ...... Well, what about Count Jerry Cole?"

"It's Jericho, haha. The emperor smiled and scratched his granddaughter's nose, although the eldest princess looked very disliked, "If you are happy, then I will lend you the study so that you can scold that tomorrow...... Well, Count Jerry Co for a meal, hahaha. The Emperor didn't even ask Karin why he wanted to do this, and just agreed to her.