Guderian looked up at the Menken mansion, then immediately lowered his gaze and turned to the doorman in front of him who was checking the invitation.

"Enter, Your Excellency Minister Guderian. After confirming that the invitation was correct, the doorman immediately respectfully invited Guderian in.

"I'm not a minister anymore. Guderian tugged at his collar and motioned to the doorman that he was no longer wearing the military uniform of the Minister of War today, but ordinary civilian clothes, "Don't use that title anymore." ”

"The master has commanded," replied the doorman, bending down, "and today he has feasted on the indispensable ministers of the Empire. ”

Shaking his head, Guderian didn't say much. But in his heart, he still scoffed at Mencken's behavior, that guy, did he care so much about that little bit of power?

Guderian strode into the mansion of the Menken family, although the Menken family has now been removed from the high-ranking position of foreign minister, but this time, Menken still held a very luxurious banquet, which did not show the current decline of their family.

Guided by the servant, Guderian walked around the bustling halls towards the deepest part of the mansion, and as he went deeper and deeper into the house, Guderian felt that the light around him seemed to grow dim.

In the end, Guderian even went into the basement, and in the basement of the mansion, Menken had specially carved out a secret room.

He took off his coat and hung it on a coat rack beside him.

"Is it necessary to be so secret?" Guderian frowned, his expression not very good-looking, "What are you trying to do with such a mystery, Otto?"

Mencken sat on the circular couch in the innermost corner, his arms folded on the table in front of him, his chin pressed against his arms. His face was very gloomy, there was still not much blood on his face, and the state of the whole person was very strange, on the surface, it seemed that Menken's physical condition was not very good, and he looked weak, but those eyes revealed unusual firmness and persistence, as well as some other things.

"You're finally here, so you're almost there, so let's get started. ”

Guderian looked around, almost all the deposed ministers were here, and if the outside world knew that they had held a rally, they would probably have a bad association at the first time.

"What to start?" Guderian sat down opposite Menken, next to Prime Minister Pitt, "I thought you were hosting a banquet today, so that's why I'm here." ”

"Reinhard!" Before Guderian could get an answer, Straitsch Brokenhill, the former Minister of Illland Affairs, who was sitting on Menken's side, shouted, "What the hell are you guys doing, and why would Marshal Guderian side with the eldest princess and that arrogant boy?"

There was a clear questioning in his tone, and the subtext was a complete suspicion that the Guderians had betrayed their cabinet colleagues.

"That's my brother's decision!" Guderian glared back without showing weakness, and the momentum of the military immediately scared Broken Hill away, "Moreover, now that Her Royal Highness Caterina is the rightful regent, do you have any objection to this?"

After speaking, he also added in a disdainful tone. "If you have any comments, why didn't you bring them up at the last meeting?"

Broken Hill's face couldn't help but turn red, but because of Guderian's momentum, he only dared to stare at the other party, but he was powerless to fight back.

"Alright. Former Prime Minister Pitt spoke, and the mutual staring of Guderian and Broken Hill was temporarily suspended as he spoke, "It's already this time, what's the use of you still being angry with each other?"

Guderian looked at the side face of the former prime minister and lowered his head slightly. Prime Minister Pitt is very prestigious, and the cabinet ministers are quite obedient to him, regardless of the faction, Prime Minister Pitt's words are quite effective.

"Your Excellency. Guderian looked at Pete's face, guessing what the other man was thinking, "You know, my brother he...... I'm sorry, but I think the misunderstanding between me and my brother is now that we can't communicate properly for a while. ”

Pete turned his face and looked at Guderian.

"Reinhard, I've known your brother even longer than you've known him, and I know him as a person. He is the kind of person who can give everything for the sake of the empire, including himself and his family. But he wasn't a dumb man, and he wouldn't have immediately believed the truth when he received a telegram from Her Royal Highness the Princess, someone must have exerted additional influence on him, right?"

Guderian nodded. "It's my nephew Ralph. ”

"Ralph......" Mencken repeated the name, "I think he seems to be in the Royal Guard, right?"

"That's right. Guderian glanced at Mencken, although he and Menken have never been too close, but at this time, anyone who has ideas in his heart will not be left alone, "After Baron McCool recuperated from injury, the highest-ranking officer in the Royal Guard was him and another Lieutenant Colonel Glass, obviously, he was not satisfied with sharing power with others, and even if he did not share power, he was not satisfied. ”

"Hmph, another careerist. Broken Hill snorted, but when he said this, he completely forgot where he was.

But, for Rudolph, it was this behavior that he hated the most. Pete stared at Guderian with a very sharp eye, "What did Ralph say to Rudolph?"

"I don't know exactly what he said. Guderian shook his head, "After being relieved of my post as Minister of War, I came home and saw Ralph waiting for me at the door, and then I understood. ”

All the members of the royal guard who had remained at the Tiamat Palace that night were killed, and the part that Glass had brought to Govelenburg was arrested by O'Brien for the pretext of protecting the Tiamat Palace, where Ralph would be waiting for his uncle, apparently having taken refuge with Swain.

"In these days, no one is reliable, and you have to do everything yourself. Mencken snorted, making an uncomfortable sound through his nose, "So, now we're going to face not only O'Brien's 20,000 men but also your brother's 140,000 army, right?"

"No, not necessarily. Pete shook his head, "O'Brien's descendants are only the Munster army, and he doesn't have complete control over the armies of Connaught and Yanwan, as for Rudolph, I'm sure if you tell him the truth of the matter, he will understand everything and be on our side." ”

"Biological sons and friends, plus the future of the family. Broken Hill sneered, the meaning in his eyes really made Guderian angry, "Gentlemen, who do you think Marshal Rudolph will choose to believe?"

"Streich!" Guderian finally couldn't take it anymore and roared loudly, "If you have any opinions, just say it, what's it to be cynical all the time!"

"I just wish one of us could give the others a proper apology!" Broken Hill shouted to his feet, but seeing the tense muscles under Guderian's sleeves, his half-straightened leg immediately bent over again and sat back in his seat.

He looked at Mencken, then at the others, and then continued: "Isn't we? If Marshal Rudolph had not accepted the post of Prime Minister, and if Ralph Nou Guderian had not taken over to Katerina and Swain, we would not have been in this situation!"

"It's not Reinhard's fault, you can't blame him for that!" Pete snapped, his stern gaze forcing Broken Hill to withdraw his gaze.

The former prime minister looked around at the people present, and when he saw his gaze, except for Menken and Guderian, everyone else bowed their heads in unison.

"Listen, I know you all have resentment in your hearts right now, and you are all indignant that you have suddenly been taken away from your cabinet position. But I want you to figure out who you should be angry with right now! What is it to take your anger out on those who are in the same distress as you? It was O'Brien, it was Metternich, it was Swain who caused you to lose your position! I don't expect you to stand up now in your loyalty to the Empire and the royal family of Gioon, but I at least want you to understand that you are a cultured gentleman, not a hairy little devil who will be angry at anyone when his favorite toy is taken away!"

Criticized by Pitt in this way, Broken Hill and the others bowed their heads in disgust, and in their minds, Earl William Noe Pitt was still the prestigious Prime Minister of the Cabinet.

Seeing that everyone was silent, Mencken nodded to Pete, and then said, "That's right, let's put aside the matter that boils down to the reason, and now we should discuss what to do next." ”

"What do you have in mind, Otto?" Guderian looked at Mencken, still untrusting the former foreign minister, who was sometimes clumsy, sometimes unexpected.

Mencken didn't answer, just smiled mysteriously and looked to the other side.

"Ha, hey, hey, hey, hey......" A strange laugh came from the inner room, and everyone followed the sound, only to see a man who had wrapped himself tightly in a heavy coat came out of it, and his face still had a sickly, nervous smile, and although the clothes on his body were bloated, his face looked skinny.

A group of former cabinet ministers stared at the sudden appearance of Seresi Dakosda, with obvious doubts and scrutiny in their eyes.

Thressi's smile froze suddenly, and she looked at the people sitting in the room with some disappointment.

"What, aren't my jokes funny?"

Everyone looked at each other, unclear as to what Thressi meant.

"What's the joke?" Broken Hill said quickly, asking everyone's bottom question first.

"Ha, that's you!" said Seresi, pointing to all the former cabinet ministers with open hands, "aren't you the funniest joke?"

This naked mockery suddenly made Broken Hill lose face and he turned to Mencken and asked, "This is your way, a madman?"

"Isn't it funny that so many cabinet ministers of the former Imperial Cabinet, the most elite group of people in the world's most powerful empire, are now so frightened that they dare not show their faces because of the intimidation of a little earl who is less than twenty years old, and have to hide in the basement for a meeting, and they are still thinking about how to recover their lost status, ha, isn't it funny?"

He licked his lips and added. "At least I think it's funny. ”

Broken Hill's eyes widened, glaring at Thressi, almost wanting to go up and punch the other party immediately, but the corners of Mencken's mouth twitched when he heard Thressi's taunt.

"Indeed, it's ridiculous. "Of all the people, only the former Prime Minister Pitt still maintains a solemn face," the cabinet ministers of the empire only think about how to ensure their own power and interests, but do not think about the empire, which is indeed a very sad joke. ”

Others' heads hung lower.

"However, even so, such ridicule of yours is unacceptable. Pete stood up and looked at Seresi, "I remember you, Seresy Dakosta, the former Third Section of the Ministry of the Interior, persuaded the brilliant people of the Vittin to lead the Southern Army to defect. I hope you can give a reasonable explanation. ”

Pete's gaze was fixed on Thressi's eyes, as if to see through the man.

"Speak to us with your great eloquence. ”

"Oh, if you want so, well. Thresy licked her lips again and looked at the ceiling, "You're afraid of Swain, yes, that man has always been, and though he can behave with the most perfect manners in the rules, he will never smile, because that's not what he wants." What he wants is not to play by the rules, yes, it's chaos, and I've seen through that for a long time, and that's what makes me so different from you - I know Sven No. Jericho better than you do. ”

Guderian wrinkled the corners of his eyes, looking at Thressi's eyes full of wariness.

"So, you know Swain well?"

"Oh, yes, yes! Of course I know him well!" said Seresy with an exaggerated laugh, his smile that made others wonder if the corners of his mouth would crack.

"But, to be precise, his family is very familiar. ”

"...... from thousands of years ago"