Since the development of the Oak District, the real estate market of the entire imperial capital has immediately detonated, compared with the harsh environment of the copper ring area and the population density explosion of the silver ring area, the oak area in the planning has absorbed the advantages of the silver ring area and the copper ring area, to avoid the defects in the past planning, so that the oak area faintly has the momentum of catching up with the silver ring area. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe picturesque scenery and quiet living environment have made many nobles and wealthy businessmen buy real estate here.

The well-planned commercial district also attracts a large number of vendors to operate here, as evidenced by the constant flow of people, and the Oak District attracts a large number of people from the imperial capital to relax and shop here every day.

The first batch of indigenous people in the imperial capital who speculated in the Oak District once again reproduced the myth of land speculation during the large-scale development of the Silver Ring District and the Copper Ring District, and also made the real estate prices in the Oak District rise and remain high.

In the sun, in the back garden of a manor, a figure stepped into the shade of the trees from the sunlight, and some guards stood faintly around it, protecting the place.

"Hello, Your Excellency the Marquis. Wren was wearing a very low-key outfit, a gray parliamentarian's outfit with a top hat, which somewhat covered some of his face. He took off his top hat and silk gloves, placed them on a small shelf to the side, and smiled and stretched out his hand.

The man who was called His Excellency the Marquis by Wren also stood up with a smile, stretched out his hand, shook hands with Wren, and said with a touch, "I asked people to get some souvenirs from the seaside, you will definitely be interested." ”

The Lord Marquis who spoke was Nengalael, and when he laughed, he did not look very much like a great nobleman, his eyes were full of gentleness and closeness, not like the arrogance of those traditional nobles, and there was no one in his eyes. This may have something to do with Nengalale's coming from the south, where the southern terrain of the empire embraces the Atlantic Ocean like a crescent moon and is close to the sea. For many years, the only impression in the south was that of poverty.

For some reason, the soil in the southern region is high in salt and the yield of growing crops is low, so most southerners choose the profession of fisherman in order to support themselves and their families. In the early days of the empire, when navigation and shipbuilding were not developed, the traditional nobility of the North used discriminatory terms such as "stinky salted fish" to refer to southerners. It was not until 288 years after the empire, with a major breakthrough in shipbuilding technology and the rise of the seafaring trade, that the south began to move from poverty to wealth.

But even so, the northern aristocracy still looked down on the southern aristocracy, and they added a new name to the southern aristocracy - the nouveau riche.

In addition to the discrimination of the word nouveau riche itself, there is actually some jealousy. The rapid development of the navigation and fishing industries allowed the southern aristocracy to accumulate a lot of wealth in a very short time, and of course the wealthy southerners were still despised because of their lack of heritage.

There has never been peace between the South and the North, and it is the same among the aristocratic class, as Isaac and Pilagos, who are traditional old nobles, often involuntarily ignore Nengalale's opinions, and there is often mutual discrimination between the minor nobles.

Nengalel's purpose in inviting Wren this time was also because he felt threatened by the blood alliance initiated by Isaac and Pilagos. In the political ecology of the empire, Nenggalel did not have many options, either to continue to be the follower of the northern nobles, or to become a relatively independent group, and other than that, there was only one way left to join the royal family.

Nengalel didn't want to join the royal family, not that there was hatred and scorn between him and the Orlando family, but that after joining the royal family, he was no longer the leader of the southern aristocracy. Not only that, but Empress Pars, who had the support of the southern aristocracy, would marginalize him as much as possible and kick him out with the last kick. In order to avoid giving his power as a gift to others, Nengalel chose the middle path, he wanted to be independent.

Independence does not mean that he wants to rebel, but that he maintains a neutral attitude in politics, no one favors anyone, and whoever gives more benefits will follow whomever he wants.

It is not easy to be a wall grass, and he knows this very well in his heart, the most vulnerable thing in politics is the wall grass, so he needs to make himself strong, so strong that any political force on the other side does not dare to treat him as a wall grass.

That's why he made an appointment with Wren today.

"Speaking of which, we've had some friendships, even if they're not so pleasant. After the two sat down, Wren opened up the conversation first, and he was talking about Bethel. The people of Nungarele contacted Bethel, hoping to hold this special department of the Ministry of National Security, and even if it didn't, to stick the biggest chess piece in the Ministry of National Security.

They deliberately chose to send someone to contact Bethel in Wren's absence, but unfortunately, Nengalel and his staff overestimated Bethel's authority and position in the Imperial Ministry of National Security, and underestimated Wren's control over this department. For the first time in the political history of the Empire, a deputy minister dared to storm the minister's office.

Nengalel naturally knew what Wren was talking about, and instead of the slightest embarrassment on his face, he laughed loudly, "This just shows that we are destined to have a connection, doesn't it?"

"It's also my pleasure. Wren leaned forward a little, he already had a guess in his heart about Nengalael's purpose for asking him to meet, but before the results of the guess and the facts were revealed, no one could be sure that he would be right, and he couldn't, "To be honest, I was surprised that you asked me to meet this time." ”

Nengalel tilted his head slightly, and a gust of wind blew through his hair. Nungalel is not actually handsome, but his first impression is very good, like a wine that has been aged for many years, giving people a mellow feeling. It is said that men are like wine, the older they are, the more fragrant they become, which is vividly reflected in Nengalel. Good cultivation and the temperament of being a nobleman make him like a warm jade, without edges, no edges, plain and uneventful, but can not ignore his existence.

He smiled and bowed back, "Can I know why?"

Wren took out his cigarette case, handed one to Nengalel, sandwiched his own between his index and middle fingers, raised the cigarette in his hand, raised the corner of his mouth, and said: "The aristocratic group has always been a cancer of the empire, and the royal family and we want to completely eliminate the aristocratic group all the time. You ......", he pointed to Nengalel and then to himself, "and between us, there are people on both sides. But isn't it surprising enough that people on both sides are sitting together now?"

Nenggalaire didn't care about Wren's statement at all, he shook his head, "You're not right, strictly speaking, we are not 'people on both sides', and our different interests do not mean that we have to be two opposing sides. I think the word 'potential partner' is more indicative of our relationship than the words you use. ”

"It's not impossible to say that. Wren pulled the fire sickle and lit a cigarette for himself, took a deep breath, and exhaled a pale yellow smoke, the two of them were obstructed by the smoke, and each other was a little ethereal in each other's eyes, "Then can I know the purpose of your appointment to meet me? To be honest, maybe those spies have now reported the news of our meeting to His Majesty the Emperor, and I need to find an excuse." ”

After the short opening remarks, Wren decisively asked the core of today's meeting, and Nungalel did not plan to go around in circles with Wren, because he knew very well that he did not have many options right now.

"I wonder if you've heard about the recent movements of Isaac and Pilagos?"

Wren straightened his back, moved his ass, and sat back a bit, "I want to hear about it." ”

"In total, nearly four hundred and seventy nobles have joined their so-called blood alliance, and they have sworn by their ancestors and their own blood to protect the interests of the blood alliance. Originally, they invited me, but I declined. Nengalel smiled as he said this, "Actually, I, including those southern nobles, don't have a strong thirst for power, we just need a place of our own." We prefer money to power struggles. ”

He did not hesitate to depreciate himself and said: "After all, we are all nouveau riche, and it is the golden gold coins that fascinate us more." ”

Wren nodded, oh, he didn't quite believe what Nengalel said.

Nenggalel also knew that Wren didn't believe it, and no one would believe this reason, "Power always belongs to a few, but I'm not one of the few." The Yankees have always looked down on us Southerners, and even if I do what they seek with them, the power will not fall on me. Since I have to face an unknown fate with them and take great risks, only to get the same status and power as I do now, why should I choose to take risks?"

This sentence made Wren somewhat believe in Nengalael's original intention.

Indeed, as he said, among the three great nobles, Isaac and Pilagos were both old northern tycoons, and in their eyes Nengalel was just a little brother. If they overthrow the Empire, would they probably give power to the southern barbarians whom they discriminated against and ostracized? Unlikely, even a more violent conflict would break out between Isaac and Pilagos.

After all, there is only one person who can be the emperor, and there are so many people involved in this game, some people willingly withdraw from the final competition, and some want to force them to withdraw with knives around their necks, or even kill them.

Moreover, even if they really want to rebel, they may not really succeed, as long as the brothers Greon and Grace do not die for a day, they have no hope for a day. What's more, there are still about thirty percent of the nobles in the entire empire who support the royal family, and with the support of these people, the Orlando family and the other seven golden nobles may not lose.

With little promotion in status and a huge risk, Nengalael's participation in the Blood Alliance is a real idiot.

He had come to meet with Wren today and told him that the purpose of these things was actually very simple, to increase the risk to Isaac and Pilagos and weaken their power.