In the two days that Rhodes hid in the palace, he attacked active soldiers on the battlefield and escaped sanctions, and was even protected by the emperor himself, which caused a commotion in the small half of the empire - several soldiers and officers who went to the battlefield for the good of the empire did not die in the battle against the enemy army, but died at the hands of his own people, which caused the whole army to fall into a state of "mass indignation". Pen Fun Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 info If it weren't for the prestige and control of the imperial ruler who was far more powerful than ordinary countries, and the offender was the son of Field Marshal Forster, I am afraid that a large number of troops would have protested with their actions.

Despite the appearance that it is business as usual, in reality the Empire is in its most turbulent and unstable moment since its founding. In the end, the Emperor was pressured to publicly announce that he would hold an open and transparent trial of the accused Rhodes, invite representatives from all walks of life and authorities to conduct notarized supervision, and if the accused is finally found guilty, he will be severely punished, and "the power of amnesty will not be used".

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The trial will be held in the Imperial Square in front of the main entrance of the palace, and it will be the second time in Rhodes' life that he has been put on trial. The last time he was forced to participate in an unfair joust in an illegal arena in Anteli for a crime he had never committed, this time, he had to deliberately lie and deny what he had done in order to clear his name.

The huge stone-paved square was crowded with people, and although it was winter, the public trial meeting still attracted half of the city's residents, who were stopped in the distance by the rows of imperial guards, huddled together, noisily pushing and shoving, trying to get closer...... This is the judgment of the heir to a duke, the son of the commander of the imperial army, this kind of good show...... Not to mention that the weather is a little cold, even if it snows heavily and hails, there will be people who will come to participate!

Within the cordon, which forbade the masses to cross, thousands of loyal and reliable emperor's pro-army troops were fully armed and energetically set up multiple barriers in the guard soldiers' protective circle, and even the magic academy sent nearly a hundred mages who were good at combat magic in order to deal with unexpected situations...... Such force is not only to maintain order, but also to prevent attacks on both the accuser and the accused.

In the middle of the square, a little near the palace gate, a one-man high wooden platform was erected, and Emperor Kyle, who was about to preside over the trial himself, was on the stage, and beside the emperor, several long-serving justices and archmages in the field of spiritual magic also had solemn expressions - the emperor's presiding over only made the trial more authoritative, and it was up to them to ensure the integrity and correctness of the procedure and the authenticity of the witnesses' testimony.

On the edge of the infield, a large number of magnates and military generals filled the auditorium, and their task was relatively simple: to watch the entire trial, and then convey the process and results to the army and all parts of the country, so as to stabilize the turbulent public opinion and situation.

......

On the right hand side of the emperor in front of the judgment seat, Rhodes sat beside his mother and sister, nervously watching everything in the square. As a nobleman of the highest rank, although he is the defendant and the judge of today, he can move without the restrictions of shackles and other instruments before he is convicted, and can even sit with his family instead of standing on a lonely "judgment seat". Opposite him, the plaintiff who initiated the accusation was not so comfortable - because he had confessed to the plot to storm Forster House, General Carlyle had been shackled, and although he also had a seat, he was allowed to charge Rhodes as an exception for his guilt, and although he was sitting in the plaintiff's seat, he looked more like the protagonist of today.

In the center of the square, the former statue has been removed from the side and replaced by a sturdy new gallows. Although no one has clearly explained what this means, the appearance of the torture instruments sends a strong signal to all those involved in the trial that His Majesty the Emperor is determined to have a fair trial.

(If he had been found guilty after trial today, would he have been ordered to be hung on this shelf?) Rhodes looked at General Carlyle opposite, and the man with a sturdy build, but obviously not a young man, glanced at him coldly, and did not say a word.

"Are you nervous?" Raven leaned back in her chair, rubbed her son's shoulder, and said with a smile on her face, "Don't be scared by the gallows, there may be a few people hanging on it sooner or later, but since I'm here, even if everyone here hangs up, it won't be your turn." Just remember everything we said last night and everyone will be fine. ”

"I'm not nervous...... I was a little reluctant to go, General Carlyle's only son, because of my misses and impulsiveness......"

"You really should not be careful, but you should have killed all three Imperial soldiers for you, and you should not just feel sorry for General Carlyle just because he was in front of you. The Duchess shook her head: "Have you ever thought that the two ordinary soldiers you killed first may also be the only son in the family? Their parents may even be worse than the man in front of you, General Carlyle only lost his son who could inherit his title and career, but at least he did not have to worry about food and clothing, and the family of those two ordinary soldiers, lost a middle-aged male family member, and may even have difficulty in living a normal life." ”

Rod felt even more uncomfortable: "What should I do then?"

"You don't have to worry about it, the Empire will take care of the families of the dead. Mrs. Foster's expression was a little more serious: "Also, it's time for you to start controlling your emotions and behavior...... If you can't contain your instinctive reaction and kill someone by mistake, this is stupid both as it sounds and in fact it is, this time you were forced to fight back because you were chased and killed until you were mentally and physically tired and numb to make a mistake, and it is understandable, but if there is a next time, others will not do it, I will be angry. ”

"Hmm-"

"Let's start with today's public trial, let's learn to control your emotions, I know that you subconsciously think that you are indeed guilty and deserved, but you must not admit it in a hot mind. In the course of the trial, everything will be done according to what I have told, and you will not only be yourself, but also my son, and the guardian of the reserve of this world...... Whatever the reason, you have to clear your name today, and if anything goes wrong, your mother can protect you, but there will be far more than two or three people who will be in trouble or even lose their lives because of your actions!"

"Mother, I'm sure you can exonerate Rod...... But what if in the end, the other side still came up with some strong evidence that really proved that Rod was guilty?" Roy asked, tilting his head a little curiously and a little worried.

......

"Your father and I supported Midland to establish and rise under the obstruction of the powerful Erican Empire, with the intention of reducing the internal friction of this world by reducing the frequency and scope of wars between the human inhabitants of the Western Continent, and deliberately creating a strong and powerful centralized government to efficiently provide manpower, material resources, troops, and convenience for the project of protecting the world. Ruiwen glanced at the crowd of black oppressors dozens of meters away, and explained indifferently: "But if most people in the empire I 'raised' now, most people think that my child should be sent to the gallows, and some people even use the army to break into my house while I am not there and threaten my child's life, then what is the value and necessity of its existence?"

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