August 8, 349 Gregorian Calendar, Mastar, Shurasa

The Marshal of the Mastar, Count Robert Chomjane Baggio, was urgently summoned to Shurasa by the Empress with a dragon knight, and the Admiral was a little puzzled by this summoning, and he really could not think of any important battle that required the navy to be dispatched recently. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoCount Baggio soon met the Empress and her generals in the Emperor's study.

"My dear earl, you've finally arrived." Sigrani said with a smile.

"Your Majesty summoned Wei Chen so eagerly, what is the important send-off?" The Admiral asked as he saluted.

"Let General Hayes explain it to you."

"Then I'll overstep," Hayes nodded to you, "Probably everyone already knows the news, the Marquis of Sanchez of Numancia raised the flag against Debens, and broke with the Genora family once and for all. Now, he is looking to us for help in his march into Debans. ”

"Then, this should be the responsibility of the Eastern Army." Count Baggio said to Old Field.

"More than that, my Lord Admiral." The Empress replied for Old Field.

"Yes," continued Hayes, "Count Baggio, we have a plan, in which the navy will play a very important role. ”

The plan of the Mastar side was such that a nominal mercenary army would be organized to participate in the Iberian civil war on the basis of the 15 wing of the 1 corps of the Eastern Army. At the same time, the Mastar Navy organized a fleet to protect Seville's sea lines of communication and, if necessary, to cooperate with the army in attacking ports in northern Iberia, such as Valencia. In this way, the army plans to mobilize about 30,000 people, and the navy plans to mobilize 100 warships and 300 other ships.

"Count Baggio, do you have anything to say about the navy?" Sigrani asked, holding up her beautiful chin.

"Well, if I had to say, the Iberian Navy itself is not the biggest problem, they are far below us in size and standard. However, my concern is that if they also hire mercenaries as they do on land, it may cause us unexpected trouble. The marshal replied.

"Be specific." The Empress commanded.

"As far as I know, Debans hired Zigner longbowmen as mercenaries, and I've heard that the scale is still growing. If they find that the war at sea is unfavorable, they will most likely continue to seek Zigner's support at sea. If we encounter the Zigner fleet on the sea, 100 warships will not serve the purpose we hope for. ”

"Is the Earl afraid?" Hayes said.

"It's not a question of fear or not, it's reverence based on objective facts. Our country may be invincible on land, but fighting at sea is another matter. It is no longer the time when the Imperial Navy of the Yartikat Empire dominated the seas, the Zignans had the best ocean-going fleet and the best sailors, and no one had defeated them at sea for hundreds of years. If I encounter them on the sea, I can't guarantee that I will win. "Count Baggio was a little angry.

"Well, the Count has a point, and reminds me of another question—what should we do if the Pharansis come and join in?" Sigrani asked.

"Then we'll have to keep throwing in the army in the hope of defeating them." Hayes replied.

"No, what is our purpose? It is to take advantage of the Iberian civil war to obtain the maximum benefit at the minimum cost, so as to make up for our previous losses against Farensi. If we continue to invest troops in this and end up in another war of attrition with France, it will obviously not be beneficial to either of us. This truth is also clear to that person. Sigrani analyzed.

"This war is supposed to drain the power of the Iberians for our benefit." Baron Fields continued.

"So, we're just investing a certain amount of capital and buying an agent in Iberia."

"If Your Majesty is unwilling to give me more troops, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to defeat the possible Zigna fleet."

"I don't need you to defeat them, we didn't send a fleet to fight over who is the supremacy of the seas."

"What does Your Majesty mean?"

"What is the best outcome we can expect? The Marquis of Sánchez revived the Enrique dynasty, and we thus controlled Iberia to serve the interests of our country. What's the worst possible outcome? The Marquis of Sánchez was utterly defeated by King Ofrite, and Debans held a grudge against us for our previous support of Numancia, and we had nothing to gain. What is the most practical outcome? Neither side was able to change the situation, and Iberia was divided, and we took control of the southern Iberian territories. Obviously, if we don't get the best results, it's acceptable for us to settle for the next best. After all, southern Iberia was the first province of the Yartikat Empire, and it is convenient for us to gradually make them part of the present empire. ”

"So, our minimum goal is to guarantee that Marquis de Sanchez is not completely defeated." Hayes summed it up.

"Quite right." Sigrani nodded.

"Then I also understand what Your Majesty meant, with 100 warships to meet the Zigner fleet off the coast of Seville, I still have the confidence to ensure that I am undefeated."

"It would be great if we could do that."

"Still, Your Majesty, I need a little extra support to be sure." Count Baggio said.

"What kind of support?"

"I need good enough dragon knights, yes, good enough dragon knights, if we have a good team of dragon knights to provide shore-based support, then it will play a very positive role in the operation of my fleet. Especially in defensive operations, we can strike at the enemy from both the sea and the air. Count Baggio said.

Sigrani was a little worried, but she still asked, "Do you have someone in mind?" ”

"If you can, Wechen has the courage to beg Your Majesty to appoint His Excellency Cizer Bertrand, there is no better dragon knight in Mastar." Count Baggio bowed his head.

The faces of the ministers present changed, and they knew that the mention of the name was likely to provoke the Empress's anger, although when the Admiral spoke, they all naturally remembered the name. From this point of view, Cizer's talent as a dragon knight is recognized by the generals.

Hearing this, Sigrani stood up with a "poof", she did not speak, and walked directly to the marshal. Everyone next to him sweated for this.

"My dear Admiral, I agree with your suggestion, let that man seize this opportunity to make a meritorious contribution. Of course, I hope that you are not completely selfish in making this suggestion to me, because you are an expert in operations at sea and I trust your judgment. And you'd better not live up to the emperor's trust! Sigrani leaned in front of him and said in a low voice.

"Wechen understands." The crowd could not see the count's expression, but his voice did not show the slightest panic. At the same time that the Marstar retainers set their strategic goals, a huge event broke out 2,000 miles away from them - the death of King Kols III of Hitaros. Since it is a well-known fact that the king has no heirs, it is natural that the question of succession to the throne will be stirred.

According to the laws of Hitarus, the will of the former king was the most precedent condition, and without this thing, the bloodline would be the second priority, followed by the order of seniority and popularity. Therefore, the second prince Minox, whose biological mother is a slave, is the only one who can not worry about fratricide, and the fourth prince Nathaniels, who is still far away in France, has already publicly announced that he has renounced his inheritance. As a result, only the third Canites, the fifth Fels, and Antaras, were left to compete for the throne.

Now the Queen Mother is bent on putting her son Antaras on the throne, which is a secret known to the upper echelons of Hitaros. This time, Kolls III died suddenly due to a sudden illness in the summer, and although everyone had prepared for the untimely death of the drunken king sooner or later, they were still in a hurry when things came. In particular, the Senate, which oversaw the execution of the will of the previous king and the succession to the throne, was the first to complain that the deceased in the coffin was overconfident in his own health during his lifetime, because Koles III did not leave any will on paper.

The nobles of the Senate had been busy all day with their funerals, and now they had to discuss which prince should be nominated to succeed the throne, a task that might take some time.

The Senate was divided into two factions on the matter, one in favor of Canites and the other in obedience to the Queen Mother's orders. The two sides hold their own views and hold each other.

The arguments of the Canites were clear: first, in order of seniority, the Canites were certainly the most dominant of the three contenders. Secondly, Canites enjoyed considerable prestige in the army, and he repeatedly thwarted Efini attacks on land. In the end, the third prince has already established a complete family, and the side room has already given birth to two daughters, and it is clear that he will not face the problem of heirs in the future.

The Queen Mother's faction asserts that if you talk about blood, the current Queen Mother was born into the Herz royal family, and Antaras is the most noble in blood anyway. In terms of popularity, Antaras has a higher reputation among scholars and religions than Kanites in the military. If you talk about age, Antaras is younger, and you don't have to worry about fertility problems in the future, after becoming a king, forming a harem is just a matter of day.

"His Royal Highness Antaras is indeed excellent, but he still lacks experience in governance, and he is still too immature compared to His Highness Kanites, who has always assisted the previous king in his affairs."

"Your assumptions are groundless, in recent years, each of the country's government affairs has been shared by His Royal Highness, and it is unfair to attribute all the credit to His Royal Highness the Third Prince alone."

"Don't forget, this time His Royal Highness Antaras has gone to France, and it is very likely to win the favor of Queen France, if we wait for the people of France to send us a wedding card, we will tell them: 'I'm really sorry, we can't let the future king join your country' This caused a diplomatic storm to deal with?"

"Shall we leave the choice of who becomes king of Hitarus into the hands of the Pharians, who are hundreds of miles away? Isn't that ridiculous? As our long-standing allies, the Falnsis will understand our difficulties. ”

In the Senate, there has been a constant dispute over such verbal swords, and the two sides can be described as impassioned and spittle. The faint light of the candles in the hall trembled and flickered on the side, as if the breath and saliva of the patriarchs would be extinguished in the next moment.

Just when the two sides insisted on each other's words and refused to give in to each other, the copper foil door of the council hall made a "boom" sound and was pushed open. This voice overshadowed the total volume of the elders present, drawing all their attention. Of course, according to the words of a certain patriarch afterwards: "We are all civilized Sven people, even if the argument is still very peaceful." ”

"Ah, ah, Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother......" one of the nobles shouted.

Queen Mother Hitarus is actually just over 30 years old, and in modern times, women of this age may be honored as "Miss" because they are not yet married. She was only thirteen years old when she married Herz, a full forty years old from King Leodannis III. Obviously, such a marriage experience made her quickly transform into a mature enough woman.

"Your Excellency hasn't made up your mind yet?" The Queen Mother asked in a low voice.

"Not yet, my Royal Highness the Queen Mother." A nobleman familiar with her replied courteously.

"Her Royal Highness the Queen Mother......" A Carnetite nobleman wanted to remind her that, according to the law, she had no right to enter this room while the senators were discussing similar issues. But his remarks were interrupted.

"Well, our country is also a big country with a long history anyway, and hesitating for this kind of thing will only bring more trouble." "According to the laws of the Hitarus tradition, what cannot be agreed upon is decided only by vote. ”

"This ......" A nobleman was about to give his opinion, but saw a group of heavily armed soldiers drive into the council chamber.

The Queen Mother waved for the soldiers to bring in a narrow-mouthed bottle, and said with a smile: "Let us do what is traditional." ”

In the myth of Hitarus, the goddess once arranged for human judges to throw black and white stones into a narrow jar to express their opinion on whether the defendant was guilty or not. The Hitarus Senate would also use this method if it was unable to reach a consensus, but in practice it was rarely used because the king had the final say. And today, this rare system will be used to decide the fate of Hitarus.

Of the 510 members of the Senate, 486 of whom were present today, were driven by armed soldiers, each grabbing stones of two colors and lining up to vote at the narrow-mouthed bottles. The white pebble represents Antaras and the black pebble represents Kanites. The patriarchs went to vote one by one. The sound coming from the narrow-mouthed bottle gradually became muffled, indicating that there were more and more stones inside.

When everyone had finished casting, the Queen Mother ordered a samurai to pick up an axe and smash the clay jar with an axe. The scattered pottery shards were splashed all over the ground, which made the elders present couldn't help but be shocked.

"Check the ticket." The Queen Mother ordered.

Several senators were pulled out to check the tickets, and the samurai stood behind them with axes. The patriarchs trembled and plucked stones from the remains of the narrow-mouthed bottles and lined them up on the floor in a row of ten.

Half an hour later, the ticket inspection was over.

"Announce the results." The Queen Mother commanded again.

"Uh...... His Highness Canitez received a total of 243 votes and His Highness Antaras received a total of 244 votes......"

"Well, the result is obvious, isn't it, guys?" The Queen Mother looked triumphantly at the members of the Senate present.

"No, my dear queen mother, the outcome of the matter has not yet come out!" A magnetic voice interrupted her smugness, and when she looked back, it was Canitus.

"How dare you ......," the Queen Mother widened with rage.

"Because I've got his back." From behind the door flashed a tall figure.

"Why are you here, Minox, where is your sense of responsibility?" The Queen Mother asked.

"I don't have to bear a responsibility that doesn't exist, and a mere set of fake northern border intelligence can't fool me, Queen Mother." Minox was the most prestigious general in the Hitaros army, and his arrival heralded the full support of the army.

"You ......"

"Okay, we should continue the ritual of democracy, shouldn't we?" Canitez said.

"That's fine, the senator has already come to the conclusion, the king of Hitaros will be Antaras, my son!"

"Mother, didn't I say before, the voting is not over yet, there are a total of 510 votes in the Senate, only 486 members are present, and there are 24 gentlemen who have not exercised their rights and obligations."

"They can't make it."

"Are you so sure?"

"Of course." The 24 absentees were all staunch Canites, and the Queen Mother had already divided her forces to attack their mansions, and she was sure that these 24 men would disappear forever.

"Ah, Fels, you're coming too slowly." Canitez looked out the door.

"You can't blame me," Firth leaned in front of Canitez, "the way the princess put on her armor and swung her sword is really charming." ”

"Envious? Then go to Farensi and make one yourself. ”

"How can I have a chance where Sogrerd Luce is, Brother Wang, you just took the opportunity of someone to go to Parmis to meet the first beauty in the continent." Firth replied that there was nothing more odious in the eyes of the Queen Mother.

"Alright, Queen Mother, it's time for the late senators to go in and vote."

Twenty-four elders who had almost died walked in one after another, and some of them glared fiercely at the Queen Mother. Each of the 24 patriarchs picked up a black stone and shouted in turn: "Your Highness Canites, 244 votes." "His Royal Highness Canitez 245 votes. "...... His Highness Canitez, 267 votes."

"You're in luck...... Let's go! ”

"Please stay, Queen Mother."

"You won, what's the matter?"

"I would like to ask you to explain, how can there be 487 votes when only 486 patriarchs were present just now?" Canites asked, narrowing his eyes at the Queen Mother.