The winter sun illuminates the snow, decorating Duke Sharp's castle like a fairytale.

Changle's luxurious carriage looked muddy and dilapidated after a long journey, and it stopped at the front of the steps at an inopportune time, like a turtle worm lying on the white cream.

Queen Claire had been helped by her maid Martha to meet with the Duke in secret and hope to win the support of this powerful man.

Chang Le's subordinates had nothing to do, Lao Hei leaned on the coachman's seat and took a nap, grinding his teeth and swallowing saliva from time to time, not knowing what he was eating in his dreams.

The broadsword stood on his waist in front of the door, his eyes seemed to want to penetrate the castle wall, and he tried to follow Martha's figure.

Webber wandered around with his hands behind his back, looking around, then shook his head and sighed under the vigilant gaze of the guards:

"The duke of the Zalan Kingdom lives in such a dilapidated house, a small country and a widow, and has never seen the world!"

One of the attendant officers couldn't help but ask:

"Listen to Your Excellency, your house is more magnificent than our Duke's Palace?"

"It's not about scale, it's about style!"

"Bragging!"

Weber's surname is "Steanis", after the famous general Noah, the cornerstone of the Havilland Empire, which is famous in the entire Eastern Continent, is by no means comparable to second-rate nobles like Sharp.

However, as soon as he thought that his house had been raided by the emperor and that his father was no longer a duke, Weber lost interest and continued to boast, and with hatred in his eyes, he snorted and stopped talking.

Chang Le himself did not get off the train, but still leaned on his seat and meditated, as if he was asleep, silently.

Ricky straightened the blanket that covered Changle's legs, trying to leave no gaps, and faithfully played the role of lieutenant and maid.

Agnes was always thoughtful, pushed open the window to look at Webb, and then sighed softly and lowered the window panel.

Duke Stennis fell from power, and Agnes felt guilty as the "guardian" of the family, but political struggle was by no means the strength of a fifth-order demonic beast, and she could do nothing about it.

So she turned her gaze to Chang Le, coughed twice to attract the latter's attention, and then smiled half-truthfully:

"If you conquer the country and become a king, can you make Weber a duke and restore the glory of his family?"

Chang Le opened his eyes and thought about it, and looked at Agnes seriously:

"A pariah who proclaims himself a king will not be recognized by the nations, and a duke who is not an illegal king is worth it?"

The fifth-order demonic beast smiled beautifully:

"Robert V's title of emperor is not recognized by any country, Robert is still emperor, Havilland is still an empire, do you say it is worth it?"

"Makes sense. Chang Le nodded, and a smile also appeared, "Then I won't be a king, just be an emperor, but Weber can't lead the troops, he doesn't understand internal affairs, if he wants to be qualified to be a duke, unless you help him." ”

The meaning is very clear, Webber's personal ability is not outstanding, but if Agnes also works for Changle, with the strong strength of her fifth-order demonic beast, she can naturally help Webber earn more merits.

Of course, Agnes understood, and a hint of cunning flashed in her eyes:

"If I help Weber, it is equivalent to helping you, it is better to follow you directly, anyway, the duke walks and fishes every day, and he doesn't need me for the time being, but what position can you give me?"

The "strongest man in the Eastern Continent" is willing to serve, and Chang Le certainly welcomes it, but the question of "position" makes him a little at a loss, because those old brothers under him still have no "position" to speak of.

In this expedition, Lola is the acting commander-in-chief, the thunder strikes the vanguard, Miranda and the Iron Fist Louis are winged, and the thin monkey Phil is the chief of staff, this is all a temporary arrangement, and the next time it may be completely different.

Speaking of which, it is indeed time to arrange "positions", and there should also be a promotion system for salaries and ranks, so that subordinates have a sense of accomplishment.

While he was still silent, Agnes made her own request:

"Fanny is married, Wendy is gone, is your position as queen vacant?"

Chang Le heard this, and a laugh erupted from his nose, and then he lowered his head with a gloomy face, hugged his arms, and resumed meditation and contemplation.

There was some slight movement around him, it seemed that Ricky was squeezing her eyebrows and gesturing, telling Agnes not to open which pot to mention, and the name "Fanny" was the most taboo in front of the chief.

Agnes is not interested, and prefers to focus on Fanny, even if she is always happy, she also relish what she has seen and heard in the imperial capital.

As a fifth-order demonic beast, even if it turns into a human form and lowers it by one order, its ability to conceal its aura is still much higher than that of a human war spirit.

So she went to the palace and tried to intercede for Duke Stennis in private. As a result, the emperor did not see it, but witnessed the new married life of the crown prince.

Since the Duke is an important supporter of the crown prince, Agnes hopes that His Royal Highness Frank can lend a helping hand at this time, but Frank does not see anyone, and as the commander-in-chief of the Royal Guard, he does not go to inspect the troops, and only stays by Fanny's side every day.

In order to make the slightly melancholy Fanny happy, the crown prince specially ordered thousands of silk flowers, placed the dinner table among the flowers, and painted the atmosphere with artificial spring water and crystal lamps, which finally won a smile on the beauty.

There are many similar deeds, and all the wisdom of His Highness has been used on Fanny, who cares that the political world has been turned upside down.

Speaking of this, Agnes sighed lightly:

Speaking of which, Fanny is such a lucky woman, married to a prince who loves her dearly, and there are romantic surprises every day. ”

Chang Le's expression at this time is so ugly, how ugly it is.

Ricky couldn't help but plead:

"Agnes, don't say it again, this is revealing the scar in the chief's heart!"

"The scar is about to be revealed, and it is too good to be revealed!"

Agnes only glanced at Ruiqi, then turned her gaze back to Chang Le's face, and smiled cruelly:

"Women just like this tune, and your money, your thoughts, how much do you spend for Fanny? In addition to sleeping with her, refreshing yourself and refreshing her by the way, what else do you do to make her happy? So you can defeat the crown prince a hundred times on the battlefield, and you will lose the battle for women, you are not wronged at all, you deserve it!"

Chang Le gritted his teeth:

"Frank is a wine bag and rice bag, born in the royal family to have the capital to chase women, if his father is a poor egg, he can't support himself as a beggar, what can he use to chase women?"

"But people are just born in the royal family, are you not convinced?" Agnes smiled angrily, and her tone was even more hateful.

Chang Le took a deep breath and resumed bowing his head and remaining silent.

Ruiqi reached over, pressed Chang Le's hand and stroked it gently, the meaning was very clear, she wanted to comfort the chief, but she didn't know what to say.

Chang Le's kindness was appreciated, but unfortunately this comfort was useless.

Agnes smiled:

"This little widow beside you is far more virtuous and gentle than Fanny, she loves you silently and takes care of you, and she doesn't ask for anything in return, so affectionate and hard to find in the world, why don't you love her?

"Don't talk about me...... I was ...... I didn't deserve ......" Ricky retracted her hand in fright, and her cheeks flushed.

"Then Fanny, now she's slept with someone else, flattened!"

"Okay, be quiet for a while. Chang Le couldn't help but look up, "I'm so busy that I don't have time to listen to this nonsense." ”

When he was silent, he had been communicating with his subordinates hundreds of kilometers away, and gathered all the generals from Xiaohai through the soul servants, and took turns to speak one by one, which was no different from holding a combat meeting in person, so he was really busy.

But Agnes grinned:

"Don't want to hear it? Don't you want to hear about the crown prince slapping Fanny?"

"What?" Chang Le almost jumped to his feet and roared angrily, "He dares to hit Fanny?"

Agnes sighed:

"The commoner girl married the prince and lived happily ever after, this is a fairy tale, but unfortunately there are no fairy tales in the world. ”

Fanny was beaten, and the cause was also related to Agnes.

Agnes unsuccessfully asked Frank for help, so she had to lobby Fanny, analyze the stakes, point out the conspiracy between the third prince and Duke Philip, and hope that the crown princess would use her influence over her husband to protect the power of the crown prince's supporters as much as possible.

Fanny is clever and naturally understandable, and immediately goes to consult with Frank.

However, the crown prince is now full of confidence, feeling that his position as a war hero is extremely secure, that all the nobles are his supporters, that he does not need to rely on any one family, and that his inheritance does not need any "supporters" to guarantee.

As for Duke Stamnes, the border battle lost 200,000 soldiers, and almost ruined the empire, so he should naturally be held responsible.

"How many orphans and widows are due to him, and it is good that I didn't trouble him", these are the exact words of the crown prince.

Fanny was really persuaded not to move, so she had to retreat, saying that the most elite troops were now in the hands of Philip, and if the emperor's health problems one day and the other party led the army to support the three princes to ascend the throne, the crown prince could not use the law books to resist the sword.

She suggested that her husband go to the army more often, and use his position as "commander-in-chief" to gradually remove Philip's henchmen and replace them with his own henchmen.

This statement is said to be completely considered from the perspective of the crown prince, and it is 100% reasonable, but it is from this that the dispute was born.

Frank felt that he was too prestigious to stand the argument that he didn't want him to inherit the throne.

"What henchmen are not henchmen, I am the commander-in-chief, and I will still be the emperor in the future, who dares not to listen to me? Who is not respectful when he sees me?"

"You're so naïve!"

Fanny couldn't help but grumble.

This probably touched the crown prince's sore spot, because Changle used to ridicule him for being stupid and incompetent, but Fanny said it casually, but it angered him.

"Okay, I'm naïve! I'm stupid! I know, you've always looked down on me, and in your heart, I'll never be as good as someone!"

"Nope!"

"What's not? Your meaning is very clear! Okay, okay, you write a letter now, ask that guy to come out, start a battle, I will prove it to you!"

Seeing that the crown prince was so lacking in self-knowledge, Fanny replied angrily:

"It's not that I haven't fought before. ”

As a result, the crown prince was even more angry:

"I wasn't in the army that time! I'm coming back to the imperial capital to find you!"

"You're here, can you be useful? You have twice as many crusaders as him, and you're overwhelmed by a single charge, what can you do?"

"Okay! I understand! You regret marrying me!" The crown prince was so angry that his whole body trembled, "You say I'm naïve, if I go to the army as much as you say, I will be truly naïve!

"You're talking nonsense!" Fanny screamed in anger and slapped the crown prince in the face.

But she didn't exert her strength, and after a warning that was purely angry, the crown prince subconsciously slapped back hard, knocking Fanny to the ground and rolling twice, her delicate flower-like face red and swollen.

Of course, afterwards, the crown prince felt guilty, apologized in every possible way, and hugged Fanny to cry with her.

But from then on, Fanny became more and more melancholy, avoiding the crown prince from time to time, bowing her head and weeping alone.

Agnes had no choice but to stay in the palace, so she said goodbye to Fanny and rushed to the Duke's fiefdom to find Weber, and then followed all the way to Fort Stanley.

Telling the whole story, Agnes smiled and asked:

"Are you happy to hear this?"

Chang Le's expression was even more ugly than just now, the chewing muscles on his cheeks kept wriggling, and his teeth were clenched.

Just then, there was a sound of footsteps outside, and Claire and Martha returned.

As soon as the car door opened, the young Queen Mother hung her hood down, and she silently got into the car and sat down, unable to see whether her expression was cloudy or sunny.

Agnes hurriedly gave up her seat for them, sat down next to Chang Le, patted him on the leg, and grinned.

But at this time, Chang Le had regained his composure, looked at Claire, and asked lightly:

"Failed, didn't he?"

"It's not a complete failure, he's willing to be friendly and neutral. ”

"Ha, friendly and neutral! When the queen came to visit, he didn't go out to greet him, and his attitude was already obvious. Chang Le raised his head and snorted, "If you fail to win the throne, see if he is still friendly or not!"

Of course, Claire understood this, and had nothing to say about it, and sighed in a low voice:

"Let's go, there are still a few places to go. ”

So far, the nobles that the Queen Mother has secretly talked to have been specially selected and belong to a group of people who are usually regarded as "post-party".

Even so, none of the people who clearly expressed their support for her had the strength, and they only hoped to take advantage of this matter to bet and make a fortune, but Duke Sharp, who had a big career and a large army, was ambiguous, lest he would lose his capital by standing on the wrong team.

If the opponent is just Theodore, who has just ascended the throne, it will be very simple, the queen mother has been laid out for many years, and she will not be able to clean up the simple-minded prince.

But now the enemy is the famous Fisher King Elliot, 60,000 troops are pressing the border, plus the kingdom troops loyal to Theodore, the difference in strength between the two sides is too great, and the nobles dare not be cautious.

Chang Le did not follow the Empress Dowager's orders to drive, but fell into meditation and contemplation again.

"What are you waiting for?" asked Claire, surprised.

"Wait for someone. ”

"Who?"

Chang Le was silent, as unfathomable as ever.

Claire stared at the mysterious "Mr. Nyquist the Magician" for a long time, and then chose not to ask any more questions.

By the time the meeting had been completed, a fast horse galloped outside the castle.

"He should be here. Chang Le smiled and exhaled slowly.

"Who?" Claire couldn't help but ask again.

"I don't know. ”

Faced with such a strange answer, even the Queen Mother, who is like a human spirit, can only be dumbfounded.

The man's armor was carved with the Duke Sharp's family crest, and the dust servant flew off his horse, and without looking at it again, he rushed straight into the castle hall.

Claire could only keep her eyes fixed on Chang Le, trying to dig up some useful information.

Chang Le crossed his fingers and recited the words, counting from one to one hundred, and then stood up from his seat:

"Now, it's my turn to talk to the Duke. ”

"Do you need me to accompany you?" Claire asked with a frown, visibly dissatisfied with Chang Le's trickery.

"You've been there, it's useless, so leave it to me. ”

Chang Le got out of the car unhurriedly and walked slowly into the castle.

Ten minutes later, he appeared at the door again in the same unhurriedness.

This time there was one more person by his side, Duke Sharp, who was dressed in a gorgeous robe!

The duke's face was smooth, his beard was well-trimmed, but his expression was a little flustered, and he walked down the steps quickly, until he rushed to the door of the carriage, and bowed deeply to the Queen Mother Claire:

"Your Majesty, please forgive Your Majesty for his hesitation just now, but I have changed my mind now, and immediately gather the whole army and personally escort Your Majesty north!"

"Lord Duke, why do you call me Your Majesty?"

"Because you are Her Majesty, the true and rightful heir of the Kingdom!"

"Excuse me, what made you change your mind?"

Claire's gaze flickered between Sharp and Changle, confused.

"Because of duty, mission, honor and courage!" Duke Sharp was righteous and awe-inspiring, "The short hesitation is because I am worried about the devastation of the war, but the country is facing a crisis, the people are in great trouble, and retreat cannot solve the problem, as a nobleman, you must have the courage to sacrifice yourself!"

Chang Le snickered on the side.

It doesn't take much effort to drag the duke, who is riding on the wall and listening to the wind, to bring it over.

As long as the wind is clear enough!

The dusty rider just now was the scout under the Duke's command.

And the detective hurriedly rushed back, bringing a piece of news, which Chang Le already knew in his heart.

The mysterious army appeared in the south, and in a battle on the east bank of the Griffin River, Fisher's army was defeated!