On the third day of Luke's arrival at the Crescent Oasis, the second prince, Alec, finally couldn't bear the pressure and took the initiative to board the first and second train.

Luke arranges a banquet in the dining car, and then asks everyone to leave the car, and he has to talk to Alec alone.

The chef prepared baked lobster, caviar, venison with black pepper, Prunic ham......

"Your Highness Alec...... Luke pours Alec red wine with a wine bottle and introduces the dish on the table: "Lobster baked in butter." The lobsters come from Qinsheng Bay, which has some of the clearest waters in the world, and produces lobsters with flesh like egg whites. It's just that Qinsheng Bay is too far away from the empire, and even if it is as expensive as the royal family, it can't eat fresh Qinsheng lobster in the past.

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Now that the city has a wide range of refrigeration technology, fishing boats catch fish in Qinsheng Bay, and all the harvest is frozen and stored at the first time, and then transported to the city as quickly as possible. The full set of cold chain transportation that has been established in Nutao City allows the queen to eat the original piano lobster in Shenglun City.

Caviar is the eggs of the polar icefish, which is rare and dangerous in number, so the eggs that can be collected are very few, or even not enough to be sold as a commodity. However, not long ago, the city of Angry Waves established a research station in the polar regions, and at the same time tried to artificially domesticate the icefield fish. These caviars were the first artificially domesticated ice fish to lay their eggs. It is very nutritious and contains magic that gives it an extremely rich taste.

The black pepper inside the venison comes from the Eggerman Miasma Zone, where the lizardmen tribe has always been extremely hostile to humans and will eat those who break into the Miasma as food. But someone seems to have taken care of the lizardmen and established the Egelman spice trade route. And the city of Angry Waves signed the agency rights of Egelman spices, which are more expensive than gold.

……”

Luke introduced one dish after another, presenting Prince Alec with a business empire that covers the whole world.

Prince Alec maintained the demeanor of the royal family, tasting dish by dish. Although he also lived a luxurious life in the Crescent Oasis, his living environment was far less than that of the Holy Lun City, and many of the ingredients were not so fresh when they were shipped here.

"Very delicious!" Alec took a sip of red wine and exclaimed, "Lord Shoufu is also the governor of Angry Waves, so he can easily taste the food from all over the world. ”

Luke said, "If Your Highness wants to eat these every day, it's actually very easy. ”

Alec picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth, and instead of touching the knife and fork, he asked Luke, "You let everyone else out, you should have something to say to me that can't be heard by other people." Let's talk about it...... No matter what kind of disobedient words it is, I am not surprised, and I can accept it. ”

Luke ate casually, and said to Alec as he ate, "Your Highness, the troubles in the West are a thing of the past for the Empire. Now that the city garrison guarding the western frontier is being reorganized and formed, there is no need to maintain a first-tier legion between the western frontier and the empire.

This is a meaningless drain on national strength. ”

Alec replied with the countermeasures he had in mind, "It is true that the Legion of the Westlands should not remain in the Crescent Oasis. Moreover, the formation of the Western Frontier Legion was originally intended to be used as a backup to prepare for the northern battlefield. Now that the Artshire League is still encroaching on the land of the Empire, I am willing to lead the Western Legion to fight in the North, and I will definitely be able to drive all the Artshire Alliance's armies out of the Empire's land in one battle. ”

Alec wanted to go to the north to fight in order to keep his military power.

Luke smiled and said, "There is no need for His Highness to worry about the war in the north. If I wanted to regain lost territory, I would have ordered the Snow Legion to launch an all-out counteroffensive. The current war in the north is the empire using a barren land of little value to constantly consume the national strength of the Atlantic Union, and use the war of attrition to drag down the strong neighbors in the north of the empire.

The situation in the north is like fishing now, you can't try too hard, and scaring the Atlantshire Union away is a huge trouble. ”

This was the first time Alec had heard of the Empire's strategy for the North.

At the same time, I was surprised that Meteorite dared to use war to drag down the Artshire Union when all sides of the empire were in crisis.

Is it just arrogance, or is it self-confidence?

But the fact is that in the control of the meteorite, the empire did not collapse in various crises, but gradually shrank its power to the palace. The various factions were eradicated one by one by the Meteors, and the power of the Imperial Palace reached the pinnacle of power that Augustine the Great did not have.

The Empire's finances have not been unstable due to wars and power struggles, and the heart of Angry Waves City is constantly transferring the world's wealth to the Empire.

If I were the Emperor of the Empire and Meteorite was the Empire's Chieftain who was loyal to me...... How nice it would be!

Alec said to Luke, "The Marquis is the highest title that the Empress can give you, and I can make you Duke and set aside a large piece of land for you and your family to pass on for generations."

Meteor! What the empire needs most now is an emperor, a young and energetic emperor. If you support me, I can give you more power and more honor when I ascend the throne. ”

Luke nodded as if moved: "Yes, the empire does need an emperor now. In the future implementation of national policies and the handling of foreign relations, the weight of the Empress of the Prison Country is still a little bit worse. ”

Alec suddenly asked happily, "Have you agreed to support me on the throne as Emperor of the Empire?" ”

Luke shook his head and said with a smile, "Prince Alec, if you had the ability to lead the current empire, you would have been the crown prince a long time ago. ”

Alec asked suspiciously, "If it weren't for me, who would be qualified to be the emperor?" Fania is dead, and Sinklai has just announced his renunciation of the throne, and his father ...... He should not be able to continue to lead the empire.

Could it be Agatha?

You're my sister's loyal dog! ”

Luke was not angry at Alec's swearing, saying, "Agatha once made it clear to Augustine the Great that she had no coveting of the throne. It was, and it is, and it is ...... now."

"Who's that? Other royalty? ”

Luke said, "You're right! I am preparing to adopt your mother, now Empress Christina Augustine, as the new Emperor of the Empire. ”

"This is absolutely not possible!" Alec roared angrily, "Christina is Ruth's benefactor, she is not qualified to be the Emperor!" The nobles of the empire will definitely not agree, and the subjects of the empire will definitely not agree! ”

Luke said in a spurt: "If Your Highness Alec acknowledges that Empress Christina has royal blood and supports the Empress to ascend the throne as Emperor of the Empire, I don't think the nobles and subjects of the Empire will oppose the first Empress in the history of the Empire. ”

"How can Christina have royal blood......" Alec just wanted to deny, but immediately thought of the frequent intermarriages between the Augustinian family and the Ruthian family, and a prince became the king of the Ruthine Kingdom. Alec immediately changed his tune and said, "Even if Christina has royal blood, she is not qualified to become the emperor!" In the absence of my father's crown prince, I am the first in line to the throne.

No one wants to take the throne away from me! ”

Alec had been fighting Fania for decades for the throne, and now that Fania was dead, he had long taken the throne for granted.

Luke knew that Alec's obsession with the throne was much heavier than Zink's, and it must have been very difficult to get him to give up.

"Prince Alec, we want to take the throne, you really can't do anything?"

"You!" Alec pointed at Luke and yelled, "Do you know what you're doing!" This is usurpation. If you dare to do this, there will be countless people who will stand up against you. I will also lead the Legion of the Westlands to take back the throne that belongs to me. ”

Luke laughed, "How many people do you think will follow you?" ”

"A lot, all those loyal to the empire will support me."

"Don't fool yourself, Your Highness Alec. The current era is not the previous era, and you must know in your heart how many people are truly loyal to the empire.

You've seen a lot of monarchies fall down, and when those monarchs were guillotined, where were the people who shouted loyalty to them all day long?

If I were to announce the removal of your command of the Westside Legion as the Empire's Chieftain now, how many people do you think will truly follow you...... Choose to defy me! ”

Luke looked at Alec with an imposing look, and he had no royal bearing.

In the past two days, Alec has deeply felt the pressure of the meteorite on the entire Crescent City. He didn't take a step out of the special train, but he just pressed down on the city like a mountain. Everyone involved is sincerely afraid, and they are calculating their future path.

Loyalty is conditional.

When a ship is destined to sink, there are very few people who are willing to sink with the ship.

The Western Legion is not the Northern Legion, and he has no such deep relationship with the officers of the Western Legion. They used to support themselves because they had the value to invest in.

Right now...... The entire western realm is covered by meteors, and the Crescent Oasis is an isolated island.

Food, drink, and military pay are all in the hands of others. Does the Westside Legion listen to itself, or does it listen to the meteors?

As for his staff and the rangers and heroes he raised, it is only through adversity that he can see the truth.

At the last meeting, the first think tank actually proposed to let him take the initiative to give up the right to inherit the throne, and the people around him could see what they were thinking.

And the nightingale came to himself specifically to say those words.

Maybe they have already seen themselves clearly, and when they take off all their honors and identities, they are no different from ordinary people.

If you don't have anything extraordinary, how can you fight against the meteorite?

Now that his hands and feet are tied, and the guillotine is in the hands of others, how many people are willing to accompany him to send his head out?

Helplessness and powerlessness made Alec's whole body languish, and he asked, "Why Christina?" With your current power and means, the emperor is a puppet, how am I different from her? ”

Luke said, "I didn't say the Emperor was my puppet. On the contrary, I hope that the Emperor will be able to hold up a space for me to play, and I and Empress Christina are cooperating, not who controls whom.

For example, this time to control the Western Territory, Her Royal Highness the Queen has done a very good job, she is my help, not my burden, and the puppet can't do it. ”

"What are you doing all this for?"

Luke looked at Alec: "You have a bit of a lot of questions, and it's boring. Give me an answer...... Support Empress Christina's accession to the throne as the Empress of the Empire? Still not supported?

You just need one chance to get it right. ”

After Luke made everything he had to say, he directly threatened Alec.

Answer: Yes!

Wrong answer: Death!

Alec's face turned pale, he had never imagined in his life that he would face such a life-and-death decision. Gui, the prince of the empire, was threatened by a vassal.

"I ......" faces emerged from Alec's mind, including Augustine the Great, Fania, Agatha, and Dale...... And the nightingale...... In the end, Alec replied helplessly: "As the prince of the empire, I recognize that Christina Augustine has royal blood and has the legal inheritance of the emperor, and I am willing to support Christina Augustine to the throne as the empress of the empire." ”

After saying that, Alec collapsed in his chair, and the wine glass was crooked by him, and the red wine was spilled on the table and dripped on his body.

After getting rid of the second prince Alec, Luke's empire can be regarded as kicking out one of the biggest obstacles.

Empress Christina's accession to the throne as the Empress of the Empire has the de jure support, the support of the princes and princesses of the Empire, and the control of the officials of the Angry Waves City, which can complete this major transition of imperial power with minimal fluctuations.

What you want to do in the future, the Emperor's Decree will definitely carry more weight than the Queen's Decree.

Alec made great sacrifices, and Luke did not forget to appease him.

He picked up the crooked wine glass, used magic to sweep away the wine stains, and then poured the red wine again: "Your Highness Alec don't be too upset, your succession to the throne is still there." ”

Alec smiled bitterly: "What's the use of the succession to the throne, our future empress is younger than me." She is still young, she will marry a prince, and there will be a prince and a princess.

You...... Did she have an affair with the queen for a long time, so she was so attentive to assist her. ”

Luke raised his glass and invited Alec: "You can't hide things in your heart, you can either say it or it's all on your face." A monarch with a city government would not say such a speculation that has no evidence and has great influence, and he still asks a person who should not be asked.

If I really have an affair with Her Royal Highness the Queen, can you, a down-and-out prince, still be alive?

If I hadn't had an affair with Her Royal Highness, what would I do with you? ”

Alec's hand as he picked up his glass trembled, "You, you're going to kill me?" ”

Luke touched Alec's with his glass: "You are very lucky, I don't have the kind of relationship with Her Royal Highness the Queen you think, and I shouldn't be your father in the future."

Drink this glass of wine and you're free.

When Empress Christina ascends the throne, you will be crowned king, but the power of the Westside Legion will still be handed over, and it will be useless to keep it in your hands. ”

"Yes......" Alec took a sip of wine, "military power is useless to me, but it will harm me." I would like to ask, can I go abroad after the deed is completed? ”

"Do what?"

"Go find the nightingale."

"Yes!"