Chapter 97

After a few days of delay in Xiqiu, Luo Di and his party were heavy. Five days later, at noon, I finally arrived at the imperial capital.

From afar, I saw the majestic city pass of the imperial capital, and the flame thorn flower banner that symbolized the emperor's authority fluttered high above the city wall. The samurai in golden armor stood motionless on the city wall, and the sharp battle axe in his hand glowed in the cold light of the forest, which looked even more majestic and magnificent. The 100-meter-high Tower of Light in the city was illuminated by the midday sun, and the huge magic crystal at the top of the tower reflected a dazzling white circle of light in the sunlight.

"It's home!" Ziggy sat on his horse, sighed inwardly, and looked back at the long line behind him, each soldier with a tired face, but a very excited expression.

The main gate of the imperial capital was wide open, in the morning, countless citizens learned the news of the triumphant return of the Duke of Tulip, a large number of citizens were happy to flock to the outside of the city to greet, this day, the flowers of the imperial capital were completely out of stock again, looking at the excited citizens of the imperial capital, only the soldiers of the security station smiled bitterly in their hearts. Thinking of the grand occasion when the army set out that day, they were all fully prepared in advance. Even the commander of the police station deliberately put on a helmet, for fear that he would be scratched in the face by those enthusiastic girls again.

Roddy had already received a message from the royal guards that His Majesty the Emperor would personally greet him outside the city. From a distance, I saw the soldiers of the security station outside the city gate, on both sides of the main road, firmly controlling the onlookers on the periphery. On the main road, a group of brightly clad Royal Guard soldiers stood solemnly on either side, and the road was already paved with flowers. From afar, I saw a huge eight-wheeled carriage with a splendid golden wall parked outside the city gate, and even the horses pulling the carriage were selected white royal horses of the highest quality.

Roddy, with the two commanders Ziggy and Gordon, hurriedly dismounted and stepped forward on foot, as early as a hundred paces away. All the soldiers behind him immediately dismounted and walked on foot.

Emperor Abbasid XI of the empire, dressed in the most pompous costume, stood on top of the carriage.

The team marched neatly and slowly to the carriage, Roddy waved his hand, and the whole army stopped, and then Roddy Gordon Ziggy knelt down on one knee and said in unison: "The minister lives up to His Majesty's expectations and has repelled foreign enemies!" The three of them spoke together, and Ziggy and Gordon naturally shouted how loud they were. It's just that Luo Di really didn't have much interest in this emperor, so he just lowered his head and moved his mouth casually to deal with it.

With a look of satisfaction and excitement on his face, Abbasid XI waved his hand, stepped down from the carriage, and slowly walked to the triumphant meeting, where the relatives pulled the three men up and welcomed the triumphant return with the most solemn hug and etiquette in the empire.

As the royal honor guard sounded the horn of grand celebration, the surrounding onlookers shouted:

"Long live Duke Tulip!"

"Long live Thor's Whip!"

"Long live the Empire!"

"Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

Flowers rain, streamers flying. Amidst the sound of celebration, the army slowly entered the city.

Abbasid XI deliberately took Roddy's hand and walked in front, and even left his royal carriage, and casually asked someone to find a horse to come over, and rode side by side with Roddy, enjoying the cheers of the whole city, Abbasid XI's face was also full of smiles, and his originally slightly pale face was also a little more red.

Roddy had a cautious and respectful look on his face, but he didn't feel good in his heart.

First of all, in this battle in the northwest, in the final analysis, the empire is actually lost. Large tracts of land were occupied, and several military fortresses fell into the hands of others. In the end, he brought reinforcements and narrowly saved the Watt Fortress. It's just that I didn't lose home.

Moreover, according to the practice of the empire, as the Duke of Tulip (although he is a fake), but he led the Northwest Army in the northwest to repel Rochenthal, according to the previous historical management of the empire, he should let himself take over the position of the commander of the Northwest Army and lead the military affairs of the northwest. But the emperor did not do this, and as soon as the battle was over, he ordered himself to return. Obviously, he is not at ease to let himself control the military power of the 100,000-strong army in the northwest!

Also, seeing that the emperor originally sent himself to the northwest to die, I am afraid that what he hoped for most was to let Rochenthal slash himself to death in the northwest, so that the Tulip family, which was the greatest threat to his imperial power, would be wiped out. But he didn't expect that he would make a surprise attack on the hinterland of the Great Moon Kingdom, and actually forced the other party to be in internal chaos, and Luo Chenthal had no choice but to withdraw his troops and go back to fight for power. Although he kept the northwest, he did not get rid of the thorn in his side. I'm afraid that the emperor will be more disappointed than happy!

Not to mention that the Wolf Tooth Army went directly back to the barracks of the Central Cavalry Corps, Roddy and Zieggordon both returned to the palace with the emperor and received the reward in the main hall.

All the high-ranking military and political officials in the imperial capital had already gathered in the palace hall, and Roddy strode into the palace with Abbasid XI to receive the attention of all the important ministers of the empire, among whom were envious, joyful, jealous, and red-eyed.

After Abbasid XI slowly sat on the throne of imperial power at the top, he slowly looked at the people below and said slowly: "Duke Tulip returned triumphantly from the northwest this time and repelled Rochenthal, which can be regarded as a great contribution to the empire. Let's cheer for the glory of the Empire, Duke Tulip!"

The applause was thunderous, and all the nobles and important ministers cheered warmly, and the people in the military cheered hard, looking at the spiritual leader of the military, their hearts were full of relief.

It's just that after the cheers ended, a thin old man in a black robe slowly walked to the middle, his face was calm, and he said slowly: "Your Majesty, I have something to say!"

"Marquis of Caroline, you are the Emperor's Minister of Affairs! This time Duke Rudolph has returned triumphantly, and you are in charge of the Emperor's affairs, and you also have merit!" Abbasid XI smiled slightly.

Marquis Caroline raised his head and said solemnly: "Your Majesty! Duke Tulip has made such a great contribution to the empire, and he must not be rewarded!"

When Luo Di heard this, he only felt a chill in his heart. He knew very well in his heart that this Carolingian Minister of War was not a good thing. Their Lionheart family is bent on overpowering the Tulip family, and the last time at a banquet, he rubbed against his nephew Miro, who was the commander of the Northern Legion. This time this old guy took the initiative to ask the emperor to reward himself, there must be nothing good to say!

Abbasid XI nodded, and immediately said: "Of course, this is of course, but the duke has made a great contribution, and you are the Minister of War, how do you think you should be rewarded?"

Without waiting for the Marquis of Caroline to speak, a middle-aged man wearing the uniform of an army general next to him immediately walked to the middle and said loudly: "Your Majesty! According to imperial tradition! Duke Tulip will serve as the commander of the Central Cavalry Corps every generation! Duke Rudolph has now made a great contribution! Just in time for him to become the master of Thor's whip!"

As soon as he finished saying this, he immediately received a response from many other military generals.

Luo Di sighed in his heart, he knew that these people were taking extra care of themselves for the sake of the old duke's face and wanted to help themselves. It's just that the generals of these armies are too simple-minded, and the emperor refuses to give even 100,000 troops to himself. What's more, there are 200,000 "Thor's Whips," which are known as the most elite troops in the empire? Not to mention, controlling Thor's Whip is equivalent to controlling the military strength of the Imperial Capital! The Imperial Capital's 250,000 troops, of which 200,000 are Thor's Whips guarding the Imperial Capital, and 50,000 are the Royal Guards guarding the Imperial Palace. The emperor was so suspicious of the Tulip family, how could he hand over the largest army in the imperial capital to his commander?

Sure enough, Abbasid XI just nodded, but did not speak. Luo Di noticed that the emperor secretly glanced at the Marquis Caroline, and then the Marquis Caroline immediately coughed lightly, and said loudly: "The words of the generals were originally feasible!, but ......" Hearing this, Luo Di sneered in his heart, "Just wait for your 'but'!"

“...... But the Duke of Tulip is still young after all! The Whip of Thor is the most elite legion in the Empire, and it has the heavy responsibility of guarding the imperial capital! The Duke is only less than twenty years old this year to take on such a heavy responsibility, I am afraid that the Duke may not be able to do it!" After saying these words, the Marquis of Caroline bowed respectfully to the emperor.

"Nonsense!" a grumpy general retorted loudly: "Although the Duke is young, there are still few examples in the history of the empire where the young Duke Tulip served as the commander of the first army!

Marquis Caroline glanced at the general, and said neither humbly nor arrogantly: "There are also people in their twenties who serve as commanders of the first army, but now the Duke is not yet twenty years old after all!

"Hmph!" another general couldn't help but say, "Isn't it enough to be able to defeat Rochenthal once on the battlefield?

Caroline was also not angry, and said lightly: "In foreign wars, who leads the troops to the battle, that is Your Majesty's decision." ”

"You keep saying that the Duke is young, so your nephew is not very old, and he also commands the Northern Army!"

Marquis Caroline said tepidly: "Although Miro is young, he is nearly thirty years old after all, and he did not serve as the commander of the Northern Army all at once, but also from the commander step by step. ”

Seeing that all the important generals of the military spoke one after another, and the old Marquis Caroline talked eloquently, without hurry or impatience, and his face was calm and dripping, where could the eloquence of these generals compare to him?

"Look at the boy!" Andy said softly in his head, "This old guy is not simple!

Luo Di nodded secretly, he stood aside and observed the words, and he had already understood in his heart that today's words were actually clearly colluded between the emperor and the Minister of War, and he refused to let himself control the military power at all.

Thinking of this, he already understood the emperor's intentions in his heart, since people had made up their minds, these generals had no result of helping them fight with kindness, but they offended the emperor in vain. Roddy cleared his throat and said loudly, "You don't have to argue!"

When all the generals saw him speak, they all closed their mouths, looked at the young duke, and waited for him to speak.

Luo Di bowed and said: "Your Majesty, I also think that I am too young to be the commander of a legion! Frankly speaking, in this battle in the northwest, in fact, I only relied on a little luck to reluctantly force Rochenthal to retreat! If you want to say that you have won any battles, you can't talk about it! As the Marquis of Caroline said just now, Thor's Whip is the most elite legion in the empire, and it is responsible for guarding the imperial capital, I am too young, I am really afraid that I can't bear this burden!"

Hearing this, all the military people frowned and sighed secretly in their hearts. Abbasid XI's eyes flashed with a look of your acquaintance, and he said softly on the surface: "Duke Rudolph is too modest! Your merits will not be erased by the empire! But since you are unwilling to be the commander of the Central Cavalry Corps, what do you think?"

These words were extremely high-sounding, and Luo Di scolded in his heart when he heard it: "What I don't want to do, it's just that you don't want to do it at all!" On the surface, he said with a straight face: "I went to the northwest to lead the army, only to know that I really lack experience, thanks to the assistance of the two commanders of Sieg and Gordon, I have barely completed Your Majesty's mission! I ask Your Majesty to reward the two commanders of Sieggordon!"

Abbasid XI smiled slightly: "This is natural! I heard that the commander of Ziggy is the old commander of Thor's whip, and I am ready to give him the title of viscount! As for the commander of Gordon, I have decided to promote him to deputy commander of the Royal Guard." ”

Luo Di said in his heart: "This is a bargain." He doesn't give me military power, but he always gives me two assistants, which is barely fair. "Of course, it is" Your Majesty is wise. ”

Since Luo Di himself explained that he had no idea about the position of commander of the Central Cavalry Corps, this reward was difficult. After all, although he now has the title of duke, he actually does not have any official position. Originally, there was also a special envoy for military affairs in the northwest, but now that the battle in the northwest has been completed, naturally the title of this envoy is gone. As for the Commander...... Joke, how can a dignified duke continue to be a small commander?

Everyone had different opinions, but they couldn't make up their minds, and Roddy sighed in his heart, remembering Nicole's words: "The higher the merit of the Tulip family, the higher the status, but in the end." has occupied all the glory and aura, so that the emperor has no reward, no seal!"

It was the Marquis of Caroline who coughed vigorously twice, and then slowly spoke, and his unique unhurried tone sounded softly in the main hall: "Your Majesty, I think that Duke Tulip is the pillar of the empire, and the tulip banner is the pride of the empire, although the Duke is still young, as long as he has a few years of training......"

Luo Di's heart moved, and he said secretly: "Hmph, tell the truth, these are all nonsense in front, mainly in the four words 'experience for a few years'." ”

I only heard the Marquis Caroline say slowly: "Although the situation in the south is quite stable now, the barbarian tribes in the southern hills are also making trouble from time to time. They hid in the mountains and made trouble from time to time, holding back a large number of military and financial resources of the empire! This time the war between the northwest and the Great Moon Kingdom, if it weren't for the containment of those mountain barbarians in the south, the southern army would have been able to support it a long time ago. I think that now that the war in the northwest has stopped, the most important problem is to solve the problem in the south first! I suggest that Duke Tulip be invited to go to the south, and with the prestige of the Tulip banner, he will certainly be able to deter those mountain barbarians! First, Duke Tulip now has no official title, and His Majesty can appoint him as the special envoy of the southeast and concurrently serve as the governor of the southeast, control the military and political affairs of the three provinces in the southeast, and cooperate with the commander of the Camus regiment of the Southern Army to solve the problem of the mountain tribes. Second, Lord Camus, the commander of the Southern Legion, is the elder of the Emperor's ** side and has rich experience, and the Duke can just train in the south for two or three years!"

As soon as the old Caroline finished speaking, Roddy's mind heard Andy shouting: "Poison, poison, really poisonous! This old guy is amazing! What a bullshit Southeast envoy! Like the Northwest Envoy, it sounds like a majestic official position, but it is a temporary one! What kind of moderation of the three southeastern provinces, each of which has a local governor, you are just an empty showman! The troops of the Southern Legion will not be handed over to you to be in command, but only ask you to 'learn' from behind the commander of the Southern Legion. Poison! Listening to these words, it has given you an incomparably majestic messenger, but it is actually false! It is equivalent to sending you to the south to open a mountain!"

Without waiting for the generals of the military to react, Abbasid XI immediately smiled and looked satisfied, and said in a loud voice: "Okay! It's a good idea! The Minister of War is serious, and this is the best of both worlds." ”

Luo Di scolded in his heart, but the emperor said all this, which was equivalent to knocking a nail on the board. He couldn't help but have a trace of anger flashing in his eyes, but then he tried his best to hold back his dissatisfaction, and bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, I am willing to go south to learn from the old General Camus!"

How could there be so many flowery intestines in the stomachs of several generals in the military, seeing that the duke had already made a big official, and he was still the special envoy of the southeast, but he was in charge of the three provinces, it was naturally quite large, and they all immediately fell silent.

The emperor smiled slightly, and said, "Okay, then it's decided! Duke Rudolph! You have made great contributions in the northwest! I now appoint you as the special envoy to the southeast! The military governor can control the military and political power of the three southeastern provinces, and I hope you will assist the southern army of the commander of Camus's army to calm down the troubles in the mountains as soon as possible!"

Roddy sighed and got down on one knee. After thinking about it, he said: "Your Majesty, I went to the northwest this time, thanks to the assistance of Lord Zige's Central Cavalry Legion Wolf Tooth Army, I will go to the southeast, and I only ask Your Majesty to give me permission to transfer the Wolf Tooth Army to use." ”

The emperor was in a good mood at the moment, thinking that there was only one wolf tooth army, less than 20,000 people, and you would not be able to turn the sky over. And today's purpose has been achieved, now, after a slap, it is time to give the other party a candy to eat, and immediately readily agreed.

Abbasid XI thought for a moment, and suddenly spoke again: "Duke Rudolph, you must also know that the envoys of the Great Moon Kingdom have been in the imperial capital for many days, and they are discussing peace talks about the war in the northwest these days. If you have returned from the northwest and are familiar with the affairs of the northwest, I will appoint you as a deputy envoy to be responsible for discussing the issue of peace talks! I hope you will live up to the majesty of the empire! In the south, you should not be busy going first, and then you will go on the road when the matter of peace talks is resolved!"

Luo Di was stunned for a moment, he didn't expect the emperor to give him such an errand again, and he didn't understand what it meant for a while, and couldn't help but look at the old Caroline, only to see that his face was calm, but a trace of smug gaunt flashed in his eyes.

"Stupid, don't you understand this?" Andy sighed in his head: "What results can the empire get from negotiating with the Great Moon Kingdom?" Now that the land is occupied by others, the military fortresses have been taken away by others, and the Northwest Army has been beaten to less than half of the people...... Naturally, if you lose it, you will not come back, and this kind of peace talks that have lost power and humiliated the country, His Majesty the Emperor will naturally have a dull face. Asking you to serve as a negotiating envoy is tantamount to bearing the world's scolding name! Alas, it's really ruthless, it seems that this is the ghost idea of that old military minister again!"

Roddy gritted his teeth and just nodded. looked at several military generals next to him, and they all looked angry.

In fact, Andy was right, Abbasid XI asked Roddy to negotiate with the other party, of course, he listened to the old Caroline's idea and asked Tulip to bear the black cauldron of signing the humiliating peace treaty. At the same time, the old Caroline had his own ideas in it......

These days, on the issue of the northwest, whether to fight or make peace with the Great Moon Kingdom, the imperial capital has already quarreled upside down. The people in the military were naturally the main fighters, but the old Caroline gathered a group of officials and nobles, all of whom tried to persuade Abbasid XI to negotiate peace.

Old Caroline had a mind of his own...... Northwest Military Affairs**, this small battle in the Northwest has exposed many problems, and his involvement with the Northwest is too great, if the two countries start a full-scale war, then all the problems in the Northwest will be exposed...... At that time, I am afraid that he himself will be finished! Therefore, under the current situation, the northwest must absolutely not be chaotic! It cannot be fought! As long as the war does not start for a day, those problems will not be exposed! As for the solution to the problem, we can only slowly gain time and slowly cover it up.

That was the end of the conversation, and there was a feast to celebrate the victory in the evening, but before that, Roddy naturally wanted to go home first.

The people dispersed on the top of the main hall. Luo Di exchanged a few words with those military officers, most of the old guys in the military were subordinates or friends of the old duke back then, and naturally they were looking towards him in their hearts, and they really encouraged Luo Di a few words. It's just that these generals of the military, of course, can fight, but when it comes to this kind of intrigues, they are definitely not opponents of people like the old Marquis Caroline.

Roddy saw old Caroline striding away, and sighed in his heart: This old guy is too powerful, if he wants to fight against this old guy, he can't rely on these generals who can only use swords and swords!

Nian Youyi has always laughed at himself: after so many days, he really thinks of himself as some kind of duke! After leaving the imperial capital for so many days, maybe Nicole has already found the whereabouts of that playboy. Anyway, being this duke himself is also a temporary impostor. After the battle in the northwest is over, it is estimated that it will be about the same! When the playboy is retrieved, he will not dare to pick on himself, according to Nicole, wouldn't it be more comfortable to stuff himself into any army to become an officer? No matter how powerful this old guy is, he will also have a headache for that playboy, so why can't he take his turn? If he knew this, why did he ask the emperor for any help from the wolf tooth army just now? What southeast envoy, hum...... Let's let that playboy go and eat the dirt by himself!

Thinking of this, thinking that he would be able to see Nicole immediately, his heart was excited, and he left the palace and rushed towards the Tulip Duke's Mansion with people......

[Update, smash ticket ......]