Negotiations continued in John's Farmhouse, now interviewed by two commanders individually, the small marshal by the door, Darly Einfurt, commander of the Valstad Expeditionary Force, and Prince Rudolf Habsberg, commander-in-chief of the Sylvinian Imperial Colonial Army, sitting by the fireplace.

Prince Rudolph complimented: "Your reaction is really sharp, Marquis Dalí, and you can see at a glance that I have something inconvenient to say in front of everyone." ”

Dalí said: "Your Majesty, your behavior just now was too unusual, not to talk about the specific affairs of the war, but to show full hostility towards our country.

Ordinary negotiations will give each other a few polite words, and your deliberate hostility seems quite abrupt, so I believe that you are saying these words to the left and right of your retinue, in order to show your hostile position towards the Valstad Empire, lest they chase after the wind and make trouble for you when they return home. ”

Prince Rudolph nodded: "You guessed it, now my brother Franz's eyes and ears are all over my country, I'm not sure if anyone around me is bribed by him, everything has to be guarded against, so some things still have to be discussed separately." ”

"It seems that your brother is gaining power now," Dali thought, holding his chin in one hand, "allow me to make a bold guess that what you are going to say is about ...... Well...... It's about the battle for the position of crown prince of the Sylvinian Empire, right? ”

"You guessed it again, yes, that's what I'm talking about."

"I want to hear about it."

Prince Rudolph took a sip of wine in an elegant gesture and then began to narrate:

"My father, Emperor Maximian, is very old, and had had a serious illness a few years ago, and there is speculation in the court that my father's death is imminent, so the four of us brothers are fighting over the matter of making the crown prince, and two of them are indulged in pleasure and do not pose a threat at all.

The ones who have the strength to compete for the crown prince position are my eldest son, and my third brother Franz. ”

"I have had the privilege of meeting your brother, Prince Franz, who has been a difficult character in the encirclement of our country by the Coalition forces. ”

At the mention of this name, Prince Rudolph's brows furrowed:

"Of course, he's a big problem, or I wouldn't have a headache with this pesky brother.

Franz always wants to be in the limelight in everything, a few years ago, it was supposed to be me, the eldest son, who was responsible for commanding the army to join the coalition army, but this guy was grinding hard in front of my father and robbed me of my command.

He wanted to take this good opportunity to make a military contribution and gild his resume so that he could gain a favorable situation in the future when he competed for the crown prince's position. ”

A smile appeared on Dalí's face: "But his wishful thinking was wrong, he didn't expect the Duchy of Valstad to retreat under the encirclement and suppression of the Four-Nation Alliance, and he didn't expect his army to be betrayed by its allies at a critical moment, and as a result, it suffered a crushing defeat!" ”

"Aha!" Prince Rudolph laughed heartily:

"I'm so happy when someone mentions it! At that time, the army led by Franz was beaten to pieces by your Valstas, and he himself almost died! I have to say well done, thank you, Her Majesty the Empress of Sarantos! Breathe a bad breath for me!

I remember it vividly! At that time, Franz was wearing a tattered civilian clothes, and fled back to our country with a stinking body, and for a time became a laughing stock in the aristocratic circle of our country, which was really relieving! Hahaha, let him be clever and grab credit from my big brother, he deserves it! ”

Dalí asked, "In this way, your brother Prince Franz suffered a heavy blow because of his defeat and fell in the struggle for the crown prince's throne, so how did he rise again?" ”

"Hey! I'm mad when I mention this! Prince Rudolph slapped the table: "That kid has gone shit luck!"

Who would have thought? Pope Palladia, who was in good health, died suddenly, and his nephew Palladia II was elected as the new pope, and this new pope did not know what was wrong, and even incited the Templar congregation in our country, saying that my brother Franz was a descendant of God's chosen emperor, and asked the believers to support him as crown prince! ”

"Hmm...... I suppose your brother Franz must have reached some kind of agreement with the new pope. ”

"It must be so! I tried in the government and the opposition to warn ministers to beware of outside forces interfering in their own affairs, but the influence of religion was so strong that even my father had to consider the wishes of the Templar Church, so now my brother's power is unprecedentedly strong, and many people think that he will definitely become the crown prince! ”

"Your brother Franz has found the Pope as a backer, so don't you have the support behind you?"

"Absolutely! The Grand Master of the Knights of Cruced, Alfred Heinlein, is my father-in-law! Back then, I gritted my teeth in order to gain his support...... Marry his ugly crippled daughter! ”

Dali said, "It seems that you have made a lot of sacrifices in order to fight for the throne......"

Prince Rudolph sighed: "Hey! But this sacrifice did not come to fruition!

Grand Master of the Order is far less influential than the Pope! My father-in-law dutifully carried out political activities for me, a good son-in-law, and it was difficult for everyone to reconcile! He alone could no match the voices of the hundreds of millions of members of the Templar Church. ”

At this time, Dalí sensed the other party's true intentions: "So, you must find a new and stronger ally, such as Her Majesty the Empress of Salantos of our country, is that so?" ”

Prince Rudolph shook his head: "My father participated in the coup d'état of the Duchy of Valstad, and your majesty will not forgive our family!" ”

"If only you understood." Dali said.

Prince Rudolph's words changed: "My potential ally is close at hand, and it's you, Dali Einfurt." ”

"Me?"

"Yes, the heir of the ancient blue-blooded nobleman Einfurt family, the elector of the Valstad Empire, the commander-in-chief of the expeditionary force, what a perfect ally, if you are willing to help me become the prince, I am willing to pay whatever kind of reward! Even if it gives you a small princely country, it's fine! Make an offer! ”

"Excuse me, how can I help you become the crown prince?"

"That's very simple, as long as you defeat me in the next battle, and give up the colonies of the New World, and retreat by boat, rest assured, your strength is only more than 30,000, and my colonial army has 50,000 people, the gap is so huge, it is normal for you to defeat the battle, and the empress of your country will not blame you for this."

"I don't quite understand, just because you won a battle, then you can become the crown prince?"

"My Habsburgs have a clear family rule, and the selection of an heir is based on military merit!

Any prince who commands a large-scale battle in a war and wins a landslide victory can be directly promoted to the crown prince's position, and other princes can be replaced by higher military achievements.

This is an iron rule of our family, which has been well enforced for thousands of years, and of course my father and emperor will strictly abide by it, and my brother Franz also took the risk of joining the coalition because of this family rule, but he lost the gamble.

Now, none of the four princes have won a big victory on the battlefield, and with the help of my father-in-law, I have successfully won the position of commander-in-chief of the colonial army, no matter how much the new pope supports my brother Franz, as long as I can win a big victory, all the suspense is over, and the throne is within reach! ”