Royal Palace of Salander.

The new sultan had just finished bathing, and while changing his clothes with the help of a few maids, he nodded to a few of his ministers.

These courtiers were somewhat dissatisfied with the new sultan's informal manners. In the past, the old sultan would be meticulously dressed before receiving his courtiers, and would never come out naked after bathing as he is now. But in comparison, these ministers were more worried about the war report that came today.

It looks rather bad, on the Eastern Front, the attitude of the expeditionary force is unclear, and less than thirty percent of the soldiers clearly support the new sultan, while most of the rest choose to follow the great prince who has fled to the border; On the southern front, the Rhodoks were attacking the strongholds of the Salanders; At sea, Salander's navy was devastated, and if it weren't for the newly equipped weapons that allowed the Salanders to barely sustain themselves, I am afraid that Shariz would soon fall.

At present, there are constantly ministers who propose to recruit soldiers from the southeastern provinces into Beijing. But this suggestion was rejected by the Sultan. Although the Sultan has removed the administrators of the southeastern provinces and held them firmly in his hands, he does not seem to be in a hurry to unleash the power of the provinces there. Officials in the frontline areas expressed great dissatisfaction that if they did not receive assistance to defend on the ground, the areas that were spread by the fighting would inevitably suffer tremendous pressure and irreversible damage.

The new sultan did not seem to be at all embarrassed by his image. He signed an order to deliver forty thousand sacks of wheat to the southwestern fort; Two applications were approved for the rectification of the mercantile atmosphere in the southeastern provinces; Signed his name on the credentials sent by the Wikibians and painted them with rings.

In the end, the ministers took the order papers, bowed, and retreated one by one. When they were gone, the Sultan walked through a curtain and into a small parlor. There, Zaitsev was quietly waiting.

"How's that kid doing now?" , the Sultan asked with interest.

"It's good, he was in the limelight yesterday. Who has ever seen a man who wields a sword as a javelin? Now the whole Praetorian Army is talking about this guy. ”

The Sultan smiled, remembering his surprise yesterday, "He, like his father, always surprises people."

"Is Your Majesty ready to meet him?"

"Yes. I'll bring him over in the afternoon and in the evening. Bring little Mary Ryan with you, and don't tell him this. ”

Zaitsev nodded, put on his hat, and walked out through a small wooden door next to him without saluting.

The Sultan sat down on his stool and looked at the smoke of the incense burner on one side, feeling tired. Attending such a meeting to slaughter the nobility was not an easy task, and it was necessary to make an inviolable appearance from the hot and noisy stands for hours on end, and many times, the Sultan wondered why so many emperors were willing to participate in such meaningless activities, just to establish their own prestige.

As a prince, whenever he saw his father receiving courtiers in the middle of ten thousand people, the second prince would be very envious, and he looked forward to one day if he could become an emperor, he would definitely double this majesty. At that time, the second prince felt that it must be great to stand in a high position, but after the prince became a sultan, it seemed that all the aura disappeared. At this time, the second prince felt that as a sultan, there was no enjoyment at all, only endless work and pressure.

The betrayal of the Rhodok made the second prince calm in his anger and began to reflect on himself. In a short period of time, the second prince had to change his mentality and transform from a usurper to a person in power. In the past, the second prince thought about how to ascend to the top of power, and at that time, the interests of the country came second; Now, after becoming the head of the country, the second prince has to think about how to obtain greater benefits for his country, not out of pure love for the country, but if he does not do this, a large group of people will emerge to take his place.

The second prince knows too well that once the rulers make a mistake in governance, the inner activities of the restless guys are carried out.

As early as when dealing with the Rhodoks, the second prince discussed with his own think tank how much chance the Rhodoks had of turning their faces. In the end, the result of the discussion was that the Rhodoks would inevitably take advantage of the fire. But even so, the second prince still chose to trade with the Rhodoks, and without the 'cooperation' of the Rhodoks, it would be impossible for the situation in the country to change and bring opportunities to the second prince. The second prince knew that sooner or later the Rhodoks would tear up the treaty, but he did not expect the fall of the Garmici fortress and the speed at which the Rhodoks would cross the Garmic Pass.

It was clear that the Rhodoks also knew that they had to speed up the process and make as much profit as possible before the Salanders could react.

The Garmici Pass is an easy and difficult area to defend, and once the Rhodoks regain control of the pass and defend it with sufficient national strength, it will be difficult for the Salanders to cross the pass. The bottom line of the Second Prince's tolerance was for the Rhodoks to restore the frontier to the way it was during the Great Swadia period, and the Second Prince expected that this time would be realized by the Rhodoks in a few years. At that time, the Rhodoks who had been sniped by the fortress all the way must have been sleepy, and the second prince was confident that he would be able to purge the eldest prince during this time. However, the rapid progress of the Rhodoks has made the situation facing the second prince difficult, and now, all diplomatic means must be used to stop the Rhodoks from advancing.

The Kugit can't count on it.

Last month, a force of more than 1,000 Swadiya cavalry appeared north of Dehrim. The cavalry camped in the north of the city, and three days later ascended the heights of Dehrim from the northern foothills, where they routed two Kugit cavalry troops, and inflicted heavy losses on a Kugit baggage army, plundering a large number of grain and horses.

Such losses were the first time since the Kugits had started the war, and the Kujit probably did not know that over time, when the Swadia Western Army began a full-scale counteroffensive, such losses would follow.

The current situation is that the Kugit can barely attract the Swadians, and there is no time to look south. And the eldest prince is looking for a decisive battle with all his might.

The situation of the second prince is not optimistic. In the east, he needs to face the revenge of the imposing prince; To the south, the Rhodoks are warlike and seem to have the momentum to sweep across the province of Shariz.

The envoy to Rhodok is already on the way, and the second prince needs Rhodok to have anti-war voices in Rhodok to contain General Garcia's footsteps. Of course, pure diplomacy is weak, and the second prince has already sent a cavalry force of 1,400 men to the south, many of whom are Mamluk reserve officers, who were not valued in the old sultan's time, and these people are full of expectations for the chaos brought by the new sultan.

The second prince hoped that this army would be able to defeat General Garcia in the southern provinces, and at the same time, disrupt Garcia's rear through diplomatic means. The second prince knew that Garcia and Enore were at odds, and Grand Duke Rhodok was also dissatisfied with the principality's army, these were all things that the second prince was thinking about in his heart. If these conditions are used properly, they may be able to bring a new situation to the second prince.

Now, all the second prince can do is to consolidate his power, and then try his best to find supporters.

Thinking of this, the second prince felt a sense of fatigue, but when he thought of yesterday's dramatic scene, the second prince felt a trace of relaxation.

Yesterday, when Hassan turned around, he suddenly noticed a powerful sword stabbing down from the air. Before Hassan could react, he felt a chill in his heart, and then he saw that most of the sword was in his belly. The change is so great that the whole audience may miss the most exciting scene without paying attention, and people are still lamenting the boring of this duel one moment, and marveling at the excitement of this duel the next moment.

Hassan was indeed the best warrior, covering his wounds and keeping a firm eye on the charging Arcadio II, guarding himself with his short sword. Several times my father tried to get close to Hassan, he was forced back by Hassan's sword. It wasn't until a few minutes later that Hassan couldn't hold on and showed his flaws. Then his father kicked Hassan over.

Hassan, who had been badly wounded and fell to the ground, had no chance, and his father stepped on Hassan's hand holding the short sword and snatched it away.

People were cheering and encouraging my father to kill Hassan. The men saw my father raise his dagger.

In the crowd, the Sultan's eyes were full of anticipation,

"Will a son make the same choice as a father?"

Immediately, the Sultan smiled: he saw my father stick his sword in the dirt next to Hassan, and then raised his hand to signal that the duel was over.

The crowd began to cheer loudly, and after obtaining permission from the presiding officer, several surgeons and soldiers ran over and carried Hassan away.

The Sultan sat on a stool and looked forward to the dinner.

At this moment two maids came in with a maiden in their arms, and the Sultan did not now tell the little Marion that my father had arrived. At this time, Little Ma Ryan --- Little Kui, dressed in Salander's gorgeous clothes, with a graceful figure, and the two eyes and a small piece of fair skin that came out of the white scarf were enough to make the young man reverie. Since Xiaokui is not from Saland, he is more resistant to the dress of covering his face, and the Sultan does not interfere too much with this, he just asks Xiaokui to dress appropriately in formal situations.

Xiao Aoi now does not know that the person in front of her is the Sultan, one of the most powerful countries in the mainland, and these days, Xiao Aoi has experienced extremely unusual things: in Kamichi, Xiao Aoi meets the Salander officer who knows my father; Soon after, he was taken by an old man to the seaport city of Salander in Sharitz; After that, he was led by this man to Dukuba. On the road, this person is very gentle to Xiaokui, almost like taking his daughter out to play.

Aoi first thought that he would be executed, and then he thought that he had been bought to be his wife, but when the Sultan kept asking him about the situation of Rhodok and Arcadio, Aoi vaguely felt that all this was not so simple.

On the other hand, the Sultan was very impressed by the amazing behavior of this little girl, saying that she was a heroine among women.

Xiao Aoi knew that it was the man in front of her who protected her, so she didn't have any rude resistance to the Sultan. Xiao Kui bowed slightly, not at all like the heroic spirit when she first came, but full of femininity like a noble woman who is not involved in the world in the deep boudoir.

"Stay here for dinner today, now you can go and rest in the little courtyard in the garden."

"Yes, my lord," Aoi replied expressionlessly.

The maid sent by the Sultan to spy on Aoi told him that Aoi would peep around when she was fine, as if looking for an opportunity to escape. This place is the deepest part of the palace, and without the order of the Sultan, unless Xiaokui grows wings, she will not be able to get out for a hundred years. This girl was different from the daughter of the Salander family, and he couldn't help but love and tease the Sultan, and he even wanted to see how Aoi was going to escape; And, from some of the words of this little Pony Ryan, the Sultan seems to have discovered that the girl had a second interest in Arcadio; And the most incredible thing is that the background of this little Marion seems to be inextricably linked to Garcia, as mentioned in Zaitsev's report.

If the marriage between Ryan Jr. and Arcadio can be reconciled, then in the negotiations with Garcia, it will be very easy to make a fuss.

After Aoi was ushered into the garden by the maid, the Sultan began to review the documents. Before time passed, and in the blink of an eye, it was already evening, and the Sultan found the palace man and asked him to lead the little Pony to the dining room.

In a few moments, the Sultan appeared behind an ornate door. After receiving Aoi's salute, the Sultan took the throne.

The Sultan looked at little Ma Ryan, "Today you will have a meal with an important person, you won't let me be prestigious, show the etiquette of everyone's young lady, otherwise you will be embarrassed." ”

"I'm just a girl, I'm invited by you to accompany you here, if there is any rudeness, I'm afraid it will be that you will end up with an unknown evaluation, and the one who is embarrassed should not be my little girl."

"Well, are all the girls of Rhodoc as articulate as you?"

"Do all the men of Salander like to embarrass women as you do?"

"Good. In this way, your brother Arcadio must be very considerate of the lady and can capture the lady's reassurance? ”

"That's '''Of course.' Xiao Aoi's eyes showed a slight pain. "My brother is very popular with women."

The Sultan saw it in his eyes and smiled in his heart.

"Tell me, if your brother saw your tightly covered dress, would he be able to recognize you with a keen mind?"

"This'''", Xiao Kui hesitated for a moment, and suddenly found the Sultan's playful smile, and said angrily, "Sure, he will recognize me at a glance." ”

The Sultan laughed, then examined Aoi's eyes and rolled his hands.

The door to the dining room opened, and two maids walked in with their heads bowed, drawing the curtains on either side. A well-dressed valet walked in, leaned sideways, and made a 'please' gesture.

On the other side of the door, my father strode in.