"Salute to you, Honourable Minister of the Seals. ”

"Hats off, Honourable Secretary of State for the Interior. ”

The grand hall of the Imperial Council was as empty as a tomb. The round table was full of chairs, but only two people sat facing each other, not even a summoned guard.

With a leisurely smile on his face, Berion looked at Horald Minest, who had a serious face in front of him, and looked at the scrolls that had been prepared long ago, as he had done in every previous Council of the Queens.

"When do you plan to start the Imperial Council today?" may have been discovered by accident, or perhaps already known. Holard slowly raised his head and looked at the smiling Berion: "Honorable Minister of the Seals." ”

"You're not kidding, are you, look around, Your Excellency the Secretary of State for the Interior. Barrion chuckled and pointed to the empty chairs around him, "I'm still curious why you still have the courage to enter this palace of Marchelus at this time." ”

"You're really joking—I'm a dignified minister, how can I not even have the courage to walk here?" the old man's face was still unsmiling: "Your Majesty Horace is still alive, and you ...... He was only the Lord of the Seals, not the King of Turin. ”

"Hubris...... But you also have the capital to be arrogant. Berion smiled slightly, leaned back in the chair behind him, and took the initiative to raise his hand towards the old man: "Okay, then listen to what our Lord Holard Minest has to say today." ”

The smug expression on Berion's face was barely concealed, making the old man's eyes cold, but he quickly returned to normal. Taking a deep breath, he took a scroll from the side and opened it: "I just got news from a few tax officials in Xicheng District. Say you detained two large fleets that had just entered port. And confiscated all the cargo on their ship, right?"

"As you said - yes, I did it, is there a problem?"

"Those two fleets were loaded with all the alms in the eastern district, a whole month's worth of wheat - the key to the stability of the whole city of Turin, and if the news leaked, the poor people who lived on this food would riot. The old man's voice grew deeper and deeper: "Not to mention something so big that it's almost impossible to cover it - you don't want to see that kind of scene, do you?"

"Of course not. I am the Lord of the Seals of the Kingdom, and it is my duty to help His Majesty govern the city of Turin - but sadly, all the illegal grain has been confiscated. Berrion still smiled unhurriedly: "But it doesn't matter, as the Minister of the Interior, you must have a way, right? After all, the treasury key is in your hands, as long as you open the granary, just move out a little casually enough for them to eat for a lifetime." ”

"This is impossible—no one can open the treasury without the king's order!" Holard vetoed: "It is the food stock used for the winter in the whole city of Turin, and even in all the surrounding towns - there is already very little left, and it ...... be transferred again."

That would only leave the unfortunate poor to starve to death - although it is a great pity to say so. Berion shook his head in a pretentious manner, but still had a smile on his face: "Guess what. Will they blame me, or will they, the Home Secretary, who is in charge of the treasury?"

The corners of Horard Minest's eyes twitched slightly—he certainly knew why Berion was doing this. Truly. After taking the Knights of the Sacred Tree, his army swelled to a very terrible level, and the garrison and the royal guards who were loyal to him, just in the city of Turin, the army under Berion's command was a very terrible number.

At the same time, he was recruiting legions in the East - according to the information received by the Mineste family, at least 20,000 men had now been assembled in the entire East, and it would only take a month and a half to reach the city of Turin.

The nobles of the Turin family were able to provide him with financial resources, and the eastern frontier could give him the best soldiers in the entire kingdom, but there was one thing that Berion could not get - supplies.

At least in the Kingdom of Turin, having money does not mean being able to buy things, especially for a legion, all kinds of supplies are a huge astronomical amount.

An army is a bottomless pit capable of devouring everything, no matter how large the amount of supplies can meet the consumption - and for Berion, the best thing to get it all is the treasury of the Kingdom of Turin.

But the key to the treasury was in the hands of the Minister of the Interior, the Marquis of Holard Minest—the old man knew the weight of the bargaining chips, and knew what would happen if Berion got the keys to the treasury. But I never expected that the other party would use such indiscriminate means, which is simply a robbery.

"Let's all be honest, Lord Marquis Holard Minest—otherwise, today's 'Imperial Council' will probably come to naught. Berion laughed and said, "Whether you give it or not, I will snatch the treasury from you." It's better to say that by doing this now, I still maintain a minimum of respect for you. ”

"Probably because I'm dazzled by this old man, I don't see any respect. The old man replied to him calmly: "I only saw a shameless robber, ready to snatch what does not belong to him." ”

"Not mine, but the child—tell me, if you were to choose, would you let a young man inherit your family and your domain, or would you find an arrogant, inexperienced boy?"

Berion sneered: "This is the last warning - if you continue to be vexatious, I will use the last regency authority of the Lord Keeper of the Seals to dissolve the entire Imperial Council, and then another person will take your place, and whoever he is, I can guarantee that he will give me the key to the treasury!, but I don't want to do that yet, because I don't want to tear my face with you and all the nobles of the entire kingdom, understand?!"

............ Horald's eyes fell slightly, and he was silent. After a long time, he slowly spoke: "...... What do I get if I agree?"

"The Minests remain the lords of the Marquis of Seahorse Harbor, and your heir remains the commander of the royal fleet and will have a seat in my Imperial Council. The smugness on Barrion's face did not diminish in the slightest: "I believe that this condition is generous enough, what do you think?"

"Do I still have a chance to refuse?"

"Of course not. Barrion's eyes froze: "And you'd better do it, and don't play any more tricks - I'm not so patient all the time!"

"I'll do it. The old man slowly got up, pushed open the door and left the empty hall in Berion's sight.

"Lord Horad!" The servant who had been waiting outside the door hurriedly walked up to support the old man, his eyes full of concern: "Are you okay, did that Berion force you to do something?"

"Of course, otherwise what would he be doing by calling me here today?" Holard sneered slightly, grabbing the servant's right hand with one hand, "I need you to deliver a message for me." ”

"There are two things in total, the first is that Berion got the treasury, and the second is that he doesn't know that this year's taxes and food, one-third of which have been intercepted by me in Seahorse Harbor, these are important materials left for His Highness Anson to use against him, if it really comes to the point of all-out war, we also have the capital to fight a war!"

"Yes!" The servant who nodded quickly was about to leave, but was grabbed by the old man's hand again.

"Wait, don't tell Your Highness about this first, let's tell your 'master' first. Holard shook his head suddenly: "It's too dangerous to let His Highness direct guide this matter. ”

"You, what are you talking about...... I don't understand!"

"Don't pretend, why do you think I'd let a servant who has just entered the Minest house be with me, or am I, an old man, already confused to such a point?" Looking at the servant's pale face, Holard couldn't help but smile: "By the way, tell that Edward Witwood another thing." ”

"His plan, I agreed—this time the Minests will be in the war!" (To be continued.) )