Cohen stretched and yawned widely.

A little girl holding a cloth passed by and couldn't help but glance at the tall Cohen.

"If you move less, the squire should look like a squire," Raphael said as he walked beside Cohen and frowned, "surrounded by Northlanders—inevitably without Rumba's spies." ”

Cohen snorted dissatisfied, but obediently lowered his head and pressed his Northland linen cloak.

He touched his chin and sighed.

Dark oil paint on the face...... It's not breathable and a little stuffy.

The guard officer looked at the carriage behind him, frowned, and said, "Does this really work?"

Raphael ignored him, just glanced at the carriage behind him in the same way, and continued on.

Soon, Raphael saw their destination.

He's dreaming.

He knows.

This time, Tails knew very well: it was a dream.

A déjà vu dream.

In his dreams, he was still sitting in the classroom leisurely and happily.

Poggi's book mentions that the hierarchical state — a German word, st?aat, not to be looked up in an English-Chinese dictionary — is an important springboard that cannot be ignored on the way from feudalism to absolutist rule. ”

"What the emerging city group requires is a stable and safe political and economic environment. Obviously, this was incompatible with the traditional lord-vassal model of personal ties, so these city groups began to cooperate with the rulers for a short time for the sake of profit, and began to participate in the rule through hierarchical meetings, etc., and their appearance actually weakened the feudal factor, turning the long-standing monarch-prince dual feudal system into a complex triangular relationship. ”

But this is far from the centralization we remember, just the process of achieving this result:

These third powers recognize and uphold the special status of the ruler, rather than treating the ruler as a peer like the feudal princes;

Through the many taxes imposed by the Estates, the ruler strengthened himself and strengthened his domain rule;

In this way, the rulers also granted privileges to the commoners and recruited servants—in the process, a large, professional, prudent, and institutionalized public administration gradually took shape, and laid the foundation for the absolutist rule that followed. ”

"Bureaucracy, or bureaucracy—though I don't like this translation very much, and it's easy to give you some subjective bad impressions—that's a basic concept that you should have been exposed to in textbooks when you were in college. Students who are not from this major may wish to supplement Weber's original book, although it is difficult to read, but it is much more interesting than the second-hand summary you read in the textbook......"

Boom!

A slight jolt came and woke Tails from his slumber.

"What's wrong?"

In the carriage of the Comas, Tails opened his hazy sleepy eyes, and while scrambling to wipe the saliva from the corners of his mouth, he looked at the other people in the car in a daze: "I, I fell asleep?"

Outside the carriage, the Northlanders were all worried, the White Guards had already changed their attire and dressed as ordinary Northland minions, and the stars next to the convoy, including Cohen and Miranda, had changed into Commath costumes, matching the two Commas carriages with the Rice Ear Dagger logo on which Tails was riding.

"Rest easy, Your Highness," said Putile, beside him, turning his head calmly, politely not looking at the prince's embarrassment, while observing the situation outside the car, "it seems that we are almost at the first city gate. ”

Sure enough, at the end of the road outside the car, the outlines of the city gate and Valhalla were already in view—many curious civilians wanted to get closer, but were chased away by the patrols under the city gate.

When Tails first came to Longxiao City, the first gate he had ever stepped into arrived.

But it is now in the hands of the enemy.

Valhalla, right behind it.

Tails breathed a sigh of relief, soothing his pounding heart, and drove the dream out of his mind.

His gaze fell on the stern Nicolat opposite.

"It's time," the Starfaller looked up, "let's go our separate ways here, I'll go to another carriage, and we'll have to leave with Miss Walton......"

"As for you," Nikolai narrowed his eyes, "good luck." ”

Tails exhaled through his nose.

"Thank you and your brothers, thank you for bringing us here," the prince looked out the window at the carriage behind them, and frowned, "Take good care of her—being a Walton is not a good thing in this situation." ”

"We'll do the rest. ”

Nicolais's face darkened.

But then he raised his head, looked at the captive next to him, the Marquis of Sleith, and said hatefully: "Be smart, old friend, otherwise...... I assure you, you don't want to mess with a former commander of the Whiteblade Guard lurking in the shadows. ”

Slais, who was gagged and tied with his hands behind his back, nodded, and did his best to show a calm and polite smile.

Unfortunately, because his mouth was gagged, his smile looked a little awkward.

Right now.

The carriage stopped.

Everyone in the car subconsciously looked out the window.

Outside the car, a dozen soldiers dressed in patrol uniforms waved to the convoy and walked towards them.

Behind them, there were at least hundreds of colleagues, going back and forth in all directions, as if they had formed a line of defense around the city gates.

"Patrol?" Tails was startled, "It's Rumba?"

"Ah, not only have the gates been closed, but a cordon has been set up from such a distance," Putile narrowed his eyes, "It seems that they are very strict - although they know that it is a fake, it is quite true." ”

"Ready, it's time to go. ”

Tails' heart was shocked, he looked at the first city gate in the distance, imagining the Valhalla Palace behind it, and the figures in the palace, he couldn't help but clench his fists, and his gaze became firm.

Here it comes.

My fight.

Across from him, Nicolais's face tightened.

The Meteorite cut the rope from Slais's body, then pulled the strip of cloth out of his mouth.

Putile smiled at Slyth, "It's time for you to show your negotiating skills, Lord Marquis." ”

"Do you know what to do?"

Shreis breathed a sigh of relief, and the whole person leaned into the carriage: "Ms. Harvest is on it, of course, but I want to say ......"

The next moment, the Meteorite's hand instantly pinched Marquis Slais's shoulder.

The latter immediately bounced off the carriage as if it were electrocuted.

"Honestly," said Nicolais' voice with a faint threat in his voice, "if I find out that you dare to play tricks......"

Srice broke out in a cold sweat in pain.

"Relax, relax, Your Excellency," the Comas shook his head awkwardly as he sweated, "let me negotiate, you have to keep me safe, right?"

"I can't guarantee your safety," Nicolai said coldly, "but if something happens, I promise you'll die before we do." ”

In this regard, the empathetic Srice could only say "understanding" with a smile on his face.

Tails took a deep breath and smiled reassuringly at Putilla.

A dozen patrolmen stepped into the two carriages with the Comas logo, looking at the Northlanders and foreigners who were surrounding the carriages with unkind expressions.

The windows opened.

"Good day, diligent sir. ”

"I'm Slys Bermuda from Goodflowing City," the blonde horsetailed, personable Marquis of Sleiss had a relaxed expression and a relaxed tone, nodding slightly to the nobleman who looked like an orderly under the car:

"I'm sorry, I have a very urgent matter and want to go to Valhalla, can you be accommodating?"

The orderly was slightly stunned: "Comas?"

In the carriage, everyone was silent, waiting for Slais to negotiate.

If he suddenly repents or ......

Tails sighed.

Nicolai gently touched the hilt of his sword, staring at Slais's back.

"If you can't make a decision, I think your boss should know me — I mean 'top boss'. Srice smiled and nodded.

The leader-looking orderlies frowned, and he turned and patted one of the soldiers beside him on the shoulder, whispering a few words to him.

The latter seemed to have received the order and turned to leave.

"I've heard your name, my lord, you're one of Your Majesty's distinguished guests," the orderly looked up and nodded respectfully to Slys, "But I'm also sorry: every carriage that tries to enter Valhalla, every nobleman who tries to enter Valhalla, must be verified. ”

"This is an order from the Prime Minister. ”

As soon as the words fell, everyone in the carriage was shocked!

Tails and Putile glanced at each other, seeing the surprise in each other's eyes.

Prime minister?

Not Rumba?

This means......

Slais's expression was even more shocked.

"Wait, you mean," Srice frowned suspiciously, "This is the Prime Minister's order?"

The order officer also seemed a little surprised by the Marquis's reaction, he first looked at his colleagues and subordinates, and then nodded at Slais.

The Marquis in the car opened his mouth wide, looked at the patrols around him, and asked nervously: "You mean, Count of Lisbane, Prime Minister of Lisbane?"

"Yes, the patrols of the whole city are now under the command of the Prime Minister," replied the orderly, with a serious face, "Is there any problem?"

Srice looked at him in a daze: "Prime Minister, where is the other person in the palace?"

The Order Officer shook his head.

"No, he's right here," the orderly, pointing to a guarded room on the street to his side, "is working in a makeshift base in our rear, I've sent someone to ask him, if you have any questions, you can ask him or directly." ”

Slais looked up with a complicated expression.

"The city gate, the first city gate," the marquis asked, looking at the first city gate in the distance, looking at the faint figure above, "It's past time now—why isn't it open yet?"

"Could it be...... What's going on at Valhalla?"

The order's expression changed.

"Of course not," the order officer shook his head very quickly in response, his expression solemn, as if there was no doubt, "You know, the disaster just came last night, and we will be more cautious in extraordinary times, but rest assured, everything is under control." ”

Slais narrowed his eyes.

He took a deep breath and looked at the house where the prime minister was.

The Marquis asked perceptively, "Why doesn't the prime minister go into the palace and sit down, but instead stay in a house temporarily?"

"The patrol at the gate is too far away from the cordon you've set up, isn't it?"

"Do you mean...... Don't you dare to approach the gates?"

The order's brow furrowed imperceptibly.

"You misunderstood, we deliberately made the defensive line far away from the city gates, for the sake of safety," he replied very seriously, as if to cut off all unnecessary associations of the foreign nobleman, "We must keep all possible threats out of Valhalla until we are safe, and of course, even the city gates should not be taken lightly." ”

Slais furrowed an eyebrow.

As he spoke, the soldier returned to the order's side and whispered a few words to him.

"Please come with us in your carriage," the orderly, turning his head and nodding respectfully to the Marquis, "Your Excellency the Prime Minister wants to see you." ”

Slais's expression moved.

"Oh," he nodded gently, masking his fluctuations in his heart, "all right, here we go." ”

Slais first gestured to the driver, and then closed the window with a calm expression.

The carriage moved again, following the patrol slowly.

He looked back at the people in the carriage.

The moment Shreis turned around, his expression had become tense and solemn.

Everyone in the carriage also looked back at him with pale faces.

"These people, these soldiers," Shreis tried to restrain his emotions, but Tails still heard a hint of unexpected panic in his tone: "They are not from Rumba, they are not from the Black Sand Collar!"

Slais's speed of speech became more and more urgent, and he didn't even care about the hilt of Nikolai's knife behind his back, and said angrily: "They are the real patrol of Longxiao City, they are the army!

"The real deal!"

Tails' heart moved, and he looked at the stern-looking patrols on either side.

Genuine?

In other words, these people are all forces loyal to Longxiao City and Walton?

"What's going on?" asked Putile, calmly, "The Prime Minister of Lisbane has appeared and taken the situation under control?"

"Not yet," Shreis shook his head, apparently trying to figure out the current situation, "I asked: the gates are still in Rumba's hands—obviously, they're confronting and even negotiating. ”

The two carriages, along with the Northlanders and the Stars, were moving forward, with the city gate in front of them on the right and the house in which Lisbane was in front of the left.

Putilai clasped his hands and narrowed his eyes: "It seems that this prime minister is more powerful than we imagined - this posture, he has already sensed the error in the city gate and even in Valhalla, and led his troops to come." ”

Tails sighed softly, he looked at Nicolais with a determined look in his eyes, "Now is a good opportunity, you can take advantage of the situation to take Walton...... Evacuate with Miss Walton and go to your Lisbane Prime Minister – ask for help or leave, you can do it. ”

In front of his eyes, the frightened little girl in another carriage appeared.

It's going to be separated here.

Small slippery head.

Nicolas moved

"Of course it's convenient for the Northlanders, but the question is, what about us?" Shreis on the side gritted his teeth and frowned: "When we see Lisban, what should we say?"

Tails took a deep breath and thought urgently.

The original plan was to rely on Slay to deceive the Black Sand Leader soldiers in the city gates, and then they would be sent to Valhalla by Sless.

But now, right before the gates......

Lisbane.

Prime minister?

What to do?

How to deal with him?

Or, simply not to face him?

Thinking of this, Tails raised his head and thought thoughtfully: "If we suddenly rush to the city gate now and let Srice take us in, will it be successful?"

"Will Lisbane and his patrols intercept or even attack us?"

The carriage drove past another group of soldiers of the patrol: they seemed more nervous than the others, gathered around a nobleman, pointing at the gates.

Putirai frowned: "But ...... then"

He didn't go on.

Nicolas looked at Tails.

"You know, in fact, you can go with me to meet the Prime Minister, and we will explain everything, and act together with his strength," Nicolai said lightly: "With his cooperation, it will be more convenient for us." ”

The Starfall said and glanced at Shreis with a grim look in his eyes, "Anyway, we have a 'zealous' person from Commas when it comes to plotting to assassinate King Nunn. ”

The Marquis of Commas, his face suddenly changed greatly!

Tails' heart moved.

The prince nodded, and asked solemnly at Nicolais, "If we go to Lisban...... Can he be trusted?"

Nicollet paused.

"Count of Lisbane, he is the prime minister of the kingdom and His Majesty's right-hand man for many years," the Meteorite lowered his head and said softly, "and he is a direct vassal of Longxiao City......"

Tails frowned, feeling that something was wrong with Nicola.