"What? They actually said they wouldn't do it, are these guys trying to find death?!"

The sound of anger echoed across the city walls, causing the soldiers around them to roll in unison, and countless eyes looked at the place where I stood.

"Yes, sir, all four of them refused. Carlos touched his nose: "I have been talking to them for a long time, but the belief of these people is really firm. ”

"My chief of staff, have you been on the second line so long that you have forgotten the explanation of the word firmness. I stared at Carlos: "For these old men, a firm belief - that's not worth much. ”

"Sir, it doesn't seem that this thing has anything to do with money, right?"

"In the eyes of these delicate idlers, everything is related to money, but there is just a high or low price. I spat on the ground, "Didn't you tell them that the dean of the Holy Capital Academy was with me?"

Carlos replied to me a little helplessly: "Yes, it is precisely because of this that they refused us and asked to see Dean Lorenzo as much as possible. ”

"Didn't I hear me right?

"I'm afraid so, sir. Carlos shrugged his shoulders: "I can see that they reject you, this is not an isolated phenomenon, literati and soldiers always reject each other. ”

"I don't agree with you, can these people who deal with paint and mud all day long also be called literati-"

"I'm sorry sir, but I think it should be called paint, and the sculptor is only close to clay when he is making a blank......

"It doesn't matter what it's called. I interrupted him: "Anyway, you are also a brigadier general, and you should show the courage of a soldier for such a trivial matter." You need to examine your weakness in this matter. ”

"Sir. You're wrong for me. Actually, I arranged it all specially. Carlos looked left and right, and leaned over enthusiastically: "They are all disciples of Dean Lorenzo, and they have a good personal relationship with this old bastard, so I specially leave it to the chief for you to have fun......"

"You graduated from the Royal Academy, and you're embarrassed to do it, but it's true that you're leaving this trouble to me. I glared at him angrily: "Okay! Staff officer has a lot of flowers!"

Carlos looked uneasy, and muttered in his mouth: "I know that I still debunk, sir, you are too inconsiderate of your subordinates......"

"Good, good. I couldn't stand the man's nagging: "You tell them to come to me right away—run!"

"Okay. I'll do it right away. ”

Carlos replied with a smile, and ran over to a herald and whispered. It was as if he had known that I would take care of it, and I even suspected that his "conspiracy" was more than that.

I turned my head to look at the large grassland outside the city, and adjusted my feelings.

This is the southern wall of Lisan City, this section of which was damaged in several places during the previous day's fighting, and I was supposed to come to inspect the restoration today, but I didn't expect to encounter this incident...... When the letters to the other governors were not answered, I was outraged by the refusal of these men to serve me.

Speaking of which, the status of these four people is somewhat special, they are the tutors of the Royal Academy. With the salary of the rank of major general, the treatment is the same as that of a brigadier general.

Previously in the Holy Capital. The military attache has to salute when he sees them!, but I personally don't have a good impression of these guys, and I don't want to deal with them when they are common...... They treated me the same way.

I am fighting bloodily for the restoration of the Sbia Empire, and all my soldiers are dying, and these fools who can only talk empty and play with mud, why dare they refuse me? If it weren't for the skill of these people, I wouldn't even glance at them.

"Sir, maybe we should really think about how we deal with these people. Carlos walked up to me and whispered, "As the battle unfolds, we will meet more people like this, who seem to be of little help to the situation at hand, but who can help us in other ways." ”

"I understand that, too. I nodded and said, "But as a human being, you have to recognize the form, what is the situation now? Young Master Ben can decide their life and death with a single sentence, and they still dare to fight against me." ”

"As your staff officer, all I can say is that they don't think the same way as the military. Carlos patted a stone beside him that had just been placed: "We are soldiers, and it is our first priority to recognize our environment, because we have to make life-or-death decisions in the midst of lightning. And what about these people, who think that their thinking is far ahead of ordinary people, and they are standing at the forefront of history and looking down on the world......"

I laughed, my shoulders shaking.

"Sir. Carlos was surprised and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

"Standing at the forefront of history? Then I have to ask, where did they stand when Lu Man rebelled? Did they just stand in the latrine?" I continued to sneer, "It seems to me that they are not even as good as the tribal leaders who ask me for merit and reward, and they still know how much effort they have made before planning their positions. ”

"They believe that war is the business of soldiers, and that it is the duty of soldiers to protect them from harm. ”

"Protection, just because we are soldiers?" I snorted coldly: "It's okay to protect them, but they have to pay for it, after all, they are part of the Sbia Empire, and the royal family has raised them for so many years, and now is the time for them to repay." Now don't say that I want them to do something, it's that I'm going to enslave them, and they have nothing to complain about. ”

"Isn't this the world? there are all kinds of people, maybe they just want to get a better deal for themselves......" Carlos sighed, "Sir, what do you want to do?"

"Anyway, in their eyes, I'm not a good person, so I handled it the way I always did. ”

"But, boss, you still need them to work for you for a long time. ”

"Look at the present. I thought for a moment: "As for the future, naturally someone else will deal with it." ”

"Sir, they're here. ”

I turned my head to see four middle-aged men with wolf expressions being escorted up by soldiers. When they climbed the city wall, they were already sweating profusely and panting like cattle. I was just a little angry and said it casually. It's good that I didn't say let them "roll" all the way......

In the future, you can't talk to your subordinates so casually, these guys will take it seriously.

"Ah...... The four gentlemen are here, are they tired? Carlos, the bastard, looked like a good old man, rushed up to ask questions, and waved away a few soldiers who were following him: "It's none of your business, go down." ”

Even though I didn't look directly at the four of them, I could feel their resentful gaze piercing my chest.

Then a panting voice asked Carlos, "...... you You guys...... What the hell do you want?"

"I didn't think anything about it!" Carlos replied in a gentle tone, "Our chief just wants to meet with you, so I'll ask you to talk." ”

"Please?" another angry, almost dying voice shouted, "We've been escorted for five streets, and that's please!"

The numb rock walked with heavy steps to the location of several people. A sentence was squeezed out of his mouth coldly: "In front of the chief, no noise!"

Then he heard a soft sound of "ding", and the rock used the thumb of his left hand to push out the knife a little bit, and held the handle of the knife with his right hand, and looked at the necks of these people one by one with focused eyes.

The atmosphere froze for a while, and any ordinary person who was glared at by a vicious-looking rock would temporarily lose the ability to think, let alone the way it was now......

"Don't be nervous, Major Rock!" Carlos began to use his eloquence as he persuaded Rock to take two steps away, "Gentlemen, it's time for war. This is not the same as the Academy, and I hope you will respect military regulations. Military law in wartime is very harsh. With a single signature, the soldiers of the law enforcement regiment can execute a prisoner. ”

"Judge?" "One guy saw the rock retreat and began to mutter, "The judge hasn't signed yet......"

The rock straightened his chest and walked straight over, making Carlos cry and laugh.

"What do you say?" said Carlos, holding back the rock, "This is the captain of the Governor's Guard appointed by His Majesty himself, and he doesn't even need to sign ...... to cut off people's heads."

“......”

Both of them performed very realistically, and it was my turn to play.

I spat out the grass roots in my mouth, walked over to Carlos in unison, reached out and waved back the rocks, and then looked at the four men with blank expressions.

It wasn't until the rock receded to the side that the four men's fearful expressions began to ease...... The rocks with a fierce momentum stood beside him, and few people could stand this.

"You ......," I asked slowly, "which empire is it?"

"Well, needless to say, of course we are from the Sbia Empire. ”

"You claim to be from the Sbya Empire. Glaring at the man who answered me with indifference, I said, "Then do you know who the king of Spiah is?"

"It's Kremer. Xia Mai Majesty xià...... That's the first king, and now it's Fichette. Xia Mai Majesty xià. ”

I dragged the man over.

"So you don't understand things, you know who the king of Spia is!" I grabbed him by the collar with one hand and shook it violently, "Why do you refuse to be loyal to the royal family?

As soon as his hand was released, his thin body swayed like a rag in the wind on the city wall a few times, and then fell limply to the ground, the unfortunate man's pale face had turned iron-blue.

"General, I ask you to give us the least respect. One of the four hurriedly came over to pick up the man who fell to the ground: "We are scholars of the Royal Academy, and we are people that the entire empire must respect!"

"Salute?" the muscles on my face twitched, "Why should I salute you? Do you think you can get salute by dancing with a paintbrush?" or is your head watered?"

"That's not pretending, that's painting, that's art that we put our whole body and mind into, that's what we've put our whole lives to, it's the noblest thing in the world! Art gives people a huge shock, art can cleanse people's souls - you don't understand it at all!"

"Let's make a show!" I gave him a sneer full of contempt, "to win the admiration of the ignorant and foolish with disgusting colors, the behavior of clowns." ”

"Frankly, General, I understand what you want us to do, but we are not painters, and it is not our business to draw maps. Another man's voice interjected: "You are soldiers. War is your business. What does it have to do with us? It is your destiny to die on the battlefield. Dedication to art is our consciousness, we don't have to be involved!"

"Die for art, well, then jump off the wall!" I motioned to the rock to grab him, "In my eyes as a soldier, someone falls from a thirty-arm-high wall and blood splatters—this act is art." ”

"Presumptuous...... It's so presumptuous!" blue veins bloomed from his forehead, and the painter who was caught roared: "I will accuse you!"

"Whatever you sue, the Governor doesn't care. I turned to the others: "Now it's up to you, you promise to draw a map for me, he doesn't have to dedicate himself to art...... If you continue to say no, you're all ready to dedicate yourself to art. ”

"General. I hope you are aware of your own acts of intimidation!" said the sculptor of the four, in a deep voice, "even if we are forced to agree to you now, we will not be convinced." ”

"What does it matter to me? What I want is a result, yes or no, it's very simple. I asked the rock to hold the painter who was holding him to the wall: "Don't talk nonsense!

"We ......" several people looked at each other and finally nodded: "We agreed." ”

Looking at the expressions on their faces, it was a mixture of fear, anger, regret, and contempt...... He is truly a person who is willing to dedicate his life to art.

"Wouldn't it be good to say yes sooner? I didn't let the rock release them immediately, but walked up to them: "Tell me, is this your own mistake?"

"You ......"

"When you get to my place, young master, you have to abide by my rules. I lifted the sculptor's chin: "Be obedient." Don't me off. ”

"Aren't you afraid we'll be on the map......" Before he could finish his sentence, I told him to shut up.

"Whatever! You can try. I don't care anyway. I smiled, told the rock to let them go, and then said to Carlos, "Go get some uniforms and put them on." ”

Carlos agreed, and immediately called someone to fetch it, and of course he understood what I meant.

"Why do we wear military uniforms!" the painter, who almost gave his life to "art", became agitated again: "Isn't it enough to promise to draw a map for you?"

The corners of my mouth curled slightly: "Either you are naked, or you wear a military uniform...... The choice is yours. ”

"You ......"

"Do you want to say anything about disrespect? Then I will tell you clearly, I don't respect you. I approached his body and pointed to the soldiers who were busy on the city wall: "See, these are just ordinary soldiers, they have no noble origin, they have no special strengths, but I respect them...... Because they are dedicating all their strength to the Sbia Empire, to His Majesty Fichette!"

He was gasping for air, his eyes staring at me unconvinced.

"And what about you! What were you doing when the rebels were raging? Why do you demand my respect? How can a soldier's respect be easily obtained?" I straightened his loose hair: "Face is given by others, face is lost by oneself - if you want me to respect you, if you want these soldiers who are rushing over in the fire and blood to respect you, you have to come up with something." ”

"What can we do if the rebels are in turmoil?" he said indignantly: "Take something, we can just paint, do we still want to take a paintbrush and fight the rebels!"

"It's good to have the idea of working for His Majesty. I patted him on the shoulder: "Whether you believe it or not, a real soldier is the most emotional type of person, and your accurate and detailed map can avoid many command mistakes and the senseless sacrifices of countless soldiers." So—when you succeed in drawing a new map of the whole of Spia, you will earn my respect, and the respect of all the soldiers and officers. ”

"Hmph, map of the whole territory of Spia......" he snorted coldly, and the other three were silent.

"I don't force you to take my word for it, a lot of things will take time to prove. I led the people to the city wall: "But I hope you will finish the surrounding provinces as soon as possible, and it will be twenty days." ”

"Twenty days...... Wait, how can this be enough time!" As I walked under the city wall, I heard such a shout, which should have been shouted at me, which was really rude!

I was too lazy to take care of it, so I walked on my own.

"Sir. Carlos glanced at the city wall: "Is twenty days really enough?"

"They should be familiar with the surrounding provinces, and there are old maps as references. It shouldn't stump them. This person is a person who has pressure to be motivated. Besides. I didn't say what they would do if they couldn't finish it. I laughed: "You should take care of these four people more, take care of them as much as possible in life, give them the rank of major, and manage the military law." ”

"Yes. ”

"Now...... Ignoring the fact that this is a crowded street, I stretched a big lazy waist: "Young Master Ben is waiting for those governors to reply." ”

Dozens of black and gold-trimmed military flags were neatly arranged at the head of the city, fluttering in unison under the blowing of the wind, and making bursts of sound.

Above and below the city walls, the soldiers of the Third Legion, who were responsible for guarding them, were fully armed. One by one, they were in high spirits and patrolled back and forth. Among them, the group of soldiers standing under the city gate was the most imposing, not only were they well-armed, but they were also almost the same in height and size - specially selected from a guard regiment, they were all long-trained and calm guys.

A group of knights, dressed in a variety of armor and armed with a variety of weapons, rode slowly into the gates. Immediately, the knight's wary eyes swept around, and he closely guarded several of the men in the group—these were the representatives sent by the governor to negotiate.

The knight who entered the city gate had just dismounted, and standing not far from the city gate, Carlos, who was the chief of staff of the Dark Province, had already strode up to meet him. This guy dressed himself up well today, but he also showed a bit of "elegant temperament".

Watching Carlos greet several well-dressed figures one by one. Hearing the faint words, I smiled slightly, leaned the glass full of red wine to my lips, and took a sip of the mellow liquid in the glass.

"What a greed!" "Helt beside him complained, "They are all legion commanders, why is it that Moya guy can wear beautiful Protoss armor to meet people like a dog, while I have to hide in this little tavern attic and peek?"

I didn't turn my head, my eyes still looked through a small window under the city gate, and I replied softly to Helt: "You mean that you don't want to be with your boss?"

"I don't mean that, of course it's good to follow the boss, but you can't let others take advantage of the limelight. Helt hurriedly explained: "Boss, I understand your intentions, you want these miscellaneous pieces to see the strength of our army! Of course, this is what I can best express in Heert, and none of my soldiers are ...... of bad seeds."

"I know, that's why I hid you, haven't you had enough limelight?" I glanced at Helt: "Your face is not very kind, it's better not to be tense when you meet someone for the first time." ”

"This thing was given by my parents, and it was before I was born, do you think I had a chance to propose it? I said boss, what you say is really hurtful. ”

"I just said that your face is not good, and I did not say that your face is not good. I almost laughed, "Why do you care too much about this?

That's pretty much it. Hellt leaned closer to the window: "These are either the sons of a certain governor or the younger brother of a certain governor, and I am really worried that I will be able to talk to them." ”

"If it's a business, we have goods in our hands on the one hand, money in our pockets on the other, and we don't want empty gloves white wolves, what are you worried about?" I said lightly: "Since they are here, it means that they have the intention of doing this business, and we just need to offer the right price." ”

"And then?" Helt was also observing the approaching crowd.

Then, like the grocery buyers and vegetable sellers in the bazaar, they began to bargain. ”

They walked down the street in front of me, and Carlos made an excuse to stop in front of the tavern so that I could get a better view of the men.

I noticed that the people who came to negotiate were all old guys, the youngest of whom was also in his early forties, and there was not a hairy boy at all.

They faded away, and I was lost in thought.

These time-tested adversaries are not as easy to bluff as young people, and cannot be bought by the terms we have laid out before...... Wouldn't it be possible to increase it? Forget it! If we give in to them, Fischette will have to go to the countryside to farm, and there will be absolutely no room for further concessions on the conditions that were originally planned.

Since that's the case......

"Hellet. I asked, "Does your unit have training tomorrow?"

"Yes! I train every day. ”

"Do you want to wear your Protoss armor?"

"Of course I do!" Hette's eyes lit up, "Can I wear it?"

"I'll give you your set of Protoss armor in a while, and you can bring a few regiments to show them tomorrow. My fingers unconsciously tapped on the window frame: "Tell the soldiers to be energetic, dress neatly, and show momentum, as if they were fighting!"

"Yes, Boss. Helt rubbed his hands excitedly and smiled: "I've been waiting for this for a long time." ”

"That's it, I should go back and meet with them later." I turned and walked up the stairs: "You have to go back and get ready, time waits for no one, and the sooner this negotiation is over, the better." ”

"Don't worry, Boss!" (to be continued......)