"What about the Emperor?" At this time, the chief judge who was covered with sweat jumped up and down in the main palace, and everyone asked this: "What about the Emperor's Majesty?

It's a pity that no one can answer his words correctly, and in the end, under the guidance of a certain imperial concubine, the chief justice finally found the emperor in a corner of the imperial garden of the harem.

What made him laugh and cry was that the leisurely Majesty Cohen was shaking the barbecue grill in his hand, happily roasting the pieces of meat, and Princess Qinlun, who was snuggled up to him, was holding a bunch of spice jars, waiting happily...... Looking at their appearance, where are the emperor and the princess? They are clearly brothers and sisters who sell barbecue!

The white shadow and the crow stood opposite the emperor's majesty on the left and right, both of them were a little stupid, and they knew that they had only been taught a lesson at a glance.

"Ah, Jack is here, come and sit down!" Cohen greeted the judge warmly, "As the saying goes, it's better to come early than to come at a good time, and it's really providential to see that the barbecue is about to be ready......

"Is that enough to eat?" Jack smiled and stepped forward, picked a place to sit down, and said meaningfully, "I said boss, your barbecue skills have improved these days!"

"Barbecue is just used to spice up life, and it's probably impossible for you to eat as much as you want. Cohen smiled and took off the grill and used a knife to separate the meat: "As for this technique, when has your boss and I ever done something that can't be on the table?"

"If that's the case, I'll have something to say. Thank you, Princess Chinlen. The chief judge took the plate sent by Qin Lun: "My Emperor Xià, if you read the official document yesterday, you should remember who you are going to meet today, right?"

"Who's the one you're meeting with?" said His Majesty the Emperor, stuffing slices of barbecue into the crow's helmet. Hearing this, he turned around: "You came all the way to find me...... Isn't it for barbecue?"

"Certainly not for the barbecue. My Majesty. Today, you have to meet with the Chief Justice of the 18 Provinces who will be appointed to the office, and then with the Inspector Judge of the 18 Provinces. Knowing that the Emperor was playing dumb, Jack kindly reminded him, "These are not trivial!"

"Didn't you see it earlier at the academy? at the ceremony when they completed their training. Cohen casually put down the plate with a lazy expression: "If you see you again, doesn't it seem that I am an emperor who is easy to meet?" Do you know that the most important thing about being an emperor is to maintain a sense of mystery, and without a sense of mystery, I'm a fart—it's gone!"

"Then they are all waiting in the front palace!!, what shall I tell them?" said Jack, making a pitiful look: "I am a cunning judge, not a judge who lets pigeons talk big." ”

"That's right. You're already a cunning judge of the Empire, so you don't need me to tell you how to treat your subordinates, right?" Cohen looked at the sky: "If it really doesn't work, you can sue them, His Majesty the Emperor is discussing military affairs with the General Staff." ”

"Boss, this excuse has already been used, and it has been ...... more than once"

You must know that there are a lot ......of so-called military affairs."

While the monarchs and ministers were blaming each other, the General Staff Officer appeared on the path.

"Your Majesty the Emperor is good. A heartfelt smile appeared on the face of the general staff officer: "I am looking for you on a military matter, so you also want to talk to me about things!"

"Did you negotiate it?" Cohen snorted, "I've had some free time. ”

"Your Majesty the Emperor, you have been idle for a while. You've got a lot of things to deal with. The General Staff Officer stood closer: "When I came over just now, the internal affairs overseers also asked me to tell His Majesty. Say they and the Prime Minister are waiting for you in the Royal Chamber. ”

"Are you waiting for me?" the emperor put away his joking expression and picked up a handkerchief to wipe his mouth: "Then let's go!"

The Royal Chamber, a newly renovated two-story building in the harem, surrounded by greenery and no other buildings, was heavily defended – in the truest sense of the word. His Majesty the Emperor once asked the crow to do the real thing, and the crow could not break in without being injured.

Speaking of which, during this period of time, in addition to holding Princess Qinlun and following the emperor, the main thing for the crow was to test the defense of the palace, and let him break into every defensive place. Although it was only an inspection, there were not a few places where he could easily get to guò, and with the opinion of the crow, Cheng Dù, the guard of the palace, went up more than one step.

The group passed through the gate, walked through the corridor, and entered the circular conference hall at the sound of the guards.

There were less than ten people waiting for the emperor in the chamber, but they were the most central figures of the empire, Wei Su. Prince Al Qaeda, four royal princesses, Martin. Admiral Luther as well as Lieutenant General Moya and Lieutenant General Helter.

"No need to salute. After entering this building, Cohen seemed to be a different person, and even his steps carried the majesty of the emperor. He nodded to everyone and walked straight to his seat: "Everyone, please sit down." ”

"Report sir. The rock stood at the door: "The magic barrier has been completed, and the surrounding guards have been arranged." ”

"Got it, you step aside. Cohen waved his hand and looked around the people at the round conference table: "Please start the briefing." ”

"Then let me do it first!" Princess Felin, as the first internal affairs superintendent, gathered the hair around her ears: "In terms of internal affairs, we have issued all the previously agreed provisions, the supervision and liaison mechanisms of the various provinces have been established, and all the officials assigned to them are in place. The distribution of agricultural personnel from all parts of the country has begun, the survey of roads and rivers throughout the empire has been completed, and the total population and ethnic distribution of the whole country are being counted. ”

"Got it, next. ”

"Another batch of freshmen from the Royal Academy has graduated, and there is a second batch in half a year, which is basically the children of the Dark Province. As previously envisaged, they would travel to various parts of the empire to build schools, and the system would be modeled after the Dark Province. Princess Winsley always had a smile on her face: "These schools are in dire need of funding. ”

"The accompanying decree has also been enacted, right?"

"Yes. Ordinary people are very grateful when they hear that their children have been given the opportunity to receive an education, and that they can be successful in politics and have outstanding political achievements. ”

"It's good to know. Cohen nodded: "Sign the order appropriation after the meeting is adjourned, next." ”

"Business is in full swing. The flow of goods on the borders of the Empire has returned to normal. "Princess Dill is talking about the affairs she manages. There is no need to read the text at all: "Basically, the current commercial income will be exchanged for scarce materials and shipped back on the spot." In particular, the reopening of our trading channel with the Demon Alliance will provide us with a lot of profits and supplies. ”

"That's not enough, go back and inform Ayasu, and ask him to sabotage the dealings between other empires and the Demon Alliance as much as possible, then the things we ship over will be more sought-after. It seems that Cohen is not satisfied with the status quo: "What about the military?"

"Then let me tell you about the situation in the army. Two of the three theaters have been completed, and Prince Lek and Prince Sifta have already arrived. The General Staff Officer cleared his throat: "All the regiments assigned to the provinces have set out, and the communication system with the eighteen provinces as the backbone will be completed, and the logistics system will be completed within a month." In terms of recruitment. More than 20,000 of the 300,000 recruits have been screened into various military academies, and the rest have already entered training grounds in various places. ”

"Okay. Cohen nodded and said, "It's been a hard time, and you've exceeded my expectations and saved a lot of time." ”

"Of course, the sooner you finish, the better. The Minister of State replied softly: "Generals, the results of other work in the internal affairs system are recorded in the documents in front of you, so please take a look! Also, by the way, these documents are top secret, and they are among all the officials of the Empire." Except for the two princes, all the other people who could come into contact with these texts were in this room. Nothing in the text can be taken out of this room. ”

"Yes, Prime Minister. Several generals nodded and opened the text to look.

"This is a record of all the existing strength, various resources, and everything that can be provided. The minister explained: "According to the plan, the detailed numbers for each time period in the next two years are listed. ”

"Your Excellency, I would like to ask a little bit. Lieutenant General Haiert raised his hand and said: "How can there be a number of civilians in this? Look at this! After this autumn's harvest, the grain reserves can guarantee the expedition of 200,000 troops to any neighboring country, or the daily consumption of 900,000 civilians for a year...... Why is that?"

"This is a message to all of you that our grain after this autumn harvest can be used for these things. The minister smiled faintly: "The emperor wants to decide what to do after the autumn harvest this year based on these figures, he can send 200,000 troops to fight, or he can use 900,000 people to do something." ”

"Then the number of these people, as well as these road construction plans, are also provided for the emperor's majesty to choose?"

"Yes, that's why we're convening this supreme meeting. ”

"I heard that His Majesty the Emperor has signed agreements with various countries, and a batch of supplies is about to arrive, right?" Martin. Admiral Luther looked carefully at the text in his hand: "I didn't see it. ”

"That batch of supplies is on the way, and what is not actually in hand will not be written on it. Cohen explained: "And I am not going to use that batch of materials directly for the military, after careful inspection, all of them will be used for people's livelihood construction." ”

"Why should it be used for people's livelihood?" said Hailt, "Isn't army building the most important?"

"Without the support of the state, even the most powerful army will not be able to do anything. Cohen shook his head and said, "The losses caused by the rebellion and war are too great for the people, and the national strength needs to be restored urgently." I'm going to make this iron ore into farming tools and distribute them for free, as well as other supplies. ”

"And two hundred thousand slaves?" Martin. Luther asked, "The use of slaves is inconsistent with the tradition of Spia." ”

"I discussed this with my father. As soon as they arrived, they abolished the status of slaves and imposed them on the formation of the army. Half of them went to build the road from the holy capital to the dividing line between gods and demons, and half of them dug canals in the same direction. Detailed drawings have been made and are under review. Cohen said, "One more thing, there must be spies among these people, so I'm not going to let them go back when I'm done, and I'm going to do some facility maintenance." ”

"That means there will be no war in the next year or two, right?" the General Staff officer began, "In that case, the newly recruited soldiers will have a long time to train." ”

Cohen chuckled.

"Don't dream, not only is there a war, but the goal is not small. My request is to take the Camp Empire and the Wells Empire of the Demon Alliance within two years, and the construction of national strength cannot be delayed. ”

"Take it?" The general staff officer froze on the spot: "What does it mean to take down His Majesty?"

"Quite simply, my takedown means swallowing these two empires in one gulp. Cohen smiled and said, "It's not as simple as defeating, it's all occupying and owning it all." There were no negotiations after that. There were no compromises either. It is even more impossible to return. ”

"How is this possible? There is no such precedent! Any war will stop after a certain period of fighting. The General Staff Officer shook the text in his hand: "Even if we do what His Majesty wants, it is impossible to do it with only such a little material, and the logistics are quite tight to fight across the dividing line between gods and demons." And we are trying to annex two countries, and the resistance we encounter can be imagined. This kind of war will not be very smooth, and when the time drags on, where will we get the food to continue fighting?"

"That's all there is to food, and my request has been made. As a general staff officer, you just have to come up with a plan. His Majesty the Emperor was indifferent to his objections: "Give me a battle plan in three days—don't refute it, I have thought again and again that it will be done." ”

"Then ask His Majesty the Emperor to announce your plan!" Karos spread his hands: "At least give us an idea." ”

"What do you want you to do if I do everything?" Cohen shook his head and said, "Go and sue your staff officers, be bolder, take a long-term view, don't always think about frontal combat, it's no good to do that kind of stupid thing." Remember, in three days, if you can't come up with a plan, you have to look good. ”

While there was no nonsense among the people at the meeting, there was so much to decide about. This, coupled with the arguments that could happen at any time, kept the meeting going until midnight.

It was the highest level of meeting within the Empire. The decisions are all important national policies, and any decision will become an order in progress as soon as it leaves this door, and there are less than 10 officials who have the right to "stop", so every proposal must be carefully considered.

In the end, the direction of the Empire's development in the coming year was determined - almost all of its resources were used to develop its national power, and aid from other empires in the alliance was also used to build people's livelihoods.

Under the pretext of making agricultural tools, thirty metalworking factories will be built within the empire one after another; under the pretext of transporting materials, a new canal will be dug and eight trade roads will be built, the existing roads will be repaired and strengthened, and the transportation network in the empire will be basically formed; although the matter of collusion with the Assassins in the Gallo Empire has not yet been resolved, it has decided to expand six ports and prepare to receive donations from this country......

In addition, His Majesty the Emperor also demanded that the best of the various handicraft trades be concentrated, and that those employed in all industries of the empire must be registered with the local interior office in case they could be requisitioned at any time.

In addition to enriching the internal affairs system, all the graduates of the Royal Academy would go down to the cities and towns of the empire to use their skills to help the people out of their difficulties. The Royal Academy is also responsible for the construction plan, and they must come up with a complete land and water transportation construction plan within half a year, so that the Empire's transportation will become a complete network, and it must be able to connect with other Empire's road systems when needed. It is no longer possible to go to the Porta Empire as before, and the brigade will have to make a detour through Riva.

The military aspect is much less, but it is the most troublesome for the General Staff. It's okay to train the hundreds of thousands of recruits who have just been recruited, but His Majesty the Emperor wants him to take down the two Demon Empires within two years, but he refuses to give him enough materials he needs, this is an impossible task at all!

Martin, on the other hand, has the highest military seniority. Admiral Luther, but he did not raise objections to the unreasonable demands of His Majesty the Emperor, and it was useless for the General Staff to look at him. However, the state minister and the internal affairs supervisor have never interfered in the military, and the two lieutenant generals, who are only responsible for commanding operations, will not help the staff to hurt their brains.

In desperation, the General Staff Officer had no choice but to accept this reality and decided to go back and squeeze his subordinates to see who could win this war of aggression with only daily attrition and logistical conditions – most of the time without drama.

At the end of the meeting, Princess Cynon had fallen asleep in the crow's arms, and Princess Felyn took her away when she left, freeing the crow's hands.

Cohen stood by the door to see them off, turned back to the window, and let out a long sigh.

"Are you tired, then go back and rest!" said White Shadow, "Where are you going?"

"I'm not tired, I'm thinking about one thing. Cohen shook his head, "White Shadow, will you wait for me outside?" I want to talk to the crow and not let anyone interrupt our conversation. ”

"Okay. The white shadow left the room, closed the door reflexively, and stood in the doorway.

"I've always wanted to talk to you, but I couldn't find the right opportunity, and now it's a good time. Cohen turned around and sat down at the table, "Please take a seat, my friend." Now that you're not even there, no one should be able to control you. ”

The crow walked over to Cohen and sat down and unloaded his helmet.

"That day, you saw my best friend, the one who was sleeping in the magic crystal, his name was Fichette. Cohen's voice became a little muffled: "I know, since you saw Fischet, you have had doubts about me, suspecting that I am taking you as his double, and that's why you want to leave on the day of the enthronement, right?"

"Part of it. The crow looked at the mahogany table in front of him: "There are some other reasons. ”

"Of course, I admit that I took the initiative to meet you because of Fischette, you are really similar to him, and your temperament and demeanor are similar, so that I have hallucinations, and I have even wondered if you are his twin brother or something...... Cohen said with embarrassment, "but you must know that people are different from people, and in fact you are quite different from Fichette." ”

"Do you mean identity?" the crow nodded, "Of course there is a difference between a killer and an emperor. ”

"Bye, you know I don't mean that, and when I say the difference, I mean personality. Cohen smiled frankly, "You know what? Fichette has a cheerful personality but acts shyly, and you are the opposite. You're never a drag, you're a passive guy at heart, and you have one of the most prominent characteristics – you only think the worst when things happen. ”

"Am I so?" the crow froze, "I thought it was just reality." ”

"If you're optimistic, you should have guessed that it was me holding her the ...... the moment you saw Chinlen," Cohen accentuated: "Anyway, in my heart, you are you, and Fichette is Fischet." You're two different people, both friends of mine, and I don't want you to think of yourself as a substitute. ”

"Got it. The crow had a nonchalant expression. (To be continued......)