"You're not afraid that I'll take the money and don't do anything?"

"What I represent is the Emperor's Majesty, and those who deceive the Emperor's Majesty, it is useless to flee to the ends of the earth, you can imagine what results they will have. Lip didn't care: "But you are such a man of good character, I know you will not do it." ”

The colonel didn't ask anything more, just turned around and sighed: "It's difficult!"

Lip knew the Colonel needed to think about it, so he stood still and waited for a moment.

"The people of the Warlord are very difficult to deal with. The colonel turned around, his eyes a little flustered: "They're all die-hards...... But if we don't get rid of them, our business will definitely leak out. ”

"Mr. Colonel, I can pave a way for you, but I can't do it for you. Lip shook his head slightly: "A good man should be decisive, and the soldier will be resolute, I think you understand what I mean." ”

The corners of the colonel's eyes jumped, and his face became a little cold.

"I don't want to rush you, but my time is really limited, and I have less than an hour to go elsewhere. Lip highlighted the sense of crisis and pushed the colonel to the last hand: "But I want to see your watch with my own eyes." ”

The colonel's Adam's apple swelled several times, and his fists were clenched. Finally, under Lip's encouraging gaze, the colonel turned his head, called a major over, and gave a few careful instructions.

The Major looked back at the Colonel in surprise, and the Colonel nodded fiercely with a fierce look in his eyes.

The colonel's order was firmly carried out, and in less than a quarter of an hour, the overseer of more than a hundred people, from officers to soldiers, all fell bloodily in front of Lipp's eyes.

"Mr. Colonel. I want to congratulate you. Lip warmly shook the colonel's hand: "You and your soldiers have embarked on a bright path. ”

"If you can't save my family. The colonel replied with a blank face. Snorted coldly: "I'm going to kill you." ”

"I'm sure things will turn out for the better. Lip was confident: "As soon as the war is over." You're going to invite me to drink. ”

Lip gestured to his retinue, who immediately mounted and left the city, bringing back a few officers in a short time. And, of course, a written letter of attorney and a whole wagon of silver coins.

In the square, the colonel carried Cohen in his arms. Kaida's hand-signed letter of appointment explained the matter to the soldiers with affection, and at the same time distributed cash to the soldiers. When they heard that there was no need to fight and not to die, the soldiers had already become excited. At the end, the soldiers gathered in the square shouted joyfully, "Always follow the commander!"

When the conditions were met, the colonel stood on a wagon piled high with silver coins and shouted, "Open the gates—meet Cohen." The army of His Majesty Kaida!"

The gates of Thom City slowly opened, and the flag at the head of the city had been taken down. Waiting outside was an assault infantry battalion of the 1st Legion, which was marching in formation along the trade route.

"Let's go. Lip took three steps and made two steps, and hurriedly got into his carriage: "The overseer, I forgot about the superintendent, you must be careful next time!"

The convoy set off to the next city amid cheers. Lip, who had gotten into the carriage, was in a state of fear, his lips blue and his voice trembling. The underwear was soaked with cold sweat, and the body collapsed on the chair...... Early May. The Sibia Empire had more than ten consecutive days of fine weather, which made the fields jubilant. In the three provinces under the jurisdiction of the Kaida family, in the continuous farmland, the crops nourished by the fertile soil have ripened!

This meant that the only obstacle to the Kaida family's march had disappeared.

Unlike before, the border is completely closed, and anyone who tries to cross the border will be intercepted by the border guards. Therefore, there is not much information about the harvest of the Al Qaeda family, although all forces have the ability to deduce the harvest of the Al Qaeda family based on some sporadic information, this bit of information is not enough to judge the exact date of the march of the Al Qeda army. Because there is also a process of processing and transportation.

The farmers are not stingy, and are working hard to harvest in the fields, sprinkling beads of sweat in exchange for a full harvest. The logistics systems of the three provinces were extremely efficient, and with the cooperation of local officials, the first batch of harvested grain was immediately sent to the workshops for processing, and the bags were marked with "military rations" and then transported to the front in a steady stream.

The sheer size and completeness of this transportation team is not comparable to other family forces. The Al Qeda family has 150,000 troops in three directions, and the logistics system has a total of 50,000 logistics personnel. The logistics officers who escorted the transport, like the men under them, chewed on the coarse food made of cassava and sweated beads to carry the truckload of hard-won grain on the road.

The supplies sent to the front line were not only food, but also a large number of other war baggage, weapons from the weapons workshop, siege equipment from secret training grounds, and first-aid medicines from the Dark Forest plantations...... In addition, there are teams of special soldiers and witch doctors. On all the trade routes leading to the front, the convoys that were moving forward completely crowded the roads.

In addition to the intelligence officers and heralds, the only people who returned were the two princes' horse team, Rick. Prince Al Qaeda, and Siftah. Prince Kaida, they had just met with His Majesty the Emperor, and they were on their way to the Dark City on a mission.

Unlike the princes of other empires, these two young princes were both born in the army, and had already achieved the rank of major general in the army in their early years, and because of their family traditions, they were far more proficient in internal affairs than ordinary people, so during this war, Prince Rick would be fully responsible for logistics deployment, and Prince Sifta would be responsible for the wartime management of the occupied areas.

None of this is an easy task, and only someone who is proficient in both military and domestic affairs can do it well, and it seems that Cohen has chosen the right person this time.

After arriving at the Dark City Governor's Palace, Visu. Prince Qaida received them as soon as possible.

Because the harvest of grain was very smooth, Prince Weisu's interest was very high, and the whole internal affairs system was also quite excited, and the officials were busy but not chaotic, and most of them actually had time to count the days on their fingers to see when their army would be able to conquer the holy capital.

"Sit down!" Seeing his son come to the room, Prince Wei Su quickly finished the matter at hand: "You have already met with Cohen!

"Yes Father. It's all right. Cohen's spirit is also good. Prince Rick replied respectfully, "But what can I say!" Cohen gave me the feeling...... He's changed too much. ”

"Everybody has to change. Why aren't you?" Prince Wei Su smiled: "Besides, in our family, there is not many such a fickle child. ”

"Father, we received a mission from Cohen. Prince Sifta sat down opposite Visu: "Time is too short, the reserve officer should go." ”

Visu nodded, and took out two scrolls and gave them to Prince Siftah.

"This is the list of reserve officials, and you can go to the ministries at any time to ask for people. Those on the blue reels you can use with confidence. Prince Wei Su whispered to his son, "But you have to be careful with the red scroll, it is the reserve official of the academy. Because of time constraints, they have not yet been screened by the intelligence system. They themselves have no military background, they graduated directly from the academy, and we don't know if any of them are mixed in. And the date of the army's march is top secret, and if someone leaks the time of the officer's transfer, this date will be known to the enemy. ”

"I understand the importance of this. Prince Sifta lowered his head and thought about it for a moment, and came up with a solution: "As for the officials of the academy, I will let them concentrate first, and say that they have trained before the war." When they come to their senses. I'm already in office. ”

"You're in a good position...... Huh?" After thinking about it, Prince Wei Su was a little surprised: "Why is Cohen's march so urgent?

Prince Rick and Prince Sifta looked at each other and smiled.

"Father. Don't you know Cohen? This guy is not satisfied with the usual methods of warfare. Prince Rick smiled and explained his father's confusion: "This time he sent a foreign secretary out first, although the war has not yet started, Cohen has actually taken several cities." ”

"The new one he received...... "I said that he would not take in a useless person, and asked me to instruct him on his social skills." ”

"That's right, the mouth of this foreign secretary is more powerful than 10,000 people. By the time we left, Lip had taken five cities. Prince Sifta added: "These five cities are connected and depend on each other. We carefully calculated that if we attacked, we would have at least 5,000 casualties, plus the battle attrition, pensions, post-war reconstruction, etc., we would have to spend 300,000 gold coins. But now, we have only spent 50,000 gold coins to take it, and most importantly, we have avoided the loss of personnel. ”

"In my opinion, the benefits of this are not only these. Wei Su's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop, and then he stood up excitedly: "Okay! ”

"yes! Prince Rick complained: "Although Cohen treats us very warmly, I can't find the shadow of him when he was a child." That little guy who looks reckless at all times, I really miss it in my heart!"

"And what about you?" said Visu, turning his head to look at Prince Siftah.

"Me? I'm just not used to being called His Royal Highness. Hearing his father's question, the sturdy Prince Sifta paused for a moment, then shook his head before saying, "This identity has changed so much, I was a little caught off guard." ”

"Not ready? I should say, none of us were ready. Wei Su stepped forward and patted his son on the shoulder: "Cohen is like this, I am like this, and you are like this. But what can we do? When the time comes, we don't have to grit our teeth and close it?"

The two princes seemed to have communicated on this issue, and at this time, they listened to their father's words and nodded their heads.

"We've thought about it, and even though it's a whole bunch of unfortunate things, we'll do what we can later. Prince Rick replied, "Father, you can rest assured that we are confident that we will accomplish this well." ”

"Yes! I'm good at things that have to do with military affairs. Prince Sifta has always followed his eldest brother: "As for the relationship with Cohen, we will slowly get used to it." We are not the emperor's brothers of other empires, thinking about taking the throne all day long. ”

"You can see this clearly, and it shows that you have grown. Wei Su replied with relief: "Actually, you, all of us, and all the people who do things for Cohen." That's Cohen's biggest help. As long as we are united. And not xenophobic. Continuously absorb outstanding talents and continue to build a solid foundation for Cohen, so Cohen can do things that no one has been able to do before. ”

Prince Sifta smiled and scratched his head embarrassedly: "I didn't think about this......"

"Cohen is a very special person, that's true. His methods and strategies have his characteristics, and his words and deeds are often unexpected, and people have nowhere to start if they want to prevent it. Wei Su sat down with a smile and approached the two sons: "But you can't ignore your own role. Cohen did not ignore your importance. All of us, so to speak, are one body, one sword, and Cohen, he is the tip of our sword. ”

"I see!" Prince Sifta clapped his hands: "The better we can show in the back, the more lethality Cohen will bring to the enemy!"

"That's the truth, simple, right?" Wei Su nodded and said: "But there are many people who don't understand this, their snobbish eyes only see the glory of the emperor, but they can't see the responsibility and dedication hidden under the glory of the emperor." Thinking deeper, Cohen is a kind man, and he is difficult to be an emperor. Whenever he makes a decision. It's a very difficult process, and sometimes you have to choose between hurting others and hurting yourself. ”

"Will it be so painful?" Rick asked, his eyes wide open.

"The reason why Cohen refused to be emperor before. That's because he saw it. A bitter smile appeared on Wei Su's face: "But the current situation is not his turn to resign, and it can be said that it is for the sake of all of us that he decided to be the emperor." And every time others call him His Majesty, it is to add an extra scar to his heart, so you two are brothers, or call him Cohen when there are no outsiders, and give him some warmth. ”

The two princes cared for their little brother very much in their hearts, and nodded again and again.

"If only you understood! I can't say these things to other officials. Wei Su sighed: "The two of you are princes, Cohen's only two relatives of the same generation, and no one can replace their special status, and only you can do this." ”

"Understood, father, we'll do our best to take care of Cohen. ”

"As for your men, they must be strictly controlled. Cohen and I have discussed many times that we must curb the emergence of factions in the internal political system, and we must not allow a good governing body to give rise to various factions. Speaking of business, Wei Su put away his smile: "Cohen will personally handle it on the army side, and we will handle it on the internal affairs side, and we must completely pinch off this kind of sign! The officials below can't see so far and don't think so deeply, so it is useless to rely on explanation and persuasion alone, and once discovered, they will be dealt with immediately!"

"Yes!" the two princes replied to their father in a loud voice, standing up at the same time.

"Rick, Sifta, you are Cohen's brother, this unchangeable identity is destined for you to give more than others, I am your father, my greatest hope is that the three of you understand each other better and support each other. Wei Su took the hands of his two sons and said earnestly: "Cohen is very hard, give him more care, it doesn't matter if it is reflected in any way, Cohen is very smart, he can feel it." I've talked to a couple of Cohen's wives and we're trying to create a welcoming atmosphere for him. ”

"Okay, I'll take notice. ”

"Go see your mother, we'll eat later. After finishing the order, Wei Su smiled and said, "You haven't met the four imperial concubines yet, have you? ”

"Yes. ”

That evening, the two princes met with their fiancées and four overseers of the interior, and finalized a series of important official duties at the dinner table. By the time the last dessert was served, several major matters that had a direct bearing on the success or failure of the war had been satisfactorily resolved under the mediation of the Prime Minister.

The royal family is so special that even the dining table seems destined to carry more things than the ordinary dining table.

The next day, before dawn, the hundreds of reserve magistrates waiting at the Royal Academy received Tif. Dean Lorenzo's order said that in order for everyone to better complete their mission, they would go somewhere for a month of military and government training.

The reserve officers did not talk nonsense and immediately boarded the carriage. In a glimmer of light, the convoy left the Dark City.

But no one was allowed to get out of the carriage during the journey, and not even the windows were allowed to open. A day after the departure, a cavalry converging with the convoy, and officers handed out drawings to the officers in the carriage one by one, and the reserve officers looked at the drawings in their hands and realized that they were not going to train, but on the way to work.

On the third day, the huge convoy joined the convoy of reserve officials from the ministries and departments, and after reaching the border, it was divided into several parts and headed for different areas.

"Could it be that the war of rebellion has begun?" said someone after leaving his own province, and someone asked the accompanying officer.

"Of course, two days ago, the war had already begun!" replied the officer proudly, pointing to the blurry pillar of smoke in the sky: "Look! That's the rebels' alarm wolf smoke, reporting to their master! It's too late!"

On the rebels' defensive line, from the early morning of the same day, almost every city had lit wolf smoke, and puffs of black smoke rose up, which looked so conspicuous during the day. In less than a day, the guards on the walls of the Holy Capital had already seen it.

In the evening, Lu Man took a group of civil and military ministers to the city wall, although he had a confident expression on his face, but in his heart he was amazed at the combat effectiveness and attack momentum of the Kaida family's army. Not only was Lu Man surprised, but all the ministers under Lu Man, including the new prime minister, were surprised - the combat effectiveness of this army was completely beyond everyone's expectations.

The attack is too violent!

According to the information transmitted by the wolf smoke, Lu Man's carefully constructed defensive circle has been attacked from both sides, and most of the cities in the outer defensive circle have been attacked, and many strongholds have been broken...... But where did the Kaida family get so many troops? If they want to attack at the same time on such a large attack surface, they need at least 300,000 elite troops!

Lu Man's "generals" were standing aside, whispering something. Lu Man glanced at this group of "waste people" and suppressed his desire to get angry.

"Your Majesty, don't worry. The young prime minister saw Lu Man's reaction in his eyes, and walked over and comforted him softly: "Although the Kaida family's offensive is a little fierce, this situation is also expected by us!"

"That's right. Lu Man rubbed his hands unconsciously, and glanced at the continuous black smoke in the sky again: "Those cities in the outer defense circle were originally used for consumption. ”

"That's right, the more fierce the Kaida family's offensive is now, the greater their attrition, the more casualties, and our counterattack will be smooth. The prime minister smiled faintly: "At that time, it will be difficult for them to turn over." ”

Lu Man nodded and asked softly, "Are our counterattack troops ready?"

"The 100,000 iron horsemen near the Holy Capital are ready, just wait for the time to come. The prime minister came closer: "The army of the Kaida family will have to stop when they reach Conson Province, and they will be blocked under Conson City." Your Majesty, I assure you that the army of the Kaida family will never see the walls of the Holy Capital. ”

"Don't say that!" Lu Man showed a cruel smile on his face: "We still have to give this army a stage and let them exit this era beautifully." ”

"That's difficult, you also said that the Kaida family army is good at defense, and this army will have to fight at least thirty battles if it wants to reach the city of Conson. The prime minister is very good at making people happy, at least now he makes Lu Man very happy: "After thirty battles in a row, how many people are left of them? We have also arranged so many small forces to sneak up on the enemy's rear, they are really in trouble this time." ”

"It's so much better to have you by my side to help. Lu Man nodded to the prime minister with satisfaction and greeted his subordinates loudly: "Go back to the palace, we have to have a meeting." (To be continued......)