The atmosphere in the room was different from what Allegri had expected, and it was not so tense.

The white-haired Duke of Tagore beckoned him to sit down, and said a few words about the customs and customs of the southern countries, looking like a kind elder. The old duke is old, and he has long been idle at home and recuperating in his old age, but his influence in the aristocratic camp has never diminished, as in the past.

His eldest son, who currently holds the position of Parliamentary Secretary of the Empire, is undoubtedly a hardliner. Now that the southern expedition is imminent, the military camp is about to rise strongly, and the old duke can no longer hold back, so he personally takes action to test Allegri's reality and reality.

"At this time, south of the Cast Iron Mountains, I'm afraid the wind is as thick as smoke, right?" Duke Tagore made a gesture of rubbing his hands and said with a wry smile, "But this Norman City, when it is raining continuously, is still unexpectedly cold, so my old bones are really a little unbearable." ”

"With the mountains as a barrier, the temperature difference between the north and the south is indeed more disparity than imagined," Allegri did not know what he meant by this, and after a little thought, he replied cautiously, "The Duke should be old and strong, and a little spring cold, how can it be a problem?"

"Old, no younger than you," said the Duke of Tagore, sighing and shaking his head, "but unfortunately my territory is still north of the Vemur River, and it would be nice to have a place to retire in the warm land of the south." ”

His tone was casual, as if it were a casual remark, but Allegri knew that it was hinting at himself. The great aristocracy will not put the inside story of the transaction on the bright side that everyone can see. The process of bargaining is all concealed in aimless chatter, polite and murderous.

At this time, it was his turn to make a statement. Willing or unwilling, what is the desired price bar. After the negotiation is finished, hello and me, everyone is friends, and when the conversation collapses, they will break up in two, go back separately, and prepare to fight.

The old duke still looked at him kindly, waiting for this young man the same age as his grandson. Give a final answer. Allegri suddenly felt a little nervous, and fine beads of sweat oozed from the palm of his hand on his lap.

He didn't expect that before the banquet started, he would have to make a choice. Duke Tagor went straight and didn't leave him time to think at all, Allegri naturally didn't want to agree, but the ensuing consequences made him look forward and backward. For a while, I was in a dilemma.

The Marquis of Walledon next to him had a look of surprise on his face. With his understanding of the Duke of Tagore, the other party's behavior today was really abnormal, but when he saw the expressions of the other two nobles, the Marquis immediately reacted, and he drank tea for a long time and watched the development of the situation.

"Alright, sir. Sure enough, it didn't take long. The noble lady in the high-haired dress on the left side covered her mouth and smiled, "With your old man's power and wealth, I am still afraid that it will not be able to freeze, I only heard a few days ago that you used a piece of land at the junction of the Holy Blood River and the Vimur River. In exchange for the mid-mountain hot springs of Solda. ”

"That is," the middle-aged nobleman, who had been silent, also said rarely, "After the triumph of the Southern Expedition, there is a lot of idle land in the south. When the time comes, the old duke will support his old age, even if he asks the king, why rush to fight other people's ideas. ”

In these words, there is a bit of sarcasm, even though the Duke of Tagore is very deep, he can't help but snort at this time, and sneered at each other,

"Marquis Copperov, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a lot of affairs to deal with, as the governor of a province, do you have the leisure to come to the banquet?"

Seeing them arguing, Allegri breathed a sigh of relief.

He had long expected that within the aristocratic camp, the opinions of the various factions should also be different. But just now, the other two didn't speak, and let Duke Tagore do it, he thought that the nobles had already unified their opinions, just waiting to be unanimous with the outside world, in that case, he wouldn't have to die and struggle, just wait for others to slaughter.

Among the people present, the official position of Marquis Copov was the highest, and a few years ago, during the civil strife, a large number of officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs defected, and he, as the deputy director at that time, soared to the sky and gradually rose to the position of chief minister.

Although the seniority of this chief is still young, his ability is undoubted, and his professional resume is quite exciting, and it can even be called bizarre.

The two major external agencies of the empire are the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Intelligence. At that time, Kopov, although he was born in a marquis family, was not a son-in-law, and he did not inherit the power of the family, at most he relied on Yu Yin to join the army, became an ordinary knight, and then relied on military merits to seek promotion.

But Copov found a different way and resolutely joined the Ministry of Intelligence and became a spy. For more than a decade after that, he hid incognito in the southern countries, making great contributions to the intelligence work of the empire. Later, he successfully carried out a plan that the former emperor personally participated in formulating, and then returned to his hometown and was transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, officially becoming a high-ranking official in the empire.

After more than ten years of training, Korpov's wrists were extremely ruthless, and soon, he sent his brothers clean up one by one, and inherited the family and title naturally. A new faction with him as the core and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Intelligence as its foundation also rapidly rose within the aristocratic camp.

"Well, it's really ......" Seeing the other two arguing, the noble lady yawned boredly, leaned sideways, and greeted with a smile, "Leave them alone, Count Allegri is Norman, and he didn't bring his family with him?"

"No, Madame," replied Allegri, moving cautiously half an inch, "but I have brought my own students with me, so that he may come out more and see the world." ”

Glancing at Dalgnan standing next to him, the noblewoman's eyes suddenly lit up, as if she had discovered something new, and she smiled coquettishly, "Yo, Your Excellency the Count, this student, is really handsome." ”

"Uh......" Allegri was stunned for a moment, quickly recalled the information about the other party, his face gradually became strange, and he could only nod and say, "It's okay." ”

"This little brother, what's his name, let's hear it. The noblewoman seemed to have lost all interest in Allegri and beckoned.

Dalgnan looked at Allegri at a bit of a loss, asking for his opinion.

Allegri hesitated for a moment, but then gave him a wink, let him come over, and introduced him, "Madam, this is my student, Ados. ”

"Ados?" repeated the noblewoman, approvingly, "what a good name, I don't know what it means?" (to be continued......)

PS: (2000 words.) ）