Ampin City, northern suburbs.

It's a beautiful land on the east side of the meandering Green River, and if you look south, you can see the battlements of the city walls.

In general, such fields are ideal for farming due to their gentle slopes, fertile soils, proximity to rivers and easy access to irrigation. But now, there is no trace of an ordinary farmhouse, and one noble manor after another occupies almost all the available plots of land in the surrounding area.

The suburbs of the city were a paradise for aristocrats and wealthy merchants.

Powerful people like them don't care about such a meager income from agriculture and animal husbandry, for them, enjoyment and face are the things that need to be considered more. Therefore, these fertile lands still retain large areas of forest slopes and pastures for the magnates to escape the summer and cool and hunt in autumn and winter.

The buildings in Ampin City need to follow certain laws, and even the mansions built by a big nobleman like the Marquis cannot occupy too much area, let alone have any military functions. The estates outside the city were far different, and the nobles could do what they could to build strong walls and other fortifications to protect their property.

Of course, the protection of private property is only one of the main reasons, but it is not the only purpose of these estates. Some powerful nobles will also store and train their private troops in their estates in case of emergency.

What they are guarding against is exactly what they are doing now.

After the crisis broke out within the principality, the Marquis of Borriello, one of the leaders of the nobility, officially moved to live in a manor outside the city.

After all, Onessa still has an elite military force like the "Flame Demon Knight" and some of the loyalty of the Praetorian Guard, and once she is forced to be anxious, she is determined to break the net. There is no guarantee of the safety of the city's dwellings.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, and of course the wise Marquis understands this truth. Therefore, at such a moment when the victory is in hand, he will never be in danger unless necessary, and has been staying in this manor that has been in business for many years, hiding under the protection of layers of heavy soldiers. Even if it's an occasional pilgrimage. He will also find all kinds of excuses to shirk, anyway, the court is full of his eyes, and he knows everything that happens.

In the middle of the night, when the rain fell, most of the people in the manor had fallen asleep, but the lights were still on in the majestic castle.

The situation has developed to such a point that it is always an opportunity to try to meet the daggers, and the Marquis of Borriello naturally will not be greedy for temporary enjoyment, and has gathered his henchmen and cronies overnight. Discuss your next steps.

"That's the case," the young clerk standing beside the Marquis of Borriello explained the current situation before concluding, "Her Royal Highness Onisha has been hiding in the Grand Duke's palace and never going out, she has gathered a large number of troops under her command, and has set up a tight defense network, and there is nothing she can do in a short time. ”

"Didn't the adults think about dividing the defenses of her men?" said a sharp-mouthed, short-bearded civil official. "As long as the military strength of the Grand Duke's Mansion is slightly weakened, we can contact the other forces. Directly launch a military coup. ”

"Of course I have considered it," the Marquis of Borriello interjected lightly, "I have united several of them and ordered the Praetorian Guards loyal to us to withdraw from the city and hand over the original jurisdiction to Onesha to take over ......"

"What do you mean, my lord?" the civil official was stunned for a moment, and turned his head to look at the military attachés opposite.

"For now. The number of troops at the Grand Duke's disposal is almost fixed, and it is difficult to draw garrisons from outside the Green River Valley," a square-headed, big-eared military attache explained with a smile, "In this case, we pull out. Almost half of Anfen City was ceded, and only some of the more important strategic areas were retained...... However, the areas that have been ceded are all civilian areas with chaotic law and order, and we can ignore them, but His Royal Highness must divide his forces and take them over, so that the protection of the Grand Duke's Mansion will be weakened. ”

"Oh," several civil officials nodded knowingly, and one of them looked at the Marquis of Borriello and asked, "Your Excellency's move is really clever, are you ready to unite with other forces to directly attack the Grand Duke's Mansion?"

"Why do you want to attack?" Marquis Borello showed a grim smile on his face, "Why do you want to unite with other nobles?"

"Huh?" At this point, even the military attachés were a little confused, and they had even prepared for military action and gathered the troops under their control.

"You are all loyal to me, and you will share the wealth in the future, so I will not hide it," the Marquis of Borriello straightened up and said softly, "First of all, if we storm the Grand Duke's Palace, it will inevitably deplete the troops in our hands, and it will greatly affect the power struggle with them in the future, so I have made another plan." ”

"Please show me so. One henchman asked.

"What can be done with money, why should it cost precious troops?" Marquis Borello said again, "I have hired a top killer from the Torm Federation's 'Wolf Poison Flower' organization, and they have promised me that I will take down Onisa's ......head within three days," he smiled and continued, "If they don't succeed, it's not too late to attack at that time." ”

The cronies in the hall nodded at the same time, without any special look on their faces, even military assault had already been put on the agenda, and the word killing the monarch could not stimulate them.

"As for uniting with the other nobles," the Marquis of Borriello shook his head and snorted, "according to the information I have obtained, they have secretly colluded together, and when they bring down Onisha, they want to turn against us, how can I not be unprepared?"

"Looks like you're already ready?" the thin civil official slapped his hand.

"They are united, and I will seek foreign help," Marquis Borello stood up and glanced at everyone in the hall with burning eyes, "I don't want to hide it from everyone, I have pledged allegiance to King Nacini of the Snowton Empire, and the strong reinforcements they sent have already set off and will only arrive today and tomorrow, I want to ask, do you have any objections?"

Everyone lowered their heads, not daring to look at the gaze of the Marquis of Borriello, but in their hearts, there may still be some secret resistance. After killing the king, it was treason, and in the future history books, will they be evaluated like this?

"Since everyone has no opinion, then it is decided," Marquis Borriello said with a gentle smile, "In the future, if I control An Lan, I will definitely share the wealth and glory with all the princes." (To be continued......)

PS: (One more, 2000 words, please note, I'm going to break out again)