Section 104 Candidates

"Appointed. Ashrufat replied. Once again, he looked at this man called Barranca, a truly intelligent man. One of the characteristics of smart people is that you may not be able to guess the specific actions of the other person, but you can easily guess the overall direction of his actions. "That's me. ”

"You?" Barranca muttered. "This appointment...... You should get permission from the Prime Minister or the Regent, right?"

"That's right, I gave permission. ”

"What do you mean? There is no prime minister now. Barranca replied. He already knew about Queen Ludao's intention to pro-government, and the little girl had already publicly announced this. In fact, this was not unexpected: after this lesson, and at the same time feeling that she was capable enough, the little queen did not think about getting another regent out, but planned to govern herself.

"I am the Prime Minister. Ashrufat replied.

"But......" Barranca said again. He was a little confused, but he didn't know where to start for a while. The previous commander of the Guards, namely Farusha, had already been killed by Barranca. So now the place of this commander is vacant. Barranca himself had no ambition to put himself in the position at once – but he wanted to know who that man would be.

"General Barranca......," said Ashrufat. He added the word "general" because Barranca held the position of lieutenant general in the Guards Regiment. Of course, everyone knows that the title of "lieutenant general" has very low gold content, and to put it mildly, Barranca is just the captain of a group of mercenaries. Although such positions can theoretically be regarded as middle and high-level generals, they are still essentially the kind of unsecured mercenaries. At the end of the war, the other officers were promoted according to their merits, and the mercenary captain was given a letter of termination - just like a regular mercenary.

In fact, in the composition of the Guards Legion, there were originally no mercenaries. The reason why there is a mercenary unit now can only be understood as a stopgap measure, a means to restore the combat strength of the corps as soon as possible after the previous defeat. Many people also understood it as a political trick of the Duke of Byron.

Now, of course, Barranca is already a knight of Gruni. Don't look at the title of "knight" as inconspicuous, some harsh opinions even believe that if it is not from a family, a knight cannot be called a true nobleman. But this "knight" illustrates a very important thing: from the moment he received this canonization, Barranca ceased to be a mercenary. He had obligations over and above the mercenary for Gruni, and he also had rights that ordinary mercenaries could not enjoy.

"I am now the commander of the Guards, your immediate superior. Ashrufat said. "But I'm also a ...... Governor of Eagle City. He said the word, completely unconcerned about Barranca's puzzled gaze. "So I probably won't be able to stay in the barracks for long. According to custom...... If the Lord is not ......," he said, looking at Barranca's face, "he must appoint a lieutenant to take his place temporarily. ”

In his voice, the pronunciation of this "lieutenant" was particularly emphasized. As he expected, Barranca was a clever man, and he had understood what Ashrufat meant, at least an eager expression appeared on his face at once.

"You're doing something for me now. Ashrufat said. "Help me pick five thousand ...... No, three thousand suitable soldiers are here to take charge of the security of Eagle Falcon City for the time being. I can only wait for you for a day...... You understand what I mean, right?"

Barranca hurried away. Ashrufat turned around and saw the little girl coming out from behind. They were talking at the door of the conference room just now, so the little girl inside also heard it.

"You're putting him in charge of commanding the Guards, aren't we going to chase after the fleeing Byron?" asked the little girl, puzzled.

"I didn't promise anything. Ashrufat replied. "Did I make that promise? How is he going to understand that it's his business. Of course, if he can do it, I will keep my promise. ”

"Is this hard?" asked the little girl. "Just pick 3,000 people. ”

"It's really easy to pull people around, but if he can really pick the right people...... It shows that he has a good influence in the army, and at the same time, he also knows the situation of the entire army very well. What does it matter if such a person takes the position of commander for the time being?" replied Ashrufat. "After all, it's just a 'temporary generation', in essence, just like the 'deputy general' he used to be, it has no value. After all, he was not Byron's subordinate, and that could be believed. You've given me too many positions, so I have to find someone to help with my work tasks. ”

"But...... Since he is trustworthy, why not just make him a commander?" the little girl asked.

"Of course not. The position of commander of the Guards is one of the highest positions in the kingdom, and it is a valuable item that countless people (such as the dead General Paul) are willing to spend their lives working hard and are willing to risk countless times with a blade grazing their throats. Such a treasure should never be given to someone lightly. If he gets such a treasure easily, then what can you come up with to satisfy him when he has a greater desire? If a person's desire is not satisfied, then he will be dissatisfied. This dissatisfaction gives others the possibility of buying and wooing, like an anthill that has been mothed out of an embankment. Therefore, this position must not be given to anyone lightly, at most it can only be given as a worthless gift as a 'temporary commander'. ”

"If the position doesn't have any value, but ...... I think...... He would love to get this worthless position. ”

"It's a worthless position, but it's a stage to express yourself. That's what Barranca needs now...... It's something he's desperate for right now. At all times, there are some principles that remain the same, the bottom needs better treatment, the middle needs a channel to rise, and the top needs greater power. This position is not a rise, but a 'channel for rising'. Ashrufat paused, he had just said it in one breath, and then suddenly remembered that it was not his own feeling, but someone had told him so.

But he couldn't remember who had said that to him.

"So, what are you going to do?" asked the little girl.

"I'm going to do a very complicated job. Ashrufat said. "First of all, I want to make good on a promise. Second, I have to find a way to get some money. Eventually, I had to find a way to get money consistently. ”

"Money?" asked the little girl.

"Yes, money. Byron took all the money from the city...... In other words, we can't even pay the Guards Corps. And we need more than just salaries. ”

......

Due to the previous martial law, the flower street is now empty. No one came here to have fun when this person was panicking, and of course, even if they did, there would be no women here. All the shops are closed, and Red Rose is no exception.

Ashruphat came to the closed door. He knocked the door, and if he was not mistaken, Rhodia should be inside.

His guess was correct, for soon the door was opened, revealing Rhodia's pretty face.

"Oh, it's Count Ashrufat, what's the matter?" Rhodia looked left and right, and saw the four heavily armed soldiers following Ashrufat. "I'm sorry if you want to drink, but our store is closed today. ”

"You're well-informed. Ashrufat said with envy. "Is there anything you don't know about?"

"Yes," I don't know what Lu Dao is for, Rhodia's attitude is very cold. Fortunately, although she could not be said to be friendly, she could not be said to be hostile. "For example, I don't know what you, the upstart are doing, coming here. ”

"Can you tell me, how do you know that I became an earl?"

"It's too simple, the queen executed the general Farusa in the barracks, who dared to disobey the king's orders, and then led the army to fight back against the city of Eagle Falcon. Before leaving, in order to boost morale, according to tradition, she held a canonization ceremony for some of her loyal subordinates. Usually such ceremonies are the canonization of a group of knights, but this time there was a man who made great achievements and was made an earl. Well, such a big thing has been spread all over the city, hasn't it, dear Earl?"

"You don't seem to welcome me. ”

"Because I think you're going to cause trouble. Rhodia replied. "A woman's intuition. ”

"On the contrary, I bring good news. Ashruphat gestured to the four knights behind him, motioning for them to wait here. "Would you like me to come in and talk?"

"Don't talk about it, you can have more in-depth exchanges. I'm a hostess, but I'm also a woman. She smiled and opened the door a little wider, and Ashrufat entered. Rhodia immediately closed the door.

"I can't believe you won. Ashrufat walked in, and Rhodia said immediately. "Looks like I'm really right. ”

"I thought you had faith in me, otherwise you wouldn't have helped me at that critical moment. Ashrufat replied. Both of them deliberately lowered their voices so that the people outside could not hear the conversation inside. "But I'm still far from 'winning', and I can even say that I'm in a bad situation. ”

"Then you should lead the army in pursuit of Byron, and when he dies, the matter is done. ”

"Unfortunately, it can't be done. Ashrufat replied. "Byron Yu Wei is still there, and he has a lot of money. And I have nothing but this Guards Corps. Byron only needed a well-defended castle to hold me back and drag me to death. Right now, my first priority is to get Eagle City up and running right away, so that the city can provide me with material support. To put it mildly...... I need money now, a lot of money, and right away. Byron took all the money from the treasury, and I don't want to talk about the bounties for the soldiers, even the salaries were released, and there was a lot of bad debt. ”

"You think I'm a prince of Fubi?" asked Rhodia. "So you're going to borrow money from me?"

"No, actually, I want to make good on my previous promise to you. Ashrufat said. "You may not know yet, but I'm already the governor of Eagle City, and of course it's a part-time job. Tell me about the slave trade...... Which merchant in the city was taking women and children captive and selling them as slaves?"

"I said it...... They...... It's hard to deal with. ”

"You're mistaken, there's only one person in this city who is hard to deal with right now, and that's me. Everyone but me was easy to deal with. ”

“...... That little girl is the queen after all, and she can't come nonsense. If the queen wants to kill, she also needs a crime and evidence......"

"Crimes? The most important thing in the world is excuses. Ashrufat replied. "As for the evidence, I am now not only the Governor of Eagle Falcon, but also a Supreme Court Justice and a prosecutor. When I say there is evidence, there is evidence. If I really can't find it, I can hold a one-man royal council and convict him of treason. To tell you the truth, I don't mind killing him on any charge, what I do mind is that all his property must be confiscated. ”

"A one-man Imperial Council?"

"Well, because I'm also the Prime Minister, the Foreign Secretary, the Chancellor of the Exchequer and all that sort of minister. My words are the result of the Imperial Council. ”

"Are you kidding?"

"No kidding. Isn't it common for a man to hold multiple hats? Hasn't the famous wilderness sage Garunas often held both the office of Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary in history? It is true that I have a little more office, but is there any law that gives a maximum number of offices that can be held by one person? All my offices have been appointed by Her Majesty our Queen, and they are perfectly legitimate. ”

Rhodia's face changed for a moment, and suddenly, she laughed. It was so loud that people outside must have heard it. "I see, sure enough...... I have always misunderstood that Mr. Eshurufat is an honest man who follows the rules, but I didn't expect him to be a little willful. Wait a minute. ”

She ran up to the second floor and came down a few minutes later with a small paper bag in her hand. It doesn't need to be opened to see that it's a file bag.

"It contains all the information and evidence I have gathered...... Wait a minute. Of course, Mr. Ashrufat probably didn't care much about these things. But I would like to warn you that both of these merchants are cunning old foxes, and a large part of their property is likely to be in the Chamber of Commerce. Kept in the form of bearer certificates of deposit or otherwise. It may take a lot of skill to confiscate all their possessions......" Rhodia leaned against the counter with her chin in her hands.

"So, can you ask Miss Rhodia to help provide a suitable candidate?"