Bad news for verse 159

"Don't worry. Essien said. "Cleo, you should know...... Before the nobility of the whole country, large and small, did not pay taxes to the sea. However, the little queen ignored the small and medium-sized nobles who were better to deal with, but announced this batch of ...... bluntly These more than eighty nobles were rebellious. Don't you think that's weird?"

"Ah...... Isn't it because they're making a big splash?"

"Huh. Essien smiled. "After I heard the news, I collected the information of these noble lords and studied them carefully. As a result, I found that these people ...... Although they are all big nobles, there are also some strengths that are not very good. For example, there are several counts of the West...... Belongs to the type that has no ambitions. Although their territory is not small, they have wasted all their financial resources on luxury. It stands to reason that such a person should not arouse the suspicion of the little queen. ”

"This ......"

"In the end, I took a closer look to find out what these people had in common. At first I thought it was because their territory was located in the traffic hub...... So the little queen wants to take back control of these key positions. But then I found out that the idea was wrong. Then I think that these lords had strong family castles or dwelling cities...... Then I found out that this idea didn't work out either. In the end, I think it's because all these great nobles have always been unruly, but that's not right. Finally I found out what they had in common. ”

"What is it?"

"All these people were canonized by King Makremiz at the time of the founding of the country. They are all ...... Those nobles of the Old Kingdom were even royal themselves, such as Byron. They," Essien said. "All have unfettered independent military rights. ”

"Soldiers?"

"Well, it is possible to recruit without restrictions, to organize private soldiers. Essien said. "The number of troops depends only on one's own financial resources, and has nothing to do with other factors. Theoretically, it is possible to legally have a very strong force. ”

"Ah...... This one...... However, theory is theory, and the actual limit is still existing. After all, there is a limit to the financial revenue that a territory can provide. ”

"Normally, that's the case. But I'm afraid it's the little queen...... Or maybe Ashrufat, who saw the danger of this. This hereditary privilege can become terrible in some cases, as we are right now...... Like Duke Byron, he easily organized a large army of 30,000 men by stealing the treasury...... A unit of the same size as the Guards Corps. Essien pondered. "But from this point of view, this time the little queen's determination to cut the feudal domain is probably very firm...... We don't have to worry about the constraints behind us...... By the way, Clio, there is one more thing that we must do our best to set off. ”

"What's wrong?"

"The Queen will soon be returning to Eagle City. ”

"Why? What is going on here?"

"The army stays and gives our command to Count Ashrufat. Essien replied. "She's going to rush back to Eagle City right away, because there's unfavorable news coming out of the north. The barbarians seem to be planning a full-scale invasion. The situation is urgent, and the queen has to go back to preside over the overall situation...... If this is true, it means that the queen will not give us much time. ”

......

In Fornoros, Byron has received a detailed report of damage from the fire.

It was so conspicuous that in the middle of the night, the entire warehouse turned into a pillar of fire, and the light of the fire illuminated the whole city. Fortunately, the construction of the warehouse itself was due to many factors, otherwise the fire might have turned at least half of the city of Fornoros into ruins.

Byron massaged his forehead vigorously, and if you looked closely, you could see that the green tendons were blooming. Although Byron kept calm on the surface, and he himself repeatedly told him to cool down, in this case, it was really difficult to maintain the stability of his feelings. In particular, Byron himself is the kind of person who is more emotional.

This report is complete nonsense, after seeing the sky-high fire last night, a fool can guess that the entire warehouse has been burned out, and there is not a single scum left.

"What is the cause of the fire. Byron threw away the worthless report. Ask the subordinate in charge of the investigation. He said it softly, but it was more frightening than a roar. Because everybody knows that when Byron speaks in this way, it is when he is most excited and angry.

No wonder Byron is like this. The end of the storehouse in Fornoros meant that Byron had lost the biggest capital he had held on to for a long time: grain and grass. Of course, there are also many private and chamber of commerce warehouses in the city, and ordinary residents also have a lot of food reserves in their homes. But these reserves were no match for the granary that Byron had painstakingly accumulated. For Byron, this incident was not so much a blow to the head, but a dagger stabbed into the heart from the back, which directly caused a fatal effect.

"The cause of the fire is unknown for the time being...... "The subordinate replied with sincere fear.

"Am I raising a bunch of trash?!" Byron said softly. "I can't even investigate this matter!Who is in charge of guarding the warehouse?"

"It's Essien...... Captain. The subordinate replied tremblingly. "But he ...... last night There are other priorities. ”

"He's got other things to ......," Byron sneered. "Yes, he did have another business last night, but are all the soldiers guarding there dead? Oh, yes, I can't find it. Such a fire...... They were almost burned to death. But those who are not on duty should still be ......"

"This ...... Scene...... No human bones were found. The subordinate replied.

"What, can't you find it?" said Byron. Such a fire...... Could it be that they all fled when they saw that they couldn't put out the fire? Wait, how could there be such a big fire in the grain warehouse?

"We're going to go to the soldiers who are guarding the warehouse...... But...... They were all gone. No one can provide a ...... of where they are going."

"What?!" This time, Byron felt something different than anger.

"The entire detachment responsible for guarding the warehouse...... The people of the independent detachment are gone. We've carefully checked in the army, and there are two teams that went missing last night. There is also a detachment responsible for the city's defense. ”

"How is that possible...... You mean it's missing?" Did the city defense team flee by night and join the queen?

"This ...... No human bones were found at the scene. Since the fire broke out in the middle of the night, no witnesses could be found. One can only guess that there was not only grain in the warehouse at that time, but also other flammable things. ”

"What......" Byron's mind was spinning, and a terrible thought came to his mind. Although he tried his best not to think in that direction, he couldn't help but feel a chill in his hands and feet.

"I asked, when Captain Essien left last night...... Did you leave the city wall where the missing city defense detachment was responsible?"

"That's true. The subordinate replied.

"Essien ......," Byron repeated the name. He should be a loyal and reliable subordinate. If it were a different person, maybe Byron would still have some doubts, but Essien ......

He had served Byron faithfully in Falcon City for several years, often offering good things, coming up with a good idea, or satisfactorily completing various private tasks assigned by Byron. When he retreated from Eagle Falcon City, he even took the initiative to ask for a break and was loyal. When he was in Fornoros City, although Essien brushed Byron's intentions a few times, it was out of loyalty after all, and recently he took the initiative to take on a dangerous scout mission and showed his ability.

In addition, because Essien, as the Queen's personal bodyguard, carried out the mission of arresting the Queen, Byron always believed that Essien was the least likely person to betray. He and Byron were grasshoppers tied to the same rope! Maybe one day when Byron was at his end, everyone else would turn against him, but Essien certainly wouldn't. Because it is impossible for the little queen to forgive Esin, it should be like this.

How could that be? Why Essien? What went wrong?

"Wait, you're going to see, is Cleo here?" said Byron, with a slight groan. He knew that Cleo and Essien were very close, and that he had only learned this since he returned to the city of Fornoros. In fact, it was Bairheim who sued him.

"Clio?"

"Treasurer Clio. Byron said.

"Ah, Lord Duke," another subordinate next to him began. "I heard from someone in the finance department in the morning that Clio had suddenly disappeared. ”

"Gone?"

According to one of his next-door neighbors. Clio suddenly went out with his luggage last night, looking like he was going to go far away, and then he didn't come back. "It's actually a little strange that the one who spoke. Cleo is just a junior treasurer, so why is it Byron's turn to take care of it himself?

"How...... Probably ......," Byron muttered to himself in a voice that could only be heard by himself. How so?

The door to the council chamber was slammed open from the outside. According to Byron's latest orders, urgent military information needed to be compiled and delivered to him immediately, and although a messenger came in, this one was empty-handed.

"Lord Duke, something is wrong!" the messenger who spoke, ignoring the gazes of the others around him, rushed all the way to Byron's face with a panicked expression.

"What's the matter?!" Byron actually tried to stand up, but found that his knees were weak and he couldn't stand up.

The "Emergency ......" messenger may have been too panicked, or perhaps he had just rushed all the way over, and seemed out of breath. "Our spies have sent an urgent message...... Lord Bairheim, captured by the king's army......"

"And then?" said Byron, so shocked and furious that he had no intention of asking the messenger why he had not written a report.

"The queen was tortured with a stake...... Will Lord Bairheim ...... In public...... Executed!"

"Torture ...... with a stake," Byron felt dizzy. "Bairheim ......"

"Excuse me, he ...... now was placed in the middle of the camp...... Show the ......"