Verse 121 continues

"This is the latest order from Her Majesty the Queen. Artor handed a document in his hand to Barranca in front of him. In the court formed by the Younger Queen, the number of officials was greatly reduced, so that mid-level officials such as Artor often became de facto multi-tasking. For example, Artor has now gone from being a secretary to Ashrufat to a clerk and messenger and court assistant.

"Her Majesty?" Barranca is a smart man. Although he was temporarily in charge of the command of the Guards Regiment by virtue of his position as "lieutenant general", he was well aware that he was only a small knight. In the realm of the nobility, he can be said to have just taken the first step. This in itself doomed him to always be an "agent" in this position.

For Barranca, though, it's definitely a leap forward. As he himself said, in patience, fate finally sent him an opportunity, and he grasped it correctly. A mercenary captain who was not a noble rank at all was suddenly canonized as a knight, and then immediately became the temporary commander of the Guards Regiment by virtue of his originally worthless position as a "lieutenant general", which was not an ungenerous reward. All those who lived through that day understood that it was all because Barranca's performance in key moments left an impressed Queen.

"A handwritten letter from Her Majesty the Queen. Ator replied.

The two men sat in an officer's quarters in the barracks. Of course, this is the residence of General Paul, which was later used by Farusha and is now used by Barranca. It is also a privilege, and it is better to give the house to the highest commander. As already mentioned, it is a fairly well-laid out house and Barranca received Ator right at the table in the living room. Two cups of high-end black tea are now on the table - the army is now on standby, and the whole army is forbidden to alcohol.

Truth be told, before coming over, Artor was quite hostile to Barranca. In his eyes (and in the eyes of the vast majority of people in Eagle City), this Barranca was a complete opportunist. But to be honest, Barranca is really good at being a man, at least Artor came with contempt and disdain, and is now able to talk to Barranca calmly. Not only that, but the two of them also talked more and more in the idle chatter of Tiannan and Haibei.

Barranca opened the letter and skimmed through it slightly. The main thing is simple, let him send a team of soldiers to strengthen the defense of a city.

"The Queen's orders?" Barranca asked. He already knew that Ashrufat had "sent an envoy". No one knew what was going on in Ai Xiurufat's head. In terms of position, he is the Chancellor of the Exchequer of Gruny, and in terms of actual status, he is the uncrowned king of Eagle Falcon. The little queen obeyed him, and everything was under his control, but his brain suddenly cramped, and he wanted to go on an "envoy" and leave the core of power in Eagle Falcon City.

"The Queen's order. Ator replied.

"Now Eagle Castle ...... Who's in charge?" asked Barranca, tentatively.

"The Queen herself, of course. Ator replied as he sipped his tea. "Now, the entire city of Eagle Falcon is completely under the control of the Queen's will. ”

"No one is manipulating the Queen's will behind her back?"

"How is that possible! Have you been busy training soldiers all this time, so you haven't heard anything?"

"Ah, I'm sorry, it's really ......" In fact, it is not easy for Barranca to serve as this temporary commander, and there are many people who are not convinced, so he has spent a lot of effort just to straighten out the interior, and he does not have much energy to care about the details of the government affairs of Eagle Falcon City.

"It's good to work hard, but ...... Let's pay attention to the others a little bit, too. Ator took a sip of tea. This is a high-quality tea with nothing to say. Of course, Artor didn't know that this came from the legacy of the dead Farusa. "In the beginning, many people thought that our queen was still a child, and it was easy to deceive. But now ......"

"Now?"

"All those who have such stupid thoughts are either hung on the gallows or in their cells. Ator replied. "Her Majesty our queen has indeed inherited the noble lineage of King Macrémiz. Its wisdom and vision...... None of them can be measured by normal girls. He paused. "Actually, even I was a little scared. ”

"Scared?"

"Obviously a little girl who grew up in a deep palace and shouldn't know anything, how can she know so many things at once?" he smiled bitterly. "It seems that no matter what it is, no matter what kind of little abacus hidden in the heart, no matter what kind of human feelings and sophistication, it is easy for Her Majesty the Queen to see through it. ”

"Really...... So powerful?" Barranca was taken aback.

"Do you believe that there are people in the world who are 'born to be kings'? I didn't believe in the past, but now I do. Our majesty is that type of person. General Barranca," said Atore. "Please don't try to discount the Queen's orders...... The consequences are quite severe. Sometimes, she gives people a second chance, but more often than not, it's the end. ”

"Ah......" To tell the truth, although Artor said so, Barranca was also skeptical. "So the last time I submitted the report, I wonder if there is any news?"

"What kind of report?"

"On the question of the artillery of the Guards Corps. Barranca said. "We now have gunners, but we don't have enough artillery, which is not good for the full use of the Legion's combat power. ”

"Well, Her Majesty the Queen has been implementing this for a long time. It is said that the Minister of Commerce has ordered a shipment of cannons from the dwarven caravans, and of course, more importantly, a new cannon foundry and a musket factory with full equipment and mechanics. ”

"Didn't you hear that we're in a tight financial situation?" Barranca wondered. It is true that the dwarves have the best equipment and the most superb casting techniques, but this means astronomical costs. Of course, most importantly, the dwarves are extremely reluctant to sell this type of equipment to humans.

Ordinary dwarven merchants are naturally willing to trade with humans, but the leaders of the dwarves are reluctant to pass on these skills, so such requests are often difficult to fulfill. Of course, it's not that it's impossible.

"That's what the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Earl of Ashrufat, is concerned about. Ator replied. "Is he in arrears to the Guards Legion?"

"Not really. Barranca replied. Military salaries were paid in full and on time. In fact, not only was there no arrears, but in order to stabilize the morale of the army as soon as possible in Barranca, Eshurufat also paid an additional month's salary as a reward for the legion.

"That's it. The financial situation, we have nothing to worry about. Ator replied.

"I heard...... Duke Byron...... Left behind a huge debt. ”

"Maybe it's because the debt isn't due. At least for now, every debt is being paid on time and accurately. I've never heard of a chamber that has been in debt...... Ah, no, there is such a debt. The last time I passed by the warehouse, I heard two cashiers, one of ours and the other a cashier of a certain chamber of commerce, arguing for a sum of about two hundred golden orioles for half a day. The venerable old gentleman at the end saved the country this loss. I heard that the Count of Ashrufat was very pleased with his performance, and the next day he promoted the old gentleman to the post of deputy head of funds in the treasury. ”

"Two hundred Quiolis......" Barranca nodded. Legends are legends after all, and in those legends, it is vividly said that the little queen's finances cannot support it for two months. However, since the little queen still has spare money to buy a set of ordnance casting equipment, then it is also said that the so-called financial problems are just groundless.

After all, it's been four months now.

......

"It's been four months. Byron asked in a self-contained tone, looking at the large map spread out in front of him. "What ...... for?"

The meeting had just ended, and the participants had all left, leaving him and of course a few real cronies in the conference room. They may not be high-ranking officials, but they can be trusted with loyalty and intelligence.

His question was valid. Everything seemed incomprehensible, and that little girl in Eagle Falcon City actually held out for four whole months. Originally, he thought that the little queen would not survive even two months.

All this seems incomprehensible. According to the latest news, the little queen has paid three arrears this month, one of which has a total principal interest of 2.3 million gold oli. The whole debt was paid with ease, just like all those legitimate business deals. God knows where she came from to get all this money. In the next three months, she did not have a particularly high amount of arrears to repay.

In other words, it is unlikely that the reign of the little queen will collapse for at least the next three months.

Confidence has not yet returned to everyone's hearts, but in the Chamber of Commerce, many new voices have emerged. The initial desperate debt collection voice became much softer, and the major chambers of commerce began to seriously consider the queen's ability to pay. If this trend continues, perhaps the merchants will accept the demand for a deferral of payments. After all, being a creditor of the queen is an important thing.

In this case, Eagle Falcon City, which was not dangerous at all, will become an extremely terrifying existence. In any case, the Makeremiz family is recognized as the Gruny royal family, and that little girl is the undisputed queen in law. On the contrary, Byron was theoretically a complete traitor. If the little queen does not fall quickly, things could develop into a dangerous situation – that is, the little queen has the right to ask for help from other countries.

Such a call for help would undoubtedly come at a huge cost, but it could also change the whole situation immediately. For example, the little queen demanded that Tiberius send troops at the cost of ceding the city of Fornoros...... Byron thought it was very likely that Tiberius would say yes.

"Lord Duke, although they have paid their debts this month, I am afraid they have reached their limit. One of the subordinates said.

"Hmm. Byron replied softly. The financial downfall of the little queen was inevitable, and he was sure of it. She must have done her best by now. Three months later, there will be high debts due one by one.

"There's news from Eagle Falcon City that the little queen seems to have purchased a complete set of firearms casting equipment from the dwarves. Byron said. This news was quite shocking, so it was not announced at the meeting just now. "Do you think that's true?"

"A smoke bomb for sure. Shake a shot to stabilize people's hearts. One of the subordinates said. "But I'm sure the dwarves will actually bring a 'set of equipment' and start construction somewhere in the dark. Then, they'll even make a freshly minted cannon. Acting in such a scene will probably cost 50,000 gold Oli, but if it can be successful, then the Chamber of Commerce may agree to defer the payment. He smiled. "But, Lord Duke, they don't know that we have a closer connection with the Chamber of Commerce. The top management of the Chamber of Commerce has already promised...... Deferred payments are already out of the question. ”