Section 94 Strategy

"Chess pieces and chess players?"

"It's as simple as that, it's Rafa and Byron who are playing at the moment," because Bayor had already gotten into the bed, so his voice came from the covers. "Although the sooner you shoot, the better...... But we don't have a lot of money, so we can only enter the last one. Wait until all three of them are exhausted, and then try to make a profit......"

"Then Gruny's little queen......"

"Unless another Garunas falls from the sky, with great powers and loyalty, she will always be a pawn, pinched in the hands of one party. Beller's voice was already impatient. "I'm sleeping, I'm going to close the door!"

......

"What should we do now?" the little girl tugged at her cloak. As mentioned earlier, she was completely naked under her cloak due to the fact that she had been wet before. And just now, because she did some large movements, such as standing up and sitting down, etc., the cloak was not as tightly wrapped as before, and part of her body began to be unable to cover it. Of course, it didn't matter, just straighten the cloak a little and pull it off, but Ashrufat sat across from her, and any such movement of her could make her go naked.

"There's no safe way to do it, if you want to be a queen...... There is only one way to take a risk if you want to reclaim Eagle City. Ashrufat said.

"Take back Eagle Falcon City?" the little girl was stunned for a moment. "I thought...... We should run to ......"

"You're the Queen, why are you running away?" Ashrufat laughed. "If you run away, it's really over. When even you feel that you can only run away, then those who expect you will be completely disappointed, and those who are hostile to you will no longer be afraid of you, and will launch more rampant and more brazen attacks. ”

The little girl actually wanted to ask what their actions so far were called if they didn't run away. However, she decided that it would be better not to mention the question.

"Do you think what I said was inappropriate?" said Ashrufat, smiling again. "For example, in battle, a temporary retreat and a defeat are two different concepts. The former is to get himself in a better position and fight better, while the latter is a complete defeat...... Well, leaving aside these vague concepts, the main reason is that you don't get anything good by running away. Ashrufat gestured with his hand. "The current situation is this: if you want to defeat Byron, you must resort to force, in other words, you need an army under your command. Although force can be built up with money and time, the problem is that we don't have money, and even if we do, we don't have time...... Byron couldn't wait for us standing still. On the contrary, the most important thing for him at the moment is to catch you, as long as he catches you, all his actions are legal, even if they are not legal, they can be disguised as legitimate. Therefore, unless you really run to Rafah, running away is simply running away, and there is no more favorable environment for you. ”

"If you don't run away, what should you do?" asked the little girl.

"Your Majesty, don't despair, you still have a force loyal to you...... And it's right on the edge of Eagle Castle. Ashrufat said.

"On the edge of Eagle Falcon City, but there are no other troops on the side except for the Guards. The little girl remembered the previous incident. After the death of General Paul, the commander of the Guards, the commander of the Guards Corps, was replaced by Byron's cronies, in other words, the control of the Legion had completely fallen into Byron's hands.

"Yes, the Guards. Ashrufat said. "There is one thing you don't know if you understand, this Guards Legion has a very great significance - in fact, before, whether it was Rafa or Byron, no matter how much the two of them quarreled, how they fought openly and secretly, they would not be as naked as last night...... In the final analysis, it is because of the existence of this Guards Legion. Its commander was General Paul, who was neither a supporter of Byron nor an ally of Rafah. ”

"Well," the little girl listened intently. "So in power...... constitutes a stable triangle. ”

"Yes, as the book says, if there are only two sides competing with each other, you will definitely have to fight to the death. But if there are three parties...... Then they will not be able to act because they are holding each other back. General Paul and his Guards Corps are the third corner in this balanced triangle. ”

"But......" the little girl asked suspiciously. "Now the commander-in-chief of the Guards Corps is already ......"

"Yes, but you may not know that General Paul, who died of illness, was a political ally with the Grand Governor of the Imperial Court, Skader...... They are one of the few who are truly loyal to the royal family. I have heard that they were all promoted by your grandfather and father during their lifetimes, and that they received their current status and wealth from the royal family, so they are grateful to you and want to help you and repay you. Ashrufat said. "There are really very few people like this, and the vast majority of people in the world are patted on their butts and left after getting benefits...... Or swallow the meat and immediately find the next master...... Thanksgiving or something, it's too extravagant. ”

"This ......" The little girl actually wanted to say that Paul was dead after all, but when the words came out, she found that she couldn't say it.

"You have to thank the dead General Paul...... It is he who leaves you with the most hopeful hope of a comeback in this situation. Ashrufat said. Under the light of the campfire, his face took on a dull red color, making him look very different from his usual appearance. "General Paul, for so many years of his control of the Guards, has done the same thing as Byron: purge dissidents and install cronies. Like Byron, his work was fruitful. ”

"What do you mean......"

Although Byron had succeeded in putting his cronies in the position of commander of the Guards...... However, the time is too short. He didn't have time to clean and change people. I believe that at this time, except for the Supreme Commander, the other senior and middle ranks of the Guards Corps were all carefully selected by General Paul. They remain loyal to your troops. ”

"But......" the little girl asked. "Why didn't they do anything last night? Last night's fire...... The Guards are stationed on the outskirts, and they will definitely see it. ”

"That's Byron's plan. Ashrufat said. "Actually, most of the people in this country, for example, most of the people in Eagle Falcon...... They all agree that you are a queen, and if the conditions are right, they will be happy to play for you. However, Byron encompassed a small group of people through his interests...... And put this small group of people in the position of 'controllers', directly cutting off your connection with these masses. The same is true of the Guards, although their officers and soldiers are willing to pledge their allegiance to you, but Byron has replaced him with a close friend of his own, and directly cut them off from you. This is similar to the principle of bribery by profiteers – the state needs to support a large number of officials, and profiteers only have to buy a few of them. So on the surface, it seems that the state spends more money than the businessmen, but when it comes to the actual operation, it is often the businessmen who win. ”

"I guess," Ashrufat said. "Last night, the Guards noticed the fire in Eagle Castle. But the commander could make the whole legion unable to do anything with a random excuse, such as 'it's just a massive fire' or 'the situation is unknown, we should be on standby'. So Byron could do whatever he wanted. ”

"Moreover, have you noticed that the soldiers who intercepted us at the gates today were not the soldiers of the Guards—those soldiers were nominally the garrison of Eagle Falcon, but in fact they did not know where Byron had transferred them...... If the Guards were already under Byron's absolute control, then he would have brought this force, or at least some of it, to assist in the defense or search of the city. ”

After saying this, Ashrufat threw a small piece of wood that he had been playing with into the campfire.

"Now you see, the only chance now is to go to the camp of the Guards and take command of the army from that Byron's sworn friend. ”

This sentence was like a lightning bolt, instantly illuminating the little girl's mind.

"As long as we can lead the Guards to counterattack......" she whispered.

"Byron simply couldn't resist. Ashrufat said. "The Guards were more than six times as strong as his garrison, and he was not prepared for battle...... Even if he did, it wouldn't work. Because as long as you are in the army, as long as the white eagle flag of the royal family is flying, Byron's subordinates, especially those low-level soldiers, will be difficult to resist and fight to the death with the white eagle banner. This is the power of the Queen. Of course, even if they persist in resisting, it doesn't make sense, the inhabitants of this city are your subjects, so sooner or later they will rise up to help you...... No army has ever been able to withstand an enemy attack in such a situation. If Byron had been a smart man, he would have fled as soon as he saw the Guards. He was convicted of treason, and his only option was to flee back to his own territory in the south. ”

"Then let's ......" The little girl wanted to stand up excitedly, but she immediately remembered that she was only wearing a cloak, so she had to stay still. But at least her eyes were filled with hope.

But don't think it's easy. Ashrufat's voice changed, and he poured cold water on her. "The Commander...... I remember his name was ...... Farusa ?...... He certainly didn't go to the post alone, he had a personal army that was loyal only to him...... And the officers...... They were also absolutely well aware of Byron's power. As I have already said, there are very few people like Paul, and the vast majority of them are on the side of the winners. ”

"You just said that...... Paul's subordinates are all ......"

"Don't take others for fools. Do you think that there really is something called 'king's spirit' in this world? Can you really make others willingly obey with your mouth? There is no love and allegiance in the world for no reason, and those eloquence that can really move people's hearts, which is not woven on the basis of interests? You should remember Essien and Pharysses. Are they also your bodyguards, and they will also sacrifice their lives to protect you in the past if you are in danger...... But that doesn't stop them from trying to arrest you last night...... There's no way Farusa (though I wish it could) be able to see you and bow down. He will do his best to stop you...... It was a fateful struggle. In fact, if Byron had guessed that you might go to the barracks, we would have been asking for our own death. If he hadn't prepared, we would have only half the chance of beating Farusha...... And if we fail......"

"If you fail......" Maybe she was moved by Ashrufat's tone, or maybe she really understood the meaning of his words, and the little girl couldn't help but shudder.

"The dagger...... Just use it to kill yourself. Ashrufat gestured to the dagger that he placed on the side, the one that the little girl had carried close to him and which he had taken from him. "At least it will allow you to die as a queen without any humiliation...... Are you willing to try even if you are faced with these threats?" asked Ashrufat, turning his gaze. "Maybe when you die, you'll think it's the biggest and worst mistake of your life. ”

"If there is only one choice, there is no right or wrong!" replied the little girl.