The imperial capital, Tai'an Royal City, was built by Chrison II with nearly a hundred thousand slaves, countless resources, and eight years. It was named Tai'an Royal City, which meant that the country was prosperous and the people were at peace. However, Tai'an was the word in the Ancient Elven language, so it was easy to mispronounce it in the common language. Therefore, the later Chrison emperors avoided this word and ignored its official name. In official documents and conversations, they used Imperial Capital instead. For two or three hundred years, most people knew which city it was when they asked about the Imperial Capital. However, many people didn't know what the name of the Imperial Capital was.
The Imperial Capital had three walls, and the royal court was in the center. The first Tai'an Royal City had three walls, and the central one was the residence of the Chrison royal family. Of course, it was now the residence of the Andinac royal family. Inside the second wall were the residences of the various departments and ministers of the empire. It was called the inner city. The third wall protected the residents of the Imperial Capital.
However, Chrison II, who built the Imperial Capital, didn't expect that the Imperial Capital he designed to accommodate a hundred thousand people would expand tenfold in the next hundred years. The Great Ontario Plain, which could accommodate a hundred thousand people, was gradually occupied by people who came to settle down. The fields became residential areas, bustling commercial areas, racetracks, arenas, academies, and workshops.
During the thirty years when the Chrison Empire was at its peak, the Imperial Capital used to be the largest city in Galinthea, with a population of nearly a million. However, after the establishment of the Ford Commercial Alliance, Moronte City caught up and won the reputation of being the largest city in Galinthea. The Imperial Capital had been on a decline, especially after the seven years of civil war, which made the Imperial Capital even more depressed.
The fatal blow to the Imperial Capital was at the end of the civil war. The First Prince divided his troops into two groups. He attracted the main forces of the Third Prince while the Second Prince led his troops to attack the Imperial Capital, burning, killing, and looting. The Second Prince led his troops to support them. The two sides fought in the large residential areas and commercial areas outside the city. The battle lasted for three months. By the time the second prince had annihilated the enemy, the area outside the three walls of the imperial capital had been turned into a piece of white land. More than two hundred thousand imperial capital residents had died a violent death, and the commercial area had been tossed into ruins.
Even though the civil war had stopped and the empire was divided into three kingdoms and seven duchies, the residents of the imperial capital were still destitute and homeless. Peace did not bring them the stable life they wanted. On the contrary, without the local tributes and material support such as food, the imperial capital began to fall into famine. On top of that, the third prince had offended the merchants from the Ford Commercial Union and was subjected to a material embargo, which added fuel to the fire. Not only the imperial capital, but the entire Andinac Kingdom was in a precarious situation.
Later, with the help of the Norton family's northbound convoy, the second prince stabilized the situation in the kingdom and took power. The population of the entire imperial capital was less than 70,000, less than one-tenth of the empire's heyday. The second prince reorganized the inner and outer city, abandoned the residential and commercial areas outside the triple city walls, reclaimed the fields, and streamlined the administrative departments of the kingdom. Five years passed, and the imperial capital once again shone with vitality.
On the 18th of September, Laurist led five hundred soldiers of the family's armed guards and a group of knights to the south gate of the imperial capital. Unfortunately, the second prince had gone to the frontlines to inspect the troops, and would only return at the end of September or the beginning of October. This meant that Laurist would have to wait for more than ten days.
The captain of the city guards politely refused Laurist's request to station five hundred of his family's armed guards in the city. He said that the second prince had ordered that the nobles' armed guards could only set up camp in the west of the city, and that the nobles could only bring a maximum of ten armed guards into the city. This was the new rule of the imperial capital.
So Laurist and his group turned to the west gate of the city, and after registering at the garrison area, they occupied a small camp and rearranged the guards and hidden sentries.
Laurist stayed in his room and was thinking about what to do for the next ten days. Dolus came in happily. "Sir, look who's here …"
A man wearing the standard armor of the Royal Guards appeared behind him. Laurist laughed and opened his arms for a hug. "Carritok, long time no see. How are you doing?"
Carritok was one of the thirty-six students of the Dawn Academy who had followed Fatty Shi and Terman to the north. He was also an elite member of the Swordsmanship Club and had the strength of a 3-Star Silver Warrior. However, when the northbound convoy was stopped at the gates of Nardegath, he and many of his companions were not optimistic about the convoy's future. In the end, he was poached by the second prince, and became one of the seven old students who sought refuge with the second prince.
Although many of the people in the convoy cursed at the people who chose to seek refuge with the second prince, they were even more worried when they found out that there were casualties among the second prince's men. He remembered that when the second prince led the army to besiege the Liedana Fortress, the defenders risked their lives to break through the siege. Although they managed to block the enemy's attack, two old students and a few Silver-tier Knights who sought refuge with the second prince died on the spot. Terman and the rest hugged the bodies of the two old students and cried. They were very sad.
Carritok was hugged tightly by Laurist, and tears rolled down his cheeks. "Sir Locke, I miss you so much. I miss the convoy …"
Out of the seven veteran trainees and nineteen Silver-tier knights who had joined the Second Prince, only fourteen remained. In the battle of Flowing Water Stream, three veteran trainees and four Silver-tier knights had sacrificed their lives. In addition to the two veteran trainees and three Silver-tier knights who had sacrificed their lives at the foot of the Fortress of Lejidana, almost half of them were gone.
"Send and I are the only two left of the seven old students. Although we have become royal knights, we are not happy at all. Now that the second prince is preparing for the war to unify the empire, I don't know if I can live to see the day of victory … "
Carritok was depressed, and briefly described the situation when they left the convoy to seek refuge with the second prince.
"What is your position now?" Dorles asked.
"I am the captain of the first brigade of the second heavy armor regiment of the Royal Guards. I am now stationed at the east gate of the imperial capital, in charge of cleaning up the ruins of the trade district. I was just wandering around the south gate, and I heard that Count Norton from the North is here, so I came to see you, "Carritok replied.
"Sigh, you were already a captain when you were with the convoy. Why are you still in this position after seeking refuge with the second prince?" Dorles said straightforwardly.
Carritok shook his head. "The second prince truly trusts the old subordinates who have been with him for a long time. Now that he has established six legions with three hundred thousand men, those who can fight on their own are either his old subordinates or nobles who have sought refuge with him. Commoner knights like us only listen to orders and fight on the frontlines. I really regret leaving the convoy now … "
"You could have come back …" Dorles said.
"I don't have the face to go back, and as a knight, I can't be half-hearted. Since I have chosen this path, I can only continue …" Carritok spoke from the bottom of his heart.
"By the way, Carritok, you said that you are in charge of cleaning up the ruins of the trade district. Isn't the Royal Guards the main force? Why are you still doing such chores? "Lolist asked curiously.
"Heh, you don't know!" Carritoc slapped his thigh. "His Second Highness has a trusted Marquis Reid by his side. He gave His Second Highness an idea. He said that although the commercial district was in ruins, many merchants were used to hiding their goods in the underground warehouses. The buildings above them collapsed, but these goods were preserved. Although it has been a long time, many of the goods can still be preserved. Obtaining these goods can greatly reduce the burden on the treasury. So, the second prince ordered the First Legion to guard the entire trade district, and also sent manpower to dig. Marquis Reid was right. We dug out a few underground warehouses, and the useful goods added up to a hundred thousand gold fords. And this is only a third of it. "
"Isn't this a little unfair? These goods should belong to the merchants. How can they privately dig them up and take them for themselves? "Dolus commented.
"Marquis Reid thought that since the end of the empire's civil war a long time ago, the merchants still haven't come to clean up the ruins. This means that they have given up on these goods. So the second prince can rightfully take all the goods to the treasury. In fact, when the excavation started, there were a few people who claimed to be descendants of the merchants who came to the door. However, Marquis Reid issued a series of fines, demanding them to pay for the cost of cleaning up the ruins, as well as the occupation fee for not cleaning up the ruins for such a long time. In the end, those people gave up on the goods and ran away. No one came to ask for the goods anymore, "Carritok said.
Dolus sighed. "That's too much of a rascal. It was the royal family's incompetence that allowed the enemy to break into the capital and caused so much damage to the merchants and the citizens. In the end, not only did they not compensate them, but they also took the merchants' private property. If this continues, they will lose the people's trust! "
"I thought so too, but after saying a few words in the legion, I was scolded by the legion commander. The second prince doesn't care about the people's lives at all. He only wants to unify the empire. Don't be fooled by the noble knights who talk about how they became lords during the unification war. In fact, I know the soldiers under me. They don't want to fight, so their morale is low.
Don't be fooled by the fact that the royal guards have swallowed Gale Legion and expanded into three legions. In fact, many people privately disagree with the second prince's actions. For example, the soldiers of Gale Legion think that the second prince didn't send troops to help them on purpose. He just watched Gale Legion's commander, Nederrum, and five thousand elites die in battle. That's how he swallowed Gale Legion, "Carritok complained.
Laurist handed him a cup of tea and advised gently, "Carritok, Dolus, you and I both studied in the Ford Merchant Union. So, the principles of freedom, equality, and the inviolability of private property have deeply influenced our views. But don't forget, we are now in the former Crisen Empire, and I am the lord. So, I still have the confidence to implement my ideas in my family's territory. As for you, you are just knights. It's normal for you to feel out of place when interacting with the nobles of the empire.
The nobles of the Crisen Empire have never cared about the commoners. They are high and mighty. Even if the empire falls apart, they still think of themselves as superior beings. Just like the second prince, he only cares about unifying the empire and dreaming of being the king of rejuvenation. He doesn't know that if he fails, he will never be able to rise again. No one likes a belligerent king. He now relies on the nobles, but the nobles are the most unreliable. Carritok, I only hope that you can be smart. If the situation turns bad, you should escape as soon as possible. Don't get yourself involved. It's not worth it … "
Carritok finally got drunk at Laurist's place. Dolus brought two guards with him and sent him back.
The next day, Laurist brought Shi Huade and the others around the imperial capital. He found out that the cheapest goods in the imperial capital were books, and most of them were books collected by the nobles. After asking around, he found out that these books, which were used during times of peace, were now useless. They couldn't be eaten or used. When the convoy went north, Fatty Shi brought his family's armed forces and swept through the three provinces of the Andinac Kingdom, hanging two-thirds of the kingdom's nobles. These nobles basically had their own residences in the imperial capital. Later, they were confiscated by the second prince and turned into the country.
Now, in order to raise his army, the second prince plundered everywhere and sold the nobles' collections. Weapons and armors were popular goods, and the prices were very high. These nobles' residences basically had a study, and there were at least a few hundred books. These books were all taken out to be sold, and the large number of books in the imperial capital's book market trampled the price from the sky to the ground. It took a long time to digest.
Thinking about how a book that cost one gold coin in Morant City could now be bought for two or three silver coins, Laurist had mixed feelings. Shi Huade was also a book lover, so the master and disciple spent their days in the book market looking for books and treasures.
When he returned to the camp, he saw Dolus and Carritok standing at the door, waiting for him.
Laurist asked them what they wanted. He was then pulled into the room and the door was closed.
"My lord, Carritok is here to borrow money," Dolus said.
"How much?" Laurist was a little confused. Why did they make it seem like they were working on the ground?
"A hundred gold coins," Dolus said.
Huh? Laurist was a little surprised. Carritok was a captain of the Royal Guards, and his monthly salary was very low. It was only ten silver coins, or six gold coins a year. What did he want to buy with a hundred gold coins?
Dolus quickly explained, "My lord, Carritok received an invitation. If he wants to go, he needs to dress up and buy some new clothes. He originally wanted to borrow ten gold coins, but considering that he would have to go in the future, I took the liberty of borrowing a hundred gold coins from you. "
"Alright, I'll borrow it." Laurist had brought ten thousand gold coins to the capital, and he had spent around two thousand on books over the past few days. He still had a lot of gold coins, so it didn't matter if he borrowed a hundred. However, he was curious, "Can you tell me what kind of appointment is so expensive?"
Dolus chuckled, "My lord, since you've borrowed the money, we'll take you to see it. An invitation card allows you to bring two people. Let Carritok take us there."
Carritok said, "It's like this, my lord. Do you know Princess Kerry?"
"Princess Kerry?" Laurist shook his head, "I don't know."
"Princess Kairi is the only daughter of the late First Prince …"
"What did you say? The First Prince has passed away? "Laurist was shocked.
"Yes. Two years ago, the First Prince, who was imprisoned, suddenly vomited blood in the middle of the night and stopped breathing in less than an hour. It was said to be a sudden illness, but many people suspect that it was the Second Prince's doing. However, we are only guessing, and no one knows the truth. "
Laurist pondered for a moment, "Continue. What happened to Princess Kerry?"
"Princess Kerry is twenty-five years old this year. She is very beautiful, and is known as the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. However, she is dissolute and has many followers. It is said that she believes in the Goddess of Lust and Joy, Micera. She even organized a paradise party with many children of the nobles who believe in Micera. She organizes a paradise party every month, and I heard from my colleagues that it is a paradise. You will be able to enjoy yourself there. Although it doesn't cost much, you can't give less than one gold coin each time. Most people can't afford this, so I came to ask for your help. "
Dolus said, "My lord, let's go tomorrow to broaden our horizons. I have never seen a gathering between the nobles of the empire. Let Carritok take us there."
Laurist rubbed his chin and thought for a moment, "Alright."
… …
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