Croce Bartra, Grand Duke Abaron, was a very ambitious man. Under his rule, Abaron had a strong army and a fierce fighting force.
He had always yearned for more territory, more power, and more authority.
The reason why the Ronitte Kingdom in the south was so weak was because Grand Duke Abaron would occasionally lead his troops out for a stroll or two.
In the eyes of the Ronitte Kingdom's citizens, Grand Duke Abaron was almost equivalent to the devil of the abyss. His name had the great effect of stopping children from crying at night.
Hodin Gross, Grand Duke Martani, Lord of Martani. His territory was southeast of Alinx and east of Abaron. His territory covered most of the coastal plains and two-thirds of the Irus coastline.
Located on the Shining Coast, the huge port city of Fehra was the most prosperous city of all the Irus Empire's cities.
It had trade routes with the Solant Kingdom, the Ryan Empire, the Ronitte Kingdom, and other countries. It also had frequent ocean trade with the islands in the east. Huge multi-masted ships brought all kinds of trade goods to the city day and night, and then transported the specialties of the Irus Empire away.
Although Martani's military strength was weaker than Abaron's, its economic strength was more prosperous than the northern territory, Taris.
However, compared to the powerful Abaron and Martani, the most important territory to the Irus Empire was Taris, which had a balanced military and economy.
The first reason was that Taris had the largest group of magic metal mines in the empire. The Spade family occupied most of the magic metal mines here, but apart from that, the royal family also secretly opened up a small portion of magic metal mines here. Of course, most of them were magic iron and adamantium. Even mithril was very little, and the production was very low. However, it was very important for the empire's army to upgrade their equipment.
The second reason was that perhaps to check the expansion of the power of the great nobles, the founding emperor of the Irus Empire, Girard Irus, set a rule that the lord of Taris had to be a member of the royal family. At the same time, to make up for the loss of the royal family's inheritance rights, Taris' taxes were also the lowest of all the territories.
Now, the lord of Taris, Nitro Irus, was Victor's uncle. He was already 68 years old this year. Back then, he had voluntarily given up his inheritance rights and inherited the position of lord of Taris.
The Irus Empire had only given out three dukedoms. Now, only the Taris Dukedom could be trusted by Victor. This was really ironic.
Previously, when the conflict between the royal family and the aristocratic party was getting deeper and deeper, except for Grand Duke Taris who clearly expressed his support for Victor, Grand Duke Yabaron and Grand Duke Martani's attitudes were very ambiguous. As the royal family and the aristocratic party fell into a confrontation, their attitudes became even more subtle.
Now, Grand Duke Yabaron and Grand Duke Martani were even more outrageous. They didn't even come to see Victor on time, which made the situation even more complicated.
Frowning, Tang En tapped the armrest subconsciously. "Grand Duke Abaron and Grand Duke Martani are also members of the aristocratic party?"
"If that's the case, it's easier to say."
Victor shook his head and said with a gloomy face, "The conflict between the royal family and the aristocratic party can be said to be internal strife. No matter what the outcome is, the meat will eventually rot in the pot. I'm just afraid that they'll betray us and want to rebel …"
Tang En immediately understood what Victor meant. "You're worried that they'll secretly join forces with a country?"
Victor nodded. This was the situation he was most worried about.
"Grand Duke Yabaron and Grand Duke Martani might also be delayed by something. Even if they want to rebel, it won't happen in a short period of time. There will definitely be signs."
Tang En reminded Victor. "Instead of thinking about this now, it's better to think about how to contain the power of the aristocratic party. This is the most important thing now. If you contain the aristocratic party, you'll have other energy to deal with Yabaron and Martani."
"That's true … At least everything is normal now."
Victor could only comfort himself like this.
"Bang, bang."
Victor immediately asked warily, "Who is it?"
"Father, Mother has been waiting for you in the dining room for a long time."
"Phew … It's Ollie."
Victor breathed a sigh of relief. "Come in."
Seeing Victor's expression, Tang En shook his head. He was afraid that the aristocratic party had already infiltrated the castle. It was really sad to be a king like this.
Aurelia pushed the door open and walked into the study. Then, she saw Tang En. The smile on her face froze for a moment. Then, she nodded very naturally. "Count Tang En, I didn't expect you to be here too. Do you want to stay for dinner? Tonight, Imperial Mother personally cooked the special Ryan's Wild Bacon. "
"No …"
Tang En got up and smiled. "I'd better not disturb your family reunion."
Ever since he knew that Aurelia was Night Song, Tang En felt strange when he saw her again.
After all, he had tormented a noble princess so viciously that he had almost completely shattered her dignity ….
If it was Tang En, he didn't think that he would be able to endure it. However, Princess Aurelia did. This made Tang En admire her from the bottom of his heart. It also made him more … excited.
Oh no … I can't be too excited …
Tang En took a deep breath. Previously, he could still say that he didn't know. Now that he knew her identity and still did that, the meaning was completely different.
After watching Tang En leave, Aurelia's smiling face immediately collapsed. "Father, why are you so good to him? You know how he treats me! "
"Believe me, Ollie. Tang En will be our hope to save this country."
The expression on Victor's face was very complicated. This kind of thing that he had to hide even from his family was a very heavy burden.
He patted Aurelia's head and said, "I know that you are very angry and hate him. However, I hope that when you see him in this identity, don't show it. You must endure it … After all, he doesn't know that Night Song is you."
Aurelia said with a straight face, "I know. Otherwise, I wouldn't have been smiling just now."
Victor's face was full of complicated emotions. His eyes were full of haze. "Ollie … Even I, your father, may not be able to protect you. If something really happens in the future, remember my words. Go find Tang En. Only he can protect you."
Aurelia puffed up her cheeks and said angrily, "I'm not going to find him! Brother can also protect me! Besides, father, you are so strong. How can anything happen to you? Don't talk nonsense. "
"Your brother doesn't have the energy to protect you now …"
Victor shook his head. Girard had been sent to the Empire's Third Army by him and had not returned to Alinx for several years. The father and son had been communicating with each other through secret letters. Nominally, it was to train the successor of the Empire, but in fact, it was to protect him. At the same time, it was also to let Girard take control of the Empire's Third Army as soon as possible.
The next day, Alinx, which had just finished the Glory Ceremony Carnival, was suddenly hit by a wave of "crackdown". People found that the tax officials, who always liked to beat around the bush, were active for the first time. Almost at the same time, they swarmed into the carriage shops of the Prani Chamber of Commerce in Alinx, forcing them to check the accounts and check the taxes.
It was not only the Prani Chamber of Commerce that was investigated. After getting the support of Tang En, Victor simply went all out and included the entire Trade Union in the scope of investigation. He just happened to have a business deal with Tang En, and there was going to be a large sum of money. If he did well this time, he would have money for the hot pot chain …
In addition to the Trade Union, the Cadier family also suffered. The shops and entertainment venues they operated were all closed down. It was announced to the public that the Cadier family was suspected of tax evasion and therefore needed to check the accounts, but Frank knew the real reason very well.
This was Tang En's counterattack.
"Finally taking a side publicly … Cough cough!"
Frank, who was shrouded in the thick incense, suddenly coughed violently. A moment later, he removed the handkerchief, which was covered in dark blood.
Charles and Morton were shocked. "Father!"
"What are you panicking for!"
Frank, who was squinting, scolded. "Do you think that power comes without a price? This is a normal reaction. "
Charles was still a little worried. "But you …"
"As I said, this is a normal reaction!"
Frank opened his eyes and stared at Charles with his dark eyes. As his son, Charles actually broke out in a cold sweat under his father's stare. He lowered his head subconsciously and did not dare to look at Frank at all. He could only say submissively, "You're right …"
Frank was very satisfied with his majesty. He glanced at Morton beside him and shook his head helplessly.
He had already fainted from the shock.
Frank stood up and said faintly, "Charles, I'll leave the family matters to you from now on."
Charles was stunned. "Father, don't tell me you …"
"Next, I'll have full control of this power … When I come out, it'll be time for us to settle the score with Victor."
Frank squinted like a Maitreya Buddha. His face was full of a gentle smile, but it sent chills down Charles' spine.
Father was becoming less and less like that father.
"When that time comes, I'll be able to obtain the real reward, eternal life, and great power!"
Frank said gently, "And you, my son, you'll also be crowned king and bring the bloodline of the Cadier family to glory."
Charles, who was originally a little scared, was immediately moved by Frank's words. He said with a fervent expression, "I understand, Father. I'll work hard!"
"Very good, then I'll take my leave … Clean up this place while I'm at it."
When the voice came, Frank's figure had already disappeared. Charles glanced at the pile of ghastly white bones beside the table and felt an inexplicable chill in his heart. However, it was quickly suppressed by his fervent desire …
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
