Volume 2: Empire Chapter 104 Borrowing a Knife
Queen Christina looked at Luke and couldn't help but examine herself in her heart, wondering if she had gotten too proud of the huge power she had suddenly acquired. Thinking back to the biographies of emperors and famous ministers who had tragic endings, she wondered why those people abused their power and let it backfire. But when it came to her turn, she realized that power can easily make people arrogant, proud, and conceited, to the point of blinding their eyes and minds.
Without self-control in an authoritarian center, the only way is destruction.
"Thank you for your reminder that forbearance is a virtue."
"No, this is not forbearance." Luke put down the teacup and said to Queen Christina, "This is called perseverance! Forbearance is a sign of weakness, and perseverance is to remain patient after setting a goal and wait for the right time before taking decisive action.
Many things don’t have a second chance. If you are not sure of winning in a life-or-death decision, it is better to maintain the status quo and slowly accumulate your own strength.”
After listening to Luke's words, Queen Christina felt her mind suddenly become clear.
His expression also relaxed.
"I finally understand why you have done so many incredible things in Nutao City, the palace, and the Western Territory, and I also understand why His Majesty is reluctant to kill you.
Whoever can get your sincere assistance will surely become the most dazzling and wise ruler in this era.
The Cross Society is not something I can handle right now, but I can't just sit there and do nothing. I'll summon Gabriel to check the accounts, and then put pressure on him to give more war material orders to your Northern Special Material Dispatch Office. With the comparison of the purchase price of Fury City, I hope the Cross Society can be a little more restrained."
"That's no problem! Raging Waves City is expanding, and we urgently need large orders to expand the factory. As long as Your Highness gives me more orders, the price will definitely satisfy you."
While Luke and Queen Christina were privately discussing which war material orders should be allocated to Raging Waves City, Agatha was waiting at the place where she and Luke parted.
Outside the corridor is a garden.
More than a month ago, when the delegation left the imperial capital for the western border, there were still many flowers blooming in the garden. Now, not only are there no flowers, but even many leaves have fallen.
The cold wave in the north came a little early this year, which is very unfavorable for the empire's defense in the north.
A cold wind blew through the corridor. Agatha tightened her clothes and felt a sense of sadness in her heart. The palace looked magnificent, but she could only feel depressed and lonely.
"Sister Agatha!"
Princess Dale's voice awakened Agatha's somewhat scattered thoughts. She turned around and saw Dale running towards her, looking around as if she was looking for someone.
"Dai'er, are you here to see Father?"
Dale came to Agatha, bowed and answered, "Yes, but father still didn't see me. Uncle Milscombe said that father needs to rest now and doesn't want to see anyone.
I don’t know how many times I’ve been rejected. I used to be able to see my father every time I went. It seems that my father’s illness is really serious this time.”
When talking about Emperor Augustine, Dale's tone was full of sighs. Since she was "rescued" and returned to the palace, her relationship with her father has improved a lot. Basically, as long as she went to pay a visit, Emperor Augustine would take time to chat with her no matter how busy he was.
After being rejected repeatedly, Dai'er couldn't help but start to worry about her father's health.
Agatha comforted the depressed Dale, "I just saw the Queen, and Father is in much better health than we thought. There have been so many major events in recent times, and Father is overworked, which is why he has health problems.
Let him have more rest...I believe he will recover soon."
"May my father recover soon." Dai'er prayed silently, and then asked, "I heard that Governor Meteorite also attended this imperial cabinet meeting. Why didn't I see him?"
Agatha smiled and said, "He... got promoted again! He is now a special cabinet minister, specifically in charge of the newly established special dispatch office for northern supplies. When the meeting just ended, the queen summoned him again, probably to discuss the production and dispatch of supplies in the north.
Do you have anything to do with him?"
"Oh..." Dai'er said with a turn of his eyes, "It's nothing serious. I heard that the World Tree in the Western Prairie of the Ancients has revived, and Professor Qingkong has become the queen of the Moonlight Court. I just want to ask when Professor Qingkong, the Governor of Meteorite, will come back, and I also have some questions related to the World Tree.
I want to do a project related to the World Tree and learn more about this great and extraordinary creature."
When Agatha saw Dale's wandering eyes, she knew she had other ideas.
"Meteorite has been gone for a while, and he should be out soon. You wait for him here, I'm going back to Tulip Manor."
Dai'er asked, "Aren't you waiting for Governor Meteorite?"
"I wasn't waiting for him. I just suddenly thought of something and thought about it for a while. I just came back from the Western Territory. The Secret Service has a lot of things that need to be dealt with, but I don't have time to waste on him.
I'm going back, bye!"
"Good-bye, Sister Agatha."
Dale watched Agatha walk away and began to look towards the other end of the corridor.
As Agatha said, Luke came over not long after. Dale saw Luke walking with his head down thinking about something, so she quickly hid behind the archway, and then suddenly jumped out when Luke approached.
"Luke!"
Suddenly someone called out his name, which really scared Luke. He was relieved when he saw that it was Dale who jumped out: "Why are you here? And why don't you call me Meteorite?"
"Meteor is just your code name, not your name. You and Sister Agatha refuse to tell me your real name, so I have no choice but to call you Luke."
"Meteor is a code name, and 'Luke' is also the fake name I gave myself in the downtown area."
"A fake name is still a name. If you don't want me to call you by that name, tell me your real name.
Sister Agatha told me that you are now a cabinet minister, so it’s time to reveal your real name.”
Facing Dale 's expectant look, Luke looked around first, and after not finding Agatha, he said to Dale, "When the time comes, I will definitely make it public. Have you met the eldest princess?"
Dale pointed to where Agatha had just stood and answered, “Sister Agatha was just thinking about something here, and now she’s going back to Tulip Manor.
I saw that she was in a bad mood, but I didn't dare to ask her if something bad happened.
Luke didn't know why Agatha didn't wait for him to leave alone, so he said to Dale: "These are all troublesome things in the palace, and there may be a war in the North. These have nothing to do with you, just concentrate on your studies.
Come on, I'll take you back to Miss Qingkong's museum."
When Dale heard that Luke wanted to send her off, she immediately agreed happily: "Okay! I just happen to have a lot of questions about the World Tree that I want to ask you...
Have you seen the World Tree? How tall is it? Can it talk? "
"The time for this mission was too tight, so I didn't go to the Ancestral Grassland to see the world. But Miss Qingkong said that the World Tree is one thousand meters high..."
Luke and Dale left the palace together while chatting about the World Tree, and then they encountered a carriage waiting outside. Next to the carriage stood a servant with the Silver Manor logo on his clothes, who conveyed the invitation of the eldest prince to Luke.
Luke asked the servant to go back first, saying that he would send Princess Dale back to Qingkong's museum and then go to Silver Manor to meet the eldest prince.
Nothing special happened on the way to send Dai'er back. Dai'er just kept chattering all the way, asking about the Western Region and the World Tree, and talking about the interesting things that happened in the academy.
When we arrived at the museum, I watched Luke leave in the car with some reluctance.
Luke went to the Silver Manor without stopping, and upon arrival, he was immediately brought by servants to the presence of the eldest prince Fania.
The eldest prince, Fania, was still dressed for the cabinet meeting, and the grandson Sinclair was arguing with him.
"Father, the Augustine family is not without men. It is far from the point where the queen needs to go to the front line. I have been serving in the North since I joined the army. I am very familiar with the situation there and the North Army. No one in the royal family is more suitable than me to go to the North to defend against the enemy.
Please take me to the palace now and ask the queen to send me to the north."
Fania reprimanded Sinclair harshly: "What do you know? The North will suffer heavy losses in the initial attack against the Art County Alliance. A large amount of territory will be lost. The best case scenario is to hold on to a few strong fortresses.
Letting you go to the North at this time is tantamount to asking you to die.
You are my son, and you will become the emperor of the empire in the future. And if the queen... dies, there will be a new queen to replace her!
The Meteorite Governor is here, please leave! Don't disturb us from discussing business!"
Although Sinclair, who was trapped in the imperial capital, had many dissatisfactions in his heart, he knew that he could not go anywhere without his father's permission.
Sinclair turned and left angrily, and when he passed by Luke, he just sighed and walked away.
Fania invited Luke to sit down, and then said directly: "You have done a very good job in the West Territory, and I am very satisfied that Alec did not take too much credit. It's just... at the Royal Cabinet meeting, why did you propose that Sinclair go to the North Territory, and then suggested Agatha go to the North Territory.
Is your position shifting?"
"My position has never changed. Everything I do is based on the fundamental interests of the empire. I support you to become the crown prince because I think you are the only one who is suitable to be the monarch. And I suggested Sinclair to go to the North only because he is the most suitable candidate; Agatha is the second choice.
The Queen will be ranked behind you and Prince Alex. Her going to the North will only boost morale, but will not improve the command ability. If there is a situation of disorderly command, the Queen's going to the North will be a negative growth in the strength of the North Army."
Luke stated his position in all seriousness, and there was nothing in what he said that could be refuted.
Fania certainly knew that from the perspective of national interests, it was most appropriate for Sinclair to go to the North, but whether he could successfully ascend the throne was a higher national interest. Now that Alex and his Western Army were free, if there was a change in the court and the Western Army moved to the imperial capital, Sinclair would need to take over the Saint Lun City Garrison Army, the Palace Guards, and the Royal Knights to resist the rebels.
At that time, if the Moonlight Court could mobilize the Western Territory nobles to attack Alex from behind, then the throne would no longer be a foregone conclusion.
Therefore, even though Fania was somewhat dissatisfied with Meteorite's handling of the Western Territory nobles, Meteorite was now someone he had to do his best to win over.
When Fania heard that Meteorite still supported him, he felt relieved.
On second thought, although Meteorite pacified the Western Territory and freed Alex's hands and feet, it also made Alex have no achievements. Moreover, in the just-concluded Imperial Cabinet meeting, the Queen wanted to mobilize the Western Territory Army, but Meteorite vetoed it in various ways and finally kept it in Crescent Oasis, unable to move.
This gives me more room to maneuver.
The eldest prince Fania was in an even better mood.
Regarding Luke's concerns about the situation in the North, Fania said: "The most important thing for the Empire at this stage is to defend the North. At worst, we cannot let the army of the Art County Alliance threaten the Imperial Capital.
I have asked General Joe Shul to draw up a list of members of the Northern Frontier Operations Staff and to transfer a group of corps from the southern front to the northern frontier. General Anthony Lushen serves as the chief of staff of the Northern Frontier Operations Staff and is responsible for the final decision on the combat plan.
As long as the Queen does not interfere with the command after arriving in the North, the Northern Army will still be able to withstand the attack of the Art County Alliance.
After the North withstands the initial fierce attack from the Art County Alliance, the key to victory will depend on who can deliver more supplies to the front line faster. "
The North was Fania's long-established family property, so he would not sit idly by and watch the North's army being devoured by the Art County Alliance. Although he did not allow Sinclair to go to the North, he spared no effort in sending support and reinforcements to the North.
This time, Fania called Luke over not only to confirm his position, but also to value the production capacity of Raging Waves City.
"After the cabinet meeting today, the Queen summoned me and talked to me about the transportation of supplies to the North." Luke told Fania what he had talked about with the Queen, and mentioned the sky-high purchase order of the Cross Society, and then said: "The Cross Society dared to suck blood from the national treasury at this time, which is too much.
Is your Highness aware of the existence of such a purchase order?"
"Of course I don't know!" Fania denied it flatly, but his expression revealed that he knew about the existence of the list.
Managing the northern border and winning over court officials requires a lot of money, and this money cannot be obtained through normal channels.
The Cross Society was an important financial backer behind the two princes. In the past, Raging Waves City had to pay a large sum of money every year as a political donation to the Cross Society. Just from the nine tons of gold that Luke had robbed, it was clear how much money the eldest prince could get from the Cross Society.
This money was not given for free. The prince had to use his power and influence to seek benefits for the Cross.
In the past, the Cross Society would pay attention to the accounts and make them look good so that it would not be easy to find clues. However, in recent years, Augustine the Great's energy has declined, and the Cross Society is too lazy to even do the accounts, and just puts them in other documents and reports them.
Fania didn't expect that Queen Christina would discover the existence of the sky-high purchase order.
If Emperor Augustine knew about this, it would definitely be a huge crime that would break the world!
After stating that she had no knowledge of the matter, Fania asked, "Did the Queen tell your Majesty what he thought of the list?"
Luke pretended to trust Fania and said, "The Queen was worried that His Majesty's condition would worsen after knowing this, so she didn't show the list to His Majesty. I also advised the Queen not to investigate this case when war is about to break out in the North.
Since the eldest prince has nothing to do with this matter, I am relieved. When your majesty gets better, you will definitely investigate this case of making money from the national crisis. No matter if it is a cabinet minister or a member of the royal family, as long as they are involved in this case, they will not have a good ending. "
While Fania was glad that Emperor Augustine didn't know about the sky-high price list, he also cursed the people of the Cross in his heart as fools. They made so much money, but they were reluctant to spend the money for false accounting.
You are looking for death, and you still want to drag me down!
"Father really shouldn't know about this now..." Fania asked again, "Does Agatha know about this list?"
Luke replied, "When the Queen summoned me, Her Royal Highness the Princess returned to Tulip Manor. I plan to go to see Her Royal Highness the Princess after I leave you. The naval battle against Leo is imminent, and we need the Secret Service to give us more intelligence support."
Fania knew Luke wasn't lying.
News came from the palace that Agatha left the palace when Meteorite was summoned by the Queen.
Meteorite came to Silver Manor immediately after sending Princess Dai'er back to the museum, and did not see anyone during the period.
"Don't let Agatha know about this for now."
Luke asked, "Why?"
Fania replied: "Agatha will definitely investigate this matter if she knows about it, which will cause unrest in the court and be detrimental to the war situation in the north and the south. It is better to wait for the emperor to recover and let him order an investigation to minimize the harm."
Luke nodded: "Your Highness is right, let's wait until His Majesty recovers. Some people, even the eldest princess, cannot be investigated casually."
Fania was afraid of saying too much, so he changed the topic to the supply of materials to the North.
Fania knew what the North lacked the most, so she talked to Luke in great detail. It was not until the evening that Luke left the Silver Manor after having dinner with Fania.
After sending Luke away, Fania immediately called the butler.
"Can your Majesty's health be ascertained?"
The butler replied in great embarrassment: "I'm sorry, Master... Our insiders cannot enter His Majesty's bedroom at all. His Majesty's daily life is all taken care of by the Alchemy Golem. The only people who can see him are the Queen and Knight Milscom."
Not knowing what the current situation of Emperor Augustine was, Fania felt that she was in a situation where she couldn't move forward or backward. And the list in the queen's hand became a noose that could take her life at any time.
The cross will harm people!
“Damn it!”
Fania cursed, and the butler knelt on the ground in fear: "Please forgive me, master!"
"I didn't say you." Fania walked back and forth in the room, as if weighing an extremely important matter. When the butler's knees were numb from kneeling, Fania suddenly stopped and said, "Increase surveillance of the palace and do everything possible to determine the condition of His Majesty.
As long as we have the chance, we will do it!"
Hearing Fania's last words, the butler's eyes lit up with excitement: "Yes, my master!"
