After realizing that the defenders of Tacheng were racing against time to consolidate the city defense fortifications, the two legion commanders who had personally arrived close to the reconnaissance immediately returned to Chisulphur Port.

The two legion commanders rode back to Chisulphur Port and were already at night. Without even having to fight for command, Leidon, who returned to Chisulphur Port, immediately ordered the Saint Mark's Legion to hand over the city defense to friendly forces, and then led the headquarters to travel to Tacheng overnight.

The third "Great Vineta" legion will take a day off in Chisulphur Port and join the Saint Mark's legion with the baggage of two legions.

Braziers and torches lit up the central square of the Red Sulphur Harbor, Antonio and Leighton rode on horseback, watching the urgent gathering of the San Marco Legion distributing the hemp rope.

Many people in this era suffered from night blindness, even if the moonlight is bright, they are like blind people at night. Therefore, qualified officers will try to avoid night movements. However, the situation is urgent at this time, and the Venetta people can't take care of that much.

One end of the hemp rope is tied to the waist of the soldiers in front and the other end to the hands of the soldiers in back. Only in this way can one ensure that no one will fall behind, get lost or escape during the march. This is a clumsy method, but it is also an effective method.

After getting ready, the St. Mark's Legion formed four columns to set out from the Port of Chisulphur.

Antonio, with a solemn expression, raised his hand and saluted Leighton. Leiton, who also had a solemn expression, did not return the gift, but waved his hand, then left with him without saying a word to Antonio who came to see him off.

The civilians of Chiyi Port hid in the house and peeked at the action of the Venetta army through the cracks of the door and windows. A few days ago, they were still vivid in their minds of the vicious Venetta soldiers arresting people from house to house. After seeing that the Venetta army was just heading out of the city, the residents of Chiyi Port breathed a sigh of relief.

However, the city wall changed its flag and a Vineta army left, and a new Vineta army came. No one knew what would happen tomorrow, and the people of Chiyigang fell asleep in this anxiety.

Winters did not rest, but he was anxiously waiting in a room at the Third Legion's headquarters.

The door was pushed open and Antonio walked in. Winters stood up and saluted, but Antonio pressed his arm and patted his shoulder, saying nothing.

What happens when a man sees his son drowning? He will jump into the water to save people regardless of whether he can swim or not.

What happens when a commander is facing a "vibrator stings"? Even if he has a conscience, he must "cut off his arm."

But when these two identities overlap, things become very complicated.

On the day the Third Legion was ambushed, Antonio abandoned Winters and his Centenarians. Winters didn't know Antonio's inner activities at that time, and he knew that it would be a bad feeling.

This is impossible. War always kills people, and he does not resent his adoptive father. After being tempered as a real officer on Akihiro Island, even if he had any grudges in his heart, he had already let go.

But he didn't know what to say to Antonio, so he didn't say anything, and Antonio didn't say anything. Because it's difficult for men to communicate frankly, most of the time it's just not to communicate.

Besides, there are more important things at this moment.

"I have found the UN Secretary of State who asks you to look for." Winters gave a straightforward message that he thought Antonio must be informed as soon as possible.

"Hmm?" Obviously Antonio didn't react and was stunned.

"To be precise, it's the corpse." Winters bit his lower lip.

"Lionel..." Antonio tried hard to recall: "...Is it the person he asked me to find before leaving? It seemed like he was called..."

"Mara, the special envoy of the Secretary of State of the United Provinces, Mara." Winters reminded: "When Secretary of State Lionel, please send him the ashes of Mr. Mara."

"I'm old and my memory is really not good." Antonio smiled bitterly and asked in confusion: "Did you find that person on Akiyo Island? Did he die on Akiyo Island?"

Winters took a deep breath and whispered: "No, not on Chiyi Island... It's in the morgue of the Guard Command - the person who was assassinated at the dock was the envoy of the UNS Secretary."

Antonio was confused at first, then took a breath of air conditioning, and he asked Winters with a solemn look: "Are you sure?"

"Confirm, the assassin's accomplices admitted this to me in person."

"Who is it?"

Winters gritted his teeth and spit out a name: "...it's Lieutenant Colonel."

"Contel?" Antonio changed his color: "He is so brave! Where is the others?"

"Lying in a medical center, people lose consciousness and may not survive. On the day of attacking the port, Lieutenant Colonel was shot in the stomach and his intestines were penetrated. I found a doctor on the island to remove the lead bullet for him, sewed it into the intestines, and cleaned his abdomen. When he was awake, he admitted to me personally that I don't think he was lying, and there was no need to lie about this matter."

Hearing that Contel's life and death were uncertain, Antonio's mood calmed down a little, he breathed a sigh of relief and asked, "Why did Contel assassinate the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary of State?"

"It was not Lieutenant Colonel, but the other people in Lieutenant Colonel's gang." Winters organized the language and said, "According to their words - because Venetta needs the Tanilla Islands."

Then, Winters told Antonio everything he knew.

Mara, the special envoy of the United Provincial Secretary of State, did not arrive in the Marina City secretly for no reason. He brought an agreement, an agreement on the Tanilla Islands.

Venetta's desire for the Tanilla Islands is already well known.

Seven years ago, the Flemans began a cruel tug-of-war with their neighbors to the east. In order to raise more military expenses, the Fleman Sultan, who controlled half of the Eastern route, began to impose higher trade taxes.

Therefore, since the consul Debera took office, the tax revenue of Veneta has been declining, and the prosperity in front of him has declined. The merchants who have made their fortunes on the Eastern route have lost their fortunes one by one.

This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content behind! In the internal trade circle of the Senas Gulf, the status of Veneta's core transit station is also facing strong challenges - challenges from the Tanilla Islands.

The Tanilla Islands are no longer the wild island thirty years ago. The archipelago has flourished rapidly as a neutral port in the cracks between major forces and has accumulated a lot of wealth.

Because there are fewer taxes, the tax rate must be increased. After the tax rate is raised, merchants fled to the Tanilla Islands, where the tax rate is lower. With fewer merchants, the tax base will be reduced. In order to maintain the original tax rate, the tax rate must be increased.

In this way, a vicious cycle has entered.

"Veneta needs archipelago", this is Colonel Contel's original words. It's not because of some bullshit pirates. Pirates in the Sea of ​​Senas have been flooding for decades, but they have only been emphasized again and again in recent years. All of this is because Venetta needs archipelago.

Whether it is necessary to eliminate competitors, or for new raw materials and commodity dumping places, or more importantly, for new ports - Ocean Port.

The ports along the coast of the Senas Gulf are too small and too shallow. The Tanilla Islands are full of deep-water harbors, and the east of the archipelago is the Storm Ocean.

Getting Tanilla not only means getting new land, but also a new possibility, a new route, a new route that crosses the Storm Ocean and reaches the Spice Islands.

The Sultan of Fleman imposed heavy taxes on merchant ships, which damaged trade on the one hand, but also made the prices of goods from the East soaring, making goods from the East more profitable - the premise is to bypass the control of the Flemans.

The Tanilla Islands mean this possibility. After decades of surveying and mapping, Venetta's navigators have realized that if the earth is a sphere, then a straight line from the Tanilla Islands can be drawn directly to the Spice Islands.

To do all this, you need to pass through the storm ocean of surging waves, high and high waves, and through the storm ocean of storm that has devoured countless explorers' lives.

To pass through Storm Ocean, you need a sufficiently strong and highly seaworthy ship, a large enough dry dock, and an ocean port.

It is precisely because of thousands of reasons that more and more Venetians are aware of the great value and potential of the Tanirian Islands, especially within the Venetian military.

The young and strong Venetta soldiers reached a consensus in repeated debates about the future of the country: Venetta must seize the archipelago. To promote this, at least one secret association was established within the Venetta army.

The dying Conteel refused to reveal more secrets of the group to Winters, but just tried to make Winters accept his ideas and absorb Winters into a part of the secret group.

And Winters also got more information about this group in the process.

But it was not only the Venetians who saw the potential and strategic value of Taniria, and the Unionists also realized this. The United Republic took action earlier and made arrangements earlier. Before the Venetians began to emphasize that the archipelago was selling stolen goods for pirates, the Unionists had spared no effort to penetrate the Tanigal Islands, intending to turn the archipelago into the 18th province of the Union.

Even the political structure of the United Provinces allowed her to offer more favorable conditions than the Republic of Veneta. Becoming the eighteenth province of the United Provinces is better than becoming another county of Veneta.

It is precisely because of this that Venetta became more and more radical. Every time he gave a speech in parliament, he would mention the Tanirian Islands, and his words became more and more intense.

But UNSecretary of State Lionel raised a new possibility, one that does not have to cause conflict within the Senas Alliance.

His envoy secretly came to Veneta to reach an agreement, a long-discussed agreement between De Bela and Lionel: to turn Taniria into an overseas territory of the Senas League, maintain its semi-independent status, and to implement a common rule by Veneta, the United Provinces.

This is destined to be an agreement that will not be satisfactory by either party, and it is also the reason why the special envoy of the United Provincial State Secretary was assassinated.

To be honest, Winters did not object to Contel's argument that "everything is for the interests of Veneta". Winters also agreed with the fact that Taniria could bring great benefits to Veneta.

However, because the political reconciliation was contrary to their expectations, Conteer's accomplices openly assassinated the envoy of the UNSS Secretary, everything they said could no longer win the trust of Winters.

In Winters' view, these people said "everything is for the benefit of Veneta", but their actual actions are only for their own political ambitions.

The army is the country's weapon, and the military academy has been instilling this in the officers. However, when weapons have their own ideas and even try to influence the actions of those holding weapons, this is essentially a kind of rebellion.

The soldiers drowned in the sea, soldiers nailed to wooden stakes, and soldiers burned in cannons all died of the ambitions of Contairs.

"I know so much. Contel's secret society should be used by the Duel Club as the cover of the periphery. These people are already very dangerous. They have tasted the sweetness of violently manipulating politics. I can't imagine what I dare to do in the future." Winters concluded: "But according to Contel, they did not blow up the dock, and another group of people blew up the dock... I don't know whether it is true or not."

He had left all these in the letter, but since he survived, there was no need to believe it. He eagerly found Anio to explain all this, just to remind Antonio that there was a secret political group in the Venetta army.

No one knows which officer belongs to this secret group, and even within the Third Legion there are other officers like Contel. And the most dangerous thing is that this political group is becoming increasingly violent and radical, and is willing to use killing to eliminate those who are in their way.

Antonio pondered without saying anything.

This chapter is not over, please click on the next page to continue reading! He thought for a while before saying, "...I have heard of the secret association. There are many secret associations in the army, but this is the first one who dares to kill people..."

"If you want to investigate them, I can sneak in. Contel tries to recruit me. If he can survive, I will use him as a stepping stone. If he dies, it will be easier."

"No, you don't need to check it. It's too dangerous for you. You should use open and honest means to deal with such private matters, but the time is wrong. We have started a war with Taniria, and it's time to use people. If you reveal this matter now, the Military Commission will only deal with it without any pain. If you insist on ruling the crowd, it will damage the combat power of the army." Antonio frowned and said, "You don't have to worry about this matter. I will go to General Zio and deal with it from top to bottom."

Winters heard Antonio's subtext and said unwillingly: "You mean, Conteel and the others have tied themselves and Veneta together, can't handle it?"

"The arrow is not turned back, the battle has begun. The most important thing now is how to end the war. I will deal with them, but the time is wrong. I need to find a proper way and a way not to damage the combat power of the army." Antonio's brow frowned and said, "Leave this matter to me, don't get too deeply involved."

"You must also be careful of these people. They even dare to kill the envoy of the United Provincial State Secretary. The knife is covered with blood, which will only make it even more crazy. They may even... attack their own people." Although they are unwilling to give up, since Antonio said he would take over, this may be the best solution at present.

Suddenly, Winters remembered something and said hesitantly: "There is another thing, which may be more relevant than Conteel's matter..."

"Hmm? What's the matter?" Antonio asked tiredly, rubbing his temples.

"I...I seem to kill a palace mage."
Chapter completed!