Chapter five hundred and seventy-six [this day can't be over]
Chapter 576 [I can’t survive this day]
Snowflakes all over the sky dyed the outline of the imperial capital city with a layer of solemn white.
This is the first snow of the year. The guards of the Wangcheng Guards of the city have put on thick leather jackets under their armors. The spears in the hands of the guards guarding the city are also covered with snow under the weather.
There was a touch of frost. The officer patrolled back and forth on the city gate, rubbing his hands to breathe from time to time, and then cursed in a low voice the damn cold weather.
This year's snow seems to have arrived much earlier than in previous years. What's even more strange is that the imperial capital in the middle of the continent has received heavy snowfall, but in the north of the continent, at the Kaspersky Defense Line, it has not yet.
The gusts of northwest wind made the soldiers shrink their heads and look impatiently at the hourglass on the city gate, calculating the time for their shift change.
There are not many people on the road. In this weather, it is said that some sections of the official road outside the city have been blocked by heavy snow. Last night, a group of unlucky guards were sent out to shovel the snow. I heard that many caravans were blocked.
They arrived at the Acropolis, which was more than ten miles away. It seemed that they would not be able to enter the city until the snow on the roads was cleared.
At this time, a group of cavalry came from far away on the road. The leading knight was wearing leather armor. In such a cold weather, he did not wear a leather jacket. He just put on a bright red cloak and rode on horseback. He was full of power.
.
There were nearly a hundred horsemen following behind. The knights on the horses all straightened their spines and carried longbows behind their backs. The cavalrymen had reserved and proud faces. After the horses, they were followed by hounds running in the snow.
.
These cavalrymen were riding horses, but they secretly surrounded a person in the middle. In the middle was a group of tall horses with pure white fur. At first glance, they looked like good horses from the northwest of the mainland, and a small figure on the horse,
Wearing a golden leather jacket, a leather muff on his head, and a delicate short bow hanging behind him, surrounded by people, this man looked noble, and there was a hint of chill in the corner of his mouth that was a bit colder than the weather.
This group of cavalry had not even approached the city gate. When the defenders at the city gate saw the flag, they immediately bent down and knelt down.
As the defenders shouted "Long live your Majesty", the knights on horseback rushed in like a whirlwind without hesitation. The horses' hooves trampled the wet mud and ice and snow on the ground, splashing on the faces and necks of the kneeling defenders.
But no one dared to say a word.
After this group of cavalry entered the city, the defenders under the city gate stood up one after another. Some officers looked back at the city and sighed in a low voice: "I'm afraid our little Majesty is not in a good mood today.
"
"In such a snowy weather, I'm afraid I won't gain much if I go out to the city to hunt." Another officer guessed and frowned: "Your Majesty goes out to the city to hunt every day these days, but this time it seems that there are more..."
"Shut up!" The higher-ranking officer immediately changed his color and said coldly: "Is this royal matter something you and I can discuss casually?"
Prince Charlie...oh, no, it should be His Majesty Emperor Charles. Surrounded by many knights, he was galloping and rampaging along the long streets of the imperial capital. Pedestrians on the road heard the sound of galloping horse hooves in the distance and quickly dispersed.
open.
After it snowed, the road became more and more muddy. At a street intersection, I suddenly heard a long neigh from a war horse, but it seemed that it had trampled on the thick ice and snow, and my feet suddenly slipped...
With a plop, Charlie on the horse tilted his body and fell off. Fortunately, he held on to the reins very firmly and hung on the horse. However, he did not fall to the ground.
There was already a skilled guard standing next to him, and he jumped up. He grabbed the reins, calmed the frightened horse, and quickly helped the noble little emperor down.
After the young Emperor Charles landed, his immature face was filled with anger. He suddenly pushed away the knight beside him, grabbed the riding crop and whipped it hard towards his mount!
"Beast!! Beast!! How dare you bully me!! You bullied me too!"
He was still young and lacked strength, but this vicious lashing still made the horse neigh in pain. The knights next to him saw His Majesty lashing the horse, but they didn't dare to stop him. They just dismounted and stood beside him.
After Charlie was whipped, he gasped heavily. He looked at the faces of his subordinates around him. There was a hint of gloom on his young face, but he took a deep breath, tried his best to squeeze out a smile, and smiled slowly. He said slowly: "This horse scared me, you don't need to be so afraid. Okay, it's such a cold weather, don't stand here drinking the wind, go back to the palace early, everyone who goes hunting with me today will be rewarded .”
As he said that, he glanced at his horse bitterly. The horse's white fur had a lot of blood marks from the whip, but it could no longer be ridden. The knight leader next to him quickly gave his horse to the little emperor.
"Go back and kill this horse. There is no prey today. Let everyone divide the horse meat." Little Charlie said calmly.
But there was a reckless knight in the side film, who reminded him in a low voice because of his cleverness: "Your Majesty, this horse is your favorite... It is a gift from Lord Tulip Duke..."
Charlie, who had already turned on his horse, his face suddenly froze after hearing this. He glanced at this talkative man with suppressed anger, but a smile immediately appeared on his face: "Oh, yes, it is a gift from the teacher. But the horse training If the horse master neglects his duty, he will be punished even after he returns."
He shook the reins and suddenly asked: "It's almost the New Year. I heard that the teacher has brought his wife to the imperial capital. The day should be coming soon. The teacher has been sick for many days, but I haven't visited him. I'm fine today. So, Let’s go to the Tulip Duke’s Palace.”
He was the emperor, and although he had not yet taken charge of the country's affairs, the knights of the Imperial Guard around him did not dare to go against his will. They hurriedly opened the way, turned around, and headed towards the Tulip Duke's Palace.
There was not a single attendant in the huge courtyard. Du Wei was sitting in a wheelchair under the eaves, looking at the snowflakes in the sky, as if thinking about something.
The heavy snow that started the day before yesterday lasted for two days. At this moment, the eaves were covered with crystal clear ice edges, and Du Wei seemed to be in a daze looking at the ice edges.
A few days ago, envoys came from Nanyang and were welcomed into the palace by the regent. This ceremony was almost equivalent to acknowledging the status of Nanyang's "United Kingdom" and the Roland Empire's recognition of this country in Nanyang. is a country.
Although this matter has attracted a lot of criticism, after all, hawks have been rampant in the empire for decades. This approach, which is considered to be "losing face", has made many people dissatisfied, but the finance minister still smiles every day. After all, Luo The money in your pocket is real!
As the chief financial steward of the empire, only this old man understands the extent to which the war is going on in the north of the empire and the financial pressure has reached.
"This snow is very good. The auspicious snow heralds a good harvest. I hope the next year will be a good one." Du Wei sighed.
Chris was still in the Tulip Villa in Brokeback Mountain. With the Tears Crystal Pendant and the spring of life, the first batch of hatched gryphon cubs had grown to about two years old in just a few days.
, the first batch of gryphon knights have already begun flight and combat training.
And Bai Hechou... this guy, after coming to the imperial capital, only stayed here for a few days. After running to see Lan Haiyue, he left without saying goodbye one night. This time, he didn't even leave a word.
Down.
This Witch King just dodged away.
There was a lot of noise in the palace a few days ago about the issue of the Nanyang envoys. Although the old Prime Minister Robschel came forward to support the Minister of Finance at the critical moment, in front of the senator, everyone had to give him some face. But.
Behind the scenes, there were still many people who opposed the regent's proposals.
And that time, the most subtle thing was that the old prime minister supported the minister of finance. But his grandniece and grandson-in-law, the current imperial minister of military affairs, Camisillo, unexpectedly remained silent.
The military is a hawk, and the old prime minister is a dove. Camisillo was caught in the middle, but he could only quietly make a fortune. After all, he had just taken charge of the headquarters and was not qualified enough to suppress the old people.
Qualified general. At this time, his silence was obviously a good way to protect himself. Presumably, the old prime minister acquiesced.
The old man can just do things that offend others by himself. Camisillo is the hope of their family's future, so it's better not to get into this dirty water.
Then something happened. After the Nanyang envoy met with the Regent and His Majesty the Emperor at the palace, he stayed in the imperial capital for three days. On the last night, he quietly sent someone to the Tulip Duke's Mansion and delivered a letter.
This letter was personally written by the current King of the United Kingdom of Nanyang, Lufik. This little slave and groom of Du Wei, after returning to China, gradually established his position in the past three years. Come to think of it,
The intrigues in Nanyang are probably not as severe as those in the empire. Lufik, who has been around Du Wei for a long time, once he grows up, once he understands it, he will no longer be able to deal with those ignorant tribal chiefs.
In this letter, Lufik's tone was very humble. Although he was already a king, he still respectfully called Du Wei "master" in the letter.
But Du Wei burned the letter immediately after reading it, and after asking the messenger a few questions, he confirmed that no one had read the letter, and that the messenger knew nothing about the relationship between Du Wei and Lufik.
He was just ordered to bring such a letter, but he turned against him on the spot and had the messenger beaten out of the Duke's Palace with sticks.
Afterwards, little Zach was a little confused, but Du Wei sneered and said: "As for Nanyang, doesn't the palace know that we are inextricably linked to Nanyang? At this time, I can't hide back in time, how can I go up?
Collided? When this envoy came to my place tonight, I'm afraid there were countless eyes on the street outside! If nothing else, if someone attacks me and accuses me of colluding with the envoy, although they can't do anything to me, they can still do it.
It's just a matter of words. From now on, we just need to stay away from Nanyang affairs."
"But...the annual income...what a pity! We negotiated with Nanyang privately at that time, asking them to submit a letter and make offerings every year. Originally, this money could fall into our pockets. Why let them send people in a big way?
Come to the Imperial Capital? As long as you are in the Imperial Capital, I will not go on an expedition to the South Seas. Your Highness will not listen to you?"
"Stupid." Du Wei immediately scolded him unceremoniously: "Are we short of money now? Nanyang is a place that we can hold in our hands for a while to earn some extra money. Do you expect to hold it in your hands for the rest of your life? I agree, Prince Regent.
Are you willing?"
After a pause, he continued: "Lufik left my house. Only a limited number of three or four people know this secret, but the regent must not be allowed to know it. This is a big taboo. If you don't even know this truth,
If you don’t understand, you don’t have to work with me.”
Little Zach smiled: "I understand."
Then Du Wei issued another order: This winter, all religious dedication taxes in the northwest will be withheld and not paid! And this is an explicit refusal! The so-called explicit refusal means a public petition not to pay the tax!
Little Zach was a little worried: "I'm just afraid of the temple..."
"Hmph, I am the Archbishop of the Northwest Diocese. If there is a problem, the church cannot go to the palace to sue me. It can only use the internal system of the temple to question me. I want to see if the Pope dares to ask me.
.If he dares to come, next spring’s taxes will also be deducted!”
Du Wei always wanted to give the church some color when it came to the fact that the church dared to stare at him and spy on his Brokeback Mountain Villa.
Sure enough, many days passed after the incident, but the church tolerated the incident without even saying a word.
Everyone knows that the church does not lack the money, but it is obvious to everyone that Du Wei has openly let the church down.
Looking at the icy edges of the roof, Du Wei suddenly sighed softly.
He moved his fingers on the armrest of the wheelchair. Over the past few days, his body has finally improved a little. With the degree of physical recovery, he can barely control his upper body to do some simple daily activities, such as holding a knife.
Eating with chopsticks, holding a wine glass, holding a book, etc. It’s just that I’m still not up to the task of gravity.
But below the waist, there was still no movement.
Damn... Isn't this a eunuch? Du Wei thought depressedly.
His wife is coming from the northwest soon. They have been separated for almost a year. It is said that a break is better than a new marriage, but how can I live like this now?