Sword of Dawn

Page 286

"Because we may need to clear up a terrible misunderstanding," Wales said, meeting Gawain's gaze, before the other noble could speak, "We need to talk, Duke Cecil."

Gawain stared at Wales for a moment, then nodded: "Of course."

The town has been destroyed, but it is not difficult to find a room where the king and the duke can consult their affairs. A strong chapel is the only building here that has not collapsed. After a simple cleaning, the chapel became A place where the two talk.

Except for Gawain and Welsh, everyone was blocked outside the church, including the nobles and guards who came with the king, the commander of Cecil's army, and Victoria who came with Gawain.

The scarred wooden door of the church creaked shut, and a ray of sunlight shone into the church through the cracked colored crystal window. In front of the collapsed statue of God and the pulpit, Gawain and Wales stood opposite each other.

Gao Wen looked at the surrounding environment: "I never thought that our first serious conversation would be in this kind of place."

"It's cleaner here than Silver Castle," Wales said with a smile, "at least there aren't so many pairs of eyes watching here."

"But there are a lot of eyes outside," Gao Wen said, "I'm curious, what are you going to do next."

"What about you? Have you considered if this is a trap, if I just want to put you in an unrighteous situation and confuse you to bombard the Crow Mesa, if I just want to eliminate dissidents and keep the throne, have you considered being here? What to do in such a situation?"

"There's nothing to consider," Gawain looked at Wales, "because political power comes from swords and guns."

Wales looked at Gawain in astonishment for a while, he was stunned for two seconds, and then suddenly burst into laughter.

The new king laughed loudly in the abandoned chapel, laughing without aristocratic demeanor, without concealment, and even out of breath, as if he had never laughed heartily once in the first half of his life. It was as if they were laughing together today, until a few minutes later, the laughter gradually subsided, he slowly straightened up, took a deep breath, the smile still remained on his face: "Yes, yes... ...You really are such a person..."

"Our generation is all like this," Gawain unconsciously brought into the memory of Gawain Cecil, and sighed, "Then what about you, what decision do you have?"

"Do you know that in the past year or so, various reforms have been implemented in the Holy Spirit Plains and the northern and western regions, and we have tried various things," Wales said slowly after calming down , "New-style factories, town management, new military drills, even new-style schools, and a new freeman system...all these are challenging the old order, but the two Dukes of Victoria and Baldwin have tried their best to implement them, because we all believe that these things can make Anzu strong again..."

A faint noise came from outside the church. It sounded far away, but it seemed to be getting closer.

Wales turned his head and glanced at the closed door of the church, then turned back and continued: "But in the end, almost all reforms failed...factories have become a new means of amassing land, military drills are almost ineffective, and the new system has to be When it comes to promotion, the school...the school was not built at all. The only change is that the aristocrats in the royal capital are divided into reformers and conservatives who are fighting against each other. There are constant quarrels and internal friction...

"But you know what, this isn't the only time Ansu has worked for change.

"Before your resurrection, as early as ten years or even decades, we worked hard many times-of course, I was far away from Silver Castle at that time. Strictly speaking, it was my father and the Dukes who protected the country who worked hard. many times.

"Duke Silas Loren brought a reform plan based on Typhon.

"My father the king considered creating a parliament.

"The former Duke of the North introduced the Constitution of the Kingdom.

"The Grand Duke Baldwin introduced a new commercial policy.

"All failed."

The noise outside the church became more and more obvious, but it did not affect the conversation between Gawain and Welsh. Gawain nodded slightly: "I know part of it."

"I left Silver Castle, but I paid attention to all this," Wales continued, "I have been thinking about it for a long time, thinking about what is preventing the kingdom from changing for the better-we don't have enough Are they wise people? But before Typhon implemented the New Deal, their scholars and advisors were no more than Ansu; is it because we lack enlightened nobles? But the king and every duke protecting the country are reformers, people who support reform in the aristocratic system It's always been there; we're short of money? Lack of food? Lack of time? But in fact, Anzu's start is not that different from Typhon's reformation.

"Then what are we missing?

"In the process of comparing with Typhon, I vaguely found some key points, but after the rise of the southern border, we imitated your new order to carry out more drastic reforms, and encountered more intense backlash and contradictions Afterwards, I think I figured it out...

"The problem lies in the entire Anzu system headed by the king, with the feudal lord system as the skeleton, and the land and serfs as the flesh and blood.

"I don't agree with Edmund and Duke Lauren, but now I have to say...they did me a favor.

"Duke Cecil, do you know what's the hardest part about making change work from the top down?"

Wales smiled and watched Gawain quietly.

But before Gao Wen opened his mouth, he had already given the answer himself.

"That is to overthrow yourself."

Wales strode towards the door of the church, and when the noise outside had turned into roars and shouts, he pushed the door open.

Chapter 0644 Human Heart

Outside the chapel, the crowd had already gathered. A sudden news that spread shocked everyone. The nobles and soldiers were all shocked. Even those who had vaguely realized some truths in advance were also informed of the details of the incident. Afterwards, I was stunned——

In order to eradicate those nobles who once opposed him, to frame Duke Gawain Cecil, to ensure his royal power, and to prevent the Cecil family from returning to the center of power in the kingdom, the king actually directed the scene on the Crow Mesa. Sensational killing.

This is not a rumor, but there are real evidence and witnesses - a secret letter that should have been destroyed was searched out, and several inner court servants who were unwilling to remain silent also stood up to testify against the king's crimes. The Earl of Bahrain waved a letter in his hand angrily: "This is a conspiracy! The king deceived Duke Cecil with false news, making the Duke mistakenly think that the Raven Mesa was captured by monsters, and the king killed hundreds of nobles and their relatives." Knight, just because these people once opposed him!!"

The knights around the church became agitated, and the turmoil gradually evolved into louder and louder shouts. Some nobles in the inner court who were in shock and fear also quickly joined the wave of condemnation. Only a few people in the crowd remained strangely silent. , and a small group of nobles were stunned, as if they lost their position all of a sudden, as if they suddenly couldn't figure out what went wrong in this world.

More people were mobilized, and a betrayal anger began to spread through the crowd.

"The king we supported turned out to be a tyrant?!"

"He can kill a hundred nobles who oppose him today, and he can kill us tomorrow!!"

"He himself was crowned on blood! We should have known from the beginning!"

Someone in the crowd was yelling at the top of their lungs, at first it was only a small part of the people, but somehow it quickly infected almost the whole crowd, some people shouted for the king to come out of the church, and some people who felt betrayed were angry. Watching that door, if there was not the last guard guarding the church door, these people might even rush into the church.

Then, the door of the church was pushed open, and Wales Moen appeared in front of these people.

"The King is out!" "He's out..."

The crowd couldn't help taking half a step back in the turmoil, but then rushed forward again, a noisy voice sounded from all directions, clamoring for the king to explain the contents of the letter, and the Earl of Balin stood at the front , waving the letter paper in his hand, and said loudly: "Your Majesty! Please explain all this - why did you write to Duke Cecil, saying that the Crow Mesa was captured by monsters?!"

The fat earl's face was flushed, and it seemed that every word he said was exhausting his whole body.

Wales looked at the Earl of Bahrain silently for a few seconds, and said clearly after the crowd around him became quiet: "I just cleared the kingdom of moths."

This was an admission in disguise, and the crowd immediately went into an uproar.

And when the uproar almost reached its peak, the crowd suddenly fell silent again.

A tall figure came out from the shadows inside the church, Gawain walked out of the gate, and stood beside Wales expressionlessly.

"Frankly speaking, since the day I walked out of the grave, I have met many people in this era. Some people try to be my opponents, some people think they are my opponents, some people are my allies, and some people think they are mine. Allies," Gawain glanced at the king next to him, "but you are the only one who is neither an opponent nor an ally, so far the first person who really surprised me, and even caught me off guard."

"Then it is my greatest honor," Wales said with a slight smile, "then there is only one thing for you to do—condemn me."

No one could clearly hear the low-pitched conversation between Gawain and Wales, but everyone could see the exchange between the two, and a nobleman in a royal blue coat called out loudly: "Duke Cecil, you were killed by this The 'King' has deceived! He wants to do you wrong!"

Gawain glanced at the noble who shouted loudly, and said to Wales in a low voice: "This man is very loyal to you."

Then, before Wales could respond, he added: "Unfortunately, this stage you have arranged is not quite my style."

A hint of surprise finally appeared on Wales' face, but before he wanted to say anything, Gawain had already stepped forward and said to the gathered nobles and soldiers: "Don't doubt, I know what's on the Crow Mesa. "

The square in front of the chapel was suddenly quiet, and everyone forgot to speak out in astonishment. Some couldn't help but take a breath after a while, while others subconsciously cast their gazes around——

The soldiers and chariots of the Cecil Legion gathered around the open space, and those cold war machines were watching all of this indifferently, without sorrow or joy, and were well-disciplined.

"That letter is true, and so is my bombing of Raven Mesa, but before we discuss the justice of this matter, I have something for you to see."

As Gawain spoke, he stretched out his hand to the side. Only then did people notice that a short half-elf in black leather armor had been standing there at some point—this astonishing concealment technique first made everyone present The transcendents were surprised, and then they saw the half-elf handing a stack of paper with writing and patterns to Gao Wen's hand.

Gao Wen took the printout from Amber, first flipped through it casually, and then read: "Count Uriel, directly granted by the royal family as a nobleman, the fief is located in the west of San Sunil, planned to defect on the 58th of last month, and once packed They seized the property of twelve carriages, including three carriages and several war horses that were stolen by taking advantage of their positions and should have been used as city defense supplies... After realizing the abnormal transfer of the Royal Knights, they urgently canceled the escape.

"Viscount Hodiker, an inner court nobleman, also planned to defect, and transferred a large amount of property belonging to the royal family by bribing the guards... Also because of the well-informed, he urgently canceled the escape, and then actively loyal to the new king, in order to cover up the past. crime committed.

"Viscount Barger and his brother tried to defect from the north city gate, so they did not hesitate to kill an upright knight who opposed the defection and tried to report to Silver Castle, and disguised him as a fall.

"This one is even more powerful. Countess Hopkina who tried to defect, I even have a magical photo of her rushing to the north city gate in a car—"

Gawain raised a page, which clearly showed an image of an aristocratic carriage with its insignia erased driving towards the city gate. In the image, a woman with a slender face was sticking her head out and looking nervously at the street, while the background behind the carriage was It is the northern wall of Saint-Sunil that everyone knows.

"I still have a lot of information here, a lot."

Gao Wen's voice woke up many stunned people in the square, and after waking up, almost everyone suddenly felt a downright chill spreading from the bottom of their hearts.

The Duke stared at everyone—even though he was far away in the south, his sight had already covered the capital in the north.

These materials, these words and pictures, the perspectives they present are disturbing, and the details they possess are frightening. For a moment, the nobles in the square even had an illusion—as if they were completely unobstructed. Living under Cecil's nose, every guest at the banquet, every guard under the porch, every pedestrian passing by the roadside, every corner, every moment, there is a pair of Cecil eyes staring at himself.

But Gao Wen himself knew that he was far from achieving this. Although after more than two years of operation, the Military Intelligence Bureau has indeed set up many stations and spies in the city of Saint-Sunil, but his "monitoring" of the capital is still limited. Quite limited, but those nobles who tried to defect were really unlucky, or they only cared about the attention of Silver Fort, and ignored the civilians who could be seen everywhere on the roadside and the eyes behind the windows on street corners and alleys. As a result, many of them were exposed. It's a tell-tale.

On the other hand, the information in his hand is also half-truth and half-false - but at a time like this, who cares?

"At a time of national calamity, it is a serious act of treason to try to defect, take away military supplies, destroy the city defense layout, and even murder the defenders." It's just a matter of law enforcement."

This is Gao Wen's style - he was the one who ordered the bombardment of Crow Mesa, there is nothing to admit, he just wanted to eradicate those nobles, and there is also nothing to admit, just like what he did in the southern border, in the discussion about traditional nobles In matters of affairs, he neither detours nor pretends.

After all, what exists between the order he promotes and the old aristocratic order is not a "deviation", but a tit-for-tat confrontation. Since it is destined to be incompatible from the beginning, it is better to be more direct.

After all, he doesn't need to "leave a way out" for himself in the old aristocratic group. Instead, he must be careful that if he cooperates with this scam today, this hypocrisy will become a stain in the eyes of the people one day in the future.

"I'm done," he said indifferently, "who wants to speak?"

There was silence in the church square, but this silence was not only caused by nervousness and fear, but also a kind of contradiction and entanglement that bothered everyone. Except for those soldiers and low-level knights who might have a relatively simple stand, those present who were slightly The nobles of the title are aware of the difficulty of this problem:

Traitors are extremely abominable, there is no doubt about it. Basically, those who stand here at this moment are those who have truly defended the capital and feel contemptuous of those fugitives. Things feel a certain degree of approval.

But Gawain Cecil's method made them feel uneasy, and the burst of cannonball made everyone deeply afraid.

The king has indeed eliminated the "worms" in the kingdom, but it is undeniable that the king has indeed used this method to eradicate dissidents. Regardless of whether Duke Cecil knows the truth on the Crow Terrace, the letter from the king is very important. It's true, and the motive is also true...

The huge sense of contradiction and the almost absurd sense of division made everyone at a loss for what to say for a while. It seemed that neither of them should support, but they had to support one...

This unbearable silence lasted for a whole few minutes before it was suddenly broken.

The people gathered in front of the chapel suddenly dispersed from both sides, and the elegant Duke Baldwin Franklin stood out wearing a duke cloak.

The duke held something inexplicable in the eyes of others—it was a metal plate made of mithril.

After seeing the metal plate, Gawain didn't show the slightest surprise on his face. He just turned his head slightly and glanced at Victoria next to him. He saw a trace of solemnity in the complicated gaze of the Northern Duchess, and then That trace of solemnity turned into relief again.

Baldwin Franklin came to Gawain and Wales with the mithril board. After exchanging a deep look with Wales, he turned around and looked at the crowd in the square:

"In any case, the king's act of eradicating dissidents by the hand of the Duke of Cecil is indisputable. His motives contain great selfishness and a terrible abuse of power. This indisputable fact proves one thing: Wales ·Moen is no longer fit to continue to be our king, he should step down and abdicate.

"Duke Cecil's bombardment of Crow Terrace is a thunderous means to eradicate traitors. He is far away from the center of power in the royal capital, and has no motive to eradicate those who disagree with his political views. Although this decision seems too cruel, it is in a state of national crisis. normal decision to make—that is my judgment."

Behind Gao Wen, Hu Po, whose figure was hidden from everyone's sight, muttered softly: "It's ridiculous..."

Gao Wen responded softly: "That's right, it's just ridiculous."

There are too many points for debate in Baldwin's words, as if deliberately magnifying the fault of one party, and deliberately ignoring the terrible behavior of the other party. It is obvious that Gao Wen really fired the gun, but in the end he wants everyone to ignore it. a little.

But the most absurd thing is that after Baldwin's voice fell, no one in the square refuted it.

There was a brief silence, and then they exchanged glances with each other, and in a silent tacit agreement, they nodded one by one.

Baldwin turned around and looked into Welsh's eyes: "Your Majesty, do you have any objections to this conclusion?"

Wells smiled in relief, and things were finally going the way he had planned.

"I have no opinion."

"Then, please abdicate the throne, Your Majesty."

Chapter 0645 The End of Wang Qi

Gawain had once guessed that Wales was not greedy for the throne, but to be honest, he didn't expect the other party to do it so thoroughly and go to such an extreme.

He not only overthrew himself, but also broke Ansu's 700-year-old noble rule-the king is the lord of the lord, and the lord is the extension of the king.

As a breaker of this rule, he led the angry nobles to overthrow him, and when he stepped down, Anzu's king-noble structure would also open an irreparable rift, and the system would become easy to destroy. and difficult to recover.

Some people saw this, but they chose to remain silent, some people didn't see this, they were immersed in the strange passion brought about by overthrowing a king, and some were more astute, they noticed the surging scene The dark tide and the steel chariot of the Cecils not far away.

A new age had come—a new age that the old school had rejected, but a new age had come nonetheless.

run over.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Wales took off his crown calmly, and it was not until he handed the crown to the attendants beside him that the nobles and soldiers at the scene reacted and a little commotion arose—people seemed to be There was a little sense of reality, the real confirmation that the king who had only been on the throne for eight days had lifted himself from the throne, and after confirming this, some people were at a loss.

The king is gone... what about the new king?

Baldwin Franklin didn't stay silent for too long. Before the commotion spread, he took a step forward and raised the mithril plate in his hand.

"Now that the time has come, I will announce to you a special law that is passed on only between the Duke Protector and the royal family. The form is divided into several parts and sealed in four places. Both Grand Duchess Victoria Wilde and I can attest to the authenticity and effectiveness of this law.

"This is the Emergency Succession Act, which reads as follows—"

As this secret regulation that had been sealed for 700 years was announced, everyone at the scene stared wide-eyed.

This exceeded almost everyone's expectations.

Pairs of astonished eyes exchanged glances in the air. The crowd on the edge whispered uncontrollably, while the nobles in the center fell into a weird silence. No one raised any doubts.

Because knowledge of current affairs has always been one of the noble virtues, with their keenness, they have already realized that today is destined to change.

"Today, the Morne bloodline has no direct heirs available, and all collateral branches are unable to bear the weight of the crown. The Ansu kingship is vacant, and the first founding duke is still alive. According to this emergency succession law, Gawain Cecil The Grand Duke will automatically become the new king.

"Duke Cecil, you can take over this oath."

Baldwin sent the mithril plate held in his hand to Gao Wen, and quietly watched the founding duke in front of him.