Chapter 363, You Always Have a Choice

"I don't quite understand what you mean, my lord." Ryan replied calmly. He walked to Suria's side calmly and put his arms around the female knight's waist.

"Let's talk about it in another place." Emperor Karl Franz smiled slightly, his expression unchanged. The emperor raised his hand and signaled Ryan to follow him to the corner of the town.

It was the emperor's temporary palace, where heavy soldiers were stationed.

Ryan still hesitated, but Suria squeezed Ryan's hand: "My husband, let's go together."

"But……"

"You should go, and I should go too." Su Liya said gently: "The emperor obviously wants to say something to you, and he will not hurt you."

"This doesn't look like a friendly invitation." Ryan was still hesitating.

"You have to consider the cost. The emperor of the empire is a mature politician. He obviously wants to talk to you about some private issues." Suria took Ryan's hand and said in his ear: "Obviously, this has nothing to do with you. related to the arrival of Teclis."

"Understood." Ryan nodded and followed quickly.

A group of people came to the garden of the emperor's palace. The emperor's temporary move was a famous local baron's mansion, but the baron didn't like to live here. Usually, barons usually live in the castle fifteen kilometers away, only tax collection and summer I will come to the mansion sometime.

The big table and chairs were set up in the courtyard, and the emperor signaled to all Rickwei to retreat, leaving only his flag officer Ludwig, a taciturn old man with a white beard, standing behind the emperor.

The weather was very cold, and the cold wind was blowing. When the Ryans sat down opposite Emperor Karl Franz, someone immediately served coffee. The emperor picked up the coffee cup with a smile on his face. Laughing: "Drink it, I swear on the name of the Friedrich family, there is no poison in the coffee."

"Your Majesty doesn't need to do this, I believe you won't poison." Both Ryan and Suria raised their coffee cups and took a full sip.

"The arrival of Teclis surprised me. The High Elf High Archmage has always been unable to come to the empire without important matters. His appearance both made me happy and worried me." Emperor Karl sat on the wooden On the made armchair, he said to Ryan: "Because every time he appears, it means something big has happened."

"He came because of me." Ryan picked up the coffee.

Coffee is a high-end luxury in southern countries. The price of coffee per catty ranges from tens of gold marks. The coffee the emperor drank is obviously high-quality coffee. The coffee smells strong and full of fragrance. Ryan set his sights on the emperor's face.

There was only sincerity and empathy on Karl Franz's face, and the emperor smiled and said, "Yes, maybe he did come because of you, Ryan Malcador, who killed Khorne's God's Chosen Champion 'Red Eye' Egil-S Tilbjorn, the king of Scalins has brought deep pain to all the order races, so it is not surprising that he came because of you, but this does not mean, Lord Teclis , there is no higher and more important mission, am I right? Teclis has been in your territory for more than a month. Apart from contacting the wood elves, you must have reached some kind of deal with Teclis, even Is it an alliance?"

"Your Majesty, your observation skills are so keen, I think if I say yes or no, you already have the answer in your heart." Ryan did not directly answer Emperor Karl Franz's question.

"It doesn't matter if you don't want to answer, I understand." Emperor Karl Franz continued, still with a smile on his face: "You are the chosen champion of the Lady of the Lake, and Teclis is the supreme leader of the high elves." *Master, you are all favored by the gods, some things must not be said casually, I understand, but what I want to ask is, Ryan, what do you think of me? Or, what do you think of me? "

"Your Majesty Carl,

Strong, confident, dedicated, and determined, you are an excellent statesman and general, though your talents as emperor have yet to be tested by time. Ryan narrowed his eyes, and he fully stated his evaluation.

"Yes, you are right." Karl Franz's face became serious: "I will ask one more question, Your Excellency Ryan, what do you think the emperor is?"

"The elected monarch, the dark retreater, the successor of all the sacred heritage of Charlemagne from the mountains to the ocean..." Ryan subconsciously gave a standard answer.

"That's for the common people. Let me tell you, Ryan, what is the emperor in the eyes of the elector?" Karl Franz sneered: "The emperor of the empire is a mercenary who helps the elector fight! Like the mercenary group you saw today called Blood Axe!"

Suria noticed that Ludwig snorted softly.

"Electors have all the military and political power in their own provinces. The empire is unified on the surface, but in fact each province is an independent kingdom. The electors are satisfied with their own rule. Only when they find their enemies When they can't deal with it, they will think of the emperor they have elected." Carl Franz continued: "Don't think about the problem too simply, the emperor of my empire can really control only Reikland and the important town in the south. These two places."

"I know that." Ryan said softly, "But, my lord, such independence is necessary."

The empire is relatively close to the confederation system. The army, law, diplomacy, conscription, and finance of each province are independent. The emperor is the nominal leader of the country, but in fact, the emperor of the empire can only command and move his own directly-administered territories.

Emperor Karl Franz and his family were able to occupy the position of emperor all the year round under this system of electors by virtue of owning the richest and most powerful Rickland in the empire. The Imperial Parliament will only be convened jointly when facing a huge foreign invasion. Usually, Karl Franz is just a "number one" elector who has equal status with other electors.

The only contribution of the major provinces to the emperor is the "vassal tax", which is about 3%-4% of the total tax revenue of a province. This tax is often "ignored" by the electors, but Emperor Karl Franz's Dominance brought back the neglected tax.

"Yes, it is necessary." Karl Franz nodded.

Why do you want to divide the electors instead of continuing the unification? Because this kind of independence is necessary for the empire, as we all know, the empire is surrounded by enemies, and there are countless evils and darkness hidden in the dense forests and mountains inside. If the "law and order war" is relaxed for a moment, towns will be destroyed, villages will be reduced to scorched earth, and human beings will fall in the face of darkness.

Therefore, the provinces of the empire need to be independent in this way, and they need to firmly control their army to ensure that they can fight against evil in the first place.

And when a province is unable to resist the terrible threat, the Imperial Council will be convened, and the emperor will gather the electors to jointly resist foreign enemies.

"The nobles are corrupt, the officials are corrupt, and the electors are arguing endlessly because of their own interests. The empire is not always united as expected by Charlemagne or the savior Ludwig." The emperor took a sip of coffee and continued Said: "It's useless to just convince me, Ryan, I understand that Teclis has made great contributions to the history of the empire, but this is not a reason to coerce us to obey him."

What the emperor meant was that the political situation in the empire was far more complicated than everyone imagined, and it was useless to convince Emperor Karl Franz alone, he could only represent himself and Rickland.

"The internal affairs and court plans of the high elves are far more complicated than that of humans. Your Majesty Franz, I believe that Your Excellency Teclis can handle all of this." Seeing that Ryan was silent, Suria took over the topic empathetically. , the female knight smiled and said: "You just need to convene the Imperial Council."

"Convening the Imperial Parliament is not difficult. I believe that the arrival of His Excellency Teclis will give all the electors a reason and an excuse to get together." Karl Franz nodded, and the emperor continued calmly: "The difficulty is , What exactly does His Excellency Teclis want? Or, what does he want the empire to do for the high elves?"

At this moment, Ryan knew that if he didn't come up with some "dry goods", the conversation could not go on. The Emperor of the Empire had already stated his hopes and difficulties to them. Through ingenious dialogue skills and environmental pressure, the Emperor of the Empire had already dominated the dialogue. took the initiative.

The bottom line is that Ryan and Teclis need the empire. The greatest and most powerful human country in the old world has faced the threat of chaos since its establishment, and it has persisted for two thousand years. If it weren't for the empire, perhaps chaos would have destroyed the world , perhaps the green tide has engulfed the world.

"In the face of the threat of chaos, everyone must unite and prepare for the next invasion. According to the prophecy, the next large-scale invasion of chaos will not be too far away." Ryan finally took out some dry goods.

"Coincidentally, my advisor, the great alchemist Balthazar Geert, also said the same thing." Karl Franz nodded: "My great alchemist told me that perhaps the northern barbarians would not be able to do so for decades. Go south on a large scale, but once they go south under the leadership of a Chaos Eternal Chosen, it will be another terrible war comparable to the 'Great Holy War'."

"Now the Eternal God of Chaos has appeared." Ryan said calmly.

"Then...it's not difficult to understand why His Excellency Teclis came to the empire." The emperor nodded in understanding: "I will cooperate with you."

"It's none of my business what His Excellency Teclis wants to talk to His Majesty and the electors, but please believe that His Excellency Teclis must start from the overall situation." Ryan said in a deep voice: "Everyone in the mortal world wants Face the threat of Chaos."

"Of course I believe that His Excellency Teclis will start from the overall situation. He and his history have proved that he is a noble person, but the overall situation of the elves is not the overall situation of humans, Mr. Lane." Karl Fran Ci put away his seriousness and smiled again.

"The overall situation of the empire is not the overall situation of Britannia, His Majesty Franz." Ryan confronted: "I know what you want to do."

"Hahaha~ Then I think we have something to talk about. You have your position and I have mine. We fight against evil together. This is called an alliance." The emperor laughed loudly, he no longer discussed this issue entangled: "Okay, I will fully support you and Teclis."

The dialogue with the emperor made Ryan feel the pressure. The emperor in front of him was wise, decisive, sincere and full of faith. This was not in Britannia. Ryan could rely on his powerful strength to challenge the gods and kings of the fairies in the lake. , this is the empire, the empire is the most powerful human country in the old world, they never need to look at other people's faces, and it is precisely because they firmly stop the chaos from going south that Brittania can be relatively peaceful .

"Your Majesty is really humorous." Suria said with a smile.

"This is all brought out by bī). In the imperial court, you have to learn to smile. A smile can make your allies have confidence in you and make your enemies uneasy." Emperor Karl Franz relaxed a little, he Having got the reward he wanted, the emperor turned his attention to Ryan: "Your Excellency Ryan, sometimes I feel very sorry, you understand that the empire is your home."

"I already have a home." Ryan smiled and put his arms around his wife's slender waist: "This is my home."

"Hey, when I passed you by in Miljorden Haven, I have always felt very sorry. An excellent warrior was poached by the Knight Kingdom. In fact, I can also seal you for such a feat. A count." The emperor shook his head regretfully.

"I did this series of feats after I was favored by the lady, not because I had a series of feats before I was blessed by the lady. When I was in a critical situation, it was the lady who helped me." Ryan thought I think you will come to poach the corner too.

"Yes, that's right." Karl Franz knew that Ryan had made up his mind, and the emperor was making fun of himself. He continued, "So I am very optimistic about you, Your Excellency Ryan."

"I am also very optimistic about myself, my lord."

"No, you don't understand what I think about you, I think about you just like your maids think about you." The emperor was still smiling, and the ruler of the empire only had fun in his eyes: "I think you will become King, King of Brittania."

"..." Ryan's face changed slightly.

"I know a lot, Lord Ryan, I know everything."

…………

Coming out of the courtyard, Ryan shook his head with a wry smile: "The emperor of the empire is really not simple. Compared with him, Richard is simply a tinkerer. He knows people too well and knows when to advance and when to retreat. Insist on when to compromise."

Surya held her husband's arm. The female knight rolled her sea-blue eyes and said suddenly, "I think that you will all gain a lot from this trip to the empire."

"How did you see that?"

"Because you need each other." Su Liya continued: "Tegris needs you because you are a hero of mankind. Ryan Malcador, who is well known to everyone in the old world, has you to come forward to coordinate, The suggestions and assumptions of the high elves are easier for humans to understand and accept, and Teclis brought you to let you be the 'leading party', and you will open the gap."

"You need Teclis, because the lofty prestige and status of Teclis in the old world can allow you to accomplish many things easily. With the banner of Teclis, my husband, this will benefit you in many future plan."

"Emperor Karl Franz needs the two of you. The appearance of the two of you is to add two shining diamonds to the throne of his emperor's authority. Your appearance and introduction by him to the elector will increase the chips of the Imperial Parliament. , a powerful weapon to strengthen your imperial power and status, both you and Teclis will be subconsciously considered by the electors to be Karl Franz's allies."

Su Liya summed it up a bit: "In this way, a solid iron triangle is formed. You need each other and help each other. You have both feelings and interests. This is a perfect alliance."

Ryan laughed so hard that tears came out: "Suria, it's my honor to marry you. It's over. I don't think I can do without you anymore."

"Me too, my husband."