Chapter 600, The Melancholy of Karl Franz
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If anyone still remembers, the Rick Guard in front of him was a recruit of the Rick Guard when Ryan visited Britannia for the first time, and was ordered to escort Ryan when he left. Rudolph fulfilled his mission, In Hemgart's Battle of the Plague, he and Wagner, another recruit of the Rick Guards, successfully assembled the remaining troops, and even repelled the Skaven in the Battle of the Church of Justice. , was unanimously praised by the Imperial Army.
After the Battle of Hemgard, Rudolf and Wagner took different paths. Rudolf stayed and became the captain of the Empire, while Wagner chose to go to Nur after Emmanuel appeared, to Emmanuel. Li allegiance, also became a military officer who also served as a master engineer.
It has only been four or five years since they joined the army. The promotion speed of these two Rick Guard recruits is like a rocket, which makes many soldiers of the empire envy and hate. A great shortcut, and what is even more terrible is that these two children of the great nobles not only have the natural advantages of family and status, but also they are very capable, whether it is bravery or commander, good family education and military skills that are willing to spend money. Cultivation started from an early age. After all, since Ludwig the Savior's military merit reform, the nobles of the empire valued military merit the most. At the banquet, a handful of nobles who have not fought in battle at a young age will be despised and ridiculed.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for officers of civilian origin to succeed.
Obion Island is an island that is always shrouded in mist. It is located in the west of Norsca, across the sea from Nord Kingdom and Norsca. There are some aborigines on the island. These residents are called the Truth Talkers. They are not human residents of the Old World, but were exiled here from Lustria by the Old Sages. They know how to use some superficial magic, because Obien The island is always shrouded in mist, making people in the old world think that there are relics and heritage of the ancient saints on the island. The royal chief wizard Senus Gehrman led an imperial infantry regiment to explore some time ago, forget it It's time to come back soon, unless he doesn't want to compete for the position of the royal chief wizard.
Therefore, Archbishop Vikmar didn't think much about it. The church would not interfere in the emperor's internal affairs in principle, but Vikmar didn't plan to leave either. He just sat on the sofa, staring at the emperor who was about five meters away, without saying a word. language.
The ink bottle and the quill in the bottle were pushed in front of Rudolph, the emperor grinned, and he sat on the chair with a relaxed tone: "Did Gehrman gain anything?"
"Your Excellency Gehrman led the army and almost lost its way in the fog." Rudolf moved his body slightly to the side, so that his strong figure blocked the vision between Vikma and Emperor Karl: "After a little loss, His Excellency Gehrman successfully established a port camp and named it 'Newland'."
"Oh, that's right." The emperor nodded unhurriedly, and he pushed the parchment forward: "Tell me first, what did Gehrman find?"
"There are some relics of the ancient saints on the island, and some organs of the ancient saints." Rudolph gently picked up the quill pen and wrote on the parchment: "But due to the language barrier, the weird hieroglyphs cannot be deciphered and understood , naturally it will not be possible to open the mechanism left by the Old Sage.”
The Rick guard held the quill pen tightly and wrote on it very quickly. Emperor Karl Franz knew it in his heart, and the emperor continued: "That means there is nothing to gain? What about the local aborigines? Can they communicate?" ?”
"There is no way to communicate." Rudolph said in a muffled voice.
"No one knows their language?" The emperor smiled strangely.
"No one knows, these natives don't seem to trust anything with two legs at all. Their magic is not particularly powerful, but they are very good at changing into birds and fighting in the fog. Your Excellency Gehrman is in trouble.
Can only temporarily return without success. "Rudolph spoke word by word, quite slowly, which seemed to be inconsistent with his usual style.
After finishing speaking, Rudolph calmly put the quill pen back into the ink bottle, and then sent the parchment forward.
The emperor reached out to take it, and he glanced calmly at Archbishop Vicmar sitting on the sofa chair, and found that the archbishop's sight had been blocked by Rudolph, so he looked down at the parchment.
"Scouts to report! The supreme president of Guangming Academy, Odo, has gathered a huge mercenary army and is stationed in the blood pine forest! And there are many combat priests and templars in the army! Does this matter have anything to do with the upcoming royal ceremony?" About the Grand Wizard Tournament?"
Karl Franz's hand trembled slightly, and the emperor's eyes were as sharp as a sword's, but he closed them as soon as he let them go. He nodded, and then said softly: "I see, open up land for the empire, and explore Obien Island , Thank you Gehrman."
The emperor picked up the quill naturally and marked a big "√" on the parchment.
"How long will it take for the Supreme Dean of the Flame Academy and his subordinates to arrive?" The emperor returned the parchment to Rudolph.
"It will probably take a few more days." Rudolph knew the emperor's tick.
"So, what does Gehrman want, or what do the soldiers think?" The emperor calmly pushed the ink bottle and parchment to Rudolph.
"Your Majesty, both the generals of the empire and Marshal Helberg feel that this is a threat, and we should send our imperial army to destroy it." Rudolph immediately said righteously: "Otherwise, they will bring us trouble sooner or later !"
Archbishop Vikmar, who was sitting in the distance, heard something strange. Emperor Karl Franz had always been vigorous and assertive in handling internal affairs. Why did he hesitate to procrastinate and ask his subordinates for their opinions again and again today?
However, it is an unwritten rule that the church does not interfere in the internal affairs of the empire. The emperor did not seek his opinion, and Vicmar could only wait, and he simply closed his eyes and rested.
Rudolph continued to speak without stopping, and soon another piece of parchment was placed in front of the emperor.
The emperor took it, and he took another sneak peek at Archbishop Vicmar, seeing that he closed his eyes and meditated, his brows were furrowed, and he immediately read the contents on the parchment.
"Odo has received strong support from the Church of Justice. This army has thousands of people. Should we let Marshal Helberg lead the Brunswick army to immediately surround and control this army? And arrest Odo catch?"
The emperor pondered for a while, and then slowly said: "Although the natives of Obien know how to cast spells, they have not received any signs of chaos and corruption. Although he has some troops under his command, they are not considered elite troops, and they cannot threaten them." our."
After speaking, the emperor lightly typed an "x" on the parchment, then shook his head.
"But will this make them feel that our empire is too weak to be bullied?" Rudolph was a little anxious, and Rick's guard asked: "If you let it go like this, it will damage our empire and your prestige, His Majesty the Emperor."
"The empire is not my empire alone, it is the empire of all the imperial people." The emperor looked up at the archbishop who was resting with his eyes closed, raised his chin towards Rudolph, nodded and smiled: "Now is the upcoming Royal Chief Conference During the critical period of the wizarding competition, don't call up the army and send troops without authorization, if Gehrman really needs it, he will take the initiative to come to me."
"Understood." Rudolph nodded silently, he thought for a while, and then said: "Recently, the law and order in Brunswick is not very good due to the competition of the royal chief wizard, should we mobilize more troops to maintain law and order? "
"This matter really cannot be relaxed." Karl Franz nodded with a serious expression: "Go and tell Helberg, and he will be responsible for this matter."
"Then...can I say that I followed His Majesty's order?" Rudolph asked.
"Yes." The emperor nodded, he thought for a while, and added: "By the way, also send a message to Geert, saying that the new gunpowder he researched has gradually been equipped, let him pay attention, and let the soldiers Let us listen to his instructions on how to use these gunpowder."
"Understood." Rudolph put away the two pieces of parchment and held them in the palm of his hand. He took a few steps back, bowed, and then turned to leave. call.
Archbishop Vikma nodded, seeing that Rudolph had left, the archbishop did not intend to stay, he stood up: "Karl, you are busy with other things, and I will stay soon, regarding whether to appoint Otto as the new royal chief Great wizard, you should think about it again."
"I will, Your Majesty Vikma." Emperor Karl Franz immediately put on his usual hearty smile: "Let me see you off."
"No, no, no." Vikma waved his hand, indicating that the emperor didn't need to send it off. He turned around and left the study quickly.
Karl Franz smiled and sat back on the chair. He looked around, and the expression on his face gradually became gloomy.
He knew why the Justice Church supported Otto, and even sent templars and battle priests to help him, and helped him gather an army.
This starts with the "Dark Lord" Egrim incident. It was in that incident that Odo and Kant discovered the depravity of Egrim. The decision is to violate the rules of the Royal Wizarding College and seek support from the Justice Church.
In the end, Egrim was beaten away, and half of the wizards of the Bright Academy were purged by Vikma. Naturally, the relationship between the new Bright Academy and the Church of Justice reached its peak, and Archbishop Vicmar began to try to extend the church's hand into the empire. Within the domain of wizards, it is not surprising that he will firmly support Odo this time.
Today's situation made the emperor feel extremely humiliated. In his palace, in his study, in front of his desk, he and his Rick guards actually had to communicate in that way.
I am really aggrieved when I am the emperor of the empire!
But this is where Karl Franz is helpless.
As we all know, the emperor of the empire is elected by the electors. The original intention of the electorate system is to ensure that the empire is surrounded by enemies, and under internal and external troubles, an emperor who can convince everyone and is good at enlisting can guarantee the security of the country.
But as time went on, the system of electors had changed. In order to get enough votes, candidates for the throne had to make a lot of promises and prices to the electors to ensure that they could vote for themselves. This has led to many times when the emperor was already "heavy in debt" when he first came to the throne. In the past two thousand years, the authority of the imperial emperor has been weakening. What Karl Franz can manage is actually the Rick-led province he owns. , still ruled with his title of Grand Prince Rick.
That's how the old empire died, and the new empire after Ludwig's military reforms strengthened the emperor's authority and control over military nobles. During his reign, Ludwig's will prevailed throughout the empire, but he did not Change the elector system, so when Ludwig abdicated, the electors healed their scars and forgot about the pain, and the emperor began to face the problems of canvassing, promises and bribes, which weakened the emperor's authority.
Many people think that the empire is centralized, but in fact it is not at all. The empire is just a loose confederal state. As for whether to recognize the supreme authority of the emperor, it depends on whether the elector needs it and whether he is in a good mood. After he ascended the throne, Karl The emperors only managed to strengthen the authority of some emperors through a series of great military victories and diplomatic skills.
Therefore, the Church of Justice should not offend him too much. It was when Karl Franz and Boris Todbringer were at a disadvantage in the competition for the throne that Archbishop Vicma persuaded Archbishop Agrima and Karl of the other two churches. Archbishop Slane lowered three votes and completed the reversal of the Jedi, and even one less vote would not work.
In return, Karl Franz, of course, must respect Archbishop Vicmar and make concessions on many things. He is a creditor and he is a debtor.
"Hey~" The emperor sighed, leaning on the soft sofa chair, remembering the meeting with Ryan a few days ago.
On the contrary, he envied Ryan very much. Ryan was the Grand Knight of the Holy Grail, with outstanding strength and unparalleled personal prestige. More importantly, Ryan could also get the full support of the Fairy Church in the Lake.
How on earth did he do it? Karl Franz has a lot of doubts about Ryan's sudden rise in his heart. Ten years ago, Ryan was still spending Winter Veil as an ordinary kingdom knight in Marienburg. Ten years later, he will almost become a king! The nobles, merchants, and churches of the entire kingdom have obeyed.
And the only thing I can trust is the Imperial Army, and it is limited to the Imperial Army led by Rick, plus one Gelt at most.
It's hard to be an emperor!
Karl Franz rolled his eyes, and he shouted to the outside: "Come on!"
"Here, Your Majesty, what are your orders?" Immediately, a servant ran in from outside.
"Call Helena and the children!" Karl Franz waved his hand: "Let's go to the Royal Hotel to find Duke Lane! Let the children meet and make friends!"
"yes!"