Night gradually fell, and the lights in Saint-Sunil City lit up one after another in the night.
This ancient city that has experienced the crisis of destruction looks particularly quiet in the night. After many days, it finally ushered in a night without shouts of death and explosions. Saint Sunil was like a The scarred giant beast quietly licked its wounds in this rare quiet night.
The lights in this city are much less than those in Cecil City, and the bright magic crystal lights are basically only maintained in the castle area and the inner city area. Outside of this, the streets are illuminated. There were not-so-bright candles and dim and flickering braziers in the alley, but even this not-so-bright light created a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere in the night.
Victoria stood in front of the window, looking at the scenery in the distance, and then turned around for a long time: "When do you plan to hold the coronation ceremony? Or... some other ceremony to announce the establishment of the empire?"
"Tomorrow, the news of the establishment of the empire will be sent to the whole territory to stabilize the situation in various places. As for the so-called coronation..." Gawain shook his head, "Don't worry, wait until we solve the biggest crisis. Right."
"Are you referring to the remaining crystal cluster monsters in the southeastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain?" Victoria blinked, "A large number of their main forces have been hit hard, and they don't seem to be able to attack again. The ability of a general attack... what other threats are you referring to?"
Gawain nodded. Here, at this moment, he felt that he could let the two guardian dukes know about the "time bomb"? exists.
"I suspect that the Death of All Things has activated an ancient god's legacy. The reason why those crystal cluster monsters fell into madness was caused by the sudden loss of control of this ancient legacy. I have relatively certain evidence to confirm that this god's legacy has' "Active", and it is deep in the eastern part of the Holy Spirit Plain...near the east border. Now my legion is trying to collect intelligence in the relevant areas, but so far it has not been able to find clues. Its energy response is increasing day by day, and it is only a matter of time before it explodes. The problem...and it won’t be long.”
Victoria and Baldwin glanced at each other subconsciously, both seeing shock in each other’s eyes.
This disaster...this disaster that has destroyed Ansu actually has a deeper crisis? !
"I know what you want to say - the soldiers have tried their best to save St. Sunil in the disaster and made huge sacrifices, but they only blocked the first wave of this disaster. Now suddenly Knowing that it is far from over, and that there is even a greater crisis, is definitely not easy to accept, but fate never caters to our ability to accept," Gawain said before the two guardian dukes spoke, "What we will face, It is a challenge that may affect the fate of mankind - this does not only refer to the crisis caused by the Death of All Things, but also includes the situation in the wasteland of Gondor for a long time to come. The shadows are about to move, the harbinger of the demonic tide has vaguely emerged, the figure of the dragon appears in the world, and two of the three dark sects are still in the shadowsActive in the middle...
"Our neighbor, Typhon, has risen, and it is also a huge threat. In the future, in order to survive, to survive in disasters, and to survive in competition, we It must also rise, and must become the most powerful one...
"I can confess to you here that building an empire is not the best solution for reform. It will leave many hidden dangers in reform. , leaving many remnants, I can also think of more thorough changes and more advanced social systems, but time is already too late. We have no time to choose the best, so we can only choose the most suitable for the time being.
"We must survive - I am ready, and I hope you will be ready."
Faced with this long sentence that Gawain suddenly said, The two guardian dukes fell into a brief silence.
This is not the first time they have heard similar words from Gawain. At the earliest time, when the founding hero had just been resurrected, he had brought a warning about the demonic tide. , after that, he also reminded people of the immediate crisis from various angles - but at that time, no one took these warnings seriously.
Today, no one will think that these things are alarmist anymore.
“We should restart research on the magic tide and the wasteland, and restart those ancient libraries and archives,” said Baldwin. “It’s time to wake up from the torpor—and the world. In comparison, we have slept too long."
"The crisis of the Death Society is a top priority," Victoria also said, "But now the king and the Northern and Western Legions have almost nothing to fight with. With the power of Cecil's Legion... can we solve the crisis you mentioned?"
"I have made arrangements, there won't be any big surprises," Gawain said, "I What you need to do is to maintain stability. No matter what method is used, the western part of the plains and Saint-Sunil must not be chaotic before the dust settles - this year is almost halfway, and the next harvest moon will determine whether we can Whether we can survive this winter safely is the key to us. We have lost half of our grain-producing areas and a large amount of stored grain. If bandits and large-scale refugees appear again in the west of the plains... Even if the Cecil Army solves the cult crisis, we will have to Facing the winter crisis."
The two guardian dukes nodded solemnly, and Gawain then looked at Victoria: "How many reserve troops are there in the north?"
"Mountain area? The legion was severely damaged. Even if you include the reserve troops who had stayed in the north and did not fight, there were only four to five thousand people left. If you add in the conscripts, private soldiers, and mercenaries from various places, there were probably ten thousand to ten thousand. Fifteen thousand people."
"Have the troops guarding the border been eliminated?"
"The troops guarding the northern countries have been eliminated under any circumstances. None of them will be transferred out of the north."
"More than ten thousand...is not enough, but you can't ask for too much," Gawain sighed, "Send reliable people., leading troops to the east, starting from the hills north of Solinburg, where Cecil's Army has already created a safe passage - before the end of the summer, take over the East's Changfeng Fortress to guard against Typhon. In addition, I will also send my second army to the border for joint defense. The reorganization and modernization of the Mountain Legion should be carried out in the east. We have limited time and must seize every second. "
Victoria nodded slightly: "I understand. "
"The Western Army will stay in the Holy Spirit Plains, recuperating and maintaining order in the grain-producing areas," Gawain looked at Duke Baldwin again, "The reorganization and modernization of the Western Army will also be carried out in the plains. . "
Badwin lowered his head: "This arrangement is very appropriate. "
Gawain looked at the two of them. When talking about the reorganization and modernization of the army, the expressions on the faces of the two guardian dukes were indifferent.
"I hope you will Understand that the process of reorganization and transformation of the Northern and Western Legions is the process of reclaiming your military power," Gawain said. "I will replace their command system and rebuild their discipline and order. They will change from being loyal to you to being loyal to the Sailor Army. Xier Empire - Of course, taking into account the stability of the military and your personal abilities, the reorganized legion will still be commanded by you, but then it will no longer be a private army..."
Some He must speak more clearly. Even if the content of the military reform has been clarified during the previous discussion, now it is specific to the two guardian dukes, he must emphasize it again, because this issue is both sensitive and important, and it is affected by Limited to the actual situation, he could not completely deprive the two guardian dukes of the power to command their original corps - on the one hand, he could not find capable people to replace these two dukes, and on the other hand, he wanted to Taking into account the stability of the military morale of the two original corps?
If it were in peacetime, he would certainly choose a restructuring plan that would leave no hidden dangers, but now there are internal and external troubles, and the empire has not many available troops. He must try to avoid a decline in the combat effectiveness of the existing legions, even temporarily.
After all, the weakest stage of a country is not before the change, but during the change.
Under the premise of this huge hidden danger, he must ensure that Victoria and Baldwin are reliable and cooperative, at least within the constraints of the rules.
After all, he does not want to see the emergence of warlords in the new empire. Plant something.
“Of course we understand,” Duke Baldwin laughed, “and we will make sure that every family in the North and West understands this. "
Gawain nodded slightly, and then he mentioned one last thing before the end of today's long conversation.
"Finally, about the capital of the empire - when the dust settles Afterwards, the country's center of governance would move to Cecil City. "
Victoria and Baldwin looked at each other, but neither of them were too surprised.
"We need to cut off the foundation of the old forces more thoroughly, right? "Victoria TableQing was indifferent and said in a cold voice.
“It’s not just that, there are several factors,” Gawain said. “Saint-Sunil has been seriously damaged, and its governing function as the capital has actually been suspended—the old The aristocratic system has disintegrated, the military power has almost disappeared, and a large number of transportation arteries have been covered by polluted areas, which cannot be restored in a short time. It has little meaning to continue to use it as the capital. This is one of the reasons;
"Secondly , the new order of the empire is based on the magic industry. The high production capacity provided by the magic industry is the key to ensuring the rapid recovery of social operations, and is also the foundation of our rise. However, the industrial base of Saint-Sunil can be said to be blank - —Although there are some new factories, they have been shut down. There are several magic nets, but they are not systematic. Cecil City is already a relatively mature industrial center, and it is also a developed commercial and cultural center. There are a large number of new cities with complete functions around it. Compared with Saint-Sunil, Cecil City is more suitable as a new empire. 's capital.
"The last thing you mentioned Victoria is to completely cut off the foundation of the old forces."
The various families in St. Sunil have been in business for many years, and their genealogies are intertwined and powerful. The network has even penetrated deep into the gangsters and rogues in the streets, and this intricate mess will not dissipate in a short time. Gawain has no time to defend a dilapidated ancient city and fight with this mess. Directly moving the capital is obviously The most time-saving and labor-saving solution.
"But if the capital is set in the south, wouldn't it be too far south in terms of geographical location?" Baldwin thought for a while and raised his own question, "On the one hand, it is far away from the north. The population center, on the one hand, is too close to the wasteland..."
"Being close to the wasteland is not a problem, because I am already expanding the pioneering land further south and building a multi-layered progressive defense line. One day we will It is to regain the land at the southern foot of the Dark Mountains, and to be honest, the southern region itself is more suitable for survival than the north - the land is fertile and the climate is relatively mild. If it were not abandoned, it should have become a better food production than the Holy Spirit Plains. The ground, and the north... is really too cold.
"As for the other point, if you understand the new means of transportation in the south, you won't have this concern. From the map, Saint-Sunil is located in the cross center of Anzu. This was limited by the situation at that time and the subsequent technological decline. Without convenient transportation, of course the capital could only be set in the middle of the territory, but if the transportation problem was solved , geographical location is not so important. "
Duke Baldwin thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "If this is indeed the case, then I have no worries. "
As the night deepened, a cool breeze blew through the study. Gawain rubbed his eyebrows, and then breathed a long sigh of relief: "None of the things we discussed today can be completed overnight, and besides... Apart from the big framework, the details still need to be discussed. Let’s stop here today and go to bed early..."
"When...when...when..."
A melodious sound with a hint of holinessThe bell suddenly sounded from a distance, interrupting the second half of Gawain's sentence.
It was the bell ringing from the direction of the Holy Light Cathedral.
The three people in the room (Hetty had hung up the communication) raised their heads at the same time and looked in the direction where the bell was coming from.
"The blockade of the Cathedral of the Holy Light has been lifted," said Baldwin. "...It seems that we will have to take a while to rest."
"Let's go and take a look. ," Gawain said while looking out the window, and at the same time couldn't help but think a little divergently, "I wonder what the people in the cathedral will think after learning about the changes in the outside world..."
In the Divine Advent Technique After the end, probably in order to calm down the turbulent Holy Light energy, or maybe because the severely depleted priesthood needed to recuperate, the Holy Light Cathedral remained in a state of blockade, and it was only now that the blockade was lifted.
This situation made Gawain unable to help but make some interesting associations -
Before closing the door, the king of Ansu was still commanding the defense of the city.
After opening the door, not to mention the king, Ansu was gone.
The people in the cathedral may be shocked.