The clues Amber found were somewhat beyond Gawain's expectations - he had guessed that Surrey Randolph might be a down-and-out nobleman, or he might have been deprived of his title due to a crime and had to remain anonymous, but he did not Thinking that he was actually a defected Royal Shadow Guard, but defected during the mission to find the legacy of Gondor... This is inevitably arousing.
It seems that the Ansu royal family is not really ignorant of the secrets buried in the Dark Mountains. Although most of the relevant inheritance has been lost due to the civil strife in Wuyue, they should still have some clues. , at least, they know there is something in the Dark Mountains.
Of course, the premise of this speculation is that Surrey Randolph is really looking for the Disobedient Fortress, not another Gondor legacy.
"Currently we have not found any other entrances and exits to the Disobedient Fortress. As for the entrances that have been found, there are no signs that they have been opened," Gawain said while thinking, "And even if he does enter Even the Disobedience Fortress cannot explain his defection - it is just an ancient scientific research base. What could be there to make a royal shadow guard betray his king?"
"I can't think of it either. Understand... Looking back now, he really is a person who never mentions his past, and his life is a mess." Amber shook his head, his voice was a little low, "He always took me everywhere and changed his address frequently. Forging identities and sneaking around under the noses of local nobles to make a living, most of our energy was spent on this, which made me have a bad opinion of him for a long time... But now that I think about it, he There are reasons for these actions."
"The royal family will not let go of a defected royal shadow guard so easily. They must have been looking for him in the south for a long time, so he must hide and he cannot. Use his status as a transcendent to seek a more respectable job - because all professions related to the transcendent are monitored by nobles, so he can only work as a thief, or occasionally take on some mercenary missions as a wanderer. And you can't stay in contact with other mercenaries for too long, in case the identity of those mercenaries is the black gloves of a certain noble." Amber flat mouthed: "That's probably what happened..."< /p>
Gawain began to ask some details about that year: "Was Pitman already with you at that time?"
Amber scratched her hair: "Not long after I can remember, Pitman was friends with my adoptive father, but I don't know exactly when they met - the memory ability of half-elves in childhood is not as good as that of humans. It seems to be more serious in me. My memory about that time It's all vague."
"Don't you think that a defected royal shadow guard who was hiding in Tibet would make a friend like Pittman while in hiding? Is it weird?" Gawain raised his eyelids, "A person who is running away from the royal family will not make friends with strangers under normal circumstances unless there is a reason to do so - your adoptive father mentioned this to you.A reason? "
Amber frowned: "He didn't tell me. I only heard the two of them bragging about their determination to become the strongest rogue combination in the South - but the reason is definitely not reliable. . "
"You don't know, Pittman must know," Gawain said. "If there is a chance, maybe he will be willing to tell it. ”
Pitman, a druid who is both the eternal sleeper and the priest of the death of all things, hides many secrets behind his seemingly sloppy little old man image. Gawain knows that he There must be a lot of things hidden, maybe about Surrey Randolph.
In the past, Pittman didn't tell anyone these secrets. This may be a protective measure, but now Amber. He has found clues about his adoptive father, and more importantly, the former Ansu royal power has ended. Kohaku himself has even recruited all the royal shadow guards, so some things that were unspeakable back then should be revealed now.
“I will ask him,” Amber nodded, “After so many years, it’s time for him to tell me what happened back then. "
"Well," Gawain thought for a moment and then said, "Another point, can you roughly determine when you were adopted by Surrey Randolph? How long after he arrived in the South? Was it after years of anonymity, or was there an adopted daughter by his side when he decided to defect? "
"Then I don't know even more," Amber grabbed her hair again, her ears trembling, "Why do you ask this? What comes to mind? "
"A hypothesis that seems very likely to me," Gawain looked at the amber in front of him, his association ability fully unleashed, "Have you ever thought about Surrey Randolph's defection? Maybe it has something to do with you? "
"Me? Amber stared at herself and pointed at herself with an expression of "You're kidding me", "What did you say!" I was still a child then! "
"What if the tasks recorded here are fake? What if he went to the Dark Mountains not to look for some Gondor relic, but you? "Gawain pointed to the scroll on the table, "We can boldly assume that maybe his real mission is to find a mixed-blood elf with a special bloodline and hand it over to the Ansu royal family, or even more extreme... the mission requires him to Kill the half-blood elf, and he failed to do it at the last moment, then everything will be explained. "
Hubo stared at Gawain dumbfounded, as if he was deeply shocked by the other party's imagination. After a while, he said: "Speculation is not guessing, association is not random imagination... You are almost making up a story. Come on, where is the evidence - the majestic Ansu royal family, so full and stuffed, why do they want to find a mixed elf for this purpose, and even hired a royal shadow guard for this..."
"So I said, maybe It's because you have a special bloodline. Don't forget that you only know that half of your bloodline is an elf, but who the other half of your bloodline comes from is a mystery. You know that your biological father is an elf. Do you know who your mother is? "Gawain knocked on the table lightly, "And don'tI forgot one very important point: the Shadow Seal Ring. "
The expression on Amber's face suddenly froze. Apparently she had recalled the origin and characteristics of the ring.
Gawain looked at her and said slowly: "You can also use Francis II's Shadow Seal Ring, and you also have an identical ring that has lost its magic power. This clue...don't you care? "
Hubo thought for a while, then suddenly pressed her chest nervously and took a breath: "Oh my god... I am not really a remnant of the previous dynasty!" ! "
Gawain finally managed to maintain his serious expression: "That's not how the word "remnant of the previous dynasty" is used! "
"Don't correct my wording at this time," Amber waved her hands vigorously. "The possibility you mentioned really makes me doubt myself. It's obviously just a guess without any evidence. ...Okay, now there is more or less evidence, but is this possible? "
"I'm just talking about my thoughts. I'm afraid no one knows the specific situation except Sally Randolph himself," Gawain shook his head, "But no matter what the truth was back then, even if It's exactly what I guessed. It doesn't make any sense now - the Anzu throne has ended. No matter what the king wanted your adoptive father to do in the south, this purpose has disappeared with the end of the dynasty. You are now Being free, you don’t have to think too much. "
After a moment of silence in thought, Amber finally took a breath and smiled again: "You are right...the old royal family is gone, why should I worry so much. ”
She seemed to have put down some baggage, and in a short time she returned to her usual carefree and indifferent appearance. After the topic was over, she asked Gawain about his next arrangements: “At present, the order in Saint-Sunil has been roughly stabilized, and the transfer of power in all aspects and the formation of a new management structure have been completed. Is it time for you to consider the next step? "
"Yes..." Gawain leaned back and tapped the armrest of the seat with his fingers, "We have stayed in this city long enough. "
After knocking on the handrail a few times, he turned to Amber: "How is the situation in the east? "
"The men sent by Grand Duchess Victoria have already joined forces with General Maryland. The local nobles in the East are basically cooperating with the recruitment. They even pieced together a reserve army and came out with Cecil. Together, the legion consolidated the defense line of Changfeng Fortress. "
"As expected," Gawain nodded, "The nobles of the Eastern Region should be the most salvageable group among the many decadent nobles of the old Ansu Kingdom. Although they also have all the problems of the old nobles, due to their perennial Facing the threat of Typhon and the effective governance of the Laurent family, the local nobles were still very clear-headed when facing the war situation. But the reserve army they pieced together probably won't be of much use... The real elites of the Eastern Territory have all been wiped out in the Holy Spirit Plain. Only the garrison of Changfeng Fortress is left with reliable combat capabilities. The reserve armies from other places and collarMilitary nobles are not much better than ordinary noble private soldiers. What about other than that? "
Amber sorted out the intelligence he had and continued: "There seems to be no movement on the Tiphon border, but Maryland is worried that the other side may be secretly accumulating strength. Now he is trying to collect intelligence and be vigilant at all times. Feng invades.
“Baisha Mining Company has taken over the mine again and has begun to repair the railway damaged by the giant deer. At the same time, according to your order, the engineering team is continuing to extend the previous eastern railway, striving to be able to Drive the Iron Throne near Longwind Fortress in the autumn - if there are armored trains, we won't have to worry so much about Typhon.
"As for the maintenance of the Iron Throne... it will take about half a month. It lost two arsenal section cars, and the power spine and shield group of the car body also suffered overload damage. The damage was quite serious. The two heavy-duty factories located in Glen City and Cecil City are working overtime, striving to further compress the cycle. "
"No matter what, the Iron Throne must restore its combat power as soon as possible, even if only half of the train is transported to the border," Gawain said in a deep voice, "After the war, we have insufficient troops. The current defenders of the Wind Fortress may not be able to block the Typhons' organic army of extraordinary beings. "
Amber frowned: "Do you think the Typhons will really start a war in this window? "
"They have been waiting for this opportunity for a long time, but errors and delays in intelligence may allow them to miss this opportunity," Gawain said, "Rosetta Augustus must be paying attention. The war on the Holy Spirit Plains, but it was difficult for him to accurately grasp how much we lost in the war - whether we won a tragic victory or a great victory, which directly affected whether he would order an attack. "
The Typhons are waiting for Ansu to shed all his blood. Gawain has understood this very early, and in fact, the Rosetta Emperor's plan has been mostly successful - despite the appearance of The rise of Cecil is a variable, but in general, all areas of Ansu except the southern border have suffered heavy damage in this war. Large areas of grain-producing areas have been reduced to scorched earth, large amounts of grain reserves have been contaminated or burned, and a large number of young people have Being consumed, in this situation, no matter how elite the weak Southern Territory is, it will be stretched evenly across this huge land.
The Emperor Typhon really waited until Ansu declined greatly. The situation, if he attacks now, will be solved once and for all - but due to the inefficiency and errors of intelligence transmission in this era, he may not have time to realize this.
Gawain knows that it is enough. A ruler who is both iron-fisted and cautious and cunning. His iron-fisted decision can ensure that as long as the emperor's order is issued, all the war machines of the Typhon Empire will be activated instantly and attack the Changfeng Fortress with all their strength. But his caution...if used If done properly, it may be possible to give Cecil a life-saving breathing opportunity.
He said to Amber: "If you want to find a way to make the Typhon people confused about Cecil's real situation, find a way to let Luo do it. Theta Augustus overestimated the defense of Changfeng Fortress and overestimated our ability to maintain security after the war.The strength to stay. "
Amber thought for a while: "I will help General Maryland formulate a plan to let him show the message of 'Cecil's victory' and try to make Changfeng Fortress show a strong military strength. ..."
"This is not enough. Rosetta Augustus is a very formidable opponent. He will not just focus on Changfeng Fortress," Gawain said in a deep voice, "domestic propaganda center Quickly unify the caliber. The war in the Holy Spirit Plains must be a great victory with slight damage. Our food reserves are sufficient, and the young and middle-aged people will actively join the army inspired by the victory. The fall of the Anzu royal family must be publicized in a more dignified manner and must not be publicized. The Royal Knights were almost completely wiped out, and the Northern Army was completely wiped out.
“So far our propaganda personnel have done a good job in these areas, but the propaganda intensity in the eastern region is far weaker than that in the southern region... This must be made up for immediately.
“In addition , our trade with Typhon must be maintained, not only maintained, but also expanded - Cecil has taken over this vast land, our demand and output can only increase, not decrease, and must be greatly increased. Increase... Only in this way can we avoid Rosetta? Augustus guessed how many people we lost.
“Don’t worry that Cecil can’t handle such a large trade scale. The throughput capacity of the magic industry is amazing, and I have arranged for Archduke Baldwin Franklin to negotiate with the Augure Tribal Nation. , The gray elves and dwarves over there are very interested in our alchemy potions and textiles. Through trade with them, we can pass on most of the pressure..."
Gawain said one by one. His goal is very clear, which is to mislead the rulers of Typhon.
As long as we grasp the information transmission rules of this era and identify its backwardness and various loopholes, it is possible to achieve this goal.
Of course, Rosetta Augustus is by no means lacking in wisdom. Typhon also has his own intelligence department. Even if this kind of misleading is successful, it should not last too long, but what Gawain wants is Short-term misdirection - all he needs now is time to "breathe and recuperate" after the war. As long as the Iron Throne regains its combat power and reaches the border, there will be a bumper harvest of food this year, and Cecil's next batch of recruits complete training and equipment, then He has the confidence to block Typhon's offensive, and if he can mislead for a longer period of time, he can even survive this winter, allowing Emperor Rosetta to react until next spring... By then, he will be even more relieved.
Amber kept everything Gawain told her in mind, and at the same time she began to select trustworthy subordinates in her heart - she was not only the leader of the intelligence department, but also a participant in many secret-related projects. and executors, especially what Gawain is going to do this time will definitely involve the participation of a large number of Military Intelligence agents, so she must prepare from now on.
After writing down the things one by one, she raised her head and her ears twitched slightly: "Besides these, is there something else that should be put on the agenda?"
< p>Gawain raised his eyebrows: "Huh?""A grand coronation," Amber stretched out his hand to draw a big circle, as if to strengthen the word "grand", "The situation is stable, the transfer of power has been completed, and the management organization Taking shape, shouldn't the ruler of the Cecil Empire announce the arrival of a new era? And this is also a window to send a signal to Typhon..."
After following Gawain for so long, this half-elf I also learned a lot of new and useful vocabulary. Listening to this guy speaking such reasonable words in a serious manner, even Gawain couldn't help but nodded: "Yes, this matter should be put on the agenda."< /p>
He didn’t care about the so-called “coronation ceremony” before, because stabilizing the situation and resuming production was the top priority, but now the “coronation ceremony” has a special role. Man, he must pay attention to this matter.
"When do you plan to be crowned?" Amber blinked and said expectantly.
I don’t know what this guy is expecting.
"Wait until a special 'cargo' is transported from the White Sand Hills to St. Sunil," Gawain said, "but before that, preparations can already begin."
"Special goods?" Amber reacted and vaguely guessed what Gawain meant, "...Ah, that is really suitable for the coronation of the new emperor... But you originally planned to do it in Shengsu "Is Neil crowned?"
"Actually, I was considering Cecil City at first, but Hetty's suggestion made me change my mind." Gawain raised the corner of his mouth and looked at it. On the wall on one side of the study room - Anzu's sword and shield emblem once hung there, but now it has been replaced by a sword and plow flag, "Anzu's royal power ends here, and the new empire begins here."
To put it bluntly, the coronation ceremony is for people to see. In this case, it must be given the best effect——
Gawain wants to let the saint Let the old nobles of Sunil see it clearly, let the church, the army, and the ministers of the old royal family here see it clearly, let them see the transition between the old and new eras with their own eyes, and have a deep enough impression on this process. Only in this way, Only in this way can the stability of the follow-up process of restructuring be further ensured.
This ancient and young country really can no longer bear the slightest confusion and hesitation.