Kingdom's Bloodline

Gilbert was anxious when he heard the overtones:

"Prime Minister!"

At this moment, the third voice joined the discussion.

"In fact, if the kingdom really has no other way but to bite the bullet, maybe..."

The unfamiliar voice attracted the attention of most people.

The officials turned to the interrupter, who was also the only participant in the imperial conference who did not speak-the deputy bishop of the sunset church, Stilianides.

Stilianides nodded slightly:

"Can I try to persuade the Sunset Church to fund the expansion of the standing army?"

Many people frowned.

"What? You?" Suduo doubted.

In the corner of the discussion table, the vice-bishop smiled and nodded humbly:

"Guy Stellanides, who is the deputy bishop of the Central Diocese of the Church of Sunset, is attending the Imperial Conference on behalf of Archbishop Zenon, who is on vacation today..."

"I know who you are, kid," the Sodor consultant interrupted him roughly.

"You said, can you find the money we want?"

The vice-bishop named Guy smiled slightly, then closed his eyes and prayed: "Don\'t guarantee it, do your best."

Seeing that the other party was so simple, consultant Sodor looked suspicious:

"If I remember correctly, in the central sunset temple of the royal capital, the chief priest of Diallo is the person most opposed to the standing army system. He once said: the standing army fights for money, greed is despicable, and conscription is a duty to wield a sword, holy and respectable. ?"

Guy has a humble tone:

"Yes, most of the priests of the Sunset Temple are of noble origins, go to the castle court, and are closely related to the nobles and princes of various places."

"But we are different, Lord Shuduo," the vice-bishop said firmly.

"Sunset Church, not Sunset Temple."

The sunset over the church.

Shuduo was silent for a while, he restrained his emotions and watched the priest\'s eyes seriously:

"You just said, who are you?"

On the other side, Prime Minister Cullen looked clear: "Ah, the faith dispute between the temple and the church, the priest and the mission department, the priest and the bishops?"

The vice-bishop turned to the prime minister and smiled warmly:

"No, it has nothing to do with beliefs, only politics and standpoint."

"The temple is close to the princes, and the church is close to your majesty. It\'s that simple."

"If you can reduce the conscripts and increase the standing army, thereby weakening the influence of the temple, the bishops in the church will definitely be happy to see it."

Hearing this sentence, many people began to think.

Cullen\'s eyes moved slightly:

"Oh, as a believer in the setting sun, you really-make no secret of it?"

"cover up?"

Guy shook his head indifferently:

"No faith can exist independently of politics, and no religion is not about power struggles."

"To avoid political talk about faith, it means to put aside the human nature and only ask about the divine nature. This is the cover and disguise, the negligence and contempt for the faith, the disrespect and insincere to the goddess of the setting sun."

As soon as he said this, even the king at the end of the long table raised his eyes slightly.

Hearing this deviant remark, Cullen was taken aback, then raised his eyebrows:

"I think I know why Gilbert recommended you. Compared with the priests who are full of divine teachings, you are really interesting."

Gilbert grinned reluctantly.

Deputy Bishop Guy sighed:

"Thank you for your approval, but this truth is not universal, especially for the priests on the side of the temple."

"Therefore, it is not convenient for the church to intervene in the kingdom\'s military in the form of direct funding."

Suduo, who was most concerned about this matter, instantly coldly said:

"Then what do you mean?"

Guy turned to him and said seriously:

"To support the expansion of the Standing Army, the Sunset Church must have a valid reason."

reason.

Many people\'s expressions changed slightly.

Guy looked respectfully at the end of the long table:

"If your majesty can change the tradition and let our priests and brothers enter the royal standing army, I will be more confident in persuading the bishopric to fund it."

Shuoduo was startled:

"But we already have sacrifices with the army. Whenever there is war, the temple will send a qualified chief priest to preside over the expedition ceremony..."

Guy curled his mouth and nodded calmly:

"Expell them."

"What?" Suduo couldn\'t believe it.

"I suggest, Lord Shudor, expel the standing army\'s sacrificial rites, and let the army priests replace them," Deputy Bishop Guy explained patiently:

"What the temple can do for the standing army, the church can do the same, or even more."

Suoduo understood the other party\'s words, and his expression changed back and forth in those few seconds.

The others in the meeting looked at each other.

The king\'s eyes were still distant and unfamiliar.

Prime Minister Cullen snorted:

"The priests of the Temple of Sunset, I will definitely not like it."

Guy turned his head and said sharply:

"The temple doesn\'t like many things."

"For example, the Royal Standing Army."

"But it was originally a political issue. If you do this, it will become a religious contradiction," Kulun shook his head. "Sacrifice to the army has always been a tradition, no matter..."

Guy calmly replied:

"Yes, just like the lords regularly call in militias, it is also a tradition-until the royal standing army is born."

Shuoduo moved his eyebrows.

The vice-bishop looked at the listless treasurer:

"If there are priests with the army, the sunset church can allocate permanent funds from the donations of the believers, justifiably to subsidize part of the cost of the standing army, and reduce the pressure on the Finance and Taxation Department."

"This is something that a supreme, orthodox temple can\'t do."

"Hmm..." Jo Ke, who had originally looked bored, immediately became energetic, his small eyes gleaming:

"Is it not impossible to consider?"

On the other side, the military adviser was quiet for a few seconds and asked cautiously:

"That said, the Sunset Church can fund the expansion of the standing army, provided that your majesty will allow your priests to enter the royal standing army instead of accompanying the army to make sacrifices, right?"

The vice-bishop smiled: "Of course not."

But his eyes changed:

"But if there is no such bargaining chip, my confidence in persuading the bishopric to be really not that big.

Shuoduo coldly hummed:

"This is a threat, take advantage of the fire."

"This is even more for the kingdom." Guy responded quickly to his words:

"The priests of the temple are basically of noble origins, and they have a relationship with the princes of various places, and they are born to be separated from the standing army. The army is just a story."

"And most of our priests come from poor backgrounds and are accustomed to the bottom of the civilization. They will be more competent, more capable, more enthusiastic, and more suitable for the standing army than the priests."

"Yeah, this is exactly what I worry about." Suoduo sneered.

Upon hearing this, King Kessel suddenly snorted, meaning unclear and intriguing.

"I said, Guy, you are a priest who serves gods anyway."

Prime Minister Cullen on the other side narrowed his eyes:

"Is it too vulgar to have a mouthful of benefits, with a bargaining chip?"

"Sulky?"

Stilianides smiled slightly:

"The faith teacher and close comrade-in-arms of the King of Revival, the Prophet Brother Mohassa has a famous saying: Theology is the learning of man."

Gilbert moved slightly.

"Divinity exists in human nature, and human nature has its own divinity. Only when every corner of human nature is exhausted can we hope to find the glimmer of divinity."

Guy smiled:

"Who is worldly and not sacred? There is heaven in the mortal world."

"Ah, you are not just a bit interesting, Guy," the Prime Minister\'s tone changed.

"You are still scary."

The vice-bishop made another prayer, very pious:

"The goddess puts down the test, and always makes the road of truth look rough and rough."

"Do not."

After a few hesitations, Suoduo figured out the doorway and resolutely refused:

"The Royal Standing Army does not require priests to follow the army."

He decisively said:

"The standing army cannot be controlled by forces other than your majesty, especially from sources of economic resources."

Sodor said this and glanced at King Kessel, but to his disappointment, the king was still indifferent.

Guy didn\'t think he was disgusted, and continued the discussion:

"If it is limited to the form of payment, we can discuss, for example, the church donates the money to the Department of Finance and Taxation, and the Department of Finance and Taxation will allocate it to the budget of the Department of Military Affairs..."

"sure!"

The Treasurer shines:

"If it can happen, you will save my life, Guy!"

Stilianides nodded politely:

"Grace to the goddess, dare not take credit."

But Shu Duo\'s attitude remained the same: "What\'s the difference then?"

"It took the stars five hundred years, endless sacrifices and endless bloodshed to drive religion and theocratic power back to the temple."

"As long as I am in charge of the Military Affairs Department for one day, history will not go backwards."

So Duo was unequivocal and uncompromising.

"That\'s not necessarily," Qiu Ke muttered to the side: "According to your posture, if anyone can help you expand the standing army, you are probably willing to serve him as prime minister."

Shu Duo\'s expression froze.

"Then I\'m thankful." Prime Minister Cullen sighed and moved the big **** that covered the entire chair:

"Please do it, Vice Bishop Guy?"

Deputy Bishop Guy smiled humbly at them.

"I understand your worries, Lord Shuduo, but what you are talking about is an ancient lesson: the priests of the temple fall into the way of self-righteous young children, aloof, greedy and corrupt, allowing selfish desires to overwhelm public hearts, and indulging lies to blind the truth. , False gods seek common interests, use beliefs to fight for power, and never return."

Deputy Bishop Guy nodded, gently:

"And my ancestors, the priests of the Ministry of Missions have seen their mistakes, and have broken themselves from the temple, upholding the true teachings of the goddess, and building the sunset church by themselves. It has been nearly four centuries. The chief priest and the archbishop have exchanged each other. Not under control, the Ministry of Sacrifice and the Ministry of Missions strictly adhere to the boundaries, we do not..."

Shuduo interrupted him with an impatient wave:

"The temple is still the church, and the sacrifice is still the priest. In my opinion, it doesn\'t make any difference. It\'s all raccoon dogs."

"When you are weak, you want to ask others, of course, you are compliant."

"After being strong, if you are not greedy, you are bound to make progress."

He warned:

"The times have changed-the temple of sunset has unlimited authority, and even dared to challenge Fuxing Palace and intervened in the age of succession to the throne, which is gone forever."

This remark made the entire Imperial Conference frightened.

Guy sighed long, making no secret of his disappointment.

"I understand, Lord Sodor, it seems that the wish of the priests to serve the country can only be realized in the future."

At the end of the long table, the king\'s cold eyes were once again covered by the setting sun.

"That said, in the face of such a difficult situation, it is impossible to force reform of the military system." As the host of the Imperial Conference, Prime Minister Cullen sighed.

After hearing this, Suoduo glared at Jo Ke again.

"Don\'t look at me, you want money, Guy and the church have it!"

Qiu Ke knew what the other party was thinking, and didn\'t care at all:

"As for whether or not, you can decide by yourself..."

"It\'s not just a question of money." Unexpectedly, Prime Minister Cullen spoke again, interrupting the military and financial battle that was about to break out again.

This has attracted the attention of the officials.

"In fact, I just thought of the prince\'s banquet."

Duke Cullen\'s eyes were burning:

"Last night, the little nobleman of the Western Wilderness made a royal banquet, but he was saved by the Duke of Thales."

Gilbert frowned fiercely.

"This inevitably reminds people of the fact that His Royal Highness returned to the country under the protection of the Western Famine Army, and the sword of Falkenhausen. This is easy to give people wrong expectations and even be interpreted as the position of the royal family. Trouble, especially at this moment..."

Cullen said and shook his head, seeming to be extremely sorry.

"Prime Minister!" Gilbert reminded sharply.

Cullen shuddered slightly, as if he had come to understand, and smiled apologetically.

But after hearing what the Prime Minister said, many people nodded thoughtfully.

"By the way, the Doyle family in question," said Lord Clapham, the minister of agriculture and animal husbandry who hadn\'t spoken much all day:

"Their Jinghu area has been a large grain-producing area in recent years, and it is also an important source of troops for the Canstar Private Soldiers and the Central Standing Army, and they belong to the Canstar Seven Servant, which may affect the attitude of other families."

"This will jointly affect the process of military system reform."

He glanced at everyone cautiously:

"I think we need to characterize the case as soon as possible, figure out the idea, and make a judgment..."

"It is true. The events at the royal family banquet have caused us a lot of trouble, whether it is the next military reform or this letter."

The figure of King Kessel moved slightly on the throne.

Viscount Connie glanced at the direction of the king, saw that he had no response, and cleared his throat:

"I\'m sorry, but I heard that Mindis Hall has become a new place in the capital city where everyone is eager to go. Look at Doyle\'s house. After stabbing the big basket, he is still saved by His Highness...I am not I must blame the Duke of Thales, but his attitude at the banquet is sometimes misunderstood..."

"Connie!"

Gilbert felt the direction of the meeting, frightened and angry.

"There is nothing wrong with your Royal Highness\'s handling of the royal banquet! He is kind, generous, and impartial!"

Director Qiu Ke shrugged:

"But now, look at this letter, what we want most is kindness and generosity."

Viscount Connie nodded in agreement and added:

"And impartiality."

Gilbert was anxious:

"Leave aside the consequences, His Royal Highness saved two lives and two families superbly, avoiding a worse situation!"

"It\'s a brutal method of **** duel," another voice came:

"May the sunset forgive him."

Gilbert turned his head in disbelief and looked at his best friend.

"Guy?"

Deputy Bishop Stila Nides nodded apologetically:

"Before I entered the palace, the bishops were talking about this."

The ministers exchanged glances and understood each other.

The vice-bishop made an atonement ceremony:

"Witness to the sunset, the Duke of Xinghu personally duel, resorting to barbarous heretical ancient rituals, that is really a bad signal and demonstration."

"No, that happened at night," Prime Minister Cullen snorted sarcastically.

"It should be said: Polaris Witness."

The former officials bowed their heads.

Gilbert took a deep breath and explained to his friend:

"Guy, my friend, as far as I know, the duel was unreasonably proposed by the other party, and Prince Thales accepted the duel with compassion. It was just a stopgap measure."

Guy nodded understandingly:

"Of course, I understand the prince\'s difficulties, and I also appreciate his kindness and generosity, wisdom and wiseness."

"But you think that after this story spread throughout the kingdom," Duke Cullen shook his head with a tut:

"When people think of a duel, the first thing they think of is the prince\'s kindness and generosity, or the violent duel of Chan Xing?"

Gilbert frowned.

The vice-bishop also laughed:

"Master Cullen is not unreasonable, just as the bishops of the church are also very worried: In the North, the Exter fighters have passed on the spiritual courage to fight to the end, but they are also numb in the violence and blood. His thoughts made him not reject the savage and backward ancient rituals."

Gilbert looked at his friend deeply, unable to conceal his disappointment.

The king remained motionless.

"In the long run, as the heir to the kingdom, His Royal Highness has never avoided heretical beliefs and etiquette..."

Guy\'s tone became worried:

"This will profoundly affect people\'s attitudes and ways of dealing with things. It will make young people eager to take the lead, desperate people will take risks, and imitators will follow suit. It will greatly detriment the existing rule of the kingdom... Moreover, if you see believers shed blood for barbaric duels, The goddess will not be happy, and so will her followers."

Earl Clapham looked at everyone and interjected with interest:

"That, I also think..."

"enough!"

With a rare gaffe, the foreign secretary stopped the babbling crowd.

"Everyone!"

"Your Majesty summoned us to this room, not to make us judge right from wrong and hold accountable!"

Gilbert was short of breath. He stood up and scanned every colleague angrily:

"Suo Duo, I know that the Standing Army\'s trip to the Western Desolation has worked hard to move the crowd, but it has not been fully accomplished. You have a hard time to speak, and you are worried about it."

The military adviser pursed his lips.

"Manager Qiu Ke, I also understand that the accident at the banquet caused the Finance and Taxation Office to lose a considerable amount of fines and caught you off guard."

The treasurer folded his arms unhappy.

"As for the Prime Minister, you want to avoid unnecessary conflicts between the Fuxing Palace and your vassals, and you have set your Highness as a target to shift the focus."

The old fat prince smiled indifferently.

"Viscount Connie, please rest assured, no matter how popular your Highness is, or recruiting talents, it will never affect your status as the backbone of the royal party."

Upon hearing this, the minister of commerce and commerce looked a bit ugly.

"As for Guy, old friend, I swear to you, your failure to become the prince\'s theology teacher is definitely not the responsibility of your Highness, and it does not mean that your Highness is closer to the temple."

The vice-bishop closed his eyes and bowed his head.

"And Lord Clapham, you have been silent for a whole day, and you are smart enough. At the end, everyone babbles and you don\'t seem to be smarter!"

The Minister of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry coughed embarrassedly.

After the imperial court officials could not speak one by one, Gilbert took a deep breath and calmed his mood.

He could not resist looking at the figure at the end of the long table.

"Yes, I can feel it, I know that you all have such and such reasons, contingent or absent minds, such and such grievances..."

The Minister of Foreign Affairs solemnly said:

"But, everyone, I implore you to put yourself in your place and understand the situation of the prince."

"Then you will understand that for the sake of the kingdom, His Highness Thales often has no choice, many things have to be done, and many encounters are beyond expectations."

"As for the tasks that he should complete, he has achieved his utmost."

Gilbert slowed down, unknowingly bringing a sigh.

"From the National Conference to the Longxiao City, from the Great Desert to the Mindis Hall, facing the gazing Northland princes and the undercurrent domestic politics, it has changed any of us, even your Majesty, even the Midiel of the year. Your Highness, it\'s impossible to do better than him!"

His voice was high and passionate, shaking the Ballard room.

"Not to mention that we all owe him anything-whether it is to prevent the Northlanders from going south, or to stabilize the Royal Stars and the political situation of the stars."

On the throne, King Kessel leaned back in his chair again, but his eyes were faint and he didn\'t know what he thought.

"As for the other unpredictable consequences of what Thales did, whether it was the chaos of the Western Famine or the Doyle case, the duel or the controversy, or the **** letter and the dilemma it brought, in fact It\'s all the result of our failure to think about things carefully, and this is the negligence and inefficiency of our servants, and it is our own responsibility."

Gilbert exhaled, paused, and looked at everyone.

Everyone turned their heads to avoid looking at him.

Gilbert said this, heartbroken:

"Stop the blame on your Highness? This will neither cover up our incompetence, nor solve more problems, and the child should not be held responsible for the mistakes he did not know about."

At this moment, Duke Cullen suddenly said:

"Even if he is a star?"

Gilbert\'s expression changed, and he looked back abruptly without showing weakness:

"Because he is a star!"

Prime Minister Cullen frowned.

After a few seconds, the Prime Minister sighed:

"I know, Count Caso, you are his teacher..."

But Gilbert interrupted him very quickly:

"I say this, not just because he is my student!"

Gilbert turned his head and faced the other colleagues, decisively, beyond doubt:

"More because of His Royal Highness Thales himself."

"Whether it is his courage and merits of going north, the journey experience of returning from thousands of miles to the country, or the courage in the banquet to save people, it proves that he is worthy of being the Duke of Xinghu and the blood of the kingdom."

With this, Gilbert\'s voice trembled slightly:

"We should all be honored and proud to have such a prince."

"We should be the sword in his hand, not the stone in the boot."

"We should help him!"

"Not hindering him!"

As the voice fell, Gilbert raised his hand to hold his eyes, and took a deep breath.

The imperial conference was silent, and the king\'s eyes were still like a blade of snow, radiating cold light.

Deputy Bishop Guy sighed, patted Gilbert on the arm and motioned for him to sit down:

"Gilbert."

Gilbert waved his friend\'s arm away and took a deep breath.

"Please forgive me, princes," he tried to adjust his emotions, trying to calm his tone.

"As your Majesty said, I am also tired and old."

There was silence in Ballard\'s room.

"At least you are not fat."

Prime Minister Cullen took the conversation, somewhat depressed and emotional:

"It won\'t get in the eyes of some people."

This sentence has far-reaching implications, and no one dared to answer it either.

Until the king of stars tapped his finger lightly, breaking the dull atmosphere.

"Gilbert," Kessel V\'s gaze shot straight, unable to hide the complexity and subtlety in his tone:

"Old friend."

But Gilbert looked up suddenly.

"And you, Your Majesty!"

The foreign minister\'s voice suddenly increased!

Many people were taken aback.

Gilbert stared straight at the king\'s pressured eyes, his chest rising and falling:

"Forgive me, but..."

"but……"

Gilbert raised his right arm, as if to point at something, but gave up halfway through.

He gritted his teeth, his cheeks tangled:

"But to this day, in the stars, in the city of Eternal Star, even on this table, all the unfair scrutiny, accusations, criticisms, embarrassments that His Royal Highness Thales has received after returning to China..."

Facing King Kessel’s sharp eyes, Gilbert made up his mind and said:

"It\'s all because of your attitude towards him."

As soon as this statement was made, all the imperial officials changed their colors!

"Gilbert!"

Guy warned sharply.

Prime Minister Cullen tensed his face, lost in thought.

But His Majesty just looked back at Gilbert quietly, without saying a word.

Only Gilbert swallowed, closed his eyes and sighed:

"Seriously, your Majesty, whether I am a courtier or a father, I am not very competent, and I am not even qualified to teach you."

"But as a friend," Gilbert opened his eyes, sincere and serious:

"Kay, your highness, the fifth prince."

These titles made everyone think.

King Kessel did not speak.

But at that moment, his finger tapping the tabletop stopped.

"You really should be proud of having such a son, for his awareness and ability, for his character and intelligence, for his strength and optimism, and for his failure to collapse under the heavy burden of the entire kingdom... And comforted."

Gilbert looked at him from a distance:

"I believe, and I\'m not the only one, we all believe from the bottom of our hearts."

"Prince Thales, he will be the future we all look forward to together."

At this moment, no one spoke at the Imperial Conference.

The silence lasted for ten seconds.

"You teach him every day, Gilbert," the king said in a heavy voice, not discerning his emotions:

"You are too close to him."

Gilbert had a meal and then smiled.

"No, you are too far away from him."

"Like the first king."

At that moment, the eyes of the King of Iron Fist suddenly moved.

It\'s like the first gap on a flawless iron wall.

"But at that time, you still have the Mindis Hall."

Gilbert looked at the throne quietly, but looked at something else.

"And now, he has nothing."

King Kessel seemed to be fixed on his chair, without even moving his eyes.

"Get close to him, sire, at least try to get close to him."

"At least, talk to him."

Gilbert took a deep breath and sat down tremblingly. He pressed his eyes and smiled shamefully at the surroundings:

"Sorry, everyone."

The Ballard room seemed to sink into an ice cellar.

All the monarchs and ministers were silent, or bowed their heads silently, or looked at each other.

Only the breathing remained.

Long, long time later.

"Everyone."

Everyone trembled slightly.

King Kessel\'s voice was like the first ray of sunlight breaking through the ice, breaking the dullness.

"Don\'t worry about my son, I have already talked to him."

At the end of the long table, the iron-fisted king slowly raised his head, but he did not look at anyone.

"He won\'t be a trouble."

He closed his eyes and exhaled gently:

"Everything is under control."

The voice fell.

Prime Minister Cullen curled his lips.

Gilbert gave a hard smile.

Others reacted differently, and felt sorrowful.

Duke Cullen picked up the tea cup, sat upright, and performed his duties:

"Well, everyone, now, just come back to us..."

But the Prime Minister\'s words came to an abrupt end.

Everyone looked at it in doubt, and then discovered that Kulun\'s expression had changed.

The Duke of the East China Sea stared at the teacup in his hand.

There, tiny waves are rippling.

Almost at the same time, the officials in Ballard\'s room felt different and turned their heads together.

"Step! Step! Step!"

Groups of footsteps came from outside, causing obvious vibrations.

This is a rare situation, the imperial court officials looked at each other, not knowing why.

"At this pace, there are at least thirty people," As a military adviser who has served for many years, Shuoduo looked up vigilantly:

"what happened?"

But no one answered him.

On the contrary, the sound of different commands penetrated the crack of the door, and came from outside the door.

"Pioneer Wing gathers reinforcements...Run, run, run, run!"

"The situation is unknown..."

"The guard wing is deployed on the spot..."

The situation is not right, and the officials are uncertain.

The king frowned.

"Strange," Gilbert frowned.

"Does the Royal Guard have an exercise today? Near the Ballard room?"

In the next second, a rapid and harsh ringing pierced the wall and rang in everyone\'s ears!

"Ding--"

Many people were taken aback and looked around in panic.

"This is, this is from the Royal Guard..."

Consultant Sodor was stunned.

He blinked and looked at the black Shimen, unable to believe his inference:

"Emergency alert?"

The king remained calm, but his brows became more frowning.

The Scarface spy of Secret Department was the first to move and reached out to the door.

But before he could touch the doorknob, the door of Ballard\'s room was slammed open!