Chapter 256: Eyes

"I do know nothing about marching and planning," Cleo replied, "though I'm very good at convincing others."

"This matter can be understood so. When your strength is strong, you should try to be kind. When your strength is not that strong, you must try to be cruel. For example, now," Essin signaled the castle in the distance. "There are only 500 defenders, while our army is nearly 20,000. The victory and defeat can be seen at a glance. Although this castle is very strong, I only need to spend fifteen days to one month to prepare the siege equipment and pay the price of 3,000 casualties, and I will definitely be able to break it within three days. It is precisely because we have a great advantage that we should appear kind and restrained, which can effectively reduce the difficulty of future strategies. This situation is different from the time of Duke Adias."

"I don't care about the war, nor do I want to care about it." Cleo thought for a while and replied. "What strategy is your power to adopt? I'm afraid there is no suspense about your position as a duke."

When Essin and Clio set off, they had only five hundred soldiers under their command. Almost no one had much hope for his future. Perhaps it was because of this that the little queen made a promise of reward and no one expressed any opinions. But now, Essin has gathered a large army by recruiting rebels and surrendering. Not to mention the quality for the time being, at least in terms of quantity, it is enough to support him in completing the task of striking rebellion.

If nothing unexpected happens, the Duke of Essin may not be able to escape. According to various channels, some news was obtained. Some people in Eagle City were very jealous of Essin's achievements, and all kinds of slander were really endless. Fortunately, the little queen was completely different from Byron. At least, when someone raised this question to the little queen, the little queen's answer was "If there is really something wrong, you should have told me earlier! Now I have made a promise."

However, Essin at least has the promise of the queen as a guarantee, but Cleo's position as foreign minister - well, this matter is not the promise of the little queen, but just an promise of Essin to Cleo.

For a type like Cleo, if you want to hold a position like this, you either have to be qualified. After his hair is gray (maybe completely white), and with the correct political stance, you may be qualified to hold a position. This best example is the current Prime Minister Ailin. This prime minister actually has no amazing talents in all aspects, but if he has a seniority, high prestige and positive position, he will naturally become the prime minister.

Another way is to find ways to make extraordinary achievements. If you can make extraordinary performances in an event, you may enter the king's vision and become qualified. From this point of view, Essin is not a deceiving friend, but this is just a "possibility" rather than a certainty.

"Crio, maybe we should have a negotiation with Earl Ramas on this matter." Essin said hesitantly. "He certainly refuses to leave the city, we must send people into the city. Of course, the people who come to the city to negotiate... are in great danger."

"Essin, what do you want to do? Do you think you still have a chance to convince Count Ramas to compromise?" Clio asked with some dissatisfaction. He understood Essin's hint - Essin wanted him to enter the city to convince Count Ramas. "You must understand that there are limits whether it is persuasion or bribery. Some people are you unable to convince, and some people are you can't afford. Didn't you say that you can capture the castle in three days? Then just attack the city directly!"

"No, Cleo, I must tell you my ideas. You know, I do not want to convince Count Lamas himself, but to convince his subordinates. The number of people is very different, and the outcome is clear at a glance. Our army is also a royal army to suppress the rebellion. I am sure that most of the subordinates of Count Lamas will not want to die with him. So, if they can understand this... our army will win without fighting!" He lowered his voice. "Cleo, I think, try not to bleed in this battle."

"What the hell do you want to do?"

"I said, show kindness. If there is a fierce battle, then Count Lamas must be executed. On the contrary, if the city is opened without blood, then the situation will be better, and things will appear blurred and easy to deal with. Think about it, if Count Lamas who are trying to raise troops to resist are forgiven, then I can further dismantle the resistance of the remaining rebel lords, let them understand the bottom line of our army, and prompt them to make the right choice. Then, our next battle will become easy... I hope to completely end this crusade within three months. Even if it is not completely ended, it will basically end."

"Why are you so anxious? Her Majesty the Queen has no limit on our time. Even if there is, I don't think she will be so strict."

"Creo, this is multifaceted... Well, first point, you should know that many people say bad things about me in the Hawk City. There are people like this in the world: they are not capable of themselves, but they cannot stand others' ability. Once they find someone with ability, they will become jealous and spare no effort to slander him. Her Majesty's promise to me is the identity of the Duke, a territory that I can choose independently... This has caused many people's jealousy, right?"

"but……"

"I know that our little queen has not been greatly affected yet. But you should have heard the old saying "dissolving bones". We should try our best to take our destiny into our own hands, rather than leave it to fate! We have no foundation in Her Majesty's court, and we are almost unfamiliar with the characters around her. The only one is Chief Scadra, but I don't think he will speak for us specifically. In a word, we have no allies in the court, only enemies. In addition, our previous choices, they have enough subjects to exert their imagination. Sooner or later, Her Majesty will be affected. All we can do is get things done as soon as possible and fulfill our rewards before the situation reaches that point!"

"You're right." Cleo agreed with Essin's concerns.

"I know, Cleo, you won't let me down, right? I've reported your achievements to the Prime Minister and the Queen many times. At least the role you played in Prime Minister Ellenn's reply is quite praiseworthy."

"Well, I understand. This time I went to the city for negotiations... the focus is not to persuade Count Ramas, but to express our attitude to his subordinates. Let them... be able to take measures?!"

"Yes, so you don't have to irritate Count Ramas, especially not to irritate him. This is dangerous."

"Well, okay, I'll draw up a negotiation charter..."

Soon, Essin was the only one left in the general's tent. He still held a wine glass in his hand, and half a glass of wine remained in the glass.

"Duke Essin..." He repeated the title softly. Of course, it was not only the Duke as simple as it was. There was no doubt that with the outstanding performance of this conquest, there must be a place within the Queen's court. "Duke Essin... Duke? It sounds really good? I finally... won this game!"

However, this may not be enough. The queen can be enthroned or deprived. Maybe there is a way to deepen the queen's impression?

Although he made many wrong choices along the way, he won the most critical game. His future is no longer the moon in the water, but he is very sincerely trampling on his feet. Essin himself understood that the risk of gambling this time was actually not greater than when he broke the back of the Eagle City, but the results he got were very different. He already knew the news that Byron City had committed suicide. Now he thought of the monarch at that time, he only felt ridiculous.

A voice came from outside. Essin turned his head and saw one of his adjutants coming.

"General, someone outside the barracks asked for a visit."

"Please see? Who?"

"He refused to tell his identity, but he asked me to pass this to you. He said that if you read this thing, you will know what his identity is."

After saying that, the adjutant respectfully delivered an item to Essin.

It was a relatively rare cigarette box. Many nobles would not use small wooden boxes to pack cigarettes, but prepared a special metal box to carry these entertainment items with them. The cigarette box was made of gold and was inlaid with rubies in a pattern. Anyone can see that the owner of the cigarette box must be rich and noble.

This is...Esing looked familiar. After a long time of recollection, he remembered the origin of this thing: this box was the instrument used by Duke Byron during his lifetime. He had seen Byron take out the cigarette box and smoke at several meetings.

"Catch that man!" Essin immediately ordered and stuffed the valuable cigarette box into his pocket. If this thing is given to someone, it should be a very precious gift. "That man is Byron's remnant!"

"Abide by the order!"

A few minutes later, the adjutant came back again. "General, he is gone! I have sent cavalry to search..."

What's going on? Will Byron's remnants come to me? Want to assassinate me? Essin expressed deep doubts. He originally thought that after he burned the warehouse and killed Byerheim, he would be completely incompatible with Byron's side. But from this point of view...it seems...what does it mean? One temptation or something? If the other temptation is, is it the remnants of Byron's remnants, or a trap set by some ulterior motives of detractors?

"Call the magicians." Essin immediately concluded. It would be best if the church people were to endorse him. In this way, no one could attack him with this matter. Because the altar of worshipping evil gods was found, the church had defined Byron as a chaotic believer who disrupted the country.

When Essin explained this to the magicians and asked them to "assist in search of Chaos Believers", someone embraced the magic wind in a hidden place not far from the barracks. It was not a powerful magic, so it failed to attract attention.

"Tsk, is it still not possible?" In the northeast farther away from here, Ma Wen stood on his magic plate and cursed a slight curse. He turned his head to look at the sky in the distance. At this time, the sunset had sunk into the distant mountains, and only the clouds in the sky were still bright and red.

"I thought it would work. That guy was really smart and cautious."

He flew alone. The magic disk kept its speed low, but it was actually much faster than walking. Because if you fly in the sky, you can choose to move forward in a straight line. At this speed, you should be able to see Luo Jin in three days.
Chapter completed!