Old Officials

Her sharp gaze seemed able to pierce the bead curtain as it swept over the ministers below, who stood trembling like cicadas in winter. "Then, esteemed ministers, regarding the person to replace Lord Ferdinand as Governor-General of the Three Towns, oversee the northwestern military affairs, and take charge of suppressing the rebellion—does anyone have a suitable candidate to recommend?"

Once the question was posed, the great hall fell into an even deeper silence. The air seemed to grow viscous.

The ministers glanced at one another. None dared meet the gaze from behind the bead curtain, and even fewer were willing to step forward and make a recommendation at such a time.

The position of Governor-General of the Three Towns seemed to carry immense authority. It governed the three strategic regions of Herwenham, Brittany, and the Free State in the upper reaches of the Rhine River, commanded tens of thousands of Border Army soldiers, and wielded power surpassing that of most hereditary grand lords.

Yet everyone who understood the realities of court knew perfectly well that this was nothing but a hot potato—a thankless task of "being entrusted with command in the aftermath of a defeated army and ordered to serve in a time of crisis"!

The northwestern defensive line stretched for a thousand miles, with far too many points requiring defense and never enough troops to spare.

Within the Three Towns, various forces were deeply entangled. Local nobles, merchant guilds, and Border Army generals each harbored their own schemes, obeyed openly while defying in secret, and treated drawing pay for nonexistent soldiers and bleeding the army of its funds as practically open secrets. The accumulated problems were deep-rooted and nearly impossible to rectify.

More fatal still, the kingdom's finances were now on the verge of collapse. Even the troops stationed