Karelia Empire, imperial capital, imperial palace.
The emperor's study is on the third floor of this huge palace. The room is not large and the furnishings cannot be called luxurious.
Behind the desk is a high-backed chair with the Empire's double-headed eagle emblem carved on the top of the chair. On both sides of the room are bookshelves that tower above the ground. On the bookshelves are stacked the Empire's laws, treaties, account books and secret files over the years.
There is also the Weierna that has sunk to the bottom of the water. The window faces south, and the sun shines in through the window, spreading a warm golden color on the desk and floor.
Felipe VIII is sitting behind the desk, with a document spread out in front of him. The paper of the document is made of fine parchment, with smooth texture and neatly cut edges. The cover is stamped with a dark red fire seal - the badge of the Vagrian Empire, which consists of a city gate, a giant dragon and a scepter, all three stacked together.
He picked up the paint with his thumb, pulled the letter out of the envelope, unfolded it, read it from beginning to end, and then read it again. He was silent for a moment, put the letter on the table, raised his head, and looked at the few people standing in front of him - the Grand Duke of the East, Marquis White Wind, Marshal Qiesike, the General Speaker.
These people are his confidants, and they have followed him for at least ten years, and for decades at most. They have seen the empire at its best, and they have also seen the empire at its worst.
"Tell me, what's going on?" Felipe pushed the document to the center of the table and clicked on the two words "Caesar" with his finger.
"Your Majesty." The Grand Duke of the Eastern Territory spoke first. He is the oldest among the four and the most outspoken. "Vagrian's new emperor has ascended the throne.
We should send people there. Although our two countries are far apart, they are powerful countries after all. It is right to have good relations."
The emperor nodded. He didn't say yes or no, he just nodded. The Grand Duke of the East was right, it is better to have a good neighbor than to have a bad neighbor. Even if this neighbor is not geographically bordering the empire, even if this neighbor has never shown any interest in the empire's territory.
But the question is-"Why do they have a new emperor? Is the old red dragon dead?"
The President-General was silent. His hair was completely white, and the wrinkles on his face were as deep as knife carvings. Each mark recorded a year that he could no longer remember clearly.
He had never seen anything like this - an empire that had never changed its ruler for more than a thousand years suddenly changed its emperor.
It's not a war, it's not a coup, there are no signs. The name of the new emperor is written on the paper, like a thousand-year-old tree that was suddenly uprooted and a new seedling planted next to it. Silence for a long time can easily turn into embarrassment.
"This is the most unreasonable thing." said the President, speaking very slowly, as if every word was weighed before being released.
"That country has been ruled by the red dragon since the founding of the country, but now the emperor has been changed. Is it really that the end of the old red dragon is approaching?"
Marquis White Wind shook his head. "No. Dragons's end is much later than that of humans. That red dragon can live for at least another thousand years."
"And, Caesar?" Felipe's finger clicked on the table again, "Which dragon's name is this?"
"I don't know. We have very little information about Vagrian." Marshal Qiesike turned around from the window.
"That country has been closed for more than a thousand years, and most of what the outside world knows about it comes from a few words from caravans and refugees who escaped from the border.
We don't even know how many heirs that red dragon has, let alone which dragon is qualified to inherit the throne."
"Forget it." The emperor waved his hand and closed the document, "I will send the foreign minister later, and be polite. As for the rest, just take it step by step."
His words didn't sound like an order, but more like a man who was overwhelmed by too many things and was pushing a matter that he couldn't handle for the time being to a further future.
The Grand Duke of the Eastern Territory nodded, noted the matter in his mind, and prepared to discuss the specific candidates and gifts with the Minister of Foreign Affairs later.
The emperor leaned back in his chair and took a deep breath. His complexion was much worse than before the storm, and there was a faint blackish black under his eyes, which was the trace of long-term lack of sleep.
The storm destroyed crops and mines on half of the continent, and almost half of the empire's southern granary was turned into marshland.
Every day, new documents are sent from all over the empire. Some are asking for help, some are complaining, some are passing the blame, some are blaming others, and some are reporting problems and complaining to colleagues.
The documents piled up on his desk were like a tomb that grew taller every day, weighing him down and suffocating him.
"Besides, there is a bigger problem now." The emperor's voice was a little lower. His fingers tapped on the table twice, which was his habit when he was hesitating whether to say the next words.
"My son."
None of the four people answered. The emperor's son - Crown Prince Felipe·Kodaor, the first heir to the empire, is only twenty-six years old and is known as "the smartest young man in the empire".
He is proficient in magic, military, finance, diplomacy, knows the history of the empire, the continent, and ancient history, and can speak seven languages fluently.
He entered Empire Tower Mage Corps to study at the age of sixteen, and was sent to the northern border when he was twenty, where he led troops to repel an invasion of southern barbarians;
At the age of twenty-two, he returned to Beijing and took over the reform work of the Imperial Ministry of Finance, increasing the empire's fiscal revenue by 20% in just two years.
He is the emperor's smartest child and the emperor's favorite child. The emperor plans to pass the throne to him.
"He has been acting a bit loudly recently." The emperor's voice was very soft.
The President-President answered the call. His voice was not loud and his speaking speed was not fast, but every word was like a gently plucked string, emitting a low and continuous echo in the quiet study.
"Your Highness... indeed did some overreaching things, but they are still considered good deeds. He used His Majesty's name to pay back wages to the workers in the eastern mines. Those miners have not received their wages for three months, and they will cause trouble if they are not paid.
His Highness blocked the hole, using his own private treasury without touching a single copper from the national treasury. He also asked the lords of the seven northern cities to take in local refugees. After the storm, there were many homeless people, and the seven northern cities took in tens of thousands of people.
The lords were reluctant at first, so His Highness gave one person a letter. No one knew what was written in the letter, but after the letter was sent, they all agreed.
He also sent dead soldiers to intimidate several nobles who acted out of bounds. Those nobles took advantage of the chaos to annex land, buy granaries by force, and drive up prices. His Highness's people went to their mansions.
The next morning, with pale faces, the nobles sold the grain to the grain store at the original price.
Each of these things is a good thing if taken individually. But if it happens too often, it won't be that way."
The emperor's fingers tapped lightly on the table. It was not a heavy knock, but the sound was like a muffled thunder in the quiet study.
"They are all good deeds that can be spread. But after too many times, it becomes different. He did things in my name and did good things. I can't scold him. But when he did these things, he didn't ask me."
The emperor's voice was not high, but the feeling of being bypassed by his son seeped out from every word he said, like ink dripping into clear water, and nothing could be done to cover it up.
"What should we do? Then we can only let Crown-Carving Guard calm down the child for a while."
There was silence in the study again.
The emperor picked up a document on the table, unfolded it, frowned and read it again and again. The paper of the document was rough and the handwriting was sloppy, as if a local official with a low level of education had written it overnight under candlelight. The ink was of varying shades, and some words were scratched by his fingers.
The letterhead of the document reads "Luoweida Viscount Heross", and the content is very short - "Western Mine Two giant beasts appeared. One is golden and has three giant wings.
One was black, shaped like a giant dragon, and covered with purple crystal stones. The two giant beasts briefly confronted each other over the mine and then left. The mine collapsed and the surrounding villages were severely damaged. No casualties were caused, but panic is spreading."
"What the hell?" The emperor threw the document on the table.
"Are you sure it's true?" the emperor asked. No one could answer this question, and no one had seen it with their own eyes, but Viscount Heluos didn't dare to joke about this kind of thing. Lying about military information was a serious crime, so he didn't think so hard.
But two giant beasts, one with golden triads and one with black amethyst, this sounds like a story made up after being drunk, but it happens just after the storm and when people are in panic.
What a coincidence, as if someone was deliberately creating chaos.
"Then we should ask the Dharma King to take a look."
"No." The Speaker shook his head, "Medici Master can't even deal with the matters in the tower now.
The impact of the storm on the Magic Nexus Mountains is far greater than expected, and the magic power disorder in the earth's veins has not completely subsided. Tower Mage Corps is on duty day and night, and he can't leave for even a day."
The emperor had another headache. Everything was chaotic and busy these days. Those consortiums were making fortunes from disasters. Prices of food, minerals, transportation, everything were rising, as if someone was behind the scenes to control everything.
Nobles from different camps were arguing with each other. The two factions were quarreling in the Great Council, and several emergency relief bills were shelved.
Even he, the emperor, almost couldn't hold it back, not because of disaster relief, but because of where the money for disaster relief would come from. The imperial treasury was already not very full before the storm, and it was even more stretched after the storm.
He wanted to raise taxes, but the nobles said that raising taxes would force the people to rebel; he wanted to borrow money, but the conditions of the consortium were so harsh that they were like taking advantage of the situation; he wanted to use the royal family's private treasury, which did not have that much money. The foundation of the empire was already unstable, and this catastrophe only released everything.
Alas.
"Let Crown-Carving Guard come." The emperor rubbed his temples, "Let that kid settle down first." Crown-Carving Guard, the emperor's personal guard, all members are elites selected from various armies of the empire. Every Crown-Carving Guard swears allegiance to the emperor and only the emperor.
It is not used for fighting, but for doing things that are inconvenient to use the army at certain times.
The Grand Duke of the East stood up, walked to the door, opened the door, and was about to call the attendant guarding the door to pass Crown-Carving Guard. He opened the door, and then stopped.
Outside the door is a long corridor, with a guard wearing black armor and a silver mask standing every few steps on both sides of the corridor - Crown-Carving Guard.
Their armors glowed coldly in the dim light of the corridor. They stood on both sides of the corridor, standing very straight and silent, like a row of statues nailed to the wall, wearing armor, unable to speak or move.
The Grand Duke of the East returned slowly. His steps were very light, but every step in this dead silence was like someone beating a drum. He retreated into the study, his hand still on the door handle, and he did not let go.
Marquis White Wind noticed his expression, stood up and walked to the door, took a look, and stepped back. His movements were as slow as the Duke of the East, and the expression on his face was as solemn as the Duke of the East.
A calm, unhurried footsteps came from outside the door. The footsteps got closer and closer, and a young figure appeared at the end of the corridor.
He wore luxurious but unobtrusive clothes. A dark blue robe, with dark silver edges on the collar and cuffs, and a black belt around his waist. On the belt hung a gold griffon badge, which was the symbol of the Imperial Crown Prince.
His hair was dark brown and combed meticulously, revealing a full forehead and a pair of dark brown eyes just like the emperor.
The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, with a smile that said "I know you don't welcome me, but I'm here anyway."
"Hello, father."