Great time travel

Chapter 25. The Empire in Nightmare
On a city defense tower in the city of Itarica, Princess Pinna with loose red hair was holding the crenel with both hands, looking down with a melancholy expression.

On the originally empty field outside the city wall, countless large and small tents and shacks popped up like mushrooms after the rain, extending from under the city wall to the fields where the crops had just been harvested in the distance.Along with various noises, wisps of cooking smoke curled up among these tents and shacks.Not far away, groups of subhuman refugee women squatted by the river, washing their clothes and bedding.There are also some local hawkers here and there, shuttling through the refugee camps, selling some cheap gadgets.In addition, there are many demihuman children with animal ears and tails, playing in the harvested fields, looking for straw that can be used as fuel, or the ears of wheat that the farmers left behind when harvesting.

As a pre-industrial medium-sized city with a population of just over 1, Ita Rica naturally cannot accommodate more than 3 refugees at one go—in fact, even on the earth in a modern industrial society, [-] refugees would A number that is enough to cause headaches for any small and medium-sized city.Therefore, among the [-] Asian refugees who migrated over mountains and mountains from the imperial capital of Ula Bianca, only a very small number of them were allowed to enter the city walls of Ita Rica and live in idle houses. After settling down, most of the remaining refugees can only camp outside the city temporarily.

However, for the demihumans, who had already had a rough time and were used to discrimination and oppression, this kind of life was barely tolerable.After all, in this kind of slavery society, it is impossible to have any concept of human rights and the Virgin Mary. Refugees who encounter trouble, even women like Princess Pinna, are never afraid of killing people with a knife to establish their prestige: But there is also a prerequisite for this, that is, at least they must be fed.

But even with such basic survival needs, the former imperial regent and today's Princess Pingna can hardly satisfy them...

"... In the past few days, there are still no food convoys from any big chamber of commerce coming to trade?"

Looking down at the situation of the demi-human refugee camp from the tower, after thinking that there were no bad signs for the time being, Princess Pinna turned around and faced the skinny old man standing behind her, serving the lord of the city, Earl Vermar. asked the old housekeeper.

"...Unfortunately, Your Highness, there has been no caravan for more than a month. I heard that there are too many robbers on the road, it is really not peaceful..."

The old butler replied with a sad face, "...only two carts of barley and a few barrels of wine have been brought by the nearby farmers. In addition, there are more than ten sheep and a group of chickens. I have bought all these things according to your instructions. But this is not enough for everyone's daily ration consumption..."

When this matter was brought up, Princess Pingna became more and more depressed: the daily ration consumption of [-] Asian refugees was a very large number.Even if they are only allowed to eat porridge half-starved, at least two tons of grain should be prepared every day to make porridge for relief.

In addition, the Rose Knights under Princess Pingna are also a big food consumer.Not only did the knights and attendants have to eat better than the refugees, but even the war horses under the knights needed to be fed with a large amount of wheat concentrate so as not to lose weight.

Under normal circumstances, the city of Ita Rica, which has just passed the autumn harvest season, would not be in such distress.The problem is that due to the sudden death of the old count and his wife and the battle for custody of the young heir, the administrative taxation system of the Earl of Vermar has completely collapsed.More than half of the stored grain in the granary was removed by the two sisters of the countess, and less than half of this year's autumn grain was collected, and before it could all be put into the warehouse, thieves flocked in the territory and actually brought it into Ita There was even less food in Lika City... However, the princess brought more than 3 mouths that needed to be fed. As a result, no matter how careful the princess was, she managed to buy food from outside, and the food in the city could only last for another month.

"...Then, have you received a reply to the food loan letters I sent to several nearby aristocratic territories and vassal states?"

"...Ahem, Your Royal Highness, several earls, viscounts, and barons who own territory near the city of Itarica were also ordered to participate in the alien expedition army on Arnus Hill, and now they are all living and dying in the flood I don’t know, their families are all caught up in succession disputes, I’m afraid no one can give you an answer... At present, only King Duran of the Elbe Kingdom has sent a reply, but he also rejected your request..."

The old butler replied bitterly, "...he said that the Kingdom of Elbe was just attacked by Yanlong, and the losses were not small. There were also refugees in need of relief. Moreover, the Senate had borrowed a large amount of food from the Kingdom of Elbe before, It is used for disaster relief in the imperial capital, so there is really no more surplus food.”

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"... Yanlong... Damn it! Has this monster that tormented the mainland for thousands of years appeared again?"

Princess Pingna's eyes froze when she heard the words, but then she shook her head sadly, "...the most deadly scourge of the empire today is probably not the flame dragon, nor the great flood, but the cannibalism among human beings. ! Gray, is there any new battle report from the imperial capital?"

She leaned out slightly from the center of the crenel at the top of the tower, and asked the middle-aged man who was walking up the stairs.

——This is a brawny man in military uniform with a big shoulder and a huge sword on his shoulders. He looks very mighty.

His name is Gray Arud, a seasoned alternate knight.Although he was only born as a commoner and hadn't even obtained the formal title of knight, he is now Princess Pinna's swordsman and the chief instructor of the Rose Knights.

——Princess Pingna's personal guard "Rose Knights", the backbone members are mainly composed of unmarried noble women from the imperial capital and a few underage noble boys. At first, it was just a game group for a group of rich and powerful children to play wars. Later, it gradually became He established a semi-regularized organization similar to the "Noble Boy Scouts" or "Noble Military Summer Camp", but he has never had any actual combat experience, and he didn't even leave the imperial capital for the first time until recently.

However, because of the atmosphere of advocating military exploits and the supremacy of force in the empire, Princess Pinna also does not want her Rose Knights to become pure vases. Therefore, apart from young noble men and women with no military experience, there are also Some battle-tested and experienced veterans serve as the combat core of the entire army.And the princess's master swordsman, Gray Alud's alternate knight, is the best among these veterans—in the imperial army, the path for civilian soldiers to become noble knights is very narrow, but once this path is opened, then The official career that comes down is often smoother than the hereditary military nobles.There are also quite a few precedents where an ordinary soldier accumulated meritorious service and was finally promoted to general.

Especially after she was ordered to leave the imperial capital this time, due to lack of experience in long-distance marches and management, Princess Pingna relied more on Gray, almost to the point of obeying her words.The daily military affairs of the Rose Knights are largely taken care of by Gray, an alternate knight.

"...I want to report to Your Royal Highness, the Emperor has a good news. The latest rebel army summoned by the Senate has smashed the main force of the northern rebel army. Your Majesty personally commanded the army to continue chasing the remnants of the enemy, and defeated the enemy chieftain in the city of Rendell, completely wiped out All the territories of the rebel nobles in the Kinki region.”

Gray reported to the Princess Salute, "...at present, the surrounding areas of the imperial capital have restored peace, and will no longer be attacked by the rebels on both sides."

However, Princess Pingna, who heard the above-mentioned good news, did not show a happy smile, but showed a slightly sad and confused expression.

"...Slaying the enemy chieftain... So, is the emperor already dead? Hey, how long will the bloodshed of the royal family last?"

——Just like the feudal era of the earth, the ruling families of the countries on the Farmat continent are also full of various bloody and cruel fights.For example, Emperor Molt II, who had just passed away in the great flood, did not inherit the throne in the normal order, but took advantage of his brother's untimely death, and when his nephew Kadi, who inherited the throne, was young, he took the responsibility of the guardian. He became the regent with a reasonable and legal identity, and then gradually cultivated his party members, supported his cronies, cut off the loyalists left by his elder brother, and finally successfully deposed his nephew Kadi, and ascended the throne of the emperor himself.

Therefore, after the sudden death of Molt II, apart from the two princes Diabo and Soshar fighting each other for the throne, he had a younger brother who was enshrined as a prince, that is, Pina's uncle, who also wanted to learn from his elder brother. The role model during his lifetime actually secretly gathered a group of party members in his own fief in the north of the imperial capital, trying to compete with his nephews for the throne.However, this reckless prince obviously miscalculated the timing. The eldest prince Sausal, who had just raised the flag of rebellion, was still far away in the east, unable to restrain the imperial guards.The new Emperor Diabo, who was supported by the Senate, quickly organized an elite crusade force and quickly entered the stronghold of the rebel army. After several short battles, he successfully killed the emperor's uncle and put down This small-scale rebellion.

However, both the new emperor Diabo and Princess Pinna in Ita Rica knew very well that this small victory did not eliminate much of the current chaos.The real decisive test is whether or not the huge rebel army assembled by the eldest prince Saushal in the east can be defeated.

In Princess Pinna's view, under normal circumstances, the second brother Diapo, who has already ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, has the support of the Senate, and controls the central government, the imperial treasury, and the Royal Guards, is invincible in the face of any domestic rebellion. You can be sure of winning.But the problem is that a big flood that washed down from Arnus Hill forced Diabo to fight the rebellion while doing disaster relief, which greatly leveled the balance of strength between the two sides.

At present, it is impossible to judge who will win and who will lose in the next civil war... What worries Princess Pinna even more is that no matter who wins or loses in this royal civil war, as long as it drags on for a little longer, it will all be lost. It is tantamount to destroying the weak hegemony foundation of the empire and the royal family.

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——In the 30 years since the warlike Emperor Molt II came to the throne, he has always taken the supremacy of force as his purpose, and taken conquest and aggression wars as his national policy, frequently launching one foreign war after another.Whether it was dealing with the traditional enemies of the empire, or the vassals who rebelled and surrendered from time to time, the domestic nobles with ulterior motives, and the ignorant and tyrannical barbaric tribes, Emperor Molt II always relied on force to deter and suppress them.

In the face of the overwhelming military power of the imperial family, no matter which force can only show obedience—all those who disobey are wiped out.

However, in the recent period, the empire that had just unified the mainland in name suffered heavy losses one after another: first, it encountered a flood from the opposite side of the "gate" on Mount Arnus, and the hundred thousand people who were planning to plunder the other world The Imperial Expeditionary Force fell apart.This batch of expeditionary forces is the most elite legion of the empire, including veterans who have experienced many battles, powerful magicians and excellent commanders. Their loss is very traumatic for the entire empire.

Next, the great flood destroyed the imperial capital, destroyed the core of the empire's rule, and drowned tens of thousands of imperial citizens, as well as a large number of administrative and judicial officials who maintained the operation of the central government.And the loss of these high-quality talents cannot be easily replaced.

Now, a tragic and bloody civil war is gaining momentum over the throne of the empire.From Princess Pingna's point of view, if this civil war fails to decide the outcome in a short period of time, and turns into a long-term chronic bleeding, then it is very likely that it will directly sound the death knell of the empire's doom!

——Although the Farmat continent has been unified on the surface, the empire at this time is actually just a platter composed of many territories of different sizes, different beliefs, different races, different cultures, and different political systems.A considerable part of the territories that fly the imperial flag in name still have their own governments, parliaments and laws. The only link that connects these territories and their people is the huge invincible army of the empire, as well as the fear and fear of the above-mentioned violence. Surrender.It is not difficult to see that once the military power to maintain the hegemonic rule is lost too much, the huge impact will shatter this empire full of internal contradictions.Most territories with a centrifugal tendency will quickly secede.And those defeated vassal states who had a deep hatred with the empire would even take the opportunity to counterattack and try to make up for the fatal blow to the empire!
However, even seeing such a nightmarish and terrifying prospect, Princess Pinna couldn't come up with any countermeasures.It is impossible for her to let her second brother Diabo, who has already ascended the throne, abdicate and hand over the crown, nor is it possible for her eldest brother Sausal, who was once the crown prince, to kneel down and surrender to his younger brother calmly, and she even has no way to intervene in this civil war. Just when the news of the rebellion came, she tentatively sent a letter to the Senate asking if she should bring the Rose Knights back to join the battle, but the reply she received was: "Don't worry about it! Bring those young masters and young ladies The farther you are from the battlefield, the better!"

Obviously, the Senate still regards her Rose Knights as a group of children who are bored playing war games, and think that these young masters and ladies will only add to the chaos when they go to the battlefield... Besides, at the moment At this sensitive moment when the royal rebellion raged, the new emperor Diabo, who had just seized the crown, might be wary and apprehensive of her sister who had been the regent of the empire for a few days...

"... Regarding the war in the east, it seems that we can't do much! Gray! Continue to find ways to collect food! Settle these refugees and maintain the stability of this city, the only thing we can do right now It's over. I hope this nightmare will end soon!"

After thinking for a moment, Princess Pingna shook her head with a wry smile, and sighed, then turned her face again and continued to overlook the scenery outside the city.That head of bright red hair fluttered and fluttered in the autumn wind, like a dancing flame, it was extraordinarily dazzling and eye-catching...

——Unfortunately, according to the current situation, her wish is doomed to fail.

Because, a small group of uninvited guests who had carefully disguised themselves were quietly looking at the city of Ita Rica under her feet in the woods not far away.