Damn it, this boss really has no normal skills.

When the Demon Lord forced the three demon kings to launch the beast tide, the students at the rest stop were forced to be involved in the front line of the battle at Luoshen Mountain.

But thanks to the efforts of the players and the noble army, they were more or less safe, and even the slight losses were within an acceptable range.

But this incident made everyone nervous, and the college was overwhelmed in dealing with various complaints.

However, to make matters worse, a dangerous banquet was held in the palace, which directly added fuel to the complicated situation.

Now the public opinion environment has completely exploded, and countless parents of students have rushed to send people to handle leave procedures.

Especially those who have something to hide, they are afraid that if the king really gets into chaos and His Majesty carries out a purge, what will they do if their own children are detained as hostages?

"I don't care! If you don't allow my child to take leave, we will directly process the withdrawal procedures!"

"Ah this..."

After all, the college is open for business. In fact, they are not afraid that if something really happens to Wang Duo, what will they do with so many children trapped here?

Since there was no way out, I just went with the flow and temporarily postponed the so-called practical exercises, including the subsequent exams.

The result of this was that, at the beginning of June, all the major colleges in the royal capital had their summer vacations started at the same time.

"Okay!"

Then Ji Ming ran out of the school gate earlier than the students at lightning speed.

Ancient wisdom: There is only one thing in this world that is better than a vacation, and that is a paid vacation.

According to the contract at St. Valentine's College, salaries must be paid as usual even during holidays, so he definitely has no objection to this.

Moreover, Ji Ming had been planning to learn more professional knowledge during this period of time in order to meet the advancement requirements to the [Arcane Wizard].

Therefore, in a situation like the current one, it is like someone sends him a pillow just when he wants to go to sleep. He is so happy that he wants to fire hypersonic missiles continuously.

but……

Sometimes, there are some things that you can't refuse just because you want to, and you can't choose not to go just because you don't want to.

Especially now, everyone knows that Teacher Ji is on vacation and there is no need to prepare lessons day and night.

So today the duke invited him, tomorrow that lord invited him, and the day after tomorrow some god wanted to have a drink with him.

Ji Ming still has to stay in the royal capital at this stage. If someone sincerely wants to make friends with him, he can't just look so gloomy.

So today Duke A was given face, and tomorrow Dean B was given a chance.

Although he would only go once out of courtesy, but with this plus one plus one plus one, Ji Ming would have no choice but to run around between various banquets at a high intensity.

But if one wants to study, how can one tolerate the noise of stringed instruments?

Moreover, Ji Ming is no longer the timid and incompetent quack doctor he used to be.

Just grit your teeth and stamp your feet!

"Slip away, slip away~"

After borrowing a large number of copies of alchemical materials from schools and holy mountains by relying on his connections, merits, and even teaching points, he simply announced that he would leave the royal capital and go to other parts of the kingdom to study.

Moreover, he did not tell anyone in advance, including the Sun King and the Pope. He only announced it near noon and left before the afternoon, which was a blitzkrieg against the nobles in the royal capital.

By the time all the nobles, their female relatives, their female relatives, and their female relatives' distant relatives arrived, Ji Ming had already disappeared into the horizon on his Pegasus.

And this time he had a flying horse as a mount, so his plan was a little bolder. He simply started from the capital and continued northward, then made a big circle around the capital in a clockwise direction.

In this way, he would be able to pass by the most fertile land in the Glowing Kingdom, where the largest number of nobles were located, and take a good look at what the "real" nobles of this kingdom looked like.

As a result, the whole journey was as chaotic as the "Three Officials and Three Farewells", only this time it was not the common people who were oppressed by the conscription officers and tax collectors, but the fat-bellied noble lords.

That’s right, perhaps it was because he listened to the advice of the representatives of the pioneer forces, or perhaps it was because smart people really have the same ideas. After the Sun King proposed the strategy of “Return to the West”, he keenly smelled the arrival of an opportunity period.

First of all, why did the Sun King N generations ago personally support the two aristocratic factions of "Money Bag" and "Sword and Shield" in the royal capital?

After that, successive Sun Kings, regardless of their level of knowledge, all unanimously allowed and even encouraged the infighting among them?

Because Huiguang is not a city-state but a rather large country, it is impossible for the king to govern the entire kingdom alone. In order to maintain his rule, he must divide up a part of the royal power.

In order to prevent these divided powers from becoming rampant, usurping power, or even harming the master, the best way is to let them devote more energy to fighting each other.

It sounds good, but the current situation is that the Sun King had previously allied with these two aristocratic factions, but was still almost overthrown by the two opposition grand dukes.

Yes, as the times changed, new enemies emerged that the previous king could not have anticipated.

Not only did the power of these opposition nobles expand to the point where they could challenge the nobles in the royal capital, but the construction of their fiefdoms was so powerful that they could be called a country within a country.

But the king is the king and the minister is the minister. There is no such thing as a principality in Huiguang, and the Sun King would never tolerate such an act of usurpation.

When faced with a minister who is too powerful and may threaten his rule, he can only...

killed?

No, only a fool would kill them. Those two grand dukes now dare to complain to the king. If you still keep forcing them, aren't you forcing them to rebel?

The correct answer actually appeared in China's Han Dynasty. That's right, it was to reduce the power of the princes!

But reducing the power of the feudal lords is a technical job. If you want to reduce the power of the feudal lords without doing anything, you have to come up with clever excuses and win over the gentry.

When you really start to do it, you have to use a sharp knife, cut the meat slowly, and take it easy.

It would be best if by the time the fat pig reacts, it has already been beaten to pieces with only bones left, and there is no way to save it.

The Sun King must have won over the "gentry" and the like. After all, the two major aristocratic factions in the royal capital, including the Duke of Jueqiao and the Church of Holy Light, all support him.

As for this clever name...

"Your Excellency, this is the conscription requirement you need to meet this year."

I don’t know if it was because of the heat or worry, but the viscount with a goatee was sweating profusely early in the morning.

He took the list handed over by the recruiting officer with his wet hands, and his eyes widened at a glance, and he exclaimed in shock.

"Impossible! I've already contacted my Viscount friend, why does the list he gave me require so many things!"

And then there it is.

"What? You want me to pay for the trebuchet and transport it myself?"

"Is this... is this normal? What's the point of doing this? How much will it consume if a person eats what a horse chews?"

"My heart, my wallet! Oh my god..."

It took him three minutes to finish reading the list of just a few hundred words, and the first sentence he said after reading it was.

"Too much, this is too much, I can't afford it!"

But the recruiting officer was impartial and did not say anything to him. He just took out a copy of the royal decree signed by the king.

"I'm sorry, Your Excellency, this list is guaranteed by the signature of His Majesty the King. According to the laws of the kingdom, you must follow it meticulously."

If it had happened a few days ago, the Viscount would have arrogantly insulted the other party, saying that he was just a commoner and dared to be so rude to the noble lord. Someone, drag him out and hang him!

But from his previous nervousness and shrinking, it can be seen that he doesn't dare.

There is no way. Similar troublemakers have appeared a few days ago, and several of them popped up at once under the instigation of the two grand dukes.

But the final result was that no matter whether you were a viscount or a baron, even the earl who took the lead was personally beaten by the king and his head was forcibly pressed down. It was unknown when he would be liquidated.

Well, so we little nobles should not get involved in the fierce struggle among the big men, and just listen to God's orders.

But when he finally gathered a thousand infantry and two hundred cavalry and was ready to deliver the troops and equipment on the list, he was stopped by the conscription officer.

"Your Excellency, are these the soldiers you have recruited?"

"Yes, if you count it, the number is definitely correct!"

"Okay, I'll go right away."

After saying this, the recruiting officer walked towards the army that was standing in a very dense formation for some reason, and signaled these fully armed knights to make way.

"..."

This group of young masters who formed the foundation of the noble army were suddenly stunned, but they neither spoke nor moved, but looked at the viscount at the same time.

The Viscount's expression immediately fell, and he walked forward and tried to pull the recruiting officer away.

"Sir, you don't have to count them one by one. Look, there are twenty people in each row, and there are fifty rows in total. I'm sure you can do multiplication, right? Isn't the total exactly one thousand?"

What he got in return was the harsh treatment from the conscription officer.

"Your Excellency, I am a recruiting officer sent by the king. I have the king's orders on my shoulders and I am executing his orders! Please don't interfere with my work."

The Viscount did not expect the other party to speak so stiffly, and was so shocked that he stuttered for a moment.

"Ah, uh... sorry, I just..."

Upon seeing this, the recruiting officer revealed a bit of well-hidden disdain in his eyes, but urged in a "polite" manner.

"I don't need your apology, Your Excellency. Please let them separate. I want to check them carefully."

The Viscount's expression suddenly turned extremely bad, but he could only nod to his knights.

So the fully armed tin cans made way, allowing the recruiting officer to see the "soldiers" behind them, or in the center of the team.

The recruiting officer clenched his fists so tightly that veins popped out on his forehead.

"Your Excellency, are these the soldiers you found for His Majesty the King!?"

Yes, judging from the appearance, this might be an extremely strong and armored team of a thousand men, armed to the teeth.

But in fact, as long as you peel off the thin outer layer of wrapping paper, you will find that it is a product picture for reference only.

Because what caught everyone's eyes were several farmers who had no armor, let alone leather armor, and could only wear single clothes and hold pitchforks!

"Uh, Mr. Recruiting Officer, this... this is the militia, militia... why are they not soldiers?"

The Viscount was still trying to find excuses for himself, but the conscription officer did not argue with him and directly took out the royal order.

"Your Excellency, I think this list has been clearly written. What you need to provide is a thousand soldiers who have received at least three months of formal military training and have the most basic weapons!"

The recruiting officer asked loudly after looking at the group of poor people who still didn't understand what was going on but were so frightened that they started to kowtow.

"Your Excellency, Viscount, do you think they meet the requirements!?"

"I think... uh, barely, satisfied?"

"Then I think they are totally unsatisfactory! They are clearly just a bunch of ordinary old peasants, not even civilian conscripts that meet the kingdom's requirements!"

Viscount: “I…”

"They are going to fight for their country, but you don't even want to buy them a decent set of equipment! What? Do you want them to wear their own clothes and take their farming tools to fight against the insidious and cunning Deep Forest People?"

Viscount: “I…”

The recruiting officer became more and more excited as he spoke. His neck was red under his prominent jawline, and it seemed as if he was about to curse out his true feelings.

"And they should be farmers, right? I am also a farmer. Now it is almost time for summer harvest, and the farmland is in great need of people. Why did you drag them here?"

Even scolding three times in one second didn't seem to satisfy him, so the recruiting officer took a few deep breaths and simply shouted.

"You...you've shaken Kunimoto, do you know that?!"

Viscount: “I…”

It’s not the Viscount’s fault that he can’t say anything and can only say “me, me, me”.

This is a deadly question, how should people answer it? The Viscount has no way to answer it.

And in a sense, what the Viscount did was actually "right", because everyone had been doing this for the past few hundred years.

For example, if the king decided to launch an expedition and required each family to contribute a thousand people, everyone would tacitly agree to only send five hundred.

Among these five hundred people, it would be good if one hundred of them could fight.

As for the remaining four hundred, they were all rural residents who would not need much compensation even if they died, or some were beggars who were forcibly captured.

So, like this year, the Viscount was actually giving face to the King by gathering these thousand people.

How could we possibly be so diligent in assembling a full-strength regular army for you and equipping you with armor, helmets and so on?

If this is really done, how much money will I have to pay?

How can you enjoy delicious food and drink spicy drinks?

How can you wear gold and silver?

How can he marry an eighteenth concubine... No, how can he keep an eighteenth mistress?