Quadruple split

"Good start..."

Archduke Simon frowned slightly and pondered for a while before asking: "Are there other ways besides 'sanctions' and 'wait-and-see'?"

He looked at Mo Tan with some confusion. After all, in Simon's mind, neither the 'sanction', which imposes severe punishments in accordance with the imperial code, nor the 'wait-and-see', which is tantamount to acquittal, is not a good start. The former is almost equivalent to Marshall. The family will be destroyed, and the latter will lead to the death of the Fire Claw Territory. Of course, the premise is that what Dabus said about Futaba and what Grand Duke Rhino said is true...

Regardless of whether the previous 'threat' from the Fire Claw was true or not, Simon, who puts the Empire first in everything, would not dare to bet, no matter how small the possibility was!

If the Fire Claw Territory really starts a war and exposes the Marshall family's criminal activities of catching and selling slaves to the world, and the young and energetic head of the Crystal Wolf family gets involved, the worst case scenario may even cause the empire to fall apart. A conservative estimate is that it will It will take a toll on your vitality.

[So what is his plan? 】

Simon unabashedly looked at the calm and composed young poet in front of him. He knew very well that the other person was definitely not an 'enthusiastic citizen of the Violet Empire', not to mention his feat of catching Sakfrith without anyone noticing. Judging from the person's elusive temperament, his profound words, and his thorough understanding of the situation, Archduke Simon did not believe that this guy had no other motives. In fact, this dark elf who was only forty years old but had a lot of experience in the world. The Grand Duke has already seen some clues from the little details not long ago, and coupled with the fact that Baroka, who is also not as innocent as he seems, expressed his position so quickly, he already has some guesses in his mind, but it is just not convenient to put them on the table. Just come up and say it.

"No, there is no other way."

Mo Tan chuckled, shook his head, and said slowly: "The so-called good start is based on the premise that the result of the trial is 'sanctions', otherwise the empire will definitely set off an uproar where conservative cup sizes must be G. By then, It’s not that easy to end it. Of course, this is just my personal guess. Even if your lord, the Duke, doesn’t believe a word, you are free.”

So what is a cup size?

Simon did not ask this question, which he vaguely felt was a bit tasteless, but asked directly: "The behavior of the Marshall family... If the judgment according to the imperial code is enough to exterminate the family, even one of the nine major families is useless. "

Although Grand Duke Simon remained expressionless when he said these words, Mo Tan still keenly captured the pain and struggle faintly revealed in his words. This is also expected, after all, this Grand Duke Simon of Ximu He is still young (compared to his race), and no matter how cold and rigid his character is, he is still not as open-minded as those old ghosts who have lived for nearly a thousand years (Xia Lian, who is far away in Misha County, suddenly fights sneeze), and Buffy Marshall is one of his few good friends. Although the two families do not have close contact due to distance, it does not affect their personal friendship, so they often visit each other in their personal names. guest in the territory of Buffy, and there is no case of puppy love... Therefore, Simon, who has no heirs, naturally loves Buffy's children. Therefore, even if he is very aware of the seriousness of the Marshall family's crimes, it is normal for him to exterminate the family several times, but he Still can't bear it.

Therefore, this grand duke who is loyal to the empire and the code has been wavering before. In addition to the reason that the collapse of the Marshall family, one of the nine major families, may lead to instability in the empire, he is also struggling with his personal emotions. , so he has been subconsciously amplifying the reason that "the nine pillars of the empire cannot be missing".

This means that if Mo Tan had not come today, even if the current Archduke Simon has not yet made up his mind, he would most likely choose to vote 'wait and see' in the end, and use justice as an excuse to give himself some peace of mind, and then Always be vigilant and monitor the Marshall family to prevent the evil they have caused from resurrecting.

But the problem is... Mo Tan is here.

"Haha, although what you said, Lord Duke, makes sense, it is very, very reasonable, but..."

Mo Tan smiled and asked leisurely: "You just said it yourself that the empire has never seen such a situation where the nine major families have been openly tried for hundreds of years. In other words, if the next trial is indeed based on The ending of 'sanction' is also an unprecedented first time. Lord Duke, do you know how special the words 'first time' are?"

Simon didn't understand the 'deep meaning' of the former, so he just narrowed his eyes and said softly: "Tell me your understanding."

"My understanding is more complicated, but in this matter, the meaning of the first time is nothing more than the word 'standard'." Mo Tan did not sell it, but explained with a smile: "To be precise, it means setting standards. Standards that can be seen by commoners, nobles, and lords, let everyone know what level of crimes not even a grand duke can commit. This will not only make us ignorant people feel the justice of the empire , full of confidence in the future life, and can also be a wake-up call for those children in high positions, letting them know that even the big lords who play too much will be punished, not to mention that the power and status are far inferior to themselves. .”

Simon nodded lightly, but he could still think of these contents even if the other party didn't say it, so he just waited silently for the unfathomable Mr. Anthony Dabbs in front of him to continue.

"Of course, more importantly..."

Mo Tan did not disappoint the former. After a short pause, he continued with a smile: "Because punishing a grand duke is out of reach for most people, and those who are qualified to think about it do not have the courage to take care of it. In addition, there is no clear explanation in the Imperial Code, so even if the final result is 'sanctions', we do not necessarily have to completely destroy the Marshall family."

Simon shook his head. His face looked a little ugly, but he still said in a deep voice: "But a crime of this level..."

"Hasn't this level of crime happened before? You just told me personally."

Mo Tan chuckled, spread his hands and said: "What's the result? Apart from giving a large amount of benefits to other families, the party involved suffered no losses at all, and there was not even a crime. So what do you think about the 'degree of crime'? Do we still need to talk?"

Grand Duke Simon's eyes flickered, as if he understood something.

Mo Tan casually took out two valuable goblets that he didn't know where he came from, put them on the small table between the two of them with a smile, and then took out a small jar of wine-scented goblets. Huo Lie filled up the two cups: "Grand Duke Baroka gave them to me. It's such a waste for someone like me who doesn't understand wine to drink them."

Then he picked up the cup, drank down the strong liquor that could be ignited with a little fire, and exclaimed with emotion: "Okay, it's quite strong!"

[Then why don’t you just drink alcohol? 】

Hearing Mo Tan's comments about Gong Huolie, the corner of Simon's mouth, which was fairly knowledgeable about wine, twitched slightly. He picked up the cup, took a sip, shook his head and said, "It seems you really don't understand wine."

Because of Gong Huolie's special nature, he was not worried about the other party poisoning the wine, and drank with confidence.

Mo Tan just smiled, and then changed the topic back to the right track, shrugging: "In short, since there is an unwritten rule of exchanging benefits for 'observation' votes, the so-called fairness is just a decoration. The Imperial Code that you are concerned about is important, but after all it only exists for ordinary people. As for the Grand Dukes... Haha, although it is indeed necessary to follow the corresponding laws after the 'sanctions', as the makers and enforcers of the laws themselves However, it can still be done to make it less transparent."

"Not so transparent..."

"Yeah, not that transparent."

Mo Tan snapped his fingers in an ungentlemanly manner, and raised the corner of his mouth with a sly arc: "Whether it is this world or this empire, unfair things and the so-called privileged class will never disappear. Instead of following the past, The 'hidden rules' make all high-ranking people feel confident and lawless. It is better to use the privileges in your hands appropriately. Although it will appear less fair in the judgment of disasters, it is still better than the overly extreme handling methods in the past. "

As soon as these words came out, the Grand Duke Simon who valued the most rules among the nine Dukes in front of Mo Tan actually nodded. Although the latter was rigid, he was by no means a pedantic person. He knew very well that although what Mo Tan said seemed superficial, It seems deviant and contemptuous of the law, but it can make the laws and rules closer to reality.

In fact, he himself had such thoughts when he first learned about the trials that ended in vain in history. But at that time, he just thought about it. He did not expect that such an opportunity would actually appear, let alone The friend he discussed with him at that time would become a 'judged person' with countless blood on his hands.

"You should know what I mean."

Mo Tan raised a toast to Archduke Simon and smiled: "Strict and extreme sanctions may seem just on the surface, but in fact they fully demonstrate the privileges of the highest class. In the past, those crimes that could not be ignored on the grounds of 'observation' have perfectly Interpreting this point, the supposedly fair trial turned into a joke, a stage for the exchange of interests between major families, and a dirty tacit understanding that everyone knew, so absolute justice turned into absurdity. Big words and silent understanding water the buds of crime, just because no one can afford the high price of being 'sanctioned', well, in layman's terms, no one wants to kill their whole family."

Simon sighed, picked up the goblet and took a big sip of Gong Huo Lie, with a touch of bitterness on the corner of his mouth: "Because no one can guarantee that their descendants will not make huge mistakes, even if I have this kind of confidence, I will never For those who flout the law, there is no guarantee that a certain future Grand Duke Simon will not be unanimously found guilty by everyone in the Purple Jiu Hall."

Mo Tan laughed: "This is also one of the reasons for your hesitation, right?"

"That's right."

Grand Duke Simon nodded unabashedly and said calmly: "I'm not that high in consciousness yet."

At this point in the conversation, the two of them could be considered to have completely talked things over.

"No one has such a high consciousness." Mo Tan blinked and said leisurely: "But now we have an opportunity, an opportunity to turn absolute justice into relative fairness, and turn unscrupulousness into scruples."

A glimmer of understanding flashed through Archduke Simon's blood-red eyes: "Is that what you said before, making the 'sanctions' less transparent?"

Mo Tan nodded lightly: "Yes, now only a few people know about the heinous crimes of the Marshall family. Except for the grand dukes and people close to them, almost no one knows about the Marshall family's 'feat' of catching and selling slaves. We can absolutely not tell the whole truth after confirming the 'sanctions', and just say 20 to 30% of the things to deal with the people. In this way, the punishment does not need to be too strong, but it can also give everyone an explanation, not only to make people The privileged classes like the lords have fully enjoyed their privileges. From a long-term perspective, with this start, the future grand dukes of the empire must carefully consider things they want to do, at least not with the intention of exchanging benefits anyway. The mentality that everything will be settled in the end.”

"So what you want to say is?"

"I would say this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Mo Tan shrugged and smiled warmly and calmly: "As the biggest victim, the Fire Claw Leader has a very firm position; the person in charge of the Crystal Wolf happens to be a girl who is not mature enough but has a strong sense of justice; before the Grand Duke Baroka He also expressed his position; the two votes in the hands of the royal family have always been on one side and not helping each other; if the Simon family is added to the mix...heh, for hundreds of years, when has there ever been a judge on the highest level of the empire? This kind of scene? If you miss this time, you don’t know when it will be next time. And if this happens again, it can only mean that someone has committed a crime no less than what the Marshall family did this time. This It’s something we all don’t want to see.”

Archduke Simon was silent for a long time, then slowly said: "If I choose 'sanction', what do you think will happen in the end?"

Mo Tan smiled casually, shook his head and said: "I know what you want to ask, dear Duke, but what I said before has solved two knots in your mind, one is loyalty to the empire, and the other is loyalty to the system. Worry, as for the last one...I'm sorry, even if we only tell one tenth of the truth to the outside world, the current patriarch of the Marshall family and your best friend in youth - Grand Duke Buffy Marshall must die!"

Simon's originally quite pale face suddenly lost three points of blood, but he just nodded with difficulty and said solemnly: "I understand that as the person in charge, Buffy's hands have been stained with too much blood. If it is really punished, , had to die, but..."

"But Buffy Marshall's death does not mean the death of the Marshall family."

Mo Tan didn't wait for the other party to finish speaking, then interrupted: "They are such a big family, it is impossible not to have a few innocent people. If I were Buffy, it would be enough to dirty my own hands. The slave trade is like this." My wife and children won’t even let them hear it, let alone get involved.”

"I see."

"Haha, so, even though the matter is so big, it's not impossible even if Buffy is the only one who dies in the end."

"So, Mr. Dabbs, one last question..."

"Want to hear the details~"

Chapter 373: End