Heartbreaker

"Your Highness, if you want to hold an enthronement ceremony, it won't work in the short term."

Snowflakes rustled on the lattice French windows, and the heavy snow stacks made the pine branches rattle.It was freezing and snowy outside, but the inside of the house was still warm like spring, and several servants were gathering charcoal around the fireplace.The orange firelight was in the palm of my hand, and I sat by the fireplace, staring unblinkingly at the firelight, and glanced casually over at the man who said that.

"Why not?" I picked up a bright red charcoal with tongs and held it up in the air, "Give me a reason."

At the moment, there are only three people sitting in this spacious meeting room, surrounded by a mahogany round table, leaning on velvet soft chairs, discussing important matters.There was an air of mystery surrounding the whole room, and Fallows sat in his father's seat, his lips pursed into a line.I was still playing with the piece of charcoal by the fireplace, holding it with the tongs, watching it draw smoky scald marks in the air, laughing.

"His Royal Highness is very interested." The little old man who proposed was wrapped in a mink fur coat with a smile on his face, holding a beautifully molded hot iron bottle in his arms, revealing a mouthful of teeth inlaid with gold.This is the third person discussing the matter, the current Finance Minister of Vulture City, Ellison.This guy is the least old man I've ever seen, not to mention his black hair, which was dyed black by hair dye, combed back greasy.The Minister of Finance has a smooth forehead, fair fingers, a voice as calm and melodious as a cow, and a greasy smile that can almost fry a steak. It is hard to imagine that he is over sixty years old.

Now all expenditures and revenues of Vulture City must be approved by the Minister of Finance according to regulations, including the collection and collection of various celebration expenses.In other words, without the old man's permission, I don't even have the money to hold a decent enthronement ceremony for myself.

It is said that Ellison was suffering from a cold disease, so he had to hold the hot iron bottle as if desperately, and had to have two servants at his side at any time.Damn, he is the only minister who dares to bring servants into the chamber.

I squinted at him and said, "If you can give me the answer I want as soon as possible, I won't be sitting here playing with charcoal."

"To tell you the truth, Your Highness. Now that the end of the year is approaching, there is not much left in the national treasury, and there is no extra funds to hold celebrations, especially the celebration of the new king's enthronement. If you want to organize the planning, you must forcefully collect taxes from the people. Given the current situation in the city, there are undoubtedly many difficulties. But I also feel that the enthronement of the new king, such a commemorative day, should not be perfunctory. If the celebration can be postponed for a few months, wait until funds and time are sufficient. ,perhaps……"

"Oh shit."

The charcoal fell from the tongs, and I reached into the fire in the fireplace to dig it out, holding the hot red charcoal in my hand, and brushed off the dust on the surface with a smile.

Ellison's complexion changed, showing a bit of vigilance.

Fallows, who had been silent all the time, said, "Your Excellency Ellison, I have discussed with His Royal Highness about the enthronement ceremony in advance. Given the current situation in Vulture City, it is indeed not appropriate to be extravagant. His Highness also promised to keep things simple. The celebration is just a declaration. It is to let the people of the old country know that the royal family of the Wanjiang Empire still exists in the past, and there will be a legitimate king to rule Vulture City."

"Keep it simple?" I said, raising my voice. "When did I say it was easy?"

Fallows froze for a moment, "Your Highness, you..."

I leaned on the table and sat down lightly. Facing the dodging eyes of the Minister of Finance, I smiled and said, "What does it take to hold a celebration, please tell me?"

Ellison moved his body and said, "First of all, we need to build a high platform to sacrifice to the gods, and then there are sacrifices, such as pigs, cattle, sheep and other livestock."

Fallows said cautiously, "If labor is needed to build the high platform, I can replace the labor with prisoners and reduce their sentences according to the labor."

Ellison didn't look at my Silver Scale Knight, and said to himself, "...According to the rules of the Wanjiang Empire, food should be distributed to the people on the festival day, and we should celebrate with the people. However, the fields of Vulture City suffer from poor harvests every year. It is to buy food from the surrounding villages. There are not enough coins in stock now, if you want to trade, I am afraid..."

"you."

I pointed to a servant next to the Minister of Finance and said with a smile, "Give me your hand."

The servant stretched out his hand without knowing it, I stroked the smooth and delicate fingers, took out a small knife, and chopped off the finger in the blink of an eye!

"Wooah!" The servant rolled to the ground like a bucket that had been kicked over, clutching his severed finger and screaming.Ellison's face was pale, and I solemnly brought the finger with the gold ring in front of him, and said happily, "Now, we have a few grams of gold."

I smiled and looked at the other servant.The man was shaking like chaff in fright, before I could say anything, he immediately took off all the gold and silver ornaments from his body, and finally pulled out the copper earrings on his earlobes with a convulsive expression, and put them together.

"Yo Hoo, that's quite a reward."

I put those gleaming gadgets together with my arms, pushed them in front of the old man, and asked, "Look, how many more do you need?"

Ellison quickly regained his composure, showing a slick smile, and said, "My dear prince, these are far from enough."

"Really? Good! Then I will calculate the account carefully with you." I swaggered and sat on the chair opposite the old man, squinted my eyes comfortably, and said, "Last year, the tax revenue of the treasury was 460 in total. Thousands of 570 seven soles (a kind of gold coin of the Wanjiang Empire), of which 620 taels were used to train the army, 410 taels to repair houses, 540 taels to relieve victims, and [-] taels to buy food..."

I leaned forward, stared at him and said, "The remaining [-] soles, nearly half of the national tax, are recorded in the books as 'internal expenses'. I think this These four words are very meaningful, please explain them to me.”

Fallows stared at me dumbfounded, a little dazed.Ellison's expression was a little stiff, probably he didn't expect that I would check the accounts in advance, just waiting to give him a warning.

The old thief smiled slowly, "As you can see, the servants in the castle, we old courtiers of the empire, also need to eat. And you forgot one thing, Your Highness, Vulture City is frozen all the year round, and the people who burn charcoal fires for warmth every year also need food. It takes more than ten thousand soles."

"Oh, it's not that I forgot, it's that you should record every account clearly, Your Excellency. Otherwise, I would have thought that some pig subordinate of yours made a mistake." I picked up a gold ring and threw it into the air, Spreading his hands on the table, he smiled, "And I just provided a new idea, didn't I? In fact, the money used for the celebration doesn't have to be scraped from the people. I think the fat on your servants is enough. Anyway, I don't ask too much."

The old thief didn't respond, and the two puppies beside him began to tremble.I guess next time there are no servants who dare to follow this old man into the meeting hall, the king will give them some sweets himself.Ellison's face was a bit ugly, and Fallows coughed lightly and frowned at me.

I continued with a friendly smile and said, "I'm just joking, Your Excellency. In fact, I care more about the outside of the city than the expenses inside the city—"

I pressed a few pieces of parchment in front of the Minister of Finance, narrowed my eyes and said, "Write down all the villages you said that had traded grain with Vulture City in the past. Those belonging to the Twilight Empire are written in red ink, and those belonging to Wanjiang Empires in blue ink, unsubjects in black ink."

The servants brought the quill and ink cautiously.Ellison thought for a moment before writing, and said politely to me, "May I ask why you want this news, Your Highness?"

"Oh, I'm afraid you don't know, Mr. Ellison." I reached into the fire and took out three or four pieces of charcoal, and threw them in turn like a juggler. OK. Based on your information, I will burn the red villages to avenge my revenge, threaten the black villages into the territory, and encourage the blue villages to continue to be loyal. If you dare to blackmail my poor people while the king is away, I want these unscrupulous people Pay the price!"

****

"Oh, 'Managing all kinds of affairs is just my side job, and burning, killing and looting is my job'! In the end, you still have to do what you call your 'business'! Your Highness, how can you be so complacent? I guess those ministers must Laughed your teeth out behind your back!"

Fallows rubbed his stupid head, terribly annoyed.I whistled, too lazy to talk to this over-inflated fool.

We walked along the castle to the training site of the Winter Ting Army. I stood on the high drill platform and looked down, asking, "How many people are there in the Winter Ting Army now?"

"About six thousand soldiers and two thousand horses."

"The Finance Pavilion only gives you 570 eight soles a year, right?" I looked at the wide field with a half-smile, where the Winter Ting Army was training in several groups, and the high-spirited shouts pierced the silence Sunshine, "Ellison squeezed your marrow like this, and the old marshal didn't say a word?"

"Ellison is cunning and stingy. It's hard to get more fees from the finance cabinet. My father doesn't like to tear himself apart with his former colleagues..." Fallows said in a deep voice, "Besides, the Winter Ting Army doesn't have a lot of expenses. , after all, we have...haven't sent troops to fight for a long time."

"You can't say that." I exhaled a warm white breath, and glanced at him, "The field, the maintenance of weapons and horses, and the property that rewards soldiers, which one does not cost? The inaction of the army is the responsibility, but it is different now. After I ascend the throne, the Winter Ting Army may be busy, so be prepared, Knight Commander."

"Yes, Your Highness." Fallows smiled lightly. It was the first time since the old Marshal passed away that I saw him smile from the heart.He stood by the railing and thought for a moment, then said, "If you really want to rob... to patrol the village, I can send some of the elite Winter Ting Army to ensure that this operation is safe."

"Come on, wait until your soldiers say 'fuck|you|fucking' instead of 'damn' to vent their anger, and then let them follow me to rob." I snapped my joints and said, "Earlier you said that the prisoner could reduce their sentence by doing coolies, but I have a different idea."

"what idea?"

"Tigers and leopards shouldn't do the same thing as cattle and sheep, that's a talent." I twisted my neck and said with a smile, "I'll pick qualified prisoners myself later. The soldiers of the Winter Ting Legion will keep them on the battlefield. Real swords and real guns will win, this kind of black-hearted work of burning, killing and looting should be left to the villains."

****

"How do you feel about the current situation, Ellison? How is our new king, the villainous prince, Lemon Sol?"

In the quiet room, the three sat around a mahogany table, looking at each other meaningfully.The logs in the fireplace crackled like roasted pea pods.The white wax on both sides of the silver candlestick is like two deep eyes, looking at the three people at the table, shining brightly.

Ellison was still holding the hot iron bottle, half-closed his eyes, and seemed to be thinking.Opposite him sat a thin man with a hooked nose, jet-black curly hair hanging by his ears, buttoned tightly from his waist to his neck, and a sharp and rigid face like the shadow behind a knife blade.

After a while, the Minister of Finance sneered, "Oh, the Lemon Sol of today...is even worse than the 'Prince of the Wicked Boy' back then."

The white air from the hot tea gradually dissipated, and the man with the hooked nose said coldly, "That's really a big trouble. Back then, I saw the whole process of the villainous prince from vicious to obedient. To be honest, I don't know I think it’s the effect of whipping a monk for punishment.”

"Ellison, Nugent, I think you're overcomplicating things." Foreign Secretary Richard pushed the monocle on the bridge of his nose, and wiped his cool bald head habitually with the palm of his hand. , "Backhouse has passed away, and the Winter Ting Army has no leader. This is the most troublesome thing. A 15-year-old little king, a 17-year-old little knight captain, what kind of tricks can two hairy children make? I am most concerned about It's this—”

As he spoke, the bald Richard took out a letter from his pocket and looked around mysteriously.Ellison let the servants who followed him go out, and the hook-nosed man—Minister of Justice Nugent also sat up straight, with a pair of small pupils tightly fixed on the open red wax seal of the letter.

"Shortly after the Winter Ting Army came back from the Tattoo Castle, and one day after the Twilight Empire's supplies cart arrived in Vulture City." Richard said, biting a golden pipe, "I received a delivery from a townsman." It is said that it was contained in the supplies, a letter from Emperor Eliot himself."

Nugent raised his pupils, "Where's the messenger?"

Richard wiped his nose, "I don't know, this letter is...uh, somehow it suddenly appeared on my desk, and I don't know who the messenger was."

Nugent said grimly, "That's not credible. Maybe Elliott never wrote the letter, and maybe it's been tampered with. Unless the messenger is caught and I give him a good trial." , and then make a conclusion.”

"Let's not talk about that, anyway, it's a letter from a kingslayer, so we should be cautious." Ellison said in a deep voice, "What did the letter say, Richard?"

"Well, Elliott said..."

The foreign minister wiped his glasses, and pursed his dry lips cautiously, "He proposed to us in the letter that the Vulture City test should not be considered...well, that is, to submit to the Twilight Empire..."

The author has something to say: I don’t know what to say, so let me add some character settings (=v=)

Lemon Bone Spur

Appearance features: red hair (long hair after ten years), blue eyes, white skin, knife, grinning

Height: 175cm (15) 188cm (25)

Weight: 62kg (15) 75kg (25)

Birthday: 11.13 (Scorpio)

Likes: Wine and meat, spicy and greasy food, villain's blood, lyre, poetry

Dislikes: Basically nothing I don’t dislike

Luo (surname unknown)

Appearance features: eye holes, bitter brown hair (black to brown), slightly pale skin, black cloak, scythe, smiling lips

Height: 180cm

Weight: XNUM X kg

Birthday: 7.5 (Cancer)

Likes; Lemon(...), romance novels, sweets

Dislikes: Dirty words, alcohol, tobacco, violence