Heartbreaker

I took the burnt pages out of the drawer and smoothed out the wrinkles.This is the last handwriting of the little mouse. It is as inferior and rough as his life, as if it was written with his feet. In some places, the ink is still soaked, so it is a bit troublesome to identify.

□□After the subsided, I asked Chichikov to go with the soldiers to inspect the lower city.The two rows of low red brick houses where the tax collectors used to gather have become a dusty dump, full of smashed furniture and shiny glass shards, and the fences and fences have been trampled to the left and right.In the exclusive room of Jeremy the Mouse, the old man found a few pages that were pressed under the iron box. He glanced at them briefly and thought they were valid information, so he sandwiched these rotten pages in a pile of important accounts Give it to me.

I was very dissatisfied with the old man, and I tapped on the table, "Chichikov, I didn't ask you to pick up trash when I asked you to inspect it."

"Don't worry, Clement." The old man said leisurely, "Wait for me to read to you, what's written in it."

He pretended to pat the scraps of paper on it, and said in a low voice, "Some people say that my brother is from the summit of the ember of soul..."

"...Okay." I interrupted him, and said with a gloomy face, "Give me these scraps of paper, and then you can go out."

The old man laughed a few times, put the mouse's dying confession on my desk, and walked out of the office shaking his head.I sat on the seat, calmed down my mind disturbed by the riot, pressed the rotten paper under my fingers, and browsed it briefly.

"Your Majesty!" At this moment, Fallows stood at the door and yelled again. I almost spit out a mouthful of tea and scrapped the pieces of rotten paper.This reckless fool really should have his provocative edges cut off.He strode to my desk, his ice-blue eyes covered with bloodshot eyes, "The government in the lower city has been investigated, including the lost tax. The tax officer of the Finance Court and the soldiers of the legion are completing the report, and then a and hand it over to you for review."

I said, "How many people died in total?"

"15 people. Among them are eight tax officials, two thugs, and five women and children who were innocently implicated."

I said softly, "I see, how about the food and money that was robbed? Have you collected it?"

"Those items are still being counted, but there shouldn't be too much loss." Fallows frowned slightly and hesitated, "Your Majesty, I have thought about something for a long time, and I think I should report it to you..."

Oh, that must be a boring thing.I was going through the mouse diaries, and I glanced at him briefly, "Say."

"You should go to the lower city in person and give an explanation to the rioting people." The Silver Knight said in a deep voice, his eyes were like two sharp ice picks, "Taxes are harsh, people's resentment is boiling, and people's hearts are scattered. This is not a good sign. , at least it is not conducive to the stable foundation of the Wanjiang Empire. I understand that the purpose of your tax increase is to forge weapons for the soldiers of the Winter Ting Army, but to be honest, if the cost of rectifying the army is to be exploited from the people, then our armed forces and There is no justice in war."

"Justice." I said coldly, "How much do you think I value justice? Fallows, as the knight commander of the legion, you should think less about useless politics and think more about how to win battles."

The idiot jumped up again, and when he was not convinced, he was like a brat playing with a stick, "Your Majesty, war must be based on justice. Only when an army is guided by a correct and lofty idea, will the soldiers achieve This great feat goes forward fearlessly!"

"What is needed is not justice itself, but a reason for justice, and the rest depends on the success or failure of the war. We have already had enough of this reason, and we want to restore the country. Some unscrupulous people secretly stir up troubles, sow right and wrong, and become the basis for our restoration of the country. Logically, I can kill them all on the basis of treason." I said in a low voice, "But there is no way, you can't let pigs and sheep have the same loyalty and backbone as wolves and dogs."

Fallows suppressed the anger in his tone, "With all due respect, the people are not pigs and sheep, Your Majesty. Moreover, contempt and indifference to the people is often the source of a country's downfall."

This was a bit too much, I glanced at the fool's red cheeks, every blood vessel in him seemed to be burning with scorching flames.If I hadn't drained the tea before, I would have poured it on his stupid golden-brown head to cool him down.

I stared at him, paused every word, and said slowly, "The current Wanjiang Empire is governed by me, not you. Don't speak plausibly in front of me, Faros. I know Vulture City better than you, I I don’t need to tell you what you think, and don’t speculate wildly. You are already stupid enough, save your brain and command the army.”

The Silver Scale Knight blushed and couldn't straighten his tongue, "You... this is..."

Yes, it's a personal attack, but I like it. "One more thing, I didn't have time to question you." I suddenly raised my voice, and said, "The Twilight Empire actually sent a convoy of supplies every month to win people's hearts in front of Vulture City. As the knight commander of the legion, why Don't stop it?"

Sha Dan's shoulders trembled, this question obviously hit his weakness.He pondered for a moment, then raised his head and said to me, "I admit my dereliction of duty, Your Majesty, but this is really helpless. As early as when you were not enthroned, the exiled people of the old country had no monarch to rule, and Vulture City There was a famine, and many people died. At that time, my father was still alive, and the people asked, would the Wanjiang Empire never have a chance to make a comeback? My father comforted them, saying that God will not let the despicable kingslayer succeed. Father It can dispel the anger of the people, but it can't satisfy their food and clothing. Under the pressure of the people, in order to preserve the current old country, the council came up with a compromise plan..."

"Nonsense." I said coldly, "This is a kind of surrender. That bastard Elliott is probably still complacent."

The human heart is the most fragile thing in the world, smoother than jelly.Now the people of Vulture City are nothing more than two types: abandoned people who wanted to surrender to the late empire but were rejected, and old people who followed the Wanjiang Empire but their ambitions were fading day by day.The temptation of the Twilight Empire's supplies cart makes the former itchy and makes the latter vacillate, no matter which one, it makes me, the "King of Ten Thousand Territories", useless.

Bitch Elliott, he can really play.

Fallows didn't directly respond to my cynicism, and changed the topic, "Then do you have any good solutions? You have also seen the end of violent suppression. The convoy that destroyed the Twilight Empire made many people in the lower city hate Wangcheng. It also played a role in fueling the flames.”

"That's why I said that pigs and sheep are pigs and sheep. It's easy to deal with. If they want food, I'll grab it for them. And the foundation of this cycle must be based on the excellent weaponry of the Winter Ting Army to ensure that we can capture more. Territory, provide more supplies for the Wanjiang Empire. If you don’t pay, you won’t get anything back, it’s just a matter of time, and these mobs can’t hold back their temper, so we should teach them a lesson.” I glanced at me and sneered, “Listen to me, take care Think about how to win the battle, Knight Commander."

****

I went into the cell where Treasurer Ellison was being held.The old man Chichikov had the black centipede wrapped around his shoulders, and the centipede held an envelope in its mouthparts. It spread its slender legs and danced like a creepy miniature mummy.

"Your Majesty the King..."

Ellison twitched in the cold cell, rubbing his ashen hands, no longer the air and dignity he had when he first met the king.I kicked the chair in front of him, stared at the shriveled face of the old thief with a smile, and said, "What do you want to say? The old traitor of the empire, the skinner of the people, Ellison?"

The old thief twitched a few times, maybe he just had a cold attack and his hands and feet were still twitching.His thin clothes were stained with dungeon grime, and his white hair was matted like shredded rags.I smiled and said, "The letter you wrote to Kingslayer is really sincere, isn't it?"

The depths of the original deep pupils of the old thief were slack, like a mass of mud that had been kneaded into residue.I narrowed my eyes and said, "Looks like it's not enough to just disembowel the raven."

"Chichikov."

Chichikov lovingly put down his pet, and hissed a few times, and the black centipede crawled above Ellison's navel, ready to go with its sharp black armor shining.The old thief suddenly screamed as if he was waking up from a dream, and his tone was hoarse and vague, "Your Majesty! I did not surrender, it was not me! You can't make random claims——I, I can't believe it, you are abusing lynching—saying that I am treasonous , do you have evidence?!"

"Evidence?" I glanced at him coldly, and said with a smile, "Chichikov, explain it to this old man who pretends to be crazy."

"Yes, Your Majesty the King." Chichikov breathed out smoke, "Your Excellency Ellison, you thought your disguise was perfect, but you still haven't escaped my eyes."

He took off the envelope held in the centipede's mouth, pulled out a piece of letter paper, and said, "We have known for a long time that Kingslayer sent you, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Justice each a letter of persuasion, and the interesting thing is, which of you It was not directly presented to the king face to face."

I crossed my legs and held my left cheek with a smile on my face. I felt a rush of anger in my heart, and I really wanted to chop off the three dogs one by one with a knife.

Ellison froze for a moment, as if wondering who had leaked the word out.It took him a long time to react, and he said hoarsely, "That's because we don't want to expand the situation..."

"No, that's because you have evil intentions." The old man said with a sinister smile, "especially you. You have already made preparations, and you will first release the raven to test it, to see if you can contact the Twilight Empire through this method...but very soon It's a pity that the king found out. Fortunately, you were prepared and your family was the cover. The king spared your life, but you racked your brains to think of ways to achieve your goal—so you chose another way."

Chichikov continued unhurriedly, "You choose to use the monthly supply cart to bring the information to the Twilight Empire."

Ellison's expression changed drastically, and the iron chains on his ankles rattled.Taking advantage of his panicked eyes, I took out the letter of treason in my arms, spread it out, and said, "Dear Emperor, Vulture City is now empty of financial resources and the people's hearts are unstable. It is suitable for a large-scale attack..."

His complexion became more and more disastrous with my voice, and there was a trace of astonishment in his eyes.Chichikov was even more pleased with himself, and even played an off-key tune.He likes to admire the bewildered look of others after their secrets are exposed.

I gripped the letter paper tightly, gritted my teeth and sneered, "With this disgusting title, I can kill you ten times."

"You can't hide anything from Your Majesty, Ellison." Chichikov said sympathetically, with a flash of light in his gray-blue eyes, "It's just that His Majesty wants to deal with you. By the way, the person who sent you the letter The eyeliner has already been disposed of by me, and the reward you gave him can even be found at home."

****

On the night of the king's education for the rioting beasts in the lower city, I first ordered the rebel Ellison to be tied up in a prison car, wearing iron shackles around his neck, and paraded through the streets of Vulture City.I sat in the carriage, opened the curtain, and watched the torches held high in the hands of the cavalry on both sides of the carriage, shining in the eyes of the people on both sides of the street, dimming the stars in the sky.I said I was going to ride forward, but Fallows stopped me firmly, probably because he was afraid that some gangsters would shoot arrows through their king's brutal head.

"Look, that's Ellison the son of a bitch, the bastard who's robbing us of our money!"

"God bless, the bastard finally got his comeuppance!"

There was a lot of cursing outside, and the noise was harsh, like some stupid servant who accidentally dropped a stack of plates to pieces.I sat in the spacious carriage, bored, and counted the patterns on the hood casually.The hot iron bottle in the corner exuded an undeniable heat, making the whole carriage stuffy and damp.I found Luo's hair in the soft blanket under my feet, which may be the trace left by the last time we hang out in the carriage.

In the past few days, I can't figure out how many days I have slept soundly. I only know that whenever I return to the bedroom, Luo will definitely wait by the door.And when I was not in the bedroom, he would sneak into my office again, put me in a down jacket, or hug me on the sofa, and then stare at my sleeping appearance without blinking until dawn.

The undead became slimier day by day.I thought in a daze, occasionally catching a glimpse of the golden ring between his fingers would give me the illusion of not waking up.

I even put a ring on his pale, almost transparent finger.While I'm never one to keep a shitty love promise, the very act of wearing a ring is sillier.I shook my head.Lemon Saul, the naïve fool who once played the lyre, had a similarly foolish idea of ​​trapping someone in a ring full of love and talking.

Unexpectedly, the bastard Lemon Bone Spur would get his wish.

Thinking of Luo, my eyes suddenly became sleepy, and I leaned against the wall of the car to take a nap.After a while, a violent jolt woke me up completely.I lifted the curtain and saw that the police team had walked to the lower city. Everyone picked up stones on the ground and threw them at the prisoners in the prison car in disgust. After a while, the former chancellor of the exchequer was beaten to death.

"Damn it, everyone throw stones at him!"

One person initiated the call, and then a hundred people responded.Soon the stones slammed into the prison car at the front like a hailstone, almost smashing the fence to pieces, while Ellison hung his head dejectedly, enduring the severe pain like a torrential rain, and wailed amidst the people's scolding. Sound moan|groan.

"Hey." I called a small cavalryman next to me, and said, "Notify the other soldiers, tell the people to restrain themselves, and don't beat people to death."

Oh, if you kill him, there will be no drama to sing.

The author has something to say: I suddenly wrote a plot that requires a lot of BB (paralyzed)