A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

After the crown prince returned to the royal city, he did not show up for two days. It is said that he was tired from fighting outside for several months, so he needed to rest quietly for a period of time.

There was no sign of Garlan for two days, and according to the sources in the palace, Prince Heymos almost stayed in Prince Garlan's palace for the past two days.

This scene can't help but make some people start to murmur.

Could it be... Prince Heymos wants to...

However, two days later, Garlan appeared in front of everyone.

Shemur, who represents the priesthood of Shamash, and Sage, the head of the Royal Knights, followed behind him, accompanying him to meet with the ministers and deal with government affairs. Hoss also quickly began to take over the military forces in the royal city.

At the same time, Heymos kept silent the whole time, without saying a word, just quietly following Garlan's side, his posture was like a knight guarding the opponent.

In this way, the little suspicion that just gushed out of the hearts of everyone disappeared immediately.

In a blink of an eye, more than half a month passed quickly.

With the efforts of Garlan and everyone else, the badly damaged royal city and its surrounding areas are recovering rapidly.

The ban on the surrounding area of ​​Wangcheng has been lifted, and the avenues in all directions that were once blocked are allowed to pass again. The merchants who were anxious because the business road was cut off finally breathed a sigh of relief, and rushed to Wangcheng with their caravans.

There are also some timid businessmen who wanted to wait and see for a while, but when they heard that the crown prince had issued an order for commercial tax concessions within half a year, they immediately ignored them, and almost rushed from all directions without waiting.

The bright sunshine in spring shines on the land of Aaron Landis, and on the roads extending in all directions with Wangcheng as the intersection center, countless people and horses start to come and go, and the bustle is even more lively than in the past.There are so many caravans on some roads that they are blocked in some areas.

The 'blood' in those thick 'vessels' and countless small 'vessels' began to flow again.

This majestic city known as the 'Heart of the Continent', located in the center of the entire continent, once again started beating vigorously.

The royal city of Aaron Landis is even more prosperous than before.

……

The broad Oya River flows quietly, encircling the gorgeous palace shining golden in the sun, and then turns into a waterfall behind the high cliff behind the palace, falling into the vast and boundless sea.

On this day, the small court in the royal palace stood on a high platform, open on three sides, supported by countless huge lotus-headed stone pillars.Standing in the court, one can vaguely see the beautiful scenery of the waterfall falling into the sea in the distance.

In the small court, Garlan was listening to his subordinates report to him on the things he had dealt with during this period.

"Your Excellency Kareni sent a message that the remnants of the Gastad's defeated troops in the west have basically been wiped out. Now, he is stationed at the stronghold on the western border and is building a fortress."

Ximuer, who received a message from Kareni yesterday, said.

"Because our country has always had a friendly relationship with Kanal and has never fought, so we don't pay much attention to the defense of the west. But now Kanal has been controlled by our enemy Gasdad, so, Mr. Karenal In consideration of future wars, it is considered necessary to build military fortresses at key points in the west."

The Gastadians slew their king and brought down their two great legions.

And they killed the prince of the Gastadians and wiped out their 10,000+ army.

A mortal feud has been formed between the two parties.

Since then, the western border will be full of endless wars.

The priest continued: "In addition, Your Excellency Kareni also asked me to report to you that in order to rebuild the Sixth Army, please allow him to recruit soldiers on the western border."

Garlan nodded.

"You reply on my behalf and agree to his request."

The young man looked at Xie Muer with bright eyes, and there was a trace of apology in his eyes.

"In addition, I would like to express my apologies to Kareni. He should have spent his life in his own city, but now he has to shoulder the burden of the western border. This is all because of my lack of ability."

He says,

"But in this situation, he is the only person who can let me rest assured to entrust the important task of the western border."

"Yes, Your Highness, I will convey your words to him."

Shemuer bowed slightly.

"However, His Excellency Carleni must be very unhappy to hear the apology you want to express."

The stubborn and upright old man has always been a person who refuses to admit defeat.

'My health is very good, there is no such thing as hard work. '

After receiving the letter, the old man must have said so unhappily.

However, for Garlan's words that he is the only person who can entrust important tasks with confidence, Kareni must be very satisfied in his heart if he doesn't say anything.

Presumably imagining how the stubborn old man would react, Garlan smiled, then turned his gaze to the other side.

Sage, the head of the Royal Knights, took a step forward after receiving Garlan's gaze.

"The king's city is currently very stable, and none of the ministers or nobles have acted abnormally."

The defense of the royal city has been taken over by Kaihos and the First Legion led by him. The bandits who appeared in the area around the royal city taking advantage of the chaos of war were cleared by him during this period of time.

And the every move of the nobles and dignitaries in the royal city has been closely monitored by the royal knights during this period of time.

"Prince, those civilians have almost been repatriated!"

Before Garlan could ask, the fat little Tal jumped out impatiently, wagging his tail vigorously to claim credit for his prince.

"I supervised it all myself, absolutely no one can embezzle your money—"

In order to defend the royal city, Heymos used his first tactic of "clearing the wall and clearing the field". Although this tactic did have a great effect, it inevitably caused serious damage to the people who were driven away.

Now that the war is over, if those people who are forced to be displaced stay crowded in Wangcheng or other large cities as they are now, it will cause a lot of trouble.

Therefore, after Garlan took over the royal city, he immediately set out to escort those refugees back to their original homes.

He allocated funds to give them the necessary property subsidies, and if their homes were burned down, he would help them rebuild their houses.

In order to prevent the officials from having a hand in this considerable sum, Garlan put Tarr in full charge of the matter.

With Tal, who is extremely sensitive to numbers and property, and a dozen tall, burly and unreasonable Shamash priests to assist, it almost cut off the possibility of official corruption in this matter.

No one can take from him what the prince (dial) gave him!

Don't even think about a copper plate!

The little fat man who swore to the death to guard his belongings for his little prince thought aggressively.

Kaihos also said, "Your Highness, Tasda and Eilson have decided to let the army return home in the future, leaving only a few representatives of the two countries here."

"Understood, hold a banquet to entertain the generals of the two countries tomorrow night."

After Garlan finished speaking, he paused, and mentioned one thing to his subordinates.

"Both the First and Sixth Legions have been rebuilt, leaving only the Third Legion."

At the beginning, King Kamos led all the members of the First Legion and the cavalry of the Third Legion to the west, but they were all wiped out later.

In the subsequent battle to defend the royal city, more than half of the infantry units of the Third Army Corps who stayed behind in the Royal City were killed or injured, so the Third Army Corps was almost abolished.

"Do you want to rebuild the Third Army?"

Kehoes asked, "But, Your Highness, who do you intend to have in command of the Third Legion?"

The commander-in-chief of the six legions cannot be appointed by just one person. That person must have enough merit and reputation to be recognized by all the soldiers.

Almost by default, only those who have established great military exploits and are famous among the soldiers and have been named cavalry commanders are eligible to command the legion.

However, Aaron Landis has very few people who can be promoted to cavalry commander, and nearly half of them died in the battle of Judas City. Now the few remaining cavalry commanders have commanders under their command. Even the rebuilt Sixth Army can barely let Kareni command at the moment.

After all, this veteran has fought on the battlefield for many years and served the king of the second dynasty. He has also made great achievements, so he is barely qualified.

Now the prince wants to rebuild the Third Army, but if he can't find a general who can command it, how can he start rebuilding?

"Your Highness, if you don't have great military honors and reputation, even if you force the appointment, the soldiers will not recognize it. I am afraid that there is no such general in Aaron Landis today. Therefore, it is best to rebuild the Third Army first." hold off..."

"No, there is one person that everyone will recognize."

Garlan interrupted Shemuer's words.

He turned his head and looked to the other side.

He says,

"Heymos, can the Third Army be handed over to you?"

Heymos, who had been sitting quietly on the chair all this time, raised his eyes, and Garlan's golden-red eyes exchanged a glance.

After a while, he nodded.

"it is good."

He said it bluntly.

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Only then did they realize that although Heymos did not have the name of a cavalry commander, it was because he was a prince himself. In terms of merit and reputation, he was definitely not inferior to any cavalry commander.

If he is the commander-in-chief of the legion, he will definitely be recognized by all the soldiers.

only……

Ximuer and Sage looked at each other silently.

…………

........................

Considering the habits of the Tasdar and Elson people, the banquet for entertaining them was not held in a magnificent hall, but in an open-air courtyard.

Tall palm trees stand straight around the courtyard, and the dense branches and leaves look more and more verdant in the dark night lights.

Different from the open-air banquets in the past, this time, the entire spacious courtyard was ingeniously separated into two large blocks by long dining tables and columns wrapped with green vines.

And the purpose of the separation... is to prevent the Tasda male warrior and the Erson female warrior from fighting at the banquet.

Although they have fought side by side for such a long time, the two peoples are still very at odds with each other, almost always fighting every few days.

In general, both sides have their own winners and losers, and no one can beat the other.

It was precisely because she knew this that Mistress Taputi, who was in charge of the banquet, specially ordered that the generals of the two sides be separated in this way.

Perhaps it was because of the painstaking efforts of the female officer from the layout of the banquet hall, or maybe it was because the Crown Prince Garlan was present, and both sides were still restrained. Although they still had no good looks at each other, at least there was no friction.

The two sides ignored each other, each in their own half, eating delicious food comfortably, chatting and laughing leisurely with their companions.

Schulos didn't need to attend this banquet, but in order to get mixed up with Elson's female warriors, the bard had the cheek to follow.

At the banquet, he gave full play to his advantages as a bard, playing the lute and singing songs.

On Elson Island, among the Elson people who are mainly warriors, the profession of bard does not exist at all.

Therefore, many Allson female warriors gathered around, listening to Schulos singing the ballad quite curiously.

Surrounded by these female warriors with rare wild beauty, the bard immediately became excited, and he simply sang the courtship ballad that was widely spread on the mainland.

"That's an old legend."

"The chapters of undying love are told on the land of Aaron Landis."

……

"Where the sun shines, she descends by clear streams."

"The wind claims to praise her beauty, the water kisses her toes, and the water reflects her face."

"The goddess of love and beauty... Her existence makes everything in the world eclipsed."

……

"That one glance made her fall in love..."

"...The flames of crazy love ignited and burned her to death..."

…………

When Garlan finished chatting with Tasta's generals and came to Aierson's side, he saw this bard showing off his colorful feathers and singing voice like a peacock courting a mate.

The boy suddenly laughed.

He didn't bother, and stood aside, drinking the juice in his hand, while listening to Schulos playing and singing with great interest.

The long and penetrating voice of the bard echoed in the night sky accompanied by the sound of the piano.

"The beautiful goddess knelt down in front of her beloved, and poured out her love to the boy with the most beautiful voice in the world."

"...If I can't be by your side, to me, it is no different from death."

"My beloved..."

"Did you know...my heart beats because of you...can you feel...my soul exists because of you..."

Garlan choked out the mouthful of fruit juice he had just drank, and coughed for a long time before he recovered his breath.

"Your Highness?"

The maid serving beside him was taken aback, and quickly wiped the juice splashed on his hands with a towel.

"Are you all right?"

"Cough, cough, it's okay."

Finally recovering, Garlan handed the juice to the maid.

He hesitated for a while, but finally couldn't help asking.

"Hey, that... what was he singing just now?"

"Huh? Don't you know? It's a courtship ballad that has been widely circulated in the mainland."

Most people know it, but she, a follower of Avdomir, knows it even more.

"It is said that when Avdomir came to the world, she met the most beautiful young man in the world and fell in love immediately. She pursued the beautiful young man desperately and begged him for his love. "

"This is the ballad of the goddess courting that beautiful boy."

The maid squinted her eyes with an intoxicated expression on her face.

"There are still many people who use the words in the song to woo their loved ones...Ah, 'My heart beats because of you'~~ Don't you think these words are particularly touching?"

"Cough cough cough cough!"

"Your Highness, don't you have a cold?"

Seeing that Garlan's face was starting to turn red from coughing, the maid panicked.

"Cough—no, I'm fine, I just choked."

"But……"

The maid's words were interrupted by a voice from the side.

"Your Highness, are you free now?"

Finally regaining his breath, Garlan turned his head and saw the brown-haired priest who had already walked beside him.

"Ximuer, what's the matter?"

"Yes, please come with me, I have something to tell you."

Garlan nodded, turned his head and told the maid to wait there, and then walked to the secluded place next to the courtyard with Shemuer.

Tall palm trees enveloped this place, and the light from not far away was blocked by the dense canopy, making this place a bit dark.

Garlan followed Ximuer to this place, only to find that Sage was also here, waiting for them standing under a tree.

Seeing Garlan approaching, Sage came out from under the shadow of the tree and bowed slightly to salute him.

"Do you have something to tell me?"

"Yes, Your Highness."

The head of the Royal Knights, who never knew how to turn around, said straightforwardly,

"As for the commander-in-chief of the Third Army, please reconsider."

Garland paused for a moment.

"...Do you think Heymos is not qualified to be the commander of the Third Army?"

he asks.

"No, in all fairness, if His Royal Highness Heymos hadn't been promoted as a prince and had already been promoted to cavalry commander based on his merits, even if he was the commander of the First Legion, he would have deserved it."

Sako said,

"However, Your Highness, because of his status as a prince, I don't think he is suitable to control the Third Army."

"Any legion is not suitable to be handed over to someone who has the right to inherit the throne - for the stability of the throne - you should take this into consideration."

The boy was silent for a while.

Then, he turned his head and looked at Shemuer who was standing beside him.

"You think so too?"

The priest of Shamash stood on the grass, and the shadow of the tree swayed on his face. The sharp-edged face still had the usual solemn expression.

"Your Highness, according to the practice of the Aaron Landis royal family in the past, when the crown prince succeeds, the other princes must go to the canonized city. Without the king's call, they are not allowed to enter the royal city."

He says,

"After you succeed to the throne, His Royal Highness Heymos should go to the city of Menester to succeed you as the city lord."

Although Ximuer didn't speak directly, his words clearly expressed his meaning.

Sage continued to interject: "Also, His Highness Heymos may be more interested in the lord of a city than the commander of the legion..."

After all, the city lord is the complete controller of a city, and is not under the jurisdiction of anyone except the king, and has a higher status than the commander of the legion.

"Do not."

Garlan interrupted Sako.

He said, "I will not let him leave Wangcheng."

Ximuer frowned. He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't know what he thought of, so he closed his mouth again, tightened his mouth and did not speak.

But Sako continued without giving an inch.

"His Royal Highness, please understand one thing—letting a prince who has the right to inherit the throne stay in the royal city has been a very dangerous thing since ancient times."

As the head of the Royal Knights, his duty is to protect the stability of the throne.

"You who are about to ascend the throne should stop being so emotional! You should order His Highness Heymos to go to Meneste City as soon as possible—"

The black tree shadow swayed slightly on his face, and the boy was silent for a while.

Then, he shook his head again.

"Do not."

Garland said, in an extremely firm tone.

He doesn't want to.

It wasn't because he was worried that this order would anger Heymos.

But...

He raised his eyes, and his golden pupils looked at the two of them.

"I need him."

He says,

"I need him by my side."

…………

The person who used to scare him has become the existence that gave him great courage and support without knowing when.

An existence that reassures him.

Heymos said he wanted to be around him.

But Heymos didn't know that.

He needs him too.