A Tale of Strategies For the Throne

In the afternoon, facing the scorching sun in the sky, the little fat man with a fleshy body sweated profusely and ran into Garlan's palace.

Every time he came here before, he always had a frowning expression, and people could tell at a glance that it was because the Commerce and Trade Department hadn't improved, so he came to complain to Garlan.

But today, he changed from his previous bitter face, and he didn't have the sluggish expression before, and his chubby face was radiant.

As soon as he entered the palace with a cheerful face, he trotted towards Garlan.

The soft flesh swayed up and down as he ran, and it looked like a round ball rolled over.

Although the sun was hot, in the courtyard inside the palace, the fountain sprinkled water, dissipating some of the heat in the afternoon.

Surrounded by tall olive trees, the dense canopy casts large swaths of shadow in the courtyard.

In a pavilion made of white stones shrouded in the shade of the trees, the boy king sat inside, his long golden hair was spread out on the white stone platform, and the juice with ice cubes was placed beside him, and the stream of water coming out was icy cold. The mist seemed to coil around the ends of the blond hair that hung down.

The huge golden-brown male lion was lying in front of Garlan, resting its huge head on Garlan's knees, looking lazy, squinting its eyes and dozing off, letting Garlan comfortably Smooth yourself.

Even if Tal ran over erratically, it just glanced at him casually and didn't bother to talk to him.

Tal didn't care, and leaned over happily, beaming.

"Your Majesty, do you think I'm pretending to look like these days?"

These days, he pretended to be helpless and anxious, and ran back and forth to Garland with his head shrugged.

Those people mocked him openly and secretly, but he just lowered his head and kept silent, looking as if he was speechless.

He looked aggrieved on the surface, but he was actually happy in his heart.

Let you villains be successful for a while, and let you be proud first.

When the time comes, you guys don't even have a place to cry——

The little fat man thought so sinisterly in his heart, patiently waiting for the time to slap those guys in the face.

Those big businessmen who are doing things don't know at all that they have been targeted since the time they manipulated secretly.

Their every move is actually under the eyes of others.

They thought that their private behavior had already been fully exposed.

Garlan knew everything they did, one after another, one by one.

Talmin's ostensible identity is the new director of the Commerce and Trade Department.

However, only a few people know about his other secret position.

Head of the Intelligence Department.

After Garlan ascended the throne, he immediately started to rebuild the destroyed legions, and everyone's attention was naturally attracted to the rebuilding of the legions.

However, only a few people such as Ximuer and Kaihuos knew that at the same time, Garlan secretly established such a company.

Intelligence Division.

It is specially used to secretly investigate and collect various news and intelligence.

Tal, who is good at collecting and organizing information, took charge of its work.

For more than a year, its influence may have been weak in other regions, but in the royal city supported by Garlan, it has already extended to all aspects of the royal city.

The actions of those big businessmen have always been under its monitoring.

Tal, who was believed by everyone to be over sooner or later, silently watched from behind this group of big businessmen who thought they had controlled the situation and could overwhelm the king, jumping up and down, just like watching a monkey show.

"Speaking of which, Your Majesty, since you asked people to warn them and imply that they should be more peaceful, why did you only choose some of those guys?"

Taal sat cross-legged next to Garlan, happily drinking the iced juice that Garlan gave him, and asked.

"Wouldn't it be better to simply warn them all? Maybe there will be a few more people who will be honest."

Garlan hummed.

"Indeed, they all do the same thing."

In fact, these big merchants took advantage of the lack of standardized and unified business laws and regulations, and relied on the power of their backers to monopolize the business of Wangcheng to earn huge profits.

Although this kind of behavior is very improper, their behavior did not break the law.

In the final analysis, it is a problem of imperfect laws and regulations of commerce and trade.

Therefore, at the beginning, Garlan only planned to warn them, let them quit voluntarily, let them make a small fortune, and punish them a little.

however……

Gently stroking Nega's thick mane, Garlan's golden eyes turned slightly colder.

"Some people pay attention to propriety and don't do too much. I can give them a chance."

While stroking Nega's mane, Garlan reached out and picked up a piece of cooked meat that was placed in a basin next to him, and brought it to Nega's mouth.

Seeing Nega obediently biting the piece of meat in his hand, Garlan continued to speak.

"However, some people's behavior is more than I can tolerate."

he said, in an understatement.

The coldness hidden in the depths is subconsciously pressing down on one's heart.

Gallan wanted to clean up the business structure in the royal city, but he didn't intend to kill all of them because of this.

It doesn't matter if it's just the few big businessmen who colluded with the powerful to monopolize the source of income and earn money, as long as they retreat honestly, he will let them go.

However, some guys are not satisfied with such a huge amount of benefits, and instead become more and more greedy.

Over the years, they have relied on the power behind them to bully others, buy and sell by force, harass and drive away their peers with vile methods, monopolize business routes, and even waste their lives. In order to seize other people's goods, they colluded with some officials to forcibly charge them with unwarranted charges. , In the end, he was forced to have no other way out, and committed suicide with injustice.

The young king raised his head and looked into the distance, his gaze was as sharp as a sword.

It's time to clean up the silverfish in the royal city.

…………

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

The news that the group of big businessmen were arrested spread quickly throughout the entire capital, and of course alarmed their backers.

I must try to fish out my dog's leg.

Otherwise, who will help them earn money in the future, and who will honor their large sums of money?

Naturally, at the court meeting the next day, someone eagerly brought up this matter.

"Those guys are agitating the people behind their backs, and they should be punished a little, so as to serve as an example to others."

The powerful ministers knew exactly why those big businessmen were arrested.

"However, Your Majesty, they did misbehave, but they did not break the law."

"They didn't bear any charges, and you arrested them directly. This kind of behavior is really inappropriate."

"Your Majesty, you have been praised by the people in the name of justice, but now you have arrested those innocent businessmen. If this matter gets out, I'm afraid..."

When one takes the lead, the others follow.

Many people said.

Those guys made Wang you angry, they really deserve it.

They didn't directly propose to release them, they just changed the subject and persuaded Garlan tactfully.

You are a wise king, a king known for his justice, arresting these businessmen who only annoy you but have no definite charges will do great harm to your reputation.

It's enough for you to chastise them a little to calm down your anger, but for the sake of your own reputation, let them out as soon as possible.

Sitting on the cold malachite throne, the young king leaned slightly, resting his chin on one hand and looking down at the ministers persuading him.

That expression was faint, indescribably calm.

After a while, his eyes fell on the first minister who stood up and was still persuading him with righteous words.

"Tal."

Garlan spoke suddenly.

Tal, who had long been forgotten by everyone, trotted out shaking his whole body.

Garlan glanced at him, raised his hand, and pointed to the minister he was looking at just now.

Tal nodded knowingly, then turned around and looked at the minister.

"Els."

Tar said the man's name.

"Last night, you had dinner with a person and received a bribe of a thousand Aaron gold coins from that person."

In a flash, the face of the minister named Ayers suddenly turned pale, and the upright and resolute look just now disappeared completely, and panic appeared in his eyes.

"No... not..."

He resisted forcefully.

"This is framing, Your Majesty, he is framing me! I never did that kind of thing!"

On the throne, Garlan smiled.

He ignored Els, who was desperately defending, but raised his hand and pointed at a person again.

Tull stared at the man, thought for a few seconds, then spoke.

"Gada, at noon three days ago, someone came to visit with his family members and offered [-] Aaron gold coins, which were placed in a food box in the name of giving food. In addition, the man's family members gave his wife a set worth [-] gold coins. Malachite charm of Aaron's gold coin."

The face of the executive named Jiada who worked in the Finance Department also changed instantly.

Compared with the minister who insisted, he obviously knows a lot about current affairs.

After his eyes flickered a few times, he didn't argue for himself, and knelt down with a plop, and the whole person fell to his knees, his forehead pressed tightly to the ground.

All the ministers were caught off guard by the sudden change in the courtroom, and they looked at the scene before them in surprise.

When they were all still in shock, the young king on the throne looked calm, still stretched out his hand, and ordered a few more people seemingly quite casually.

Every time he ordered one, Tull looked at the man and began to say when, where and how much the man had accepted the bribe.

One by one, Garlan pointed out the people.

The positions range from low to high, and in the end there are even ministers at the director level.

And the amount of bribes from Tal also ranged from small to large, and finally reached [-] Aaron gold coins.

One Aaron gold coin is the living expenses of a civilian family of four for one year.

It can be seen from this that five thousand Aaron gold coins are a huge sum of money.

And from this, it can be seen how rich those big businessmen who can easily spend such a huge sum of money to bribe officials have become——

In the beginning, there were still one or two people who stubbornly resisted with a fluke mentality and refused to admit it.

However, Tal snorted coldly, and then unceremoniously told all the misdeeds of the ministers who said they were framing, except for accepting bribes, and other crimes.

At this moment, those who denied it were immediately charged with several more crimes than the others, and the others immediately did not dare to act rashly.

At this moment, all the noble ministers stared at the young king on the throne.

Looking at his hand, he just pointed so lightly.

Seeing that they were terrified, they were afraid of pointing at themselves.

When Garlan finally let go, half of the ministers who tried to persuade him to release those big merchants in the name of Garlan's reputation knelt on the ground.

After all, not everyone was bribed, and some ministers did give advice out of their hearts.

At this moment, there are more than a dozen people kneeling below.

Their official positions range from big to small, from officials to nobles, and they all have different expressions at the moment, some are pale and sweating profusely, some are pursed to show hostility, and some are dignified.

The remaining nobles and ministers also had different expressions.

Someone secretly glanced at Garlan on the throne, his eyes flickered, showing a bit of nervousness.

There was also a group of ministers headed by Prime Minister Zuo who stood upright and frowned at the group of kneeling colleagues, showing either disapproval or sighing eyes.

Garlan sat upright on the throne, with one hand on the armrest of the throne.

He looked down at the crowd.

Condescending.

There was no anger on his face, and he looked calmly at the group of kneeling ministers.

However, it is this kind of calm that gives people an invisible sense of oppression, which makes everyone below feel awe-inspiring.

The golden eyes, like the scorching sun in the sky, seem to be able to see through everything.

All the darkness in this world has nothing to hide under the sun.

【Under the golden pupils of Shamash, the God of Judgment, no one can hide their crimes. 】

At this moment, looking at the young king on the throne, everyone couldn't help but think of this well-known sentence from the people of Aaron Landis.

Suddenly, an inexplicable sense of fear rose in their hearts, making them subconsciously lower their heads under the gaze of the other party.

Don't dare to look at him again.

Looking past the people below, Garlan spoke again.

He said, "Ximur, you are responsible for the trial of these people for their crimes."

The High Priest Shamash under his seat bowed slightly and saluted the young king on the throne.

"Follow your will."

Shemuer replied with a solemn expression.

Then, with a wave of the golden priest's scepter, he strode forward.

Dozens of priests of Shamash quickly stepped out from the side of the court. They stretched out their hands, picked up the ministers like they were catching chickens, and dragged them out unceremoniously.

The priests of Shamash, the God of Judgment, advocate justice, strictly abide by the judiciary, and hate any behavior that violates the rule of law.

They are ruthless and never show any kindness to sinners.

Seeing that he was about to be dragged away by the priests of Shamash, someone got anxious and begged Garlan loudly while struggling.

He shouted, begging King Garlan to show mercy and forgive him this time.

As soon as someone took the lead, the others came to their senses and begged for mercy loudly.

Immediately, the court was noisy and chaotic.Zuo Sixiang scolded several times angrily, but those people still begged Wang desperately and yelled.

At this moment, Shemuer had already walked to the side of the minister who took the lead in shouting.

Then, he raised the golden scepter in his hand expressionlessly.

Swipe down heavily.

bang.

The man was knocked unconscious by the high priest's scepter on the spot, and fell limply on the priest who was carrying him.

The court, which had been shouting endlessly just now, suddenly fell silent.

Looking at the heavy scepter in the high priest's hand, everyone was silent for a while.

In this strange silence, everyone watched quietly and silently as the priests of Shamash dragged out those who dared not shout anymore.

In the quiet courtroom, Garlan stood up.

He turned to leave, and the azure cloak flew up as he turned.

His long golden hair covered his side cheeks, making it difficult to see clearly.

Just like the action when he got up from the throne and left more than ten days ago.

Generally the same.

Only this time, no one would think that Garlan got up and left because of avoidance.

Everyone bowed and sent the young king off respectfully.

If it is said that before today, they only admired and respected the young king who saved Aaron Landis.

So from now on, they have developed a fear of it.

Just like fearing the Lion King before.

However, there will always be some people in this world who can't see the situation clearly, or whose brains are not clear, who are reluctant to let go of things that are occupied by them but do not belong to them. The greed for gold coins gave him stupid courage, let him It wants to try again.

Just as Garlan got up to leave, a brown-skinned nobleman took a step forward and said loudly to Garlan's back.

"Your Majesty, although I don't know what crimes those merchants have committed, but if you arrest them all, the business in the royal city is uncontrolled and the order is chaotic. This will cause chaos in the royal city..."

Garlan never turned his head, nor did he pause for a moment.

The azure cloak fluttered behind him.

Heymos, who was leaving with him, turned his head and glanced at the nobleman.

At that glance, it was as if the most terrifying thing in the world was overwhelming and devoured it whole.

The nobleman who wanted to chase over took a breath and froze in place.

Heymos turned his head, and quickly chased after Garlan who had gone away.

…………

"Is that fulfilling your requirement of 'intimidating those guys'?"

Sitting next to Garlan, Heymos asked.

Garlan thought for a while, then nodded.

Heymos' lips curled up.

"So, may I ask for a little reward?"

"what do you want?"

"Since it's a reward, of course it's up to you to decide."

Garlan thought for a moment.

He tilted his head, raised his face, and looked at Heymos who was sitting next to him.

Then, he raised his hand, reached over, and patted Heymos on the head lightly.

"good?"

The boy tilted his head and said tentatively while stroking Heymos' hair.

Then, the hand that touched his head was bitten by Heymos, who was laughing angrily and his teeth were itching.