Law of the Devil

When we look back at history afterwards, we tend to find that even wise leaders inevitably lose their minds when history is rolling.

- The Chronicle of the Empire, Episode 35, Episode 7 - A Retrospective on the Roland Era, Number One and Two

# 8226;

It's a summer afternoon, and the sun hanging in the sky still relentlessly radiates heat. In preparation for the forthcoming triumph ceremony, numerous close guards in bright red armor have impenetrably surrounded Port 1.

And just a hundred steps outside the pier, the scorching Emperor's security guards have used all their strength to feed themselves. Many of them had their clothes torn, their shiny shoulder badges ripped off, their divine hats grabbed off, and even their boots trampled down countless times.

To the detriment of a thousand security guards ordered to maintain order on the outskirts of the port, they are faced with more than 50,000 passionate metropolitan citizens.

Passionate bystanders are ready for flowers, cheers, applause - and, of course, many more girls are even ready to give their own kisses and even their virginity. Under these emotional disturbances, a thousand security guards felt like a broken ship in the ocean, threatening to be overthrown at any moment.

At this moment, they envy those close guards who stand within the dock's perimeter, because they can relax in squares, selling the brightest armor and weapons they've just issued, without having to worry about being grabbed in the face by some fanatical citizen the next second.

For this grand triumph, at the behest of His Majesty the Great Emperor Augustine VI of the Empire, the section of the Grand Canal leading to Emperor Du was amply doubled! And the Empire paid 10,000 river workers six months' labor for it, and the Empire's finances paid nearly three million gold coins for it.

These costs were paid solely to demonstrate the empire's power by allowing the Empire's "Xth Expeditionary Fleet” flagship, the Danton, to pass smoothly through the canal directly to the eastern port of Didu and receive the cheers of all the people.

Nobody cares if it's worth paying for a situation of bragging.

Because the previous Minister of Finance of the Empire, the first to raise a strong objection, had been driven directly back to his old home by His Majesty the Angry Emperor. And the only option for a successor finance minister is to hang his brains out and squeeze the money out of the empire's financial spending to satisfy that "good old man".

Of course, the term "the old man of great joy” can only be deeply buried in the heart of the Minister of Finance, very deep, very deep...

When the afternoon sun shines on the broad river surface of the canal and the distant first point of the sail shadow begins to contour, the crowd has begun to cheer unstoppably.

As the big battleship on the river approached the harbour slowly with 200 steps, its masculine and powerful outline shocked all the citizens of Imperial Metropolis who came to see it.

The Imperial Sixth Expeditionary Fleet flagship Danton, the pride of the Imperial Navy, is one of the largest battleships in the history of the Imperial Navy. In preparation for this grand welcoming ceremony, the battleship has been thoroughly painted and refurbished, and the hull has been painted a daunting black, as if a giant black monster were slowly approaching the port in a wave of cheers, with a huge thorn flag flying against the wind on the mast.

By the time the anchor was dropped, tens of thousands of citizens in the port had boiled, countless hats had been thrown into the sky, countless people had stepped on their shoes and countless people had squeezed their legs. And poor security guards can only narrow the cordon to the best of their ability, and then narrow it down...

The Empire Expeditionary Fleet commanded Count Raymond and stood on the bow of the ship on Deck Mountain at this moment, looking unemotionally at the harbor's cheering crowds.

The 39-year-old First Class General of the Empire, the Earl of the Empire, is dressed in his most solemn outfit, covered in light armor, with a bright red cape behind him hunting in the wind, with two medals hanging on his chest - this was earned during his first two expedition fleets. And there is no doubt that this triumph will win him a third Imperial Medal.

The Count's eyes were slightly distracted, his focal length did not stop at the crowd cheered by the port, and if you look closely, you can see that the Count's eyebrows appear to be hidden wrinkled and somewhat impatient.

Damn, this armor is too heavy and stupid!

The Count does not believe that, as a soldier in a naval fleet, it would be necessary to wear such heavy armor to fight at sea. That's Army stuff. Wearing these medals is even more foolish in the Count's heart. It's as if an outburst of households is showing off their wealth - the real noblemen don't despise doing that. He feels like such a move is very shi identical.

Moreover, the people who cheered below were so noisy that their cheering sounds, like a wave of waves in the tsunami, eroded the Count's patience, which was already scarce.

I looked subconsciously at the deck under my feet.

In response to today's welcoming ceremony, the Danton was painted three days ago and there was no blood on the deck. The deck worn out in the expedition war has long been rearranged and the bow crash angle has been replaced... Damn, those who like to kiss the Emperor's ass turned the bow crash angle into a statue of His Majesty the Emperor himself, and the statue is said to have been handcrafted by a famous sculptor of the Empire the other day.

An additional 10,000 gold coins were paid for this by the Imperial Navy.

Powerful is powerful enough. But don't those idiots know that the first thing that gets smashed after a battleship collision at sea is a bow collision angle?

In his view, the 10,000 gold coins had been spent unjustly. The sculptor's work is even more practical than finding a sharp stake.

In fact, on a deeper level, Lord Count Raymond even deeply believed that organizing this so-called Xth Empire Expeditionary Fleet was a ridiculous and ridiculous misdecision.

Since decades ago, the Empire has been conducting “expeditions” over and over again into the South China Sea region.

It is undeniable that there are countless islands in the South Ocean, as if scattered pearls were scattered over vast areas of ocean, with strange forests, barbaric and foolish indigenous tribes still at the clan stage, gold, stones, spices, seafood.

But the Count does not see what an "expedition” would be to "bring a dozen or so large battleships to bully those indigenous canoes”.

It was a total pillage, a massacre, a bandit, an invasion, a naked robbery!

The Count won't think there's anything wrong with that. The weak have traditionally been bullied by the strong, and the weak need to remain submissive to the strong. He believed, however, that the failure of the Empire's policy towards the South Ocean was that such so-called expeditions were carried out too frequently and seemed to receive fewer and fewer results.

In the early two or three expeditions, the mighty imperial navy swept across the Southern Ocean, and the entire empire was struck when the golden gemstone seafood spices from the entire ship were brought back.

But after all, richer granaries cannot afford such frequent harvests. Excessive plundering has led to the extinction of indigenous tribes in areas close to the southern ocean, and the subsequent expeditionary forces have had to take their routes further and further, which is a huge test for fleet replenishment.

After all, the Southern Ocean is not only home to bullying indigenous peoples, but also to golden gems, as well as dull weather, rapidly changing climates, terrible waves, and countless reefs, swirls, storms...

The transitional harvest allowed this fat field, which could have become an imperial granary, to disappear rapidly. Subsequent expeditions yielded less than once. Ironically, however, the Triumph Ceremony is bigger than ever...

Count Raymond himself led three expeditions in recent years, which gave the Count a great reputation in the Southern Ocean. This Imperial Admiral, Lord Count, has a string of nicknames in the Southern Ocean:

Bandits, butchers! Executioner! … his hands are stained with Aboriginal blood, a notorious aggressor in the hearts of Aboriginal tribes, burning their homes and enslaving their demons.

The Count certainly does not care about these, but the only thing that disturbs him is that the excessive war of aggression has in some ways deformed the development of these indigenous peoples of the South Ocean, particularly in the area of force. Even before his return, he had heard that, in the most distant southern waters, some indigenous island nations had formed a so-called alliance against the endless plunder of the Empire.

Fortunately, he doesn't have to think about it anymore. Because he knows very well that this is his last expedition. Next, he will stay in Didu, and if all goes well, he will get a distinguished position in the imperial command, and then mix it up for 10 or 8 years, and when that military minister retires now, with the influence of his own family, he will become the new military minister himself, and if he is luckier, he may have spent the last few years of his political career addicted to being a prime minister.

As for the expedition, go fuck yourself. That's a headache for the next Commander of the Expeditionary Fleet.

Even if those indigenous people had evolved to create magic cannons, that was not their concern.

In the same cheer of the heat waves, the Count walked down the flagship deck in public, and his feet finally stepped on the land of Tidu! He waves at the cheering crowd… it's just this move, but it's more like driving a fly away.

First, a clerk dressed in court to serve on the boat read out His Majesty the Emperor's commendation order and announced that His Majesty the Count would enter the palace early tomorrow morning to meet His Majesty the Emperor and accept the award.

As you wish, the political future is bright.

But then a servant in grey clothes crowded up and whispered in the ear of the Count to bring another message, which drove Count Raymond's mood to the bottom of the valley!

The message came from home.

The expedition took place for more than three years, the sea was bleak and the news was inconvenient. Raymond doesn't know what's going on at home.

The most important thing is his wife. When he left three years ago, his wife was close to giving birth, and now he doesn't even know if he has a son or a daughter!

The family's message is: it's a son.

But having a son, he seemed like an idiot.

The news was almost so bad that it knocked Lord Count off the hills of joy.

Almost there!

But almost every emperor who comes to greet him is powerful, and he sees this triumphant commander of the Expeditionary Army with a gloomy face to the threshold of collapse.