The capital of the Duchy of Normandy, the night is light, it should be a time to rest from the darkness, but even at night, the inhabitants of the Duchy are still lively in all kinds of activities, the carriages of the nobles are staggered, and there is a comfortable atmosphere everywhere, the mansion of the prime minister of the Duchy is brightly lit, and all kinds of people come and go, as if it is the center of another capital.

"Good news, the Duchy of Eastern Angeles has agreed to support us in Normandy as the regional consul!" Bokov swept his gaze over everyone's faces, raised his goblet full of precious Langge wine, and said to all the people below who were waiting with bated breath, "That is to say, among the 24 principalities within the empire, 5 have already agreed to support us to become the consuls of the northern 4th district, and this round of elections, we in Normandy are already bound to win!"

"Hooray, that's wonderful!" the nobles below smiled and shouted congratulations and excitement, everyone gathered here today to hear the good news,

The Duchy of Eastern Angela is a grand duchy in the northern region of Normandy, and in terms of strength, it is one of the three major principalities of the northern fourth region together with Normandy and the Duchy of Berlangen, and the Duchy of Berlangen is the rival of the Duchy of Normandy this time, and the attitude of the Duchy of Eastern Angeles is undoubtedly enough to make Normandy feel victorious.

"Come, let's toast the Duchy of Normandy to a new level!"

"It shouldn't be a toast to the Kingdom of Normandy!" Bokov smiled at the corner of his mouth, only occasionally flashing a trace of worry in his eyes, the situation of the principality has been a little gloomy since Salander withdrew his troops,

Especially in the Battle of Salander, Normandy not only lost tens of thousands of troops, but also had to pay a huge amount of war reparations to get out, which hit the Duchy of Normandy, which had just risen a little, but fortunately, the brutal plundering of the southern part of Salander Island made the Normandy nobles make a hard deal in this war.

Compared with the death of tens of thousands of soldiers, the acquisition of tens of millions of property and nearly 200,000 Salander slaves made the former less important, with these goods to open the way ahead, the road for the principality to participate in the election for consul this time is much smoother than in previous years, as long as Normandy can be made the consul of the northern fourth district, the status of the principality will get a qualitative leap,

As consuls, the state was already part of the empire's feudal vassals, and could acquire the power to levy taxes and demand tribute from other nations in each region, and most importantly,

The consuls have the power to declare war on behalf of the empire, and can be assisted by the main army of the empire If a qiēshun lì, the Duke of Normandy is likely to become the consul of this term, at that time, the fat of Salander must be eaten, the Normandy nobles have already tasted the sweetness in the foreign war, although they were knocked out of their front teeth, but the smell of meat between the teeth is still tempting them,

After the banquet, the adjutant Rupert came to the study of the prime minister, Bokov, and reported to him an incident

"The Falcon Kingdom Navy has collided with the Imperial Navy, and according to the internal report we arranged in Antoros, just 2 days ago, Merendi's cruising fleet met the Falcon Kingdom Navy on our scheduled route"

"Who won?" asked Prime Minister Box's face calmly, but the corners of his eyebrows rose slightly, which was his somewhat nervous subconscious action, and years of training had already made him as calm as a mountain

"No one won! I heard that the Falcon Kingdom Navy and the Merendi fleet have their own victories and defeats! If it weren't for the arrival of enemy reinforcements, or Merendi's cruising fleet would have been able to wipe out each other," Adjutant Rupert said with a cautious expression on his face, "I only know that the encounter was fought very badly, and even Melendi's capital ship group only came back with less than 14 ships."

The number of "14 ships...... moved Zai Xiangbox's face, and he asked with some uncertainty, "Are you sure it's 14? Not a ship?" As one of the three main ship groups of the Empire, although the number of Merendi fleet is not the largest, it is definitely the most assault, and in the battle to open up the passage to the China Sea 20 years ago, it was because of his fierce pursuit that the victory was finally established."

"14 ships, for which our people also ran to the docking point to confirm in person!" Adjutant Rupert said with a solemn expression, "and the port of Antolus has also been violently attacked, almost in ruins!"

Box's silent glance at the text in his hand was silent for a while before he said, "But that's fine, the fiasco of the Merendi fleet should be reported to the Imperial Admiralty soon, I believe that this report has been put on the Admiralty's desk at this moment, and it is the season for the Admirals to puff out their eyes to look for opportunities, I believe there will be an answer soon."

"What do you mean...... Will the main forces of the Imperial Navy assemble in Antolus?" Adjutant Rupert's eyes widened slightly, and his voice trembled slightly, for a young man with hot blood, could there be more fascinating than this?

"Speaking of which, I haven't seen such a scene for 20 years! I am very nostalgic, I also used to follow the main fleet on the expedition, and the huge scene of thousands of ships flying together is still deeply reflected in my mind" The Prime Minister of the Principality, Box, raised his head and looked at the stars outside the window, his eyes were full ......of unknown love, "My lord used to be a navy? Adjutant Rupert's face was stunned, Prime Minister Box's body was bloated, and his eyes were a little gloomy, which was really far from the imaginary heroic Imperial Navy, "Admiral of the Fifth Detachment of the First Fleet of the Imperial Navy"

Box's eyes were staring into the distance, his mouth reading a long list of titles, and a red glow emanating from his face, a title that reminded him of the passionate years of his youth, his young and strong chest daring to meet the raging waves of the sea, and conquering patches of strange seas with the warships of the Empire, instead of the old man who could no longer take steps full of ambition and passion, as he is now,

Few people knew about the idea of a naval raid that allowed the Normans to take the initiative to attack Salander like lightning. It was he, the civil official, who proposed it,

He glanced at Rupert, who was in a bit of a trance, and said, "You want to say, why would a person from the Imperial Navy take the initiative to abandon such an important port as Antolus, right......?" Don't dare!" Adjutant Rupert was startled, and quickly lowered his head and said, under Box's gaze, he felt that what he was thinking seemed to be there without concealment, "I know, you are not the only one who hates me because of this matter!" Box said with a complicated expression, "Take the initiative to give up Antoros, the Falcon Kingdom on the opposite side is too powerful, the Duchy used Antolus as a springboard to launch an invasion of Salander, if it is the other way around, under the premise of having a strong enough navy, the opposite side can also do the same"

With our own strength, we can't hold on to Antoros!" Box's voice stopped, and the corners of his mouth full of meaning smiled slightly, "In order to ensure the safety of the principality, take the initiative to give up Antolus in exchange for the support of the Dunkir people, and let the Dunkel people entangle with the Falcon Kingdom, and we will at least stay out of this turbulent current that may sweep the entire coast of the empire, and gather all our forces to advance for the continental hegemony of the principality" "I see, I still privately complained about giving up such an important port as Antoros!" It really makes me feel embarrassed!" Adjutant Rupert's young face was full of shame, "Many nobles in the country are dissatisfied with this, I believe they will soon know what a wise decision the Prime Minister made to give up Antoros, Antoros's victory or defeat does not matter, even if the Imperial Navy loses this battle, this grudge will not come to us"

"Well, it seems that you understand very quickly" Boxy glanced at him in surprise, revealing a faint chill

"There, it's all by the side of the adults, and it's natural to understand!" Adjutant Lubock bowed his head, a trace of panic flashed on his face, "Okay, let's stop this matter." By the way, isn't tomorrow your mother's death, you can have a day off!" Boxs said to him coldly, and the young lieutenant sneered,

This kind of laughter does not represent any intentions, it is just his habit "I am so flattered that adults even care so much about my personal affairs!"

"Of course, you're my closest relative. Box's eyes were full of solemnity, and Adjutant Rupert's body couldn't help but shake slightly.

"You know everything?"

"I'm sorry for your mother. The father and son looked at each other quietly, without the slightest warm atmosphere, the love between father and son for each other had long since dried up, and each had a different expression.

"Do you still have this in mind?" the young adjutant's body trembled slightly

"It's always ......," said Box, with a rare hint of guilt on his face, and said in a trembling voice

My mother would have been glad to hear that in another world. I thank her on her behalf, but, really, you don't have to take it personally. Back then, between the daughter of a poor family who didn't have enough to eat and the rich daughter of the most powerful family in the principality, I would be with you... Well...... Make the same choice as adults!" Rupert pondered, but only for a few seconds, and then immediately returned to normal. ”... ・・・I'm just a mediocre person who has just graduated from the academy and doesn't know the height of the sky, but you handed over the responsibility of adjutant to me because of your affection for my father and son?"

Principality's Prime Minister Boxy looked at the somewhat flustered adjutant with an expressionless face, and said, "In my heart, you are too similar to me, and on the outside, you are like a mother...... But the status of the prime minister is not hereditary, if you want to become my heir, it is not by blood, strength and prestige are the most important! Take some time and cultivate your capital! This time the Duke will go to the imperial capital to report on his duties, and I have already reported your name as an attendant, and I believe it will be approved soon."

list

!