"What's going on with Albion?"

The knife and fork cut the steak, and the elegant movements exude dignity and refinement, and the gravy oozes out and dyes a bright red on the white plate.

The crown prince, who was enjoying lunch, looked relaxed, as if asking about tomorrow's weather.

"It's still calm, and it looks like 'those guys' have not only wiped out the troops that went to reconnoitre, but also withheld information from heretics and infidels. ”

The Marquis de Lois de Tellier, son of the Minister of War, put down his cutlery and respectfully owed his body, compared to his father, who was submissive in front of Richelieu, the young and vigorous Loire had a rather flamboyant personality, and after being appointed by the crown prince as the head of the reform of the new army, he used a series of actions to win himself the evaluation of "ruthless and arrogant". But this man was by no means a pompous and arrogant mediocre man, and throughout the reform of the Army, he proved that he was far superior to his father. On one occasion, when his War Commissioners and Overseers were inspecting the garrisons, they discovered that Bell Eyre's garrison had misrepresented their numbers and had improvised, improvising civilians to pose as soldiers. The captain of the garrison was dismissed on the spot, and the local governor and mayor of the town, as well as the full number of civilians, were severely punished.

Among the Crown Prince's henchmen, Lois oversaw the military surveillance system and intelligence gathering, and any rumours of bribery and fraud by the commissioners and overseers were dealt with swiftly, and those involved usually magically "disappeared from the world" - such as Albert, the commissioner of Dunkirk. This tyrannical system was fully supported by the Dauphin, and any accusation against Loire, whether true or false, was firmly rejected.

In addition to regulating corruption. Loire also had a keen eye for the competence of the officers, borrowing from the Titans' management style to incorporate the officers' military theories and skills into the monitoring process. The officers were surprised to find that they would be forced to sell their positions if they were unable to pass the regular professional examinations. For a time, the military theoretical works that no one cared about before were swept away, such as the "Art of War" (Les.Travaux.de.Mars) by the former general Manette, which was reprinted in one edition, which was quite expensive in Luoyang.

To be fair and objective, Lois is half of the credit for the success of the reform of the new army of the crown prince. It is the privilege of having lunch with the crown prince. And participating in the discussion of all kinds of secret things is also an affirmation and trust in him.

Brigadier General Nicolas Catina, Brigadier General Sébastian Vaubana, Viscount André Magino and Lieutenant Colonel Jane Martinay were treated equally.

They are all the right hand men of the crown prince. And has outstanding talents, such as Brigadier General Vauban is respected as the "father of the engineering army", is an outstanding defensive strategy admirer and master, good at building fortifications and battles, but also good at overcoming the fortification defense system. In the previous Daugavpils offensive and defensive battles. Facing the trench fortifications that anyone who sees it will be frightened. Vauban ordered the sappers to dig trenches and advance within range of the chain-ball bombs. Grenades were covered by grenadiers and the transport hub was conquered in one fell swoop. Others, such as Brigadier General Catina and Lieutenant Colonel Martine, were also brave generals, while Viscount Maginot had extensive contacts in the army.

They are gathered here today. It's not about enjoying a meal that's hard to see on the front line, it's about discussing something big enough to make a sensation in the world.

"Really......"

The crown prince picked up a napkin and wiped his mouth, and said casually:

"That way, we will be able to catch evidence of heretics and heretics colluding with each other more easily. ”

Albion and the United Principality of Rus' were privately negotiating an end to the war - such news sounded like a joke at first, and no one believed this ridiculous information. But things started to look different when the "Peter Strassel" was told when it was on trial and its route.

The trial date of the Zeppelin-class No. 2 ship is still open information, but its route is only known to consortium insiders and the navy, and it is impossible to access relevant information without a certain status. However, in this way, apart from the actual investigation, there is no way to verify whether what he said is true or false. Eventually, a small group of griffon knights was sent to reconnoitre, but the unit soon lost contact with Pieter Strassel and no one returned after discovering the Pieter Strassel on the secret route they had pointed out.

At that time, everyone's first reaction was "trap", and as a group of people who are often cheated by conglomerates, it is extremely natural for such an idea to come up. But then the spies lurking in the Albion barracks reported that they had spotted the orcs in the command tent, and then the consortium became unusually honest...... All kinds of visions show that there is some unknown conspiracy being carried out by the consortium, Albion, and the United Principality of Rus, which is likely to be the peace negotiations that have been mentioned repeatedly, at least eighty percent likely.

If only what is supposed to be in the zài joke is true, things will change completely.

Albion may be able to shift the blame to "the arbitrariness of some people" and punish those involved in the negotiations to cut off, but if the matter is fully pursued, it is likely that Charlemagne and Albion will completely turn the other cheek. Moreover, no amount of clarity could change the fact that this was a great scandal in Albion, which would cause instability within the Allies, and the mere fact of private contact with the infidels would likely lead to diplomatic interference from the Church and other countries.

Therefore, in order to maximize profits, it is better to seize irrefutable evidence but not disclose it. In order to blackmail Albion, without causing a split in the coalition forces, as much as possible for Charlemagne and the crown prince to grab their own benefits.

"After all, we have an enemy behind us. ”

Viscount Maginot swallowed foie gras and reminded the soldiers who lacked political sense of smell in a calm tone that did not show any anger, and after secretly scanning the surroundings, his heart calmed down a little after reconfirming that the supreme military commander in Ostoria and the chief of the General Staff of the Ostoria Army, Baron Hezendorff, was not present.

I don't know if it's because of the characteristics of being a second devil, or because of the climate and diet, among the nobles from the Ostoria region, the proportion of middle two, angry youth, and tyrants seems to be extremely high, and even the president of the V.E consortium said at a party that "Sooner or later, Ostoria will come up with a mustachioed corporal who will draw the whole world into war" such an unclear joke. Maybe it's just a joke. But Ostoria is indeed a place dedicated to the production of such people, such as the dead Heinau and the still alive Hezendorff.

Baron Franz Conrad de Herzendorff, a well-known conservative, fanatical social Darwinist and Catholic, was convinced that a "great battle" between man and orcs, between cultists and infidels, and heretics was coming. Charlemagne's ubiquitous corporate power bothered the baron, who believed that the "profiteers" would weaken Charlemagne's power and one day create a new state to replace him. Herzendorff's response was to try to annex as many lands and aliens as possible, starting with the orcs, in order to weaken the Consortium's influence in the country. Hezendorff has always been an active advocate of waging a "preventive war against the evil profiteers," and in just one year he advocated waging a "preventive war" against the conglomerates 25 times. If now he's here. Then there will be one more addition.

Viscount Maginot did not think that Hezendorff had any deviation in his view of the consortium. Whatever the ultimate goal of the consortium, they have changed Charlemagne, politics, economics, military, education, public construction in every way...... As long as it is considered profitable by the consortium, it will be ruthlessly invaded. Eventually, it fell into the hands of the consortium. This, in turn, increases their influence...... Today. Charlemagne is not so much a state under the king as a state run by royal families and conglomerates. If left unchecked, the consortium will surely stab the kingdom in the back "at the right time". Revolutionize the country's polity.

That being said, it would not be wise to go to war against the Consortium, not to mention the Consortium's unfathomable military might and its allies, the Navy and the Titans. Charlemagne's group of neighboring countries alone made it impossible for the crown prince to let go of his hands, and once they could not solve the consortium quickly and completely, and invited foreign forces, it would be unimaginable.

Therefore, the viscount's strategy is to stabilize the consortium, reach some kind of compromise with foreign forces, or coerce them not to interfere in domestic political changes, and at the same time accumulate strength in the country, and when the time is ripe, lure the consortium to act first, and then launch a counterattack.

There is no error in this idea at the theoretical level, and its expression at the material level is the various diplomatic activities of the viscount, as well as ...... A line of defense.

The outstanding figure in the "Seven-Day War" was Titans, but in private everyone had heard some news about the private army of the consortium, although it was some vague rumors, but Tong Guò fought several times, and the combat effectiveness of the private army of the crown prince's faction was still quite fearful. On the question of the suppression of conglomerates, especially their military might, opinions are broadly divided into two schools - or two extremes.

On the one hand, the "active attackers" led by militants and military aristocrats like Baron Hezendorff enshrined the concept of "large-scale offensive" as a classic military ideology and advocated "preventive war" while raising the sense of honor of the generals to an unrealistic height -- not only did they ignore the fire cover of the artillery in the field of warfare, but they also pedanticly believed that the infantry running and advancing in front of fortifications, volleys of guns, and infantry artillery was an insult to the glory of the soldiers. The strategy developed by these men was very simple: "attack, attack, attack", "attack is the best defense", "advance against bayonets and artillery is the real warrior, only the coward hides in the trenches". ”

Completely oblivious to the fact that the fortified fortifications beneath the city of Riga and the fact that the attackers had fled with corpses and had not made any progress, they were so obsessed with the victory of the capture of Daugavpils that they did not seriously study the causes and consequences in the slightest. The crown prince has been mobilizing troops from the borders of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine, seeking a favorable opportunity to launch an active attack, but ignoring the fact that the consortium has been operating in the local area for many years, has many eyes and ears, and is likely to secretly set up defenses. In the face of a prepared defensive system, a rash attack is no different from suicide.

On the other hand, the "rational defensive faction", led by Viscount Maginot and Commodore Vauban advocated a defensive strategy.

In the viscount's opinion, one thing has been proved in the series of wars since the advent of muskets, artillery, and trench defenses, and that is the superiority of strong permanent fortifications and fortresses, which, under the cover of powerful artillery fire, can inflict great losses on the attacking troops, and make any invading enemy shed his last drop of blood in front of the pillboxes and trenches. Accordingly, the Viscount decided that it would be best to build a strategic defensive line along Alsace and Lorraine Tower, consisting of a series of forts, to defend against the surprise attacks of the Consortium, which were powerful but limited in force. While occupying the moral high ground of "the first shot is fired by the other party", while restraining the hands and feet of the navy and Titans, he used strong firepower to strike at the incoming enemy on the predetermined position, like a bloody giant millstone, crushed the enemy's military power with artillery fire, and launched a counterattack after completing the mobilization to completely destroy the enemy.

Maginow's idea was endorsed by Vauban and, with their research demonstrated, a vast strategic defense system was born. A steel line stretches for hundreds of kilometers along the border between the two provinces all the way north. It consists of a series of underground tunnels, fortresses, spaced turrets, barracks, observation posts, and fortified bunkers. Its design requirements include being effective against toxic gases, including toxic gases. Any known direct attack with heavy firepower is sufficient to ensure the safety of weapons, personnel and auxiliary equipment in the fortifications; it has a super counterattack capability, which can deal a fatal blow to the attacking enemy; it can effectively hinder the enemy's advance, and the dense trenches, traps, and automatic defense techniques in the defense line can prevent or significantly slow down the movement of the enemy's infantry, cavalry, and air troops; and ensure that the defenders in the fortress in the defense line can fight and live continuously for 3 months under the condition that the strategic material reserves are sufficient. The entire defense system was able to hold out until the rear strategic reserves were assembled. Launch a counteroffensive against the enemy.

Arguably. With so many high requirements, once this line of defense is completed, it will be the most sophisticated design, the most complex structure, the most ambitious engineering, the most robust structure, and the most expensive strategic defense system ever built by a human country. It's unprecedented. Interestingly, however, there are two gaps in this defense system deliberately left by the designers - the "Saarland Gap" about 40 kilometers wide in the northeast, opposite the industrial town of Saarbrücken, which is managed by the consortium, and the other is the Ardennes Plateau Forest. The former was due to the fact that the crown prince and his staff were obsessed with seizing the industrial base of the consortium and turning it to their own use, while the latter was due to the high mountains and forests of the Ardennes, and there was no other path except a few small paths, which the consortium was proud of because the railway network could not reach it, and it was too expensive to build a defensive line for such an "impassable place", and it was enough to destroy the roads, set up roadblocks, and send a light cavalry brigade to garrison it in wartime.

Now that the theoretical concept and material foundation are in place, it is only a matter of political skills and the international environment.

It is impossible to completely hide a defensive line of this magnitude, and in order to deter an imaginary enemy, it is important to let the adversary know that it exists. However, such a big movement will inevitably attract the attention of other countries, especially Brittania under the occupation of Albion in the northeast of the defense line, and at the moment when the situation between the two countries is delicate, such a move is likely to attract the hostility of Albian, and the monkeys on the archipelago are likely to immediately turn around and support the consortium, hindering the construction of the defense line and the showdown with the consortium. How to promote the construction of the defense line without irritating the Albians became the most headache for the viscount and others, and the news of the private contact and negotiation between Albion and the United Principality of Rus was a great gift from the sky to them.

As long as this scandal is grasped, one can imagine how panicked the people of Albion will be. Of course, Maginot was not going to make too harsh demands, he would only demand that it be a small benefit compared to the scandal itself - severing ties with the consortium, maintaining at least a slight inclination towards the Dauphin's neutrality in future conflicts, and so on.

The crown prince glanced at Maginot who was a little absent-minded, his eyebrows slightly raised, and he immediately returned to his original flat expression.

(The Strategist is indulging in strategy-)

Prince Louis made a salty assessment in his heart.

As a diplomat, it is his professional instinct to have a few more plans in mind, and it is not surprising that he is distracted by this, but rather it is a sign of his devotion to his duties. But the other side of this occupational disease is that he is too cautious, and his prudence is mostly in vain. Meaningless repeated research, prepared a number of unnecessary countermeasures, other than to reassure himself, there is no other use. Viscount Maginot was a brilliant man, but he was not a good strategist.

It is true that the huge defensive line he proposed and Albiang's diplomatic strategy are reasonable and can be called masterpieces. But none of the focus is on the key point - time.

The cost of building the huge line of defense in the viscount's blueprint must be astronomical, and the time it takes is even more than ten years, not to mention the burden of the huge expenses on the country, not to mention what changes may occur in ten years, how long the decrepit king can live is a question, there is no time to build such a line of defense.

From the bottom of his heart, Dauphin Louis despised his father. When he was still a teenager, Charles IV was rooted in his heart like a stinger in the face of the scenes of the consortium retreating again and again, and such a father could not be an example for his arrogant son. In the eyes of today's crown prince, the dying father is simply not as good as a waste, and the purpose of his life is to hand over Charlemagne's throne to himself at the best possible time.

As for when the most opportune time is due, it is certainly not the time when the expeditionary army is far from home, and the ambitious brother and Titans are eyeing the country.

Thinking of the younger brother who used to be submissive in front of him, but now he is arrogant, Prince Louis is angry. If it weren't for the support of the consortium, where would it be the turn to get this stupid guy who doesn't know how to learn and grab the throne himself. Now relying on the face and prestige that Titans has earned. blatantly coveted the throne.

Although he still doesn't look down on Prince Bernard, Prince Louis also knows that Titans' record is a real one. In terms of combat effectiveness, Titans is also one of Charlemagne's top teams in the country. It is not easy to solve it by force. Once the political struggle intensified into an armed duel. You can't be sure of victory. Even if we can win in the end, we will definitely lose our vitality, and it will be even more dangerous to face the consortium. What's more, the consortium has a backup candidate who is more suitable to be a puppet than Bernard - the fourth prince Charles, who has been out of everyone's sight like an invisible man before.

I want to break this situation. Foreign support is indispensable, and for this reason, it is better to temporarily cede some national interests than to watch Charlemagne fall completely into the control of the consortium. Moreover, there is now an opportunity not to compromise national interests. You can make a fool of yourself with the people of Albion first, write some empty checks, and then go back and clean up those damn island monkeys after you take the throne. To hell with all the credibility and morality, which king has no blood on his throne? Which moralist will die on the throne?

Foreign support is only the first step towards ultimate victory, and it will ultimately have to be resolved by its own force. As a front-line commander who had personally witnessed the power of the trench defense system, the crown prince still quite agreed with Viscount Maginow's opinions, but as a young man full of aggression and initiative in his character, he was full of disgust for passive defense. The crown prince decided that the defensive strategy was a symbol of defeatism, and that its most dangerous aspect was the psychological creation of a false and false sense of security, the feeling of hiding behind an impregnable steel line, which, once broken, would shatter the will to fight of his own army.

Based on these contradictions, but not without reason, and the need to balance the two factions, the final strategic plan that Crown Prince Louis came up with was the product of a compromise - to build a defensive line along the border of the two provinces, but not a winding steel wall, but a base for advancing with a few key fortresses as the core. In this way, it not only saves the cost and time of building a defensive line, but also allows for reasonable arrangements of mobile forces according to the situation in wartime, so that it can be attacked and defended. In addition, as planned by Maginow, the crown prince also left two openings in the direction of Saarbrücken and the Ardennes, which can be regarded as recognition and comfort to Maginot.

In the end, everyone was happy, and the anti-Li Lin United Front continued to operate, and all the plans were on track.

The corners of Dauphin Louis's mouth rose slightly, and then he returned to indifference.

"There's no problem with secrecy, not only the consortium is keeping an eye on us, but there are also a lot of flies coming from the archbishop lately. ”

"All subjects are under our surveillance, and Your Highness can rest assured. ”

"We don't have the leisure to rest easy until the big thing is done, don't forget, the opponents are Li Lin and Richelieu, neither of them is easy to deal with. ”

The subordinates nodded knowingly, and at the same time looked around reflexively - this action is called "Charlemagnean glimpse", and it is one of the many countermeasures taken by the upper class people to confirm whether someone is eavesdropping, and Charlemagne, who is everywhere in the eyes of the consortium and the bishop, everyone is wary and suspicious of others, even in the barracks, everyone has every reason to believe that the two voyeuristic big men have extended their tentacles here.

Faced with the conditioned reflex of his subordinates, the crown prince could only smile bitterly in his heart.

Originally, the mere omnipresence of spies in the consortium was enough of a headache, and since the rebellion of the crown leader, the spies sent by Richelieu seem to have taken an interest in the expeditionary force barracks, and even their footprints have appeared near the crown prince's tent.

This does not bode well for Richelieu, who has always been somewhat tolerant of what he has done. Blatantly ordering his subordinates to spy on him - this was no longer a warning, but an unmistakable hint that the crown prince's position was no longer secure, and if necessary, a different person could be considered as the crown prince.

(That damn old fox-)

Secretly cursing the cardinal, the wine in his mouth lost its taste.

In the eyes of the old man who looked sick, the interests of the country came first, not to mention the crown prince, even the king was just an "idol" needed for the country. Someone once said in private, half-jokingly: once Charles IV dies, Richelieu will shed tears for a minute at most. Then it's time to do what.

For such an emphasis on the state and the nation. For a prime minister who is not the importance of family and blood, a crown prince who has repeatedly violated his bottom line is by no means a suitable person for him to sit on the throne. If Prince Bernard hadn't gotten too close to the consortium, I'm afraid that the edict for the abolition of the prince would have been drafted long ago. Waiting for the king to sign and approve it. But the young fourth prince...... It seems like an acceptable option.

The crown prince was anxious about this. But he also knew that the impact of the previous crown collar was too great. If something happens now, Richelieu will not show mercy again. Albion must therefore be dealt with before Richelieu can take real action......

"Report!"

A loud announcement was heard outside the tent. Maginot frowned, he was not used to this new military order, and the interruption in the middle of the meal made the viscount unhappy.

The crown prince nodded to the side, and one of the attendants saluted and ran out, and after a while, led in a communications officer who had just finished wiping his sweat. I saw that the non-commissioned officer hurriedly gave a military salute, and after the crown prince nodded, he immediately handed over a piece of communication paper.

After elegantly untying the napkin, the attendant brought the basin and water, and even the fingernails were cleaned, the crown prince slowly read the message, and his eyes slowly lit up......

＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃

"Haven't you found Your Highness yet?

There was a roar and shouting from the room, followed by the sound of some fragile object shattering.

The two guards guarding the office door turned their heads, and their sad expressions on each other's faces became clear, and then turned into wry smiles.

According to the judgment of the guards, this time it should be the vase on the left shelf behind the desk, and the one on the right had taken the first step two hours before, and the maid had opened the door when it came out of it. Both guards secretly mourned the pair of valuable ornaments, wishing them to be reunited in the celestial kingdom where the chrysanthemums were in full bloom.

When the prayer was over, the soldiers regained their expressionless faces, their chests puffed up, their backs straight, and motionless like a statue.

In everyone's mind, Prime Minister Richelieu is a person who is harsh on others and even more harsh on himself. Sometimes it may seem unkind, but the words and deeds are absolutely in accordance with the strictest rules of etiquette, and a few of the older maids have not even heard the bishop shout at home, but this self-discipline seems to have lost its effect these days.

From the beginning of the condolence group, whenever the bishop's secretary and aide-de-camp walked into the office with telegrams or reports, it was bound to be followed by a storm that terrified everyone. This is not only a reprimand and a scolding, but even an unprecedented drop of things.

Holding the pen in his hand, as if he was about to throw it out, and then scolding "I'm angry!", but in the end it was self-control that came into play, and Richelieu slowly sat back in his chair, his chest rising and falling like a bellows. A group of henchmen around him lowered their heads, and they didn't dare to come out.

Since the condolence group set out, the bad news has come one after another, first the attack on the special train by the Ostorian separatists, then the arbitrariness of the crown prince, and some accidents that led to the bloody Sunday incident, which finally provoked the rebellion of the crown leader, who went to suppress the army's unauthorized actions, and was beaten all over the ground. Finally, Titans suppressed the rebellion, and the condolence group train was attacked again, with heavy casualties, but the important passengers were not injured, and before everyone could calm down, the news of the private negotiations between Albion and the orcs came......

To be sure, these are unforeseen emergencies that no matter how much you prepare for them, you can't completely eliminate them or prevent them from happening. Richelieu can also understand this, except when facing the person directly responsible for the incident, he did not vent his anger at will.

But one yard to one yard, those things are quite excusable. But with so many spies and spies, why can't I find Prince Charles until now?!

A few months ago, Richelieu would not have been in such a hurry, but now the situation is very different from the situation a few months ago in which the crown prince was young and promising, albeit a little reckless, but still qualified for the future king. The crown prince is indeed capable and decisive in his actions, but the direction is very wrong.

One of the most important duties of a king is to reduce the number of enemies as much as possible and increase the number of allies around him. The crown prince probably thought that sacrificing the standard of living of the crown and leading the people in exchange for a large industrial base would be good for the country and himself. But in fact. That impulsive act drove everyone to his opposite. He was hated by peasants whose land had been annexed to the crown prince and who had been burdened with heavy taxes, by workers who were paid on Weibo and who worked more than 20 hours without even enough food for their families, by the aristocrats who felt betrayed and whose national consciousness had begun to awaken, not to mention the Crown Leader whose relatives and friends had died in the midst of the "False Ideological Defensive Wall", "Bloody Sunday" and rebellions...... Worst of all, in the eyes of all the dependencies and colonial peoples, the crown prince was equated with the occupation system. and even Charlemagne as a whole. Become an object and symbol of their hatred. Let such a flamboyant man sit on the throne. It is bound to cause panic, including among the domestic aristocracy.

A more suitable heir must be prepared.

Ever since the Crown's rebellion began, Richelieu had the idea of it, for him. His Majesty the King is a sacred being, but it is by no means irreplaceable, and the same is true for the Crown Prince. If there is a danger to the country, it would be good to correct it before the potential danger becomes a reality.

The bishop did whatever he wanted, but he struggled when he revisited the royal family.

The second prince, Bernard, has been gaining momentum lately, relying on the exploits of Titans to become a popular candidate for the throne. But he is too frivolous, in some respects he is not as good as the crown prince, and the second prince is too close to the consortium, once he succeeds to the throne, the consortium's control over the country will be more in-depth and direct.

The princess of Minerva is a talented woman who is both civil and military, and it would not be impossible for the Supreme Court to amend the "Law of Succession to the Throne" and make her the first queen in Charlemagne's history. After all, with the example of Elizabeth of Albion there, and the triple deterrence of the navy, the Bastille and the guillotine, opposition can be suppressed.

However, the marriage contract between Her Royal Highness and Roland was a problem, although it was made out of desperation to reach some kind of compromise with the consortium, but now it has become an insurmountable obstacle. Even though Richelieu didn't believe that the princess would abandon the royal family and completely fall to the side of the consortium, Li Lin was not an ordinary person, and in the archbishop's memory, there was nothing that the scum couldn't do. Especially in the case of the princess and Roland giving birth to a boy, the risk will become even greater.

Finally, Prince Shire...... It doesn't seem to work either. The fourth prince was frail and sickly, due to the humble status of his biological mother, he was bullied by the prince and the court, and if it were not for the protection of his sister Minerva, he would have died long ago, and no one inside or outside the court thought that he had a chance to approach the throne, however, it was precisely this weak fourth prince that Richelieu finally chosen.

The fourth prince is indeed weak, but the child's character can be slowly cultivated and corrected, but the lack of background and position is difficult to obtain. Even the V.E consortium could only influence the Charles through the princess of Guò Minerva, which gave Richelieu and his assistants room to exert their influence and create an opportunity to finally shape a king that met the needs of the country.

This option is arguably the best option at the moment, better than other royal heirs in line and better than choosing from the Elector family. Just as Archbishop Li was reassured about his arrangement, news came out of the court that Prince Shire, whom he had designated as the next king, had disappeared, and had been missing for several days.

From that moment on, the cardinal, who had always valued etiquette, began to throw things and curse, and none of his henchmen could escape until the telegraph operator entered the office and delivered the communication from the consortium.

Seeing the news that Prince Charles was safe and sound, the Prime Minister's hanging heart finally relaxed, but what followed made him frown again.

Prince Charles is with the princess of Minerva, which means that they are about to arrive at the front, and although there should be no problem with security, it still makes Richelieu a little uncomfortable. Next, the consortium vaguely mentioned that the crown prince has recently made some disturbing moves, which seems to have something to do with Albiang's private contact with the principality and secret negotiations......

The vague content piqued the Prime Minister's interest, and the Crown Prince at the front seemed to have heard some information about the secret negotiations, and it was more in-depth information, and it was possible to take some action against Albiang.

As a crown prince, this is a sign of his talent and virtue, but in the eyes of those who are determined to replace the crown prince, this talent is tantamount to danger - especially if he is in danger of falling out of favor.

Through the Crown Collar incident, the bishop has clearly realized that the crown prince Louis is a genius who understands many issues, but his desire for power is too strong, and his consideration of any problem is centered on increasing the power in his hands. As a king, this talent is indeed necessary, but to confuse real national interests with personal power is to put the cart before the horse. If the crown prince had been born in the past, he might have been able to conquer the east and west, and expand the territory of the country. But in the new era when this consortium is rising and the countries are beginning to seize the colonies, the crown prince cannot cope with the current situation.

If the crown prince of Louis were to seize Albion's handle, he would definitely use this to blackmail the other party to fully support him, and the cunning Walsingham and Elizabeth would probably accept it on the surface, and secretly plan to put their tentacles into Charlemagne's calculations......

The Prime Minister's fist clenched suddenly, and after a moment it was released again.

In Richelieu's tense mind, a question suddenly crossed out: Why did Li Lin sue him for this?

Is it possible to replace the crown prince he doesn't like? So do you want to stop the crown prince by yourself, so that your relationship with His Highness can be completely broken? It seems that it is also possible......

After deducing several possibilities repeatedly, Richelieu gave up thinking about the problem, and it was more urgent to make the most of it than to speculate.

The bishop raised his hand, and a piece of paper immediately burned without a trace, and the pale-faced old man slowly paced to the huge map, staring straight at the besieged fortress city in the north.

The Albions and the advance battalion of Charlemagne's expeditionary force continued to be semi-encircled, and after leaving tens of thousands of corpses in front of the impregnable trenches, they had lost the spirit to continue the attack. Relying on a steady stream of supplies from the rear, the morale of the Riga defenders was still high, and the Riga fortress still looked impregnable, but after a continuous tug-of-war, they also lost the strength to fight back. The two armies, both of whom had little interest in attacking, confronted each other across the thin line of defense on the map, living a small life of hearing each other's voices and not getting along with each other.

The current tranquility was only temporary, as the expeditionary force led by the crown prince was closing in on the fragile supply lines of the Duchy army, and once the fortress was cut off from the outside world, the fall of the fortified city was only a matter of time. As for the expeditionary forces of Castile and Serres, they were not numerous, but they could add a little pressure to the principality's army......

(Castile ......?)

A flash of light crossed Richelieu's mind, and he hurried forward, almost pressing his face to the map. The focus was no longer on the fortified fortresses in the north, but on the south, stopping for a moment in Albião, then turning to Castile and finally on the Catalan province. After a moment of silence, a grim smile crept up the wrinkled face.

No one would have imagined that at this very moment, the cardinal archbishop had decided to make the complete shaking of the status of Castile and the Dauphin, who also believed in the old religion, the first sacrifice of Charlemagne's rise to prominence on the entire continent.

In the same way, Richelieu did not expect that his decision would be the same as the script of a certain messenger of the gods. (To be continued......)

PS: Sorry, toothache...... It's terrible.,It's a little better to delay until today.,I'm really sorry.,Tomorrow to return to normal updates.。