"A member of the Ostorian independence movement?"

Roland looked up, his face full of incredulity.

"How could it be them?"

Charlemagne's territory more or less has some voices for independence, among which the independence tendency of Ostoria is the most obvious, but no matter how fierce the trouble, it has always stayed in the process of political temptation. Now that there is such a big movement, of course, people can't believe it.

However, two thick stacks of confessions obtained through torture are placed in front of him, and in order to prove their authenticity and credibility, bright red handprints are pressed on them.

Stacy had long developed drugs such as "confessions", and the manipulation magicians were adept at probing the memories of their interrogators, but the sadistic and killer Scorpion was more inclined to lengthy torture - a process that was not very long, rarely lasting more than an hour. But during this time, the tortured person can clearly realize that this pain, humiliation, despair, terror, and shame are endless, and that they will not be able to escape from this cycle of hell, and that their judgment will be lost little by little, and eventually the will of the tortured person will collapse, and they will fully understand that their only hope is to open their mouths and confess.

The ancient but effective method, while satisfying the peculiar sexual fetishes of the scorpion, is almost perfect except for a little bloody violence.

Looking at the mutilated red palm, Roland's eyebrows raised, putting aside the question of whether the confession was true and whether the interrogation was humane for a moment, and moved on to the next question.

"How so?"

When will those misers who are used to talking and can't live without concerts have the power and courage to act?

Anyone mentioning Ostoria. The following images will always subconsciously emerge: the young master with a strong literary atmosphere, a bright appearance, sewn and mended underwear, a dull hair that shows the atmosphere of music and art, a piano song by Chopin to express anger, and a dim sum that is so sweet that it is tired of death...... and so on, but among them, only "heroic and good fighting" and "spirit of resistance" are missing.

This...... It sounds similar to the "macaroni soldiers" on the border with Ymir, and it seems to be a "peace-loving" army. In fact, this is not the case, and the ordinary soldiers and junior officers of Ostoria are not lacking in courage and plainness. But most of the middle and high-ranking officers who climbed up by virtue of their background and seniority were depressed. Before the start of this expedition. After Charlemagne's War Office ordered 25 overage generals to retire, the average age of General Ostoria remained a staggering 63. One can imagine what an army under the command of such a group of old grandfathers with wind and candles would be like.

Conservative, sluggish, indecisive, slow to move - the characteristics of any army that is behind the times can be found in them, count on this group of valiant men. Soldiers with insufficient ability go to carjack and kidnap people. It is more realistic to expect Charlemagne to disintegrate overnight.

"We carefully checked two confessions. And compared with the confessions of other captives, there is basically no problem with the authenticity. After further interrogation, we can roughly be sure. The Ostorians had been driven to the point where they had to act drastically. ”

The scorpion handed over another copy of the text that had just been stamped with the "confidential", and after reading a few lines, a cool breath rushed up from the soles of Roland's feet.

If the soldiers who "threw the waves" in the siege and defense of the Riga fortress could still prevaricate on the grounds of "military necessity", the crown prince secretly organized a special investigation team to enter Ostoria and do whatever he wanted in the name of investigation, suspending and even arresting officers and civilian employees who were considered to be not loyal enough or had independent thoughts, but it is not the word "death" to describe it.

The crown prince used the power of the commander-in-chief to appoint and dismiss local officials from the front to remove a large number of local Ostolian officials, and replaced them with die-hard hards who had never left Charlemagne himself, were unfamiliar with local affairs, and some did not even speak a word of Ostolian. As a result of their efforts, the nobles and commoners of Ostolia were resentful, and their identification with independent ideas grew.

What's more, Ostoria and the Crown of San István had a close relationship, from the nobles to the common people, and the exchanges and in-laws between the two places were quite frequent. After the crown prince suddenly erected a "defensive wall of erroneous thoughts" to block the border of the crown rule, tens of thousands of families fell into a situation where they were separated from each other and could not contact each other, causing great public anger and all kinds of rumors. Some say that the crown prince and his army burned down the city of Buda, some say that the army loyal to the crown prince is carrying out a massacre, and some say that Charlemagne's soldiers take children for breakfast every day, and at night they catch virgins and rape them before killing them, and then make them supper...... The rumors were accompanied by a cold remark - when they had eaten the crown and wiped it clean, it would be Storia's turn to be next.

Any educated and independent thinker will find these rumors so absurd that not many people will believe them except to frighten ignorant women and children.

But the current Ostoria is not Alfheim, where the national literacy rate is almost 100%, and it is not Charlemagne, who seems to be politically stable and stable, and everyone is busy making a fortune. The country's population is dominated by ignorant and gullible citizens and peasants, mostly illiterate, depressed and lacking in entertainment, who will talk for a long time about even the most ridiculous rumors. Not to mention the fact that looking at the tyrannical Charlemagne local bureaucrats, the Charlemagne soldiers who like to eat and drink for nothing, snatch things that look valuable, and rape girls, it is really difficult for people to associate these barbaric, women-chasing, and impoverished Charlemagne soldiers with the noble army dedicated to the great cause of mankind in official propaganda, and no matter how you look at it, it is more like the devil in rumors.

"The power of rumors is worth a fleet. ”

The scorpion spread out his hand and commented, the corners of his mouth slightly raised.

"The frightened and ulterior Ostorians came to an agreement, and they contacted the front-line troops, and asked Viscount Bellegard to lead a commando party to gather the deserters who had made a living by robbing the trains in the vicinity, and attack the special train of the condolence group. Take the noble maiden and the Holy Maiden on the train hostage. Make a request to Charlemagne. It reads—"

"Release the imprisoned Ostorian prisoners, put an end to the military control of Ostoria, and seek a certain degree of autonomy. ”

Rubbing his forehead, Roland said the answer in one breath.

"You've seen that part?"

"No, it's speculation. ”

Terrorists take hostages for three things: ransom, the release of imprisoned members, and the coercion of the government to accept their own political claims. The organizers of this operation are not real deserters, and they have little interest in ransom, and combined with the information just now, it is not difficult to judge the conditions they may propose.

But-

"That's a problem. ”

"That's true. ”

It was Nona who answered, and the spider on the side nodded in agreement.

The assault on the train has failed. The action itself doesn't make much sense. But the terrorist tendencies it reveals are a real nuisance.

Generally speaking, terrorism is the use of various extreme violent means to create public panic and achieve its claims. For example, kidnapping and assassinating high-ranking government officials or economic tycoons, and publicly killing several of these big people. boasting of its force. Others who cherish their lives are disgusted by it. They also had to keep their mouths shut - no matter what the effect was, the terrorists at the very beginning were convinced of it and reveled in it. This coincides with this incident. And then, as with most events of its kind, did not succeed and did not achieve the desired effect.

Of course, even if they succeed, they won't have the desired effect. Just like the bald eagle that was blown up by Uncle Deng in the 911 incident did not withdraw its troops from the Middle East, but plunged headlong into Iraq and Afghanistan to fight terrorism. If Bellegard and they really succeeded, Charlemagne, who had lost face, would not be able to agree to any conditions, and the angry royal government and consortium would only retaliate with more terrifying means. Perhaps they have already received the report and are working on retaliatory measures.

It would be best if the hostage plan was thwarted and the separatists who had been hit were willing to put their guns to rest. But in the course of law and order warfare in military schools, the textbooks and instructors told Roland that terrorist groups often do not give up, and that they are very likely to escalate their operations, changing their targets from the heavily protected upper echelons to the more easily targeted ordinary people, also known as indiscriminate terrorism.

Cities, villages, schools, theaters, hospitals, municipal facilities – any place where people gather can be targeted, is at the forefront of the fight against terrorism. And unlike the regular battlefield, where the regular army must be replenished regularly in order to continue fighting. A handful of clever enough cloth phobs with enough money on hand will basically not have to worry about logistics, and semi-permanently create a large number of victims. If this situation continues, the people's dissatisfaction with the government will continue to grow, and then it will become pressure, and if it is not handled well, it will lead to the collapse of the government.

There is nothing more fraught than a protracted, costly war on terror. Moreover, even if terrorist organizations are temporarily eliminated by force, and the breeding ground for terrorism is not fundamentally eliminated, the specter of terrorism will continue to hover over everyone's heads.

"Contact Lüders immediately, report the situation here, and tell them to immediately investigate the Dauphin's arbitrary actions in Ostoria and the Crown of San István. ”

Without much hesitation, Roland immediately made a decision. Now is no longer the time to care about the crown prince's face, and God knows what else will happen to the Ostorians in a state of high tension. And Ostoria is already in this state, what is the situation of the highly blocked Crown of San István is even more worrying, if worse than Ostoria......

"This ...... I'm afraid the above won't pay attention. ”

The flower mantis, which had been sitting in front of the communication jewel, turned around and spoke timidly.

"The latest briefing on the front-line battle situation has just been sent, the main force of the expeditionary force led by the crown prince has conquered Daugavpils, and is leading his troops to penetrate the Bauska area and threaten the rear of the Riga fortress, and the War Department has submitted an application for the promotion of the crown prince to field marshal...... That ......"

Roland bit his lip, with this military victory, any request for an investigation of the crown prince would become unseemly, and would even be considered with ulterior motives. Even if the investigation is carried out and the problem is found, the crown prince can use reasons such as "to ensure victory" and so on, and in order to maintain the image of the royal family as a noble and complete family and the consistent "political correctness", the investigation will not be completed. In the end, Roland, who applied for the investigation, would also be regarded as a jealous villain......

This victory could not have come at a better time.

"I can't care so much, notify Lüdes immediately! Add a sentence 'It's too late to wait until something happens to the crown leader!', quick, send it immediately!"

The startled flower mantis immediately turned around and began to operate the communication gem, the red gem flickered brightly and darkly, and an irrepressible anxiety surged into the young man's heart.

Others may think that adding such alarmist remarks without even a formal investigation team is in the background, but Roland does not feel that he is too reckless.

Perhaps the situation of the Crown of San István is still unclear, but now that the Ostorians have begun to take action, the situation of the Crown Leader is probably not optimistic, not necessarily worse, but certainly not much better.

He didn't know what role his guardian had played in this incident, but Roland could assert that Li Lin, who had always liked to play with the balance of power between the various forces and turn the situation in Alfheim's favor, could not have done nothing.

Time may be running out for Lüders.

＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃＃

On the 22nd, it was sunny.

Clear blue skies, white clouds, and pleasant winds - a wonderful, unremarkable Sunday. It is suitable for resting, camping, sleeping in, and also for people to gather to do things that they usually don't have time or opportunity to do.

On the podium, the Minister of War of Tellier was talking about the significance of the Crown Prince's victory for the war, for the royal family, for Charlemagne, for the human camp, and for the Army, which had long been at a disadvantage in the political struggle.

Richelieu stared intently at the general's spitting, his gloomy face expressionless.

He looked very engaged, but his eyes were glazed out to show that the cardinal's mind was not on the podium.

(The war seems to be going well.) ）

A slightly relieved word crossed the long-tense nerves.

Richelieu's relationship with the Dauphin and the Minister of War was well known, but only some knew that the cardinals were acting out of pure public interest and not as an enemy of them.

The crown prince gave the highest priority to the "supreme and unfettered throne", the war minister had always fought for "family prosperity and prosperity", and the kingdom of "Charlemagne", which the Prime Minister of the kingdom and Cardinal Richelieu defended and loyally to.

Everything he did was for Charlemagne. For him, the only criterion for distinguishing good from bad is whether it is good for the country.

It was because he was a pure statist that he was able to put his pious faith before the national interest, and even to cooperate with heretics or heretics without any baggage when necessary. In contrast, it was a trivial matter to keep a calm mind to the face of the Minister of War, and the Prime Minister did not even notice it.

The capture of Daugavpils is one of the few good news in the human camp in recent times, which is enough to boost the morale of the previously low level, and if Bauska is taken on this momentum, the Riga fortress will be in danger of being isolated, and the situation of the principality will become even more difficult. Charlemagne, on the other hand, was able to gain prestige, honor, and a battle-tested army...... It was a wonderful intoxicating experience, and the bishop, who had always been steady, changed from cautious to cautious optimism.

(This is indeed a remarkable feat, and according to the circumstances, after the crown prince has won a few more battles, he will be awarded the marshal's scepter.) Advancing too early is detrimental to his growth and will also cause difficulties in future rewards...... But before that-)

Holding the scale of the reward, the bishop's gaze turned to the corner side, and a leisurely silhouette came into view.

(What is he thinking?)

Spying on the economic magnate not far away who maintained his usual moderate attitude, the cardinal's fist hidden under his sleeve robe clenched slightly. (To be continued......)