Damn it, this boss really has no normal skills.

Chapter 457: The Story of Money Bag, Sword and Shield
Fortunately, Ji Ming was well-informed and learned about Uncle Meizi's accident as soon as possible.

After all, the other person had fallen into this state just to help him, so he certainly couldn't let his uncle get into trouble, so he thought about asking his acquaintances for help and see if he could settle the matter.

As a result, after going through the names of his acquaintances in the royal capital in his mind, he discovered a very troubling problem.

My circle of friends is basically all on the Arclight Family's side, and the guard team that my uncle is in is on the side of Duke Xiguang. I don't have many acquaintances there, and I can't talk to them at all...

and many more.

Ji Ming suddenly realized a more serious, perhaps even fundamental, problem.

Question: Why is the proportion of arc light particularly high among Ji Ming’s circle of friends in the capital?

Because even though he had only been in the royal capital's social circle for a few days and had avoided it because it was too disgusting, the first small group he met was the Fei brothers and sisters.

Therefore, when he first started to know nothing about it, the few aristocratic social gatherings he attended were mostly in their social circles.

Therefore, in the eyes of outsiders, although the identity of this chosen one is unknown and he rarely shows up, he obviously favors the Arclight Family more.

but.

Since the Deep Forest can use heirs as a distinction, and use the most representative output of each territory as a name, they are divided into three major factions: Pure Gold (the eldest princess), Magic Crystal (the second prince), and Mithril (the third prince).

As Shenlin's former brother country, which has always been a leader in the field of ruthless living, how could it be willing to lag behind?

In fact, just like the navy and army of Japan, there are conflicts between the two factions of nobles over the financial and military power delegated by the monarchy.

Since the Minister of Finance has to carry a purse made of pure gold, and the Minister of Defense has a sword and shield bestowed by the ancestral king hanging in his office, their factions are called "Money Bag" and "Sword and Shield" respectively.

Therefore, the personal grudges between Duke Xiguang and Duke Huguang are actually nothing. The factional conflicts between these two factions involving countless nobles are the real background of Glory.

Someone may ask at this time, hasn't the martial virtue of Huiguang shrunk to the point where it is comparable to the cowards in the alien world? Why does the Sword and Shield faction still have the confidence to go against the money bag?

——Otherwise, why would I use Japan’s army and navy as examples?
Because with the development of time, the two factions have gradually changed their operating ideas in the fierce struggle, and have developed new playing methods in line with the version iteration.

For example, in order to prevent the Money Bag Faction from continuing to disgust him with the issue of military expenditure, Jiandun contacted Lingxi, opened up a new route that belonged entirely to him at a higher price, and negotiated business with foreign businessmen on his own.

In order to prevent the sword and shield from turning a deaf and dumb at the critical moment, the money bags simply smelted steel in their own territory, hired instructors from the deep forest, and trained a "defense team" that would obey their orders completely.

Therefore, Money Bag may not be without its own private army, and Sword and Shield may not be without its own caravan. When necessary, they can all sing the other side's words and perform fiercely in the royal capital.

However, the duplication of mechanisms and conflicts of authority brought about by this made the Glowing Kingdom like a deformed child with only one mouth but two bodies, with a large number of useless organs that consumed much more than they generated.

Moreover, as the conflicts became more intense and the monarchy gradually lost its absolute ruling power, a large number of crazy people emerged who opposed just for the sake of opposing.

Hey! No matter whether you say good or bad things, I object! As long as it's not my words, I will reject them all!
At that time, there were also some knowledgeable people in the kingdom, such as Archbishop Tenis and many senior officials in the court.

However, due to the iron rule of non-interference between theocracy and royal power, as well as the suffering of old age and frailty that make their voices less influential, their words and appeals were of no avail, and they could not pull back the cart that had already rushed down the steep slope.

Therefore, the fact that Uncle Meizi's incident was being made into a big fuss was probably because the two groups were causing trouble again, and it was very likely that they were targeting him.

...Tsk tsk, with nothing to do, you have to chase and play with a glass chess piece that's not even a pawn. Aren't you really afraid of it falling?

As for the solution, there is one.

But we can't possibly trouble the Sun King for such a small matter. That would be going in too far a circle and causing too much fuss.

Ji Ming had no choice but to contact Heikemedia, the leader of the Pegasus Knights, who he had just met but had fought side by side with him in the southern part of the kingdom.

Although he is from the church system, as an elf with a long life and a well-known military commander, he naturally has many old acquaintances in Sword and Shield.

Then I'd ask him to come forward and say a few good words for me, emphasizing the church's middle ground in the affairs of the royal capital, so that these damn guys would stop worrying about me and stop getting involved.

Captain Hai was currently resting on the Holy Mountain, so he was contacted quickly. Ji Ming's letter was just sent out in the morning, and the messenger flew back with a reply at noon.

But when he unfolded the letter and took a closer look, he found that things might be a little different from what he thought.

In short, he thought the matter was too horrible.

Come to think of it, the destructive power of the Glow Mixer is so strong that it caused the Duke of Moonlight to lose his military supplies during the war, resulting in his defeat and causing chaos in the south.

It’s time to introduce a character like the King of Another World. Heroes create the times, and the times create heroes. It’s only right that the great glory Dududu was happily sent away.

Then why has the Glorious Kingdom survived to this day and still not reached its destined death?
Because it's funny, with the passing of the older generation, the curse of the Dragon King broke out.

Although desire did not completely overwhelm the rationality of the Glorious Nobles, it also eroded their determination and perseverance, turning them into a bunch of pigs and insects.

and so.

"Hey, brothers, stop fighting among yourselves. Eat and drink, and go play cards!"

...Tsk tsk, doing nothing will make you live longer than doing something, why would I have such a dream?

In short, although the two factions still exist and due to the continuation of the conflicts between their ancestors, they are still in a situation of opposition to each other.

But maybe we were playing card games with the same friend in the same tower just two days ago. We are all brothers, so the competition is definitely not as intense as before.

Therefore, the internal fighting nowadays is not so much a fight as it is a habitual disgusting of each other, or even a regular flirting. The key point is the attitude.

"Fuck, it goes from one kind of disgusting to another kind of disgusting, right?"

So the matter suddenly became simple. There was no need for Captain Hai's help. Ji Ming just needed to find an opportunity to make his neutral attitude clear and not scare the Sword and Shield Faction into reacting.

However, when gods fight, mortals suffer. As I said before, they think they are just playing, so whose responsibility is it if the glass chess pieces are broken?
Therefore, for Uncle Meizi, Ji Ming's willingness to help settle the matter was definitely a favor.

So in order to return the favor, before rushing to find his daughter to ask about her well-being, he secretly revealed a very important news to Ji Ming with an embarrassed look on his face.

Now that’s good! Ji Ming, who originally thought that everything was under control, suddenly changed his expression.

——Damn, there is such an old fox?

Meizi explained quickly.

"Teacher Ji! I just found out about this this morning. I can guarantee that I have nothing to do with this matter."

Ji Ming could only wave his hand.
"...Okay, I got it, go ahead." But he really didn't expect that there would be such a thing behind it, so he quickly opened the player forum and began to collect relevant information.

While he was busy thinking of a solution, the rest stop, which could almost be described as a small town, was not peaceful.

Because the exercise teams from each college and each class will gather here, not because the exercise has ended.

On the contrary, a complete combat exercise actually lasts nine days, the first three days are only the first part, and the last three days are the second part.

As for the three days in between, students are required to rest and recuperate here, reflecting on the gains and losses of the first three days, so as to improve their practical results in the last three days.

However, after so many years of development, this rest is just in name only, and everyone has already played around with it behind the scenes.

So if you are rich and powerful, you can organize your own people and "sneak" into the advanced area to explore after handing over a donation.

If you have money but no power, you can hire a few rangers, and after also paying a donation, "blend in" with the patrol team to explore the advanced areas.

And if you have no money and no power... oh, then of course you are here to rest.

Don't worry, everyone will wish you good luck in the low-level areas in the next three days!

For the leading teachers and accompanying guards, these three days are also a real benefit for them.

Since we can temporarily leave the children behind and let them move around freely, wouldn't it be possible for them to get lost in the advanced area while moving around?

So in the evening, Uncle Meizi came to see Ji Ming with a few unfamiliar guard knights.

"Teacher Ji, we are going to go out and take a look. How about... we go together?"

The words sounded nice, but the other party had already discussed it in advance, so Ji Ming already knew that this was not a friendly invitation between friends.

Because the real master of this game is actually the current boss of the Sword and Shield Faction, Duke Xiguang.

Uncle Meizi was just a tool. He received a direct order from his superiors this morning, asking him to invite the chosen ones to join his exploration team in the evening and arrive at a designated location in the rest stop without any mistake.

In addition, although the messenger did not reveal any more information, Uncle Meizi himself had served under Duke Xiguang, so he happened to remember this man's face and guessed that it was very likely that the Duke himself was going to take action.

And with the Duke involved, the story behind this matter becomes very intriguing.

Firstly, why should the Duke be involved?

Secondly, was he really harmed by the internal strife?
Finally, and most importantly, when did this situation start?

Uncle Meizi thought about it and felt that he couldn't let good people suffer, and he couldn't become a liar without knowing it, so he bravely told Ji Ming about his experience and speculation.

Ji Ming was not angry. After all, he couldn't just scheme against others and not allow others to scheme against him.

He was also very curious about why the Duke of Xiguang set up a trap for him to meet him, so he took advantage of the situation and really came here.

As an old minister of the kingdom, Xiguang actually has a very good reputation in the capital and can be said to be highly respected.

On the one hand, it was because he was unremitting in martial arts and ignored temptations. He was considered a rare ascetic among the nobles in the royal capital. As a result, he was still vigorous and energetic at the age of over 70, and outlasted one of his peers who indulged in lust after another.

On the other hand, as one of the strongest fighters in the kingdom, this old man has clearly entered the downhill stage of his career, but he still has a level of around seventy-three, which makes him an absolute pillar of Glory.

The most important thing is that this old man is simply a genius in managing aristocratic IP. It is rumored that no one has ever seen him in a miserable state since he was five years old, including his parents, wife and children.

The old duke always seems to have neatly-knit hair and beard, lightning-like eyes, and tightly-knit brows, as if he will hit you in the chest with a cannon at any time.

After seeing Ji Ming, he opened his mouth and said something in a bland and pretentious tone.

"Ji Shenxuan, I have long heard of your great name."

These points combined together resulted in the old duke just sitting here, which made Ji Ming want to find a place to sit down, burn incense, save the game, and recover before going over.

However, despite being impulsive, Ji Ming, who was well prepared, just spoke in a deep voice.

"Duke Xiguang? I didn't expect to see you here. It's my honor."

Then there was an uncomfortable silence.

“Uh, haha…”

Perhaps knowing that he was being too scary, Xiguang quickly broke the silence with an awkward laugh.

Then there was an inexplicable sigh.

"Hey, actually I didn't plan to come, but who told me to have my grandson join the drill this time?"

"If the little guy insists on showing off, then I, as a grandfather, must get it..."

For some reason, this old man who obviously had ulterior motives did not mention anything serious, but actually started chatting seriously with Ji Ming about family matters.

Moreover, under the pretext of "it's so hard to meet Teacher Ji", he kept asking him questions about children's education.

Ji Ming was now completely numb.

With my level, I can at best be a cram school teacher, and I only get a few dozen dollars an hour. Do you really think I'm a professional?

But now he could only bite the bullet and chat with him, and try to stick to his own professional field as much as possible, to prevent the old Duke from realizing it and resenting him for his nonsense and deceiving people.

As they chatted, Ji Ming discovered another problem.

This little grandson is just taking a test. As a grandfather, one of the most powerful men in the kingdom, does he care so much about it?
Where are his parents, are they dead?
Oh, he's really dead.

Although a lot of intelligence is confidential within various forces, some of it can still be made public for the world to know.

Therefore, when Ji Ming was browsing the wiki created by players, he also found information about the descendants of Duke Xiguang.

It might be because the old man had a very tough life and was born to be unlucky with his relatives. Apart from him, his little grandson was the only one left in his family.

(End of this chapter)