Blood Dragon

Thanks konkoner for the reward.

Because I can't come up every day, I basically rely on the system to automatically update.Sorry for the slow response to readers.

Chapter 280 Slander

"Essien? Didn't you say he won all the way? I thought he was going well!"

"No, Your Majesty, that's not what I mean. As far as I know, Your Majesty and General Essien... have reached a certain agreement. I don't know if it is true?"

"Well, I did promise him. If he can complete this task, I will give him the title of duke and promise that he can choose a territory by himself." The little girl replied.

"Your Majesty, please forgive me, but... don't you think your promise...is a bit too generous?"

"Ah?" The little girl opened her eyes wide in surprise.

"As far as I know, our General Essien hasn't fought any decent battles since he accepted the mission. He's bluffing and cheating in your name, recruiting traitors and surrendering..."

"But at least he took care of the treachery, didn't he?" replied the little girl.

"Your Majesty, you should have heard a saying: You get what you pay for your sweat. The title and territory of a duke...is the highest reward a king can bestow on his loyal and capable subordinates. You know, King Mark Remiz conferred The dukes are all loyal to King Mark Remiz, who have lived and died for the monarch on the battlefield, and have established great achievements. For these people, I fully agree that the title of duke is a reasonable reward. But Essien... . . . among other things, his loyalty is in jeopardy."

"This one……"

"Your Majesty. You should remember that when Byron was in power, he was loyal and served Byron. Essien did many things for Byron, and he even came to arrest you under the order of Byron... …Although he was unsuccessful, at least he arrested our venerable Lord Skadra, and almost killed him. At that time, Essien was completely Byron's lackey. However, when Byron was defeated and trapped in the isolated city Essien immediately betrayed him without any hesitation," Ailin said. "Let's assume that Gruene is in danger again in the future. Do you think General Essien will shed his last drop of blood for you, or will he turn against him immediately and join the enemy's camp?"

"This..." The little girl hesitated.It must be said that, at least on the surface, Alyn's words were very convincing.

"Of course, if General Essien won the victory with superhuman strategy and courage, then at least I can still think that he deserves this honor in terms of ability. It is a pity that General Essien relied on intrigue and tricks, relying on those who are against him. You won the victory with the assistance of your loyal subjects at the critical moment. If you carefully examine every victory letter he sent in the past, you will know that our General Essien is an out-and-out A speculator. If there was one quality in him worthy of the duke title, it was his audacity. He gambled with funds that did not belong to him, and then won by such a coincidence, that's all. "

The little girl was still hesitant.

"Your Majesty, I know that a king's promise is worth more than gold. If you just wait like this without doing anything, I'm afraid that General Essien, who has no talent and virtue, will get the title of duke that he doesn't deserve at all. .”

The little girl hesitated.In a trance, she remembered the time when she talked about Essien with Ash Rufat in the barracks under the city of Fonoros.

"...The so-called generals actually only exist for one purpose: victory." The little girl remembered what Aishuruffat said back then. "However, how to win the victory, whether to steal, cheat, or obtain it openly, whether to fight frontally or sneak attack, and even threaten, poison, and assassinate, whether to use the easy method or the hard way The method, or resigning to fate, or taking great risks... etc. are not important. The only important thing is to take victory in your hands. As long as you can win, you are a qualified general. He is a good general. Otherwise, he is a coward. In other words, everything is outcome-oriented. For example, Essien, whether you hate him or like him, at least you have to admit that he is very capable. He is a very good general Someone who took advantage of the situation. At that time, even I had to be defeated by him.”

"You were defeated by him?"

"Well, it's about Byron's safe evacuation from Falcon City. Victory and defeat are not determined by casualties (although in most cases the two are directly related), and in that case Byron was safe and sound. Leaving... can only be understood as a failure. Essien did win a victory cleanly."

"So, Ashurfat, do you think he will succeed?"

"I believe so. If it was Essien, he would definitely make full use of conditions other than the battlefield and the army..."

"...So, the most ideal way is..." Alyn's voice woke up the little girl from the trance of memories.

"...Taking advantage of this time, remove General Essien from his post!" Ailin said.

"But..." The little girl herself didn't know why she said that. "Is there a replacement?"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I have some suitable candidates. For example, I know a Sir Damian who is of noble blood, brave and good at fighting, and has long-term military experience..."

"Who is this Sir Damian?" The little girl interrupted the other party. "How did I not hear it being said."

"An experienced commander who used to be the commander of the border guards in the southwest of the Kingdom. Later, because of Byron's power, he was dismissed from his position and is at home. He is currently in Falcon City."

"Really?" The little girl thought about it.She is also a queen no matter what, at least she knows that the garrison in the southwestern part of the kingdom is not an elite force—because it is close to Chur, a country in the Stygian region.Relations between the two countries have always been amicable, the border has always been calm and trade has flourished.And Kool's territorial ambitions - if any - were never directed beyond Stygia.This is not to say that Chur is a weak and harmless country, but that there are huge differences between the people of the two sides in life, ideas, religion, etc., so that it is really difficult to annex each other's territory and stabilize the rule. A laborious and difficult task.In addition, the border between the two sides is separated by a natural and steep mountainous area, and there is only one mountain road connecting them. This geographical condition also prevents each other from coveting their ambitions.Both sides were content with the prosperity of each other's trade and wanted nothing more.

"Well, someone should have recommended him to you, right, my Prime Minister?"

"In fact, it was just an accident. Some time ago, a Viscount Minas came to visit me and talked to me about Sir Damian."

"Let me think about it."

This sentence became the last sentence of such a meeting.Ai Linen left, and the little girl sat alone in the room that was too spacious and lonely.Considering Ailin's proposal today.

Having said that, although Ashiruffat recognized Essien's ability, to be honest, at that time, the little girl herself didn't quite believe that Essien could complete such a combat mission with five hundred soldiers.Even after Essien surrendered Byron's two castles and had [-] troops, she did not believe that Essien could complete such a task.

But the fact is so bizarre.After Essien launched the offensive, it was like a miracle. Although he was facing strong castles beyond his ability, there were always traitors who helped him open the city gates.And the will of those lords to resist is far from as strong as everyone expected.In fact, as Eileen said, although Essien won all the way, it didn't seem to be his ability at all, but just shit luck.

"Your Majesty the Queen." A voice sounded, interrupting the little girl's wild thoughts.She turned her head and saw her temporary governess appearing in front of her.

"Rodia, it's you..."

"Your Majesty, you look listless." Rodia asked. "Are you still unhappy about that matter? Don't worry, we didn't intend to succeed in one fell swoop."

"No, I'm thinking about Essien. Rodia, do you know Essien?"

"Oh, that's General Essien...Speaking of it, I still understand a little bit. He's a bit strange."

"A little weird?"

"Well, he used to be... well, a gladiator in the arena in the city." Rodia recalled. "If you talk about gladiators, that's a precarious profession. So most of them are frequent visitors to Huajie. Although they are rude, they can be considered wealthy. But that Essien is different. When he was a gladiator, he never seemed to have I’ve been to Flower Street as a guest. Well, I heard so.”

"He likes men?" Because of his contact with Rodia, he heard all kinds of stories from the bottom of human society.This can be regarded as indirect contact with the dark side of the world.Under the influence of her ears and eyes, the little girl's thinking has also become a bit black.

"That's not it. I've seen this person... How should I put it, I have the impression that this person has ambitions beyond ordinary people. For this ambition, he can endure everything."

"Hey, didn't you say that he doesn't go to Huajie?"

"When he was a gladiator, he didn't go there. But after he became Byron's subordinate, he went there often. However, he never found a woman himself, but came with other people. He is a very Self-made, on the other hand an ambitious person. I remember that he used to be with little Byron...Little Byron was having a good time in the room, and he guarded the door to prevent others from disturbing him. A man like that is true to say the least It's not common."

"Is this person... trustworthy?"

"Well, the so-called trust or not depends on the specific circumstances. You should know that those kings who have subjugated the country in history, when it really comes to the end, how many people around them are willing to follow them to the death? If you don't bite back, it means 'loyalty' 'Yes. On the contrary, for a sage king like King Mark Remiz, even his half-hearted subordinates are trembling and dare not make mistakes. So it is meaningless to discuss this. If people like Ashuruffat are everywhere , then it’s not worth cherishing.”

"Can't you trust it..." the little girl murmured.

"In my opinion, you shouldn't worry too much about this. The current situation...Essien is impossible to betray!"