My cemetery is connected to the game world.

Chapter 449: Counterinsurgency Strategy
"Is Duke Holman right in his suspicion?" Helot looked at Blamelo and asked directly.

"That's absolutely impossible!" Blamelo was very angry. Thinking that Helot was still in charge of investigating the cause of the Crown Prince's death, she hurriedly said, "You can't be misled by such unfounded suspicion. Mother is a very weak person. She will never hurt anyone."

"Don't get excited, Your Highness. I believe that Duke Holman is fair and will not convict someone simply out of suspicion. Moreover, the empire is now facing civil unrest caused by the prisoner, and what the court needs most is unity and stability."

Blamelo couldn't guess what Helot was really thinking, so he just kept his mouth shut.

The city was very deserted. The convoy drove at full speed and soon arrived at the palace.

At this time, the palace hall was already filled with senior officials, nobles and members of Congress. Each of them was dressed in formal attire, and even the servants had changed into new clothes. The guards' armor had been wiped clean and then waxed.

The court musicians played solemn music, and the sunlight shining through the glass dome added to the sacred feeling.

The emperor of the empire sat on the throne, and the empress, rarely seen, sat beside him.

Because the queen did not have a distinguished background, she did not have the sharpness of a noble, and her eyes were gentle, just like an ordinary lady.

King Bradley doted on the queen very much. They chatted in low voices and laughed from time to time.

When a bell rang from outside, the originally noisy palace hall immediately became quiet. Outside, salutes rang out one after another, trombones played in unison, and the gate slowly opened.

The people in the hall automatically separated and looked at the person outside the door.

At this time, Helot had already changed into the dress sent by the butler Kurt. It was the duke's dress of the Claulund family, which had been well preserved to this day. The undead of Claulund Manor always believed that there would always be a descendant of the Claulund family who would wear it again.

This time they finally saw it!
Helot walked onto the red carpet, and wherever he passed, people on both sides bowed their heads in high respect.

In the crowd, Helot saw his mother Irina.

She was trying hard to control her excitement, fearing that she would impulsively go forward and hug her son.

Helot gave his mother a reassuring look and continued walking towards the throne. In front were members of the Bradley and Holman families, as well as Melissa and her brother Rogrid, who were representatives of the Elvin family.

When Helot walked to the front row, King Bradley and the Queen stood up.

Bradley walked down and gave Helot a big hug: "My brave and warlike nephew, your victory in the Comosso Islands has allowed the whole world to witness the return of the power of the Claulund family. I didn't sleep all night when I heard the good news. I went to the Bradley family mausoleum to tell my ancestors that our brother is back!
Still so powerful, still so reliable!
It’s time to return the things that Claulund’s ancestors left with the Bradley family to their rightful owners!”

A guard approached carrying a golden tray with something covered by a grey velvet cloth.

The velvet cloth was lifted to reveal a bone crown inlaid with rare death magic stones and black death energy winding around it.

This is the Undead Duke's Crown that once belonged to the Claulund family.

What Helot didn't expect was that... this crown was actually a magical item with very powerful properties, containing a huge amount of death energy.

At the same time, the significance of this crown to the Claulund family made Helott say: "The ancestors of the Claulund family made the right choice by handing this crown to the Bradley family for safekeeping. Now, Your Majesty will return it to the Claulund family, and the Claulund family will continue to fulfill our responsibilities to the empire."

"This is the common responsibility of the Bradley family, the Holman family, the Elvin family, and the Claulund family. The empire was established in our hands, and it will continue to prosper in our hands." Bradley the Great raised the Duke's crown with both hands: "Please let me put the crown on you, Duke of Claulund."

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Helot lowered his head slightly, and Emperor Bradley placed the duke's crown on his head.

The salute outside the door sounded again.

Everyone in the hall bowed their heads and saluted, saying in unison: "Hail, Duke Claulund!"

At this time, Emperor Bradley whispered in Helot's ear: "The situation in the empire is too tense now. Let them continue celebrating here. Let's go to the palace meeting to discuss how to eliminate those bandits who pretended to be descendants of the Duke."

After saying this, Emperor Bradley left from the side of the hall.

Those who received the notice to attend the court meeting also left the bustling hall one after another.

In the palace meeting room, all the participants sat down, the guards closed the door and activated the defense ban.

Sitting in the first place was the Emperor Bradley, Duke Holman on his left, and Helot on his right. There were also the eldest prince Stefano, the third prince Terenas, Melis, and Bramelo, as well as some court ministers that Helot was not familiar with.

The Duke of Holman presided over the meeting as Prime Minister of the Court.

"First of all, congratulations on the return of Duke Claulund. This is a stabilizing boulder for the empire, and it can also relieve me of a lot of pressure from court affairs." Duke Holman nodded to Helotte, then opened a magic map on the conference table: "Your Majesty and everyone, please look, the blue area is the rebel-occupied area, the gold area is the imperial army-controlled area, and the red area has lost contact and cannot be determined.

The armies that the Empire can command now include the Royal Marine First Division, the Second Division, and the Fourth Division..."

The Duke of Holman knew more detailed information than Blamerow.

After the initial chaos caused by the rebellion, the actual control areas of both sides have become basically clear. It is confirmed that the troops loyal to the Empire are marching towards the red areas, occupying as much territory and population as possible.

The Constitutional Protection Army is also fighting for these areas.

Therefore, the two sides will engage in a tug-of-war in these areas.

Comparison of military strength.

The Imperial Army has an advantage in weapons and soldier quality, while the Constitutional Army has stronger individual combat effectiveness because of its beastmanship technology.

Economic and industrial capabilities. Since the Covenant City successfully blocked the destruction of the beastmen, the entire empire's industrial circle is intact, and it won't take too long to restore economic activities and industrial manufacturing.

The Constitutional Army occupied Saint Bruton, the largest city in the south, and controlled the second largest industrial circle in the empire.

The data on the surface shows that the imperial army has a certain advantage.

However, the prisoner had infiltrated the imperial court and government agencies too deeply, and the empire was at a great disadvantage in terms of its ability to obtain intelligence.

It is not even certain whether there are any prisoners in this meeting room.

Duke Holman finally said: "The most important thing now is to decide who will be the marshal and to set up the general war headquarters as soon as possible."

Emperor Bradley asked Helot beside him: "How should this war be fought? The court has held so many meetings, and I have heard many plans. Now I want to hear your ideas... You fought very well in the Comossos Islands."

Helot, who was already prepared, replied: "On the surface, this war is a revenge war started by the so-called descendants of the Duke, but in essence, it is a war for power launched by the old forces of the empire who are unwilling to be replaced by the new forces. Although the rebels seem to be powerful now, it is actually just a fire without a base, and it will go out when the existing fuel is burned out.

If Your Majesty wants to quickly annihilate the rebels, you can appoint a marshal to command the Imperial Army to launch an attack. As long as the Empire enters a full-scale war state, it won't take too long to win a decisive victory. But fighting like this cannot completely eliminate the Executioners. They will lie dormant again and revive as soon as there is a chance. "

Emperor Bradley listened carefully. It was the first time he heard Helot's point of view.

Is it because the executioner was able to win over so many nobles that these nobles wanted to avenge the Duke's family that had been extinct for hundreds of years?
Certainly not!

The Claulund family had been in decline for hundreds of years, and no noble had ever stood up to protest.

The executioners were taking advantage of these nobles, but weren't the rebellious nobles also taking advantage of the executioners?
This time the rebellion was suppressed.

The next time the executioner can launch a rebellion under the banner of revenge.

Emperor Bradley asked Helot: "Do you have a way to completely solve the hidden danger of the prisoner?"

Helot shook his head: "When the bloodline is copied, it means that the executioners will never be killed. Moreover, simple military suppression will cause more blood feuds. The mistakes made by the Empire during the Blood Rebellion should not be repeated."

Only Helot had the qualifications to comment on the Bloody Rebellion in front of Emperor Bradley.

Back then, the emperor of the empire exterminated nine rebellious Manchu dukes, thinking that he had eradicated the problem completely, but they could not have imagined that bloodline could be cloned one day.

If we continue to end the rebellion with a killing this time, it will only create more hatred.

"go on……"

Helot said: "The first reason for the nobles' rebellion is that their interests have been damaged, and the second is that they did not see the direction of the times. The war should be fought not to destroy them, but to wake them up.

I think we should not rush to eliminate the rebels, let alone mobilize the whole country to fight this war. We should try not to let the development of the empire be affected by this war."

Duke Holman said at this time: "The rebels must be eliminated as soon as possible so that the empire can get back on track. If we delay, we don't know what will happen."

Emperor Bradley raised his hand to stop Duke Holman and said to Helot: "Go on..."

Helot didn't say much, only one sentence: "Only after a long time can you see a person's heart!"

Emperor Bradley was silent for a long time, then nodded slowly.

The enemy is outside and within.

If the rebels are eliminated quickly this time, the person who is promoted may still be the executioner.

Ultimately, it is the backlog of internal contradictions within the empire and the issue of interest distribution.

If the rebels were treated with a strategy of fighting and appeasing at the same time, most of them would not be eager to overthrow the existing ruling order of the empire. A slightly longer and less intense war would not only result in fewer deaths, but would also not have a significant impact on the development of the empire. If the problems accumulated in the past could be solved during this period, the prisoner would not be able to cause any trouble on his own.

Of course, Duke Holman was right. If the war dragged on too long, it would bring more uncertainties.

This requires the emperor himself to make a choice.

Emperor Bradley fell into a long period of thinking again, and the hours passed by.

Finally, King Bradley made the decision.

"The bloody chaos cannot happen again..." This sentence expressed the decision of Emperor Bradley: "During that war, the Bradley family let down the brother families. This time, I cannot let down those nobles who once stood firmly by the Bradley family.

Killing can only temporarily resolve rebellion. Once the seeds of hatred are planted, they will bear more fruit of killing.

Tell the nobles who participated in the rebellion that I am willing to talk to them if there are any problems. Let them manage the order in the areas they occupy, abide by the laws of the empire, and ensure the safety and property of the citizens of the empire..."

The clerk next to him quickly recorded what Emperor Bradley said.

His broad-mindedness moved many people who attended the meeting.

Emperor Bradley continued, "But the war must be fought! Order the military to immediately set up a combat staff. I will personally serve as the field marshal. I want to see if these guys still have the bravery of their ancestors!"

King Bradley talked about war as if it were a child playing house.

It was also a way to tell those rebellious nobles that this war was just a competition, and don't be afraid if you are defeated, at most you will be caught and spanked.

When Duke Holman heard what King Bradley said, his expression changed.

Emperor Bradley personally served as the Army Marshal, and the intensity of the war was under his control. It was difficult for others to carry out additional operations, which effectively prevented some people from expanding the scale of the war for the sake of military merit.

Moreover, because of the newly established rules of this war, the marshal does not need to have superb war command capabilities. All he needs to do is for the staff to formulate war plans in accordance with the rules.

Because the intensity of the war is controllable, too many troops are not needed, and national development will not be greatly affected. If the rebels cooperate, the scale of the war may not be as strong as fighting an overseas colonial war.

On the Imperial Army side, if those officials who were instigated by the prisoners see the hope of being pardoned, will they still work for the prisoners?

You have to know that many people were forced to board the prisoner's ship without knowing it beforehand.

And what else can the executioners do if they lose the support of these nobles?

Duke Holman couldn't help but look at Helot.

Everyone in the venue also looked at Helot.

Everyone knew that the rebellion was finished and that the Empire would end it with minimal losses.

Emperor Bradley finally said to Helot: "Duke Claulund, are you willing to serve as a court advisor in this war to quell the rebellion?"

Helot said quickly: "No, no, no... I have no interest in politics. I prefer to study mechanics and magic."

"That's a shame, but I respect your choice."

Emperor Bradley smiled very easily.

(End of this chapter)