A few feeble dog barks broke through the tranquility of the night, as if an iron curtain had been lifted. As the dog barks disappeared, more sounds could be heard. Snowflakes fell on the ground.

Puff, the neat and gentle footsteps of soldiers patrolling back and forth, the soft coughs of the soldiers on the sentry tower, the wind blowing through the house, the sound of the hair of the secret sentries slapping against the tiles, gentle and

The determination poured into people's ears.

You can see that there are torches burning on the city wall. The torches illuminate a distance of twenty feet. There is no figure in the firelight, but as long as a figure appears in the firelight, it will attract powerful crossbows or violent arrows like raindrops.

Magic attacks. The same torches are sparsely placed outside the city. These torches seem to be arranged in a disorderly manner, but an area of ​​fifty feet wide at the front of the entire defense line is illuminated and is barely visible. And under each torch there is

It is a small magic trap. As long as these torches are pulled out with violence, the entire defense line will be awakened immediately.

In a luxurious house in 'Iron Castle', this was originally the home of the chief mining officer of 'Iron Castle'. Now all the original officials of 'Iron Castle' have been moved to the hinterland of Kaisen Province, and this place has become

There were not many luxurious and comfortable houses built in the 'Iron Castle', which had long been divided up by various commanders of the coalition forces. And because of Oliver's strange identity, several other countries'

The commander-in-chief or senior generals had no intention of sharing this house with him, and it was impossible for Lei and the others to live near Oliver. Therefore, this vast house only had Oliver and his family.

More than a dozen guards can enjoy it.

Standing at the window of the study, looking down at the countless swaying lights below, Oliver fell into deep thought. He knew that he had made many enemies in the 'Iron Castle', whether it was Lei who was directly provoked by him, or whether it was Lei who was directly provoked by him, or

Jerry, who was close to Lei, and Gaddafi, the three generals who led the imperial army this time, had offended him many times. But Oliver arrogantly believed that the price was worth it. Although he had offended

Lei and the three of them, at least let Lei and his subordinates understand that there are irreconcilable conflicts between themselves and their generals. At this time, the people who can still rely on their side should be the ones who can be trusted in the end.

Although Oliver understood that the people his master really wanted to win over were Ray and Jerry, there was a shadow of a big family behind Jerry, and Jerry would never let go of the current family's interests and join his master.

Lei Mo, this upstart, this wild boy who inexplicably climbed into the ranks of the top nobles of the empire. Although he has no background, he is deeply trusted by Shagru. To say that Lei will give up Shagru's trust and incomparable glory.

It is impossible for Lei to obey his master's will for his future.

With a soft sigh, Oliver reluctantly grabbed the wine bottle at hand, pointed it at the mouth of the bottle and took a big drink. The retainer who had followed him since childhood, who was also the leader of his guard, had silver

Sha Jia, who was at the fifth level of strength, immediately persuaded: "Master, you still have to be careful about your health and don't drink too much."

Oliver nodded perfunctorily towards Sharjah, sat down on the chair by the window, watched the snowflakes falling under the dim light from the window, and thought to himself. His family, but

It is just a typical declining aristocratic family with a small population and has not produced any big shot in thousands of years. There are many such families in the southern province, the richest province in the empire. They have an ancient reputation and a dazzling reputation.

Halo, because there is a popular saying in the aristocratic circle: "A duke who has been in power for twenty years is definitely not as good as a baron who has been in power for two hundred years." However, only these ancient little nobles themselves know that compared with the power of the duke and that of their own family, the duke has no power.

The location is really attractive.

However, it is difficult for them to stand out. They are just a small family. They do not have a powerful family martial arts, and they do not have any social resources that can make their children prosperous. In the case of Oliver, he

The only way out is to enter a specialized academy in the empire, learn some knowledge about financial management, tax management, etc., then join a big family and become their low-level supervisor. They don't even have their own territory unless they serve a big noble.

, otherwise it would be difficult to support oneself.

Fortunately, Oliver was a very sensitive and intelligent man. After he successfully graduated from the academy, because of his good relationship with the teachers at the academy, he was recommended to be a gardener by a count who had great authority in his home province.

The housekeeper was responsible for the income from the earl's gardening and the management of the gardeners. The opportunity came because of Oliver's own hard work. After four years of hard work, he finally got close to the earl's master, who

His Highness the Prince, who has great power in the empire.

The count's manor is the most famous hunting estate in several southern provinces. It is full of ferocious beasts and elegant swans, etc. It is a paradise for nobles who pay attention to their taste in life. When Prince Andre went there to hunt, a

The tiger unexpectedly attacked him. A very ancient trick appeared. Oliver relied on his strong sword skills to save the noble prince from the tiger's mouth, and a large piece of his back was torn off by the tiger.

Skin and flesh became the greatest guarantee for his promotion. When Prince Andre left the hunting village, in addition to taking away all the tiger skins, he also took away the unconscious Oliver.

It was another two years of hard work. To work under the prince, you had to work extremely hard to gain recognition. And Oliver made good use of this opportunity that fell from the sky. In two years, he entered the prince's power.

Although the circle is not the core group of people, when Oliver saw the earls and marquises kneeling respectfully in front of him, he had a dream-like feeling. And he finally successfully gave himself

His father acquired half of the county's territory, and the prince personally added a war sword symbolizing honor to his family's coat of arms, even though he had never been on the battlefield.

And now, His Highness the Prince wants to develop his own power in the army, which is why he came here. Oliver took another sip of wine, and wiped the blood-red wine with his sleeves without caring about the aristocratic demeanor.

There was a flash of cold light.

It's really ironic. Starting from the academy, I have worked hard for ten years to reach my current position, and my title is still just a small baron. But that Lei, that rude savage, that civilian background

A reckless man, in just two years, he became a marquis, and the most popular marquis in the entire empire. Also, what a brilliant halo he has behind him, the commander of the main army of the empire, the commander of the imperial army.

The lieutenant general is also a powerful knight in his own right. Some even say that he is the first knight of the empire. And his adoptive father, an old man from a similarly rundown family, was actually restored to his status as a marquis of the empire because of his relationship.

Regaining their family's wealth. The 'Marquis of Copper Mountain', the monopoly man who controls the supply of copper mines in the empire, what a terrifying wealth that is.

Why is there such a disparity in people's destiny? What I have been unable to obtain through hard work, that little guy who looks to be in his early twenties can easily obtain it?

Taking another sip of wine, Oliver said to himself: "Maybe I did something wrong. I shouldn't have used this method. None of their subordinates dared to show kindness to me.

.Or, that Lei still has a high reputation among the soldiers. After all, the military department has tried its best to promote him. But then I used the wrong method. For a tiger-like figure like him, it is inappropriate to use coercion.

I may be able to make him submit, but I can only do this through gentle means."

"All the five imperial beast legions have arrived, as well as the Guards and the Praetorian Guards. As far as I know, Lei is commanding the Mad Dragon Legion and the Guards, and Jerry is commanding the Silver Wolf Legion and the Praetorian Guards.

, Humph, that Gaddafi actually commanded three legions... Well, there are great opportunities to take advantage of them. The Royal Guards, the Guards, the Jaguar Legion, and the Feifeng Legion are the leaders of these four legions.

, either it has not been added yet, or it has been temporarily revoked, just like Gaddafi’s cousin who was removed from the position of commander of the Feifeng Legion. Well, if I use the leaders of these four legions as bait,

How many noble generals will be willing to join me?"

Oliver looked at Sharjah and asked in a low voice: "Sharjah, what do you think? If I use, or if I can use the positions of the commanders of the four legions as bait, do you think which generals may be secretly there?

What about taking refuge in me? If I can build a good relationship with Lei and the others, what are my chances of success?"

Sharjah, this middle-aged knight with not very strong muscles and a bit of arrogance, stroked his chin and murmured in a low voice: "Master, according to what I say, if you use gentle means to get along well with Lei and Jerry,

If you are related, their subordinates will be even less likely to seek refuge with you. Because you see, the right given to you by His Majesty Shagru is to let you take charge of punishments and rewards, and to control everything. If you show kindness to Lei and others, those generals will feel that

, they only need to obey the orders of Ray, Jerry and Gaddafi, and they can still get practical benefits. They don't have to surrender to you, because you can only grant them honors, but Ray and the others can do it at any time.

Deprive them of their military ranks, and you can even send them to the special forces to die at any time... You cannot control the deployment of the army."

Sharjah's eyes flashed with a strange light, and he whispered: "However, if you stand firmly on the opposite side of Lei and the others, and use the power in your hands to show your authority, the effect will be different.

You must make it clear to those generals that you have the power to allocate official positions in those four legions. You can even make them vaguely think that as long as you are willing, you can let some of them hold higher positions in those four legions than they currently do.

If you have more positions, you can win over a large number of generals."

Sharjah smiled reservedly, and Oliver also had a smile on his face: "It sounds reasonable, Sharjah, you are really my most precious treasure. Come on, let's have a drink together. You can go to the wine cabinet."

Get another bottle and let's have a drink. Yes, no matter how powerful I am, if I just build a good relationship with these three generals, the last four ownerless legions will sooner or later fall into their direct lineage.

After all, there are not many people in the empire who can lead troops to fight, and the Walters family, which is the most prolific military general, has been completely exterminated!"

"Well, after our processing, the effect is different. Although it may still be the subordinates of the three of them who serve as the commanders of the four legions, but as long as our wrists are flexible enough, we can control those generals and make them think,

It is because of our relationship that they got this position, and we also want them to think that if we are willing, we can depose their army commander at any time, then they will have no choice but to seek refuge with us. But, Sharjah, what do you think?

, among the subordinates of the three of them, which ones can seek refuge with us? Not to mention the subordinates of Jerry and Gaddafi, those people are either their family knights or small nobles who are attached to their families. It is difficult for us to bribe them.

Yeah, how about we start with Lei first?"

Sharjah used his teeth to pull out the oak cork on the mouth of the wine bottle, smelled the smell from the bottle with his nose, and couldn't help but admired: "Good wine, young master, good wine. I didn't expect that a little iron

The chief mine officer of the castle can actually have such a good wine that is at least twenty years old. Well, maybe it will be a wise choice for you to ask His Highness to give you a mineral-rich territory in the future... Well, cheers.

"

The two guys, who came from minor aristocrats and never paid much attention to elegance, bumped their wine bottles against each other, raised their heads and took a sip. Sharjah licked the wine from the corner of his mouth, and spilled the wine when he opened the bottle.

After sucking up the wine on his finger with his tongue, he said seriously: "As for Lei, my impression is that he is very rude and cruel. After all, he is from a civilian background, so he cannot have

He has the temperament of a nobleman. Moreover, he does not pay attention to the consequences of his actions, and he actually dares to touch you, young master. However, it is for this reason that in the eyes of those equally rude and cruel soldiers, Lei will be their favorite.

The perfect idol."

Sharjah drank half a bottle of red wine in a greedy manner, burped vulgarly, and continued: "What's more, as you said, that damn lucky boy was promoted by the military with all its strength.

, this is his greatest advantage. Those ordinary soldiers regard him as a miracle, and I don’t know how many ordinary soldiers dream of being like him, so he is supported and supported by the soldiers, which is nothing.

Without a doubt."

Oliver shook his head repeatedly: "Oh, come on, come on, Sharjah, what I want to talk about is military generals. Military generals, what's the use of you and me analyzing those ordinary soldiers?"

Sha Jia shrugged his shoulders: "But, young master, you have to understand that for those middle and lower-level generals, they can be easily assimilated because of the fanatical atmosphere of ordinary soldiers. They will be as full of thunder as ordinary soldiers."

A kind of blind worship. This kind of atmosphere can even affect middle- and high-level generals, so we don’t need to think too much about generals below the deputy division commander. Moreover, the military power they can control is limited, so why waste energy on recruiting them?

?”

"What we are looking for are those people around Lei who may be bribed by us. Those people know the details of Lei very well and know how Lei got into this position. Moreover, the senior generals around Lei are famous for their reputation.

Well, Mis, Yasuo, the three division commanders, and the current branch commanders, who has a family title below marquis? No matter how much they admire Lei, they should still feel a little dissatisfied in their hearts.

Are you convinced? Master, you should know the differences between the imperial nobility and common people."

"And, do you remember? This is what you, the young master, told me yourself. It was what His Highness the Prince told you. It said: 'On this continent, civilians often go all out to help their friends out of loyalty and friendship. But in the end,

Nobles who pay attention to honor and magnanimity are the most unreliable allies on this continent. They will betray you at any time because of their own interests and the interests of the family.' This is a wise saying, young master, this is truly a wise saying.

"

Oliver's eyes lit up: "Yes, yes, His Royal Highness the Prince said so. By the way, those noble generals, the great noble generals. Aha, then, Sharjah, you have been talking to their middle and lower-level officials recently.

The generals are doing well. Can you tell me who among them is the best to bribe? Who is most susceptible to the temptation of those titles and official positions? You know, with my status, it is impossible for me to get along with those middle and lower-level generals.

Yeah, I can’t get close to them.”

Sharjah drank the rest of the red wine in one go. After getting Oliver's consent, the drunkard immediately took out a bottle of red wine again, pulled out the oak cork on it, and drank it with great interest. He spit out
To be continued...