Chapter 95: The Longing of the Imperial Queen (Part 2)
Although more than three years have passed since Queen Pinna ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor, the fate of the empire is still struggling on the edge of decline. When the scepter symbolizing the highest power was held in the hands of Queen Pinna, the first thing she felt was boundless fear, rather than the joy of getting what she wanted.
At that time, the empire legacy left by her father, Emperor Morte, had been completely destroyed by internal fighting among her brothers and uncles.
Although he had received the support of the Imperial Senate and a considerable number of the great nobles before he ascended the throne, as well as the funding and support of the outsiders from Arnus Hill, it was undeniable that the empire when Queen Pinna took over had already It is a standard mess - no stable taxation, no reliable army, sharp decline in population, abandoned fields, most of the provinces in the east Still under the control of the rebels, the vassal states that once surrendered no longer pay tribute, and the magnificent imperial capital Urabianka City has turned into ruins, while the heart of the empire and the royal family, the once fertile and agriculturally fertile Gyeonggi Wilderness , after being soaked for several months by the alien sea water coming from the opposite side of the "door", it turned into a desperate salt-alkali land...
However, power seems to have a magical power that makes those who possess it absolutely unwilling to give it up, and find ways to consolidate and expand it. Faced with such a crazy desperate situation, even Queen Pinna, who did not have much political skills before, , it was as if the ruler’s instinct hidden in his blood was instantly activated, and he withstood countless hardships and began to work together. On the basis of the white land, we established the imperial government and army from scratch, gradually repaired the dilapidated cities, dredged the blocked irrigation canals, restored the barren farmland and pastures, and used flexible diplomatic means and large-scale political concessions to stabilize the princes of all parties. At the same time, he almost begged for all kinds of material assistance and technical support from the outsiders in the Arnus Hills.
After three years of bleak management and countless setbacks of blood and tears, she finally temporarily stabilized the collapse of the empire inside and outside, defeated several counterattacks by the Eastern rebels, and allowed the dying empire to barely survive, but at the same time, she also paid a heavy price The price: The empire's territory, still under the rule of Queen Pinna, is only a quarter of what it was at its peak before the war, and its population is less than one-tenth of what it was in the days of Emperor Morte.
Although her eldest brother Soshar has been dead for three years, the remnants of Soshar's pseudo-emperor still occupy the eastern territories of the empire and refuse to recognize Queen Pinna's throne. The self-respecting rebel generals either divided the territory and established themselves as kings, or they supported a distant relative of the royal family to act as a puppet, so that Queen Pinna, who returned to the palace, once issued an edict not to leave the imperial capital. Although through years of hard work, assassination and bribery, Princess Pinna finally surrendered some of the rebels and recaptured Delta, the second largest city in the empire, she was still far from completely quelling the civil strife. Fortunately, these rebel generals are also divided. They are deeply hostile to each other and have constant conflicts. They cannot form a joint force and cannot pose a fatal threat to the Queen for the time being.
To make matters worse, those border and colonial governors who had remained neutral during the imperial civil war, seeing that the royal family and court had been weakened to such an extent, also had other ideas and stopped paying taxes and tribute one after another. Start seeking independence. Some of them have officially proclaimed themselves kings and rebelled, while others are in the form of separate kingdoms, but without clear flags, which has led to the further shrinkage of the empire's territory.
It rained all night, and the various vassal states that had once bowed and feared in front of the imperial cavalry also turned against each other in an instant when faced with the sudden collapse of the empire and began to counterattack. Not only did they stop paying tribute, but they also invaded and occupied Many border territories of the empire were occupied. Empress Pinna, who lacked neither an army nor wealth, had no countermeasures to resist. She could only retreat step by step, shrink her borders, and give up large swaths of land that were already difficult to hold on to. Today, there are only a few cities and fortresses left on the original borders of the empire, and the flag of the empire is still flying.
Even the empire's territory that has accepted the rule of Queen Pinna has been in a very miserable situation in the past few years - these places were either the main battlefields of the previous empire's civil war, or they were disaster areas that were once flooded by the "Great Flood from Another World", with abandoned villages and deserted villages everywhere. There are hordes of refugees, gangsters are rampant... Those villages that were burned and abandoned in the war can once again reap the harvest by eradicating the weeds in the fields and re-sowing the seeds. But those lands that have been soaked by the seawater from other worlds have become saline-alkali lands that make all farmers despair: Queen Pinna once consulted people from other worlds on how to improve saline-alkali lands, and the answer she received was that the method of improving saline-alkali lands is indeed Yes, but they are either expensive or slow to produce results. Rather than spending so much money and trouble, it is better to rely on nature's ability to restore its self-purification and wait for the rain year after year to gradually wash away the salt and alkali!
Finally, although the people from the other world entrenched in the Arnus Hills are the greatest help for Queen Pinna to ascend the throne and the most important foreign aid to the crumbling empire, they are also the main culprit for bringing the empire to its current state. One: If they hadn’t been in Italica He annihilated the 300,000-strong army of the pseudo-emperor Saushar in one breath, and wiped out almost all of the empire's field troops overnight. The empire that once dominated the Falmat continent with its military power would not suddenly be stretched thin in terms of military strength. He was beaten passively everywhere, to the point where even the refugees could hardly suppress him.
Of course, without this devastating catastrophe, Ping Na would not have been able to sit on the throne of the God City, but would have been able to remain anonymous and wander around the world.
In addition, the Alnus Hills and the Earldom of Formar currently occupied by outsiders are like a fish bone stuck in the throat of the empire, almost cutting the empire's territory from the center. East and West halves. Although due to the alliance between the two sides, the army, officials and merchants of the empire can still travel to and from this land, it still makes many knowledgeable people in the empire feel worried...
——If it is not in a situation of last resort, which country would be willing to see its land cut in half?
Fortunately, the empire doesn't have to endure this kind of pain that's stuck in the throat for much longer... Queen Pinna thought so, turned and sat back to the dining table, picked up the silver bowl filled with hot porridge, and at the same time ordered the waiters standing beside her. Female secretary Hamilton, tell her about today's schedule.
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"... Regarding today's scheduled itinerary, first of all, we will go to the Senate in the morning to attend the first regular meeting of the Senate this month, focusing on how to deal with the plague in the desert town of Tigray, and about the headhunting rabbit Queen Tiurei leading The tribe occupied Rendel City and sent envoys to ask for After that, we went to the residence of Lord Cicero to have lunch with Minister Cicero, Minister Catiline, Minister Maclin, Minister Lepidus and other cabinet members, and discussed how to deal with the Eastern countries. The monarch’s marriage request to His Majesty..."
"...The plague in Tigray City? The headhunting rabbits occupy Rendel City? My marriage? Hey, they are all troublesome things..."
Queen Pinna frowned involuntarily while drinking wheat porridge with bacon and diced fruits.
Although Queen Pinna thought she had worked hard and worked hard in the past three years, unfortunately, various disasters still came one after another, leaving her and the rebuilt Imperial Senate in a state of distress. One of the most inexplicable disasters is the strange plague in Tigray.
——This city of Tigray, where a strange plague broke out, is located at the northernmost tip of the Romanian Mountains and on the southeastern edge of the Western Desert. After the entire Earl of Formar territory was claimed by outsiders, the city of Tigray on the edge of the desert became the last transportation artery in the hands of the empire that could connect the remaining territories of the empire in the east and west of the mainland. Strategic position becomes extremely important.
However, not long after Queen Pinna ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor, a strange plague appeared in Tigray City. This plague seemed to be transmitted together with the storm in the desert, and it specifically targeted women. Any woman who is infected with this plague will quickly develop a high fever, sweat profusely, and then the heat poison will enter the brain, turning into a walking zombie that will whine and move slowly and attack other humans: People from the Other World see After that, for some reason they called it a "zombie"... The scholars and magicians of the empire tried their best to concoct a medicinal soup that could cure the infected woman before the epidemic spread on a large scale. . But if it is a woman who has become a "zombie", there is no way to save her.
(The original plot of "Fantasy Self-Defense Forces" is about a female magician who failed to study the art of immortality and died, and the biochemical potion leaked and caused a disaster.)
In order to investigate the origin of this strange plague in Tigray City, the empire organized several reconnaissance teams, including elite military scouts and well-known private adventurers. Unfortunately, they all found nothing. What's even more terrible is that at the same time, this kind of zombie plague that specifically targets women is still breaking out from time to time in the desert edge areas, which makes people's faces change. Soon, no women will dare to live in Tigray City anymore. , and the remaining men also felt that they had no hope of life, so they moved or fled one after another, seeing that the entire city and a large area around it were about to be abandoned.
If it were another city and encountered such an irresistible natural disaster, the Imperial Senate might just hold its nose and acquiesce. But the problem is that Tigray City’s status as a transportation hub is too important. Once it is lost, the eastern and western territories of the empire will change from being disconnected to being completely separated... But when the zombie plague cannot be solved, it is really difficult to save this city. . Therefore, even if they knew that the abandonment of Tigray City was a foregone conclusion, no one dared to agree casually, for fear of being responsible for losing the western part of the empire.
Obviously, Queen Pinna had no intention of taking the blame for nothing, so she could only continue to shirk responsibility and argue with the elders.
Then, the Headhunting Rabbit Queen Tiure led her tribe to leave the territory of the aliens, crossed over the Romanian mountains and occupied the city of Rendel without authorization, which was also a troublesome matter. In fact, if it was just the loss of Rendel City itself, it would not be a serious loss. Although this city once had the academic status of a capital of knowledge, it suffered a devastating catastrophe during the Imperial Civil War. By the time the civil war ended, Rendel City was almost in ruins. The damage was even more severe than that of the Imperial Capital. Naturally, all the scholars and magicians who had gathered there had fled. After the rebels originally stationed there were surrendered and taken away by Queen Pinna, Rendel City fell into an anarchic and semi-abandoned state.
Although the Senate sent several mayors there later, they were unable to control the situation. They were either killed by bandits or failed to collect any taxes, so they had to flee back in despair. As time went by, the Senate had no choice but to let things go. Until the empire regained its strength and had the strength to send troops to suppress it, it could only ignore this deserted city where gangsters were rampant for the time being, and wait until it could free up its hands.
From an economic and financial point of view, the Headhunting Rabbit Tribe's occupation of Rendel City is equivalent to replacing the city with a group of entrenched gangsters, and there is no loss at all. But even so, even if it is just for the sake of face, the Senate cannot allow a foreign race to steal the territory of the empire and then grant recognition and canonization. Otherwise, the empire's external image will really change from a feared beast to a mouth-watering pig!
However, the Queen and the Senate did not dare to actually send troops to attack the Headhunting Rabbit - it was not difficult to defeat this small tribe with only a few thousand people, and even the empire's current dilapidated military strength was enough. But the real problem is that everyone in the empire now knows that the headhunting rabbit clan has a close relationship with the aliens in the Arnus Hills. Who knows whether they were sent out by the aliens to serve as the vanguard of the expansion of the territory. ? What should we do if we kill a headhunting rabbit and attract people from other worlds? The current crisis-ridden empire cannot afford to offend people from other worlds. If there is a falling out, as long as they take out their weapons and support a few powerful vassals at will, it will be enough to overthrow the power of Queen Pinna! But if he really loses his face and admits Headhunter Rabbit's rule over Rendel City, it is very likely to cause negative public opinion. In short, no matter what choice you make, you are still in the same dilemma.
Fortunately, although the Headhunting Rabbit female warriors have stolen Rendel City, they have no plans to continue to expand. Their attitude towards the empire seems to be relatively restrained and polite, so they can put it aside for the time being - anyway, this matter is over It's been delayed for a long time, and it doesn't matter if it takes a while longer.
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Next, there is Queen Pinna's own marriage... Whenever she thinks of this matter, Her Majesty Queen Pinna can't help but feel pain in her eyes, headache, stomach, and whole body - as an obvious thing , since Queen Pinna ascended the throne and proclaimed herself emperor, she automatically became the queen of the whole world. The most attractive marriage partner in the eyes of all careerists in the continent. As long as he can marry her, he can become a "co-ruling emperor" and share the most dazzling imperial crown on the Falmat continent: Although the current empire is somewhat in decline, It still has the unique royal throne and legal system in the entire continent. Even after losing three-quarters of its territory, today's empire is still the most powerful country on the entire continent. How can people not flock to it?
In this case, even if Queen Pinna is an ugly person, there will definitely be a lot of kings, princes and dukes chasing her to propose marriage just for the crown on her head. What's more, Queen Pinna's appearance is actually not bad, she can be regarded as a heroic red-haired beauty?
Therefore, in the past few years, on the one hand, various vassal states have stopped paying tribute to the empire and declared independence; on the other hand, there has been an endless stream of foreign envoys bringing precious gifts to propose to Queen Pinna. Absolutely. Some of them are messengers proposing for their masters, and some are even kings, grand dukes and princes who come to propose marriage in person. Every day, they can't wait to see a piece of delicious meat surrounding Queen Pinna, vying to flatter each other. The cleverness in her words made Queen Pinna, who was already tired of government affairs, feel dizzy.
As a princess who was born in the royal family, Ping Na knew from an early age that since she enjoyed the highest glory and wealth in the world, she would naturally be arranged for a political marriage. But the problem is, even if it is a political marriage, there is a huge difference between passively obeying the arrangements of her father and brother, and making her own choices - after wearing the crown, she must now consider herself, and how to compare with the king or prince of a certain country. Will a political marriage bring certain benefits and contribute to the unification and rejuvenation of the empire? Or will it attract wolves into the family and cause huge disasters to the empire?
As a woman who pursues romance by nature, she can coldly put her marriage on the scale and measure it as a piece of goods or a bargaining chip. She does not consider her own preferences and happiness at all, but only considers the interests and gains and losses of the country. This is in itself It's already a huge sacrifice. If the fate of the country is lost because of the wrong choice, Queen Pingna estimates that she will definitely die of shame and anger in the future.
However, this involves too many considerations and intricate and subtle relationships, and the situation between countries is also unpredictable, so Queen Pinna considered it over and over again, but she was always undecided. In addition, there are many nobles and elders who hope that Queen Pinna will not marry a foreigner, but marry a distant relative of the royal family in her country to avoid the leakage of imperial power... thus adding more variables to this marriage proposal war. .
To this day, Queen Pinna already has a splitting headache as soon as she hears about the marriage proposal. She feels like the sky is dark and the earth is dark. She just instinctively wants to drag it out... But even if she has made up her mind to delay the matter, , she also had to come up with appropriate reasons and words - she sighed and shook her head, and at the same time gestured to Hamilton, the personal female clerk holding the scroll, to continue explaining today's reservation schedule:
"...Then, today's dinner is a royal banquet for the earth tour group. After the banquet, we will entertain these guests from another world to stay in the palace for one night. As for the period from lunch to dinner, I hope your majesty can Personally leading the guests to visit the palace was specially requested by Mr. Li Wenchang, China’s diplomatic consul in the imperial capital. According to him, there are some generous people among the tourists this time..."
Just as the female secretary Hamilton was reporting the reservation schedule to Queen Pinna in a serious manner, a female knight in armor hurried in and said something in Hamilton's ear. Suddenly, This made the female clerk's expression change drastically. Then, Queen Pinna, who had just finished breakfast, unexpectedly heard the latest bad news relayed by the female secretary Hamilton:
"...Report to your majesty, the lord of Himister, Gebor Kram Hybor, launched a rebellion at the end of last month! Calling himself the King of the Grasse Peninsula! The Empire's Southern Fleet, which was previously stationed in various ports on the Grasse Peninsula, also Almost all of them were captured by this traitor! After this news reached the imperial capital today, the Senate has temporarily changed today’s agenda for this reason, and has also requested that Your Majesty move to the Senate to attend the meeting as soon as possible..."
※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ ※※※※※※※※※※PS: Recently, there is news that the Syrian border on the Turkish border Evidence of large-scale organ trading was found in the Syrian refugee camp. The number of corpses with their organs removed was as many as 16,000, and it is said that there are even more in Aleppo. As for those humanitarian organizations active in the Middle East, many were exposed as vests and white gloves for illegal organ intermediaries, and there were even fake Doctors Without Borders and fake Red Cross rescue teams (which may not necessarily be fake). They specialize in tricking refugees into entering death camps to have their organs harvested. This is really a world where you compete with each other to push the minimum limit!