Reinhardt took a bath and changed his clothes, had his servants comb his hair and shave his mustache, before going to the study in the backyard to see Marquis Charles, looking quite refreshed.
Inside the study, Marquis Charles stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall, having been waiting there for some time.
"Hahaha, Father, you've finally come to see me." Reinhardt pushed open the door, his face full of excitement, and tightly grasped Marquis Charles's hand.
"Uncle" was Reinhardt's private address to Marquis Charles; he would never dare to use that term in front of outsiders, especially not in front of Grand Duke Ryan.
Reinhardt's biological father, who was also the younger brother of the Archduke of Rhine, died young as the first in line to the throne. Reinhardt lost his father's support at a young age, so he secretly recognized Marquis Charles as his "adoptive father." It was from this point that he gained the support of the Senate and truly had the capital to compete with the Marquis of Ferlinan, rather than just having the empty title of "first in line to the throne."
"Your Highness is well?" Marquis Charles smiled, then pointed to the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. "If I'm not mistaken, these should be the calligraphy and paintings of Old Master Qiu, right?"
“Yes, Father.” Reinhardt also looked up at the calligraphy and paintings on the wall. Although he was a little puzzled that Marquis Charles was talking about calligraphy and paintings instead of politics, he still humbly explained, “I collected these from the common people. As you know, it is not easy to acquire Mr. Qiu’s calligraphy and paintings. I paid ten times the price, and the other party only transferred them to me because of me.”
"Tranquility leads to far-reaching influence." Marquis Charles nodded as he looked at the calligraphy and painting on the wall. "This is indeed worth the price. For you now, this one word is worth a fortune."
“Father, I don’t quite understand…” Reinhardt was somewhat bewildered, as Marquis Charles’s words were loaded with meaning.
"Are you planning to bring all the 'gangsters' into Adelaide and fight Ferlinan to the death?" Marquis Charles stared sharply into Reinhardt's eyes like an eagle.
Reinhardt felt a cold sweat trickling down his back. He couldn't understand how the other party knew about his decision so quickly.
"Fool!" Marquis Charles sneered, tossing his hand as he walked over to the sofa and sat down. "Do you know why Ferlinan has been so aggressive, yet has never dared to lay a hand on you?"
"Please enlighten me, Father." Reinhardt sat down opposite him on the sofa, leaning forward with a humble air of listening attentively.
He was well aware that Ferlinan had been pressuring him. For example, Helenbergh was now completely surrounded by police, with people only allowed to enter but not leave, and supplies unable to be brought in. The only supply route was the police's daily, scheduled food delivery trucks.
In Reinhardt's eyes, Helenburg is now not much different from a prison with a slightly better environment.
“Because he’s waiting for you to make the first move, so he’ll have a reason to crush you to the point of no return,” Marquis Charles said with a serious expression. “The biggest threat you pose to him right now is your status as the ‘first in line to the throne’.”
"If you bring 'gangsters' into the capital to cause trouble, it's tantamount to treason!"
"That way, without Grand Duke Ryan's permission, he would have ample reason to disqualify you from being the first in line to the throne!"
"Without the right to inherit, you are nothing!"
Reinhardt remained silent.
He knew, of course, that bringing his underworld forces into the capital to incite a riot was enough to warrant prosecution for endangering national security. The starting point for this charge was the deprivation of political rights for life, which would naturally disqualify him from being the heir to the throne.
But what can he do now? If he takes a gamble, he still has a chance. If he does nothing, he can only watch helplessly as his cousin seizes power after the death of Grand Duke Ryan!
Although Marquis Ferlinan's acquisition of the throne through that method would be illegitimate, Reinhardt believed that as long as he could ascend the throne, who cared about legitimacy?
“But Father, I can’t just sit here and wait to die!” Reinhardt said, his face full of conflict.
“If you don’t move, I still have a way. But if you do move, then we’ll lose everything!” Marquis Charles said sternly.
“But Father…” Reinhardt was still conflicted.
"Why can't you understand!" Marquis Charles was already scolding him in a reprimanding tone. "If Ferlinan kills you and ascends the throne, not only will the Senate not agree, but the army of the Kingdom of Ryan will not let him go! The army is loyal to the royal family. If he kills you now, it is tantamount to regicide. Do you think he can stay on that throne for more than a few days?"
"But if you are stupid enough to make a mistake, then the situation is different! He can then rightfully and legitimately become the first in line to the throne, and the Senate and the army can't say much."
"Do you understand?"
"Thank you for your guidance, Father." Reinhardt thought for a while and finally nodded through gritted teeth. But he was still unwilling. What if his uncle acted impulsively and killed him? Who would care if he could hold onto his position for even a few days?
Marquis Charles could see Reinhardt's resentment, and then comforted him, saying, "Don't worry, I haven't been wasting my time by not visiting you these past few days. I have personally contacted an 'armed force' that can change the situation for you."
"Armed forces?" Reinhardt frowned. Now that the senior commanders of the Reinhardt National Army had been taken away by Andrei, the remaining middle and lower-ranking officers were too timid to persuade, and even with the promise of great rewards, no one dared to take the risk.
The local armed forces besides military forces are the patrol police, but that is Marquis Ferlinan's private domain. Although Reinhard has been trying to corrupt and win over the patrol police through various channels over the years and has achieved some results, such as on Ruolan Star, it would be tantamount to throwing an egg against a rock if they were to confront the forces that Ferlinan still controls head-on.
Aside from his "gangs," there was nothing else in Ryan that could barely be called an "armed force."
Wait! It's not available in China...
Reinhardt suddenly thought of something, his eyes lit up, and he was so excited he almost stood up.
"Father, are you referring to...?"
“Some things don’t need to be said; you understand in your heart.” Marquis Charles glared at Reinhardt, stopping him from saying what he was about to say. “But their demands aren’t low either, a full twenty-one articles…”
After listening to Marquis Charles's retelling, Reinhardt waved generously.
"no problem!"
"Give them the resource stars, and it's fine to give them a few more residential stars too!"
"War reparations from the Milan front can also be paid. If the national treasury doesn't have enough funds, I can allocate a few more inhabitant stars to them to offset the debt. I wonder if their Khan would be willing?"
"As for the annual tribute, that's a trivial matter. Once I ascend the throne, I can easily raise the national tax rate by one percentage point!"
Reinhardt rubbed his hands together, becoming more and more excited as he spoke, as if he were already in charge of the country.
"Of course, all of this is contingent on me ascending the throne; only then will it count!"
"We can sign a contract with them to solidify these agreements, so that neither side can go back on their word!"
Good heavens! The soldiers on the Milan front are fighting a bloody battle, and as time goes by, they are showing signs of driving the Faz Khan army back to Fazkia. Reinhardt's single sentence has sold out the soldiers' hard-earned victory.
It's like winning but still feeling like losing; that's exactly what this situation is all about.
“But now we’ve run into a bit of trouble,” Marquis Charles said. “Andrea is currently commanding operations on the front lines in Milan, and he’s set up a defensive line that’s like an iron barrel, so their main force can’t get in.”
"What should we do then?" Reinhardt was also worried. He knew nothing about military affairs. Whether he could even let an army in was another matter, but the problem was that he didn't know how to do it either.
“You don’t need to worry about that. ‘Lone Wolf’ has already infiltrated,” Marquis Charles continued. “But it will take some time for them to assemble in Adelaide, so I risked coming in here to remind you not to make any rash moves before then!”
"Is it the 'Lone Wolf' elite special forces unit?" Reinhardt was overjoyed.
If this elite force were to appear in Adelaide, even Ryan's Royal Guard would be no match for them.
A special operations legion constantly honed on the brink of life and death is fundamentally different in combat capability from a garrison force primarily engaged in diplomatic protocol duties in the comfortable environment of the capital.
“Yes.” Marquis Charles nodded. “But before that, we have one more nail to remove.”
"This is something the 'Lone Wolf' legion commander has mentioned many times. If we don't remove this thorn in our side, they won't easily gather in our capital."
"Which nail?" Reinhardt asked in surprise.
Although he didn't understand military affairs, he had long heard of the famous "Lone Wolf" and knew that it was a special operations legion that specialized in infiltration and assassination missions.
The "Lone Wolf" team is said to be as large as a division, but each mission only involves a few people, at most ten, who dare to enter the capital of a small country to carry out a decapitation operation, and then leave swaggeringly afterward.
If the "lone wolves" appear collectively as a division, it is almost equivalent to carrying out a national annihilation operation.
With the strength of a "lone wolf," would it be afraid of being wiped out in Adelaide?
It's 'Shadowfang'.
Marquis Charles spoke slowly.
“If this thorn is not removed, the ‘lone wolf’ will not be able to enter Adelaide with peace of mind.”
Reinhardt was silent for a moment, then finally raised his head with a determined look in his eyes.
“We can use Zhu Yifu against him! He’s currently imprisoned in the palace. Although my cousin and I are mortal enemies, he also dislikes Zhu Yifu. In this respect, we at least have a common enemy!”
"But the question is, who do we get to do this?"
“You don’t need to worry about that. I already have the right person.” Marquis Charles nodded in rare appreciation for Reinhardt’s tacit understanding. “I need a personal letter from you to show Ferlinan our sincerity in cooperating with him.”
"good!"
Reinhardt didn't ask any further questions and immediately picked up his pen to write a letter.
In this secret study, isolated from outside sound and light, a charge of treason begins to be pinned on a heroic unit through a network of collusion.
After watching Marquis Charles leave with a smile on his face, Reinhardt turned around and his expression immediately changed, becoming fierce.
"Pah! Another old codger!"
Reinhard returned to his study with a gloomy expression. Today, he called him "Uncle Father" much more frequently than usual.
"Damn it! Once I ascend the throne, all these old bastards will be dead!"
"Call 'Crow' over here." Reinhardt personally instructed his personal butler after returning to his study.
"Crow" is the nominal boss of his "gang" forces, and the spokesperson for him, the real mastermind.
"They all think I'm an idiot!"
Reinhardt's face hardened. He wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket. He couldn't trust anyone else's words, and none of them were as reliable as the power he held in his own hands.
The crow left.
The entire "gangster" force in Ryan began to converge on Adelaide...
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