"Your Majesty, Assyria has agreed to sign a peace agreement. The Assyrian Parliament has sent a delegation of twelve people, who have returned with our messenger." Duke Laurent, the head of the Ministry of Rites, reported loudly.
"Is everything arranged?" Helen's eyebrows jumped slightly.
"Your Majesty, food and lodging have been arranged. Here is the name list of the Assyrian delegation and the gift list." Lauren respectfully handed over two red-leather folders, and a female official quickly walked over to take them.
"I heard..." Helen looked out the window, "A grand celebration was held in Assyria?"
Lauren nodded: "Yes, Your Majesty, according to the messenger, all the cities in Assyria will hold celebration ceremonies one after another."
"It's a good idea to boost morale and rally the people." Helen nodded and waved her hand, "You can leave first. Contact the delegation more in the next two days. Remember, don't let them contact other people."
"As you wish."
…
After the grand celebration of liberation, Wu Lai became busy again - adding departments.
The move to add departments can be seen as a refinement of the parliament's functions, as the existing departmental structure is no longer suitable for the increasing number of affairs.
So Wu Lai did not hesitate to make a major adjustment. After the adjustment, the parliament expanded to eleven directly governed departments, namely - foreign affairs, defense, education, justice, transportation, water conservancy, agriculture and forestry, supervision, finance, public security, and health care.
Soon, these eleven departments with distinct functions had their own heads and teams. In order to avoid the monopoly of power by members of parliament, the ministers of these eleven departments were selected from the local military and political circles as temporary members of parliament. Each term is two years, and re-election will be held at the end of the term. If they cannot be re-elected or are dismissed, they will not even retain the title of temporary member of parliament.
The reason why Wu Lai only gave a single term of half the mayoral term was after full consideration. A two-year term is neither long nor short. A capable person can demonstrate his talent, while a mediocre person will inevitably expose his mediocre nature.
It is worth mentioning that among these eleven new ministers, Wu Lai only really knew one - Wei Huo, who was appointed Minister of Defense on Wu Lai's recommendation.
Some people understood Woolley's move as Woolley removing the Duncan family's military power, because although the Ministry of Defense unified the management of the construction of the armed forces of the entire territory, such as the recruitment, organization, equipment, training, ordnance, and military ranks and salaries of the army, the Ministry of Defense did not have actual military command authority.
But even with all the speculation, no one questioned Wu Lai. Because everyone knew that as long as Wu Lai was willing, the whole of Assyria could be his. Apart from other things, just in terms of military strength, nearly 75% of the troops in the Assyrian territory were Wu Lai's direct lineage...
After the ministerial meeting, Wei Huo quickly caught up with Wu Lai who was about to leave the venue, bowed behind him with a smile, and said, "Speaker, my father has prepared some wine at the mansion, and would like to invite you to dinner. I wonder if you are free?"
"The chief is still in Assyria?" Wu Lai was stunned. "I am so ashamed. I thought the chief went back to his private residence after watching the ceremony. You didn't tell me earlier. The chief is highly respected. How could he condescend to invite me? I should invite him."
"No, no, you are too polite, Speaker." Wei Huo waved his hands quickly and asked, "Speaker, do you agree?"
Wu Lai nodded: "I will be there before evening."
…
"For this first glass of wine, I would like to thank the Lord on behalf of all the Assyrian people. If it were not for your foresight and effective command, and if it were not for the blessing of heaven, in which you subdued the Hurlit and Kimo soldiers and civilians in the territory, how could Assyria be what it is today?" Qi Yuan raised the glass with a smile.
"You are too polite, Chief." Wu Lai lifted the bottom of the cup gently, gestured, and drank it all. After Qi Yuan and Wei Huo finished drinking, the maid beside them quickly filled the glasses of the three people.
"For this second cup of wine, I would like to thank the Lord on behalf of the Duncan family for recommending Wei Huo as the Minister of Defense. Others may think that the Lord is taking away Wei Huo's military power, but I don't think so. The Lord has widely promoted democracy and new policies in the territory, and the prosperity of Assyria is just around the corner. My Duncan family already has a private territory. If we still hold on to the army, it will definitely arouse jealousy and will not be good for the future of the Duncan family. In fact, I have always been worried about this, but I just can't find a proper solution." Qi Yuan laughed and said, "The Lord is very wise. He resolved it with a wave of his hand. Now, I am relieved, and my Duncan family is also relieved. Lord, please."
Seeing Qi Yuan happily drinking it all, and Wei Huo beside him holding up his glass and waiting with a smile, Wu Lai smiled and nodded, tilted his head back, and poured the wine into his mouth.
Actually, I haven't thought about it the same way as you did. Wu Lai thought to himself. Although there are reasons for recommending Wei Huo as the Minister of Defense, it is not what Qi Yuan analyzed. The reason why Wei Huo was recommended by Wu Lai is that, firstly, he is familiar with military affairs. Although he may not have the ability to coordinate the overall situation independently, he has many think tanks under his command, so he will have no problem in being competent. Secondly, after the Armenian War, several lieutenant generals were added. In order to appease the Hulit and Kimo soldiers, Xiler was also promoted to lieutenant general. With so many lieutenant generals, Wei Huo, a veteran lieutenant general who controls several divisions, would naturally feel a little embarrassed. But being the Minister of Defense is different. Although they are all lieutenant generals, his status is higher than other lieutenant generals. Wouldn't it be better if everyone is happy?
Qi Yuan picked up the third cup of wine, sighed softly, and then smiled again with a hint of bitterness: "Lord, these three cups of wine are my farewell to you. I am old. In the past two months, I couldn't walk without a cane. My appetite has been decreasing day by day. I think I don't have much time left."
"Although the Chief is thinner than before, he is in good spirits and in high spirits. He can live another thirty or fifty years." Wu Lai said quickly.
"Thank you for your comfort, Lord." Qi Yuan shook his head slightly and glanced at Wei Huo. "Lord, I am already satisfied to have lived to this age and to have seen the recovery of the entire Assyrian territory. The only thing that worries me now is the continuation of my Duncan family. Wei Huo is talented, but it's a pity that he has been under my control for too long, and what I taught him is too limited... Alas..."
Seeing Qi Yuan suddenly stop smiling bitterly, Wu Lai sighed softly in his heart, hesitated for a moment, and said: "Chief, you should not always take these worries to heart. General Wei Huo's talent is obvious to all. With him leading the Duncan family, the Chief can rest assured and enjoy his old age."
"No, Lord, whether the Duncan family can continue does not depend on Wei Huo's ability, but on your attitude, Lord." Duncan raised his glass again, "Lord, let's drink this glass first."
"Okay." Wu Lai nodded.
After drinking, Qi Yuan took the wine pot from the maid, poured the wine for Wu Lai himself, and said, "My Lord, you are broad-minded. I believe that as long as you govern Assyria, the Duncan family can rest assured. But if someone else controls Assyria, the situation will be unpredictable. To be honest, if you want to deal with the Duncan family, my whole family can only accept our fate, because we know that we cannot compete with you in terms of strategy and ability. But if someone else wants to target our Duncan family, as long as it is not your instruction, our Duncan family will definitely fight to the end. By then, we can't care who will win or what Assyria will become..."
Wu Lai smiled slightly, but in his heart he had already agreed with Qi Yuan's statement.
"My Lord, you know what I mean, so I won't elaborate on this. Please believe me, both in public and private, the Duncan family will follow your lead. I don't understand some of your actions, but I believe you must have your own deep meaning." Qi Yuan said seriously, "However, even if you are a genius, Assyria is too big and there are too many things to do. There are always some things you can't see or hear."
"That's right. The one who can see everything is a god." Wu Lai replied with a smile.
"Lord, my Duncan family originally had a 200-man scout team. Although we cannot say that all of them are brave and cannot compare to your special forces, they are all good at sneaking around and gathering information. This time I came to watch the ceremony, and I brought them with me as a gift to you for recovering the lost territory."
"How dare I take on this responsibility?" Wu Lai shook his head quickly. He had heard about this scout team of the Duncan family. As Qi Yuan said, they might not be brave enough, but they were all good at climbing over walls and drilling holes to gather information. When Qi Yuan was in power in Assyria, they were used to monitor other nobles. Although Wu Lai did not like and had no need to pry into other people's privacy, it was not a bad idea to treat them as proper scouts.
"Lord, please appoint your men. I know that you have your own arrangements, but it is definitely a good thing to have these two hundred people as your eyes and ears." Qi Yuan paused and said, "Lord, you are upright, but others may not be so. To be honest with you, I let these guys practice these few days, and they really found some clues. After following the clues, Lord, I am really nervous."
"Really?" Wu Lai frowned.
"I dare not lie." Qi Yuan nodded gently, "Two of them are quite trusted by the lord."
Wu Lai hesitated for a moment, then nodded slowly: "Please let the chief tell you."
…
More than two months later, on the day of the court meeting, as usual, when the civil and military officials filed into the hall, Helen had been sitting on the throne for a long time.
After all the ministers paid their respects and were divided into groups, officials came out to report as usual. After Helen listened to everything, she just asked the female attendant to take the memorial. She neither responded nor proposed any discussion, making the atmosphere in the hall quite depressing.
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After more than ten chapters, it was almost noon. Seeing that no one from the court had left, Helen, who had been stern all the time, coughed lightly and spoke: "The content of the peace agreement between the Empire and the Assyrian territory has been finalized. The delegation returned the day before yesterday. Thirty-five days later, I will formally sign a peace agreement with the current lord, speaker, and high priest of the Assyrian territory, Wuleglindo, at the Red Valley Bay section of the Assyrian Canyon. After the agreement is signed, the soldiers of the Empire who are detained in the Assyrian territory can go home."
"Long live God's favor, long live Your Majesty." All the ministers hurriedly bowed and congratulated him.
Helen sighed softly and raised her voice a few degrees: "There is nothing to celebrate. I just hope that everyone will remember the shame, learn lessons, and work together to make Tianjuan recover, accumulate, and grow as quickly as possible!"
"As ordered!" the ministers shouted...
…
To the south of the Menia Stone Square, there is a small stone hill with half of its side dug out. The top of the hill used to be a gladiator school, but now it has become the place where Hatra was imprisoned.
After lunch, Wu Lai, accompanied by Mu Ti, walked into the stone building with chalk-painted exterior walls. After a while, he saw Hatra basking in the sun in the yard.
"Lord, this guy is very manic, so we haven't taken off his shackles yet." Muti said hurriedly when he saw Wu Lai's eyes sweeping over Hatra's hands and feet.
"Not only did you not take it off, you also put such a big stone chain on him." Wu Lai smiled and shook his head. The Hatra in front of him was not only untidy, pale, thin, and ragged, but also had a long copper chain on his shackles, and the other end of the copper chain was tied to a huge stone more than half a person's height.
"Lord, if we don't tie him up, he will hurt people." Muti said, "He has already injured three guards. In addition, he is not cooperative at all. Not only does he go on hunger strike every now and then, he also tears up the clothes and mattress we gave him."
"No wonder he looks like this." Wu Lai nodded and walked quickly to Hatra.
"Hatra, do you still recognize me?" Wu Lai asked, bowing slightly.
Hartla raised his head and glanced at Wu Lai without saying a word, but hatred flashed in his eyes.
"I'm here to congratulate you. Assyria and Tianjuan will sign a peace agreement in twelve days. According to Tianjuan's terms, you will be sent back to Tianjuan as one of the first prisoners to be returned." Wu Lai smiled faintly, "King Wushuang, you should be happy."
"I beg you to kill me!" Hattra roared hoarsely.
"Even ants try to survive, why do you want to risk your life so much?" Wu Lai frowned slightly. "But I really want to kill you. If it weren't for you, there wouldn't be so many casualties in Annan and Menia. If it weren't for you, my relatives in Seneca would still be alive. Believe me, Hatra, I am just like your enemies. I hope you die and I want to cut your throat with my own hands. But I can't do that because I want to use you to exchange for peace in Assyria."
"Peace?! Hahahaha! Peace?!" Hatra suddenly laughed crazily. "Wuliglindo, the peace you want will never be realized, especially since you don't dare to kill me. Wuleglindo, once I return to Tianjuan, I will do my best to promote the war! I will use your head and blood to wash away my shame!"
"Shut up! How dare you!" Mu Ti frowned and waved to the eight soldiers waiting not far away, "Come, teach me a lesson..."
"Wait!" Wu Lai frowned and waved his hand, and the eight soldiers who were ready to fight stopped immediately.
"Lord, this thief is so foul-mouthed that he dares to humiliate you. If you don't teach him a lesson, he will become more rampant." Muti said.
"No need." Wu Lai shook his head slowly and said, "He is seeking death because he feels he has no face to return to Tianjuan. I don't want to embarrass a man who knows shame."
"My lord, what you said makes sense. Muti will take note of it." Muti bowed quickly.
Wu Lai glanced at Hatra calmly again and said, "Hatra, whether you like it or not, peace on the continent will come. It's just a matter of time."
"Hmph!" Hatra snorted coldly, turned his head and closed his eyes, never looking at Wu Lai again...