Throne Steps

Chapter 197 Soldiers in the Southwest and Soldiers in the North

On the third day after picking up Fudexi, Li Chen also resumed his morning exercises.

He still couldn't keep up with the big team of black swans, and the other black swans were very used to it.Usually, when he slows down from running to walking, there are usually one or two people accompanying him. If Fordhi or Clement walks beside him, the others will naturally stagger.

Walking beside him today is Fudesi.

Li Chen and Fu Dexi walked up the steps slowly, but the topic of walking was not so easy.

"You mean, the reason why the royal family mobilized the southwestern garrison first and not the northern land is because the northern land is still not peaceful?"

Fudexi's tone was very puzzled, and he was obviously surprised by what Li Chen said: "Why is the Northland not peaceful? That person took action to rectify the Northland 15 years ago!"

"That person" refers to Saenz. Fifteen years ago, when Li Chen had just escaped from the lone wolf's den, Saenz had already been commissioned by the royal family to lead troops to suppress the Northland.At that time, Saenz was still young, but his methods were so resolute that it would not be an exaggeration to call him ruthless.With his ability, Fudexi absolutely does not believe that the riots in the Northland will revive.

"What's so strange about this." Li Chen glanced at Fu Dexi, "He began to gradually hand over military power a few years ago. Now that the military and political powers are not doing enough to suppress them, those uneasy factors in the Northland certainly have a chance to make a comeback."

"He... has the right to fight?!" Fudexi was really surprised this time, "How could he be so easy, at this juncture..."

When the Minister of Military Affairs came to power, what he wanted was to break the original distribution of troops.For Desi, Saenz would never have compromised so easily, much less by such a coincidence in the past five years.

Li Chen smiled meaningfully: "However, the fact is that although he hasn't finished handing it in yet, he is indeed handing it in. Look, isn't the Northland falling out of his control?"

"Passing in"..."Getting out of control"?

Fudexi's footsteps suddenly paused: "Light fall and dark rise?!"

Li Chen stopped and looked back at him: "Huh?"

"Although it seems that Beidi is slipping away from his hands... in fact, it is getting more and more tightly grasped, right?" Fudexi tried to speak out, and his thinking became more and more clear, "Slowly let go on the surface Military power, the royal family can't make a fuss about it, but the turmoil in the Northland caused by it will cause the royal family to suffer. If the royal family and the riots in the Northland match up, counting according to the enemy's enemy, he will become the royal family again It's a 'friend'! This means that even if he doesn't completely hand over the military power, the royal family will not touch him now... In the long run, the royal family may even rely on him to lead troops to suppress the Northland again!"

Li Chen clapped his hands pretendingly: "...awesome."

"Don't pretend to be stupid." Fudexi glared at him and continued to walk forward, "From this point of view, the so-called 'Northern Riot' is also very thought-provoking."

Saenz's forces have infiltrated the Northland for 15 years, so it is very convenient to do anything.If necessary, it may not be impossible to secretly instigate riots in the North...

"Hush—" Li Chen put his index finger in front of his lips, "Since it's just an unfounded guess, don't say it."

What he said was ambiguous, but Fudexi was firm in his guess.He was definitely not the only one who thought of this. Everyone didn't say anything or didn't move. The royal family probably had no evidence, and the others probably didn't want to disturb this muddy water.As for those nobles who want to use the royal family to confront the eternal color, it is difficult to pull out the power of Sarns that has infiltrated the Northland in a short time. It's better not to touch this mold for the time being.

Compared with such a northern region, the territory of the southwest garrison is indeed much more stable.

But being stable also means not moving.

"So, it's not the people in power who move, but the troops." Li Chen said casually, "The scale of conscription in the Southwest Garrison is getting smaller every year; the soldiers who are staying in the barracks now can't see a good promotion. Passage. It’s Pesa’s army capital injection project. It is said that outstanding graduates who participate in this project will have the opportunity to directly work in the military department directly under the royal family after graduation, and then be sent to major military camps for training.”

Fudexi raised his eyebrows: "...A pure minister again?"

"Who says it's not?" Li Chen shrugged, "Although the infiltration of forces cannot be completely eliminated, the strength of the southwest garrison is indeed being weakened."

Just as he was talking, footsteps began to gradually come from behind.Looking back, it turned out that Dominic had also started morning exercises with some children.

"Lord Li Chen!" Dominic greeted Li Chen with a dark and intimate tone, and then politely greeted Fu Dexi, "Master Fu Dexi."

Because the morning exercises with Dominic are at least "neutral", so when Dominic opened his mouth, other children also greeted the two of them.

Li Chen nodded indifferently, while Fu Dexi kept his expressionless, just glanced back and agreed.

The children ran to the front after a while.

The two walked quietly for a few minutes, until the mountain wind blew on their faces and made people shiver, and then they returned to the topic just now.

"No..." Fu Dexi whispered, "So honestly, the Southwest Garrison asked the royal family to disarm in secret?"

Li Chen seemed to have expected to hear this question, so he smiled and said, "Of course it's impossible."

Fordhi looked at him, silently waiting for an answer.

The answer Li Chen gave was not so direct, at least not literally: "In the past two years, the number of newly registered mercenary regiments in the southwest has increased significantly."

But for Furdhi, this answer is enough: "... so conspicuous?"

It is an open secret that using mercenary regiments of Tibetans is already the most common way for nobles to raise private soldiers.

"It's conspicuous, but there is nothing the royal family can do for the time being." Li Chen replied, "The method of raising people by the mercenary regiment cannot be changed for the time being. This involves far more aspects than a southwestern garrison. It is said that the mercenary union in the southwest was prompted to To limit the increase of new mercenary regiments, and to increase the monitoring of the expansion of existing mercenary regiments, if it can be effective, it will probably also hinder the transfer of troops from the Southwest Garrison.”

"However, once the troops are divided, it will be more difficult to manage than before, won't it?" Fudexi asked, "Isn't this a good opportunity to make a move?"

Li Chen smiled: "Of course."

"……Who?"

"You don't know him very well. Clermont should be familiar with someone." Li Chen replied, "In the early years, he fought black fists, and later joined the Southwest Garrison. After he came out, he joined the mercenary regiment. Now, he is in the The Mercenary Corps just happened to significantly increase the intake of veterans from the Southwest."

"I do not recognize?"

"I should have heard of it." Li Chen said with a smile, "'Fierce Beast'——Hade."

Fudexi frowned, he had indeed only heard of this name before, and Li Chen and Clement mentioned it casually a few times during the battle of Suoyang.

"You don't need to focus on his affairs for the time being. Someone will take care of them." Li Chen said again, "I just want to explain to you the general situation of the Southwest Garrison now."

"The overall situation is already very clear." Furdhi replied, "The strength of the Southwest Garrison is weakened, and the power of its power holders is also weakened."

"In addition, the southwest garrison is very large, and its internal relationship network is inherently intricate... Whoever goes and who stays always has to fight each time to get results." Li Chen nodded and said, "After all, the cake is too small, it is impossible Everyone is still allocated the original amount, and if they want to continue as before, they can only rely on their own means."

Fudexi said softly: "Dividing internal forces and intensifying internal conflicts - this is the purpose of the royal family."

Li Chen glanced at him, smiled without saying a word.

After thinking about it for a while, Fudexi said slowly: "What if the garrison of the Southwest Garrison is also like the one in the North? I mean..."

"I understand what you mean." Li Chen smiled, and suddenly stopped, squatting on the side of the road, not knowing what to do.Fudexi followed and took a closer look, only to see that he picked a small flower on the side of the road.

This flower really bloomed early, and there was still a desolate scene all around, but such a small yellow flower bloomed, and it was picked by Li Chen.

The little green vines were still lying on the ground, but Li Chen had already ignored them.He stood up and continued walking, twirling the little flower in his hand: "Spring is here..."

Hearing this, Fudexi just glanced at him, as if saying "so what".

"Back to the topic just now." Li Chen casually twirled the flowers, "The southwestern garrison can't do the same thing as meeting the northern land, otherwise the effect will be completely opposite."

"Ok?"

"If there is a riot on the site of the Southwest Garrison, the royal family has a reason to really intervene in the power distribution of the Southwest Garrison." Li Chen replied, "After all, if you want to send troops, you have to ask for a military order from the royal family... In the present situation Looking at the situation where the Southwest Army is firmly controlled by all parties, do you think the royal family will agree to such a thing that obviously does more harm than good? When the flock obviously won’t go home obediently, and may run to other people’s homes, Will the shepherd easily open the door of the sheepfold?"

The military power in the Northland itself is in the process of being handed over, and the pressure to suppress the riots has already fallen on the royal family. It is impossible for the royal family to secretly force Saenz to hand over the power in his hand.On the contrary, they still need to temporarily maintain Saenz's control, so as to have a reason for him to contribute to suppressing the riots in the Northland.

"So, if the southwest garrison wants to get military orders, they have to barter with the royal family?" Fudexi touched his chin. "Then, in fact, there can still be some disturbances in the southwest."

It's just that the people looking forward to this "riot" are not the southwest garrison who wants to keep the military power, but the royal family who want to share the cake.

Even this "riot" is good for people other than those related to the Southwest Garrison.Because the scope of the royal family's focus is limited, if they have been focusing on influencing the southwest garrison, then other forces will not have to face the royal family head-on for the time being.

They walked up the mountain while talking, and returned to the temple in a short time.The two freshened up a bit, and arrived at a small restaurant, where Akye was also sitting, and breakfast was already on the table.

Li Chen sat down, and just after taking two sips of hot drink, he saw Khorkina walking in quickly.

Li Chen smiled at her: "What's the matter? I rarely see you walking in such a hurry."

Khorkina sent him a text message, which was obviously a message from the bird, and it was very urgent.

"I received news from His Highness." Khorkina said, "The rivers in the Northland broke through the ice, causing floods. His Highness has personally led people to the disaster area!"

Li Chen paused when he opened the letter.