The Chinese New Year has passed for a long time, but in previous years, it is now time to gradually pick up. But for some reason this year, the weather is still cool, and no matter how beautiful you are, you don’t dare to reduce the number of clothes you wear.
Many people still have stoves burning in their homes, and it seems it will take some time to get rid of their dependence on it this year.
Sitting on the sofa next to the fireplace, flipping through books with unknown contents in his hands, there were stacks of thick books on the table beside him. He was wearing only a nightshirt, as if the warmth of the fireplace alone was enough to ward off the cold.
It has been five days since the expedition army set out. Considering the army's marching speed, it will reach the border in one or two days.
An, who stayed in the royal capital, was not idle. During this period, he was trying his best to understand the various families and factions in the empire. Only by mastering the information about them can we talk about playing chess with the mastermind hidden in the imperial capital.
Although it would be faster to ask Leonhardt, which is what An did before coming to the imperial capital, but after arriving in the imperial capital, neither Leonhardt nor Liliana could spare the time, and the records about the imperial family are quite large, so they just asked The next best thing is to borrow Liliana's hand to get various books related to the development of the empire, study it yourself, and then confirm whether it is right or wrong when they meet each other - after all, the inexplicable memories in the mind are just fragments, and the source is also confusing. Worry is difficult to base on.
An is not worried about being suspicious of borrowing books. In the eyes of outsiders, his behavior can also be understood as the regent's intention to see how the empire has developed in his absence.
It's not that An is confident, but someone has indeed sent him more detailed records in the past few days. They were probably doing it to show off in front of "Lecco". It was not so important whether it was based on the act of sending books or the achievements that belonged to them in the records.
I don't know if I should say it was expected. These materials can be called historical books. Their systematic recording only officially started after Lecco came to power. What goes further forward are not so much historical books as various legends and biographies, the authenticity of which needs to be considered.
This is not the fault of the empire. In fact, the empire is an outlier in terms of recording history.
Many countries on the mainland have no detailed records of the past. What many people care about is the present and future life. Even if someone realizes the importance of historical records, it is very difficult to come up with historical books that can be used as reliable basis.
The best in this regard is the empire after Lecco. Thanks to him, An had access to read the empire's past.
Of course, these books are currently inaccessible to ordinary people and are usually kept closely guarded. There is still a long time before they are announced.
An was somewhat fortunate that although the reliable records were all after Lecco became the regent, because the empire experienced a period of unification wars during this period, family factions of all sizes inevitably came onto the stage, so the book is very Their records are quite detailed.
An read these books thoroughly, and now he has a full understanding of the empire.
Before Lecco served as regent, the empire was no different from other countries. The family factions in it all had their own little thoughts. This is why the empire at that time was obviously strong enough, but it was never able to settle down.
The previous king died, and there were many people with dissident intentions. However, Leko suppressed them all through the unification war, and accepted some of them. If they were really disobedient, they found ways to eradicate them and find someone to replace them. Later, he used his unprecedented record as a shock, using both soft and hard tactics to win over people's hearts.
Although the process is quick, An believes it is not easy.
You need to see blood when you operate a knife. If you are not careful, your own blood will be on it. The fact that so many families in the empire only know Liliana but not Leonhart's true identity is enough to prove how closely Leko protects his younger siblings.
From Lecco's extreme behavior, we can see the danger at that time.
It wasn't until Leko brought the empire to an unprecedented level of strength that everyone was convinced by him and no longer dared to cause trouble easily.
The remaining family factions in the empire have basically enjoyed the benefits brought by Lecco, and at the same time are afraid of Lecco's iron fist, so their loyalty can be guaranteed to a certain extent. After Lecco disappeared, several powerful family factions, led by Minister Alvin's family, joined forces to quell the chaos that arose.
Loyalty is a good thing, but it also means that it is more difficult to find the mastermind behind the scenes. An is still reading the information, trying to find out which families can be used and which families are more suspicious.
Represented by two ministers:
Minister Alvin and his family have always performed very well, but he himself has a high position of authority and can be said to dominate the finances. An has doubts about his true attitude, so he can only contact him later for observation.
Minister Ion is a concubine and has no family of his own, but behind him stands someone who was promoted by Leko like him and is considered one of the leaders of the faction. After several contacts, An had a good impression of him, and the feedback she received from Liliana and Leonhart was that Ion made them feel better. However, it is usually not up to him to decide what the leader of the faction wants to do. An feels that he can talk to him more, but he should try to avoid doing so in public.
After reading the book in his hand, An let out a deep breath.
After looking at this information, I realized that those people who were friendly on the surface and wanted to kneel down to show their loyalty and the families behind them had done some disgusting things in private in the past. If they hadn't been frightened and straightened out by Lecco, they might still be the same people-hating and ghost-hating people they were before.
Know people, know faces, but don’t know hearts.
If An was to evaluate the most satisfying thing about the Imperial Capital, it would probably be interacting with the people of the Imperial Capital. You can really feel their sincerity, and you can also appreciate their efforts and their cherishment of today's life...
An shook her head and picked up another document.
Just as I picked it up, Miku's drowsy voice came from behind: "An, are you still awake?"
An turned around and saw Miku standing on the stairs wrapped in a thick blanket, rubbing his groggy eyes with one hand.
Seeing Qing'an's attire, Miku exclaimed: "Oh my god! You ran down here wearing just this?"
"Uh..." An wanted to say that she wasn't cold, but she didn't dare to say it.
Miku ran over in a few steps, stretched out his finger and poked An hard on the head.
"Aren't you afraid of catching a cold?!" Miku asked, sitting down on the sofa. "If you catch a cold on your own, I won't take care of you!"
"Here, hold on!" Miku handed one side of the blanket to An.
An Lao holds on honestly. Miku then hugged Ann and pulled the other side of the blanket to the inside. The blanket wrapped the two of them tightly like rice dumplings. Fortunately, it's big enough to accommodate two people and still have room to stretch out their hands.
"...Are you feeling better?"
An looked away: "It's too good, it's still a little hot."
"Hehe-" Miku laughed a few times and felt that it was starting to get hot, but she couldn't bear to let go.
She looked at the books on the table and asked, "Anything gained?"
Miku knew what An was doing during this time.
"The harvest is good." An raised the information in his hand for Miku to see, "We can start investigating from the former Imperial City Guards..."
He suddenly paused.
Miku was looking at the information in An's hand, and after a while he said, "Hey, he's not from the Empire? He's not from the Guards either?"
"...Yes, he is a bit special, I should be able to find out something." An also turned his attention to the information and read it carefully.
He seemed to have only glanced at it when he picked it up...
But why, do you remember them all?
