Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1156 1138. Great Purge

"Is it because of the Scoia'tael?"

The witcher guessed based on his limited knowledge. After all, he had only been back for a day.

"Scia'tael, ha." Margarita pressed her forehead and chuckled, and Tissaya, who was sitting next to her, took a sip of the blood-red wine in the silver cup.

"It's the Scoia'tael. They have also spread to the Velen area. On the road outside Gos Velen, two groups of merchants have been exposed in the wilderness during this time. The carriages were dismantled and thrown on the roadside."

"Really?"

Lan En asked with interest.

Tissaya, who was holding the wine glass, took over the conversation and explained calmly.

"Because everyone with a discerning eye knows that the Scoia'tael are funded and promoted by others. They are the problem, but they are not the root problem."

"The fundamental problem is: the world is going to be in chaos again."

Not a short time has passed since the Battle of Soden Mountain, nearly two years.

Although Lan En traveled through the rift between the celestial spheres and his time perception was confused, Mentos would automatically adjust the timetable when he returned, so that the subject would not be blinded by time.

Tisaya still spoke calmly, she had seen many strong winds and waves in her life. Although in recent years, due to the development of the times, there have been many big scenes that have refreshed the understanding, it has not shocked her yet.

"Since the First War between the North and the South, the Nilfgaardian Empire is, for the first time in history, essentially bordering the northern countries. Friction and tension are natural."

"You said it, of course." Lan En leaned back in the armchair, changed into a comfortable position, and listened attentively. "Then what does this situation mean now?"

"Now there is a rumor that the Nilfgaardian Emperor, Emhyr var Emres, did not agree with the large-scale invasion at that time, and those who attacked Cintra were actually his domestic opponents, who disobeyed and walked alone. To.”

Tisaya did not respond to Lan En immediately, but seemed to start talking from a different topic.

"Everyone can't tell whether this news is true, but everyone knows that if Nilfgaard had won the Battle of Sodden Mountain, the emperor would have only given honors and rewards to the participating legions."

"But there is no 'if', they lost."

Lan En calmly took a sip of Dongzhidong red wine. Toussaint, which produced this expensive wine, was also a vassal state of Nilfgaard.

"I tore their legions to pieces with my own hands."

Tissaya nodded, and raised the wine glass in her hand towards Lan En as a greeting.

"So after the Battle of Sodden Mountain, the news spread quickly, suddenly indicating that the emperor did not actually want to start a war. The previous actions were all acts of disobedience by his marshals. Then the heads fell to the ground, and there was an endless stream of guillotines. "

"This is not a 'rumor', but a fact."

"There were eight formal large-scale executions, and countless less formal ones. Many well-known officers died inexplicably, and many officials also retired suddenly."

"Emhyr cleans his men very hard."

Cleaning is a good idea.

Lan En lowered his eyes. After thinking for a moment, the education and knowledge he had received allowed him to understand what was going on.

Military failure is doomed, so as a mature politician, you must accept the reality and find ways to maximize benefits and make up for losses in failure.

Taking this opportunity to legitimately cleanse the army that is entangled with various forces, deploy his own men, and increase his control over the army is a choice that is very beneficial to the emperor.

"But this process takes time." Lan En, who was silent for a while to think, continued.

"If it is done, of course it will be very beneficial. However, how to maintain the cohesion of the army and maintain combat effectiveness in the process will take time. The newly deployed officers will have to fight if they want to truly exercise their management rights. ”

"So." Following this train of thought, Lan En continued to think deeply.

The Nilfgaardian Emperor needs time, and time can not only be compressed from himself, but also delayed from his enemies.

If the enemy is slower, it means you are faster.

It is much easier and more convenient to cause trouble for the enemy than to speed up yourself.

"So it was Nilfgaard who funded and incited the Scoia'tael, allowing these inhuman races to cause trouble in the north and buy time for themselves to control the army."

No longer using questions, Lan En has clearly seen the context.

Due to historical reasons, that is, the intersection of the celestial sphere. The humans in the north and south of this continent are actually different species.

Humans from the north landed nearly five hundred years ago, but humans from the south had actually arrived on this continent long ago.

The only thing that is certain between the two is that humans are humans after all, but the rest of the people are not even sure whether they are from the same different world.

Compared to five hundred years, this is not a long time, especially in the eyes of elves, tree spirits and other races with longer lifespans.

Human beings in the south have 'cleaned up' the areas around where they live a long time ago.

So much so that even today, in the hinterland of the Nilfgaard Empire, people there even think that creatures such as water nymphs, nymphs, and dryads are things in fairy tales rather than real creatures. In addition, in the past five hundred years since the northern humans landed here, they have treated non-human races cruelly.

Elves, some dwarves, and some halflings. They hate humans in the north far more than those in the south.

In other words, the Southern Empire is only implicated in being hated by them because they are also human beings.

After all, the events of the past five hundred years are closer to them and their feelings are deeper.

Once funding and support are received from the South, it is almost self-evident who will be the first to direct the anger of these inhuman races.

"That's why the situation is getting more and more tense now, and anyone with a sensitive point can feel it."

Margarita said, shaking her head.

"The Scoia'tael are intercepting merchants outside the city, or looking for opportunities to intercept and kill any humans passing by. Then the humans in the city are panicked, and the elves and dwarves in the city are becoming more and more fearful. Once this fear gets out of control, it will become The urge to kill."

"And the elves and dwarves in the city are becoming more and more afraid. When their fear reaches the extreme, they will think, 'It is better to hurt others first than to be hurt', and go out of the city and become Scoia'tael."

Lan En frowned and shook his head: "Vicious cycle."

"Yes, but what can be done?" Margarita rubbed her forehead in distress, "The mayor has complained to me many times. He said that the proportion of dwarf craftsmen in the Valyrian Steel Workshop must be reduced. Otherwise, humans will be dissatisfied.”

"Many people say that non-human races have taken away human jobs and wealth."

"But if the proportion of dwarves is really reduced, won't the dwarves be afraid? What if they think this is a precursor to taking action against them?"

Lan En's frown deepened.

"Can't the current conflict be suppressed even in the workshop?"

"It's not that intense." Margarita waved her hand and drained the Dongzhidong red wine from the silver cup in her hand as if to vent her anger.

"Relying on the Valyrian steel business, both dwarf and human craftsmen can make money."

"Since you can still earn a satisfactory salary, who would easily cause trouble?"

"But even if we only look at the city of Gos Velen, except for the Valyrian Steel Workshop, the atmosphere in other places is a bit tense."

"And Temeria is already a famous country that is tolerant of non-human races."

Margarita didn't explain everything clearly in her words, but it was enough.

Now that the atmosphere in Temeria has reached this point, what about other countries that are already very harsh towards non-human races?

In Redania, almost no one can control the radical Church of Eternal Fire, and no one even wants to control it. Because this church is the most powerful supporter of the royal power.

The notorious ‘Boar King’ of the Kingdom of Kaedwen is eager to seize the property of all non-human races in the country.

The Kingdom of Aden is a country where massacres against non-human races erupt from time to time in the city.

"When I come back this time, I shouldn't have anything important to do except dressing myself up in a suit of armor."

Lan picked up the wine bottle, filled it for himself and then reached over to fill Tissaya's and Margarita's glasses.

"If you need me to come forward, just speak up."

Margarita took back the silver cup from under the bottle held by Lan En, with a relieved expression on her face.

"That's great, dear. First of all, can you help me deal with all the papers on the table?"

Old God Tissaya also took back his silver cup and sat down dignifiedly.

But the witcher glanced behind him and saw a messy desk.

The documents on the table seemed messy. In fact, they were messy and numerous. But considering his ability, processing them was as effortless as reading a novel.

"But..." Lan En turned around again, looked at the former dean of the Department of Dignity and Abstinence, and raised an eyebrow, "Tisaya, how could you resist not dealing with that pile of stuff?"

Tissaya hugged herself with one hand to support the weight of her chest, and raised the wine glass to her mouth with the other hand, smiling.

"Forgive me, Lan. I really want to see how you handle this pile of things. When I think of this, I can hold it back."

"You have, um, an hour and a half. To work on these files."

Margarita next to her lifted her blond hair away from the corner of her mouth stained with red wine, and glanced at the wall clock in the room with a smile.

"Does this also have a timer?"

Lan En felt amused and ridiculous, but he still stood up and walked towards the desk with the wine glass in hand.

"Time is precious, young man." Margarita said in an enchanting tone, her voice as seductive as if it penetrated deep into her heart. "How do you think I will arrange the rest of my time?"

(End of chapter)