For Thousands of Years, My Weakest Brother Has Become a Demon King

   Chapter 68 The Council of the Senate

  The 24th day of the morning month, the White House Conference Hall.

   Senator Albert, dressed in a purple-gold noble robe, pushed open the silver door embossed with dragons and swords and walked into the hall.

  In an instant, the originally noisy conference hall fell silent, and everyone sitting around the long white marble table turned their attention to him at the same time.

   He stopped in place awkwardly, and after a few seconds, the man on the towering throne at the end of the long table spoke.

   "You're late, Senator Albert."

   "Sorry...I thought it was..."

  Albert lowered his head immediately.

   "But luckily it's just the beginning, sit down first."

  The words of that person made Albert feel relieved, and he hurried to his seat and sat down.

   "Then the motion to alleviate the stench of the sewers caused by the New Year's Eve feast in the city by adding ebony perfume has also passed, and then the next motion is proposed by the Empress of Jade Province, Gareth Langyan."

   Sitting on the right hand side of the throne, York, the Prime Minister of the Empire and Speaker of the Parliament, who presided over the meeting, turned over the parchment file with the Imperial Dragon Sword emblem printed on it and said.

  Ambassador of Cuiyu Province? at this time?

   A forest elf wearing a wolf skin woven clothes, skin as rough as tree bark, and a wolf face tattoo on his face immediately got up after hearing this.

   He first bowed respectfully to the one on the throne, and then began to talk about the wine supply in Emerald Province this autumn.

  The congresswoman sitting next to Albert looked at the elf dressed as a barbarian, covered her nose with obvious movements, and then poked his shoulder, motioning him to look aside.

On the other side of the    long table, not only the ambassador of the Emerald Province, but seven or eight guys dressed in fancy clothes in his opinion sat there, and most of them seemed a little at a loss at the moment.

"Storm Province, Cold Rock Province, Quicksand Province, Dragon's Breath Province, Broken Tooth Province. Apart from Blackwater Province, only Awa Province has not sent envoys here. No one has been sent since the founding of the empire."

  The congresswoman leaned over and whispered to Albert.

   Not just the envoys of the provinces…

  Albert thought.

  Looking around the entire round table, there are quite a few big people present today.

   Patriarch of the Eighth Order, Vice President of the Star Council, Royal Advisor of the Platinum Circle, General of the Second Legion, Chairman of the Royal Chamber of Commerce, Chancellor of the Empire...

   It can be said that half of the dignitaries in the center of power of the empire are here. This senate meeting is far beyond the usual monthly meeting specifications. It seems that it is not just a simple advance of time.

  Thinking of this, Albert was secretly annoyed for a while that he was late for remembering the wrong time today. Being late in front of so many big people was a big blow to his future political career.

   But in comparison, the forest elf ambassador from Emerald Province, in front of so many high-ranking people, talked about reducing the supply of wine, which seemed more inappropriate.

"...Combined with the loss of the Wild Hunt in the Year of Dead and Blood last year, and considering the changes in the stars this year, we have entered the year of starvation and rot. At the beginning of the year, signs of large-scale blight appeared in Patu and other places. This year's Cuiyu Province is really unable to guarantee the wine supply to the empire as in previous years. I implore the Council of Elders to temporarily reduce the supply of wine by 30% this year. This part of our Holy Tree Duke guarantees that it will be replenished next year. The above is Cuiyu The motion put forward by the province, I hope you…”

   As he said, he looked around, and none of the big men on the long table responded. All of them either had an irrelevant expression or a cold-eyed attitude.

   The silence in the entire venue made him a little restless.

  The elderly and rickety Speaker York did not even directly announce that the motion had entered the voting stage, but turned his attention to the barbarian-dressed ambassador of Cuiyu Province. He smiled genially and said in a neutral voice:

"Can't we think of other ways? You must know that most of the wine imported by the Empire from Jade Province every year is not into the wine cellar of the nobles of Platinum City, but sold to the eastern Daemon Continent through the White Sea. This is an annual The important foreign trade of the empire is also an important part of the armistice agreement with them, but this is the only thing that can’t be sloppy.”

  The ambassador of Jade Province gritted his teeth and said:

"The first wave of fusarium wilt epidemic in the middle of this year has caused the first batch of grape seedlings planted last year to wither in large numbers. This is still under the circumstance that the Duke of the Holy Tree has prepared the forest sacrifice in advance. Mr. Speaker , under the influence of fusarium wilt, this year's grape production will be reduced by at least 50%, but the request to reduce the supply by 30% is already the result of our best efforts."

   Speaker of York hasn't replied yet, but a young councillor on the side is the first to interject:

"That's not because you have too little arable land. Ravenwood in Jade Province is obviously the land with the strongest vitality in the entire Vic Continent. As a result, you all used it to plant trees. I want to tell you that the forest you put If you cut down half of the trees, the extra land will help you to triple the annual output of grapes, so why are you afraid of a year of starvation and rot?"

   "Irael, be careful!"

  Speaker York hurriedly made a statement to shut up the other party when he heard the words, and Albert on the side couldn't help but hold his forehead and felt that the other party's speech was too reckless.

Forest elves do not have the concept of death of other mortal races, but after a long period of time, their bodies will gradually "treeize", their skin will become rough and tough like tree bark, and branches and leaves will grow on their hair. The speed of action will also become slower and slower.

   And after each forest elves have reached a certain stage of tree formation, they will walk into the sacred forest of Ravenwood by themselves, until they really turn into a tree in the forest.

   Therefore, for the forest elves, the meaning of the trees in Ravenwood is not only trees, but also their surviving clansmen, many of which may be their own ancestors.

   And this proposal by Senator Elier, asking them to cut down half of the forest to grow grapes, is tantamount to asking them to kill their own people to make room for the empire to farm.

   For a time, the ambassador of Cuiyu Province, whose surname was "Wolf Yan", stared at the rude member of parliament with cold eyes and said nothing.

   The wolf face tattoo on his face slowly opened his mouth to reveal his fangs and let out a low roar. The wolf head kept squirming, as if it would break free from his skin at any time.

   Just when the latter was so frightened by this posture that he retracted into his seat, his lips trembled slightly and was about to explain something, the Platinum Circus advisor who was sitting closest to the left-hand side of the throne spoke up:

   "Enough, Gareth, this is the seat of the bronze crown."

   His voice seemed to have the power to shake the soul, and the low wolf roar stopped instantly. Garley also took a deep breath to calm down, and the wolf face tattoo on his face also changed back to its original state, as if it had been an illusion before.

  He bowed his head to the advisor of the Platinum Circle and said:

   "I'm sorry, I'm rude, I'm willing to accept..."

   "No, this is a rudeness to Senator Elier, Mr. Ambassador, please forgive him for his ignorance of the forest elves tradition."

   Speaker York took the words like a peacemaker and continued:

   "Irael, you will stay alone after the meeting. I have to teach you about the etiquette of various races."

   The man sitting on the throne tilted his head towards Speaker York at this time.

   York Speaker immediately understood, he smiled and said to the Jade Province ambassador:

   "But Mr. Elier's joke gave me some inspiration. Mr. Ambassador, you can indeed try to increase the arable land for grape cultivation to offset the impact of the blight on the yield this year."

  Garay was stunned when he heard the words, and then replied with an ugly expression:

   "Sir Speaker, you wouldn't say..."

"of course not."

   Speaker shook his head and said:

"Like the green grass for making Balano, and the berry fruit, the main grain of the forest elves, these arable land for growing food are suitable for growing grapes. You can change about half of the land to grapes, like this This will be enough to make up for the reduced production last year because of the blight."

   "But, Mr. Speaker, what should I do with the reduced grain production? The grain reserves in Cuiyu Province over the years can't make up for this missing half of the loss..."

   After hearing this suggestion, Ambassador Gareth replied with a sullen expression.

"It's very simple, just use the money you earn from exporting wine to buy grain from the Imperial Chamber of Commerce. Except for the green grass we don't have here, you can keep some more relevant arable land, the annual balance of berries and wheat here. They are all enough to supply half of the Cuiyu Province, and we can guarantee to meet your food supply at a price that is 10% lower than the market price."

   The chairman of the Royal Chamber of Commerce suddenly said.

  Speaker York also smiled and nodded when he heard the words: "If this is the case, it would be great, what do you think of this proposal, Ambassador Garley?

"This…"

  10% lower than the market price, which means that the money earned from wine exports will be used to buy food and there will be a surplus. This condition sounds very good, but intuition tells Garey that this is definitely not a good proposal.

   But at this moment, he couldn't think of a reason to refute it. Just when he was hesitating about how he should answer, the queen on the throne spoke.

"70% of the land is planted with green grass, and 30% of the land of berries is planted with grapes. Balano is basically a luxury for the nobles and the royal family. We eat a few meals less. Save the people's ration supply, and then..."

   With the clear voice of the silver-haired and blood-red-eyed queen on the throne, everyone in the hall stopped whispering and looked at her.

  Although her body, which was slightly thin due to her long-term sickness, looked very uncoordinated on the towering throne, everyone in this hall dared not neglect the woman wearing the bronze crown in the slightest.

  Irene Riel, who is only 24 years old, is also the youngest female emperor in the history of the Riel Empire.

  Because she suffered from severe congenital asthma since childhood, Irene was sent by the late emperor to Sacred Tree City in Cuiyu Province for recuperation when she was eight years old. She did not return to the White House until after her coming of age ceremony, and less than two days after her return, the late emperor was attacked by the Broken Sword Brotherhood and was seriously injured.

   After that, she has never been involved in politics since she was a child, and she has no basic skills in the White House. She won the support of the Platinum Circle and the Eighth Order within just one year of returning to the palace. And shortly after the death of the late emperor, he forced his two brothers who had been operating in the palace for many years to ascend to the throne of Dragon Sword, crowned with a bronze crown and became the current Queen Irene.

After her coronation, one of her two brothers was exiled to the extreme north of Lengyan Province to be the Duke of Ice Dragon, while the other was arrested for conspiring to expose the palace. After that, she ignored everyone's pleas and ordered it in person. hang his brother.

   It is also because of her ruthless means to blood relatives that many people quietly call her Unknown Irene, or Unknown Queen.

   Hearing Queen Irene's words, Ambassador Garley hurriedly lowered his head, not even daring to let out the air.

  Queen Irene paused, then continued:

"...Then, all the lands that are replanted with grapes will be exempted from tithing this year, and the tax will be halved for the next three years. Garay from Emerald Province, I think such conditions should satisfy the Duke of the Holy Tree. ?"

   "Your Majesty, I am grateful."

  Garay replied quickly.

   Exemption from tithe for one year, halved for the next three years, plus you can buy food from the Chamber of Commerce at 10% lower than the market price. No matter how you calculate it, this is more favorable than the conditions that the Duke of Holy Tree requested to reduce the export volume of wine by 30%.

   The Speaker of York on the side saw this with a smile and said:

   "Alright then, the motion of the ambassador of Jade Province can be voted on now, although I think it is almost the same whether or not to vote according to the current situation... Then please raise your hand if you agree with this motion..."

   Senator Albert raised his hand hesitantly, and then he looked around and found that this motion was basically passed by unanimous vote.

   But is it really that easy? Fusarium wilt affects more than just grape yields. Taking the initiative to reduce the area of ​​arable land for staple food in a year of starvation and rot is definitely not a wise move in his opinion.

In the last year of famine and rot, he was still serving under the Minister of Agriculture. He clearly remembered that in his statistics, even in the most developed province of agriculture, there was still a small-scale famine spread in the countryside. .

   Does the Royal Chamber of Commerce really have as much food reserves as he promised? Even if there is, will they really provide it to Jade Province?

   Don't when the Cuiyu Province is really in a situation of starvation and death...

  Albert thought, and suddenly realized that Queen Irene's eyes were on him at some point.

   "Mr. Albert, do you have any objections?"

   "Ah? No no!"

   In the face of the Queen's sudden question, he answered quickly, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead.

   It is said that Her Majesty the Queen has the gift of being able to see a person's inner thoughts at a glance. Usually, this seems to be just a court legend, but it really surprised Albert now.

The Queen    stopped talking, and the Speaker of York, sitting beside her, said:

   "Since the change of the use of cultivated land in Jade Province is going to be promoted, I think the empire still has to send envoys to supervise and advise, Albert, I remember you had the experience of serving as a secretary under the Minister of Agriculture before, right?"

   "Ah... yes..."

  Albert's heart suddenly sank.

   was targeted.

   "Then how about you being the envoy to supervise the change of cultivated land in Cuiyu Province?"

  Speaker York asked with a smile. Although it was an inquiry, there was no negotiation in his tone at all.

   Really deserves the title of his smiling lion.

"I…"

  Albert thought about trying to struggle, but as soon as he saw Speaker York's grinning expression, he was immediately discouraged.

"I accept…"

   He tried his best to sound flattered.

   "Okay, then the next motion will be proposed by the General Guard of Platinum City."

   "We found three suspected Broken Sword Brotherhood strongholds in Platinum City, we hope..."

  The next motions and reports put forward by the representatives of all parties, Albert was not in the mood to listen, he fell into a kind of trance state, just followed the congresswoman next to him and raised his hand mechanically.

   And he kept thinking about why it was him, because he was late at the beginning? Or after Her Majesty made that proposal, there was a hesitant expression on his face?

  No matter what, in the next few years, he will say goodbye to the prosperity of Platinum City, and live in a tree hole with the gang of wild elves wrapped in animal skins and drinking sap.

   Now he just wants to get out of the meeting and go home and get himself drunk.

  Or not to drink? After all, the thing he's going to deal with the most in the next few years is that **** wine.

   "...Then, the next report will be reported by Patriarch Adrian of the Eighth Order."

  The old man with gray hair and beard stood up majestically. He did not take out the file or any other documents, but took off a silver Holy Spirit Kane icon from his neck.

   A cracked icon.

   He cleared his throat and said:

   "Everyone, what I want to explain next is about the appearance of the Holy Spirit Kane a week ago, and the priest's interpretation of this appearance."

   Two chapters in one today.

   Thanks to the stars under the sky, the singer of the book, the dance of the moon, the book friend 20200306230927665, Mo Shangying a, the fire of the heart, Mulan has the eldest brother, the years that have passed, the sages of the gods, thank you all!

   Thanks to all the readers for the monthly and recommended votes, thank you!

   (end of this chapter)