in the name of the queen

Chapter 126 Don’t ask, ask and you will be invincible!

"Your Majesty, there are many dangers at sea. The late emperor encountered a shipwreck when he returned from the sea, and more than 5,000 people from the Fourth Fleet suffered misfortune. The lesson is right in front of you, please think again!"

Chief Minister William loudly advised on behalf of all cabinet members.

No matter what you think in your heart, your sincerity is expressed.

"Qing William, I understand your painstaking efforts, but I am the emperor of the empire, and there are some things that must be done. You cannot retreat because of danger, otherwise Uncle Andy will definitely impeach me."

Andy rolled his eyes and looked up at the sky.

This child Sylph used to be so honest. Who did she learn this from? How could she tell lies and blame him?
  Who has nothing to do to impeach the emperor?
  This would only happen if the crime was extremely heinous and completely unworthy of virtue.

In the seven hundred years of the empire's long history, only one monarch was impeached and replaced after doing hundreds of stupid things within a month of taking the throne.

But everyone knows that it is a political struggle, not an impeachment based on moral issues.

Even the son of the devil who came to the world could not do so many bad things in a month.

The Queen said calmly and resolutely: "I have made up my mind. Sir William does not need to persuade me."

She raised the golden scepter in her right hand and said loudly: "Mr. William, during my absence, please have full authority to handle government affairs. You do not need to report except for major matters such as diplomacy and war."

William was a little surprised. He looked at the Queen in surprise, then looked at Walder with his peripheral vision, and declined very humbly:
  "Your Majesty, I am not qualified for the job. Your Majesty's teacher, Mr. Walder, is highly respected. It is better for him to preside over government affairs."

"Mr. William, Mr. Walder is old, and I don't want him to be too tired. You make the decision on government affairs, and other ministers will assist you. This is my decision."

The Queen does not have a personal rule and cannot perform the imperial power. Powers have to be decentralized. Now handing over the power to William in front of everyone is to reassure him.

"His Majesty."

William still wanted to persuade him a few words, but the Queen had already picked up the scepter and raised her hands flat.

At this point, William had no choice but to "reluctantly" step forward and take the scepter.

He wiped away tears and said with great reluctance that he would perform his duties while the Queen was away. He would not act arbitrarily if anything happened and would discuss it with all the ministers.

It sounds nice, but it's actually a scapegoat.

Let him make decisions on his own, which may seem like a lot of power, but it also puts him under more pressure.

He already has thirty-four provinces on his shoulders, and it would be too heavy to carry the central government affairs of the empire.

Although the deal was reached, superficial work still had to be done. He turned to Albon and asked slowly:
  "Mr. Alban, what do you have to say?"

Alban took a step forward with a straight face and said something different.

"Your Majesty, I have something to say. The previous emperor took the crown prince with him when he went to sea, which seriously violated the law of succession. In the end, the emperor and the crown prince had an accident at the same time, causing great chaos."

His words were very rude, not only scolding the former emperor, but also the current queen.

Although he knew that he and the Queen had "a bad relationship", William was still shocked by Alban's words.

Can you say this in front of everyone?

Sure enough, after hearing Alban's words, the Queen's expression changed instantly.

She was already frighteningly fair, but her face had no color at all.

She snorted softly and said coldly: "Mr. Alban said well, but I am not married yet, and I have no heirs. Where can I get the crown prince?"

Alban seemed to be confronting the Queen, and he said directly:
  "Your Majesty, you have not officially ascended the throne yet. It is normal not to have a crown prince. If your Majesty insists on going to sea, please designate a member of the royal family to supervise the country on your behalf in accordance with the succession law."

"Then let's talk about it, who is suitable?" The Queen's tone was very unkind.

"I think the Earl of Tyrone is very good."

Alban said calmly.

This time even William couldn't bear it anymore.

Isn’t this fucking asking for trouble? Who among the cabinet ministers does not know that the Queen is the Earl of Tyrone?
  Usually everyone is pretending to be confused. Well, Albon, are you really stuck on this matter?

Although William and others wanted to restrict imperial power, it did not mean that they wanted to rebel.

He stood up and looked at Alban angrily, and said coldly: "How presumptuous! It's not your turn to talk nonsense here about establishing a prince!"

William turned to the Queen and explained with a smile: "Your Majesty, Alban is a straightforward person and always talks like this. Don't argue with him. But what he said makes sense. Your Majesty has a special status. It's best if you can."

The Queen raised her right hand to stop William and Alban from continuing to speak.

She looked around the audience and received the new instructions from Sif.

Bring on Uncle Andy!

Can you still play like this?
  The Mirror Queen was slightly surprised, but still carried out the instructions resolutely.

The soul contract is above all else.

"What Mr. Alban said is right. It is indeed imprudent for our father to go to sea without leaving the crown prince at home."

"Let's do this. I'll ask Uncle Andy to supervise the country on my behalf."

The whole audience was stunned.

Uncle Andy, who just looked up at the sky with the mentality of having fun, was so shocked that his eyes nearly popped out.

He was a little sad.

Sylph is a bad kid after all.

He is not young anymore, how many more years does he have left to enjoy life?
  If you don't give your uncle any benefits, will he be put in jail in the palace?

Just when he wanted to protest, the Queen's soft voice made him unable to refuse.

"Uncle Andy, please help me."

Andy sighed dejectedly. This was how Sylph begged him to help her climb a tree to catch birds when she was little.

Maybe in her heart he was just Uncle Andy.

As an uncle, he couldn't refuse his lovely niece's request.

As a minister, he cannot resist the king.

He could only nod.

Everything has been decided, the fleet has been prepared, and the Queen's team is finally going to sea.

Early the next morning, the send-off team filled the pier.

Cabinet members headed by Chief Minister William, local officials headed by the mayor and port authority officials, and remaining personnel from the Fourth Fleet all gathered at the dock to see the Queen off.

In addition, there are citizens and businessmen from various countries who came here on their own initiative.

They were amazed by the Queen's peerless beauty and graceful temperament.

People were in awe of the Queen's grace, and they reluctantly dispersed until she slowly stepped onto the deck, climbed to the highest floor where the captain's cabin was located, and disappeared into the room.

William and others finally breathed a sigh of relief as they watched the Queen and her entourage leave.

In the past two months, the Queen had brought them so many surprises that it had become a normal occurrence.

If this continues, the retirement age of cabinet members may be significantly advanced.

It doesn't matter if we leave, everyone can feel at ease and avoid tormenting each other.

The sky over the strait is exceptionally clear, completely different from the foggy Imperial Capital.

The Fourth Fleet headed by Sovereign slowly left the port of Dorwall and sailed into the sea.

There are a total of fifteen ships in this fleet.

These included the first-class battleship HMS Sovereign, three second-class battleships, five cruisers, several destroyers and one supply ship. The entire fleet was built by the Royal Dockyard, well maintained, and the ships are in good condition.

"As long as there is no enemy country's main fleet ambushing us, our fleet is invincible!"

Bridges confidently briefed the Queen on the fleet situation and came to a conclusion.

"What if we encounter an ambush by the enemy's main force?"

"The Sussex Navy will fight every enemy we encounter, and we have defeated countless powerful enemies."

Bridges paused briefly and said slowly: "Of course, to ensure His Majesty's safety, the Sovereign will leave the battlefield and return to Hong Kong alone."

The Sovereign was extremely fast, and in this era it was extremely rare for a battleship to catch up to her.

As long as she is determined to escape, her speed is invincible.

In short, in one sentence, invincible!
  Bridges' confidence is contagious, but Roland doesn't like the idea of ​​invincibility.

He pointed out very seriously, "The last fleet that claimed to be invincible has sunk in the Strait of Dorval and lost its maritime supremacy. General Bridges, I need you to ensure His Majesty's safety instead of bragging about invincibility."

Bridges didn't like hearing this.

He glanced at Roland out of the corner of his eye, and sincerely looked down on this pretty boy who relied on the Queen to rise to power.

"Sir Roland, you are an excellent 'knight', but you don't understand naval warfare at all."

"Naval battles may involve luck, but the competition is more about naval heritage and superb skills. No one understands naval battles better than me, and General Planck is no exception."

Seeing that the atmosphere was tense, Sif quickly came out to smooth things over and said, "General Bridges, you are right, but to despise an undefeated enemy is to underestimate the enemy, whether it is the army or the navy."

"Captain Roland, please stop saying a few words. We all listen to Bridges at sea."

She winked at Roland, hinting with her eyes that she understood.

Bridges is indeed a Navy veteran with rich experience, but his underestimation of the enemy is almost written on his face.

Roland was right to hammer him.

But after the beating, someone had to come out to comfort him.

Sif understands this.

Bridges and Roland confessed to the Queen at the same time, and the conflict was temporarily suppressed.

Although Bridges despised Roland, he was not an idiot. He knew that Roland had a special status and could not confront him head-on, so he stopped talking and introduced navigation knowledge.

Roland was not angry, but rather praised Bridges a little more.

In front of the Queen, he showed no mercy to her "favourite". This kind of straightforward character can lead to the rank of rear admiral in the navy where connections are rampant, which shows that he has real qualities.

This person is worth wooing.

Bridges has a firm stance, decent style, outstanding ability, and reputation. He is far more qualified to be the fleet commander than Planck.

But Planck was the brother-in-law of Lord Admiral Winston.

Now that Planck is gone, it is logical for a capable, loyal and reliable person like Bridges to take over.

But this cannot be rushed.

No one cherishes the opportunity for advancement that comes easily, and Bridges must work harder to win the rank of fleet commander and higher.

Bridges wants to perform well in front of the Queen, so this sailing tutorial is naturally full of information.

Roland and Sif, who plays the real role of the Queen, are both excellent listeners.

They listened very attentively, and if they had any questions, they would indicate them first and then ask questions.

Although some of the questions were amateurish, Bridges didn't care.

He enjoyed giving lessons to the Queen.

Perhaps because he was in a good mood, even Roland, the pretty boy's lover next to the Queen, looked a little more pleasing to the eye.

Roland's status in the eyes of General Bridges instantly rose from an incompetent pretty boy to a slightly capable and polite pretty boy.

Roland, who didn't know that his reputation was still so bad, accompanied Sif through the basic navigation class, raised his hand and asked pointed questions.

"General Bridges, you have extensive sailing experience and have seen all kinds of storms and waves. According to your judgment, what are the chances of the Emperor and the Fourth Fleet surviving? What might have happened to them?"

This question was very direct, which made Bridges feel a little dizzy.

Roland's reputation in his mind suddenly dropped a lot.

From a polite pretty boy to a pretty capable but full of bad guys.

It’s really a matter of which pot should not be opened.

He said angrily: "Without any evidence, we can only guess. Can guessing be accurate?"

Sif smiled and defused the tense atmosphere, "General Bridges, it has been almost three months since the incident, and the tears that should be shed have dried up. We have to solve the problem now, so you can say whatever you want."

Since the Queen has said so, Bridges will naturally not miss the opportunity.

He had been holding back some words for too long, and he would really hold them back if he didn't say them.

He took a deep breath and said slowly: "At present, all signs prove that His Majesty Edward and all members of the fleet were killed, but there is a huge doubt. No matter how terrible a shipwreck is, there are often survivors."

"I have never heard of such a neat shipwreck in which more than a thousand people were killed. But there were no survivors in this shipwreck."

"Not only that, but there are no ship fragments found in the nearby waters."

Bridges frowned and said: "Warships are mostly made of the best tall trees. Even if they capsize in a shipwreck, the wreckage of the ship will often be washed away by the ocean currents. However, we searched downstream of the incident site for half a month and found nothing."

"Based on the above doubts, I suspect that His Majesty Edward's fleet was not in distress but disappeared. They seemed to be swallowed up by a rift in time and space and disappeared directly."

Bridges shook his head and said helplessly: "Please forgive me for talking nonsense."

After all, the complete disappearance of the entire fleet sounds too unbelievable, like nonsense.

Roland and Sif looked at each other, and their eyes lit up at the same time.

Looking at the frustrated Bridges, Roland said slowly: "General Bridges, your findings are very useful. At least they provide a lot of clues. Have you reported these things to the cabinet?"

"Of course, I reported it in writing to the Lord of the Admiralty, but nothing followed."

"General Bridges, today's conversation is only known to the three of us. The clues you provided are very important. This matter will be investigated. This is my guarantee."

Sif's closing remarks concluded the conversation.

Bridges knew that the Queen and Roland had something to discuss, so he resigned first.

Thinking that someone as smart as the Queen was being coaxed around by this pretty boy, Roland, made him feel very uncomfortable, and his evaluation of Roland dropped a bit.

From a pretty boy who was a little capable but full of bad intentions, he turned into a pretty boy who was a little capable but full of bad intentions, especially good at deceiving innocent girls and with corrupt morals.

Not a good person anyway.

Watching Bridges' somewhat desolate figure as he left, Sif couldn't help but smile and said softly:

"General Bridges's loyalty to me is unquestionable, but he seems to have a strong opinion of you. Aren't you going to clarify?"

"I never explain misunderstandings. People who truly trust me will never misunderstand me."

Roland and Sif's eyes met in the air.

Sif understood that she was the person Roland was talking about.

With true trust, how can there be so many misunderstandings?

(End of this chapter)