The treacherous minister himself jumped out.

Chapter 173 The Treacherous Minister Speaks Out on His Own (Part 2)

"There have been a lot of these kinds of things lately."

Inside the tavern, after hearing Richard's question, Jerry, who was also a mercenary, said, "They eat without paying, steal from residents, and sometimes even break into people's homes under the guise of searching for orc spies, taking whatever they see. Even when the local law enforcement arrives, it's difficult to manage them—"

Richard pursed his lips, feeling inexplicably as if he were talking about gamers from his past life.

However, no matter how much mischief the players cause, it ultimately won't affect the reality outside the game. But the soldiers in Iron Abyss City are a different story—

Jerry took a big gulp of ale and said, "These are certainly extremely bad behaviors, but in a way I understand them—"

"Hey, hey, don't look at me like that, brothers. I'm not empathizing with them because I've done similar things; that goes against my faith! I believe in the Lord of Radiance now!"

"What I mean is, I know what motivates them to enjoy doing this, at least part of it."

"For example, not getting enough money, not getting enough money, and not getting enough money, etc. — This is very important, so I'm saying it three times."

Richard frowned and asked, "I remember the commission approved by the Marshal was very high."

Jerry shrugged. "That's how it seems on the surface, but how much of that money actually goes to the ordinary soldiers?"

"Most importantly, the previous generosity was for the purpose of relieving the siege. Now that the orcs have retreated on their own initiative and the pressure has been reduced, the adults don't want to give so much money anymore."

At this moment, Tom chimed in, "It's not just mercenaries; we conscripts are also facing delayed pay. But we're relatively lucky, since our noble lords are still going to take us back to their territories to farm, and won't just watch us starve. The militia in Iron Abyss City are the ones who are truly miserable."

Richard pressed further: "How so?"

(Please remember the website 20 ...

This time, it was Robert, who held a higher position and had better access to information, who gave the answer.

"When Quilan Gunther was alive, he recruited a large number of citizens and low-ranking adventurers to defend the city, promising them generous rewards afterward."

"These people made great contributions during the defense of the city, and many of them died or were injured."

"But now that Quelan is dead and the orcs are gone, his successor Gareth has no intention of paying honestly anymore—he'll delay for a month, two months, a year, two years, or halve it, halve it again, and halve it again, whatever the means."

"These people weren't particularly strong to begin with, and now with the expeditionary force from outside the city pressing down on them, they can't do much even if they suffer a lot of losses."

"Those who still have hands and feet learn from the mercenaries, and military discipline gradually deteriorates, while those who have lost their hands and feet—are basically just waiting to die—"

Richard's eyes widened.

Although he had heard many stories before about nobles delaying payment to mercenaries, and Holcher was a frequent victim of such things, he never expected to encounter it today.

That orc has only been gone for a few days!

The war isn't over yet, strictly speaking!

After much deliberation, whether out of conscience or concern for the situation, Richard felt that this could not be allowed to continue.

He immediately drank the wine in his glass, bid farewell to everyone, and turned to find Isabella.

Inside the bar, the remaining three watched Richard's retreating figure and couldn't help but start discussing it.

"Everyone says Baron Targaryen is a man of chivalrous virtues, and now it seems that's no exaggeration—do you think he can succeed?"

"I respect his ideas, but I don't have a good eye for his actions. It's all too common for military pay to be delayed, and no matter how capable he is, he can't just point a sword at Grand Duke Gunther and expect him to hand over money."

Beside them, Lord Commander Robert squinted and smiled, interrupting Tom and Jerry: "I disagree. As far as I know, Richard has done many incredible things, and he might surprise us this time too."

"I still can't believe it."

"How about we make a bet?"

"What are we betting on?"

"If you win, I'll give you gold coins; if you lose, you'll join my Night's Watch Knights."

"It sounds like winning or losing is a good thing —"

"What are you thinking? These church knightly orders are all for life and forbidden from owning private property—wait, so you shouldn't have gold coins to gamble with us, right?"

"Haha, after all, I'm the leader."

"Alas!"

the other side.

Richard first went to Isabella's residence, asked the doorman, and learned that she was not there. He then went to the palace in the inner city.

Upon entering the corridor, I first saw Clara and Amélie.

The thief girl stood with her hands on her hips, looking down at the half-dwarf girl with an unusually condescending posture, and said, "Hey, haven't you had enough of following His Highness after all these days?"

Clara raised her fist, full of energy, and said, "Not! Enough! Absolutely! Not! Enough!"

Amélie sighed: "If this continues, everyone will probably think you're also His Highness's maid—"

"Huh? Really? That's a real treat for me!"

"Pah! Of course it's fake! Don't underestimate us maids, this job isn't something everyone can do well!"

"Yes, I've inquired about it. Although they don't need to do the usual care and hygiene work of a maid, they do have to act as His Highness's assistant, personal bodyguard, and sparring partner. The number of things they do every day is countless—it's really very hard work!"

"Yes, it's not easy for us—wait, how do you know so much? Damn it, you're not really trying to steal my job, are you?!"

"N-No, that's not true."

"Why are you stuttering? Why won't you look me in the eye? Hey!"

"—Alright, since you've already found out, there's nothing I can do. There are only so many seats around His Highness, and I had no choice but to think this way! Only the strong are worthy to stand beside His Highness!"

Richard couldn't help but blink when he saw the two girls, neither of whom were particularly voluptuous, standing head to head like sheep.

Are these the fans of the princess?

That's incredibly persistent!

I wonder if it's possible to trick her into doing chores in the future by using the princess's name—

Sigh, never mind, now is not the time to worry about that.

Richard shook his head, turned around and saw Isabella coming out of the room. He quickly went up to her and told her everything he had just seen and heard.

Isabella listened patiently, then sighed softly, "To be honest, Richard, you're not the first person to come to me about this recently."

Richard raised an eyebrow: "It seems you're already troubled by this?"

Isabella gave a self-deprecating laugh: "Yes, it's very distressing, because the discontent in the army is far greater than you just mentioned, and the obstacles to solving the problems are far greater than I anticipated—sometimes I wish I were facing a pack of cannibals in the wilderness—"

For the usually composed princess to show this expression, it seems she is truly troubled.

Richard then pressed further: "Does the obstacle specifically refer to—?"

"Excuse my bluntness, Baron Targaryen, but this is not something a poet like you should concern yourself with."

Suddenly, a familiar voice interrupted the poet's conversation with the princess.

Richard turned around and found that Gareth had also come into the corridor at some point.

The newly appointed Grand Duke Gunther, hands clasped in his pockets, smiled at the two and said, "I apologize, Your Highness, I had no intention of eavesdropping on your conversation, but as a duke of the Empire, I cannot allow the honor of my family to be tarnished by others—"

Richard shrugged. "We haven't even said who we're referring to as an obstacle yet."

Gareth was slightly taken aback, feeling a little embarrassed.

Then he simply dropped the pretense, furrowed his brows, and continued, "Iron Abyss City's main income comes from the mineral trade. These past few days, the orcs have been rampaging, and all trade has been interrupted, leaving us with nothing and suffering huge losses."

"On the other hand, my brother is usually extravagant and doesn't know how to save money. In order to resist the orcs, he spent a lot of money on weapons, food and medicine, and had already emptied his savings."

"Baron Targaryen, you can't just see that I'm behind on military pay and not see the difficulties I'm facing now!"

"To put it bluntly, our family is on the verge of bankruptcy!"

"I did not intend to break my brother's promise. I have seen the soldiers' bloody battles, but I need to use the remaining money to get the family business running again before I can pay the soldiers' salaries."

"You need to be clear about which things are urgent and which can wait!"

In the blink of an eye, Gareth began to gesticulate wildly as he rattled off a string of reasons.

Richard narrowed his eyes, but noticed the eight gemstone rings on the other man's fingers and the numerous hickeys on his neck, which was thicker than his head.

He was a little dazzled by all these things and it took him a while to bring his attention back.

Just as he was trying to figure out the logic in the other person's words, another group of people walked out of the corridor.

Leading the group was the second prince, Jonas, with William following half a step behind him.

Jonas smiled and clapped his hands, agreeing with Gareth's words: "The Grand Duke is right."

Gareth smiled happily when he heard the prince address him that way.

Jonas continued, "Maintaining financial balance is crucial for a family to prosper. If you just throw money at a bunch of vagrants and adventurers without any regard for their well-being, you'll eventually lose even the dignity of a noble family, and that's when things will get really complicated."

"As for what will happen to the vagrants and adventurers when they run out of money—heh, there's no need to worry about that. Iron Abyss City is now teeming with elite troops, they won't cause any trouble."

"Well then, Baron Targaryen, now that things have come to this, shouldn't you, a fellow who only knows how to recite poetry, understand a little bit of the truth?"

Richard's lips twitched slightly.

I remember when we first entered the city, Gareth was still following closely behind the Sixth Prince.

Now that they haven't seen each other for a few days, while the Sixth Prince is engrossed in the ruins, he has turned to being inseparable from Jonas.

It's truly impossible to write more than two "斯" characters!

A moment later, he smiled disdainfully and looked directly into Jonas's eyes, saying, "Your Highness, I am not only good at reciting poetry, but I was once an adventurer you described as someone who could not cause any trouble."

"Yet I, in this state, killed the vampire count and solved a problem that had plagued Robin Academy for a century."

"Right now, there are hundreds, even thousands, of people like me in Iron Abyss City, trapped in hardship and filled with anger because someone broke a promise—"

Jonas frowned at Richard's glare, grinding his teeth as he said, "Baron, are you threatening me—?"

"Richard didn't threaten anyone; he merely pointed out the dangers lurking beneath the calm surface, which is part of his job as my advisor."

Isabella suddenly spoke up, interrupting the conversation.

At the same time, she looked at Gareth and Jonas with a gaze that was several hundred times sharper than Richard's.

Gareth was clearly struggling and turned his head slightly away.

Jonas snorted softly, "Hmm, I understand. They are all loyal ministers, not treacherous ones. They are all just doing their duty, there are no bad people."

"Then what are we arguing about here for?"

"The ball is about to start, Grand Duke Gunther, let's go."

After speaking, the newly appointed Grand Duke smiled and walked shoulder to shoulder with the Second Prince out of the corridor.

Isabella's expression was grave.

Richard sighed softly and asked, "Just to confirm, is the Gunther family really going bankrupt?"

Isabella shook her head.

"They have spent a lot of money, but they are far from going bankrupt. It's purely Gareth who is greedy for money and doesn't want to keep his brother's promise."

"Not only that, this guy seems obsessed with showing how different he is from his brother, and he's done a lot of other stupid things—"

As she spoke, the princess's expression grew even more unpleasant.

It seems those things were really stupid.

But Isabella was just a princess, not the emperor himself. Faced with a grand duke and an older brother who was secretly standing behind her, she didn't have any good solutions on the surface.

So, what if we don't go through the open?

Richard began to ponder.

After a moment, he added, "Gareth said that Iron Abyss City's revenue mainly comes from the mineral trade."

"Longspear Fortress, which we visited before, was just a castle, but it still managed to establish its own smuggling route. Now, with Iron Abyss City making money through trade, the related black market must be even larger, right?"

"Garres's money must have been part of that, right?"

Isabella perked up at what she was told.

"you mean?"

"My point is simple: since we can't punish a Grand Duke openly, we can at least wipe out the criminal elements, right? The Black Hand Society and the like have always been targets of the Empire, haven't they?"

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Richard spread his hands: "As far as I know, these criminal gangs get richer during times of chaos. If we squeeze them a little, we can at least scrape together a small portion of the military pay, if not all of it, to ease the situation."

"Normally, the city defense team alone is not enough to threaten these people."

"But now, as Jonas said, Iron Abyss City is full of elite troops. Rather than letting them suppress their former comrades who were rioting over unpaid wages, it would be better to let them sweep up the underworld."

"Of course, doing this might offend a large number of local nobles, and it would also result in a lot of bloodshed—"

In the end, Richard counted on his fingers and found that there were still quite a few shortcomings.

But Isabella drew her sword immediately.

"Richard, that's a great idea!"

"The shortcomings you mentioned are not problems at all."

"No matter what I do, these local nobles will only side with Jonas. So what's the harm in offending them? Besides—I know which things are urgent and which can wait!"

"As for the bloodshed—"

"Many remember me as a paladin, but they often forget that I am a paladin who swore an oath of conquest!"

"Since gentle measures won't work, then—let the streets be stained red with blood!"

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