Chapter 174: What A Mess!
Brigadier General Charles is a tall middle-aged man, who appears to be about a head taller than Loria from a distance.
As this was a private meeting, he was not wearing a military uniform, but instead a dark gray overcoat, making him look even more slender and straight.
More than his height, what captured people's attention was the carefully crafted mustache on his lips.
"Very elegant."
This is the first adjective that came to mind in Loria's head.
Brigadier General Charles is about forty years old. In the empire, generals of his age are typical "young officers".
If you want to go further, even if you come from an extraordinary background, usually you have to wait until new openings appear in those already occupied positions.
Most imperial officers who grew up in this hierarchical environment are well aware of how not to make mistakes.
The ability to get things done is not important, what matters is not making mistakes. Only by doing so can you increase the chances of winning in the long and competitive struggle for seniority.
Therefore, most imperial officers nowadays dare not take responsibility, nor are they willing to.
Many people initially had enthusiasm, but after realizing how difficult it is to get promoted in their positions, they also began to slack off.
"Wow, this is what truly lying flat looks like."
When Loria received the news from Sharon, she compared herself with these people and realized that she was completely lying flat.
It's really enviable, jealous, and hateful.
But this time, Sharon introduced Brigadier General Charles as a refreshing figure in the imperial army.
In the year 790 of Dawn's Calendary, Charles was born into a naval family in the southern border of the empire.
In that era, the empire's glory had gradually declined. The Oder Empire, which once subjugated over 80% of the continent's territories by force, was like an old man in decline, sitting on a reddish-brown wooden chair, looking back at the past splendor hanging on the wall.
The root of today's troubles had actually been planted many years ago.
When Charles was 6 years old, in the year 796 of Dawn's Calendar, a large-scale uprising broke out in the eastern part of the empire.
The local natives were not satisfied with the empire's oppressive rule. They killed the governor and attempted to seek independence. The empire immediately sent a large army to suppress them.
However, the empire, which had great advantages in all aspects, suffered repeated heavy losses when facing the rebels. It wasn't until three years later that the rebellion was completely suppressed, revealing the weakness of the empire.
At that time, Charles, who lived on the southern waterfront, sat on a bench by the dock, watching the military ships carrying strategic supplies constantly entering and leaving the harbor.
The thick smoke and the shining magic mixed together, turning the sky into a gloomy color. Under such a sky, all he heard in his ears were the sailors' complaints.
They complained about the decline of the empire.
They complained about the weakness of the frontline officers.
They complained about these increasingly difficult days.
After the complaints ended, life continued, and the sailors never imagined that the images they showed were deeply imprinted in Charles' eyes.
[Let the empire become great again! Let the glory of our family be engraved in the blue sea and sky!]
As he grew up, such thoughts became clearer and clearer in Charles' mind.
At the age of fourteen, Charles passed the assessment and entered naval school to study.
That was not a good place to go.
Because of financial reasons, the empire greatly reduced its investment in the navy and moved the front line inland.
The young Charles was very thin, and he was often bullied by his classmates after entering school.
Young Charles grew up under the dual hardships of family troubles and bullying at school.
But this didn't defeat him; instead, it made his determination stronger.
[Only with iron and blood can a new empire be forged!]
Carrying this belief, after graduating, Charles didn't join the navy. Instead, he actively participated in assessments and headed to the most chaotic region in the western part of the empire to fight against the monsters there.
Because he knew that as someone without connections, if he wanted to be promoted quickly, he could only go there—provided that he survived until the day of promotion.
He quickly showed his talent.
He tamed those soldiers who became arrogant and even dared to kill their own superiors with the strictest military discipline, fair treatment, incorruptible style, and leading by example.
Yes.
In Theo, there was no junior officer more charming than him.
The soldiers followed him, without worrying about being bullied or abandoned, and always able to achieve great things.
In the year 814 of Morning Sun Calendar, Charles's name appeared for the first time in front of the emperor, and his military rank was Lieutenant of the Theo Legion.
[His bravery, wit, and leadership abilities were unparalleled.]
The report said so.
In that moment, Charles arrived at the most crucial crossroad in his life.
To be promoted or not, the emperor's words would decide his destiny.
Once missing this opportunity, he might never be able to overcome the hurdle from a Lieutenant to a Major.
At this extremely crucial moment, the emperor finally made the decision to approve.
The reason is very simple, Charles looks very proper, much more proper than the other applicants for promotion.
[I think he looks quite pleasant, let's approve him directly.]
This whimsical decision, which would be considered extremely ridiculous at any other time, completely changed Charles's fate at a critical moment and will also change the fate of the empire now.
"After that, I continued to command battles against monsters in Theo Legion until six years ago, when I left Theo Legion and was sent to suppress ethnic unrest in the north."
Sitting on the sofa, Charles solemnly told Loria and the others about his past.
Even when suppressing the northern ethnic unrest, he still performed remarkably well, so despite many restrictions, his military rank skyrocketed, making him the youngest lieutenant general in the empire.
But his brilliance came to an end just like that.
The title of the youngest lieutenant general made him a thorn in the side for many people. Some were worried that he posed a threat to their positions, some saw his influence in both Theo and North Au's legions as an instability factor, and others were simply jealous of him.
With the help of these people working together, he was first moved away from the frontline and started working in the army headquarters. Not long after that, he was sent overseas to repair military fortresses.
If nothing unexpected happened, Charles's fate would have been like this. But after he had been overseas for half a year, the unexpected happened - Hidden Leader rebelled.
The army headquarters searched through the list of available people and had no choice but to reluctantly bring him back, allowing him to participate in the battle against Hidden Leader and monsters on the western front.
Unfortunately, the Empire's internal situation was so chaotic that a few outstanding generals were simply not enough to change the tide of defeat.
Charles pressed his right hand on the spread-out map of the Empire and said in a deep voice, "The Oder Empire shouldn't be like this."
His dream country was a great nation that used authority to intimidate the entire continent, with highly developed economy and culture, and wise and brave rulers.
But the current Oder Empire has nothing to do with any of the above.
Why is that?
There are a group of worms in the imperial government. How can we build a good empire with such worms?
"I thought for a long time and finally understood."
What Charles meant by understanding was to get rid of all those bugs, and then have someone like him, who had great dreams, steer the ship of the crumbling empire.
The empire doesn't need arguments now, it just needs one voice that is final.
To achieve this goal, he prepared carefully and reached out to like-minded people.
When you have determination, hard work pays off.
When Charles first revealed his thoughts, he received enthusiastic support from his former subordinates, Theo and the Northern Alliance.
Everyone felt frustrated and held their anger inside during the battle, just waiting for a way to release it.
However, it was clear that the support of the army alone was not enough.
The strong members of the Royal Knights not only protected the emperor's safety, but also bravely intervened when the lives of influential nobles were threatened.
Therefore, Charles didn't immediately start.
When the capital city was conquered, he openly watched like everyone else, but secretly he continuously contacted the powerful ones in the Adventurers Management Guild.
Fortunately, there are still many courageous people in this world, and there are also many people who are intelligent.
Those strong individuals didn't submit to him, and many even disagreed with his ideas, but their short-term demands were exactly the same as his own.
We need a strong government to stabilize the situation, so that the world won't be taken over by the Hidden Leader and his group of cultists.
Driven by this demand, Charles recruited more and more companions.
In the end, he focused his attention on the Golden Knights, a force that could rival the Royal Knights. If he could gain their support, his chances of success would greatly increase.
Just as Charles was preparing to take action, he suddenly received news that Loria had secretly met with the Royal Knights.
After learning the specifics of their conversation, he decided to bring Loria along as well, to help restore order in the chaotic empire.
"To revive the spirit of our empire, we need young talents like you! We are not just fighting for ourselves, but also for our families and this great nation!"
Charles directly extended an invitation.
In fact, Loria knew what he wanted to do when he was only halfway through his sentence.
She turned her head and looked at Sharon.
The success of the coup relies heavily on the stance of the Golden Knights.
Sharon nodded towards her.
Loria immediately understood that the Golden Knights had decided to support Charles.
Is it because they are worried that the orthodox position of the Goddess Church will be challenged by Weaver if things continue like this?
Loria once again turned her gaze to the guildmaster, who was sitting beside her.
The guildmaster said, "You can make your own decision, and I will support you."
"emmm..."
Honestly, Loria didn't think that she was worth being persuaded right now, as her abilities weren't particularly outstanding and outsiders didn't know she had a simulator.
The reason Charles called her might be because she brought intelligence and had a good relationship with Sharon.
However, there is one thing Charles said that is right - if the empire wants to turn the tide, all the forces need to be concentrated together.
A chaotic and disorganized central government is absolutely not acceptable.
So...
"I will join!"
If Hidden Leader can rebel, why can't I, Loria?
Royal knights, you used to ignore me, now I will punch you directly!
Loria stood up and shook hands with Charles.
The cooperation was agreed upon, and the action came quickly.
Time waits for no one. On the evening of the third day, Loria, who had received the notification, first opened the simulator.
