Chapter 1157
Although the Devers' tone was calm, Aristiras could still sense the anger on the Devers' indifferent face. He lowered his head in fear and pleaded for forgiveness, "Your Majesty, this is a dereliction of duty on the part of the Intelligence Department! We did not investigate in time and caused a loss to the Kingdom. Please punish us! "
"This is indeed a dereliction of duty on your part!" The Devers suddenly increased his tone and said sternly, "Although Prosous is incognito and not easy to investigate, if things were that easy, would there be a need to specially set up an Intelligence Department?! There are many foreign citizens in Diónia, and many of them hold important positions. Once someone harbors disloyalty, it may cause great losses to the Kingdom. Therefore, the Intelligence Department should do its best to investigate the past of these foreign citizens who hold important positions and ensure the safety of the Kingdom! … "
The Devers paused for a moment, and his tone became gentler again, "… The Intelligence Department has made many contributions in the past. This is the first time you have made a mistake. I will punish you with half a year's salary as a warning to the Intelligence Department."
"Thank you for your forgiveness, Your Majesty!" Aristiras said gratefully, feeling relieved.
"When you go out, help me call Heniboris in."
"Yes." Aristiras walked out of the meeting hall and felt a chill on his back. Only then did he realize that Bolton's shirt was soaked in cold sweat.
Seeing Heniboris walk in, the Devers' expression was much gentler than before. "Herny, send a warrant to the Ministry of Military Affairs."
"Okay." Heniboris immediately sat in front of the desk and took out a pen and paper.
"Tell Alexis that there is no need to change the commander for the battle against Peloponnesus for now. Prososus will still be in charge."
Heniboris was stunned. He could not help but remind, "Your Majesty, Prosous is the prince of Sparta, and now he is reuniting with his former comrade. What if he —"
"What if he does not carry out his mission seriously, and even leads the army to rebel … You think so, right?" The Devers took over and laughed, his face full of confidence. "Most of the soldiers are citizens who grew up in Diónia. They love and support the Kingdom that nurtured them. If Prosous has any bad intentions, he will only be abandoned by them. Moreover, there are Olivers, Trotiras, and Sekerian in the army! Sparta is now like the setting sun. Prosous, who has lived in the kingdom for many years and won a great reputation, will not give up everything here and turn to Sparta that he has always hated! "
The Devers paused for a moment and said, "What's more, a dignified prince of Sparta is actually the commander of tens of thousands of soldiers in Diónia. If this news is known by the Greek city-states, it will not only show the strength of Diónia, but also let them feel our magnanimity. It may have a special impact in Greece …"
"So that's how it is …" Heniboris nodded thoughtfully.
"Write a letter back to Prosous in my name. The general meaning is … hmm, 'I trust him completely. Tell him not to have any concerns and continue to fight against Sparta according to his own plan. I will still fully support him as in the past' … After writing it, hand it to me for my signature and send it out as soon as possible."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
… …
Aristiras returned to the Intelligence Department and immediately held a meeting. He pressured his subordinates to increase their efforts to strictly investigate the foreign citizens in their areas, especially the officials of the Kingdom. He wanted to thoroughly understand their background before they came to the Kingdom. Anyone who made a mistake would be severely punished.
The meeting lasted until it was dark before Aristiras announced the end of the meeting. When he dragged his tired body home, he found his wife smiling and seemed to be in a good mood.
"This afternoon, Queen Cristoya called me over. She said that I've been working hard and helped her a lot. (After Asuna and Aristiras got married, she still worked in Cristoya's Chamber of Commerce. In the past two years, Cristoya has been busy taking care of her grandson, so she has less energy in the Chamber of Commerce. She has been relying more on Asuna to help Eunice.) In order to express her gratitude, she gave me a lot of things, two Talient!"
Aristiras was stunned. He immediately thought of his half-year salary that was deducted and immediately realized that this was the compensation from the King of Devers.
"I originally didn't want to accept it, and I repeatedly refused to accept it. But Queen Cristoya asked me, 'Is the villa your family built in Catania finished?' I thought about it, yes, we've spent all the money we've saved over the years on that, and there's still some money that we haven't paid yet … "
Asuna kept talking, but Aristiras suddenly interrupted her and asked, "Did you tell Queen Cristoya about the villa?"
"I didn't. Didn't you tell me not to tell anyone?" Asuna's answer stunned Aristiras again. Ever since the Intelligence Department was officially recognized by the Kingdom, there had been a sudden increase in work. As he grew older, he began to feel a little tired, so he began to want to retire. That was why he bought a villa at the foot of the foothills on the western edge of the Catania Plain, thinking that he could go back to his hometown after he retired. But this had been carried out secretly, and no one was told … How did His Majesty know?
Aristiras suddenly felt a chill in his heart.
… …
A few days later, the Devers received another letter from Leotychides. This time, he summoned Alexis, the Minister of Military Affairs.
"Alexis, Prososus has sent a letter requesting to resign from his position as commander and to be transferred away from the expedition to Sparta. What's your opinion on this matter?" the Devers asked in a gentle tone.
Alexis stared blankly for a moment. Glancing at Dyvers' face, she thought, My opinion is exactly the same as what you just said, but you already rejected it last time.
Of course, he would not say that. Instead, he frowned and said in a slightly embarrassed tone, "Your Majesty, Prososus is not only the commander of the expedition to Sparta, but also the commander of the First Legion. The First Legion is also the main force of the war. Now the army is in the war zone, and the battle with the Sparta army may start at any time. At this critical moment, as the commander, Prososus, requested to be transferred away. This will not only weaken the army's morale and combat power, but it will also seriously affect our success in the war against Peloponnesus!"
The Devers looked at him and said slowly, "However, Prososus confessed in the letter that he, as a Sparta, missed his hometown, and could not lead the army to fight the Sparta army with all his strength. So, he requested to be transferred back to avoid affecting our war in Greece."
"This is Prososus's fault!" Alexis said in a low voice, "If he had confessed his true identity to Your Majesty before the army set off, he would not be in such a predicament. According to the military law, he should receive some punishment!"
"… Well, since Prososus no longer has the desire to fight, and forcing him to stay there will only affect the war, then he should be transferred back. Of course, he must be punished. This matter will be discussed by your Ministry of Military Affairs according to the military law, and then reported to me for approval. "
Speaking up to this point, the Devers said in a serious tone, "However … it is not easy for the kingdom to cultivate an outstanding commander. After so many years of war, only you and Prososus can truly take charge and fight for the kingdom —"
"Your Majesty, you are the best commander in the kingdom!" Alexis quickly interrupted.
The Devers smiled lightly, then sighed softly, and said in a serious tone, "Prososus hiding his identity is pardonable, and he did not secretly collude with the enemy, and he took the initiative to confess … Uh, don't punish him too heavily."
Alexis hesitated for a moment, then replied, "Understood, Your Majesty."
The Devers nodded in satisfaction, then changed the topic, "Regarding the expeditionary force's commander and the temporary successor of the First Legion's commander, do you have a candidate in mind?"
Alexis did not answer immediately, but sank into deep thought.
The Devers first signaled Heniboris, who was taking notes at the side, to call someone to bring some paste water, then they waited quietly.
After a while, Alexis raised her head and said, "Your Majesty, the soldiers of the First Legion are more arrogant and difficult to tame than the other legions, and their First Battalion Commander was just appointed last year, so I'm afraid that he has not fully established his prestige in the legion. If he were to temporarily act as the Legion Commander, it would be difficult to tame the soldiers, and it would be difficult to fully display the First Legion's combat strength. The First Legion is the main force of this war, so its temporary Legion Commander must be chosen carefully …"
"Hmm …" The Devers nodded, expressing his agreement.
According to the "Military Law of Diónia", if an abnormal situation occurred during wartime, the Legion Commander could temporarily take over the position by the First Battalion Commander. Now that the First Battalion Commander had been ruled out, it was even more impossible for the other Battalion Commanders to take over. Alexis did not mention the Third Battalion Commander, Adoris, and the Devers seemed to have completely forgotten about it.
"I have a very suitable candidate — Ctessus, Your Majesty, do you still remember him?"
"Of course I remember. This is the first time I've heard of a team officer insisting on refusing the position of Legion Commander." The Devers smiled and asked jokingly, "How many promotions has he rejected in total?
"This … I'm not sure, but Ctessus has been the First Battalion Commander of the First Battalion for more than ten years. He is undoubtedly the longest-serving First Battalion Commander in the kingdom's army. His prestige among the soldiers is sometimes even higher than that of the Legion Commander. During the Western Mediterranean War, when Amyntas was the Commander, he was temporarily responsible for the First Legion's battlefield command a few times, and his performance was very good … "
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