Chapter 616: No proof

   Chapter 616
   "Control?"
  Gilbert’s eyes changed, but the experienced, he maintained a gentle and steady tone:
   "Excuse me for being obtuse, I can't understand what you mean."
  Tels gave him a deep look.
   "No, Gilbert," Thales smiled.
   "You are the smartest person in this court, so smart to know when to be dull."
  The faint lights in the corridor made Gilbert's face sinking like water.
"You know very well, since I was brought into Mindis Hall by you, everything I have and achieved: whether it is to make the Grand Duke of the North listen to me patiently in the name of a prince, or to make Longxiao City cast a rat-catcher on the basis of interest, or Relying on status and status, a small group of people are willing to be called by me, including my painstaking efforts to prevent conflicts, eliminate the scourge of war, and aid friends..."
   Thales’ smile gradually solidified:
   "All of this, in the final analysis, comes from him."
  Gilbert was startled, but stopped talking.
  Tels continued:
  "More from what he represents: kingdom, system, tradition... everything."
   "That's why, facing Nunn, Chaman, and the Shield of Deception, I am not afraid of them, but I am afraid of him and afraid of him."
  Tels took a deep breath:
   "Because without him, without the things he gave me..."
   "I can only fight back to my original form and change back to the abandoned house in Xiacheng District, the lonely and weak beggar."
  Tels clenched his fists.
  He remembered that during the night in the Dragon Blood, in the room of the Palace of Valor, Ashida asked him sharply.
   "I just..." the prince said with difficulty:
   "Nothing."
  Nothing.
   "I know that Your Majesty Kessel has always been strong," Gilbert tried his best to find a place to interrupt, and comforted: "He is too strict with you, which makes you alienate him and even fear him..."
   "Stern?" Thales repeated the word, snorted coldly, and shook his head.
   "King Nunn persecuted me, King Chaman used me, and the Shield of Deception hurt me-but they all had to raise the knife first and resort to the most direct and rude means."
   "But he is the only one, he alone. What he used to control me was not a certain knife, not a certain order, not a certain threat, or even a direct and clear hierarchy, interest relationship, and power chain."
  Thyls slowly turned around, facing the shadow that the lights in the corridor could not illuminate, his words were bitter:
   "It's a huge net."
  "It's called "Star Kingdom" or "This Damn World"."
  Gilbert was shocked and blurted out:
   "Your Highness!"
  But Thales suddenly raised his hand to stop what the teacher was about to say.
"And he is at the top of this snare. There is no need to say or do anything, or even show up. The existence and weight of the snare itself, and its impermeable shape on all sides, are enough to make me bow my head. Bend his neck and stagger."
  Tales looked in a trance:
  "Until I was bound by the countless threads in the net, bound to him, or what it wanted."
"I see!"
  Gilbert couldn’t bear it anymore and was anxious to talk:
   "I understand, Your Highness! But after all, you are father and son, linked by blood, and you are his heir. You have the same position, as long as you resolve the contradictions and misunderstandings"
   "Unlock?"
   Thales raised the volume and turned around.
  He looked at the foreign minister, with a sneer from the corner of his mouth.
"Gilbert, you are a diplomat, you can untie a knot, a misunderstanding, you can untie the enmity between two people, the contradiction between two groups, and you can even untie the dilemma of the war between two big countries. "
   "But how do you untie one-the net?"
  Gilbert's eyes narrowed.
  "The drugstore owner, if he has a good relationship with the gang, he may be able to pay less protection fees," Thales took a step toward Gilbert, rather aggressive:
"But Gilbert, answer me: How does he get rid of the snare? That he has long been used to being insensitive, and that one-sided stress that people cannot seek freedom and security at the same time, and must give up one of them, thus rationalizing the cruel snare of violence, exploitation and oppression ?"
  The cold wind penetrated through the gap, it was icy.
   Gilbert did not react, he looked at Thales in disbelief.
   "That good girl, maybe you can find a so-called good man like me, and be happy from now on," Thales stared at his teacher, and asked the answer at any cost:
"But Count Caso, answer me: How can she get out of this snare? That she has seen through but has no alternative. The woman was designed and disciplined to rely on and surrender to another kind of person. She can only exchange her skirt for bread, otherwise Will you be punished by the unrighteous net?"
  The lights flickered in the corridors, and ghosts were being built.
  Looking at the prince in front of him, Gilbert shook his right hand, and he unconsciously leaned on the cane, breathing quickly.
  "As for the cruel and disabled character, maybe the old friends of the gang can help him with his life," Thales gritted his teeth, his tone unrestrained:
"However, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, please answer me: How should he leave this snare? The one who stays in it for a long time does not smell it, and the one who repeats the strength and weakness determines the gains, and the backwardness will be beaten. The logical result is that there are loopholes in the cause. , But the twisted snare is rarely questioned?"
  The stone wall in the palace listened quietly to Thales’ questioning, as always, silent.
  Gilbert's chest was fluctuating, and he looked back at Thales in a daze.
  "Answer me, dear teacher, answer me," Thales raised his voice:
  "Use all your knowledge and accomplishments of history, politics, grammar, and philosophy to answer me: How do you untie these traps?"
  The echo spread in the empty and dark corridor, like a tiny stone, thrown into the bottomless and boundless deep stream of pitch black.
   "Your Highness," Gilbert was worried and anxious:
   "I don't understand, what you are talking about and us—"
  But Thales interrupted him.
"last night."
  The prince stared closely at the foreign minister:
"I, Duke of Star Lake, Prince Thales, I stand at the highest point of Mindis Hall, but I still feel helpless and crumbling, but I am not allowed to even turn my head and give up after retreating. Because of the one that belongs to me. The net has already bound me firmly and airtight."
  Hearing these words, Gilbert's expression dimmed.
"In that snare, I can only watch two living people fight to death in front of me for ridiculous reasons, sitting helplessly as my subordinates sacrifice their lives, just because this is in line with the position of'I' and in the interests of the kingdom. , In line with the best ending."
  The scene at the banquet flashed in front of Thales:
"And as long as I resist a little bit and tear, just like last night, appealing to my humanity instead of interests, and testing on the edge of apostasy, I will immediately provoke this snare of ruthless punishment from top to bottom, or Forcing me to bow my head and be a good prince, or wipe me out and turn me into a historical legend."
  Legend and Throne.
  Legend, or Throne.
  That is all his choices.
   "Gilbert, can you feel it?"
  Tels' heart is bitter:
   "Can you feel this, there is no trace in our lives but everywhere, but despair is suppressed to the snare that makes people unable to breathe?"
  "It is so irresistible and imperceptible that even the strongest, smartest, and most transparent person I have ever seen will unknowingly become its most faithful and well-behaved slave."
  Gilbert remained silent, falling into bitter contemplation.
   "This, Gilbert, is what has always scared me."
  Tyles took a deep breath, took two steps back, rubbing his forehead vigorously.
   "As Jayne said: I returned to the stars, but I got more than the shade of the kingdom."
   "It is the shadow of the throne."
  The two fell silent.
  It seems that a century later, Gilbert sighed a long sigh, wrinkles in the corners of his eyes were obvious.
   "I understand, Thales."
  He was cautious, as if comforting an injured little beast:
  "I understand that the star prince is not an easy title. The same is true for the Duke of Xinghu and the heir to the throne. You have to bear not only your own life, but also the future of the entire kingdom, but you have done well..."
  "I also know that our kingdom is very complicated. It is not perfect, but imperfect, and sometimes bad. We can only do our best to make up for and correct it as much as possible."
   "And this requires your wisdom, but before that, you have to hold the power and be in a high position to be qualified to negotiate and resolve the conditions..."
  Tels pursed his lips and shook his head.
Do not.
  He didn't understand.
  Just like everyone else.
  Gilbert continued with hopeful words:
"But I swear, swear by my reputation and responsibility, I will do my best, today’s things will not happen again, I will advise your Majesty, and he will give you more time, more freedom and room, more ..."
   "I have seen it, Gilbert." Thales interrupted the opponent in a low voice.
   "I saw how you walked carefully on thin ice at the Imperial Conference, in the king and the prime minister, in finances and military affairs, moderate and radical, and balanced between humanity and interests."
  Gilbert was startled.
  Tels sarcastically smiled:
   "Even if you are a kingly supporter, you don't agree with the king, at least you don't approve of his methods and means of doing things-radical, domineering, inhumane, arousing grievances, and nothing like Prince Midil's heavy lifting."
   Gilbert's complexion slightly tightened:
   "No, Your Highness, this is a strong conjecture..."
  Thyls shook his head, but his eyes were firm:
   "But there is nothing you can do."
"Because of you, Gilbert Casso, the creator of the "Fortress Peace Treaty", went north alone and forced the Xilu cunning fox of the 100,000 tigers and wolves to retreat, because you, like me, are also in this huge net. Under its control, but unable to resist."
  The Minister of Foreign Affairs was stunned.
   "Just to ensure that you are seated in the Imperial Conference, just to protect yourself from falling on a biased scale, and just to maintain yourself from being assimilated by it, you have exhausted your life's wisdom and strength."
  Tyles stared at him, stretched out his hands, and clasped Gilbert's shoulders:
   "I don't have any more energy left to myself, to my previous ideals and ambitions."
   Gilbert's brows trembled slightly.
  Tyles slowly clenched his palm, gritted his teeth and said:
"So when you discovered me for the first time six years ago, and discovered that the King of Stars might also have another candidate, you were so excited as to get the treasure, and worked so hard to be a minister, and did so many things for me. ."
   "Because you count on me one day..."
  "Replace him."
  At that moment, Gilbert suddenly raised his head, his eyes were shocked!
  Thyls smiled:
"Is not it?"
  Silence, a suffocating silence, lasted three full seconds.
  The next moment, Gilbert reacted, and instinctively backed away in a startled, getting rid of Thales' palm.
  Tales stared at him, raising his hands flat, but there was nothing in his palm.
  Gilbert looked at the student in front of him in amazement, as if he never knew this boy again.
   "You should be happy, teacher."
   "Because I will," Thales put away his disappointment, looked down at his empty palm, and the scar on it became more obvious:
   "From now on."
  Gilbert changed color suddenly.
   "Hall, Your Highness?"
  He realized something, and quickly stepped forward and took one of Thales’ shoulders again:
   "What are you talking about, what are you going to do?"
   Thales laughed.
   "Gilbert, do you know why I can come out unscathed after committing such a rebellious act?"
  "Do you know, what is the most interesting thing about the snare we are in?"
   Facing Gilbert's shocked eyes and feeling the weight on his shoulders, Thales looked behind him and looked at the dark corridor leading to Ballard's room.
   "That is: In this country, the person who is bound tighter, deeper, heavier, and more powerless to extricate himself is not me, nor you."
  The youth still smiles, his eyes are deep cold:
   "And someone else."
  
   "How can I trust you?"
  In the Ballard room, King Kessel started eating again, his voice faintly sounded, a bit less sharp, but more cold:
   "How do I know what you say is true?"
  On the opposite side of the discussion table, Thales was expressionless, quietly listening to the other's progress:
  "How do I know that you really want to use it for me, instead of secretly strengthening yourself, accumulating fame, and gathering support?"
  "How do I know that this action is not to feed a tiger and make you a threat like never before?"
  "How do I know that you will not profit from chaos, take advantage of the situation, and finally fight back..."
  In the next second, King Kessel's words were cold, and his murderous intention suddenly appeared:
  "Replace me?"
  At this moment, the narrow chamber seemed to be narrower, and there was no room for movement.
  Tels sneered, only to find it extremely absurd:
   "It's all about this, are you still worried about this?"
  The king picked up a piece of meat with a fork and squinted his eyes:
  "You can deceive a prince like Falkenhauser, and naturally you can deceive me."
   "And how do you win the trust of me and ensure that you will perform your duties and become my sharpest sword, the most loyal chess piece, and the most trusted trump card?"
   Thales was silent for a while.
  At this moment, he finally found that he was sitting in the same room with King Kessel.
  Just like what he used to threaten the black prophet in the secret.
  He faces the Ironfist King alone.
   face to face.
   King vs. King.
  Can star to Can star.
  How much did he sacrifice for this moment?
  How much will you lose?
  Finally, the boy took a deep breath and looked straight towards the king:
  "First of all, no matter what my intention is, facts speak louder than words, and the process and reality are not deceptive. Your power and interests will tangibly expand and grow in our cooperation."
   "For example, this time, I will tell the princes of the Western Wilderness to cut their soldiers and pay taxes to support the expansion of the standing army."
  King Kessel did not answer-but Thales, who had fought him many times, gradually figured out that this was the opponent's best answer.
  "Secondly, if you are worried that I will go all the way to the dark, you are really struggling with the non-subjects and turning into the enemy..."
   Thales’ tone was steady, and he said:
   "I believe, you know what I made this proposal for, and I embarked on this path."
   "Meeting you in battle, battles, so that the kingdom was destroyed, and countless sacrifices were made. That was contrary to my original intention, and it was the most unwilling situation to see."
  King Kessel snorted, not discerning his emotions.
   "Third, as you said, there is a price for me to take this step."
   Thales kept his eyes on:
"If I still want to go back to the Fuxing Palace, walk into the base camp of the royalist party that regards me as an enemy, and want to wear a crown and inherit the throne in safety, peace, elegance, bloodlessness and murder, and to ensure that my head is in my place. On your own shoulders, then you have to count on your endorsement and acknowledgment at the last moment-only with the king, I can not be beaten by the audience."
  This time, King Kessel frowned slightly and remained silent for a long time.
   "But if you are not betraying and betraying on the bright side, you will be charcoal," The Ironfist King turned his eyes:
  "But imitating your dearest northern friend, secretly conspiring and making a sudden blow?"
  His northern friend.
  Thinking of the old sword of Rumba and the head of King Nunn that fell to the ground, Thales frowned.
  "As experienced as you, but also afraid of assassins?" Thales said ironically.
  King Kessel's knife and fork stuck in the air.
   "You know, Yordel is gone," the king started eating again, his voice was the same as before, as if he didn't care: "Now I want to take my head..."
"You still have time"
  Yordel is gone.
  Tels' heart sank.
   "Sometimes."
  The prince looked at the cold food before him, and said lightly:
  "This spoon...is not worthy of hand."
  King Kessel also sneered.
   "Even if you are really covered by lard at the moment, you really want to do this..."
  The king slowly said:
  "But how can you guarantee that once the situation changes in the future, time passes, and you can still keep your promises, keep the promises in mind, cut through all obstacles, punish and punish evil?"
  Overcome thorns and thorns, punish and eliminate evil.
   Thales sneered in his heart.
"do not know."
  The young man did not show weakness, and fought back decisively:
   "I can't guarantee what hasn't happened yet, and I don't want to say anything beautiful that doesn't change my original intention."
  King Kessel frowned.
  Until Thales changed his head:
   "But it depends on you."
  The king's eyes moved: "What?"
   "Like me, there is a price for you to take this step."
  Thyls leaned forward, threatening:
   "If you don't want to be disgusted and betrayed by me one day, or be forced to launch a civil war one day, against the rebels, you don't want me to do my best and launch the kingdom's heroes against you."
  "Then you'd better come on stage with me, cooperate with the performance, and call the curtain together."
  Kessel King listened quietly.
   "Don't be a stage tyrant, don't cut corners, don't tamper with the script, or even set up your own intentions."
  "As long as you don't get out of the car first, I will be safe and sound, and I will overcome all obstacles for you. Just as I don't regret it halfway, you will abide by the rules and give me the throne at the end."
  The king moved his eyebrows: "What you want to say is..."
   "The essence of politics is the binding of interests."
  Tels coldly said:
   "I think we all admit that this cooperation is just getting what we need, and it is destined to not be smooth sailing, dear sincere."
  The next second, Thales’ eyes were cold and his tone was stern: "But we know the nature of the other party better: whoever repents and betrayed first, whoever turns his face first..."
   "The other party can make him pay an unimaginable price."
   Looking at Thales’ expression, the corners of the king’s mouth slowly curled up.
   "On this tank, we are tied together."
   Thales affirmed:
   "We ourselves are our mutual guarantee."
  This time, the Ballard room was quiet for a long time.
   Just when Thales thought that the unextinguishable light would be extinguished, the king’s heavy voice finally sounded:
   "Not enough."
  Thyls' eyebrows moved.
   Opposite the long table, the King of Iron Fist pushed away the dinner plate and knife and fork.
   "Do you want to be the enemy of the king?"
  For the first time, Kessel Canxing, who has always been stern and stern, raised his head and showed the boy a bright, indifferent smile that the latter has never seen before:
   "There is no proof for nothing."
  (End of this chapter)