It seems that the villain is targeting me.

As a result, not only did he himself become a trial user of this torture device, he also gave free trial coupons to all his old friends.

At least the executioners would be grateful to this man: otherwise, if so many people were to chop one by one, even their knives would be bent.

The square was suddenly filled with blood and evil spirits. The person in charge of cleaning up the blood was exhausted and broke his arm, but he still couldn't stop the blood plasma from flowing onto the stage.

Too many people were killed in the past few days. People watched with great interest at first, but later they didn’t dare to go anymore. This time, because the person killed was Charles, so many people came to watch the execution.

Xiao Niao stayed in the square until all the prisoners were beheaded before leaving - even though the system repeatedly assured Xiao Niao that as long as Charles, the former son of luck, was beheaded, there would be no more trouble.

Before leaving the execution ground, Xiao Niao took a last look at the bodies packed in sacks.

All the sacks were a uniform gray color, blackened by blood, and piled together in a haphazard manner. It was impossible to tell which one contained Charles' body.

The smell of blood was strong in the air and lingered in the nose for a long time.

Xiao Niao's mental quality is strong enough, but her body does not cooperate with her master's willpower. After watching the execution, she inevitably feels a little uncomfortable.

The Red Moon Knight escorted her away from the execution ground.

Because he didn't want to attract too much attention, Xiao Niao didn't bring any extra attendants with him this time. Instead, he disguised himself appropriately and only let Hongyue follow him.

The feeling of shortness of breath was relieved only about ten minutes after leaving the execution ground.

Xiao Niao slowly exhaled a breath of foul air and pressed her hand against her heart. A feeling of weakness spread from the part where her fingers were clenched to her entire body. When she felt nauseous just now, even the Red Moon Knight beside her could hear the sound of her heart beating violently in her chest.

Hongyue didn't ask her why she had to handle Charles' execution in person. She just moved closer silently, with her arms protecting Xiaoniao until she recovered.

Xiao Niao raised his head and glanced at her with a soothing smile.

The Red Moon Knight did not show any discomfort at the bloody execution scene just now - it was obvious that she had seen even more cruel scenes on the battlefield.

This kind of killing, which was only carried out to deal with prisoners, was too trivial in Hongyue's eyes.

But when Xiao Niao saw the indifferent look under the Red Moon Knight's mask, she couldn't help but feel a slight movement in her heart.

...I cultivated Hongyue.

Xiao Niao thought with mixed feelings: This is the knight I personally trained who kills without blinking an eye.

When Luna's outlook on life and values were still unformed, she freely painted her own colors on Luna's pure heart like a blank sheet of paper, making her the famous Red Moon Knight.

This girl does have unparalleled talent in swordsmanship, but whether it's loyalty or cold-bloodedness, Xiao Niao has consciously instilled and guided her.

At that time, Xiao Niao didn't have time to think about the future. He just wanted to get a loyal and powerful knight.

But now her journey in this world is nearing its end, and Xiaoniao has to start thinking about what will happen to the people around her after she leaves.

Including Beau, the civil servants and deputies trained by her can be used by Gwyneth after a period of transition, and these people may even become a kind of political capital for Gwyneth.

Gwyneth could have continued to use the examination selection system and gradually undermined the power of the aristocracy.

With the foundation laid by Lawrence and Xiao Niao, Gwen can complete this process relatively smoothly.

There is no need to worry about the civil officials; the problem lies with the knights who are loyal to them.

A knight who has been officially granted the title cannot change his lord and must swear allegiance to Xiao Niao.

There are about a dozen official knights.

After their death, their identities will inevitably become somewhat embarrassing.

Xiaoniao has decided to ask Gwen to incorporate these people into the knight order under her family's name. With her own relationship, Gwen should treat these knights well.

Finally, only the Red Moon Knight was left.

The Red Moon Knight is the first person that Xiaoniao trusts unconditionally in this world. When she had no power or influence, Red Moon's fighting power was her greatest reliance.

The time when he was almost hung and roasted by the feudal and superstitious villagers, it was the Red Moon Knight who arrived in time and saved him from the wooden rack.

Perhaps because they spend every day together, Xiaoniao always has a preference for Hongyue.

She wanted to make the future of this simple guy's life easier.

Before leaving, Xiao Niao will ask Gwen to appoint Hongyue as a Knight of the Banner and grant him a piece of land.

Xiaoniao even had a plan for the location of the territory. It was a place that was quite meaningful to both of them: it was the town where the Red Moon Knight was born, and it was also the place where Xiaoniao first met her.

Maybe it's not big enough, but it will be perfect for the Red Moon.

Xiao Niao will arrange capable officials to govern the territory in advance. Since it is only a small piece of land, Hongyue does not need to spend too much time on it, but can concentrate on doing what he is good at.

Owning a territory of one's own can be said to be the ultimate dream of all knights. After that, no one can question Hongyue's knighthood. She can even take the initiative to recruit apprentices and knight squires to establish her own knight order in the territory.

Xiao Niao turned his head and looked at the Red Moon Knight.

The latter was on guard against the bustling crowd around him and did not notice her gaze.

Xiao Niao thought: In this way, I haven't broken the promise I made to Hongyue.

-------

-

The time is ripe, both for the empire and for Kotori himself.

The day after Charles' death was announced, Levi Butcher asked Gwyneth to ascend the throne at a meeting of lords and vassals.

More than half of the lords echoed Xiaoniao's words, begging Gwen to ascend the throne as soon as possible, rule legitimately, and consolidate the current good situation.

Others believed that even if the history of the Seven Kingdoms was taken into account, there had never been a queen ascending the throne. They would rather wait for Lucas, who was only twelve years old, to come of age, or simply find a distant relative who was thousands of miles away through the family tree, rather than kneel down and pay homage to Gwyneth.

The Queen's ascension to the throne was bound to encounter some obstacles. Both sides brought out several knowledgeable university scholars and began to criticize each other in the conference hall with reason and evidence.

Xiao Niao did not participate in the discussion. She knew very well that the outcome of the discussion had already been determined.

During the lunch break, Xiao Niao even said to Gwen directly, "Don't worry. They will give in in two days at most."

The heated minds of those opponents will soon cool down and realize that emotional difficulty in accepting will not change the established facts at all.

On the one hand, they simply couldn't find the right person to convince the public.

On the other hand, they want to live a few more years.

Now all the arguments in the hall are just procedures and formalities. When Gwyneth's army enters the capital, she will be the new emperor of this country.

What surprised Xiao Niao was that Gwyneth seemed quite absent-minded after hearing what he said.

"Gwen?" she asked, feeling uneasy.

Gwyneth suddenly looked at the bird intently, and the emotions that flashed across her eyes were complex and difficult to understand.

"...I was thinking that you've been working in the side hall before, which might not be very convenient," Gwen said slowly. "After you ascend the throne, why not move to a room with me? That way, we can discuss things more quickly."

"There are still many things I don't understand about state affairs, and I need someone to explain them... I'm not confident leaving those important matters to others. At least, it will take some time..."

After Gwyneth finished speaking, she turned her head away and no longer looked at Xiao Niao.

"how do you feel?"

This was undoubtedly an implicit request, asking the bird to continue to assist her in government affairs, asking the bird to stay and not leave.

There was a humble plea in her tone.

Gwen's body tensed unconsciously, and her shoulders trembled slightly as she spoke those words, as if she was suppressing some indescribable emotion.

Xiao Niao was silent for a long time, and finally reached out his hand carefully and touched Gwyneth's shoulder.

Gwyneth looked at her silently with red eyes.

Xiao Niao didn't know why the girl suddenly became so alert, as if... she had noticed her thoughts.

It's just a short transition, Xiao Niao thought. The situation is still unstable, and I can't just abandon Gwen...

After all, this is my responsibility.

Xiao Niao tried her best to explain the reason, even though she herself didn't know who she was trying to convince.

Finally, she agreed.

Xiao Niao whispered, Okay, then let’s move to your study.

"I'll do my best to help you,"

Xiao Niao said, "I promise."

Things went more smoothly than expected afterwards, and the discussion about the Queen's accession to the throne ended that day.

Everyone wisely chose to give in.

According to custom and practice, the coronation was scheduled for seven days later.

Gwyneth took the oath and received the blessing in the church. The archbishop anointed her with holy oil and bestowed upon her the title of "Her Majesty Queen Gwyneth I of the House of Tudor, Ruler of the Empire and Protector of the Realm".

At the end of the coronation ceremony, the queen's consort places the crown on her head, which represents power.

Starting from early morning, the process went through one by one until the sun set in the afternoon, and the ceremony was considered complete.

After the complicated ceremony, the Queen issued her first imperial decree: to confer her spouse Levi Butcher as the Imperial Consort.

------

-

According to the description in "The Tudors", Gwyneth has been gentle since childhood, very tolerant to others, and has almost no emotions.

The nobles in the capital might also have had this impression.

Therefore, until the moment before being pushed to the execution ground, they still had hope in their hearts.

It was generally believed at the time that the young Queen would not sentence all those involved in the assassination of the Duke of Tudor to death, but would only deal with the main culprit, and the rest would simply be punished.

But these people were eventually convicted of murder and treason, and all their family wealth was confiscated.

Gwyneth Tudor used part of the money to reward the army, and deposited the rest into the treasury, which was already in a deficit - this greatly alleviated the financial crisis she was facing at the time.

As a price, more than 90% of the nobles in the capital were wiped out almost overnight.

Gwyneth's actions were not without resistance from the aristocratic forces. Even some members of her family expressed their disapproval of such an overly broad execution.

But because she won the absolute support of the army, her orders were resolutely implemented and executed.

From the scattered records left in the ruins of Pembroke Castle, we know that the girl encountered many obstacles when she ascended to the position of head of the family.

Apart from her mother and brother, almost no one was optimistic about young Gwyneth.

In the end, she even had to consolidate her position as the family heir by marrying Levi Butcher.

It is conceivable that among those who initially supported the Queen, there were many speculators who wanted to borrow her military talents to win the war and then find ways to seize the fruits of victory.

However, these people soon discovered that Gwyneth Tudor was not a puppet that could be manipulated and used as they had imagined.

They originally wanted to reap the benefits, but by accident they achieved their legal status.

It was during this period that aristocracy came to an end, and after that, the title of nobility became more of an honorary title granted by the monarch's favor.

Gwyneth Tudor was the founder of the Tudor dynasty. During her decades in power, she had almost absolute power, a level that almost no monarch before her had ever achieved.

This was undoubtedly due to the battle for imperial power, which was later called the War of the Roses: countless noble families were reduced to a state of decline or even extinction.

Everything went so smoothly afterwards that we have to wonder whether the queen had the ambition to centralize power from the very beginning.

If Gwyneth did have such thoughts from the beginning, then it is not surprising that she later placed Butcher under house arrest.

In fact, from some political decrees and major decisions during the war, we can see that Gwyneth Tudor had no obvious political inclinations and did not have her own faction.

She did not represent the interests of the great nobles of the time, nor did she particularly protect the lords who were loyal to her. All her actions were only to weaken all other forces and strengthen herself in the process.

A complete dictator.

By the time others realized what was happening, this Rose from Highgarden had already stood at the center of imperial power.

Although the means of seizing power were quite bloody and she did gain supreme power, she also brought nearly forty years of peace and prosperity to the empire, the economy continued to grow, and the country's stability and order were guaranteed.

It was during these forty years that the empire became the dominant power in the Western world.

The history of the Western world since then has been the history of empire.

————Excerpt from "The War of the Roses in History"

Extra update! And reward summary

As the title says, the National Day extra chapter that was previously offered as a reward has been updated!

It's the one about birds giving birth to eggs. Yes, it's already been written. It's 6,700 words. Just pick it up in the group.

The group is still the full subscription group 872424727

There are now nearly 20,000 words of extra chapters, including the previous Qixi extra chapter and the wedding night extra chapter.