Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 40 Strong Luck
“Come with me, it’s urgent.” Antonio called out to Winters, then added, “Tell the coachman not to unload the horses yet, Winters, you go change into your formal attire too.”

"Formal dress? But I only have my military academy uniform right now."

Antonio looked at his wife: "Didn't you make several sets before?"

"Those clothes are all the wrong size, they haven't been altered yet, have they? I only went to get my measurements taken today," Kosa replied reproachfully.

Antonio didn't argue: "Then I'll go change into my military uniform, and we need to match our clothes."

Winters didn't have to wait long this time. Antonio, a decisive soldier, quickly changed into his general's uniform (distinct from a dress uniform) and left the house.

“We’re all dressed like this, what do we need a carriage for?” Seeing Winters waiting foolishly by the carriage, António’s tone was quite helpless. He turned to the coachman and said, “We don’t need the carriage. Barto, thank you for your hard work today.”

After he finished speaking, he handed a small bag of reward money to the driver. The driver took the bag and thanked him repeatedly.

Antonio beckoned to his nephew and led Winters to the stables on the back street of the house.

There are three horses in the stable now. Antonio pointed to one of them, a gray steed with a black mane and white spots, and said reluctantly, "It will be yours from now on. Although Aquamarine City is not big, it will be inconvenient for you to go anywhere without a horse."

Winterston was overjoyed. Suppressing his excitement, he approached the proud and majestic animal little by little. The horse was not alarmed by the stranger's approach, but calmly chewed on hay. Its chest muscles were strong, its limbs were well-proportioned and powerful, and the lines of its neck, back, and rump were smooth and beautiful. Its mane and tail were well-groomed, and its body was brushed clean, without a single speck of grass.

Winters gazed into the horse's eyes, and the horse blinked its moist eyes, looking at Winters with a gentle and friendly gaze, its ears twitching nimbly. Winters tentatively stroked its neck, feeling its smooth, warm surface; it felt wonderful to the touch, and the horse let out a series of soft hums of pleasure from its nostrils.

"It's really beautiful."

Antonio, who was still feeling the pinch, said irritably, "How could it not be beautiful? You infantrymen just don't know what's good for you. This is a top-quality Lucia horse."

The more Antonio agonized over the horse's condition, the more exceptional it seemed. Winters, rarely seeing his uncle so distressed, chuckled and asked, "A monk? [Monk, referring to a gelded horse]"

Antonio was furious: "How is that possible? I have plenty of people who want to send Marco away to be my match!"

"But can you ride it without that?"

"Of course you can ride it. Don't you know who trained it? Lucia horses are naturally very gentle."

What is its name?

"I call it 'Good Luck,' would you like to change the name?"

Winters gently scratched the area between the horse's eyes, and the horse stuck out its tongue slightly. He thought of the pirate ship, the Lucky Star: "Who doesn't like luck? But let's call it 'Strong Luck,' the word 'good luck' doesn't seem to work on me."

Seeing how much his nephew adored Good Luck, Antonio hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Horses are noble animals, and Good Luck is my precious pet. You must take good care of it. Don't overwork it, but don't let it be too idle either..."

Winters nodded repeatedly in agreement, then pointed to the other two horses and asked his uncle, "If you feel sorry for Strong Luck, how about letting me ride those two?"

There are two horses in the stable, a white horse and a chestnut horse.

“I really regret sending you to the infantry department now,” Antonio said, looking at Winters with a heavy tone. “Don’t you think those two horses weren’t good horses?”

Antonio took a small bag from his pocket and fed each of the three horses a piece of candy. Then Antonio led out the chestnut horse and Winters led out the horse, and the two of them put on their harnesses, mounted their horses, and left the mansion.

As darkness fell, the last rays of the sun began to fade. The daytime heat was gradually replaced by the coolness of the night, and the refreshing sea breeze carried away the excess heat from the two riders. Riding through the streets of Aquamarine City at this moment was truly invigorating.

Workers along the roadside were adding oil to the lamps one by one, lighting the streetlights. In the bay of Cenas, only the city of Aquamarine was wealthy enough to provide public lighting services. The flickering flames, shining through the yellowed glass, illuminated the hurried faces of passersby, announcing the start of the nightlife.

On the streets of the city, Strong could hardly stretch his legs, and Winters longed to take his horse out of the city for a good run.

But then he suddenly remembered that he didn't know where his uncle was taking him, so he quickened his pace and rode alongside his uncle, asking, "What's the matter? Where are you taking me, Lieutenant Colonel?"

Antonio looked at Winters and said with a playful smile, "I'll find you a wife."

"What? You must be joking!" Winters was taken aback and almost fell off his saddle. "I was planning to see Benway tonight, but you said it was urgent, so I came along. If it wasn't important, I would have gone to Benway's house."

“Benwei? Which Benwei?” Antonio tried hard to recall the name in his mind: “Benweinuto?”

Winters was surprised that his uncle called Benway by his full name: "You remember this person?"

"Isn't he your classmate Lu You? You like to go to his house for meals during your holidays."

"it's him."

Antonio became interested: "How is he now? I don't think I've seen his name among the trainee officers who returned this year."

“Benwei didn’t continue his studies at military academy. After graduating from military school, he went to work to support his family.” Winters said somewhat sadly, “If there’s nothing important, I’ll be leaving.”

Antonio led the way, the two walking with their backs to the dock. After a while, the number of passersby gradually decreased. Benway lived in the port area, and Winters turned his horse around to turn back as he spoke.

“Wait a minute.” Antonio called out to his nephew, “Don’t go today. Are you going to go empty-handed? I remember he has a lot of younger siblings… How about this, tomorrow I’ll have Aunt Marita buy some flour and good meat, and you can take it to Benwei, okay? Besides, I really have something to tell you today.”

"what's up?"

"I'll take you to see the widow."

"I'm really leaving!" Winters angrily yanked the reins to the right.

Antonio quickly suppressed his smile and said seriously, "Alright, let's get down to business. There's a small party at the Navarre's house tonight, and I called you here so you could make an appearance."

“Navarre? Isn’t that a merchant who deals in wool textiles? What does that have to do with me?” Winters had certainly heard of the Navarre family; they were a well-known merchant family in the city.

António gave Winters a meaningful look: "Money is power, and Madame Navarre is perhaps the most powerful woman in this city—and a widow at that."

"Why do you keep talking about widows?" Winters was getting impatient. Surely you don't want me to sell my body?
Antonio deliberately put on a stern face: "What? You look down on widows? Let me tell you, widows hold up half the sky of Aquamarine City. Without these widows, where would the Governor's government get the money to pay your and my salaries?"

Winters' forehead was starting to sweat: "When have I ever looked down on widows... Besides, what does this all even mean?"

Seeing Winters' youthful appearance, Antonio clapped his hands and laughed: "Alright, enough joking. Actually, it's nothing. You've been in the provincial capital for six years, and you haven't participated in any social activities in the city. Apart from your classmates from military academy, you don't know anyone your age, right? Now that you're home, I want you to make an appearance at the Navarre family's social scene first."

Winters was about to speak when Antonio waved him off, continuing, "I know what you're trying to say, but even if you don't like socializing, you still need to let people know you exist. You'll get married sooner or later, but do you know any women of marriageable age right now? That's the consequence of a lack of social interaction. When I was your age, I went to one ball after another, and people were vying to invite me. In any case, you need to get to know more girls so you have more options."

Winters was speechless. He felt his uncle was wrong, but he didn't know how to refute him. Seeing his nephew's face turn red, Antonio teased, "And to be honest, with Madame Navarre's wealth, even if you wanted to take over this business, it wouldn't be so easy."

"Lieutenant Colonel!"

The two rode their horses, chatting as they went, and before they knew it, they had reached the city wall.

The rammed earth city wall, built during the Sovereignty War, is dilapidated after more than twenty years of wind and rain. Scattered grass seeds have taken root and sprouted on the earthen wall. The wall is covered with lush greenery, like a green tapestry. A sapling grows tenaciously on it, like an arm reaching out from inside the wall.

For twenty-six years there has been no war, and the city moat has collapsed in large numbers due to years of disrepair. The citizens are no longer grateful for these fortifications that once protected them; they only feel that these old buildings make it extremely inconvenient to enter and leave the city.

The provincial capital, Guitu City, had long since torn down its city walls and filled them into the moat, and the citizens of Hailan were also eager to do the same. Since a new, impregnable fortress had already been built outside the city, why retain these old fortifications?
Crossing the wooden bridge spanning the city moat, Antonio and Winters left the city. There were no streetlights outside; the journey ahead would be illuminated by moonlight. The rammed earth road reflected more moonlight than the vegetation, stretching into the distance like a silver stream.

Through the bushes and hedges along the way and the dappled shadows of the trees, one can vaguely see brightly lit mansions in the distance, where guests are feasting, and occasionally loud music can be heard coming from each mansion.

As Hailan's population grew, the city became increasingly crowded. Wealthy merchants, unwilling to continue living within the resource-scarce city walls, purchased land in the suburbs and built magnificent manors.

In the past, merchants wouldn't have had the courage to move their goods outside the city walls.

Citizens of the old era revered city walls because only they could protect them from external attacks. Citizens of the new era despise city walls because they no longer need this passive protection.

Living in the suburbs carries the greatest risk of bandits and thugs. The new-era Allied forces are far more effective at combating bandits than the old-fashioned civilian militias. While civilian militias are formidable in defending the city, their morale plummets once they leave the city, and they typically refrain from venturing out to fight.

As for the aristocratic armed forces of the old era? If it were just a few greedy farmers robbing people, it wouldn't be dangerous. The most dangerous ones would be the nobles who possessed weapons, armor, and warhorses and had received a lifetime of military training.

Bankrupt knights often become the backbone of rogue gangs, while robbing caravans, extorting, and even plundering cities have always been important sources of income for unscrupulous nobles.

That's why the citizens of the old days so fervently worshipped city walls, generously donating vast sums of money to their city. Because they were inextricably linked to the city, it was, to them, the only safe haven in this dangerous world.

But times have changed. As Antonio said, the standing army is mainly used to deal with internal enemies, and they do it very well. Any large-scale bandit gang within the Alliance territory can be quickly wiped out by the Alliance army, and any remaining stragglers can be dealt with by a few guards.

The Navarre family also moved out of the city following this trend, but Winters didn't know the address and just followed his uncle.

"What have you been busy with on your first day of internship at the military police?" Antonio asked casually.

Winters was about to talk about what happened today, but then he remembered Lieutenant Colonel Field's admonition to "keep your mouth shut and obey orders." He pondered the sentence for a long time before finally managing to say, "Anyway, I've been pretty busy."

"So what exactly have you been busy with?" Antonio pressed on relentlessly.

"Please don't ask, I can't tell you."

Antonio laughed and lightly tapped Winters' shoulder with his riding crop: "Field has taught you well. Being tight-lipped is a good thing. You should observe, listen, and do more, but speak less. If you speak less, others won't know what cards you have."

Winters nodded, blushing.

“But even if you don’t tell me, I know what cards you have.” Antonio’s smiling eyes were like crescent moons: “When the throne voted on whether to pin this mess on Field, I cast the only dissenting vote because of you.”

"What?" Winters was so surprised that he involuntarily tightened the reins, snorted, and stopped. "Were you there when the decision was made to hand this over to the military police?"

“Of course I’m there.” Antonio waved his hand. “Don’t just stand there, let’s talk as we walk.”

Winters spurred his horse forward to catch up with his uncle: "Does the King know that even with me, the military police only have two officers?"

“Of course I know.” Antonio nodded.

"Then why hand this case over to the military police? There are only two officers, and eighty guards are on duty. How can the two of us investigate?"

“It’s simple. If Field wants to close the case, he can write a report today, and the case will be over tomorrow,” Major General Antonio gave a casual answer.

"Can a case be closed whenever you want?" Winters, quick-witted as ever, instantly grasped the deeper meaning of those words. He asked his uncle, word by word, "Do you mean that the Throne has already prepared a criminal for this case?"

“Not bad, a promising young man.” Antonio praised Winters with a smile. Winters could tell from his tone that he didn’t consider the case a big deal: “It’s just an assassination, how often does it happen in Hailan? If the assassin can’t be caught on the spot, how can we find him? It will definitely become a cold case. The person who got this case from customs doesn’t care about the truth at all, as long as the blame is given to whoever he wants in the end.”

"You mean the Army took this case from Customs on its own initiative?" Winters could hardly believe his ears.

"Otherwise what? If the army doesn't want it, can the customs force it on them?"

Winters now realized he was completely wrong. He had originally thought that Customs and the Army had reached a secret agreement. Customs, discovering the deceased might be a soldier, didn't want to get involved with the Army, so they secretly communicated with the Army and handed the case over to them for investigation.

According to Antonio, the army had no idea who the deceased was; it was only because someone wanted to use the case that they took it over.

One dared to ask, and the other dared to give. Both believed that their mutual understanding was so deep that eye contact was enough, but in reality, they were thinking completely different things.

Moreover, it seems that neither of these two sides possesses as much intelligence as Winters currently does. In Winters' view, both the customs and the army have underestimated the seriousness of this assassination attempt.

"So who exactly does the throne want to pin the blame on?" Winters asked, raising another point of doubt.

Antonio casually gave Winters an answer that surprised him: "Pirates."

"How could an assassin be a pirate? I've fought pirates and those assassins. Among pirates, there are none as formidable as those assassins."

"Can that pirate come out and prove he's not an assassin?" Antonio asked with a half-smile.

“Fallen by pirates…” Winters’ mind raced as he racked his brains, trying to piece together the fragmented information and grasp the key points from the fog of confusion.

Seeing that he was deep in thought and remained silent, the two walked quietly for a while.

Winters suddenly sighed and asked softly, "Is there going to be a war?"

Thank you to reader 20181013204343295 for the recommendation vote, and thank you to reader 20170726153222839 for the recommendation vote.

Stallions are known for their temperamental nature and aggressive instincts, but they are easily attracted to mares in their prime, and history is replete with examples of mares being used to acquire stallions. Mares, on the other hand, are docile and quiet, making them suitable warhorses. However, sending a mare to battle means losing a foal the following year. Therefore, the final solution was to use gelded stallions as warhorses, which the Teutonic knights called monks [Mnchpferde]. Furthermore, gelding had the advantage that even if captured by the enemy, they could not be used to improve the bloodline of their own horses.

Horses also have a rich range of emotions, no less than cats and dogs. If you speak harshly to them, they will get a little grumpy. Furthermore, horses can read human expressions and are good at reading between the lines.
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(End of this chapter)