Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 521 Calming the Raging Spirit (Part 3)

"How is the centurion? How is Uncle Girard? How is Mrs. Mitchell? How about Anglou? How about Vahika?" Bell pulled Pierre's hand and led him into the tent, asking incessantly, "What about the other companions? How is everyone?"

“All good, all good,” Pierre replied with a smile, giving the young hunter a playful punch. “I saw the wolf you brought back; it was truly a remarkable prey!”

Bell's face showed no smugness or satisfaction; he forced a smile and forced a cooperative one.

"Are you hungry or thirsty? I'll go get some cheese curds and some milk wine." Bell pulled Pierre to sit on the carpet, moved out a small table, wiped it vigorously with his sleeve, and turned to go out again to get food and drinks to entertain Pierre.

"Alright! Alright! I'm not thirsty or hungry. You rest for a bit, come sit with me for a while, okay?" Pierre tugged at the little hunter's sleeve, preventing him from leaving, and asked curiously:

"I heard from others that you searched for them alone for more than half a month? It's rare for someone to search for wild animals for half a month. Why didn't you ask others to help you search?"

"Yes, I called them. I called Big White and Little White."

"Who are Big White and Little White?" Pierre narrowed his eyes, thought for a moment, and asked, "The two who rode back with you? Your guards?"

“My guards?” Bell waved his hands repeatedly. “No, no, no, those two… uh… well, to be precise, they are both centurions…”

Bell suddenly found it difficult to find accurate translations for some Hed words in the common language, and he also found it difficult to explain the ethics and rules of Hed society to his friend in just a few words.

“To be precise,” Bell racked his brains, trying to avoid any misunderstanding from his friend, but the more he tried to explain, the more misunderstandings arose, “they were the centurion’s ‘slaves,’ but not the kind who did things like tending fires, setting up stalls, or milking sheep; they were slaves for fighting… However, if the centurion needed them to tend fires or set up stalls, they would do it…”

Belle spoke while stealing glances at her friend's eyes.

Pierre listened intently, nodding occasionally. However, Bell felt deep down that Pierre hadn't understood a thing.

"Forget it." Bell sighed dejectedly. "Just treat them as my subordinates."

“No, please.” Pierre put his arm around his companion’s shoulder. “I’d like to hear more about the Hed’s tribes. By the way, where are the others? Why didn’t you invite them to come along?”

Bell knew that the other "people" his friend was referring to did not mean all the people in the camp who had two eyes, one mouth, and could cry and laugh, but specifically the Iron Peak cavalry assigned to Bell.

“They escorted the caravan that was exchanging goods with the Red River tribe,” the little hunter counted on his fingers, “They should be on their way back already.”

“Aren’t there still some Hurds? I see quite a few men in the camp.” Pierre asked with considerable concern, “Why didn’t you let them come with you to find the wolves? What, are they disobeying?”

Although his friend still had a deep misunderstanding of the Wenduoer tribe, Bell was grateful that his friend didn't blurt out "Herd barbarian," but he was also very surprised.

The little hunter's rambling explanation was also a form of complaining.

Only at times like these, only in front of close friends and comrades, does he cease to be the sacred "Beast Spirit Speaker," the undisputed leader. After all, strictly speaking, he is actually younger than Da Bai, but not much older than Xiao Bai.

“Many of the men in this camp have already gone with the caravan. The remaining men have to look after the livestock and be wary of the enemy. Right now it’s time to shear and wash the sheep, so we need manpower everywhere. And if we call everyone to go together, then…” Bell paused for a moment, “it won’t just be the two big wolves and the two cubs, but also the cubs in the forest. They’ll all die together.”

Pierre chuckled and crossed his arms: "When did you start feeling sorry for wolves?"

“[Herdos] Do not kill unless necessary.” Bell suddenly whispered something in Herdos, then shook his head: “No need.”

Pierre couldn't understand what the young hunter was saying, and could only guess that it was a prayer or scripture. So he laughed and patted the young hunter on the back: "Look at you, your tone of voice is already very much like those shamans. You didn't waste your time venturing into the Great Wilderness."

Bell gave an ambiguous smile.

Pierre was very interested in the details that the young hunter inadvertently revealed in his words, and he pressed on, "You said to 'beware of the enemy,' are there still enemies? Who are they? The Teldon tribe? Aren't they being honest?"

“No, not the Teldun tribe,” Bel said, unsure how to explain further. “Alas, on the steppe, it’s common for us to rob each other. If you really want to talk about it, anyone could be an enemy. Taichi can’t possibly control every one of his men, so he has to be vigilant at all times…”

Pierre listened, nodding thoughtfully.

Seeing that another misunderstanding was about to arise, Bell quickly explained, "Actually, this camp is already a very safe one—it's close to the Big Horn River, far from other tribes' territories, and there are small families and tribes that have collectively joined it nearby. In short, nothing should happen..."

As he spoke, Bell realized he had gone a bit too far, so he added, "However, we still can't let our guard down, after all... this is the Great Wilderness."

Pierre struggled to process the young hunter's words, unconsciously falling into deep thought. When he came to his senses, the tent had been quiet for quite some time.

Faced with the little hunter's questioning gaze, Pierre rubbed his face, trying to ease the awkwardness. He chuckled, "So what you're saying is that no one else can come, only you—well, at least bring the little guy too."

If you don't mention the little guy, it's fine, but as soon as you do, Bell's head feels like it's going to split open.

"Sigh, don't even mention it, little guy... Sigh, if the little guy could move a little more, maybe... there wouldn't even be a need to kill those two big wolves... Little guy, sigh."

Pierre grunted and asked, puzzled, "What's wrong with the little one?"

"I'm too lazy."

“No cat is lazy.” Bell fell heavily backward and said quietly, “You haven’t seen what the little guy has become.”

“If that’s what you’re saying,” Pierre deliberately raised his voice, “then I absolutely have to go and see for myself.”

"Hmph, I'll take you there tomorrow. Don't be surprised when we get there."

"Why wait until tomorrow? Let's go now."

Bell jumped up: "Okay, let's go now."

“Let’s go.” Pierre jumped up as well.

The two of them talked back and forth, but neither of them moved an inch toward the door.

After looking at each other for a moment, they both laughed.

"Alright, let's go tomorrow." Bell dragged over a rolled-up blanket, piled it up as a cushion, and then lay down, rubbing his lower back. "I'm exhausted from hunting wolves all night. The last thing I want to see right now is the little guy."

“Okay.” Pierre smiled and sat back down on the ground. “Then let’s go again tomorrow.”

"Oh! That's right!" Bell jumped up again and looked at Pierre: "I haven't asked you what you're here for yet. You didn't just come to see me, did you?"

Upon hearing this, Pierre's smile faded: "That's right, I am indeed here on orders."

Bell stretched his shoulders, crossed his legs, and sat up straight with his hands on his knees: "Now, what are your orders, Centurion?"

“The centurion did give orders.” Pierre took the letter of appointment from his pocket: “But not to you, but to me.”

After speaking, Pierre handed the letter of appointment to the young hunter.

Bell took the letter of appointment with a puzzled look and quickly read it through by the light shining through the skylight at the top of the tent.

Then, he looked at it a second time, very carefully.

Then he fell silent.

Pierre didn't disturb the little hunter, but sat quietly to the side and waited.

“Although I’ve never heard of any ‘newly reclaimed lands’,” Bell unconsciously scratched the nail of his right thumb with the nail of his left thumb. “I guess it refers to the ‘no man’s land’ that the Paratul people and the Hed people agreed upon in the past, which is where we are now.”

“Indeed.” Pierre nodded. “Your Excellency has decided to bring the ‘Newly Reclaimed Lands’ under your jurisdiction. From now on, there will be no more ‘no-man’s lands’, no more ‘buffer zones’, only the Newly Reclaimed Lands… Province.”

Bell was not surprised that the centurion wanted to formally place the land beneath his feet under his authority.

In fact, he had been looking forward to this day.

What surprised Bell was the "level" of the "newly reclaimed land".

“A province?” Bell’s eyes widened. “Doesn’t that mean it’s on par with newly reclaimed land?”

“A province is a bit too big, but a ‘county’ is too small. In the end, Your Excellency personally decided on the ‘province’ designation. However… this matter is not actually settled yet, and it still needs to go through the process with the ‘National Assembly’.” Pierre paused for a moment, then said with unwavering conviction, “But since Your Excellency wants the newly reclaimed land to be a ‘province’, then the newly reclaimed land must be a province.”

"Wait, what is the National Assembly?" Just like when Pierre first listened to Bell's speech, Bell was now becoming more and more confused as he listened to Pierre speak.

“Uh, well.” Pierre found it difficult to explain what the National Assembly was in just a few words: “It’s a long story, I’ll tell you slowly later. The National Assembly is quite interesting, it’s a pity you weren’t there… Anyway, now we are all nominally loyal to the National Assembly.”

"Us?" Bell raised an eyebrow. "Who?"

“Centurion, me, and everyone else.” Pierre gave the little hunter a meaningful look: “Including you, and everyone else, of course.”

Bell shrugged with a wry smile and continued, "And what is a military governor?"

“It’s a newly coined term.” Pierre coughed lightly. “It is said that originally there was only ‘military governor,’ but Your Excellency thought that military governor only had a military component and lacked civil administration characteristics, so you simply combined ‘military governor’ with the ancient imperial official title ‘envoy’ to create a new term, ‘military governor envoy.’”

Bell couldn't help but chuckle: "That's something a centurion would do."

Pierre smiled knowingly: "Indeed."

“However, I must remind you, you want to be this warlord…” Bell tossed the letter of appointment between the two of them, his smile fading, and said solemnly, “You can’t rely on this piece of paper.”

[The origin of the term "military governor" in the book is purely fictional (T_T). "Military governor" was a real term, and "envoy" was also an official title in the Roman Republic, but the two are unrelated.]
In the Beiyang government, the military rank of warlords who controlled the military and political power of several provinces was generally "Inspector General," and the warlord who governed a province below him was "Governor-General."
Yuan Shikai stripped the military governor of his civil authority, changing the title to "Supervisor of Military Affairs of XX Province," which was later shortened to "Military Governor." Below the Military Governor was the Garrison Commander, and above him was the Inspector General. The Military Governor never used the title "Commander"; he was simply the Military Governor.
[The real reason I used this title is that I'm terrible at coming up with names. I couldn't think of any title higher than a prefectural governor, but not as prestigious as a governor-general. So I just borrowed the "military governor" created by Men Gong in "The Butterfly in the Storm" (T_T)]