Why did the lord rebel

Chapter 415

In the end, after sending away the special envoy sent by the imperial family, the "Frost Maple Ridge Workers' Art Troupe" finally followed behind the "Fengyun Brigade", left Yongri City, and headed for the "Civil Fortress" on the front line of the Burning Crystal Canyon.

Along the way, the lord was still scolding his mother for the miserliness of the imperial family. As for the twenty or thirty gold medals, he gave them to the reluctant Queen Anya before he left, as a souvenir.

——For the Xiahou official, if he really wants any honorary title, he can ask the Manhattan Laboratory to give him an Oscar statuette. These gold-plated garbage medals of the empire are really not attractive:

May I ask, in the place where birds do not lay eggs, in the war-torn Eastern Front battlefield, can these medals be used as guns to kill bandits, or as shields to block orcs?
His Majesty Basil III might as well send out a few more bags of food!
However, today's Xiahou officials are not so poor that they can only set foot on the journey full of dissatisfaction;
At most, the girl was on horseback, shaking her head and chanting the classic works of the famous Tang poet Mr. Huang Chao several times, making all the Haiwen natives confused.

In stark contrast to the lord, are the lucky ones who won the status of lower nobles and knights this time:
Although the leaders of Shuangfengling live in the land of cracked souls, they are the citizens of the empire in name, and the traditional concepts of human beings in the empire are deeply rooted in their hearts:

Although the difference between "nobility" and "commoner" is just one word, there is almost a gap that can never be bridged between the identities represented behind it!

If you look at the imperial laws that have been continuously revised and handed down since the barren era, then this is almost a history of the privileges of the nobles and the blood and tears of the common people!

For example, according to the law of the empire, all civilians can only abide by monogamy, but nobles can have as many wives as they want—that is, because the Church of the Holy Light mandates that believers obey monogamy, this does not make the fat-headed imperial nobles Take all the wives of the commoners;
For another example, the Imperial Law expressly points out that nobles have natural immunity to minor crimes such as theft, adultery, and fraud, and their behavior is more restricted by family members and public opinion; will be thrown straight into prison.

This also explains why nobles hook up with commoner wives, which happens frequently in the empire:

If a nobleman goes to have an affair with a commoner woman, as long as the patriarch of the family doesn’t say anything, it’s nothing to worry about; on the other hand, if the commoner who is cuckolded wants to seek revenge from the nobleman——

——I'm sorry, you are suspected of "colliding with nobles", come with us to the prison!
Even the duel, which is traditionally used in imperial culture to resolve similar hatred disputes, is not something common people can afford: the "Imperial Law" clearly states that only nobles can initiate duels against nobles, and kill them in duels. Dead opponents do not have to bear responsibility;
As for civilians, not only can they initiate a duel with other civilians, but even if they kill their opponents in a duel, they themselves will have to spend more than ten years in prison for the so-called "honor killing".

Coupled with other issues such as taxes, labor, treatment, etc., the nobles and commoners in the empire are completely living in two worlds-the style of eating with the people like Xiahou officials every day, put some old-fashioned In the eyes of the nobles, it is considered a disgrace to the gentlemen!

It is precisely because of the precious status of nobles that the old revolutionaries who were conferred the title of lower-level nobles this time are all beaming when they sit on high horses, as proud as a poor scholar in ancient China. The four famous prostitutes in the south of the Yangtze River were married as concubines;

Among them, the arrogance of Knight Commander Allen Cousins ​​is the most arrogant:
In order to ensure that he can still be the "Chief Knight of the Igor Family" and command the honored knights of Frost Maple Ridge, the empire specially raised his knight rank from "Lily Knight" to "Bauhinia Knight" this time, so that ya Achieved a rocket-like class leap.

Now, Cousins ​​is riding on horseback, wearing the "Bauhinia Knight Medal" and the "Frost Maple Ridge May [-]st Medal" on his chest, puffing out his chest like the most inferior airport, as if I'm afraid that others will not see the two plaques on his chest.

If it wasn't for the fact that Ya is still drinking water and remembering the source, knowing how to repay her kindness, and wearing an extra red badge engraved with the head of the lord, Xia Houyan really wanted to slap this guy off the horse.

Fortunately, the happy atmosphere in the team of "Shuangfengling Labor Art Troupe" did not last long.

Because war is imminent.

Leaving the east gate of Yongri City and heading east, you have already entered the Yongri Mountain Range completely.

If it is said that in the hinterland of the Central Plains of the empire, people can only feel the panic caused by the war situation, then in the Yongri Mountains in the east of the empire, everyone can really feel the shadow of war that is covering their heads.

The convoy of the "Shuangfengling Labor Art Troupe" is driving on the "Meteor Avenue" from Yongri City to the Burning Crystal Canyon. Everywhere you can see, there are scars and tears left by soldiers everywhere:

Just beside this formerly prosperous main road in the Eastern Territory, human corpses exposed to the scorching sun and uncontained can be seen everywhere. It is unknown whether it was the orc raiders who sneaked into the rear of the battle line, or other human refugees and bandits at all. Even masterpieces of imperial soldiers.

At the beginning of the large-scale war last year, there were still countless refugees from the eastern occupied area who fled to the west along the "Meteor Avenue", but now there are none of them—as the Federation tightened its control over the occupied area, there are no more humans Can escape from birth and return to the empire,
Right now, there are only small groups of human patrolling soldiers who are responsible for maintaining law and order on the "Meteor Avenue", but with their pitiful numbers, it is simply a dream to clean up the threats around the road;

What's even more ridiculous is that there were a few imperial soldiers on patrol halfway. When they saw the convoy of the Igor family, a greedy light flashed in their eyes. The majestic golden goshawk banner retreated embarrassingly.

Sitting in the carriage, Xia Houyan found that the soldiers were all wearing the uniforms of the Eastern Army subordinate to Grand Duke Rosario.

Kenny Clever also returned to the front line with the art troupe this time, and he was playing the Marne card with the lord in the carriage.After noticing the expression of the senior official Xiahou, he said as if justifying:

"The elite of the Eastern Army have all been sent to the civil fort on the front line of the Burning Crystal Canyon—these soldiers patrolling in the rear, although they are under the control of the Eastern Army in name, are actually recruited locally, and most of them are hooligans... "

"The manpower of Grand Duke Rosario is so short?" Xia Houyan observed the cards in his hand, shook his head, and sighed.

Recalling the past years, the Rosario Eastern Army, which has been confronting the federal orcs in the eastern border all the year round, is not only the most powerful army in the entire empire, but its soldiers are also treated with disdain for other armies - for many poor people in the empire However, "enlisting in the Eastern Army" is a broad road to get rid of humble origins and become prosperous.

But now, even the Eastern Army can't recruit people because of the tragic war, and the fate of people is really unpredictable.

However, compared with the Eastern Army, in this "Sixth Human-Orc War", the ordinary people of the empire were undoubtedly more seriously injured-whether it was the tax and labor that became more stringent with the war, or the orcs and wolves. Riding a butcher's knife is enough to bring disaster to these ordinary people.

The absurdity of the whole thing is that until now, no one can tell how the battle was fought—the Human Empire said that the Federation launched the war of aggression, but Special Envoy Greer Raven Whisper insisted that it was The empire first provoked...

In the end, tens of thousands of human and orc people died, but they didn't even know why they died...

"Xing, the people are suffering. Death, the people are suffering!" Xia Houyan sighed, played a "win-win" skill card, and joined hands with Master Laurie to snatch the ten gold coin cards from Kenny's hand.

Kenny Clever was a little surprised when he heard the Duke of Frost Maple Ridge's emotion, and thought that this murderous overlord of the wilderness had suddenly developed a compassionate Bodhisattva feeling;

As a result, the next sentence is:
"Chris, go prepare more leaflets and spread them on the side of the road, and tell the unlucky people here that if they can't survive, they will flee to Frost Maple Ridge at the southernmost tip of the empire——If you have a skill, our Igor family Help them settle down!"

"Master Igor..." Kenny Clever couldn't help reminding, "Your Frost Maple Ridge territory is thousands of miles away from here, how could these poor refugees run to the crack with a pair of fleshy legs Go to the land of souls?"

"I didn't expect them to be able to cross the mountains and the sea." Xia Houyan smiled, and played another "cultural confidence" card, "The key is to make our Shuangfengling reputation of being thirsty for talent—— Qianjin City Bone Do you understand? Leaflets don’t cost money anyway.”

Kenny Clever had nothing to say and could only give a thumbs up.

……

A civil fort a hundred kilometers away.

Wrapped in a cloak, Marquis Lane Grant climbed down the ladder step by step, then kicked open the gate of the Central Army Command Post, gritting his teeth.

The staff who were packing up the documents in the command post saw the commander coming, and immediately held the documents and fell silent.

Like Grand Duke Rosario's Eastern Army, the remnants of the Imperial Central Army also moved into the civil fort after the construction of this front-line fortress.

The staff of the Central Army dug a deep hole in the center of the fortress, which was used as a frontline headquarters.

Seeing the Marquis of Grant enter the door, the staff who have just finished relocation and are busy sorting out documents, of course, it is impossible not to know that their coach is in a bad mood.

After the ceasefire agreement was reached, the Grand Duke Rosario advocated the construction of this "civil fort" on the front line as a front-line enemy hub to defend against the orc soldiers. However, Ryan Grant's opinion has not changed, and he still hopes that the entire army will withdraw to Yongsun City for defense.

The two coaches refused to accept each other, and the final decision-making power still fell into the hands of the Imperial Army.

However, Quentin, the Chief of Staff of the Imperial Army, is the long-time partner and friend of the Grand Duke Rosario--Which side will the military's opinions eventually lean? It's clear.

Because of this, Marquis Grant, who held his nose and obeyed the opinion of Grand Duke Rosario, has been quite upset recently.

"Leopold!" As soon as he entered the room, the Marquis of Lane Grant roared loudly, shaking the dust in the reinforced cave, "What happened to the group of wandering mages in Lianhua Ridge?!"

A staff officer wearing glasses hurried to the Marquis Grant.

In recent days, Grand Duke Rosario's Eastern Army has been busy recruiting young men, and Marquis Grant's Central Army has not been idle either—in other words, for the two major armies that have suffered heavy losses, it is imperative to replenish troops. primary task.

And Marquis Grant's recent luck is not bad:
A few days ago, he received a report from scouts, saying that he had discovered a group of wandering mages living in seclusion in the mountains and forests on an unknown hill in the Yongri Mountains, "Lianhua Ridge".

The so-called "wandering mages" refer to those mages who can use elemental power, but for various reasons do not submit to the jurisdiction of the Imperial Magic Association, and have never registered in the academy city.Generally speaking, these wandering mages are not tolerated in the imperial society of the Magic Association, and can only go to the barren mountains and forests to be Boyi Shuqi who does not eat Zhou Su.

In ordinary years, the dignified regular army of the empire would definitely look down on these cavemen, but now that the matter is urgent, the Marquis of Grant said that he could not let such an elemental force go, and immediately sent people to lobby to recruit these wandering mages to join the central government. military.

Now, Marquis Grant is most concerned about recruiting this group of wandering mages:

On the front line of this cold Burning Crystal Canyon, only the lice-laden dirty hair of the wandering mages, the unfashionable magic spells and the tiger skin skirt of the same style as Sun Dasheng can bring some warmth to the restless Marquis Grant.

However, the answer from the glasses staff made Marquis Grant furious:
"That...Master Grant, the conscription officer we sent before had already negotiated terms with the group of wandering mages. As long as they are given enough gold coins, these hermits are willing to go out and join our central army... But yesterday, the conscription officer again When they went, they suddenly changed their minds and didn't want to come..."

The Marquis Grant roared impotently and furiously, cursing:

"Don't come?! This group of bastards has killed the whole family! Why?! Grass! It must be the trick of that bastard, Grand Duke Rosario, right?! Did the Eastern Army find them too?! The Eastern Army What is the price?!"

"We thought so at the beginning..." the staff officer said with a look of embarrassment, "but we found out later—this group of wandering mages received a leaflet from Frost Maple Ridge issued by Lord Elliot Igor... They said that by joining Shuangfengling, not only can they settle down and get a registered residence in Phoenix Terrace, but they can also get a personal letter from a planning idol... The leader of the wandering mage said that the reason why they were willing to join the army was because they always lived in In the cave, there is no money to call those idols; and now that Shuangfengling is also recruiting, there is no need to look far away..."

The facial muscles of Marquis Grant quickly turned into a bunch of abstract geometric symbols.

(End of this chapter)