The Demon King is unfathomable

Chapter 322 Rich people have distant relatives in the mountains

It is true that even if you are rich, you still have distant relatives, and if you have no relatives, you can create relatives.

Looking at the wax-sealed envelope in his hand, Luo Yan couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

There is no doubt that——

Hamelton was cheated!

Luo Yan could guess from the look of his hair that there were only two possibilities.

Either some noble who couldn't make it in the Imperial Holy City was bragging about something and it just happened to be "linked" to his own story, or the ancestor of some noble didn't prepare a draft when compiling the family tree and fooled his own children.

It is difficult to estimate how huge the number of royal descendants an empire that has been passed down for thousands of years would have accumulated without any change of dynasties.

In particular, the title of prince is not like duke, earl, baron and other titles which have corresponding territories. Any impoverished noble who is related to the emperor will use the title of prince instead of hanging the shabby baronial or knightly title on his head.

The reason why Luo Yan chose to package himself as a prince was because he understood this historical background and recognized that there was a loophole to be exploited.

In a small place like the Duchy of Campbell, which is located near the Brass Pass, the title of prince can enjoy royal courtesy without being exposed due to inability to justify the territory.

As long as he put on enough pomp and circumstance to intimidate these local nobles without affecting their fundamental interests, he would be the undisputed prince.

This is the same idea as pretending to be a prosecutor from the holy city to blackmail the local officials who have something to hide, and his trick is not even the biggest one.

However, even though he knew that General Hamelton had been tricked by an "acquaintance", Luo Yan would not expose that "distant relative" in person.

after all--

The play has just begun and must continue.

Besides, this is a good thing.

How much does it cost to raise a few pigs.

"...It's incredible. We have been away from home for more than 500 years. I didn't expect that there are still people in the Holy City who remember us!"

After sighing sincerely, Luo Yan opened the envelope in his hand in front of General Hamelton and took out the letter inside.

It was written to him from Sir Edmond Dantès's hand--

Out of curiosity, Youyou also moved behind the Demon King and started reading with him.

[Dear Her Royal Highness Roxelle Colin:
When I heard about you from the staff of the Holy City Port Authority, I was extremely surprised and wanted to fly to you immediately!
Please forgive my gaffe. When I wrote this letter, I was excited and nervous. After all, our two families have gone their separate ways for hundreds of years, and I never expected that I would be able to reconnect with a prominent figure like you in my lifetime.

My name is Edmond Dantes, I am 42 years old, and I am one of the only surviving descendants of the Dantes family.

I guess you may not have heard of me, a humble person, but I would like to ask you to give me five minutes to allow me to briefly introduce my family and the historical origins between our two families!
Five hundred years ago, Miss Margaret of the Dantes family married the noble Prince Fernando Collin. They were deeply in love and a perfect match...and this marriage also brought prosperity to the two families. The Collin family and the Dantes family were the most powerful in the Holy City at that time!

However, fate is always unpredictable. The respected Prince Colin was unfortunately shipwrecked on his way across the vast ocean to Hojo Port to expand the empire's territory. Since then, there has been no news. Lady Margaret was deeply shocked by this and cried all day until her death.

This shipwreck not only left an unfinished legend for the Colin family and the Dantes family, but also brought great bad news to the two families.

Can you imagine how a widow who suffered the pain of losing her husband soon after her marriage could face the greedy eyes of the people around her?

At that time, Lady Margaret was pregnant and had just given birth to a son shortly after Prince Fernando Collin disappeared. As the Collin family was caught up in a dispute over property rights, Lady Margaret had to move out of the ancestral home and change her name back to her family name, Robert Dantes, in order to prevent herself and Prince Fernando's only remaining flesh and blood from being involved.

Time flies, five hundred years have passed, and the huge monster five hundred years ago has fallen apart, and Colin's bloodline has been dispersed into several families in the Holy City. And Fernando's line only has the son born by Lady Margaret left, continuing the ancient tradition of the family.

In other words, our ancestors were half brothers!
For centuries, we have always believed that somewhere on the other side of the vast ocean, the noble blood of the Colin family still flows... Saint Sis! Our piety and belief were not in vain. His Highness Fernando Colin is still alive! I feel as if I have witnessed a miracle with my own eyes!

Your Highness, thank you for reading this!
Although I am aware of my humble status and obscurity, I am deeply comforted to know that my family bloodline still exists in the world.

I long for the opportunity to travel to the New World to meet you, to tell you our family's story in person, and I also hope to reconnect with the long-lost family ties, even if it's just a faint trace in the distance.

Finally, I would like to thank General Hamelton again for his generosity and kindness, which gave me the opportunity to extend this greeting to you five hundred years late. Whether you are willing to recognize the blood relationship between us or not, I wish your Highness good health and everlasting family glory!

Your loyal and sincere distant cousin,

Sir Edmond Dantès.

yours truly!

】

"Is your ancestor called Fernando Colin?" Seeing Luo Yan's eyes sweeping to the last line, General Hamelton asked impatiently.

It was obvious that he really wanted this favor.

"…I'm not sure, General Hamelton. To be honest, the chaos my ancestors went through is beyond your imagination."

Luo Yan pondered for a long time, and finally did not admit it immediately. Instead, he gave an answer that was both positive and negative.

"In that era of extreme scarcity, we could only carve limited information on stones and masts. We also had to guard against the hostility of the lizardmen and had to migrate everywhere. As time went by... the original stones could no longer be found, and the masts had long since rotted and turned into ashes. Many things about five hundred years ago have been lost."

"I hope very much that the contents of this letter are true, but when it comes to bloodline issues, I must consider it carefully."

Even though Luo Yan did not think that at this juncture when the trade agreement had been finalized, there was still a need for Hamilton to test him, but he still had to be true to his character so as not to arouse the general's suspicion.

General Hamelton looked a little disappointed, but he quickly expressed his understanding.

Three hundred years ago, St. Ilburg was still a deserted island.

It is indeed too difficult to expect a poor man stranded on the beach to pass on the glory of the nobility from generation to generation.

Put yourself in their shoes. Even if you were to encounter such a thing, you would have to try your best to survive. How could you care about those things?
"Indeed... Issues concerning bloodline must be considered carefully. I was too careless. Please don't take this letter to heart."

"How could that be? I am very grateful that you care so much about my affairs."

Looking at the slightly lost Hamelton, Luo Yan smiled and continued in a joking tone.

"Moreover, some of the stories in this letter actually match what I learned about my ancestors. Perhaps the first member of the Colin family who drifted to this land was named 'Fernando'? Or maybe this is just one of his many names."

"Anyway, I am interested in meeting that distant relative. If they are really the bloodline of the Colin family, I can't just leave them alone. Besides, we also really want to complete the missing part of the historical materials, which is also a regret that my father was unable to complete during his lifetime."

Hamelton's eyes lit up and he spoke immediately.

"That's easy! I can help you invite Sir Dantes over!"

Luo Yan shook his head slightly.

"I'd better go there... After a while, I plan to go to the Holy City, set foot on my homeland as a prince, and hold a funeral for my father."

After a pause, he crossed himself and continued.

"I will bury his honor and ashes in the cemetery of the Holy City. This was his lifelong wish. Now that the conditions are met, I hope his soul can rest in peace in the land he longed for and return to the embrace of Saint Sith. In addition, I have heard that the Empire's academic state has profound attainments in the field of magic. If there is a chance, I would also like to visit there for study and exchange ideas."

This was the character he originally made up, and going through this journey can be considered as completing the story so that it won't be exposed if it drags on for too long.

As for the time misalignment?
joke!

Aligning the timeline and finding excuses are headaches for historians. Does he, who hasn't even been buried yet, need to consider this?
If this is true, he is being cautious!

In the age of the Internet, memories can be tampered with at will, not to mention in this old age when there was no Internet and the information everyone received was not even as good as fragments.

If you lose, you're a Gutaf, with shit all over your butt.

And as long as he wins, there will naturally be a thousand explanations!

……

After the banquet, General Hamelton said goodbye to Prince Colin, and left the fortress with satisfaction with his accompanying officers and returned to the port of Deadwood Harbor.

It is worth mentioning that although he often came to Teach for meals during this period, he did not live in Teach, but lived near the port under construction.

He not only built a house for Prince Colin, but also built one for himself by obtaining land at the port through Teach.

Of course, nominally this property was one of the "offices" set up by the St. Ilburg Logistics Department in Deadwood Harbor. It belonged to the Imperial Navy and His Majesty the Emperor, but as a general he only had 24-hour use rights.

After all, the emperor doesn't even leave the palace, so it's impossible for him to come to this remote place.

In General Hamelton's plan, the future Deadwood Harbor will be the logistics base for the garrison of Fort St. Ir and a vacation destination for officers.

The environment here is really good, with only rainy season and dry season, unlike the New World where it is cold in winter and hot in summer.

He was very concerned about this grand plan, so he always treated this place as his own backyard...

Oh no, it should be said that it is the back garden of the empire.

Shortly after General Hamelton left, Teach finally relaxed his shoulders and moved behind Luo Yan, saying with a wry smile.

"Sir...what plans do you have next time? Could you please let me know in advance, so that I can at least be mentally prepared?"

This meal was probably the most uncomfortable one he had had this month, so much so that his stomach and intestines still ache slightly, as if they were cramping.

"Plans can't keep up with changes. I didn't know that someone would suddenly appear in the Holy City to recognize me as my relative."

Teach was stunned when he heard this.

do not know?
He thought it was someone arranged by the Demon King...

"You mean... that guy is a fake?"

"Maybe, maybe not, who knows?" Luo Yan smiled faintly, and didn't seem to care about it. He only left an intriguing sentence, "When necessary, fake can be real, and real can be fake. Maybe one day in the future, even if General Hamelton finds out that he is making a deal with the devil, he will convince himself to turn a blind eye." Is it really so?
That's the "Imperial Griffin", a general who has become a legend!
Teach expressed his doubts, but did not dare to question the respected Demon King. He could only nod in agreement and praise the Demon King's wisdom.

Perhaps General Hamelton still has a chance to get off the ship, but he has been completely tied to this pirate ship, and he and the Demon King will share the same fate.

As Lumière said, he was destined not to go to heaven, so he might as well find a good job in hell.

Perhaps Hell is not as bad as the Empire claims, just as the Empire is not as holy as it claims.

Not taking Teach's compliment to heart, Luo Yan looked at the baron who was speaking against his will and simply gave instructions lightly.

"You can prepare in the next few days. I will take you and Lumier to the Holy City."

Tikki was stunned for a moment, and instantly tensed.

"I... am I going too?"

Luo Yan said calmly.

"Didn't Lumire tell you a long time ago?"

This does sound tempting -

Teach swallowed.

"But what about Deadwood Harbor?"

Luo Yan said in a casual tone.

"Didn't you appoint a governor? I've observed that Captain Keldsen is a good 'steward'."

"But he is an outsider after all, and I'm worried--" Teach's voice became smaller and smaller. He was embarrassed to say that he was worried that the guy would steal his gold coins.

Fortunately he didn't say it, otherwise Luo Yan would definitely kick him in the butt.

“The first thing you need to stop doing is worrying about things that don’t really matter, and then focus on the things that really matter.”

Luo Yan interrupted him and continued patiently.

"We have completed our layout in Deadwood Harbor. The consensus established with the endorsement of many parties cannot be influenced by a small governor. If he is smart enough, he will find his own value and position in this consensus and become your most loyal supporter... just like you must and can only support me."

As long as the person is yours, what difference does it make who holds the money?
Isn't that just a piggy bank?
Looking at Teach who was breathing rapidly, Luo Yan smiled, patted his shoulder and continued.

"Be happy. This is a great opportunity to return home in glory. No one will know that you were a pirate. They will only talk about a baron who survived a disaster and the wealth he seized from the colonies... If I were you, I would use the time on the sea to write a biography for myself. This might become your first pot of gold after you land."

As for the name, let's call it "The Strange Adventures of Imperial Baron Titch Kosiah: How he survived a shipwreck, drifted alone to the coast of Janna, lived on a beach near the Stairway to the Sun Mountains for nearly ten years, and was miraculously rescued by the Imperial Navy in the end. Written by himself."

The abbreviation is "The Voyage of Cosia".

Faced with the treasure map that slowly unfolded, Teach swallowed hard, along with the rationality that suppressed his madness and the fear that made him shrink back.

The voice that echoed in his ears had a bewitching melody.

The sound was like the whisper of a demon.

"Every penny and every piece of land that the servants of Saint Sith have swindled from you, your demon king will take it back for you."

"That's what I promised you."

……

For the rest of the day, Teach almost forgot how he spent it, with only one thought in his mind -

Perhaps he should seriously consider picking up the genealogy of the Cossia family again, and then think carefully about how to make up for the missing years.

Facing the stone wall of the fortress, he was sitting on a wooden stake and suddenly a muttered something out of the blue.

"Perhaps I should have a loyal lizardman servant..."

Today seems to be Saturday, so let's just call it Saturday.

Just as he was thinking about the opening of his autobiography, hurried footsteps were suddenly heard in the distance, and Captain Kedesan ran over in a hurry.

"Your Excellency the Baron! Something terrible has happened!"

Tiqi said casually without even raising his eyes.

"What's wrong, Saturday? Look how anxious you are."

"Xing, Saturday?" Kaidesen was stunned for a long time, then continued with a smile, "Sir, it's already this time, are you still in the mood to joke?"

Tikki smiled but said nothing.

Since it's your grandson who's here, it means there's no need to rush this matter.

If General Hamelton or the Empire's messenger came over, he might take it seriously.

At this point, he finally understood why Lumire was always so calm.

This is called looking at the problem from the perspective of the devil.

"Oh, then tell me what's the matter."

Looking at the nonchalant Titch, Kaedson didn't bother to express his dissatisfaction and spoke quickly.

"It's the sailors and captains in Deadwood Harbor who eat for free without working! And the merchants stranded in the hotel! They were in an uproar when they heard about the secret agreement between Prince Colin and General Hamelton, and they were shouting why they had to endure six silver coins a bag of flour when they could sell grain to the Empire at a low price!"

It is definitely a slander to say that they eat for free without working. They paid a lot of money, otherwise they would not react so strongly.

But...is that deal a secret agreement?

In Teach's impression, the Demon King didn't seem to be shy at all and spoke directly in front of all the soldiers.

Now that it was almost time for the tavern to open, it was only natural that the news would spread.

There is only one explanation——

Your Majesty the Demon King did it on purpose!

Teach is a person who learns and applies what he learns. After mastering the "magic science", he immediately began to consider issues from the perspective of the Demon King, thinking seriously and trying to emulate Lumir to help the Demon King solve his problems.

But Kaedson couldn't wait any longer. After all, those people had surrounded his Governor's Mansion. If he waited any longer, they might rob his vault!
"Let me see Prince Colin!" He slapped his thigh and said hurriedly, "I have to report to him in person!"

Looking at this crazy guy, Teach quickly reached out to stop him and cursed him.

"Are you still asleep? That master has no time to see you. If you can't even handle this, there's no need for us to be here."

Kaidesen's expression froze, and after a moment he finally calmed down and spoke tremblingly.

"Then what should we do... find General Hamelton?"

After all, he is just a captain working for the Chamber of Commerce. In other words, he is a high-level leeks of the empire. He is not mature enough politically. When encountering problems, he counts names like reading out the names of dishes.

Tikki smiled and said lightly.

"Don't look for anyone. This is your business."

Without waiting for Kaidsen to ask further questions, he continued.

"I'll teach you a trick. Go back and tell those people that... His Royal Highness traveled day and night to Assam City to negotiate a trade agreement with the Lizardman Kingdom for them. He didn't even have a hot meal for two weeks. But they showed no sympathy for His Royal Highness who rescued them from the shipwreck. Lord Saint Sis is watching from heaven. Those who are ungrateful will go to hell."

First, we must occupy the moral high ground.

Looking at Kedesen who seemed to have realized something, Tiqi continued slowly.

"Then tell them that the rumors are inaccurate. The grain that Prince Colin sold to General Hamelton was not a secret agreement, but was sold to fill the gap in the Empire's logistics supply and for the benefit of the Empire... Moreover, it was not cheap, thirty silver coins per ton."

This...isn't it cheap?

Kaidesen was stunned for a moment and was about to ask something, but Tiqi raised his hand to stop him from speaking and continued.

"Finally, tell those troublemakers that the food will be delivered in three months and will not appear at the port immediately. Instead of making meaningless complaints here, why not help the imperial construction team build roads? Not only will they be provided with three meals a day, but the food delivery will also be faster."

If there is no money, then contribute labor. This is the consistent decision of the Governor's Office of Deadwood Port. They have no obligation to support these idle people.

In this way, the sailors' problem was solved, which could not be accomplished by the captains and merchants alone.

Of course.

The devil is merciful and will not settle accounts with them just because they speak a little loudly. Their problems will be solved anyway.

Tiqi followed the adult's thinking and said to Kedesen whose eyes were becoming brighter and brighter.

"In addition, if they are interested in corn at thirty silver coins per ton, they can of course also purchase it from the Governor's Office in Deadwood Port. His Royal Highness the benevolent Prince will sell it to them equally."

"It's just that the delivery time is the same as the Empire's, which is three months later."

“And you have to pay first.”

(End of this chapter)