Rose Empire

"We need to buy fifty slaves who are capable of stonemasonry and carpentry work." Renee said to the slave owner.

This is a big deal. The slave owner rubbed his hands and said, "Slave workers who know how to work are more expensive."

“It doesn’t matter if it’s a little expensive,” Renee said, “but you have to be healthy and not have any disease or disability.”

"Don't worry," the slave owner assured, patting his chest, "I, Hans, have always been the most trustworthy. All the slaves I sold were as strong as foals."

"You don't have the final say. We will check it ourselves," said Renee.

Eric Scamario, accompanied by two knight attendants, followed the slave owner to select slaves and check the "quality" of the slaves - that is, whether they were healthy and sound.

At this time, another slave owner came over and asked cautiously, "Dear guests, are you buying so many stonemasons and carpenters to build a castle?"

Charlotte looked at the slave owner, raised her eyebrows, and asked, "Why are you asking this?"

The slave owner smiled and said, "If you want to build a castle, I have a good slave here who I can recommend to you. He is a master architect and has participated in the construction of Feidi City."

Feidi is the largest city-state in the Aiye Alliance. It is said that its city is also the most majestic and artistic in the entire Sokya Peninsula.

"Oh? So powerful?" Charlotte was very interested. "Bring him here for me to see."

The slave owner went back immediately and soon brought back a man with an iron chain around his neck and with gray hair and beard.

Although the man was not young, he had delicate skin and tender flesh, and did not look like a slave.

"Are you the master architect? Have you participated in the construction of Feidi City?" Charlotte asked.

The man's Adam's apple moved for a while before he slowly replied, "Yes, yes."

"What's your name?" Charlotte asked again.

"Jonathan, Jonathan Hackman," the man said.

Charlotte then asked the man some questions about architecture and mathematics, and the man answered them fluently. Charlotte nodded and said to the slave owner, "We'll buy this man."

"Thank you for your patronage." The slave owner said happily. He thought that this old and weak slave would be a waste of money, but he didn't expect to meet a customer today who didn't even bargain.

Suddenly, Charlotte rolled her eyes again and asked, "By the way, do you have any beautiful female slaves?"

"Female slaves?" The slave owner was slightly stunned, because Charlotte and the others did not look like customers who wanted to buy female slaves, but he quickly reacted, "Female slaves, of course we have them. Our female slaves are not only beautiful, but also come in many varieties."

"Really?"

"Miss!"

Charlotte was about to ask what varieties there were when Renee interrupted her.

"I'll just buy ten slave girls," said Charlotte.

Renee rolled her eyes: "Miss, don't spend money recklessly!"

"nine!"

"Eight!"

"Seven!"

"Six!"

……

Finally, Renee couldn't stand her mistress's nagging anymore and had to agree to let Charlotte buy two female slaves.

"I have to pick the best-looking ones, and they have to be virgins." Since the quantity was greatly reduced, Charlotte could only demand higher quality.

The selected slaves were temporarily deposited in the slave market, and Charlotte and her group would take them away when the extraordinary materials were delivered tomorrow.

The slave owners naturally agreed to this small request from a big customer.

After strolling around the city for almost a whole day, Charlotte and the others basically bought all the supplies and people needed for the territory. They also bought two pieces of city-state-style jewelry for Beatrice and her daughter.

Beatrice insisted on not accepting it, but Charlotte forced it on her, and Anna happily accepted the gift.

In the evening, the group returned to the inn where they were staying. The waiter who shouted to burn Heath yesterday served Charlotte and the others a sumptuous dinner attentively, without any sign of viciousness or cruelty.

"Sure enough, they are just ordinary people." Renee, who was peeling shrimps for Charlotte at the dinner table, suddenly said.

Today, they saw many city-state people in the city, some of them were slick, some were enthusiastic, some were calculating, and some were clever. But in general, as Charlotte said, they were all very common people, who might not be of high moral character, but they were not barbaric or evil either.

"Since they are just ordinary people, why did they burn their compatriots to death without hesitation yesterday?" Leni asked again in confusion.

"Because when many ordinary people gather into a group, they lose the ability to think normally. Group behavior is often emotional, blind, and mentally retarded," said Charlotte.

Heath’s death reminded Charlotte of another great man who died at the hands of democracy – Socrates.

It is said that when Socrates was on trial, many citizens who participated in the voting did not actually know what crime Socrates had committed. However, they felt that since Anytus, a very famous leader in the Athenian city-state at that time, had accused Socrates of being guilty, then Socrates must be guilty.

The same thing happened with Heath's death. Although many citizens didn't even know what the Pythagorean theorem, squares, and diagonals were, this didn't stop them from thinking Heath was guilty, because the elders, scholars, and inquisitors on the stage all thought Heath was guilty.

Since Hiss was guilty, the citizens had a reason to satisfy their desire to watch a burning at the stake.

"But Ambratu has handed over his management power to all citizens, and the Citizens' Assembly has been managing the city-state normally for many years." Renee still had some doubts about her young lady's shocking words.

Charlotte raised her lips slightly and said, "Leni, let's make a bet. The willfulness of the citizens of Ambratu will sooner or later bring disaster to this city."

PS: The previous error has been corrected, thanks to the reminder from the boss "Helawei Watermelon".

PS2: Ask for a wave, monthly tickets, blades, recommendation tickets~~~~q group 1榴⑧②衣7⑦1榴

Volume 32: Chapter 29 Chapter Intelligence and Stone Carvings

"It's closed. It's really closed."

"No one is allowed to pass?"

"No one is allowed to pass!"

“So when can it be released again?”

"How do I know this?"

The next morning, as soon as Charlotte walked out of her rented hotel room, she heard a commotion in the lobby on the first floor of the hotel, which was used as a public restaurant.

Charlotte listened for a while and found out that the news that Viscount Lanwan had closed the border had finally spread in Ambratu. Charlotte could only sigh that the news was too slow these days. It had been two days since the incident happened before it spread to the ordinary citizens.

Walking into the restaurant, Charlotte looked around. At this time, in a dark and quiet corner of the restaurant, a blond man also noticed Charlotte, waved his hand to attract Charlotte's attention, then stood up and bowed slightly to Charlotte.

The man was Robin Mancini, the knight who was sent to Ambulatu by Charlotte as soon as he arrived at Viscount Lanwan's territory.

Charlotte came and sat down across from Robin Mancini.

"Good day, my dear lady." Robin Mancini asked Charlotte in his frivolous tone.

"Good day, my loyal knight. Is the task I assigned to you going smoothly?" Charlotte asked.

Hearing Charlotte's question, Robin Mancini couldn't help but smile and said, "If what you want to ask is the task of letting me accompany Mr. Harvey Sherwin to eat, drink and have fun, then there is really nothing wrong with it."

"You know that's not what I want to ask." Charlotte said seriously.

Robin Mancini finally put away his frivolous smile: "Of course, it was done very well." He took out a small notebook with an exquisite leather cover and handed it to Charlotte.

Charlotte took the notebook and began to flip through it in the noisy restaurant.

Bringing Harvey Sherwin to Ambratu for food, drink and fun was only the first task Charlotte gave Robin Mancini. He also had another task, which was to collect basic intelligence on Ambratu.

Regarding the second task, the results of Robin Mancini's work during this period are reflected in the little notebook in Charlotte's hand.

Just as Charlotte's impression when she first saw it,

There were only about 90,000 permanent residents in the city of Ambrato, including more than 28,000 citizens, more than 50,000 free people, and most of the rest were slaves, and there were some foreigners.

However, there are still some people in Ambratu living outside the city. Some of them are foreigners who are not allowed to live in the city, some are stewards or serfs on the estates of noble families in the city, and some are villagers from scattered villages nearby. There are also quite a few of these people. Adding them all together, the total population of Ambratu may be able to exceed 110,000.

In theory, every citizen of the city-state is obliged to serve in the military during war, so the total strength of Ambulatu should be more than 28,000. However, the main combat force of war in this world is still the extraordinary people. There are about 1,300 extraordinary people in Ambulatu, which has been documented in several previous wars.

Currently, there are ten elders in the Ambratu Elders Council, named

Olivier Capino, Lucas Capino, Klose Ballack, Jurgen Völler, Harry Kane, Nuno Kane, Martin Kramer, Antanas, Salius, John Rice.

Like most mature city-state politics, the Ambratu Senate is divided into two major camps: the democrats and the oligarchs.

As the name suggests, the democrats advocate that power belongs to the majority and that all matters in the city-state must be decided by a unanimous vote of the Senate. However, the oligarchs advocate that the city-state should be governed by a powerful figure to lead the city-state forward.

The root of this division lies in the different supporters behind these elders. Some elders come from political families. Their fathers and grandfathers may all be elders. They have a group of supporters and followers, just like the political arena. These supporters and followers are probably also wealthy and famous families in the city. There are also some elders who come from humble backgrounds. They may have been ordinary citizens before, working as fishermen, shoemakers, leatherworkers, etc., but they relied on their highly inflammatory eloquence, outstanding intelligence and some achievements on the battlefield to gain the support of a group of grassroots citizens in the city-state and were elected to the Senate as elders.

From the perspective of an outsider who does not understand the situation, it is easy to mistakenly believe that the former are oligarchs and the latter are democrats.

After all, the impression that aristocratic families give people has always been that they are always trying to monopolize power and wealth and block the upward path for people at the bottom.

However, the reality is just the opposite. The oligarchs in the city-state politics are often elders who are either from the lower class citizens or elders who represent the interests of the lower class citizens and have the support of the lower class citizens. Those elders who come from political families and have the support of the wealthy are the democrats who advocate that power belongs to the majority.

Take the Senate of Ambratu for example. The seven elders of the Democratic Party, Olivier Capino, Lucas Capino, Klose Ballack, Jurgen Völler, Harry Kane, Nuno Kane, and Martin Kramer, all come from political families. Capino, Ballack, Völler, Kane, and Kramer are all evergreen families in the political arena of Ambratu.

As for the oligarchs, Antanas, Salius, and John Rice, Antanas was originally just an ordinary cargo ship helmsman, and was later recruited into the Ely Union Fleet. He entered politics after gaining merit in the war. Salius and John Rice were similar, the former was just a leatherworker, and the latter taught people to debate, and both were very poor.

Robin Mancini's notes describe in great detail each elder's family background, interpersonal relationships, and even some gossip.

"Good, you didn't neglect your task." Charlotte said, closing her notebook.

Robin Mancini smiled and shook his head. He said, "I didn't do anything extraordinary. The reason I was able to collect so much information is entirely due to your wisdom."

Before coming to Ambrato, Charlotte told Robin Mancini that Harvey Shervin was a useful tool who could help Robin Mancini gather intelligence, and asked Robin Mancini to follow Harvey Shervin closely.

Soon after, Robin Mancini, who was still confused, understood what Charlotte meant.

After arriving in Ambrato, Harvey Shelvin indulged in pleasure and spent money lavishly, which soon attracted the attention of the big shots in the city. He was invited to the home of an elder and was treated to fine wine and food.

Harvey Shelburne was a man who loved to enjoy himself and show off. After drinking some wine, he began to introduce himself, boasting that he was a royal descendant of the Kingdom of Coxin, a relative of the Duke of Greenfield, and that Rosie Mellorfield was his aunt. He even took out a letter with Rosie Mellorfield's private seal as evidence.

As for why the royal descendants of the Kingdom of Koxin do not have the surname Murat...haven't you seen illegitimate children?

Suddenly, Harvey Sherwin became a distinguished guest that all the big families in Ambratu City competed to invite for banquets. Even if it was just to see what the great nobles of the Orlan Empire looked like, it would not be a loss to treat them to a meal.

Robin Mancini has been following Harvey Sherwin to various banquets these days. At the banquets, everyone talked about everything and was well-informed. Robin Mancini easily learned a lot of secrets that he would never hear in the market, so he admired Charlotte's talents very much.

After closing the notebook, Charlotte was attracted by the leather cover of the notebook. The cover was not only beautifully made, but also painted with some simple and quaint paintings in gold powder. Those paintings gave Charlotte an inexplicably familiar feeling.

"Miss, should I go back with you this time? Or should I stay in Ambrato?" Seeing that Charlotte closed the notebook and said nothing more, Robin Mancini could not help but ask.

"Of course I'll stay in Ambrato. Do you want to go back?" Charlotte asked.

"Ah, this..." Robin Mancini hesitated.

"Okay, I know you don't want to go back." Charlotte rolled her eyes. "You just stay in Ambratu and continue to play with Harvey Sherwin. Wait until Harvey Sherwin gets tired of playing, or I give you new orders, then you can go back."

"Yes, my lady," Robin Mancini responded immediately and happily.

"You can't just eat, drink and have fun while you stay in Ambratu. You have to continue to gather information." Charlotte said.

Robin Mancini nodded repeatedly.

"In addition, I will give you some money. You should try to get to know as many citizens of Ambratu as possible. It would be best if they are those who are not living a satisfactory life, such as those who have gone bankrupt in business, those who have been forced to sell themselves to pay off high debts, those whose families have been broken up in the city-state wars, those who have been disabled in the war but have not been well taken care of..." Charlotte counted on her fingers.

Robin Mancini memorized them all and nodded, saying, "I understand." He didn't ask why he did this.

"One last question. Where did you get this notebook?" Charlotte asked, holding up the notebook in her hand.

"I just bought it casually in the market here. I heard that the leather craftsmen in Ambrato are good at it. Is there anything wrong with this notebook?" Robin Mancini said puzzledly.

Charlotte shook her head slightly, then pointed to the painting on the leather cover and asked, "Do you know where this painting came from?"

Robin Mancini thought that Miss Charlotte was suffering from an artistic disease, and immediately became interested and said, "Miss, do you think this painting is special? I also thought it was very interesting, so I asked the leatherworker. The painting above comes from the stone carvings outside the city of Ambratu. There are four stone carvings on the stone bridge outside the city of Ambratu. It is said that they are paintings left by the ancestors of the Ambratu people, depicting the history of pioneers and wild beasts fighting for this fertile land..."

Robin Mancini gestured with his hands to indicate that the stone carving was about the size of a tabletop, and continued talking.

Charlotte waved her hand to interrupt Robin Mancini and asked, "Is rubbing allowed?"

"Well, that should be possible..." Robin Mancini nodded, "I saw a donkey peeing before, and the Ambratu people didn't mind."

"Please make a copy for me as soon as possible. I want to take it away." Charlotte said.

"Okay." Robin Mancini nodded in confusion.

PS: Thank you all for your votes and blades, thank you very much.

PS2: Actually there is no PS2 to speak of~~qun衣六⑧二一7⑦伊⑥

Volume 33: Chapter 30 Chapter Text and Meeting

Charlotte and Renee had just finished their breakfast in the hotel restaurant when Robin Mancini returned with the rubbing paper with the ink still wet.

Soon, the seller of extraordinary materials also came to inform that the extraordinary materials Charlotte needed had been obtained.

Renee directed the servants to load all the goods onto the cart. Eric and his attendants brought the fifty-three slaves they had purchased from the slave traders, and they repacked their gear and returned to Viscount Lanwan's territory.