Rose Empire

Charlotte and Cecilia brought a bottle of Sea Snake and eleven exquisite wine glasses. "This is the spoils we seized in Dorococha. It is the last batch of Sea Snake brewed by the Batan winemaker Manet. It is a famous wine that the Gangtu royal family has been coveting. Let's use it to decorate your glory today."

boom.

Charlotte opened a bottle of Sea Snake and started with Ed Adkins, moving on to the next bottle as she finished one.

Hey, hey, hey.

I opened four bottles in a row.

Charlotte drove without feeling any pain at all, and the audience in the audience felt heartbroken for her.

After filling the glasses of Sea Snake for the ten knights who had made great contributions, Charlotte poured herself a glass as well: "To everyone's loyalty and bravery."

After saying that, Charlotte drank it all in one gulp.

"Sea Snake" is a slightly salty fruit wine with a unique flavor and rich layers of changes. It can indeed be called a good wine, but Charlotte is not a wine lover, nor does she understand wine, so she can't understand why it is priceless.

After Charlotte drank it all, the ten knights also drank it all excitedly, just like drinking water. Charlotte estimated that they did not appreciate the amazingness of the "Sea Serpent".

So, bang bang bang, Charlotte opened four more bottles of "Sea Serpent" and refilled the bottles for the ten knights.

The audience was astonished by this generosity.

This honor made the knights and squires in the audience extremely envious. Costa Scamario secretly regretted that if he had not made any mistake when he assassinated the sentry, he would have had a place on the stage now, right?

After conferring honors on ten knights, Charlotte finally announced a decision: "For all those who died in this battle, the Viscount of Lanwan will give 5,000 fusos to their families, and for those who are seriously injured and disabled, 3,000 fusos will be given."

This decision made the audience excited again. It was not that the Orlan Empire did not have a system of pensions, but the pensions were very small. For example, when Mario Duran "died in battle" for Charlotte, Charlotte did not give him a dime, and no one thought there was anything wrong with it. Because in the traditional concept of the empire, fighting for the lord was the duty of a knight, and if he died in battle, he died in battle.

It was rare for Charlotte to give such a high amount of pension. Five thousand fusos was already a considerable sum for an ordinary knight family. The cost of the Royal Griffin Knights' faction awakening ceremony prepared by the Green Plains Principality for ordinary squire knights was about two thousand five hundred fusos. There were awakening ceremonies in the private sector that reduced the cost to less than one thousand fusos, but the success rate was really worrying. Five thousand fusos was enough for a child of a knight family to undergo two awakening ceremonies.

This pension will undoubtedly greatly reduce the knights' worries when fighting.

The knights and their attendants were all excited, and the onlookers were all yearning for it. The only person who was not very happy at the scene was probably Charlotte's housekeeper, Cecilia.

In a not-so-long "honoring ceremony", Charlotte spent most of the 700,000 francs and had to pay more than 100,000 francs in pension.

"I think you may have lost this battle." Cecilia couldn't help but mutter to herself as she stepped down from the platform.

"War costs money," Charlotte said indifferently, "and the real spoils of this war have not yet arrived."

"The real trophy?"

Cecilia was a little curious, but before she could say anything, a figure suddenly rushed out from the crowd and stood in front of Charlotte. The guards around were frightened and almost drew their swords to kill the man.

"Your Excellency, Your Excellency! Please wait a moment," the man raised his hands to indicate that he had no weapons and did not intend to assassinate. He spoke with the accent of the Gangtu Empire, "I am willing to pay 500,000 fusos for the two bottles of 'Sea Snake' you have left."

Charlotte inadvertently revealed a sly smile, but she still said nonchalantly: "'Sea Snake'? I said, I don't plan to sell it, right? Those are the last two bottles, I plan to keep them for myself."

The man gritted his teeth and said, "Seven hundred thousand! I am willing to pay seven hundred thousand fusos!"

PS: Thank you all for your monthly tickets and blade recommendation tickets, thank you very much.

PS2: Ah, the second chapter is still delayed until now. I missed the appointment again, mainly because I fell asleep in front of the computer again. I have been very sleepy in the past few days.

Volume 128: Chapter 116 Chapter Inflation and Claims

Jean Joly is a businessman from the Gangtu Empire. He has been doing maritime trade between the Kingdom of Lesare and the Gangtu Empire for many years.

Not long ago, when Jean Joly was staying in Pinlus City in the Kingdom of Lesares, he heard from his colleagues that the Viscount of Lanwan next door had various interesting gambling projects, so he came to play for two days. Then he happened to encounter the "honor awarding ceremony" of the Viscount of Lanwan and saw the ten bottles of "Sea Snake".

Perhaps, many businessmen who are familiar with famous wines can realize the great commercial value of the only two remaining bottles of "Sea Snake", but it is difficult for those people to be more tempted by these two bottles of wine than Jean Joly, because he is from the Gangtu Empire.

The current Emperor of the Gangtu Empire, Jefferson Shane, is a tyrant who loves luxury and vanity. Under his rule, as long as you offer money, treasures, and beauties, you can get an official position or even a noble status in the Gangtu Empire. An animal inspector costs 3,000 tala, a pottery inspector costs 20,000 tala, a tax collector costs 100,000 tala, etc. The prices are clearly marked and fair. If you have enough money, you can even buy the position of captain of the palace guard - Tala is the currency of the Gangtu Empire, and the exchange rate between it and Fuso is close to one to one.

If he could present these two bottles of wine to the Emperor, Jean Joly felt that he would definitely be rewarded by the Emperor and would rise to prominence.

However, even though he offered a high price of 700,000 francs, Viscount Lanwan still shook his head and refused. Jean Joly therefore left Viscount Lanwan's territory in frustration.

“Huh…” Cecilia breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Charlotte reject the strange businessman. “It’s a good thing you rejected him. That businessman didn’t look like someone who could afford 700,000 francs.”

It turned out that Cecilia suspected the other party was a liar.

"Yeah," Charlotte nodded, "I don't think he can come up with 700,000 fusos either."

In fact, Charlotte had other reasons for rejecting the deal, such as feeling that 700,000 was not high enough. Jean Joly's appearance showed that there was indeed a buyer for the wine, and the real big buyers would not appear in a small place like the Viscount of Lanwan. At least at present, the casino in Elm Town did not have such a big attraction.

Charlotte displayed the wines publicly at the awarding ceremony just to spread the word, not to sell them on the spot.

After the reward ceremony, Hermann Green was about to lead his troops back to the camp, but Charlotte hurriedly stopped him.

"Knight Hermann!"

Herman Green came to Charlotte with a puzzled look, saluted respectfully and said, "Sir, do you have any instructions?"

"Give the knights and their squires a five-day holiday," said Charlotte.

"Another holiday?" Hermann blurted out, then he realized his impoliteness and bowed quickly to apologize.

Charlotte waved her hand to show that she didn't mind, then smiled and explained: "The knights and knights' squires have received money and honors, so they should be given some time to share with their family and friends. Otherwise, they probably won't be in the mood to stay in the barracks and train properly."

After listening to this, Hermann nodded thoughtfully, thinking that what Charlotte said made sense.

"In addition, I have another task for you," Charlotte said, asking Cecilia to take out a letter. "This is the victory report I wrote. Please send it to my father, the Duke of Green Plains, as soon as possible. In addition..."

Charlotte reached for another bottle of Sea Snake and handed it to Hermann: "Take this bottle of wine to my father as well and tell him it's a gift from me."

"Yes!"

Hermann accepted the task without hesitation and did not feel dissatisfied at all because he had to work overtime while others had holidays.

After arranging these matters, Charlotte got on the carriage and returned to her castle.

On the way, Cecilia couldn't help but say, "The patrol team found several knights gambling in the casino when they were patrolling in Elm Town yesterday. These knights couldn't restrain themselves when you were on vacation."

Charlotte said without surprise, "Yes, I know. Otherwise, why would I give these knights and knights' squires a holiday?"

"Huh?" Cecilia was puzzled.

"This time I distributed more than 600,000 fros in one go. This amount of money is too much for a small place like the Viscount of Lanwan," Charlotte patiently explained to Cecilia, "When there are too many coins in the market of a place, it will cause prices in that place to soar. This is called inflation. It will make life difficult for local people who have not had time to earn more income. In order to mitigate this negative impact, I need to recover part of the more than 600,000 fros in the shortest possible time."

"So you deliberately gave the knights and squires a holiday so that they would have time to gamble in the casino?"

Cecilia quickly understood Charlotte's thinking. All the casinos in Elm Town were owned by Viscount Lanwan, and the money earned from the casinos would naturally flow back into Charlotte's treasury.

"Yes," Charlotte nodded, "I also sent Knight Hermann away, so those knights and knight attendants should be able to go to the casino with more peace of mind."

"But you clearly stipulated that knights cannot go to casinos." Cecilia said with a smile.

"Rules are rules," Charlotte said nonchalantly. "There's no need to be so rigid when enforcing them. You can be lenient and strict. Let them go to the casino during their holidays. In this era of lack of entertainment, we have to give the soldiers some opportunities to relax."

"What if the knights and their squires cause trouble in the casino again?" Cecilia asked again, "Should we let the patrols arrest them directly?"

"Well," Charlotte nodded, "After we catch them, we can directly accuse them of illegally entering the casino and confiscate all the bounties they received!"

"In any case, you must take back the money you just gave."

Cecilia complained, taking Charlotte's words seriously in her heart, especially Charlotte's part about the relationship between currency and prices, which Cecilia had never heard of or thought about before.

After thinking for a while, Cecilia drew inferences from one instance and asked, "There are many gold and silver wares and jewelry seized from Ambratu and Dorucocha in the warehouse. They are all valuable and ordinary people can't afford them. Although these should all be yours, you don't seem to want to use them. Can you sell them at the market in Elm Town? This may also help to recover some of the bounties from the knights and squires."

"Sure, that's a great idea."

Charlotte agreed readily.

This is what Charlotte admires most about Cecilia. She has a quick and open mind and is good at accepting and applying new knowledge. She is one of the very few girls in the world who can keep up with Charlotte's thinking.

When they arrived at the castle, as soon as Charlotte got off the carriage, the maid Linda hurried out to greet her.

"Miss……"

Linda's big eyes were filled with tears.

"Why are you crying?" Charlotte pinched the little maid's cheek and asked with a smile, "Linda, who bullied you?"

"They all said that you went to the war, and that people would die in the war. I was so scared. But I didn't know what to do. I cleaned your room every day and waited for you to come back, but you haven't come home for so long..."

As Linda spoke, big tears rolled down her cheeks.

Charlotte smiled and hugged the little maid's waist, comforting her: "Don't cry, I'm back now. There will probably be more wars in the territory in the future. How can you be my maid if you are so timid?"

Hearing this, Linda tried hard to hold back her tears.

Cecilia on the side rolled her eyes secretly. She didn't know who it was, but after the triumph, he didn't return to his own castle, but stayed at her house for three days.

"Mr. Jonathan Hackman is waiting for you in the reception room."

Nina reported to Charlotte that after Cecilia moved out of the castle, Charlotte handed over the chores in the castle to Nina, the older of the two slave girls.

Nina can read a few words and has a gentle but not weak personality. She is capable of managing the trivial affairs of this small castle.

Cecilia went home at night, but usually came to the castle to work during the day. Charlotte's castle was not only her own residence, but also the administrative center of the Viscount Lanwan.

"Please ask Mr. Hackman to come to my study." Charlotte let go of Linda, patted the little maid's head, and said, "Go and prepare some tea and snacks for me."

"Yes." Linda said, wiping away her tears.

Soon Charlotte met the current county sheriff of Umbrato County, Jonathan Hackman, in the study.

As soon as they met, Jonathan Hackman saluted Charlotte respectfully and said, "Congratulations, Your Excellency, on the great victory in Dorukocha."

"You congratulated me three days ago in Ambrato." Charlotte smiled and gestured for me to sit down. "Today, let's talk about your work achievements."

"Yes." Jonathan Hackman took out a stack of documents and handed them to Charlotte.

Charlotte took the document and briefly flipped through it. It contained records of criminals who had been executed for various crimes or sentenced to decades of hard labor.

"In the past three months, Ambulatu County has sentenced 1,764 people to death and 2,552 people to more than 30 years of hard labor. Without exception, all of these people are former citizens of Ambulatu," Jonathan Hackman introduced to Charlotte.

Charlotte was not surprised by the number, but asked, "Is this enough?"

Jonathan Hackman nodded and said, "The most influential citizens of Ambratu who were willing to participate in politics in the city-state have all been executed. Even if the remaining citizens of Ambratu return to Ambratu, they will be in disarray."

"That's good."

Charlotte put down the documents with satisfaction, picked up a piece of pastry that Linda brought and took a bite. It was soft and sweet. It seemed that the little maid's skill in making desserts had improved again.

"The three-month labor service is about to end. I have no reason to detain those citizens of Ambulatu." Charlotte continued, "Although you have confiscated most of their estates, mines, and fields, most of them will return to Ambulatu. For the sake of order in Ambulatu County and for your own safety, I think you are no longer suitable to serve as the governor of Ambulatu County."

Jonathan Hackman had anticipated Charlotte's words. He bowed and said, "I will follow your decision."

Charlotte put Jonathan Hackman in the position of the Sheriff of Ambratu County, just to use him as a butcher knife. When Jonathan killed all the people he should kill, he should make way for the next Sheriff. Jonathan knew this very well, and he did not regret it, because killing those culprits was what he wanted to do.

"I hope someone organizes a petition, writes a petition signed by at least 10,000 people, begging me to withdraw my promise of 'Ambulatu people governing Ambulatu' and replace you," Charlotte said bluntly.

"Yes, I will hand over the petition to you in the next two days," Jonathan replied.

"Do you have any recommendations for the next county governor?" Charlotte asked.

After a moment's thought, Jonathan said, "John Rice is a pretty good choice."

"John Rice?" Charlotte felt that the voice sounded familiar, but she couldn't remember who it was.

"John Rice was originally an elder of the Democratic Party of the Ambratu city-state. Due to health reasons, he did not follow Antanas to the expedition to Little Sasini. But later, Knight Harvey Shelvin died, and he negotiated with you on behalf of Ambratu. He should be digging a canal in Fairy Lake now." Jonathan said.

"Oh..." Charlotte nodded, but she still hadn't remembered this person. "I didn't expect you to recommend a former Ambratu elder."

"John Rice is different from other Ambratu elders. He has almost never made any decent achievements in the Council of Elders, and he is not particularly keen on participating in government affairs," Jonathan explained. "But he has been honest all his life, and has a very good reputation among the citizens and freemen of the city-state. If you arrange for him to take over my position as county governor, it should be able to appease the dissatisfaction of the Ambratu people because of me."

"Okay, I'll consider it." Charlotte wrote down the name, and then said, "After you step down as the governor of Ambratu County, you can represent me to visit the six city-states on the Northern Sokya Front one by one."

"A mission to the city-state of Northern Sokya? What's the mission?" Jonathan asked.

"Mission? Of course we have to claim compensation from these city-states," Charlotte said righteously. "Dorukocha, Badan, Carmela, Little Sasini, Sudaman, and Corolo, these city-states have colluded with each other, bullied others, and brazenly launched wars, causing irreparable losses to my Viscount Lanwan. Isn't it natural for them to make some compensation for this? If they really don't want to pay compensation, then I will have to send my Griffin Knight to Badan to reason with them."

Jonathan Hackman opened his mouth slightly when he heard this, not knowing what to say for a moment.

PS: Thank you all for your monthly tickets and blade recommendation tickets, thank you very much.

PS2: Finally, there is no need to update! La la la la! QQ group 1⑧2一77一

Volume 129: Chapter 117 Chapter The Wavering Defector and the Model Employee

Just two days after the interview, a petition accusing Jonathan Hackman of cruelty and greed was delivered to Charlotte.

This petition was written by a resident of Umbratu County. In his writing, the county governor was simply a demon who enjoyed killing people. He ate at least three boys and two girls for every meal. The wailing of resentful ghosts could be heard every night in his county governor's mansion. Not only did Jonathan Hackman like to kill people, he also liked to accumulate wealth. After eating the children every day, he would concoct all kinds of false charges, arrest all the rich people in the city, kill them with all kinds of horrific punishments, and then take their wealth for himself.

In the letter, the author tearfully pleaded with Viscount Lanwan, saying that the people of Ambratu would rather have a non-Ambratu govern Ambratu than have Jonathan Hackman serve as the sheriff of Ambratu County anymore.

After reading the petition, Charlotte couldn't help but exclaim: "This petition is written with deep feelings. Who wrote it?"

Logically speaking, the citizens of Ambrato County whose interests were damaged were now imprisoned in a labor camp by Charlotte, and their relatives and friends should have been terrified by Jonathan Hackman. Who else would be so brave to stand up, take the lead, and accuse Jonathan of his crimes so heartbreakingly and empathetically?

"A young man named Bill. He is a freeman from the County of Ambratu. However, his father and grandfather were slaves of the Capino family, a powerful family in the city-state of Ambratu. They have been highly valued for generations and are responsible for managing a manor of the Capino family."