Rose Empire

The elders of Bataan pointed at Jonathan Hackman's nose and shouted, "Shameless!", "Shameless!", "We are the ones who suffered the most!", "The people of Bataan will never surrender!", "He is just the Viscount of Lanwan!", "Bataan has never been afraid of war!", "We must use swords and blood to prove once again that Bataan cannot be bullied!"

Then, he signed the compensation letter.

It is known in history as the Treaty of Bataan.

The process went so smoothly that even Jonathan Hackman was surprised. Facts once again proved that Bataan was indeed a city-state with insufficient martial virtues. Rather than fighting another battle with Viscount Lanwan, they would rather spend money to avoid disaster.

However, Bataan's compensation was not paid entirely in cash, but rather in the form of half cash and half in kind.

Bataan paid Viscount Lanwan 500,000 fusos and 2 million dirs in three years, and the remaining compensation was converted into linen, olives, grapes, wine, tuna and other commodities - there was no other way. Although Bataan was rich, the disastrous defeat in the Battle of Dorucocha also put the city-state under heavy pressure of pensions.

After bidding farewell to Bataan, Jonathan Hackman came to Carmela and filed a claim of two million fusos with the Carmela Elders' Council.

Naturally, the elders of Carmela did not have a good attitude towards Jonathan Hackman.

Compared to Bataan, although Camera's losses in the war were not small, they were not serious enough to cause serious damage.

Alvaro, the elder who pretended to be dead during the night attack, fled back to Carmela with the defeated soldiers after the war. However, he was not frightened by Charlotte like Giovanni Draghi, the general of Bataan, but vigorously advocated the "Lanwan Threat Theory" and demanded that the city-state organize troops to counterattack again in order to avenge the previous shame.

Under such circumstances, the Carmela Elders' Council originally did not want to discuss the issue of compensation with Jonathan Hackman. The worst that could happen was another battle.

However, Jonathan Hackman produced the compensation agreement he had signed with Bataan.

The elders of Carmela immediately fell in dismay. Badan was both Carmela's ally and a shield standing in front of Carmela - not counting Dorukocha, that shield had already fallen apart. Badan slid to his knees at an alarming speed without saying hello. Was Carmela going to face Viscount Lanwan's attack alone?

Under such circumstances, the Carmela Elders' Council weighed the pros and cons and finally signed the compensation agreement.

It is known in history as the Treaty of Camera.

However, after bargaining with Jonathan Hackman, Carmela only agreed to pay 1.2 million frsos in compensation, half in cash and half in goods, just like Batan. The cash included 300,000 frsos and 1.2 million dirhams. The compensation period was two years.

Just as Jonathan Hackman visited Dorukocha, Badan and Carmela in turn, the negotiation envoy of Little Sassini also arrived at the Viscountship of Lanwan.

This time, Little Sassini sent more than one envoy to negotiate. In addition to Matt, who had been to the Viscount of Lanwan last time, there was also Eric Scamario's old friend, Elder Little Sassini, Garys, and Apo, who had just fought a frustrating battle.

The reason why Little Sassini suddenly changed its attitude and was willing to send people to negotiate with Charlotte was partly because of Eric's persistent lobbying of the elders of Little Sassini, and more importantly, because the news of the disastrous defeat of the three city-states of Dorucocha, Bataan, and Carmela finally reached Little Sassini.

This news shocked and frightened the people of the city-state of Little Sassini. They were shocked that Viscount Lanwan defeated the larger force with a smaller one, and won so thoroughly. They were also terrified that if Viscount Lanwan turned around and attacked Little Sassini after his head-on victory, how would they resist?

Fortunately, Viscount Lanwan had limited military strength after all. After repeatedly fighting against a larger force with a smaller one, his troops were old and tired, so he had to withdraw his troops for rest and had no ability to attack Little Sassini again.

This greatly relieved the elders of Little Sassini, and they began to seriously consider the "economic alliance" that Eric had mentioned many times during his lobbying.

When Eric Scamario was publicly invited to the Elders' Council, Apo was speechless. While the frontline was fighting bloody battles, the elders in the rear had been shielding and hiding such an enemy lobbyist! He suddenly realized that perhaps from the beginning, this so-called North Sokya Front had no chance of winning.

The city-state leaders all had their own selfish desires, sometimes advocating war and sometimes advocating peace, and their wills were not firm. The city-states were scheming against each other, fighting for power, dragging their feet, and pulling each other's legs. The coalition forces had no unified command or strategy, and were sometimes careless, sometimes underestimated the enemy, sometimes advanced rashly, and sometimes retreated. It was a mess from beginning to end.

After being defeated on the front battlefield, no matter how well he fought on the flank battlefield, Awa was defeated.

However, although the defeat of Dorukocha was largely due to his own incompetence, the enemy's fierce and treacherous fighting style also impressed Awa. He wanted to see what kind of person Viscount Lanwan was who defeated him. So Awa followed the envoys to Viscount Lanwan's territory.

After arriving at Viscount Lanwan's territory, Cecilia arranged for them to stay in a hotel in Elm Town that belonged to Charlotte's private property, waiting for the summons from Viscount Lanwan.

Matt, who was exhausted from the journey, was about to go downstairs to find something to eat, when he happened to meet Apo who was also about to go out.

"Apo, where are you going?" Matt asked casually.

Apo pointed to the street outside the hotel and said, "I'm going to go out for a walk. Do you want to come with me?"

"Okay," Matt said with a smile, "I'm planning to go out for something to eat. The restaurants in Elm Town are all delicious. You can try them too."

The two of them walked downstairs, chatting and laughing. A man in cloth clothes and with gray hair came up to them and bowed, saying, "My lords."

The man's name is Ethan, and he is a local rickshaw driver in Lanwan.

Since it takes more than a day to walk between Ambratu and Viscount Lanwan, after Charlotte took Ambratu, a business was unknowingly developed between the two territories - short-distance coachman. Ethan was the coachman hired by Apo in Ambratu.

The main purpose of Apo hiring Ethan was not to let him drive - the delegation had its own horses and carriages - but to let him act as a guide.

"We are going to stroll around the street. Please lead the way for us," said Apo.

"No problem." Ethan said immediately. The reward Apo gave him was very generous. Ethan felt a little embarrassed for sitting downstairs of the hotel drinking.

It was evening, the busiest time of the day in Yushu Town. The streets were bustling with people coming and going. There were noises of shouting, hawking, bargaining, and all kinds of sounds. The smell of cooking smoke, wine and meat, livestock and soil lingered in the air.

"My two lords, if you want to eat, it's best to go to the West Market, where there are many restaurants and taverns. If you want to buy something, go to the East Market, where there are goods from all over the country, from the Green Plains Principality, the Kingdom of Lesare, and Sokya, all cheap and in large quantities. If you want to play a few games, it's best to go to the South Market, where there are various casinos, card halls, arenas, and racecourses. I guarantee you will have a great time..."

Ethan introduced Po and Matt enthusiastically.

"Oh? Then take us to the South Market first, and then go to the West Market to eat." Apo said with interest, and then asked Matt beside him, "What do you think?"

Matt nodded and smiled, "Okay."

The three of them walked on the street. In addition to residents, pedestrians, and vendors of all sizes, they could occasionally see one or two teams of neatly lined men in black, wearing uniform clothes and equipped with "non-lethal weapons" such as short sticks and chains passing by.

"Who are those? Knights?" Apo asked, pointing at a group of men in black passing by.

Ethan's face naturally showed a look of disgust: "They are not worthy of being knights, they are just lackeys of the Government Affairs Office..."

With Ethan's introduction, Apo roughly learned that these people were the patrol team of Elm Town. The patrol team was mainly composed of young and strong ordinary people who had received some military training and received salaries from the Government Affairs Office, but they had no noble status and usually did not participate in wars.

They were responsible for arresting thieves and criminals, collecting taxes, coordinating fights (meaning beating up both parties in the fight), managing the city appearance (writing tickets to people and animals who urinated and defecated in public), etc. Due to the nature of their work, these patrol teams were disliked by residents and vendors in Yushu Town, and the locals in Yushu Town privately called them black dogs.

However, Ethan only dared to criticize the patrol team in private. Those people really had the power to issue a ticket for his carriage, and he dared not offend them.

Because of Ethan's derogatory words and the fact that the patrol team was made up of ordinary people, Apo didn't take it too seriously.

When he was about to arrive at Nanshi, Apo suddenly saw another execution platform. A middle-aged man in his thirties was taken to the execution platform by several men in black, stripped of his shirt and whipped. The middle-aged man was whipped so hard that he screamed and looked indignant.

"What crime did that man commit?" Apo asked curiously.

Ethan immediately ran to ask the onlookers about the situation, and then came back to report the details to Apo.

It turned out that the middle-aged man was a drug dealer. He sold a kind of pill that he said could make men more energetic and have an erection. However, a male customer bought his pill yesterday, and after taking it, he felt that he did not have an erection. So today he came to the middle-aged drug dealer to ask for compensation. The middle-aged man was very confident in his drug and refused to pay, saying that the male customer was not good enough. Of course, the male customer refused to admit that he was not good enough, and the two of them went to the Yushu Town Court.

The judge conducted experiments using dogs and monkeys to prove that the drug was indeed effective, and the middle-aged man who sold the drug did not have to pay compensation.

However, the "Urban Management Law (Trial)" promulgated by Viscount Lanwan clearly stipulates that the sale of drugs requires a business license from the City Hall. This middle-aged man did not obtain a license and sold drugs privately, and was sentenced by the judge to twenty lashes.

"It's so pitiful that he gets whipped for selling real medicine." Ethan felt quite sympathetic towards the middle-aged man who sold medicine.

Ethan kept mentioning the town hall, and Po couldn't help but become interested: "Where is the Elm Town Town Hall? Can you take me to see it?"

"This... is possible, but it's nothing good to see." Ethan said hesitantly.

"It's okay, just lead the way." Matt said with interest.

Ethan led the two of them around for a short distance and came to a few simple, square stone buildings. He pointed and said, "That's the court, that's the city hall, and that's the patrol team..."

There are several stone tablets in front of the court, on which are engraved the "Urban Management Law (Trial)" and the "Criminal Law (Trial)" signed by Viscount Lanwan.

There is a row of notice boards at the entrance of the city hall, with many notices posted on them, such as: the Agriculture Department announced that crop seeds will be distributed free of charge for spring ploughing this year, the Taxation Department announced that the tax rate on gambling prizes will be raised again, the Commerce Department announced the reference price of pork, beef and mutton, the Civil Affairs Department announced that men and women over 30 who are not married will be fined, the Education Department announced the scheduled education courses for night schools, the Transportation Department notified the registration time for all vehicles and ships in Yushu Town, and that horse-drawn carriages must drive on the right side of the road, and violators will be fined...

Each item and each line was so detailed and complicated that it made Apo and Matt, the two people from the city-state, dumbfounded.

"Will you all follow these?" Apo asked.

"Yeah, I do," Ethan replied.

"Is that old carriage of yours registered, too?" Matt asked doubtfully.

"Of course I registered!" Ethan raised his voice slightly.

"What will happen if we don't register?" Apo asked again.

"Those black dogs patrol the roads every day. If they find an unregistered carriage, they will impose a fine. If someone is unregistered and illegally solicits passengers, they will be sent to court for trial and may even be whipped. Our new lord is good in every way, except that he loves to mess around too much..."

Ethan spoke with resentment, and it was obvious that he had suffered from these cumbersome management systems.

"What about the other things? What about distributing seeds? Who will distribute them? How will they be distributed?" Matt still found it hard to believe that the city hall would manage the affairs within its jurisdiction to such a detailed level.

"Go to the public treasury and collect it yourself." Ethan replied.

"How does the public treasury know how many seeds you need? What if someone takes extra?"

"The land has long been registered at the City Hall, and the household registration is also..."

Listening to the conversation between Ethan and Matt, and watching the people coming in and out of the town hall, Apo's expression gradually became solemn. He seemed to see a sophisticated and complex creation covering the entire town and operating efficiently and orderly.

For some reason, Awa, who rarely flinched on the battlefield, felt an indescribable pressure at this moment.

PS: Thank you all for your Blade Monthly Ticket recommendations, thank you very much.

PS2: Thank you Yukinoshita Saki Kanade and Sakurairo Natsu for your corrections. The errors in the previous article have been corrected.

PS3: I really want to add more chapters! But I can't code them, what should I do!

Volume 134: Chapter 122 Chapter Economic Cooperation Agreement

The Little Sassini delegation stayed in Elm Town for two days before they were summoned by Viscount Lanwan because Charlotte was quite busy recently.

First, there is Cecilia's awakening ceremony.

Lena thoughtfully sent over three sets of supernatural materials and cocoa for the awakening ritual. Of course, Lena might just have done it for the sake of convenience, after all, this guy thought Charlotte was asking her for cocoa just out of lust.

But this was a good thing. Charlotte asked Cecilia to try the Candy Clan's initiation ritual that day.

Unfortunately, it still failed.

After failing again and again, Cecilia became a little discouraged.

“My qualifications are too poor. Please don’t waste manpower and resources on me. I don’t care whether I awaken or not.” Cecilia said helplessly and with some resistance.

"You don't care, but I do." Charlotte responded without hesitation.

Charlotte's answer stunned Cecilia for a moment.

"Don't you know how many years the civilians of Oran can live?" Charlotte asked. "Their bodies start to decline in their twenties and thirties. With current medical conditions, a minor illness could take their lives. You live by my side, so you may not have to worry about food and clothing. But you need to face a heavier workload and greater mental pressure. Maybe you think supernatural powers are not necessary for you, but it can at least give you a stronger body and a longer life. You know, my long-cherished wish and ambition cannot be realized overnight. Although I firmly believe that I can succeed, I am also ready to fight for it all my life. Cecilia, you are my right-hand man, I don't want to see you die young, I hope that when I stand at the top of the world, you can still follow me."

Whenever Cecilia thought of Charlotte's words, she had an indescribable feeling in her heart. Although she didn't say anything, Cecilia no longer objected to Charlotte's attempt to arrange the next awakening ceremony for her.

In addition to Cecilia's awakening ceremony, the second event is the homecoming of the former citizens of Ambratu.

Three months of hard labor finally ended, and as expected, most of the citizens of Ambratu chose to return to Ambratu County. Even Charlotte couldn't sit still after so many of her "opposition parties" were released at once. She personally went to the river to inspect the progress of the project and to ensure that nothing unexpected happened during this period.

The person in charge of the Lanwan Grand Canal waterway project is named Alvaro, and he is also one of the old team members that Charlotte brought from the Green Plains Principality.

Alvaro was originally a carpenter. Later, when Charlotte saw his name, she thought he had the potential to become a world-class architect, so she gave him to Cecilia to be in charge of the first phase of the Yushu Town project. Before the first phase of the Yushu Town project was completed, the Lanwan Grand Canal was excavated, and Cecilia transferred Alvaro, who had accumulated some civil engineering experience, to be in charge of digging the canal.

There is no way. Charlotte is short of talent. Although Alvaro is a carpenter, he is good at arithmetic and drawing. In the Viscount Lanwan's territory, he is a top engineer and of course he must be used to the utmost.

On the river, Alvaro and Charlotte complained about how much the project progress would be delayed by letting so many workers go.

Charlotte could only sigh that people who bury their heads in work will indeed lose their keen sense of the things around them - when those former citizens of Ambrato who passed by heard Alvaro's words, their eyes were filled with the desire to kill that was almost overflowing, but Alvaro didn't notice it at all.

After the inspection, Charlotte specially arranged for Ed Adkins to lead a team of knights to strengthen the security of the river construction site to prevent her chief engineer from being left dead in the wilderness before the river was completed.

The third thing is that Hermann Green, who was sent by Charlotte to deliver a letter to the riverside castle, came back. The White Knight brought Charlotte Monica's reply and some good or bad news.

First, his father, Jose Melfeld, agreed to send another 1,500 knights and three griffins to replace the knights whose service terms had expired brought by Stanley.

This is definitely good news for Charlotte. She no longer has to worry about the sharp decline in the territory's military strength.

However, the second piece of news made Charlotte frown - her brother cheated on her on the wedding day for her future nephew or niece.

Andre's mistress and illegitimate child could not be kept secret at all. The related gossip had already spread among the high-level officials of the Green Plains Principality. Hermann Green found out a lot of information by just trying to get close to his former comrades.

In her private message, Monica not only told Charlotte how to take care of the roses, but also said that Andre was very gentle to her and expressed his love to her through poetry and music. Charlotte basically believed these words. Andre was very graceful no matter what girl he was with. He probably felt more guilty towards his legal wife Monica, so he must be even more gentle.

But, what’s the point?

When Andre suddenly slipped out of the castle on the wedding day, he had already left an irreparable scar on the marriage.

Charlotte really wanted to go back and open her brother's head to see if there was any brain inside. This marriage was clearly a key step for Andre to determine his inheritance, but this guy failed at the critical moment.

Unfortunately, it was a critical period for the rapid expansion of the Viscount of Lanwan, and Charlotte dared not get away easily, so she had to write two letters. One was to her cousin Monica, who did not want to talk about her sad story in the letter, so Charlotte did not mention her brother at all, but continued to chat with her cousin about some interesting trivia. The other was to Andre, and Charlotte was not so polite in this letter. She cursed for several pages in one breath without repeating any sentences. Andre should be glad that he was Charlotte's brother, so that Charlotte would at least not ask about his family.

Speaking of which, besides Andre, Charlotte actually also wanted to write a letter to ask her father what he was thinking.

Isn't it enough that the girl named Marie was able to pass the news of her pregnancy into the riverside castle on the day of Andre's wedding? Someone is deliberately using Marie and Andre to create conflicts.

In response to this, Jose Melfield simply exiled Mary.

What problem does this solve?

Can it appease the emotions of Count Philip and his supporters? Can it give enough deterrence to the masterminds behind the scenes?

Isn't this just asking Mary to give birth to Andre's illegitimate child somewhere else?

In Charlotte's opinion, there were only two solutions to this matter: either kill Mary immediately or kill the mastermind behind the scenes.

This matter is actually very easy to investigate. Mary is the niece of Viscount Chester, and Andre met Mary at Viscount Chester's estate. The mastermind behind this matter is most likely related to Viscount Chester. By following the clues, the real culprit can be found.

Unfortunately, Charlotte knew that it was precisely because of this that her father hesitated again...

Viscount Chester is the eldest son of Earl Perold, who is no less important to the Duchy of Greenfield than Earl Philip.