At early the next morning, Art crawled out of the thick woolen blanket. After washing and carefully shaving off his beard, he put on the finely cut cotton silk robe specially prepared for the audience, a cowhide belt inlaid with jewels, and a pair of deerskin boots. This outfit was already enough for an ordinary farmer to spend a year and a half.
Of course, Art is not short of more luxurious clothes, but he doesn't need to carry those fancy clothes when he is on an expedition. There is no tailor shop in Besançon that has ready-made clothes for him to choose from. That's it, it's pretty good.
But when the chamberlain who came from the palace to deliver an audience arrived at the hotel near noon, Art realized how casually he was dressed.
Also a baron, Caitlan, a hereditary Lord, is a hundred times more particular about clothing and etiquette - a dark red velvet coat with white fur trim, a gold brocade belt, a hat with two mink skins, and a light silver ring on the crown, decorated with 6 silver balls. This is the highest standard of clothing for a baron, and anything more would be considered transgressive.
Such a gorgeous baronial dress would probably need to be worn with a full set of fine long-sleeved mail armor or a dozen oxen.
As soon as Caitlan went out, he immediately attracted everyone's admiring eyes, but Art was not interested in this outfit. In his eyes, Caitlan's outfit was not as good-looking as his own.
Hate snarled, straddling his horse and walking side by side with Caitlan in the direction of the palace hall along with the palace servants.
What needs special explanation is that Sir Banting, the advisor of the Jonah Border Guard Corps, is not qualified to participate in this kind of interview. He is a knight in the inner palace directly under Earl Baldwin, and his military merit is not enough to be promoted to baron, although Art has added his name in the battle to recapture the four cities in the east. Later, Baldwin will reward him on behalf of the court.
There is another hidden meaning here - ordinary knights are just low-class lords. They are still a little far away from the nobility in the strict sense. In fact, the baron is the last level of the nobility. Unless summoned by the court, knights have no right to ask for an audience (note).
Caitlan is different. As a baron, he has already become a nobleman. In addition, Art has highlighted his military achievements in the merit book, so it is natural for him to meet the new king...
At the palace gate, Art and others jumped off their horses and unloaded their weapons. The weapons and entourage must be left outside the palace gate.
Besançon's palace was still intact. When Bernard and his son Robert withdrew from Besançon, they were not willing to destroy the palace that had cost their ancestors countless efforts and money, leaving it intact to Flanders.
Hence the strict security and carved pillars of the palace, needless to say, Art and Caitlan followed the guide side by side and headed towards the ruling center of the county accompanied by the chamberlain.
This is the tallest and most luxurious building in Besançon. The ruler of Burgundy sat on the iron seat of the hall and gave orders to the country.
Walking slowly to the front of the main hall, more than twenty heavy-armored guards wearing black plate armor, bucket helmets, and holding contradictory axes stood in two rows in the open space in front of the hall.
The guide led Art and Ate to the gate of the palace, explained the meeting etiquette to them, and then told them that Prince Flanders was convening a meeting of important ministers in the hall, asking Art and Ate to wait a moment, and then withdrew.
Yat and his two men just stood upright at the door of the palace, not daring to get close to the door to eavesdrop. Not to mention the two iron tower-like soldiers standing in front of the door, it was impossible for sound to be heard through the thick door.
The guide had calculated the time accurately. The two men did not wait long before the palace door opened, and seven or eight important ministers came out of the palace door one after another.
The leader, Art, knew him. He was the steward of Flanders' Earl's Mansion in the Earl of Longxia. When the steward came out, he glanced at Art and nodded in greeting.
When the third person came out, Art was stunned, "Father-in-law? You..."
Galvin, who was dressed in a satin robe, glanced at Art with a smile and made a silent gesture, "After the audience, come to the Finance Office to find me. No matter what you hear, be calm for a while!" Galvin obviously knew that Art was going to meet today. After a few brief explanations, he immediately left the palace gate and walked to the official residence area of the palace ministers to the east.
Matt did not expect that his father-in-law had become an important minister of the new palace. Before he had time to think about it, a voice came from the hall to summon Baron Art Wood Wells and Baron Caitlan.
The two people quickly stepped into the palace gate.
Walking into the palace, the iron seat where the Marquis of Ivrea used to sit had been replaced by a young man. He was wearing a simple silk robe, with a dagger with a silver-plated scabbard hanging on his waist. From the somewhat bulging coat, it can be guessed that there was inner armor such as mail inside the robe. Yin Falcon's eyes were always peeking around with his peripheral vision.
Flender is very wary, especially in this place where there may be enemies everywhere.
On the high chair next to Flanders on the Iron Seat, the original Prime Minister of the Count of Burgundy has left. Now the person occupying that seat is Earl Baldwin. A half-year war has allowed Baldwin to sit in the position he has dreamed of for more than ten years. He can also be regarded as a winner.
At and Caitlan hurried forward, knelt down, bowed their heads and sang loudly: "Your loyal vassal, guardian of the Iron Seat, and frontier baron Art Wood Wells (Caitlan Bolwell Hawke) salutes you, God bless your country, God bless your supreme prince!"
The two followed the instructions of the palace guide. They saluted Flanders on the iron throne in unison, and then stood up and bowed to Earl Baldwin who was beside the iron throne, "Salute to Lord Baldwin, the shepherd of the country who is both wise and loyal. May God bless you." After doing this, the two people stood under the iron throne and waited quietly for Flanders on the iron throne to speak.
"Baron Ater, Baron Caitlan, I have read the battle report and merit report in the East. It is precisely because of warriors like you who resisted the Swabians in the East that we can attack the enemy in the West with peace of mind. The capture of Besançon also owes you a military merit." Grant? Caitlan said first. "
Flanders is indeed very busy. The envoy from the Principality of Burgundy is already waiting in the palace; the secret envoys from the southern countries are waiting for the summons outside the palace; the treasury officer sent by the Paris Order Treasury to discuss the debt also wants Flanders to make the final decision; although the war is temporarily suspended, more than 4,000 soldiers of the Liberation Army are still stationed in Besancon and surrounding places. These troops need money, food and supplies.
Caitlan also knew that the man on the iron throne could not waste too much time on a little person like him. He did not pretend to be polite and asked for orders directly, "Dear Lord Flanders, I would like to use my humble military exploits in exchange for an opportunity to guard the eastern border for you. There is a military fort east of Geneborg on the Yona border. It is the gateway to Genebau and the only way for Swabians to invade the border. Lord Ofori, who led the military fort on his behalf, has died heroically."
Flender didn't know much about the east territory of Jonadon. He turned his head and whispered to Baldwin and learned that the military fort was originally a piece of territory directly under the Marquis of Ivrea. There was a lot of fertile and flat land around it, which was a piece of fat.
Flender discussed with Baldwin for a while, then raised his head and asked: "Baron Caitlan, I heard that your family is a mercenary. You have dozens of light and heavy cavalry and hundreds of mercenaries who have fought in hundreds of battles, right?"
Caitlan had already guessed what Flanders wanted, and he was a little reluctant, "Yes, I have an army, but they are in the east and..."
Flanders waved his hand, "Take your army to the west to fight for me, and I will entrust you with that military fort and the surrounding fertile land." Flanders' tone was firm and could not be rejected at all.
Caitlan could not refuse at all, so he had to kneel down and thank Flanders for his gift.
The eyes of Flanders and Baldwin both moved to Art next to Caitlan, and there was an intriguing peek in Baldwin's eyes.
"Baron Art, you have the greatest military merits in defending the Eastern Territory and recovering the lost territory. Before the expedition, Earl Baldwin has pre-confessed you a viscount on my behalf. I have ordered the Lord Privy Seal and the Herald to make a gold inscription for you to confer a viscount, and I have promoted you to the Count of Burgundy. Viscount of the southern border of the country, hereditary replacement, enjoys the title forever. The officers under your command and the noble officers who fought against the foreign enemies in the east will be rewarded and canonized. "
After saying this, Flanders remained silent and waited for Art's thanks.
Yate suddenly felt a little sick. Such a big military achievement was just a promotion to a title without even mentioning the actual enfeoffment of territory and land. This made Art very puzzled.
However, thinking of what his father-in-law Galvin had said in a hurry before entering the palace, Art forced himself to regain his composure and knelt down, "Thank you for the gift of the prince. Art Wood Wells swears to God, loyal to the prince and loyal to Burgundy!" "If Burgundy has two more capable ministers and warriors, the time will be closer for us to eliminate the Western invasion and regain its glory."
"Now that the war on the Western Front has not ended, everything in the palace will be kept simple. In a moment, the Lord Privy Seal and the Herald will lead you to the official office to complete the following procedures, and you can withdraw." Baldwin signaled the two to end the interview.
From entering the palace to exiting the palace gate, the highly anticipated palace interview was too hasty and hasty. Art suppressed his head full of surprises and thanked him and exited the palace gate. He followed the two palace officials waiting outside the palace gate to the official office on the side of the palace...
After arriving at the official office of the Lord Privy Seal, Art took it from the hands of the Lord Privy Seal. Two gilded document albums have just been produced. The album contains, of course, the edict to confer Art as Viscount of the Frontier and Art's Lordship's documents. Along with the two documents, there is a Viscount dress, which is almost the same as Caitlan's one - a crimson velvet coat with white fur trim. The difference is that the hat is trimmed with two and a half rows of ermine, and the crown is decorated with two gold balls and four silver balls.
As the highest lord that can be ennobled by the county court, the procedures for conferring a viscount were originally very complicated, but now the court has made everything simpler. In less than half an hour, Art came out of the official office of the Lord Privy Seal. In the next few days, the documents announcing Art's promotion to viscount will be spread to all parts of the county.
After completing the procedures with a lot of questions, Art said goodbye to Caitlan, who was leaving the palace, and walked straight to the palace finance minister's office. He eagerly hoped that his father-in-law Galvin could answer his questions...