The dark gray moonlight shrouded the quiet night, and the autumn wind came, blowing on Art's slightly sweaty forehead, making him feel a chill.
In any case, he never thought that Flanders would be so direct, without any tact.
At that moment, Art glanced to his side with his peripheral vision, trying desperately to recall the scene when he stepped onto the top of the tower, trying hard to search if there was a killer lurking at the base of the wall.
He and Flanders were indeed the only two people in the entire inner fort watch tower, and outside the city of Tyniec, which had closed the fort gate, there was no movement at all in the camp where more than a thousand troops were stationed.
Then he glanced at the burning torch not far away from him, and slowly put his hands into the wide cuffs of his uniform.
"Maybe it's me..." Flanders interrupted the silence.
"Your Majesty, there is no benefit in rebelling against me." At the moment Flanders spoke, Art spoke. He raised his head and stared at the spot between Flanders' eyebrows, his eyes firm and decisive.
Looking from Flender's perspective, Art was looking at him right now, with no hesitation or fear in his eyes.
After looking at each other for ten breaths, Flanders's piercing eagle eyes finally softened, his body relaxed, and a smile suddenly emerged.
"Perhaps I am too presumptuous." After speaking, Flanders patted his sleeves, raised his feet and turned to face Art, looking up at the dark gray night sky. "I miss the days of the Earl of Longxia very much. At that time, I was just a poor count exiled to the border. In addition to being hired to lead troops to march and fight to make a living, I could enjoy life to the fullest."
“The air in the Earl of Longschia is full of freedom and comfort, tranquility and leisure. There I don’t have to worry about the Duke of Burgundy going south because he covets the suzerainty. I don’t have to worry about the Paris court being angry with me because of the uneven tribute and taxes this year. I don’t have to worry about the sudden invasion of the Swabians in the east. There, I don’t have to worry about the palace officials plotting to usurp the throne. I don’t have to worry about the refugees and bandits everywhere after the war. What’s more, Don't worry about those greedy lords reaching out to me again and again to ask for benefits."
There was a hint of loneliness in Flanders' raised eyes. He raised his hand to his forehead, "I haven't felt happy one day since I got on the iron throne."
Art just stood aside, staring at the camp outside the guard tower, without answering. He knew that Flanders hadn't gotten to the point yet.
“You are the only vassal I don’t have to worry about,” Flanders continued.
h "I gave the Province of Wales absolute autonomy, and you have indeed never let me down. Looking at the entire Burgundy Kingdom, the Province of Wales is the youngest and strongest." That European trading house that is comparable to a mint, the pace of the rise of the Wells Province is so fast that it is scary." Flanders turned his head to Art, and the confusion and sadness in his eyes disappeared instantly, "Many important officials in the palace have advised me to take back some of your privileges, reduce your military personnel, and restrict the development of your trading company."
Att continued to remain silent. He was fully aware of what Flanders said. Long before Flanders killed Baldwin, Art's eagle eye deployed in Besançon had returned this news. That's why Att would give up the direct control of a county in the southern part of Yona Province.
Flender will not attack him, at least not now.
"When I just killed Baldwin, I even thought about going south in one fell swoop and taking your land, people, army and that money tree into my pocket." Flanders raised his right hand and shook it, "But in just that moment, I regretted it. Without the Earl of Wales, to me, Wales is just a valley that has been abandoned for hundreds of years."
“Art, your ability is beyond my imagination. I never thought that you would really dare to lead two or three thousand soldiers to march into Lombardy, and capture such a large area of land in just over a month. This made me see the endless potential of the Province of Wales, so I gave up those For all my greedy private thoughts, I need you and those under your command."
Matt was a little stunned. He didn't like the intrigues and intrigues in the palace, but tonight Flanders's straightforward words surprised him even more.
Now that everyone has talked about it, Art also bluntly responded, "Your Majesty, although I am a descendant of a noble family, I started from a humble beginning and it has been quite difficult along the way. If I say I have no ambition, it is absolutely not true. But I have known you for several years, Your Majesty, have you ever seen me do anything? Have I ever sacrificed my conscience for the sake of profit? Have I ever looted the territory of the Principality of Lombardy that I just occupied? "
"For me, neither profit nor justice can be discarded."
“Since I raised my troops and devoted all my efforts to help you sit on the iron throne, I believe that the monarch is a wise monarch and a wise ruler, and I will naturally not have two minds about you. As for the province of Wales and the Kingdom of Burgundy, it is like a small river and a big river. The small river is full of water, and the big river is full of water. As long as the rivers are not dry, if the entire Burgundy Kingdom is as prosperous as the Province of Wales, the worries of the monarch will naturally disappear with the wind; if the entire Kingdom of Burgundy is prosperous, the Province of Wales will naturally not suffer. "
It is precisely because of this kind of faith that I have never stretched out my hand beyond the borders of the Province of Wales. Even if it is Marseille Castle and Beaune City that are already directly owned by me, I only maintain them cautiously, presumably because the monarch is great. People also understand what I mean."
"When a small river is full of water, the river will be full of water, but when the big river is full of water, the river will never dry up~" Flanders sighed and bowed slightly, "I was rude tonight, and I should apologize to you."
Matt quickly lowered his body, "I am deeply touched that the monarch can be so candid."
Flender, however, had just straightened his slightly bowed body when he suddenly said another sentence, "Then when did the Royal Court of Paris stand behind you?"
h This sentence made Art confused again, "Monarch, what do you mean?"
h "At the end of September last year, you went there in person In the city of Paris, you met with the French King's important officials, and soon you borrowed five million fennigs from the treasury of the Holy Order of Paris. And just two days after you completed the loan, the King of France ordered the annihilation of the Holy Order. Your loan of millions of fennies was instantly debt-free. Lord."
"Similarly in the battle to destroy the Holy Order, the French King's army used a weapon called "Thunder Fire", which could explode like thunder in an instant and destroy everything. "
"Less than a year after this weapon came out, a secret weapon called a "bomb" appeared in your army. It not only helped you blow up the Rock Castle, but also allowed you to destroy the Lombard army that rushed to the camp late at night in just a blink of an eye. "
"And a few weeks ago, shortly after you led the army to invade Lombardy, the Paris court suddenly listed Lombardy as an enemy country and sent troops through Provence to attack the western border of Lombardy."
Flender once again focused his attention on Art, "Cousin Art, please don't tell me that all this is just a coincidence."
Flender was stunned. He did not expect that Flanders actually thought that he had surrendered to the King of France, and became a nail driven into the Burgundy Kingdom under the protection of the King of France.
How can such a thing be explained clearly, let alone how it can be defended.
Seeing that Art was silent, Flanders assumed that he had acquiesced, "I don't blame you. Now that the French King is the suzerain of Burgundy, you and I should be loyal to him. Now that I think about it, the reason why the French King was able to pass on the secret weapon to you was because he expected that you would dare to send troops to Lombardy, which would fulfill the French King's long-cherished wish for Lombardy for many years. This time I led my troops south to cater to the French King's wishes. Of course, the French King may have promised to spare Burgundy. The annual tribute of the Kingdom of Gendy is hundreds of thousands of pfennigs. "
At was about to explain, Flanders raised his hand to stop me, "You don't have to use those false words to deal with me. Let me tell you frankly, I also hope to get the kind of killing weapon that the King of France gave you. Except for the iron seat, the exchange conditions are up to you..."
...
The night was already deep, and the "secret battle" at the watch tower in the castle in Tyniec County had ended. Art said goodbye to Flanders, who was still blowing wind on the top of the tower, and walked down the stairs of the watch tower alone.
At the bottom of the building, Art finally revealed his hands from his wide sleeves. The cast iron grenade with half of the fuse cut off in his hand had been warmed by his pinch...
At the top of the sentry tower, Flanders with a stern expression glanced at the row of shadows at the base of the outer wall of the Lord's Hall, and then He raised his head and glanced at the bell tower of the Tinets Church, which was more than 70 steps away on the west side of the watch tower, turned around and walked towards the stairs of the watch tower...