Chapter 674 Secret Funeral
"——Open the city gate~"
h "—Open the city gate~"
h It was just dawn on the second day, and more than ten cavalrymen left the city one after another through the slowly opening north gate of Lavati. After the cavalry team left, the guards immediately closed the city gate again and would not open it again until the market opened.
The cavalrymen following the leading horse were not far behind, waving their whips one after another and following them with shouts.
After a while, the cavalry team ran across a hill to the north of Lavati City, and could only vaguely see the steeple of the church in Lavati City.
While this cavalry group was marching non-stop towards the north, the Wells Corps station in Santia City also began to become restless——
Last night late last night, the deputy commander of the Wells Corps, Odo, received a personal secret letter from Art from Baron Bob, the secretary of the Chinese Army, ordering him to prepare for war within three days and strengthen training. Odo breathed a heavy sigh of relief after receiving the secret message. He summoned the officers above the flag captain of the regiment overnight to convey Art's secret order.
As soon as the day dawned, the Wells Corps garrison in Santia City, shrouded in morning fog, began to become restless.
Suddenly receiving a mobilization order from the company, the soldiers who had been holding back the order for several days in Santia City started talking about it and could not suppress their excitement.
The battle outside the city of Santia made these guys who had reaped the sweetness look forward to the next battle. The legion's delay in issuing orders to move south made these soldiers who relied on harvesting enemy heads as a means of accumulating military exploits anxious.
Now, the order to mobilize the legion was issued again, which finally made these soldiers who had been doing nothing in recent days happy for a while.
In addition to the soldiers of the legion, this military order was like a strong medicine, causing officers at all levels who had already been unable to restrain themselves to go south to fight, to respond one after another and actively prepare for war.
While the garrison in Santia was actively preparing for war and going south, the province of Wales on the southern border of Burgundy was extremely quiet~
A heavy snowfall in mid-November completely covered the entire southern border of the Burgundy Kingdom, slowing down the residents of the Province of Wales who had been busy just a few days ago.
hh However, a special farewell ceremony was held secretly in the church in Wellsburg...
hhh In the early morning, the Wellsburg Church, located halfway up the mountain in the valley, was heavily guarded. Bass, the commander of the Valley Guard Corps, stood outside the church, wearing armor and holding a sword. Dozens of soldiers guarded the surrounding area of the church, strictly prohibiting irrelevant personnel from approaching. Seeing this scene, the knowledgeable citizens stayed far away.
Inside the church, in the center of the main hall where believers pray, Flanders was dressed in military uniform, lying calmly on a coffin with exquisite carvings. A circle of flowers was placed around him, and the knight's sword that belonged to him was pressed tightly against the left side of his body.
As the king of a country, Flanders's funeral should have been held publicly in the capital, Besançon, and nobles and celebrities from all over the country were invited to come to mourn. However, Burgundy was at war with Lombardy at this time. In order to prevent the news of Flanders's death from being leaked, which would lead to unstable military morale, the funeral had to be held secretly, and the people who came to mourn were limited to Flanders' close relatives and people with higher status.
Hence, apart from Lord Galvin and his family, the only people attending this simple funeral were a group of senior government officials, Archbishop Olof of the princely state, and Thomas, the chief physician of the valley.
Flender took his last breath before sunset yesterday afternoon. Because the matter was so important, Galvin suppressed his grief and ordered Phoenix to take Flanders to Wellsburg in the valley under the cover of night, intending to see Flanders off there.
When the group headed north, in order to avoid unnecessary trouble, the garrison imposed a curfew, prohibiting all personnel from going out after dark.
It was already early in the morning when the group arrived at Wellsburg without stopping. As the temperature dropped rapidly, light snow began to fall in the valley.
With no time to rest, Galvin ordered Phoenix to decorate the mourning hall and prepare a memorial ceremony for Flanders' departure.
The day after the ceremony, the team will continue north and return to Besançon.
"—There is no doubt that King Flanders is the ruler chosen by God. He is the messenger sent by God to Burgundy to manage this earthly land on our lord's behalf. Now, his mission on earth has been completed and he will return to our lord to continue serving. May his soul rest in peace, and his achievements will be remembered by the leaders of this land. Amen!"
Everyone raised their right hands and made a Holy Cross on their chests, wishing Flanders’ soul to rest in peace.
After praying, everyone walked slowly around Flanders, taking the opportunity to pay their respects for the last time to the supreme ruler of the kingdom and the envoy who managed the Burgundy kingdom on behalf of God.
Looking at Flanders lying coldly in the center of the church, Lord Galvin, Flanders' uncle, couldn't help crying and held Flanders' hand for a long time, unwilling to leave.
At this moment, Flanders's cold limbs made him understand the helplessness and sadness of the elders bidding farewell to their younger ones.
Flender has left. As the only elder of the Otto family and an important court official, the reality soon made Mr. Galvin recover from his grief
"——Father, it must be cold in the north with ice and snow, you must pay attention to your health~"
Outside the gate of Wellsburg Castle, Lottie, the hostess of Wells Province, whispered to her father. Looking at the freezing weather, even if she tried to dissuade Lord Galvin from waiting until the snowstorm passed before rushing on, Lord Galvin remained unmoved.
"My dear Lottie, my daughter, you have grown up." Lord Galvin patted Lottie's shoulder lightly several times, feeling very pleased. "These are critical times. The sooner we get back to Besançon, the sooner I can feel at ease."
Lottie naturally knew the meaning of Lord Galvin's words, so she no longer wanted to stay.
"Oli, bring the hot chicken soup I prepared for my father and Phoenix." Lottie turned to the maid beside her and said.
Oli took a step forward and handed a wooden grid to Phoenix, who was standing next to Galvin.
"Phoenix, remember to take good care of your father on the way." Lottie told her younger brother.
"Sister, please let me go, I will take good care of you. You and I must also take good care of you."
"We will."
Having long been accustomed to the absence of the Galvins and his son all year round, Mrs. Galvin did not answer, but just stared at the father and son silently.
After a while of condolences and greetings, the team heading north set off again, braving the wind and snow and heading north towards Burgundy.
As the team was heading north in the thick snow and cold wind, a piece of chilling news had already exploded like thunder in Besancon, the capital of the Burgundy kingdom. Flanders died under the sharp arrows of the Lombard crossbowmen at the beginning of the war.
This seemingly conspiracy news did not attract the attention of the court at first, but it was not until the Kingdom of France sent envoys to learn the truth of the matter that the Besançon court understood the seriousness of the matter.
As the suzerain of Burgundy, France secretly sent envoys to inquire about the authenticity of the incident, which was enough to throw the ministers in charge of the Besançon palace into confusion.
Now that Flanders has led the Guards to the south and has yet to return, the news about his assassination has shrouded the new princely state like a haze. Coupled with the unannounced visits from the Kingdom of France, the Besançon palace was once in chaos.
At the critical moment, the palace prime minister, who was once the finance minister, stood up and righteously denied the false rumors in the market. He also presented the good news from Flanders from the south to the special envoy a few days ago, in order to dispel the concerns of the French Kingdom.
At the same time, the palace guards went out everywhere to investigate the source of the rumors and try to stabilize the security of Besançon.
A few days later, the envoy left Besançon with some doubts, but did not delve too deeply into the death of Flanders. Although the news of Flanders's death has spread throughout the major cities in the northern continent in recent days, the military situation of the Lombardy Principality's consecutive defeats has also become a topic of conversation among citizens in the streets and alleys.
Compared to the life and death of the coaches of both warring sides, people seem to be more interested in the outcome of this war. After all, Lombardy, a powerful country in the southern continent, was so popular many years ago that it almost destroyed the Principality of Provence. But now the news that the Principality of Lombardy has lost half of its territory has attracted people to talk about it. They never thought that the former overlord of the southern continent would now be defeated by the defeated generals of the past and a measly place in the north.
Perhaps it won’t be long before the map of the European continent will be rewritten again, and Lombardy, the once dominant southern power, will be completely wiped off the map.
The winter in the Northland was bitingly cold, and heavy snow fell continuously for two days and nights, completely blocking the trade routes connecting various places. Both the alpine forests and the fields were covered with thick white snow. Slowly, everything around them began to stop.
The second floor of a tavern in a small town twenty miles north of Besançon was on the side of the business road. Salter opened the window, and the cold wind that came on made him wrap up his coat tightly. The snowflakes falling everywhere fell on the mink fur hat he bought when he passed through Paris a few days ago. The snowflakes quickly turned into water droplets under the residual heat of the hat.
Looking at the non-stop heavy snow and the covered commercial road outside the window, Salt sighed softly. He originally planned to stay in Besançon for one day, sell the goods he brought from the North, and then buy some food and military equipment that were urgently needed in the South and rush back to Wales, but the sudden heavy snow interrupted his plan.
Fortunately, after going north this time, after some negotiations, the later cooperation with the Hanseatic League was basically reached. This can be regarded as living up to Art's great trust.
After what happened last time, Salt felt deeply guilty for betraying Art's trust. So, he decided to use action to prove his worth.
Having been doing business for many years, Salter was well aware of the importance of cooperation between European trading houses and the Hanseatic League. In order to live up to Art's great trust, he clarified the interests of both parties when negotiating with the other party, and made a precise analysis of the future future of the Kingdom of Burgundy and the Province of Wales. Combined with the series of news he received about the victory of the Welsh Army, he exaggerated the status of the European Commercial Bank in the southern continent and successfully aroused the interest of the Hanseatic League.
After further negotiations, the two parties reached a consensus and decided to strengthen cooperation. But the general direction had to be determined by Art, so Salt took the caravan back on the road full of excitement...