Chapter 728 The Shameful Earl
Dang~
Dang~
Dang~
Dang~
At dawn, bells rang from the bell tower on the spire of Solonborg Church, and the yellowish morning light from the rising sun in the east filled the entire church.
As the sun gradually rises, the moving shadow line across the entire castle moves slowly from east to west. Looking down from a high place, half of the roof of the castle is shrouded in bright golden color, and the other half is wrapped in shadow.
当日影线横切南北两处堡门那一刻，堡门里侧插在两处精铁制成的锁扣里的横木被守城士兵取下，四人合力将两扇镶铁的橡木巨门缓缓推开～
「」.—拉起闸门，放下吊桥！ "
The captain of the city guard squadron not far from the doorway shouted loudly to the city wall, then turned to look at the fort residents and traders behind him who had already lined up waiting to leave the city.
On the side of the gate, the tax collector responsible for collecting taxes from merchants entering and exiting Solonborg was already sitting at the small table with parchment and quills.
In addition to the two handymen who assist in collecting taxes, the tax collector also has two soldiers who are responsible for checking whether the passers-by are carrying goods. The iron box placed aside was now empty. But when the fort gates close in the evening, they will be filled with taxes worth thousands of pfennigs, large and small.
As a businessman, Art will naturally not ignore the commercial value of Sauronburg. On the second day after taking over Solonborg, he ordered Bob, the military secretary, to take several accompanying government officials to restore the business order of Solonborg and tax the goods carried by merchant travelers.
In addition, the free market, which had been abandoned for more than a month, was also put into use under the rectification of officials. Although affected by the war, the commercial activities here are not as prosperous as before. But Lombard merchants, who had always been well-informed, also came from all over the country to trade with the traders here. At the same time, since Sauron Castle has gathered thousands of troops, it is definitely a good opportunity for those discerning businessmen.
The leader of the group stepped forward with a hunched waist and smiled and said: "Hey, hey, sir, we are fur merchants, and we plan to send the furs in our hands to the south for sale~"
The leading vendor carefully opened the fur in his hand, and about ten copper pfennig leaked out. He looked up at the soldiers in front of him.
The soldier in charge of the inventory looked around, grabbed the copper Fenni, looked through the furs in the leader's hand, and said loudly to the clerk on the side: "Seven deer skins, six mink skins, and a total of ten pieces of other inferior furs~"
The guard raised the quill and wrote down quickly on the parchment. Then they levied corresponding taxes on the furs according to the market price, and then let the group of people leave the city.
「Quick, quick, quick, next one~”
Amid the urging of the soldiers, several small merchants waiting in line in the fort quickly stepped forward. As more and more business travelers shuttled back and forth between the north and south gates of the fort, as the new lord of Sauron Castle, Art had also put on his favorite uniform under the service of his servants.
After putting on the calfskin belt inlaid with golden silk thread, Art tugged on the wrinkled corners of his clothes, turned around in front of the half-person tall bronze mirror, and sighed softly, "This is the most comfortable thing to wear!"
At this time, Ron, the guard officer who was standing not far away, took two steps forward and said jokingly: "I'm afraid the master is thinking about his wife~"
Matt glanced at Ron and sneered: "Nonsense!"
Ron smiled and said nothing.
Matt loosened his collar, turned around and asked, "How are the arrangements for the banquet?"
"The food and drinks that should be prepared have been prepared according to your requirements, and all the merchants and nobles of Lavati have also sent people to invite them. The guys from the radiation team have been making preparations early this morning."
Matt turned to face Ron and nodded with satisfaction. "This banquet is not only a celebration banquet for the recovery of my Wells family's territory, but also a good time for Sauronburg to change its owner and change its name."
"Wellsburg?" Ron was a little puzzled.
"Of course!" There was a hint of pride in Art's eyes, "From the province of Wells in the North to Wellsburg in the middle of Lombardy, all the territory will be under my name from now on."
"But there is already a Wellsburg in the valley, so wouldn't the names of the two castles be the same?"
h "It doesn't matter!"
H It is obvious that Art wants to tell the world that the real lord of Sauronburg can only be a member of the Wells family. As for whether he had the same name, he didn't care.
At this time, the servant appeared outside the door with a steaming bowl of minced meat and wheat porridge, and asked: "Sir, your breakfast is ready. Should you eat here or in the lord's hall?"
"Send it to the lord's hall, I will be there soon~"
"Okay, sir." After that, the servant disappeared out the door with the tray.
Looking at the morning light filling the steps outside the house, a warm current surged into his heart. Art was in a very good mood at the moment.
"By the way, where is that bastard Terman being imprisoned now?"
"Come back, sir, those noble officers are all being held in the secret room of the mansion outside the castle."
Matt thought for a moment, his eyes raised, "That's the secret room where I took you to cut off the butler's head?"
"That's right, sir! That's right there!" Ron couldn't hide his excitement.
Back then, the two of them sneaked into the butler's luxurious mansion together. Art cut off the slave who betrayed the Wells family. Ron wiped a knife on the neck of the butler's wife after Art left to avoid future trouble. For him, nothing excites him more than the time he followed his master to kill the traitor who betrayed the Wells family.
Matt took a deep breath and said, "Follow me later to 'visit' the guy who almost killed me~" After that, he walked out the door.
Ron naturally heard the implication of these words, and followed him with a smile -.
When Art led Ron and the guards who followed him out of the lord's hall and walked outside the inner castle, radiant servants and kitchen helpers preparing for the banquet could be seen everywhere.
They were hurried and energetic, going back and forth between the lord's hall, various warehouses and kitchens; setting up the banquet hall, carrying fruits and vegetables, and slaughtering cattle, sheep and livestock, everything was carried out in an orderly manner.
As the logistics manager of the banquet, Bob, the secretary of the Chinese Army, ran around making arrangements without even touching the ground, racking his brains for the banquet.
This banquet is different from a simple banquet. In addition to preparing all kinds of drinks and food, there are also certain requirements for the decoration of the banquet hall. It must not only reflect Art's generosity as the lord of Wellsburg, but also not exceed the limited standards to avoid leaving people with false impressions.
Fortunately, Bob had attended similar banquets with his father and had seen some of the world, so it wasn't too difficult.
When the group of people walked out of the inner castle, the streets were filled with people coming and going and it was extremely lively. The gradually warming weather has made this military fortress shrouded in wind and snow a few days ago a little more lively. Except for the houses and city walls that are still under construction, which remind people of the bloody scenes not long ago, life here seems not to have been affected at all.
The doors of the shops that had been closed on both sides of the street for the past few days have all been opened. Merchants who had escaped from the war have begun to operate, and they warmly greeted the soldiers and pedestrians passing by.
To them, it doesn’t matter who the owner of Solonburg is, as long as the business they rely on for a living can continue, that’s what these people care about.
· Turn left when you go out, and the conspicuous gate of a luxurious mansion will appear in front of everyone. Four soldiers wearing armor and holding swords stood outside the door, their eyes constantly scanning the passers-by. In the secret room deep inside the oak door behind them, a group of noble Lombard officers who fought with the Welsh Army a few days ago were imprisoned.
Att originally planned to use this mansion as a temporary residence for Odo and Angus, but Angus felt that it would be more secure to sleep in the garrison camp outside the city, so he declined Art's offer. As a result, only Odo lived in Nuoda's mansion.
After Art stayed on the street for a while, he walked straight towards the mansion~
"Sir!" Seeing Art's sudden appearance, the guarding soldiers immediately bowed and saluted.
"Is Odo here?" Art put his hands behind his back and asked casually.
"Replying to your lord, the deputy commander of the legion left the city early in the morning. He said he was going to inspect the nearby checkpoints and see the defenses along the way."
"That's it," Art waved his hand and said, "Open the door and take me to see the captured noble officers of Lombardy."
"My lord, please come in!"
The group of people, led by the guards, walked straight towards the secret room in the mansion. In the temporary dungeon transformed from the secret room deep in the mansion, the originally clean house was filled with stench. The small secret room contained a total of eleven military nobles with baron or above titles, including Tehrman. Among them were seven barons, three viscounts and one earl. Regardless of status, everyone is imprisoned here.
Count Terman, the leader of the Lombard court, sat quietly in the only chair, with his right hand on the table. He looked dazed under his messy hair, and his eyes were blank, staring at the corner of the wall next to the wooden door of the secret room.
A few days ago, he and his confidant, Viscount Rhodes, had a toast in this secret room and talked freely about the strange things that happened in this secret room. But he never imagined that he would now be living here again as a prisoner, together with all his captured subordinates. As a military noble of the Lombard court, this was definitely a great shame for him.
When he was captured south of Solonborg, he planned to die, but unexpectedly he was stopped by the enemy cavalry and was eventually captured as a deserter.
Every time he thought about this shame and humiliation, Terman felt as uncomfortable as a knife.
Hands of his nose were twitching slightly, his teeth were clenched, and his right hand clenched into a fist made a loud noise.
"Shame! Shame! I'm going to kill that bastard, kill him!" Suddenly, Terman raised his fist and banged the table, screaming non-stop.
At this time, a black-haired baron who was half-crouching on the ground stood up and planned to step forward to stop him. Unexpectedly, Terman kicked him out. The baron's center of gravity was unstable and he rolled straight towards the oak door~
When the baron stood up with difficulty, with a sound of "Hey", the wooden door opened -