Chapter 562 We not only want freedom
"With the morale of the soldiers in the military camp, it is impossible for us to continue the attack."
Clowen, the knight from Longfeng Castle, said loudly.
There was a steaming fireplace in the small stone room next to the knight's training ground, and the cold wind was beating on the windows, as if to accompany the words of the Cloven knight.
Surrounding the bed of the white horse knight Spitrochu, the red horse knight Mo Ruo, the black horse knight Hern, and Meliati wearing the iron mask and other senior commanders were all there.
There was even an unexpected guest with a depressed look - Sechinger who had escaped from Prince Condé's military camp.
He was thinner than before, even the soles of his feet were cut off in half by a tomahawk, and he could only limp around with crutches.
Almost all the Four Horsemen were present, and the only one absent was the "traitor who surrendered out of the city."
To be honest, the reason why the morale in the military camp is so low now is because the mountain knights are also arguing among themselves about whether Wayne has surrendered or not.
As Meliati's second-in-command, Wayne's status in the hearts of the mountain people is definitely not low.
But this surrender was too paradoxical. Although it was rumored that it triggered a riot among the nobles, Prince Condai did not wash away Wei En.
Before determining the authenticity of the noble riot, Meliati could not make a ruling.
Horn and Prince Condai could see clearly because one of them was a person involved and the other was an outsider.
The church has deliberately blocked the news in Upper and Lower River County, and Meliati has been fighting and defending the city. Reliable news has not yet been delivered.
La Cunho released rumors and smoke bombs that were flying all over the sky, covering up the truth of the riots in Hotam County to a certain extent.
Therefore, for the current Meliati and her army, Wayne's death is still confusing.
Meliaty didn't believe that Wayne would do this, but...it just happened.
This sense of collapse, as well as the subsequent consecutive defeats in the battle with Prince Condai, caused most people to fall into defeatism.
The current silent city of Gaobao is proof that in the past, the military camp must have been extremely noisy, but now it is deathly quiet.
Nearly 1,500 mountain riders were killed or injured,
Most of the local knights in Upper River County fled, the knight on the white horse was seriously injured and his arm was broken, and Meliati fell off her horse in full view of the public.
Although Prince Condai withdrew the day before yesterday, the knights had already equated this expedition with failure.
Their biggest thought right now is to go home.
After Knight Cloven finished his long speech, the knight on the white horse who was lying on the hospital bed reluctantly raised his head: "Your Highness, if I am wrong, you can correct me, but has that dog Charles been promoted to a grand knight?"< br>
After being silent for half a minute, Meliyati admitted: "I guess so, at least I drank the second bottle of blue dragon potion."
She could tell that although she didn't know where the Nine Giant Dragon Potion came from, Prince Kong Dai was definitely on the road to becoming a Grand Knight.
And it is the most extreme one, the kind that trades lifespan for strength.
Meliaty's grandfather Antoine is the Grand Knight, and she is too familiar with the Grand Knight.
But the difference is that Antoine is a consecrated Grand Knight and the French royal family.
Not only did he have a precious potion to extend his life, he also had a monk at the level of the Patriarch give Antoine a precious long-term blessing.
Therefore, he can not only stay awake, but also suppress the toxicity, and enjoy the lifespan bonus brought by being promoted to a great knight.
He even got a daughter at the age of 105, and gave birth to Meliati's mother Lulesi with his third wife.
However, after his only daughter Lulesi's identity as a witch was exposed, he had to withdraw from the competition for the throne and moved his country to Qianhe River Valley.
This naturally caused him to lose his consecration and become an senile person with dementia who could not even hold a cane.
By the time Melia was born, Antoine had completely lost his cognitive abilities and turned into a fat old man who played with her every day.
Only when little Meliaty practiced swordsmanship with Antoine, but was defeated ten times in a row by him with his eyes closed and using muscle memory, did she know what kind of person this grandfather once was.
Clowin was still talking nonstop: "The war can't go on. If we continue like this, I'm afraid there will be betrayers among our knights, just like that Wayne..."
As soon as these words came out, several senior commanders frowned in unison, and Clowen seemed to know that he had made a mistake, so he quickly laughed and tried to smooth things over.
"No, Wayne is not a traitor."
Clowen didn't know Seitzinger, so he just laughed awkwardly and said nothing.
If you want him to admit that he made a mistake, and if you want him to admit that Wayne is not a traitor, isn't that overturning his own conclusion?
"Listen to me." Selchinger almost shouted as he rushed in front of Cloven, "He is not a traitor, he is a hero."
This sudden roar stunned everyone in the house. Seitzinger was not a moody person, and few people saw him lose his temper.
Staring at Cloven with red eyes, Seitzinger took out a crumpled letter from his clothes and sent it to Meliyati.
"This is Mr. Wien's suicide note." Sechinger took a deep breath.
"Suicide note?" The knight on the white horse, who was lying sickly on the bed, suddenly raised his head, "Wasn't he attacked and killed? Where did the suicide note come from?"
Meliyati hesitated when she picked up the suicide note. She didn't even dare to open the flimsy letter.
Opening the envelope and looking at the lines of cursive characters on the paper, the Grand Duchess controlled her slightly trembling hands.
"Little Molly."
"I hope you're not too angry with me for surrendering."
"I probably died when I saw this letter, but I don't know if my strategy will succeed. After all, no one can be sure of Prince Condai's final reaction."
"Perhaps, I have to explain to you... with La Cunho's strategy... on the verge of defeat... with this letter... Prince Condé and the nobles of Hotam County do not trust each other... This is a It’s a big gamble, the Holy Lord has mercy on me, and I hope I can win.”
"I'm always very lucky. Vicente picked me out among the many attendants and made me a knight."
"You see, I married a wife who was from the Thousand River Valley. My five children were all born in the Thousand River Valley. I have everything."
"I think this is very happy, so I advise you to find a husband and a companion. Don't bear it alone."
"I always think this is the life you want, because that little Molly's favorite game is to hold a wedding with two puppets."
"She would wear a red dress, be naughty, eloquent, and make people irritated, even to the point of being annoying."
"But I still miss her."
"I don't know what happened to you before Vicente died, and why that cute little girl became like this."
"But it doesn't matter. I am your father's knight and also your knight. Whatever you want to do, I will support you."
"In this way, we are here today. Even two years ago, I still don't understand that the Duke of Herma Stone has a transcendent status in the Thousand River Valley and cannot be treated the same as the Kush people."
"Obviously they are all dukes, and they enjoy enough things. As long as they have good relations with the church, the Falls family will have a greater future, and they can even spy on the throne of France."
"But when I saw the stone mills of those Blue Blood Monasteries, my friends in the Thousand River Valley, those friends who never shed a tear on the battlefield, when I couldn't help crying -"
"I find myself extremely scared. I wonder if one day my children will suffer from these things?" "If the church does not leave Qianhe Valley for a day, it will not only be my children, even if you get married, you will have your children." If a child or an adopted child is born, will he suffer the same fate?”
"Are we going to be silent?"
"Not to mention the Kush knights I saw who were forcibly driven out of their homes. They even had to offer their wives and daughters to an ordinary village bishop to get relatively fair treatment."
"There are even Kush knights who say that an ordinary farmer in Leia has a better life than them."
"The Thousand River Valley is the largest private territory of the church. In the Holy City, for the election of the Pope, the priests can still pretend to be coy, but far away from the civilized Qianhe River Valley, they have shown their true colors."
"That Horn is absolutely right, they are devils."
"I don't understand the feelings of the people of Qianhe River Valley towards this land that is not fertile, but I am willing to do this for you."
"I always advise you, but I won't advise you now. There will be a day when you don't need to persuade me, but this day will never appear in the enslaved Qianhe River Valley!"
"Do what you want to do!"
"If you have to ask, let the people of Qianhe Valley live under the sunshine and flowers, this is my will."
After reading the letter, under the gaze of others, the Grand Duchess was stunned for a full minute before she stood up suddenly.
Pulling away the last piece of the letter, Meliati walked to the door silently: "Buried with duke's ceremony, buried in the family cemetery of Hema Stone, buried with father and grandfather."
After saying that, she walked out of the stone house, but she didn't go far, she just stood under the eaves.
Not long after, bursts of low-pitched crying came from the stone house behind him.
The three knights had their voices stuck in their throats, and their cries were as ridiculous as tweed flies.
The four knights of Hema Stone have known each other for almost thirty years, and Wayne is the youngest among them.
Wayne once said that he would hold funerals for the other three knights one by one and send them all away.
But now, it was the three knights looking at the remaining fragments of his life.
La Cunho burned Venn's body, clothes and even armor.
Seizinger faced the hot wind blown by the burning and found this remaining piece of cloth among the ashes flying like black butterflies.
The knight on the gray horse is a man who values honor and appearance. He has never been in a state of embarrassment or discomfort in his life, even on the most dangerous battlefield.
He did not charge, did not gallop, and was shot through the head by a farmer on the way to surrender.
A death that is not honorable or clean at all.
But what he got in exchange was a road to victory using honor and life as stepping stones.
If we tell them to return to North Mound County now, are we asking them to ignore this avenue?
Standing in front of the long street leading to the church, Meliaty could not see any expression on her iron face or behind her iron face.
She just stood in the cold wind, looking in vain at the empty and deserted street in front of her.
This long street was not only walked by Prince Condai, but also by Horn, and even Meliyati once walked here with Wayne.
"It actually snowed in March..."
The voice was neither sad nor happy, and Meliati didn't know who she was saying this to.
She stood for a long time and suddenly said to Llanes, who was looking sad at the side: "Send the letter to the military camp and let the priest read it. In the evening, I will personally preside over the mourning."
"As you command, Your Highness."
Lannes bowed deeply and trotted to the military camp.
Meliati looked at the towering tower. The cold wind blew through her platinum hair. The snow in March was actually heavy.
The falling snow covered the tiles, like a layer of short white fluff growing out.
Exhaling a mouthful of white steam from under the mask, Meliati walked towards the long street
The servants quickly picked up their cloaks, but were pushed away by the Grand Duchess: "Don't follow me, I'll go by myself."
Letting her cloak fall to the ground, she slowly walked into the flying snow.
Almost every spring, Meliati and Wayne would come to High Castle City to purchase supplies. She had walked this long road from the knight training ground to the church countless times.
But this time, she had no choice but to leave by herself.
From behind the courtyard walls and towers, the non-stop cries of the sergeants could be heard, and the originally silent city of Gaobao became noisy again.
Accompanied by cries and roars, Meliati walked quietly alone in the wind and snow.
The tall back of the Grand Duchess was actually so slender and dark red, looming in the snow.
After walking for unknown lengths of time, Meliati saw the black marble steps of the church.
She raised her head and heard the whole city crying in the wind and snow.
For Wayne, for the injustice and grievances they have suffered over the years, and for the family and friends who have been persecuted by the church.
Following the cries, Meliyati walked to the top step by step along the steps.
Standing in front of the church door, she looked towards the road coming behind her, but there was only a single line of footprints on the ground.
She still didn't cry.
Holding the last page of the letter in her hand, Meliati lowered her head and silently read the last line of message left by Wayne on it:
"Go ahead, just as your father and I wanted you to do."
"We not only want freedom, but we also want to pay with blood!"
…………
On March 13, 1446 in the Imperial Calendar, Grand Duke Meliati Hessinion Falls raided the White Feng Mercenary Group on a snowy night and miraculously killed the leader of the White Feng Mercenary Group.
After breaking up the original establishment of the mercenary group, the Grand Duchess selected about half of them to form the New White Maple Mercenary Group, using mountain knights as officers and hiring them with double pay.
On March 14, 1446 in the Imperial Calendar, Meliati led more than 2,500 mountain knights, more than 1,200 Bai Maple infantry, and more than 500 local knights, heading towards the stagnant dock.
They abandoned all their belongings and carried only three days' worth of food.
If there are no problems with the schedule during this period, these 4,300 people will arrive at the detention dock on March 18 or 19.
Then, she will go down the river towards Feiliu Castle to finish the unfinished business of her father Vicente, teacher Juano, and guardian knight Wayne——
Flowers, sunshine and freedom.
(End of chapter)