Chapter 156 Return with Honor
Manseni was depressed for three days, but Raven had already put the matter behind her.
He still has many things to be busy with.
On the second day after the dance, Raven issued a military recruitment order through the Chamber of Commerce - any male between the ages of eighteen and thirty can come to sign up to join the army and receive military pay. Consistent with the Eagle Army, of course, it must also be included in the Eagle Army sequence.
Originally, Raven did not have high expectations for this. After all, the Eagle Territory was a remote place on the border of the province.
In a big city like Meng'en City, even the residents of the lower city have a better life than most serfs, and few people are willing to leave here and go to the backcountry.
Had it not been just after the war, Raven would not have made such an attempt.
The result was somewhat beyond Raven's expectation.
Perhaps it was because the Order of the Death Hand caused too much damage to the economy, or perhaps the riot made young people realize the importance of force. Sign-ups were so enthusiastic that Raven had to go to the original two recruitment points. On the basis of this, three additional ones were opened.
At the same time, as the riots in Meng City subsided, Dean Nightingale was unwilling to continue to stay in the Silver Hand Brotherhood, even though it has now become the headquarters of the Protective Hand Corps.
Unlike when they came, the children had to carry their luggage on foot. Members of the former Silver Hand Brotherhood and now the Protective Hand Legion called a carriage for them, and the narrow alley was bustling for a while.
Nightingale stood at the entrance of the alley, looking at the scene in front of her, sighing in her heart.
Leaving Men's City for less than a year, Raven came back and already had the entire lower city under his control. Even the gangs, a chronic disease of the city, were properly dealt with by him. .
If Raven was still a negative example in the orphanage before, now he has become the idol of all children.
"Dean, when are we leaving?" a little girl asked crisply.
"Don't worry, wait until Sister Lux comes out!" Nightingale said with a smile.
As soon as she heard Lux's name, the girl who was still a little anxious immediately calmed down: "Okay!"
Although they didn't get along for long, Lux gave Nightingale Very impressed with the kids.
She is gentle and kind. She is not tired of every problem of the children in the orphanage. She listens to everyone's troubles and pains and sincerely praises every child.
In the hearts of children, if angels have an image, then it must be the face of Lux.
"Sister is here!" The little girl pointed to the entrance of the alley, and Lux had already walked out.
"Sorry for keeping you waiting." Lux said softly.
“No, I just installed the things.” Nightingale smiled, and then felt a little strange, because in her opinion, Lux was not a person who liked to dress up and procrastinate: “You just What did you do?”
“Wash your feet,” Lux said.
“Wash your feet?” Dean Nightingale was stunned for a moment: “What are you doing at this time?”
Lux thought for a moment and said seriously: "It will be useful in a while."
Nightingale: "...?"
The convoy first drove to the Moon of Mercy Orphanage, and most of them stopped. After a while, only Lux's carriage continued to move forward and arrived at the Chamber of Commerce headquarters.
The arrival of Lux made Raven's eyes brighter and his spirit became much more relaxed.
Today, Lux is wearing a gauze skirt, the main body is plain white, and the two breasts are as soft green as spring grass. Combined with her golden waterfall-like hair, it is full of youthful atmosphere, just like the legendary lake Middle girl.
A smile appeared on Raven's face: "Sit down first, I have something on my hand that needs to be dealt with."
Lux sat on the chair obediently, picked up a book and started reading.
After lowering his head to deal with official duties for a while, Raven raised his head and focused his eyes on Lux, showing a hint of surprise.
What Lux was holding was actually a "Chronology of Major Events".
It is said to be big events, but most of them are trivial things, such as the opening date of a certain store, the birth of a child by a certain noble or wealthy businessman, or the time and place of a certain murder.
Everything was written in one stroke, making it boring, but it was difficult for Lux to read it and get immersed in it.
Under the sunlight, her sapphire-like eyes showed a clear texture. As her eyes fluttered, her eyelashes also trembled.
Slender fingers brushed the pages of the book. The girl's brows gradually furrowed, her lips opened and closed slightly, and she let out a slightly annoyed sigh.
Leaven asked: "What problem did you encounter?"
"Well..." The tip of Lux's nose wrinkled slightly, and her finger fell on a line on the page: "You are twenty this year. One year old, then he should be born in 1172, but why is there no such mark? ”
"You forgot, I was not born into a noble family, so of course it won't be recorded on it." Raven blinked: "Why did you suddenly think of this?"
Lux said seriously: "I Xiangnan Dean Dingle asked, and she didn’t know your birthday, so she wanted to see if she could find it out.”
< br>"I also want to give you a birthday gift."
Hearing this, Raven felt warm in his heart: "You can give a gift anytime you want, and you have already given me one. The best gift.”
Lacus was a little confused: “What gift?”
"That's after we rescued Viscount John." Raven said with a smile: "If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be able to deal with so many second-order bone cavalry."
"That's different." Lux was stubborn. Authentic: "It's different!"
As he said that, he lowered his head again, trying to find some details between the lines.
Looking at her insistence, Raven smiled softly, stopped worrying, lowered his head and continued to process the paperwork.
Time passed bit by bit, and soon it was noon.
"Ah -" Raven shook his sore shoulders, put down his quill, and looked at Lux with an apologetic smile: "It's been a long wait."
"Not long." Lux put down the book in her hand, Suddenly asked: "Raven, how did you do it?"
Raven was startled: "What?"
"That is, to quell the riots in the Lower City." Lux said: "I have thought about it for a long time, but I still don't understand why you can do it."< br>
"This is ancient wisdom." Raven said.
"What ancient wisdom?" Lux blinked.
“The classic two peaches kill three men.”
Lei Wen smiled: “Don’t think about it, let’s go, I will take you to eat the best food in the city!”
Lux's eyes shone with anticipation.
In the next few days, in addition to handling official duties, Raven took Lux to wander the streets and alleys of the lower city. Lux gained a lot of knowledge, and Raven also had to answer many questions that he himself had never known. Questions I have thought about.
For example, why do people call the city defense troops "black-skinned bamboo shoots"? Why are prices in Meng City lower than in Goldshire? Why doesn't Raven let her help the poor girl begging on the roadside.
Fortunately, Lux sometimes just asks questions out of interest and does not get to the bottom of things.
At the same time, the recruitment work was also in full swing. The Chamber of Commerce followed Raven's arrangements and began to prepare food and fodder for these soldiers on the road.
It took five days, and Lei Wen recruited more than 2,300 people, all of whom were the youngest and strongest young men in their twenties. It can be said that they were selected from the best.
It’s not that there aren’t more people signing up, it’s just that Raven still has to give the Slater family some face. After all, Munn City is still the territory of the Slater family. If too many people are taken away, Earl Tyrone will no longer tolerate it. Go down.
More than two thousand people were just stuck on Earl Tyrone's bottom line.
The recruitment was over, and Raven also completed all the things he had to do in the Lower City and announced his departure.
When they came, Baron Raven only brought them about thirty people and a hundred horses, and they only transported food, grass and tents.
Now we set out to go back, but there are more than two thousand people, hundreds of carriages, containing enough property to make most nobles covet.
The team left Meng'en City in a mighty manner.
It is worth mentioning that even after such a long delay, Raven was one of the first to leave Men'en City, and most of the nobles are still lingering in the upper city of Men'en City.
The march of two thousand untrained troops is not very fast, and occasionally some will fall behind. Fortunately, the weather has gradually warmed up, and the journey is easier than in winter. Even if they fall behind, they can take a little rest. If you can catch up, you don’t have to worry about freezing to death.
So the return trip was not slower than when we came, and it took about twenty days.
The size of Raven's team is really quite large, more than 2,300 people, almost half an army. It caused a lot of jokes and misunderstandings along the way. More than one noble family thought that they were the remnants of the Order of the Death Hand, or the defeated army of thieves, and were so scared that they stayed behind closed doors. Some even offered a "protection fee" in the hope that Raven would not attack them.
Raven was quite dumbfounded by this, but it also confirmed the bad influence brought by the Death Hand Order, which simply frightened the nobles.
After receiving a gift, if it is gold coins or the like, Raven will change hands and return it. He still wants reputation, but if it is food, wine, meat and the like, then he will accept it with a smile.
After all, the Death Hand Order not only destroyed half of the Nord province, but also caused these areas to miss the opportunity for spring plowing. Barren land can be seen everywhere. It is conceivable that the price of food this year will be will continue to soar.
On the way, Raven also encountered several small waves of undead, but they did not pose much of a threat under the iron hooves of the soldiers.
When we returned to Xuefeng County, the traces of the undead had basically disappeared, but the overall atmosphere did not become much better.
During the expedition, more than a dozen nobles of all sizes in Xuefeng County split into two factions due to the radical attitude of Viscount Fisher. Most of them chose to follow Fisher. Only Kate, Romney and Jude La chose to follow Viscount John.
Viscount Fisher’s team includes a total of twelve nobles including himself. Only three are now confirmed to be alive. Even Fisher himself died under the breath of the bone dragon. .
As a result, most families in Xuefeng County are filled with an atmosphere of sadness. Whether it is sincere or not, black satin and cloth are hung all over the castle.
Raven passed by the territory of Baron Romney. Out of the friendship of fighting side by side, Raven chose to go to mourn in person, and was pulled by Baron Romney's widow, Ms. "Doreen". I cried on my shoulders.
There was no further in-depth communication after that, but Ms. Doreen brought her two-year-old son to Raven and recognized Raven as her godfather.
Raven readily agreed.
For the Griffith family, this is the first step to expand their influence; for Ms. Doreen, it is to find a support for orphans and widowed mothers. After all, today's Nord province It's not safe, and Raven already has the thickest thigh in Xuefeng County.
After leaving Romney’s territory, two more days passed.
Finally, on the morning of June 2nd, Raven returned to the Eagle Territory.
After months of absence, the winter scene has faded. Large tracts of new farmland have been opened up on both sides of the Jinsha River. Different from the abandoned fields seen along the way, the residents are working between the fields and ridges, on the fertile black soil. , a long green wheat seedling has emerged.
Further away, on the land that has long been cultivated, the wheat has turned golden.
Golden Town has turned into a large construction site, and the refugees have been organized to build a new city wall.
The renovation plan of Eagle Town has also begun. Every construction site is dusty and full of vitality.
"Lord Baron, you really did it!" Eric said with emotion outside Goldsmith Town.
"What did you do?" Raven asked with a smile.
"It was here that we accepted the serfs sent by the Fox family." Eric said: "I said at that time that you would become a viscount sooner or later."
"But I didn't expect that. One day will come so quickly!”
Recalling the scene at that time, Raven felt a little relieved: "I'm not a viscount yet."
"I am already, my lord!" Eric's eyes swept over the Snow Maple Territory adjacent to Goldsmith Town: "Only a viscount can control such a vast territory. "
"If any noble refuses to admit it, it only means they are stupid!"
"Haha——" Raven showed a cheerful smile:
"Remember, Eric, this is just a new starting point!"
"Drive!"
The news that Raven was about to return had already been sent back and spread by Simon, and the more than 2,000 people he brought back did not cause panic.
Go through Eagle Town and return to Eagle Fort. You can see the completed monument from a distance.
This sculpture is ten meters high, only slightly shorter than Eagle Castle. It fully implements Raven's design concept, using swords as outlines. Viewed from different angles, you can see the heroic figures of warriors holding swords, shields, spears and crossbows. , it can be said that they are one and the same, fully demonstrating the heroic appearance of the Eagle Army.
Leaven stood in silence in front of the statue for a while, and the soldiers also stopped. Although the recruits did not know the origin and significance of the statue, they all remained quiet.
Unlike the last time he returned from the expedition, Eagle Castle did not line up to welcome him with great fanfare this time. This was also what Raven had sent Simon back to inform and arrange in advance.
After all, there are still more than two thousand people following us, so pragmatism is more important.
Let Eric take people to settle the two thousand recruits first, and allocate some people to deal with the goods brought back. Lux said goodbye to Raven, but Raven insisted on sending her back in person. .
After taking Lux's luggage into the church and taking a sip of water brought by Lux, Raven asked: "Do you want to come to Eagle Castle tonight and I'll treat you to dinner?"
"No."
"Then...I will accompany you tonight?"
"...No..."
Leaven smiled, turned around and left, riding back alone Eagle Castle.
Everything in Eagle Castle is so familiar, the playground and target in the yard, the fat horses in the stables, and the adoration in the eyes of the passing servants.
As soon as he walked through the door, Raven felt much more relaxed. This was the feeling of going home.
"Lord Baron!" Fiona was the first to greet him.
Wearing a sky blue dress and a contrasting black waistcoat, with her silver hair hanging casually, she was like a paper doll hanging under the eaves, the first to welcome her owner back.
Leiwen smiled: "Didn't I say you don't have to welcome me?"
"Mr. Simon said that you brought back a lot of things this time." Fiona said: "My grandfather is a little unwell, so he asked me to come over and take people to take inventory."
Leaven was a little concerned: "Ge What's wrong with Mr. Deng? "
"It's nothing, it's just a recurrence of the old disease. The doctor said it's nothing serious. He just needs to stay in bed for a few days and recuperate," Fiona explained.
"That's good." Raven breathed a sigh of relief: "I'll leave it to you to count the goods."
Nodding, Fiona was about to salute and leave. Listen to Lei Wen say: "The monument is well built!"
Fiona froze on the spot, then a happy smile appeared on her lips, she clenched her fists and shook her arms vigorously.
As soon as Raven walked into the hall, Patty brought a tray with towels: "Lord Baron, you are finally back!"
Leaven gently touched her white chin Pinch: "Miss me?"
Petty lowered his head and his eyes wandered.
Back in the bedroom, Raven took off his armor and washed himself under Petty's service.
Before she could change into new clothes, Patty's fingers were already touching Raven's chest.
The job of the personal maid is not heavy, making her hands as delicate as milk, and her chin rests on Raven's shoulder, almost melting into Raven's chest like water.
"Where did you hide my maid?" Raven whispered: "I remember that Patty is a very reserved girl."
"Lord Baron... ..." Petty's teeth bit lightly: "No, it's all your fault..."
"Okay, let's talk about it tonight." Raven gave him a peck on the forehead: "Go and help. I called Weston and Link to the study.”
Reluctantly leaving Raven's arms, Patty arranged her clothes and walked out of the room gently.
Pouring himself a glass of angel tears, Raven walked to the window and took in the clear and bright sky with a smile.
One year, a whole year.
A year ago, he was a baron who had just succeeded to the throne. His territory only had a small piece of Eagle Town. When he looked up, there were troubles everywhere, waiting for him to solve them one by one.
Now, he has not only taken back Gold Shine Town, but also taken the Xuefeng Territory into his pocket.
Raven has become a force in the Nord province.
Not to mention being very important, but after Viscount John leaves, the entire Xuefeng County nobility will be headed by him!
Opening the window, the breeze blew in. Raven raised his glass to the wind happily and drank the wine in one gulp.
"Lord Baron, Master Weston and Captain Link are waiting for you in the study."
......
(End of this chapter)