Chapter 222 Letter of Recommendation
In an aristocratic world, classes are clearly defined.
Even nobles with the same title have different statuses.
The most intuitive example is Raven.
He is still just a baron, but there is no baron in the entire Nord province who thinks he can be on an equal footing with Raven.
And if we look at the entire empire, the more powerful nobles with the same title, the closer they are to the royal capital, the more respected their status will be.
Aside from political factors, the most important thing is wealth.
The Cairns Empire firmly occupies the most fertile land in the middle of the Middles continent, and the royal capital "Minnegar" city is the essence of this land.
Agriculture, commerce, and industry are all top-notch in the mainland, and magic is deeply embedded in all aspects. It is said that in the royal capital, even the street lamps are magic lamps.
The rivers flowed with milk and honey, and the land was filled with gold.
The income of the same count living near Minnegar can be 3-5 times that of the border nobles.
There is no noble who does not yearn for the wealth of the royal capital.
If given the choice, many nobles would be willing to pay the price of reducing their territory by half to replace a piece of land near the royal capital.
The letter that Marquis Anthony is writing cannot allow Raven to obtain the fiefdom near the royal capital, but its effect is enough to make Hyde jealous.
Yes, jealousy, Hyde clearly had this strong negative emotion.
Because it is a letter of recommendation.
Letter holders can enter the Royal University of Cairns!
The Royal University of Cairns is a legendary institution with a history of 657 years, and all its presidents have been personally served by His Majesty the King.
This means that as long as you enroll in school, you will have the opportunity to meet His Majesty the King.
At the same time, Royal University also has the largest library on the mainland.
There, you can learn the magic and combat skills treasured by the royal family, and gain the most comprehensive knowledge on the entire continent.
No matter what you want to know or study, you can find the corresponding records and information.
On the other hand, the admission threshold for the Royal University is quite high. It can be said that "there are as many earls as dogs and marquises everywhere".
In the more than 600 years since the establishment of the Royal University, the empire has had 143 prime ministers, 105 of whom were born here; 71 of the 87 marshals once studied here.
The rest are similar to the Chancellor of Finance, Military Advisor, Foreign Minister, and other dignitaries at all levels, and more than 80% of them study at Royal University.
And as time goes by, this proportion is still increasing.
So much so that in the past 100 years, if you have not studied at the Royal University, you are not qualified to enter the cabinet of His Majesty the King!
It can be said that the moment you step into the campus gate, you have half-stepped into the core of the empire.
No noble would want to enter this incubation place for imperial dignitaries, but its admission requirements are also quite strict.
Although theoretically, His Majesty the King has the qualifications for special recruitment, this power has never been used.
The only way is through alumni recommendation, and each alumni has only three places.
You must be an outstanding alumni to be eligible to issue a letter of recommendation.
As for what constitutes an outstanding alumnus - of course it depends on one's influence. There are many jokes in history about people who think they are outstanding and who write letters of recommendation, only for the letter holders to be excluded.
This also ensures the style and authority of Royal University. Everyone who is lucky enough to enter Royal University is proud of his or her identity.
"My Lord Marquis, this gift in return...isn't it too expensive?" Hyde swallowed.
It is not an exaggeration to say that if possible, Hyde would even be willing to exchange the viscounty for this letter of recommendation.
As long as he has this resume, no matter how poor his ability is, he can replace his eldest brother Minsk and become the first heir of the Slater family.
And now, this letter of recommendation is about to fall into Raven’s hands!
Anthony put down his quill, put the letter into an envelope, and printed his personal seal on the wax.
“As a noble, you cannot be as stingy as a businessman, you must maximize every resource you have.”
Hyde's eyes were still confused.
Anthony handed the letter over: "Give it to Baron Raven, maybe he will answer your questions."
So Hyde took over the job of the messenger.
Not only to answer doubts, he also wanted to see if Raven, who had never lost his composure in front of him, would be unable to stay calm because of this.
What disappointed him was that when the letter was handed over, Raven did look happy, but this joy was completely out of proportion to what he had gained, as if he just picked up a fake bird on the roadside. Wallet with gold coins.
"No, don't you feel any surprise at all?" Hyde himself was a little defensive: "Or did you know the result when you sent out the angel's glory?"
"I again If you’re not a god, how could you count?”
“Then why are you acting like this?”
"I don't want you to see the joke. I am a noble. It is my basic skill to keep my emotions and anger intangible. Maybe after you leave, I will close the door and be happy like a fool?"
Hyde was speechless for a while: "You are only one year older than me, how come you talk like those old foxes?"
He is a very self-aware person, knowing that he cannot speak language to Raven, so he goes straight to the point: "Why did Marquis Anthony give you the letter of recommendation? Your status and influence cannot be greater than that of my father, right?" "
Lei Wen said: "If you only look at influence, as early as in the royal capital, Marquis Anthony recommended The letter was sent.”
“Let me ask you a question, who is my gift for?”
Hyde blurted out: “Of course it is His Majesty the King, but...”
His brows gradually tightened, and Hyde swallowed. He felt that he was more shocked today than he had been in the past 21 years.
Raven's gift was given to His Majesty the King, so could it be said that Marquis Anthony's gift... was also given to His Majesty the King?
Hyde vaguely caught something, but the answer seemed to be hidden in the fog, and he couldn't figure it out clearly no matter how hard he thought: "Okay, I admit defeat, just tell me the answer."
For Raven did not dislike Hyde, a clear-minded nobleman. He patiently explained: "If His Majesty the King receives My gift is likely to be curious about me and want to see me in person."
"Of course, Marquis Anthony wants to share the concerns of His Majesty the King."
At this point, Hyde's eyes gradually showed a hint of surprise, and he even tasted the implication of Raven's words.
If he just wanted His Majesty the King to see Raven, Anthony still had many options.
What Hyde can think of is to directly bring Raven back to the royal capital; or recommend Raven to serve in the inner court of the palace.
But all of these have the same problem, which is that it not only makes Count Anthony look like a jester who is bent on making money, but also puts Raven in the position of a clown and actor.
More importantly, this will make the outside world think that His Majesty the King is frivolous and not stable enough.
But with letters of recommendation, these problems can be completely avoided.
Raven had a legitimate reason to enter the royal capital, and Marquis Anthony did not have to bear the reputation of a jester.
If His Majesty the King wants to see Raven, it is reasonable; if he does not want to, there will be no additional burden.
The key is that Anthony and Raven understood this information without even communicating!
"It seems that what my father said is right, I am indeed not the material to succeed the family head." Hyde smiled bitterly: "In the future, you must dig less holes for me when we cooperate. I can't scheme against you."
Lei Wendao had a smile on his face: "How is that possible? I am a very innocent person." Hyde rolled his eyes, turned around and left.
Leaven laughed dumbly, and after making sure that Hyde was gone, he picked up the envelope on the table and kissed it hard, with an irrepressible smile on his lips.
How could he not be happy with this valuable gift in return?
This is not just a letter of recommendation, it is a stepping stone for him to break into the top management of the empire. It also carries the attitude of Marquis Anthony - from today on, he is a member of Marquis Anthony's faction.
And Marquis Anthony represents His Majesty the King.
When Raven decided to marry the Fox family before, he calculated the pros and cons.
First of all, this move can use the Fox family's relationship network to open up more joints and business routes, so that the economy of one's own territory can develop more rapidly.
Secondly, it can enhance one's political prestige and status in the Nord province.
Finally, there are the benefits of marriage itself.
Leaven rarely holds cocktail parties because he doesn't like overly lively occasions, and he also needs more time to improve himself and manage his territory.
Once married to Nancy, Nancy can take the lead in running these social activities and maintain the Griffith family's connections with other nobles.
Of course, the disadvantages are also obvious.
Although Raven's territory is developing very well at present, it is far inferior to the Fox family.
The gap in title is also quite obvious.
Once married, the Griffith family will be regarded as an integral part of the Fox family, whether they like it or not.
This is very likely to be suppressed by Slater's group, and even the position of president of the Lower City Chamber of Commerce in Munn City that he has already obtained is likely to be lost.
Raiwen had already made preparations for this.
Replacing Meng City with Hovey City is not a very loss-making transaction.
Now, with the letter of recommendation in hand, Raven has successfully separated himself from the Fox family camp and offset the disadvantages.
Leaven poured himself a glass of Angel Tears, leaned back leisurely on the chair, and suddenly sighed boringly.
At this time, it would be nice if I had a cigarette.
In my previous life, I was under too much pressure at work and became addicted to smoking. Now that I am relaxing, I really miss that taste.
Unfortunately, although tobacco is also produced on the Middles continent, not only is its quality extremely poor and the taste is worrying, but also due to the lack of filtration technology, smoking it is like squatting next to a stove and eating ashes. His mouth is full of scum.
"Grow some tobacco?" Raven thought about the feasibility of this plan and wrote a line in his notes, preparing to do it again if he had the opportunity in the future.
Looking back on the past year, many goals have been achieved.
The forging factory has been established and put into use, and the glass factory is on track. It can not only produce mirrors and cans, but also provide high-quality and cheap packaging for its own Angel Tears and Angel Kisses.
Congyun Kumquat is mature, the magic potion is successfully refined, and his own strength has been upgraded to the third level.
The only regret is that due to the need to take care of the construction of Annuo's academy and the bone dragon's nest, the construction progress of the new castle itself is slightly slower. Judging from the current progress, it will not be completed until the middle of next year. built.
And now he has more than 800,000 gold coins in his hand. Although he is still a little far away from 1 million, Raven is not a stingy person and will not have to wait until 1 million to consider spending.
Tapping his fingers on the table, Raven took out his quill and began to plan his future goals.
The first thing is undoubtedly to become a count.
Viscounts and barons are both lower-level nobles. No matter how powerful Raven is, he can only play both sides; only by becoming an earl can he officially sit at the card table.
But this step is difficult. The glory of the angel sent out by yourself is far from enough.
So, next, Raven must win the support of the Fox family, and at the same time, he must use the good impression he left on Marquis Anthony to consolidate his weight in the heart of His Majesty the King.
Of course, there will inevitably be some entanglement with the Slater family.
The second thing is to build a platform of your own.
It is not realistic to become a fat man in one bite. What Raven needs to do is to develop gradually, starting with Xuefeng County, then the five northwest counties, and then radiating to the entire Nord province.
After achieving this goal, consider expanding outward.
The last thing is the improvement of personal strength.
Raven's current magic power is level three and three stars, and there is still some way to go before level four.
If we divide the extraordinary levels as a whole, then every third level is a hurdle. After a breakthrough, there will be a qualitative change.
Fourth-level knights and warriors can condense war patterns, greatly enhance their physical strength, and explode with terrifying destructive power; and fourth-level magicians can make their magical creations permanent.
Going from level three to level four is far more difficult than going from level one to level three.
That’s why there are so many magicians stuck in the third level in the Mage Guild; Angel also fell on the way to sprint from the third level to the fourth level.
To become a fourth-level magician, Raven still has three steps to complete:
1. Select and refine a kind of magic, and engrave its magic circuit into your own magic pool.
2. Increase your magic power to level three and ten stars.
3. Obtain the "Magic Upgrade Potion".
Refining a type of magic is a process for a magician to hone his/her ability to control magic power, and it is also a process of sculpting oneself.
It is like a kind of enchantment for oneself, making the manipulation of magic power become instinctive. The magic chosen will no longer be shackles by the rank, and will gradually become stronger as the magician's own strength increases.
This also involves the ability to awaken at the fifth level.
Needless to say, there is no need to say much about accumulating magic power. The most important thing is the third step "Magic Upgrade Potion".
Because this potion is truly "one thousand people, one thousand prescriptions" - because every magician has a different composition of magic power in his body.
This has resulted in its price always remaining at 6 figures, which remains high.
If you want to customize it, you will undoubtedly need to go through a comprehensive inspection by the Mages Guild, which also means that Raven has to completely expose himself to the sight of the Mages Guild.
This was unacceptable to Raven.
Not to mention that the secret of the Eye of Truth cannot be made public. In the future, he will have many more magicians under his command, and he cannot be choked by the Mage Guild.
The formula for the magic potion is priced at 379,600 gold coins.
Leaven scratched his head and made a budget list. The simple version of the "Intellectual Magic Network" used to build the platform alone cost 570,000 gold coins. I bought this, the magic potion formula. Just can’t get it!
"There are never enough gold coins to spend..."
Raven sighed, put down his pen temporarily, rubbed his temples, and returned to his room.
After all, it will take some time for the cash to arrive, so Raven has enough free time to think and rest.
This time, the nobles did not linger for too long, but left one after another after receiving the first batch of goods - Angel's Glory is fragile and the price is quite high, so they do not personally escort it I really can’t let go.
And Eric also took the initiative to find Raven after a long absence.
……
(End of this chapter)