Chapter 278 The final conclusion
Thank you very much to Qidian Dad [book friend 20170610093211508] for the 10,000 reward for [Denise]!
……
The dim hall echoed with the famous composer Monet’s Waltz No. 37.
This piece of music is famous for its cheerfulness and brightness. It depicts the lingering feelings between passionate lovers. Once it appeared, it spread quickly and became a frequent guest at aristocratic cocktail parties.
But for Marquis Anthony, this tune is a bit outdated.
There is no way. After all, Nord province, an imperial borderland, has never been associated with fashion. Things that are popular in the royal capital often take more than ten or even decades to spread here.
His eyes scanned the hall.
This is not the Fox Castle, but the most high-end theater in Hovey City. Anthony rented it as a venue for cocktail parties.
The nobles gathered in groups, and men and women were dancing.
The cups containing Angel's Tears are arranged into a wine tower, which is six stories high, with a wide tray below filled with wine.
There are 4 wine towers like this.
There is no doubt that after the cocktail party, most of them will flow down the ditch.
Of course, there are all kinds of delicacies that are constantly served and will be removed if they are even slightly stale.
Anthony indeed once called on the Nordic provinces to practice frugality and not engage in any extravagant activities, but since it was stipulated by the governor, how could this rule restrain him?
He needed this cocktail party to appease the nearby nobles; and the nearby nobles also needed this opportunity to get close to him and end their constant suspicion.
However, Anthony was quite old after all and had old injuries on his body. Although the temperature control array was in operation, he still felt tight in his chest, so he walked to the edge of the window in the corner and gently pushed it open. He took a deep breath of the air that flowed in - and then almost spit it out.
It stinks.
Looking out the window, I saw a pile of fresh... human excrement under the window sill. There were flies flying on it.
"Uh..." After closing the window, Anthony took out a bottle of mint-flavored Angel's Kiss and put it under his lips, sniffing it gently, and then managed to suppress the nausea in his heart.
He forgot that this was Hovey City, not the royal capital.
Like most cities in the empire, residents would spill their feces on the streets, while nobles would choose to solve their physiological problems in random places because they disliked the toilets being too dirty.
This kind of situation can be said to be commonplace. Anthony still remembers that just 7 years ago, a count from a certain southern province couldn't bear it, so during the banquet, he served His Majesty the King. Favorite flowers are fertilized.
For a while, Anthony felt a little nostalgic about the Eagle Leader. At least there would be no metabolic products on the streets of Eagle Town.
But the province of Nord is pretty good. In some of the southern provinces that Anthony visited, nobles would even build cesspits under the castles. The smell...
At this moment, a burst of footsteps came, and Akori walked straight to Anthony and bowed: "Mr. Governor, the results from Fox Castle are out."
"No rush." Anthony coughed. Saying: "Let's talk upstairs."
Looking again at the nobles who were indulging in pleasure, Anthony took Akori to the private room upstairs.
The relatively clean air here made Anthony breathe a sigh of relief: "Tell me, what can I do?"
Acori took out two documents from his bag and handed them to Anthony respectfully. : "My Lord Governor, the cleaning work of Fox Fort has been completed."
"A total of 237 corpses were cleared this time, and 165 unidentifiable corpses. The names of the victims are all here."
"In addition, the Fox family's collections have also been cleared and filed. Book.”
“Please take a look.”
Anthony took the two documents and opened the upper one first.
Scanning through the list, you can see that all members of the Fox family from Montreal onwards are listed. The youngest victim is a 2-year-old baby - Sanchi's youngest son.
"Are you sure the cleanup is complete?" Anthony asked.
Acori was about to say sure, but he saw Anthony's playful look before saying so, so he changed his words: "...Well, maybe there was some negligence during the inventory and the discovery was not discovered. "
Hearing this sentence, Anthony's eyes flashed with relief, but after waiting for a long time, he didn't wait for the next sentence, and that relief turned into disappointment.
As the illegitimate son of Duke Ferdinand, although Acre inherited his father's talents in combat and martial arts, he was still too ignorant at the political level.
As a close friend of Pedinan, Anthony still hopes that Akori can stand alone.
Picking up the quill on the table, Anthony swiped a few dots on the list, and then threw it to Acre: "Rearrange the list and arrange the order of the names."
Acre took it and took a look. , and was immediately stunned, because the name above was Gul'dan's name: "But, we did not find Gul'dan's body."< br>
Anthony pressed his eyebrows: "You said before that there are 165 unidentified corpses. Is it possible that Gul'dan is among them?"
Acori knew Gul. Dan, even fought against Gul'dan, he could recognize him even if Gul'dan turned into ashes, and he could be sure that there was no such person inside at all.
But Anthony obviously didn’t want this answer, so Akori could only bite the bullet and said: "Probably."
Anthony really hates that iron is not made of steel: "It's not probably, it must be."
The Fox family must be destroyed, and no possibility of resurgence can be left, so no matter where Gul'dan is now, the inventory is over After that, it was necessary to confirm the fact that he was dead.
Only by making this an irrefutable proof can we guarantee that even if Gul'dan comes forward alive in the future, he will never be able to obtain the inheritance rights of the Fox family.
Otherwise, why would Anthony rush to Hovey City in such a hurry? Is it because he thinks there are not enough suspicions on him?
Seeing Akori nodding like a gourd, Anthony couldn't get angry anymore and focused on the second document.
This is a list of the Fox family's properties.
Even though Anthony is well-informed, he was a little shocked by this list.
He personally presided over the punishment of the Fox family. He knew clearly that in the previous audit of military merit, the total amount of fines paid by the Fox family itself and on behalf of their vassals was as high as 2.07 million gold coins.
But it has only been just over a year, and there are still more than 1.7 million gold coins in their family's inventory alone.
There is also a lot of equipment in the inventory.
There is one set of third-level enchanted armor, 11 sets of second-level enchanted armor, and 107 sets of first-level enchanted armor.
One third-level enchanted weapon, 37 second-level enchanted weapons, and 523 first-level enchanted weapons.
There are also quite a variety of magic raw materials, ranging from magic cores, magic ores to magic plants. There are also many third-level and second-level magic crystals, as well as various kinds of materials that are calculated in "boxes" Warcraft raw materials.
In addition, there are a large number of precious works of art, as well as large quantities of grain and cloth.
Taken together, the total value of the Fox family’s wealth is actually over 7 million gold coins.
"The heritage of the century-old Earl family." Anthony sighed: "Acre, go and call Ezio."
Acre nodded as he was ordered, and not long after, a man dressed like a playboy, A man with a pair of playful mustaches pushed open the door and entered, smelling strongly of perfume.
"Oh, my dear Governor, why do you have to call me now?" Ezio took off his hat and saluted: "I know you may feel uncomfortable saying this, but I have just made an appointment with three people. Ladies, let’s have afternoon tea together. If you have anything to say, please finish it quickly.”
< br>Already accustomed to Ezio's escapades, Anthony didn't care too much and threw the property list in his hand: "No." Ezio took the list and immediately snapped his fingers: "Wow, This order is really worth it.”
As he spoke, he walked around Anthony, sat behind the table under Akori's angry gaze, picked up a clean list and started copying.
He behaves like a dandy, but his calligraphy is quite beautiful. His handwriting is regular and clear, with a sense of beauty like calligraphy and painting. He has obviously received an extremely good education.
"No, it's done." Ezio handed the copied copy to Acre and asked him to pass it to Anthony.
Acori frowned as soon as he saw it: "Isn't this right?"
Anthony coughed: "Bring it to me."
"But, Mr. Governor, the number here..."
"Give it to me!"
Taking the list from Acre, Anthony said with some dissatisfaction: "You can go out now. , When will you figure it out, when will you come in again?"
No wonder Akori reacted so strangely, because the shrinkage of this list is indeed quite exaggerated.
The decimal points of all numbers have basically been moved one place to the left. 1.7 million gold coins have become 150,000 gold coins; the third-level armor and weapons have been erased, and only single digits are left in the second-level. There are only ten digits for the order.
As for the magic raw materials, they were cut down as much as possible, and the magic crystals were cut down directly.
As a result, the inventory, originally worth more than 7 million, shrank to less than 600,000.
"Very good, I will register these things immediately and send them to the treasury." Anthony nodded: "The remaining value..."
"Goods worth 5 million gold coins , of course I will personally escort it and deliver it to His Majesty the King," Ezio said with a smile.
5 million plus 600,000, there is still a gap of 1.4 million from 7 million, but neither Anthony nor Ezio showed any abnormality.
Horses always need to eat more food and grass before they can work.
Just when Anthony wanted to discuss the details with Ezio, there was a knock on the door, and Anthony looked relaxed: "Come in."
Seeing Acori walk in, Anthony Asked: "Have you figured it out?"< br>
"Um, no..." Akori smiled awkwardly: "I just received a letter from Baron Raven."
Anthony glanced at Akori helplessly and said He took the letter in his hand, unfolded it and read it.
Ezio came forward without any notice, put his arm on Anthony's shoulders and was shaken off, but he didn't care: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, this young man Raven is really smart."
Anthony nodded. Head: "Indeed, this little guy lived up to His Majesty the King's fancy."
After saying that, he put the letter on the table.
Acre couldn't help but be curious, and leaned over to read the contents on the letterhead, his facial features almost twisted together.
This is obviously just a letter to remind you of the locust plague, and the locust plague was discovered by Count Jonah. What does this have to do with whether you are smart or not?
Seeing Akori's confused look, Anthony sighed in his heart, knowing that Akori would probably be insulated from politics for the rest of his life.
But this is fine. I can live for a few more years and protect him by my side. After a few years, I can find some meritorious deeds and put them on his head. I will send him to the inland provinces in the future. Just fight for the title of viscount and spend your life in peace.
"Okay." Anthony put away the letter, sat back at the table, and began to draft the decree.
There are two decrees in total.
The first thing is to release the information about the locust plague and call on the Nordic province to actively prevent it.
Secondly, while posting the list of victims in Fox Castle, it was announced that all members of the Fox family had been killed except Nancy, who did not have the right to inherit the title because she had married into the Griffith family.
Therefore, the territory of the Fox family, Ferdoro County including Hovey City, will be temporarily under the direct jurisdiction of the empire until a suitable heir is found or the heir apparent is officially declared extinct.
After finishing writing, Anthony rubbed his wrist: "Have these two documents copied and sent to the whole province."
"Yes, Lord Governor." Ako Rui took the document and glanced at it: "Are there some deficiencies in the prevention of the locust plague?"
"It doesn't matter, just send it as it is." Anthony pushed his hand and said.
From Anthony's point of view, Earl Jonah was showing goodwill to himself through Raven, and indirectly to His Majesty the King, so there was likely to be a locust plague, but it would certainly not be too serious.
It’s just a bunch of bugs, can they still eat people?
The reason why Lei Wen is said to be smart is because Lei Wen only elaborated on this fact and did not add any exaggeration to highlight the danger of the locust plague, thereby highlighting his own importance.
Another point is that Raven's letter did not mention the Fox family at all.
In fact, on the continent of Middles, women theoretically enjoy the right to inherit titles, but the specific implementation methods are different in different countries, and the conditions are generally harsh.
For example, in the Keynesian Empire, if a noble family has no male heirs but only female heirs, it cannot be directly inherited.
In order for a woman to obtain inheritance rights, the current head of the family needs to clearly draw up a will under the witness of the noble council, and it also needs to be reviewed to confirm that the heir has the ability to manage his own territory. Be able to enjoy inheritance rights with certainty.
As for what exactly "ability" is, it is up to the discretion of the Council of Nobles.
In the Council of Nobles, they are all a group of landless nobles. They wish that everyone would become like them. It is not easy to feed them.
As for the Fox family incident specifically, Raven could have forged a suicide note from Montreal and sent it to the Council of Nobles to win the earldom title for Nancy.
If it succeeds, then in the generation of Raven's children, the Griffith family can be upgraded to an earl family.
But Raven restrained his greed very well. He didn't even bother to pry, and he obviously gave up the idea of getting involved in the title.
Not only smart, but also clear-headed.
"Oh ho, the matter is solved perfectly!" Ezio snapped his fingers: "Then there is nothing to do with me here for the time being, right?"
After saying that, he walked out of the house.
"Don't drink too much." Anthony looked at his back and ordered helplessly.
"Don't worry, I'm not Adjani." Ezio waved his hand and closed the door.
Although Akori is not politically sensitive, his work efficiency is not low. Soon the two announcements were spread throughout the Nord province along with the mercenary guild's speed.
The announcement was not sent directly to every noble, but was first sent to the county chiefs, who then distributed it downwards step by step.
For a time, two announcements were posted all over the bulletin boards in Xuefeng County.
Among the crowd, a thin figure looked at the bulletin board and clenched his fists.
He wore a leather helmet on his head, slightly worn and ill-fitting mail armor, leather boots on his feet, two weapons slung randomly around his waist, and his figure was also a bit loose. .
Coupled with the shiny face and the sad stubble, he looks like an inconspicuous and down-and-out mercenary.
At this moment, Nancy's personal maid Jenny came to the man's side, restrained the urge to salute, and said in a low voice:
"Madam, please see me."
……
(End of this chapter)