Chapter 572 A good drama
The level of competition in the arena today is not high. The main purpose is to eliminate the contestants who are just pretending to be qualified. Players with titles and long-established names are just going through the motions. The main focus is on foreigners. people.
The examiner was a member of the local arena. There was an examiner who beat Shitou a few times and let him pass. The next thing to be tested was an iron can.
The armor on this tin can is only on the passing line, but the quality of the sword is not good, and it seems to have some historical value.
Frederick was chatting with the bald man and frowned when he saw the tin can.
Competition in the arena is different from that on the battlefield.
On the battlefield, the enemy is basically in the front, and there are comrades around, so the limited field of vision of the helmet is not a big problem.
However, the space for movement in the ring is large, the opponent has a wider range of movement, and the requirements for vision are higher.
Wearing a bucket-like helmet in the ring, one is either a fool or a master.
This Tin Can was probably not a fool. The examiner saw the gap under his helmet and stabbed it with his sword. The broken sword in Tin Can’s hand was better than an iron rod but limited. The examiner’s hand was The sword flew five steps away.
Frederick's eyes suddenly shrank, the corners of his mouth curved slightly, and he called Aleppo over and told him to buy the tin can and win, the same one thousand gold coins for each game.
The bald head asked curiously: "Sir, are you very optimistic about the player wearing full body armor?"
Frederick said: "If you have spare money, you can invest it, but investment is risky. What I said may not be right, and the loss is none of my business.”
The bald man thought that he would definitely not waste a large sum of money. He also thought of the miracles he had done along the way and decided that this sum would definitely not be worth it. He lost money, so he said: "Then I will invest all the wine money I spent within a year. If I lose money, I will just drink water."
They, small businessmen, have a budget for their annual expenses, and their business capital How much, how much the family’s daily expenses will be, how much they will spend on drinking and entertainment, etc., have been decided in the previous year.
Many people place bets for fun, but in any case, gambling is gambling.
If you only spend money on drinking and entertainment for occasional fun, and if you lose all your money, everyone will laugh at you for being unlucky. If you see you drinking when you are drinking, you can buy you a drink.
If you use your business capital or household expenses to gamble, even if you win, people will think that your character has begun to deteriorate and that you are not worthy of close friendship.
Da Franche, the oyster seller in Weissenburg City
is the most typical example. He used to spend his father's inheritance on eating, drinking, playing cards, and became a prodigal recognized by the entire city.
He was sent away by his brother, who said he was going out to make a living, but in fact it was a kind of exile.
But now he has become prosperous by selling oysters and other seafood, and his reputation has become good again. Not only has he become a model of the prodigal son, his story has also been put on the stage.
Frederick heard the bald man mention that there was a citizen theater nearby. It was not large in scale, with only about a hundred seats in the audience. He came to take a look out of curiosity, and happened to be performing this play.
On weekdays, customers come on foot, but today a carriage suddenly stopped in front of the door. The boss thought someone's housekeeper was looking for the actress.
This theater is indeed not big. It is actually a courtyard with a stage set up inside, a few rows of chairs on the open space, and a shed above the head to protect it from wind and rain.
Frederick asked Alleppe to buy tickets and asked the attendants, grooms and others who had come out today to come in and watch the play. He treated him as a treat.
The theater tickets are quite cheap, but the drinks and snacks are much more expensive than outside.
Frederick asked Alleppe to give him a gold coin directly, and everyone could eat and drink as they pleased. Today is not a Sunday. There are not many guests coming to the theater to watch the show during the day. The performers on the stage are newcomers to the troupe. The leading actors appear on stage when the crowd is crowded at night.
More than a dozen spectators were sitting in the front row. Frederick sat in the middle of the second to last row. It didn't matter if he was far away from his eyesight and hearing.
The boss had a good eye for people. He realized that this guest was either rich or noble, so he probably came in on a whim to kill time, so he respectfully presented today's playbook.
The play is made up of loose leaves held together with a clip. Each page contains the name of the play, several scenes, and a summary of each scene.
Frederick took a look and saw that the name of the play currently being performed was taken from an ancient story about the return of the prodigal son in the Kingdom of Sardinia. It has a history of thousands of years and the locals knew the theme at a glance.
This play is divided into four acts. The first act is about how the male protagonist of the Kingdom of Gaul wastes his family property in drunkenness and is then sent to the ship by his family; the second act begins with the male protagonist seeing rich people on the sea. After eating oysters, he is determined to make a lot of money, but his first business venture seems to have failed. In the third act, the male protagonist gets help from a noble person, and his business gets better and better. In the fourth act, he returns home and has a happy reunion.
Frederick had a sense of déjà vu in the first two scenes. After seeing that the background was Weissenburg Castle, he remembered that he had indeed heard of such a person, but he didn't pay attention.
The play lasted two and a half hours, and the actors' quality was barely passable. Frederick watched it very carefully, as if he was listening to a report at a meeting.
He thinks this play is very good and can resonate with ordinary audiences.
The male protagonist's behavior of losing his fortune in the first act occurs in many places. Whether it is witnessed with one's own eyes or heard from hearsay, those behaviors can always find similar parallels in the play.
In the second act, the male protagonist's determination to make a lot of money has happened to many people. Many viewers felt that they were looking in the mirror. Later, the failure of their first business venture made them feel that they were playing the role.
The male protagonist's business quickly improved after he received help from a noble person in the third act. He used the traditional deus ex machina technique. The audience thought it would be great if they also had help from a noble person, but Frederick was not convinced. Some are a bit dissatisfied.
At the beginning of the last scene, the male protagonist pretended to be a beggar and returned to his hometown, which triggered a series of jokes. In the end, his true identity was revealed and slapped in the face. The audience enjoyed watching it. Many people imagined how great it would be if such a thing happened to them.
When Frederick saw this, he noticed an important point. There was no place for the God of Light in the play.
When the actors took their curtain call, Frederick asked Aleppo: "What activities do I have tonight?"
Aleppe immediately replied: "There are no special arrangements today."
Frederick asked the boss who had been sitting in the back: "Who is the screenwriter of this play? Is he in the city?"
As soon as he saw it, he knew that this drama was not written by someone from the Principality of Wesson, because there were no advertisements embedded in it.
The boss immediately replied: "The screenwriter is Mr. Ludovico. He is an official in the city of Phila and a great poet."
"He often travels to various places. I heard that he recently followed Phila Other officials from La City came to Milan to attend the Grand Duke's eightieth birthday celebration."
Frederick was a little surprised. When he was learning Sardinian, he had read a collection of his poems, which were written in popular language. Love poems, some quite humorous.
He said to Aleppe: "Invite Ludovico to my place as a guest. Whenever he is free, I will be free."
This was the first time that Alleppe saw Frederick inviting guests, and he promised that it would be done well.
(End of this chapter)