Chapter 36 Banquet
Dark Mountains.
After seeing what Gawain pointed out, everyone couldn't help but be stunned.
The first one who couldn't help breaking the silence was Grand Duke Baldwin Franklin of the West. His eyes widened: "Are you... sure?"
"Why not?" Gao Wen smiled, "Is this place still owned by the Lord?"
"That's not..." Francis II shook his head, "The entire Dark Mountains area and the area further south are unowned, which indeed meets the requirements of the development decree, but that place is not only very close to the Typhon Empire, but even more so to the south. Directly connected to the Gondor Wasteland, really..."
The Dark Mountains are part of the southern border of Ansu. Its eastern section extends all the way to the territory of the Typhon Empire, while the western section spreads for hundreds of kilometers along Ansu's national border, and then bends to the south at a small angle, blending in. In the corrupted lands of the Gondor Wastes. In theory, even the southern banded plain of the Dark Mountains is Anzu's territory, but in reality, the kingdom can only control the northern side of the mountain range - and the control is quite limited.
The most important reason for this is the existence of the Gondor Wastes.
That land is still shrouded in chaotic elemental power and fel, a tumultuous corruption that leaves the land virtually barren and full of toxins deadly to humans.
Although its range is no longer spread, the poisonous dust storms and the occasional roaming monsters that swirl with the wind in the wasteland's fringes are a deadly threat.
In history, after the stability of the Anzu Kingdom, they tried to reclaim the southern border several times - they even had plans to retake the homeland of Gondor, but in the end all efforts failed. The purification of the wasteland is extremely difficult and full of repetition. The income and the effort are completely disproportionate. The pioneering strongholds that were reluctantly established in the early days are often destroyed by toxic dust storms and monsters before they can produce any output. Therefore, in the end, the Ansu royal family withdrew. All the pioneering teams were stopped, and they stopped on the north side of the Dark Mountains.
Then, due to the increasing prosperity of the northern part of the kingdom and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Violet Kingdom, the center of gravity of the kingdom was further shifted to the north. Coupled with the "Fumymoon Civil War" a hundred years ago, the Cecil family in the southern region collapsed overnight, and the southern region collapsed overnight. The situation further deteriorated and regressed. Today, the entire Dark Mountains and most of the surrounding areas are no different from the wasteland.
The wasteland odor blown over the mountains even corrupted the plains north of the mountains.
But Gawain just smiled at this: "I faced a worse situation than that back then. When it comes to political struggles and intrigue, I may not be as good as your juniors, but when it comes to fighting against the sinister nature, you are definitely not better. Get on me."
Whether it's true or not, let's just blow it up and say .jpg.
Since Gawain himself is so confident, of course other people at the scene will not continue to worry about him - for the king and other nobles, whether Gawain Cecil can gain a foothold in the south is not their concern at all. , what they are most concerned about is when this hot potato can leave the capital. Since Gawain took the initiative to choose a place where no one would suffer, what else would he say?
Hurry up and send the ancestors away from the capital!
If it wasn't for some details to be negotiated, Francis II had almost prepared all the carriages for the Gawain family...
After finalizing the most important issue of pioneering rights, Gawain took advantage of the opportunity to let Francis II admit several other "insignificant little things".
First of all, Gawain Cecil's dukeship must survive, but for the time being only as his personal reputation, and cannot be inherited to any heir, unless the Cecil family has indeed established a presence in the south when Gawain dies again (correctly). If he has acquired a vast land, or has other merits, at that time the title of his descendants will be determined according to his land and merits.
This is actually a very different scheme.
It is the product of the conflict between Gawain Cecil's identity as a duke and the incident a hundred years ago. No one dared to take away the title of the founding grand duke, but there was no way for a viscount family to jump directly to a duke, so it had to be like this. Eclectic. Frankly speaking, this is completely inconsistent with any law since the founding of Ansu - but what logic do you have with a person who jumped out of a coffin?
The old ancestor didn't even tell you about physics, and he still told you the truth! ?
The so-called "temporarily uninheritable", a discerning person can see that this is just a delay and an explanation for the existing aristocratic system.
In addition, the Ansu royal family will also fully recognize the complete autonomy of the Cecil family on the newly developed land - just as the founding monarch recognized the autonomy of any pioneering territory.
Coupled with some piecemeal agreements, in the end, Gawain got the result he wanted.
A country within a country undisturbed.
In fact, these contents have already been determined. When Prince Edmund visited in advance, Gawain had already made a connection with the king, and now it is just a passing scene in the oak hall.
No one at the scene raised any objections to these contents - anyway, the Cecil family is going to pioneer a barren land, and how much territory they open will not affect the vested interests of any family now. Since there is no conflict in interests, Then the nominal conflict is resolved easily.
Francis II signed a new development document on the spot, announcing that according to the ancient law, the Cecil family would have the right to develop all the land between the Dark Mountains and any surrounding kingdom fiefs, and announced that it would be for this development activity. Provide the necessary support - including a team of 100 craftsmen and apprentices of various types, as well as food and cloth for the first year of pioneering.
Among them, the craftsmen and apprentices will serve in the pioneering leadership for three years. After three years, they can choose to stay or stay voluntarily, but if anyone stays, the Cecil family must “buy” from the royal family at the price of 30 gold guilders per person. them.
These supports are not much, but Gawain is already very satisfied. For the Cecil family, which is currently poor and white, this can relieve the urgent need.
The gold, silver and ore ingots in the treasure house in the mountains cannot be directly turned into food, nor can they be turned into skilled craftsmen. In this era when the word "pioneering" has become a distant history, no one wants to leave the stable homeland. , to go to a place next to the wasteland of Gondor to open up wasteland, those one hundred craftsmen and apprentices will be the most precious treasure.
This can also be said to be the kindness expressed by Francis II to Gawain on behalf of the Ansu royal family - to thank the founding grand duke for his recognition of his bloodline.
The deal is over and everyone is happy, and after a deal is done to the satisfaction of both parties, a banquet is essential.
The oak hall was closed again, and the banquet hall on the second floor of the castle held a feast, and the wine and food were put on the table. The king and his most trusted nobles were here to celebrate the return of a legendary hero. The nobles with their names did not know where they were hiding before, but they all appeared at once, and the banquet hall was very lively.
The new ones are the nobles who are not qualified to enter the Oak Hall, but are qualified to know the results of the meeting as soon as possible. They have been waiting in the lounges all over the Silver Fort for half a day until the attendants ran into the banquet hall. , rang the copper bells preparing for the celebration, and they appeared with a smile on their faces.
It was the first time that Rebecca participated in this kind of occasion - this down-and-out lord lady had never entered such a magnificent place since she was a child, and because of the rejection of the Cecil family by the entire noble circle, she grew up. Haven't been to a few decent banquets either. The grandest banquet in her mind was when she was sixteen years old, her father held a very lively celebration for her in the castle, but it was nothing but a long table full of food.
It is completely different from the banquet in Silver Castle.
The whole hall is full of long tables, all of which are delicious and delicious. In the center of the hall is the place where the ladies and gentlemen dance. There are also gorgeously dressed bands playing music on the stage on the side of the hall. Unleash magic in the four corners of the hall, constantly creating all kinds of wonderful glare and falling snow in mid-air-let the precious mage create the illusion of this sizzling atmosphere, which in Rebecca's view is simply Incredible things.
His Majesty the King... so rich.
At first, Rebecca tried her best to look mature and stable, but soon, the girl's nature overwhelmed her pretended to be stable. She grabbed Gawain's hand and asked this question. , while Gawain smiled and told her nonsense based on his own memory and the imagination of the traveler.
Rebecca's bun-like performance couldn't hide from the big nobles who had opened their eyes long ago, but they didn't show any contempt for this little lord from the countryside—perhaps a little bit in their hearts, but Gawain Cecil kept standing. Beside Rebecca, this "parent" who never leaves every step of the way makes everyone have to restrain their contempt, or at least keep smiling to Rebecca on the surface.
Then, a few young people came to invite Rebecca to dance with them—probably they felt that the Cecil family now had a town ancestor, which would have some potential value in bringing closer relationships, but these people All were blocked by Gao Wen.
Just kidding, just with Rebecca's brain that's caught in the door and her tough personality, she can't get along in the southern border, and she doesn't sell the whole family in an instant after dealing with the monkeys and monkeys in Wangdu?
"Excessive protection will not allow children to grow up," a gentle male voice said from the side, "Viscount Rebecca is an adult, you should let her have more contact with the social circles of the upper class."
Gawain turned his head and saw the Grand Duke of the West, Baldwin Franklin, standing behind him, and with him was the Archduke of the North, Victoria Wilder.
"I died early, and I didn't have much experience in disciplining children." Gawain shrugged and said carelessly.
Baldwin: "..."
Victoria: "..."
"And I don't think Rebecca has time to take care of others even if I don't stop me."
As Gawain spoke, he pointed to his great-granddaughter on the N+1 floor—the lady of the viscount was lying at the nearby long table eating all the haise...
"It's... reckless," said Duke Baldwin dryly.
Gawain smiled and looked at Victoria Wilder who was standing beside him with an indifferent face and said nothing: "Instead of educating future generations, I have some questions to ask this Wilder girl."