Chapter 789 Change

The sun shone into the spacious study, casting a thin glow on the oak desk and the magic net terminal beside the desk, and the incense that lifted the spirit slowly drifted in the air, and penetrated into Byron's nostrils, letting The mercenary-turned-empire general couldn't help but sniffled, and almost sneezed rudely.

"...The messengers from the Holy Dragon Principality will arrive at the northern border in the near future," Gawain sat behind the desk and put a document on the table, "Go and meet them."

Byron scratched his hair, but just halfway through, he realized that it was the "Era of Empires". It seemed a little inappropriate for him to be so casual in front of the emperor, so he quickly put his hand down: "Understood—but I don't understand. Diplomacy?"

Gawain glanced at the "mercenary general" with a smile: "Isn't your eloquence always good? Philip can be persuaded by you."

"Your Majesty, this is different. Philip and I mainly rely not on being eloquent, but sticking to justice and the knight's creed..." Byron immediately talked habitually, but said As he spoke, he noticed Gawain's half-smiling expression, so he had to add a little more cautiously and euphemistically, "Of course, there is a certain shamelessness in it..."

Some things can't be changed by wearing the uniform of an imperial general - at least not so quickly.

But Gawain didn't care, instead he admired the various faults and habits of a group of "founding veterans" including Byron.

He wasn't sure if it was because of Gawain Cecil's memory affecting him, or if it was because he could see the shadow of Ansu's group of old pigeons that founded the country 700 years ago in Byron, but One thing he is sure of is that when dealing with Byron, Amber, and Wright, the group of people who have followed him for several years, it is far better than dealing with those "professionals" who have migrated from the old king's capital and do everything in a strict manner. Much more comfortable and much easier.

So he relaxed his posture, leaned back in his chair, and said with a smile, "Say something that I shouldn't say directly—Among the many skills required for diplomacy, 'shameless' is precisely the main ingredient— Even the role of 'articulate'.

"Of course, in fact, you don't need to care about this, because the person who is really in charge of the negotiation is not you - you are just a general of the empire to pick up ambassadors on the border to show our sincerity and act as a 'face' of equal identities, really The person responsible for contacting and escorting the ambassador to the imperial capital is the Earl of Cromwell White Mountain."

"Cromwell White Mountain?" Byron recalled the somewhat familiar name, "Oh, that dwarf mixed-blood knight lord, I met him in Saint Sunil."

"Although he is a nobleman in the old capital, he is also quite familiar with northern affairs.

Gawain nodded, "You and him go to the northern border to receive the envoy of the Holy Dragon Principality, and everything after that can be handed over to him. As for you, you need to stay in the north for a while, and there is a new task for you. "

"So... the task of cooperating with the ambassador is actually incidental," Byron nodded clearly, and then showed a hint of curiosity, "What is my real task?"

"Building the North Port and the supporting naval base," Gawain stood up, walked slowly to the wall with a map of the whole world hanging not far away, his eyes fell on the north of the empire, "for the preparation of the imperial navy and the restart of the northern route around the continent. prepare."

"North Harbor..." Byron's gaze followed Gawain's line of sight and fell on the map, gradually focusing outside the mountains in the north, falling on the coastline between the Violet Kingdom and the Holy Dragon Duchy, "... The sea-going peninsula of the Principality of Long has left a warm current for the northern continent, and there is a natural ice-free port outside the mountains in the northern border... It is indeed the most suitable starting point for restarting the route around the northern continent."

Gawain glanced at Byron somewhat unexpectedly, with a smile on his face: "It seems that you have already noticed?"

"Your Majesty, I'm not at home on vacation just to accompany my daughter," Byron smiled and spread his hands, "You said a long time ago that you should focus on the ocean, but the southern border was surrounded by the mainland, and there was no such thing as Out to sea, but now that the north is under our control, that precious stretch of coastline has been on my radar for a long time."

Gawain smiled.

Obviously, he and Byron reached a tacit understanding: the two were greedy for the northern coastline when they were in the South...

"It seems that it is the right choice for you to lead the fleet," Gawain said with a smile, "After the completion of the North Port, we will have the opportunity to command the Sacred Dragon Principality's sea-going peninsula, the northern border of the Empire, the Ogure Tribal State, and The west coast of the dwarven kingdom is connected, and even if the Ogre Tribe is willing to cooperate with us and set up a safe haven in the sea cliff rift in the southern part of the continent, this route can even extend to the border of the Highmountain Kingdom, connecting the northern, western and southern parts of the entire continent. Parts of it are included, and it will become a true 'circumcontinent route'...

"With the performance of the magic mechanical ship, this is completely achievable.

"Our fleet will also become a real 'navy fleet' at that time, instead of just playing around in the inland river... You have led the fleet for so long, you must have felt that those mechanical ships can be more It works on a wide stage."

"I have long felt that inland rivers are... not very spacious for our mechanical ships," Byron replied immediately, but then frowned a little, "but as far as I know, the environment of the ocean is far more complicated than inland rivers. Much more, it is not that the inland warship can be turned into a naval warship by driving it directly into the sea. Miss Till also reminded me that the ships she has helped us design are only suitable for sailing in relatively stable inland rivers, and we must challenge the ocean. "It needs some remodeling."

"Of course, so this is a long-term task. Humans have been away from the sea for too long, and it will take a long time for us to re-gather the information of the ocean and adjust the design of our ships. Fortunately, Tyr is willing to continue to be our advisor, and the North The Wilder family has also observed the ocean to some extent over the past few hundred years, and their records can come in very handy.

"In addition, the construction of Beigang is not our only 'ocean plan'. After establishing diplomatic relations with Shenglong Principality this time, we will redevelop the Huolong Fjord, the sea outlet at the junction of the Eastern Border and Shenglong Principality. At that time, this task will be I'll give it to you too."

Gawain spoke unhurriedly, his eyes gradually falling on Byron, and there was some expectation in his eyes.

"By that time, you will be the real 'Imperial Navy Commander'."

"Ah, this sounds much more majestic than the 'Navy General'," Byron's mouth rose up, "I'm very much looking forward to that day."

...

The giant sun gradually rises high in the sky, the bright sunshine pours down generously from the sky, the air is still cold, but the heat contained in the sun seems to be heralding the arrival of the warm season - in that rushing light and heat, bye bye. Standing in the garden square in front of Cecil Palace, Lun raised his head and narrowed his eyes slightly.

"Commander of the Imperial Navy..." The mercenary knight had a faint smile on his face, and couldn't help but muttered to himself in a low voice, "It does sound quite touching."

With that, he shook his head slightly, and walked unhurriedly towards the magic car that was waiting for him at the edge of the square.

The holidays are over, and I'm going back to talk to Pea.

A pleasant and crisp bell suddenly came from nearby, interrupting Byron's thoughts.

He raised his head curiously and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see Rebecca in a winter hunting suit that was easy to maneuver in the open space between the flower beds not far away, riding on some kind of weird two-wheeler." Machine", staggering toward this direction.

That weird "machine" is not like any kind of magic machinery that has been seen before. It obviously does not use any magic mechanism as a power source, but is simply assembled with iron wheels, skeletons, chains, etc., and is driven by human pedals. up, and that crisp, melodious bell sounded from a small device hanging from its grip—

Rebecca was fiddling with the little device vigorously, making it make jingle bells, her face full of excitement, but Byron saw that the situation of Her Royal Highness was not very optimistic-she obviously couldn't control that. The "car" with only two wheels swayed violently when riding on it. Although it seemed to be riding towards the open road on the side, it became more and more crooked as it walked, and it rushed towards Byron.

"Ah, Byron!" Rebecca had noticed the people on the road, and suddenly shouted loudly, "Don't move, don't move!"

Byron thought for a while, stood still, and then watched Rebecca fall from the two-wheeled car with a bang when he was still more than ten meters away from him.

But still smiling brightly.

A bodyguard soon ran over and hurriedly helped the princess up from the ground. Byron also walked over, looking at this girl who could be said to be the girl he had grown up with, helplessly. Laughing: "I thought you told me to stay still because I was going to aim and hit me - I have activated my protective aura."

"Hey, I told you to stay still and then I figured out a way to escape, but it didn't seem to develop as I imagined... But anyway, I didn't bump into it in the end, isn't it good," Rebecca said on the side Rubbing his head, he said with a crackle, then turned his head and glanced at the "two-wheeled vehicle" that had just been lifted up by the attendant, with a distressed look on his face, "Oh, don't break it... all in all. I didn't deliver a few..."

Only at this time did Byron have the time to observe the strange "car". He found that the style of this thing was very different from Cecil's other mechanical creations, and he couldn't help but be a little curious: "His Royal Highness, this thing... Could it be? Did you just invent it again?"

As he thought about it, as long as there is something strange and new in Cecil City, and it happens to be near Rebecca, it is most likely invented by this whimsical princess or the research team around her. - and what the former tossed out even accounted for half of all new things.

Although more and more intellectuals are devoting themselves to technological development due to the continuous improvement of various research facilities recently, the proportion of Rebecca's "creation" in various new things is decreasing, but due to long-term habits As a result, after seeing something new, Byron would still subconsciously associate it with Rebecca.

However, Rebecca shook her head: "No, this is a gift from a merchant who recently imported textiles from Typhon. It seems to be called a 'two-wheeled vehicle'..."

"Typhon?" Byron was a little surprised, and couldn't help but look at the weird-looking car again, "Well... No wonder the style is a bit weird, but it looks very delicate. But Typhon is really strange. , this kind of car with only two wheels... I'm afraid it's not easy to control."

"You guessed it wrong, in fact, this thing is convenient after you learn it," Rebecca suddenly put her hands on her hips, "When I watched the demonstration, it was very easy, convenient and fast-I fell down just now, just because I didn't Just skilled."

Listening to Rebecca's excited chatter, Byron looked at the "two-wheeled vehicle" from Typhon in front of him, but couldn't help showing a thoughtful look on his face.

The Typhons started very late in magic technology. In this field of technology that can almost symbolize a new era, they are indeed far behind Cecil, but they have always been ahead in other aspects—— A very clear example is "mechanical clocks", which in the past were exclusively enjoyed by nobles and churches, and in the past two years, with the "punctuality requirements" brought about by the construction of factories and railway operations, they have been gradually promoted to all parts of the country. The timing mechanism was first invented by Typhon craftsmen about half a century ago.

Like many technologies in the old era, it was originally used in theological ceremonies to allow the church to determine the time of mass, calling believers to come to the church to pray by ringing the mechanical bell, and later used in the nobles' Inside castles and manors, but still little to do with the everyday life of commoners.

The world's best watchmakers are in Aldernan, and the world's best crystal glass technology is also in Aldernan.

Of course, the latter's key technology has now leaked to Cecil through some unspeakable channel, and the "floor-to-ceiling windows" that are gradually becoming popular in the southern region of Cecil is one of its "influenced results".

Now, Typhon's smart people have invented this "two-wheeled vehicle", and this thing is very different from the mechanical clock and crystal glass at the beginning of its birth:

It's not elegant enough, nor luxurious enough.

This thing seems to be for the civilian class at the beginning of its birth...

Byron frowned. He was not as good at analyzing changes in the situation from these intelligences as Gawain or Hetty. He just instinctively thought about it, and instinctively felt...

Those with knowledge in Typhon seem to have changed a bit in the way they think.