Chapter 119 Ransom (Part 1)

Peter Hermon was sitting at the desk, subconsciously fiddling with a piece of exquisite parchment in his hand—it was the program list sent by the Long Opera House every weekend afternoon. If he was in normal times, he would definitely choose the play he liked. , ask the housekeeper to pay the deposit, and then send the invitation to Xue Lier.

But now he didn't read a word.

Today is the seventh day of the expedition. If all goes well, my father should have returned with the Duke yesterday. Maybe it was delayed on the road, or maybe it was because he was tired and had an extra day of rest in Border Town? He comforted himself, but the uneasiness in his heart was slowly expanding.

The fourth prince, Roland Wimbledon, had left such a deep impression on him that Pei Luo felt inconceivable why such an outstanding prince had such a bad reputation in the capital. Bad personality, dandy, incompetent, unlearned and incompetent... Any evaluation is different from the prince he knows.

That's why his uneasiness is so strong.

He was afraid that the duke would lose to him.

"Master Pedro," the steward called from outside the door, "there is a letter from the fortress."

From the fortress? Pei Luo was stunned, "Hurry up and bring it in."

Opening the cover, Pei Luo was dumbfounded at the first sentence on the letter.

This is a letter from the fourth prince!

"Duke Osmond Lane attacked the king's territory by force in a vain attempt to rebel, but failed. The duke himself has subjugated the law on the battlefield, and now Longsong Fortress has belonged to the king."

Duke lost? His heart sank suddenly, and he looked down.

"Except for a few diehards, most of Duke Lane's accomplices have surrendered and pleaded guilty. The rebellious royal family should have been executed, but this king is merciful and only punishes the evil leaders and unforgivable sinners. The rest of the participants can use money as usual Redeem the captives. The place of exchange is in the Lord's Castle of Longsong Stronghold, the following is the list."

The wording and sentence making of this official document seem extremely awkward, and it is not a common language for diplomacy, but the meaning it wants to express is very clear-the Duke failed in the rebellion, and he wanted to capture him in exchange for money.

Pei Luo looked down slightly, and his father's name suddenly appeared in the first row.

"Hedes!" He shouted the butler's name, "Prepare the car, I'm going to the castle!"

...

Earl Honeysuckle's territory was east of the fortress, and when Pei Luo arrived at the castle area, it was already half an hour later. The "militiamen" he had never seen before the lord's castle were full of "militiamen" he had never seen before—they didn't have shiny iron armor, cloaks or ribbons, and they held a strangely shaped short stick in their hands, with a sharp spear stuck at the end. Just standing neatly in two rows with heads held high made him feel an imposing aura.

After announcing his identity, Pei Luo was led into the garden by someone, and then led to the castle hall by a guard.

He has been to this place many times, but today, he seems to have stepped into a completely unfamiliar area. The guards standing guard in the aisle are all faces he has never seen before. No one nodded or smiled at him, but looked at him expressionlessly. with him. At the entrance of the hall, a knight greeted him.

"your name?"

"Pedro Hermon," Petrov replied slightly unhappily. He didn't like such an interrogation-style dialogue, so he emphasized it again, "Sir Hermon."

"Oh," the other party looked disapproving, and looked at the list in his hand, "Sharafi Earl Hermon is yours..."

"Father."

"I'm sorry," the knight said without a trace of apology on his face. "I am Carter Lannis, the chief knight of the fourth prince. Please come to the side room first. We need to check whether you are carrying a weapon."

After a search, Pelor's God's Stone of Retaliation was also taken down by the guards.

"That's not a weapon," Pelor reminded.

"Of course not," the knight nodded, "We will return it to you after the meeting is over, don't worry."

He opened his mouth and finally endured it. return? That God's Stone of Retaliation was considered top-grade, worth at least fifty gold dragons, and it was simply impossible not to exchange it for a defective one in the other party's hands. Forget it, he thought, as part of the ransom.

Walking into the hall, the fourth prince was sitting on the main seat and writing something. When he raised his head and saw Pei Luo, he was startled, and then smiled, "We meet again, Mr. Ambassador."

Still familiar with the face and tone, Pei Luo also relaxed a little, bowed and said, "Greetings to you, Your Highness."

"Sit down." Roland raised his hand, gesturing for him to take a seat. "You must already know what happened. Your father was not harmed in any way. He was the first to surrender."

"Thank you for your kindness, Your Highness," Pei Luo said quickly, "I don't know how much ransom your Highness wants, as long as the honeysuckle can be obtained, I will send someone to send the money immediately."

"I don't need money," Roland shook his finger, "I want livestock and people."

It was normal to ask for livestock. Even fifty years ago, the conflicts that broke out between the lords ended with the loser compensating cattle and sheep. This point was seen more than once in the book by Pei Luo. But... what does it mean to be a man? "Your Highness, there are many cows, sheep, horses, and honeysuckle in the territory. As for the person you mentioned..."

"It's very simple. I want masons, stonemasons, carpenters, farmers, and serfs." The prince handed over a roll of paper. "You can convert according to the above value, as long as the total is three thousand." He smiled, " By the way, since the Earl is considered to be the one with the highest title among the captured ones, the value is also the highest."

Pelor spread the scroll on the table.

Seeing that it was full of occupational categories and livestock types, followed by a number, for example: cow 3, sheep 2, mason 10, etc., he immediately understood what the other party meant.

The value of 3,000 means that 1,000 oxen, or 300 masons can redeem the father. Of course, there are not so many cattle and stonemasons in his territory, and there will be many choices just by arranging and combining items on paper. As a nobleman who deals with trade every day, Pei Luo suddenly realized that there is There is a lot to do. As long as he is given a few days, he can calculate the optimal solution and meet the requirement of 3,000 points with the minimum cost.

"Your Highness, can I..."

"One day, I can only give you one day," Roland held out a finger, "This only refers to the time you have to make a choice, after all, if you want to gather so many supplies and people, you can't do it in three or four days." .And I won't stay here forever, at most a week later, I will leave here."

"But one day is really..." Peiluo was stunned suddenly, and looked at the prince with wide eyes, "Wait, you just said...you want to leave?" What does this mean? If the letter was correct, the Duke had already died on the battlefield, and the Longsong Fortress belonged to His Highness. He actually said that he wanted to leave. Could it be that this place is not as good as that small and dilapidated border town? No, that's not the point at all! The point is that if His Highness is gone, who will manage this magnificent city? There was a storm in his heart, and the duke's children would inherit it? Thinking about it, you know that this is absolutely impossible, waiting for them to call up the army again to avenge their father? The five families other than the Ryan family, or other noble families?

"That's right," Roland nodded, "I will bring the ransom and return to Border Town."

A thought suddenly popped up in his heart, and once this thought appeared, he could no longer suppress it.

"Your Highness," Pei Luo swallowed, and asked in a low voice, "Excuse me...does the "Redemption" Longsong Fortress also have a value? "(To be continued.)

( let go of that witch )