Chapter 503 Rebuilding Home and Country (19)

[Maplestone City]

[Opening Day of the General Assembly of Freedmen]

Large pale yellow clouds drift quietly high in the sky.

The gentle wind blew the clouds, dragging a long trail behind them.

This wake extends down like undulating waves, reflecting the surface of the Anya River into a light red jade.

Maplestone City in the early morning was shrouded in a gauze-like silence.

Until the sun rises and shines on the roof of the cathedral, lighting up the golden morning light.

Suddenly, the church bell rang, sending invisible ripples to the streets and alleys in all directions.

"The time has come." Gilad, who had been waiting in the foyer for a long time, stood up with difficulty on his knees: "Let's go."

Pierre wanted to give his father a hand, but the latter firmly refused. So Pierre bent down and helped his father pick up the old hat.

"Okay." Pierre smiled and said, "Let's go."

Opening the door, the blue dawn spilled in from outside. You can vaguely see people leaving the officers' apartment across the road in front of the door.

Ellen took her daughters to the door.

"There's no need to prepare food and drink for us." Gilad showed the style of the head of the family and kissed his wife and daughter goodbye: "I don't know when I will be back today."

After that, he took his son and son-in-law and walked out of the house.

When he put his right hand against the door of the front yard, Gilad remembered something, turned around and asked his son: "Have you found the person you asked to find?"

Pierre looked embarrassed: "Charles hasn't given me any news yet."

Mr. Mitchell stood quietly for a moment, sighed, opened the courtyard door, and disappeared from the sight of his wife and daughter together with his son and son-in-law.

On the streets of the officer community, there is a clear distinction between professional officers, commissioned officers and informal officers in Tiefeng County.

The officers in the department were all dressed in crisp military uniforms, with shiny leather boots, and walked with a swagger that made people dare not look directly at them.

Commissioned officers are also dressed up and jeweled, but their steps are not confident enough and their expressions are uncomfortable. Even if they have ordered uniforms that are exactly the same as those of formal officers, they can still be easily distinguished.

Unofficial officers in Tiefeng County do not need to be identified.

This was because the officers in Tiefeng County did not have uniforms at all, and they could not even find two pieces of clothing of the same color and shape.

There are no distinctions between officers and soldiers in the Tiefeng County Army. They still wear the civilian uniforms they wore when they joined the army, but they were dyed in the same color and were regarded as military uniforms.

And because qualified dyes could not be found, Tiefeng County Army's "military uniforms" would fade after just one or two washes.

So at first glance, there are all kinds of blue.

However, the officers of Tiefeng County Army have the most luxurious sabers, and the sound of their boots hitting the ground when they walk is also the loudest.

Because whether they are professional officers or commissioned officers, they have to pay for their uniforms.

The leather boots on the Tiefeng County officer's feet and the saber on his waist were seized from the enemy.

And seizing is undoubtedly the most face-earning way to buy.

Therefore, the chins of the officers in Tiefeng County were also the highest.

Although they were walking among the "peacocks" wearing old coarse clothes, there was no look of envy or shyness on their faces, and their aura was stronger than the first two.

Because the meeting place of the Freedmen's Assembly was very close to the officers' residential area, there was no need to ride horses at all.

So the officers who left the apartment all went straight to the gate, and no one turned to the stables.

The officers walked forward with serious expressions, as if everyone knew their destination and what to do there.

Faintly, the footsteps merged into one, turning into a neat drumbeat.

Seeing this scene, Gilad's son-in-law was a little nervous, but Gilad told him it was okay.

Old Dusak led his son and son-in-law, blended naturally into the crowd, followed the large group out of the officer's residential area, walked upstream along the Anya River, and then crossed the bridge.

Every street corner and every alleyway along the way is guarded by armed military police, and there are heavily armed cavalry patrolling all the roads. The guards are so tight that you can't help but hold your breath and step slowly.

After crossing the bridge, the large meeting hall of Maplestone City City Hall, the venue for the General Assembly of Freemen, was right in front of us.

Arriving at the square in front of the Grand Council Hall, the sacred and solemn atmosphere reached its peak.

The entire square was completely surrounded by a majestic guard of honor.

Gorgeous ribbons decorate the exterior walls of the buildings surrounding the square, while blocking out any malicious prying eyes.

Non-military free men who were provided with accommodation by the preparatory assembly walked into the municipal square through other entrances, and were then introduced into the venue separately according to region.

Girard's son-in-law, Alex, said goodbye to his father-in-law and brother-in-law rather reluctantly - he had to go to join the free men of Thunder County.

Then, Gilad also waved his hand and rejected his son's kindness to send him somewhere.

After checking his identity, Old Dusak followed the guidance and stepped into the dark meeting hall alone.

Although there were ups, downs, and turns, there was always only one path at his feet, so Old Dussac arrived at the main venue very smoothly.

Once he stepped under the dome, he understood the mystery of the venue layout:

In the large meeting hall, the circular seats originally arranged in a stepped manner have been divided by fences into eight sectors of equal size;

The front end of each sector is connected to the central "stage", and there is only one channel at the rear;

From what Girard had just seen, each passage was also connected to only one entrance;

In this way, the "free men" from each county will be led to sit in different sectors. Even if they want to sit together, there is no chance.

Sure enough, in front of his sector, Gilad found an old friend - Richard from Blackwater Town.

Richard was smoking his pipe with his head down, and at one time or another he was talking to another short, fat middle-aged man next to him.

As soon as he saw Gilad Mitchell, the two mustaches on Richard's upper lip that were originally hanging straight up.

"Hello!" Richard from Blackwater greeted with a smile: "Gilard Fleninovich!"

"Okay." Gilad took off his hat, shook Richard's soft palm with his calloused hands, and joked: "But it's not much better than my old horse."

"How is your family doing?"

"God bless you, everything is fine. Ellen is still thinking about you, so I must send you a good message. Where are you, where is your family?"

"It's all good. Alas, they are happier living in Gevaudan than in Blackwater Town." Richard's tone was a little unpleasant, but he quickly regained his energy, took Gilad's hand, and gave it to his side. The short, fat middle-aged man introduced: "This is Mitchell Girard, the mayor of Wolf Town and the owner of Mitchell Manor."

Richard paused, smiled, and said solemnly: "He is also the father of Adjutant Mitchell - you know who Adjutant Mitchell is, right?"

"Wolf Cavalry?" the short, fat middle-aged man asked cautiously.

"Yes." Richard nodded.

"Oh! Mr. Mitchell, I have admired you for a long time." The short, fat middle-aged man enthusiastically took the old Dussac's other hand: "My son has really made a name for himself under Montagne Montagne. The future is bright and boundless!”

After finishing the compliment, the short, fat middle-aged man remembered that he had not introduced himself yet. He scratched the back of his head and said sheepishly: "I'm sorry, I forgot to share my name with you. I'm Nandor Krylov, Cow Hoof." Valley people. If you don't mind, just call me 'Fat Man'."

Hearing someone praise his youngest son generously, Gilad felt proud but also a little lonely.

Richard saw that his old friend's emotions were a bit complicated, so he interrupted at the right time and said with a smile: "That's called 'tiger father has no dog son'. Brother Gilad was also a well-known Dussac back then. Do you still remember Bloody Hand Shute?" The horse thief who would chop off a child’s hands and keep them for himself?”

"How could you not remember?" Fatty Nandor didn't know why: "But was he killed not long ago twenty years ago?"

"Hang the bloody hand Xiute." Richard made an exaggerated invitation to the old Dussac and said with a smile: "That's Gilad Fleninovich Mitchell in front of you - Iron The bravest Dusak in Feng County!"

Fatty Nandor was also very considerate and immediately changed to a more admiring tone. He held Old Dusak's hand tightly with both hands and said excitedly: "So it was you who killed that beast of Blood-Hand Xiute? That beast is in Niu Hoofu Valley still owes several blood debts. On behalf of the folks of Hoofu Valley - thank you! It turns out that the father of a tiger has no son! You must give me a chance to buy you a drink..."

Gilad was a little dizzy from the praise, but he still calmed down and shook his head repeatedly.

"Okay, fat man, don't be too affectionate." Richard teased from the side: "Brother Gilad should think you want to borrow money!"

Hearing this, both Gilad and Nandor Krylov laughed.

The conversation with Nandor struck a chord, so Gilad stopped looking for his fellow villagers in Wolf Town and simply sat with Richard and Nandor.

The three of them had just chatted about past events when many more people poured into the large meeting hall.

Among the eight sectors, six are almost full.

In the most crowded section, there were not enough seats, so people had to stand on the stairs and in the aisles.

On the contrary, Tiefeng County is the poorest of the seven county-level areas in Xinchengdi, so there are few "free people" and the location is very generous, so there is no need to worry about having no place to sit.

In the large meeting hall, the seven sectors corresponding to the seven counties were more or less occupied.

Only in the last sector next to Tiefeng County, there was no one.

"Did you see that?" Nandor pouted towards the empty sector next door: "Then why is there no one sitting there? Who is it left for?"

"Who else can it be reserved for?" Richard curled his lips and said without saltiness: "Of course the seats are reserved for the 'masters'."

"That's right." Nandor seemed not to smell the sourness in Richard's words at all, and said with a smile: "Of course an officer is also a 'free man'."

Richard was noncommittal, looked around the crowded meeting hall, narrowed his eyes and said, "In my opinion, the layout of this venue is exquisite."

"What's the point?" Nandor asked puzzledly.

"They knew how many 'free men' there were in each county, but they still divided the seats into eight equal parts." Richard asked meaningfully: "What do you think it means?"

"Don't test me, brother." Nandor grinned: "I definitely can't guess it, just tell me."

Richard delayed for a while, until Gilad's curiosity was aroused, and then he crossed his arms and said firmly: "The seats are divided into eight equal parts, which means it is not 'one person, one vote', but 'one county'" One ticket'."

"Hi." Nandor asked nonchalantly, "What's the difference?"

"The difference is huge." Richard frowned and explained seriously: "How many free people are there in Tiefeng County? How many free people are there in Wargne County? If it is one person, one vote, our votes will be like water. The wine in the vat can easily be diluted to the point where you can’t taste anything at all.”

Richard deliberately drawled: "But if it's one county, one vote, then... it's different."

"So, what's the difference?" Nandor laughed and patted Richard on the shoulder, his eyes flashing with the unique cunning of a veteran: "Whether it's one county, one vote, or one person, one vote, it's Montagne. We will vote how you ask us to. So, tell me, what is the difference?"

"You think so?" Nandor winked at old Dussac: "Brother."

Gilad didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he just thought this "fat man" from Niu Tu Valley was a bit interesting.

Richard was speechless. After a moment, he sighed dejectedly and his shoulders slumped.

Nandor seemed to be comforting Richard and gently touched the latter's back.

But Richard was obviously not in the mood to say anything else.

Nandor just shrugged and stopped disturbing Richard.

Although time passed, the large meeting hall became more and more full. A tall, dull-looking middle-aged man and a fat man with a round face walked into the adjacent sector to the right of Girard.

This tall and fat man was none other than Matya Milok and the timber merchant Mikhail from Oak Town in Warne County.

Gilad glanced at the two of them and stood up to say hello.

Old Ma Diya nodded politely, and the timber merchant Mikhail bent down to return the greeting, but his expression was quite awkward.

After saying hello, the timber merchant took old Ma Diya and hid in the seat furthest away from old Dusak.

Soon, no one entered the sectors of each county.

Although some sectors are extremely crowded, some are spacious enough for people to lie down and take a nap.

However, whether the "free men" were sitting or standing, they finally had their own place in the general assembly of free men, which theoretically represented the highest authority in the new land, but was held for the first time.

Although everyone unconsciously lowered their voices when speaking, the whispers of thousands of people gathered together after being reflected by the dome and walls, and still formed powerful harmonics, "rumbling" in the great meeting hall.

It was only at this time that the people under the dome truly realized that there were so many "free people" in the newly cultivated land.

And the voices of the "free men" merged into one, and they were so loud.

Listening to the increasingly louder "rumbling" sound, the eyes of Richard, who was once the largest manor owner in Blackwater Town, gradually brightened again.

But the next moment, a loud noise caused deathly silence under the dome.

The main door of the Grand Council Hall suddenly opened.

The officers entered the venue.

[must! Win! ]

[Thanks to book friends for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly votes, rewards and comments, thank you all]