Shawshank collar.
As a local lord, Baron Shawshank has a castle passed down from his ancestors.
It is built on a hill and is made entirely of granite. There is even a circle of defensive trenches outside, with arrow towers and crossfire points set up. It is a nightmare for any party attacking the city.
"For such a castle, as long as there is enough food, hundreds of people can resist the siege of thousands of troops, right?"
Fang Yuan raised his head, looking up at the tall buildings and black silhouettes.
There is no doubt that it represents the power of the Shawshank Barons over this land, and it is also a guarantee of status!
"Even barons may not be able to build castles for every one of them. This is the difference between established nobles and upstarts..."
From this, Fang Yuan couldn't help but think of the strength of this Baron Shawshank.
The opponent has five knights under his command, and a guard of more than a hundred people is maintained in the castle all year round.
"The Hundred Guards is a force directly under the Baron. In case of war, he can also recruit knights and retinues. The total number is definitely more than two hundred! These are professional soldiers! If you include those militiamen who have been slightly trained, it can easily exceed a thousand! "
"And this Baron Shawshank is definitely a royalist figure and has a deep connection with Archduke Stan!"
…
While he was thinking, the castle's suspension bridge was slowly lowered, and a middle-aged noble greeted him: "Welcome, my knight!"
Fang Yuan looked carefully and saw that the nobleman who came out was about forty years old, wearing a lake green noble robe embroidered with gold and a platinum wig. At this time, he opened his hands to him: "And... thank you Everything you have done for Haier Village!”
"This is my duty!"
Fang Yuan performed a knight's salute and then asked his retinue to present gifts.
"Ah... what a beautiful pearl, I love it!"
The baron looked at it and was obviously very satisfied. Even the gloom in his eyebrows disappeared a little: "Come on... My knight, a banquet has been prepared for you in the castle! Everything is safe here!"
He emphatically spat out the following characters, obviously getting hints from the previous Master Heim.
"It's disrespectful!"
Fang Yuan bowed and followed Baron Shawshank into the castle.
The dinner in the castle was naturally very grand. Three of the five knights belonging to Baron Shawshank also attended with their families.
Fang Yuan wore a well-tailored robe without any decoration, but he naturally displayed a chic temperament, which attracted the attention of some noble ladies.
Given the corruption of the aristocratic life circle at this time, as long as he made a slight gesture to a few ladies who waved their fans towards him, I'm afraid he would have a wonderful night in no time.
However, while holding the wine glass, he politely declined many invitations and just watched quietly, looking very unsociable.
"Sir Rune, you seem to have made many ladies sad..."
At this time, a tall man dressed as a knight and wearing half armor came over: "I'm afraid that from tonight onwards, rumors of Sir Rune's incomprehensible affair will spread in the territory..."
"I'm just a little... um... not used to it!"
Fang Yuan responded with a smile: "Knight Gray, what's the important thing?"
This knight is also one of the five knights of Baron Shawshank. However, unlike Fang Yuan, he directly serves the baron. As a knight, he serves as the baron's warrior commander and leads all the guards. He is absolutely a first-rate confidant. .
In Monger's world, it is not a shameful thing for a small noble to serve a big noble and receive compensation.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your banquet, but the Baron would like to see you in the study!"
Gray Knight said in a flat voice.
"OK!"
Fang Yuan nodded, left this boring banquet, and followed Gray to the Baron's study.
"Is it Luen? Come in! Gray, you are guarding the outside and don't allow anyone to come in, even my wife!"
Baron Shawshank said solemnly, and then Fang Yuan smiled and said: "Lu En, you must have a lot of doubts."
"It's not a lot, but there are general guesses. The situation in the office doesn't seem to be very good right now!"
Fang Yuan nodded and sat down opposite the baron. The baron poured him a cup of black tea.
"To be honest, I was still very surprised after receiving the summons from Master Heim..."
Baron Shawshank seemed to be organizing his words: "Sorry... Although I believed that you would reach the level of a high-level professional, I didn't expect that it would take such a short time. Moreover, you have already taken up the position of a natural disaster knight?"
"Yes!"
Fang Yuan nodded.
In fact, these are just his superficial things, how can he reveal his real trump card to others so easily
"That's great!"
Baron Shawshank clenched his fist fiercely, not hiding his anger at this time: "That Count Florent actually sent thieves to cause chaos in my territory. I have given an order to execute those wolf thieves and the secret envoy together. The reason is banditry!”
"It's your power!"
Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't know how much you understand, but look at this!"
Baron Shawshank felt a little headache. He had seen many talented young people, even young knights, and was confident that he could grasp their thoughts and psychology.
But this Rune Knight gave him a very special feeling and was very difficult to control.
At this time, a document was pushed over, and he picked up the ceramic tea cup, sipping black tea and waiting.
For a moment, the sounds in the study disappeared instantly, and in the silence, only the rustling of Fang Yuan's pages continued to sound.
"I see… "
Fang Yuan read the information very quickly and closed the information after a moment: "Is the situation... already so bad?"
The Principality of Stan was the first Grand Duke of Stan, who led the legendary knights to open up the wilderness.
Up to now, it has been passed down for three hundred years and twenty generations!
Such a long time is enough to corrupt many rules and families.
The most typical example is the legendary knights of the year. Their descendants may not necessarily agree with Archduke Stan.
"Not only that... the most critical thing is the penetration of inland forces!"
A thought flashed through Fang Yuan's mind: "The original Principality of Stan was just a barbaric land, and few people were interested in it. However, three hundred years of cultivation is enough to turn any raw land into a mature land, and the population can be reproduced. For the inland Both the state and the church have great attractions!”
"In fact, the infiltration of the church has already begun, because although the first generation Grand Duke Stan claimed to believe in the sun god, he has been deliberately suppressing the power of the church."
The struggle between divine power and royal power is the eternal theme of this continental country.
"But at this time, looking at the expansion of the Church of Death, other churches will not be far behind... If Grand Duke Bendestan still wants to take back power, he will inevitably conflict with the divine authority!"
This generation of Grand Duke Stan is not a mediocre king, but he is not a heroic lord either. At best, he is just a qualified nobleman!
But even such a person would not be happy to see the public office's control over the nobles weaken, and even the direct territories began to be infiltrated by religion!
Therefore, since the Grand Duke of Stan took the throne, he has made many reforms and preventive measures.
Obviously, this aroused resistance from some nobles, and there was even more religious fuel behind it.
"The first Grand Duke Stan was actually a noble of the Kingdom of Nott. He benefited from the 'Reclamation Order' at that time. At this time, it is also a difficult problem for the Kingdom of Nott to exercise suzerainty!"
Baron Shawshank rubbed his eyebrows.
In fact, examples of lower-level vassals rebelling against their lords are not uncommon in this world, and there are many successful ones, as long as they win.
"If a war really starts, I'm afraid it won't be easy to fight..."
Fang Yuan thought for a moment and made a direct judgment: "Who is our friend and who is our enemy?"
"That's a good question!"
Baron Shawshank almost thought that the person sitting in front of him was not a newly promoted knight, but an old fox: "In the Kingdom of Nott, the royal family cannot mobilize all its power, and several dukes have a very good relationship with Grand Duke Stan. There is even a connection between our ancestors!”
"As for the church, we also decided to win over some and suppress some."
There are many gods in this world, and they are also contradictory to each other.
There is not a small amount of nastiness that occurs between churches as they compete for the "Lamb of God."
Although it has not turned into a full-scale war, proxy wars have been fought countless times.
"So... the current Grand Duke is in urgent need of power?"
Fang Yuan nodded: "For example... the legendary knights of the past?"
"It was an accident!"
Mentioning this, Baron Shawshank's face darkened slightly: "Before Jorah's accident, I didn't know that he was the custodian of the Death Hand inheritance."
"All right!"
Fang Yuan shrugged his shoulders and didn't bother to mention the shady story: "Now that things have happened, I have probably become a first-rate royalist in the eyes of outsiders... Should I be glad that I didn't get on a broken ship?"
"Of course!"
Baron Shawshank nodded without hesitation: "You will see our power, and... your growth is completely beyond our imagination! If the Grand Duke knows, he will be very happy."
"If you come here this time, you can stay for a while. Just next month, we are about to start an operation."
Baron Shawshank said: "The office is preparing to clean up a number of cancers in the principality. I am responsible for this area!"
In his words, he couldn't help but have a harsh aura.
"no problem!"
Fang Yuan nodded and agreed directly.
At this time, the wallflowers are not popular at all and must take sides.
The attitudes of both parties, as well as the initial encounter, etc., had already made him make a choice.
Therefore, even if you know that this action is a petition, you must go!
"Very good!"
Sure enough, Baron Shawshank smiled happily: "With a high-level professional joining us, I am more confident in this operation!"