A grand welcome dinner was held in the Lord's Mansion, and this was the first time a banquet of this scale was held since the completion of this large building.
Gao Wen was not a person who liked banquets. Although Hetty and Rebecca were born in orthodox aristocrats, they were not very keen on banquets (of course, the main reason was poverty), but even if they were not interested in banquets, they knew that such activities Necessity in high-level social life A well-prepared banquet often has multiple meanings in politics, economy, and even military. It can not only show the economic strength of the host, but also complete negotiations that may require swords in a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere. It is undoubtedly a very cost-effective deal that can only be "negotiated".
Gawain still hasn't built a "castle" for himself according to the traditional noble way. He still prefers a house that is comfortable enough to live in, so even though the territory has developed, he only added part of the lord's mansion and expansion, and planned an area for the construction of ancillary buildings on the open space around the courtyard. In the end, this mansion will probably become a building between a castle and a palace, which is very important for the duchess and For Her Royal Highness, it is undoubtedly a very novel thing.
In the main hall where the dinner was held, musicians from the Lesley area were playing comfortable and pleasant music. After a few short dances, the guests at the banquet began to sit around the huge dining tables on both sides of the main hall. Taking food, men and women wearing luxurious dresses included members of the diplomatic mission from the royal capital, "new nobles" who survived in the southern border and were eligible to attend the banquet, as well as important officials of the Principality of Cecil and their relatives shuttled in and out of the banquet hall , Victoria passed through these people like a light snowflake, and came to Gao Wen.
"How do you feel?" Gawain looked at the Northern Duchess in front of him and raised his wine glass, "This place should be very different from the environment you are familiar with."
"There are very few nobles, but there are more powerful officials. This is indeed very different from the noble banquets in the north, and the rules here are much less."
"The red tape is depressing. We didn't pay much attention back then. According to my opinion, those young people who are looking for classical aristocratic etiquette can try our Cecil's buffet dinner. Of course, the real classics must be learned from me, an ancient man. .”
"... makes sense," the Duchess froze for a moment, showing a stiff smile, and then she looked around, at the neat and bright hall and the large French windows in the distance, and couldn't help sighing, "Compared to this Banquet, your 'castle' is even more impressive... I've never seen a castle of this type, and you don't seem to have designed it as a fortress... nor did you have barracks in the courtyard?"
Gao Wen smiled: "Barracks? My regiment can't fit into the courtyard of the castle, and the old-style castle is damp and cold. You have to light a fireplace in every room to barely accommodate people. In my opinion, it's not as comfortable as this kind of house. A seven-hundred-year-old man."
"Then there is probably no 'old man' who is healthier than you in this world," Victoria said helplessly. She is not a person who is good at joking, but she must respond flexibly to a humorous elder, "I pay attention There is no hearth here and the castle is warmed by magic?"
"The heat source is the fire element array located underground. It relies on a set of copper heat exchangers to transmit heat to the entire building. There are interlayers in those walls, and metal pipes and bricks are buried inside," Gao Wen explained. , "Not only here, most buildings in this city have similar facilities. There will be a large heat source station in the block. Its heat can heat the entire block. I designed it."
Victoria's eyes widened slightly: "You mean... everyone's home in this city is as warm as here?"
Gao Wen nodded: "Of course, and in fact some new buildings are warmer than here Lose."
Victoria didn't pay attention to what Gao Wen said later, she just showed a look of incredulity: "...to build such a thing in the whole territory... I'm afraid it's not an easy task?"
"It's really difficult, but fortunately we have magic technology," Gawain said with a smile, he looked into the eyes of the Duchess and watched every change in the other's expression, "and if we plan well, we can Central heating of the entire block under normal circumstances, in fact, will consume less things than burning firewood and charcoal in every household, and people will freeze to death every winter, don’t you think it’s better?”
The Duchess did not speak for a while.
Cecil City, a rapidly rising city in the "barren land", is incredibly advanced.
This city reminded her of the City of Thousand Towers where she lived for a long time to study magic when she was young. The city continues to perform complex operations as if it is alive, but in comparison, Cecil City and the City of Thousand Towers are so completely different.
This newly rising city may have less heritage than the city of a thousand towers, and it lacks some magnificent buildings that have experienced many vicissitudes, but its advanced features have penetrated into all aspects, and have even penetrated into every commoner.
This is the power of magic technology? What exactly is magic technology
After a short silence, she finally spoke: "Ever since I set foot on this land, I have been thinking about what magic technology is. I thought the walls of Rock Fortress were magic technology, and I thought those cars were magic technology." Magic technology, I thought the street lamps in this city and the heating device in this house were magic technology, I thought it was a kind of magic, some kind of new and convenient spell... But now it seems that it is better than me It is more complicated and novel than imagined.”
Gawain didn't say anything, he just nodded and let the duchess continue talking.
After a short pause, Victoria Wilde spoke again: "Magic technology is for ordinary people, right?"
"Ordinary people can really take control of it and benefit from it."
Victoria took a deep breath.
She didn't ask Gawain the principle of this technology, this childish question would only make her appear abrupt and shallow, she also didn't ask Gawain if he knew what it meant to hand over the power of magic to ordinary people, she didn't believe it The promoters of this technology would not have thought of this, she just thought about it silently, and then seemed to turn the topic in another direction: "You relied on it to arm your army, and then defeated the coalition composed of more than forty nobles in the southern border ?”
Gao Wen smiled, and Rebecca's voice came from the side: "They called here on their own initiative!"
Victoria turned her head and saw Cecil's heir standing beside her with a piece of cake. Her eyes were wide open, a bit of cream was still on the corner of her mouth, and her face was full of pride, but the next Seconds later, the girl exclaimed: "Wow, Auntie said that I won't let me interrupt casually today..."
"It's okay, we're just chatting," Victoria nodded to Rebecca, "You look beautiful today, Marquise Rebecca."
Rebecca suddenly realized when she heard the other party greet her. This girl who never failed the etiquette class because she defeated all the etiquette teachers hurriedly put the cake aside, trying to salute according to what she had learned in her memory: "Hello, Duchess Wilde, you are also very... hey?"
She finally realized what the other party called her just now.
However, Gao Wen just stood aside with a smile on his face, watching quietly like an outsider who has mastered everything in advance.
"Daughter... the Marquis?" Rebecca asked the Duchess with her eyes wide open, pointing at her nose, "Are you talking about me?"
"Isn't that right? According to Ansu's law, the adult first heir to the nobility will automatically inherit the title one level lower than his parents before he officially inherits the title," Victoria said while looking at Rebecca, but it was obviously not just for Rebecca listened, "Duke Cecil Gawain has already opened up land in the southern border that fits his title, so according to the agreement in Silver Castle that day, the rights that the Cecil family should have been restored. "
Her gaze finally fell on Gao Wen, and the latter just nodded lightly, indicating that he knew about the matter.
The expression on the Duchess's face did not change, but she sighed slightly in her heart.
Just as Welsh Moen said that what has already fallen into the hands of the other party is not a gift, for such an ancestor-level figure who does not care about the attitude of the second dynasty at all, the "recognition" from Saint-Sunil is worthless of.
And Rebecca was a little confused about the "promise in the Silver Castle" mentioned by Victoria. She knew about it, because she also followed when the contract was concluded. Back then, her ancestors asked for seven hundred years from Francis II. The former permanent development right, the second dynasty also announced the recognition of the duke title of the ancestors, but added restrictions on this: the duke title of Gawain Cecil will only be used as his personal permanent honor and cannot be hereditary for the time being. Unless he can use the development rights to open up the minimum land that meets the duke title in his lifetime, the Cecil family's duke title and related powers can be restored...
At that time, the big shots in Silver Castle seemed to think that it was impossible for the ancestors to carve out a piece of dukedom from the wasteland in their lifetime.
In fact, the ancestor did not open up a duchy from the wasteland. He killed all the nobles in the southern border, which is completely different from what he said at the beginning...
Rebecca's newly-appointed Marquis Cecil blinked her adorable eyes. She was scratching formulas in her mind, which is good at dealing with mechanics and fireballs, trying to figure out "the unclaimed space occupied after killing people." What is the difference between "land" and "the real unclaimed land in the wasteland", but before she could figure it out, she saw that her ancestors had continued to chat with the duchess in a natural manner: the ancestors seem to be Not surprising at all, the Duchess did not mention the details of the contract signed that day...
Rebecca thought about it, and suddenly felt that politics is really powerful, so everyone can be shameless...
In front of Gao Wen, Victoria was slightly toasting: "Now that the kingdom is in turmoil, there is a powerful guardian duke guarding the southern border, and everyone in Silver Castle feels much more at ease."
Gao Wen also raised the wine glass in his hand, smiling: "That would be great, but it seems that I, an outdated old man, am quite popular."
The two guardian dukes greeted each other, clinked glasses in a friendly manner, said polite words, and had completely opposite thoughts in their hearts, and left the most perfect angle photos for the reporters carrying the Magic Net terminal on the side of the hall.
Afterwards, Gao Wen prepared to leave. As the host of this dinner, he had more than one guest to entertain.
He and Victoria Wilde still have a lot of things to talk about, but he is not in a hurry. The really important things will be discussed after this banquet.
Looking at her ancestor who turned and left, Rebecca waved her hand: "Master Ancestor, can I have a few more cakes today?"
Gao Wen didn't look back: "Just don't overeat."
"Hey! I know!"
A moment later, there was another plate of cake in Rebecca's hand, and the newly promoted Marquis smiled and showed off to Victoria: "You should try this cake made by Mr. Ballside as good as his roasted meat." eat."
Really carefree.
Victoria Wilde looked at Rebecca, at this girl who had already rubbed cream on her face and didn't behave like a marquise at all, and couldn't help but shook her head.
"Don't you want to eat?"
"No, I'm just a little envious of you."