Dark Mountains.
After seeing what Gao Wen pointed out, everyone couldn't help but be taken aback.
The first one who couldn't help breaking the silence was Baldwin Franklin, Grand Duke of the Western Territory. His eyes widened: "Are you... sure?"
"Why not?" Gawain smiled, "Could it be that this place still has an owner?"
"That's not true..." Francis II shook his head, "The entire Dark Mountains area and the places further south are unowned, which indeed meet the requirements of the Exploitation Act, but that place is not only very close to the Typhon Empire, but also directly to the south. Connected to the wasteland of Gondor, it is really... "
The Dark Mountains are part of the southern border of Ansu. Its eastern section extends all the way to the territory of the Typhon Empire, while the western section extends for hundreds of kilometers along the Ansu border, and then bends southward at a small angle, blending into the In the corrupted lands of the Gondor Wastes. Theoretically, even the banded plains on the southern side of the Dark Mountains were Anzu's territory, but in reality the kingdom could only control the northern side of the mountains—and the control was quite limited.
The most important reason for this is the existence of the wasteland of Gondor.
That land is still shrouded in chaotic elemental power and mana to this day. The constantly surging corrupt power makes the land almost barren and full of toxins that are deadly to humans.
Although its range is no longer sprawling, the toxic dust storms that sometimes blow with the wind and the occasional wandering monsters are a deadly threat on the edge of the wasteland.
Historically, after the Ansu Kingdom stabilized, they tried several times to counterattack the southern border—they even had a plan to regain the homeland of Gondor, but in the end all efforts failed. The purification of the wasteland is extremely difficult and full of repetitions. The income is completely out of proportion to the effort. The pioneering strongholds established in the early days are often destroyed by toxic dust storms and monsters when they fail to produce any output. Therefore, in the end, the Ansu royal family withdrew Killed all pioneering teams, and stopped on the northern side of the Dark Mountains.
Then, due to the increasing prosperity in the northern part of the kingdom and the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Violet Kingdom, the center of gravity of the kingdom was further shifted to the north. Coupled with the "Civil War of the Brumaire" a hundred years ago, the Cecil family in the south collapsed overnight, and the south The situation further deteriorated and regressed, and today, the entire Dark Mountain Range and most of the surrounding areas are no different from wasteland.
The smell of the wasteland blowing across the mountains has even corrupted the plains to the north of the mountains.
But Gao Wen just smiled slightly at this: "I have faced worse situations than that back then. When it comes to political struggles and intrigues, I may not be as good as you younger generations, but when it comes to fighting against the dangerous nature, you are definitely not as good as you!" Get on me."
Regardless of whether it is true or not, let’s talk about it first. jpg.
Since Gawain himself was so confident, of course other people at the scene would not continue to worry about him—for the king and other nobles, whether Gawain Cecil could gain a firm foothold in the south was not their concern at all. What they are most concerned about is when this hot potato will leave the capital. Since Gao Wen took the initiative to choose a place where no one would suffer, so what's the point
Hurry up and send the ancestors away from the capital!
If it weren't for the need to agree on some details, Francis II had almost prepared the carriage for the Gawain family at this time...
After finalizing the most important issue of development rights, Gawain took advantage of the situation and asked Francis II to admit several other "insignificant and trivial matters".
First of all, Gawain Cecil's dukedom must continue, but only as his personal honor for the time being, and cannot be inherited by any heirs, unless the Cecil family has indeed opened up in the south when Gawain dies again (correctly). If he has acquired a vast land, or has other achievements, then the title of title his heirs deserve will be determined based on his land and achievements.
This is actually a nondescript plan, a product of the conflict between Gawain Cecil's duke status and the incident a hundred years ago. No one dared to deprive the founding duke of the title, but there was no way for a viscount family to He directly became a duke, so he had to make such a compromise. Frankly speaking, this is completely inconsistent with any law since the founding of Ansu - but what logic are you talking to a person who jumped out of the coffin
The ancestors didn't even tell you about physics, but they even told you the truth!
The so-called "temporary non-inheritance" can be seen by a discerning person at a glance. This is just delaying time and giving an explanation to the existing aristocratic system.
In addition, the Ansu royal family will fully recognize the complete autonomy of the Cecil family in the newly established lands-just as the Founding King recognized the autonomy of any pioneering territory.
Coupled with some bits and pieces of agreement, in the end, Gao Wen got the result he wanted.
A country within a country with no distractions.
In fact, these contents have already been decided. When Prince Edmund visited in advance, Gawain had already connected with the king, and now he was just going through the motions in the Oak Hall.
No one at the scene raised objections to these contents—anyway, the Cecil family is going to open up a barren land, and no matter how much territory they open up, it will not affect the vested interests of any family. Since there is no conflict of interest, then Nominal conflicts are easily resolved.
Francis II signed a new development document on the spot, announcing that according to the ancient law, the Cecil family will have the right to develop all the land between the Dark Mountains and any surrounding kingdom fiefdoms, and announced that they will be responsible for this development activity. Provide the necessary support—including a hundred-man team of various artisans and mage apprentices, as well as food and cloth for the first year of pioneering.
Among them, the craftsmen and apprentices will work in the pioneer for three years. After three years, they can voluntarily choose to stay, but if someone stays, the Cecil family has to "buy" it from the royal family at the price of 30 gold shields per person. them.
These supports are not much, but Gao Wen is already very satisfied. For the current poor and white Cecil family, this can relieve their urgent needs.
The gold, silver and ore ingots in the treasure house in the mountains cannot be directly turned into food, nor can they be turned into skilled craftsmen. In this age of peace, the word "pioneering" has become a distant history, and no one wants to leave the stable homeland. , ran to a place next to the wasteland of Gondor to open up wasteland, and those one hundred craftsmen and apprentices would be the most precious wealth.
This can also be said to be the kindness expressed by Francis II on behalf of the Ansu royal family to Gawain-to thank the founding prince for recognizing his blood.
The deal was done, everyone was happy, and after a deal that was done to the satisfaction of both parties, a party was a must.
The oak hall was re-sealed, and a banquet was held in the banquet hall on the second floor of the castle. Food and wine were served on the table. The king and his most trusted nobles wanted to celebrate the return of a legendary hero here. The nobles with the names didn't know where they were hiding before, but they all appeared all at once, and the banquet hall was very lively.
Those new nobles who are not eligible to enter the oak hall, but are entitled to know the results of the meeting immediately, they have been waiting in the rest rooms of Silver Castle for a whole half a day, until the attendants ran into the banquet hall , Ringing the brass bells preparing for the celebration, they appeared with smiles on their faces.
It was the first time for Rebecca to participate in this kind of occasion—this down-and-out lord lady had never been in such a magnificent place since she was a child, and because of the rejection of the Cecil family by the entire aristocratic circle, she had never been in such a magnificent place since she was a child. Haven't been to a few decent parties. The grandest banquet in her memory was when she became an adult at the age of sixteen, her father held a very lively celebration party for herself in the castle, but it was nothing more than a long table full of food.
It is completely different from the banquet in Silver Castle.
The entire hall is filled with long tables, all of which are full of delicious food and wine. In the center of the hall is the place where gentlemen and ladies dance. Release magic at the four corners of the hall, constantly creating all kinds of wonderful glare and falling snowflakes in mid-air—letting a precious mage create the illusion of such a hot atmosphere, which seems incredible to Rebecca things.
Your Majesty the King... so rich.
At the beginning, Rebecca tried hard to put on a straight face, trying to appear mature and stable, but soon, her girlish nature overwhelmed the calmness she pretended to be. She grabbed Gawain's hand and asked this and that. , while Gao Wen smiled and blew nonsense to her based on his memory and the traverser's imagination.
Rebecca's bumpkin-like behavior couldn't hide from those big nobles who had opened their eyes long ago, but they didn't show any disdain for this little lord from the countryside—maybe they were a little bit in their hearts, but Gawain Cecil had always stood by Beside Rebecca, this inseparable "parent" made everyone have to restrain their contempt, and at least keep a smile on Rebecca on the surface.
Then, a few young people came to invite Rebecca to dance with them—probably because they felt that the Cecil family now had an ancestor of the town clan, which would have some potential value in getting closer, but all of these people Gawain blocked him back.
Just kidding, with Rebecca's head caught in the door and her tough personality, she can't get along in the southern border. If she deals with the monkey-savvy guys in Wangdu, won't she sell the whole family in an instant
"Excessive protection will not allow children to grow up," a gentle male voice came from the side, "Viscount Rebecca is already an adult, you should let her get in touch with the social circles of high society."
Gawain turned his head and saw Baldwin Franklin, the Grand Duke of the West, standing behind him, and Victoria Weld, the Grand Duke of the North, standing with Baldwin.
"I died young back then, so I didn't have much experience in disciplining children." Gao Wen shrugged and said nonchalantly.
Baldwin: "..."
Victoria: "…"
"And I feel that even if I don't stop, Rebecca has no time to talk to others."
As Gawain spoke, he pointed to his great-granddaughter on the N+1 floor—the viscountess was lying at a nearby long table and eating a lot of hazel...
"It's really... rash." Duke Baldwin said dryly.
Gawain smiled, and looked at Victoria Wilder who was standing beside her with an indifferent face: "Instead of educating future generations, I have some questions for this girl from the Wilder family."