Lorist lifted the curtain and walked into the big tent.
Everyone was stunned, followed by ecstasy...
"My lord, why are you here..." Fatty Shi jumped up even more. He was so excited that he knocked over the desk in front of him, and scattered all the pens, ink, documents, maps and the like.
Lorist smiled: "I'm here to take you home..."
An ordinary sentence made half of the people in the big tent turn red-eyed, tears filled their eyes, and couldn't help choking up.
Like Doles, one of the old students of Dawn Academy who voluntarily followed Shredder to organize the convoy to go north, and was entrusted by Lorist with an important task as the captain of the convoy. From February to September, I have shared joys and sorrows with the team for more than seven months until now, and now I am trapped here with no way to make any progress, anxious and helpless, when I heard Lorist said to take them home, tears immediately burst into tears.
Lorist first hugged Dolles, and said to him and everyone in the big tent: "Nothing can stop us from going home. It's not easy for everyone to get here all the way. Now that we've passed Made The Principality of Rath is the Northland, not to mention the Iron Guards, even an Iron Man, we can smash it to pieces."
Lorist hugged them one by one, and when it was Bodfinger's turn, the first man who had pledged his allegiance to Lorist blushed: "My lord, it's our incompetence..."
Lorist interrupted him: "No, you have already done a very good job."
Finally there is Shredder, Lorist looked at him with mixed feelings, the old big belly was gone, the rosy round face turned into a pointed face, the cheeks sunk in, and he could no longer see the chubby look, the forehead Several wrinkles have been added, and a few white hairs can be vaguely seen at the corners of the temples. It is conceivable how much pressure he was carrying during this time, and it was really difficult for him.
Lorist opened his arms and hugged Shredder forcefully: "Brother Shi, you've worked hard..."
Shredder broke down in tears...
After taking his seat again, Lorist announced a decision that he would hold a grand banquet tomorrow night to promote the meritorious members of the team to family knights.
Lorist said with a smile: "Originally, I planned to wait for the convoy to arrive in the Northland before awarding meritorious deeds, but now that the convoy is so large, it is really unreasonable not to promote meritorious personnel to family knights for rewards. This time, first A batch will be promoted, and another batch will be promoted when the team returns to the family territory. As for the list of meritorious personnel, everyone recommends Knight Shredder to sort it out. However, we need to communicate in advance, and if there is a better place, we will not force it their will."
"After tomorrow, the team will be reorganized and we will be very busy. But our efforts will ensure that our team will go to the Northland smoothly. Everyone, cheer up, although there are many difficulties we are currently facing, these difficulties will not prevent us from returning to the Northland. To the Northland, back to our home. I have the confidence to lead everyone back to the Northland, but I am only one person, not a titan or a fire-breathing dragon. To bring such a large convoy home We need everyone to work together, please."
Lorist stood up and bowed deeply to everyone in the big tent...
…
It was late at night, and the camp that had been noisy all day gradually calmed down. Countless people fell into a sweet dreamland amidst the silver-white gentleness sprinkled by the silver moon.
Only Lorist, Shredder, and Bodfinger were left in the big tent. Reddy cooked a pot of Mycus for them and retreated, guarding outside the big tent.
"... Your biggest mistake was that your greed was used by the Second Highness. If you refused the Second Highness's request after the Battle of Qingyeyuan and led the convoy northward, I believe it would be impossible for anyone to block the way. I know that on the one hand, you are looking at my cousin's face, and on the other hand, you have already tasted the sweetness in Gerdos City, so you want to add more supplies to the convoy, but you forgot one thing, that is, the more More and more supplies will become a burden on the convoy..."
This is Lorist criticizing Shredder.
"Our convoy is like a huge boa constrictor. Although it is huge, it is very flexible. Occasionally eating some small rabbits and goats does not affect its flexibility. But you drove it to swallow bison, and even swallowed several of them in one go. Make it unable to move freely. In this case, our team has become the best prey in the eyes of others.
Character determines destiny, Brother Shi, you have a great talent, which was demonstrated in Slov Manor, and Earl Miranda praised you full of praise. But your stingy and stingy character has become the biggest flaw when looking at the overall situation. You just want to hold all the benefits in your hands, and you are reluctant to give up. This is the best way for the Second Highness to use you.
You also made a mistake. You swept up the nobles of the kingdom of Antinac to benefit the Second Highness the most, but you took the blame. You know how surprised I was when I heard that the rumored demon Shredder was you. Even if those territorial nobles block the way and rob our convoy, you shouldn't act on your will. Think about it, if you don't hang those captured territorial nobles, but pack them up and send them to the imperial capital for His Highness the Second Highness's disposal, then it will be the Second Highness's turn to have a headache, and he will have no chance to plot against our convoy. "
Lorist picked up the silver cup and took a sip of the somewhat cold Mycos.
Shredder murmured: "I was wrong. I used to feel like I was being used by the Second Highness, and something was wrong, but I couldn't find out what went wrong. Only after you analyzed it like this did I understand what was wrong. Locke, You have also changed, you see farther than us now, and you look more and more like a lord."
Lorist laughed: "There's no way, people will always change. After becoming a lord, I feel the pressure on my body. This is actually forced out. Brother Shi, you don't have to blame yourself too much. As a team Chief, you are the best, but as the leader of the team, you are unqualified, because you tend to lose your way. But this can't be helped, like Bodfinger, he is an excellent general, But you are not a qualified commander. The two of you can support each other to bring the team here and expand the team to such a large scale.
"Speaking of it, it's also my fault. If I had set a date for you to go to the Northland, the situation like this wouldn't have happened. You have good intentions and are trying to serve the family, so you will try your best to go Collect supplies to gather refugees. Now we only need to bring the convoy and refugees back, and within a few years, we can build the family territory into a paradise in troubled times, and a blessed place on earth.”
"Then what should we do next?" Schrader was very energetic. Lorist's arrival made him feel that more than half of the burden on his shoulders was relieved at once. The painstaking efforts of leading the team for the past six months have already exhausted him physically and mentally. If it takes another half a year, he doubts whether he will be able to return to the family territory alive.
"No rush." Lorist said, "We've already heard Reddy give an overview of the situation of the team. Thanks to you, the team was able to keep the team from being overwhelmed by the difficulties we faced. I'm going to make a contribution to the promotion of the team." The purpose of becoming a family knight is to calm down the hearts of the team. I will sort out the list at night and ask them about their wishes in the morning. Next, I need to know the details of the team and the strength of the Principality of Madras. Know yourself and your enemy , A hundred battles are never lost, this sentence was said by a philosopher thousands of years ago, I think it is very reasonable."
…
The Second Highness heard that the new head of the Norton family had arrived in the convoy, and brought Chrisya to the convoy camp in the afternoon of the next day.
Lorist touched his chest with his right hand, and with his left hand behind, lowered his head and half-bowed, and gave a solemn audience ceremony to the Second Highness, which was the formal etiquette for the lower lords of the Galintia continent to meet the upper lords.
The Second Highness was very happy, and after returning the gift, he hugged Lorist to show his enthusiasm.
Then came Chrisya. She still remembered Lorist's appearance, but she was not used to the crying little slug. Now she has grown into a tall and healthy young man, and she has also become the new head of the Norton family.
First inquired about the family situation, then remembered the tragic past and held Lorist and cried for a while, and finally, when Lorist teased her about when she would marry the Second Highness and have a baby early, she became angry and relapsed into old ways, stretching out her hand to pull Lorist's ear, The frightened Lorist repeatedly begged for mercy.
It took a while for everyone to officially start talking.
His Highness was very straightforward. He pointed out the plight of the convoy in front of Lorist, thinking that the current food supply of the convoy could only last for four months at most, and Antinac had no spare capacity to support the convoy and take care of the refugees. Once the food is exhausted, the refugees and the team members will collapse, and then so many people will plunge the newly settled Antinak Kingdom into chaos and man-made disasters. The Second Highness asked the owner of the Norton family caravan, Earl Norton, to find a way out for the caravan as soon as possible, and not just watch the tragedy happen, it would be of no benefit to anyone.
Lorist smiled, pointed out very politely that he had only inherited the title of baron, and could not be called an earl, and signaled Reddy to return the second royal highness's certification document for his promotion to Baron Norton as earl.
Everyone in the big tent was stunned. No one expected Lorist to reject the canonization certificate from His Highness the Second Highness. Could it be that he was preparing to turn his face or the Norton family refused to work for the Second Highness
The Second Highness came to his senses and asked if he was being rude or if he did something wrong, or if the Norton family was planning to betray the Antinac royal family so that promotion to the title would be rejected
Lorist said sternly: "The pride of the Norton family lies in the oath that no member will bow their knees for anyone except the Krissen royal family and the elders of the family. The Antinac royal family is orthodox The inheritance of the Christen royal family is recognized by the world. Naturally, the Norton family will not break their oath, and we will also be loyal to the Antinac royal family. It is just that the Norton family cannot accept the canonization of His Royal Highness, because it will remove the Norton family from the territory. The nobility becomes nobility, and for us it's not a promotion, it's an insult, so we refuse."
Shredder was the first to understand. He slapped himself hard, and he made a big mistake again. He actually accepted the canonization of the Second Highness's promotion to the title. If Lorist hadn't noticed it, he would have accepted the title of Earl. The Norton family will really change from a territorial noble to an honorary noble.
El and Terman looked at Schrader very strangely, why they slapped themselves, Schrader explained to them in a low voice,
Generally speaking, the promotion of a noble title in a territory requires the conferment or reseal of the territory. The conferment is the addition of other territories to the original territory, and the conferment is to give another territory larger than the original territory. If there is a territory, it will be taken back by the upper lord.
Now His Royal Highness has been promoted to the title of the Norton family, from baron to earl, which is just an empty title of earl without marking the territory. If Lorist accepted the title of earl, it would legally mean that the original Norton family territory would be taken back by the Second Highness, and the Norton family would no longer have any territory other than an earl title.
Day, this guy is so insidious. In addition to the fact that Shredder was getting more and more displeased with the Second Highness, El and Terman's eyes became less friendly, and the eyes of everyone in the big tent who had figured it out changed.
The Second Highness was also dumbfounded, this was indeed an oversight, not a trap he deliberately set. If it weren't for the Norton family's territory in the desolate and remote Northland, the area divided into two counties would be more than enough. When he decided to promote the title of the Norton family, firstly, he didn’t want to divide the newly integrated kingdom’s territory into a confiscation, and let a giant sit beside him. Second, he felt that the Norton family’s territory was large enough, and there was no need to add another piece, and promoted the Norton family. The title is also convenient for the Norton family to make waves in the Northland, and they can confront the Grand Duke of the Northland who belongs to the second prince.
It's just that there is such a big loophole in the decision to promote the title at this time. For the nobles of the territory, such a promotion is indeed an insult, and some fierce ones even make the lower lord and the upper lord become life and death enemies. Lorist's performance can already be said to be quite polite and low-key.
The Second Highness stood up and bowed to Lorist to apologize: "This is my negligence, I am very sorry, in order to express my apology, I am willing to grant the entire Northland to the Norton family as compensation..."
Lorist sat rudely and ignored the Second Highness, just kept turning the silver cup in his hand.
Chrisya, who was behind the Second Highness, couldn't bear it anymore, and stood up: "Lock, you are so rude, His Highness has admitted his mistakes and apologized to you, and even handed over the entire Northland to the family as compensation, what else do you want?" Sample?"
Lorist laughed: "Women are not allowed to stay! Cousin Chrisya, please ask the Second Highness, is the Northland under the rule of the Kingdom of Antinac?"
There was a sudden silence in the big tent, even Chrisya was speechless, all eyes were on the Second Highness, waiting for his explanation.
The Second Highness wished to slap himself hard like Schrader, but he made a mistake again. He dreamed of unifying the former empire and restoring the glory of the Krissen royal family, subconsciously regarded himself as the crown prince of the ZTE Empire, and promised the Norton family the Northland as compensation, but he forgot, the Northland Now it belongs to the second prince's Iberian Kingdom, not the Antinac Kingdom he ruled.
Khan was in a hurry, and used the territory of other kingdoms as compensation for the territories of the nobles of his own kingdom. If this spread, it would definitely make the Andinak Kingdom a joke. Even the promise of His Highness the Second Highness will become a model of empty teeth, and more importantly, it will make the Norton family, which has become his biggest help, alienated from now on...
In a hurry, His Royal Highness had a flash of inspiration, and suddenly thought of a good idea. He smiled slightly, and said to everyone in the big tent: "Indeed, I am going to hand over the entire Northland to the Norton family as compensation..."
Everyone was in an uproar, and Chrisya exclaimed: "Your Highness, you..."
His Royal Highness waved his hand: "I haven't finished my words. This is just compensation, not a conferment. I decided to use my prince's territory as a conferment for the promotion of the Norton family's title. As for the Northland, although it is not under my rule now, I have Promise, after I eliminate the Principality of Madras, if the Norton family has controlled the entire Northland, then I will canonize the Norton family as Grand Duke, and the entire Northland will become the hereditary territory of the Norton family."
Lorist laughed, the Second Highness was very quick-witted, and his words turned around what he had said wrongly. If the Kingdom of Antinac eliminates the Principality of Madras, it will border on the Northland. At that time, if the Norton family controls the entire Northland, it will naturally belong to the Kingdom of Antinac. What the Second Highness said is given Compensation and canonization of the Grand Duke of the North have become a reality, not a joke.
However, Lorist was very curious about where the Second Highness's Prince's territory was, it was a territory larger than an earldom, how could the Second Highness be willing to use it as a conferment
Shredder angrily handed over a map, cursed in a low voice and pointed to a point on the map: "This Highness is too insidious, be careful, my lord."
Lorist looked down, and it turned out to be an isolated island. The area was indeed larger than the earldom, but most of it was mountains and beaches, and the arable area was not large. No wonder Shredder was so angry.
Lorist laughed again: "Well, since the Second Highness said so, then our Norton family will accept the canonization of the Antinac royal family and be promoted to the title of earl."
The Second Highness wiped the sweat from his brow and sat down again, and the big tent regained harmony...
…