Chapter 232 – Zhuge"s Cautious Life
Iron and Steel Ridge Kingdom, one of the three kingdoms on the northern border of the mainland, is adjacent to Blast Furnace Kingdom and Eagle Kingdom.
There are seven duchies namely, Sapphire, Maple Leaf, Rose, Bra.s.s, Light Sapphire, Stars, and Honeysuckle. Strictly speaking, the two Grand Duchies of Sapphire and Rose should be reduced to a Princ.i.p.ality, a country with only dragons and no Dragon Knights.
“The Duke of Honeysuckle had to move three times a year because he couldn"t stand the random urination of the aristocrats in the palace, which made him nervous to even walk around. One time, a knight sat on the Duke"s chair with his bare b.u.t.tocks!"
“How did the Duke of Honeysuckle punish this knight?”
“He chose to take a s.h.i.t in the knight"s helmet.”
“Ha ha! A creative punishment!”
“Ha ha!”
Liszt and Zambrotta"s laughter filled the library. They were unaware that they had been chatting for more than three hours. Zambrotta"s often-unending little gossip kept Liszt in constant interest.
Especially those court secrets.
From hearing Zambrotta"s course of travel, it can be estimated that he has heard the history of the small n.o.bles in its entirety to even the history of the whole aristocracy. When he visited the Kingdom of Iron and Steel Ridge, he was only a semi-n.o.bleman, out of touch with the court masters of all countries, or even the little n.o.bles at the Lord"s level.
However, these stories are relatively more important than knight"s novels.
At least with these stories, there was some gravity. Though some stories might not be always true, the people in it are real. With knight"s novels, not only is the story difficult to cla.s.sify as truthful or not, the people inside are also fict.i.tious.
Only when Carter, the housekeeper, knocked in and asked about the dinner"s schedule did Liszt recover from the delightful chat. “Invite all the town officials to the evening banquet to welcome Mr. Zambrotta.” Liszt was certain that they would stay for Zambrotta"s hilarious anecdotes.
There was no doubt that these anecdotes are of great significance ; Liszt will compile those in the "The War of the Dragons in the Wild".
——–
Zambrotta knew that he had earned the affection of the recently celebrated baron of Flower Town. His goal of reviving himself in this town was achieved. His life has been in such a state since the count stripped him of his n.o.ble t.i.tle. Even his sons and daughters have turned against him, making it harder for him to breathe.
For now, he is still a free man without a knighthood, but once he follows Liszt, who he believes will become a great tool for him in the future, Liszt will guarantee his return to the aristocracy.
At the banquet, Liszt introduced Zambrotta to the town"s officials.
Zambrotta already knew Isaiah, Blair and Marcus, after all, he was Leighton"s teacher, and was therefore often in and out of Tulip Castle. For them, there was no doubt regarding Zambrotta"s knowledge or ability. The problem was his att.i.tude. The Count was completely outraged with him indulging Leighton to beat civilians.
But this is not a matter of principle. It is normal for a n.o.ble to beat a civilian.
Not all n.o.bles, like Liszt, have a sense of equality hidden in their hearts. For the world,however, it was normal to divide people into 3,6 or 9 cla.s.ses.
So the public still welcomed Zambrotta, but of course, it was hard to tell if Isaiah and Blair shared the same sentiment.
After the dinner, Liszt pulled Zambrotta again and they talked for almost an hour.
Liszt was still sober-headed and had to reluctantly let him go. He said to Zambrotta, “I already know what you"re doing, and don"t worry about your position in Flower Town. I have received information that my father will return before New Year"s hence I will arrange your work after New Year"s.”
Zambrotta nodded, understanding Liszt"s subtext. “I will obey your orders, Lord Baron.”
“You can go home while we wait for the news, or you can stay in Flower Town. If you have a moment to continue talking about this interesting news from all over the world, I am very much interested.”
“My wife is dead, my children are married so I have no reason to go back. If possible, I would like to live in Flower Town.”
“I"ll let Gort arrange your stay.”
————–
The Count returned a few days earlier than Liszt expected.
On December 20, the Count and his knights returned to Coral Island. Ships were piled up at the dock, all of which were filled with looted treasures.
When the Count left for the war, his ships were filled with knights, but when he returned,he had lost a lot of them.
They will stay in Eagle Kingdom forever.
After the knights of Tulip Castle came to Flower Town to report the news, Liszt planned to leave for Tulip Castle the next day to attend the celebration party hosted by Tulip Castle.
“Carter, give my father and my brother gifts, and prepare them as luxurious as possible. I am going to the celebration party this time, but I look forward to more points from my father"s spoils. Just a little treat, especially iron. Iron deficiency is driving me crazy! “
Although the bonesmith shop has already been opened, and the bonesmith Black Bone"s family has been building bone tools day and night, iron is still an important resource.
He used iron for the water tank and the air-conditioning housing, or infused it with other appliances.
More and more things are now available in Flower Town – soap is a good gift; high end seafood is a precious gift; fine bread, peanut, and other foods are considered to be qualified companion gifts; Liszt also intends to give the Count and Levis a pair of binoculars.
The binoculars have a good military value. Liszt believes that the Count will definitely reward him with a lot of good things when he sees the binoculars.
The binoculars were intended to be kept secret and not be made public.
But as he continues to integrate into the aristocracy, into the Tulip family and enjoy the familial benefits, his mindset has changed -he has to defend and strengthen the family to better protect himself, even if he has goes to the battlefield personally so he can seal up the territory to become the baron of Black Horse Island.
The Tulip family is his strongest ally.
If the Count can rely on his martial arts to breakthrough and become a marquis, he wouldn"t have to rise in status again-at the same time, Liszt has twice as much having the n.o.ble blood being the son of the Count and the grandson of the Marquis. His merits is overflowing.
So, Liszt at that moment was really hoping that the Tulips would continue to grow.
At least, the family can shelter him and let him develop safely before he rides the dragon. Also, there would be no need for him to worry about whether his inventions will be s.n.a.t.c.hed by bigger n.o.bles.
White paper, gla.s.s, cement, if no one would take initiative to study these products, he would start researching himself.
This level of technology may not be able to create an era that will definitely allow a family to grow rapidly. However, it is also not necessarily a good thing for a weak family to grasp it, for they might end up dealing with pirates.
The tragedy of Little Papa Island always reminded Liszt that the aristocracy is at risk anytime.
Good thing Liszt only played a small role in the territory.
"Zhuge has been cautious all his life [1]… I have to write a calligraphy the next day, hang it near the bed, and look at it every night before I sleep.”
[1] Zhuge Liang was a famous politician, military strategist, and inventor during China"s Three Kingdoms Period. His timeline highlights how he valued intelligence over everything else.