Late at night, as the vast political and military center of the vast Roman Continent's viscounty of Tate, the council hall of Tate City is still brightly lit and heavily guarded, but the constant flow of servants and officers in the fortress during the day is now. Much rarer.
In a spacious dark stone bedroom on the west corner of the second floor of the political hall, Zhang Lisheng, who had just received a sumptuous reception from the assistant manager of Viscount Tatedu not long ago, opened his eyes and stared at the top of his head emitting the last trace of warmth. Brazier, thinking about a breakthrough to win the trust of Viscount Tatdu.
Suddenly, there was a faint "squeaking" sound coming from the wall next to the extinguished fireplace opposite the stone bed covered with thick animal skins.
He came back to his senses alertly, frowned and looked in the direction of the sound. With eyesight that was far beyond ordinary people, Zhang Lisheng saw an unexpectedly familiar face, and a secret door slid open from the stone wall. He poked his head out and tiptoed toward him. His heart moved and he closed his eyes.
A few seconds later, he first felt a cold, sweaty palm press against his mouth, and then a slight but urgent call came from his ear, "Dear guest, honored guest, wake up, wake up"
"Well, well" Zhang Lisheng's body trembled, and he vividly pretended to wake up from his sleep. His covered mouth made a frightened muffled sound, and then he heard the voice in his ear say more urgently and panicked: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, don¡¯t be afraid, distinguished guest, it¡¯s me, Hedlund, Hedlund.
I will let go of my hand now. Don¡¯t shout or speak loudly. Listen to me. The Viscount wants to see you. "
"Sir Hedlund, are you saying that Viscount Tatedu wants to see me now?" In the gloomy night, Zhang Lisheng opened his eyes wide with a look of surprise and lowered his voice.
"Yes. Distinguished guest, please follow me." Hedlund nodded and didn't explain much. He dragged the black-haired young man who had put on his clothes in a hurry and walked gently into the secret door in the bedroom wall. Enter a dark passage.
After walking along the corridor for an unknown amount of time and turning in different directions, the lord steward of 'Tatedu' suddenly stopped, groped for a while on the stone wall on the right, triggered the mechanism, and opened another secret door.
A burst of dim light penetrated the dark corridor from the opening of the secret door. Zhang Lisheng stood behind Hedlund and muttered in a low voice with a strange expression, "Lord Hedlund. Your memory is really good, such a dark secret The road is not lost yet." He stretched his neck and looked towards the source of the light, and immediately saw the fat and tall body of Viscount Tatdu.
"Distinguished guest, it is not an easy task to be the assistant and personal manager of a noble Roman lord." Hedlund's face exposed in the faint light unconsciously revealed a look of emotion, "Distinguished guest, please come in. Well, Lord Viscount and Master Etfugo have been waiting for you for a long time." He guided the black-haired young man behind him out of the secret door.
The secret door connected to a small secret room, no more than twenty steps in length and width. Under the illumination of a copper basin with flickering firelight hanging from the low stone ceiling, the entire space seemed mysterious and depressing.
"Researcher Zhang Bingqi, no. It's time to call you director now," Viscount Tatdu, lying on his side on an animal skin mat against the wall, looked at the black-haired young man from another world who approached hesitantly and said nonchalantly: "You live The titles given to superior people in this country are really weird to us Romans.
But I do know that the director is more noble than the researcher. Congratulations on your higher status, my friend. "
"Ah, Lord Viscount, I live in a country where all people are equal, and there is no such thing as superior people. So I think it is even weirder that Roman's people are completely ruled by a powerful warrior class, cavalry commanders, generals, and knights
I didn¡¯t mean to offend you. I mean we live in a, a chaotic time. There are a lot of new things to accept all the time, you know what I mean.
By the way, in my country, researcher and director have the same status. The difference is that one is a professional title and the other is a position
Forget it, I will explain to you the difference between them. Anyway, thank you for your congratulations. "Zhang Lisheng smiled nervously and said a bunch of random things, and finally asked: "But it's so late, do you want to see me for anything? "
"Of course, my friend," Tate looked at the black-haired young man from another world with a sincere look and said, "I believe you must have had some premonitions when you saw me in such a secret room late at night.
Yes, although I am still the guardian of the entire territory of Tate, my situation is already very bad. It can even be said that I will definitely lose my title in the near future.
And as a lord who once held the highest authority in the territory, once he abdicates, his end is often not good.?Losing rights is so simple, it is very likely that the cemetery is the only destination. "
"You must be joking, Lord Viscount, ha, ha ha" An idea flashed in Zhang Lisheng's mind, and he vaguely grasped the context of some secrets. On the surface, he smiled even more unnaturally and said: "Wemande University today at noon The staff officer also said that Lord Tate has just achieved a victory that is rare in a century, and your enemy suffered a disastrous defeat"
"It was this victory that brought me to a desperate situation, my friend," an expression of uncontrollable grief and indignation flashed across Tatedu's face, and he interrupted the black-haired man with a low voice, "It was this victory that brought me to a desperate situation, my friend." The most loyal minister who received my life-saving grace on the battlefield and whom I restored my honor among the common people chose to betray!"
"Lord Viscount, what do you mean" Zhang Lisheng was sure that his flash of inspiration was correct, but he pretended to be dumbfounded and stammered.
"Director Zhang Bingqi," Etefugo, who was standing next to Viscount Tatedu, wearing a black robe and looking extremely tall because of his thinness, almost reaching the ceiling, hidden in the shadow of the flickering firelight, suddenly said, Addressing the black-haired young man awkwardly, he said tactfully: "The rules of rule in our Roman Continent are different from your world.
A territorial noble who cannot step onto the battlefield or even stand up on his own strength will not be able to rule his territory stably without the protection of a powerful 'upper lord', no matter how heroic he has been.
As for the Lord of Tate, since its complete secession from Siloria three hundred years ago, it no longer has the protection of the 'upper lord'. The Viscount was able to retain his title for nearly three years after being injured. It can be said that the military honor will last forever. Miracle, and now that his brother Ser Horstan has proven his worth with a great victory, it is a luxury for my lord to not abdicate again. "
"That's it. Well, that's really too bad. In this case, can the alliance between Tatedu and the Earth continue in the future? Why are you looking for me so late? What can I do?" The wise man confirmed his conjecture. Zhang Lisheng was ecstatic in his heart, but asked incoherently on the surface.
"You may not be able to do anything about it, but your compatriots can, my friend." Tatedu stared at the black-haired young man with greedy and fearful eyes, and said hoarsely: "The soldiers under my command are attacking the guards. The Silorians of the Earth Mission once witnessed with their own eyes that your compatriots who mastered magical powers allowed several Silorian warriors who had their spines and knees broken to stand up again.
I need that magical power to help me heal my pain. As long as I can step onto the battlefield again, no, as long as I can stand up again, no one can take away the power of 'Tatedu' from me. "
"Magical power, the magical power to treat severe trauma. I, I did hear that the Taoist researchers and investigators of the Bureau of Religious Affairs can do this with magic" Zhang Lisheng seemed to be intimidated by Lord Tatdu's gaze. He took two steps back and said tremblingly, then showed a look of realization, "Could it be that this was all planned by you.
You, you saved me and did so many things deliberately. You didn¡¯t really intend to form an alliance with China at all, but you wanted to heal the injury. "
"You are right, Researcher Zhang Bingqi." Seeing that the black-haired young man had guessed the truth, Etfugo did not deny it, but said in a calm and frank tone: "Strictly speaking, this is indeed a lie.
Ever since he learned that your compatriots possess miraculous medical skills that are not available in the Roman Continent, the Viscount has ordered various channels on the grounds that the despicable Silorians cannot be allowed to exclusively enjoy the alliance with powerful foreign countries and accumulate strength. Make friends with Chinese people, and you are the beneficiary of the order that was issued just three days ago.
So it can be said that it is lies that save your life, make your identity more noble, and will bring you more wealth and higher status in the future. Think about it carefully, what¡¯s wrong with being lied to like this? "
"You fed me poison, deceived me, tried your best to use various connections, opened up joints, and brought in the Chinese delegation. Now you say it's not bad for me!" Zhang Lisheng covered his head and lowered his head in silence for a while. He shouted like a sudden explosion: "How can I trust you, how can I trust you!
Who knows if after saving the Viscount, I will suddenly turn from a distinguished guest to an ally of the damn Silorians, and I should be beheaded in public"
Hearing the rude roar of the young man from another world and pondering the meaning of his words, Lord Tatdu not only did not get angry or frustrated, but showed an ecstatic expression, "I will never do that, dear friend, as long as you can let me I stand up again, and I will publicly swear by the honor and martial arts of my ancestors to put you under my protection forever.
Please believe in my sincerity at this time. By the way, I once promised you Sir Roman¡¯s land.?, then the territory will be canonized to you tomorrow morning.
A person like you who has obtained a 'lordship' as a scholar and special meritorious deeds, like Master Etfugo, has no obligation to set foot on the battlefield, so he can never be demoted at will by a 'higher noble', otherwise the entire territory will The foundation of rule will be shaken. "(To be continued)