"What did Princess Arlina tell you?"

"I didn't say anything, it was just casual chatter."

"Just small talk? She's been in your house for nearly an hour, longer than most of the family, is it really just a matter of small talk? ”

"Okay, you actually sent someone to spy on me?!"

"Cut, whoever has the time to spy on you, I'm keeping an eye on Princess Arlina and her party. What are we planning, everyone knows in their hearts, can we not pay attention to the princess's movements? ”

"Well, that's right. Well, what did Her Highness tell you? ”

"Me? There's nothing to talk about, it's just boring topics that don't have any nutrition. ”

"Oh? Hehe! ”

"What are you laughing at?"

"I didn't laugh at anything, I just thought it was a coincidence, hehe."

……

"Have you heard, the Grand Duke is preparing to hold a grand military parade in the north of the city."

"yes, I wonder if this has anything to do with Princess Arlina's arrival?"

"There must be a connection, but it doesn't mean that the Grand Duke has been persuaded by the princess to completely fall to the royal family. After all, the princess is here to inspect and supervise the preparation for war, no matter what, the Duke should always say something, otherwise this face will not be passable. ”

"Well, that makes sense, but we can't take it lightly. The attitude of the Duke's Palace has always been obscure, and the arrival of the princess will somewhat make the balance in the heart of the Duke a little more inclined to the royal family. ”

"Anyway, let's be careful, and then we can adapt according to the situation."

"That's all it can be."

……

In the morning, the breeze is blowing, the sky is clear, and it is another great day.

On the campus of Chengbei University, the simple but spacious platform temporarily built was already full of nobles and nobles in the city at this time.

On both sides of the high platform, there were ordinary people who came to watch the excitement. They were not qualified to sit on the high platform, so they could only crowd the open space on both sides in a noisy manner.

In front of them, heavily armed guards armed with spears. It is not only to maintain order, but also to guard against possible guys with ulterior motives and intentions to make trouble.

As the sun rises, so does the enthusiasm of the people.

Finally, the appointed time has arrived.

"Knock knock!"

With the sound of drums and trumpets in the army, all the troops and all kinds of troops in Hanover lined up in a neat phalanx, all appeared!

At the forefront of the list were spearmen.

The soldiers were tall and strong, wearing shiny armor, holding steel spears diagonally in their hands, raising their heads and chests, and walking majestically across the parade platform.

After the spearmen, there were elite main battle units, heavy cavalry.

The same burly and strong warriors, riding on sturdy horses, both men and horses are wearing thick armor. With the sound of the horse's hooves, even if they were in the position in front of the side, all the nobles could still feel a strong oppression coming towards them, and they only felt that their hearts were beating a little slower involuntarily. One can imagine how irresistible the power would be if this heavy cavalry launched a charge.

After the heavy cavalry, which made everyone hold their breath and couldn't breathe, passed, the next to take the field were the archer troops.

Compared with the first two phalanxes, the protective strength of this unit has dropped by several notches. But looking at the strong bows that hung diagonally on their shoulders, and the arrows in the quiver behind their backs that were completely different in appearance from ordinary bows and arrows, it was conceivable that this army was also not up to make up the numbers.

Then there are the swordsmen and shieldmen, the cavalry, the hoplites......

The people on both sides of the high platform had never seen such a big scene before, and they were all enthusiastic and excited. While cheering loudly, he desperately squeezed forward, trying to see the majestic and heroic posture of his province's soldiers as close as possible.

Fortunately, the Duke's Palace had been prepared and arranged sufficient guards to maintain order, so that these overzealous people did not rush to the school grounds.

Don't say that ordinary people who have never seen much of the world, even those high-ranking nobles and lords on the stage, how have they ever seen this?

It's not that they don't have this qualification, it's just that the hinterland of the empire has been peaceful for a long time, and how many chances can these troops raised by Hanover Province come in handy? Since it is of little use, there are naturally fewer people who care about it. The aristocratic lords have a lot of affairs to deal with every day, where do they have the leisure to go to the barracks to watch the sweaty big-headed soldiers drill the array.

Now I suddenly saw hundreds of warriors wearing armor and holding swords in their hands, lined up in a neat array, and the powerful and shocking impact, where could the nobles and nobles who were accustomed to drinking and socializing with beauties stand up, they all stood up from their seats in amazement, and their usual elegance and calmness were all thrown out of the clouds at this moment.

Grand Duke Smowa smiled and nodded his head in satisfaction.

"Mr. Anthony, how are my warriors from Hanover?"

Anthony sat beside the Grand Duke, listened to his question, and immediately replied: "The soldiers are strong and the fighting spirit is high. And the armor is strong, the army is strong, and the armament is excellent. It shows that the Duke is good at governing the army, and he admires it. ”

Duke Smowa knew that there was a lot of flattery in the young man's words, but the visual impact of the army marching in formation was not false at all, and the other party also agreed.

As he spoke, the phalanxes walked through the high platform where the Grand Duke was located in turn, and the military parade was nearing its end.

At this time, at the end of the line, a rather unusual unit came.

The number of people in this phalanx is scarce, about 300 people, which is half the size of the phalanx in front. The queue is naturally much sparse.

What's more special is that the other phalanxes, whether they are soldier phalanxes, archer phalanxes, or light and heavy cavalry phalanxes riding war horses, have uniform equipment and uniform movements, which looks very shocking.

But this team is like a ragtag army, with soldiers, sword and shield men, archers, etc., and it can't even be classified as any of them.

With different types of troops and different types of weapons, the entire array naturally cannot be kept neat and consistent. Although their formation was also horizontal and vertical, in the eyes of the nobles and ordinary people, they were much inferior to the majestic warriors in front of them.

The cheers of the people on both sides of the high platform stopped abruptly, as if they fell into a stunned moment at the same moment, and lost the ability to speak for a while. The nobles on the high platform were stunned for a short time, and then they began to talk one after another.

"This army, why is it so ...... So weird? ”

"Yes, or in the final finale, is there any deep meaning in it?"

"This is a military parade, and it is not a formation of the two armies facing each other, what 'deep meaning' is used!"

"If you look closely, this unit doesn't seem to be our Hanoverian soldiers, right?"

"Huh? It seems like it is. ”

"What's going on? How did our military parade in Hanover come in with a motley army of hillbillies? ”

"yes, that's not a good idea. had a good military parade, but in the end they ruined the mood. ”

“……”

At first, the nobles were moderate and restrained, but they were puzzled by the force. When it was discovered that this phalanx was not originally a soldier of Hanover, dissatisfaction and indignation gradually spread, and all kinds of ridicule and invective also came and went.

Grand Duke Smowa sat steadily, the smile on his face undiminished, deaf to the words of the nobles around him, and did not react at all.

All this was originally planned and arranged by him, and the reaction of the nobles was naturally expected.

The strange troop that was ridiculed as "hillbilly" was the escort that arrived with the princess's mission. However, the Grand Duke, who attached great importance to the princess and her party, had already discovered that the 300 soldiers were not from the imperial capital like Her Royal Highness the princess, but were "borrowed" from the team of Aberdeen to quell the rebellion.

To be precise, it was a subordinate soldier commanded by a young general named Tang Feng in the mission. It is said that it was a temporary rookie unit, which originally had 1,000 people, but after a series of battles, these 300 people were left in the end.

Of course, the Duke doesn't care about their identity or origin. As long as they are Her Royal Highness the Princess's people, that's fine.

Seeing that his father did not react, Marquis Marco knew that it was time for him to come forward. He knew his father's plans and intentions, and he knew what he should do now.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Anthony. Hannover Province has not experienced military struggle for too long, and the people of the various families have not seen the heroic fighting posture of the soldiers with their own eyes, and they may not know enough about the skills of your department. If there is any offense in the language, please forgive me. ”

After apologizing to Antony, the Marquis of Marco whispered a few curses to the nobles behind him.

It's just that whether it is Anthony or the reprimanded nobles, they can see the perfunctory attitude of the Marquis.

Anthony's eyes flashed, but he only modestly replied: "Lord Marquis is serious. ”

"It's just that everyone's doubts are understandable, after all, just from the surface, the combat effectiveness of your department is ...... It's really hard to be convinced. ”

The Duke of Smoisa also interjected at the right time.

He looked at the sparse phalanx of "miscellaneous soldiers" who had just walked from the high platform below, turned back to Anthony and smiled faintly, his eyes narrowed slightly, like an old fox looking at a delicate chicken.

"Doesn't Mr. Anthony want to do something to prove the strength of your ministry and to dispel the doubts of our people who live in a remote corner?"

What are they trying to do!?

Anthony looked at the Duke of Smois's mysterious smile, and his mind raced, guessing the other party's possible intentions.

When he planned a military parade from the Grand Duke's Palace, and consulted with Princess Arlina to ask the soldiers from Aberdeen to participate in the parade, Anthony already had doubts in his mind. Looking at the remarks of the nobles at this time, as well as the obvious premeditated singing and harmony of the Grand Duke's father and son, he already had a trace of understanding in his mind.

Whatever the purpose of the Duke of Smois, at least in this matter, the Duke's Palace and the Princess's Mission are in lockstep.

Anthony brought these 300 rookie soldiers who had been trained in the war to Hanover, and he didn't have some kind of intention. Now that the Grand Duke has set up the stage, Anthony will naturally not be polite, and he will take the opportunity to perform on stage.

"I wonder what kind of proof the Duke intends to give us?"

Grand Duke Smowa stroked his long gray beard and replied indifferently:

"Naturally, it's a real combat exercise."