Tang Zhaozong said: "To build a construction site, our Jin Wuwei alone is not enough, now the dart teachers of the Tang Dynasty are not good, let's recruit these to take care of our homes and protect our construction sites, these people will definitely work hard for us." ”

Empress He said: "Your Majesty, your idea is really wise. ”

Wan Xixi, a construction businessman, said: "Your Majesty, I am willing to use my professionalism and ability to serve you. Do you need to subcontract your work now? ”

Tang Zhaozong said: "You go down and rest first!" I'll call you when I need to, and you can get your own business done first! ”

However, soon the dart masters of the Tang Dynasty were stationed at Tang Zhaozong's construction site, and Tang Zhaozong also began to take large-scale actions.

It was a good dream.

The courtiers went up and down the stairs at an alarming speed, and King Stephen worked fast today. Philip began to worry that the king might not be able to wait for the two bishops to arrive, so he finished his day's work and went hunting.

They finally came. As they walked in, Philip slowly stood up. Wallen looked a little nervous, but Henry was just a little bored. For Henry, this was a trivial matter, and he needed to support his fellow bishops, but it didn't matter to him what the outcome was. For Wallen, however, the outcome would be decisive in his plans to build the castle – and the castle was just one step in Wallen's climb to power.

Philip couldn't think of what to do with them. They had tried to deceive him, and now he wanted to complain to them, to tell them that he had discovered their deception; But that would alarm them that something was going on, and he wanted them to have no doubt, so that the king would be taken by surprise when he signed the agreement. So he smiled politely and quietly, but he didn't need to bother to think about it, they didn't look at him at all.

Soon the guards called them. Henry and Volren went upstairs first, Philip followed them, and the Hamleys were last. Philip's heart went up the throat.

King Stephen was standing in front of the fireplace, and today he looked a more crisp and businesslike air. That's a good thing, he won't have patience for the nagging of the two bishops. Bishop Henry walked over to the fireplace and stood beside his brother, and the rest of the people stood in a line in the middle of the room. Philip felt pain in his hand, and it turned out that his fingers had been pulled into his palm, and he forced his fingers to relax.

The king whispered to Bishop Henry, and no one else could hear him. Henry frowned, and said something in a whisper that no one else could hear. They talked for a moment, and then Stephen held up a hand to stop his brother. He looked at Philip.

Philip reminded himself that the last time the king had spoken kindly to him, and made a good-natured joke about his nervousness, and said that he liked monks to dress like monks.

Today, however, is not so easy. The king coughed and began to speak. "My faithful subject, Percy Hamley, is today the Earl of Charling."

Out of the corner of his eye, Philip saw that Volren wanted to step forward, as if to argue, but Bishop Henry quickly stopped him with a forbidden gesture.

The king continued: "For the estate of the former count, Percy will own his castle, all the land leased to the knights, plus the rest of the arable land and low-lying pastures. ”

Philip could hardly control his excitement, and it seemed that the king had accepted the agreement! He peeked down at Volren, and the man's face became a discouraged picture.

Percy knelt before the king, clasped his hands together, and made a gesture of prayer. The king put his hands on his, "I make you, Percy, the Earl of Charling, entitled to the land and taxes mentioned above. ”

Percy said, "I swear in all holy names to be a faithful subject of Your Majesty, to fight for Your Majesty, and against any enemy." ”

Stephen let go of Percy's hand, and Percy stood up.

Stephen turned to the rest of the group. "All the other farmlands belonging to the former Earl, I give—" he paused, and looked at Philip from Philip to Walren, and then back at Philip—"I give to the Abbey of the King's Bridge for the construction of a new cathedral." ”

Philip forced himself to shout no joy - he was victorious, and he could not hold back a satisfied smile to the king. He looked at Wallen, who was stunned. He didn't want to pretend to be calm, his mouth was wide open, his eyes were wide open, and he glared at the king with obvious suspicion. He turned his gaze back to Philip, who knew he had failed, and Philip was the beneficiary of his failure; But he couldn't imagine how it had happened.

King Stephen said: "The Abbey of King's Bridge likewise had the right to extract stones from the Count's quarries, and to cut wood from his forest in unlimited quantities for the construction of new cathedrals." ”

Philip's throat was dry. That's not that agreement! The quarries and forests were supposed to belong to the monastery, and Percy only had hunting rights. Rigan tampered with the terms in the end. Now Percy owned the property, and the monastery was left with the right to mine stone and wood. Philip had only a split second to decide whether to deny the whole agreement, and the king continued: "In case of dispute, the county guard of Xia Ling will arbitrate, but both sides have the right to submit to me for final ruling." Philip thought: Rigan has gone too far, but what difference does it make? This agreement still gave me most of what I wanted. Then the king said: "I believe that this arrangement has been agreed upon by both parties here." "There's no time left.

Percy said, "Yes, Your Majesty. ”

Wallen opened his mouth to deny that he had approved of the arrangement, but Philip got ahead. "Yes, His Majesty," he said.

Bishop Henry and Bishop Volren both turned their heads towards Philip and glared at him with their eyes, and it dawned on them that Philip, the vice-president, who did not even know how to wear a clean robe before the king, had negotiated an agreement with the king behind their backs, and their expressions showed that they were utterly stunned. After a while, Henry's face relaxed into a happy one, like an adult who had lost in backgammon to a quick-witted child; But Volren's stare grew vicious. Philip felt he could read Wallen's mind. Only then did Wollen realize that he had made the big mistake of underestimating his opponent, and he felt ashamed. For Philip, this moment compensates for everything: deception, humiliation, contempt. Philip raised his jaw, preferring to commit a sin of pride, and gave Volren a look in return, meaning that you would have to work a little harder to curry favor with Philip of Guines.

The king said, "Inform the former Earl of Bartholomew of my will." ”

(End of chapter)