Outside the city of Novgorod, the peaceful estates ushered in the harvest season. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 infoFarmers are busy harvesting their crops in their fields, waiting to be shipped to the city and sold for a good price. Compared to other principalities, Novgorod was arguably the most beautiful place for the peasantry, and serfdom had long since been dissolved due to the Novgorod nobility's enthusiasm for maritime commerce. Therefore they were far less expensive than they were to pay taxes, but Novgorod still needed them to supply the whole city with food and vegetables.

Chuikov and a village of people have been living a peaceful life since they came to Novgorod. Although they used to fish for a living, now they have to rely on the land for their livelihood. Most of the adults died in the tragedy three years ago, and now the children are much older, or at least they can help.

"Hey! Peter, can you not be playful. ”

"Pavlov, why did you bring your sister to the field again?" Ekarina, who was helping her father, helplessly watched those naughty teenagers chasing and playing on Tianlong, unable to help at all.

The reprimanded children immediately dispersed, and Ekarina could only shake her head helplessly. Although she is still a 14-year-old child, she has to work all day to make ends meet for the village. Although Constance Dante is also giving money, Uncle Chuikov has always refused, unwilling to accept direct monetary assistance, because this land was given by Constance Dante, and they have accepted a lot of favors, and because of this, the upright Chuikov resolutely did not accept Cons Dante's gift.

"Whew~ It's still too small!" Looking at those children, Chuikov could only shake his head helplessly. In addition to some women, there were also some old people around him, and in order to make a living, these old people in their sixties and seventies also had to come out to work.

"Forget it, when they are older in a few years, I think everything will be fine." The old man on the side put down the sickle in his hand and said. At this time, what they lack the most is still young adults, and when the children playing on Tianlong grow up and have more manpower, they will not have the same trouble as before.

"I hope so!" Chuikov shook his head helplessly, because he refused Constance Dante's relief, even if Constance Dante intended to pay for the vegetables, fruits, and food they sent to the city first, their lives were still relatively embarrassing in the past two years.

"Everyone, hurry up, it's almost noon. Try hard to finish before eating! Chuikov shouted, and the villagers were busy again, even the children didn't dare to play anymore, after all, they were also afraid when Chuikov lost his temper, and they hurriedly ran over to help the adults.

・・・・・・

"Uncle Chuikov, haven't they come back yet?" Constance Dante asked, and he took Bonifazia to the village, where no one except Aunt Katyusha was there, and they had all gone to work in the fields.

"Yes, it's been a busy time these days, and you're finally here." Katyusha was too busy preparing lunch to take care of them.

"Need a hand?" Constance Dante took off his coat and went into the kitchen, where several middle-aged women and Katyusha were busy, because it was the busy farming season these days, so lunch was quite hearty.

"Then please give us a hand!" Katyusha is also welcome, this is the time when there is a shortage of manpower, and it is naturally best for Constance Dante to come.

"That's good!" Constance Dante nodded,

"Bernia, can you go outside for a while?" Seeing that Bonifazia was teasing the cow alone, but Constantine Dante asked her to go out temporarily, he couldn't stand the choking smell of smoke himself, let alone the weaker Bonifazia.

"Well, then I'll go out first!" Bonifazia nodded obediently, the house where the Ross peasants lived was very simple, and the kitchen and cowshed were all connected together. She had to go outside to play.

"Don't run far, don't go into the woods." Katyusha admonished.

"Got it!" Bonifazia said yes and ran outside, and because of Dr. Fabre's advice, she had a chance to get some air. You can't pet the cows, but it's fun to go for a walk outside in the orchard.

"Is there anything in the woods?" Constance Dante, who was helping to burn the firewood, asked suspiciously when he heard Aunt Katyusha telling Bonifazia not to go near the woods.

"Recently there were wolves in the woods, and people were injured in several surrounding villages. So we don't let the kids get close to there. Katyusha said matter-of-factly.

"Wolves?" Constance, Dante couldn't help but feel that it was not a good thing for this beast to haunt here.

・・・・・・

"Gentlemen, I think we've wasted a long time these days. I think it's time to put an end to this. Grand Dukes Vladimir and Tver must not want to waste any more time, do they? In the noble council of Novgorod, Solzhenitsyn frowned, still trying to convince the envoys of the two principalities in front of him. But about the establishment of the Union of Rus. They have been negotiating on and off for two years and have so far made no progress.

"I don't think there is much more to talk about between us, and the fact that I have not seen the Grand Duke of Constès Dante himself until now is enough to show that the sincerity of your country is really disappointing." On the other side of the negotiating table, the man said unceremoniously that the past few days between them had been very unpleasant, especially since they had not even seen Conseidante, and they had long lost interest in the alliance with Novgorod. Now that the possibility of bargaining is gone, they don't have to make a fool of themselves.

"Isn't the Council of Nobles enough? I don't think there's a need for that, do I? The annoyed Patriarch Ivelomo took the case, and since the other party was rude, they did not compare with each other.

"The Council of Nobles?" Only to hear the sneer of another man sound, "Is there still a noble council in Novgorod now?" It seems to me that the absence of the Grand Duke Cons, Dante, is proof that you are not sincere at all. If that man's ambitions continue to swell, then tell him that we will not let him succeed. ”

After saying that, the ministers of the two countries got up and brushed their sleeves away, leaving only the group of iron-faced Novgorod nobles at the negotiating table.

With a bang, the door to the House was slammed shut.

Councillors, you look at you and I look at me, and I can't help but feel frustrated, for the first time in so many years, someone has flouted the authority of the noble council.

"Hehe, take a look! Now even those people know that we are now in the air. The aristocratic council of hundreds of people is now only a few dozen of us. Patriarch Ivelomo looked at the crowd with an expression that I expected, and said, "The so-called ambition without power is a joke at all, and I have long said that the kid is not credible at all. ”

During these three years, their power was swallowed up little by little, and Consitine, who had great prestige, forcibly reduced the number of seats in the noble council through the citizens' assembly and limited the power of the councillors.

It can be said that in comparison, they are even worse off than in Alexander's time. It is a pity that this time, the citizens of Novgorod did not stand with them. They were completely deprived of their powers, excluded from the margins, and only retained legislative powers, but since Constance-Dante was a Maharaja for life, it was simply impossible for Parliament to impeach him.

"That's enough, Ivlumo." Solzhenitsyn exclaimed, "You and I both know. Grand Duke Consdendine had promised that he would not stay here for long, and Novgorod was indeed stronger than ever. ”

"Not necessarily, I'm afraid. Who can know the ambitions of those Herodians? Maybe they also want to try to control us, as the new Roman Empire did back then. Do not forget how Grand Duke Igor died. The cunning Herod was simply not to be trusted. Although the Rus' state had always claimed to be a vassal state of the new Roman Empire, it worshipped the Orthodox Church. But unlike the lower Danube principalities such as the Bolgars, they never really had direct control over this unruly people. Because of this, until the collapse of the New Roman Empire, Rus had been suppressed, except that communication was technically restricted by its monopoly, which would interrupt it whenever it tried to rise. For example, Grand Duke Igor, who was once united by Rus', and his son Sviatoslav were all killed by the emperor of New Rome. It can be said that the present division is due to the Herodians.

As soon as these words came out, everyone's nerves were stabbed. The division of the Rus has always been a pain for the Rus, and all of them have a gloomy face. In fact, they couldn't take it anymore.

"Solzhenitsyn, perhaps what the Patriarch said is not unreasonable." Several nobles suddenly spoke. And they were originally supporters of Solzhenitsyn.

"What do you mean?" Solzhenitsyn's face changed slightly, and he had a bad premonition, "Now is not the time for infighting!" ”

"No, Speaker. It's time to take our power back. The faces of the parliamentarians were as flat as water, but they made Solzhenitsyn feel like pins and needles.

"No, you must not do anything irrational." Solzhenitsyn shook his head and said, only to be surrounded by several parliamentarians.

"Now it's not your turn to decide, Your Excellency, we want to change the future of Novgorod!"

・・・・・・

The orchard is fragrant, and the ripe fruit has an attractive colour. Bonifazia struggled to reach the apple on the tree, but seemed to have some difficulty. In the past three years, Bonifazia has grown up and is no longer as shy and shy as she used to be, and she is less ladylike than the Ross who are required by the Holy Church.

Although what she did now would have been taught to be scolded by her grandmother if she had done it before, it made Bonifazia feel happier even more. It's just that the only bad thing is that I can't meet the queen mother in the past three years, and the only way to contact me is by letter. Thinking of this, the girl's eyes couldn't help but darken, and she became a little listless when she picked the apple.

Suddenly, there was movement behind him, seemingly from the woods. Before she knew it, Bonifazia had accidentally reached the edge of the woods.

"Is anyone there?" Bonifazia asked softly, as if something was wrong, and the frightened girl took two steps back.

In the shadows, a pair of blood-red eyes suddenly appeared.

The startled girl dropped the apple in her hand to the ground, and out of the dark jungle came a hungry beast - a lone wolf! There are wolves here?! Bonifazia finally understood why Aunt Katyusha had warned her not to approach the woods.

"Oh my God!" The stunned girl screamed in horror and fled behind her, and the wolf pounced on Bonifazia with a fierce gaze. The ferocious beast had been hungry for a long time, it had long since become unbearable, it longed for flesh, and Bonifazia was the best delicacy.

Bonifazia hurried into the orchard, but the wolf was faster. The girl's aura of fear fueled its desire to kill, and the beast longed to tear the living life to shreds.

"Help, help! Uncle Cons Dante! Completely disoriented, Bonifazia could only run forward desperately, not daring to slow down at all. But there was no way she could escape, her physical strength did not allow it, and the beast came and went like the wind, and in desperation, she could only call to Constance Dante.

But suddenly, Bonifazia felt a trip under her feet and fell heavily to the ground, and it was the tangled roots that tripped over her.

"Oh no!" The girl who wanted to get up heard the greedy pant of the beast behind her. A pair of blood-red eyes stared at her, and Bonifazia could barely breathe, and finally, the hungry wolf chased after her and slowly approached.

"No, who's going to save me!" The girl curled up backwards shuddered and begged for help, but to no avail.

The wolf let out a howl with a hideous expression, and Bonifazia's cry for help stimulated the beast's killing instinct, and it could no longer stand the excitement of hunger and pounced.

As if doomed, the girl closed her eyes and waited for the beast's claws and fangs to fall.

"Bang-"

However, it was not the pain of torn flesh, but the roar of fire.

With a wild dog-like wail, the beast that had been shot through its body fell heavily to the ground, the large-caliber fiery red completely destroyed its heart, and blood mixed with shattered internal organs flowed out, and only after the final struggle, the beast's life came to an end.

"Uncle Constance Dante?!" Surprised, Bonifazia turned her head, but instead of Constance Dante, she was greeted by a powerful arm and the smell of a stimulant drug.

A whirling vertigo caused the girl to fall unconscious.

・・・・・・ (To be continued.) )