While everyone was talking, the interview had to be interrupted due to the arrival of an unexpected person, and everyone was disappointed.

The candidates who were waiting in line for the interview were all depressed, and the guy in second place was even more depressed and vomited blood.

The most powerful empire on the continent of Erathia, the Human Empire of Erathia, sent an emissary to Hammondal.

According to the soldiers guarding the gate, the emissary brought with her Majesty Queen Catherine, the current supreme ruler of the Empire, a commendation order for Lord Hammondale for defeating the big-eared bandits.

Returning to the castle helplessly, the Great Lord of Jian Chen, who was about to greet this envoy, was also extremely depressed.

It's only been a few days since you killed the big-eared monster? How long does it take to get from Standwick, the capital of Erathia, to Hammondal? After all, this messenger came a little too quickly.

His guess is really right, there must be an Imperial spy in Hammondale, so he can pass on the news so quickly, fortunately, he didn't act rashly when he recruited troops last time, otherwise I don't know what would happen now?

But what will happen to the arrival of the messenger this time? Is it really as simple as a reward? If you ignore it, you are afraid of getting into trouble, a behemoth like the Erathia Empire is not something you can afford to provoke.

"Master, this is an Imperial envoy, Lord Felix!"

"Lord Felix, this is our current lord of Hammondal, Lord Chen Jian!"

Under the mutual introduction of the old butler, Chen Jian received Felix, the imperial envoy, in the castle hall, and the atmosphere was good, and the guests and hosts had a cordial and friendly conversation.

"Your Excellency, it's been a great journey! The contemptible person is unwell, and I hope that the envoy will forgive me! Jian Chen leaned over the lord's throne, not at all solemn as a lord.

The unhappy lord used this method to vent his dissatisfaction.

Anyway, Lao Tzu's health is not good now, so such a good excuse doesn't need to be used in vain, Chen Jian thought.

Envoy Felixste didn't care, and said with a smile: "Lord Lord don't mind, Lord Lord takes the lead and does not hesitate to risk his life for the safety of the territory of the Empire and the people of the Empire, he is a model for us, how dare you blame!" ”

The two sides were polite again, and then they got to the point.

"I wonder what kind of good news the arrival of the envoy has brought to the people of Hammondal?"

"Of course, there is good news, and I believe that from now on, the people and lords of Hammondal, you will no longer have to worry about robbers."

With that, Ambassador Felix pulled out a scroll and read out Her Majesty's reward to Lord Hammondal.

First of all, the empire officially confirmed the identity of Jian Chen, an inexplicable lord, and crowned Jian Chen as a viscount because of his merits in defeating the big-eared monster bandits.

In order to get out of this dangerous land, the old fox Markham did a lot of hard work, thought of all aspects, and officially reported to the Erathian Empire.

According to the old fox Markham's idea, although his practice of finding an heir for the territory has no legal basis and is untenable, but in the same way, having no basis also means that he has not violated the imperial decrees, so the empire naturally can't give itself anything, although it is a pity to give up the territory, but it is better than not dying.

Who allowed himself to apply again and again, but the empire never agreed to exchange a territory for him? There's no way around doing it yourself!

At that time, the empire will definitely not sit idly by and watch a commoner become the lord of the empire, and the most likely way is to re-appoint a noble lord and oust the commoner lord from power, but at that time, there is nothing to do with himself, and he has already returned to Titalia to retire in peace, anyway, the wealth he has earned over the years is enough to eat and drink for three lifetimes.

However, what Markham didn't expect was that the situation completely changed when Jian Chen defeated the big-eared monster bandits.

As a mature politician, Empress Catherine keenly saw that this was a good opportunity to hold Hammondale firmly in her hands, and not leave any pretext for the elves.

So she unusually agreed to the appearance of the first commoner lord in the empire, and in order to plug the mouths of other nobles in the empire, she also made Chen Jian a viscount, making Chen Jian a new nobleman.

Sweeping away local bandits is also a military feat, and it is not too much to be named a viscount.

In the empress's thoughts, Chen Jian, who has risen from a commoner to a nobleman, should be grateful to himself and loyal, so that it is much better than sending another nobleman in the past. Those old aristocrats have been disobedient to themselves since the death of their father, and many people dragged themselves back in the last war, if it were not for the strong support of the military, it is still unknown whether they can be the empress or not.

Originally, it was better to send a cronie to take over as the lord, but those nobles who have been afraid of their strength will definitely obstruct it in every possible way, so it is better to waste time and saliva in this way, than to directly support an obedient new noble, and then send a general from the military to assist and monitor, there will be no problem.

The military appoints generals, and they are not lords, and the nobles are really not qualified to intervene.

Of course, Chen Jian didn't know about this, he also thought that the system of the empire was like this, with the confirmation of the empire and the title of viscount, his status as a lord was beyond question.

The second reward is related to the Lord's Guard.

Due to the existence of the Treaty of Blackstone, the Empire was unable to station any military force in Hammondal, but it did not restrict the private armies of the nobles, which was recognized in the treaty. After all, every country and race on the continent of Erathia has nobles, and it is understandable to protect the personal and property safety of nobles.

In order to make Hammondale more effective against the increasingly rampant bandit group, the Empress decreed that Lord Hammondale would expand the Lord's Guard from 100 to 500.

This unexpected news made Chen Jianhao blink his eyes for a while.

Then Jian Chen's anger was like the six gods going to the sky, swishing straight up.

What's going on? At the beginning, I had to deal with the big-eared monster, but I couldn't recruit more people due to the law, and I was so desolate now, it would take two months to lie down, and even the plan to get out had to be postponed.

Now that the big-eared monster is done, I'm allowed to recruit instead? What are you doing with so many people now? Is Lao Tzu's money easy to come by? (The author asks rhetorically: Isn't it easy?) Raising so many people to eat can also make the master of the ability to eat poor, where will the money for running away at that time?

How could such an unfortunate thing happen to the master? Is his character really so bad? This reward, which was not a reward for Jian Chen at all, made his eyes moisten, and he was extremely sad and angry.

He didn't know at all that this was the most important part of Her Majesty's plan, and the five hundred guards were not much, but as long as they were used properly, they were still promising.

These 500 people are nominally the Hammondale Lord Guard, but in the eyes of Her Majesty the Empress, this is a garrison without the name of a garrison, and directly skips the Blackstone Treaty, and openly allows the Erathian Empire to deploy its own military forces in Hammondal, and then send a proud general over, who else dares to underestimate this army?

When the third reward came out of Felix's mouth, the lord's tears finally flowed.

In order to allow the lord to have more funds to expand the guard, the lord of Hammondale is given a three-year tax holiday, and the tax revenue of Hammondale will be at the sole discretion of the lord in these three years, and there is no need to hand over to the empire.

If this reward falls on the heads of other lords, it will be a good thing for pies falling from the sky, but for Great Lord Chen Jian, this big pie falling from the sky is drawn on paper, and it can be seen or eaten.

The lord has already decided that as soon as this injury is healed, he will abscond with the money and collect taxes? Can your lord wait until then? What if there is a war? What if the people come to ask for money? Besides, even if you really wait until then, you have to return it obediently if you collect it, and if the lord dares not to fulfill his promise, he must be mentally prepared to let the lords swallow it alive.

O moon in the water! Flowers in the mirror!

Character, character, when will you break out!

Chen Jian was in tears.

Seeing that the lord was so excited, Felixter couldn't help but sigh a little, Her Majesty's hard work was finally not in vain, looking at the lord's grateful appearance, I was afraid that Her Majesty the Empress would let him die now.

No matter how clever the envoy is, he would never have imagined that the tears of the lord are actually sad, not happy.

Seeing that the lord was weak and so emotional, the old housekeeper was a little worried, but he was busy looking for Bishop Lin Ze.

In case the lord faints again, he can be rescued in time.

"Your lord, don't be too happy, you have made such a great contribution, these are all you deserve! You have to calm down, I haven't finished my words yet, and there is an even bigger surprise. ”

And also? Jian Chen rolled his eyes, almost fainting.

It's also a surprise, the master of the ability is only surprised but not happy now.

After talking for a long time, there is no real money reward at all, and it is not such a way to buy people's hearts, Empress Catherine is inevitably a little too stingy, and Jian Chen has no hope for this last reward at all.

"The geographical location of Hammondale is a bit special, in order to prevent more fierce bandits from attacking Hammondale again, Her Majesty has decided to let you expand the guard, and also allocate a sum of money for Hammondale to build fortifications."

The envoy's words made Jian Chen's eyes finally light up.

Under the appropriation? It seems that his character is not too bad after all, and he was thinking about real money just now, and this real money is coming.

"I wonder how much this money is?" Jian Chen asked cautiously.

"Her Majesty said that the Imperial Treasury will try its best to meet the needs of the Empire, and then a special person will be sent to Hammondale to inspect the field and determine the scale of the fortifications before deciding on the specific number."

These words made Chen Jian have a bad premonition.

Sure enough, the envoy's next words proved that this reward was nothing more than a month and a flower for Jian Chen: "And Her Majesty the Empress will send someone to take care of this amount, Lord Lord, you just need to wait to receive the new castle!" Her Majesty the Empress cares about you, she knows that you are a commoner, she doesn't know much about these things, and she is afraid that someone will deceive you, so she will arrange it like this. ”

After speaking, the envoy laughed: "I have followed Her Majesty Catherine since the last war, and I have never seen her care so much about anyone or anything, Lord Lord, you are the first!" Don't let Her Majesty down. ”

Care about a fart! Chen Jian's heart was a little ruthless, speaking of which, wasn't he afraid that he would be greedy? It seems that this lord really can't do it anymore! Even if there is no sweetness, it is still guarded against thieves, and it is better to flash people early.

But his face was still no, and he nodded respectfully and said yes.

Seeing that there was no one else in the castle hall, and that the old butler had not returned after going out, Felix's envoy took out another scroll and said in a low voice: "My lord, when I came, Her Majesty the Empress gave me another secret order!" This secret order is also for you! Moreover, Her Majesty the Empress said that this secret decree can only be known to you alone, and must not be leaked to anyone else, otherwise it will be a capital offense! ”

Secretly frustrated that he had won the four grand prizes but had not reaped any benefits, the indignant lord was shocked when he heard the envoy's words, but saw that Felix had already handed over the scroll with both hands.

"My lord, the stakes are very high, and it is inconvenient for me to explain to you here, so you can read this secret order for yourself when you go back! Remember, you are the only one who knows, and if it is leaked, it is very likely to cause a war between our country and the elves! Then you'll be a sinner in the Erathian Empire! ”

Chen Jian took the scroll with trembling hands, as if he had received a hot potato.