Chapter 55: The Count of Miranda

On the dock, the family soldiers escorted all the sailors on the three-masted ship, and the captain, first mate, second mate, third mate, and boatswain were escorted to the other side, and they were all taken back to the manor for identification.

The heads of Slov and Pike Archswordsmen were hung from two bamboo poles, and Lorist was going to use them to make a three-day display in the small town, letting the inhabitants of Port Ametlin know who was in charge these days. If there is another situation like Shi Fatty, who goes to the town to buy weapons but can't even buy a kitchen knife, Lorist doesn't mind cleaning the small town and killing a few chickens to make an example of the monkeys.

Slov and his party carried down from the ship a total of three large boxes and a small box, one of the three large boxes contained miscellaneous items such as tea Michels, and the second box contained the clothes and other personal belongings of Slov and Pike Archswordsman. There was also a large box containing new women's jewelry, cosmetics and other women's things, most likely bought by Captain Slov for his favorite concubines and maids. But what he didn't know was that his women had already been divided up by the old cadets who followed Lorlist.

In the small box was more than 10,000 Kingfords, which was heavy. Lorist took a look at it and closed the box again, saying that he would be happy again when he went back.

Bodfinger and Rose disembarked from the ship and came to Lorlist: "My lord, the ship is loaded with grain, mainly rye flour and bran, which may have been used to prepare food for the slaves, as well as some coarse linen cloth and a small amount of spear and leather armor and other weapons and equipment, and nothing else. ”

"Okay, let's get all these things to the manor first. Rose, send a squadron of spearmen to the docks to keep an eye on the ship. Lorist said.

"Yes, sir. Bodfinger and Rose bowed and left.

Dorus rode over, and when he got closer, he dismounted, his expression regretful, and he didn't have the turn of the crossbow on his chariot. Originally, Lorist also planned that if his throwing spear did not work against the Pike Archswordsman, Nadorus's crossbow would cooperate with the second wave of crossbow arrows to attack the Pike Archswordsman. It's a pity that the Pike Archswordsman didn't make it to that moment.

"Don't weep with a sad face, put these big boxes on your chariot, there is a big box full of women's things, and if you have a maid, go back and choose one as a gift, and ensure that you will enjoy the tenderness of the evening. Lorist smiled at Dorus.

A fast horse broke into the small square of the dock and came to a stop in front of Lorist: "My lord, there is an army marching towards the manor, and Lord Yuri estimates that it should be the army of the local lord, and the number is about fifteen to two thousand. There were a small number of knights, most of whom were peasant soldiers. Lord Yuri asked for advice on whether to attack, and he was currently leading a team of light cavalry scouts to monitor from a distance. ”

"Tell Knight Yuri not to act rashly, and send someone to contact him first. If the other side is hostile, launch a diversion attack, mainly to protect the people. If the other party is not hostile, tell the other party to the commander, and I will rush to meet with him immediately. Lorist said to the scout.

"Yes, sir. "The scout rode away.

Touching his chin, Lorist thought in his heart that the local lord's reaction was too slow, and he eliminated the slave catchers and occupied the Slov manor for eight days, and in the past two days, in order to ambush Slov and Pike Archswordsman, he also imposed martial law in small towns, and did not allow the townspeople to go out so as not to give Slov and them a message. It stands to reason that the lord should know immediately what happened in the territory, but nothing happened a few days ago, and even the spies did not appear on the periphery of the manor, until he blocked the port of Ametlin and the small town for two days, and the lord reacted and gathered the army to see what was going on, after all, these two places are related to the lord's financial taxes.

"Pat, get those two heads off and find a box to put them in, we're going to give a gift to the master here. Lorist said.

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Guided by the light cavalry scouts sent by Yuri, Lorist and his party quickly arrived at the place.

It was a small hill, and Yuri and his hussar scouts were riding in a diagonal line on the hillside.

"Your Excellency, you see, as long as there is a charge, I guarantee that these people on the other side will immediately cry and cry for their mother to collapse and escape, they are just farmers...... Yuri is confident in the attack power of his hussar scout team.

On the opposite hillside, a group of peasants armed with rudimentary weapons, armed with palladium, iron forks, wood-chopping axes, hunting bows, and the like. Probably Yuri sent people to contact the main general of this team, and knew that Yuri and they were not members of the Slov slave catcher, but the family army of a baron, so this team relaxed, and did not line up on the hillside, so they sat down to rest, gathered together and pointed at this side and said something.

On the top of the hillside there was a group of well-dressed men on horseback who were looking around, and on the flag fluttering behind them was a small white flower, which was the family crest Lorist did not recognize......

"Beat them away, and then what? fight here every day with these lords and nobles, and in the end the nobles of this kingdom form a coalition to conquer us, we have no support here, we are the party to the loss both legally and morally, this is not our family territory. Lorist said.

"Uh......" Yuri stopped talking, he didn't think about it so much, he just saw that the rabble in front of him couldn't restrain the desire to attack.

"Pat, grab our family flag, Reddy, take the box with you, and we'll go across the road. Lorist rode and wanted to run in the opposite direction.

Yuri grabbed the reins of Lorist's mount: "My lord, isn't this a bit risky......

"It's okay, there are few people to be sincere. And if you look back, the heavy armor of the Bodfinger knights is almost there, and Telman's knights have arrived, and there are crossbowmen in the back, and Doreus's chariot has also arrived, and they dare not do it. Lorist pointed to the back, and Yuri looked back, and as Lorist said, Telman's knights were at the foot of the mountain and were going uphill.

"Then I wish you success. Yuri let go, and Lorist rode straight down the opposite hill with Pat and Reddy.

When he reached the opposite hillside, a few dozen meters from the summit, Lorist dismounted, handed the reins of his mount to Reddy on the horse, and then walked briskly towards the crowd in ornate armor. Pat followed on his horse with the Bear Flag, and Reddy led Lorlist's mount at the end.

"May I ask who is the lord?" Lorist came to the front of the crowd and gave a chest touch.

"I am the Earl of Miranda, and Port Ametlin is my domain. Who are you? At the front of the crowd, a knight in full armor removed his helmet, revealing the face of a middle-aged man with a tired expression.

"Greetings to you, my honorable Earl, I am Norton Lorist from the Northlands. Lorist bowed to Lord Earl.

"Norton, I seem to have heard of this name somewhere......" Count Miranda muttered to himself, staring at the angry bear banner behind Lorlist.

"Please forgive me for taking the liberty of reminding me that my family has been guarding the Northlands since the Imperial Age. Lorist said.

"Oh, I remember, the roaring bear of the Northlands, the hereditary nobleman of military merit. It's just that I'm wondering, why did the Norton family, whose family territory is in the north, run to my territory and blockade the port of Ametrin?" Count Miranda asked, staring at Lorlist.

Lorist spread his hands: "Lord Earl, I didn't expect that my family's army would be maliciously attacked in your territory, they were originally going to escort me to the Northland to inherit the title, but I didn't expect that someone would attack them in Ametlin Harbor and want to capture them as slaves." ”

Count Miranda's face darkened, and he cursed fiercely: "Damn the slave catchers. ”

"It's just that the people who attacked us didn't expect that we were an army, and after arming them, we easily eliminated them, and also occupied their base camp, that Slov Manor. As for the blockade of the port of Ametrin, I'm sorry, Lord Earl, but we are also here to destroy our enemies once and for all. The Norton family is never afraid of the strength of the enemy, and only asks where the enemy is. Reddy, bring the box up. ”

Lorist opened the box, revealing the two heads inside: "Lord Earl, these are the two culprits who attacked us, the head of the Captain of Slov and the head of the Pike Archswordsman, who were killed by my clan's army at the docks just an hour ago. ”

"What? You killed Slov and Pike Archswordsman?" Count Miranda's face was first stunned, then ecstatic, "Really?"

The crowd behind him also began to stir, and they rushed forward to see the heads in the box.

"The head is here, and the Earl can inspect it. ”

Count Miranda didn't even need the help of his attendants, jumped directly from his mount and jumped down from the stirrups, and took two steps forward to snatch the box in Lei Chuan's hand and carefully examine the two heads.

"Haha, it's really Slov and Pike, damn it, you guys finally got to where you are today. Count Miranda was overjoyed and laughed wildly. It seems that the rumors say that he can't help the head of the Slov regiment, but there is something true.

At this moment the crowd was in an uproar again, as rows of heavy armorers, crossbowmen, knights, and chariots appeared on the opposite hillside. Count Miranda glanced at the other side, and his face changed again: "This is your family army?"

"Yes, Lord Count. Lorist replied.

"Your family army looks as good as the regular legions of the kingdom, why would the slave hunters attack you?" Indeed, to provoke such an elite force, the slave hunters are simply sick in the head, and Count Miranda suspects that Lorist is making excuses.

"My lord, we passed through your territory, and we didn't want to make a big show for attention, so I ordered my clan army not to be equipped with weapons and armor, and it was all with bare hands. As a result, the Slov slave catchers thought that we were also slave traders, so they asked us to hand over half of the slaves to them. No matter how we explain it, they don't believe it, but think that we are deceiving them, and even gather people to attack us. We couldn't, so we had to put on our sleeves and destroy them, and that's what alarmed you. You can ask the tax collector and the townspeople at the port that we did not carry any weapons and equipment with us when we came ashore. Lorist explained.

The Count of Miranda was relieved that it was impossible for Lorist to deceive them on the matter, and that it was clear that he only had to go to the port and inquire about it. In this way, it can only be that the slave catcher died by himself, and hit the iron plate headlong, not only breaking his head and bleeding, but also paying for himself.

Looking at the heads in the box, Count Miranda smiled, waved his hand to the two knights behind him, and reported the names of seven or eight shops, and then asked the two knights to take people to seal down these shops.

"These shops were run by that Slov and his relatives, and they had a monopoly on almost all trade in the small towns and docks, and as a lord I could not collect a single copper plate from them, so that the port of Ametrin was not developed. Count Miranda explained to Lorist.

Lorris nodded, it seemed that the Earl was very financially savvy, and he waved Reddy to let Reddy accompany the two knights on a trip, so as not to have a misunderstanding with the spearmen squadron left in town.

"You say you've taken possession of Slov Manor?" said Count Miranda.

Lorist laughed. He knew what the Earl was worried about: "Yes, Lord Earl, please rest assured, we will only stay here for another month or so, because of the large number of military dependents, we have only borrowed the manor to rest for a while, and we should set off for the Northland after the New Year, when we will hand over the manor to the Earl in good condition." ”

Count Miranda's face turned a little red, because according to the traditional custom of the nobility, the Slov manor should be considered a trophy of Lorist, and it did not need to be returned to the lord, or the lord had to come up with a sum of money to redeem the manor. Now Lorist is willing to hand over the manor to the Earl unconditionally, as long as it takes another month, much to the Count Miranda's embarrassment.

"Well, we will provide the supplies that your ministry needs during the rest of the manor, and I will leave the officials of Ametlin Harbor responsible. Said Count Miranda.

"Thank you for your kind attention. Lorist greeted politely, and was not polite.

"If you have time, can I invite you to come to Slov Manor, and let me, the temporary landowner, pay my respects?" Lorist extended an invitation to the Earl.

Count Miranda looked at the lineup on the opposite side and then at his subordinates, and nodded: "Okay, Lord Norton, please wait, I'll send these soldiers back first and then go to the manor to have a look." ”

Because Lorist had not yet officially inherited the domain and title, the Earl could not call him a baron, so he could only use the honorific title of Your Excellency. Indeed, whoever owns the army on the other side is worthy of the title of Your Excellency.

Lorist saluted again: "Then I will wait for the arrival of Lord Earl in the manor." ”

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The Count of Miranda arrived at the manor with only four knights and more than fifty squire guards in leather armor.

Lorist hosted a grand banquet to welcome the Count and his four knights, and introduced the knights of the family to the Earl.

Count Miranda was envious of the fact that Lorist had so many great knights. However, he found that the servants who were waiting next to him were all in a hurry, and it was strange when the etiquette was unfamiliar. Lorist smiled wryly and explained that these servants were all relatives of his subordinates, and they were temporarily brought in to serve as servants today. Originally, the servants in this manor were not at ease to use, for fear that something would happen, so they were locked up with the relatives of the members of the slave hunting group, and if the Earl wanted, they could be handed over to the Earl.

The Count of Miranda was very happy, patted his chest and said that tomorrow he would summon a group of servants and maids from his castle to take charge of the daily affairs of the main building of the manor. Lorist handed over to him the relatives of the members of the slave traps, and the more than 1,000 people were an extra income whether he sold them or used them.

Towards the end of the feast, Count Miranda asked Lorist a question, that is, he found that Lorlist's subordinates were only three golden ranks, and he counted Bodfinger, Rose and Ingrek, so it was very strange how Lorist killed Pike Archswordsman, you must know that if this Pike Archswordsman was not pressed on his head, he would have been desperate to fight to the death with Slov, as a lord, he did not want to have another force in his territory that did not obey his orders.

Lorist thought for a while, picked up a clay pot, picked up a silver cup and put it in the clay pot, and said: "If you fight with the great sword master in close combat, it is equivalent to this silver cup in the clay pot, and it is very difficult to break the clay pot." And the strategy I employ is simple. ”

He put the clay pot on the table, picked up the silver cup and threw it, and with a "bang", the clay pot broke.

"It's as simple as that. Lorist blames the crossbowmen for killing Pike's archswordsman, "Even if he were an archswordsman, he would have no chance of winning against a well-equipped and well-trained army. ”

Count Miranda nodded thoughtfully.