Chapter 50: The Visitor from Valan

The Valans had already sent more than a dozen men to guard Ivangorod and prepare to welcome him back to the city after the prince had been elected

Since the lord was not elected, these people had to prolong their stay in Ivangorod, their money had already been spent, and now these Valans had to find their own way to get food, and then at night they would find some random places to sleep in the people said that every night several Valans would go to the underground market to fight and make money, while the others were fooling around the brothels, and these people were unwilling to leave until they got an answer from the council, because they would be laughed at if they returned to Valankov

Outside the council, there are some flagpoles that symbolize the towns under the council, and according to the financial resources of each town, they have different dots on these flagpoles, for example, the flagpole of the Ivangelodians is a whole beautiful oiled pine, they paint the pine with gold and red paint, and at the top of the flagpole flutters the Ivangelrod logo, and the scales filled with gold coins are nailed to a shield with an extremely complex town emblem embroidered on it

There are flagpoles of other towns around: Great East Lake City, East Lake City, Minkes Town, St. George's Wharf, etc., a slip past, very gorgeous Not long ago, these towns were defeated on the battlefield, some bare flagpoles show the tragedy of the battle, many towns have changed their courts, those flags are now flying at the door of the noble council of the Berks, some Wikibians like the Berks very much, they think that the Berks are rich and free, so everything about the Berks is good No matter what the news is, They were able to decipher the message that the Burkes were far superior to the Wikibians

In addition to the towns that fell in battle, there was also a town with an empty flagpole, and it was not necessary to guess that it was Varankov

But today, an unfamiliar double-headed eagle flag fluttered

People pointed their fingers, and they didn't know which unlucky guy put on the Valankov again, and people looked at the double-headed eagle logo, and were a little surprised for a while, they didn't know which family this family was, and there were only a handful of families that used double-headed eagles, but no matter which one of them, it was not like this

Beneath the double-headed eagle banner is the town emblem of the Valans: axes and swords interlaced on a masked helmet are painted on a large oak shield

The Valans generally do not like to use oak shields, although the oak shield can be made wide and provide good protection, but it is too heavy to make people unable to use their hands and feetThe Varan people love the pine shield, it is light and easy to carry, and its wood is soft, other people's knives and axes will sink into the shield after slashing the shield, and will not explode on the battlefield like an oak shield, so that other people's weapons have a few seconds out of control is a huge advantage, It was often at this time that the Valans used to cut open the skulls of their enemies with their axes or plunge their short swords into the gaps in their armor

Having said that, oak wood used to make a coat of arms shield does look magnificent, but this hand-painted shield is not the craft of the Valans, the painting skills of the Valans are still in ancient times, it is said that someone in the cave in the mountains has appeared in the murals left by the ancestors of the Valans thousands of years ago, they concluded that the painting skills of the Valans have not improved at all in such a long time, and it is not easy to do this

Not only some of the people who watched the excitement showed that Valankov already had an owner, but even those Varankov messengers must have noticed, I saw some tattered guys running into our temporary station, looking around, these people looked sneaky, the women were afraid of them, many of the men in the family had taken up arms and patrolled around, taking care of their property, but these people were obviously not here to rob money, they were just curious to take a look, and disappeared without a trace after yesterday afternoon

I was told that these people were the Varankovs, who were here waiting for their lords to be chosen

I wonder why these people have not come to show allegiance to the Count now, since these people are Varankovians, and the Count has already made up his mind to go to the town? When I told the people on the street my question, they just smiled and didn't want to say more, and it was only after my repeated pleas that they told me what was going on

It turned out that these Valankovs had already been appointed several lords, but almost every one of them turned around and fled at the last moment, and those lords were not familiar with Valankov and rashly participated in the election; Or they want to speculate and get some benefit from the parliament, but in the end few people want to go there

The town can only barely maintain its income by exporting mercenaries, agriculture and handicrafts are almost paralyzed, although the Valans are warriors who can fight well, but at the same time they are the laziest farmers, the farms and workshops of the Valans often make ends meet, almost all the lords will lose a lot of money, and even the mercenary trade is controlled by several Valan families, and several large families of the Valans firmly control the business of exporting mercenaries in their own hands, and the number of soldiers and armor exported every year seems to be a lot, But for the lord, these things are just helping him feed a few big families who don't listen to him

These Valans are very smart, or rather short-sighted, they are only willing to take charge of the mercenary business, but they are not willing to shoulder the responsibility of maintaining the town, they have grabbed the greatest profit of the town, but they have no intention of giving a part of it to the town, let alone the lords who are like a marquee

Because of this, Valankov is so notorious that even Varankov's own emissaries no longer dare to swear allegiance to their lords, because they don't know if their allegiance will be declared a few days later

This time, however, the emissaries were afraid that they had guessed wrong, and after seeing the huge convoy of the Romanovs, it was obvious that the féi sheep would not run into their tiger's mouth, and when they saw that it was useless, they shook their heads and sighed and went back to where they had come from

The Count had learned of this at noon to-day, and his reaction was quick, and he ordered his servants to go to all corners of the town to fetch the Varankovs, while the women were arranged to boil water and set the tables, and the men put down a few sheep and a pig to prepare food for the dinner, and some of them brought back fresh vegetables and fruits from the market of Ivangorod, and some of the hard-to-see preserves

Many people thought that the Count was preparing a banquet for the nobles of Ivangorod, so they could not help but be surprised when they saw the so-called guests: several deserters-like men with shields on their backs were leading; Behind them was a dirty boy carrying a short spear with several polished helmets hanging from the spearhead, which clashed and jingled against each other; Then there were some people in chain mail, whose beards were tangled, and some of whom had braided their beards

If this is an army, it must have just been beaten hard by the most powerful army in the world; If this is a group of citizens, then they must have just walked out of the fortress that had been besieged for several years; If this is a group of refugees, well, they are more like a group of refugees

When they got to our station, they threw aside their shields and helmets, but they did not unload their weapons, they only watched us vigilantly, but did not disturb us

The sky was getting darker and darker, and I felt that the sky had turned amber soon after the flame was lit, and the bright setting sun had given the earth its last life, and the Valans were still the same as they had been when they had arrived, whispering to each other, but not to our people

With a burst of laughter, a wide tent was propped up in the distance, and a few sturdy servants put together a few square tables, and then a long plank was set up on top of it, and a simple table was made, and the cooks began to put large plates of meat and cans of soup on the table, and a girl took wine from a barrel that had been open all afternoon, and filled a jug, and began to take a second pot

I also saw washed grapes, pears smeared with honey and diced pieces, and apricots with frost, all stacked in wooden bowls and scattered on a table to the side for easy access

As the food in the tent became more and more abundant, the Valans became more and more anxious, and several young people looked at an older man almost helplessly, the older man who seemed to want to leave here looked dignified and calm, but he also seemed to feel a little uncomfortable: this future lord's dinner party seemed too high-profile

In the past, some of the lords who greeted their lords would have been very good if they could get enough rusks and cheap wine, and most of the lords would not even give these things, leaving them to finance themselves, so this time, when these Valans saw the variety of fancy food, they did not believe that the lord would make such a loss-making deal

When everything was arranged, the sun sank into the East Lake, and bonfires burned in dozens of places, and the camp was full of shadows, with people blowing brisk flutes, merry men and women walking around, and it looked like the feast was about to begin

The Valans finally lost their breath, and they might even think we were playing tricks on them, and the Valans picked up their weapons and equipment, threw their packages on their backs, and prepared to walk out along the way out

It was at this moment that the Count walked out

The Count didn't seem to notice that his guest had been waiting for more than three hours, and his smile was as if he had greeted him as soon as he had learned of a visit

"Valans," the count's laughter made them look back, "go, go to the tent"

Before the Valans could complain, the Count had a group of shrewd manservants bring them to the table

I sat at the edge of the table, surrounded by several Valans, who smelled of sweat and laughed deafeningly from time to time, and I saw Lord Leo sitting beside the Count, dozing off in old and dazed voice, and Vladimir chatting with a Valan, but it seemed that their communication was difficult, and the Valan's accent was too strong, and the Count looked at each Valan, trying to take note of their appearance and demeanor

The maids continued to enrich the table, and two grilled fish were served together, steaming hot and sprinkled with onions and nutmeg

At last an old woman saluted the Count and told him that everything was ready, and the old woman bowed and withdrew, and the atmosphere under the tent grew cold

The Count cleared his throat, "Welcome, my Valan warriors"

The Valans did not answer, and looked a little rude, and the older Valans frowned and asked, "Your Excellency, may I ask who is entertaining us?" ”

The Valans knowingly asked, he had been summoned by his lord

"I am Count Kalinin," the count said in a calm tone, "you may call me Lord Kalinin, I am Lord of Valankov."

"I've heard," said the Valantou man, bowing his head, "we have a lord, it's a flock of double-headed eagles, we didn't expect you to hold a banquet to entertain us, do you have any orders?" ”

"Do I have to have any orders to feast my subjects?" The Count asked rhetorically, "I heard that my people were waiting for me here, so I asked them to come and meet for a while, and that's all."

The Valans looked at each other suspiciously, not knowing how to respond at this time, and the Valan leader said, "Well, in that case, we wish you good health."

The Valans got permission from their leader, and suddenly relaxed, and the atmosphere inside the tent began to come alive, and I was a little surprised at how quickly these Valans changed their attitudes, just now they were a bunch of suspicious and cautious people, but in the blink of an eye they became the most relaxed diners: each Valans were stuffing their mouths with meat and roots, then filling the rest of their mouths with fruit, and finally flushing them into their stomachs with drinks

The wine barrel was too slow to be produced, and the impatient Valans asked for an ale to enjoy themselvesAlexei shook his head slightly when he saw that the wine was being spoiled by these Valans, but Yuri and the Count both looked at the Valans in front of them with a smile and chatted with them happily

These Valans did not shy away from talking about the troubles of the lords who had ruled Valankov in the past, and these people looked down on those lords, and did not hide it, there was a young Valans who said that all the lords in the past were soft, only the most recent one was not, but it was a pity that he died in the river, and when he said this, Lord Leo was alarmed, and then he quietly took a sip of wine, and continued to snore

Halfway through his drink, the Count suddenly raised his glass and shook his salute to the Valan's leader, "Your Excellency, may I have the privilege of knowing your name?" ”

The Valans hadn't drunk much before, just looked at the Romanovs on the table with some coldness, and at this time, he filled his wooden cup with wine, "My lord, my name is Smaryi, I have seen the captains of the guards of six lords, most of these lords died on the battlefield, if you are really a lord, you should fire me from the guard first for your own safety, haha"

Smar laughed loudly, and some of the surrounding Varans laughed along, while others thought that Smar was speaking a little unpleasantly, and the Romanovs at the table all turned cold

The Earl was as usual, "No, of course I won't fire a warrior who has failed six times, your rich experience will definitely make you do a good job for the seventh time, I believe you, Lord Smar"

The Count lifted the quilt

This time it was Smar's turn to look ugly, "Lord Earl, if you are doubting my loyalty, then you must be wrong, I am desperately guarding those people's side"

"They are dead," said Vladimir, "but you are alive and your people are still laughing at them, I don't understand, are the Valans like this?" ”

The Valans at the table stopped talking for a moment, staring at Vladimir

The Count frowned, "Okay, don't make Mr. Smar unhappy, I think you should see it, I'm not here to accuse you, I'm just doing my duty as a lord and taking care of my own people, apart from the guards, do you have any advice to tell me about your future lord?" ”

Once again, Smar filled himself with wine, this time ale, and he didn't care to mix it up

Smar drank the wine: "My lord, I don't know if you are a man, please forgive me for being straightforward, I will not give people a high opinion casually, that is too hypocritical Valans do not need to use this boring thing to protect themselves Lord Lord, I will give you a piece of advice like all the previous lords, or give you a piece of advice: if you are not a warrior, then do not go to Valankov, it will be a disaster for you there Thank you for your broadband," Smar looked around at his subordinates, "Move your ass, boys"

With a push of the table, Smar stood up, and the Valans followed Smar to his feet

After a few minutes, the Valans in the tent were gone, Vladimir cursed, Alexei shook his head, Yuri accompanied Leo back, and the count stared at the firelight

A gust of wind blew, bringing with it the song that the Valans sang as they departed, a sonorous and powerful ballad, with the notes of the ancient north, which cooled my spine like a gust of north

I shuddered, and when I turned around, the Count had risen and left his place