"So," I asked Copernicus, "what am I going to do during this time?" ”

When I asked him, he was burying his head in a pile of papers, and instead of raising his head, he asked me a question, "Where does the wealth of the earth come from, Timmy?" ”

"God gave to the king," I replied, "and the king divided them equitably, and gave them to the nobles, and the nobles gave them to the commoners, so that the people enjoyed the riches." ”

"The Emperor would like your point of view."

"Not everyone thinks that way." I'm talking about the arguments that were popular among the aristocracy, and I want to see what Copernicus would say.

"Actually," he looked up at me, "and no one really believed it." ”

He stood up and spread out a thick pamphlet in front of me, "This is the report of the Southern Governor of Salander. ”

There are many symbols and underlines written on it, and it is impossible to understand the words inside.

"This is a transcription," said Copernicus, "and all the letters are reversed in order, and when the Sultan wants to read it, he will have a special attendant to help him translate it." The Sultan of Salander had an unwritten rule that every time he translated, three people came together, and if the three attendants translated different texts, he would not read them, but handed them over to the eunuchs to deal with. The person who makes the mistake is stripped of his property and sent to the countryside to grow dates. ”

"What's written on it?"

"The harvest of the Viceroyalty of Creel twelve years ago, and the number of pastoralists and sedentary populations."

"How many are there?"

"There are 14,000 herders and 47,000 settlers."

"I'm afraid there aren't so many of them in Creel now." I said to him, "This is the whole population. Or is it just men? ”

"Men over fourteen."

"Creel's population is so large?"

"Actually, more." Copernicus said to me. "Guess how many lower nobles there are?"

"Two thousand?"

"There aren't so many soldiers."

"A thousand?"

"One hundred and forty-one." Copernicus said, "And after death the heir cannot inherit the title." Ithaq is also to be reclaimed. These were mainly the Ithaq officer families, but also most of the attendants. ”

"What about the great nobles?"

"Twenty people." Copernicus said, pointing to a line of text. "'Twenty magpies give you good tidings,' that's an obscure saying."

"What title the Governor himself is?"

"Bey." Copernicus said, "His title may have been inherited by his son, but his son needs to be a hostage to the Sultan of Saland until he has the friendship of the Sultan, and then he will join the Sultan's cavalry until his father dies, and he will inherit the Viceroyalty of Creel." ”

"What do you want to say?"

"Think about where the wealth comes from." Scholars said to me. "Irrelevantly, have you ever been to the mines?"

"I've been."

"I really didn't expect that."

"That's when I was blinded by the Nords."

"Looks like you still have a lot of stories to count with me. But this can be said later, and your eyes are not necessarily blind, although yours "'', okay. The mines were populated by slaves and people, and towns and villages were usually formed around the mines. Have you ever seen a nobleman walk down a mine and dig out an ore? ”

"Nope."

"A hundred villages will form a city, and the collection of so many peasants' surplus food will make the city born and prosperous. Is there a grain of grain that was produced by the aristocracy? ”

"Nope."

"Cities consume a lot of wood every day. Stone and charcoal, as well as countless meats and grains and cloth. These things, have they ever been in the hands of nobles? ”

"Are you ready for me to keep saying 'no'? For every question you ask, there's only one answer. I replied to him. It's a trap, you want to hear me say, the nobility is completely useless, right? ”

"It's not brilliant to guess what other people mean." Copernicus said. "I've researched a lot of regional sources. In general, the aristocracy had a chance. There is no doubt that the interests of civilians will be violated. Even many areas have resumed the use of slaves. It's a step backwards. But there is a saying among the Salanders that everything happens for a reason. How can a nobleman be a nobleman, and a commoner a commoner. If you listen to the priests, it is a matter of fate, and some Orientals who are entangled in their heads have even invented the idea that this difference in fate is an experience that people have to experience in the process of being reborn and dying many times. ”

"Aren't the Salanders and Creelians the ones who are thorny?"

"It's just a dress habit. Further east and south, the people there believed that there were thousands of gods, and that each soul would live many times on a different **. Copernicus said, "Well, then again, no matter who thinks about it, it's generally the case in the world, some people are born emperors, and some people are born beggars. Actually, it was meant to be. ”

"Is this any different from what the priest said?"

"There are some differences. If you're willing to listen, I'll talk about it. "It's a common problem among scholars and clergy, and in fact, whether the listener wants to listen or not, these guys will immediately start talking at length." Before the Salanders conquered the land they now occupied, the original people built a type of structure that was wide underneath and small at the top, and at the very top, only a helmet could be laid. In fact, all the peoples of the world are more or less like this, farmers and herders make up the majority, and the higher you go, the smaller the number. God will not appoint with His own hands who will become a nobleman and raise him up, nor will He appoint with His own hands who will become a farmer and make him lower. After he created the world and arranged human beings to live in this world, the world began to run on its own. When people were able to feed a larger population, villages became towns; When tools are no longer useful, someone finds a tool that works well, so everyone will improve it; Warriors born to defend their homes or plunder their possessions gradually gained popularity. Then they use this support to gradually lock their interests in their own bloodline. All the business. None of this happened in a vacuum. This is true of everything. That's probably the case for every nation. Countless populations produce enormous wealth. It is like molten cast iron, pouring out the shape of the world. ”

Copernicus had a peaceful appeal to what he said, and though it felt a little hollow, it was still audible, "so that for a certain man, he may hate the aristocracy, and hate the fate of his own poverty." In this world, everyone's fate is different. But for this world, for our time. For a country formed by compromise between people, there must be nobles and commoners, rich and poor. People should not be angry that they were born male or female, nor should they feel sorry that they were born poor or rich. The world has become what it is, it does not represent justice or evil, it has its own shape, and every baby born within it has a destiny. ”

Copernicus ignored my doubts. Finally, he added: "In fact, how many farmers in the world, and how much food they can produce after feeding themselves, such trivial things have already determined the shape of our world." The source of wealth. It is the source of the world. ”

"It's a strange argument," I said to him, "and that's how you used this 'dream world' to attract my father?" That's not an attractive statement at all. ”

"Of course that's not what attracted your father." Copernicus looked at me. After a while, he said, "If I had met me many years ago. Knowing what I'm thinking now, I guess I'll end my life immediately. to prevent yourself from becoming like this. ”

"But you said that the world is already like this, and everyone has a home. Then simply give birth and don't do anything. That's how the world has always been, anyway. ”

"It has always been like this," Copernicus' eyes sharpened, "must be right?" ”

He stared at me like a veteran. I always thought that such a look would only appear in soldiers, full of manliness, but I didn't expect that in a docile scholar, such a temperament would occasionally burst out.

"What do you want to say?" His interpretation of the world is exactly the same, but such a statement, as long as he is intelligent, can be depicted. The most valuable words should be what he will say later. "I'm waiting for your words."

"I don't have anything more to say." Copernicus said frankly, "My task is to talk to you about things as they are, without instilling in you any ideas of my own." God created every man fairly, so that he is not above a beggar, nor below a king, nor richer than a destitute, nor poorer than a rich nation. My wisdom is only enough to roughly figure out what the world is like, and then tell you as early as possible, so that you don't have to figure it out for yourself and take a detour. Of course, you can constantly observe the people around you, the nobles and commoners, and if you think I have the slightest lie, you can discard it and disbelieve it. ”

"Then tell me what exactly you're trying to do."

"You should choose your own destiny." Copernicus said to me, "All roads have countless difficulties, and this is how life is." If you have hatred, you must choose a path to come out and go on with determination. What I can do is give you an idea of what the world is like before you choose your path. As for what you think of it, whether you want to dance with it, or burn it to the ground, or simply sink in it, or take refuge in the temple, it's up to you. You're a man, and you shouldn't be told how to do anything. ”

"Isn't it okay to ask for advice?"

"You've got a plan, and I'm going to try to help you think about it." After Copernicus finished speaking, he realized that I had been looking at him, "How''' what do you want to do?" ”

"I'm going to take a trip to Eastern Wikia."

"It's a besieged city. What are you doing there? He told me with some joy that he seemed to have been waiting for me to make the decision.

"Someone owes me something."

"Do you have to go there?"

"Gotta go."

Copernicus nodded, "Yes, I support it." But you first have to make a trip to Kugit. ”

"Why?"

"Fulfill my promise to Miss Elune." Copernicus said, "I need your help so that Elune's daughter can restore the tribe. ”

"Are you really going to do that?" I was amazed. "How many gold coins do you have? I thought it was just a lie. ”

"Why do you always think of solving problems with gold coins?" Copernicus said, "I have told many lies. He pursed his lips, "But this thing." I didn't cheat on Ms. Elune. ”

"What are you going to do?"

"We went to the Elmoche Mountains in the territory of Kugit. There are many exiled tribes of Kugit there, and we will recruit those who will be loyal to Elune's daughter, and arrange a marriage for Elune's daughter to be a warrior so that her family can continue. ”

I looked at him with wide eyes, "Do you have a fever?" ”

"Sober and sober." Copernicus said.

"Your plan seems to be to build a Tower of Babel."

He laughed, "If that's the case, there's nothing to worry about." His voice slowly dimmed from laughter. Your fathers have already laid the foundation stone of this Tower of Babel, and we just follow your father's banner. ”

"You're crazy."

"I guess it's not going to get better." Copernicus said, "Then why did you go to Prince Valan?" Vlaankov has been under siege for months. ”

Kalinin executed three princes, stuffed several family members as puppets in the Eastern Council, and encircled many princes with gold coins and marriages, and the Eastern Council voted to decide their fate, rejecting the decision to make the king of Vekia the co-ruler of the east. Many Vecchian nobles accused Kalinin of making private deals with the Burks. It is said that all his bribes came from the Burkes, but such accusations are like warm water, and they will not hurt Kalinin at all. Kalinin quickly integrated the Valan lands and several cities in his hands, and drove out the uncooperative nobles one by one. Manipulate the council to canonize its own Valanite vassals and Wikibian vassals. Today, he owns more than a third of East Wicchia.

His collusion with the Burkes, there is indeed some evidence of the chaotic Transoxiana region. The Berks had withdrawn from many fortresses and cities, and Kalinin soldiers were stationed in these areas. in separate areas. The Wikis, who were still resisting, were no longer supported by the same amount of support as they had been, and Kalinin cut off the supply of food and weapons to the resisters. This is painful for the East Wikians who are still resisting. Kalinin, at least in Transoxiana, divided its sphere of influence with the Burks, and had a formal but undisclosed agreement.

At the gates of the parliament in Eastern Wikia, the flags of the double-headed eagle are increasing, and many shields are painted with the red black eagle symbolizing Kalinin's allies. The speed of Kalinin's rise is surprising, and the means used are dizzying. Yuri married a widowed baroness and became a co-baron of the barony. Within a month, two letters of the same name, the Baroness, were sent to the Council of East Wikia and the Council of Burke, stating that the Baroness had adopted Gregory as her adopted son. The Burks soon approved such a decision, and the East Wikia Council was in a state of discord, holding a series of meetings before passing a letter of recognition. Half a year later, the Baroness, on a horseback ride with Yuri, fell off her horse and broke her neck. The entire Romanov family was heartbroken and wrote a black letter to the two glorious councils on the death of the lord. The Council of East Wikia was suspicious, and the Council of Burke thoughtfully asked if the new lord, oh, that Gregory boyar, had what it took to be a lord. Yuri sadly replied that he had lost his beloved wife and had lost his judgment and could not answer the question. At a critical moment, Kalinin took on the burden of his son, and replied that Grigory boyar had been ready for a long time, at least half a year. So Gregory became the new baron, the baroness was hastily buried, and Yuri returned to the city of Little East Lake to recuperate. In Little East Lake City, Yuri meets the only daughter of an Earl of Vecchia''

At a time when the Romanovs were already able to mobilize more than five thousand infantry and a thousand cavalry, they decided not to tolerate Varankov's prince anymore. Although the Council of Eastern Wiki had already set out to deal with Prince Valan, and Kalinin was also openly and covertly targeting Prince Valan, even if Prince Valan occupied Valankov, Little East Lake City did not officially declare war. The soldiers on both sides clashed constantly, and the fighting continued from hundreds to dozens, but Kalinin waited patiently until the eastern border stabilized, and he had enough supporters in parliament, before issuing an ultimatum to Prince Valan, asking him to either leave Eastern Vekia, or remove his self-proclaimed title of prince and go to the small city of East Lake to pledge allegiance to him. Prince Valan did not reply, but greeted Kalinin in the traditional way of the Valans: he sent Valan soldiers to take advantage of the darkness to nail a shield to the gate of the city of Xiaodonghu with the inscription '! In order to make it easier for soldiers of different nationalities to read, the shield was written on the shield in different languages such as Wikia, Berk, Salander, and Swadia lingua franca. The line was formed. Considering that the bearskin hat tribe funded by the Burks was also in Kalinin's camp, the Valans carefully drew a male lower body on the shield so that the bearskin hat tribe could also feel the determination of the Valans.

Kalinin then declared war on Varankov.

He dispatched 3,000 heavily armed soldiers and reorganized more than 4,000 demoralized council soldiers. These council soldiers were vulnerable to dealing with Little East Lake and the other Burke puppets, but they fought beautifully under Kalinin's men. Five battles broke out outside the city of Valankov, and the Valans won three times, but were forced to retreat inside the city due to heavy casualties. Most of the towns and fortresses they occupied rebelled, and as soon as Kalinin's troops arrived, these areas immediately surrendered.

Prince Varan was finally encircled in the city of Valankov.

Some people say that there is a year's worth of food in the city, while others say that people in the city have begun to eat people.

Anyway, I should go to Eastern Wikia.

Am I a Romanov or an Arcadio?

There should always be a result.

"Because everything has to come to an end." I said to Copernicus. (To be continued.) )