Bishop Oleg left Ivangelod in a hurry, and the feast of the princes had just begun.

Xiaodonghu City and Ryazan Fort nominated each other's knights. Ryazan Fort nominated a Wiki from the Romanov family and a Valan from the Lucasino family, while the city of Little East Lake nominated a cavalry officer from Ryazan Fort and a soldier who followed Catherine to the Riverlands; The Princes of Denia nominated one of the merchants of his own city to be the boyar, and then the Princes of Denia and the bishop of the city of Denia all nominated Abbot Innocent as the vicar bishop; The prince of Chud nominated Innocent as vicarious bishop; As for the nominations of some of the Great Boyars in Riverlands, it is a bit confusing, many of them have nominated candidates for the city of Little East Lake, and some have nominated candidates for the Crown of Denia.

The town hall meeting is over, and the civic leaders are partying around town. Every night, there is a tavern funded by civic leaders for free drinking, and on the street in front of the tavern, a temporary canopy is erected, and the goods brought in by various civic leaders from all over the world are placed below. Not many of the citizens actually went to see the goods, but that didn't stop them from going there and asking for a free drink. The dazzling array of goods reminds people of the pre-plague pomp: gritty sugar sand; white salt; tobacco leaves of the Salanders; Tapestries of the Kujits; The patterned sword of the Burkes. These things amaze the citizens, not to mention a group of artists who are good at playing with fire and performing on the streets; There are a few underground black fists that do a good job, killing a few people every day; It is said that in the backyards of several taverns, and dog gambling has also reopened, and citizens are privately debating which dog is gaining momentum. Bets should be placed.

The buzz set off by the civic leaders masked the frequent contacts between the princes.

Yuri is now away from home almost every day, and he is busy attending the banquets of various princes. The prettiest girl in the brothel was asked by the prince to serve the guests at the banquet. So much so that the townspeople lost interest in the brothel for a moment, because the women who remained there were almost as ugly as their own wives. There's no need to go there and spend money in vain. Only the most strategic, or financially savvy merchants can buy a boyar title, and most merchants can only get one or two nominations, but this does not mean that such nominations are useless, with such nominations, these merchants will trade much more easily in various cities, and can easily obtain the citizenship of various cities.

The Council of Nobles is now debating whether or not to ban the merchant groups of Little East Lake City from running for election.

The city of Little East Lake now organized all the merchants into a merchant group, and Kalinin had the merchants jointly fund and elect one of their own leaders. Then use everyone's money to support the leader to obtain the boyar's title. The merchants of Xiaodonghu City, personally, were not richer than the merchants of other regions, but when they formed a merchant group, they were able to obtain enough nominations through more generous bribes. This made the people in the noble council accuse Kalinin of being an upstart who, for his own benefit, tarnished the decency of all nobles. The one who spearheaded the demand for the abolition of the title of merchant of Little East Lake was a former aqueduct official of Ivangelod. He had just married his favorite daughter to a friend who was in danger of losing his heir, and it was praised that he had done so to preserve the blood of the decent family in the Parliament, which was a noble act. The townspeople and the minor nobles alike expressed their admiration for the old man, calling him a 'parliamentary nobleman' who could truly represent the Parliament.

I blocked Yuri for the first time. It was on his way to visit the Bishop of Chud in his carriage that I stopped his carriage and he chatted with me for a few words. Let me go to him at night. Yuri got so drunk that night that two of his attendants refused to let me wake him up. The next day at noon, when I went to look for him. He was meeting with his guests again, and in the evening he held a banquet. I waited for a gap between dozens of people, but I never found a chance. When I walked up to him, he frowned and told me to dodge.

In the middle of the Assemblies of the Nobles, Yuri often accused Chud City of breaking the rules in private, citing the evidence he had gathered, and the next day he and the Princes of Chud City attacked one of the princes of the Riverlands. Sometimes, Little East Lake City and Denia City will go toe-to-toe, but when it comes to the nomination of a specific person, the two families will attend each other's banquet and nominate the same person for the next day or two.

The game of the princes set off a series of gambles among the townspeople to bet on who would end up being the boyar.

My odds are volatile. In a few underground gambling houses, my odds were very low, because they felt that the five nominations I had received must be because Kalinin had played with the nobles in the parliament, so they thought that my nomination was a sure thing. In the other games, I had very good odds, and the openers of those bets had bought off several servants of the Romanovs, knowing from them that I was actually only an illegitimate child, and that there were rumors that I was going to be expelled from the family, and that the last nomination would kill me.

Dean Innocent was also on the list, but not much attention was paid to him. Because Dean Innocent possessed extraordinary charm and terrifying power: it was said that Dean Innocent had a smile blessed by angels, otherwise it would not explain why he was so popular with women--- when Innocent visited various noble ladies, whether he flattered or praised or even belittled them, he could make them smile and make him a close friend; At the same time, it was said that there was an angel flying over Innocent's head, and whoever dared not to choose him, the angel would pull out a sword from the stone and stab such a person to death. Most people felt that Innocent's promotion to vicarious bishop was not in suspense.

Those who have already had two or three nominations are the favorites, and everyone is looking into their backgrounds and financial resources, and of course, their fathers and fathers-in-law.

The atmosphere was so bad that the aristocrats felt like horsemen in a racecourse, while the spectators were a bunch of ignorant and greedy citizens. The council soldiers intensify their patrols every day, and they have a lot of tasks, and they don't just have to deal with those damn Varan lurkers. You have to deal with the hateful bettors, and the most hateful of them are the Varan lurkers who bet!

In fact. There's a large group of Valan lurkers in my room.

I once came home and found a group of Valans sitting together and talking to each other. The two Kugits chatted with them nonchalantly, Anastasia sat silently in the corner, and Copernicus tried the Kugit hookah.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh, we're talking about how much we should bet you." A Varan said. "I think we should put all the money on it."

"What?!"

"It's similar to a horse race in the Elmo, and someone is going to cheat." I once pressed forty sheep to one of the best riders, and he somehow broke the horse's hooves halfway through, causing me to go home bare-bottomed. It's not a wise move to put all the money on it. I have a prince who has taken a fancy to Timmy's five nominations, and deliberately holds down one nomination. Then decide whether to pick him or not based on the final bet. I suspect that this gamble is made public. ”

"How much should I press?" Another Valanist asked, "There's a lot of news in the tavern, and some say that Victor... Oh no, Timmy Iron could be the boyar. Some say Timmy will never get the last nomination. It sounds like it's true. ”

"Can you be half and half?" Iyu asked, "The odds of these gambling games are different, find two casinos, one can't buy it, and the other can buy it." ”

"Can you be smarter than them?" A Valan rolled his eyes, "These are all gambles played by the old citizens of Ivangelod. They have seen an unknown number of noble assemblies. Mr. Timmy's situation, although unique, is not untraceable. The one who opened the gambling game will do it without leakage. ”

"If I lose money, I'll go to the council soldiers and raid their nest. I've figured out where they're hoarding money, and they can't run away. ”

"It's really no honor."

"The Kugit are cunning!"

I interrupted them with a laugh and a cry, "You guys don't try to find a way to help me get nominated." But in this place you want to make money from those very smart citizens? Isn't that stupid? ”

"You can't say that," said a fat man from Varan. "If you become a boyar, you will have the financial resources to compensate us; If you can't make it. We can also recoup our losses. Why don't you let us do this kind of thing? ”

"Why can't I be the boyar, and you can recoup the loss?"

"We all bet on whether you can be a boyar." The fat man of Varan said calmly.

"Really, you can't buy me? I'm just one nomination away. I asked dissatisfied.

I'm also counting on one or two supporters.

As a result, the Kujits, the Varans, including Anastasia, fell into a deep silence.

"Copernicus Bachelor!" I was furious, "Why don't you reprimand them like this?" ”

"Uh'''", Copernicus grunted, puffing on a hookah. "I'm not very good at talking."

"Why!"

"Because I bought it, you can't afford it." Copernicus exhaled a puff of smoke in a pleasant manner.

Me: "'''"

In the evening the Romanovs brought us three pieces of bloody steak and a large piece of lamb, and Iyu happily kissed the servant on the cheek, which caused the servant to misjudge and run away. During the meal, I would be sarcastic about anything the Varans and Kugit said, and they were unmoved by the hippie smiles and did not mean to change their decision at all.

After eating the barbecued meat of the Kugits, I was a little distraught and went to the Copernicus bachelor.

After learning that Bishop Oleg had nominated me, there was a strange change in his attitude towards me, which I cannot describe, but I can feel it.

I knocked on the bachelor's door.

"Come in." Copernicus said inside. I walked into the Bachelor's room, and he didn't seem surprised by my arrival, "I knew you were coming." ”

"Bachelor, are you curious about Bishop Oleg's nomination?"

"Nominated? No," Copernicus bluntly dismissed my suspicions, "I'm wondering how long you're going to hide from me." ”

"Hide it from you?"

"I think you can convince Bishop Oleg to nominate you because you told him something. I guess it's your plan. ”

"That's right."

"Plans for the future."

"Exactly."

"Tell me." Copernicus spoke to me in a commanding tone. "What the hell are you going to do?"

"Even if you don't ask, I'll tell you." I solemnly said to Copernicus, "This is about the future fate of my family." And not to satisfy your curiosity, I hope you will keep your mouth shut about it until I become a boyar. ”

"You still don't trust me. This is an insult to me. Copernicus said dissatisfied.

"I'm sorry, Bachelor." I said to him. "Please be considerate of me."

"That's my business." Copernicus said coldly, "I am disappointed that you have no intention of marrying so far, but if your reasons are good enough, I will consider taking back my opinion." ”

"Okay."

"Tell me, what was the first thing you did when you became a boyar?" Copernicus closed the door and asked me.

I said what I was going to do.

After listening to me, Copernicus told me to go out for a while.

The whole night after that. Neither of the Copernicus scholars appeared in the living room, and several Valans tapped me on the shoulder, "Have you broken your bachelor's heart?" I shook my head in the negative.

The next day, Copernicus reverted to his old attitude.

The assembly of the nobles was already halfway through, and we visited everyone we knew, and commissioned the bishops or the Grand Boyars, who had a good opinion of us, to recommend others for us.

Every day, the Grand Boyard and the Bishop complete the nomination and can no longer be the target of our lobbying. The last nomination was even more difficult than any of the previous ones. I visit Yuri once a day, in the morning and in the evening. But he seemed to be deliberately avoiding me, and at one point, I barricaded him at the door of his room and said to him. I was only one nomination away from asking him to honor the nomination given to me by the Romanovs.

Yuri frowned and asked who had nominated me, as if he didn't know. It's impossible. Because now in the city of Ivangelodes, even the smallest nobles. It is also easy to grasp the news. I patiently finished talking about who supported me, and Yuri actually said something. "You don't need a Romanov to get so much support. Finally, why not make any more efforts? ”

"What does that mean, Yuri-sama?" I said to him, "The Romanov promised me." Besides, what Romanov promised me was to make me a boyar, and now, I only need a nomination. ”

"Don't worry, Timmy." He said, "The Assembling of the Nobles is not over in a few days, and you should not just pin your hopes on the Romanovs." Support your bishops and the Grand Boyars, they must have their allies, and it shouldn't be difficult for you to find more supporters through them. ”

"Lord Yuri! Now that the Assemblies of the Lords are drawing to a close, if the Romanovs do not keep their promises, my efforts will be in vain. ”

"Okay, okay, next time you see me, we'll talk." Yuri smiled and hurriedly boarded the carriage.

The penultimate day.

Only a few of the great nobles who are interested in selling the boyar's nomination still have a chance, and most of the great nobles have already completed the nomination. Now the heat of the Assemblies of the Nobles in the city of Ivangelo has subsided, like a city that gradually cools down after a summer rain. People were waiting for the last minute, when all the nominations were over, to go to the carnival attended by all the boyars. Three days after the end of the assembly of the nobles, the council will pay for the food and drinks of all, from the king's gate to the square, countless free feasts will stretch throughout the streets, and the boyars will enjoy the cheers of the citizens, go to the square, and accept the appointment of the council: to accept the gift of a spear, two long swords, a shield with the family coat of arms, a triangular family flag, an iron ring--- which was the honor of the king in the past, but now it is given to the ** official of the city, which is now Dragovich** Official.

The boyars, who had already received six nominations, had already begun to celebrate, and the plebeian and the deans, who had no hope at all, had left the city in gloom, ready to go to the countryside to rest for a while, lest they would be doubly humiliated by the sight of others receiving honors.

Innocent was nominated by a bishop.

It is said that Innocent offered a large number of knightly positions to the bishops, who not only nominated him, but also fought with the city of Little East Lake in parliament in an attempt to restore the bishopric of Valankov. Judging by what I have learned, the title of Prince Varankov has not been canceled. Could it be that there really will be a recognized prince of the Twin Cities in the council? I'm not convinced. Because the Princes of the Two Cities directly threaten the very existence of the Council, it is necessary to have it recognize a Twin Cities Prince. It's almost as hard as disbanding it. My guess is that Valankov may have really been divided into several baronies. It was left to the parliament to appoint several boyars to become Kalinin's vassals. In this way, the rights of the prince were legally safeguarded so as not to attract the opposition of the great nobles, and in fact weakened Kalinin's power. It's the best way I can think of, and if I were Kalinin, maybe I'd accept it.

On the penultimate day, the number of nobles in the assembly had been reduced to about one-third.

After days of walking and negotiating, most of the princes or their envoys were exhausted and bored, and not a single nobleman was willing to stay in the town and endure the red tape of the aristocratic assembly.

When I arrived at the meeting place of the nobles early in the morning. Many of the soldiers had already begun to clean up the council hall from the rubbish and had to remove the extra stools and podiums before turning it into an auditorium for the canonization of the nobility. Many boyars who had actually been promoted lingered with satisfied smiles, and some painters began to peddle their skills, and if a boyar paid him sixty gold coins, he would get a portrait of himself: the process was laborious, requiring the nobleman to put on a silk coat or armor that did not fit well, and to place his left hand on a round table where a vase was placed. In his right hand he carries a sword or a spear with the family flag on it, and at his leg stands a shield with the family coat of arms painted on it. The nobles had to hold this pose for more than three hours before the painters could paint the nobles properly. On the Parliament Square. I saw six or seven new boyars with their chests puffed out, with the Great Hall of the Council as a backdrop, making themselves mighty. The painter on one side stirs the paint and egg whites. While carefully capturing the expression on the face of the nobleman.

I tried to visit a few of the big boyars I'd heard of, but their butlers politely told me. The Grand Boyars have already completed their nominations, if for this to come. You might as well go straight back. In the end, I had to go to the end of the horse market, came to the station of the Romanov family, and asked a veteran where the Romanov family had gone, why they hadn't come for a few days, and if I could visit Yuri.

The veteran looked at me with a sneer, "You're blind in both eyes?" None of the Romanov men are here, they're out on the hunt! ”

"Hunting!"

I'm so frustrated.

"That's right, it's going to be a carnival in two days! What meat tastes like your prey! The veteran looked at me with a smile, licking his broken teeth and dry mouth with his tongue, "Think of the pheasants smeared with honey, the elk meat as strong as wood, the whole roasted boar, the peacock with its belly stuffed with mushrooms and carrots!" I'm going to have to blow my belly out! ”

I returned home dejected, and Copernicus was reading a book.

"The Romanovs went hunting." I said this to Copernicus.

"Yes." The bachelor did not look up. "Many of the princes have gone hunting, and perhaps you should too."

"Why do you care so much? I'm just one boyar nominated, and now I'm falling short. ”

"Timmy, the most important quality to be a nobleman, is calm. You have to be confident in yourself, you have come to this point, and in terms of intelligence and communication skills, you are no longer inferior to other nobles. But your heart is still like a mercenary in the Valan barracks. You must know that true nobles can also be calm and calm when they fail at the last moment, while mercenaries will lose control of their emotions and behave at a loss. It's the day, you might as well be patient and wait for the results. ”

"Bachelor, I'm worried about the very close term, you don't want to talk to me about any long-term mentality or anything. If I could become a boyar, I would have decades to clean myself up like a nobleman. If I don't get this nomination, no matter how much I imitate myself, I'm just a civilian. Why don't you help me think of a more practical solution? ”

"A more practical approach? Marrying Catherine will directly become a boyar. That's the more practical approach. ”

"You know it's impossible."

"You chose the most bumpy path yourself. You want to prove that you don't need anyone, that you can be a boyar, that you don't have to be a vassal of anyone, and that's good, that's what your grandfather did. Just by doing that, you would have to die many times on the battlefield, and you would have to serve many years among the princes and nobles. You've chosen this path. Be prepared in your mind: because this path may not work. ”

"If tomorrow Romanov is not yet nominated"

"Then wait for the Noble Assembly in a few years."

"Maybe we can bribe Anastasia's stepfather."

"We don't have that much money." Copernicus's voice was like a frozen lake, without a single ripple. "And his nomination has been bought by a merchant from Chud City. Timmy, you don't need to beg now. ”

"Okay. I shouldn't have come to ask you for help! I walked out of the door in frustration and slammed the door shut.

After the door slammed shut, I hurried down the stairs.

Night had fallen, the wind was blowing in my hair, and there were people laughing and lounging in the distance.

Your grandfather is dead, your father is dead, your mother is dead, and you are not even a low-ranking nobleman!

I found a horse, not even a saddle, and I grabbed its mane and climbed up its smooth back. I remembered the man who taught me to do this, and I remembered the way he looked when he spat blood out of his mouth. Many jumbled thoughts poured into my mind: the Great River, the Burning Manor, the Mountains, the Kiss of the Messiah, Vrankov, the Little East Lake City, the Creel, the Pioneers, the Kindness of the Kugits "These days have scarred me and blinded me in one eye. Changed me from a stableman to Victor the Valan. I thought that the value of this period could be exchanged for a boyar, but I was blocked at the door of the nobility because of a nomination. Tomorrow this time, people will be laughing and celebrating in the streets, and I'll be drinking alone in the tavern of the Valan lurkers.

After wandering around for the middle of the night, I returned home.

Iyu, who was still at vigil and smoking a hookah, saw me come back and pointed to a basket of rusks smeared with honey and a bowl of goat's milk. I thanked him, but was not in the mood to eat, and walked into my room.

Moonlight sprinkled the room.

At night, the city resembles a blue forest, and the outline of the roof ridge resembles a shimmering sea. From near to far, it has been stretched to the limit of vision.

Ivangorod, the city of the stench. The City of Fortune, the City of Parliament. The city of boyars.

I found the flag that Valankov had brought, and I gently stroked the ancient insignia on it. I found a spear shaft without a spearhead, planted the flag, and climbed to the roof.

The field of vision was wide, and the wind blew away my battle flag.

My sword, my boots, my armor, my family, all of it, all with me, stood on the roof.

I'm not a hero, just a boy, and holding the banner of a hero doesn't make me one of them.

When my grandfather put down his sword, the farmers' hats were blown by the wind into the wheat fields of the harvest;

When my father picked up the sword, he carried the warriors' swords into the boundless battlefield;

But I only have this flag, and I am not even a boyar.

I don't know how long it took.

"Hello," someone was calling to me, "the landless boyar. ”

When I turned my head to look, Anastasia had also climbed onto the roof.

I knew she wasn't making fun of me, but I couldn't think of what to say.

When the wind blew, my flag fluttered along with her hair.

"Hello," I thought of what to say, "a homeless noblewoman. ”

After that none of us spoke, only the sound of the battle flag stretching in the wind.

It's the last day.

I sat in the room and didn't go out.

In the early morning, a flute player plays a brisk tune, followed by a group of children clapping and laughing; At noon, a circus caravan rumbled through the window, their cages containing lions, monkeys, and two bobcats, and their leader riding a horse with four ears; In the afternoon, the joy of the citizens turned into a boiling discussion in the streets, and everyone was looking forward to the next day's revelry and the three-day flowing water feast.

The bell has already struck four times, and one more time, and this year's meeting of nobles is over.

The Romanovs had returned from hunting, and I went over to their butler and asked him to lend me a horse.

"What do you want horses for, Lord Victor?" The butler asked me with a smile.

"If you don't borrow it, forget it, don't make fun of me." I said to him coldly, "I can walk, I just want to walk around." I won't be able to see Yuri-sama today, will I? ”

"Actually, you don't have to see him today."

"Whatever." I almost blurted out that the Romanovs were a perfidious family, but I held back.

"I happen to have something to do and need to go out, how about you come with me?"

"Anything." I haphazardly agreed.

I rode my horse, and the butler sat in the carriage, as if I were accompanying an envoy of the royal family.

Citizens on the street are laying out the streets, moving long tables and stools to the streets, some citizens are wiping stones along the street with sponges, and a group of old men are cleaning the ground of dead dogs and dead mice. Residents living on both sides of the street are pulling ropes with ladders that run through the streets with a number of small flags that symbolize parliament. The beggars were herded into an empty wagon, and for the next few days, these people would be locked up in the church so that they would not run around and disturb the festivities. There are more girls selling flowers, this is really a girl selling flowers, most of those wandering warblers have been invited to banquets by the merchants, as temporary maids to serve the guests to eat or serve the guests to do things other than eating. An old blind man cried out 'God is dead' and 'the council is an outcast' at the corner of the street, and was beaten around with short sticks by a group of church soldiers, and thrown into an empty carriage filled with beggars. The poorest neighborhoods are also filled with the aroma of meat and bread at this time, and the smell of alcohol is like the wind in the fields during the harvest, spreading a smell called abundance.

Every pore of Ivangelod was waiting for the celebration, and I was wandering the streets.

"Where are you going?" After wandering around for a while, I finally asked this question.

"It's the front." The butler pointed ahead, and we were already in Parliament Square.

Countless people gathered here, and today several new boyars order their own portraits here.

We continued our way to the front and arrived at the door of the council.

The butler jumped out of the carriage and walked up the steps of the council, whispering a few words to a soldier standing at the door.

I looked at the butler coldly, the Romanov people never surprised me--- they will always let you down.

Then I knew that my judgment had been wrong for the first time.

A suspicious nobleman walked out and asked the butler what he said, and the butler nodded, and said in a voice I could hear, "As you heard, Little East Lake City nominated Victor to be the boyar. ”

The butler and the nobleman continued to speak, while I was in a state of vertigo, completely unaware of what they were talking about. Then the nobleman ran back to the council hall with a look of anxiety, while the butler walked back.

I didn't come back to my senses until the butler opened his mouth to ask me what to say.

By this time the fifth bell had already sounded over Ivangorod.

"Viktor Boyar? Viktor Boyar? "The butler patiently called my name.

"Yes" "This"

"You've got one last nomination, congratulations, Lord Victor." The butler said, "Perhaps you prefer the title 'Victor Boyar'?" ”

"Whose nomination?"

Kalinin? Yuri? Or Alexey?

"Haha," said the butler with a smile, "naturally the one who loves you the most." (To be continued.) )