Tom knelt on one knee before Massimiliano I with the standard courtesy of an investiture.

Surrounded by a group of religious clergy chanting Latin chants that Tom couldn't understand.

Massimiliano I first bestowed Tom's knight's head dumplings, and then gently touched Tom's neck and shoulders with the back of his sword.

"I swear allegiance to Massimiliano I in the name of St. Joseph, St. Cromain, St. Genevière, St. Jacob, and I will defend the glory of the House of Habsburg."

"Uh~ get up, Mr. Tom Smith."

Tom swore allegiance in the name of the fourfold patron saints of the Catholic patron, the auroper of Austria, the patron saint of France, and the patron saint of Spain.

The officiant, Henri René de Talleyrand, was also the first time he had heard of someone taking an oath in the name of the four patron saints, but his professionalism quickly calmed him down and proceeded to the next investiture ceremony.

Tom said in his heart that it doesn't matter if it's fourfold, it doesn't matter if it's fortyfold, just ask God to really give him a divine punishment or something.

The ceremony ended in such an orderly manner, and under normal circumstances, after the solemn ceremony, the lord (Massimiliano I) also had to give the knight something to reward, or hold a banquet to celebrate the "right-hand man" he had obtained.

These tedious links were politely rejected by Tom, who chose to go directly back to the city and embark on the road home.

"I didn't think that my Tom was also a knight, I really dreamed back to the Middle Ages."

"Is it really profitable to buy a knight for just half a million dollars?"

"Milia, you say, should I just call a duke with a lion opening his mouth?"

"Forget it, it doesn't matter, there is no difference between a knight and a pope."

"If the Pope can make more money than the capitalists, I will create my own Holy See tomorrow."

It's called the Houston Holy See. ”

"The Holy See can't do it, the ancestors are a garbage Rome, and they use the Mediterranean Sea as an inland sea."

"I'll just say that my Houston Holy See used to use the Atlantic Ocean as an inland sea, a super-unified empire, but the text has been lost."

"The Milky Way can be an inland river, religion, just blow it."

"Tap."

On the paddle steamer returning home, Milia, who had been waiting on the ship, began to massage Tom, and Tom complained that the title he wanted was a bit low.

When Tom complained about religion, Milia subconsciously dealt a heavy hand to the "ungodly" man, and only pinched a small piece of meat.

The company of heroes, represented by Tom, the French Empire, represented by Minister Henri René de Talleyrand, and the Second Mexican Empire, represented by Emperor Massimiliano I, reached an agreement of interest with Habsburg de jure.

Tom stated that if I became a knight, I would be able to lead a "small" number of knightly squires under his command into the war between the United Mexican States and the Second Mexican Empire.

As a knight, Tom is not very demanding, as long as he gets all the land occupied by himself and his squire, as Tom's personal knightly territory.

That's what Tom is trying to do these days.

For the Second French Empire, they didn't think that a single Yankee could turn the tide of war in the first place.

Henri René de Talleyrand believes that Tom's joining the battlefield so confidently must be that Tom's hero company must have some "secret weapon".

In particular, there may be new aircraft or something, but the Second French Empire has not succeeded in replicating the aircraft in any way.

Taking 10,000 steps back, even if Tom joins and can change the tide of the war, he thinks that the French volunteers under his command are the main force on the battlefield, and France will definitely occupy more territory at that time.

Tom could only silently say that the airplane thing was a pure laboratory product, and it was a dream to want mass production and popularization.

And Massimiliano I's side has been elevated for too long, and when he sees money, he talks as well as he sees his father.

January 1, 1867,

After a month of preparation, Hero Company was ready for all-out war with the United Mexican States.

Before leaving, Tom stood on a high platform outside the harbor and gave his last speech before the war.

"Today, we stand here! Stand on the land of Texans! Stand in Houston, the land that our ancestors watered with blood and dignity! Behind me, is a statue of Robert Edward Lee! He was recognized worldwide as a fighter for slave owners! He is the light of the whole world! ”

"In front of me, standing is a people, a people groaning in humiliation!"

"After the end of the Civil War, the pride of our nation was gone! Those victors rode on our necks and trampled on our dignity, the dignity of the noblest people on the American continent! ”

"Tell me, do you choose to be a slave owner's fighter like Jefferson Hamilton Davis, or a commoner?!"

"You may say: Mr. Smith, I need a job, a loaf of bread. Yes, you're right, life is so important. But I want to tell you, there is one thing in this world that is more important than life, and that is status! That's dignity! ”

"As long as the flag of the United States is flying over Washington and Austin for a day, our dignity will not exist!"

"As long as those Yankews and black slaves are tyrannical on our land, our dignity will not exist!"

"As long as everyone is equal and free of slaves in this great state called Texas on the map of the Americas, our dignity will not exist!"

"As long as people from other countries let out a contemptuous laugh when they say the word "Texas" in a chat, our dignity does not exist! ”

"What we need, not a loaf of bread! It's a living space! A living space for a nation! This living space is not achieved by begging and protesting, but by "iron" and "blood"! ”

"There are two things that unite people: a common ideal and a common slave."

"We have the great ideals engraved on the Texas flag, and we will shed our last drop of blood for them! In Houston today, nothing can save our Texas but this ideal! ”

"The Emancipation Proclamation is a great shame! We have the determination and the reason to refuse to carry it out! ”

"Do what you want! Just as Robert Edward Lee picked up a gun, just as he led his compatriots to fight bravely under the banner of slavery! ”

"If you want to fight, go and fight! Then I'll be able to see if you're seven million civilians or seventy million unyielding Texans! ”

"If one day, I, Tom Smith, will be like Jefferson Hamilton Davis, holding the banner of our Texas at the forefront!"

"Even if I die in battle, I will enter heaven with a smile! I will meet the glorious ancestors of Texas, and I can walk up to the great Charles V with my head held high; I can proudly say to him: "I, your descendants, have not disgraced you, I shed my last drop of blood for the great Spain and Texas!" ”

"We fight for enslavement! We don't fight for freedom! We are not machines, we are not cattle and horses, we are slave owners! It's a Texan who has never succumbed! ”

"We are united in the name of the monarchy! Fight for a new, hierarchical world! ”

"We fight for everyone to have slaves! Fight for those who were enslaved by us to return to Texas to become slaves again! ”

"Fight because we don't need to shout and protest all day! Fight for our dignity! Fight for our promises! ”

"Fight for the reappearance of the monarchy in this country! Texans, we fight for the glory of our ancestors! For our children and grandchildren to be able to proudly proclaim: we are Texans who never give in! And fight! ”

"Long live my fellow citizens, Texas and the people of Texas! Freedom, long live! ”