A swift and steady sound of horses' hooves broke the silence of the morning light, and a horse with a red mane and black hooves galloped through the fog like a sharp sword.

The cold morning breeze blows on the muscles that have been exercising intensely for a long time and turns into water droplets. Judging from the sound of the horse's neat hooves and good appearance, it is certain that this horse is not an ordinary color, and the clear imprint on the horse's rump - a scepter is intertwined with two roses, forming a coat of arms, all indicate that this horse belongs to the royal family of the Sunderland Empire, the Leon family.

The knight on horseback was dressed in a tunic with a linen texture, which, judging by the wear marks on the robe, had been worn for some years. The knight's half-bald head, goldfish eyes, garlic nose, and gray and white staggered beard, swollen and bloodshot eyes, Wood felt a burning pain in the muscles of the inner thighs of the horse's back, and he couldn't stand it if he had ridden all day in a row, only stopping to eat and drink in between.

"Damn nobles, damn bills, those damn heralds. Wood gritted his teeth and cursed.

At this point, the boulevard had come to an end, and it suddenly dawned on the eyes of a valley in the middle of the mountains, the valley was verdant, and a river meandered out of the mountains, flowing through the valley, nourishing the land.

"It's finally here. Wood looked at the terrain and was relieved that the one who confirmed it was the destination.

A thick fog covered the valley of Steele, the sky was white, and the sound of horses' hooves woke up to the sleeping valley, and the villagers, who had risen early, watched in a daze as the knights galloped from the village toward the most imposing manor in the village.

"Yu", Wood pulled the reins, and the steed man stood up, and then landed steadily. Looking at the building in front of you, the bluestone is the foundation, the walls are all made of red bricks, the frame is all connected by timber mortise and tenon, and the roof is herringbone and covered with thick tiles. The area of the house is not small, in front of the main entrance is a corridor, and the front piece of a one-story building should be a hall, and three two-story buildings are connected on each side of the hall, which should be housing. A house like this is considered the most luxurious in the valley, but in Wood's opinion, it is purely where the hillbillies live.

Wood dismounted, walked to the front door, looked at the thick but smooth door panel and thought, there is not even a family coat of arms, what kind of aristocrat is this, sure enough, the real nobility can not be forged in one or two generations.

"Knock" Wood knocked on the door, and after a while, an old woman opened the door. Looking into the woman's inquiring eyes, Wood said, "Is Sir Grant Constance Dante here?"

The old woman nodded,

"I beg you to convey to Your Excellency that I, Herald Wood, the Fifth Post Station of the Eastern District of the Bill of the Imperial Council of Sunderland, have a letter from the Imperial Parliament to him. Wood said.

"Okay, please wait. The old woman said, closing the door and walking inside.

Grant ConstanceDante's chestnut hair was interspersed with a few gray hairs, his broad forehead was wrinkled, and his gray eyes were fixed on the latest Imperial Bills that had just been delivered in the morning. Looking at this bill, the wrinkles on Grant's forehead were not only a few more.

Grantra summoned Ling, and after a while, the door opened, and the butler walked in.

"Call Horn. ”

"Yes, sir. The butler nodded and turned to leave.

After a long time, the door was gently pushed open, and a young man walked in and asked softly, "Father, what is the matter with you asking me to come over?"

Horn Constance Dante is eighteen years old this year, inheriting his father's chestnut hair, gray eyes, fair skin, the only difference is that the face shape inherits his mother's handsome features, at a glance, the first impression is Sven. In addition, the slender and straight figure, with a jacket embroidered with gold silk, a silk shirt with a white stand-up collar, exquisite calfskin boots, concise and elegant knee-length leggings, and the temperament that Grant has slowly cultivated after spending a lot of money to hire etiquette teachers in recent years. Horn Constance Dante was a standard aristocrat in that respect, not an object of ridicule like Grant was always seen in his dealings with other old nobles. It can be said that as long as Horn inherits the title, then he is a standard nobleman from the inside out. Although it is not said to be rich and rich, but it is also quite surplus, Horn's character is not the kind of loser type of nobleman, as long as he inherits his title and territory with peace of mind, he can live comfortably for the rest of his life. As for what kind of ambitious heroes to save the world and the like, at the age of six, after testing that he did not have the qualifications of a magician, he was already a little conscious. At the age of thirteen, after the rank of a warrior was no more than the third level, he gave up the idea of becoming a hero. The history of the Cyansus Continent has proven that a person who has not passed the third level before the age of thirteen cannot become a high-level martial artist in his life. Since then, Horn has seen his future, which is to spend his life in peace in this small valley.

In general, the ideal is plump, and the reality is skinny. The letter on the desk completely shattered the old Grant plan, and he wanted to step on it a few times and spit a few mouthfuls of saliva.

The letter on the table was a decree issued by the Sunderland Empire, and the true character of the decree had been checked by Rand a long time ago, and it was clearly stamped with the emperor's seal, as well as the special seal of the noble council. It's just that the words that appear on it make Grant's eyes darken.

"His Majesty Lyon II, Emperor Lyon II, Bruton Edward Lyon, and the Speaker of the Noble Parliament, Hag Jon Hrusinki, have hereby promulgated the Decree of the Empire, Article 250, which proclaims to all the nobles of the Sunderland Empire - dukes, marquises, counts, viscounts, barons, lords, knights. From the date of promulgation of the Act - April 4, 308 of the Imperial calendar, all nobles who do not have three generations (including three generations) shall not inherit the title, and the original domain shall be acquired by the Empire after the death of the current noble, but the current nobles in the original territory except for the land, or the successor, can dispose of it themselves, and any violator will be subject to imperial sanctions. "The beautiful words on the letter, displayed by the arcane, are like a viper chewing Grant's heart.

"Dear Father, is the letter on your desk the rumored Hans Act?" Horn asked softly.

In fact, this bill has been rumored for a long time, and it has always been opposed by the noble council, many of whom believe that the bill will eventually be difficult to deliver. Because this directly violated the interests of the nobility. When the founding emperor of the Sunderland Empire, Ottawa Lyon, founded the empire, it was not only his bravery, but also the wit and bravery of many loyal followers at that time, so after he founded the empire, he also gave these followers a rich reward, that is, he divided titles and territories. Then the Code of Imos was created, the biggest highlight of the code was to protect the dignity and legitimacy of these nobles recognized by the Empire, and the Code also stipulated that if the nobles did not commit treason or collaboration with the enemy, the Empire had no right to deprive the nobles of their titles and domains. If it was necessary to deprive the nobility of their titles and domains, it was necessary to have the consent of the emperor and the consent of two-thirds of the nobles of the noble council.

With the restrictions of this code, and the Hans Act has indeed violated the fundamental interests of the aristocracy, basically all the nobles think that this bill is just a joke. But the joke was already in front of him, and the truth was ruthlessly told that the surname Constance Dante would be removed from the ranks of the nobles of the Sunderland Empire.

"These vile bastards, they betrayed us. Grant clenched his fists and roared in pain. The "bastards" in Grant's mouth are naturally those who hold high titles in the noble council. The parliament was represented by all the nobles above the baron, and the vote was also decided by these people, and the bill was naturally voted in favor of by the council of nobles, and two-thirds of the people voted.

"Don't they know that this is the Emperor suppressing the power of the nobles?

"Father, I think there must be a shady deal in it, with those greedy high-ranking nobles, His Majesty the Emperor must have given them enough benefits, but we were sacrificed in this transaction. Horn said silently and calmly.

"It should be, that is, now that the bill has been passed and has the force of law, the only feasible way is to unite with the nobles and the empire that have suffered the same as us. Grant said in frustration.

"However, Father, you also understand that the entire imperial aristocratic class has a high proportion of inheritance of only three generations, but all of them are not high, and their territory and strength are very weak, and even if they are all united, they will not be able to fight against the empire. Horn's sober analysis shows that Horn's aristocratic education is all-encompassing, and subjects like politics are always required.

Grantra opened the drawer, took out a crystal pipe, put some tobacco shreds, and took a hard puff, the high stimulation of the smell of smoke choked Grant, who was originally asthmatic, and coughed repeatedly. Horn hurriedly patted him on the back, and it took a long time to calm down.

"There's no way out, you can't sit still. This territory belonged to your grandfather, and my father, who had given his life on the battlefield with his wit and bravery, could have blessed his descendants, and if it had been lost in my hands, then I would have been a sinner in the family. Grant said excitedly.

In the Sunderland Empire, it is divided into nobles, commoners, and lords, the nobles belong to the privileged class, do not need to pay taxes, and the emperor is only the largest noble, without a valid reason, the emperor has no right to convict a nobleman, even if the nobleman is just a small knight, otherwise the noble council will intervene. Commoners generally refer to ordinary people who do not belong to that noble territory, at the beginning of the establishment of Sunderland, there were no commoners in the imperial division, and all the population belonged to them, they were all people, that is, the population in the territory. In the Sunderland Empire, the subjects were under the control of their lords, and strictly speaking, the subjects were first loyal to their lords, and then to the Sunderland Empire. The lord's taxes are paid to the lord, and the amount is also decided by the lord, and the lord's consent is required to go out of the territory, while the commoners are different, they have the freedom to settle throughout the empire, and the taxes are also handed over to the empire's tax department, as long as they follow the laws of the empire, they are even free to decide whether to serve as a soldier during the war. Lords who want to become commoners either pay a large sum of money to their lord, or have meritorious service in war, or have been pardoned by their lord.

Because of the hierarchical form of the empire, a huge number of commoners were forced to become nobles, even if it was a knighthood, to ensure that they would not be exploited and oppressed.

Horn wanted to comfort his father, but he didn't know what to say, the title of nobility was too important to the family, and the sudden blow was fatal. After a long time, Horn said, "Father, you rest first, and I will go out to inquire about the situation with other nobles." ”

Grant thought for a moment, nodded and said, "It's okay, it's also good to have more information, you can go." ”

"Can't you even spend your life in peace in this valley?" Horn muttered to himself. For the first time in my life, I felt like I had to do something. Instructed the steward to prepare the horses, stood at the door and pondered, the bill had become a fact, and it would not work against the empire, there was too much difference in strength, and there was only another way to keep the title of nobility and the territory. But before we can find out what is going on, and find the one who knows the inside story better?, Horn thought for a moment, mounted the steward's horse, and galloped towards the only boulevard that led to the outside of the valley.