There is still an hour left before the establishment of the Great Song Dynasty

***

"I still don't think these Greeks can be trusted, Your Highness." After leaving the crowd, Sir Louis whispered to Princess Jeanne next to him, "It's not just the rich Greek lords. Even this woman who came over inexplicably also gave me a feeling that something was wrong. ”

"I can't tell why. But when I first learned to ride a horse, my grandfather told me not to ignore my instincts. If there was a feeling that there was a problem, there was a real problem nine times out of ten - it was by this that he himself escaped from the hands of the English. He explained, "This guy must have some intentions and wants to borrow something from us." ”

"You don't have to feel it, of course I know she has other intentions. Otherwise, why come to us? Princess Jeanne shook her head and said, "This kind of cooperation is originally about taking what you need. I'd have to wonder if she didn't have anything she wanted. ”

"When I first came here, I was in contact with those Italian merchants." She explained a few more words to reassure her subordinates: "This Greek woman, in the beginning, was just an ordinary member of the troupe. Later, a Florentine business family sponsored them, and she took this opportunity, relying on her eloquence and a little luck, to gain the favor of her patron and get a ticket to the upper circle. ”

"This man has a lot of vision and a lot of action. When I first came here, it was the first time I had a banquet with Italian businessmen, and she had her eyes on me. Princess Jeanne thought about it for a moment and said, "After the banquet, she came to me and promised me that as long as she was authorized, she would be able to contact a group of wealthy Greek people to give me more financial support, and by the way, it would make my actions here a little easier." ”

"This kind of person is actually a businessman, but they are selling interpersonal relationships and various convenient channels. You've never been to a big city like Paris before, otherwise you'd have been exposed to it somewhat. ”

"I see......," Sir Louis probably understood, "I am a man of noble origin, and I am doing this kind of thing." ”

"Aristocratic women do have an advantage in this regard. As for her ......" Princess Jeanne thought for a moment, "she must be an ordinary commoner." ”

According to her own account, her mother had been running a large theater company in the city for a long time. In Greek society, this form of entertainment was more important and more competitive than on our side. If you want to do this business well, you will inevitably have to deal with the local snakes in the city, and it is normal to have a wide range of contacts in your hands. ”

"When I came here, the Roman Khan's court organized a group of people to greet me, and it is not difficult for those who are interested to know the news. Her mother probably learned about my situation from local officials and wealthy businessmen, and thought it was a suitable place to be. But it is too risky for this kind of sleek middleman to show favor directly, so let her test my attitude first. ”

"We're hoping for a profit, but it's also risky and long-term. Isn't it strange that these people are looking for us? Another knight also speculated: "Rome is so rich, they are still the head of the land here, can they still lack business to do, so they have to come to us?" ”

When Princess Jeanne heard this, she thought about it, but still shook her head: "If you are serious, they really don't have a good business." ”

"You see, although they had money and connections, under the Roman system, there were only two ways to achieve status: either by being meritorious in war, or by doing a good job in major projects such as cultivating fields, excavating mineral deposits, and building water conservancy. But these are not what this group of Greeks is good at. She analyzed.

"What business is the most profitable? Actually, it's not the business they are doing now that they buy and sell goods. I've dealt with those Italians before and know what they want most. It is the investment in the king and the nobles that is the most profitable. ”

"When we were at war with England, the king of England was at a disadvantage, so he borrowed heavily from place to place. The Italian bankers knew that he did not have such a high ability to repay his debts, and even if he won the war, he would not seriously repay the money, but he still followed one after another, searching his family to give him a loan. In the final analysis, it is not because this kind of high-risk investment in the country is the highest return. Some families, even able to gain political power, are called true nobles. ”

"Look at these people again. In previous Greek dynasties, they were able to provide officials to the dynasty in order to maintain the noble status of the family. With the power given by Rome, is there still no benefit for the family? In this case, you don't even have to do business on your own. ”

"But now, the situation has changed, and the Roman Khanate is not the same as the previous court. They had always liked to train their own officials, and they did not rely on these Greeks to help them rule, so they did not need to cooperate with them. ”

"You haven't been here for a long time, so you may not feel it obviously. When I first married King Wu, I found out about this problem. She gave an example: "Several of his entourage all claimed to be officials of the Eastern Ming Kingdom. But I later chatted with them and found out that they were neither nobles nor local clergy. Some of them, not even ordinary people, are from peasant families. ”

"At first, I wondered if these people were fakes. Later, I found out that it was still true. She said with some emotion: "At that time, I didn't expect that there would be such a big difference between different places." ”

"The system of the Roman Khanate should be the same as that of the Ming Dynasty. Moreover, because of the bad performance of these older generation of nobles in the process of the decline of Rome, many people did not trust them in the first place. Even ordinary Greeks who were able to afford it tended to receive a better education from the Khan's court, and then look for an opportunity to make a contribution. Because on the side of the old aristocracy, ordinary young people have no future. ”

"These families don't want to run a business and get money to become rich businessmen; And because he can't be a nobleman, he can only be a rich man. In fact, they are not short of money, or even influence, but they lack a name and opportunity. That's what they want from us. That Greek woman must have seen this and dared to make a guarantee to me. ”

"I see. Then they are willing to come to help today, and they will probably show their strength. Another knight said, "I don't know if there will be a conflict." ”

"I guess so." Princess Jeanne concluded: "Although the Greek woman just now assured me that she had communicated with them and that they would obey my leadership, everyone knows that these Greeks are cruel and cunning fellows. Without this character, they would not have survived their years of civil strife. ”

"I guess they're going to bring them out this time, because they're going to give me a disappointment and they're going to have to compare themselves with each other. However, when they agreed to cooperate with us, they must have already planned how to buy off my men and take de facto control of the Crusaders. Infighting with each other and then annexing each other is what these people are most accustomed to. ”

"So, of course, I know that these people have evil intentions, and I know that the Greek woman can't be fully believed. You have to meet them in person and let them know who is in charge. ”

Seeing that she was so confident, several knights no longer had any doubts.

They rode all the way to a fountain square in an affluent area. There was a large crowd of people gathered over there, all armed with weapons. Some were still wearing chain mail, riding horses, and were waiting.

Princess Jeanne asked a middle-aged knight to stay where she was, and told Louis and the other knight to go around to the opposite junction, and when she was inside, she would call out the code and come to help.

"With so many people, how can we help?" A young knight was a little weak-hearted.

"You follow Sir Louis. Don't think about any tricks and tactics, just chase the flag - the fat man who looks the richest, the one standing behind him. She pointed to a few Greeks on the steps in the middle of the square: "Put down your helmet, pick up your sword, and charge at that place." Got it? ”

"Understood." The young man nodded repeatedly.

"Take out the royal flag." She commanded again.

Sir Louis jumped off his horse and carefully removed a flag with a gold iris on a blue background from his bag. The young knight handed him the spear he was carrying. After setting it up, the knights respectfully raised it and handed it to her. Princess Jeanne rolled up the flags and asked them to go to the other side to prepare first.

When the two were gone, she tightened her burqa to cover her armor. After a few more minutes, estimating that time was enough, he nodded to the middle-aged knight and drove forward alone.

The Greeks in the square crowded together in a chaotic manner, talking and arguing with each other, and few people noticed her. She used her spear to drive away the people who stood in her way and went to the middle. There, there was a row of wooden chairs, and several people in gorgeous clothes were sitting there talking something.

Halfway through, a thug stopped her and asked who she was. Princess Jeanne did not answer, but rode on her horse. The thugs were angry, grabbed their weapons, and shouted at her.

"In such a big place, isn't there a person with eyes?" Princess Jeanne exclaimed, "With so many people dressed in fine clothes, none of them knows how to be polite, and at least send someone worthy to talk to me?" ”

When the thugs heard this, they looked at each other, a little weak-hearted, and began to wait for the words to speak. And a few people in fancy clothes also noticed this. A man dressed as a butler whispered to his master, quickly drove away the crowd, and trotted over.

"Princess, princess, please come here." He stretched out his hand and pointed to the central position: "The masters of our family have been waiting for a long time. ”

As he spoke, he took Princess Jeanne and went to meet with them.

Several rich Greek lords stood up, led by a middle-aged man with a gold hat, and said, "Welcome, although you are a little late, Your Highness Princess." ”

"In accordance with the previous agreement, we Caspilos have been assembled, and so have the others." He spread out his hand and gestured to the others: "Now, it's time for you to fulfill the agreement." ”

"Of course. I hereby declare that I accept you as my courtiers. Princess Jeanne drew her sword and pressed it a few times. The rich men did not kneel down and swear an oath according to the procedure, but only bowed down to accept.

However, she did not dwell on this, but continued to announce: "Now, gather your men and follow me to the Wu Wangfu in the north to assemble." ”

As she spoke, she looked left and right at the group of Greeks around her, and added, "Just take your guards with you." For the rest of the audience, let them go home. ”

"No, we should go to the Colosseum first." Master Caspilos immediately refused: "You should be over there, giving a speech to the audience." Now there is no reaction from the palace side, and more people must be called to maintain order in the city by themselves. When the time comes, we will take you to the southern district to quell the rebellion, you can just wait with peace of mind. ”

"I'm not consulting with you, Mr. Caspillos, and the 'honorable' gentlemen." Princess Jeanne paused and put together two words with somewhat contradictory meanings: "We already agreed last time, and you agreed just now. In that case—"

She flicked her spear and unfurled the flag: "I, Jeanne of France, am your master. You should obey my commands, and not call the feudal lord like a fool. Remember! ”

However, the surrounding Greeks were unmoved, and many even burst into laughter. Kaspiros just scoffed and shrugged.

A short man next to him, who was also wearing a silk robe, scolded directly: "I think you're crazy." To give you some face, do you really think of yourself as a princess? Bah! Don't look at whose territory this is, dare to call us here! ”

"What about the princess. Who doesn't know that you, the Valois family, are about to be destroyed by the English? Another rich Greek man also mocked: "A barbarian, who boasts that he is like some noble man." When my ancestors were officials in the Macedonian Dynasty, your ancestor Capet was still a tribal leader. ”

"Okay, okay, don't fight with her." A rich man with a white beard came out and sang with a red face: "People are also our guests, everyone calm down." ”

"Hmm. Michael Khair! Caspilos also turned around and shouted, "You bring someone, please wait here first, calm down." ”

"Yes, sir." Behind him, a strong man in a cuirass immediately stepped forward. On the side, a group of thugs and helpers also happily gathered around, ready to drag Princess Jeanne down.

But while they were talking, Princess Jeanne took the flag in her hand, pulled the whistle from her waist, blew it, and then dropped the whistle and slammed the reins. The war horse man stood up, raised his front hooves and kicked twice, and kicked Michael, the leader of the family who was approaching with a lewd smile, and directly kicked back. kicked the horse's belly again, and the war horse immediately jumped up, raised its hind legs and kicked again, the thugs behind him had their chests sunken, and several people behind them were also smashed to the ground together.

Princess Jeanne took advantage of the situation and drove her horse forward. As soon as the war horse jumped onto the central platform, the nearest rich man was also cut down by her sword. The war horse galloped non-stop, knocking the already frightened old man Caspilos, along with the chair behind him, out of the air.

A thug next to her picked up a spear and rushed up, she ducked down, didn't bother to pay attention, turned her head and rushed to the short rich man who had just spoken disrespectfully, and with the help of horsepower, she slashed the guard in front of him with a sword. The rich man turned to run, but Princess Na dropped her sword, leaned out, grabbed his robe, pulled him back, and dragged him a few more paces back to the middle of the platform.

The other rich people did not react quickly, and when they saw her rioting and murder, they fled in all directions. Princess Jeanne waved a flagpole and tripped over a person next to her. She jumped off her horse, trampled the unfortunate man who had not gotten up, and dragged the short rich man over, pulled out her dagger, put it around his neck, and cried out, "Whoever comes again, I will slaughter them!" ”

The other Greeks hesitated, and those in front of them retreated, while those behind instinctively squeezed forward, and fell into confusion for a moment. It's just that the white-bearded rich man didn't know when he got up in front of the crowd, and he didn't even have time to shoot the ashes on his body, and he shouted: "Master Nikolao has been kidnapped!" Go and save him! ”

"Don't, don't, don't!" The short old man Nikolao was so frightened that he stopped drinking, and when he saw that the other party's family didn't listen, he couldn't help but scold in a tone that was even more angry than just now: "Makris, you son of a bitch!" Everyone, go and stop him! ”

At this time, the members of the Nikolao family hurriedly tried to intercept the Makris family thugs who were about to attack. However, before the two sides fought, there was a commotion from the rear.

"France, the French have killed me!" Someone shouted in panic.

"What?" Even the treacherous and cunning Master Makris didn't react.

However, he didn't have to wait too long. On the side of the square, Sir Louis with the young knight had already rushed over. The thugs and helpers did not dare to stop the running horses, only the Greeks on horseback hurriedly went to intercept them.

Sir Louis did not evade, but mounted his rifle and met him. The leading Greek stabbed his spear, and he flashed the tip of his spear slightly sideways, and the other party was dismounted by him almost at the same time, and the stout cavalry spear cut directly into the man's breastplate, and he was killed on the spot.

The Greeks who followed him attacked from the right, and when he saw that the distance was too close, he crossed the barrel of his spear, and smashed the handle of his spear against the horse's legs. The horse stumbled and fell out with the rider.

The third man was on the left, already brandishing a knife at his neck. Sir Louis dropped his gun, raised his left shoulder, bent to the right, and withstood the blow with the enlarged piece of armor on his shoulder. He drew the axe from his right side, turned around and swung it, and slashed at the Greek's waist. The enemy's upper body folded to the side, flipped over, and was dragged away by the horse.

The young knight in the back slashed at the thugs who rushed up. The people who rushed up stabbed him several times, but they failed to penetrate the armor, but were cut down many people along the way. The others immediately retreated to both sides at a faster speed than they rushed over, not daring to stop. The two of them fought all the way in, and rushed to Princess Jeanne's side in one go. Old Man Machris turned to run, but was cut down by an axe, and the family thugs scattered and fled.

This time, the rich people could not stop the resistance. The thugs and helpers have completely disobeyed the command, and they know that they are running around. Princess Jeanne shouted again: "Don't go!" All on their knees! Hands up! ”

At first, no one listened to him, and everyone flocked to the exit at the other end. The rich Greek man, who had accused her of not having a good bloodline before, ran the fastest this time, and he rushed to the front with a few family members at some point.

However, the last knight she left there was also killed. The richest of the riches, dressed in the richest, was immediately targeted. Several of them were scattered at once, and the knight swung his hammer and smashed his head open. The fleeing thugs ran back in a panic, cowering on the corner, not daring to move.

Seeing that they were all settled, Princess Jeanna and several knights glanced at each other, and with a wave of her dagger, she slit the neck of the short rich man who was held hostage by herself, threw it aside, and took a few steps back. The rich man, who had been stepped on by her, tried to get up, but the young knight took the sword and stabbed him downward, piercing him in half.

"One, two...... Oh, and the one that died. Five people, all together. Sir Louis nodded, and then went back to the report.

Princess Jeanne nodded.

"Listen, now, these ungrateful traitors have all been executed by me!" She shouted to the Greeks, "However, their family is still very strong, and these people will definitely be angry with you and will not let you have a good time." The Roman Khan's court will also track down the traitors, and you have to think about who will be the scapegoat in the end! ”

"However, I can give you asylum. I was born into the royal family of France, and I had my own title and title, and the Roman Khan's court may have promised me to gather people here to prepare for the pilgrimage. Now that the main culprits have been punished, you only need to make meritorious contributions to clear the charge of coercion. It's up to you to choose what you want to do! ”

"I, we owe your allegiance, princess!" The thugs in the front row didn't think much about it, and they all agreed.

"Yes, yes, we're all allegiance!" The other thugs and helpers also had no intention of accompanying the former owner to death, and they all responded.

"Okay, then I'll see how you perform." Princess Jeanne nodded and raised the flag in her hand: "Remember this flag, follow me!" ”

So saying, she picked up the sword on the ground, carried the banner, jumped on her horse, and left surrounded by the crowd. Sir Louis followed beside her, while the other two knights remained at the end of the court, driving away those who were about to be left behind.

When they walked away, in several mansions next to them, someone cautiously opened the windows and looked back and forth. And in the center of the square, Master Caspillos, who was on the ground, also suddenly raised his head and looked back and forth cautiously.

On the corner of the street, two figures rolled over the wall and ran over in a puff of smoke.

"Master, master, are you okay?" They hurriedly picked up Caspilos and became concerned.

"Nonsense, how can it be okay. I almost trampled the horse to death! Old Man Caspilos said angrily: "It's good that I pretended to be dead, so I didn't finish." ”

"Yes, Master Markris, they were all killed. This thief is so hateful. A family member hurriedly said.

"All dead?" Caspilos looked at the corpse next to him: "Have you counted?" ”

"Yes, fortunately, we reacted quickly and quickly hid over the wall. The French didn't notice us, but we kept an eye on it. Another explained: "I saw it with my own eyes. All four of them were killed. ”

"Good death!" Kaspiros breathed a sigh of relief: "It's a good thing to have suffered a night of sin......"

The two family members looked at each other, but Caspilos didn't explain too much, and threatened: "Of course, this barbarian woman can't be let go." I'm going to have to give her some color! ”

"Forget it, sir, I guess it's all French outside!" A family member hurriedly dissuaded.

"Yes, if they were just these few people, how dare they do such a big thing." Another family member also said: "Besides, the rest of us here has also been taken away by them. It's just the two of us now. ”

"That's all gone? This group eats things inside and out. Caspilos was quite dissatisfied, but probably thought that he was also playing dead, so he didn't want to continue complaining, so he just complained.

"Master, if nothing else, it's just the three of us now, isn't it even more impossible to beat them?" Seeing that he didn't speak, the family reminded again.

"I'm not a barbarian martial artist, what kind of ability can I beat." Caspilos argued. After speaking, he thought for a while and waved his hand: "Go, help me to the yamen of the Ministry of War!" ”

"Why don't you go home and hide?" The family members were a little surprised: "What are you going to do over there?" ”

"I'm an old acquaintance with Guo Daus." Caspilos claimed: "Let Godaus go and talk to her!" ”

"Yes, sir." The family members hurriedly came down and prepared to leave.

"Hat, hat!" Caspilos hurriedly reminded.

"Oh yes, hat!" One of the housekeepers hurriedly ran two steps, retrieved the expensive hat from under the table, patted it, and fastened it to Caspilos's bald head. The two of them carried him and quickly fled the other way.

(End of chapter)