Section 8: Study

By the end of the reception, it was already midnight. Ashrufat and Leo walked side by side to their room.

"Haluha, Ashrufat, that kid made a fuss, and you were made a count at once. Although it is an empty title, an earl is an earl. I'm still a knight. ”

"What is an empty title. Didn't I say that I was given the Dandon region as a fief?"

"The reason is simple. Because the Dandon area is an area with no residents. See? Although it is the territory of St. Jean, it is not inhabited by humans. It was a mountainous place, inhabited only by a race of 'half-beasts' or 'semu'. You don't want to get anything from anywhere. That's why there aren't any lords there. ”

Out of the corner of Leo's eye, he saw someone hurrying by. He recognized that the other party was none other than Ryan, who had lost face at the drinking party today.

"That kid...... Hey...... It looked like he was going to complain to Master Thomas. ”

This guess was correct, because a few minutes later, Ryan had already run into Thomas's tent.

Thomas's tent was simple, but because he was a commander, his tent was much larger than that of ordinary soldiers, and he was the only one living in it.

Ryan walked into the tent and saw Thomas reading the letter by candlelight.

"Master Thomas, why do you want to turn your elbow outward, I'm your disciple!"

"Ryan. Thomas sighed. "It is precisely because you are my disciple that I came forward. Think about it, what have you done? You're stirring up a pointless argument!"

"But he can't be a nobleman of that country...... I think he's just a wandering mercenary!"

"Ryan, whatever Eshurufat used to be, it doesn't matter. You should know that it was he who sent Princess Irina back. Now everyone knows this, and they can't deny it if they want to. Do you know what that means? It means that he has given up the bounty of the Paro! a duke's title, a province fief!"

"But this ......"

"Even if he was once a mercenary, now he must be recognized as a nobleman. If I had done nothing today, if I had just watched him lose face, and then left in a fit of rage—Ashrufat was very proud, and he would have left after being humiliated by you. And then what will happen? All the people in the world know how meanly our St. Jean is so unkind that he uses this obscene means to repay a warrior who has sacrificed so much for us. Because of your foolishness, for those unimportant reasons, we will face many accusations against us. So do you know what he was doing, and he was immediately canonized as an earl today? Princess Irina did the right thing. ”

"But he certainly doesn't have a noble blood......"

"Noble bloodlines don't say much. Because of his great achievements on the battlefield, there are many examples of promotion from militia to knight. Similarly, there are many examples of noble bloodlines who have been deprived of their titles and territories because of their violation of knighthood. Noble pedigree is a very important factor, I admit, it is important, but it is not a decisive factor. ”

"What's more, Ashrufat is highly skilled in martial arts, and now is the time to employ people. Drove away such a good warrior at this time...... If I hadn't seen you lose your mind with jealousy, I would have given you a beating. ”

"Why should I be jealous of him?!"

"Because of Princess Irina, of course. Am I wrong about what I said?"

Ryan's face quickly turned red, and he was so embarrassed that he couldn't speak for a moment.

"Ryan, I know how you feel. I'm from here, so of course I'm very aware of this kind of thing. But you don't have what it takes to pursue Princess Irina right now. What good is it if you get rid of Ashrufat, there will be no shortage of admirers and suitors around the princess. She will definitely be crowned queen in the future, and if you really want to become her lover one day, you must now work hard to achieve military success and improve your status. Instead of having time to be jealous of others. You have to earn at least the title of earl for yourself before you are initially eligible to enter the category of pursuing a princess. Okay, I don't want to say more, you go back. ”

Ryan departed in a huff. Thomas lit the candle and continued to read the letter.

Small, footsteps could be heard outside. Someone walked into the tent. By the candlelight, Thomas recognized the identity of the guest.

"Ashrufat, congratulations on your canonization of earl today. Thomas narrowed his eyes and noticed that Ashrufat had a shield in his hand. The shield with the crest of the blood dragon engraved on it.

"Master Thomas......" Ashrufat seemed to want to say something, but he couldn't say it for a moment.

"I'm sorry for that. In fact, I saw that Blood Dragon Banner you carried with you. I thought it must be your coat of arms, so I secretly asked someone to make a shield for you without your consent. There is also a set of armor. You came to me, am I mistaken? This is not your coat of arms. ”

"No, Master Thomas......" Ashruphat opened his mouth, but still couldn't say anything. He found that he was so unexpressive. He had come to Thomas to thank him for the dress he had given him today, for the shield he had prepared, for the round at that time.

But these words of thanks piled up in my throat, but I couldn't say them.

"Master Thomas...... Please ......" I don't know what Lu Dao is for, but when the words of thanks come out, the appearance completely changes. "Please accept me as a disciple. I want to learn the art of war from you!"

The smile faded from the corner of Thomas's mouth. His eyes narrowed, like a tiger looking at its prey that had come into attack. This gaze made even Ashrufat feel a little uneasy.

"I don't want to waste my time, so I'll just say it. Others say that I am a famous general in the world, invincible. But I never take these words seriously. I've always felt that I'm just a few years longer than everyone else, and I'm just a little smart. I've tried to teach my students, but I can't teach them. Later, I finally understood that my way of warfare was not something that could be mastered by learning, but required rare talent. That gift is courage and wisdom. Unfortunately, it's hard to have people who have both. ”

"I ......"

"I know what you're trying to say. A lot of people, like you, think of themselves as that rare person. Let's put it this way, I have a little test. Something that anyone can do, something very simple. If you pass the test, I would like to share my experience with you. But if you can't, you don't bring it up again, how about that?"

Ashrufat nodded.

"My request is very simple, although it is midnight now, there are still quite a few people in the barracks who have not slept. I ask you to start from your quarters, strip naked, carry a lamp, and walk slowly around the barracks. Remember, it's a 'slow walk' and you have to carry a light. You can't wear any clothes or armor during the whole process. You can't hold any metal, cloth, paper, or fur in your hands, and you can't let the lights go out. If you do, come back here and see me before dawn. ”

Enough should be enough. Looking at the back of Ashrufat leaving, Thomas thought. This is an excessive, and few young people can afford such humiliation.

After he gave up, he would give him a copy of the military book he had written, which was not much different from the textbook of the aristocratic college.

Thinking of the book of war he had written, Thomas sighed again. It's a pity that I worked so hard to work, but no one can understand it. But maybe many years later, someone who can understand will appear and master his own wisdom.

He sat down and continued to read the letter. At the edge of his desk, there were a dozen secret letters. It will take a long time to read all the letters.

As he picked up the last letter, he heard footsteps again. Ashrufat walked into the tent. Although his clothes were a little messy at the moment, there was no pain of humiliation in his expression. Besides, I didn't seem to hear any commotion in the camp just now.

"I have done what you commanded, Master Thomas. Ashrufat said.

This sentence made Thomas stunned for a moment. But he was back to normalcy right away.

"Tell me, what did you do?"

"I took off my shirt first and walked around the camp. It makes people think I'm just getting drunk and shirtless. Then he went to the utility room of the camp and borrowed five large barrels and two pack horses from the quartermaster. I pressed four buckets on the backs of the two horses, just like normal cargo. Then remove the lid and bottom of the last bucket and put it on the body. Then I came to the middle of the two horses. So it would seem to others that I was just driving two horses carrying some kind of supplies. From the front, they could only see the bucket in front of me, and from the side, they could only see the pack horse. So I walked around like this, and then went back to my room to change my clothes and came to you. ”

"Ha Lu Ha...... Ha ......" Thomas suddenly burst out laughing, and stopped for a long time.

"Very good, I accepted this disciple. Thomas picked up a book from the side shelf. "This is the book I wrote. Of course, it's basically just a theoretical thing. You go back and read it first. As for specific teaching...... Anyway, we're going to war, and you happen to be my adjutant, so I'll teach you everything else on the battlefield. ”

At this time, in the room high up in the castle, the girl was watching the old man enter the room with uneasy attention.

The old man dressed in black was her grandfather and king of St. Jean. Under the light, the tumors on the old man's skin looked particularly hideous. These tumors don't just grow on the hands, but all over the body.

"You did a great job today. A clever arrangement that unites the interior. The groundwork was laid for our counteroffensive. You don't have to worry about the war, Thomas will take care of everything. Now you can move on to the second lesson. The content of this lesson is to see through people's hearts. ”

"Count Thomas...... Really ......"

"Of course it will! If you talk about arranging troops and commanding a large army, no one in this world can compare to Thomas......! Thomas is a haughty man, much like your Ashrufat. In order to gain Thomas's loyalty, I took great pains back then. Remember, there are many kinds of people, but for monarchs, the first thing to distinguish between valuable and worthless is valuable. Usually whether there is value depends on whether there is talent. For those who are worthless, don't waste time. But for valuable people, it must be highly valued. Even if you can't get your hands on him, you have to destroy him as much as possible. I'll give you an example, there are a dozen knights at tonight's party, which one do you think is the most talented, besides Thomas?"