Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Little Pliskin's identity is an open secret in Maplestone City.

All the prominent businessmen in Maplestone City know that although Mr. Priskin is young, he is a close comrade-in-arms of the Blood Wolf, an important staff member of the Lord of Tiefeng County, and the sole agent of the number one wool smuggler in the New Land in Maplestone City. people.

Of course, the number one wool smuggler in the new land, the lord of Tiefeng County, and the Blood Wolf himself knew nothing about this.

If another kid with a yellow mouth gave himself so many titles, he would be regarded as a joke.

The surname "Pliskin" doesn't help either. Although the Pliskin family was one of the most famous families in Gevaudan, it was not considered a wealthy family in Maplestone City, and it was not famous at all.

However, little Pliskin had a distinguished introducer - Fernando Leo, a senior partner of the Navarre family and the plenipotentiary representative of the Ocean Blue Wool Import and Textile Guild in Plato.

As we all know, Veneta needs to import massive amounts of wool every year to satisfy the endless supply of spinning wheels and looms in the textile factories.

But transactions are always two-way, and Plato's need for exported wool is almost as strong as Veneta's desire for imported wool.

And Fernando Leo is a mountain that wool cannot avoid on its way from Plato to Veneta.

Since it was Fernando Leo who personally introduced little Pliskin into the social scene of Maplestone City, the wealthy businessmen in the capital of the new land could not help but take a high look at Pliskin - at least on the surface.

And because Fernando Leo does not stay in Maplestone City most of the time, little Pliskin invisibly plays the role of a middleman in communicating between Maplestone City and Mr. Leo - leading to the fact that even if someone knows that kid Pliskin If he is bragging, he will not take the initiative to expose it.

In addition, the Maple Stone City social scene originally had a very strong interest in the Tiefeng County rebels.

The Platons worship heroes, especially tragic heroes. If tragic heroes could add a touch of rebellion, it would be like dancing on the most sensitive itch in their souls.

It is no exaggeration to say that if Winters Montagne was killed at the moment of victory in the Battle of Blood Mud, he would immediately become a hero that the new settlers—and even the Platoons—would always remember.

The new settlers will carve statues, build churches, and erect monuments in his honor. The day he died in battle would gradually evolve into a festival, where people would wear blue flowers to commemorate him, and his name would eventually be declared among the saints that day.

His story will be sung in taverns, recited in churches, and told to the next generation by warm hearths, and will one day spark a debate about ownership between the Platons and the Venetians. Fierce competition.

With such folk customs, it is not difficult to understand why little Pliskin, a young boy from a remote country, could become the most popular guest in the living room of Maple Stone City overnight:

All the young men in Maplestone City want to know more about the illustrious martial arts of Blood Wolf;

The unmarried ladies all longed to hear again the legend of the Stygian ghost rising from the dead;

The elders were extremely interested in "how the rebels defeated the Khan Court of Terdun with only one county."

As a result, little Pliskin rose from "Mr. Pliskin from Gevaudan" to "Blood Wolf's close comrade-in-arms" and "Iron Iron" with glass after glass of wine and compliments one after another. "An important staff member of the Lord of Fengjun" and "the authorized agent of the number one wool smuggler in the new land".

On the other hand, little Pliskin himself is also very lovable:

He is good-looking, funny, always has a cheerful look on his face, and knows how to please people;

When with young people, he doesn't have the airs of "Mr. Pliskin" and can play if he dares; when with older people, he knows how to show respect.

Although he liked to brag, he never took the opportunity to belittle others, so he rarely caused resentment. Even if the audience does not completely believe what he is saying, they are willing to regard what he tells as an interesting story.

The "gentlemen" of Maplestone City welcomed little Pliskin. They greeted him in the driveway, opened their doors to him, prepared a seat for him at the dinner table, and naturally cared for him in every way.

For unknown reasons, the New Reclamation Army never took any action against him.

Little Pliskin's identity became an open secret in Maplestone City.

He even paid a visit to the home of Major Ronald, the former military commander of Tiefeng County.

After the Battle of Blood Mud, Major Ronald was released along with other captured officers. The released officers were immediately recalled to the King's Castle to report on their duties, and their families were temporarily resettled in Maplestone City.

Because they are unfamiliar with life and have no one to care for them, many family members of military officers have encountered various difficulties in their lives.

Little Pliskin took matters into his own hands and sent the unpaid "arrears" of the former Tiefeng County officers to Mrs. Ronald, entrusting the latter to distribute them to the families of the officers.

Sometimes, little Pliskin would wake up from his dreams, fearing that the military police of the New Reclamation Corps would break in the next second, take him into a dark cell and torture him.

He also couldn't figure out why the New Reclamation Corps would acquiesce to him eating and drinking in Maple Stone City.

Do you really not know? Or do you want to maintain a communication channel? Or are you playing the long game to catch the big fish?

But little Pliskin's questions will likely never be answered—and he won't have to worry about them anymore.

With the New Reclamation troops dispatched to attack Maple Leaf Fort and General Adams committing suicide, little Pliskin's good days in Maplestone City came to an end.

On the day of the incident, the "superiors" of Maplestone City immediately discovered that Mr. Pliskin from Gevaudan had disappeared.

Young people may also ask questions at the dinner table. But the elders would only smile at each other, shrug, and then warn the younger members of the family not to mention this name outside again.

But none of them expected that within a few days, the "blood wolf's close comrade" would secretly return to the home of a distant relative of the Pliskin family in Maplestone City.

If little Pliskin's boastful remarks before had only received some polite smiles, then this time he risked his life to sneak back to Maplestone City and earned him real respect.

You know, even Fernando Leo has left Maple Stone City early.

But respect cannot be used as a tool of gold. Little Pliskin also knew in his heart that the only reason why he was not reported was that the war in Jinghu County had not yet been decided.

Therefore, when several Maplestone City youths who were very familiar with him secretly found him and inquired about the relationship between the blood wolf and Geza Adonis, Skul Mekeren and others in a roundabout way, little Puli There was a loud buzzing sound inside Skin's skull.

Although he was in a poorly furnished darkroom, he could actually smell the fragrant aroma of the suckling pig that had been roasting slowly over low fire all night when he opened the lid.

He picked up the water glass and concealed his inner agitation.

After confirming the hesitant expressions of several young people from famous families in Maplestone City, he took a sip of water, put the cup back in its place, and looked at the people in front of him with a carefree smile: "You also know the result? "

Several young people looked at each other, and after repeated silent conversations, one person replied in a low voice: "I didn't tell us, but I vaguely heard some rumors."

The other person couldn't hold himself back and spoke impatiently: "Mr. Pliskin, what exactly is the blood wolf..."

Before the other party could finish speaking, Little Pliskin raised his hand, and several young people immediately shut their mouths.

"Since I haven't told you, I won't tell you either." Little Pliskin's heart was beating wildly in his chest. He issued an eviction order without ceremony and gestured to the white-headed Roger on the side to see off the guest: "Just Use these words to go back and do business."

Several young people wanted to speak, but seeing Mr. Pliskin's serious expression, they did not dare to ask any more questions, so they reluctantly followed the new white-haired servant and left.

Little Pliskin waited. When the footsteps of several people disappeared, he finally couldn't help but jumped up from the chair, stood in the middle of the room, punched the air around him desperately, and stuffed the towel into his mouth. "Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuu".

Not long after, there were footsteps walking in again.

Little Pliskin instantly returned to his chair and sat upright.

The next second, he found that he was still holding the towel in his hand, so he hurriedly hid the towel and continued to sit upright.

The door opened, and Roger the Whitehead appeared outside.

Little Pliskin jumped off the chair and dragged Roger into the room.

Under Roger's confused gaze, little Pliskin first made sure that no one was eavesdropping outside the door, then looked around against the window frame to make sure no one was eavesdropping outside the window, and finally covered all the gaps in the door and window with sheets and blankets. Dead block.

"What's wrong?" Roger Baldhead asked puzzledly.

"Shhh!" Little Pliskin immediately covered Roger's mouth, turned his head and listened for a moment to confirm that there was no abnormal sound, then bit his ear and told Roger with great excitement: "Your Excellency the tribune must have won! "

"Ah?" Roger Baldhead looked surprised at first, but he reacted quickly. He immediately lowered his voice and said in realization, "So these guys are here to beg for mercy?"

"I don't know what they want to do, but they must have heard something. These big families in Maplestone City have intricate relationships and must be better informed than us." Little Pliskin let go of Roger and walked around in circles. , and suddenly fell into trouble again:

"It's true, Your Excellency. After winning the battle, you sent us a message! It made us guess like blind people. Alas, it would be great if we could contact His Excellency the Tribune... …”

As he said that, little Pliskin turned his attention to Roger.

Roger Baldhead knew he couldn't hide, and he didn't want to hide either. In terms of courage, this Steelborg man is no bigger than little Pliskin.

He patted his chest very bachelorly and said in half-baked Platonic dialect: "Stop talking, I'll go find the tribune."

But little Pliskin shook his head: "No way, you're here for the first time and you don't know the road, where can you find me? Besides, the people in Maplestone City know that you came with me. If you disappear, they will See what cards I have."

"What should we do?" Roger glared.

Little Pliskin sighed, fell straight on the bed, closed his eyes, and said helplessly: "Then we can only wait for people to come to us on their own initiative, and then we can find a way to deal with it."

"Then when will they come?" Roger glared again.

"Wait!" Little Pliskin covered his face with a pillow.

The excruciating wait did not last long.

In the afternoon, several young people had just been sent away by little Pliskin.

Late at night, three leaders of the Maplestone City merchants and craftsmen's guild - Mikaesh Kelemin, Besse Gyorgi and Gvardani Yuzhov came to visit together.

As soon as he saw this formation, little Pliskin understood that his tribune had not only won, but it must have been a great victory.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for the other party to come in such a hurry and not even think about bargaining.

Secretly shouting three long lives for Lord Blood Wolf in his heart, little Pliskin walked onto the carriage drive and welcomed the three old gentlemen into the main entrance.

This time, the meeting place between the two parties was no longer a simple dark room, but a living room with clear windows.

After a brief exchange of greetings, the three leaders of the Maplestone City guild went straight to the point and frankly explained their purpose:

They hope to ask the Blood Wolf to come forward on their behalf and mediate with Colonel Gesa, Colonel Skull and Lieutenant Colonel Matthias of Bianjiang County...

Mr. Mikesh paused and slowly stated the embarrassing reason: "Resolve mutual misunderstandings and avoid wrong... liquidation."

The trio then began detailing the rewards they could offer.

Little Pliskin kept nodding, seemingly listening carefully, but in fact a bold idea was sprouting in his mind.

After putting down the weight on one end of the scale, the three Maplestone City Chamber of Commerce leaders planned to stand up and leave - they did not think that little Pliskin was qualified to bargain, but only regarded the latter as a sounding board.

But the megaphone spoke its own voice.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mikesh, Mr. Besse, Mr. Gwadani." Little Pliskin asked politely: "Why don't you take this price and go to Colonel Gesa and Colonel Skull yourself?" And Lieutenant Colonel Matthias?”

The three leaders of the Maple Stone City Chamber of Commerce exchanged glances quietly and did not answer for a while.

"Because it's not enough, right?" Little Pliskin asked and answered himself: "Others may not know it, but I know it very well. In the eyes of the powerful military leaders, we businessmen are nothing... I have just experienced a After the war, the garrison troops in each county urgently need to raise military resources to make up for their losses. Maplestone City is the most juicy spoils in their eyes, and the newly cultivated land can no longer defy their power."

Speaking of this, the eyes of several people, including little Pliskin, were a little gloomy.

"What's more." Little Pliskin changed the topic, with a hint of chill in his tone: "The so-called misunderstanding is probably not a misunderstanding; the so-called liquidation of mistakes is probably not wrong either."

Little Pliskin stretched out his finger and began to take stock of one thing after another: "In the Maple Leaf Castle tragedy, you allowed the New Reclamation Army to enter the city; after the tragedy, it was you who came forward to appease the people in the city; the puppet troops attacked Mirror Lake County, it was you who defended the city for the puppet government troops again; until the coalition troops crossed the border and gave you the final chance to surrender, you turned a deaf ear."

"We..." Mikey's defense was very pale: "There is nothing we can do."

"I know. But Colonel Gesar wants to liquidate you, and all he needs is an excuse." Little Pliskin's body language showed that he was the weaker side, but his words were as sharp as a knife: "But your The ship carried baggage to Sanel, and the militia you provided helped Sanel defend Maplestone City. These are all real things."

Little Pliskin struck while the iron was hot: "Besides, you should know what kind of person Colonel Gesar is - he is a guy who can squeeze out a handful of water from a stone. Believe it or not, if Colonel Gesar only ransacked half of the people's homes , the remaining half will only clap and applaud?”

If old Michael still couldn't understand, it could only be because he was deaf.

He coughed slightly and said pointedly: "Please tell me directly, Mr. Pliskin, what exactly do you want us to do?"

What Mikesh didn't expect was that the young boy in front of him gave him an unexpected answer: "I don't want you to do anything, I just suggest you - don't take any chances."

Next, Mr. Pliskin, who represented the interests of the Tiefeng County rebels, began to put himself in the shoes of several Maplestone City wealthy businessmen and analyze the pros and cons:

"In the final analysis, you bribed the Tribune of Montagne because you wanted the protection of the Tribune of Montagne. But please think about it, is the saber in the hands of others really worthy of trust? There is always only one The saber in your hand is the reliable saber - I tell you, if you want to save your wealth and life, then there is only one way to protect Maple Stone City!"

"If you want to surrender from the beginning, Gesa will just eat you up and wipe you clean; if you defend Maplestone City and prevent Gesa and Skull from attacking, then they will have to accept your surrender; if you can If you defeat Geza's troops, not only will you not have to surrender, but even Maplestone City will not be plundered." Little Pliskin's eyes sparkled: "If you defeat all the four-county coalition forces, let alone Maplestone City, The new land is yours!"

"The members of the various guilds we represent are honest and dutiful citizens." Old Mikey coughed again: "We don't know how to fight, and we don't want to fight."

"Then..." Little Pliskin looked solemn and spoke sincerely: "You can only find someone who can fight for you."

…

…

[Maplestone City West Gate Tower]

"So?" Winters stood on the city wall, playing with the city door key in his hand, and glanced at little Pliskin: "You just sold my 'protection' to them?"

"It really took a lot of effort from me! Your Excellency!" Little Priskin was unaware of the strange atmosphere. He was still immersed in excitement and continued to claim credit: "The citizens of Maplestone City originally wanted to tie me up and hand me over. To the commander of the puppet army, but I was not afraid in the face of danger, and I told them the story of how you entered Jevodanqiu without committing any crime! I also told them the story of how I collaborated with foreign enemies and was still forgiven by you! I also told them of your iron fist. The deeds of restoring law and order in Tiefeng County made the citizen representatives of Maplestone City burst into tears and fell to the ground..."

"Okay, okay." Winters waved his hand and asked, "What exactly did you allow to go out?"

"Amnesty them for the crime of providing services to the puppet army, not liquidating all their collaboration with the enemy during the occupation of the puppet army, and protecting their lives and property from the troops of other counties..." Little Priskin said with his fingers. After reading a few items, he grinned: "They are all already owned by the Tiefeng County people! They are simply given for free!"

Winters stood up holding on to the hilt of his sword. Not only did he feel pain under his ribs, but also inside his skull. He patted little Pliskin hard on the shoulder and praised through gritted teeth: "You did a good job! You did a good job. ah!"

Little Priskin gasped in pain. He did not dare to ask Montagne, so he could only look pitifully at the other tribunes present.

"Why are you looking at me?" Andre grinned: "In my opinion, you did a good job this time! But the two of them may not necessarily see it that way."

Little Pliskin looked even more pitiful.

After all, Mason relented and briefly explained the situation to little Pliskin.

Little Pliskin was dumbfounded. How did he know that there had been a gentleman's agreement within the coalition forces beforehand?

"Then..." Little Pliskin stammered and asked, "Then I will invite Colonel Skull back and hand over Maplestone City to him?"

Winters patted little Pliskin on the shoulder again: "If you were Colonel Skull, what would you think when you heard this proposal?"

"Subordinate... I don't know..."

"If I were Colonel Skull." Winters sighed: "I would only regard it as a trap - a trap to wipe out the Thunder County Army."

Little Pliskin was about to cry: "Then... what should we do?"

Winters snorted slightly and did not answer.

"Otherwise, ask Colonel Geisa to be the intermediary?" Mason frowned and pondered: "We hand over Maplestone City to Colonel Geisa, and then Colonel Geisa hands it over to Colonel Skull?"

"Hand it over?" Winters turned around, picked up the huge city gate key, and said decisively: "The Maplestone City Democracy took the initiative to hand over this key to us. If we hand it over again, not only will it be Not only did you break your trust with Skull Meklen, but you will also break your trust with the entire new land! Don’t hand over!”

"That's right!" Andre raised his hand.

Mason shrugged, looking more relaxed.

The sun was setting in the west, and smoke was rising from everywhere in Maple Stone City.

"Everything that Pliskin promised must be fulfilled." Winters looked at the largest city in the newly reclaimed land shrouded in green gauze, and gradually clarified his thoughts: "Let Charles lead the gendarmerie into the city. Seal barracks, houses, warehouses and all legion property, and assist the city guard in maintaining law and order.”

"Write it down." Mason had already taken out his notebook and graphite pen.

"Let Bart Xialing lead two companies and take over the defense of the west gate."

"Just take over Simon?" Mason asked.

"Only the west gate will be taken over. All other city gates will still be temporarily guarded by militiamen."

"Where are the other troops?"

"Other troops stay outside the city." Winters' tone became stern: "Commanders at all levels are ordered to restrain the soldiers and prohibit any Tiefeng County soldiers from entering the city without permission."

"Why?" Andre was puzzled.

"If we swagger into the city." Winters sighed: "Then it's really irreversible."

Andre scratched his head, not understanding.

"Colonel Skull," Mason prompted.

Andre said "Oh" for a long time, and then asked helplessly: "After taking the key to the city gate, but not sending troops to garrison, there must be a reason, right?"

"Isn't the reason ready?" Winters raised his hand, pointed directly at Maple Leaf Castle on the high ground outside the city, and said with a smile: "Isn't that the best reason?"

Mason nodded in agreement: "Just in time, we can let the troops practice siege tactics. Since the expansion of the army, we have not experienced a siege battle, and I am afraid that many company commanders have almost forgotten it. The defenders of Maple Leaf Fort are all The old, the weak, the sick, are a perfect target.”

Andre yawned on the side.

"Call Pierre over. I have something to ask him." Winters looked at Maple Leaf Castle, which was still flying the red rose flag, and had already begun to conceive of the siege layout in his mind: "Count the prisoners. I want to know that there are all Which officers escaped into Maple Leaf Fort. If there are any prisoners who are familiar with the structure of Maple Leaf Fort, please bring them to me."

"Okay, I've written it all down."

Winters turned around and caught the little Pliskin back with his eyes as he tried to slip away.

"Your Excellency." Little Pliskin lowered his head.

Seeing little Pliskin's frightened and frustrated look, Winters couldn't bear it. This time he gently patted little Pliskin on the shoulder: "Thank you."

Little Pliskin finally couldn't help it, and tears of grievance welled up.

"Stop crying, there are still things for you to do." Winters just praised him and began to call people again: "Get me all the newspapers you can collect, and then invite the heads of the major trading houses. . If there are people who have recently returned to New Reclamation, please also invite them - I need to know what has happened recently outside of New Reclamation."

"I'll do it right away." Little Pliskin wiped away his tears and left happily.

Winters looked at little Pliskin's back, thought of Pierre again, and felt another pain inside his skull.

"Colonel Scull." Mason reminded: "Should we still send someone to explain."

Winters rubbed his forehead and thought for a while: "We also need to send someone to Colonel Gesa to explain the situation."

"How to say?"

"What else can I say?" Winters smiled bitterly: "Tell the truth."

"Will they believe it?"

Winters snorted coldly: "Believe it or not!"

This time it was Mason's turn to smile bitterly, and Andre came over and hugged Winters' shoulders, laughing wildly: "This is Winters Montagne! This is the blood of wolves! Believe it or not! Not convinced!" Just come here and see the truth on the battlefield!"

"The situation we are facing now is actually not a good one." Winters looked toward the southwest in the dusk and recounted his thoughts: "Warnie County has isolated us from the 'mainland' Tiefeng County, and Leiqun County Hexilin Province is right next to us - so our current primary goal is still Warnie County."

"Okay." Mason nodded habitually.

"Andre." Winters also touched Andre's shoulder. He realized that he hadn't done such an intimate gesture with his companion for a long time, so he patted him harder: "You have to keep an eye on him. Movement in Wargne County.”

"Don't worry!" Andre laughed loudly: "If the turtle in Wargne County dares to show his head, he will no longer be a turtle."

"The person who sent the letter to Colonel Gesar is a good choice." Mason thought of another question and checked for any omissions. "But who should be sent to explain the situation to Colonel Skull? I'm afraid it will be difficult for him to trust us again."

This problem also stumped Winters for a while: "We have to find someone we trust and who they can trust."

The city fell into silence for a moment, with only returning birds circling above.

Andre slapped his forehead with a smile on his face: "I thought of a good candidate!"

…

[Outskirts of Maplestone City]

[Convoy escorting Colonel Bode’s coffin]

"Hey! I really can't do anything to you!" Seb Carrington deliberately kept a straight face, but his eyes could not hide the smugness and satisfaction of being needed: "Colonel Bode is gone, and this kind of thing happens. , besides me, who else can support you?"

[I forgot to explain at the end of the previous chapter. With reference to the distance between Maplestone City and Green Valley, as well as the speed of reporting of several real-world rout troops, [Pierre repulsed the Green Valley defenders] to [the first batch of rout troops appeared in Outside Maple Stone City] the time interval is shortened from six days to three days]

[The current timeline is as follows]

[Battle Date-1 Battle of Green Valley, Colonel Bode discovered the enemy's whereabouts, and Winters rushed to the main battlefield overnight;

The day of the battle

Battle date +1 deserters to Green Valley;

Battle date +2 Pierre defeated the last fighting force of Felt's department;

On the night of battle date +2, Felt's troops retreated and Pierre pursued them;

Battle date + 5 deserters arrive at Maplestone City;

Battle date +6 Winters leads the army back to Green Valley]

[Thanks to book friends for their collection, reading, subscription, recommendation votes, monthly votes, rewards and comments, thank you all]