Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Cold sweat flowed down his back, and Mikhail suddenly sobered up.

"Brother..." The timber merchant tried desperately to squeeze out a smile on his fat face, but his expression became as ugly as a dog biting his finger. He muttered in defense: "...I didn't know you were... …”

Hearing this, Old Dusak became even more unhappy.

"What?" Gilad's eyebrows rose, but his tone of question was kind and friendly: "I'm not from Tiefeng County, so you scold me even more harshly?"

"no……"

"What's not?"

"do not mean that……"

"What does that mean?"

The fat lumber dealer from Wargne County was forced into a corner and did not dare to say another word for fear of being caught again. He panicked and grabbed the hem of old Ma Jiya's clothes under the table, and asked the latter for help with tears in his eyes.

Little Ma Jiya was gloating about his misfortune, and was surprised to find that his father, who was usually cautious and never got involved in other people's disputes, now chose to stand up for a fellow villager who was not close to him.

"He is drunk, so don't worry about what he said while drunk." Old Matya bowed and apologized, blocking the mournful lumber merchant behind him: "Gilard Fleninovich."

"Yes, what he said was drunken talk, but it was also the truth." Girard did not buy it and said aggressively: "Brother, you and I might as well talk to each other. A year ago, you people from Wargne County were still You treat us as rebels and rebels and treat us with disdain. Now, seeing that our young men in Tiefeng County have become prosperous, you are jealous again and blame us for riding on your head - is there anything wrong with what I said? "

"Don't scare him," old Matya begged sincerely: "Gilard Fleninovich."

Girard stared with the ferocious eyes of a wolf at the two free men of Wargne County;

The timber merchant huddled up and tried to hide behind his fellow villagers;

Old Ma Jiya looked as usual, like a tree facing the storm.

Little Ma Jiya couldn't help but hold her breath, and Siegfried was also silently observing the confrontation.

Only the piano player was still concentrating on reading "Escape from the Tiger's Mouth", as if he had been withdrawn from the world, and everything around him had nothing to do with it.

Suddenly, Gilad slapped the table and laughed.

The suffocating tension before disappeared without a trace in an instant.

Little Ma Jia and lumber merchant Mikhail breathed a sigh of relief unconsciously.

"Thirty years ago." Girard seemed to be joking and said to the timber merchant hiding behind his fellow villager: "You will be beaten, and it will be a severe beating."

“When I beat you back then, it was only my own face that was humiliated.” Old Dussac said with great nostalgia, and he sighed: “Now, when I beat you, it is Montagne’s face that is humiliated. "

The lumber dealer wiped his sweat and was glad that he had escaped.

Old Ma Jiya bowed again, this time deeper than the last time.

Seeing this, the timber merchant also hurriedly bowed.

"Wait, don't bend down yet, I still have something to say." Gilad's expression changed and he stopped smiling.

He put down his wine glass, stood up, straightened his back, and asked the two free men from Wargne County sternly: "You said that we are riding on your heads, and you are jealous that we are serving as officials under the Blood Wolf, but you know, How did these 'good times' come about?"

"Do you know how many responsible villagers in Lower Tiefeng County burned down their own homes in order to hold back the Hurd Barbarian?"

"Do you know how many good young men are buried on both sides of the Pangtuo River?"

"If the people of Tiefeng County hadn't stopped the Terdun tribe, you would have been robbed, enslaved, and massacred!" Gilad clenched his fists and slammed them on the table, letting go of the knives, forks, cups and saucers. The hearts of the others trembled: "I don't expect you to be grateful to me! But you should at least show respect to those who died in the battle! Every one of them!"

"The Battle of the Styx, the Battle of the Blood Mud, the Battle of the Howling Valley..." Gilad's eyes were red, and his hands were shaking slightly: "You regard them as stories from the mouths of storytellers, but for the people of Tiefeng County, Come on, this story is all written in blood! Do you know how many people were injured in Tiefeng County? How many people died? How many pillars became disabled? How many women became widows? How many children have since become orphan?"

The table was silent.

The quiet little space, surrounded by the noisy and chaotic environment of the pub, is like a piece of ice in a hot iron pot.

Gilad fell back in his seat in despair, lowered his head, and sang Dussac's desolate lament in a low voice:

“Our land is not plowed,

"Our land is tilled with horseshoes,

"The land is planted with Dussac's heads,

"The Shield River is dotted with young widows,

"The rolling waves are the tears of parents..."

The blond mercenary sitting opposite Old Dussac was also touched. He stared at the wine in the glass and hummed softly:

"Oh, Shield River, our parents, why is your water so muddy.

“Ah, child, how can my water not be muddy?

"Cold springs flow out from under me,

"Silver fish muddy the waters of my quiet river."

At the end of the song, Gilad wiped the wet corners of his eyes and drank quietly, seemingly not wanting to say another word.

Siegfried silently drank with old Dussac.

For a moment, there was an uneasy silence around the wine table.

Old Ma Jiya used her eyes to stop her younger son who wanted to say something to resolve the embarrassing situation, and then shook his head at the fellow countryman who wanted to run away on the spot, leaving the precious silence to old Dusak.

"Hurrah!"

Unfortunately, a sudden voice sounded from the table.

The piano player clapped his thighs excitedly, as if he had just returned from another new world, and exclaimed to the others at the wine table: "It's so well written!"

"The wording is vivid, the sentences are easy to understand, the plot is ups and downs, and the characters are vivid and vivid - the most valuable thing is that it can also be rhymed?" The piano player asked in disbelief: "In this poor place, how can anyone actually Is there anyone who understands the power of rhythm?"

He flipped feverishly through every corner of the pamphlet, and finally found the author's name on the edge of the last page: "Jacob Kling?"

"Jacob Green?" The piano player chewed on the name, slapped his thigh again, and said seriously: "This man is worth meeting!"

It wasn't until this moment that the piano player realized that something was not right about the atmosphere at the wine table.

"What happened?" the piano player asked a little embarrassedly. He glanced at the faces of his tablemates and suddenly realized: "Are we going to fight again?"

Before his companion could explain to him, the lute player had already snatched the lute back, kicked off the bench, and jumped onto the table.

The whole set of movements was so smooth that Ma Jiya was dumbfounded.

On this side, the violinist cheered: "What are you waiting for? Why don't you start now!"

On the other side, Siegfried pulled the violinist off the table in disgust. At the same time, he awkwardly nodded to the others and apologized. He whispered a few words into the violinist's ear.

"What?" The violinist was very disappointed: "Is it just for this?"

He picked up the bench as if nothing had happened, sat down again obediently, then reached out and patted the table, and asked the lumber dealer on the other side of the wine table: "Hey, you are not satisfied just because someone else is riding on your head? There has to be someone." Are you riding on your head? Why are you dissatisfied?"

Mikhail was embarrassed and didn't know how to answer.

"Oh! That's it." The violinist tilted his head and glanced at the unhappy old Dussac, then looked at the lumber dealer: "I'm not afraid that I have less, I'm just afraid that others have more than me - it's because we were originally together. You are not satisfied until the person riding on your head replaces the person riding on your head."

As soon as these words came out, the lumber merchant was not only embarrassed, but also so ashamed that he wanted to crawl into the cracks in the ground. At the same time, the lumber merchant was very angry because the person who accused him was an insignificant violin player.

"Mortal, your name is stupidity." The violinist shook his head and sang a verse, and then said to the timber merchant with a smile: "Sir, if I were you, I would obey the orders of the 'Blood Wolf' and never I have a little doubt."

"Don't talk nonsense, piano player." Mikhail finally couldn't hold it in anymore, with a sullen look on his face, he scolded the ignorant boy opposite him: "You're just a piano player, what do you know?"

"Time, ruthless girl, you take away people's years, but you refuse to leave a trace of wisdom." The violinist plucked the strings, sang another verse, looked at the fat lumber dealer with pity, and asked: "What if you You think you know more than I do, so you might as well tell me why you, your fellow countrymen, old Dussac, and the other free men of the new land - why are you summoned here?"

"Of course it's to hold a meeting of free people." Mikhail said inexplicably, "Everyone in the new land knows about it."

"No, no, no." The fiddler shook his finger, with the smile that annoyed the lumber dealer still hanging on his lips: "What I'm asking is, what is the purpose of the people who are riding on your heads to convene a 'congress of free men'? "

The lumber dealer couldn't answer, so he still choked out: "I don't know, do you just know?"

"You finally got it right for once." The violinist replied proudly: "Not only do I know, I also know the cause and effect."

"Stop bragging here!" The lumber dealer slapped the table angrily.

The blond mercenary on the side frowned and put his hand on the hilt of his sword for the third time.

The violinist patted the blond mercenary's arm to signal his companions to stay calm.

He stood up, took in enough breath, and yelled.

The shouts penetrated the clouds, cracked the rocks, and stopped the moving clouds, instantly covering up all the noise.

At this time, not only the table where the violinist was sitting, but also the attention of the drinkers in the entire side hall were attracted.

The piano player put one foot on the bench, picked up the lute, and played a short melody, as if he was setting the stage for himself.

After finishing the performance with a hook, the player looked around and asked like a chant: "People of the Alliance, do you know why the Alliance is the Alliance?"

The drinkers who had come to their senses booed one after another, wondering what the fiddler with the funny hat wanted to say.

In the face of a flood of applause, the violinist not only did not show fright, but also responded sharply: "Although the customs of the republics are different and the people's sentiments are different, at least on the matter of ignorance, you are surprisingly consistent."

The boos got louder, with a few nasty insults mixed in.

A cup flew out from the corner and hit the fiddler in the back of the head in a dastardly manner.

Just when the wine glass was about to hit its target, Siegfried caught it in mid-air.

The blond mercenary tipped the cup upside down on the table, glanced at his friend who didn't know anything about it, and sighed helplessly.

"Take your son and leave quickly." The blond mercenary reminded the middle-aged veteran across the table kindly: "It won't be safe here soon."

"No!" Xiao Ma Jiya still wanted to watch the fun, how could she agree. He begged his father: "Listen, listen to what he has to say."

Old Ma Jiya didn't answer her son, but she didn't leave the table either.

"Ignorant people, let me tell you something."

The player picked up the lute, played it, and sang:

"Half a century ago, Emperor Richard Sun ruled the land, empowered by a centuries-old lineage that stretched back to the ancient gods.

“However, two serpents crouched at the feet of the emperor. One said, ‘Your golden crown was given by my Lord,’ and the other said, ‘Your throne comes by the consent of the people.’

"Poisonous snakes bit the emperor's body, and Richard bravely fought with them. The poisonous snake with the Holy Emblem was stepped on by Richard under his feet, and another poisonous snake bit Richard's arm.

"In order to avoid being poisoned, the brave Richard cut off his arm and threw the poisonous snake on it into two mountains."

"This!" The piano player struck out an accent and ended the chant simply: "This is the origin of the alliance!"

After singing, before the drinkers fully understood, he quickly squatted down, got under the table, and disappeared from the sight of others.

"Hey, hey." The violinist crawled out from the other side of the table, hugged the table legs, and asked the three people from Wargne County who were stunned: "Do you understand?"

"What do you understand?" Xiao Ma Jiya blurted out.

"Hey, it seems that you have no chance to fall in love with the Muse." The piano player showed that pity expression again, and explained quickly: "To put it in a way you can understand, it is the foundation of your Southern Confederacy. It comes from The revivalists fifty years ago all admired the stuff of the ancient republic. So you are the ones..."

"Wait a minute." Little Ma Jiya shook her head blankly: "I can't understand what you said."

"Do you know what a revival is?" the fiddler asked.

"have no idea."

"Then do you know what the Ancient Republic is?" the violinist asked again.

"have no idea."

"Then do you understand what the 'foundation of the country' is?"

Little Ma Jiya shook her head like a bell.

Torment finally showed in the violinist's eyes, and he groaned: "It's the foundation! The foundation! The pillar! Countries, governments, parliaments...all are built on it. Without it, everything else will collapse."

Little Ma Jiya nodded hesitantly, as if she understood, but also seemed not to understand.

"This 'foundation of the country', to put it simply, is just one sentence." The piano player put away his cynical smile and said solemnly: "All power comes from the people!"

Immediately, he said sarcastically: "But it seems that this sentence was finally twisted into 'all power comes from citizens'."

"'Citizen'?" The more Xiao Majiya listened, the more she felt that her brain was insufficient: "'People'?"

"He is a citizen." The piano finger pointed at old Ma Jiya and then at the timber merchant: "He is also a citizen."

"By citizens, you mean 'free people'?" Little Majia asked tentatively.

"Citizen, knight, property owner, free man... are just different names for the same thing. People with political power are 'citizens'." The violinist shrugged: "Now you understand why 'riding on the road' Are you, the men above you, going to gather all the free men of the brand new land?"

Little Ma Jiya looked at her expressionless father, then at the bewildered lumber dealer, and simply gave up on herself and said, "Please treat me as the stupidest person and explain it to me again."

"Admitting ignorance is the first step to acquire knowledge." The piano player smiled happily: "Actually, the reason is very simple. Although a group of soldiers are now in power in the new land, no matter how many times it is 'republic', the foundation of the country remains the same. The original one has not been replaced. What else can we do if we gather all the citizens of the new land? Naturally, we want you to come and 'stamp' the new republic!"

The three people in Wargne County were speechless.

After a while, Mikhail spoke first. This time, his tone became much more respectful, and he asked worriedly: "If we 'stamped it', in the future...if they collapse in the future, will the officials of the King's Castle liquidate us?"

"Of course we will liquidate you." The violinist said nonchalantly: "How can we establish the authority of the new ruler without arresting a few unlucky people, ransacking their homes, hanging them, and hanging them on the roadside for public display?"

The lumber dealer's face instantly turned pale.

"But except for a few particularly unlucky people, it won't be a big deal if the rest of them bleed a little." The violinist spread his hands: "After all, if the next ruler kills you all, who will save him?" Who will pay taxes, who will be responsible for his apportionment, and who will maintain his rule?"

The lumber merchant was still hesitant. He fiddled with his fingers and rolled his eyes, wondering what he was thinking.

"Don't think too hard." The violinist reminded the lumber dealer with a wicked smile: "In my opinion, how to get through the current hurdle is the most important thing compared to being liquidated in the future. You might as well think about it, if someone doesn't build it Poke, what will happen?"

The lumber dealer swallowed subconsciously.

"Yes, look, you also know that your arms can't twist someone's thigh." The piano player clapped his hands and laughed: "Why don't you just surrender?"

"But, I heard..." The timber merchant hesitated: "The blood wolf is not a good person..."

Hearing this, the fiddler's smile grew wider. He stood up, put his arms around the lumber dealer's neck, and asked sincerely: "Dear Mr. Mikhail, the 'Blood Wolf' is not a good person. Are you a good person?"

"You, you, you... what do you mean?" The lumber dealer was stunned.

"Have you never lied? Have you never broken an oath? Have you never done anything that is unworthy of your conscience? If you die here today and stand in front of the gate of heaven, do you really think you can pass the gatekeeper? Question?" The violinist paused and added with a smile: "If heaven really exists."

The lumber merchant was sweating profusely and unable to answer.

"Then, dear Mr. Mikhail." The violinist pulled the wood merchant's head, forcing the latter to raise his head and look around him. He pointed at the Madiya father and son, the blond swordsman, and the old man at the wine table. Dussac: "What do you think of them? Are they good people?

"Who dares to say that this father and son have never tried to take advantage of you?

"Who dares to say that this guy with blond hair and a sword has never thought of robbing you of your property?

"Who dares to say that this old Dussac, the emperor's whip, has no intention of killing you without touching it?"

Finger pointed at the noisy and vulgar drinkers in the tavern, leaned into the lumber merchant's ear, and asked deep into the latter's soul: "Do you think there are really good people here?

"Zoom in a little more. Do you think there are really good people in this world?"

The lumber merchant's mouth was so dry that he couldn't say a word.

"Don't count on it, Mr. Mikhail." The violinist patted the lumber dealer's fat face and said pitifully: "We are not good people. There are no good people in this world. If there is a hell, we are already living in it. .

"What you have to worry about is not the 'blood wolf', but the bad people living around you.

“What stops them from breaking into your home, raping your wife and daughters, enjoying your bread and wine, and sleeping in your big bed is exactly what the ‘Blood Wolf’ provides – order.

"You think the 'Blood Wolf' is not a good person so you don't want to support him. It only means that you haven't seen real evil yet.

"And the only thing standing between you and the 'real evil' is the protection of the 'blood wolf'."

"As for whether the blood wolf is a good person or not." The piano player shrugged: "What does it have to do with you? As long as he provides you with protection, that's all."

When he said the last sentence, the piano player's smile turned evil: "What's more, do you really think that a qualified ruler...can be a 'good person'?"

The lumber merchant was sweating profusely, trembling all over, and finally lowered his head.

"Hey." The violinist patted the lumber dealer affectionately on the shoulder: "That's right, just think about it."

On the side, old Ma Jiya, who had been silent from beginning to end but also listened to the whole thing, stood up and asked solemnly: "I don't know your name yet."

"Machiavelli." The violinist took off his hat and proudly stretched out his hand: "You can call me 'Mavi'."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Ma Wei." Old Ma Jiya held Ma Wei's hand.

Ma Wei was flattered. This was the first time he had been treated with such courtesy.

He shook hands with old Ma Jia somewhat embarrassedly, then returned to his companion's side, drank the remaining wine in the large wine glass in one go, and licked the glass with lingering interest.

"Okay." Ma Wei burped happily: "Today's wine is finished, and today's cow bragging is finished..."

Hearing this, the blond mercenary on the side sighed, cleaned the wine in his glass, then walked to the drunken old Dusak and helped the latter up.

"...It's time to end today's performance with a grand tavern brawl!" Ma Wei announced happily, pretending to be sad: "Hey, I didn't want to do this today, but - who made the shop owner want to cancel my performance? fee?"

As soon as he finished speaking, before anyone else could react, Ma Wei had already jumped onto the table with a wine glass in hand.

He took a full breath and let out a loud roar that could shatter the windows: "Brothers! The country bumpkins from other counties are beating us Maplestone City people!"

After yelling, Ma Wei slammed the cup in his hand to the corner of the side hall where the wine glass had just flown.

A scream and curse came back from the corner.

A huge tavern brawl immediately broke out.

The wine table was overturned, the bench was thrown away, a fist was waved here, and a big foot was kicked there.

You hit me, I hit you, who hit me, and who did I hit?

no one knows.

The drunken drinkers were like bales of hay. An ember fell in and the tavern was immediately engulfed in fire.

The boss's wife ran over from the other side hall and screamed loudly when she saw the chaotic scene in front of her, but she couldn't do anything except scream.

The smart kitchen staff has blocked the door leading to the hall, immediately ensuring that the "war" will not affect them.

Mawei laughed and knocked down a drunkard who rushed towards him with his lute, and he still rushed towards the other person who had booed the loudest just now.

Siegfried protected old Dussac, supporting the latter as he walked out the door.

…

When Gilad woke up, he was already in bed at home.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his wife in front of him.

"You're awake." Ellen asked with concern, "Are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?"

"No..." Gilad was a little confused. He pushed his body and tried to sit up, but there was a soreness in his back: "It's just that my back is a little..."

"My son is already married, why are you still acting like you did when you were young?" Although Ellen said reproachful words, there was a smile on her lips: "I'll get you some water."

After saying that, Ellen walked out of the bedroom.

Gilad didn't know what his wife was talking about until he looked out the window - it was completely dark.

Only then did old Mr. Mitchell remember that he was in the tavern a second ago!

Ellen returned to the room with a glass of water.

"I...I..." Gilad slapped his forehead and hurriedly asked his wife: "How did I come back?"

"It was two young men who sent you back..."

"One has blond hair and one wears a hat." Girard interrupted his wife: "Right?"

Ellen nodded, put down the water glass, sat next to her husband, and asked patiently, "What's wrong?"

Gilad calmed down and asked his wife: "Where are the two young men?"

"After I sent you to the gate, they left." Ellen asked in confusion, "What's wrong?"

Gilad let out a long sigh of regret and fell tiredly on the bed.

…

Meanwhile, Winters Montagne's residence was brightly lit.

Because a very important guest is coming.

No, not a guest.

It's a relationship far more intimate than that identity.

Classmate, comrade-in-arms, best friend, comrade...

"You are finally here." Winters was filled with joy: "Now that you are here, we can start."

"Yeah." Bud smiled warmly.

[must! Win! ]

[The political views expressed by Ma Wei can only represent Ma Wei’s political views]

[He firmly believes in and wants others to accept his views, so those lines do not mean that the author supports Ma Wei's views]

[Sorry if there was any offense Orz]

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