Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Maplestone City, Officers' Residence]

[Montagne House]

[Early Morning]

Winters swept up breakfast in a whirlwind - leftover bread, leftover pickles, and a large bowl of thick soup made from fresh vegetables and leftover marinated meat.

Eating breakfast was a habit Winters developed when he was in school.

Poor people don't eat breakfast. They only have two meals a day and usually go out to work on an empty stomach.

Rich people can fill their empty stomachs after waking up, but they usually get up later and have their first meal at nine or ten o'clock.

Only the cadets of the Army School who have to get up early in the morning and have a morning class have to eat in the early morning.

Winters's beast-like eating speed is also a mark left on him by the military school. He never lets food stay in his mouth for too long, and swallows it immediately after chewing it a little.

Anna was very worried about this and set a table rule for him to "chew each mouthful at least twenty times."

Unfortunately, habits are not so easy to change, especially those formed since childhood.

So as long as Anna did not remind him in time, Winters would still eat voraciously.

Charles brought him his coat, and the washed hunting suit was very straight and neat.

"No casual clothes today," Winters said, "Iron my uniform."

Charles nodded, picked up his clothes and left the restaurant, completely ignoring the handsome man with curly hair and blue eyes who looked quite uneasy at the other end of the table.

Also at the table, sitting next to Winters, "Mrs. Montagne" held up the cup to cover her lips and yawned secretly.

If there were no guests who came suddenly, Ms. Navarre would not have gotten up so early.

Seeing that the courtesy had been fulfilled, Anna put down the warm wine in her hand and saluted elegantly to the handsome man at the other end of the table, "Mr. Kai, I will not disturb you two.

"Oh, ma'am, please don't say that, it's me who disturbed you," Kai Moreland breathed a sigh of relief and returned the salute appropriately.

Anna looked at Winters again and smiled sweetly, "Be polite."

Winters, who was tilting his neck to pour soup into his throat, shuddered for no reason, and he quickly put down the plate, "Don't worry."

Anna sighed in her heart, stood up, nodded to the two men again, and then left gracefully, leaving the restaurant to Winters and the guests - she had to go to sleep for a while.

Kay Moreland watched Mrs. Montagne walk out of the room before he spoke.

He first complimented the owner of the mansion habitually: "Your Excellency has a really good appetite. You can have such an appetite just after waking up. "

But the host, who should have said a few polite words, didn't respond to his words at all, but just concentrated on cleaning the food on the plate.

After scraping off the last bit of soup, Winters took the napkin and wiped his mouth randomly, and burped.

To be honest, Winters didn't expect that the first guest he received after returning to Maplestone City would be Kai Moreland.

Bud, Andre, Senior Mason and the Mitchell family came to his house as if they were returning to their own home, so they were not among the guests.

After "becoming famous in one battle" at the New Clearing Freemen's Conference, Kai Moreland was He was allowed to move freely in Maplestone City, no longer under house arrest, and no longer had to hide.

From time to time, he could be heard to visit the residence of a respected free man from another county, and occasionally he could be seen at banquets held by some famous families in Maplestone City.

But as long as the National Assembly was not formally established, he would not have the legal right to participate in politics.

"You shouldn't have come at this time, Mr. Kai," Winters said with a pun, "If you come at this time, I must serve you food, but you don't have an appetite to enjoy it, and the food I serve you can only be fed to the dog in the end."

Kai Morelan lowered his head and glanced at the almost untouched meal in front of him, with a bitter smile on his face, "I really don't have much appetite, but I must come now, before others, not for myself, but for you."

"For me?" Winters smiled.

"Yes," Kai Morelan's eyes were extremely sincere, "Although our previous agreement was not realized in the way I expected. But in fact, you gave me something I dare not even think about. So, I always believe that you are a partner standing on the same front with me. "

"I am flattered that you think so," Winters was unmoved, and responded coldly but politely, "Please tell me what you want to say, I would like to hear the details."

Kay Morlan cleared his throat, as if he had made up his mind after a fierce struggle, and asked seriously: "Do you know what Colonel Gesar Adonis is planning recently?"

Winters grinned, "Whether I know it or not, I don't know if what you said is the same as what I know, right? So don't waste time, Mr. Kai, just say what you want to say."

Kay Morlan couldn't help but cough dryly, he picked up the water glass on the table and took a sip, and leaned towards the blood wolf at the other end of the table.

"I heard that Colonel Gaisa is planning to award medals to all soldiers who participated in the Battle of the Howling Valley - of course, our soldiers." Kai Morlan paused deliberately and emphasized, "Award medals!"

"Award medals?" Winters really heard something he knew nothing about, "Why award medals at this time?"

...

"Why else?"

Gaisa Adonis stood up from the bathtub with a "splash". The hot water overflowed from the bathtub due to his movement and spread to the bottom of Winters' boots.

In the steamy bathroom, the Baishan County garrison officer was shirtless, with his hands on his hips, and his eyes were bigger than his head.

The colonel's angry voice sounded like a loud bell in the bathroom: "Of course it's for money!"

No matter where he went, Gaisa Adonis couldn't do without a hot bath twice a day, so even if there was no bath in the officer's apartment in Maplestone City, one was quickly built after he moved in.

Winters was really not interested in men's naked bodies, so he turned his head in advance and said, "Please put on your clothes first, don't catch a cold."

"Give me the towel," Geisa, whose interest was ruined, waded out of the bath unhappily and asked unhappily, "Who told you this?"

Geisa's answer was very honest, so Winters' answer was also very straightforward. He took the towel from the shelf and handed it to the colonel, spitting out a name, "Kayi Morlan."

When Colonel Geisa heard the name, he immediately burst into a flood of dirty words: "[Extremely angry Plato dirty words]! This [strong personality insult noun]! Just know how to make me uncomfortable! [dirty words]! This little [general personality insult noun] must have been tipped off by the old [general personality insult nouns] in the city, otherwise he wouldn't be so well-informed!"

Winters tried his best to let the dirty words flow into his left ear and out of his right ear, leaving only useful information.

Gaisa dried his body, put on a bathrobe, led Winters to the rest area outside the bathroom, and suddenly changed his tone.

"I have wanted to discuss the awarding of medals with you for a long time, but you can't find anyone? And my plan is not ready," Gaisa put on the appearance of a loyal elder, "Since my plan is ready, you are back and know it, it's just right, so I don't have to waste my breath again."

He looked at Winters expectantly: "What do you think? Awarding medals?"

"I think it's okay to give medals to the officers and soldiers who participated in the battle of River Valley Village," Winters changed the subject, "but I don't quite understand why you want the major guilds in Maplestone City to subscribe?" He asked cautiously, "Are you... short of money?"

"Nonsense!" Gaisa's old face flushed, and he was furious, "Is there anyone in this world who doesn't lack money? I tell you, even the emperor's oath-breaker has to work for money. Worry!"

After a temper tantrum, Geisa began to complain again. He counted on his fingers and told Winters, "Let me ask you, the pensions for the dead, the severance pay for the soldiers who lost their arms and legs and could no longer work, the lost horses, the scrapped weapons, the consumed baggage, and the daily food, drink, and defecation... Which one is not money?"

"War does cost money everywhere," Winters' attitude was still conservative, "but relying on "fundraising" which can only be used once is just a temporary solution, not a permanent solution."

Geisa stood up and found two wine glasses and a large pot of beer. He glanced at Winters with a look of "you are still too young", "Who said you can only donate once?"

Winters was speechless, but Geisa poured a glass of beer for each of them and drank it happily.

After a moment of silence, Winters calmly commented, "This will push the upper-class citizens of Maplestone City to the opposite side of us."

Gesa put down the glass, burped comfortably, and smiled grimly, "They don't have to donate."

Winters picked up the beer glass, which was cold and bitter.

Gesa poured himself another glass of bitter beer and complained, "Do you think everyone is like you? You run your territory like an iron barrel. You ask for something, and someone will give it to you obediently, and you dare not delay? Do you know how difficult it is for us to cut some meat from these big families?"

Winters sipped his beer, "I can't figure out whether you are praising me or belittling me."

"Nonsense, of course I am praising you." Gesa tilted his head back and drank another glass of cold beer, "Let's not talk about anything else, just take the current matter - take making military uniforms!

"Does the new army have to have new uniforms? Even if we don't give everyone a new set, we have to dye them the same color, right?

"But when we heard that we were going to make new uniforms, you can see that the prices of cloth, yarn, dyes, buttons... in the market of Maplestone City are all skyrocketing!"

"Who raised the prices? It was the 'upper class' who raised the prices!" Geisa slammed his wine glass on the table. "And 'pushing them to the opposite side', I tell you, they were not in the same group with us in the first place!

"We fought a life-and-death battle, is it just for them to take advantage? They want to cut our flesh, can I not cut their flesh?

"That's why I forced them to pledge donations. If they don't want to take gold and silver, they can donate in kind. Don't you like to raise prices? I won't let them make a single copper penny!"

Seeing Winters frowning and silent, Geisa comforted him, "Don't feel sorry for them. This little bit of wealth is nothing to them!"

"Besides," Geisa poured another glass of wine and spat with disdain, "I didn't ask for their lives, so what's the big deal about asking for some money?"

Winters sighed, "Sometimes, asking for money is harder than asking for life."

Gisa gulped down another glass of bitter beer, wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and continued to pour wine, "You also crawled out of a pile of corpses. The only thing more terrifying than death in the world is dying and coming back to life. If anyone doesn't believe this, let him try it himself."

Seeing that Geisa wanted to drink more, Winters stretched out his hand to block Geisa from drinking. "It's only morning, Colonel, let's drink later."

"You don't let me soak and drink?" Geisa raised his eyebrows. After a moment of confrontation, he put down the wine pot with a dull look, "Okay, it's boring to drink with you anyway. Your fellow countryman is a good drinking partner. He never talks nonsense and just drinks. What's his name? Oh... Moritz? Why haven't I seen him recently?"

"I'm quitting drinking. I feel depressed every day."

Colonel Geisa's expression became a little complicated, an expression that he didn't know whether to regret or congratulate. He smacked his lips and suddenly waved his arm impatiently: "What a bummer!"

Winters sipped his beer and was still thinking about "fundraising".

"Forget it, don't just talk about me, talk about yours!" Geisa crossed his legs, propped up his chin, and glanced at Winters, "Haven't you got the reins straightened out yet about the rank?"

"I can't accept the rank of brigadier general," Winters immediately answered solemnly, "Not just because of my self-esteem."

Geisa sneered, "'Not just'?"

"If I get promoted four levels in a row, there will be a lot of... trouble."

"What trouble?"

"Internal trouble."

"Can't you just say it?"

Winters rarely showed helplessness on his face, "If I get promoted four levels in a row, it can't just be me who gets promoted four levels in a row.

"Lieutenant Bud has decided to retire from active service, so I won't consider it for now. But Senior Mason and Lieutenant Cellini must be promoted as well.

"Especially Lieutenant Cellini. If I become a general and he is still a colonel, he will definitely be very bored. He is my closest comrade and partner, and I cannot ignore him."

"But if Senior Mason and Lieutenant Cellini are promoted together, then will the expeditionary officers who joined in the middle like Major Seber also be promoted? Then the ranks of the new army will be completely messed up. The army will naturally split into two factions - the old New Reclamation Army faction and the old Tiefeng County Army faction... It is not conducive to unity."

"What is not conducive to unity?" Colonel Gesar was annoyed when he heard it. He pointed out sharply, "If only you jumped four levels, wouldn't there be no problem? After all, isn't the problem still with your little follower? That... Andrea Cellini? Deal with him!"

"Colonel Gesar," Winters' expression suddenly became serious, even a little scary, "Andrea Cellini Lieutenant Lini is not my follower. I can die for him, and he can die for me, but neither of us will bend to the other. "

He said firmly and decisively: "I don't want to 'settle' him, and I can't 'settle' him, so please don't mention this matter again."

Gesa was stunned. After sitting stiffly for a moment, he scratched his arm and pretended to be angry and blamed: "If you can't settle it, then don't settle it. Why are you so scary? I thought you were going to turn into a 'blood wolf'!"

Winters was hit in the sore spot, and he was really a little anxious now, "How many times have I told you! That's a nickname given to me by others!"

"No nickname is given randomly..." Geisa couldn't help but tease, and before the little boy in front of him really turned into a blood wolf, he hurriedly changed the subject, "No more, no more."

Winters hugged his arms, and his neck was a little red. I don't know if it was because of the wine or the temperature.

"But have you ever thought about this question," Geisa picked up the wine bottle again, completely forgetting his promise not to drink anymore, "If you can't deal with Lieutenant Cellini..."

He stared at Winters and asked word by word: "How are you going to lead us?"

[I haven't updated for a year, and I haven't formally thanked the book friends who still don't abandon the book. I'm very sorry]

[Thank you very much for your support. I'm very, very sorry for wasting a whole year. In the days ahead, I won’t dare to brag anymore, just wait and see]

[Before the suspension of updates and during the suspension of updates, some book friends joined the alliance but I failed to thank them in time, so I will make up for it here]

[Thanks to book friend [Gunslinger] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [Nelson_名自] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [cornerstone] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [文杜恒] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [快乐水之神] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [加小息] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [地鼠星座者] for being the leader]

[Thanks to book friend [朝阳上的] for being the leader]

[Thanks to the book friend [Book friend 20180617190727919] for being the leader]

[Thanks to the book friend [Flying fish in the watermelon field] for being the leader]

[Thanks to the book friend [One hundred and forty pounds] for being the leader]

[Thanks to the book friend [Reader 1787398087984619520] for being the leader]

[Thanks to the book friend [150616130903103], the book friend [Nelson_名自], the book friend [One hundred and forty pounds], the book friend [20210111163451412], and the book friend [加小息] for joining the alliance many times]

[Thanks to the book friends for their reading, collection, comments, subscriptions, voting and rewards. Thank you all, I am very grateful, Orz]