Iron Powder and Spellcaster

[Xilin Province]

[Shihu City]

Little Baltz has been waiting impatiently.

But this can't be blamed entirely on him - he got up before dawn to prepare, and started waiting early in the morning. Seeing that it was almost noon, the "guest" still didn't show up. Anyone would have some complaints.

What's more, little Baltz was only fifteen years old, which was the age of lack of patience.

In contrast, John Baltz, the biological father of little Baltz, was very patient.

Other citizen representatives who participated in the welcome ceremony had already hidden in the pergola, only John Baltz was still standing by the road, like a stone sculpture, looking into the distance motionlessly.

Every time the representatives under the pergola saw John Baltz's back, they couldn't help but wonder if the mayor had been sunburned to death.

But it was obvious that John Baltz's heat resistance was beyond the imagination of the citizens of Shihu City.

So, it was no wonder that little Baltz was only the mayor's son, and John Baltz could become the mayor of Shihu City.

…

The sun was blazing, and even though a canopy was built, it was still difficult to stop the heat.

For today's welcome ceremony, the citizen representatives, who had dressed in formal attire, were sweating profusely and their clothes were soaked.

Especially the two young ladies who were chosen to "offer bread and salt" and were dressed in a full set of "traditional costumes", were on the verge of heat stroke.

If the people who were to be welcomed did not come, the people who came to welcome would not dare to leave.

In a dilemma, many citizen representatives no longer cared about their dignity. They took off their hats and coats, wearing only underwear, lying in the shadow of the canopy, staring at the tarpaulin with lifeless eyes.

Beside many representatives, there was even one or even several servants waving fans and sweating profusely.

Finally, there was some movement on the horizon.

John Bartz, who was looking forward to the clouds clearing and the moon shining, burst into tears.

Just like the stone statues in the cemetery were haunted, Mayor Baltz suddenly came to life. He turned and ran to the awning, dancing and shouting:

"Here we come! Here we come! Get up! Get up!"

The dying citizen representatives struggled to get up one after another, and with admirable perseverance, they hurriedly put on their dresses.

The band that had been put together after searching brothels, taverns and churches throughout the city finally had the opportunity to show their skills.

The loose "Ave Maria" echoed inside and outside the city gate, and everyone who heard it was reminded of sad things and wept sadly.

It was a pity that the musicians had been hungry for a whole morning, and the sound they played was weak and not enough to reach the ears of the heavens, otherwise it would have made the Virgin Mary cry.

The reason why the song "Ave Maria" was chosen to be played at the welcome ceremony was also very particular.

The song of the Red Rose must not be performed, and the minor tune of the Blue Rose was not guaranteed to be used, so Mayor John Baltz thought about it and thought that church music was the safest.

Moreover, the musicians were familiar with the hymns, even if they could not play them all, so rehearsal was easier.

So, they chose "Ave Maria".

At this moment, listening to the noise coming from the direction of the band, the mayor was extremely glad that he had chosen the simplest "Ave Maria".

But the most important thing at the moment was obviously not to train the band.

But the flag.

Mayor Baltz held his hat and belt, ran to the city gate in two steps, and shouted at the top of the wall: "Flag! Get the flag ready!"

The flag bearer who was secretly dozing off was awakened by the sound of "Ave Maria" just now.

Hearing the mayor's voice, the flag bearer quickly poked his head out of the battlement, "Don't worry! Everything is ready! I'll raise the flag as soon as the people over there arrive!"

"Good, good, good," John Bartz praised repeatedly, and couldn't help but remind him, "Don't make a mistake with the flag! Look carefully before raising it!"

...

The flag of the Republic of Palatus has one special advantage. No matter which republic it is - Kingsburg, Hongchuan or Maplestone City - they are still using the four-quadrant flag of the old republic.

The only difference is the color:

Hongchuan still uses a white cross on a blue background;

Kingsburg uses a white cross on a red background to distinguish itself from the former;

As for the new settlers, they are said to use cyan as the background color.

Thank God, this saved the tailors in Stone Lake City a lot of trouble.

The mayor was in a hurry, so the tailors dug out the blue flag of the old republic from the bottom of the box, repaired the part that was bitten by mice, and then repeatedly rinsed it with lime and vinegar, turning the "blue" flag into a "cyan" flag.

However, the tailors had never seen the flags of the new settlers, so they naturally did not understand how blue the blue flags of the new settlers were.

To ensure that everything was safe, the tailors of Shihu City made several blue flags of different shades.

However, whether the most "accurate" flag could be raised depended on the ability of the flag bearer.

…

On the city gate, the flag bearer rubbed his sleepy eyes and assured the mayor: "Don't worry about our pair of eyes!"

John Bartz said "OK" three times in a row.

Just after instructing the flag bearer, another troublesome matter immediately came to Mayor Bartz.

"Dad, it's not good!" Little Bartz ran over in a hurry, "Miss Danny fainted! Miss Margit can't stand up either!"

Old Bartz was stunned for a moment before he remembered that "Danny" and "Margit" were the two girls responsible for offering bread and salt.

He hurriedly took his son to the shed and saw a group of representatives gathered around the shed from a distance.

Seeing the mayor coming, the representatives silently made way.

When passing through the crowd, the father and son of Bartz felt like a thorn in their backs. Without asking, one can feel the resentment of the representatives.

In the middle of the crowd, two pale girls were lying on the ground, and several elderly women were taking care of them.

"Heatstroke!" John Bartz concluded at a glance, and he took the opportunity to drive the representatives away, "Disperse! Disperse! Don't block the wind! Do you want to suffocate people?"

The human wall reluctantly retreated and made a little space.

"Untie that thing and let the two children breathe," John Bartz pointed at the waists of the two girls and urged them repeatedly, "and find them some light salt water."

An elderly woman looked at the mayor reproachfully: "How can you let ladies take off their clothes here?"

"Hey! I was confused!" John Bartz slapped his forehead and changed his words, "Then carry them away, carry them home quickly!"

Several elderly women each called their personal maids, and carried the two girls onto the carriage with their hands and feet.

Looking at the carriage rumbling towards the city, John Baltz suddenly felt something was wrong.

"It's bad!" The mayor slapped his thigh again, "Who will offer salt and bread now?"

...

"Don't bother with these useless things," the bearded man in the lead had a heavy accent, behaved rudely, and looked impatient.

As soon as they met, he told the mayor straight away: "We won't go into the city."

Looking at the other party's style, John Baltz guessed that the bearded man was the real leader.

Because the hooked nose who came to negotiate the acceptance process earlier was following the bearded man, half a horse's length behind.

The bearded man and the hooked nose only brought a dozen riders, and their clothes were not neat.

In comparison, the welcome ceremony of the citizens of Shihu City seemed too grand and formal.

The bearded man and the hooked nose did not mean to "have fun with the people", and they reined in their horses from a distance and asked the mayor to come forward and talk.

In the smoke and dust in the distance, some figures could still be vaguely seen.

However, the latter did not stop, nor did he intend to approach Stone Lake City. It seemed that he was going to go around the city directly.

Hearing that the other party did not intend to enter the city, Baltz was very happy.

But verbally, he still had to pretend: "The gentlemen of this city have prepared a banquet for you, please..."

"[Vulgar swear words]! Why are you so talkative? Didn't I tell you? Don't do these useless things," the bearded man interrupted the mayor rudely and threw down a folded straw paper, "According to this list, prepare it for us before tonight."

John Baltz cursed in his heart, but he had to smile on his face. He bent down to pick up the list and glanced at it quickly.

The amount the other party asked for was so large that he was shocked.

However, although the number of materials in the list was large, it was just within the capacity of Stone Lake City, which was very subtle.

Baltz decided to bargain with the other party. He squeezed out a humble smile of a petty citizen, hoping that the other party would have pity.

"Sir," Mayor Baltz said pitifully, "We really are..."

"Stop talking nonsense," the bearded man whipped the mayor, "If you can't hand it over, we'll go into the city."

The citizen representatives suddenly became agitated, but no one dared to act rashly.

John Baltz felt a burning pain on his neck where the whip had hit him. He waved his hand at the crowd behind him and continued to plead in pain: "We really are..."

"Snap!"

Another whip directly hit the mayor and made him stagger.

Little Baltz couldn't stand it anymore, rushed to his father from the crowd, and asked with red eyes: "Why did you hit people?"

"Little thing," the bearded man grinned and pulled out his saber, "I think you don't want to live anymore."

"Okay, okay, don't use the knife," the hook-nosed man came up to smooth things over. He glanced at the boy, then looked at the mayor and asked with a smile, "Your son?"

John Baltz didn't say a word.

"We didn't ask you for the things on the list, but the higher-ups asked us for them," the hook-nosed man spoke slowly, sounding more terrifying than the bearded man. He persuaded the mayor like a devil, "We don't ask you for the things on the list alone. The things belong to everyone, but the son is yours."

"Okay," John Baltz gritted his teeth, "Give us some time to prepare."

"Before tonight," the bearded man sheathed his knife and said sinisterly.

John Baltz was silent for a moment and nodded, "Before tonight."

"That's it," the hook-nosed man clapped his hands and smiled, "Hurry up and give us the bread and salt to taste."

John Baltz winked at his son.

Little Baltz clenched his fists and walked towards the city wall, looking back every few steps.

A moment later, he walked out of the crowd carrying a huge silver tray, which was covered with exquisite embroidered silk, and on the silk was a round bread that was so beautiful that it was unbearable to touch, with silver-white salt in the middle of the bread.

Little John Bartz humiliatingly raised the silver tray above his head and presented a welcome gift to the bearded man and the hooked nose.

The bearded man frowned, not intending to touch it at all, "Why is it a boy who is offering? Where is the woman?"

"Boys are fine too," the hooked nose smiled lewdly, broke off a small piece of bread, poked it in the salt dish a few times, and put it into his mouth with reluctance.

On the city wall, the flag bearer who was still making promises just now was dumbfounded, facing a whole pile of blue flags, not knowing what to do.

Because the visitor did not bring any flags of any color.

——

As Lieutenant Colonel William Lodewick warned, without the deterrence of the federal troops, the local towns that were originally loyal to the Fortress of the Kings were too lazy to even act.

As soon as the flag of the "New Reclamation Rebels" appeared on the horizon, they quickly opened the gates and surrendered.

From Maplestone City to the Fortress of the Kings, no town along the way chose to continue fighting for the Red Rose.

Indeed, most citizens regarded the "New Republic" in the mouth of the New Reclamation Army as another military government.

After all, if we have to talk about the degree of control and influence by the army, the New Reclamation Province is more weird than the Jiangbei Province - Jiangbei Province at least does not have a "monster" like the New Reclamation Army.

Not to mention that the colors of the military flags of the New Reclamation People and the Blue Rose are similar.

Therefore, the citizens have some resistance to "another Hongchuan Military Government".

But this did not prevent the autonomous towns in various parts of Xilin Province from lowering the flag of the Red Rose overnight and raising the old-style four-quadrant flag with a blue background and a white cross again.

The urban residents of Xilin Province, who claim to live in the heart of the country of galloping horses, cleverly hide their contempt for the new reclamation land bumpkins, put on a hypocritical smile on their faces, and take the initiative to open the door to welcome the "new rulers".

In terms of their attitude towards the new reclamation land army, the farmers are much more honest than the citizens.

As soon as the smoke and dust appeared on the horizon, the farmers immediately drove their livestock into the wild and skillfully hid in the forest with their valuables.

It can be said that the peasant families who did not know this set of procedures by heart either went bankrupt or were "eliminated" in the turmoil of the past two years.

In general, the attitude of the Xilin people towards the new reclamation land army is both fearful and wary.

So, what is the attitude of the new reclamation land army towards the Xilin people?

Answer: The new reclamation land army did not care to express its attitude to the Xilin people.

Geza Adonis, who finally realized what he had missed, developed a distorted compensation psychology like all normal people.

If people didn't have to sleep, Geisa would have wanted the troops heading to the Fortress of the Kings to travel 24 hours a day.

The battalion of the Baishan County Regiment, which was the vanguard, had no time to formally accept the towns along the way.

Even when passing by human settlements, they tried to take a detour as much as possible - because they didn't want their disheveled appearance to affect the image of the new army in the hearts of the people of Xilin.

In most cases of the so-called "acceptance", the battalion commander took a few company commanders to show his appreciation, leaving the confused citizen representatives to the friendly forces that followed up.

The New Reclamation Army had no time to accept the towns along the road from Fengshi City to the Fortress of the Kings, let alone those towns in the hinterland of Xilin Province.

Such a chaotic situation gave some people with bad intentions an opportunity to take advantage of it.

Some people set up checkpoints on the road in the name of the New Reclamation Army, and some people threatened and extorted in the name of the New Reclamation Army.

There was even a group of lawless bandits who pretended to be the passing new army and demanded money and food from Shihu City.

What's even more incredible is that the bandits actually got the things from the citizens of Shihu City.

When Gaisa Adonis heard about this, his nose was crooked.

But he couldn't take care of these messy things now.

All of Gaisa Adonis's attention was focused on the heart of Plato's galloping horse - the Castle of Kings.

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