Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 321 Excommunication

   Leaving Antonio, Moritz asked Winters for no reason: "Do you know [Solomon's sentence]?"

   "The mystery case of splitting the child in half?" Although Winters didn't understand what the lieutenant colonel wanted to say, he still answered earnestly: "I seem to have seen a mural."

"A mother who doesn't love her child agrees to split her child in half, and a mother who loves her child would rather give her child to someone else." Moritz said with emotion for the first time in front of Winters with the attitude of an elderly person. : "But you should know how sad the latter will be when he lets go."

   In the end, Antonio Seretti did not force Winters to return to Veneta with him as a father.

   On the contrary, he did not ask for anything.

   As if fully understanding Winters' inner struggle, Antonio chose not to let Winters face the "choose one" choice.

   He simply told Winters that Veneta "could" interfere in the Palatine Civil War.

   Because of the arrival of his adoptive father, Winters finally got rid of the invisible news blockade in Iron Peak County and was able to understand the big news of the alliance:

   In the past year, the confrontation between Veneta and the United Provinces in the archipelago has gradually cooled, because both sides are building fortresses, building fortresses, and building construction projects.

  Nowadays, whether it is the United Provinces or Veneta, if you want to completely expel your opponent from the archipelago, you must gnaw hard bone by bone.

   This phenomenon is almost a re-enactment of the later period of the Sovereign War. The old marshal once specially created a military term to describe it - [fortification].

As a result of the rapid "fortification" of   Tanilla, the cost of obtaining a military breakthrough in the archipelago has soared, even to the extent that neither side can afford it.

  Since it is difficult to make a difference in the archipelago, opening up new battlefields to put pressure on the provinces has become the mainstream idea within the Veneta Governor's government.

  The river will eventually enter the sea, and Veneta is wrestling with the provinces, and the grip is nothing more than everywhere:

   Islands and Inland Sea - this is the focus of the current contention between the two sides;

   High Seas Trade Routes and Colonies - Crackdown on overseas trade in the provinces seems to be a good way to exert pressure. However, the effect is too slow, and the interests of both parties overseas are largely prosperous and detrimental.

   There is another more dangerous place where the two sides are "head to head" - the Laundry River.

  The River River is the boundary river between the two countries. The fourth [Emerald] Legion of Veneta is currently facing the second [River River] Legion of the United Province across the river.

   The addition of troops to the River River can directly put pressure on the mainland of the United Province, but once the gun goes wrong, it means that Veneta and the United Province will be completely torn apart and go to war in an all-round way.

   And this... is the last thing inside the Directorate-General to see.

"What the **** is the Archon doing?" Winters couldn't help complaining: "I don't want to fight, and I rolled up my sleeves. When I really wanted to roll up my sleeves, I hesitated. This... This is not the same as being in a gunpowder storehouse. A candlelight dance?"

  Antonio looked out the window: "Some people prepare weapons to use them, and some people prepare weapons to not use them."

   "What do you think?" Winters asked cautiously: "Will Veneta and the province still have to fight in the end?"

   "We are weapons." Antonio said lightly: "Try not to think about weapons."

   Winters wanted to refute, but made a mysterious "Oh".

"But if it can be resolved peacefully, it's better not to fight." Antonio sighed: "There are also voices within the alliance calling for cooling down and for peace. In a few months, it will be Vahn's turn to hold the [UNGA], At that time, the Archon De Bella and the Secretary of State of the United Provinces will be present..."

  The General Assembly, the abbreviation of the Union Congress, is held every four years and is held by each member country in turn.

  Antonio's pupils gleamed: "If everyone has a chance to sit down and talk, maybe everything can be resolved peacefully - that's the best."

   All in all, the only grasper that is suitable for Veneta to exert his strength without directly conflicting with the province is the Palatine Civil War.

   And Veneta had a good reason to interfere in the Palatine Civil War: default on debt.

   Even debt defaults are appearances. The core problem is that the Veneta ruling parliament never wants to see the emergence of a pro-provincial Palato government.

   "How far is Veneta ready to interfere?" Winters asked.

   "It depends," Antonio replied.

   "Depends? That's too ambiguous."

"It just depends on the situation." Antonio told Winters without hesitation: "Actually, the five-member group is still waiting for the UN General Assembly next year. Debella wants to talk first and then make a decision. In my opinion , the same is true on the other side of the province, and even the smell of gunpowder in Tanilla has been diluted a lot."

   "Then do you think the UN General Assembly... can discuss anything?"

   "I don't know." Antonio replied simply, he shook his head: "Forget it, don't have to talk about that for now. Let's talk about you."

   Winters tensed.

"If Veneta interferes in the Palatine Civil War." Antonio gave Winters an analysis of the benefits: "Then the Third Republic will be Veneta's ally. You can hand Iron Peak to the Palatine Army. The government takes over. It's not about abandoning people who trust you - you can negotiate with the Third Republic to get the best possible terms for Iron Peak."

   Winters already knew roughly what his adoptive father was going to say.

   "In Palato, the identity of Veneta will become your shackle sooner or later, but in Veneta it is the opposite." Antonio explained patiently: "This will be the best opportunity to 'let go'."

  The sparkling sea, the bustling pier, the childhood room, the smell of the kitchen, the cat scratching the door in the middle of the night... these have all appeared in Winters' dreams.

   Doesn't he miss them?

   Of course he misses them!

  The longer you live in the country of galloping horses, the more intense the memory of the sea blue, the jewel of the sea.

   Winters shook his head: "Please let me think about it again."

   "This matter is not in a hurry, there is a lot of time to think about it." Antonio put his hand on Winters' shoulder: "Listen, child..."

  Antonio looked into Winters' eyes and said word by word, "Home is a place where you can go back anytime."

   Winters lowered his head.

   "Don't think about anything, don't worry about anything." Antonio repeated: "You can go home whenever you want."

   "You can go home anytime", somehow, Winters' psychological defense was almost shattered by this simple statement.

  Silence, long silence.

   "Don't cry." Antonio let go of his hand and joked: "A man can't just shed tears."

   Winters tried his best to change the subject: "Let's not talk about me... You come to Parato, I feel incredible now. What about the Third Legion?"

   "Don't worry, even without me, [Da Vineta] can't go wrong."

   "I still... can't accept..." Winters' language ability became a little awkward: "In my impression, you should stick to your post forever..."

   "It wasn't supposed to be me, but besides me, who else can bring you back?" Antonio seemed to persuade himself: "A good man is in the Quartet, and a good man is in the Quartet."

   If it was Winters two years ago, he should not have felt anything.

   But at this moment, Winters keenly caught a trace of strangeness, and there was always a link in the logical chain that could not be sorted out: why did the adoptive father come to Tiefeng County.

   In Winters' memory and cognition, the adoptive father has never abandoned his public office for personal reasons.

   Throwing the Great Veneta Legion in Tanilla just to find him?

   Winters felt that this was both reasonable and unreasonable.

  Unless—unless the adoptive father has other missions. That is to say, this is not a simple "trip to find a child", nor is it a personal abolition of the public.

   If so, then everything will make sense!

   "You come to Palatu..." Winters was in a complicated mood and asked tentatively, "Uh, is there something else?"

   "There is one more little thing to say." Antonio replied lightly.

   "What?" Winters' mood was more complicated.

   "Army horse."

"what?"

   "The Third Army needs horses, many horses."

   "Military horse?" Winters asked suspiciously, "Do you still need to come here for such a trivial matter?"

   "After the Palatine Civil War, Veneta's channels for obtaining military horses were completely cut off." Antonio was not going to talk about this, he asked Winters directly: "How many warhorses do you have now?"

   Winters originally wanted to explain that most of the horses in Iron Peak County were captured Heard horses, which were different from the general Palatine army horses.

   And the military horses can’t go directly from the high-altitude Palatu to the low-altitude Veneta, and the transfer process is very troublesome.

   But Antonio must know better than Winters about these matters.

   So Winters sighed and asked through gritted teeth, "Then how much do you need?"

  Antonio half-smiles: "Three thousand."

  Three thousand horses, not draught horses and galloping horses that pull carts, but military horses that can be ridden for battle.

   Add up all the warhorses of the Veneta Army, including the private warhorses of officers at all levels, I am afraid there are only so many.

   In the final analysis, Veneta and Plato have very different natural endowments. Palato could easily arm fifty cavalry squadrons, while Veneta had only two cavalry brigades, one each for the third and fourth armies.

Winters wanted to shout, "Three thousand? Where am I going to find you three thousand warhorses? Three thousand? I'd better go back to Veneta with you! Three thousand? What do you want so many warhorses for?" Can the island of Tanilla be used?"

   Finally, Winters suppressed his emotional ups and downs.

   He blushed, took courage, and asked, "Then... how much can you pay?"

  …

  The end of the war has gradually returned to normal traffic inside and outside of Tiefeng County, and many people who were unable to meet due to the war were finally able to meet.

   Like Winters and Antonio.

   And, Father Kaman and the mysterious Father Saul.

After   Winters set about cleaning up Lower Iron Peak County, the Pangtuo River Dispatcher Field was reopened, and a small group of militiamen escorted Father Saul to the town of Sank.

   Father Kaman took the initiative to apply to Bard: he would identify the identity of Father Saul.

The    meeting took place in the chapel in the church of St. Kerr. There was no one in the chapel except Kaman and Saul, and Kaman did not even allow others to enter the next room.

   But even if someone was lying on the door eavesdropping, they couldn't hear anything.

   Because Kaman and Saul used sign language.

  The light slanted in from the small window, and under the gaze of the Virgin, Kaman and Saul communicated silently.

   With just a few simple actions, Kaman has verified Saul's identity.

   "I've heard of you, Brother Saul." Kaman's attitude was very respectful, a far cry from his impatience with Winters.

   "When I entered the wasteland, this place was still a stone mound of the Hurds." Saul stared at the icon: "Please contact the brothers of the [Renovation Order] for me."

"There is something I have to tell you." Kaman looked strange, he cleared his throat and started to speak, because the next content could not be expressed in sign language: "[Renovation Order], it no longer exists. "

  Kaman thought that Saul would be shocked, cry, and even break down.

   But the old man who has been a slave for decades doesn't seem to have any feeling. His voice is hoarse, even a little slurred, but very calm: "Excuse me, what's wrong?"

  Kaman licked his lips and held the holy emblem subconsciously with his left hand. He spoke as slowly as possible: "Thirty years ago, the then Pope Pius V ruled that the Reform Order was a heretic order."

   "The Reformation Order has been banned." Kaman didn't even dare to look directly at the old man: "All the deceased and living monks of the Reformation Order... have all been excommunicated."

   [In the case of force majeure (heavy rainstorm), I am on duty on weekends, and the time difference has not been reversed until now. I owe a chapter for now]

   [Here's something, I like it the most]

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

   (end of this chapter)