Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 41 Forced Luck

   "Follow me, I'm in a hurry." Antonio stopped Winters and added: "Let the coachman not unload the horse first, Winters, you also go to change your dress."

   "A dress? But I only have a military school uniform now."

  Antonio looked at his wife: "Didn't you do several sets before?"

   "Those clothes are not the right size, haven't they been changed? I just went to measure the size today." Kesha replied angrily.

  Antonio didn't bother: "In that case, I'll change into a military uniform. We both dress the same."

   Winters didn't have to wait too long this time, Antonio is a resolute soldier, he quickly changed into the uniform [different from military uniform] and walked out of the house.

"We're all dressed up, what else do we need the carriage for?" Antonio's tone was very helpless when he saw Winters waiting foolishly beside the carriage, he turned to the driver and said, "The carriage is no longer needed. Todd, you worked so hard today."

   After he finished speaking, he handed a small bag of reward money to the driver. The driver took the purse and thanked him repeatedly.

  Antonio beckoned his nephew and led Winters to the stable on the back street of the house.

There are three horses in the stable now. Antonio pointed to one of the gray horses with black mane and white spots, and said reluctantly: "It will be yours in the future. Although the sea blue city is not big, you can't go anywhere without a horse. convenient."

  Winterston was very pleasantly surprised. He suppressed his excitement and approached this proud and majestic big animal little by little. The horse did not panic when the stranger approached, but just chewed the hay calmly. Its chest muscles are strong, the limbs are well-proportioned and powerful, and the neck-back-buttocks line is smooth and graceful. The mane and ponytail were well groomed, and the body was brushed clean without a single grass clipping.

   Winters stared at the horse's eyes, and the horse also blinked its wet eyes, looked at Winters with gentle and friendly eyes, and flapped both ears deftly. Winters tentatively rubbed the side of its neck, feeling not only oily and watery, but also warm, and it felt very good, and the horse also let out a series of light hums from the nasal cavity comfortably.

   "It's so pretty."

  Antonio, who was in pain, said angrily: "Can't it be beautiful? You people from the infantry department just don't know what to do. This is the best Lucian horse."

  The more Antonio's heart aches, the better the horse is. It was rare for Winters to see his uncle so painful, and it seemed that he was bleeding heavily. He smiled and asked, "A monk? [Monk, referring to a horse that has been gelded]"

  Antonio was furious: "How is it possible? I have some people who want to invite me out!"

   "But if you don't have that, can you ride it?"

   "Of course you can ride it, don't you look at who trained it? Lucia's temperament is also very gentle."

   "What's its name?"

   "I call it 'good luck', do you want to rename it?"

   Winters gently scratched the area between the horse's eyes, and the horse stuck out his tongue slightly. Thinking of the pirate ship Good Luck: "Who doesn't like luck? But let's call it 'strong luck'. It seems that the word good luck doesn't work when it comes to me."

Seeing that his nephew didn't like Qiangyun, Antonio hesitated for a long time, but couldn't help but instruct: "Horse is a noble animal, good luck is my treasure, you have to take good care of it, don't make it too tired Don't let it be too idle..."

  Winters kept nodding and saying yes. He pointed to the other two horses and asked his uncle: "If you feel bad for luck, why don't you let me ride those two?"

  There are also two horses in the stable, a white horse and a jujube horse.

   "I really regret sending you to the infantry department now." Antonio looked at Winters and said solemnly, "Don't you think those two are good horses?"

  Antonio took out a small bag from his arms and fed each of the three horses a piece of candy. Then Antonio took out the Zaoliu horse, and Winters took out the strong luck. The two got on the harness, stepped on the horse and left the mansion.

   The sky has darkened, and the afterglow of the sun is about to dissipate. The dry heat of the day was gradually replaced by the coolness of the night, and the refreshing sea breeze took away the excess heat from the two riders. At this moment, walking on the streets of Hailan City on horseback makes people feel relaxed and happy.

  The workers by the road are filling the lamps one by one and lighting the street lamps. In the bay of Cenas, only the wealth of the sea blue city is luxurious enough to provide lighting services for the public. The flickering firelight illuminated the faces of passersby through the yellowed glass, announcing that the nightlife has begun.

   On the streets of the city, Qiangyun couldn't stretch his legs at all, and Winters was eager to take his horse to go for a run outside the city.

   But he suddenly thought that he didn't know where his uncle was going to take him, so he accelerated a little and rode side by side with his uncle: "What's the urgency? Lieutenant Colonel, where are you taking me?"

  Antonio looked at Winters and said with a playful smile, "Find you a wife."

"What? Don't be kidding!" Winters was taken aback, and an unsteady center of gravity almost fell off the saddle: "I originally wanted to see Ben Wei tonight, but you said I was in a hurry and I followed, and if it wasn't serious, I would go to Ben Wei. Wei's house."

   "Benwei? Which Benwei?" Antonio tried to recall the name in his mind: "Benvenuto?"

   Winters didn't expect his uncle to call out Benwei's full name: "Do you remember this man?"

   "Isn't it your classmate Lu You? You like to go to his house to eat dinner during the holidays."

"it's him."

  Antonio came to be interested: "How is he now? It seems that this name is not seen in the trainee officers who came back this year."

   "Benwei didn't go to the military school. After Lu You graduated, he went to work to support his family." Winters was a little sad: "If I don't have business, I'll leave."

  Antonio led the way, and the two of them walked with their backs to the pier. After walking for a while, the number of passersby gradually became scarce. Benway's family lived in the port area, and Winters was about to turn his head when he spoke.

"Wait." Antonio stopped his nephew: "Don't go today, are you going to go empty-handed? I remember that he has a lot of younger siblings... In this way, tomorrow I will ask Mammy Marita to buy some flour and good meat to come back, How about you bring it to Benwei? And I asked you to come today, it's really something."

"What's up?"

   "Take you to the widow."

   "I'm really gone!" Winters angrily pulled the reins to the right.

​​​​​​

   "Navarre? Isn't that a businessman in the wool business? What does it have to do with me?" Winters, of course, had heard of the surname Navarre, a well-known merchant family in the city.

  Antonio gave Winters a meaningful look: "Money is power, and Madame Navarre is perhaps the most powerful woman in the city—or a widow."

   "Why don't you leave the widow in three words?" Winters was anxious, couldn't he just want to sell his looks?

  Antonio deliberately raised his face: "What? Do you despise widows? I tell you, widows hold up half the sky in Hailan City. Without these widows, where would the Directorate Government come from to pay you and me your salary?"

   Winters' forehead began to sweat: "When did I look down on the widow... Besides, where is this from?"

Seeing Winters' immature appearance, Antonio slapped his palms and laughed: "Okay, no kidding. Actually, it's nothing, you have been in the United Province for six years, and you haven't participated in any social activities in the city for six years. Except for the same period of your military academy, you don’t know any of your peers, right? Since you have already gone home, I want you to show your face in the social arena of the Navarre family first.”

Winters was about to speak, but was interrupted by Antonio waving his hand. Antonio continued: "I know what you want to say, but even if you don't like socializing, let everyone know that you are there. Married, but do you know any woman of the right age now? That's the consequence of a lack of communication. I'm your age, and I go to prom after dance, and people are vying to invite me. Anyway, get to know a few more girls , you have a choice."

   These words left Winters speechless. He felt that what his uncle said was wrong, but he didn't know how to refute it.

  Antonio saw his nephew's face blushing, and he teased: "And to be honest, with Mrs. Navarre's property, even if you want to take it, it's not that easy."

   "Lieutenant Colonel!"

  The two rode on horses while chatting and walking, and unknowingly they had reached the city wall.

  The rammed-earth city wall during the Sovereign War has been damaged after more than 20 years of wind and rain, and the grass seeds scattered by the wind have taken root and sprouted on the earth wall. The walls are lush and green, like a green tapestry. Another sapling grew strong on it, like an arm sticking out of the wall.

   There has been no military disaster for 26 years, and the moat has collapsed due to disrepair for a long time. Citizens are not grateful for these fortifications that once defended them, they only feel that these old buildings make it extremely inconvenient to enter and leave the city.

   Guitucheng, the capital of the United Provinces, had already pushed down the city wall and filled it into the trench, and the citizens of Hailan were also eager to move. Since a new impregnable bastion has been built outside the city, why keep these old fortifications?

   Across the wooden bridge over the moat, Antonio and Winters left the city. There are no street lights outside the city, and the rest of the journey will be illuminated by moonlight. The rammed earth pavement reflects more moonlight than the vegetation, extending into the distance like a silver stream.

  Through the hedgerows and mottled tree shadows along the way, you can vaguely see the large houses in the distance brightly lit, the guests feasting, and the sound of intense rhythm music from time to time.

  As the population of Hailan grows, the urban area is becoming more and more crowded. The wealthy businessmen did not want to continue to live within the city walls where resources were scarce, and they bought land in the suburbs and built magnificent manors.

   If it was in the past, the merchants would not have the courage to move out of the city walls.

   Citizens of the old days worshiped city walls because only the city walls could protect them from outside force. The citizens of the new age spurned the walls because they no longer needed this passive protection.

   Living in the suburbs, the biggest risk is bandits and mobs. The alliance army of the new era can fight bandits more effectively than the civilian armed forces of the old era. Because the citizens' armed forces are tenacious when defending the city, but once they leave the city, their morale will drop sharply, and they usually won't go out to fight.

   As for the aristocratic weapons of the old era? If only a few greedy peasants robbed the road, it was not dangerous, and the most dangerous were those nobles who had weapons, armor and war horses and received a lifetime of military training.

   Bankrupt knights often become the backbone of gangsters, and looting caravans, extorting and even looting cities has always been an important source of income for unscrupulous nobles.

   That's why the citizens of the old times worshiped the city walls fanatically, and they donated a lot of property to their city without hesitation. Because they share weal and woe with the city, for them the city is the only safe island in this dangerous world.

   But today is different, as Antonio said, the standing army is mainly used against internal enemies, and they do it well. Any large-scale gangs in the alliance will be quickly annihilated by the alliance army, and the few guards who are left can solve the problem.

  The Navarre family also moved out of the city following this trend, but Winters didn't know the address, so he just followed his uncle.

   "You were apprentice at the gendarmerie today, what are you doing?" Antonio asked casually.

  Winters just wanted to talk about today's events, but he remembered Lieutenant Colonel Field's admonition to "be tight-lipped and obey orders." After chewing for a long time, he finally said, "I'm busy anyway."

   "What the **** are you doing?" Antonio asked persistently.

   "Don't ask, I can't tell."

Antonio laughed lightly and tapped Winters on the shoulder with a horse whip: "Field taught you well. Tightness is an advantage. Usually you need to watch more, listen more, do more, but talk less. Talk less, others I don't know what cards you have."

   Winters blushed and nodded.

"But even if you don't tell me, I know what cards you have." Antonio's smiling eyes were like a pair of crescent moons: "When the throne voted on whether or not to detain this **** basin to Field, I voted for your sake. The only vote against."

   "What?" Winters was so surprised that he involuntarily tightened the reins, and Qiang Luck snorted and stopped: "You were there when you decided to hand over this mess to the military police?"

   "Of course I'm there." Antonio beckoned: "Don't stand stupidly and talk while walking."

  Winters lightly clamped his horse's belly, slapped his horse forward and caught up with his uncle: "Does the throne know that even with me, there are only two officers in the Gendarmerie now?"

   "Of course." Antonio nodded.

   "Then hand over the case to the military police? There are only two officers, and the remaining 80 guards are on guard. How can we investigate it with just the two of us?"

   "It's quite simple. If Field wants to close the case, he will write a report today, and the case will be over tomorrow." Major General Antonio gave an answer easily.

  Can you close the case anytime you want? Winters' thoughts were like electricity, and he read the deep meaning of this sentence in a flash. He asked his uncle word by word: "Do you mean to say that the throne has prepared a prisoner for this case?"

"Yes, children can be taught." Antonio praised Winters with a smile, and Winters could hear from his tone that he didn't take this case as a big deal: "Isn't it an assassination? How many times does Hailan appear in a year? If the assassin cannot be caught on the spot, how can anyone be found? It will definitely become an unsolved case. The person who brought this case from the customs does not care what the truth is, as long as the final Just give the black pot to whoever he wants."

   "Are you saying that this case was brought over by the Army from Customs?" Winters couldn't believe his ears.

   "Otherwise? If the army doesn't want it, can the customs force it over?"

   Winters only now realizes that he was completely wrong. He originally thought that the customs and the army had reached a secret agreement. The customs found that the deceased might be a soldier, and did not want to go into the muddy waters of the army, so it communicated with the army secretly and handed over the case to the army for its own investigation.

   But according to Antonio, the Army did not know the identity of the deceased at all, and it was just someone who wanted to take advantage of the topic and took the initiative to ask for the case.

   One dares to ask, and the other dares to give. Both parties think that it is enough to make eye contact with each other, but in fact, there are two different things in their hearts.

   And at present, neither of the two parties has as much information as Winters currently has. In Winters' view, both the Customs and the Army underestimated the seriousness of the assassination.

   "Who exactly does the throne want to give the black pot to?" Winters asked another question.

  Antonio gave an unexpected answer to Winters: "Pirates."

   "How can an assassin be a pirate? I have fought against pirates, and I have fought against those assassins. How can there be any pirates as powerful as those assassins."

   "Can the pirates come out and prove that they are not assassins?" Antonio asked with a half-smile.

   "To the pirates..." Lightning flashed in Winters' mind, he thought hard, trying to connect the fragmented information and grasp the point from the fog.

  Antonio saw him thinking hard, but he didn't make a sound, and the two walked quietly for a while.

   Winters suddenly sighed and asked softly, "Is there going to be a war?"

   Thanks to the book friend 20181013204343295 for the recommendation ticket, and thanks to the book friend 20170726153222839 for the recommendation ticket.

   [The male horse is short-tempered and has a natural desire to attack, but it is easy to be attracted by the mare in stage X. The history of using a mare to earn a male horse is not uncommon in history; and the mare is gentle and quiet, and can also be used as a war horse. But sending a mare to battle means one less foal the following year. So the final solution was to use gelding stallions as war horses, which Teutonic knights called monk horses [Mnchpferde]. And there is another advantage of using gelding, that is, even if it is captured by the enemy, the enemy cannot use the gelding to improve the blood of their own horses.

   Horses also have rich emotions, no less than cats and dogs. Talk hard to it, and it will also have a small temper. And horses can read human expressions and wink.]

   (end of this chapter)