Iron Powder and Spellcasters

  Chapter 471 Rekindling the Spark (3)

   "Oh! Mr. Matiya! It's really you!"

The Oak Town merchant who was "invited" to recognize the person kept wiping the sweat from his forehead, forced a three-pointed smile, and warmly greeted old Majiya: "The guy said he saw someone familiar. I didn't expect it, I didn't expect it was true It's you."

  Old Matia nodded: "Mr. Pannuo."

   "Yes, it's me." Pan Nuo, who was called by his name, glanced nervously at the soldiers around him, pretending to be confused: "Are you going to Artemis too? Visiting friends?"

   "Redemption." Old Maziya replied bluntly: "My eldest son was captured by Lord Montagne, and I will redeem him."

   "This...then...I..." Pan Nuo was extremely embarrassed, his fat face flushed red, and it took him a long time to hold back a sentence: "I wish you success."

  The young man with the sword on the sidelines saw that the peddler in Oak Town had confirmed the identity of old Majiya, so he nodded and signaled his subordinates to take the peddler away.

   Pan Nuoru received the amnesty, and immediately left obediently with the soldiers.

  It wasn't until he reached a far corner that he turned his head covertly, and cast a look of worry and sympathy at old Matia, and then disappeared into the shadow of the carriage and trees.

  Except for the white-tasseled veteran holding the halberd, the rest of the "rebel" soldiers returned to their posts. Just now, the checkpoints were tensely checked, and the previous calm was restored in a blink of an eye.

  Old Tasso and Raul were also released from the barracks and came to old Matia.

  The young man with the saber was apologetic, and personally handed over the weapons he had just taken away from the three of them to the three of them.

  It was not until this time that the old Tasso finally figured it out—after dispelling the overwhelming majesty, the young man with the sword was actually a "baby" about the same age as Raul.

However, compared to the still childish Matia Raul, the young man with the saber walks, lives, sits, and sleeps with a dashing and capable manner, showing a strong sense of self-confidence in his gestures, making the old Tasso unconsciously treat him as a real adult. Even daunting.

   "Please forgive our offense." The young man with the saber solemnly took off his hat and bowed, and sincerely explained to the three of them: "It's my fault, I regarded you as a different kind of person."

  Hearing the other party apologize, it made old Tasso feel tighter. He looked at Raul beside him, and found the same surprise in the latter's eyes.

   Only "fish" have had their teeth smashed and blood swallowed. How have you ever seen a "knife" take the initiative to admit his mistake?

  It should be noted that for "knife", dignity and authority are often closely linked. So even if it is an insignificant matter, it is more difficult for the "knife" to take off his hat and bend over.

  The saber youth admitted his mistake so readily, but was underestimated by the old Tasso by three points. Because this means that the other party either lacks authority or self-esteem.

   No matter what type the other party belongs to, it is not good news for the three members of the Majiya family - lack of authority means that they cannot make decisions, and without self-esteem there is no bottom line.

  However, no matter how bad the future situation is, it can't stop the old Tasso from despising the other party to his heart's content.

   "Sure enough, he's still a baby." Old Tasso sneered silently, "There's no such thing as an official."

  But no matter what old Tasso thinks in his heart, he needs to do enough superficial work.

  So, like Raul, the old Tasso stood silently behind Mazia Milok, waiting for the Patriarch to negotiate with the other party.

   Witnessing the abnormal behavior of the young man with the sword, the granite-like facial features of old Mazia were also briefly shaken, showing half a bit of surprise.

  He did not take the weapon, but he also took off his hat, and nodded in return: "It should be like this to hunt down spies."

   "Thank you for your understanding." The saber youth let out a long breath and smiled cheerfully: "Thank you very much."

  Old Tasso wanted to question the other party, "Why do you think the three of us are spies?"

  However, the other party changed the subject and never mentioned any information about the spies.

"We will compensate you for the damage caused by the original price." The young man with the saber fixed his eyes on the tattered clothes and boots of the three members of the Majiya family, and apologized again: "Please wait here, I have already sent someone to pay for it." Find some change of clothes."

   After finishing speaking, the young man with the saber looked at the white helmeted veteran behind him. Although he gave an order, his tone was very polite: "Leave me alone to talk to the three gentlemen, Sergeant Holt, don't worry."

  The white-tasseled veteran holding a halberd put his legs together and raised his hand in salute.

   "Your people have done a good job." The young man with the saber returned the salute meticulously. After the salute, he said to the veteran Baiying: "Praise them for me."

  The Baiying veteran raised his hand again to salute, and then walked to his original post without saying a word.

  Old Tasso was extremely indignant when he heard what the young man with the saber said.

  If it weren't for the big tree with more than 20 corpses hanging not far in front, the old man would have choked on the brat.

  Even so, Old Tasso couldn't help asking questions.

He tugged on the jacket with the seams ripped open, deliberately exposing his dry chest, and asked in a rough voice: "My lord, I don't quite understand—how can you boast about tearing all the good clothes into rags? The old man has only this good suit!"

  Old Tasso asked provocatively, but the young man with the saber answered seriously.

  He asked solemnly: "So what if I blame Sergeant Holt?"

  Old Tasso was taken aback.

"If it's because Sergeant Holt opened your clothes, I will blame Sergeant Holt. Then he will not dare to check any suspicious people in the future." The young man with the sword nodded again and apologized: "Besides, you guys What happened, the main responsibility lies with me."

  Old Tasso couldn't refute, and subconsciously avoided his gaze: "That shouldn't be a boast..."

   "That's right." The young man with the saber actually nodded in agreement: "Conversely, if rewards are given lightly, it is tantamount to encouraging them to search for passengers who are not suspicious."

  The saber youth shrugged and explained with a smile: "So it's just a verbal compliment."

  Old Tasso stiffened his neck and wanted to continue arguing, but he caught a glimpse of the employer's wink, so he reluctantly lowered his head and flattered in a low voice: "Your Excellency is well-mannered, I admire you."

  The young man with the sword didn't bother with this arrogant old servant. He looked at old Majiya and asked politely, "Mr. Majiya, have you ever been a soldier?"

  Old Matiya answered truthfully: "Twenty-five years ago."

  The young man with the saber looked at old Tasso again: "Then this..."

   "Tasso." The old Tasso snatched sullenly: "I also worked, but apart from my old injuries, I didn't get anything."

  The young man with the saber folded his arms and listened, with more respect and pity in his eyes.

But it was his respect and pity that deeply hurt old Tasso, so the latter used his nails to pick out his scorched teeth, and grinned nonchalantly: "In addition to old injuries, there is also a serious illness. Hey, look at me Memory, almost forgot."

   "What is Hualiu's serious illness?" Raul asked curiously.

  Old Tasso's dark old face couldn't tell whether it was red or white, and he reluctantly squeezed out a curse: "You... If you are also a soldier, you will know sooner or later!"

"Now I believe that you have indeed been a soldier." The young man with the saber clapped his hands and laughed heartily: "However, your Excellency's soldier is different from the soldier you used to be. At least none of my subordinates has contracted such a bad disease. "

   "Really?" Old Tasso deliberately raised his voice.

   "Yes." The young man with the saber replied seriously: "You will know sooner or later."

  The other party's righteous attitude made the old Tasso speechless, and he didn't even know how to be weird for a while.

  The young man with the saber took off his gloves, and stretched out his hand to old Tasso: "I haven't introduced myself yet—I'm Lannis, a soldier of Lord Montagne."

  Old Tasso was stunned for a while, then shook hands with the other party hesitantly: "I have already introduced myself - Tasso."

   This time he said his full name: "Tasuo Rumyantsev."

  When the other party heard the surname that obviously came from a foreign country, they slightly raised their eyebrows, but still nodded in a friendly way: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

  Old Tasso put away his contempt, because he had already realized that the calluses on the opponent's palm were no thinner than his own: "It's a pleasure to meet you."

  The repertoire of manly competition between male humans who met for the first time should have come to an end here.

  However, Matthias Raul, who had been hiding behind the figures of the two elders and remained silent from the beginning to the end, suddenly spoke rashly.

   "Lanis?" Raul stared at the young man with the sword wide-eyed, and asked repeatedly in disbelief: "You are Lannis? That Lannis?"

  The young man with the saber graciously forgave Raul's impolite question. He spread his hands and responded freely: "If I guess correctly, the Lannis you mentioned can only be me."

  Old Tasso was at a loss: "That? Which one?"

  Old Majiya also frowned, and looked at his younger son in puzzlement.

"It's the Lannis, the Lannis in the "Communication" of the Rebel Army." Raul eagerly explained to the two elders, but the further he went on, the voice became softer: "The Lannis who conquered Artemis, Landing Lannis on Major Shandel."

  He swallowed, and the sound that came out of his throat was finally as small as a mosquito flapping its wings: "And... and that Lannis who caught Paal."

   This time, it was old Tasso's turn to look at the "baby" in his eyes in astonishment.

   And old Majiya learned that the young man in front of him was the "rebel" commander who captured his eldest son, so he couldn't help turning his eyes to him. It's just that his expression remained unchanged like granite, making it impossible to guess what he was thinking.

   Instead, Lannis took off the saber, and handed it to the three of them generously: "The previous owner of this saber was Major Shandel, how about it? Does this prove that I am 'that Lannis'?"

Old Tasso seemed to be enlightened. He finally figured out where his subtle familiarity with this luxurious saber came from. The ancestral saber that the officer never leaves his body.

  However, when the other party handed this expensive saber, which was worth more than its weight in gold, Old Tasso dared not accept it.

   "Where did you read that... What kind of rascal..." Old Tasso asked Raul stumbling, trying to squeeze out the somewhat awkward word: "Communication"?"

  Raul lowered his head, guiltily kicked the pebbles by his feet: "In town."

   "When did you go to town?"

   "Go secretly."

   "When did you sneak there?"

   "Sneak every day."

  Old Tasso stood blankly for a while, and a painful long sigh came from his chest. He bowed heavily to the young and promising young man with the sword, and then bowed to the "young and promising" young master, then stepped aside dejectedly, and stopped talking.

  Raul stood there in embarrassment, not knowing what to do.

   "Your Excellency Lannis." Old Matia's voice broke the disturbing silence: "May I take a step to speak."

   Lannis nodded in agreement, and he joked: "I am not a lord, there is only one lord."

   After speaking, he made a "please" gesture and led old Matiya to the barracks.

   Only Raul and old Tasso were left in the small open space in the outpost.

   "What is Dad doing?" Raul came back to his senses and asked old Tasso in a panic. He grabbed the saber on the table, and was so anxious that he was about to cry: "Could it be - that?"

   "My little master." Old Tasso took the saber out of Raul's hand with a complicated expression, "You are obviously about the same age as that Lord Lannis, why can't you imitate his manner?"

   "Then what exactly is Dad going to do? Why is he still carrying us behind his back?"

   "What else can you do?" Old Tasso slapped his saber on the table, and spat out a word angrily: "Pay tribute!"

   Meanwhile, in the outpost barracks.

   "Lord Lannis."

If Raul and old Tasso were in the barracks, he would not have believed it—old Matia’s granite-like features had softened. He tried his best to show the most humble posture, pleading with the "old man" who was about the same age as his youngest son in front of him. Rebels" senior official.

   "The gold, I want to entrust you to transfer it to Your Excellency Montagne."

  "Mr. Matiya." Lanni told the old Matiya honestly: "When I knew who you were, I already knew your purpose, so I confirmed that you are not the person I want to arrest."

  Old Matiya's upper lip quivered.

"But you don't have to be so low-key, and you don't have to explain too much." Lannis spoke before old Matiya, and gave the latter's answers one by one: "First of all, your son was not killed in battle, and now he should be in the Prisoner camp."

  Old Majiya nodded gratefully.

   "Secondly." Lannis paused for a moment, and said seriously: "When to release them and how to release them can only be decided by your Excellency—no one can influence your judgment, and of course I can't."

  Old Majiya's eyes dimmed by three points. He cheered up and waited for the other party to continue talking.

   "Finally—the gold. I advise you to take it back. For you, those gold bars may be all your movable property, and even your entire net worth."

   Lannis whistled lightly, with a playful and unrestrained look unique to youth: "But your Excellency Montagne, you don't lack that."

   [Late update, sorry, Orz]

   [Supplementary explanation]

   [As the saying goes, there is only a thousand days to be a thief, but there is no way to prevent a thief the day before. Compared with searching for documents from suspects, the process of hiding secret letters is always easier]

   [So for a long time, finding the secret agent carrying the documents was more important than finding the documents on the secret agent]

[The body search described in the previous chapter is the real process of searching for spies and couriers in history] [However, there is no default background setting mentioned in the book: because intercepting spies and couriers is more important than intercepting the documents carried by spies and couriers. easy. So in most cases, the army is doing things with the attitude of [rather killing the wrong than letting it go]]

   [For example, during the Peninsular War, Spanish guerrillas accidentally killed many farmers who were believed to be messengers of the French army. And the French army treated the Spaniards who were considered British spies equally cruelly]

   [That's why the old Maziya and the others have a grateful attitude towards Lannis]

   [As for old Tasso, it’s not that he doesn’t reciprocate his kindness, he just has a bad temper, which treats everyone the same]

   [Thank you for your collection, reading, subscription, recommendation tickets, monthly tickets, rewards and comments, thank you all]

  (end of this chapter)