Alice in the Land of Steam

Has Chapter 844 been bought long ago?

The three hundred years from the 6th to the 9th century AD were the most turbulent period of history in the Middle Ages. This is not only a recognized view in the historical community, but also a consensus among the people. During this period, the Sigiriya continent was in turmoil. The Renaissance led by the four philosophers was in decline, while the Reformation was in full swing. At the same time, the shadow of war loomed over everyone's head, urging outstanding figures to step onto the stage of history like the sound of a train whistle and compose the heroic epics that people in today's era are familiar with.

Taking the three most representative countries at that time as examples, the Kingdom of Brittany was facing the invasion of the Kingdom of Zoroaster, with eight out of ten of its territory lost, and the royal nobles abandoned the capital and fled south. The disaster of national destruction was imminent and could come at any time; the Kingdom of Minsuria was internally divided, with many states. Not only was the civil war that had lasted for nearly a hundred years intensifying, but the revolutionary fire ignited among the people was also spreading like wildfire, and was about to burn the ancient kingdom order to ashes.

As for the seemingly most peaceful United Kingdom of White Cities, it was actually the most corrupt country. The cruel monarchy and aristocracy oppressed the people of this land, and the religious depravity was even more shocking. In just one medium-sized city, there were more than 30 active churches. The archons, monks and nobles colluded with each other to collect a variety of heavy taxes of more than 257 items from the people, so that they could build luxurious villas, manors and monasteries.

The people could no longer bear the oppression, and finally, under the impetus of the Reformation, launched a vigorous uprising, which is the famous "October 1st Uprising" in history. This was not only because the war broke out on October 1st of that year, but also because the rebels quickly won the people's response by calling for resistance to the tithe.

Since then, the vast land of Sigrida from south to north and from east to west has been plunged into war and strife. The chaotic times have begun, and heroes and great talents have fallen like stars, streaking across the starry sky of history, leaving behind fleeting brilliance. However, among the stars that flickered in the night, only three people were praised by the people at that time and remembered by the people of later generations:

Napoleon was a great marshal who led an army of patriots to rise up in times of crisis, supported the Restoration of Queen Victoria, and established the Second Kingdom of Greater Brittany. In just half a century, he restored the royal family and returned to the old capital, thus reshaping the spirit and will of the Breton nation.

He claimed that he had the bloodline of the ancient Volomf dynasty and deposed the rule of the Iron Cross monarch with tough means. After ascending the throne, he still personally fought in the south and the north, conquering those divided states one by one and making them return to the banner of Minsuria. He also cruelly extinguished the revolutionary spark among the people. Because of his tyranny and bravery, his enemies feared him and called him the "Red Bearded Devil": King Barbarossa the Red Bearded.

And finally, as the only remaining believer of the ancient "Holy Bishop", she led the Holy United Army and her twelve knights, stood up for the people, resisted the tyranny of the monarchy, the nobility and the church, and finally overthrew the monarchy and established a republic. Because of her mysterious origin, no one knew where she came from or where she went in the end. People suspected that she was a treasure given by God to this land, so they affectionately called her: Joan of Arc, the saint given by the Lord.

Every citizen of White City, even those who are not born in the White City Republic but live on this land, knows the deeds of Joan of Arc. In addition to her bravery, justice and the miracles she often performed on the battlefield, the most talked about is the fate and friendship between her and the twelve knights bestowed by the Lord under her command.

The Fire Knight Modric, who felt deeply guilty for his mistakes that led to the army being besieged by the nobles and the church army, heard the encouragement from the saint in despair and finally regained his courage. He entered the battlefield alone and broke through the enemy's blockade with the momentum of a meteor. He spread the news of the arrival of reinforcements throughout the battlefield, which boosted the declining morale. Later, the army of Joan of Arc really arrived at the battlefield, and the situation was reversed. A great victory liberated all the cities in the North Roland Province. Whether this was a coincidence or a mysterious force based on fate, no one can explain it to this day.

Bergwell, the lancer who always appeared on the battlefield as a nobleman, with a handsome appearance and elegant demeanor, was sought after by many girls, but people felt that he was not like a knight or a warrior at all. He joined the Holy Alliance Army because he admired Joan of Arc. His daily behavior and style were often criticized, and some people even thought that his existence had tarnished the great and lofty ideals of the Holy Alliance Army. Every time she heard such words, the Saint would smile and shake her head, correcting her: Bergwell is a real knight. So, in the final battle, the blood-soaked nobleman was the first to climb the top of the city of Fontainebleau, the capital, and pierced the pseudo-king flag flying on the palace from a distance of 30 kilometers, saying that this was a gift to the Saint and the Holy Alliance Army. Those who witnessed this scene at the time never said that he was not worthy of being a knight for the rest of their lives.

Joan of Arc and her twelve Knights of the Lord traveled to almost every province of the kingdom in order to liberate the people of the White City. In the historic province of Saint-Denis, there is also a story about one of the Knights of the Lord, the White Knight Hiberton of Grangenia whom Linge just mentioned.

Of course, in that era, the surname Gustaf was still unknown and not a noble name. It was the great pioneer knight who, under the banner of white thorn flowers, led a team of 3,000 people and worked hard for 20 years to transform a barren land into a fertile and prosperous paradise. To this day, it is still the most important grain producing area and the largest vineyard planting area of ​​the White City Republic.

In the years that followed, the Gustaf family gained a firm foothold here, and the whitethorn flower flag became their symbol. Perhaps it was because they inherited the chivalrous spirit of their ancestors that the heads of the Gustaf family were models of nobleness and justice, courage and kindness. The people of Granjinia all knew that wherever the whitethorn flower flag was seen flying, that place was protected by the descendants of Gustaf with courage and kindness, and no matter whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made disaster, it could not disturb the peace here.

……

In the mountains of Little Vischenk, she first met the Rose Knight Rostia. The blonde girl, who had always been proud and never bowed to anyone, was impressed by the grace and demeanor of the saint. She knelt on one knee, swore allegiance with the ceremony of knighthood, and brought her three hundred knights and attendants to join the Holy Alliance Army led by the saint, fighting for the ideal of equality and justice. From then on, in every battlefield where Joan of Arc was active, she could be seen guarding with a gun, as noble as a rose and full of passion.

Grangenia is the ancient name, which is today's Grindelwald Plain. Since the long recorded age, this land has always been the fief of the Gustaf family. During the period of division of the Wollmuth Dynasty, the ancestors of the Gustaf family, who had made countless contributions to the founding of the United Kingdom of the White City-States, were granted this land as pioneering knights and became its glorious guardians and revivers.

Therefore, they lived and worked here in peace and contentment for generations with respect and gratitude to the Knight Lord, and never experienced the cruelty and pain of war. This peaceful period even lasted until the uprising war, when Joan of Arc and her Holy Alliance entered the province of Saint-Denis with the intention of liberating this land, but were surprised to find that there was no sign of strife or unrest here. At that time, the head of the Godafu family was the White Knight Hiberton.

He treated the people kindly and repeatedly refused to allow religious forces to enter this area. He also refused to collect various complicated and harsh religious taxes with them. Under his influence, the aristocratic rule here was not as cruel and violent as that in the outside world. Although there were conflicts between the aristocracy and the people, they were still within the scope of coordination.

After Joan of Arc learned about the situation in Grangenia, she did not forcefully classify all the noble forces as the diehards who needed to be eliminated. She personally visited the Gustave family and negotiated with the White Knight Hiberton for many days. She told him about the current chaotic situation in the White City and the people's desire for freedom, equality and justice, and invited Hiberton to join the Holy Alliance Army to fight together for the establishment of a free and democratic republic. However, the White Knight Hiberton did not accept her invitation at first, which disappointed Joan of Arc, but she did not force it. After that, the Holy Alliance Army stayed in Grangenia for another half a month and decided to move to the Almes Province. It was heard that the war situation there was more corrupt and urgently needed support. After spending half a month with Joan of Arc and her knights, the White Knight Hiberton finally believed that their ideals were sincere and their cause was based on justice. When the Holy Alliance Army left, he supported a lot of money, food, weapons, armor and other materials, but still did not intend to give in to the invitation of the Saint.

It was not until the Holy Alliance Army was ambushed by the Kingdom Army in an ancient ruin northwest of the present-day Grindelwald Plains when it was transferred to the Almes Province. It should be said that it was the most dangerous battle in Joan of Arc's career, and it even endangered her life. However, the details of how dangerous it was are kept secret in both official and unofficial history.

The only thing that future generations know is the outcome of that battle: White Knight Hiberton arrived with reinforcements at a critical moment, and cooperated with the Holy Alliance to counterattack, eventually turning the tide. After the battle, Hiberton changed his previous stubborn attitude and decided to join the Holy Alliance. In order to show his determination, he gave up the glory that the Gustaf family had always guarded for hundreds of years before leaving, and returned the land of Grangenia to its free people. From then on, he no longer regarded himself as a noble, and only took the white thorn flower flag left by his ancestors and embarked on a journey of conquest.

As to why the White Knight Hiberton's attitude changed so dramatically, it has always been a puzzle for people who study this period of history. When Linger took the history of the White City Republic as an elective, he was also puzzled when he read this record. Out of curiosity, he went to the library to check some information, but could not find a reasonable explanation. Some people said that Joan of Arc's personality charm infected Hiberton, and some people said that the Kingdom Army's wanton war on the land of Grangenia angered this knight who loved his hometown deeply... It seems to make sense, but there are still some contradictions and it is hard to believe.

What the textbooks don't mention is that after the war ended and the White City Republic was established, Hibden declined the position offered to him by the new government and returned to his hometown, which had been renamed Grindelwald. The once vast fiefdom now belongs to the people of the Republic who have regained their freedom. What Hibden left for himself is just the family estate where he grew up. It is said that the ruling committee of the Saint-Denis Province, considering the contribution of the Gustaf family to the uprising war, wanted the government to redeem some of the land that originally belonged to the Gustaf family and give it back to Hibden, but was rejected by this noble and indifferent White Knight.

After that, Hibbert spent the rest of his life in his hometown in a peaceful and quiet manner. Perhaps due to the hidden wounds left by many years of fighting, he died at the age of only 49. He was given great honors after his death. Joan of Arc, who had been out of the public eye for many years, personally carried his coffin. Of the twelve knights bestowed by the Lord, the seven who were still alive all appeared at the funeral. Grindelwald's people followed his coffin all the way to the Eterny Cemetery, where it was laid, and laid more than 10,000 flowers on his tomb.

This whitethorn flower that once blossomed in the sky of the battlefield, bringing hope and justice to the people, eventually floated back to its homeland. The legend of Hibernton seemed to have come to an unsatisfactory but sincere end. However, few people cared about Hibernton's descendants, the heirs of the Gustaf family.

So much so that they did not know that the Forest of Loser, which was once the fief of the Godafu family and later presented to the new republican government by Hibbert himself, had actually been redeemed by the descendants of the White Knight long ago, and the person who bought the land happened to be Shino's grandfather.

This was something Xino admitted personally, and to prove that she was not talking nonsense, she also mentioned the specific time point: "In fact, in order to buy back the Loser Forest, our Gustaf family has gone through about three generations of efforts. It is not the credit of my grandfather alone, but it happened to be completed in his generation. The time was in the 50s. The title deed returned by the city hall and the original redemption contract at that time are still kept in the manor, but..."

She looked at everyone and smiled sheepishly: "Maybe it's not convenient for everyone to see it."

In fact, there was no need to look at the title deed and the contract, as everyone had already believed her story, because there was no need for her to tell a huge lie just to ease the conflict with a few strangers she had just met.

If you have the time, wouldn't it be faster to just apologize?

But, the 50s?

Lingge was thoughtful: "I remember the book mentioned that since the 50s, the Forest of Lother has been in a state of being sparsely visited by people. Not only do the residents of Grindelwald not approach this forest, even the nearby hunters and farmers avoid it. Could it be that the reason is..."

He stopped here and did not continue speaking, but everyone knew what he wanted to say: because the Gustaf family bought back their family fiefdom, and then sealed off the Forest of Loser, prohibiting outsiders from entering or leaving.

Shino nodded calmly: "Yes."

As for the reason, it is also very simple.

She raised her head, looked at the blue boots under the tree, and said, "This is also to protect Blaze and the others."

　Give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)