Iron Power And Sorcerer

Iron Power And Sorcerer Chapter 376

2021-12-14

Chapter 376 vortex (2)

The hall of the White Eagle was gradually filled with guests.

Most of the attendees were well-known workshop owners in Steel Castle, and many of the men could still see the scalding scars left by the molten iron on their hands.

Of course, there are also some “upper-class gentlemen” who are pure and pampered. But it is the same, they have the same identity: the master of the forge.

The Winters alumni—mysterious middle-aged man who lacks two fingers—seem to be well-respected by the forge masters. Wherever he went, people stopped talking, or nodded, or raised their glasses to greet him.

The middle-aged man strutted across the venue to the long table at the far end of the hall, with Winters following calmly.

Kaman, who was drinking beside the long table, inadvertently caught a glimpse of Winters approaching with an unfamiliar face. He put down the glass and stood up slowly.

Sorcerer and the priest looked at each other across the crowd, and Kaman asked with his eyes—"Need help?"

Winters tilted his head in Anna's direction quietly— "Don't mind me, protect Anna."

Kaman nodded lightly and walked towards the side hall where the ladies gathered.

The middle-aged man picks up a random bottle of wine at the long table, turns and walks to the small conversation circle next to the long table.

A dozen or so guests gathered around the long table, all of them quite old. Most of them had gray hair and bald tops. These people have long passed the age of being courteous to ladies, and they are unwilling to lower their status to be in the company of the younger generation, so they naturally form a small circle.

Seeing the middle-aged man approaching, the burly old man headed by nodded greeted him: "Colonel."

"Mr. Schmid." The middle-aged man responded politely.

While speaking, middle-aged man stands in the chat circle.

Winters followed the former, staying at the periphery of the invisible circle, maintaining a proper distance.

Other guests, as it should be by rights, see Winters as a lieutenant to the "Colonel", so don't see anything odd.

"Come on?" the middle-aged man pulled the cork with his bare hands and asked the burly old man with a smile.

The burly old man protects the glass: "Distilled spirits? You want my life."

"Distilled? Didn't see the label." middle-aged man gave He poured half a glass of transparent liquid by himself, and handed the wine bottle and cork to Winters: "Never mind! It's just wine."

Winters watched the burly old man silently—literally, when he first saw him, Winters thought someone was playing a prank and shoved a bear into a human's clothes.

"Bear in tight clothes", this is the truest portrayal of the burly old man.

The beard on the temples is as lush as weeds on the river bank in midsummer, and the dark skin seems to have just climbed out of the charcoal kiln.

Every button, from chest to stomach, was taut, clearly taking an unacceptable amount of tension. There's enough material for Winters to make a two-piece jacket, and it looks a bit restrained on the burly old man.

Even if the burly old man is no longer strong due to middle-aged weight gain and muscle atrophy, you can still imagine the loud noise he would have made when he swung the hammer in his youth.

The other old people around should have been blacksmiths in their early years -- not the "blacksmiths" who actually became merchants and employers under the name of blacksmiths today; The blacksmith.

The dangerous and arduous career has left some marks on them, swollen knees, deformed joints, ugly scars... These are all good luck.

The old man beside the burly old man has only one knuckle on the four fingers of his left hand except the thumb. Two people pass by, and the right eye of the other short and stout old man is covered by a blindfold, which should be There have been some accidents.

Winters took everything in his eyes, took it to heart, and collected information silently.

For "the Colonel and the old blacksmiths in front of him have similar smells" Winters is not surprised at all about this.

“Why don’t we chat? Gentlemen? "The middle-aged man sniffed the glass: "Am I disturbing your interest?" "

Several old blacksmiths looked at each other, and Schmid - the burly old man headed by him said gruffly: "The Lord Mayor doesn't show up, we Old Guys complain so much, what's the point?" use? "

Schmidt took the word "Lord Mayor" very seriously, exhibiting one's feelings in one's speech.

"Paul Wupper that boy must today Give a word! The short and stout one-eyed old blacksmith's fiery temper was just a little bit: "There can still be a hole in the wood when the nails hit the wood. If he dares to cover up, he won't even think about getting my vote, [angry Monta swearing]!" "

"What do you think about the trade ban?" Another old blacksmith asked hoarsely, "Colonel Bern?" "

Winters blinked, and he finally got to know the name of the senior.

Colonel Berne took a sip of Distilled Liquor and waved his hands again and again: "Don't hurt me." The trade ban is a matter between your state government in Solingen and the General Assembly, and has nothing to do with the military. What should I say? "

"Legion is still in charge of the state when the emperor is here." Your troops are stationed in Solingen, you are also a part of Solingen, of course you can express your opinion. "

Colonel Bernie shook his head with a wry smile and refused to say more.

The one-eyed old blacksmith couldn't hold back his anger, he shouted: "Colonel, you know best, you The soldiers eat, drink, shit and piss, food, clothing, housing and transportation...and the salary, which one is not from our steel castle? For so many years, we have not missed you a grain of wheat and a horn of silver, right? Now that the steel castle is being reorganized, you have to speak for us! "

"Enough! The burly old Schmid roared: "Isn't that shameful enough? "

The one-eyed old blacksmith grunted angrily, but said nothing more.

"I'm sorry, Colonel." "The old man Schmidt bowed slightly: "We are not blaming you. "

Colonel Berne waved his hand, indicating that it's okay. After a few sips of boring wine, he led the topic: "Last year's winter training was delayed, and I want to make up for it before the spring." ”

Winters hearing this pricked up his ears—he had heard when he was still in military school that the Monta people would organize military training during the winter slack, and the mountain people’s disciplined fighting style was today’s Union infantry tactics The originator.

However, the above memory is mainly from the boasting of the students of Monta, and the war history textbooks have not discussed the relevant content in detail.

Therefore, Colonel Bern mentioned it. During winter training, Winters immediately cheered up.

Old Schmid touched his forehead, as if a brown bear was scratching, he recalled: "Last winter... After the lake and river froze last year, everyone They are all busy with work, and they really don't care about winter training. If you make it up now... Colonel, it will be freezing soon. "

"I know." "

"It's easy to talk about people in the city, everyone is idle anyway. "The old man's voice was rough and low, but it was very kind: "What about the people outside the city?" As soon as the weather gets warmer, they have to plant the fields, but they are very busy. "

Colonel Bern has long been prepared: "I will not recruit 'outsiders' for this supplementary training. To be honest, 'City Man' I don't want to draft either. "

Elder Schmid frowned and asked, "If you don't recruit people from the city, you don't recruit people from outside the city. Who else can you recruit?" "

"Who is recruited?" Colonel Bern stopped for a moment and said with a smile: "Whoever is hungry will be recruited." "

After he finished speaking, the colonel drank the remaining Distilled Liquor in the glass. Although Winters felt that drinking like this was very harmful to his health, he still handed the bottle against his will.

Other seniors Before the blacksmith could think about it, the old man who had just asked the colonel's attitude had already figured it out, and he asked in a hoarse voice, "You want to recruit... mule workers? "

Several other old blacksmiths heard this and couldn't help but frowned.

The mule workers are the poorest poor in Steel Castle, their overwhelming majority are not Steel Castle people, but from other towns They even moved in. They couldn't be apprentices, they could only work hard, like mules in a mine, so they were contemptuously called mule workers.

Winters also figured it out-- Several blacksmiths referred to mule workers as men shiver coldly in the street waiting for their employers.

“The mule workers are not from Steelcastle, and many of them are not even from Solingen. The one-eyed blacksmith narrowed his eyes: "Winter training is all about food and drink, so why give them bread for nothing?" "

"Traditionally, no out-of-states are recruited for winter training." The old man with a hoarse voice slowly added: "According to the law, winter training is the state's business, and foreigners cannot be recruited. "

"I know, I know." Colonel Berne looked indifferent and was not shaken by the objection: "But I also know one thing - people have to eat bread. If you don’t have to eat, you have to find a way to get it, or you will starve to death. The employees of Steelcastle are all out of work now, just leave it alone and have a major event sooner or later. If you are unwilling to help, I can only do it. Gentlemen, listen, I'm helping you... you just don't realize it yet. ”

The colonel looked around with a hint of menace, and none of the blacksmiths dared to look him in the eye

Except for Schmid, the burly old blacksmith laughed heartily and relieved the tension. Tensed atmosphere: "The Executive Committee has discussed your proposal, Colonel. However, as the election is approaching, the Executive Committee has no authority. At the end of the day, you still have to figure out a way to convince the next executive, and... the next mayor. "

"Yes. Colonel Bern spread his hands, sighed: "Otherwise, why am I here to join in the fun?" "

Old man Schmid patted the colonel's shoulder hard, and the colonel shook the head, without saying anything.

"How could it be like this?" The old man with a hoarse voice also sighed: "When we were young, how wonderful it was!" As soon as the lake and river freeze, we will work hard for a whole winter. When it gets warmer and the lakes and rivers are frozen, the large and small ships will take our cargo away to Palato, Interprovince, and Veneta. Oh, how could it be like this? "

As he spoke, the old man's eyes were a little wet, and he couldn't help sighing again.

The one-eyed old blacksmith grumbled and complained: "When the emperor was still there, although Conscripted every year, at least Legion can be returned to the states. With military power, no one dares to wrong us. now what? Legion was taken over by the federation, they fell out to become hostile, we're fucking bare-ass! Anyone can take it! [Vicious mountain people's foul language]! "

Winters listened in silence. If memory was a notebook, he had just scribbled two lines hard:
"Old Schmidt is a member of the executive committee";
"Son The conflict between the state of Lingen and the Commonwealth of Monta is sharper than expected, and there may even be hostility in the state of Solingen.”

Winters smelled the opportunity, but for some reason, he hardly felt it. Joy, but a little depressing.

Watching the "great legacy" degenerate into something more and more people are dissatisfied with, and can't change anything, I am afraid that any ideal person will sooner or later become Colonel Bern. Those who drink wine as water.

“What will be my legacy? What will it be like? ' Winters couldn't help asking himself.

Winters even began to wonder: 'Is there really an ideal country? Is there really a perfect system? Or is the pursuit of a perfect system itself a mistake? ”

A few crisp sounds interrupted Winters' thoughts, and the others' attention was also attracted by the knocking sound.

After focusing everyone's attention on himself, White Eagle put down the goblet and spoon in his hand, and walked gracefully to the center of the hall.

"Gentlemen, dear ladies. The white eagle bowed to all around dashingly and exaggeratedly, and announced in a unique magnetic voice: "Please allow me to introduce today's most honorable guest, the honorable servant of Steel Castle, a loyal husband and an honest blacksmith, my dear friend-- Mayor Paul Wupper. "

Somewhere from nowhere, there was a sparse applause. The applause immediately became warm, and the atmosphere reached a high point.

Winters did not see the "Mayor", only Saw a puffy middle-aged man well-dressed and stiff-faced walking into the lobby with a grudging smile.

[Here we go!]
[Many words such as "executive committee" sound a bit tongue-in-cheek ——I also felt this way when I wrote it myself]
[Because the words that are easy to pass are actually more commonly used words (covering your face), it is easy to be hurt by mistake. So in this story we use "resolution meeting", " The rare words such as "Executive Committee" and "Council" are used instead of the commonly used names of power bodies, please forgive me]
[Some Chinese words correspond to the same foreign words, such as Elder's Council and Senate...]
[Thank you letter友们的收藏、阅读、订阅、推荐票、月票、打赏和评论，谢谢大家]