Today may be the happiest day for Lange's soldiers since leaving home.
The team they sent out brought back many things that inspired them, including three barrels of beer as clear as amber, a perfectly cured smoked ham, and bulging sacks filled with oats that filled half a carriage. , and the other half of the carriage contained six woven baskets filled with fresh fruits.
The roosters and hens they brought back were all slaughtered and plucked, simply rubbed with coarse salt, then skewered on tree branches and roasted on the campfire. The surroundings were filled with the laughter of the soldiers who couldn't wait to enjoy the delicious food.
If slaughtering an adult hen that can still lay eggs is an extremely luxurious act, then today Lange's soldiers were simply revelers enjoying Caesar's feast - they also killed a newly weaned female goat and a pregnant goat. sow and a young cow.
Their meat was chopped into several large pieces, half of which was taken away by Lange's chef without explanation. Obviously, these meats would eventually be served to the nobles' tables.
The remaining half, in accordance with Lange's rare and generous instructions, was all distributed to his soldiers who had not eaten meat for months.
Lange's camp boiled like boiling water. The soldiers shouted Lord Lange's name. The sounds of thanks and praise came to Lange's ears through the thin tent cloth, which made him feel an indescribable feeling in his heart. The pleasure that comes.
"Ha, I want to drink the biggest glass of wine and eat the biggest plate of barbecue while everyone else is reduced to eating crumbs!" Lange was thinking in his mind about how he would be able to steal the show in front of many nobles in the principality today. Suddenly, His messenger burst into the tent like a frightened cat.
"Sir, the Duke of Cologne is here!"
"You startled fool," Lange looked at the candle on the table that was extinguished due to the airflow stirred by the curtain, and pointed at the messenger's nose and said displeasedly, "hurry up and welcome the Duke in, you clumsy person Bastard, if you cause trouble recklessly like this again, I guarantee that a series of brilliant thorn flowers will bloom on your back."
"Yes, my, my master." The too-young messenger was so frightened that he sniffed his nose, bowed his head deeply, and backed away from the door curtain in fear.
Langer enjoys this feeling of being feared. He thought, if even this kind of low-level people are no longer afraid of you, it means that you have no authority, and naturally no one will listen to your words and orders, which will undoubtedly be a disaster.
Thinking of this, he thought of Baron Simon again. Many times he couldn't help but wonder, Simon was just a little baron. Who gave him the courage to make this guy who was supposed to be afraid of him act so arrogant and arrogant?
But thinking about Simon's helpless expression after Sir Gretel killed David in front of everyone, Langer felt a burst of joy again - look, this kid has not always been favored by the goddess of luck, and has always been sharp-tongued. There will be times when Simon breaks his teeth and swallows food.
The door curtain was opened again, allowing him to put all the thoughts in his mind behind him. Lange's servant held the door curtain humbly, as gently as if he was changing a baby's diaper. It seemed that this guy had absorbed enough of the young man's order just now. Soldier's lesson. Then, in came Duke Amadeus, wearing a bright red robe and a cloak trimmed with white fluff.
"My distinguished Duke." Lange quickly stood up, walked forward, knelt down on one knee and kissed the Duke's signet ring.
"You are very capable, Count Lange." The Duke helped Lange up and suddenly smelled the smell of spices. It was the smell of the chef baking seasoned meat on a big roaster not far from the lord's tent. " If I remember correctly, I haven't attended a banquet like this during the march for half a month." After the Duke finished speaking, he touched his stomach, and the tempting aroma had already caught the glutton in his stomach.
When Duke Amadeus received Lange's invitation, he was very curious as to why Lange had extra supplies to treat guests to the banquet. When he arrived at Lange's camp, he looked at several people at the entrance of the camp who were deliberately dressed in gray. Soldiers in tattered robes were unloading goods next to the carriage that smelled of blood. He probably guessed what the group of people had done.
"Today, in my tent, you don't have to worry about other things, just eat meat and drink wine!" Langer patted his chest confidently. For this banquet, he specifically allowed his men to use necessary means to obtain food. In order to avoid being identified, the soldiers left everything that might reveal their identities in the camp before setting off, such as burqas. and battle flag.
The Duke mentally mourned the farmers who suffered nearby. To be honest, he didn't like such barbaric behavior, but as long as no one came to cause trouble, he acquiesced. After all, he was Lange's guest today, and he would have a meal soon. A delicious meal awaits him.
After the Duke took his seat, Lange chatted with him. The topics initiated by Lange were always inseparable from the king's recent deployment orders, the situation of other dukes' camps, and his views on the laws recently passed by the king.
Duke Amadeus thought that this was not something that a count should care about. Lange seemed a little complacent. He seemed to regard himself as a duke. This feeling of transgression made him uncomfortable.
Therefore, the Duke responded to Lange with short and ambiguous words without interest, which were perfunctory to say the least.
The smile on the Duke's face when he first entered the camp slowly disappeared. It wasn't until a trace of impatient frown appeared that Lange realized the Duke's boredom. Suddenly, the burning fire of joy in his heart was like someone pointing a finger at a bread oven. It was as if a basin of water was poured into it, until only the choking smoke remained.
"Baron Hale of Ulz is here!"
The servant looked at Lange's somewhat embarrassed expression, and used his hands as dexterous as a peregrine falcon to open the door curtain more gently. Duke Amadeus on the side saw this and thought that the servant might be a good assassin.
Behind the setting sun and the light of the camp fire pit, Baron Hale, the depressed man, walked in.
Lange stood up to greet Hale and even bowed slightly, which flattered Hale. Although Hale is a baron and Lange is an earl, they are both loyal to the Duke, and their relationship should be regarded as colleagues. Lange's always arrogant and defiant image is too deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. He is so polite today. Instead, Langer made him feel at a loss.
Hale was led by Lange's servants to sit down. He looked a little confused, his head was always slightly lowered, and his dim eyes were always looking at his surroundings from time to time. The feeling of embarrassment was like It was like a farmer who worked with soil all day long was brought to the king's splendid palace.
Lange knew that Hale was a person who liked to be alone, and he seemed to have some secrets, but the Duke was not interested in this. Lange was quite interested. If he could find out what the secret was and use it to blackmail Hale, he might be able to use him as a wedge to split the Five Baron Alliance.
After a while, Baron Karl of Duisburg and Baron Lemaitre of Shigburg also arrived.
Baron Lemaître is the Duke's sealmaster. Although this guy sleeps with wine bottles all day long, it has to be said that his loyalty is unshakable. It is almost impossible for Lange to instigate him to join his crusade against Simon.
As for Carl, Lange thought, Baron Carl is still deeply involved in the reconstruction of his territory. This man used to be good friends with his current legal father, Earl Wolfe, but now, the powerful Earl Wolfe has This impoverished old friend who borrowed money from him from time to time was disgusted, which also put the current Baron Karl into an embarrassing situation.
Langer couldn't help but think about it. Since Simon was so rich, why didn't he help Karl get through the difficulties? If he was the one who helped Karl get through the difficulties, would Karl become another wedge for him?
When Langer stood up and showed his kindness to the two barons, Baron Carl's reaction was exactly the same as Baron Hale's, but Baron Lemaitre seemed disapproving of this.
"Smug bastard." Langer's heart was like a handful of dry straw ignited by sparks, but on the surface, he didn't say a word, with a hypocritical smile on his face, and asked the servant to come and lead the two of them to the place. in their respective positions.
Now only Baron Simon, Baron Winter and Earl Wolf are missing.
Langer played with the silver wine glass in his hand and felt the complex concave and convex patterns on the wine glass with his fingers. His initial joy and enthusiasm had been almost worn away by the orderer, Amadeus and Lemaitre, although he was now expressionless. His expression, but the unique cold aura on his body made the three barons present not want to have anything to do with him except for superficial polite words.
Lange didn't want to get involved in the conversation between the three barons. The barons had been talking about how to allocate baggage and supplies from their own territories, which made Lange, who had plundered nearby villages to obtain supplies, feel very uncomfortable. They are basically people from two worlds.
When the sunlight completely disappeared and the distant sky turned into a mysterious purple, Earl Wolfe came.
His beard was longer than before, and was tied into beautiful little braids. After becoming an earl, he was no longer as strong as before, but became like a fat bear, with fat on his belly. It vibrated with every step he took. The two blushes on his cheeks that hung like suns must have been caused by drinking endlessly all day long.
Lange doesn’t know why Wolfe is like this, but his son Fernagan seems to be a reliable ally. This young man has not been infected with his father’s alcohol addiction and is now full of youthful vitality. .
After a while, Baron Simon and Baron Winter also came. However, their expressions made Lange feel a little scared. It was understandable that Simon's face was not good-looking. After all, he had just pissed him off not long ago, but what happened to Winter, who usually had a kind face? The eyes that looked at him had a hatred that he had never seen before, as if he was a living devil.
"How could I be frightened by a baron?" Langer laughed at himself in his heart, and he was not going to give these two unwelcome visitors any good looks.
"Simon, Winter..." Lange simply read out the two names. His butt didn't even intend to leave the seat, as if he was facing two humble vassals who were loyal to him. It's just so disrespectful.
Duke Amadeus put on a cheerful expression as if watching a circus performance, as if watching his vassals fight among themselves was one of the few entertainments he had. But don't forget, this was all caused by him, which gave Amadeus a sense of satisfaction in controlling power.
Simon and Winter didn't seem to have any intention of arguing with Lange about this matter. In other words, they didn't come here with the intention of attending the banquet seriously. They sat down facing the surprised looks of the other three barons, briefly greeted the Duke, and then made no move.
Just now, there had been customary low-pitched conversations in the tent, and people were giggling from time to time. For a moment, the atmosphere in the tent fell into a subtle silence, as if the arrival of Simon and the two was like Jesus speaking to the saints at the Last Supper. People say that someone has betrayed him, and everyone's reaction is very different, which is thought-provoking.
"Ahem, let the servants serve the food." In order to cover up his embarrassment, Lange waved to the servants next to him, but the situation did not improve. Now the table fell into silence again. Lange regretted in his heart why he invited these two people. A "disgusting" guy came to the party.
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