"...Remember this shameful day! Veneta was deliberately attacked by the Tanirian Federation. Until a week ago, the ruling council was still in talks with the Federation to maintain peace on the inner sea.
But history will prove that the Taniriya Federation has planned this attack for a long time and carefully planned it. They deceived Venetta with false statements and a desire to maintain peace.
Our fleet suffered heavy losses, our naval ports were burned to ashes, and many brave Venetans lost their lives.
The fact is self-evident: the enemy is attacking us. As Consul of the Republic of Veneta, I have ordered the Army and Navy to take all necessary measures.
The sea remembers eternity, and Vinetta will always remember Tanirya's undeclared war. Under the gaze of the gods, I swear: No matter how long it takes, no matter how much blood is shed, even if the entire inland sea is stained red, we will definitely seek justice!
Believe in our military! Believe in our people! God bless Veneta, we will win!
I ask the All-Veneta Citizen Congress to declare that the noble Republic of Veneta and the Taneria Federation have officially entered a state of war since the Taniriya Federation launched a despicable sneak attack on Haidong Port. "
In the center of the parliament hall, this energetic old man smashed the tabletop of the podium, looked around, and pronounced an unquestionable verdict: "The Tanilia Federation must be destroyed!"
The Great Council Hall was filled with citizen representatives who had rushed to Hailan City from various city-states in Veneta. The special sound design allowed the Archon's words to be clearly transmitted to everyone.
Every time the consul said a word, the citizen representatives in the audience would follow suit and shout.
When the consul finished his last words, all the angry citizen representatives stood up, waved their fists, and roared like a mountain and a tsunami: "Destroy the Union! Destroy the Union..."
On the auditorium on the second floor, Antonio put on his tricorn hat again, turned to Winters and said, "Let's go, Winters. There's nothing to see anymore."
People who do not have the status of citizen representatives or parliamentarians cannot participate in the meeting in the lobby on the first floor. Therefore, the designers of the parliament hall specially designed an auditorium on the second floor for ordinary citizens to listen.
"Don't you want to watch the voting process later?" Winters was temporarily distracted by the atmosphere of hatred among hundreds of congressmen: "We don't even know what proposals the consul will pass."
Other people in the auditorium made way for the two officers. Some people patted Winters on the shoulder and said to Winters: "Kill those bastard pirates from the Federation!"
Winters responded with a polite smile and followed Antonio out of the auditorium.
After walking outside, Antonio said to Winters: "We don't need to know the consul's proposal, we only need to know the consul's attitude."
Winters nodded.
"Governor Debella is still very skilled." Antonio suddenly said with emotion: "Actually, some members of Congress do not agree to link Drake's attack with the Taniriya Federation, but Debella directly convened a general meeting of citizens. With the current atmosphere in the parliament hall, I think even a high war budget can be easily passed with three votes."
"How could Drake, a pirate captain, organize such a sneak attack? The Federation must be supporting him behind the scenes." Winters asked puzzledly: "But I don't understand how the Federation dares to provoke us? It's obviously We wanted to fight them, but they struck first instead. Don’t the Tanilians think that after destroying the Veneta Navy, we can’t retaliate against them?”
Antonio raised his eyebrows and educated: "Don't think of the Federation as a whole, just like don't think of Veneta as a whole. There is no need to consider the thoughts of the Tanirians, the hope for a peaceful solution has been dashed , the only thing left is war. And our duty is to win this war for Veneta... Are you still used to working under Contel? "
"Lieutenant Colonel Contel... I feel like he takes too much care of me. The lieutenant colonel put several of us trainee officers into his chief centurion team, so we basically have nothing to do." Winters said with some embarrassment.
Lieutenant Colonel Contel is responsible for commanding the Cohort Prima of the Third Army. The Third Army usually only maintains half of its strength. After the Haidong Port attack, it was quickly replenished with reserve soldiers to its full strength. It is currently training intensively in the West Camp. However, Winters is now on probation in the standing army, so he is not busy.
"Talk less, do more, observe more." Antonio reached out to help Winters straighten his military cap, and patted his back: "Some people will please you, some will despise you, but it doesn't actually matter. Just do your part.”
Winters nodded wordlessly.
He understands: If he denies the help brought by his family, he is simply getting an advantage and being good; if he exchanges himself with Benwe, Benwe may not do better than him, but he will definitely not be able to be a teenager like Benwe. Even if he worked on the dock to support his family, he couldn't do what Bud did - that's why he respected Benway and Bud.
But he still wanted to avoid the criticism of nepotism, so Winters originally wanted to go to the Reserve Corps with Lieutenant Colonel Field, but Antonio asked him to go to "Grand Veneta". Although few people knew about the relationship between Warrant Officer Montagne and the regiment commander, this still made Winters a little uncomfortable.
Antonio is comforting Winters and telling him how to deal with it: "Do your duty."
The two rode horses all the way from the parliament hall to home. When they approached the door of the house, Antonio said casually: "The navy is cleaning the offshore sea. When they clear the waterway, the Third Army will attack. Be prepared, there is still something to do. Everything is taken care of.”
"What? We are sending troops so soon?" Winters suddenly became alarmed: "This is too hasty. Warships, gunpowder, shells, food... are we ready?"
"I'm not ready, but I have to respond." Antonio smiled bitterly: "The people's anger is like a fire, which can burn the enemy to death as well as themselves. If you don't fight back when you are beaten, public opinion will overwhelm the government. .The ruling council now urgently needs a victory to establish its authority."
"A monarch cannot start a war out of anger, and a general cannot launch an attack out of resentment. This is chaos, and you should firmly oppose such chaos orders!"
"I've read it too." Antonio changed the topic: "But let me ask you a question. Do you think there is a commander in Veneta who is better at fighting than me?"
"No!"
Although there is a suspicion of flattery, this is Winters' sincerity.
The Republic of Veneta named the Third Legion after itself, which is enough to illustrate the combat effectiveness of this unit. The commander of the Grand Veneta Legion is undoubtedly the best commander in the entire Republic.
"Yes, I don't think so either." Antonio sounded like he was bragging, but there was no trace of arrogance on his face. He was as calm as if he was talking about the weather: "Then if I object, the five-member group will give up. Looking for a quick victory?”
“They will take your opinion into consideration.”
"I have raised my objections, and the Five have asked me to obey orders. If I continue to staunchly object, they will replace me and let someone else command the attack."
"Then let someone else go."
"Then what? Watching the Third Army suffer unnecessary losses due to the sudden change of generals? Arrogantly bragging about your foresight?" Antonio tightened the reins and stopped in place, and said to his nephew seriously: "Winters, you Listen, never say 'I told you so', even if you really said it. We are soldiers in Veneta, and since we are getting paid, we must do our duty for the benefit of the Republic!"
Antonio rarely spoke to the children in such a harsh tone, whether to Winters or Elizabeth. Kesha is the stricter parent, while the lieutenant colonel is the one who will cover for the children.
Winters lowered his head after being reprimanded. Antonio also realized that he was a little too angry and said softly: "The ruling committee has made up its mind. All the soldiers can do is try their best to win the war. To win the war, Venetian The interests of the tower come first, and the alliance eliminated the nobles, but we officers are the knights who protect her."
Winters said "Yeah." In his opinion, most officers actually only regard military duties as an ordinary job, and do not elevate their loyalty to the level of a knight's loyalty to his lord. Although he admires Antonio, Winters thinks he cannot be that noble.
The parliament hall was not far from home, and the two arrived home quickly. A dirty little beggar wearing a big hat was looking inside the fence.
Seeing the two officers coming back, the little beggar ran away in panic. As a large number of landless farmers poured into the city, there were many more beggars in Hailan City than in the past. The neighborhood where Serb's mansion is located has good security and is a key patrol area of the Security Command, but even so, people begging can be seen from time to time.
"Catch him and find out who he is. If he is just a beggar, give him some money. Tell him not to come near our house again." Antonio pointed at the back of the little beggar.
Winters nodded and urged Qiang Yun to catch up.
Antonio first took the bay horse to the stable and took care of it, and then entered the house through the back door.
As soon as he entered the door, Elizabeth ran over anxiously and grabbed his arm: "Dad, are you and your brother going to the war?"
"Who said that?" Antonio asked with a smile.
"Everyone is saying that the whole Aquamarine City is talking about the war. Even my female companions in the studio are talking about it, and the old ladies are telling us about the war for more than 20 years. Where are you going to fight? Is it dangerous? Why does my brother want to go too?"
Antonio rubbed his daughter's head and said in a relaxed tone: "It's not dangerous. Your brother and I just need to take a boat and go around the island on the sea, and the battle will be over."
"If you pretend to be stupid with Elizabeth, she will become a stupid woman in the future." Kesha came over and said to Antonio dissatisfied: "Have some confidence in the children we raised. Ella is sixteen, she is enough Be strong enough to know what happens.”
Kesha led Elizabeth to the living room and asked Elizabeth to sit in the middle of the sofa. She and Antonio sat on both sides.
Kesha held Elizabeth's hands and explained to her daughter seriously: "War is the most violent way to resolve disputes. Two groups kill each other until one party surrenders. That's why there are soldiers. When soldiers fight, others don't have to." Bleeding. Your father and brother are soldiers, so even if they can't let you go, they have to leave this home to fight in the war. Do you understand? They left home not because they don't love you."
Elizabeth asked with red eyes: "Is it dangerous to fight? Will you...never come back again?"
"No." Antonio quickly comforted his daughter: "War is not that dangerous. There is a song that goes like this, 'If every bullet can hit someone, who will the king find as a soldier'... "
Kesha glared at Antonio and said to Elizabeth seriously: "War will kill people, and many people's sons will not come back. Your father and brother may not come back either. We pray for their safety, but If they can't come back, you have to be able to face it with strength."
Hearing her mother's words and thinking of the terrible situation, Elizabeth couldn't help crying.
"She is still a child. Isn't it a bit too cruel of you to do this?"
"She is already sixteen years old, and she must learn to accept all this. Only in this way, if she really loses you, will she not have a mental breakdown like my sister!"
Just when the two were about to quarrel over their children's education policy, Winters opened the door and walked in.
Seeing Winters coming home, Elizabeth ran over and hugged her brother and cried: "Winters, I don't want you to go to the war! I don't want you to never come back! Don't go..."
Winters had no idea what was happening and was holding Ella helplessly. He had no choice but to pat Ella's back gently and ask the two parents with his eyes, "What is going on?"
But Kesha, who was strong and determined, couldn't help wiping away tears at this time.
Antonio sighed helplessly, hugged his wife in his arms, and looked at each other with Winters.
After being silent for a while, Sophia walked down the stairs with an expressionless face.
Yes, that's right, Sophia is staying at the Winters' house now. The Third Army's garrison was now full of soldiers, and it was obviously inappropriate for a woman to remain in the barracks.
Sophia's identity has also been confirmed. The messenger changed horses all the way without changing people, and rushed to the United Provinces to copy the original documents stored in the church. Verified correctly with the documents Sophia carried.
The ruling council made a deal with Sofia. In exchange for the notes, Consul de Bella will pass a proposal to rehabilitate Antoine Laurent as soon as possible, while Sofia needs to temporarily stay in Veneta to wait for the hearing.
Originally, Sophia wanted to live in a convent, but Elizabeth strongly invited Sophia to come to her home. Although Antonio and Winters were firmly opposed, Elizabeth convinced the real owner of the family - Kesa.
Kesha's reason for agreeing to Sofia's stay was simple: the two families were actually related.
Kesha's grandfather's sister married into the Da Lavasi family. Kesha's great-aunt was Antoine Laurent's grandmother and Sophia's great-grandmother.
In other words, Winters and Elizabeth still have to call Sophia "cousin."
Because of the natural geographical barrier of "two mountains and land", the aristocracy in the Senas Gulf area usually did not intermarry with outsiders, but internal intermarriage was very frequent. Two alliance members with de or la in their surnames are sitting in a tavern chatting. As they chat, they will definitely find out how they are related to each other.
As the youngest son, Winters' maternal grandfather was not eligible to inherit the title or fief, so he turned to business. However, it was a blessing in disguise that he escaped the purge of the old aristocracy by the people of the United Provinces during the Sovereignty War.
[It is very common in feudal countries for the youngest son of a minor aristocratic family to lose his aristocratic status and become a commoner. ]
Sophia walked up to Winters with a cold face. Even though they were under the same roof, she never gave Winters a good look. Winters compared his feelings with others. If someone burned Winters' hair first and then burned the belongings of Winters' relatives, Winters would not forgive him so easily.
But this does not mean that Winters forgives Sophia for breaking into the house at night and killing her twice in a row. [Understand but not forgive], the same is true for Sophia, this is the awkward state between the two.
Winters smiled awkwardly at Sophia and nodded. Sophia glared at him, took Elizabeth into her arms, and helped the sobbing little girl back upstairs.
