Black Iron’s Glory

Chapter 554: The Coming of Prime Minister Blancat

The docks of White Deer City are filled with a warm welcome atmosphere, military bands, bands, watching crowds, dancing colored flags, red carpets, long-awaited commanders of the naval fleet, the Prime Minister of the Kingdom and local officials. This welcoming ceremony is somewhat unexpectedly grand, which makes Claude a little confused, what the hell is going on...

Claude, Marquis of Blancat, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of the Laughing Mimi, knew each other and had to admit that this guy was an old fox, hard to deal with, he was the iron of His Majesty the King and trusted. It was only when Claude's original soldier arrived that he gave the king and queen a great deal of embarrassment, or when Prime Minister Blancat reconciled himself, that both sides were allowed to step down the ladder. Claude was supposed to be a very taboo figure in the royal family. What did this old fox want to greet with such a big banner?

Anyone would do the superficial work, Claude disembarked the boat, enthusiastically embraced with Prime Minister Blanchard, and behaved very intimately, as if he had not met an old friend of the mind in 20 years, then checked the instrument team, and came to greet the Navy General, and the local officials shook their hands and finally addressed the gathered audience, and the bullshit ended with a hail to His Majesty the King.

This was followed by the handover ceremony of the Ironclad warships, the third and last of the six Ironclad warships handed over to the Royal Navy Department. The first two shipments have delivered six Ironclad destroyers and four Ironclad Ocean armed carriers. Two Ironclad Cruisers and four Ironclad Destroyers will now be transferred, which, upon completion of the transfer ceremony, will indicate that the arms business of the Overseas Autonomous Territories and the Kingdom itself has been fully concluded.

The six Ironclad warships to be transferred to the Royal Navy have all been modified and refurbished, and the Ironclad casings have been repainted. Overseas autonomous warships are all black and grey, while the six Ironclad warships are painted silver and white, which is very noble and beautiful in appearance, and the Navy Department has come to receive the generals to their satisfaction. Once in the cabin, you'll find that the iron walls inside are wrapped in walnut planks very luxuriously, completely different from the iron walls of the Ironclad Battleship cabins in the Autonomous Territory...

“Why are your guns different from ours?” Prime Minister Blanchard went on a tour of the ship and asked Claude. The only apparent difference between the six Ironclad battleships transferred to the Royal Navy and the autonomous military region is the guns. The Ironclad Battleships in the Autonomous Territory are fully enclosed, while the six Ironclad Battleships transferred to the Royal Navy Department are equipped with semi-open, front-loaded heavy artillery seats.

“This is what your Navy Department requires.” Claude explains: "If you employ guns like ours, then all your shells will need to be purchased from our Autonomous Territory. So your Navy Department has looked into it and thought it would be better to equip this vintage heavy artillery, at least you have the ability to guarantee the supply of ammunition yourself. After we improve our guns later, we can reinstall our ships with the latest artillery..."

It goes without saying that, for example, the first four Ironclad Destroyers handed over to the Royal Navy, one was pulled directly into the dock and torn apart for research and depiction by the Royal Navy's warship designers. The Kingdom has reportedly captured four or five other agents carrying warship structure drawings and even involved an aristocratic officer of the Navy Department, for which His Majesty also fired heavily.

Claude was polite, but it was his idea. Ironclad warships can be supplied to the Kingdom after modification, but new types of guns cannot be supplied, all of which are dismantled and replaced with heavy front-loaded guns mounted on the Kingdom's wind and sail warships. The receiving general of the first Royal Navy Ministry also expressed a protest, but General Muried told them that all artillery shells that wanted the same ship were to be purchased from the Autonomous Territory military region, with 10 gold kroner a shell, so the objection was over.

Anyway, the first Ironclad Battleship originally built in the Autonomous Territory was also loaded with this heavy front-loaded * * * paper. The agreement with the 16 Ironclad warships on the mainland of the Kingdom did not say anything about the use of artillery, which had to be taken advantage of. Light up the drawings and tell the Royal Navy that the new guns are all backpacked, if you want to buy them, you have to spend real gold and silver. Needless to say, the purchase price of that shell alone scared the Royal Navy...

Knowing that training gunners alone requires close to a hundred rounds of artillery shells to become familiar and coincidental, the cost of consuming more than a dozen artillery guns in front of and around an Ironclad warship alone gives the generals of the Royal Navy a headache. So in the end, they decided to keep it the same, at least this heavy front-loaded cannon of ammunition was self-contained.

Prime Minister Blanchard said the same thing, and the handover ceremony was soon completed. The Royal Navy's trained sailors and officers boarded six battleships and raised the Royal Sterling emblem flag and naval flag of the Kingdom of Orvilas, indicating that the six Ironclad battleships were under the command of the Royal Navy. The surrounding audience on shore cheered for a while, and many waved handkerchiefs and tiny colored flags at the Ironclad...

“Marshal, let's get in the car and take you somewhere.” Prime Minister Blancat showed Claude and him a carriage.

Claude entered the cabin, and Lieutenant Faherlin boarded the driver's seat in front of the cabin, sitting beside the carriager, with a large squadron of guards on both sides.

The carriage Mercedes on a flat green stone street with Claude looking out through the windows to the side of the street. Unlike a piece of rubble seen last time, White Deer City has been rebuilt, and there are no more shelters built by those low wooden stones. On both sides of the street are two or three floors of newly constructed building shops, which are clean and beautiful. As can be seen, White Deer City has regained some of its old scenery.

“Would you like a glass of fruit wine?” Prime Minister Blancard pulled out a bottle of fruit wine and two silver glasses from a small wine cabinet next to his seat.

“Thank you, I'm not thirsty.” Claude said, "Where are we going? ”

“Your home. Prime Minister Blancat said," This was built with His Majesty's special funds, and three famous architects were dispatched from all Kings. After a year of construction, just finished, you came back, so what a coincidence... "

Claude was stunned: "My house? ”

What I can think of is the familiar red brick house, but wasn't it destroyed during the civil war in the kingdom? Claude swept Mr. Morsan's grave when he passed through White Deer City and returned to the Overseas Autonomous Territories a few years ago, when the big red brick house he saw was a ruin. Many shells were reportedly destroyed during the Kingdom's civil war, and even the shelves of doors and windows were picked up and sheltered by refugees.

Claude once wanted to rebuild the big red brick house, but it would have left White Deer City completely abandoned, lacking human and material resources, and not even qualified construction engineers could find it. Claude had to extinguish the idea and return to the Overseas Autonomous Territories.

Now hearing Prime Minister Blanchard say this, Claude remembers a report sent to him by housekeeper Swanson, where his mother and Kevin returned to White Deer City in September of the previous year to fight Queen Christie to bring back 5,000 acres of the Normanly Forest Farm annexed to the Field Forest Farm. Finally, His Majesty King Frederick I appeared to settle the lawsuit by redeeming the ownership of the 5,000 acres of Fieldforest farm from a mansion in Wangdu and a manor outside Wangdu.

Claude rubbed his eyebrows and found that there were too many things in his head to remember about this big red brick house. Forget about the last time Swanson Butler reported this big red brick house, just remember that His Majesty had sealed up an honorary Viscount or something for his dead father, shed his mother's touching tears, and then went to Wangdu with Kaifani and his two children.

Claude slapped his forehead again, and the latest report on Mother and Caffrey must have been two months ago, as if Mother and Caffrey had broken up for something. Mother lives in Wangdu's mansion, and Kaifani lives in the suburban estate with her two children. Counselor Swanson and the guard Sergeant Kester and the old servants followed Caffrey's mother and son to the estate. There was no one on Mother's side, and they didn't know what to do on their own...

Claude worried too much about the Autonomous Territory and didn't pay much attention to the report on Mother and Caffrey, only remembering that Mother and Caffrey seemed to have had a conflict because of the 30 percent profit dividend from the tobacco factory. Seems to be because her mother overspent her hospitality at Wangdu Palace asking Kaifani to transfer the proceeds of the tobacco to her, Kaifani was unwilling, arguing, splitting up, and Kaifani gambled to live in the estate with her two children.

“You should go back to the king and look.” Chancellor Blanchard seemed to know what Claude was thinking, shook his head and said, "Your mother and your wife had a little bit of a quarrel, which has become a popular topic for Wangdu, and the public's favorite gossip object. If His Majesty hadn't appeared, your wife and children would have even been expelled from the estate by your mother. ”

“Hmm?” Claude felt a little headache: “Why are they fighting? And in front of His Majesty the King...”

“As Prime Minister, I cannot talk behind my back about these aristocratic families.” Prime Minister Blanchard said seriously: "You can send someone to the King to find out why, by the way, you still have a big brother, he goes back to your mother...”

Albert? How many years has he been missing? Where did he come from? Claude always thought his cheap brother was long gone. When his father jumped and committed suicide, the guy found a prostitute with a signature to give up his inheritance, and then disappeared from White Deer City without a trace. In other words, when the mother was in the Autonomous Territory, she sometimes spoke of him, crying that Albert did not know whether he was alive or dead.

Anyway, Claude and her sister Anna and younger brother Browick don't miss this big brother at all, they all think he's a dead man. This Albert didn't look like a big brother at the time, considering his three brothers and sisters as nails in his eyes, afraid that they and themselves would rob his father's estate. As a result, he never came home after his father had committed suicide because he was in debt, and he simply left Bai Lu City without a trace.

The carriage stopped and Lieutenant Faherring opened the door. Claude stopped thinking, got off the wagon and saw the magnificent palace building.

It was built on the site of a big red brick house, completely different from the original one, bigger than a big red brick house, more like a palace. Four floors, plus five lofts, pointed eaves, a row of white stone columns and a dozen granite steps on the doorstep. A sprinkler pool was also repaired in the middle of a small square parked in front of the front door by a large square of grass.

Looking at the square grass surrounding Claude, he remembered the big red brick house and the neighbor's house.

“See if it's the same as it was.” Chancellor Blanchard laughed: “Of course, we can't completely restore the Marshal's home, but we're still trying to be consistent so that the Marshal doesn't lose the feeling of home when he was a kid...”

Claude smiled bitterly: "I thank His Majesty for his kind love and for bothering you, Prime Minister. It's just that my house is a Hogo-style red brick apartment building, not a palace-style building like this. My father was also the chief administrative officer of a small town. Do you think it was possible for him to own such a luxurious mansion as his own? ”

“No way...” Chancellor Blanchard was a little confused: “But when our architect showed your mother this map of the effects of the building, your mother said it was like this, but it was just a little worn out...”

“My mother said that?” Claude was stunned, but soon understood. Needless to say, it must have been the mother who disliked the big red brick house back then, beating up the fat face to call it such a palatial building, but didn't understand that the more ridiculous it was.

“Go inside and take a look.” Prime Minister Blanchard invited.

I don't know, it's a very luxurious mansion, even more beautiful than that white palace building at Normanly Forest Yard. The ground floor lobby is sufficient for nearly 100 people to attend the dance, the second floor is the guest room, the third floor is the main living room, and the fourth floor is the main living room, with five lofts above it, twice the size of the loft where Claude lived at the time, with a perfect bathroom shower.

Chancellor Blancat said it would take a butler, four servants, a gardener, a horseman and two cooks to run the house, plus six gold kroner a month. It's just that after the butler sent the bill to Wangdu Claude's mother, they haven't heard back, and now the housekeepers here haven't been paid in two months.

Since the building was built at the personal expense of His Majesty the King, only a small maintenance fee could be paid by the local administration to keep the housekeepers warm and the salary costs would have to be negotiated with Claude's mother. After all, such a beautiful mansion, if it is not maintained, will soon be damaged and corrupted, when it will be beaten in the face of His Majesty the King.

Claude could only admit the wrongdoer, and he asked the housekeeper to tell him that he would open an account at the Overseas Minsheng Bank in White Deer City, where he would enter a hundred gold kroner each year as a housekeeper for their salary and subsistence benefits. The excess money is used to maintain the property and can be reported to yourself in a letter if there is significant expenditure, as long as the accounts are clear.

Claude then gave the housekeepers three months' pay and benefits to arrange for their own men to stay in the palace-style mansion. After a lovely dinner with the butler's servant, Chancellor Claude and Brancat arrived at the study on the third floor and asked the deputy Captain Faherring to deliver two good bottles of fruit wine, so to speak.

“... as Prime Minister of the Kingdom, you came all the way to see me in White Deer City, and I'm sure you didn't come here to introduce me to my new home, or to let me know what happened to my mother and wife in Wangdu. If you need anything, just say it. You know I hate bullshit and I hate guessing.” Claude lit a cigar and opened the door.

Chancellor Blanchard dumped his cigar playing Claude: "Well, I hear you came back this time to kill the Hicks kingdom? Is it true...”

Nimah, Claude wanted to scold people. He had just arrived at the kings of the kingdom. The kingdom's prime minister had come to meet him. Needless to say, it must have been revealed by some general of the military headquarters. Knowing Claude's intention to attack the Kingdom of the Hicks also made a point at a meeting of senior military district officers explaining why he was attacking the Kingdom of the Hicks. The meeting was confidential to the people below, and no rank of general could participate in the meeting.

Obviously, one of these promoted generals is bound to be loyal to the kingdom, just like Marshal Bolognick, by oath of the kingdom. Just after the meeting on his side, Wang Du had been informed, and Claude wondered if even the minutes of the meeting had been sent to Wang Du.

Claude took two deep smokes: "What, you suspect I'm cheating on you? Don't worry, I didn't mean to do anything to Wang. I am not an ambitious man, nor do I want to be a rebel of the kingdom. This time back, it was really about the Hicks kingdom, who told them that the war with the kingdom was not over. As an army of overseas autonomous leaders, they were beaten to death. ”

“We're just strange, not suspicious of your intentions. Prime Minister Blancat said:" The staff of the Royal Army have organized the Sandbox Rehearsal, believing that there are only two avenues to attack the Kingdom of Hicks, one on land and the other at sea. The two kingdoms are separated from each other by land and the roads are impassable, so only troops are transported by sea to engage in landing warfare. They think your intention is to get the Legion of Thunder aboard by sea, but that's the mainland of the Hicks kingdom, and what happens when one of your legions can fight and just die. So His Majesty asked me to come and persuade you not to be so impulsive... "

Claude laughed, “I know exactly what I'm going to do, and I'm actually pretty sure I'm going to win. It's just that there are some things I have to consider right now, and I'm not going to attack the Kingdom of Hicks right away..."