Chapter 623: receive

  Chapter 623 Receiving
  Star Lake Fort, night.
  The guarded dining room was covered with dust and cobwebs. Only two candles glowed red, illuminating a faint shadow.
  But at this moment, many people are sitting here to eat, noisy and lively.
"That old man, what Vitano," DD leaned against the wall, put his leg on the bench, and bit a piece of bread. "Since I came here, I have never heard him say anything. Could it be that I crawled out of the soil? Zombies coming out?"
   Zombies.
  Everyone eating at the same table, you look at me, I look at you, and subconsciously look at another table behind me.
  D.D realized something, he smiled awkwardly, turned his head and beckoned to the real "zombie"-Glover:
   "Sorry."
  Golofo was drinking soup, he threw down the spoon when he heard the words, his eyes were cold:
   "Why are you sorry?"
  Doyle was taken aback by the fierce eyes of the zombies.
"I……"
  D.D realized that it was not good, laughed at himself twice, and lowered his head:
   "Hug, sorry."
   "But the old man, the guard, maybe he is indeed a zombie." At the other end of the long table, Wiya suddenly uttered a voice, attracting everyone's attention.
  The dining room is quiet.
  Glover frowned.
  "Speak with caution," Toledo reminded solemnly, the messenger of Mallos, "Chief Mallos respects the old gentleman very much."
  Huaiya shook his head, lowered his head and took a sip of the strange "drink" that the logistics wing did not know where it came from, with a pained expression:
   "No, I mean, he is not easy."
  D.D came up: "What do you mean, Real Huaiya?"
  "Xinghu Castle has no owner for many years, and it has almost become an animal nest," Huaiya said solemnly, "and animals are very sensitive to territories. We can breathe out a group of crows from the corner, but..."
  He raised his head and looked at everyone:
   "The old guard lives here, but he didn't disturb even a rat."
  Everyone who was dining was suddenly awe-inspiring.
  In the dark corner, Hugo Forby picked up a notebook blankly and stumbled on the incompatibility of the special-ranking officer in charge of the banner:
  Wya Casso.
   Sensitive to observation.
   Lost in smoothness.
   "Is he staying here for too long, the animals are not afraid of him?" D.D first bounced a spider that fell on the bread, then tore off the dusty crust from the bread, and took a bite.
  Huiya shook his head: "This is just the best guess."
  Logistics officer Piloja looked back from the window:
   "What about the worst?"
Opposite Glover, Rolf looked at his soup bowl uncomfortably. There was a spider flying from nowhere, struggling.
  D.D sighed:
   "Zombies."
  Speaking of this, D.D remembered something again, and beckoned to Glover embarrassingly:
   "That, sorry!"
  Glover grunted and swallowed the food in his mouth.
   "Morgan, Kusta, it's your shift." Two tired figures walked into the dining room, and the two in the same room changed shifts alternately.
  Doyle's eyes lit up:
   "Hey, Bastia, Neshi! How about, is there anything good about Jackal Tower?"
   "You mean except for cobwebs, stove ashes, cat dung, bird droppings, ghosts, rotten wood, and rusted iron. D.D?"
  The young vanguard officer Nexi lifted the kettle, poured himself a drink, and sarcastically said:
   "Let me think, oh, yes, there is a rotten rag, it smells like shit—puff, damn, what does this smell like?"
   "Yerba Mate," Piloga by the window sipped tea comfortably, "Don't ask too much. Asking is the kind sponsorship of Logistics Wing."
"There is a monastery in the southeast corner, and there are many cemeteries in it," Bastia saw this, and decisively poured out his drink and tore off a web of cobwebs on top of his head. "It's surprisingly clean, obviously someone cleans it regularly-- Maybe it's the old man."
   "Maybe he lives in the cemetery, you know—zombies!"
  D.D laughed, habitually looking back and beckoning:
  "Hug"
   "Sorry again, I will throw you out of the window." Glover stared at him firmly.
  As if to cooperate with him, Rolf next to him poured out the spider soup in his hand, snorted coldly, and blew a slight wind.
  The room is quiet.
  Doyle had to talk back.
In the corner of   , there are a few more lines in Forby’s notebook:
  Garron Glover.
  Atmosphere destroyer.
   has a final word of prestige.
   "Don't worry about it," Paul Bozdorf, who joined halfway, said suddenly, "Lord Mallos trusts the old man for a reason."
  Huiya's eyes moved:
"You know him?"
  Paul shook his head:
   "No, but I know the last name."
   "Add pictures."
  Paul’s face was calm, and he said lightly:
  "This is the maiden name of the queen of the dynasty, and it is also the home of the great merchants of the kingdom."
  All eyes turned to Bozdorf’s heir.
  "Queen Keya?" Wyatt was surprised.
   "His Royal Highness's stepmother?" D.D was puzzled.
   "We still have a queen?" Willow in the north was confused.
  Paul ignored everyone’s reaction and continued:
"The Cato family started by reselling trophies and making war fortune. They acted low-key, but they were closely related to the Fuxing Palace. They were the best among the royal franchised merchants and opened up a lot of financial resources for the stars of the past. Although the title is low, but The location is critical and the energy is not small."
  Paul looked up:
   "That's why his Majesty Kessel, the youngest son of the first king, would marry the daughter of the Cato family as his wife."
  Fobi, the officer in charge of the banner, does not move his expression and keeps working hard:
  Paul Bozdorf.
   Gloomy and introverted, the key points in the language, the background is not shallow.
   "Oh, this explains why the old man is here," D.D suddenly realized, "Because his task is to guard the royal property."
  Huiya squinted her eyes:
   "But those animals...why do I feel more than that?"
   "Instead of worrying about this, it is better to consider what we will do next."
  Nexi took up a spoonful of oatmeal that had almost no substance, and gritted his teeth:
   "I said, how long will I have to eat these things? Old Pi, you are a logistics officer, how do you say?"
  Nate Nech.
  Young and vigorous, I don’t know how to converge.
  Foby continued to write.
   "Trust me, your Highness and the sir have already begun to deal with this matter."
  Piloga sighed and raised his cup:
   "Look at the opening point, yerba mate is also tea."
  Nexi gave him a gesture dedicated to the Star Lake Guard-a middle finger.
  Middle finger, as a provocative gesture.
  Fobi Flag Officer Frowning Record:
  The Duke of Thales, You Xi, uses the rare and peculiar Northland customs to cultivate the culture of the guards and enhance the cohesion and sense of belonging of his subordinates.
"you know."
  Bastiya suddenly said:
   "I went home a few days ago. Everyone was pointing and talking, but they stopped talking. Even my five-year-old nephew was hiding from me, as if I had suddenly become a leper."
  As soon as this statement came out, everyone fell silent.
   "Why," Bastia sighed, "Why does your Highness have to go against your Majesty? You still follow him into the palace..."
  The flag-holder of Forby in the corner pouted his lips:
   Ade Bastiya.
  As always, conservative and timid, worried.
  咚.
  Herald Toledo put down the bowl coldly.
   "Chief Mallorz has already convened a meeting to admonish this question."
  Toledo answered faintly, but there was a chill in his tone:
   "We have our own vows."
  Everyone looked at each other, and the atmosphere in the dining room became a bit awkward.
  Huaiya, Glover, D.D and others were particularly silent.
   "Of course I know this, but to be honest," Nexi was glum, "My father wants to find a relationship to let me transfer my post and return to the Fuxing Palace."
"My uncle has a different opinion," Penal Wing's Pezzarosi drank the yerba mate in his cup, and his face was distorted by the smell. "He thinks the king has only one son. If he doesn't like him, he will sooner or later... …"
   "Speak carefully!" Toledo snapped.
   "Come on, Toledo!"
Nehi spread his hands and complained: "We have been exiled into the uninhabited wilderness, and we have to save food, so we should be cautious about it? Why, we can hide in spider webs with flag wings and watch us? You say Well, Uncle Hugo? You have been taking notes for months!"
   "Go away." Hugo Forby didn't look up, but kept writing:
  Neshi, likes to ask for trouble.
   "Then why don't you leave?"
  D.D speaks suddenly, his tone is not as easy as usual:
   "Why not go back, go back to the place you are used to?"
  Neshi and Pezzarossi, including Bastiya, you look at me, I look at you, at a loss.
  Golofo stirred the spoon, without raising his head, he took the conversation with a light hum:
   "Yeah, go back and lick Big Hanging Brother?"
The nickname    made everyone stunned for a while, and immediately caused a burst of laughter.
   "I know why."
  Doyle stared at only half of the bread in his hand, and flicked away a moth on it again:
   "Because in the Fuxing Palace, no adult is willing to tie his hands and feet to the upper body at the royal banquet, just to save a sly guard."
  He sighed:
"nobody."
  The dining room fell silent again.
  Foby threw away the dead moths on the notebook, silently observed the surrounding atmosphere, and wrote a few more words:
  Danny Doyle.
  Speaking seems heartless, do whatever you want.
  But it is funny, painful, emotional, and grateful, but it always fits the atmosphere and hits the emotions of others.
   "Then, thank you for your self-introduction, Guard Doyle." Nehy snorted softly.
   "I know that Your Highness is still young and treats people sincerely," the security officer Kong Muto sitting in the corner sighed softly, "but we have to remind him that sincerity does not get everything."
   "Yes, your Royal Highness came back from the north and got used to the Yankee style," Piloga shook his head. "I haven't suffered from the stars yet-I hope he can get through it safely."
  Gianluca Commuto.
  Leo Piloga.
  Be negative in dealing with things, and protect yourself wisely, but
  Fobby frowned, his pen stopped on the turning word and didn't write down.
  He thinks something is wrong.
   "You worry too much."
  In the end, the person who spoke was Wiya.
   "I think what we see is different from what His Highness sees."
   "And your Royal Highness told me," the prince's attendant said firmly, "If you see the sun, you won't be able to go back to the cave."
   Nexi hummed softly:
   "Thank you, sir, maid, you don’t understand again."
  Kehuaia shook his head.
  "You only really knew him at that banquet," Wiya said, "but I have followed Your Highness from six...seven years ago. No one was earlier than me."
  There was a deep guttural voice behind him:
"Humph."
   "Sorry," Wiya rolled his eyes and waved to the masked man behind him, "Rolfe is... a little earlier than me."
  Rolf turned his head.
"I followed him, saw him break into the army of the Northlanders, saw him walk back to the trap of the Palace of Valor, saw him break the conspiracy of the King of Princes, and saw him work hand in hand with Charman Rumba. Dance with the wolf."
  Everyone in the room listened to Huaiya's words and unknowingly fell silent.
   "Yes, the Duke of Thales is usually tolerant and easy-going, and even weak to be deceived," the attendant's eyes flickered, "but only at critical moments, such as royal banquets, you will understand what kind of person he is."
  D.D shrugged.
  No one speaks.
  Only Fubby’s book keeps turning pages:
  Wya Casso.
  The oldest, the closest, and the person who knows the Duke of Thales best.
   "In short, I don't want to go back, but the castle gate has not been repaired anyway. If anyone wants to leave, please."
  Golofo said coldly:
   "The same is true after repairing."
  These words let everyone sing together.
   "Yes," Doyle lay down on the pile of debris behind him, staring at the cobwebs in the corner of the ceiling in a daze, "It sounds like we have money to repair the door."
  Everyone laughed.
  Foby squinted his eyes:
  Danny Doyle.
  The conciliator and controller of the team atmosphere.
  Everyone in the dining room gradually finished their dinner, and left in twos and threes complaining.
  Hugo Forby raised his gloomy eyes and turned to the next page.
  Tyles·Can Star.
  Hesitate.
  Weakness.
  Compromise.
  Gentle.
  Naive.
   Wayward.
   impulse.
  Small market.
  Full of emotions.
  睚眦 must be reported.
  Be lazy and play slippery.
  Special interest.
  Like to be alone.
  Making a fuss.
  Have never graced servants.
   will not bend over.
  Do not establish majesty without permission.
   Regardless of etiquette.
  Unpleasant relationship.
  No bribery to win.
  Don’t care about inheriting glory.
  Do not brainwash collective slogans.
  There is hardly any method used by the nobility to win over the hearts of the people.
  Foby writes here, and the pen is changed:
  But.
  Not only is his subordinates undiminished loyalty, they are getting stronger and stronger, and the rumors are hard to shake.
Surprisingly.
  Foby gave a sharp look and wrote the last sentence:
  What are the hidden dangers?
  The next second, his finger slipped on the spine of the book, and the text on it disappeared, as if it had penetrated into the paper.
  Leave only a blank.
  It took Mallos three full days to clean up the dilapidated Star Lake fort out of a part of the area, and at least he could barely live in.
Unexpectedly, Xinghu Castle occupies a large area and is fully functional. There are several different partitions such as the main hall, the jackal tower, the fast shadow building, the thinking room, the ascending hall, the Zhiyao area, the dining room and so on. Come to entertain guests, live, read, meditate, relax, hold banquets, and there are still lakeside monasteries that no one has to do for a long time, and the star courtyard (commonly known as lumberyard) used for trooping and training, etc., all rooms I'm afraid there are no less than three or four hundred in total, let alone those hidden passages and secret rooms that may be hidden.
Thales hasn’t remembered clearly how to move from the main hall to the study and bedroom. Mallos can only order the logistics and guard wings to seal the passage to the unknown or dilapidated, and then face the different versions. Work overtime on the old castle map of China, correct the annotations, and keep recording and unblocking the newly organized rooms and lots.
But the good news is that the palace chief, Baron Quentin, is very talkative. He greeted the surrounding villages and towns in advance and asked them to make up for the nominal lord, the Duke of Xinghu, for food and clothing, so that Thales would not be able to do so. Starved to death in the castle, and with the help of the palace manager, the logistics wing continued to recruit servant cooks and gardeners in the farm, on the condition that part of the tax was exempted.
  "Your fief is about the size of less than half a baronial—of course it is not a baron from the north or the cliffs. They are all uninhabited wastelands, and the area is about to catch up with an earl from the south bank..."
  This morning, Thales was walking on the ridge. He was accompanied by Baron Quentin, who came from the capital, who was talking about the fields in front of him.
"The six farms, except for one belonging to the sunset monastery, which must serve the gods, the other five must report to you. There are self-employed land, leased land, and historic public land-but now they are all intricate and intertwined. Together..."
  Behind Baron Quentin were five respectful butlers, each holding a thick stack of books and records in his hand, and more attendants, guards, and servants followed behind, trembling.
"Each field has different production paths. Farmers alone are far from enough. For this reason, we have hired a lot of workers to produce grapes, wool and other primitive crops according to the season and time of day. Of course, in another month, the fields will The wheat will be harvested too. It will be very busy then, with many more people..."
  Thyls frowned.
They were in a farm belonging to Xinghubao. Along the way, farmers could be seen everywhere carrying farm tools and leading cows and horses to the fields, or peasant women carrying fur baskets to work in the workshop. They may not know Tai However, after seeing Baron Quentin and several housekeepers, their expressions changed slightly, and they all stepped back, whispering between bowing their heads.
  
There are three villages or small towns with a long history. Even the wars cannot be erased. The royal family is regularly taxed. It has been a downturn recently. Everyone prefers to go to Wing Star City or other big towns to find work and livelihood..."
  The palace chief was very interested and said as he walked, he was very familiar with the situation of the Xinghu Castle fief:
"In addition, your fief is next to the Wang's Hunting Forest. If the villagers want to go and pick up some game, chop some firewood or something, as long as we pay enough and don't be too blatant, we will just open our eyes and close our eyes. , It can be regarded as an output, after all, it is not easy for everyone after the Scarlet Year..."
"Also remember that every farm and town has its own craftsmen. Their craft products, such as fabrics, furniture, honey, candles, soaps, including some rare things, are the easiest to miss... …"
   Thales' brows tightened.
  
These rosters record the overview of your farm, including the name of each farmer and the land and farm tools, various hires and craftsmen, as well as the annual reference output, which is subject to rent and tax, and you will do it in the future..."
   "Wow, Lord Baron," Thales had to interrupt him with a loud voice, "I need all these things, eh, remember them all?"
  Baron Quentin only glanced at him, and immediately understood the Duke’s mood at the moment, and he sighed slightly.
"Every decent family will have its own trustworthy housekeeper, who manages the accounts and rents for the owner, hires manpower, supervises the work, and takes care of the owner's food, clothing, housing and transportation. In fact, the larger the family, the more a good housekeeper is needed — it , Cordero, stop telling me to be lazy to meet your people!"
The palace manager seamlessly switched from bitterness to anger in just one second-he reprimanded the butler of the local farm, who was sweating, turned his head and roared a few hid in the shade of the trees, and gave instructions to Thales and his party. Point hired worker.
  Quentin Explorer turned his head angrily:
"Believe me, in these farms, from farmers to workers, from housekeepers to supervisors, they are lazy, cunning, rough, and frivolous in their work, but they are greedy, marketable, arrogant, habitually lazy, deceptive, and they want to work less. Take more money..."
  "You must have the shrewdness of a fox and the mighty majesty of a lion to control these white-eyed wolves."
   "It seems that you are the truly indispensable person in this land." Thales sighed with emotion, sincerely and honestly.
  Baron Quentin coughed, sincerely fearful and humble, but there was a hint of joy on his face that could not be concealed.
  "His Royal Highness, you dare not say that, the king of Mengxian believes it seriously."
   "So, the butler?" Thales looked at the magistrate with hope.
  Quentin came back to his senses:
   "Oh yes, and we, you can say, are the stewards of the Canstar royal family... one of the housekeepers. For this I need to know all the land and estates of the royal family, every inch and every cent of output, population and labor..."
   Thales immediately fell down the donkey:
   "In that case, I think that I shouldn't overwhelm you when I first arrived. These things..."
  Baron Quentin responded very quickly:
   "I understand very well, after all, you are very busy..."
"Then everything is business as usual, and I will separate the tax that belongs to you, so that the butlers of each farm and the mayors of the villages and towns will send to Xinghu Castle regularly, including monthly grain, firewood, fabrics... Of course, food and clothing. The type and exquisiteness of the cost can't be compared with that in Yongxing City..."
  Thyls waved his hand generously, indicating that the Duke of Xinghu should share the joys and sorrows of his subjects.
  Looking at the prince's nonchalant look, Quentin couldn't help sighing:
"In the future, there may be a hostess to take care of this for you, but unfortunately, you are the heir to the throne. The future hostess is destined to be the queen. The Fuxing Palace, the royal capital and even the family members of the nobles throughout the country will be busy enough. , I probably don’t have time to take care of these minutiae...you still have to find the right person..."
That said, but in fact, there is not much to worry about Thales at all, because Baron Quentin had arranged everything before he came, the public and private taxes of the territories near Xinghu Castle-land tax, head tax, hunting tax, Including transaction tax, travel tax, etc., in the past, the tax collectors of the Finance and Taxation Department levied the revenue pool, and this year, all of them will be transferred to Xinghubao.
  It's just that the land is limited, so you don't need to think about getting rich overnight.
   "I don't have such extravagant hopes, I just have to eat and wear."
  Tyles had a headache to close the thinnest book record:
   "Just don't make a big mess."
  In the face of such an unmotivated heir to the royal family, Chief Quentin could not help sighing:
   "I think, as long as you don't order the restoration of the right of first night, it should not be possible."
   "Thank you, Master Manager."
  Tels looked at the palace chief who had served his grandfather:
   "I know that it was you who deliberately helped to speed up the handover process that allowed me to receive this piece of land so smoothly."
  Baron Quentin paused.
  He closed the account book and handed it to the other housekeepers to keep them away.
  "Do you really think that I am the indispensable person for these lands, and can determine their ownership?"
  Baron Quentin looked at Thales with complicated eyes:
   "I think he still cares about you."
  Tyles' smile froze.
"Maybe."
  Tels reached into his pocket and touched the "Gortaxa".
  It feels cold to the touch, with spikes and hands.
"Perhaps."
  He laughed softly and pulled out his hand decisively.
  　 I'm writing the next chapter, let's be around 12 o'clock in the evening
  　　
  　
  (End of this chapter)