Heroes of Might and Magic: Knight Chapter 707: The train of the times
"Woo!"
The sound of the whistle broke the tranquility of the central plain, black smoke billowed from the front of the train, and a punk-style steam train passed through the endless wheat fields at a speed of about fifty kilometers per hour.
Children on both sides of the railway cheered and chased the steel giant, with uncontrollable excitement on their faces. Even the adults working in the fields couldn't help but stop their work.
Based on normal development progress, a few years is definitely not enough time for a steam train to reach this level. However, in a magical world, the solutions to many things will undergo strange changes.
The steam engine head engraved with a combustion-supporting circle made the fire on the front of the car very strong. The first-generation train could run to a height of fifty. A railway artery from the North to the South China Sea gave the royal capital unprecedented control over the southern territory. of strengthening.
The nobles who had been emperors in the south had always been somewhat submissive to the kingdom. They were rectified by Pare and were obedient for a period of time. After Pare left, they began to resume their rule.
Especially the brief period of chaos when Richard just took over the Golden Dragon City, which made the old forces in the south feel that they were OK again, and even vaguely proposed that the Hunter family should give them greater autonomy in exchange for their control over the Hunter family. Special support.
The reason why some gentlemen in the south have this idea is entirely due to inertia, that is, the territory of the kingdom is too vast. Except for the dragon knights, the time to travel from the Golden Dragon City to the southern end is basically measured in months.
Except for the central plains, the kingdom implements indirect management of other territories. At most, it controls some major cities in the south. When the center is stronger, they are more obedient. When the center is weak, they frantically poach the kingdom's corners.
The habits formed over hundreds of years made many southern nobles a little confused with Richard. They were still thinking about the past. It was not until a group of giant dragons flew over the sky that most people woke up. A little, but I still have the dream of not having imperial power go to the countryside.
You care about your big city. At worst, I will shrink my territory and send you some taxes to give you some face so that everyone can live in peace.
It wasn't until the railway was built to the south that groups of Northern troops arrived from the royal capital to important southern towns in just a few days. They took over several aristocratic territories that had been treacherously used, and then they understood what the torrent of the times meant. block.
A real earldom, two or three prefecture-level cities, Jinlongdu only exchanges more than a few thousand acres of land, retains some floating wealth, and adds a title annuity, which is considered to be stable and excessive, and has greater power. They need to be exchanged in another place.
The Baron Viscount below basically had several hundred acres of land to spend.
It is inevitable that there will be dissatisfaction, but if there is dissatisfaction and resistance, it just so happens that Richard doesn't even want to give the land and annuity, so he killed the meritorious officials of the Northern Army to make some room.
……
The rumble of the train continues, and the long whistle reminds the villagers ahead to stay away from the railway. These days, people who are injured by trains will not pay a dime.
In a luxurious carriage, two well-dressed men held up wine glasses and admired the receding scenery outside the carriage.
"This train is much more comfortable than a carriage. In the past, when I went to the royal capital, the carriage bumped along the way and I could spit out the gall."
The older middle-aged man lowered his head and had a drink with emotion, while the other younger man looked dissatisfied at the children chasing the train.
"Humph, there's nothing good about it. The untouchables outside didn't kneel on both sides when they saw us, and they dared to chase the car. There are no rules at all. If we were on the carriage, I would have to stop and let them grow long. memory."
"Cough cough"
Hearing the other party complaining, the middle-aged man coughed twice and did not answer.
He is different from the other party. Although his family is still a viscount family, he himself has no talent in cultivation and was assigned to take care of the family business early on.
Although he was born in a noble family, his status was much higher than that of commoners, but compared to those children who had trained to the knight level, he was no more than a senior servant at home.
He works hard to take care of the family business, but the wealth he earns has little to do with him. Looking at the common people, he does not have such a strong sense of superiority. After all, when he goes out on weekdays, no one will kneel down like he is waiting for a master. roadside.
But this time Richard forced the southern nobles to divide their families and property, which allowed a marginalized member of the family like him to obtain a fortune of his own. With his outstanding management ability, he quickly accumulated a considerable amount of wealth. He was considered The profiteers from this tide.
The identity of the other party is a bit remarkable in comparison. No need to use clichés, just a few words, the other party revealed all his information. He is the son of an earl, a young knight, and the power of the earl. The competitor was once the actual controlling family in a southern county.
Except for the families at the top, this was once almost the top carnivore class in the kingdom. Of course, this family was also the one whose interests were most severely damaged in this change.
The high-ranking nobles of the county have become big landowners with few privileges. Even if they can tolerate it, they will show some resentment unintentionally.
"Calm down, don't forget, in addition to our carriage, there are also many people crammed in the carriage behind us. We can't just elevate their status."
In addition to the luxuriously decorated carriages at the front of the train, the carriages at the back also serve civilians. A few bundles of straw can hold hundreds of people on one bed.
The young nobleman finally calmed down for a moment, picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it in one gulp, as if to relieve his depression.
However, maybe a cup of horse **** confused his mind, and he couldn't help but open his mouth that he had just closed.
“These idiots don’t deserve to be on this train at all. It’s the idiot from Beidi who took the Golden Dragon Capital, which made me suffer this kind of humiliation.”
As soon as he said this, the expression on the middle-aged man's face, who was originally planning to coax a few words with potential customers, suddenly turned to panic.
I no longer thought about talking to the other person, but quickly glanced at the car, trying to find an empty seat and move quickly.
Although the carriage is noisy, the people who can get a seat on this train are not ordinary people. The proportion of knights is not low. The stupid young man just spoke without deliberately lowering his voice. Many people were surprised when they heard Look over.
The originally noisy carriage suddenly became quiet. A man with a beard who was dressed in old-fashioned but very capable looks not only stared at him, but also stood up and walked over aggressively.
"What are you doing!"
The young nobleman had already realized something was wrong at this time, and the heavy atmosphere in the suddenly quiet carriage instantly made him half sober.
At first glance, the bearded man in old-fashioned clothes opposite him was not here to have a friendly exchange with him. With his temperament and style, wasn't he just that of those vicious Yankees?
"I'll show you Mudleg's fist!"
What the bearded man said was not a bluff. Before he could finish his words, a clenched iron fist appeared in front of the young noble's eyes, with a faint glow of fighting spirit glowing around the fist.
The bearded man was obviously not joking, he was using his fighting spirit, and he was going to strike hard.
"Bang!"
After a dull sound, the entire carriage became eerily quiet.
A heavy punch hit the face, and the noble young man's nose bone was broken directly. He fainted with almost no ability to resist, and fell limply on the sofa.
Ordinarily, this young nobleman who has been trained since childhood also has the cultivation of a knight. His physical fitness is no worse than that of his opponent, and he should not have fallen so easily.
But he was just a rookie knight with no combat experience. The bearded man across from him walked up to him and already assumed a fighting stance. He was still sitting in a daze in the distance, with his face open and his fists open. He received the punch as if he were welcoming a guest.
In addition, he felt guilty after saying those words, and his momentum was greatly reduced. When he met a northern knight with a hot temper and rich fighting experience, he was knocked down with one move.
"What's going on! Who the **** is making trouble on the train! Don't you know the rules? How dare you fight with grudges on the train!"
The sound of fighting with grudges was quite obvious in the closed car, and the police officer in the car immediately rushed over with curses.
The sheriff, who was wearing leather armor and missing an arm, was not polite to the distinguished passengers in the car at all. This disabled officer of the Northland Army only knew how to abide by military regulations in the car. Just follow the rules on the bus.
Anyone who dares to disobey the rules will usually be picked up and thrown out of the window by him. Even though he is missing an arm, his remaining hand can still easily handle most people.
"Just you two...fighting?"
The police sergeant in the carriage came over aggressively. Looking at the noble young man who had passed out in his position, his tone became hesitant, and the word "fight" was somewhat uncertain.
"It was my hand that moved it."
The bearded man admitted openly. The Sheriff glanced at the other person, lowered his body slightly, and touched the iron bar around his waist with his remaining hand, feeling extremely vigilant.
With rough skin and thick calloused hands, he is not an easy master to deal with at first glance.
"Who are you! Don't you know the rules on the bus!"
"I am Handel, the captain of the third legion of the Dragon Army, rushing by car to attend the ceremony in Golden Dragon City!"
Strictly speaking, the bearded man has been given land, received the title of baron, and is also the garrison officer of a town in the south. He is no longer a member of the Dragon Army, but when it comes to his identity, he still He is more willing to mention his position in the Dragon Army.
"Oh? People from the Dragon Army?"
"Were you there during the battle to invade the orc capital?"
When the Sheriff heard that the other party was the squad leader of the Dragon Army, he relaxed a lot. As a disabled officer of the Northland Army, he was naturally closer to soldiers who were also from the Northland. It has relaxed a lot.
"Well, our flag regiment did not have the main attack in that battle. After opening the hole with artillery, the third batch entered the city and fought with a group of orc warriors hiding in the house, and won some battle merits."
"Yes, I heard that the dragon almost roasted the orc king in that battle."
"It's not that exaggerated, but there are indeed many dragons in the sky, and there are also black-winged and white-winged bird-man legions participating in the battle. They cut down the orc warriors like vegetables."
"It's a pity that I lost my hand on the ice field, otherwise I would have missed attacking the Orc King's capital."
Obviously they were here to deal with a fight, but the two ended up chatting. It wasn’t until the beaten and fainted young nobleman on the ground wailed and slowly tried to stand up that the Sheriff remembered the business.
"Why did you hit someone in the car? Don't you know that the rules in the car are set by Mr. Richard?"
Most of the train's police officers are veterans or officers who have retired from the Northland Army. They are loyal to Richard, but when it comes to handling things, the Western Daredevils may not be as wild as them.
In the past, when encountering this kind of thing, the sheriff would blow his whistle, and several security guards would come. These Northland veterans would round up the troublemakers and beat them up, and then leave them alone. Reasonable, just open the window and throw the beaten person out of the speeding train.
The reason why I have the patience to listen to the other party's explanation now is because the other party belongs to the Northland Army.
"This guy was scolding Mr. Richard in the car just now. I couldn't bear it and punched him. Who knew he was so careless."
"I don't have..."
The young noble, who was trembling and still a little dizzy, suddenly woke up when he heard these words. The punch just now had wiped out his drunkenness. He naturally knew that if he admitted that he had been rude to Richard If there were any consequences, he would immediately deny it.
"He said that he never scolded Mr. Richard. Can any of you testify for him?"
The tendency of the Sheriff's question is obvious. Not to mention that the noble young man really cursed just now. Even if he didn't say anything, no one would stand up to testify for him now.
The Sheriff glanced around, and everyone lowered their heads as if it had nothing to do with them. Even the businessman who had just spoken to the noble young man stayed away.
"Bang!"
"How brave, how dare you speak rudely to Lord Richard!"
The Sheriff's loud voice shook the people in the car and couldn't help but cover their ears. The aristocratic young man who was yelled at had his head buzzing.
"Get off the bus yourself or should I take you off?"
"How to do this?"
"It looks like you want me to send you down."
"Open the window!"
After the Sheriff finished speaking, another train security guard who arrived immediately opened the nearest car window, and the wind outside the window blew into the carriage.
At this moment, the noble young man understood what the other party meant, that he wanted to throw him out of the car.
"No, you can't do this!"
The young man's face became extremely panicked. It was not that there was much danger in being thrown off. This first-generation locomotive was not very fast. If ordinary people were thrown off, they would not lose their lives as long as they were not particularly unlucky. Moreover, with the knight's Physical fitness, maybe a few scratches at most.
But being thrown out of the car window like garbage in front of everyone, this humiliation is no different from killing him.
However, the Sheriff can't control so much. He has seen only one or two unruly people in the car. No one is willing to jump off by himself, and he has to wait for him to do it himself.
"Be honest!"
Seeing that the security guard next to him had opened the car window, the security guard grabbed the other person's collar.
"Bang!"
"Ugh!"
The aristocratic young man who had just stood up subconsciously wanted to resist, but his skill was not comparable to that of a knight like the Sheriff who had fought on the battlefield.
Before he could use up his strength, a knee hit him hard in the stomach. The severe pain made him lose the ability to resist in an instant. He was then picked up by the collar and thrown out of the window like a chicken. The security guard pulled down the window, and the carriage immediately returned to silence. The whole process was so smooth and smooth that it even made people feel a little confused.
"I stress again, in addition to causing trouble in the car, anyone who is disrespectful to Mr. Richard will also be thrown out of the car!"
After speaking, the Sheriff patted Handel on the shoulder.
"You did a good job."
Then he strode away. As for the nobleman who was just thrown off the train, it seemed that he was the son of some count?
This may have been considered a figure in the past, but now, a count from the Golden Dragon Kingdom period is here, and a peace officer from the Northland Army dares to throw him away.
"Woo woo... woo woo..."
The train blew a long whistle, and a small conflict like this would not cause any ripples at all.
Perhaps in the future, Richard will add a rule in the car and prohibit throwing passengers directly out of the window...
"We have arrived at the Golden Dragon Capital, we have arrived at the Golden Dragon Capital!"
"Hurry up and get down first and then up!"
"Pay attention to your own things, and be careful if your hands and feet are unclean. If you catch me in the car, I will just break your hands!"
After a long journey, the train finally passed through the Central Plains and arrived at Jinlongdu.
As soon as the carriage door opened, people in the carriage behind who had been holding it in for several days jumped out impatiently. The strong smell made people on the platform couldn't help but cover their noses.
Even Handel, who was sitting in the upper class seat, couldn't help but squeeze out a quick breath of air.
In the midst of an endless crowd of heads, Handel followed the crowd out of the huge station. What awaited him was an even bigger crowd...