Tom knelt down on one knee in front of Maximilian I with the standard etiquette of an investiture.
Surrounded by a group of religious clergymen sang Latin hymns that Tom could not understand.
Maximilian I first awarded Tom a knight's head, and then gently touched the back of Tom's neck and shoulders with the back of his ceremonial sword.
"I swear in the name of Saint Joseph the Great, Saint Cromain, Saint Genevieve, and Saint James, to be loyal to Maximilian I, and I will defend the glory of the Habsburg family."
"Uh, get up, Mr. Tom Smith."
Tom swore allegiance in the name of the fourfold patron saints of the Catholic Church, the Patron Saint of Austria, the Patron Saint of France and the Patron Saint of Spain.
Henri René de Talleyrand, who served as the officiant, was stunned for a moment. This was the first time he had heard of someone swearing an oath in the name of the four patron saints.
However, Rene's professionalism quickly calmed him down and he started the next part of the award ceremony.
Tom Xin said: Not to mention the four-level saint buff, the forty-level saint buff does not matter, I just hope that God can really give me a divine punishment or something.
The investiture ceremony ended in such an orderly manner. Under normal circumstances, after the grand investiture ceremony, the lord (Maximiliano I) still needs to give some rewards to the knights, or hold a banquet to celebrate his "effective battle"
Will".
These tedious steps were declined by Tom, who chose to go directly back to the city and embarked on the road home.
"I didn't expect that I, Tom, am also a knight. I really dreamed of going back to the Middle Ages."
"Is it really profitable to buy a Cavalier for just half a million dollars?"
"John, tell me, should I just call you Duke?"
"Forget it, it doesn't matter, there is no difference between a knight and a pope."
"If the Pope can make more money than the capitalists, I will create my own Holy See tomorrow."
"It's called the Houston Curia."
"The Holy See is not good enough. Our ancestors were just rubbish Rome, using the Mediterranean as its inland sea."
"I just said that my Houston Holy See used to treat the Atlantic Ocean as an inland sea, and it was a super unified empire, but the writing has been lost."
"The Milky Way can be used as an inland river, but for religion, just blow it hard."
"Press harder."
On the returning paddle steamer, while enjoying the massage service, Tom and John talked about their religious plans.
The Hero Company represented by Tom, the French Empire represented by Minister Henry René de Talleyrand, and the Second Mexican Empire represented by Emperor Maximilian I reached an interest agreement with the Habsburg family jurisprudence.
Tom said that if I become a knight, I can lead a "small number" of my knights to join the war between the United Mexican States and the Second Mexican Empire.
As a knight, Tom's requirements are not high. He only needs to obtain all the land occupied by himself and his attendants as Tom's personal knight territory.
This is the ultimate goal that Tom has been pursuing these days.
For the Second French Empire, they first did not believe that the addition of an American could turn the tide of the war.
Henri René de Talleyrand believed that Tom's confidence in joining the battlefield must be that Tom's Hero Company must have some "secret weapon".
It may be similar to the hero company's products that have been selling well in Europe recently. Hero company also has unique arms in the military industry.
Taking a step back, even if Tom's joining could change the situation of the war, France still believes that its French volunteers are the main force on the battlefield.
France will definitely occupy more territory by then.
Tom could only silently express that he was just an imitator in the military industry and did not have any epoch-making weapons.
I am a chemical engineering college student, not a firearms design major.
As for Maximilian I, he had been ignored for too long, and he was as easy to talk to when he saw money as he was when he saw his biological father.
February 1, 1867
After a month of preparations, Hero Company is ready for an all-out war with the United Mexican States.
Before leaving, Tom stood on a high platform outside the port and delivered his last speech before the war.
"Today, we stand here! Standing on the land of Texans! Standing in Houston, the land watered by the blood and dignity of our ancestors!"
"Behind me is the statue of Robert Edward Lee! He is recognized throughout the world as a fighter for slave owners! He is the light of the world!"
"In front of me, standing is a nation, a nation groaning in humiliation!"
"After the Civil War, the pride of our nation was gone!"
"Those victors are riding on our necks and domineering. They trample on our dignity at will, the dignity of the most noble nation on the American continent!"
"Tell me, will you choose to be a slave-owner fighter like Jefferson Hamilton Davis, or will you choose to be a commoner?!"
"You may say: Mr. Smith, I need a job and a piece of bread."
"Yes, you are right. Life is really important. But I want to tell you that there is something more important than life in this world, and that is status! That is dignity!"
"As long as the flag of the United States flies over Washington and Austin, our dignity will not exist!"
"As long as those gays and niggas run rampant in our land, our dignity will not exist!"
"As long as everyone in this big state called Texas is equal on the map of America and there are no slaves, our dignity will not exist!"
"As long as people from other countries laugh contemptuously when they mention the word "Texas" during a conversation, our dignity does not exist!"
"What we need is not a piece of bread! But a living space! The living space of a nation! This living space is not achieved by begging and protesting, but by "iron" and "blood"!"
"There are two things that can unite people: common ideals and common slaves."
"We have a great ideal engraved on the Texas flag, and we will shed our last drop of blood for this ideal! In today's Houston, nothing can save our Texas, only this ideal!"
"The Emancipation Proclamation is a great shame! We have the determination and reasons to refuse to implement it!"
"Do what you want! Just like Robert Edward Lee picked up a gun, just like he led his compatriots to hold high the flag of slavery and kill the enemy heroically!"
"If you desire to fight, then fight! Then I will be able to see whether you are seven million civilians or seven million unyielding Texans!"