In the stable of the temporary Duke's Mansion, these guys recruited by Longbottom lined up in a row.
This slightly humble (relatively speaking, of course) ducal palace occupies a small area. In the imperial capital filled with mansions and mansions, such a palace can only be considered lower-middle class. It is obviously very different from Du Wei's status as a duke.
match.
However, there is no shortage of horses in the Duke's Palace.
When the original Luo Lin family withdrew from the imperial capital, the house was sold and everyone was sent away. However, as a member of a martial arts family, Earl Luo Lin had many horses in his house, and Du Wei had all of them taken over.
"You can choose your own mount at will." Longbottom ordered, and each of these down-and-out warriors had expressions of surprise on their faces.
When they arrived at the Tulip Duke's Mansion, everyone already knew the identity of the owner here. He was actually the young Grand Duke who had recently become famous all over the world! Thinking about how pitifully he had been looking for food in the slave market the day before, and now he had entered it all at once.
The most popular wealthy family in the empire right now!
Can you still have a horse of your own?!
However, Longbottom looked at these guys struggling to ride horses, shook his head secretly, looked at Du Wei beside him, and whispered: "Oh, these guys are just warriors, but not knights. From now on, if you go to the northwest, you can't ride a horse if you don't know how to ride a horse."
How can that be done! In that place in the northwest, even children can ride horses."
Basically, warriors on the mainland, as long as they have a genuine warrior level, have passed the assessment of the Knights Association. But for most people, they are just "warriors" but cannot be called "knights".
The so-called knight, the simplest truth: you must at least be able to ride a horse, right?
But for these low-level warriors, who can't even support themselves, how can they have the money to raise a horse of their own? The cost of raising a horse is far more expensive than raising a person!
The decline of warriors is the current situation on the mainland, and the "Knights Association" that exists in name only was once a powerful organization on the mainland alongside the Magic Union, but now it has fallen into disrepute. The Knights Association is responsible for assessing and issuing knight level badges
.
But most people who practice martial arts can't even afford a horse... They only know martial arts skills, but they don't know how to ride a horse.
Therefore, on the mainland, we have gradually become accustomed to separating the two groups of people, "warriors" and "knights."
And these guys in front of me are obviously just samurai, not knights...
"Huh?" Longbottom's eyes suddenly lit up, and he saw the last one, Lao Yan, getting on his horse. The strongest guy recruited today, he could actually ride a horse! And it seemed that his riding skills were quite good, so he got on the horse.
His posture is very clean and neat. It can be seen that he has been strictly trained. And the posture he rides on the horse... his upper body is stopped straight, and his legs are not tightly clamped on the horse's belly like other rookies. It looks very relaxed.
"This guy is a 'knight'." Longbottom became more and more curious about this old smoke: "He has good martial arts skills, and his riding skills seem to be also good. He can have such strong strength and such riding skills.
How could you end up in the slave market looking for food?"
This question is also what Du Wei wants to ask.
Although this temporary ducal palace is small, as a typical noble mansion, it still has some basic facilities, such as... a racecourse that is small but sufficient for the present.
After leaving the rookies happily practicing their riding skills, Longbottom called Lao Yan into the room alone. Also waiting in the room was Duwei.
Lao Yan's expression was a little complicated. He probably thought about what the Duke called him in for.
really……
"Tell me your service number, knight!" Longbottom didn't wait for Lao Yan to stop, suddenly stood up, and shouted loudly.
It was almost like a conditioned reflex. As a result of many years of training, Lao Yan could not help but stand up straight, put his legs and hands together, stamped the leather boots under his feet, then raised his chest and shouted loudly: "The Royal Guards of the Royal City Guards Corps.
Cavalry Commander of the Sixth Squadron of the Fourth Cavalry of the Guards..."
At the end of the sentence, Lao Yan suddenly realized that he was no longer in the Royal Forest Army.
However, Longbottom and Duwei were already very satisfied with the result.
Seeing the unnatural expression on the face of this guy named Lao Yan, Du Wei smiled and said, "Were you once an officer of the Royal Forest Army?"
"……Yes."
Longbottom smiled in relief: "No wonder I saw you like to tuck your trousers into your boots... Only those guardsmen who like to be beautiful would do this."
Lao Yan blushed a little. Indeed, the Imperial Guards, who pay great attention to royal dignity, are different from ordinary armies in many details, especially in personal appearance. The Imperial Guards are a model.
Their uniforms are always pressed and crisp, with no wrinkles on their trousers. They also like to tuck the trousers into long riding boots, making the whole person look extra straight.
But the phrase "like to be beautiful" still stung Lao Yan deeply. He seemed to recall that on the day of the coup, three thousand of the most elite imperial guardsmen, but still wearing "beautiful" equipment, were treated like rabbits by a thousand rebels.
Chased and fled everywhere.
Soldiers should pay attention to appearance, but if you pursue appearance too much... then it can only be regarded as a guard of honor.
"Okay, my general." Du Wei smiled and waved to Longbottom, then looked at Lao Yan and said warmly: "I think you understand what I want to ask without me asking, right?"
Lao Yan nodded and sighed: "Sir, are you planning to arrest me for desertion?"
Indeed, this is what Lao Yan is most worried about. The imperial army's punishment for deserters is extremely severe. There is no room for maneuver... desertion is punishable by death!
"Tell me about your experience, Lao Yan." Du Wei smiled.
"I... used to be a member of the Imperial Guard." Lao Yan gritted his teeth: "Just before the Summer Festival, I had been serving in the Imperial Guard for twelve years..."
Later, Lao Yan recounted what happened to the three thousand imperial guardsmen he was with who were preparing to be reviewed on the day of the coup.
"...I was hit by an arrow, right here." Lao Yan pointed to the wound on his chest: "I fainted, but I didn't die. Later, when the battlefield was being cleared, I was moved to the hospital as a dead body.
Outside the city. In the middle of the night, I woke up and found myself lying in a pile of dead people. It was quiet all around, and corpses were being burned in batches at the burning point in the distance. There were rebels and our people. I didn't know it at that time.
I didn't know whether it was the rebels or us who won, so I didn't dare to go out. I left there quietly... They were short of manpower and had too many corpses. There were thousands of corpses there, but there were less than a hundred people.
guard, so I left there quietly without any of them noticing."
"Then what?" Du Wei nodded.
"Then I sneaked to a nearby town and slept one night in a farmhouse's hay shed. When I woke up at noon the next day, I stole a piece of clothing and went to the river to clean the wound.
Finally, when I was on the road, I was rescued by a group of merchants. I told them that there was a coup in the imperial capital and that I was a civilian...Those days were very chaotic. Many civilians in the imperial capital were injured, and my statement did not arouse the suspicion of others.
, those merchants gave me some medicine and food, and then left. A few days later, I returned to the imperial capital."
"You're back." Du Wei nodded: "Then, by then you should have known which side won the coup, right? Since the royal family won, why didn't you return to the Imperial Guard? Like
A person like you who bravely killed the enemy on the day of the coup, was wounded, and survived in the end will be rewarded. Why don't you go back?"
Lao Yan was silent, but Du Wei saw that this man in his thirties seemed to have fire burning in his eyes!
"Sir, there are three thousand of us in total, and most of them are dead. Especially in the squad where I am, all my brothers are dead, and in the squadron where I am, our commander is dead in the battle, and everyone in our squadron,
I'm afraid I'm the only one who survives!" Lao Yan's voice was a little excited and a little dry: "I worked there for twelve years. I am loyal to the royal family, and there are my brothers and several people who work with me there.
Every time after work, we would go drinking, gambling, and looking for women together. I still remember that when I broke my leg while riding a horse, my superior personally carried me back from the racecourse! But... they all died.
"At the end of the sentence, Lao Yan's voice was a little dry: "They are all dead."
Duwei said nothing. Longbottom hesitated, bit his lip, and said nothing.
"I remember their names. They are all my brothers. My commander, Cavalry Commander Hank, is a good officer. He is strict with us and invites us to his house for drinks when he is not on duty. Also.
There was Lusa. I still owed him sixteen copper cents when I was gambling. There was also Lun Er, a guy in our team. Before the coup day, we had a fight over robbing a girl. Afterwards, I thought
Apologize to him...but..." Lao Yan's voice suddenly trembled, as if he was clumsily repeating a fact dryly:
"But they are all dead."
"But their death was not your fault." Du Wei looked into Lao Yan's eyes: "They were killed by the rebels. You are lucky not to die, why don't you go back?"
Lao Yan did not answer Du Wei's words. Instead, he asked Du Wei a question:
"Your Excellency, what happened on the day of the coup was later spread in the imperial capital, and everyone knows what happened." There was a hint of gray in Lao Yan's eyes. His eyes were originally light gray, but now it seems that
, just like a dying person: "My lord, His Highness Prince Chen, he became the regent. On the day of the coup, he had already been prepared. He had known for a long time that the eldest prince would rebel! He had known for a long time that everything would be impossible.
I know! So he arranged so many back-ups, and in the end he won easily. Now, he is the regent, and in the future, he will become the emperor. Am I right? "
Du Wei suddenly felt that he understood the heart of the middle-aged man in front of him!
"Since Prince Chen knew it a long time ago, why didn't he stop it?"
"Since Prince Chen has known this for a long time, why do we three thousand people still have to die?"
"Since Prince Chen knew about it earlier, why didn't he do something before the coup?"
"Prince Chen, since he already knew..."
Du Wei could not answer these questions, or in other words, he knew the answer, but he could not say it.
"Dear Duke, do you think you can't answer it?" Lao Yan smiled bitterly: "I actually know."
He took a deep breath: "Because Prince Chen never thought about stopping the coup beforehand. He needed to use the coup to get rid of the eldest prince. He needed the coup! Therefore, the three thousand of us were the ones who were
The chess pieces he abandoned were the bait he gave up. The death of three thousand of us could make the eldest prince mistakenly think that the coup was going smoothly... We three thousand must die because we were in Prince Chen's plan.
From the beginning, it was abandoned.”
Finally, Lao Yan concluded: "I understand all of this."
Du Wei sighed, and Longbottom beside him suddenly punched the table hard.
"I am a royal guard." Lao Yan's voice was heavy: "I used to be extremely loyal to the royal family. As long as the thorn flower emperor flag pointed, I was willing to fight bloody battles and fight with my life! To defend the royal family!
But that day, I survived the catastrophe, and then I suddenly discovered, ridiculously... that the person I was originally loyal to was not worthy of my loyalty at all!"
"I am a soldier, and I am willing to die in battle! But... I am absolutely unwilling to be betrayed and give up to death! Therefore, I refuse to serve the royal family again after surviving, and I will never go back!"