Chapter 314: This Tuition Fee Is Really Expensive
The exchange of the Fierce Lion Realm Flag Gun for the Dragon's Fang was a condition Amy added temporarily without discussing it with Leon.
But Leon strongly agreed with Amy's approach - this was an excellent additional condition for the covenant.
'Dragon's Fang' is a sword that represents the allegiance of the Dragon Knights. It is the sword carried by successive Ravenstern kings and the symbol of the Ravenstern Kingdom.
This is indeed a very exquisite sword. It was used by Count Gregory to kill countless powerful enemies.
However, up to now, the symbolic significance of this sword has far outweighed its actual function. Although successive Crow Kings have always carried this sword with them, they rarely use it.
The 'Far Lion Flag Lance' is a battle flag spear, a special lance with the flag of the Sarleon Kingdom wrapped around it. It was the weapon and flag used by the first Sarleon King Alfred when he recaptured Sarleon.
Of course, the Sarleon Banner Lance has nothing to do with the Order of the Lion, but it is indeed a symbol of the Sarleon Kingdom and is equivalent to the Dragon's Fang.
Like the Dragon's Fang, this battle flag spear has not seen the battlefield for many years.
The men holding the battle flags and spears were usually required to charge at the front of the team, and the king really shouldn't do this kind of work himself.
However, this symbol could not be handed over to the standard-bearing officer, lest it be damaged on the battlefield or taken away by the enemy - so later generations of kings simply stopped using it, and now this flag gun has been inserted in the throne room.
These two symbolic weapons, exchanged along with the covenant, are actually equivalent to adding collateral to the covenant and are also tokens of alliance, which are indeed a good guarantee for both parties.
However, Amy's seemingly fair move actually has a lot of mystery.
If Gregory IV sends the Dragon's Fang and the Covenant to Sarleon, it means that the Kingdom of Ravenstern publicly recognizes Amy as the successor of the Kingdom of Sarleon, and that Gregory IV regards Amy as a peer monarch!
Anyway, King Ulric was more than ten years older than Gregory IV and had already passed away. Death is the greatest thing, so it is reasonable to regard Gregory IV as Ulric's junior.
Gastov's efficiency of action was indeed astonishingly fast. Just three days later, he brought back the covenant signed by Gregory IV, and indeed brought the Dragon's Fang along with the covenant.
It is said that four horses died along the way.
Afterwards, he took away the Serenity Flag Gun and the covenant signed by Amy and Leon.
Now Amy has become an outstanding . Even though her workplace has changed to the Silver Throne, she is still doing very well.
In fact, there are only two students in Li Ang's training class, but from the current point of view, both of them will definitely become big bosses...
Oh, now, there's a third one.
Alina arrived in Sarleon.
She came to offer condolences on behalf of Emperor Marius.
The King of Sarleon passed away, so naturally Emperor Marius expressed his condolences. He was also the only king who expressed condolences for Ulric's death, because the kings of several other countries were not in the mood to do so...
Emperor Marius still respected his opponents.
Although Ulrich had caused a lot of trouble to the Bacchus Empire during his reign, this was a dispute between two countries and there was no personal hatred between them. Emperor Marius would still perform due courtesy.
"...On behalf of His Majesty Gaius Marius, Emperor of Bacchus, I express my deepest condolences to His Majesty Ulric, the late King of the Sarleon, and extend my friendly greetings to Her Highness Amy..."
Alina recited the letter of credence very seriously - she was the representative of Emperor Marius and had to fulfill her responsibilities as the emperor's envoy first.
And Amy received Alina very seriously, as she was also fulfilling her duties as the king's successor.
But just after the solemn mourning ended, Alina went straight to Leon and expressed her desire to ask Leon to be her teacher, saying that this was the wish of Emperor Marius.
"Alina, are you sure this is what Emperor Marius meant? If we really want to be a teacher... His Majesty Marius is a man of great talent and strategy, and Governor Justus is full of strategies. They are both more suitable than Leon, right?"
Amy refused with an unhappy look on her face and threatened Li Ang with a squinting look.
After leaving the throne room, Amy no longer had a stern face. She would control her emotions when facing official business, but not at other times - she never brought work into her life, and she kept a clear distinction between public and private life.
"My father has taught me everything that should be taught, and His Majesty the Emperor also thinks that I should travel to other countries to learn and gain experience... So he asked me to come to Lord Li Ang to study, and he also wrote a letter to Lord Li ."
Alina smiled at Amy, turned around, took out a letter and handed it to Leon.
This is indeed a handwritten letter from Emperor Marius to Leon.
Moreover, the wording was very unusual - the letterhead read "My friend Li Ang".
After reading the letter, Li Ang thought silently for a long time.
When he looked up again, his mood became a little depressed: "Arina, you are my student now. Let your followers return home immediately, and by the way, help me bring a reply letter to Emperor Marius."
Alina also nodded in silence: "Okay."
"What's going on? Leon? What's in the letter?"
Amy frowned and looked between the two.
She could see that Leon and Alina seemed a little sad?
"Emperor Marius...is seriously ill and his energy is not as good as usual. He is worried that someone will take advantage of his illness to cause trouble. Alina had enemies with many nobles before...In order to protect Alina, Emperor Marius sent her to me."
This time, Li Ang did not play it safe, but explained it to Amy very seriously.
"…What's the disease? Can it be cured…"
Amy's attitude also became serious.
Since Emperor Marius specially sent Arina here, Amy could of course realize that this emperor probably felt that he didn't have much time left?
"It should be lead poisoning..."
Li Ang sighed: "This alcoholic guy didn't listen to my advice after all..."
Arina's entourage left that day, and Leon asked them to take a letter to Emperor Marius.
…
Siyuan City.
"No alcohol! ... Freshwater fish, eggs, lean meat... No alcohol! Oranges, lemons, pomegranates, apples, coconuts... No alcohol! Vegetables, milk... No alcohol! Your Majesty, what does Lord Leon's letter mean?"
The first person to receive Leon's letter was General Sulla - now anything Emperor Marius touched had to be inspected by him.
Because the doctor of the Knights Glory said that His Majesty the Emperor was poisoned.
Although Emperor Marius knew that this might be the lead poisoning that Leon had warned him about and said there was no need to be so nervous, General Sulla insisted on ensuring Emperor Marius' safety. This was well-intentioned, so Emperor Marius did not insist.
After all, Marius also knew that there were indeed many nobles who wanted to kill him - especially those old nobles who all disappeared magically during the war, reappeared after the war and started to interfere everywhere.
However, General Sura did not understand Leon's letter at all - the letter was full of names of various foods, and there were a lot of them, and at the end of each line it was written "avoid alcohol."
"He told me to eat more of these things... and told me not to drink alcohol. He knew what was wrong with me."
Emperor Marius leaned back in his chair, his eye sockets sunken and his cheekbones protruding. He had probably not gained any weight since he had become thin due to fatigue during the Bacchus Rebellion.
"Alina actually told Leon about your physical condition? But... does Leon know medical skills?"
General Sura frowned, still not understanding.
"Alina, you don't have to tell him... Leon is the one who told me that lead wine jugs can cause poisoning. And, speaking of medical skills..."
Emperor Marius stood up by supporting himself on the back of his chair: "Isn't the Red Death the control method he found?"
"He provided the method of making vaccines using horses to various countries free of charge, and he never asked for anything in return. This is a very noble quality. I always feel that he is not the same person as the ..."
General Sulla nodded and handed the letter to Emperor Marius.
"Cunning and kindness can coexist. Isn't that the case with Cleon as well?"
Emperor Marius took the letter and asked: "Has Cleon arrived at the fortress of Turda?"
Then he looked at the letter and laughed, coughing - it was addressed 'My Friend Gaius'.
Gaius was the name of Emperor Marius himself, and Marius was his clan name.
In most cases, only relatives and friends can call someone by their real name, while outsiders will call them by their clan name.
When facing his friends, Leon is certainly not the cunning lord.
"General Cleon disguised himself as a Firdsweiman and attacked Qaiwan Khan, then he 'saved' Qaiwan Khan's life... Now Turda Fortress is equivalent to the Empire's territory..."
General Sura reported the situation in D'Shar: "And Qaiwan Khan went to seek revenge on the Firdswei people - he still thinks that it was Sigrul the Red Axe of Nudaburg who attacked him."
"Haha... You see, Cleon, who has always been gentle and kind to civilians, immediately turned into a cunning general on the battlefield... cough cough..."
Emperor Marius laughed loudly, but after laughing twice he covered his chest and coughed softly, and he looked to be in very poor health.
"That's right... Have a drink of water, Your Majesty, your body..."
General Sura nodded and brought a glass of water.
"...I would like to have a drink..."
Emperor Marius smacked his lips and said, "There is no taste in my mouth. It is so uncomfortable..."
General Sura turned his head and expressed his disagreement: "Your Majesty... the doctor told you not to drink, and Lord Leon also wrote 'Avoid alcohol' twelve times!"
“Okay… let’s get some milk… Actually, Leon also wrote down dozens of kinds of fruits, but most of them are specialties of Firdsvain…”
Emperor Marius sighed and read Leon's letter again.
"That's fine. Just buy whatever fruit you want. I can bring the fleet to buy more..."
General Sulla was indeed concerned about the health of Emperor Marius.
"No, he didn't mean for me to buy it... The various forces in D'Shar and Firdsvain are at war now, right?"
Emperor Marius turned around and looked at the map thoughtfully.
"Yes, the Knights of the Dawn and the Knights of the Dusk are fighting each other; the Inquisition is also fighting against Cardan; Emile Xerxes is dealing with the Firdsvain who entered D'Shar from the High Pass Fortress..."
It was obvious that General Sulla was now Marius' intelligence officer. He stood next to the map and explained the situation: "General Cleon has basically not encountered any strong enemies in the eastern part of D'Shar. I think that if we let the Shadow Wolves sneak into Singal and cooperate with General Cleon, we should be able to break through Singal in one fell swoop!"
"Singal? Taking that place would only bring trouble..."
Emperor Marius shook his head. "Sura, you don't know much about Singar. It can even be said that the place has little to do with D'Shar..."
Sura gave a questioning look.
He came from the continent of Amara and usually stayed by the side of Emperor Marius, so he really didn't know much about Singal.
"Don't provoke Singal. Cleon won't go either. I asked him to occupy Turda Fortress just to prevent the Deshar from attacking Bacchus in desperation."
Emperor Marius pointed at the map and drew a big arc. "Don't worry about how the D'Shar and the Firdsvain fight. What you need to do is to let the Shadow Wolves go around to the west coast and get more benefits from Wind Island Port or Light Howling Bay. D'Shar is very poor now, but the Firdsvain is quite rich. The richest places in the Firdsvain are these two big ports."
"Leon will force Sarleon to fight a big war with the Firdsvain. The rear of the Firdsvain will definitely be empty."
"That's what Leon wanted to say. Firdsvain not only has all the fruits I need, but also the reconstruction funds needed by the Bacchus Empire and the Ashborn Empire... But he couldn't write it openly and ask me to launch a surprise attack on the west coast, because the messenger might not be reliable and might leak the news."
"Take your fleet to the west coast, Sulla, but don't fly the imperial flag or wear the imperial uniform. I hope you can return with a full load... ahem..."
Emperor Marius gave instructions for the mission and then started coughing again.
“I understand. We create chaos in the rear of the Fierdsvain, so that Lord Leon will surely defeat the Fierdsvain on the front battlefield. This is the revenge war of the Sarleon Kingdom, and he must win. In this way, he can get the victory he wants, and we can get the savings of the Fierdsvain people…”
General Sura nodded to show his understanding. He thought this was a good idea and indeed a win-win situation.
"He didn't fight to win, he could have won anyway... this is the tuition he collected!"
Emperor Marius curled his lips and said, "It might be a mistake to send Arina to study with him... The tuition is really expensive!"
…
“…This tuition is really expensive!”
Arina, who was in Sarleon City, also said the same thing as Emperor Marius.
"To be honest, the Bacchus Empire has made a lot of money, okay... Alina, do you know how prosperous Fengyu Port and Guangxiao Bay are? They are extremely wealthy!"
Li Ang shrugged: "This is good for everyone, and you think it's too expensive?"
"I'm not talking about your strategy, Sensei..."
Alina shook her head. "I mean the money you collected! Book fees, food fees, accommodation fees, clothing fees, servant fees... and even protection fees?! You are blackmailing me!"
"School is expensive... Alina, this is the necessary investment for education - to be honest, this amount of money may not even be enough to buy candles before."
Li Ang shook the parchment in his hand, and then handed it to Amy: "Give it to Governor Justus and let him settle the bill..."
Amy looked at the total amount of '8,000 dinars' at the end, and left with Alina's 'tuition list' with a smile on her face.
Now Amy had no objection to Alina asking Li Ang to be her teacher...
She even hoped that more wealthy people like this would come to "study" with Li Ang.
Because the tuition fee is not a one-time payment, but is paid every six months - Li Ang calls the harvest season every six months a "semester".
8,000 dinars per person per semester...
Amy felt that if there were a few more girls like Alina, the tuition alone would be enough to cover several counties!
The way she looked at Li Ang now was like looking at a mountain of gold...
