Chapter 386: National Founding Ceremony
Alina's plan can indeed solve the problem, but Leon feels very complicated.
Of course he didn't mind marrying Amy or Wendy. Amy was the girl with whom he had the most in common, Wendy had saved Leon with her own blood, and there was enough emotional foundation on both sides.
But marrying a wife voluntarily and being forced into marriage are definitely completely different...
Li Ang now feels that he is somewhat "forced to use marriage to solve other problems."
But if you really ask me if I'm unhappy about anything - that's the truth. These are two beautiful girls, what could I be unhappy about?
Besides...
Li Ang didn't dare to be unhappy!
Everyone thought he had gotten the upper hand—and he had, in fact…
If he dares to say no, even old brothers like Eric and Klose will probably think that their boss is a little ungrateful...
In fact, most marriages are like this, completed with the half-hearted consent of two parties... Well, okay, this time there are three parties involved.
Alina's arrangement has fully taken the situations of the three parties into consideration, and Li Ang himself felt that there was nothing to say.
But like any man would consider before getting married, Li Ang immediately considered an important question...
"The founding ceremony must be grand, the wedding must be grand enough, and the betrothal gifts cannot be too shabby... But, Amy, Alina, I have no money now!"
Li Ang reached into his pockets and turned out two empty pockets.
Alina turned around and curled her lips towards Li Ang: "The ceremony doesn't require you to spend any money, it has been prepared long ago... Well, you mean you don't have money for the betrothal gift, right?"
"Yes... I now owe Pender Bank nearly one million dinars. If nothing unexpected happens, I should be the poorest person in the entire continent, and all my assets are liabilities..."
Li Ang nodded.
Amy smiled and nodded: "If you put it that way, it is indeed..."
"...Lord Leon, don't you realize that the dowry you have to pay is not a dinar... You can afford the dowry, you are going to marry two queens!"
Alina walked to the wall of the study and pointed at the map hanging on the wall. "The entire territories of Sarleon and Noldor are the dowry you have to pay. All your current territories will be used as dowry and become the territories of the two queens. You must know that most of the lords of Sarleon have sworn allegiance to Queen Amy. You can't let them break their oath. In addition, you still owe Amy a cliff bay. That place is still in the hands of Haakon in Firdsvain..."
Li Ang stared at the map blankly, then looked at Amy who was covering her mouth and laughing secretly, and finally turned to Alina: "It seems that I can afford the betrothal gift, but I will really become the poorest person in the world..."
"The poorest person in the entire country must be the king or emperor, so we must unify the continent, otherwise it will be difficult to become rich... This is what my teacher, His Majesty Marius, said."
Alina spoke seriously to Li Ang.
"...unify the continent. I know what I should do now. Thank you, Alina."
Li Ang nodded and said, "Send your father back to Boshi City and ask him to remind His Majesty Marius not to forget to send me a gift."
…
July 4, 358 Pendor.
The streets of Changhe Town were deserted, and everyone poured into the huge square in the center of the city.
In fact, this is the land that Li Ang reserved for the "Changhe City Central District Phase II Project", and the demolition has just been completed...
But this time, people are not here for real estate.
The official establishment ceremony of the 'New Pendor Kingdom' is being held here.
Changhe Town was also officially renamed Changhe City at this time.
Li Ang stood on a temporary platform and personally raised the brand new national flag onto the tall flagpole.
This new flag uses a bright red background, and the emblem in the center of the flag is a golden griffin holding up a diamond-shaped gem.
The silk thread used for this gem pattern is very special, constantly changing into colorful colors under the sun - this is a small piece of cloth cut from the luxurious silk robe that Wendy wore when worshiping her ancestors.
The bright red background represents the Fierce Lion Realm.
The colorful diamond-shaped gemstone represents the new "Noldor Realm" - this is not the emblem of any Noldor family, it represents the entire "Elven Principality". In the era of the Sindar elves, the Sindar Empire used such a diamond emblem.
Together with the golden griffin, they form the flag of the 'New Kingdom of Pendor'.
The band Sarah found played the ceremonial march - this was not the national anthem. The current New Pendor Kingdom did not have a national anthem, and there was no time to arrange it so comprehensively in just a few days.
Besides, there are not many bands these days, and music activities are all brought to different places by bards like Sarah. It is difficult to popularize the national anthem among the general public, so countries have not yet begun to formulate such musical symbols.
All the lords who supported Leon stood under the platform, and the elven kings of the various tribes of the Noldor also appeared here - they were all a little restless, as the elves were not used to such crowded occasions.
Behind the lords was a bustling crowd.
Tens of thousands of people from the entire Long River City are here, most of the Noldor elves from White Hart Castle are also here, and there are also many people coming from Brave Shield Castle.
But although there were many people, it seemed quite quiet and orderly.
Of course, this quiet and orderly state is not formed spontaneously by people - not everyone realizes that they are witnessing history, and most people don't have so many thoughts, they just instinctively join in the fun.
The people were able to remain quiet and orderly mainly because Alina arranged a large number of soldiers to disperse among the crowd to set the pace.
"My friends...please remember this day..."
After raising the flag, Li Ang began to make his declaration of national independence.
"I declare that our new Pendor Kingdom has been officially established!"
"Long live!"
There were scattered rhythmic applause and cheers from the audience, and then gradually turned into a massive cheer from tens of thousands of people...
The essence of human beings is a repeater, and Alina obviously understood the operating principles of the repeater.
"We will inherit the laws of the Kingdom of Pendor and protect all those who have suffered from war... No matter what your original ethnicity is, no matter what your status was, whether you are human or elf, you will be treated equally in the new Kingdom of Pendor..."
The cheers from the audience gradually died down, and people gradually turned from repeaters to silent listeners.
They heard something different.
Alina was also stunned in the audience. She didn't expect Li Ang to say these things - this was not the declaration of nation in the manuscript. She had read the speech manuscript.
"I have led troops to fight all over this continent. I have seen all kinds of criminals, armies and knight orders from various countries, and people who have suffered in various parts of the continent..."
Li Ang's eyes swept across the residents in the audience: "You! You are also from all over the mainland, and you are also people who have suffered through various hardships!"
He glanced at the new residents who had moved in: "You were displaced because of the war..."
Sweeping the natives of the eastern region: "You have been invaded by various looters and demons day and night and have been unable to rest..."
Sweeping the Noldor elves: "You lost your homeland because of the disaster..."
The audience fell silent.
"You all know why you left your homes and came to this long river city?"
"Because of famine, because of disaster, because of poverty... because of war!"
"I know that you have been talking about the Son of Prophecy and have been hoping that someone can unify the continent and put an end to this endless war and suffering..."
"So now, as the founder of the new Kingdom of Pendor, I swear on my life, my property, and our common honor - I swear to end the war on this continent! I swear to build our kingdom into a prosperous and affluent new world! I swear to let the citizens of the kingdom live and work in peace and contentment!"
“But it’s hard… As you all know, it’s hard.”
"We will have to go through hard battles, face countless sacrifices, shed blood and sweat , and perhaps even starve..."
"So, I need your support, the support of every one of you! ... I need every citizen to work hard, and I need every soldier to obey orders..."
"I need everyone to be moving in the same direction and listening to the same voice..."
“My voice!!”
At the ceremony attended by tens of thousands of people, only Li Ang's voice was heard.
Everyone held their breath, watching the new king waving his arms and speaking word for word on the stage.
The common people had never seen a king swear an oath in such a way.
In the past, didn’t kings and lords swear allegiance to each other or accept allegiance?
The common people thought that they came here just to see the excitement, to see those lords whom they rarely saw, to watch their allegiance ceremony with the new king, and to see where they would be appointed lords...
Then, use it as a topic of conversation for a long time to come.
But now, this king, this new king who had fought the devil head-on, been struck by lightning, and was considered by most people to be the son of prophecy, was actually talking to civilians at such a grand ceremony?
Li Ang's speech continues, but people no longer need to be led by the rhythm, Li Ang is the rhythm.
Even Alina has been led by Li Ang...
She stared blankly at Li Ang on the stage, having forgotten that she was supposed to give a signal after Li Ang finished speaking, asking the soldiers to encourage people to cheer and applaud...
"I will not wear the crown, because I am just a leader who leads my brothers to fulfill their oaths. Now... brothers who are willing to fulfill their oaths with me, please shout out our kingdom loudly!"
"New Pende!!"
Li Ang raised his arms and shouted.
"New Pand!!!"
All the lords present drew their swords at the same time, knelt on one knee facing the platform, placed their swords on the ground with both hands, and lowered their heads so that their foreheads touched the backs of their hands.
"New Pende! ... Long live!!"
"Long live!!!"
No one was leading the discussion, but people in the River City were still cheering, including the Noldor elves.
Everyone was calling out for their new Pand.
Leon bowed to everyone, and Amy came on stage and placed the "crown" in her hand on Leon's head.
It was a wreath woven with irises, not a golden crown, but a guide's corona, a symbol of guidance.
Like the garlands hung on statues of the goddesses Eunomia or Damia.
…
at night.
There is a huge dining table in the lord's hall of Changhe Town.
There were quite a few dishes on the table, and a group of people were eating around it.
"Good brother... um, can I still call you that, Your Majesty? When will your wedding be held?"
Ramon asked vaguely while cutting the barbecue on the table with a knife and still chewing.
"Brother, the wedding will be held in a few days. The ceremony will cost a lot , and I am very poor now..."
Li Ang said with a sad face.
In fact, the reason why they are not holding the ceremony now is not because they are poor, but mainly because they want to wait for the lords from other places and the tribes of Islandil and Aldarian to all come to Changhe Town. It will be enough to have their own people at the founding ceremony, but more people need to be invited to the wedding.
"No money? If you don't have money, I can lend you some!"
Ramon rubbed his greasy hands on his chest, as if he was going to take something out of his pocket, looking very generous.
"No, no, no... I don't dare to lend you money..."
Li Ang quickly stopped Ramon's "good intentions": "Well, I've heard that in the past two years, your biggest business is loan sharking... Or the kind where you pay 90% and return 13% and the interest is calculated on a daily basis, right? I can't afford it..."
"Ahem, this is called a micro loan. This kind of small business doesn't have much profit..."
Ramon laughed dryly twice and focused his attention on the roasted whole lamb on the table again, muttering to himself, "I don't accept collateral, so of course the interest is a little higher... Actually, after deducting the brothers' expenses for collecting debts, the business commissions and the bad debts that cannot be collected, I really don't make any money, it's all just a loss..."
Everyone at the table looked at him with contempt.
"Okay, okay, I'm just lending money at high interest rates... I didn't have any other business to do before, there were wars everywhere..."
Ramon felt uncomfortable being stared at, and explained awkwardly, and decided not to cut the mutton.
"Ramon, my good brother, you really know how to do business. You did not sell slaves, but now... all those seductresses in Singal are under your control, right? You are also in charge of the opium dealers, right? You also turned the hotel into a casino; now you have also opened up usury... You have not missed any of these illegal businesses..."
Li Ang sucked his teeth and counted on his fingers, then looked at Ramon with a creepy smile: "And your debt collectors are Scorpio assassins... Who would dare to leave you any bad debts? It seems that you are the richest person in the whole continent..."
"Hey... good brother... don't look at me like that, just tell me what you want to do..."
Ramon's hair stood on end. He felt that Leon's smile was a little scary.
"Didn't I tell you that I'm short of money...but I don't want to borrow money from loan sharks..."
Li Ang sat upright, took off his napkin and wiped his mouth, then showed Ramon a sincere smile: "So, let's do some legal small business together, and stop doing these illegal businesses..."
"Hmm? Doing business? That's no problem... I thought you were going to punish me..."
Ramon suddenly became excited: "Which country's throne are you going to sell this time?"
"There aren't that many thrones to sell... My dear brother, a business that can be sustained for a long time is a good business... For example, being a grain merchant."
Li Ang pointed to the bread on the table.
"You want to sell food?"
Ramon was stunned: "I don't have much food stored, and I guess you don't have much either..."
"It is because we have no grain that we should become grain merchants!"
Leon said to Ramon seriously, "From now on, buy a lot of food. Buy any food, no matter how high the price is... Ramon, spend all the dinars. As long as we go to war with the Bacchus Empire, the gold coins will soon become worthless."
