Chapter 438: New Era
I am a lucky person.
This kind of luck started from the day I entered the Pendor Empire Academy.
On my first day in the college, I found a crumpled manuscript in the college toilet. The book was called "Memoirs of Officer Pande".
Looking back now, it was a really fascinating book - you know what I mean.
But I was only eleven at the time, and a lot of the content in the book was a bit too stimulating for an eleven-year-old (the word stimulating was crossed out and replaced with 'profound')...
Because this book was so well written, the teacher took me to the office on the first day of class.
But I didn’t get scolded - the teacher asked me, do I want knowledge and wealth, or do I want this book?
Of course I answered that I wanted knowledge and wealth...
So the teacher gave me a whole cart of books and took away the manuscript.
My whole body was shaking at that time - that cart of books was worth at least hundreds of dinars, and even if you had money you might not be able to buy them!
This is certainly a great fortune.
The teacher's name was Amy Sonard.
Yes, she is the wife of Emperor Leon, the Queen of the Fierce Lions, the President of the World Trade Union, the President of the General Labor Union of the Pendor Continent, the President of the Royal Academy of Sciences, the Vice President of the Imperial Academy... Her Majesty Amy, who is known as the 'Goddess of Luck'.
Of course, she didn't like us to call her by any other title - so we all called her 'Dean'.
People say that anyone who gets to meet Dean Amy is lucky.
This is indeed true.
The book the dean gave me ensured smooth sailing during my ten years of study at the college, and luck has been with me ever since.
I was severely biased in subjects and my science scores were terrible, but I managed to pass every final exam and graduate smoothly—because most of the liberal arts questions came from the books that Dean Amy gave me;
When I graduated, because I loved history, I planned to interview for a position as a history researcher at the Imperial Institute of Literature and History.
It's a decent job and it suits my interests.
But when I arrived at the interview site, I found that the positions at the Institute of Literature and History were extremely popular. It is a national unit of the same level as the Imperial Academy of Sciences, and there are frequent opportunities to interview those big shots. It is a department that everyone wants to join - thousands of people are competing for three positions.
I was just a fresh graduate. Although I had a diploma from Imperial College, I had no work experience. I was not outstanding among the applicants, and my image was not outstanding either...
However, the Institute of Literature and History, which only recruited three editors and researchers, chose me, and the position of head of the history editing and research group also fell on my head inexplicably - I later learned that this was because I had read the cart of miscellaneous books that Dean Amy gave me, and the interviewer thought I was "erudite and objective and simple"...
And today, the honorable mission of meeting the Emperor of the Empire, His Majesty Le Ang, and interviewing His Majesty has somehow fallen on a newcomer like me.
——Originally, this job should have been done by Sir Azrael, the dean of the Institute of Literature and History, but he was too old and had difficulty walking, and the other colleagues either had stomach problems or were already on business trips to various places...
I was shocked by my luck.
Dean Amy is indeed the goddess of luck. The good luck she brings me has lasted too long.
Going to meet His Majesty Li Ang also requires a business trip, because His Majesty Li Ang does not live in Changhe City.
Although Changhe City is the capital of the empire, there is no imperial palace and no royal family members live here. It is incredible to think about it...
It is now early March. At this time of year, His Majesty Leon should be in the God of Wealth Castle.
Yes, His Majesty Li Ang lives in different seasons - in spring, he lives in the flower-filled God of Wealth Castle; in summer, he lives in the cool and pleasant White Deer Castle; in autumn, he lives in the golden Fierce Lion City; in winter, he lives in the warm Siyuan City...
This is not a secret, everyone knows it.
But it's not that His Majesty Li Ang is greedy for enjoyment and has to go to places with suitable climates in different seasons. It's mainly because he has three wives...
It is actually very convenient to get to Caishenbao from Changhecheng. The train station in the city is only one street away from the Institute of Literature and History.
In fact, I don’t like this steel monster that always makes a loud noise, but I must admit that this new means of transportation has greatly shortened the time required to travel between two places - it was also invented by Dean Amy’s Royal Academy of Sciences.
It is said that His Majesty Leon has invested more than 30 million dinars to support his wife's invention and lay railroad tracks, and even borrowed national debt from the people of the empire...
So, marrying three wives requires sufficient financial resources - many people say that His Majesty Li Ang spent so much money just to make it convenient for him to visit his wives...
As a historical editor and researcher affiliated with the Imperial Ministry of Culture, I can ride for free with proof of work.
But the free treatment is only limited to hard seats. If you want soft sleeper or business class seats, you need to pay for them yourself.
This is a common practice in the imperial welfare system - state officials have many benefits, but these benefits are only for the convenience of doing their work, not for enjoyment or to reflect status differences.
However, compared with the luxurious business class rooms, I prefer hard seats.
Because in the hard seat carriage you can chat with many people from all over the world, avoid motion sickness, and enjoy the scenery outside the window more conveniently.
This train departs from Fletcher, and stops at Changhe City, Fortress of the God of Wealth, Sarleon City, Singal and other places. The final stop is Fengyu Port - it almost runs diagonally across the entire continent.
This is also the logic of the current train routes across the entire continent - no matter whether it is horizontal, vertical or diagonal, as long as it is a train route that runs through the continent, it will pass through the God of Wealth Castle located in the center of the continent.
It is also because of this that Caishen Castle became the commercial center of the entire continent in just ten years.
The train was going very fast. People on the train were admiring the rapeseed fields outside the window and talking about the good harvest this year. Most of them had a look of relief and joy on their faces.
I didn’t have the heart to admire the flower fields, I still had work to do - the hard-seat carriages had desks, which was one of the reasons why public servants could only ride in the hard-seat carriages for free, so as not to delay their work on the train...
This is not my guess, but what Dean Amy said herself.
On the train, I sorted out some questions that needed to be verified with His Majesty Leon in person - I must record the history of the empire truthfully, in an objective, true, detailed and reliable manner, without any guesswork.
When you encounter some ambiguous content, you must verify it with the parties involved as much as possible. If conditions permit, you must verify it from multiple sources. Don't think that being a cultural and historical researcher is an easy job. History cannot be taken lightly. We spend at least half of our time on business trips.
There are many questions that need to be verified, some of which are very important but have never been very clear.
For example, how should the God of Wealth and the goddesses be defined? How does His Majesty Li Ang view them?
For example, when did the Kingdom of Ravenstern and the Kingdom of Falcon become two provinces in the north of the empire?
This problem has troubled colleagues in the institute for a long time.
Because the former King of Ravenstern, Gregory IV, has been keeping silent, and two important parties, the former Falcon Queen Ursula and the leader of the Falcon Knights, Sir Ryan, have mysteriously disappeared...
Currently, only His Majesty Li Ang knows the details of what happened.
Another very important question is, what happened eight years ago when His Majesty Leon led the peacekeeping force to expedition to the Amalra continent?
There is no doubt about those famous battles, such as the blitzkrieg of the ancient capital, the annihilation of the Serpent Temple (also known as the battle to destroy the gods), the pursuit of Mars Canyon, etc.
But there is one event that remains unknown to the public - why did the Meritine Empire and the Snake Cult quickly collapse after forming an alliance at the end of the expedition?
The course of events is clear, but the reasons are not.
Moreover, although there are many participants who can verify, everyone's answers are inconsistent...
For example, Sir Klose, who was the commander of the Second Army of the peacekeeping force at the time, said that the commander-in-chief of the Maritine army was a coward and was scared away when he saw His Majesty Leon. The incompetence of one general led to the death of thousands of soldiers, and as a result, the Snake Cult, which had the ability to resist, was also implicated.
However, Sir Eric, commander of the third corps of the peacekeeping force at that time, said that this was because the followers of the Snake Cult came to their senses and turned to the light under the call of His Majesty Leon, and then Maritim followed suit.
But Governor Cleon of the Seventh Legion said that it was mainly because the people of Amara were influenced by the Knights of the Radiant Cross, and it was Sir Anson's medical team that played a decisive role in this victory. The army was not actually the main force...
Looking at these completely different statements, it is difficult for us editors and researchers to understand. How should we write history?
So we can only listen to what His Majesty Li Ang says.
There are many other problems.
For example, when His Majesty Li Ang disappeared more than a decade ago, there were rumors that His Majesty Li Ang had been to a mysterious island and had seen a living dragon. I really want to know what a dragon looks like...
For example, the details of how the Empire introduced musket technology - this matter was confidential ten years ago, but now the Empire has more advanced firearms technology than Barclay, so it is possible to ask about what happened ten years ago.
For example, does Queen Wendy really know magic? -- Queen Wendy is also known as the 'magic goddess'. It is said that she can turn stones into gold and even turn leaves into dinars... I personally don't really believe this, but Queen Wendy has indeed helped many people live a prosperous life.
There is also Queen Alina, who is known as the 'Goddess of Wisdom'... Queen Alina has given advice to many people, and without exception, these ideas have turned into huge wealth. Some people say that this is mainly because of the secret cooperation of His Majesty Leon - I feel the same way.
Oh, there is another important question... How is Miss Alice, who is loved by everyone, doing now? Yes, people call His Majesty Leon's mount Alice "Miss". I saw her ten years ago, but she has not appeared in Changhe City for a long time...
In fact, I met her twenty years ago.
However, I was probably still breastfeeding at that time and don’t remember anything.
I am indeed very lucky.
After the train arrived, I just walked out of the station and came to the God of Wealth Square, and I saw Miss Alice.
She still looks energetic and seems no different from ten years ago.
She was not restrained by any saddle or shoes, and was strolling leisurely in the square, her golden mane dancing with her steps. People greeted her warmly, and it seemed that the people in the God of Wealth Castle were accustomed to her presence.
The same thing happened to her in Changhe City ten years ago.
Miss Alice was always hanging around and people would be in a good mood when they saw her.
Because everyone knows how much His Majesty Leon loves Alice, wherever Alice is means absolute safety. No one ever dares to cause trouble where she is, so people will feel more at ease.
"Miss Alice...can you take me to see His Majesty Leon?"
I tried to walk up to Alice and talk to her - I knew she could understand, because that's how my father spoke to her ten years ago.
My father's name was Andrew, and he watched Miss Alice being born - Alice could actually be considered my sister, if she would admit it.
Unexpectedly, Miss Alice seemed to actually recognize me...
She did bring me to His Majesty Leon.
His Majesty Li Ang is a very kind person, and I can't see any trace of time on him at all - he should be in his forties this year, but he looks no different from a twenty-one-year-old like me...
"Ryan, huh, I'm glad you didn't turn out like your father. How's Andrew?"
I was a little nervous and didn't know what to say for a moment, but His Majesty Li Ang took the initiative to ask about my father.
"He is still fat... but he is in good health. Your Majesty, I came to you to verify something... I am now an editorial researcher at the Institute of Literature and History."
I am very grateful that His Majesty Leon is so approachable, just like Dean Amy - big figures like them, the whole world can tremble if they stomp their feet, but they are always kind when facing me or other civilians, and even take my nervousness and panic into consideration. This is probably their greatest extraordinary quality.
However, when I asked about official business, His Majesty Li Ang seemed not to let me complete the task too easily...
"So you want to interview me? Well... that's no problem, but..."
His Majesty Li Ang showed a gentle but somewhat scary smile: "Ryan, as far as I know, the Institute of Literature and History has to pay the interviewees a labor fee when they interview others..."
There is indeed such a rule, because interviews will inevitably take up a lot of the interviewees' time and affect other people's normal work. The institute also has a special budget for labor expenses.
Generally speaking, it means giving corresponding subsidies according to the time wasted.
But if the interviewee is the emperor...
How is this subsidized?
"Um... Your Majesty, we pay labor fees according to the interviewee's salary, but how much is your monthly salary?"
I asked a seemingly stupid question - I actually didn't know whether the emperor had a salary, so I just took the opportunity to satisfy my curiosity...
"Hiss... Now that you ask me that, I remember that I never paid myself a salary! What a loss!"
His Majesty Li Ang seemed really upset.
I was stunned and didn't know what to say...
But then His Majesty Leon turned around and ordered seriously: "Lisa Dilan, please remember to ask the treasury to settle my salary for fifteen years... Well, let's calculate it based on an annual salary of 600 dinars... and interest must be included!"
Six hundred dinars a year? Fifty dinars a month?
I was completely dazed at the time - this was indeed a high salary for ordinary people, but he was the emperor of the entire continent!
When my father was mayor, his salary was 100 dinars a month...
"Your Majesty, I think you should wait a while before settling the salary. This year, Her Majesty Amy is in charge of the national treasury. I estimate that the salary for those fifteen years will probably not reach you... Let's talk about it next year when Her Majesty Alina is in charge of the national treasury."
General Risadiran, the commander of the Royal Guards, spoke in a low voice, with a hint of smile in his eyes.
I don’t know if I should laugh, but I did…
"Well... OK, Ryan, you can see that I have been owed wages for fifteen years... I am so poor..."
His Majesty Li Ang turned his head and looked at me: "You know!"
I held back my laughter and began to feel for the dinar in my bag: "I know, I know..."
"You know nothing! I have worked for the Empire for fifteen years, but I have never received a single cent of salary... And I can imagine that the questions you are about to ask me are all very troublesome... So..."
His Majesty Li Ang stared at me and shook his head: "You have to pay more!"
——Excerpt from "Pan De Literature and History Research Public Records" in the 374th year of the Pan De calendar
Written by Sir Lane, President of the Imperial Institute of Literature and History.
