Iron Powder and Spellcasters

   Chapter 115 Back to School Season

   "To the proudest Taniria!" A rough male voice overwhelmed the noise.

   "Respect the most honorable Veneta!" Another part of the hall responded.

   The chips are staggered, the cups are exchanged, and the banquet hall is very lively, a beaming scene.

  In the deserted corridor in the corner of the hall, Andrea Cellini sat carelessly on the windowsill, spat contemptuously on the mirror-smooth marble floor tiles.

"I. Really. He. Mom. A. Flying. Sky. Big. Slot." Andre tilted his neck and poured half a glass of spirits down his throat: "It's not that we **** the backbone of Tani to death. Now, just trying to figure out how to **** us. Is Debella's brain drenched in donkey piss? Counting on this bony dog's legs to keep the archipelago?"

   After a year of fighting on the battlefield, Andre's conversation has been completely the same as those of the most rude veterans.

"I didn't expect you to be able to spit out some golden sentences in your dog's mouth." Bud sat on the floor against the wall, sips the honey special brew, and said not salty or light: "But you have to use some local people, and you don't have to choose. ."

  Bard, a child who grew up in this monastery and a former "bishop", is now also stained with blood and fire.

  Although his temperament is still as honest and gentle as before, Bud's expression occasionally reveals a kind of numbness and sharpness that is used to life and death.

Andre glanced at Winters and said impatiently, "Don't... he... Mom touched, there's nothing on your chin. I've been touching all afternoon, and seeing you touch it makes me want to touch it. already."

   Winters ignored Andre, still rubbing his bare chin. Although the half-year-old beard was not long, it was suddenly shaved, which made Warrant Officer Montagne feel that something was missing.

   This is a very high-profile reception, and it is already a condescension for the warrant officers to be invited here. So no one came to them to chat with them, and Winters and others were also happy to be quiet.

  Before participating in this reception, the warrant officers took a good bath, carefully groomed their beards and hair, and put on starched Tuxin army uniforms.

   Only Bud was still wearing his white washed student uniform.

   In fact, after the battle this year, Bud also saved a small sum of money by sharing the spoils or something. However, he did not use the money for military uniforms, but tried to send it all to his parents.

   So he still only has this set of student uniforms, and he is determined not to accept loans offered by friends.

   But when Gerald's Bud was still a military student, he never had a crush on his classmates wearing this old outfit. Not to mention that after a year of war, he has passed through several times in his life and death, and he doesn't care about these external things.

   Winters and Andre had to let him go.

   A bottle of wine was quickly drained, and Andre stretched out his hand for the waiter to bring the wine.

   Bud ridiculed: "You scolded others so fiercely, but drinking their wine is not polite at all."

"Drink. His mother! Don't drink it for nothing!" Andre poured out the last bit of wine from the bottom of the bottle: "This is my humble and honorable resistance. Not only do I have to drink, I also have to bring two bottles. Let's go!"

  Bud waved his hand: "It's alright, don't worry, Debella will definitely hear your unyielding cry in her dreams."

The waiter didn't come, but Alves Marcello walked over with two wine bottles in between. Marcello took off the cork and poured half a glass of wine for Andre, and said with a sneer, "You guys will hide. quiet."

   Alves Marcello is also a contemporaneous of Winters, a trainee officer and a warrant officer. It's just that he was born in the artillery division.

  The people in the artillery department...they are not very close to the people in the infantry department and the cavalry department, mainly because the classes are not together.

   In walking and riding, there are many "big lessons" taught in one classroom. Therefore, most of the officers and students of the Infantry Division and the Cavalry Division are familiar with each other. On the contrary, although they are all from Veneta, they are only acquaintances with the Artillery Division.

   But after fighting side by side for a year, even strangers have become brothers, so Marcello and Winters are very familiar now.

   After pouring Andre's wine, Marcello pours Winters.

  Winters stretched out his hand and asked back, "What are you talking about with the artillerymen around there? It's very lively."

   "Don't you know?" Marcello was a little surprised: "It's spread among the artillery."

   "Know what?" Winters wondered.

   "Hey, I said..." Marcello said mysteriously: "...Do you remember those heavy cannons on Red Iwo Island? Those 32-pound guys."

   Those big killers that were placed on the cannon in the middle of the Red Sulphur Bay and could sink a galley with one shot, of course Winters remembered.

   "What's the matter?" Winters was even more puzzled: "Didn't those heavy artillery be used when fighting Gusa?"

"Yes, those heavy artillery pieces." Marcello nodded and continued: "According to the tani who belonged to us, the Federation has not yet been able to cast such heavy artillery pieces, and the biggest guy they can make is two. A thousand-pound twelve-pounder cannon."

   "That's what I bought, what's weird." Andre said disapprovingly.

"Who sold it?" Marcello immediately asked back: "Those thirty-two-pound heavy artillery are all four or five thousand-pound giants. The craftsmanship is extremely exquisite, the inner bore is smooth and flat, and there are not even a few sand holes. There are not many arsenals around the inland sea that grow artillery."

  Andre was impatient: "Old Ma, just say what you mean, don't do these detours..."

  Badella stopped Andre, motioned him to stay calm, and asked with a frown, "You mean to deal with Veneta, someone specially provided those cannons to the Tanirians?"

"That's right, that's what it means." Marcello affirmed: "Covillian went to check it after hearing about these things. According to him, there are no inscriptions on those cannons. I didn't notice it before, but now I look at it clearly. It was deliberately worn away. Not only the heavy artillery on the Red Sulphur Island, but others made us suffer a lot, and the same is true for the coastal defense artillery that we finally captured."

   "That's interesting." Winters asked thoughtfully. "When were those cannons sent to Taneria?"

"I don't know the exact time." Marcello shook his head: "Tani said that Edward Kenway personally arranged it...but it must have been before we set off from Haidong Harbor. By the way, it is said that William Kidd is also Kenway. people."

"Does he need to think about this?" Andre shouted angrily: "It must be given to the Tanirians by those Union-Province hillbillies! Didn't the Victory Arsenal burn through fires before we went home? Someone must have been there. What's the matter! Gan. He. Mother's scumbag! Crazy thinking to mess with us... That, Bud, I'm not talking about you."

"Let's talk about unsubstantiated speculation!" Winters hurriedly stopped Andre from saying: "The United Provinces are not stupid enough to burn their own arsenal and half of them in order to send a few cannons to the Federation. The capital, right? We're going to Guitucheng by boat tomorrow, don't say these words in front of the people of the United Province, or they will find a reason to detain you and you will suffer."

  Bud nodded in agreement, Andre snorted in dissatisfaction, but didn't speak any further.

"Old Ma, tell the contemporaries, don't mention this when you arrive in Guitucheng." Winters looked at Marcello again: "When we come back from the United Province, we have time to investigate slowly. William Kidd is not Are you still alive? That guy knows a lot of things. If I don't believe it, I won't be able to find out. We go to Guitucheng to confer a title, so it's best not to make any extras."

   "Understood, I understand." Marcello nodded with a smile, touched a glass with Winters, and went back to the small circle of artillery officers.

When Marcello was far away, Andre said angrily: "I can guess where the cannons of the Tani came from with my ass. Veneta, United Province, Empire, these are the three old arsenals, for sure. It couldn't have come from us. If it wasn't from the Union Province, could it be from the 'Oathbreaker' to the Tani? Gan!"

  [Note: "The Oath-Breaker" is a derogatory nickname for the present-day Emperor Henry III, who violated his oath by executing his own brother and all his blood during the War of Succession. So much so that Henry III's mother "Mary of Lothair" and grandfather "Winfred Duke of Lothair" refused to see him again until they died. ]

  [Another note: Henry the "Oath-Breaker"'s father was Richard "the madman", and there was no good nickname for the monarchs of the entire Lie Sun Dynasty. ]

This time, Winters didn't stop Andre, just looked at the mead in the glass and said: "It doesn't matter who gave it, the Taniria Federation has been divided and the battle is over. After I become a full-time officer, I will find a safe and idle position, be a jerk, and retire with the rank of colonel, even if I am done."

"When we came out of Guitucheng, there were more than 30 people, and there were only 20 people who went back. Many students didn't even make it to the day when they were officially awarded. Fate is really impermanent." Bud muttered. road.

   "I hope now that there is really a place like heaven." Winters said softly: "I hope every dead comrade in arms can be there now."

   "It doesn't really matter if you have it or not, as long as you believe it." Bud said leisurely.

  Andre sneered when he heard the words.

  Winters drank his glass of mead, wiped his mouth and replied expressionlessly, "If I can fool myself, do I need to say such stupid things?"

  …

  …

  Vineta's apprentices set off directly from the archipelago and crossed the inland sea to the city of Guito. After being awarded the title, they will return to Hailan to wait for their official appointment.

   As for Winters, whatever he thinks, he does benefit from nepotism. Because Antonio had already thought of a place for Winters.

   Before leaving, his adoptive father said to Winters lovingly: "If you don't want to be on the front line, then go teach. Veneta is going to set up his own military school, and the school is always cleaner anyway."

   Teaching? Winters is a little lost...but maybe interesting too?

   With an uneasy mood, Winters walked down the familiar and unfamiliar Guitucheng Pier.

  Everything in front of us is very different. The fire that swept through half of the city a year ago burned everything, leaving only a pile of blackened stones.

   But not broken, new cities are springing up from the ashes of old cities.

   Victory Arsenal, which ate most of the land in the port area, was driven to the outskirts of the city and became a small town independently.

   You should know about the relocation of the Victory Arsenal, but it has not been able to move for more than ten years. In the end, like the King of Conquerors severing the Gordian knot, a fire solves all problems.

  The fire tornado burned the arsenal to the point where nothing was left, and the last tools and raw materials were easily pulled away by a dozen carriages.

The current port area is no longer an "onion" structure with a layer of one layer. Well-planned buildings have replaced the original savage city. The winding alleys have become horizontal and vertical stone roads, which are also paved. drains.

   Winters and his contemporaries could hardly recognize the ever-changing Guitu city before them.

   But the joy of returning to the "second home" was quickly diluted. Because of the tension between the Interprovincial and Veneta, the Veneta trainee officers were closely monitored from the first moment they set foot on Interprovincial soil.

   They were not allowed to move freely, and they were not allowed to visit the "New Guitu City". The Venetas were taken straight back to the dormitory of the Army Officers Academy, and they were not even allowed to move freely on campus, even Budd, the United Province, was no exception.

   "Mother! Treat us as prisoners. This is..." Andre scolded and paced back and forth in the dormitory.

   Winters didn't feel angry, he lay back in his bed comfortably... It's a wonderful feeling. Winters had spent thousands of nights in this bed, and he knew it very well. He was familiar with the broken planks, the nicks on the head of the bed, the blackened spots from the fire.

   It seems that he can fall asleep as soon as he closes his eyes.

   He opened his eyes and saw a familiar face.

   "Ike!" Winters exclaimed in surprise.

  Axel also punched Winters happily, and the two hugged each other.

   Upon learning that the Veneta students were returning to school, Axel rushed over immediately, and other students from the United Provinces also came.

  There is a disagreement between the Republic of Veneta and the Republic of the United Provinces, but this has nothing to do with the cadets, and it will not affect the friendship between the students.

   Marshal Ned's idea seemed to have come true at this moment. The Veneta students and the interprovincial students gathered together, laughing and fighting, as if they were back in school.

   "My God! What's wrong with you? You're too haggard." Axel looked at Winters' shriveled face and couldn't help but sigh.

   "Really?" Winters looked around the same period in the dormitory.

   The students from the United Provinces were ruddy and in high spirits. The Veneta classmates looked tired and haggard by comparison, but also more mature and sophisticated.

   Several names were asked, but the Veneta looked sad when they heard these names—they were all dead in Taniria.

   "I think your swordsmanship is in vain, right?" Axel said enthusiastically: "Should we go to a match now?"

   "Forget it, I admit defeat, it's really been a long time since I practiced." Winters laughed a few times and raised his hands decisively to surrender. He thought: But I have a better gun now.

   "By the way, how is Teacher Christian? Are you okay?" Winters suddenly remembered the director of the Spellcaster Teaching and Research Office, and he had a question he was eager to ask.

Axel shook his head when he heard the words: "No, he was dismissed, and his mental state is not very good. The War Department ordered him to do self-examination at home, and he is currently under house arrest in the military academy's teaching quarters. Otherwise, I will take you there. look at him?"

   "I'd rather go," Winters said with a wry smile, "but I can't get out of this door."

   The Veneta trainee was confined to the dormitory, but Axel couldn't be bothered by this problem.

   Because there is a paradox in the regulatory system: there are no extra staff in the military school, so who is looking at Winters and them now? It's Winters' apprentice...

   Axel rolled his eyes, and the junior officers and students who were guarding outside the dormitory obediently gave way.

   On the way to Christian faculty quarters, Winters and Axel pass a lifeless two-story single-family building.

   Winters stopped suddenly—because this was the former residence of General Antoine Laurent.

   "What's the matter?" Axel also stopped and asked suspiciously.

   "Nothing, I suddenly remembered the former owner here." Winters replied.

   Looking at the somewhat dilapidated house in front of him, Winters thought: "Yes, Sophia stole the notes from this place."

  Winters approached the small building and wanted to take a closer look, but the doors and windows were all nailed down, and nothing could be seen inside the house, so he had to leave in regret.

   In the staff quarters, Winters met Christian Huygens.

From   's chat with Ike, he already knew something. Although it has not been admitted to the outside world, the United Provincial Army Department has already identified Christian as the absolute responsible person for the "fire dragon burning the city" a year ago.

  Although the command to use the caster to change the direction of the wind was not given by Christian, but he was determined to do so.

   As a senior spellcaster, how to deal with Christian made the Army Department of the United Provinces troubled.

  The caster cannot be killed or punished.

  So the board hit Christian lightly. At present, he is just dismissing his post and reflecting at home. As for whether to send him to a military court, it is said that the above is still studying.

   But now the problem is: Christian's mental state seems to have some problems.

  At least Winters thought so.

   The Christian teacher in front of him is no longer a soldier, unkempt and unkempt. It was obviously the hot summer season, but Christian was tightly wrapped in a robe and a pair of plush slippers. As for what to wear inside the robe, whether to wear it or not, Winters couldn't imagine it.

  Christian's residence is not like a place where people live. The small faculty apartment is full of experimental instruments, and scratch paper with handwriting is everywhere.

The most insane thing is that these scratch papers are not thrown on the ground indiscriminately, but are laid on the ground one by one, and even cut out suitable shapes for the table legs and corners, as if laying a paper carpet on the floor. .

   Winters did not dare to go into the door, for fear of disturbing the neat square of manuscript paper.

   "Oh... it's you! Please come in, please come in." Christian warmly welcomed Winters and Axel. It's just that his state seems to be sleepwalking, his eyes are straight, and he doesn't look at the ground when he walks.

   Winters and Ike looked at each other.

   thought Winters: Teacher Christian may be crazy.

   Axel thought: Teacher Christian is getting even crazier.

   Unable to bear the warm invitation of the teacher, the two cautiously walked into Christian's apartment.

   "Welcome." Christian said while making tea for the guests in two cups that he didn't know what was in it, "I haven't had a guest in a long time."

   "Please drink." He put two cups of tea in front of Winters and Axel, wrapping his robes tightly.

   Winters and Axel dare not drink, they hold the handle of the cup and dare not pass it to their mouths.

   "Please have a drink." But Christian urges again and again: "Please have a drink."

   Winters' powerful self-help instinct saved him, he looked at the scratch paper on the table, and suddenly had an epiphany. Putting down the teacup, picked up the scratch paper and read it carefully.

   Seeing Winters intently looking at his draft, Christian stopped talking, just sitting on the stool with his robe wrapped tightly around him and shivering constantly.

   After watching it for a while, Winters raised his head and asked suspiciously, "Sir [Sir], are you studying the truth about the fire dragon burning the city?"

   "No wonder." Axel suddenly realized, he thought to himself: "Because the Fire Dragon Burning City was fired, Teacher Christian must be hard to let go of this. The depression in his heart eventually led to mental problems, which is really pitiful."

   "No." Christian said amazingly: "That was my research project nine months ago, and I already know the truth about the fire dragon burning the city."

   Thanks to the book friends who have voted for the recommendation before, thanks to the book friends writersblock, book friends 20200911140329006, Ami, Xiaocheng Junior Lang, Tianxia World, Calmly Ashes, Yunzhongyue 1981 for their recommendation votes, thank you all.

   I just deleted a paragraph of my testimonials in the second chapter of the first volume and I was very confused. After a paragraph was deleted, the context changed suddenly. I had no choice but to repost it, wondering if I could escape the Ministry of Truth. Forcing Zhen Feng comment to be killed...

   (end of this chapter)