Peri Hermon sat at his desk, subconsciously fiddling with a beautiful piece of parchment in his hand—it was the program that the Long Opera House sent every weekend afternoon, and if it was a normal day, he would have chosen his favorite play, asked the butler to pay the deposit, and then gave the invitation to Shiryl.

But he didn't read a word now.

Today is the seventh day of the expedition, and if it goes well, my father should have returned with the Duke yesterday. Maybe it was a delay on the road, or maybe it was because people were tired and tired and rested for an extra day in the border town? He comforted himself, but the uneasiness in his heart was slowly expanding.

The fourth prince, Roland Wimbledon, made such a deep impression on him that Perrault even wondered why such an illustrious prince had such a terrible reputation in the royal capital. Bad character, sloppy, incompetent, unlearned...... None of the evaluations were different from the princes he knew.

That's why his uneasiness is so strong.

He was afraid that the Duke would lose to him.

"Young Master Pero," shouted the butler outside the door, "there is a letter from the fortress. ”

Pero was stunned, "Bring it in." ”

When the cover was lifted, the first sentence on the letter made Pero stunned.

This is a letter from the fourth prince!

"Duke Osmond Lane attacked his kingdom by force, in a vain attempt to rebel, but failed. The Duke himself has been on the battlefield, and now the Fortress of Changge is in the hands of this king. 」

The Duke was defeated, his heart sank, and he looked down.

"Most of Duke Lane's comrades, with the exception of a few diehards, have surrendered and pleaded guilty. The rebels should have been put to death, but the king, in his mercy, punished only the evil heads and those whose sins were unforgivable, and the rest of the participants could buy the captives with money, as was customary in the past. The swap location is at the castle of the lord of the fortress of Long Song, and the following is the list. 」

The wording of this official document is extremely awkward, and it is not the lingua franca of diplomacy, but the meaning of the message is very clear: the duke has failed in his rebellion, wants to be captured, and takes money in exchange.

Perot's gaze shifted slightly, and his father's name appeared in the first row.

"Heddis!" he shouted the butler's name, "Prepare the car, I'm going to the fortress castle!"

......

The Honeysuckle Earldom was east of the fortress, and by the time Perrot arrived at the castle area, it was already half an hour later. In front of the lord's castle stood a "militia" he had never seen before—no shiny iron armor, no cloaks or ribbons, and holding in their hands a peculiarly shaped short stick with a sharp spear stuck in the top. Just standing in two rows with his head held high made him feel compelling.

After revealing his identity, Perro was ushered into the courtyard and taken to the castle hall by a guard.

He had been to this place many times, but today, it was as if he had stepped into a completely unfamiliar territory, and the guards standing guard in the aisle were faces he had never seen before, and no one nodded and smiled at him, but looked at him with a blank face. At the door of the hall, a knight greeted him.

"Your name?"

"Pero Hermon," replied Pero with a slight displeasure, for he did not like such interrogative conversations, and therefore emphasized, "Sir Hermon. ”

"Oh," the other man looked disapproving, and looked through the list in his hand, "Count Charafel Hermont is your ......"

"Father. ”

"Disrespectful," said the knight, but without a hint of apology, "I am Carter Lannis, the chief knight of the Four Princes. Please come to the side room first, we need to check if you are carrying a weapon. ”

After a search, Perot's Divine Punishment Stone was also taken down by the guards.

"That's not a weapon," Perro reminded.

"Of course not," the knight nodded, "we'll give it back to you after the meeting, don't worry." ”

He opened his mouth, and finally endured. That Divine Punishment Stone is considered to be of the highest grade, at least worth fifty golden dragons, and it is simply impossible not to exchange it for a defective product in the other party's hands. Just, he thought, as part of the ransom.

Walking into the hall, the fourth prince was sitting on the main throne writing something. He was stunned when he looked up and saw Perro, and then smiled, "We meet again, Mr. Ambassador." ”

Still with a familiar face and tone, Pero also relaxed a little, bowed and saluted, "Greetings, Your Highness." ”

"Sit down," Roland raised his hand and motioned for him to take his seat, "I think you already know what happened." Your father was unharmed, he was one of the first to surrender. ”

"Thank you for Your Highness's kindness," Pelo said quickly, "I don't know how much ransom Your Highness wants, as long as the honeysuckle can be obtained, I will have the money delivered immediately." ”

"I don't need money," Roland shook his finger, "I want livestock and people." ”

It was normal to ask for livestock, and even fifty years ago, conflicts between lords ended with the loser paying cattle and sheep, as Perro has seen more than once in the book. Can...... "Your Highness, there are many cows, sheep, horses, and honeysuckle in the land, and as for the person you are talking about......"

"It's simple, masons, stonemasons, carpenters, farmers, serfs," said the prince, handing him a scroll of paper, "and you can convert it according to the above values, as long as the total number is three thousand." He smiled, "By the way, since Lord Earl is the largest of the captives, the number is also the highest. ”

Perot spread the roll of paper out on the table.

Seeing that it was full of occupation categories and livestock types, followed by a number, such as: 3 cows, 2 sheep, 10 stonemasons, etc., he immediately understood what the other party meant.

The value of 3,000 means 1,000 cows, or 300 stonemasons, to redeem the father. Of course, his domain didn't have so many oxen and stonemasons, and just by arranging and combining items on paper, there were many options, and as a nobleman who dealt with trade every day, Perro instantly realized that there was a lot to be done. Just give him a few days, and he will be able to figure out the optimal solution and meet the requirement of 3,000 points at the minimum cost.

"Your Highness, can I ......?"

"One day, I can only give you one day," Roland stretched out a finger, "This only refers to the time when you make your choice, after all, if you want to gather so many materials and people, you can't do it in three or four days." And I'm not going to stay here forever, at most a week later, I'll be out of here. ”

"But what a day is ......," Perro suddenly froze and looked at the prince with wide eyes, "Wait, you just said...... Do you want to leave?"What does this mean? If the letter is correct, the Duke has already died on the battlefield, and the Changge Fortress belongs to His Highness, and he actually said that he wants to leave, is this not as good as that small and dilapidated border town? No, this is not the point at all! The point is that if His Highness is gone, who will run this magnificent city? He has a storm in his heart, and the Duke and his children will inherit it? Think about it, you know that this is impossible, waiting for them to reassemble the army to avenge their father? In addition to the Lane family, are they the five families, or are they other noble families?

"That's right," Roland nodded, "I'll take the ransom and return to Frontiertown." ”

A thought suddenly surged into his heart, and once this thought appeared, it could no longer be suppressed.

"Your Highness," Perro asked in a low voice, swallowing his saliva, "May I ask ...... 'redeeming' the Fortress of Long Song also has a value?" )