Chapter 219: Banquet

It was almost February. During the period after the New Year, Irene carefully sorted out her "education plan". After Paul's formal approval, she began to ignite the first of the three fires of a new official.

Previously, the State Council's investment in education had always been sporadic. Under Irene's strong suggestion, education funds were separated as a formal expenditure and listed as one of the four major fiscal expenditures along with military, industry, and agriculture.

First of all, starting from Lake Heart Town, John Morrison, the former dean of Weiss College, was sent by Paul to the monastery to "assist" Father Anderson. The position of the dean had been vacant, so Irene took on the position.

She conducted a basic test on the current students, including reading, writing and simple arithmetic, and temporarily divided them into three grades according to their level. She also rearranged the work of the teachers and established a regular examination system to test the students' learning results.

After a long period of recruitment, the number of teachers in Weiss College has reached 20, and their salaries are now managed by Irene, who has become the director of the Education Department.

Irene called a meeting of teachers and announced that in the future, teachers' salaries would be linked to the test scores of the students they taught. Those with poor scores would have their salaries deducted, and those with good scores would have their salaries increased.

The new policy boosted the atmosphere in the college. The teachers who used to be lazy and slacking off became diligent, and the college was filled with their scolding of their students all day long.

In short, the previous teaching model of herding sheep disappeared, and the students' good days were over.

In addition to daytime education, the literacy night school of Weiss College is still open, targeting adults who work during the day and have nothing to do at night.

Irene stipulated that as long as a member of the night school can pass the basic reading and writing test and arithmetic test, the teacher who teaches him can receive a bonus in addition to the normal salary, calculated per person, and the more you teach, the more you get.

So some teachers began to spontaneously promote the great significance of education in the town, and after dinner, they cooperated with the soldiers to "hunt" people who were idle at home.

…

On February 3rd, the city of Sent looked like a festival. The streets were filled with flowers that bloomed in early spring. Jugglers and bards performed hard in the city center square. Housewives carried large and small bags to the stores to buy a lot, because merchants all over the city were selling at a discount on this day.

The whole city was cleaned up and looked brand new. Even the beggars on the street were driven out of the city.

Because tomorrow is the birthday of the lord of this city, Duke Ferdinand. Under the auspices of the Duke's brother, Viscount Henry, this year's celebration will be a big one.

A group of people appeared on the road outside the gate of Sent. In front of them was a rider holding a flagpole with a flying dragon flag flying on the top of the flagpole.

It was Paul and others who came to attend the Duke's birthday party.

In addition to Count Myron Garnard who came to the banquet, there were also female adviser Ladi, intelligence director Cecil, commander of the first battalion of the army, Blaise, and his adjutant (his attendant when he was a knight before).

The chief guard, Victor, whose ribs were broken by a wizard last year and who had been lying in bed for three months, commanded fifteen elite internal guards to serve as the escort for this trip.

Although there were only fifteen soldiers, they were all experts in reloading bullets very quickly.

Each of them was equipped with a newly produced flintlock rifle, equipped with a bayonet, carried four grenades with him, and a flintlock pistol on his waist.

Now when the soldiers encountered an emergency, they could just reload and shoot directly, without having to light the matchlock as before.

Because there was no matchlock to get in the way, they could shoot side by side, greatly increasing the density of firepower.

Since the last incident, the internal guards and the army have strengthened their shooting training in emergency situations. If an "assassin" appeared again on the way, they could reload and shoot the other party into a sieve within a minute.

"Ah~ We finally caught up!"

Paul's voice was full of fatigue. He rode all the way from Huxin Town for two days and finally arrived at Center City.

To be honest, he really didn't want to come, but he had to.

The gift he prepared was a pair of porcelain vases about half a person's height with exquisite patterns painted on them.

For a long time, the porcelain sold by Alda was mainly small pieces. Such a large porcelain vase can be said to be very precious. I just don't know if it can catch the Duke's eye.

Of course, the gift has been delivered in advance. After all, porcelain can't be bumped on horseback.

The reason why the female consultant Ladi was brought along this time was because she had mysterious power and might be able to help a lot if she encountered any unexpected events on the road. Bah, don't be a jinx. What unexpected events can happen under the rule of the Duke?

The group soon arrived at the city gate, and the guards at the gate bowed and saluted.

They saw the flag flying on the flagpole. The pattern on it was obviously the family emblem of the nobles. Although they didn't know which family it was, they would not go wrong if they saluted.

"Oh! It is worthy of being the largest city in the northwest of the kingdom. It is unique!"

Seeing the prosperity of Sente City, Paul exclaimed.

"I heard that this city has a permanent population of 50,000 to 60,000 people."

Like Paul, Elon was visiting Center City for the first time and was also shocked by its size.

There is no need to say much about the casual guard captain Victor and the guards. In their minds, Butuya, the capital of the neighboring Bayerding, is already a big city.

No mistake, just go to the 6-9 book bar!

Among the group, only Cecil, Bryce and the female consultant Ladi were relatively calm. Cecil and Bryce had been to Sente several times before, and the female consultant from Jiaowan needless to say.

Everyone walked towards the lord's mansion while touring. Although there were many people on the street, they all consciously made way when they saw a group of people approaching under the banner of nobility.

In front of the lord's mansion, a well-dressed receptionist with etiquette that was not inferior to that of Philip's butler received them, and Paul and Myron handed him the invitation.

"Glayman family... Garnard family..."

After confirming that the invitation was correct, the receptionist with a monocle counted the number of Paul and explained a few words to a servant beside him.

Then he bowed slightly to Paul and others: "My Lords, please follow the servants to the official residence prepared for you to rest. We will notify you before the banquet begins."

Do we have to take care of dinner by ourselves? Paul was so hungry at this time that he thought he could have a big meal after arriving at the Lord's Mansion.

After following the servants to a mansion near the Lord's Mansion to rest temporarily, Paul couldn't wait to let Blaise and Cecil, who were familiar with the place, take him out to eat.

After returning, the soldiers who stayed behind reported to Paul: A nobleman who claimed to be Henry Ferdinand came to see him.

Isn't that the Duke's younger brother? It seems that he has no friendship with himself!

Paul turned to Mellon: "Do you know him?"

Mellon spread his hands and said: "Never met."

Cecil whispered in Paul's ear: "Since his brother Duke Ferdinand's health deteriorated, Viscount Henry has been very active and made friends with other nobles everywhere."

Uh... Will there be any bloody plots at this banquet?