Chapter 391 Uncle and Nephew Helsen

The sun has set. In the afterglow of the setting sun, a gorgeous carriage slowly drove into the Lake Town from the south, heading north along the main street on the city's central axis, and then passed through the stone bridge to the island on the lake in the north.

To be precise, only the building area on the island in the lake is the real "Lake Town". Three years ago, a large area on the south bank of Lake Weiss was still farmland or woods. Now it has been replaced by a large number of buildings and streets. The influx of immigrants and newly built factories are rapidly expanding the area of ​​the town.

Someone in the State Council has proposed to give this emerging city a new name, and the Lake Town on the island will continue to be used as the name of a district in the new city, but Paul hesitated among many naming plans, and the new name of the city is still undecided.

Since this small island on the lake is the castle where the Graman family has lived for generations, and the office buildings of the State Council and many military departments are also built around the castle, this island has become the power center of the three powerful territories of Alda, Bayerding and Emden.

Three powerful territories - Emden was originally a strong territory (of course in the northwest bay), and the development of Alda and Bayerdin in recent years has also shown the growing strength to the people around them.

With the help of the ever-expanding "telegraph" lines, Lake Town issues the latest instructions to each jurisdiction every day, and receives various feedbacks from each jurisdiction.

It is precisely because of the special status of this island that it has become a place where dignitaries compete to move in. Who doesn't want to be closer to the center of power? In addition to senior officials from various military and political departments, there are also those newly emerging factory owners and businessmen. Even if they don't live in Lake Town, they have to find a place to stay here.

Of course, there are also those Emden nobles and lords who have sworn allegiance to the Graman family, who have also rushed here to purchase real estate.

Driven by these people, the price of land on the island has risen sharply. Although the natives are all civilians, and many of them are strictly speaking serfs under the name of the Graman family, everyone knows that Earl Graman has always claimed to be the protector of civilians, so no one dares to occupy or buy them under his nose. The natives took this opportunity to make a fortune and happily moved to the new city area on the south bank with their money bags.

The carriage continued to move slowly, turned into a wide alley, and finally stopped in front of a house of medium size.

There were already two people, one old and one young, waiting in front of the door.

After the door of the carriage opened, the young man stepped forward and respectfully called: "Uncle."

"Orlando." The person in the car responded and walked down.

This is a slender middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed beard and well-maintained skin. At first glance, he is either rich or noble.

Viscount Eugene Helson, the lord of one of the vassal territories of Emden, came to Lake Heart Town after more than two days of running around.

The former vassal of the Kent family has now become a vassal of the Graman family, at least in name.

The young man standing at the door to greet him is his nephew, Orlando Helson, and standing next to Orlando is the steward of the Lake Heart Mansion appointed by Helson.

Eugene Helson's wife died after giving birth to three daughters. The viscount, who was obsessed with his deceased wife, never remarried, so he made his younger brother's son the heir of the family.

He had high hopes for this nephew, and soon after he swore allegiance to Paul Graman on behalf of the family, he sent him to Lake Heart Town to study.

Sending the heir of the family to the lord to receive education is also a common way for vassals in this era to show their loyalty.

However, there are no knights in Lake Heart Town to teach Orlando martial arts, nor are there noble ladies to guide him in etiquette. There are only two ways to receive education-Weiss College, which teaches cultural knowledge, and Graman Military College, which teaches military knowledge.

Viscount Helson chose Weiss College for his nephew. As a nobleman who received excellent education since childhood, Orlando did not have to start from "primary school". He passed the entrance examination for "middle school" without any effort. Even if he lacked the novel knowledge taught in elementary school, he could easily master it by auditing or attending night classes.

The uncle and nephew entered the mansion, where a sumptuous dinner had been prepared. The two talked while enjoying it.

"What are you doing in Lake Heart Town this time?"

"I'm here to purchase a batch of agricultural machinery, and by the way, take a look at the technologies that the Earl is going to make public, and see which ones can be used by us."

The Viscount held a glass of red wine and swayed slightly, "Orlando, you have also lived in Lake Heart Town for a while, how do you feel about it here?"

"Hmm..." The young man chewed the meat in his mouth, swallowed it hastily and said: "How should I put it, it's a... very lively place."

"Very lively?"

"Yes, Earl Graman seems to have instilled such a concept in everyone here: as long as you are willing to work hard, you can get rewards. Speaking of which, you may not believe it, in Lake Heart Town, even the corvée commonly used by the lords has not appeared for a long time, and it has been replaced by employment-Earl Graman will also summon the people to work, but he will pay wages."

"Oh?" Viscount Helson raised his eyebrows, "Very novel."

He asked: "So what do you think of the academy?"

Orlando thought for a while and replied: "Unlike other places that focus on literature, art, and etiquette, here we pay more attention to practicality, and mathematics is the top priority. Many teaching contents were compiled by Mr. Grayman himself. I really believe that here I learned a lot of novel but efficient theories. I heard that the count was working on one. I don't know when this profound textbook, originally titled "Advanced Mathematics," will be available. Ah... there is also alchemy in the academy - we call it 'chemistry' here - which is very strange, as alchemy has always been a small-scale subject. It is the first time for a large-scale teaching like this at Weiss College.”

"Well, you have to study hard." Viscount Herson squinted his eyes and nodded repeatedly. It seemed that his new master wanted practical technical talents.

"I have always wanted to ask you a question." Orlando looked at his uncle.

"What's up?"

"I know you sent me here to study so that the family can gain a firm foothold in the new system..."

"Hmm..." The Viscount did not deny his nephew's statement.

"Then why don't you let me take the political officer exam directly? Those mud-legged people who just know a few words can pass the exam, so I will have no problem. Although it is a bit embarrassing to compete with these people as the heir to the Viscount, but I am confident that I can occupy an important position quickly with my abilities.”

If in other territories, a letter of recommendation from family would be enough if a nobleman like Orlando wanted to hold any official position. But it's different in Arda, you have to take a test.

"Orlando..." the Viscount explained: "Based on my observation, the Count must have had no choice but to recruit these good and bad people into his government system. You know, in this day and age, there are few people who can read an entire article. How many can there be? In the academy, do you think Mr. Grayman pays attention to you students?"

"He takes it very seriously. He will personally check on every exam."

"That's it. The current examination of the Government Affairs Council is just a temporary measure. Those who enter will encounter the promotion ceiling sooner or later. And the students of Weiss College are the count's future dependence. If you do not have this status, even if you enter the Government Affairs Council , Even if the performance is excellent, it will lose a lot of color. "

"I know," Orlando nodded, "Actually..."

There is no mistake in every song, one post, one content, one 6 one, one book, one book, take a look!

"Actually what?"

"I'm considering transferring to that military academy."

Speaking of this, the young man's eyes showed longing. He had seen the Arda army drill from a distance. The neat queues, uniform movements, and the goose steps of burning buns were really touching.

"Alas..." The Viscount smiled and shook his head. He was also young and knew that this young man was full of thoughts about riding horses and fighting.

"If there is a war, the army is naturally the easiest place to achieve results. But the earl is not a warlike person. The suppression of pirates, the Bailding rebellion, and the war of tyrants were all carried out under unavoidable circumstances. Do you want to Slowly qualifying in the army? Besides, it is not a good thing for us to have a warlike lord, such as Maltz Kent. Moreover, our status as surrendered people is also a bit embarrassing. Don't touch the hilt of the earl casually. "

"Uh... Okay!" The young man nodded dejectedly, "Actually, I'm just saying that, you know? It's still relatively difficult for me to enter Graiman College?"

"What does this mean?" Viscount Helson was very surprised that his nephew was so good that he could say such a thing.

"The enrollment of Graiman Military Academy seems to be... no, it must be biased towards civilian children. Although there are no hard and fast rules, according to our private observation, it seems that no more than a quarter of the children of upper-class families can enter the academy, and this The 'upper class' includes not only the real aristocrats like us, but also the wealthy landowning families in the countryside."

"Oh? There is such a thing?" Viscount Herson was very surprised.

"Yes, many children from upper-class families in our college are quite unjust. They often have conflicts with the college next door. There are many private fights...Uncle?"

Orlando saw his uncle across from him deep in thought.

Hearing his nephew's call, the Viscount came back to his senses, "Orlando, you haven't participated, have you?"

"I..." The young man hesitated for a while and said hesitantly: "Just a few times."

If in other places, civilians fight with powerful nobles who have territory in their families, the consequences will usually be bad, but Orlando is facing a student of his lord - Paul serves as the principal of Graiman Military Academy and Weiss Academy at the same time.

"Listen, if you encounter something like this in the future, don't come forward and stay away."

The viscount warned his nephew very seriously.

"Uh...yes!" Orlando was a little surprised when he noticed the expression on his uncle's face.

Eugene Helson stared at him, "Although I don't know what the count's intention is, but we should not ask questions if we shouldn't. You are the heir of our family, and I don't want you to make any mistakes."

"I took note of it, uncle."

Orlando nodded vigorously.