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At the door of the bathroom, everything was ready. Two men in their thirties were bare-backed and wrapped in a bath towel, ready to go in to soak in the hot spring.
Strictly speaking, there was no hot spring under Laing's Duke's castle, but the dwarves' uncanny workmanship and tunnel technology were really amazing. Without a hot spring, they were able to do it with steam technology and mine technology.
It was said that Suria asked for it because she heard that a hot spring was good for the body. At that time, Laing was fighting outside, so he listened to Suria. Naturally, the hot spring was built.
There was a golden basin at the door, and water was coming out from a delicate tap made by the dwarves. The sound of water splashing filled the bathroom door.
Al Frey felt a little strange. He walked to the basin and muttered, "I know the reason, but why put a golden basin at the door with water in it?"
"Probably to wash your hands in a golden basin." Laing smiled and reached out to wash his hands in the basin. "Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands in a golden basin. Remember, Al, don't be a bad guy in the future."
"Bad guy?" Al Frey didn't quite understand, but he didn't care. Seeing Laing wash his hands, he also reached out to wash his hands. "Okay! I won't be a bad guy in the future! "
The hot spring water was ready, and there was a dense mist in the tiled bathroom. Laing and Al Frey tested the temperature of the water and felt that it was enough, so they immersed their bodies in the hot spring water.
"Wow, it feels so good!" Al Frey let out a satisfied sigh. The Paladin Captain's body was full of scars. In many years of experience, Al Frey had paid a heavy price, including the many burn marks on his back. That was a huge price to pay when taking Muxilon's castle.
Similarly, Clayon had a streamlined body of muscles. His chest and back were filled with scars. Ever since he left Orteny and his adoptive father's warm little castle, he had experienced countless hardships. This time, he had many new scars on his body, including those left behind by Tzeentch's First Great Demon, Carlos, followed by those left behind by Landuin, and finally by Matthew Bard.
These were all his military medals.
"Ah, Al, you have a good body!" Laing also immersed himself in the water. He covered his head with a towel and said with a smile, "I heard that Al Frey was very brave in the recovery of Muxilon?"
"You must be joking!" Al Frey was very proud. He reached out his hand and pointed a thumb at himself. "I was super brave, okay?"
"Hahaha, not bad, not bad. Your shoulders are quite strong." Laing reached out and pinched Al Frey's shoulder.
"Laing, what are you doing?" Al Frey thought that Laing was making fun of him. He reached out and strangled Laing's neck, the muscles on his arms tightening. "Hey, future Knight King, try this. Al Frey's Secret of Virtue!"
"Wow!" Laing was strangled and pressed into the water. The hot water splashed all over his face. He screamed and broke free from Al Frey's attack. In turn, he clipped Al Frey's arm, causing him to choke a few times in the hot water. "Look at my Beast Power! King's Road! "
"Hahahaha!"
"Hahahahaha!"
There were bursts of laughter and splashing sounds coming from the bathroom.
The two men in their thirties stopped messing around for a while. After the collision of sweat and muscles, Laing and Al Frey each leaned on one side. Laing suddenly said with great interest, "Fu, haven't you planned to find a girlfriend yet? You're already a Templar Knight Captain. "
"I don't know." Al Frey's forehead was sweating a lot. He leaned on the side of the hot spring and sighed. "I always feel that I'm not very confident."
Laing couldn't stop laughing. He scooped a spoonful of hot water from the hot spring and splashed it on Al Frey's face. "What's there to not be confident about? Fu, if you go to Estalia now, I can't. Miss Claudia will refuse again. "
"But if that's the case, I really don't know if she wants Al Frey or a Templar Knight Captain with her own territory." Al Frey nodded. There was some hesitation in his voice. "What if she just wants my status and money?"
"Oh, we can also think of it the other way around. You just want to find a girlfriend, not a wife." Laing sneered. "If she just wants to play with you, you can naturally play with her. Anyway, isn't there a price?"
"If I really just want to play, why don't I spend a few silver coins to find a Lyonnesian woman in the town? There are many such people in your town now. Good friends can be found with a few silver coins. Why do I want to find a girlfriend? "Al Frey muttered.
Laing was moved. His face was full of sincerity and excitement. "Fu! You finally see it clearly! You're truly a good brother of mine, Laing! "
“？？？” Al Frey was puzzled at first. Then he became angry and directly splashed water on Laing's face. "Good, so you're like this Laing!"
The hot spring water splashed on Laing's face. Laing smiled and dodged. He said to Al Frey, "It's actually very simple. It's good that you understand. I won't say anything else. For the current you, you can find a girlfriend, but you must be careful when you get married."
Laing's meaning was very simple. Either you find a true love, or find someone who can help your career.
As for Claudia, Laing didn't think she was Fu's true love. He was just being impulsive.
In fact, just as Clayon had said, it was not that there were no female servants who had successfully married into noble families, but there were very few successful examples. Most of the time, they would be played by the noble families until they were no longer able to become a female court official.
It wasn't easy to pick up a ready-made one. Strictly speaking, Laing was chosen by Suria's family. It could be considered a political marriage, but they had also accumulated a lot of feelings along the way. It was quite a good union.
There were only two types of wives of great nobles and generals. The first type was true love who had followed him all the way when he was still a soldier or before he had fully made his fortune. The second type was political marriage that could help him in his career.
Fu didn't have the former, so Laing suggested the latter.
Of course, everything didn't need to be said. Laing also meant that no matter what Fu chose, Laing would support him. On one hand, he was his superior noble, and on the other hand, he was his childhood playmate and good friend. He would support both.
"Speaking of which, good friend." Alfred Frey understood Laing's meaning. He didn't want to talk about this topic anymore. "Your reform is going to imitate the Empire? Build a complete bureaucratic system like the Kurfürst of the Empire to replace the current feudal system? "
"How is that possible?" Laing shook his head. "Copy the entire bureaucratic system of the Empire? Then this country will collapse before I can complete the reform. "
"Why?!" Alfred Frey asked curiously.
"Think about it, Fu. What are the reasons and characteristics of Brittany standing for a thousand years?" Laing stroked the hot spring water back and forth in the bathroom.
"Of course it's the spirit of chivalry, the Holy Grail system, and the belief of the Lady of the Lake." Alfred Frey knew a lot about Brittany.
"That's right." Laing nodded. His face had become extremely serious. "Fu, think about it. If we think that the system of the Empire is good, we have to accept and learn this system. We have to change all the existing systems and force the nobles of the whole kingdom to learn from the Empire. We have to abandon our culture and our spirit of chivalry and change everything to the Empire's. Does that mean that we have denied everything about ourselves? We have denied our culture, our beliefs, and even the foundation of Brittany? "
"If we really change it like that, will the Knight King still be the Knight King's Kingdom?" Laing's blue eyes flashed with something that Alfred Frey had never seen in the eyes of his childhood playmate. "If we abandon our own traditions and cater to the culture of another country, will we still be able to talk about self-esteem, confidence, and self-improvement? Besides, is the way of chivalry backward? Will it be eliminated? "
"Of course not. The spirit of chivalry has been proven to be the continuation of human virtue and will. It is a belief that will not be abandoned no matter how long it has been." Alfred Frey also became serious.
"If we only see the good parts of the Empire's system and the bad parts of Brittany, then we will always come to the same conclusion. We will only point to the good parts of the Empire and boast about how good the Empire is, and then point to our own shortcomings and say how bad we are. After a long time, the people will lose their faith, the nobles will lose their confidence, and we will give up the spirit of chivalry and the belief of chivalry. The nobles will no longer be proud of their excellent knights and martial arts, and will no longer be proud of themselves as role models of chivalry. Then, what awaits us will only be destruction." Laing sighed. "In terms of military, Fu, do you know how terrible the consequences will be if all the knights and nobles in the whole kingdom give up on training new knights and squires?"
"I understand." Alfred Frey sighed. "I thought too simply."
"So, we must reform, but we must not copy. We must not give up our characteristics, our beliefs, we must consider our basic national conditions, and create a new Knight King with Brittany characteristics and a new system." Laing nodded and sighed. "What is our tradition? It was the swift assault cavalry and the heavy armored knight army! It is the spirit of chivalry that we support when the Holy Grail Knights and the Empire are in trouble! "
"Just because the Empire's system is advanced, just because the Empire's gunpowder is powerful, we desperately belittle ourselves and say that everything we have is worthless. This is the real mistake." Laing whispered. "We want to change, we also need to change, but there are some things that cannot be abandoned. Instead, they must be carried forward!"
"Laing, you are no longer a Nord." Alfred Frey smiled and said meaningfully, "You have that kind of authority."
"Yes, I do. I can change this country." Laing took the towel from his head and wiped his face. "But how can I guarantee that my reform can continue? How can I guarantee that my successor will not change back after I abdicate? Is there a lack of such things in history? "
The Paladin Captain did not speak.
"If after I become the Knight King, I become a paperhanger like Richard and do nothing, the whole kingdom will probably be able to survive." Laing continued, "But that is meaningless. It is nothing more than a struggle at death's door. If I compromise on everything, why should I be the king? But on the other hand, if I want to do something practical and make changes, I will need to use my authority and challenge the existing interests. Perhaps due to my personal prestige, no one will oppose me, or perhaps they won't openly oppose me, but they will definitely do something in secret. Once my rule ends, how can I guarantee that my reforms and my system will continue? "
"This is a contradiction in itself. If you do something, you will offend people. If you don't offend people, don't do anything." "The Church of Justice is like this. Archbishop Vikmar, there are two Grand Chanters, followed by Cardinal Bishops, Cardinal Bishops, District Archbishops, Parish Patriarchs, and then a series of more than ten ranks. The hierarchy is incomparably strict, and no matter how you try to change it, you will only touch the cake of others. That battle priest called Luther Hus came to the Church of Justice full of enthusiasm, but because he asked too many questions, he was almost excommunicated on the spot. Archbishop Vikmar had to step in to save him."
"That's right." Laing continued, "Therefore, whether or not I can change, whether or not I can complete the change depends on whether or not I have the approval of most of the nobles and vested interests. In this kingdom, who is the person who supports me the most?"
"Obviously, it is the southern faction led by Duke François and Duke Bodrick?" Alfred Frey said casually.
"Wrong! It is the Church and the merchants! " Laing couldn't stop laughing. He leaned against the side of the bath again. "On the contrary, the ones who support Laing are the knights and nobles! The firm support of the Church and the merchants is the key to my victory. Therefore, those who persuade me to touch the Church's cake, especially the cake of the Lady of the Lake, are either stupid or bad! "
"A 2: 1 victory!" Alfred Frey thought carefully. He really had nothing to say to his childhood playmate. "Indeed, Duke François seems to have a lot of ideas and ideas, but in fact, everything has become led by you, and you are the champion of the Lady of the Lake! You have glory, you are loved by the Lady, and you are trusted by Her Highness Morgiana. Naturally, the Church also firmly supports you. "
"Therefore, the change has a foundation, and as long as you get approval, and the nobles get enough benefits in the process of bureaucratic reform, and ensure the continuation of the tradition of the Knight King's Kingdom, then why would they oppose? Why would they oppose?" Laing laughed and said, "This is the foundation to ensure the continuation of the reform, and not to rely on personal prestige to forcibly fight against vested interests!"
"I understand now." Alfreid gave a wry smile. "You are using me as a role model? But if the tradition of the knights is maintained, then what about the infantry? Without the cooperation of strong infantry, the war can't only rely on knights, but the resources of the whole kingdom are limited. If all of them are raised to support knights, how can a strong infantry army be built? "
"This is why we attacked the Blackstone Stronghold, and why we attacked Mu Xilong." Laing nodded. "A stable kingdom without internal and external troubles, a new principality, a new industrial and commercial center. In this country, I have opened a gap in the insurmountable gap between the nobles and the serfs. Now, I want to make this gap bigger. I want all the knights in the whole kingdom to realize that if they don't work hard, they will also become serfs!"
"Similarly, I want all the serfs in the whole kingdom to realize that as long as they work hard, they can also become knights! And those serf soldiers who have gone through one war after another, and have been tempered in blood and fire, will be the source of an elite infantry army! They will be the source of breaking the class gap, and will be my real team in the future! "
"You mean?" Alfred Frey suddenly thought of the recent series of actions by Laing.
"Yes, start with the old guard!"
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