Chapter 82: Howard and His Son
Correns, who was standing at the side, was well aware of the change in attitude of Howard and his son, but he was happy to see it. This meant that they were not only paying attention but also putting themselves in a lower position.
In the beginning, in order to recruit talents, he had spent a lot of time talking. Not only did he have to attract them to follow him, but he also had to put on airs and not let them look down on him. After all, he was going to introduce talents to the Lord, not invite a master. He couldn’t let them think that he was indispensable. The balance was not easy to grasp.
However, Correns knew that the key to the change in Howard and his son’s attitude was the territory. Even he himself had not expected the territory to develop so quickly. It had only been a short time since he left, and the territory had changed from a village to a decent small town. His choice was indeed right. As a subordinate, he was the guide of Howard and his son. No matter what position they would climb to in the future, this favor would always be there, and it could even be passed on to his descendants.
“Let’s go to the town center first. That’s where the territory’s office is. Although the Lord is not often there, Ms. Maya is there most of the time handling the territory’s affairs.” Although Correns’s tone was very flat, Howard pricked up his ears and remembered every word in his heart.
Moreover, although it was only one sentence, Howard got a lot of important information from it. First of all, the Lord didn’t usually manage things, and the person in charge of the territory was a lady. Moreover, judging from Baron Correns’s attitude and tone, although she was a lady, she was very capable. At least she could convince the people, so he had to be serious when meeting her later.
As for the territory being managed by a woman, a serving maid, Howard was no stranger to this, because there were even more absurd things in the Empire. Moreover, no matter what the serving maid’s ability was, her loyalty was no problem. Being responsible for daily management wouldn’t have any impact.
At the same time, Howard also felt the goodwill released by Correns from this sentence. Although it was only one sentence, it saved them a lot of detours and avoided offending people who shouldn’t be offended.
As a newcomer, in addition to the Lord, it was also very important to maintain good interpersonal relationships. This was what Howard had learned after staying on the border of the Empire for so many years.
If it hadn’t been for his youthful arrogance that had offended someone, he wouldn’t have been suppressed for ten years, missing the golden period of his life, resulting in missing countless opportunities. Therefore, for Correns’s goodwill, he immediately responded. The relationship between the two sides immediately rose to a new level after entering the territory.
Howard looked around the town as he talked.
The shelves behind the solid wooden wall made him nod. They were used for soldiers to stand on to resist the enemy’s attack. It was just that the layout of the arrow towers was a bit problematic. If he were to arrange them, fewer arrow towers would be needed, the coverage would be larger, and there wouldn’t be too many blind spots.
Apart from this, even he couldn’t find anything wrong with other aspects, especially the soldiers who were responsible for patrolling and guarding the arrow towers. There was no perfunctory or absent-mindedness at all. Each of them was full of energy and strictly carried out orders, which made him very envious.
Walking into the town, the streets here were straight, and there was a fountain at each intersection as a source of water, allowing the people around to get water. Obviously, the water source here was very abundant. From the perspective of defending the city, this was another rare advantage.
In addition, Howard quickly noticed that the residents of the town were very disciplined. Everyone walked on the right side, and pedestrians would give way to the middle of the road to let carriages and horsemen pass quickly. Everything was in order.
Also, they were very hygienic. No matter what clothes they wore, they would keep themselves very clean. Their hands and faces were also free of dirt, let alone defecating everywhere. The whole town was so clean that he couldn’t get used to it.
This world seemed very backward in Owen’s eyes, but in fact, it was very advanced in some aspects. For example, the Empire had known the importance of environmental hygiene for a long time, so spitting everywhere in the city would be fined, and defecating everywhere would even be whipped in public. There were also public toilets and bathhouses for the common people to keep the environment clean.
However, these were limited to towns. Most of the countryside was still like the Middle Ages. More than 90% of the population lived like livestock, only knowing how to work and pay taxes. Only in this way could it be more conducive for the few to rule the majority.
Howard, who came from the Empire, knew this, and the requirements for hygiene in the Imperial Border Army were also not low, because once a large-scale disease broke out, non-combat attrition would be very serious, so the army attached great importance to environmental hygiene.
All kinds of details in the town made Howard put away the little arrogance in his heart because of his origin from the Empire, and once again warned his eldest son Hogg, who was still staring at the patrolling soldiers, with his eyes, which made him feel baffled.
Soon, the three of them arrived at the town center. It couldn’t be said to be luxurious, but it was above the standard. From the details, it could be seen that the territory was not just for show. Howard nodded secretly, then adjusted his mentality and followed Correns to meet Ms. Maya.
When he saw the two Teutonic Knights in front of the door, Howard froze, his hand unconsciously gripping the hilt of his sword. However, the originally smooth and free sword-drawing action was like it had been welded. His instincts were desperately reminding him that if he moved again, he would die.
Correns, who was not locked by the momentum of the Teutonic Knight, hurriedly stepped forward and knocked on the door, because he knew that it was useless to say anything.
Sure enough, as Maya said “come in,” the almost solidified atmosphere dispersed.
Howard, who was covered in cold sweat, let Hogg, who was almost fainting, stay outside, because from the moment he saw the Teutonic Knight, he knew that Hogg was not qualified to go in, even if he had to lower his posture.
However, Howard did not feel resentment, and even his heart was full of joy and urgency.
Here, he would definitely be able to fulfill his ancestors’ dream and truly become a noble!
What gave Howard confidence was not what he had seen and heard before, but the appearance of the Teutonic Knight.
Battle Qi had appeared for an unknown number of years, and there were countless schools and variants, but the strongest one was still the original version of Battle Qi, which tempered the body to the extreme, and the purest Battle Qi was born from the vigorous life force.
However, it was very difficult to achieve this. Not only did it require top-notch talent, but it also required years of inhuman hard training to polish the body to perfection. During this period, it also consumed a lot of food and precious potions, so as to create a terrifying killing monster.
It was precisely because it was difficult that only the Empire and the great nobles had the ability to cultivate it. Even so, it was regarded as a very important trump card and would not be used easily. But he actually saw two of them here.
No matter whether these two were cultivated by the Lord here or given by others, they represented a huge development prospect. How could Howard, who was eager to go further, not be excited?
