Chapter 503: The King who is good at putting out fires sympathizes with his people

Ever since that grand mourning ceremony concluded, the reputation of King Theoden as a ruler who loves his people like his own children spread throughout the entire city of Roland like a spring breeze.

Citizens praised him in taverns and churches, all moved to tears by the great sacrifice of His Majesty, who was willing to eat a vegetarian diet for a week for the sake of the deceased commoners.

However, no one noticed that the royal castle's kitchen seemed to be missing two honest head chefs. Just as no one had carefully counted exactly how many people had died in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng.

In short, this reputation for "benevolence" even crossed the border and reached the neighbors' homes.

Niukasi, a merchant from Lei Ming City, keenly sniffed out the enormous business opportunity hidden within and brought along a good thing from Lei Ming City—a manual fire pump.

He firmly believed that since His Majesty the King was so sympathetic to his people, even willing to eat a vegetarian diet for a week for those departed souls, he would certainly not be stingy with gold coins for such an advanced fire extinguisher.

Niukasi was a man of action and knew the rules of the court well.

He spent ten thousand gold coins, greasing the palms of the Roland City Viceroy, the court officials, and even the relatives of the King's mistress, finally securing a precious opportunity to demonstrate his product before the King.

The Roland City royal court was solemn and grave, the atmosphere oppressive.

The lacquered red fire pump Niukasi brought was placed in the center of the marble floor, its brass pipes gleaming under the candlelight, looking completely out of place against the cold marble pillars surrounding it.

Niukasi took a deep breath, exerting all his strength, suppressing the excitement in his heart, and said to His Majesty, who was leaning on the throne.

"Respected Your Majesty! It is a great honor to receive your audience. I am Niukasi from the Campbell Duchy. Please allow me to introduce this revolutionary product from Lei Ming City! We call it—a manual fire pump! Its efficiency is sixty times that of manual labor..."

Theoden watched Niukasi's performance with interest, but after listening for a while, a trace of weariness appeared on that aged face.

He yawned.

Seeing the King's yawn, the noble who had guided Niukasi coughed lightly, reminding him to mind the time.

Seeing this, Niukasi hurriedly stopped his speech and began directing the servants he had brought to operate the strangely shaped machine.

Under the curious gazes of the nobles, Niukasi's servants strained to press the levers on both sides.

As the cylinders pumped, a powerful jet of water shot out from the copper nozzle, precisely extinguishing the burning brazier in the distance.

Some people's faces showed expressions of surprise, and some even let out exclamations.

But that was all.

Their surprise was more like watching an unexpected circus performance; after all, water-spraying methods outside of magic were indeed rarely seen.

As for being spectacular, it didn't quite qualify.

"What an interesting thing. Is this another new toy recently invented by the Campbells?"

"It's not recent. I went to Lei Ming City over a decade ago, and I remember this thing seemed to exist back then."

"It looks inferior to a magic scroll."

"Haha, you're quite right."

Niukasi, however, did not notice the lack of interest hidden behind the surprise, completely immersed in his own world.

"Your Majesty! Did you see that?"

His voice was high-pitched with excitement, arms spread wide, as if embracing a better future.

"It only requires six well-trained firefighters to do the work of sixty people carrying water buckets! Its water jet can easily clear a rooftop without the need for a ladder!"

"Most importantly, it will bring unparalleled efficiency! A fire brigade can move quickly along the streets without mobilizing the chaotic masses of the entire city! As long as you deploy it at street corners and alleyways, they can immediately suppress a fire shortly after it breaks out!"

"I promise you, Your Majesty! With this, Roland City will never again suffer the tragedy of an entire district burning down! This can save countless lives and property, and your wisdom will be recorded in history!"

Niukasi spoke with great passion, spittle flying, trying to use his eloquence to move the King on the throne.

Roland City's population was three times that of Lei Ming City; if he could open the market for fire pumps here, the profits would be unimaginable!

However, Theoden, sitting there, appeared drowsy.

He rested his chin on one hand, eyelids drooping, yawning from time to time.

He had no interest in how the machine sprayed water or how far it could reach. To him, this was merely a farce interspersed between daily affairs.

Of course, he admitted that this clown from Campbell was performing very hard.

Before Niukasi could finish his sentence, Theoden raised a hand to interrupt him.

"That... merchant from Campbell."

Niukasi immediately fell silent, bowed his head, waiting for His Majesty to pass final judgment on the fate of his product.

"Your idea is very good." Theoden slowly sat up straight, his voice carrying the laziness of someone who had just woken up. "I support your creativity; the Kingdom indeed needs a safer environment."

Niukasi's face was about to show ecstasy, but it was shattered by the "but" that followed.

"But..." Theoden changed the subject, continuing slowly, "Firefighting is the work of the craftsmen in the various guilds. They have relied on this for generations to make a living; the royal family should not interfere with their livelihood. Do you understand what I mean? We are different from you; we cannot compete with the people for profit."

"But, Your Majesty," sensing the disapproval behind that voice, Niukasi's Adam's apple bobbed as he tried to make a final plea, "compared to their livelihood, isn't the safety of the lives and property of Roland City's citizens more important?"

"Did I say it wasn't?"

Theoden interrupted Niukasi nonchalantly, then looked at the stunned and speechless Campbellian, continuing in the tone of someone who had seen it all.

"I'm just saying that the royal family is not suitable to intervene in this matter. Since this is a Campbell product, you should promote it using Campbell methods."

"Campbell methods?" Niukasi remained blank.

Wasn't the thing in his hand exactly a Campbell method?

"Do I need to be clearer? Go establish a fire company." The King's tone carried a trace of imperceptible mockery. "If your product is as useful as you say, the citizens and the guilds will naturally purchase your services."

A burst of snickering came from below the audience hall, as if to applaud His Majesty's humor.

Worthy of being a descendant of the Devalu family, one sentence left the cunning Campbellian speechless; it was truly satisfying!

Just as the textile workers of the Campbell Duchy were hostile toward the King of the Ryan Kingdom, the "Twilight nobles" sheltered by Theoden in the court were, of course, also hostile toward the late-arriving Duchy.

And they understood much more than the textile workers.

They could see why Edward made his move at this time, and they understood what the Northern Rescue Army was really aiming for.

Now that Edward was attempting to unite the nobles who hadn't fled the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng to form a council and bypass the royal family's influence, they, the nobles dependent on the royal family, were the ones whose interests were most severely damaged!

Although nominally they could also participate in the formation of the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng Council, they knew very well that if they went back, they would just be puppets for those nobles with real power.

Even staying here made no difference; the King had indulged the fire in the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng precisely because he had his eyes on their land and wealth.

Having said that, Theoden shifted his gaze from Niukasi and his strangely shaped fire pump to the Minister of Economy on the side.

"Baron Wickton."

"Present, Your Majesty." Wickton immediately stepped out, bowing humbly.

"This Mr. Niukasi is handed over to you." Theoden stood up, straightened his cuffs, and instructed concisely, "You are responsible for taking him to handle the follow-up matters."

"As you command, Your Majesty."

"Everyone, withdraw. That is all for today."

The King yawned and, under the respectful send-off of a crowd of nobles and retainers, left the magnificent audience hall without looking back.

Niukasi stood frozen in place, like a clown whose performance had flopped, his burning heart rapidly cooling under the mocking gazes of the people.

Harboring a final shred of stubbornness, he looked at the nobles beginning to exit, trying to find potential partners among them.

However, these big shots couldn't even be bothered to take another look at him and his miracle, and soon they left the audience hall in twos and threes.

At this moment, Baron Wickton walked up to the dejected Niukasi with a polite smile.

"Mr. Niukasi, please follow me. Regarding your company, we still have many follow-up matters to discuss in detail."

Seeing the kind smile on Baron Wickton's face, a glimmer of hope finally reignited on Niukasi's dejected face.

Although he knew in his heart that this glimmer of hope was probably no better than a straw floating on water. But even so, it was better than forcing him to immediately accept the cruel reality of losing everything.

After all, those ten thousand gold coins were all the money he had.

He was not a Prince of the Empire, nor would he have another chance to see the King.

The heavy doors slammed shut, cutting off the nauseating stench of copper in the audience hall.

Whether it was the Campbell merchant's stunned face or the courtiers' mocking expressions or extreme sycophancy, all were locked away in another world.

For an old King who had watched performances for decades, both the former and the latter made him feel weary.

The door lock clicked, like a switch.

Returning to his study, Theoden seemed like a different person.

That drowsy mask seemed to have been hung on the coat rack along with the robes he took off, vanishing from his face entirely.

At the same time, a pitch-black shadow seemed to seep out from the corner's darkness, silently kneeling on one knee.

His entire body was wrapped in a grayish-brown cloak, head bowed low, not daring to look directly at the monarch's majesty, just as the shadow on the ground dared not look directly at the sun in the sky.

"Your Majesty."

"Speak."

Theoden's voice was flat, without a trace of emotional fluctuation.

Then, he strolled to the desk, leaned his scepter against the velvet-inlaid edge, and waited for his servant to report the things he was truly interested in.

"It is an urgent report from the Campbell Duchy..."

The servant's voice was as low and hoarse as ever, continuing in a humble tone.

"The Winter Moon Coup has concluded, and Duke Edward Campbell has won a complete victory. Due to being equipped with new-style gear, the commoner army loyal to him achieved victory with ease... their speed exceeded our imagination."

There was not a ripple on Theoden's face.

He picked up the cup of black tea on the table that had long since gone cold and took a light sip, as if he were not at all surprised by such a result.

The servant carefully observed His Majesty's expression, and seeing that there was no anger on the latter's face, he slowly breathed a sigh of relief and continued.

"Duke Edward imprisoned all the nobles who participated in the coup, including the mastermind Derrick, as well as the barons under his command, and two other counts and their vassals. However, we also noticed that he did not execute anyone, only detaining and imprisoning them in the dungeon of Campbell Castle. The Duke's move... seems to be a concession to your majesty."

After a pause, he summarized.

"They have retreated."

"Retreated?"

Theoden savored this interesting word, a trace of faint mockery hanging on the corner of his mouth.

He didn't think so.

He didn't care whether Count Derrick lived or died; that was merely one of the pieces on his vast chessboard.

The reason he made a move to disrupt the situation in the Campbell Duchy was merely to create enough chaos so that the young Duke would have no time to attend to the Twilight Saint Saint Xingsheng, which was within reach... that was the direct territory of the Devalu family.

But honestly, Edward's choice still surprised him a little.

He put down the teacup, paced to the bookshelf, and whispered thoughtfully.

"Restraint is much harder than indulgence. It seems our Duke is no ordinary person."

A look of confusion appeared on the servant's face, clearly not grasping the deeper meaning.

Theoden glanced at the tool he used to gather intelligence, rarely having the interest to say more.

"Kill them, and their heirs can legitimately inherit the titles; the land and glory still belong to their families, and the matter ends there. Our Duke is very smart; he seems to have guessed my next move, deliberately not walking into our trap, but choosing to blaze a new trail."

Possessing and actually owning are two different concepts; he essentially locked the titles themselves in the dungeon. After a few more decades, when those counts and barons all die in the dungeon, when their children inherit the titles, those titles will probably be nothing more than titles.

With Edward's ambition, he certainly wouldn't be satisfied with enfeoffing another group of lords.

Instead, he would use a brand-new legal framework to establish a new order for those ownerless lands.

Theoden's voice gradually carried a trace of cold approval, offering respect to that distant opponent.

"He is using a blunt knife to strip away the foundations of those old Campbell nobles, along with their dignity, bit by bit. This young Duke is indeed far more capable than his old man who only knew how to use a sword."

It seems his intuition was correct.

The problem with the Campbell family no longer lies in the family itself, but in the fact that the land under their protection is breeding a terrifying force.

To solve this problem once and for all, they must act before things develop to an irreversible point, strangling that foolish Grand Duke and the ever-expanding ambition of the commoners behind him in the cradle.

Theoden stopped pacing and slowly turned the ruby ring on his thumb; the ring gleamed with a ghostly light under the candlelight.

He suddenly asked in an intrigued tone.

"I am suddenly curious, how did he deal with his younger brother, that Prince Jelock?"

The knights he sent to the Campbell Duchy were probably finished; he didn't care about the fate of those pawns.

By comparison, he was more curious about Jelock's ending; that guy had done him a huge favor when he surrendered, leaving a glimmer of hope for the family that started the rebellion.

The servant didn't dare hesitate and answered immediately.

"Back to Your Majesty, Jelock Campbell has been exiled. According to our information, Edward sent him to an isolated island far from the coastline. He took a lifelong vow and will spend the rest of his life in the monastery there."

Hearing this, the corner of Theoden's mouth hooked into a pleasant curve.

Exile?

"Heh heh..."

He finally left the bookshelf that carried the history of the Kingdom, slowly walked back to the desk, picked up the scepter leaning against the edge, and sat down again.

His index finger tapped a rhythm on the scepter, seemingly in thought.

The servant kneeling on one knee didn't dare disturb his thoughts, only respectfully lowering his head and waiting.

After about a quarter of an hour, the old King's eyes suddenly opened, a meaningful smile on his face.

"It seems our young Duke is still a soft-hearted person; I thought he was like me, caring about nothing."

Political death is not the same as real death; as long as one doesn't care about sacred authority, he has plenty of ways to make use of that abandoned claim again.

Of course, this requires Jelock's own cooperation.

And if he doesn't cooperate, it doesn't actually matter; the blood on this young man has another use.

Edward thought he controlled everything, but he still accidentally exposed his own weakness.

Theoden changed the subject, looking at the servant still prostrate on the ground.

In those eagle-like eyes, bottomless malice and coldness welled up.

"Since that is the case," he said softly, "let us go help our Duke."

The evening bell rang.

Merchant Niukasi followed Baron Wickton's footsteps, passed through the corridor, and arrived at a quiet office in the backyard of the royal palace.

There was no ostentation or oppression here, only rows of towering filing cabinets and the rich smell of ink.

Niukasi suddenly felt a bit of affection for this Baron.

Intuition told him that this Baron was a man who got things done.

Wickton signaled for Niukasi to sit as he pleased, then ordered a servant to pour tea for the two of them.

"Mr. Niukasi, come try this," Wickton said with a kind smile, as if entertaining an old friend, without the slightest airs of a Baron. "This is tea leaves bestowed upon me by His Majesty, said to be produced at a tea plantation on the south bank of the Whirlpool Sea."

Niukasi sat cautiously on the edge of the chair.

He took the teacup, stared at the swirling mist for a long time, and finally couldn't help but speak.

"Baron, I really don't understand." Niukasi placed the teacup on his knees, full of confusion. "Why is His Majesty not interested in the fire pump? Roland City just experienced such a fire, and my equipment can solve his problem..."

Wickton picked up his own teacup, blew on the hot steam lightly, and sighed inwardly.

This Campbellian really didn't understand the rules at all.

Perhaps as His Majesty said, they had already lost their sense of awe under the leadership of the Grand Duke.

"Mr. Niukasi, you misunderstood." The smile on his face didn't diminish in the slightest. "His Majesty is not uninterested. On the contrary, he is not only interested, but he also pointed out the direction for you. Your problem is that you cannot treat this place as Lei Ming City, but should treat it as Gladstone Castle... that is also your territory; if you have done business there, you should understand what I mean."

Niukasi didn't argue, humbly leaning forward to ask for advice: "May I ask what I should do?"

"Very simple, just do as the locals do," Wickton guided him step by step. "Although His Majesty said on the surface to let you solve the problem according to Campbell methods, he actually hinted at you too. He hopes that on the basis of starting a company, you will use our methods to solve our problems."

Niukasi didn't feel at all which sentence of His Majesty Theoden contained such a profound hint.

But for the sake of his business still having a glimmer of life, he asked in a probing tone.

"Do you mean I should go visit those guild leaders one by one? The Textile Workers Guild, the Carpenters Guild, the Water Carriers Guild... and promote my equipment to them?"

He immediately showed a distressed expression.

This was too troublesome.

The guild relationships in Roland City were intricate and intertwined, with no telling how many great nobles standing behind them. If he were to grease the palms of each one, the expenses would probably far exceed the budget.

In fact, this was not just a problem for the Ryan Kingdom; cities across the entire Old Continent had similar problems.

Even including Lei Ming City, Mayor Lucius was elected by the guilds, and the Andes family was the largest among all the families controlling the guilds.

Here, one must mention the history of the Aus Continent.

In the early First Epoch, cities on the Old Continent were more like gathering places for craftsmen, and guilds were tools for lords to manage craftsmen.

Lords collected taxes through guilds, apportioned corvée labor, and later even mobilized soldiers from them.

The gathering of population naturally gave birth to diversified needs. At first, a settlement might only have potters or carpenters, but as someone sold beer here, the settlement would give birth to tavern owners, as well as maids engaged in the service industry.

Once someone put honey into clay pots and wove straw into mats, many similar things would soon be produced.

Over time, as more and more industries derived, more and more people no longer relied on farmland for a living, but created value with their own hands, thus giving birth to cities.

In this process, feudal guilds, although unable to perfectly match the complex occupational ecology, did not disappear from it.

A thousand years allowed cities to develop and grow, and the guilds that played an important role in them grew along with them.

They were no longer just departments managing craftsmen, but also utilized the resources in their hands and their relationships with nobles to carry out other businesses, and finally grew together with the nobles who held them tightly, forming a relationship where you have me and I have you.

Buying them all off was almost impossible, even the King's treasury wouldn't be enough. They were far wealthier than factory owners and greedier than factory owners.

Looking at the pained Niukasi, Wickton shook his head with a smile, only feeling that this merchant was truly a bit too naive.

If the young people of Campbell were all like this, I'm afraid their national destiny had come to an end.

"No, no, that's too slow, the efficiency is too low."

He put down the teacup, crossed his fingers on his knees, and continued in a chatty tone. "You don't need to handle everyone. You just need to handle the most critical one."

Niukasi asked nervously.

"Who?"

"Sir Skedjin."

Wickton opened his mouth with a smile, laying out the name that had long been prepared.

"That person is the captain of the Royal Guard, and I can introduce you."

Sir Skedjin, like him, was someone personally knighted by His Majesty the King at that Winter Moon "victory" celebration.

One was responsible for fighting fires, the other for cleaning up the aftermath. It was precisely because of that fire that the two of them could be said to have formed a deep bond.

After all, without Sir Skedjin temporarily changing the patrol route, there wouldn't have been that grand "Winter Victory Celebration."

Wickton also finally understood His Majesty's meaning just now.

His Majesty had never forgotten his contribution; the reward that lord gave him was not that shallow medal at all, but was sent before him in another form.

This Mr. Niukasi was His Majesty's reward for him!

Previously, firefighting in Roland City required the union of three forces: the City Defense Army or the Royal Guard would patrol and discover a fire, the church would ring the bell to warn, and then those guild craftsmen would act with water buckets.

The "fire prevention tax" paid by citizens mostly went into the pockets of those guilds; after all, the latter were the ones who truly put out fires.

However, now, with this advanced fire pump, the Kingdom completely didn't need to rely on the inefficient power of the guilds anymore.

They could completely collect this extra tax themselves and do this work themselves at the same time.

His Majesty was undoubtedly a man who understood. He truly saw the benefits of this new technology and didn't reject it because of his prejudice against Campbellians.

It's just a pity that this Campbell merchant clearly hadn't turned that corner yet. He thought about problems still stuck on the most superficial surface—who would buy his fire extinguisher.

As if if the royal family didn't buy it, his sky would collapse.

It makes sense that this guy couldn't get rich; with this level of discernment, even if he went to Lei Ming City, he would still be a leek.

But he was still lucky; after all, the benevolent King introduced him to a true Bole, and Baron Wickton happened to have ideas about establishing his own faction.

After all, he was only a Baron, and his fief was ten thousand miles away, so he was truly "unworthy of his position" in the position of minister, and the nobles near the capital didn't listen to him at all.

If he could get some benefits with His Majesty's trust and unite some people through economic interests, it could be considered sharing His Majesty's worries.

"Guard Captain?" Niukasi was even more confused. "What's the use of finding him? He is a soldier..."

"Precisely because he is a soldier, Mr. Niukasi," Wickton interrupted him with a smile. "He is not only a soldier, but also a firefighting hero... actually these are secondary; the important thing is that the King recognizes his ability, and he is the most suitable person to help you open up business."

Looking at Niukasi, who still had a belly full of questions he wanted to ask, Wickton interrupted his words and threw the answer to him concisely.

"There is a banquet next week, and I will create an opportunity for you to meet. At that time, you don't need to say any extra words, just say to Sir Skedjin what you said to His Majesty again."

"Then, you have to tell him, 'His Majesty ordered you to establish a fire company, responsible for the fire safety of the entire Roland City.'"

Niukasi looked at him blankly: "And then?"

He actually vaguely guessed Baron Wickton's meaning, but he always felt this was a bit inappropriate. The King said the royal family was not suitable to compete with the people for profit the second before, how could it be okay when it came to the Baron?

Doesn't the Royal Guard count as people of the royal family?

However, looking at the Baron's determined expression, he couldn't make up his mind whether he was shallow or not smart enough.

He just wanted to know, who should he believe?

He really couldn't tell anymore.

"Then, you can open this company."

Ignoring Niukasi's irrelevant confusion, Baron Wickton leaned back in his chair. He picked up the teacup, his tone calm, as if he had settled a trivial matter.

"The iron boots of the Royal Guard will snatch this cake for you from the hands of those 'inefficient' guilds." ===== CHAPTER 504 =====