dognovel Chapter 252: Re-education of Noble Children
Chapter 252: Re-education of Noble Children
"So, you've found a construction guild that meets the requirements?"
Inside the embassy, John kept browsing through the newly reported construction contracts. After flipping through more than a dozen, he finally found a suitable contract.
"Sir, although this contract is quite suitable, please take a look at the seal of the construction guild." When John was about to finalize the contract, the White Wolf Knight beside him reminded him. Following the direction of his finger, John looked to the lower right corner of the contract. It was not the round seal of the Chamber of Commerce, but the shield seal of the Midland Standing Army, and there was also a signature name next to it: Pav, President of the Midland Southwest Military Construction Chamber of Commerce.
"What is this?" As a nobleman who had been to the battlefield and the palace, John knew that there was a royal chamber of commerce in Windham, but he had never heard of such a chamber of commerce. As for the army, John had never seen it before. So when he saw this organization that was neither military nor commercial, he thought it was a new policy of the king.
But the reason why John chose this construction guild was that the construction prices used for each building in the other party's contract were almost the same as the construction prices in the system. Since Mont-de-Marsan was a free city, John did not have the power to directly build buildings there. As for the remaining contracts, either the buildings were as high as those in Mont-de-Marsan, or the prices were so ridiculously low that John suspected that the built buildings might be shoddy projects.
Moreover, the location of this construction guild is less than ten kilometers away from Mont-de-Marsan, and it takes about half a day to get here by horse carriage. What surprised John even more was that this construction guild was not only responsible for construction, but also for purchasing construction materials. If John asked them to take over the project, they would help John purchase qualified materials at the lowest price, and the cost would be paid after the construction was completed.
"No need to choose, it's confirmed to be him. Send someone to give him the contract. As for his origins, I'll tell you when I meet him." John signed the contract and handed it to the scout. After the scout left, John asked the White Wolf Knight beside him:
"Has the father of the three brothers arrived?"
"They're all here, waiting outside the door. These are the bribes they gave to the soldiers while they were waiting, and they've handed them over in full." After answering, the White Wolf Knight handed John a few checks and some scattered gold and silver coins.
"50, 125, 150... These nobles are quite rich. They are willing to spend money just to see their sons." John put the check in his arms and handed the remaining gold and silver coins to the White Wolf Knight.
"Let them in, distribute the money to the soldiers, and then take the three young masters to the reception room on the first floor."
Outside the door, the fathers of the three young masters saw the door of the embassy open and a White Wolf Knight in ordinary clothes walked out. Even though they didn't know who he was, the observation skills they had cultivated over the years made them understand that this person's rank was higher than the soldiers guarding the gate outside.
"Wait a minute, I'll go up and ask." Viscount Matt, who had the highest rank among the three, took the lead and walked up to ask:
"May I ask if the Governor agrees to see us now?"
"The Governor sent me to take you to the reception room to discuss matters. The young masters of each family will also be there at that time."
Hearing what the White Wolf Knight said, the three of them were a little more nervous. The fact that they dared to let them see their child meant that the child was not abused or seriously injured. If something went wrong, although they could not injure John, they could damage his reputation in the noble circle. However, these old nobles would not fight to the point of a desperate situation unless it was absolutely necessary.
"Thank you so much, Governor John. Please take us there." Knight Karin on the side was quick-witted and quick-handed. After saying the compliments, he quickly stuffed a check into the pocket of the White Wolf Knight's clothes.
The White Wolf Knight also noticed Knight Karin's little move. He still brought the three people to the reception room with an expressionless face. In the center of the magnificent reception room, John was sitting leisurely on the sofa. Beside him, besides a few soldiers and servants, there were their three eldest sons.
At this time, the three young masters no longer had the arrogance of last night, and stood at the edge of the reception room in an extremely obedient posture. As for why the three of them were so obedient now, John actually did not use any means, just locked them up in a small room and starved them. In John's opinion, these people dared to make trouble on the street because they were too full and had no place to use their strength. They would be obedient after a few meals of hunger.
When the three nobles saw their own children, except for Baron Campbell who was shocked, the other two were very calm. After all, among the three people who made mistakes, only the slap on Master Campbell's face was unusually bright red, which could be seen from more than ten meters away.
After the two sides exchanged greetings, John got straight to the point:
"The main reason I detained your three sons is not because they angered me, but because of their behavior and their own morality."
After saying that, John pointed at the three young masters and said:
"This Master Karin not only drove recklessly in the city, but also whipped the citizens with a whip, causing an extremely bad impact."
"This Master Matt is relatively good. At most, he watched the drama for free and forced others to leave the private room in order to pursue the actress."
"And this young master Campbell, not only did he lead his men to ride wildly on the streets, he also liked to randomly shoot arrows at passers-by. This time he even shot my carriage directly with a crossbow arrow. Fortunately, my soldiers stopped him and eliminated his men, so no big mistake was made."
"These three, firstly, do not have the abilities that noble heirs should have, and secondly, they do not have the morals of a normal person. Such nobles will not be able to accomplish anything no matter how much money they spend or how many connections they have."
After saying this, John looked at the three nobles opposite him:
"So, what do you think of your own children?"
The three people on the opposite side felt scared after learning the whole story. The first reason was that John did not capture their children to make examples because he wanted to gain a good reputation, but these three people really violated John's interests and personal safety. What they did was not reasonable in the aristocratic circle, and naturally no nobles would support them because of this; the second reason was that they did not know John's attitude towards this matter yet, because John had almost no expression on his face during the whole process.
After a moment of silence, Viscount Matt, who had the highest title, spoke first:
"This is indeed a matter of our education. You know that we saved up this little fortune for the purpose of making our offspring live a stable and happy life, so they have become a little indulgent. But I will definitely take the child back and take good care of him. Thank you for your hard work in educating our child. This little money is for you to repair the carriage, please accept it."
After saying that, he took out a check from his pocket. The two people behind him also hurriedly took out their checks. John also accepted the check. After putting the check in his pocket, John's face became enthusiastic and he said in a very gentle tone:
"Everyone, I am not angry with you because of this matter. Everyone can make mistakes when it comes to educating children. Let's sit down and talk first."
After everyone sat down, John ordered people to bring out black tea and various snacks. After taking a sip of tea to moisten his throat, John continued:
"The reason I asked you all to come here is not to ask you to compensate me, but because it concerns the future of the Midland nobles."
"To be honest, some of the noble children I have seen are even worse than the ones in your three families. In other words, there are not many people in Midland who can be called nobles. The other noble children are either incapable or lack moral cultivation."
"If it were in peacetime, it would be a small matter at most, but it is a big deal now. You all know how tragic the war with Yoda was in the east, but now this group of nobles can at least hold on. But if it is a few decades later, after your children become nobles, with their current performance, can they guarantee that the war situation will be maintained at the same level as decades ago?"
"The current war with Rana is a good example. The army led by Earl Hoss has at least 300 to 400 noble sons, but they were beaten by the army led by the Rana nobles and could not even stay at the border. Is it because we have fewer people than them? Or is it because our equipment is not as good as theirs? None of them! The most important problem lies in the military's management."
"This Earl of Hoss is a court earl. He has never fought in a war. Most of his standing troops were recruited from peaceful areas. The nobles there only fight small-scale group fights and are simply incapable of commanding a war involving hundreds of thousands of people."
"So, I have a suggestion. If you can trust me, leave your children in the embassy and I will train them well. Even if they don't go to the border to fight the enemy, at least they have to learn how to manage the territory. You don't want to see your children spend all the money you have worked so hard to save and end up having to make a living by selling territory."
After listening to John's long speech, the few people took a short time to digest it before they realized that John was trying to win them over.
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that after Earl Hows's defeat in the war with Lana, the king would have to choose another reliable noble to replace Earl Hows. John was the earl closest to the battlefield at this time and had military experience, so he was naturally the king's first choice.
If he stood on John's side at this time, once the king's letter of appointment was issued, John would naturally be rewarded if he led his army to drive Rana out of the border. In return for supporting John, John also hinted that he would share some of the military merits with his own children. This is indeed a win-win situation, and any normal person would definitely accept it.
As for John detaining their children, it might be because he was afraid that they would not cooperate with John's policies and wanted to impose some restrictions on them.
After a few seconds of mental struggle, Viscount Matt stood up, saluted John and said:
"Then I'll leave it to Governor John."