Steel, gunpowder, and spellcasters

Chapter 548 Receiving
[Xilin Province]
[Shihu City]
Little Baltz was getting impatient.

However, it can't be entirely blamed on him—he got up before dawn to prepare and started waiting early in the morning. As noon approached, the "guest" still hadn't shown up, and anyone would have some complaints.

Moreover, young Baltz is only fifteen years old, an age when he lacks patience.

In contrast, Johann Baltz, the father of young Baltz, was much more composed.

The other citizen representatives who participated in the welcoming ceremony had all taken refuge in the sunshade, but John Bartz still stood by the roadside, like a stone statue, gazing into the distance without moving.

Every time the delegates under the shaded pavilion caught a glimpse of John Bartz's back, they couldn't help but wonder if the mayor had already died from the heat.

However, it is clear that John Baltz's heat tolerance is beyond the imagination of the residents of Stonelake.

Therefore, it's no wonder that Bartz Jr. was just the mayor's son, while John Bartz was able to become the mayor of Stonelake.

……

Under the blazing sun, even with a sunshade, the heat was still unbearable.

The citizen representatives, who had specially dressed in formal attire for today's welcoming ceremony, were all drenched in sweat, their clothes soaked through.

The two young women, dressed in full traditional attire and chosen to "offer bread and salt," were particularly on the verge of heatstroke.

Those who want to welcome you won't come, and those who come to welcome you won't dare to leave.

Caught in a dilemma, many citizen representatives no longer cared about appearances. They took off their hats and coats, leaving only their underwear, and lay in the shade of the canopy, staring blankly at the tarpaulin.

Many of the delegates even had one or more servants beside them, all sweating profusely and waving fans.

Finally, there was some movement on the horizon.

John Bartz, who had been waiting for the clouds to part and the moon to shine, burst into tears.

Like a ghost in a cemetery, Mayor Baltz suddenly came to life. He turned and ran towards the pergola, gesturing wildly and shouting:

"They're here! They're here! Get up! Get up!"

The barely alive citizen representatives struggled to their feet and, with admirable perseverance, hurriedly put on their formal attire.

The band, assembled after searching brothels, taverns, and churches throughout the city, finally got their chance to shine.

The fragmented copies of "Ave Maria" echoed inside and outside the city gates, stirring up sorrowful memories and causing all who heard them to weep silently.

It's a pity the musicians had been hungry all morning, and their performance was weak and feeble, not enough to reach the ears of the heavens; otherwise, it would surely have moved even the Virgin Mary to tears.

The choice of "Ave Maria" for the welcoming ceremony was also quite deliberate.

The tune of Red Rose was definitely out of the question, and the minor key of Blue Rose wasn't guaranteed to work either, so Mayor John Bartz thought it over and decided that church music was the safest option.

Furthermore, the musicians are all familiar with hymns, if not all of them can play them, making rehearsals easier.

So, we chose "Ave Maria".

At this very moment, listening to the noise coming from the direction of the band, the mayor was extremely grateful that he had chosen the simplest piece, "Ave Maria".

However, the most important thing right now is obviously not training the band.

It is a flag.

Mayor Baltz, adjusting his hat and belt, rushed to the city gate and shouted hoarsely at the top of his lungs, "The flag! Get the flag ready!"

The moment the Ave Maria began to play, the flag bearer who had been secretly dozing off was woken up.

Upon hearing the mayor's voice, the flag bearer quickly poked his head out from the top of the barricade. "Don't worry! Everything is ready! I'll raise the flag as soon as they arrive!"

“Good, good, good,” John Bartz praised repeatedly, but couldn’t help but remind him, “Don’t get the flag wrong! Make sure you look carefully before raising it!”

……

One particularly good thing about the flag of the Republic of Palatine is that, regardless of which republic it is—the one of Kingsburg, the one of Rainbow River, or the one of Maplestone City—it still uses the four-quadrant flag of the old republic.

The only difference is the color:
Hongchuan still uses a blue background with a white cross;

Zhuwangbao changed its design to a red background with a white cross, thus distinguishing itself from the former.
As for the newly settled people, they are said to use blue as their base color.

Thank goodness, this has saved the tailors in Stone Lake City a lot of trouble.

The mayor was in a hurry, so the tailors dug out the old Republic's blue flag from the bottom of their trunks, repaired the parts that had been chewed by rats, and then repeatedly washed it with lime and vinegar, managing to turn the "blue" flag into a "green" flag.

However, the tailors had never seen the military flag of the newly reclaimed land people, so they naturally did not understand just how "blue" the "blue" flag of the newly reclaimed land people really was.

To ensure everything went perfectly, the tailors of Stone Lake City made several flags in different shades of "cyan".

However, whether or not the most "accurate" flag can be raised depends on the flag bearer's skill.

……

On the city gate, the flag bearer rubbed his sleepy eyes and solemnly assured the mayor, "You can rest assured about our eyes!"

John Bartz said "good" three more times.

Just after giving instructions to the flag bearer, another troublesome matter immediately came to Mayor Baltz.

"Daddy, something terrible has happened!" Little Baltz rushed over in a panic. "Miss Dani has fainted! And Miss Margit can't stand up either!"

Old Baltz paused for a moment before remembering that "Dani" and "Margit" were the two girls responsible for offering bread and salt.

He hurriedly took his son to the pavilion, and from a distance, he saw a group of representatives gathered around it.

Upon seeing the mayor approach, the representatives silently made way for him.

As they walked through the crowd, the Baltz father and son felt as if they were being pricked by needles. They could sense the delegates' resentment without even asking.

In the middle of the crowd, two pale-faced girls lay on the ground, and several older women were taking care of them.

"Heatstroke!" John Baltz concluded immediately, and he seized the opportunity to shoo the delegates away, "Get out of here! Get out of here! Don't block the wind! Do you want to suffocate people?"

The human wall reluctantly stepped back, making room for each other.

“Take that thing off, let the two girls catch their breath,” John Baltz urged, pointing to the two girls’ corsets. “And get them some lightly salted water.”

An older woman gave the mayor a reproachful look: "How can you make ladies take off their clothes here?"

"Hey! I was confused!" John Baltz slapped his forehead and corrected himself, "Then let's carry it away, hurry up and take it home!"

Several older women each called upon their personal maids, and together they lifted the two girls onto the carriage.

As the carriage rumbled into the city, John Baltz suddenly sensed something was wrong.

"Oh no!" the mayor exclaimed, slapping his thigh again. "Who's going to offer salt and bread now?"

……

"Stop all this nonsense," the bearded leader said with a heavy accent, his manners were rude, and he looked impatient.

Upon meeting, he cut to the chase and told the mayor, "We're not going into the city."

Judging from the other party's demeanor, John Baltz guessed that the bearded man was the real leader.

Because the hook-nosed man who had come earlier to negotiate the handover process was now following behind the bearded man, trailing by half a horse length. The bearded man and the hook-nosed man only brought a dozen or so riders, and their clothes were quite disheveled.

In contrast, the welcoming ceremony held by the citizens of Shek Ho City seemed overly grand and formal.

The bearded man and the hook-nosed man had no intention of "sharing the joy with the people." They reined in their horses from a distance and ordered the mayor to come forward and speak to them alone.

In the distance, amidst the smoke and dust, one could still vaguely make out some human figures.

However, the latter neither stopped nor showed any intention of approaching Shihu City; it seemed that it intended to bypass the city altogether.

Hearing that the other party did not intend to enter the city, Baltz was very pleased.

But verbally, he still had to feign politeness: "The gentlemen of this city have prepared a banquet for you all, please..."

"[A vulgar curse]! Why are you talking so much? Didn't I tell you? Stop with this nonsense," the bearded man rudely interrupted the mayor, throwing down a folded piece of scrap paper. "Prepare everything for us by tonight according to this list."

John Baltz cursed inwardly but had to force a smile. He bent down to pick up the list and glanced at it quickly.

The amount demanded by the other party was so large that it left him speechless.

However, although the quantities of various supplies on the list are large, they are all within Stonelake City's capacity, which is quite delicate.

Baltz decided to try and negotiate a price with the other party. He forced a humble smile, hoping that the other party would take pity on him.

“Sir,” Mayor Baltz said pitifully, “we really are…”

"Stop talking nonsense," the bearded man lashed out at the mayor with his whip. "If you can't hand it over, we're going into the city."

The citizen representatives immediately became restless, but no one dared to make a move.

John Baltz's neck burned from the whip's lashes. He waved to the crowd behind him, enduring the pain as he continued to plead, "We really..."

"Snapped!"

Another lash of the whip sent the mayor staggering.

Little Baltz couldn't stand it any longer. He rushed from the crowd to his father's side, his eyes red, and demanded, "Why are you hitting people?"

“Little brat,” the bearded man grinned as he drew his saber, “I think you’re tired of living.”

"Alright, alright, don't use the knife," the hook-nosed man stepped in to smooth things over. He glanced at the boy, then looked at the mayor and asked with a smile, "Your son?"

John Baltz remained silent.

“The things on the list aren’t something we’re asking you for; they’re things the higher-ups are asking us for,” the hook-nosed man said slowly and deliberately, sounding even more terrifying than the bearded man. He was like a devil trying to persuade the mayor. “The things on the list aren’t just something we’re asking you for. The things belong to everyone, but the son is yours.”

“Fine,” John Baltz gritted his teeth, “give us some time to prepare.”

“Before tonight,” the bearded man said menacingly, sheathing his sword.

John Baltz paused for a moment, then nodded. "Before tonight."

“That settles it,” the hook-nosed man clapped his hands and laughed. “Quickly, bring us the bread and salt to try.”

John Baltz winked at his son.

Little Baltz clenched his fists and walked toward the city wall, turning back every few steps.

A moment later, he emerged from the crowd carrying a huge silver tray covered with exquisite embroidered silk. On the silk sat a round bread so beautiful that one hesitated to touch it, with silvery-white salt in the center.

John Bartz Jr. humiliatingly raised the silver tray above his head as a welcoming gesture to the bearded man and the hook-nosed man.

The bearded man frowned, showing no intention of touching her at all. "Why is it a young boy offering this? Where are the women?"

“Boys are fine too,” the hook-nosed man said with a lewd grin, breaking off a small piece of bread, poking it a few times in the salt dish, and then reluctantly putting it into his mouth.

On the city wall, the flag bearer who had just been making promises was dumbfounded, facing a whole stack of blue flags, not knowing what to do.

Because the people who came didn't bring any flags of any color.
-
As Lieutenant Colonel William Lordwick warned, without the deterrent effect of the provincial forces, the local towns that had previously been outwardly loyal to Kingsburg simply stopped putting on the show altogether.

As soon as the flag of the “New Reclamation Rebels” appeared on the horizon, they promptly opened the gates and surrendered.

Not a single town along the route from Maplestone to Kingsburg chose to continue fighting for the Red Rose.

Indeed, most citizens regarded the "new republic" that the newly reclaimed land army referred to as another military government.

After all, if we're talking about the degree of control and influence from the military, the newly reclaimed land province is even more bizarre than the Jiangbei province—at least the Jiangbei province doesn't have a "monster" like the newly reclaimed land army.

Not to mention that the flags of the newly established people and the Blue Rose are almost the same color.

Therefore, the general public has some resistance to the idea of ​​"yet another Hongchuan military government".

But this did not prevent the autonomous towns throughout Xilin Province from lowering the red rose flag overnight and raising the old-style blue flag with a white cross over the four quadrants.

The residents of Xilin Province, who pride themselves on living in the heart of the land of galloping horses, cleverly concealed their contempt for the newly reclaimed land bumpkins, plastered their faces with fake smiles, and voluntarily opened their doors to welcome the "new rulers."

The peasants were far more honest than the city dwellers in their attitude toward the newly reclaimed lands and the army.

As soon as the dust appeared on the horizon, the farmers immediately drove their livestock into the fields and skillfully took their valuables and hid in the forest.

It can be said that farming families that did not thoroughly understand this process either went bankrupt or were "weeded out" during the turmoil of the past two years.

In general, the people of Xilin had a mixture of fear and wariness towards the newly reclaimed land's army.

So, what was the attitude of the newly reclaimed land army towards the Xilin people?

A: The newly reclaimed land army had no time to express their stance to the people of Xilin.

Gaisa Adonis, finally realizing what he had missed, developed a twisted compensatory mentality, just like any normal person.

If it weren't for the fact that people need to sleep, Gaisa would have made the troops heading towards the Fortress of Kings travel for 24 hours a day.

The battalion of the White Mountain County Regiment, which was the vanguard, simply did not have time to formally take over the towns along the way.

Even when passing through human settlements, they would try to avoid them—because they didn't want their disheveled appearance to affect the image of the new army in the hearts of the Xilin people.

In most cases, the so-called "reception" was just the battalion commander leading a few company commanders to make a token appearance, leaving the bewildered citizen representatives to the friendly forces who would follow up later.

The newly established army didn't even have time to take over the towns along the road from Maplestone City to Zhuwangbao, let alone the towns in the heart of Xilin Province.

This chaotic situation provided an opportunity for some unscrupulous individuals.

Some people set up roadblocks on the main road in the name of the New Reclamation Army, while others used the name of the New Reclamation Army to intimidate and extort money.

There was even a group of lawless bandits who pretended to be passing new soldiers and demanded money and provisions from Shihu City.

Even more incredibly, the bandits actually managed to get the items from the citizens of Shihu City.

When Gaisa Adonis heard about this, he was furious.

But he doesn't have time to deal with these messy things right now.

All of Gaisa Adonis’s attention was focused on the heart of Palatine, the galloping horse—the Castle of Kings.

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