[Empire, Castile Peninsula, Royal Palace, Hunting Ground]

When the great hunt of the Red River Tribe came to an end, another hunt was reaching its climax on the other side of the Shade Mountains - on the Castile Peninsula thousands of miles away.

Compared to the spectacular scene of the white lion roaring in the Chihe tribe and 30,000 hunters sweeping across the wasteland, the hunting here in the empire seemed a bit petty, with less than a thousand attendants and servants in total.

However, the reason for this perception is just because of "contrast".

For the Castilian nobles, even the annual Ascension Mass was not as important as the Great Hunt.

Twenty years ago, on the eve of the civil war in the empire, the situation was turbulent and the princes from all sides who held heavy troops were silent.

He was the first nobleman from the Castile Peninsula to openly stand under the banner of [Henry Sun], and charged into battle in the subsequent war of succession, achieving great military exploits.

In order to commend the loyalty and bravery of the Castile nobles, after the dust settled on the ownership of the crown, the royal family held a grand hunting event on the Castile Peninsula every winter.

Even the emperor himself would come to the hunting ground to observe the ceremony, and he had never missed an appointment in the past twenty years, nor had anyone else do it for him.

Therefore, every year in late winter, Castile’s nobles, big and small, are like migrating fish, putting on their most gorgeous hunting attire and rushing to the royal palace from all over the peninsula.

Even the landless knights and commoners who were not qualified to participate in the hunting still squeezed their heads to enter the hunting ground and see the true face of the emperor.

You should know that on the one hand, the Castel people are famous for their bravery and fighting skills, and on the other hand, they are also notorious for being unruly, savage and angry.

The geographical location of the Castile Peninsula was far away from the center of the empire.

Being in a corner, the people of Castel naturally lacked respect for the authority of the emperor.

Therefore, during the reign of Mad King Richard alone, there were no less than seven major and minor rebellions in the Castile Peninsula.

After their outstanding achievements in the War of Succession, the Castilian nobles became more arrogant and more difficult to control.

It was only thanks to the emperor's skill that the Castilian faction neither became powerful nor unbalanced.

In the twenty years since the new emperor came to the throne, there has not been a single rebellion in the Castile Peninsula.

Therefore, the Great Hunt was not only a good opportunity for the younger generation of Castilian nobles to show off their talents and win the favor of the emperor, but also an important occasion for the royal family to maintain the loyalty of the Castilian nobles and show their favor and goodwill.

Especially at this time.

when?

When the Northern Sea Route was opened.

Before the conquest of the northern countries, transport ships from the far western colonies of the empire could dock at the Castile Peninsula, and then transport gold, silver, slaves, tobacco, sugar and other goods to various parts of the empire via land.

As trade on Western routes grew, shipbuilding also flourished on the Castres Peninsula.

The continuous input of wealth brought unprecedented prosperity to the Castile Peninsula, and the Castile nobles gradually lived a life of luxury and enjoyment.

They built luxurious palaces one after another, bought the most expensive Freiman war horses, decorated their dining tables with exquisite gold and silver vessels from Veneta, and used only the most gorgeous Piedmont twill as clothing materials.

What supports all these expenses is the Western route.

Now, the Lion of the North has been surrendered by His Majesty the Emperor.

The northern route fell into the hands of the emperor, and the two oceans were connected.

Transport ships no longer need to pay high transit taxes when passing through the Narrow Sea, and they no longer need to be intercepted by Northam pirates.

Wealth from the Far Western colonies also no longer had to use expensive land transportation, but could be directly transported by ship to the east coast - closer to the heart of the empire.

The rise of trade routes can bring prosperity, and the disappearance of trade routes will also lead to decline.

Some far-sighted Castilian nobles were already feeling uneasy. They couldn't help but think that although the emperor gave the Castilians various honors, he rarely accepted the Castilians into the center of power.

The Castilian nobles participated in this winter hunt in a gloomy mood. At this moment, they urgently needed to see the emperor's goodwill gesture.

Some people just don't believe in this evil.

In a tent in the hunting camp, Prince Monta [Richard] was persuading another blond man.

The blond man ignored the prince and put on his protective gear without saying a word.

There is probably only one person in the empire who can treat the prince like this, who can treat the prince like this - Earl Harlan, the Knight of the Golden Fleece, the youngest general in the empire and the prince's playmate since childhood - Harlan's

Siegfried.

Prince Richard tried to persuade him to no avail, and looked at the other man with chestnut hair angrily: "You are his adjutant! Why don't you speak? Farnan!"

"Because it's useless." The chestnut-haired man replied calmly: "Your Highness."

Perhaps no one in the world knows Sigfrid better than Farnan, not even Sigfrid himself.

Therefore, Fanan did not dissuade him from the beginning to the end, but silently helped Siegfried put on the greaves.

Siegfried is tall and tall, with a handsome appearance, and looks even more heroic after wearing a slim-fitting hunting suit. In contrast, Farnan's appearance is not outstanding, but he is capable and calm, which makes people reassuring.

Prince Richard's tone became stern: "What do you mean it's useless? He doesn't listen to you the most?"

"What Farnan said is correct, Your Highness." Siegfried finally said, "Please don't embarrass him."

Seeing Sigfrid speaking, Prince Richard put away his anger and persuaded as calmly as possible: "It's just a show, so what if you are better than those Castilians? You don't need to prove anything anymore. Win.

Defeat is meaningless, failure will only bring humiliation, do you want to fight this kind of battle?"

Siegfried stretched out his arms so that Farnan could wrap strips of cloth around his wrists, palms, and knuckles.

"As you said, Your Highness." Siegfried gritted his teeth slightly: "It's just a performance."

…

[Set the time back a quarter of an hour]

"Count Harlan?" Duke Tarlac, who was carrying animal ears, walked past Sigfrid triumphantly and asked casually, as if casually: "Aren't you going to play?"

The princes of Castile have always looked down upon the "new rich", not to mention that Sigfrid was from a humble background, just the son of a poor knight.

Siegfried seemed to have heard nothing and ignored Duke Tarlac. He was holding the wine glass, but his eyes unconsciously drifted to the viewing platform where the royal family was.

Just as Duke Tarlac was about to have an attack, the chestnut-haired adjutant beside Siegfried took the first step and replied in an unassuming manner: "Your Excellency, winter hunting is a stage for Castile's athletes to show off their talents. How could the earl compete with Castile?"

Are the princes of Tyr competing for the leading role?"

Sigfrid was a popular figure around the emperor, and Duke Tarlac did not want to cause a real conflict, so he vented his anger on the chestnut-haired adjutant.

Duke Tarak glanced sideways at the chestnut-haired adjutant and asked: "Are you Fanan? The 'shadow of Earl Harlan' as they call it?"

"Or to put it another way..." Duke Tarak changed the topic and his tone became sarcastic and lewd: "Earl Harlan's male favorite?"

Before Farnan could speak, Siegfried turned around and glanced at Duke Tarlac.

If Siegfried's face is like a marble statue carefully carved by a famous master, then the three deep lines between his eyebrows at this moment are the scars left by the craftsman's mistake.

The new Earl of Harlan said coldly: "Your Majesty will not allow me to play."

"Really?" Duke Tarak saw that the golden-haired boy was irritated, so he smiled and left like a winner: "What a pity."

Siegfried pursed his lips tightly and unconsciously placed his left hand on the hilt of his sword.

Suddenly, another hand put on Siegfried's wristband - it was Fanan. He looked at Siegfried and shook his head.

Things should have ended here, but...

"No wonder." Duke Tarlac, who had already walked away, said loudly to himself: "The hunting in Castile is too barbaric. How can His Majesty be willing to let his male pet take risks?"

…

[Time returns to the present]

[Hunting ground, viewing platform]

The Castres Royal Winter Hunting has four activities: falcon hunting, falcon hunting, dog hunting and hunting. Among them, dog hunting and falcon hunting are chasing on horseback, and falcon hunting is hunting on foot.

After other hunting activities are over, it’s the highlight of winter hunting—hunting.

The hunting method of the imperial nobles is very similar to that of the Hud people. The beasts scattered throughout the forest are gathered together by the attendants and servants first, and then the hunting ground is enclosed with wooden fences and curtains.

Compared with the nearly ten kilometers of hunting grounds in the Red River Division, the hunting grounds for winter hunting in Castile are less than a hundred meters in diameter.

Because there is no overlooking place like Qingqiu, craftsmen will build temporary viewing platforms around the hunting grounds.

The higher the viewing platform, the more distinguished the audience above it.

Members of the royal family, princes, princes and nobles each have independent viewing platforms. The small and medium-sized nobles who are not qualified to sit stand or ride horses. The status of each person is clear at a glance.

The largest terraced stands belong to the female relatives of each family, which is considered a special treatment for ladies.

At this moment, on the highest viewing platform, a girl was complaining softly: "It's so boring, Dad, do they have to torture those poor wild boars?"

"Watch your words." The speaker's voice was soft and pleasant, and she should be a lady: "Elizabeth."

The girl curled her lips: "Dad didn't say anything."

The girl's attitude made the lady who was disciplining her even more dissatisfied: "Where did you learn this behavior? Your father dotes on you so much that you are almost becoming a wild girl."

The girl blinked her eyes, showed an expression like a helpless cub, and looked eagerly at the man on the throne: "Dad..."

The man on the throne showed a smile: "You yourself have angered your mother, don't expect me to help you."

"dad!"

"You are always like this, always like this." The lady with a soft voice was angry, but also a little sad: "I always want to use your father..."

"Okay." The man on the throne looked at the lady on the right.
To be continued...