vstars Chapter 345 A mess
Chapter 345 A mess
In winter, Johannesburg is covered in a blanket of white. The lush pine trees are covered with thick white snow, and their branches sway gently in the cold wind, as if whispering the secrets of the forest. The sun shines through the clouds, illuminating the earth and reflecting a faint and warm light, but the air is chilly, making people tighten their collars.
In the office of the Governor's Mansion, Charles sat on a chair near the stove. The woolen coat on his body was warm and comfortable, allowing him to temporarily forget the cold outside. In front of him were several thick documents, each page exuding a faint scent of ink, but his eyes wandered lifelessly between the lines, and he couldn't help feeling a sense of loss in his heart.
Since he officially announced his appointment as the Forest Governor, it seemed that everything had nothing to do with him. In the past half month, except for the servants and guards he brought with him to take care of his life, the entire Governor's Mansion seemed particularly deserted. No officials came, and there was almost no one in his field of vision. Even the reports on daily work seemed insignificant. The officials seemed to care nothing about his identity, and simply handed him the printed documents without even asking him to sign, as if he was just an insignificant character.
Charles felt helpless. He specifically requested to see the official documents of various local affairs, hoping to understand the situation of the governor's territory. However, he only received printed materials, and the information on the text was not profound and could not reflect the real situation. When he wanted to take the initiative to take over the affairs, the local officials made excuses and did not even have the opportunity to ask questions.
Charles gently stroked his forehead, feeling helpless. He understood that the cold treatment was a silent revenge from the former governor John. If John had just given him a direct warning, he might have had a chance to report to the king and win a chance of survival. However, this silence put Charles in a situation where he could not fight back. Even complaining to the king would be seen as a sign of poor governance.
He sighed, trying to put these negative emotions behind him and think about something more positive. During his investigation, he found that this land was rich in wood and mineral resources, and there were treasures everywhere. Among the many workshops, the one that Charles valued most was the artillery workshop. The artillery workshop in Midland suffered heavy losses due to the plague, and almost only one in ten artillery craftsmen survived. This artillery workshop was not only large in scale, but also far exceeded other places in terms of output and quality, which ignited a glimmer of hope in his heart.
Charles impulsively picked up a pen and quickly wrote down the information in a letter to report to the king. He thought that once the king knew the potential of this place, he would send military orders continuously - and this was the first pot of gold he received as the governor of the forest!
However, just as he was brewing a bright future, a wave of anxiety rose in his heart. He thought of his son. Although his son and his men were freed with the help of General Hawke, it didn't take long for him to lead his men to swagger through the streets and do evil things. As soon as Charles left the Governor's Mansion, he could hear citizens talking about his son doing some immoral things again.
He looked out the window with melancholy, the cold wind was as sharp as a knife, and the snowflakes on the treetops were falling in the wind. He prayed silently in his heart that his son could learn how to become a real manager here, so that he could take over his job in the future.
The atmosphere in a pub in Johannesburg is as warm as fire. Flickering oil lamps hang on the wooden beams, reflecting every smiling face. Drinkers gather around the table, drinking rich wine, sharing stories and laughter with each other, and the whole pub is filled with joyful noise.
A young girl in the pub walked briskly to a table with a few glasses of wine in her hands. She bent down slightly, put the glasses down steadily, and said kindly with a gentle smile on her lips: "Here is your wine, please enjoy it." Her kind voice made the drinkers around her stop talking involuntarily and focus their eyes on her.
"Vera is really getting prettier and prettier."
A drinker at the table couldn't help but exclaim in admiration as he looked at her from behind.
"Of course not. She is one of the most beautiful girls in the Forest Governor's Territory. I wonder if she has a boy she likes."
Another drinker took over, his eyes flickering, as if he was full of curiosity about Vera's emotional life.
"That's it."
At this time, a young drinker whispered, looking to the corner.
Everyone followed his gaze and their eyes fell on a boy with a burly figure but a childish face. The boy was leaning against the wall, concentrating on eating a simple piece of bread, and next to him was an axe for chopping trees, which looked both rough and sharp.
As they stared at the boy, he seemed to sense the strong gazes and raised his head to meet everyone's eyes. Immediately, the drinkers turned their heads away quietly and began to discuss other things.
"The new governor is such a disappointment."
A drinker put down his glass, frowned and said:
"I don't know what was going on in his head. He actually wanted to cut military spending. Fortunately, no one agreed. Otherwise, not only would thousands of soldiers lose their jobs overnight, but what if the enemy took advantage of the situation and invaded?"
"Yeah, that's ridiculous!"
Another drinker interjected.
"And his son is even more reckless. He causes trouble in the city all day long. He either overturns the goods in the stalls or leads a group of his men to molest girls. Whenever the patrolling soldiers come, he immediately runs away."
“Why doesn’t the military take care of this kind of thing?”
Another drinker asked in confusion, frowning, obviously angry about the current situation.
"Isn't this Lord John's territory?"
"Alas, Lord John's territory is in Franche-Comté in the south."
The drinker who had spoken just now sighed, shook his head, and continued to explain.
"He was only the governor of the Forest Territory before. He only had the power to manage the land, but he did not have the ownership of the land. Now that there is a new governor, Sir John naturally cannot manage the land anymore."
"Who on earth came up with this idea of a governor? Even if this position is established, it should be held by a capable person!"
A customer said indignantly, his voice full of dissatisfaction and anger. He slammed the table so hard that the wine in his glass almost spilled out.
"Lord John is doing a good job up there, why replace him?"
"It was His Majesty's idea."
Another drinker nearby shook his head helplessly, with a hint of powerlessness in his tone.
"I heard from others that this is to strengthen the king's rule in the local area."
When everyone heard this, their hearts suddenly became heavy, after all, no one could resist the king's decision.
However, just as everyone fell silent, an old and firm voice came from outside the tavern:
"Even His Majesty the King must follow the rules set by the previous king."
Everyone turned around and saw a white-haired old man walking in. He was wearing a simple coarse cloth and his face was covered with wrinkles. The drinkers recognized him as Uncle Solo. He had joined the army in his early years and had several sons. They were either in the army or in the Black Watch Mercenary Group. This made him very famous in this semi-military territory.
"Master Solo!"
The drinkers quickly made room for the old man to sit down. He looked around with a serious look in his eyes and began to tell what he knew:
"When the previous king established the Kingdom of Midland, he established the feudal system. The vassals pledged allegiance to the king in exchange for the king's recognition of the ownership of the vassal's land. Now, Sir John is the vassal, and His Majesty the King is the feudal lord. Sir John pledged allegiance to His Majesty the King, but His Majesty the King did not recognize that the forest territory belonged to Sir John. Isn't this a mess?"
When everyone heard this, they felt that their doubts were answered and they all agreed. The atmosphere in the tavern became lively. Solo's eyes gradually became firm and he continued:
"In my opinion, it would be better to let the king award this land to Lord John. This would not only save management costs, but also allow Lord John to continue to guard the border. As long as Lord John is here, it would be wishful thinking for Yoda's army to break in from here."
Just as everyone was discussing heatedly, the door of the tavern was suddenly pushed open, and Master Charles walked in with several men with aggressive looks. When the drinkers saw him, they immediately stopped arguing and looked at each other, fearing that he would cause trouble for them at this critical moment. A tense atmosphere instantly filled the air, like the silence before a storm.
However, Master Charles didn't care about it at all. His eyes were not on the drinkers, but on Vera who was busy at the side. Vera was serving wine to customers, her eyes were full of concentration and tenderness, and her natural beauty without any makeup looked particularly moving.
Master Charles's eyes gradually became greedy. He had heard of her beauty a long time ago. When he saw her today, she was indeed extraordinary, like a beautiful daffodil, far better than those rich girls with heavy makeup in big cities.
"We must capture this girl today."
Thinking of this, a cunning smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, and he confidently led his men to surround Vera.