This is the first prison in the Holy City, located ten kilometers away in the southern suburbs.
This prison also has an old name, Castle Beaulieu. It was formerly a military castle and once guarded the Holy City.
During the reign of the previous emperor Arch-Solon, Castle Beaulieu was turned into a prison specifically for traitors and thought prisoners.
Since his nephew Carmen was arrested, LeBlanc has been coming here every day, hoping to see him. For this reason, he spent a lot of money to bribe a head guard in the prison just to meet his nephew once.
As an untried thought prisoner, being allowed to meet his relatives is a good sign in itself, at least it shows that the crime he committed is not serious.
It has been more than a year since I came to the Holy City. The political atmosphere and situation here since this spring have made LeBron feel depressed and unfree, which gave him the idea of returning to his hometown.
He had cheered and been proud of the viscount who was promoted to earl, and also regretted the fate of the new earl. However, the drastic changes overnight caught Leblanc off guard and made him, a small businessman, really feel the power.
of oppression.
After waiting for a full hour, Carmen was brought over by the prison guards.
At this time, Carmen was unshaven and very thin, but he was still in good spirits. Leblanc stuffed a money bag into the arms of the prison guard, and the prison guard withdrew knowingly, leaving the room to the uncle and nephew.
"Uncle, do you have any cigarettes?" Carmen asked.
LeBron took out his cigar: "I only smoke cigars now!"
"Yo, superior man!" Carmen joked.
After lighting a cigar, LeBron said: "Did you suffer enough in there?"
"You're bound to suffer. But we didn't get beaten. The secret police just asked us briefly and seemed to have forgotten about us." Carmen said, "The food there was very poor, and we had to make 12 meals a day.
Hours of manual work, I can tolerate it, but the fleas and rats are annoying, and some people had their toes bitten off at night.”
"Hey, this is similar to what I heard. The police station and the city government are being protested every day. People are asking the police to give an explanation, either to release them or to have a public trial." LeBron said, "Don't worry, I will definitely do it.
Find a way. If the count is fine, you will be fine too."
"Earl, what happened to Count Connery?" Carmen asked, "I'm still waiting for him to save me!"
"Don't count on him. Shortly after you were arrested, he was invited by the secret police outside the dignitary meeting. The count is an upright and kind nobleman. It's true that good people don't get rewarded!" LeBlanc muttered, his mouth jumping.
He uttered a series of curse words from his hometown.
"Why?" Carmen was stunned, "What happened outside?"
When Carmen was arrested, he did not know that Duke Darnell was killed in the bombing, let alone that Sean was also implicated.
LeBron told what he knew, which made Carmen very melancholy.
"There is a lot of public opinion outside now, and everyone is waiting for the day when the meeting of dignitaries ends. Only then will there be a conclusion on whether you people will be released or sentenced. Otherwise, even His Majesty will have difficulty explaining it to the people of the country." LeBlanc consoled him.
He said, "Don't worry, I have already taken care of the prison guards and will arrange a better treatment for you."
"Didn't it cost a lot of money?" Carmen asked.
"Money is just a bitch!" LeBron scolded, "Now this place is like a high-end brothel, many people are envious of being able to come in, this world is raised by wolves!"
LeBron's education level is not high, he is only literate, but his judgment is very accurate.
Those liberals or literati who claim to be liberals, whether they are radical revolutionaries or relatively conservative reformists, have been aroused by the emperor's high pressure, and they are sad. Once a certain passion is successfully aroused, there will be
The objects of common confrontation are united as a whole.
How to deal with these untried prisoners in the first prison has become a difficult matter.
Colonel Frank has been busy with this matter recently, and the murder of Duke Darnell is not the focus of his concern.
The Duke was extremely powerful during his lifetime, but after his death his family suddenly became a piece of fat on the chopping block. This obviously caused some people who are very sensitive to power to have some suspicions.
Charles II immediately made Duke Darnell's youngest son, Henry Darnell, a knight, and betrothed Princess Elizabeth to him.
At the same time, the bankers who had been very close to the old Duke during his lifetime reacted and secretly confessed their sincerity to the emperor. Their representatives at the meeting of dignitaries issued a statement, not only voluntarily waiving all the previous loans that the country had borrowed from them.
interest, and prepared to lend another 50 million to the country at low interest rates using the tea tax as a guarantee.
This directly accelerated the process of the meeting of dignitaries, and the nobles also agreed to pay the 1/20 tax for 1834 and 1835. As for other issues that the public and administrative officials were concerned about, the nobles firmly opposed it.
At the same time, the Catholic Church was forced to compromise and agreed to pay a one-time donation of 50 million, and agreed to pay no less than 30 million in annual donations for the next five years - the church still stubbornly believed that donations were more noble than paying taxes.
This is a huge sum of money that would make even the emperor laugh from his sleep.
After achieving these main results, Carlos II finally breathed a sigh of relief, and his calculations were not in vain.
However, the dignitaries did not gain nothing. At least they did not let the 1/20 tax become a general tax. As for how they actually used various means to resist the tax collectors' collection, no one knows.
…
Percy Robinson was walking on the streets of the Holy City. Although the city was under martial law for a period of time, it did not prevent citizens from entering and exiting normally during the day.
Percy walked into a high-end tavern that he often went to. This was a tavern that specialized in selling all kinds of expensive wines. Guests could enjoy the performances of musical artists for free while tasting the fine wines.
On the surface, as a trader from Saint Nuve, he often went in and out of this tavern with his business partners, and he became very familiar with the waiters here.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Blanche! I haven't seen you for a while. How is your business?" The waiter greeted Percy warmly, while picking up a bottle of wine and filling Percy's glass without giving orders. He knew Percy's preference.
Which brand.
"Hello, buddy, it's hard to do business now. I only do spot cash business now, no credit." Percy looked around, there were only a few customers, "You don't have many customers here."
"Now that there is a curfew at night, business here during the day is actually quite bad. Everyone's wallets are flat now." The waiter shrugged, "Our boss can hardly afford to hire musicians. If this continues, sooner or later I will be unemployed."
"Then you work with me and I'll pay you a high salary." Percy smiled.
"Haha, thank you for your kindness." The waiter didn't take Percy's joke seriously.
After drinking some wine, Percy looked bored and flipped through some newspapers that were free for guests to read.
One of the newspapers wrote on its inconspicuous page:
Recently, the police arrested a rebel who distributed leaflets. They are spreading a rumor that the murder of Duke Darnell may be related to the huge wealth he controlled, because his death caused the consortium to lose its leader. The perpetrator may be a
A big shot with a major stake in this...
Another newspaper was even more explicit: Based on the principle of who benefits the most, we seem to have seen a shocking and terrible conspiracy. The secret police are keeping this secret, and they should openly explain this doubt to the public.
Another newspaper detailed Sean's achievements:
This earl was obviously a model nobleman who was loyal to the empire. He fought for the country against foreign enemies and was seriously injured. He also invented the Kangster sterilization method and contributed to the winemaking industry and pastoralism in the grassland areas. At the same time, he
He was also the proposer of human blood types. This discovery saved many people's lives, but this did not prevent him from making outstanding contributions to improving finances and paying taxes. The province of Genoa has just paid its first tea tax, which was as high as 8 million gold.
Louis, this is extremely rare in the current severe economic situation.
Percy browsed through it expressionlessly, then drank the rest in one gulp, not forgetting to give the waiter a hefty tip of one silver coin.
Under the grateful eyes of the waiter, Posey left the tavern calmly.
There were patrol police everywhere on the streets, as well as teams of Guards soldiers patrolling. In this tense atmosphere, the citizens were in a hurry. During this period, the security of the Holy City was extremely good, and thieves and hooligans almost became
Extinct.
Percy rented an inconspicuous house opposite the pub for a long time, where he patiently waited for the night to arrive.
Regarding the actions planned tonight, Percy was still not sure whether he would achieve the desired results in the end, but it was worth a try.
At midnight, Percy put on makeup and left the house.
He was very familiar with this area. He had lived nearby when he was studying in college in the Holy City. In order to avoid the patrolling Guards, he had to take a detour and walk through the alleys.
Arriving at the back of a luxurious private mansion, Percy hid in the dark until two black figures appeared.
They are Clark Nelson and Arthur Young.
"This is the mansion of Robert Lacey, the largest shareholder of the First Bank of the Holy City. Do you know the internal layout and the bodyguard's residence? Also, pay special attention to the fierce dogs. He has five of them." Percy asked in a low voice.
"Clear." Nelson nodded.
"I need you to kill this guy quietly, and then..." Percy took out a package from under his cloak and handed it to Nelson, "Put this in the safe and take away all the cash or jewelry inside. Don't forget to throw in a few coins."
The gold coins are on the ground. I need to see a piece of news in tomorrow's newspaper. The bedroom of the famous banker Mr. Lacey was ransacked by thieves and he was unfortunately killed."
Nelson took the package and handed it to Arthur Young, who quickly disappeared.
Seeing that Nelson was still standing beside him, Percy asked, "Why are you still standing there?"
In the darkness, Nelson chuckled and said: "Arthur is the best at this, but if I go, it will make him unable to let go."
"Does he do this often?" Percy asked.
"No, this is his first time," Nelson said. "The count may hire a thug and a habitual thief, but such a person will never become his confidant."
"To be honest, I kind of regret it." Percy cursed in a low voice, "I didn't let my men carry out this action because I was afraid that if it failed, I would get burned."
"Mr. Robinson, please have some confidence in Arthur, but he is not a villain. The skills of killing and stealing can be mastered by villains, or they can be used by a hero who upholds justice. Let us wait and see."
"Okay." Percy stopped complaining.
He originally thought that these two guys were Sean's confidants, they had also participated in the war with Sean, and they were both veteran murderers, but he didn't expect that it was Brother Chu who did such a dark thing.
Arthur successfully sneaked into the mansion, including killing several ferocious dogs scattered in the yard. These ferocious dogs were popular with the rich and dared to fight ferocious beasts.
In order to prevent being discovered by the guards and buy time, Arthur hid the body of the bulldog in the flowers. He carried a small hand crossbow with him, shot the rope grapple to the roof above the top window, grabbed it, and then climbed towards the window.
According to the house layout, this window is at the end of the corridor on the third floor.
Arthur was hanging in the air and easily entered the third floor. As soon as he landed, he realized that something was wrong. A fierce dog was lying down and twitching, making a sad whimpering sound.
The smell of blood wafts in the air.
Posey's information was wrong. The largest shareholder of First Bank had recently raised another fierce dog.
A dagger was inserted into the throat of the fierce dog. Next to the fierce dog, a bodyguard was lying on the ground, his head tilted awkwardly.
Another figure was standing by the wall looking at Arthur coldly. This man was dressed entirely in black, with only one pair of eyes exposed.
Arthur's hair stood on end, and the dagger in his hand was almost ready to come out.
The figure appeared in front of him almost instantly, and a once-familiar voice sounded in his ears:
"Idiot, you almost screwed up!"
"Miss Rose!"
"Idiot, shut up!"
It was Rose Cody who had disappeared for a long time.
Obviously, Rose has received strict assassin training since she was a child, and she was professionally able to outsmart Arthur.
Arthur carefully followed her down to a room on the second floor and stopped. She easily opened the door with a thin metal piece and walked in.
A man and a woman were lying on a luxurious bed. Rose roughly shook them awake, and then, under Arthur's gaze, knocked the man and woman unconscious.
Rose looked back at the surprised Arthur and stepped aside.
Arthur covered the man's mouth and nose with a pillow, and then inserted a dagger into the man's chest through the quilt to prevent blood from splattering.
The male host struggled painfully and died.
"What's your plan?" Rose asked.
"Find the safe and leave this." Arthur took out a package.
"It's the same as I guessed."
It only took Rose two minutes to find and open the secret safe. There were no gold coins in it, only jewelry. Rose wrapped all the jewelry.
Arthur didn't need to remind her, she also threw a few pearls on the ground.
Half an hour later, Arthur Young came back alone, and the mansion was still silent.
"Did it?" Percy asked nervously.
"It's done." Arthur said easily, but his expression was a little strange.
"You say it's your first time, but you're obviously a veteran!" Percy muttered.
Without asking for details, Percy nodded with the two of them and left separately.