In Poitou Church Cemetery, spring rain has been falling for a week, and everything is shrouded in drizzle.
People wearing elegantly colored cloaks and holding a sprig of white tulips attended the funeral of Principal Mounier. The funeral was presided over by Shakri, who had just been promoted to the Catholic Province of Genoa.
In addition to relatives, Governor Byrne, Mayor Stanley, celebrities from all walks of life in Poitou, and some of Mounier's students and colleagues also attended the scholar's funeral.
Sean also attended Principal Mounier's funeral.
Four men in black uniforms carried the coffin and gently placed it in the tomb.
"Now, in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, we place Mr. Munier's body here to await the resurrection of the body in the future. Amen!"
Xia Keli squeezed a piece of soil with his hand and symbolically sprinkled it on the coffin.
Someone shoveled the earth with a shovel and completely covered the coffin. People laid flowers in turn and then stood aside and prayed silently.
The relatives of the deceased are already devastated.
Friends of the deceased came forward to preach and talk about the honor, pride and good deeds of the deceased during his lifetime. At this moment, they did not hesitate to use the most beautiful words to remember a scholar.
“Almighty God, because you have shown great mercy and restored the soul of our beloved brother to God, we buried his body in the earth. So that the earth will return to dust, and dust to dust, and all our creation will be subject to you.
Authority, firmly believe that the dead will be resurrected, so that we will always be with you, enjoy eternal life, and make the faith of those of us who are still living in the world strong..."
Xia Keli's voice was deep and contagious, and his red clothes trimmed with gold made the ceremony more solemn.
Sean suddenly thought of the old ascetic priest of the True God Religion whom he met in Vichy Town.
After the funeral, people boarded their carriages and left. Perhaps soon, Mounier's name would rarely be mentioned.
People are always forgetful, but Sean will never forget Mounier's anger at the Estates-General.
In the drizzle, Byrne stood in front of his carriage and looked at Sean's young figure saying his final farewell to the deceased.
"Viscount, I have something to talk to you about."
Byrne stopped Sean who was about to leave.
"Okay, sir." Sean nodded, took out a cigar and signaled to the governor, but the latter shook his head.
"This is a tragedy." Byrne looked back in the direction of the cemetery. The relatives of the deceased supported each other and slowly left. "I am deeply saddened by this tragedy. The rampant chaos of the rebels shows that we have established a secret police station."
The decision was correct. It is a pity that we could not predict the despicability and shamelessness of the enemy, who murdered a respectable scholar."
"Sir, are you sure this is the work of the True God Party?" Sean asked, "Isn't it because Mr. Principal offended someone?"
"Of course I have evidence, Viscount, believe me, Daly's work is still fruitful." Byrne's affirmative tone made Sean feel even more sorry for the deceased.
If Mounier died because he offended a privileged person, then in Sean's opinion, his death would be glorious, great, and grand, but it was not.
He is innocent simply because the True God Party has chosen a scapegoat specifically to challenge authority and provoke the power structure.
"It's a pity!" Sean nodded, "I hope you can bring the murderer to justice as soon as possible and give justice to Mr. Principal. I believe justice lies in people's hearts."
Byrne said: "Yes. But there is one thing right now that I would like to hear your opinion on."
"Please tell me!"
"The misfortune of President Meunier has caused the University of Poitou to lose its backbone. You know, we have only one university in Genoa. It has a long history, and the government has fully funded its development..."
"I heard that the campus of the University of Poitou is in dilapidated condition, and even the teachers' salaries have been cut off for several months." Sean's tone was rather unkind.
When questioned in person, Byrne smiled awkwardly: "That was before, because of this damn disaster, the provincial and municipal finances were in difficulty, but before Mr. Mounier was killed, I had already allocated funds, but he did not see the school building being repaired.
That day."
"It's too late to talk about this now." Sean calmed down his tone.
"I discussed it with Mayor Stanley and agreed that the Viscount is the right candidate to succeed the principal of Poitou." Byrne's words surprised Sean.
"Why?" Sean thought this was some kind of compensation for himself by Byrne, so he only heard Byrne say:
"You are not only a nobleman, but also a member of the Royal Scientific Society, which is an invaluable asset to a university, and only you can lead a university. Those teachers are very good, they are poor, but they have a certain knowledge of knowledge.
This kind of extraordinary enthusiasm makes the temper of scholars not so friendly."
Byrne implies that scholars are noble, and because of their own social aspirations and aloof status, they are not prone to succumbing to authority from the government.
At the same time, these people have great influence on public opinion.
Especially after the death of Mounier, Byrne received countless letters of protest and petitions from the University of Poitou. Even the influential newspaper "Le Poitou" hinted at this dissatisfaction with the governor.
For these people, Byrne had to compromise, not only replenishing funds, but also increasing the budget of the University of Poitou this year.
Now, there is a difficult matter, which is to choose a president for the University of Poitou who can satisfy all parties.
Poitou people are conservative and stubborn. They stubbornly believe that the president of a university funded by Poitou people themselves must be Poitou. This greatly reduces the scope of selection for Byrne and Stanley.
"Frankly speaking, I am surprised and frightened by the position of principal." Sean said, "I will seriously consider it."
"I hope the Viscount can reply as soon as possible. I guarantee that the funding for the University of Poitou will not be hindered in any way." Byrne said sternly, pointing behind Sean, "Viscount Lincoln seems to be waiting for you, I'll take my leave now.
.”
Byrne got into the carriage and the charioteer drove away.
"Sean, I haven't seen you for a while. In fact, I wanted to visit you for a long time, but I didn't expect it would be on this occasion." Viscount Lincoln came over.
He stayed here specifically to explain why he took over the position of Sean's military advisor. This position made him a little embarrassed when facing Sean, as if he had finally picked the peach.
Of course, Sean heard that Viscount Lincoln was originally unwilling to take over this position, but he became the only candidate because he was very popular and could take care of the interests of all parties.
After Lincoln became the military adviser to the Civil Defense Force, he did not change the situation and dictated the internal affairs of the Civil Defense Force.
According to the evaluation of Wells and other instructors, Viscount Lincoln knew people well and was very sympathetic to the hard work of the "Yankees" and even gave them a salary increase.
Sean has a good impression of Viscount Lincoln, and the other one is Percy Robinson, although the latter has always been resistant to Viscount Lincoln.
The strange thing is that Sean has a good relationship with these two people and regards them as his friends.
As a friend, Sean certainly has some advice:
“Soldiers of the Civil Defense Force are all honest people, honest and obedient, which is a very good quality for soldiers.
Although some people believe in the True God Religion, this does not mean that they should be expelled. Precisely because they are too simple and because most of them are illiterate, they are more susceptible to being deceived. You must be careful about someone spreading things that are not conducive to stability among the soldiers."
Although Lincoln did not interfere much with the Civil Defense Forces, he fired many soldiers, and some of them even came to complain to Sean.
If you are not in your position, you will not pursue your political goals.
Sean couldn't speak for these dismissed soldiers, but he just tried his best to properly resettle these soldiers.
"Sean, I completely agree with your judgment." Lincoln said, "In fact, I don't understand military affairs. Taking over your position is completely forced by the situation. Please understand this."
"I totally understand."
Sean suddenly felt that this funeral had become a place for him to passively socialize. Perhaps in the eyes of these celebrities, the world of the living was the only theme.
"Sean, did you know? Our Genoa Civil Defense Force is going to be transferred to the north." Viscount Lincoln suddenly said such shocking news.
"What, they won't even aim!" Sean couldn't believe it, "Have you confirmed this news?"
"This is an order I just received today, an order issued by the crown prince. But it is not a direct participation in the war as you think. We just have to be transferred to the northern part of the province before May 1, stationed near Otter Mountain, so that
To deter a somewhat unstable situation." Lincoln said, "I'm just worried that the situation is worse than I thought. If that day comes, Viscount Brandon is really looking forward to it."
"He hopes to write another honor in his family's history." Sean said, "I can only say, I wish you good luck!"
Sean can easily understand Viscount Lincoln's anxiety. Anyone who leads a group of farmers who have just put down their sickles on the battlefield will be timid before they fight, let alone a very unreliable commander.
The sky became gloomy, rain and mist wet Sean's cloak, but he felt an unreasonable restlessness in his heart.
Perhaps deep down in his heart, he felt resentful about losing his position in the Civil Defense Force.
At this point, whether Sean admits it or not, he is still not able to be so selfless and free.
Nelson and others quietly scattered around him, while Rabo followed slowly in the carriage.
Simply taking off his cloak, Sean walked on the street outside the cemetery, and his body was quickly covered with moisture.
The only consequence was that Sean caught a cold that day.
Twelve hours after the funeral, it was still drizzling in the cemetery under the deep night.
The cemetery is shrouded in thick rain and fog, which adds a gloomy color to it. On such a night, there are generally no living people here, unless they are grave robbers.
In a small woods behind it, a man wearing a clown mask was standing there.
He wore a cloak and a wide-brimmed hat, and held a cane in his hand.
Standing ten meters away from him is a tall man. If you get close to him, you will definitely be surprised by his appearance.
This is a guy with a face similar to that of a wolf, the legendary werewolf.
The tall werewolf man seemed to want to move forward a few steps, but the clown shook his cane:
"No, no, Mr. Wolf, you and I should keep a distance. This is a civilized and friendly distance."
"Are you afraid?" Werewolf Wolf chuckled. He looked at the clown's right hand that was shrunk in his long cloak. "I guess you want to kill me with one shot, and I just want to get close to you. In fact, my
Our ancestors and your ancestors both rode on the same dragon boat, who is more noble than who? Who is more civilized than who? We the gods are just losers in the competition."
Yes, werewolves consider themselves gods.
"When I was eight years old, I discovered the difference between myself and other children. At that time, I killed my brother just because he snatched my toys and gently pushed him down the stairs.
That’s it, no need to bother at all. When I was thirteen years old
At that time, my father tried to arrange my life and added some chronic poison to the wine I gave him. Two years later, I buried him in the best cemetery and arranged my life myself.
So, I never liked Riki."
There was no expression visible under the clown mask, and Wolf stopped when he heard this.
"Later, I learned to control. After I became an adult, I am confident that I can fight you werewolves with my bare hands, and the winning rate is higher than yours. So, don't show me your stupid strong body."
The clown continued to speak in an unhurried tone.
His words were so powerful and confident that Wolf, the werewolf, couldn't help but look embarrassed:
"It's not fair, you know my name and I know nothing about you."
"Isn't the batch of steel I gave you werewolves my business card? They can at least allow you to make 500 axes." The clown said.
"But we are more interested in gunpowder." Wolf said, "Of course that batch of steel is also very important to us, so I am willing to take the risk to come to see you in person. This is a good meeting gift, but you should know that even if
Even though he is a powerful blood warrior, even if he wears heavy armor, he cannot withstand the power of gunpowder."
The clown said: "Of course, that's why I invited you to meet here. It's just a transaction."
The two talked secretly for a while, and there was no third person present.
Wolf, the werewolf, roared and ran towards the north. He ran extremely fast and disappeared into the night in the blink of an eye.
"Reckless man!"
The clown walked gracefully in the rain. He walked through the woods and came to Principal Mounier's tomb. Then he took off his mask and placed it on the newly completed tombstone:
"Innocent Mr. Principal, you are a footnote in this sacred cause. Sorry!"
The clown lowered his hat and disappeared into the night rain.