Wolf King

This year's Ball Day, the play that will be performed on the morning of the first day is a new play released by the Robbins Theater last month: "The Coffin Puzzle of Sheriff Holmes".

Hmm... "The Coffin Puzzle" is already the third part of the Holmes series. Since the second "A Study in Scarlet" (referring to Sherlock Holmes) became very popular, the framework has borrowed from Ellery Quinn's " It's time for the third part of Mystery of the Greek Coffin to appear on the stage... Ahem!

Of course, due to the gap between world dimensions and the limitations of stage performance, as well as the creator's ulterior motives, this "Coffin Puzzle" is completely copied, but it has undergone crazy magic changes. As the death kicked off, the great detective Sheriff Holmes and his assistant Watson once again jumped into the public eye, frantically refreshing the worldview of the local people...

When Moon of Vengeance entered the scene, the nine-act play of "The Coffin Puzzle" had already finished the first act. He missed the opening climax part of Xiao Yun and Isaac's master and apprentice training, but this did not prevent him from only performing the first act in the last act. After standing in the auditorium for a few minutes, I was immersed in the world of drama, and I never thought of exploring the "secret" of the knight's collar.

Holmes, the sheriff of the small town, successively detected the carriage of the vengeful viscount's son who died in the haystack (the first case), and who chased and killed the believers of the Holy See (the Mormon demon was changed to the Holy See) to avenge his fiancée. He became famous for the serial murders committed by his husband, and was invited to a dinner party by a lady from a big city collector.

When Sheriff Holmes and Watson are struggling to scrape together enough money to rent a car to go there, the widowed aristocrat who loves to collect suddenly dies of illness, and they only catch up with the funeral.

The silent funeral brought out mysteries, and the secret was hidden in the coffin——the disappearance of the precious jewels collected by the lady, the unreasonable will, the dispute over property inheritance, and the sheriffs and city police chiefs of the two places came one after another. The luxurious manor at the junction with the small town, the mysterious blackmail letters, the lady's nephew, adopted son, ex-husband's younger brother, niece and son-in-law who have become suspicious one after another...

The first half of this drama is very similar to most of the original reasoning dramas on the earth. The dead are constantly appearing among the crowd trapped in the manor by huge property and missing jewels. People are intriguing and suspicious of each other; in the second half, Instead of pushing the prosecutor out as a prisoner, he turned around wildly and pointed the finger at the lady's housekeeper.

When Vengeful Moon, who was caught in a wonderful plot, thought that the kind-hearted butler must be a criminal, Sheriff Holmes made another big reversal... and named the lady in the coffin.

All of a sudden, the battlefield where tens of thousands of people gathered shook loudly: "Huh, eh, eh—??"

Actors who are not performing here will naturally not be disturbed. Sheriff Holmes on the stage continued to read his lines with a coffin face, pointing out the real culprit behind this series of farce:

Knowing that she is dying, the noble lady is not willing to let the flattering villains around her inherit her property, and she and her old housekeeper are unable to deal with a group of strong young people, so the noble lady "uses" She made a fuss about her own death, and "shut up" the group of people she hated in her room to stage a fight.

In the will, the most greedy and hated nephew was made heir, the butler hid the most expensive jewelry and tried every means to imply that the adopted son was a thief, and the extortion letter invited professionals to imitate the handwriting of the nephew and son-in-law, and then went to the ex-husband’s brother The second-class jewels stuffed in his room make it impossible to tell...

The old butler loyally instigated these people to fight like a gu, the nephew killed the adopted son, and was murdered by the niece and his wife jointly, the ex-husband's brother tried every means to poison them to death, and he was arrested by the chief of the city police. .

Even if Holmes had solved the riddle, the five young and strong heirs would have been destroyed.

At the end of the last scene, the old butler was arrested by the disgraced superintendent. The sheriff Holmes went to the city superintendent to visit him. Stolen, where are you hiding?"

The old housekeeper smiled slightly, and said with deep meaning: "Madam's jewelry, of course, belongs to Madam. If she doesn't want to give it to others, then no one can take it away."

Holmes didn't speak any more, and after leaving the city, the superintendent went to the cemetery to lay flowers for his wife.

The cemeteries of the nobles are rich in funeral objects. To prevent tomb thieves, the tombs of the nobles are often equipped with powerful guardian circles. If someone forcibly destroys them, they will explode, turning the tomb thieves and the wealth in the tomb into ashes .

Holmes, who was standing in front of the lady's tomb, stared at her tomb for a few seconds, then turned and left without a word.

The drama ends.

"—Is this the meaning of the mystery of the coffin!!"

Moon of Revenge, who stood and watched the drama for two hours at a stretch, almost couldn't control his roar...

Although he missed the first act, he only watched the remaining eight acts, especially the last act. Moon of Vengeance could not have imagined that the most critical and priceless set of jewels in the whole play was in the lady's coffin middle!

"I am unwilling to pass on my treasures to someone I don't like, so I am willing to take them into the grave... This is really a scene full of malice."

In the VIP room, Prince Maurice snorted coldly with an uneasy face.

The duke's son, who also came to the game day, didn't say a word, his whole face turned pale and he shivered.

Ordinary people just watch this scene with excitement, but for N-generation heirs like them, this excitement is really chilling...

——It’s too real in the world! !

The Duke's son is not the first in line of succession, otherwise he wouldn't have the time to come to Valentine to watch the theater, and he could go crazy with Prince Maurice and throw up a team to participate in the ball day.

In an aristocratic family, the heirs who are not first in line can get a lot of property. The eldest son inherits 90% of the family wealth, and the remaining direct heirs share 10% on average.Note that only wealth is included, political resources are not included.

This is to ensure that the family’s property, status, and influence will not be divided by the next generation, causing the family to lose competitiveness among the same class——Although the "Tweet Order" has not been performed in this world, it has been played for thousands of years The aborigines who are powerful are not stupid, so they can't even see the harm of the separation of big families.

As for the main character who travels for Mao is keen to separate the family, it is because the main character who travels through time can often get a golden finger, make a fortune after the separation, and obtain a wealth status that surpasses that of the entire family before...

Just like Isaac, the duke's second son was even less educated than his eldest brother, and he couldn't touch those things that involved the core of family power.Of course, his life is much better than Isaac's, and his parents still love him, at least he is not short of money.

The duke's son who is over [-] years old has already got rid of the naive jealousy towards the elder brother who was valued in his youth. In fact, as he grows older, he can gradually see the love and hatred that the old grand duke father has for the young and powerful brother. Intertwining... This is not an emotional change that can be controlled by humans, but the lion king's inevitable defensiveness towards the young lion who is getting stronger and staring at his position for a longer and longer time.

In the play, the noble lady who owns priceless jewels is unwilling to pass on the jewels to her heirs and conspires. This is just an extreme manifestation and cannot be set in reality.

But... the question is still in front of us, is the old man who has wealth, power, and status willing to pass on everything he has to others?

Even if - that other person is his blood relative!

The duke's son was sweating on his brow, unconsciously thinking of his increasingly irritable and moody grand duke father...

The duke's son, who can only share 10% of the family wealth with his brothers, can't help but have this idea, let alone Prince Maurice.

Prince Maurice with a gloomy face looks fierce and disgusted, but his eyes are wandering, and the bottom of his heart is silently turbulent.

Prince Morris's line of succession is not high, coupled with the lack of a strong mother family, he is very clear that he is not qualified to take the crown.Therefore, his pursuit has always been very clear, try his best to save wealth, and strive for at least one earldom after his father abdicates.

Prince Morris has always been thinking about what to do after his father abdicates, but... he never thought about whether his father would abdicate willingly.

What if the father is unwilling to hand over the crown?

It is difficult for common people to live past the age of 40. The hard-working life makes common people feel tired and wrinkled on their cheeks after they reach their thirties.

It is not uncommon for nobles and royal family members to live to the age of seven or 80.

My father is only in his 60s this year, if he refuses to abdicate when he lives to be 80, then...

Morris, who had never thought about this issue before, felt sweaty in his palms after just a few thoughts, and his breathing became short of breath.

If there is still such a long time, and he can still be a prince for so long, it seems... It seems that it is too petty to plan only one earldom.

Prince Maurice closed his eyes slightly and opened them again, his eyes were shining brightly, implying fierceness.

In the few tens of seconds since the drama ended, His Royal Highness made a decision that was extremely likely to affect the entire Kingdom of Cronin in the next ten years.

Of course, at least for now, everything is still calm.

Xiao Yun didn't sit in the VIP room. He stayed in the players' lounge with the warriors of his clan and enjoyed the drama with a better view than the VIP room.

The warriors of the Snow Wolf Clan watched the play as if they were watching the show. After the curtain ended, they talked about the rare jewels in the coffin, which was a pity.Mr. Xiao En, who was sitting side by side on a sofa, looked deeply at Xiao Yun.

"This play is not bad, isn't it, Mr. Sean. The actor who plays Holmes is more popular than Cinderella now, and his colorful portrait can even be sold for three silver coins a piece." Xiao Yun smiled.

Mr. Xiao En twitched the corners of his mouth, narrowed his eyes and said, "The new play by the Robbins Troupe has been on for more than three months, and there will be imitators in other countries and regions... If this "Mystery of the Coffin" can also be big Popularity seems to raise more than just a question of whether actors' paintings can be sold for money?"

"Drama is just drama." Xiao Yun said seriously, "Drama is the carrier of stories. What we are telling is the story of Holmes solving the case in a serious manner. There is no reflection at all to imply anything. Some people want to chop with a knife when they see it. Man, is that the fault of the knife? The kitchen knife was cast for cooking!"

Mr. Xiao En: "..." He squinted at this guy and said nothing.

With enough superficial skills, Xiao Yun approached Mr. Xiao En again, and chuckled lowly: "In my original world, the actor who played the role of the emperor on TV and movies bluntly told the prince...that is, the heir to the throne, frankly, 'I won't give it, you can't give it to me. Yes. For a major event such as the transfer of power, instead of engaging in serious rules and regulations to restrain and maintain inheritance and succession, it relies on unreliable blood relations to maintain it. What kind of father dies and son succeeds? Is the father willing to die? The son is willing to wait for the father to die Is this any different from throwing gold coins on the street, and whoever picks them up in their pockets is not a good person? Human nature cannot stand the test, but family affection can stand it!"

Mr. Xiao En, who was sweating instantly: "..."

"You really didn't come from the devil world?" Mr. Xiao En also lowered his voice, very serious and upright.

"..." Now it was Xiao Yun's turn to twitch his mouth.

Mr. Xiao En just teased Xiao Yun for a while, held back his laughter, and turned to serious things: "Others are trying their best to show the beauty of family affection, but you are better off, let Isaac smear family affection to death. If this drama spreads, anyone who Those who have made achievements in the field of art do not have a high evaluation of Isaac, will this not be suitable for Isaac's development?"

"Oh, this is as hot as "The Daughter of the Sea". There are so many people who tout love, and we also sing praises for love, so why is this play famous?" Xiao Yun said indifferently, "Isaac is only from a small nobleman. , and was kicked out of the house by his parents and became an adventurer for several years. If he honestly conforms to the aesthetics of those guys who have a say in literature and art and follows the normal route, in another 20 years, Isaac will at most become a local celebrity. Come out. So, if you want to be quick and quick, and become famous as early as possible, you must break the rules and take a path that others would never think of or dare to take. The more people scold Isaac, the more people know him, and the more he can Become famous as soon as possible, and when necessary, it is not a bad thing to take a slanted sword."

Mr. Xiao En stared dead fish eyes: "...you have said that you are eager for quick success, what else should I say?"

"Praise is fine." Xiao Yun boasted without shame.

Mr. Sean: "..."

Xiao Yun stopped teasing him, and said seriously: "Whether it is due to the changes in the situation in the entire Bloomfield continent, or for the development of the descendants of 'j', or for the interests of the grassland (Isaac as a spy ), my eldest disciple Carlisle, we don’t need a too peaceful federation.”

"Instigating national wars and territorial wars, it is the civilians who suffer the most. Whether they are forcibly confiscated as civilian husbands or sent to the battlefield as cannon fodder auxiliary soldiers, it must be the most vulnerable civilians who die the most. We cannot do this kind of thing." Do."

"So..." Xiao Yun chuckled, extremely evil... Uh, wisely, "Let these big nobles and royal families fight in their nests, between the current ruler and the heir, between the first heir and other heirs , They fight with each other, more deadly, for everyone... it is beneficial to the country and the people."

"..." Mr. Xiao En, who had a strange expression, was really not angry, nor was he laughing at Xiao Yun's direct and painful attitude.

The feudal ministers in ancient China, especially the Ming Dynasty, which had learned the most historical experience and suffered a lot from it, could not tolerate the change of princes, calling it "shaking the foundation of the country."

Under the feudal centralization system, the ministers who maintain the feudal system can hardly tolerate problems with the heirs. It can be seen that if the transfer of feudal power cannot be peacefully transitioned, how much damage will the feudal power system itself have. People, civilians are not qualified to give away heads in this muddy water!

What is the nature of the class that holds the right to speak? In the eyes of the girls, the death of a group of big bureaucrats is much more serious than natural disasters and man-made disasters that lead to the loss of life and death~!

Anyway, Xiao Yun, who unceremoniously borrowed the drama "The Coffin Puzzle of Sheriff Holmes" to expose the bloody confrontation between the incumbent and the heir during the transfer of power and wealth, was very happy to put his hands in his pockets Waiting to see the fun...

Xiao En, who was born in Cronin, had to put aside Xiao Yun's "gloating" remarks a few years ago that "other people's (Croning's own) children would never end up dying", he might be so angry that he would twitch on the spot. people.

But after accepting Xiao Yun's "worldview" and separating the rentier class from the exploited civilians, Mr. Xiao En was very calm when he heard Xiao Yun say this in person.

King Cronin can be regarded as an acquaintance of Xiao En. Before being influenced by Xiao Yun, Sean might still miss the incense and regard him as his "old friend"; but, now...Mr. Xiao En doesn't care about this at all. The leader of the biggest exploiting class in the Kingdom of Cronin...

No matter Xiao Yun's education to his clansmen or the courses taught to "j", the most important core knowledge is to settle accounts, to calculate everyone's accounts, which naturally includes nobles and royal families; From the perspective of the simplest basic value of food, the so-called aristocratic and royal family are those who gather the people together and exploit them under various names. Mr. Sean didn't even frown...

Moon of Revenge, who hadn't connected with Mr. Sean, finally remembered his original purpose after enjoying the drama for free, and immediately turned his head and left to check the knight-led plantation with his own eyes.

The land of the Robins Knights is not good, and the land suitable for reclamation is limited to a hundred acres; but the so-called living people cannot be suffocated by urine. Isaac, who has money and technology, came up with a clever way-renting the surrounding area. Village land, stuffing villagers into plantations as laborers.

The plantation provides three meals, manages wages, does not require them to pay taxes, and guarantees income during droughts and floods. The villagers who do not do it are stupid... The villages here are not those on the earth that rely on the power of the local clan to eat up foreign investors. There are no "simple villagers" left. No regime in this world has the patience to "get used to" such problems for the common people.

Incorporating the land and manpower of the three villages and copying the experience of the Snow Wolf clan, the three plantations were built. In addition to the staple food wheat and soybeans, all kinds of vegetables are grown the most.

The reasons are, one is that the large-scale planting of sugar beet as a cash crop in Valentine will lead to resentment, crowding out and even suppression by the local nobles, and two, Isaac devotes all his energy to planting, the main purpose is to make the knight's vegetable basket self-sufficient , and did not plan to make a fortune from farming.

When Moon of Revenge walked into the area called Plantation No. [-], which was actually a rural land with the original style, the whole person was a little confused... There were no walls, and there were no thorn bushes and wooden fences, and the fields were invisible. The overseer with the whip, the deacon who took care of the farm tools, and even the serfs or farmers who were busy in the fields were not specially watched.

The difference between this and the lord's plantation in the common sense understanding of Moon of Revenge is so great that he doubted his memory. He turned back to the village entrance and looked at the wooden sign that read "Robbins Knightland's First Plantation" and confirmed I did not find the wrong place.

"Is this really a plantation?" Revenge Moon, who was confused, walked into the village field again, staring at the villagers who were working consciously and actively in a daze.

"If I remember correctly, the villagers will be lazy even if they are farming their own fields?!" Moon of Vengeance couldn't help but grab the head. To be honest, if he wasn't a black magician himself, he couldn't help but want to Wondering if Isaac Robbins is working some dark magic on these townspeople...

Just when the Moon of Vengeance doubted life, it looked like a family of farmers cleared up the weeds in a field, the old and the young, seven or eight people panting, walked to the edge of the field to pack things, and rubbed the soil on the hoes with weeds Then carefully wrap the iron hoe with dry thatch.

There are not enough herbicides and insecticides in the grasslands, so naturally there is no way to "bless" them to the knights, and the farmers here still have to rely on their hands to catch insects and weeds.Of course, weeding is easier than catching insects. Just cut off the grass roots and step into the mud to use as fertilizer. Unlike catching insects, you have to work all day long and your waist can't stand upright.

"Father Connie, has your family's responsibility field been mowed?" On the other side of the field, a family of four farmers was not without envy.

"Yeah, I got up early in the morning and came here to make it. It can be done before the afternoon, so that the boys at home can catch up with the open game in the afternoon." The farmer with a large family replied proudly.

The two families chatted casually, and the lesser family watched the neighbor's family back to the village enviously.

"Their family has three more laborers than ours. They are also diligent. They go out to weed before dawn. Of course they can catch up with today's game." The mistress of the family complained, "I said at the time that our family is small. , there is no need to contract so many responsible fields like Connie’s father’s family. You see, they can finish it in two days, and our family needs at least four or five days.”

The male host said with a guilty conscience, "If you don't rent a piece of land, you will lose a piece of income. You agreed at that time..."

"It was you who said that you wanted to call back your younger brother, who is an apprentice tailor in the town, and I agreed!" The hostess yelled loudly, "As a result, your brother couldn't bear the hardship, and the wheat ran away as soon as it was planted!"

"That's not to say, my brother can find a job in the third district of the knight's collar, and his income is no worse than that of contracting fields..."

"Stop talking nonsense, he's not a contract worker!"

Moon of Vengeance listened to the hostess and hostess of this farmer's family bicker for a while, and then went to see it when the couple took their children home for lunch, and then found out how Knight Isaac Robbins managed his name. under the plantation.

Then, he felt that his whole world view was being refreshed crazily...

The plantation has no walls, no overseers, no vicious thugs, and no deacons. The knights of Robbins rent out all the fields from the villagers, and then let the villagers contract the land to cultivate the land on a voluntary basis. The managers of the plantation can only distribute seeds and fertilizers. (It is the product of Liwanshi in the pig farm), when organizing farmland water conservancy work, and checking the progress of farming.

Adhering to the concept of more work, more pay, no work, no work, the income of the villagers is linked to the farming conditions of the contracted fields, and is graded according to the growth level of the crops. The better the crops are grown, the higher the salary. (The manager’s salary is also linked to it, and a group rotation and itinerant management model is adopted. The management team is not stationed in the village, so as to avoid collusion with the villagers to conceal reports, false reports, or blackmail farmers by using grading as a threat.)

Farmers who become plantation workers in the family model, in addition to ensuring their income from droughts and floods, and getting the minimum income even if natural disasters reduce production, they also enjoy the same level of benefits as contract workers (different from temporary workers) led by knights. Farm tools are provided by knights. Provide, receive work clothes and work shoes (that is, rubber shoes) according to the season, and receive employee subsidies such as oil, powder, and noodles every month...

Although Moon of Vengeance is deep in the house, he is not ignorant of the sufferings of the people. He understands how the knight leader manages the plantation. Even if he has never been a farmer, he also knows that under such employment conditions, it is strange for farmers not to work hard—— Even if it is farming in the king's manor, there can be no better treatment than this!

"Isaac Robbins...!" Moon of Vengeance murmured the name softly, and her heart, which had been as calm as stagnant water for many years, was once again excited for someone else—although the other party was just a young-looking, not legendary person. He is not a particularly glamorous little knight, but just looking at his generosity and righteousness, it is worth making friends with Moon of Vengeance.

With such eager and agitated emotions, Moon of Vengeance hurried back to the knight's collar.

And then... Passing through the second area, after hearing the noise from the battlefield that was more boiling than in the morning, Moon of Vengeance turned around and touched it again...