When the Saint comes, she does not collect food

#500 - Ludwig's Attitude

October 25th, Imperial Calendar 1445.

The autumn wind finally dispersed the smoke above Fort Jeanne d'Arc. Hoen had just finished arranging Pettier's work when he received news from Rapids City.

Ludvik, the current Abbot of Brago Abbey and a veteran monk of the Juan Order, finally arrived at his devout Fort Jeanne d'Arc on October 25th.

Amidst the dense smoke from burning straw on both banks, three barges with a displacement of about 50 tons slowly approached.

These flat-bottomed boats were the most common merchant ships on inland rivers, about 5-7 meters wide. Before they even got close, Hoen could see the black asphalt and pine tar smeared on the hulls.

The white sails were furled, the long oars were stowed, and long planks extended from the ship's sides, resting on the dock's trestle.

First to disembark were three or five monks dressed in rough, knee-length armed tunics, with daggers, broken spikes, and short blowguns hanging from their waists.

Then, surrounded by two monks wielding raven's beak warhammers, were three monks in neat, Paul-style Mediterranean haircuts and black robes.

On the left was Hoen's old friend Martin, smiling and nodding at Armand who was waving.

On the right was a short, stout, hook-nosed old monk. The loose monk's robe was stretched tight by his fat, like a giant onion.

He lifted his robe with some disdain, afraid of stepping on the excrement and urine on the dock, although under Hoen's public toilet decree, excrement and urine had been basically eliminated from the dock.

The old man in the middle, who looked over seventy, had neatly combed withered white hair and a physique stronger than the two monks beside him.

He had a pair of inverted triangular eyes, and a thin scar on his eyebrow. He must have been a double-flower red pole-level figure in the Juan Order when he was young.

But now that he was old, with raised eyebrows and drooping eyes, he had a kind and benevolent appearance.

"Welcome everyone to Fort Jeanne d'Arc."

Hoen quickly led Jeanne, Armand, and Catherine to greet them, and began to introduce and greet each other.

Ludvik had obviously done his homework with Martin, and knew the handshake etiquette of the Holy Path Sect. He took the lead in grasping Hoen's hand with his thick right hand.

"I thought you would be young, but I didn't expect you to be so young." Patting Hoen's hand, Ludvik turned his head and chuckled indistinctly at the monks behind him, "Truly, local areas have produced young heroes since ancient times."

The monks echoed with laughter.

Hoen didn't know if he was senile or joking, but he just laughed awkwardly, "The Salvation Army has always respected the wise. With the arrival of Abbot Ludvik, we have finally met one today."

"I'm really sorry, Brago Abbey is busy with affairs. We originally agreed on mid-September, but it has been delayed until now," Abbot Ludvik said with a rather apologetic tone while tightly holding Hoen's hand.

"It's better late than never. The Abbot of Long Dike Abbey has arrived in Black Pottery Town and will arrive at Fort Jeanne d'Arc tomorrow."

The so-called Abbot of Long Dike Abbey was actually Luless.

Many years ago, most of the Cult system in Black Serpent Bay had been taken over by the local Secret Party.

And the church basically turned a blind eye because sometimes they still needed to go through these intermediaries to ask the Secret Party for help.

The Black Serpent Bay Secret Party did not cooperate with the church, but they could cooperate with the Cult.

Although it had the suspicion of burying one's head in the sand, it was unanimously acquiesced by both sides.

After all, doctrine was not as important as business, so it was about the same.

"That's great, we haven't met for at least ten, uh, twenty years." Seeing that Ludvik almost blurted it out, Martin almost said "correct".

Old Ludvik finally released Hoen's reddened hand at this time and began to introduce the two guardians on the left and right to him.

"Martin, you have met him. This is Jean Broth, the liturgical priest of our Brago Abbey."

"May the Holy Lord bless you." Hoen shook hands and saluted him.

"May the Holy Lord bless you." The short, stout Jean Broth stared directly into Hoen's eyes, put on a professional fake smile, and shook Hoen's hand.

Hoen blinked his eyes, did not say much, but turned around and continued to introduce several important figures behind him to Ludvik.

Including Madeline, Armand, and Jeanne. Catherine and Mithenie, these old acquaintances, naturally chatted with Ludvik.

At this time, the other two barges followed and docked, and dozens of Juan Order monks stepped down from each barge.

Most of them were classic shonen manga trios: a middle-aged and experienced monk leading two or three young monks or nuns.

Hoen immediately understood that this was probably the first batch of fifty monks who had come to support Ludvik.

If Ludvik's meeting went smoothly, there would be a second batch of fifty monks, about three batches totaling 150 people before and after.

This was the result of Juan's decades of adopting orphans and providing free education, but Hoen had taken it away.

"Is Abbot Ludvik planning to sightsee and tour first, or rest first? I have prepared the ingredients for your dinner."

Abbot Ludvik then affectionately put his arm around Armand's shoulder, "One today, one tomorrow, it's too wasteful. Since the Abbot of Long Dike Abbey is here, let's combine them."

"Cough, um, um..." Jean Broth coughed as he approached Ludvik.

Ludvik acted as if he didn't hear it, put his arm around Armand, and walked towards the carriage while talking to Hoen.

Amid Martin's wry smile, Jean Broth snorted and laboriously pulled the carriage door open and climbed into the carriage.

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There was a reason for sending Ludvik to the country villa in the suburbs instead of leaving him in the city.

In terms of security, it would be best to send him to Kush Castle, but it was humid, cold, and gloomy there. Except for summer, the furnace had to be lit all year round for heating.

If Hoen sent Ludvik in, he was afraid that he would catch a cold and die at such an old age.

Judging from the expression of that monk Jean Broth, he could roughly guess that there were also disagreements within Brago Abbey about Hoen.

News from Small Pond City indicated that during the previous wars, a large number of nobles and knight families fled to Kasha County.

These fleeing nobles would naturally not say anything good about Hoen, constantly smearing and slandering him, creating all kinds of outrageous rumors.

Under Juan's governance, Kasha County was dominated by wealthy farmers and small landlords, and there were not many poor people, but they could enjoy a tax reduction similar to transfer payments.

This made Kasha County, although it was the pioneer experimental site of Juan's reform, actually had a more reasonable and solid feudal structure than the other counties.

When facing Hoen, the locals' illusions had not yet been shattered, and they vaguely had the intention of leaning towards the knights and the church.

They were all old conservatives with families, houses, fields, and businesses. Everything before they were born was absolute truth.

For these wealthy farmers and small landlords, they still had the opportunity to become squires, knights, or even earls. Why should they let the "everyone is equal" Salvation Army rule them?

But they couldn't see that the status of these wealthy farmers and small landlords was based on the suppression of the church and secular nobles.

It mainly relied on the Cult forces integrated by Juan, the support of the Secret Party behind them, and the economic, political, and military support of Catherine and Moriarty.

Once Juan died, and Catherine and Moriarty turned against them, they would definitely become the main target of the nobles.

This was not an era of the meat-eaters being contemptible, but an era of both the top and bottom being contemptible.

Strategic thinking and vision were absolutely rare in this era. Many great nobles might not even have them.

Fortunately, the Ludvik in front of him was a smart man and took the initiative to lean towards this side.

Whether it was sincere or hypocritical, it was an absolutely correct move.

"The city is noisy and crowded. I will send you to the country villa to rest. I will change my clothes and come to visit you again." Standing on the side of the carriage, Hoen drew a 屮 character towards Ludvik.

"Okay, okay, don't come too early, I have to take a nap." Ludvik waved his hand at Hoen and retracted his head from the carriage window.

Watching the departing carriage, Hoen turned his head and instructed Gilo and Raphael, "Strengthen the guard these days. There are many important people coming, understand?"

"Understood, Your Eminence."