HCB Chapter 127: The Knights of the White Lion
Chapter 127: The Knights of the White Lion
Early the next morning, the armored King of Midlan and a group of dignitaries including Count Juris and other high-ranking military officers reviewed the Knights on the high platform of the parade ground. Archbishop Midlan also came to the parade ground as instructed by John before.
John, as the commander, issued final orders to the members of the new Knights Templar.
"Today may be the last time I give orders. I don't know who your commander will be tomorrow. I know that many of you are here to gain experience. Even if you are no longer knights after tomorrow, I hope that you can learn some knowledge from your one-year military life and apply it to your own life. Only in this way can you prove that you have not wasted your time this year. Becoming a knight is not the only criterion for personal growth. Only inner transformation can make you a stronger person."
John's words made the knights present feel inexplicably moved.
Although they were considered children of nobles in the territory before, as the second sons or later heirs in the family, they were just spares among the spares in their family. Although their quality of life was much higher than that of ordinary people, they basically did not receive any attention from the family, and some of them did not even feel much family affection.
But every time they want to prove something, they find that they have learned nothing all these years. In the end, they can only become depressed, drinking and having fun all day long, and become useless in the eyes of others.
During this year, they had comrades who could help each other for the first time, learned knowledge they had never been exposed to before, and felt for the first time that they were not useless.
Considering that John was the second son of a minor noble family, the knights had a sense of identity and spiritual comfort. So when faced with John's final teachings, although the centurions could not say anything, they fully implemented what John said to them under the orders of their respective centuries.
As the time for the review approached, John rode alone to the platform. Looking at the dignitaries on the platform, John shouted loudly:
"Captain of the Knights! John Hohenzollern, lead the entire group of 5,000 people to accept the inspection! All preparations are complete, please give instructions, His Majesty the King!"
"Begin the review!" With the king's loud voice, the military band began to play music, and the knights walked past the stage in groups of centuries, receiving warm applause from the nobles on the stage. In other places, parents who were not nobles but had successfully sent their children into the Knights Templar, watched their children wearing armor and riding war horses pass by them, and they called out to their children and gave them sincere blessings.
The review process was very short, basically just walking around to see who the centurion was and what the overall appearance was like. Except for those nobles whose children were in the Knights Templar and were thinking about how to arrange official positions for their children in the kingdom, the other nobles were looking at this rising upstart. After all, at such a young age, he owned such a large territory and an army armed to the teeth in the kingdom. Even if he went to Yoda, he would be considered a great noble who could compete with Emperor Yoda.
As the last centurion entered the parade ground, the king and the nobles stood up and read out the appointment of the Knights in front of the citizens of Wendam:
"After a year of training, the Knights not only performed well in all indicators, but also assisted the White Wolf Knights in capturing the Yoda nobles during the war."
"We now approve all 5,000 students of the Knights' School to become knights, and approve the establishment of the Knights' Order, which will become a knight order directly under the Midland royal family and will be incorporated into the Southern Military Camp under the command of General Henry. The name of the new Knights' Order is..."
Hearing this, everyone, including John who was distracted, looked up at the king.
John was not actually surprised that the king deprived him of his management rights over the Knights Templar. He even thought it was normal. Since ancient times, one general in Midland led one Knights Templar. If he let John really lead two Knights Templar, he might find a crime to accuse him of tomorrow. Besides, wouldn't it be better to directly recruit high-quality system knights?
However, as the former captain, John still wanted to see what name the king would give to the knights he taught.
"The name of the Knights is... the Order of the White Lion, and they are awarded a white lion flag with a blue background."
"Ah?" John was dumbfounded. Their fighting power was obviously lower than that of the White Wolf Knights, but they had a name that was more majestic than a wolf.
However, no matter how much John couldn't accept it, this was a foregone conclusion. When he took over the flag, he looked at it carefully. Well, it was inlaid with gold edges. The royal knights were so majestic.
As John waved the flag, it symbolized the establishment of another Midland Knights.
The citizens of Windham were delighted to have another order of knights to protect them.
The king and the nobles were also very happy. In the king's view, the power of the royal family was gradually increasing, while the nobles had found a new place to place their confidants.
John was equally happy. After all, he was the one who brought him up. It didn't matter even if he was overshadowed by the king. He hoped that the king would not disturb him when he was busy.
The only person who was dissatisfied in the entire Wendam might be Adam in the dungeon. After the king's announcement, all the citizens of Wendam knew that a Yoda noble named Adam had been captured. I believe that the news will be passed back to Yoda soon, and then he will become an international figure.
After the review ceremony, John found Count Milo, but discovered that Jules, who had been following him, was missing.
"Where is my uncle Jules?" John asked. Did he go out to drink secretly?
"Oh, Jules was summoned by the king, and then he packed his bags and left. As for where he went, I don't know," Count Milo responded.
"Then he might have been called back to manage the army. After all, he was once a captain of the White Dragon Knights." John asked Count Milo another question:
"Today the king named the Knights of the White Lion. What is the meaning of this?"
Count Milo thought for a moment and then said:
"I'm not sure about the naming, but after so many years of exploration, I have discovered some secrets."
"Except for the White Dragon Knights, most of the remaining knight orders under the jurisdiction of the royal family are mainly large carnivores, such as the White Tiger Knights."
"As for the nobles who formed their own groups and obtained the king's approval, they were basically named after small carnivores and herbivores, such as your White Wolf Knights and General Laban's White Horse Knights."
"Oh, so that's how it is." John thought, that's not surprising, originally this knight order was created by the king to strengthen the royal influence in the army, so it was reasonable to give his own knight order a nicer name.
"Oh, by the way, Count John, do you have any plans after this review?" Count Milo suddenly asked.
"After the people sent by the king hand over the White Lion Knights to me, I will leave for Franche-Comté. Although Wendam is good, I feel more at ease in my own territory."
"Oh, since Earl John has his own plans, I won't bother you anymore. I wish you more success in the new year."
After saying goodbye to Count Milo, John took a carriage back to his residence. When John came to Windham for the first time, he asked Simon to find a suitable residence for him. It didn't have to be luxurious, just a comfortable and quiet apartment. John also bought a manor in the suburbs for hunting with other nobles or for his own rest in the future.
The next morning, John arrived at the temporary base of the White Lion Knights. Looking at these White Lion Knights, John felt the excitement and reluctance in their eyes, so he said:
"When the person who will take over comes here later, you must obey his orders. Military orders are as strong as mountains, and it won't end with just a beating like before."
As the sound of horse hooves got closer, a knight on a white horse entered from the camp gate and stopped beside John.
Before John could say anything, the knight flipped up his face guard, revealing a bearded face.
"Hey, nephew, I'm in the army again."