According to the second lieutenant who was in charge of picking them up, there were more than three hundred officers who had been promoted for meritorious service attending the ceremony tonight. However, it was obvious that he did not include the guests who were attending the ceremony.
Claude only noticed the extravagant decorations when he entered the venue. Just the size of the venue alone was enough to shock him.
The second lieutenant explained that it was originally the place where the city guards trained. For the sake of the ceremony, the first prince had the training ground covered with a roof and turned it from an outdoor area to an indoor area.
He didn't think that it was an outdoor training ground. He thought that it was a palace, as only a palace would have such a huge space.
Judging from the luxurious tiles laid on the floor instead of the cold ones, it was obvious that there were heating pipes underground. That was why the space didn't feel cold at all.
However, there were people everywhere in the large space. Apart from the Aueran soldiers, there were also many middle-aged and elderly people in deep black ceremonial robes. They were accompanied by quite a number of gorgeously dressed beauties.
"These are the nobles and their families from the three southern prefectures. His Highness values the prosperity and development of the three prefectures and hopes that it will become another military production area for the kingdom.
These people have always been close to the kingdom and are willing to contribute to the kingdom, so His Highness specially invited them to attend the ceremony.
As for the beautiful ladies, they are their families. If you're unmarried, you might want to go and get to know them. Perhaps you might even become the son-in-law of one of them. "
Claude and Liedefonk understood what the second lieutenant was trying to say. Most of the women brought by the guests were their children and not the maidservants they brought with them to keep them company.
If they wanted to start a family, they could go and get to know them. But if they only wanted to have a one-night stand, it was best not to be rude.
The second lieutenant was reminding them on purpose, and also to avoid embarrassing the First Prince if he were to be enraged.
It could be said that it was a match-making event. The best way to tie the nobles of the three southern prefectures to the Aueran kingdom was to marry them.
Naturally, it would be wishful thinking for the nobles to be related to the Stellin royal family given their status.
Taking a step back, marrying these promising young officers in the royal army would be a good match for them. From a certain point of view, this was also an insurance for their families …
The lieutenant took Claude and Major Ledefonk to the registration office and, after registering their names, excused himself, saying that he had to fetch the other officers.
The person in charge of the registration area gave each of them a piece of paper with their positions written on it. They had to memorize it and find their positions as soon as the meeting began.
It was still a little early, so Major Ledefonk brought Claude to the side of the hall. They each took a glass of fruit wine and slowly sipped on it. He greeted the officers he knew from time to time, but his eyes were glued to the beauties who came to watch the ceremony.
"Are you moved?" asked Claude.
Major Ledefonk didn't hide it. He nodded and replied, "A little. I'll be thirty after the New Year. I'm not young anymore."
When the Second Lieutenant said that, he suddenly had the idea of starting a family.
Now that he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel, he felt that he should have some status and it wouldn't be a disgrace to marry someone.
Many things were unexpected. Major Ledefonk said that he had graduated from the military academy and joined the army as a probationary second lieutenant at the age of 20. He had only been promoted to captain at the age of 27. Compared to his peers, he was considered outstanding.
Since he was in charge of logistics, he thought he would only enter the rank of field officer at the age of thirty-five.
He had always planned to return to his hometown to find a woman to marry after he was promoted to major. That way, he would be able to settle things with his family.
Later on, Prince Hansbach took a liking to him and appointed him as one of his personal officers, in charge of auditing and inspection.
After working diligently for nearly two years, the prince made him the head of logistics for the newly formed Ranger Battalion.
The rest was simple. Thanks to Claude, he was promoted from captain to major and became the battalion commander of the Ranger Battalion.
Now, he was even promoted to lieutenant-colonel due to his leadership skills. The thought of it all made Major Ledefonk feel like he was dreaming. He was promoted twice in a year.
Therefore, Major Ledefonk felt that he could bring forward his plans of getting married and starting a family by four or five years, and he could also have higher expectations for the woman's family background. He was no longer planning to go back to his hometown to find a squire's daughter.
The daughters of the nobles in the three southern prefectures were the perfect match for him. After all, the squires' businesses were mostly farms and forests, while the nobles owned shares in the three southern prefectures or had their own factories. Their influence and wealth would be greater.
Since Major Ledefonk had made up his mind to start a family, Claude accompanied him as he talked about the daughters and granddaughters of the guests.
However, Major Ledefonk wanted to find a virtuous woman who could manage a household. After looking around for a long time, he couldn't find anyone he could fall in love with at first sight.
Just like that, more than an hour passed. The ceremony was about to begin. Claude and Ledefonk hurriedly found their seats and stood at attention.
More than three hundred military officers who participated in the ceremony were lined up in a neat square formation in the center of the hall, while the guests stood on both sides of the square formation.
From time to time, the womenfolk of these guests would throw flirtatious glances at the young officers in the phalanx. However, no one would pay any attention to them. The young officers were all looking at the wooden platform that was half a man's height in front of them, occasionally glancing to the side …
For Claude, the ceremony was the same as the ones in his previous world.
The first to go up was a general who introduced himself as the chief of military affairs in frontline command. He was in charge of assessing the merits of the three hundred officers attending the ceremony. He rambled on for about twenty minutes, going over the past year's battles and the performance of the various corps. In the end, he announced with a loud voice, "Welcome, First Prince Hansbach Tang Stellin, to host the promotion ceremony!"
The guests on both sides of the hall applauded in greeting while the gorgeously dressed ladies lifted their skirts and half-knelt to pay their respects.
The officers in the center of the hall all raised their hands in salute.
Hansbach strode up the wooden stage with a dozen generals behind him. They lined up behind the first prince, leaving only a single empty spot in the middle.
The first prince didn't ramble on like the chief of military affairs. He simply boasted about the merits of the kingdom's army before announcing the start of the ceremony.
Two first lieutenants walked out from the side of the wooden stage and called out names in a loud voice. After each name was called, they simply explained the reason for their promotion.
All the officers who had reported their names had to walk up to the wooden platform, where the eldest prince and a dozen generals would personally change their epaulets.
At the same time a dozen lieutenants, carrying a silver tray covered with crimson velvet, stepped onto the platform, and stood beside the generals. The silver tray, covered with epaulets, was covered with red velvet.
Liedefonk was in the fifth batch to be called out. He was promoted due to his dedication to duty and leadership.
Claude noticed that Liedefonk's epaulets were changed personally by the first prince. After that, the first prince even patted him on the shoulder and said a few words to him.
When Liedefonk walked down the stage, his eyes were filled with tears of gratitude. He tried his best to hold them back and put on a loyal front.
As the epaulettes were changed on stage, Claude suddenly noticed a rather embarrassing scene.
Originally, there were many captains like him. But as the ceremony went on and batch after batch of officers went up the stage to change their epaulets, all the captains were promoted to majors. The ones standing beside them were all colonels. A few officers started to pay attention to Claude as his name wasn't called, as if they thought he was someone who had snuck in with ill intentions.
That was the ceremony for the promotion of colonels. Claude thought about it and found it reasonable. If the promotion of the lieutenants was included, there would probably be a few thousand of them. The first prince wouldn't be able to change that many epaulets by the end of the day.
Fortunately, the promotion ceremony for the 300 officers was rather quick. The generals on the stage and the first prince himself only needed to change 20 epaulets each. It only took a little more than an hour.
Claude's legs were getting sore from all the standing. At that moment, he felt a little envious of the guests and the beautiful ladies around him. The attendants had already set up chairs at the side. Many of them sat down and clapped and cheered for the officers who went up the stage.
The two first lieutenants standing beside the stage finally stopped making a sound.
When the last batch of young officers came down, one of the generals went up the stage and announced, "Next up is the knighthood ceremony. Let's welcome 1st Ranger Tribe's Captain Claude Ferd up the stage."
The moment he heard his name, Claude strode forward and pretended not to feel the envious gazes from the young officers behind him.
Once on the stage, Claude saluted Prince Hansbach as instructed by Lieutenant-Colonel Ledefonk. Then, he saluted the generals behind him and the young officers below the stage. Finally, he saluted the prince and stood at attention.
"Good, good, good. You're young, brave, and good at thinking. That's why you've done so much.
I have high hopes for you. You still have to work hard in the future, "the prince said as he patted Claude's shoulder warmly.
Claude stood at attention and saluted once more. "Loyalty to the kingdom!
For Your Highness! "
It couldn't be helped. That was the standard reply Ledefonk gave him. Even though he found it embarrassing to say it aloud, he had no choice but to do so.
A general came up from the side and opened a scroll in his hand. He began to explain how Claude got the knighthood, how he defeated five thousand enemy soldiers with a force of 170 or so and achieved a miraculous victory.
Furthermore, the proof of merit was verified twice to ensure that there were no mistakes. That was why the prince awarded the knighthood.
The prince beamed as he put on a long purplish-gold sash that spanned from his left shoulder to his right waist.
He then pinned the palm-sized golden knighthood onto the sash and patted Claude's shoulder again to encourage him.
Claude saluted once more, but this time, he kept his mouth shut. He didn't want to say any more flattery that would make him blush, so he pretended to be excited and muddled his way through.
It wasn't over yet. Claude couldn't get off the stage yet because there were still three lucky fellows who got knighthood. He had to wait for them to get their knighthood before he could get off the stage.
But when he heard the second name, Claude was a little dumbfounded. He thought he had misheard. It wasn't until a familiar, stocky figure walked up to him and saluted the prince that he realized he wasn't dreaming. He didn't mishear either. The person in front of him was indeed his childhood playmate and best friend, Welikro Fonseca.
It's really him …
Claude watched dumbly as Welikro saluted the first prince, the generals behind him, the officers below the podium, and himself.
Before Claude could return the salute, Welikro stepped forward and hugged Claude tightly with his arms wide open. His face, which had been deadpan ever since he got on stage, was beaming like a chrysanthemum.
He hugged him so tightly that Claude almost cried out in pain.
Claude snapped out of it and didn't care that he was on stage anymore. He hugged Welikro back and shouted, "Why is it you, brother?!"
"I didn't think I'd see you here," Claude said excitedly.
"You know each other?"
After Claude and Welikro finished hugging, the dumbfounded eldest prince finally asked.
"We grew up together … We separated after their family moved to the capital.
It's been four years since we last met, "Claude said.
"We went to school together, went hunting and fishing together, and graduated as the top student in middle school," said Welikro proudly.
"I see. You two really are good brothers … I didn't think that the middle school of yours would be able to produce two such outstanding students …" The first prince didn't think that his words would benefit the poor middle school of Whitestag so much in the future. "You two even received knighthood today. Hah, this is wonderful. This is a legend of the kingdom's army and should be widely publicized.
However, it's best that the two of you restrain yourselves for now. We can catch up after the ceremony is over. What do you think? "
Claude and Welikro hurriedly saluted. It was only then that Claude heard the full story behind Welikro's knighthood.
After the Imperial Guard Corps joined the battle, this fellow relied on the flintlock in his hand to kill 426 people. All of them were killed under circumstances that were obvious to all and without any doubt.
What was worth noting was that the distance he shot his enemies from was between 150 and 200 meters. This had already exceeded the maximum range of the Aubass Mark 3 standard matchlock. Because of this, he was hailed as the 'Gun God' by the Imperial Guard Army.