Black Iron Crown

When they came, there was a large group of people, but when they went back, there were many fewer soldiers following Leiner.

The extra ones were jars of ashes. These clay pots were prepared by Reiner long ago.

It is impossible to kill people in war. In order to bring the soldiers home, Leiner prepared more than 500 pots, but what he did not expect was that 500 pots were not enough...

Iron name tags are attached to the handles of the pots, which Reiner will return to their families.

Count Jolar's army is also beside Rainer, and they will return to the north together.

On November 15th, the twenty-fifth year of the empire, after a month and a half of marching, they finally reached the edge of the northern border.

At this time, the northern border has entered winter and has become extremely cold.

Rainer asked the soldiers to put on the cotton coats they had prepared long ago, and Frante was also wrapped in a heavy coat.

Riding on the back of the war horse, Frant shivered in the cold air.

Growing up in the south, she had never experienced such a cold winter. She felt that her face was about to split open, and the bitter cold wind was blowing on her face like a sharp knife.

"If you can't bear it, go and stay in the carriage, it's too cold here and you may not be able to bear it!" Reiner frowned and looked at Farrant.

"No need..." Frante shook her head, she knew that she might live here for a long time in the future, and she had to adapt to this climate as soon as possible.

Lena shook his head helplessly, and continued to walk forward.

Suddenly, a sound of retching appeared next to his ears, and he followed the sound, and found that it was Frank lying on the horse's back and retching crazily on the ground.

Seeing this, Lena couldn't help frowning and dismounted, and walked to her side.

"what happened?"

Frant retched for a while, and then said intermittently: "No... I don't know..."

After thinking about it, Reiner's heart skipped a beat: "I'm afraid it's not morning sickness?"

Speaking of which, Reiner has not been idle during this time, since he is already married, based on the idea that there is no use for nothing, such things happen very frequently.

So back and forth,

Lena thinks it's very possible.

"Ah!" Frante exclaimed, his body was pulled off the horse by Reiner, hugged in his arms, and gently placed on the ground.

"What are you doing!" Farrant looked at Reiner angrily.

"You might... be pregnant..." Reiner said hesitantly.

"Pregnant...pregnant??" Frant touched his lower abdomen subconsciously, and looked at Reiner in disbelief.

"Well, go and rest in the carriage, I don't want any accidents to happen to my child!" Reiner sent Frante onto the carriage without any objection.

This child is really important to him. With such a huge background, there is still no legal heir. For him, this is a factor that causes instability in the territory.

After sending Frante into the carriage, Leiner stepped on the horse again and continued to move forward. He was in a very good mood.

When I think that I am about to welcome a child, I feel an inexplicable sense of excitement in my heart.

It is a great encouragement for any man to have his own blood inherited.

Frante looked at the surrounding environment, feeling a little lost in his heart.

Sure enough, as she thought, the northern border was really a barren land. After walking for so long, she didn't even see a village. She was ready to survive in the wild land.

However, when she passed the first village the next day, her heart was filled with shock.

This village is much stronger than the south in terms of buildings.

The houses look so tall, which is very different from those low shacks in the south.

The residents in the north live mostly in houses made of wood and stone. Although they don't look particularly beautiful from the outside, they are at least much stronger than those shacks.

And whether it is from the perspective of safety or comfort, the houses in the north are definitely stronger than those in the south.

It was noon at this time, and the smoke from the chimney floated from the chimney, and the smell of meat wafted through the whole village.

"Respected Lord Earl! Welcome back from the front line, everyone in Black Creek Village pays tribute to you!" When the village elder got the news that Leiner had arrived, he immediately asked all the villagers to leave the house to express their sincerity to Leiner loyalty.

Villagers on both sides of the road took off their felt hats and put them on their chests, bending over to salute.

"You don't need to be like this, my dear subjects!" Reiner stepped off the horse with a smile, and helped an old man in front of him with his own hands.

Reiner remembered him. This was an old man from the Merland family, who was placed here by Reiner as the village elder, controlling the entire village.

"Because of my excellent record in this war, I was conferred the title of Grand Duke of the Northern Territory by His Majesty the Emperor. From now on, you are all subjects of the Northern Kingdom!" Reiner said with a smile.

"Long live the Grand Duke of the Northern Territory!" Everyone looked at each other in blank dismay. It was something to be proud of to become the subject of such a prominent lord as the Grand Duke of the Northern Territory.

At this time, after seeing the situation here, Frant thought for a while, and came to Reiner's side, looking at everyone present with a smile.

Reiner gave Frante a weird look, and then said, "This is Frante, the daughter of Count Creek, my wife!"

"Ah! It turned out to be the Grand Duchess! Madam Ri'an, Heixi Village pays the highest respect to you!"

Seeing this, Frante smiled slightly, but did not speak.

She saw that although the people around her still seemed to be suffering, there was a world of difference in their mental state and physical quality.

From these northern residents, she could not see the same eyes as the southern serfs, helpless, numb, and unable to see the hope of life.

What she saw in the eyes of these people was the incomparable admiration for Reiner and the yearning for a better life in the future.

In addition, the biggest difference between them and the serfs in the south and central may be their bodies.

Compared with those skinny southern serfs, they are already quite strong, and they are even stronger than some soldiers under Frante's command. It is the physical fitness of the low-level civilians that shocked her the most.

After leaving the carriage, her perception of the village became clearer.

A series of huge pieces of meat hanging from the eaves of every household, as well as huge grain stockpiles piled up in the courtyard, all show the wealth of this village.

Back in the carriage, Frante couldn't help but be full of thoughts.

The fanatical worship of the lord by the residents of the northern border was the only thing she had ever seen in her life. Although the residents of other places also worshiped the lord in most cases, they definitely could not reach the level of the northern border.

Moreover, although the south is much richer than the north, in the final analysis, only some people are rich, and the vast majority of people are serfs with low status, who are not even allowed freedom and property.

In the northern border, Frante did not find any such people as serfs, and no one seemed to be a self-cultivator with status.

Even when I was looking at them, they would not dodge their eyes timidly, but looked at me with reverence and love in their eyes.

Frante knew that this reverence and love was not for himself, it was purely because he was Reiner's wife that he received such treatment.