Extra 3: The World You Want Part II

The flow of people moved forward slowly. There were so many people who wanted to see the personal letter of Pureland I that the queue moved very slowly. However, the female reporter from "Dragon Bone Chronicle" was lucky enough to enter before closing time.

After turning off the live broadcast in accordance with regulations, the reporter and others walked inside along the colonnade of statues. After entering the museum, it was like walking into another world. The noise outside was isolated, time stopped here, and the air became thick and majestic. On the left side of the museum was the art gallery. The most important exhibitions during this period were two immortal masterpieces by the humanistic artist Clark.

One was "The King and His City" and the other was "The Dragon and the Rose".

Clark was known as the "enlightenment of humanism". He was the first oil painter to challenge the traditional Eyck school of painting in the fifteenth century. Anyone who had received basic education knew the story of him and the King. Historically, Clark was almost burned at the stake because he proposed the concept that "painting, as an art that expresses emotions and thoughts, should not be limited to religious themes." After he fled to Legrand, he wasted more than ten years before finally being appreciated by King Pureland I and appointed as the chief painter of the palace.

Taking "The King and His City" as the dividing point, the paintings of the fifteenth century took two different paths, one was the spiritualist school of painting that mainly promoted theology, and the other was the humanistic school of painting that promoted people and reason.

As for "The Dragon and the Rose", it was a work completed by Clark in the last ten years of his life.

If "The King and His City" with the Plague of Koszoya as the background opened the first chapter in the history of painting that turned its attention from gods to humans, then "The Dragon and the Rose" was the first painting in the history of the world to focus on nationalism, a great work created with the national spirit as the core.

In the exhibition information display, the museum wrote:

"...In the fifteenth century, the development of productive forces required the emergence of a more powerful government to protect the transformation and development of commerce and handicrafts. In response to such needs, royal power, as a national symbol of that era, began to rise. "The Dragon and the Rose" was that sign of the gradual awakening of the national consciousness of the times——on the west bank of the Abyss Strait, a new country emerged that broke through the traditions since the theocratic era."

It took Clark ten years to complete this last work. When the last stroke was completed, he fell backward and never woke up. None of his students were surprised. According to his students' later recollections, during those ten years, Clark only painted and painted, and there was nothing in his eyes except this painting. "It was like what he used to paint was not oil paints, but his life force."

Everyone who passed by this painting subconsciously held their breath.

Because it was so grand.

Different from the usual oil paintings, "The Dragon and the Rose" was a rare long scroll oil painting. It broke the traditional time limit and depicted not one thing or scene at one point in time. Starting from the right, it depicted in chronological order the beginning, development and final end of the Holy Army movement that changed the destiny of the world in the 15th century.

The first part of the scroll started with the massacre of the city of Koszoya. People were running, resisting, or crying in the ruins. The soldiers of the Self-Defense Forces were forced into a dead end by the heavily armed Holy Army. Behind them was the municipal hall of Koszoya. The fire rolled up like a striking snake, and the royal flag of Legrand flying at the top of the building was ignited by the flames.

Blood flowed out from the city gate of Koszoya, dyeing the land southeast of Legrand in the second part red, signaling the further deterioration of the war.

"War…"

"War."

…

The reporter heard people's muffled whispers, and gentlemen stopped in front of this oil painting and bowed their heads in mourning. As the most famous humanistic artist, Clark displayed his superb painting skills here. The despair, anger and sorrow of war were still shockingly displayed in front of people's eyes after hundreds of years.

The reporter quickly wrote a line in her shorthand notebook:

Fortunately, we live in a peaceful era, and, behind this peace are the numerous bones of the war dead.

The transition between the second and third parts of the painting was the raging Doma River. The east bank of the Doma River was the occupied area caught in the war, and the west bank was the assembled Legrand army, with the royal flag flying like crimson waves. Under the royal flag, the young Pureland I was at the forefront of the army wearing armor.

"A genius military strategist."

"So young that it's hard to believe..."

"The Rose family, a famous family of madmen..."

…

People murmured their praise.

It seemed that the Rose family had always been full of geniuses, Mad King Henry, Lion King Charles, William III, Duke of Buckingham, Pureland I... a series of names put together was a glorious military history. A historian once said this after studying the lives of successive kings and dukes of the Rose family:

“Members of the Rose family have never had such a luxury as a carefree childhood."

"Their surnames destined them to be born with a heavy burden on their shoulders."

The flames of war in the third part exploded out in the fourth part, with the Holy Army and King Legrand's army clashing on the ground. Clark intercepted several classic battles from the war and merged them together. Unlike ordinary war paintings that blindly emphasize the bravery of one's own side, the Knights Templar and Legrand's army in the painting were all fearsome, and both sides showed heavy losses. When the scroll reached this point, the air seemed to be filled with the cries of war and weapons.

The two kings fight unto death.

The anxious and intense atmosphere turned into an overwhelming and majestic momentum in the last part, with dark clouds like mountains gathering in the sky. The land was stretched into the distance, Legrand's territory spread out, and the cities were brightly lit, as if they were burning. Over the burning city, the black dragon rose into the sky, spread its wings, and faced thousands of lightning bolts that were about to strike down. The dazzling whiteness of the lightning and the ferocious black ink color formed a strong contrast.

The kingdom of the evil dragon, Legrand.

The mortals who made their homes above the dragon bones were as proud as the flaming rose.

The reporter probably understood why the Royal Museum displayed these two precious paintings together. Because these two paintings could be said to be the epitome of the historical period in which Pureland I lived. The need to remind visitors of the social background of Pureland I in this way meany that the things on display today were likely to be extremely controversial.

Controversial?

Was there not enough controversy surrounding Pureland I?

The reporter was jotting in her shorthand notebook while thinking about this issue.

There had always been a lot of mystery surrounding Pureland I, and evaluations of his many deeds were often extremely divided. He was born a king, and in his early rule he was called a tyrant. At the time, he was vaguely suspected of being another "mad king." It was not until the "Rose Crisis" that Pureland I finally showed his determination and wisdom as the emperor of the Rose family. However, many of the measures he took during his reign have been criticized for being too iron-handed.

His laws have always been known for their absolute inviolability. A typical example was the city blockade order of Koszoya. During the blockade of the coastline in 1432, it was estimated that nearly a thousand civilians died as a result of the blockade order. In addition, most of the changes he implemented during his reign were implemented with strong tactics, and he was often called a "tyrant".

Between humanitarianism and practical needs, Pureland I would always choose the latter without hesitation.

To this day, people could still argue for three days and three nights about whether Pureland I was too cruel.

While the reporter wrote down some relevant speculations in her shorthand notebook, the colonnade of statues had already reached its end.

The exhibition hall had arrived.

In a softly lit room, these letters, which were finally made public, were displayed behind sealed glass cabinets. The museum's display designer knew how to whet people's appetites. On display in front were letters from some officials and important nobles involved in politics during the same period.

The name of the writer was marked at the end of the yellowed letter, and a brief biography was placed next to it.

"Dear Derrick:

Things have gotten very bad. Pureland is such a bastard that he won't even remember who helped him win the war! In order to carry out his mercantilist policies, he has already determined to carry out the changes to the end... Parliament's "Crown Act" gave him too much power, and we are in a very bad situation.

It seems that he is no longer satisfied with conscription and an expanded royal army, and he intends to return military power to the government... Where can we go from here? The glory of the knight, the glory of the knight, he has decided to sweep it all into ruins. He even forgot that he is also a knight..." 

The letter was written by Roger, who had defected to the New King's Party during the "Rose Crisis", but during the Legrand North Rebellion the King forgave him and continued to use him in important matters. He also made considerable military exploits in the Holy Army movement.

When the reporter saw the first letter, she immediately understood what was on display today.

The great reforms in the mid-to-late fifteenth century.

Bloody reformation.

This was the last reform that occurred in the late reign of Pureland I, and it was also the most cold and ruthless reform since his reign.

In history, there have been few reformations that were directly described as "bloody". This reformation occurred in the 20th year after the end of the Holy Army movement. The entire old knight system of Legrand collapsed under the reformation, and the blood of the conservatives stained the palace gate of Metzl red.

It seemed to correspond to an eternal theme in Legrand's theater culture: "There was no peace for the king."

When King Pureland I was born, Legrand was in civil strife caused by the death of William III. Later in his reign, Legrand once again rose in riots due to changes. This civil war finally ended with the victory of the reformists represented by the King. During the reformation, the number of nobles who died in Legrand even far exceeded the number of people who died in the Holy Army movement.

Since then, armor, knights, and castles have withdrawn from history, lordship had become a thing of the past, and the military status of the castle had plummeted. The thirty-six states were completely wiped out from the land of Legrand, leaving only a completely unified empire.

After the bloody revolution, Legrand's mercantilism was implemented and a new class entered the stage of history.

Perfidious, cold-blooded and cruel, unscrupulous...these adjectives were added to Pureland I after this reformation.

However, it was precisely because of this reformation that Pureland I became "the last monarch of the Middle Ages and the first monarch of the new century."

He ushered in a new era of iron and guns.