The cold wind howled from the north and invaded Lieutenant Nokomo's neck, causing him to shiver. He tightened his collar and shrank back.
Looking up, the dark clouds in the sky were thicker than when they left the camp just now, as if they were covered with a layer of cotton that had not been completely deseeded.
"It looks like it's going to snow again." Lieutenant Nokomo breathed out softly, and a clear white mist formed in front of him.
It was already mid-November. For this small town of Greenvitai, which was located in the middle of the former Frankish Kingdom and also slightly north of the middle of the entire Sainz continent, it was not surprising even if it was snowing.
Lieutenant Nokomo was originally a native of a village near the small town of Greenvita. He lived here for more than ten years since he was a child, and did not leave until he joined the army of the Frankish Kingdom. Of course, he knew the weather here very well.
"Hey, Captain, do you think we still need to go out on patrol in this crazy weather?" A Frankish Kingdom soldier who followed Lieutenant Nokomo with his neck shrunken complained. "Even the rabbits are too cold to leave their nests. I don't believe those Lampari people would come to attack in this weather."
Lieutenant Nokomo glanced back at him and snorted coldly: "Shut your mouth, Macan. This is an order from above. Do you have the guts not to execute it?"
The soldier known as Macan spat and muttered: "It's not the order of our Frank commander, why do you have to listen to it? Those guys from the Maro Empire will only order us to do such dirty work for them, there are They can do it themselves.”
Lieutenant Nokomo frowned and glanced at the other members of the patrol team behind him. He found that the expressions on their faces were similar to Macan's, with a hint of dissatisfaction, and he couldn't help but sigh.
This is not surprising.
Not to mention the dissatisfaction of the soldiers under his command, even he was also somewhat dissatisfied.
Although with the help of the Maro Empire, the exiled government of the Frankish Kingdom and its troops finally have hope of regaining their own territory from the Kingdom of Lampali and the Principality of Drac, but because the Maro Empire army occupies the leading position among the coalition forces, With their absolutely dominant position, they, the soldiers of the Frankish Kingdom, were always sent out to do all kinds of dirty work. And when calculating military merits but treating them as non-existent, it will naturally cause great dissatisfaction among the soldiers of the Frankish Kingdom.
But as an officer, Lieutenant Nokomo knew more than these ordinary soldiers, so he understood that there was nothing that could be done about this situation.
Without the help of the Maro Empire. The Frankish Kingdom had perished several months ago, and there was no possibility of a counterattack.
Even if the Maro Empire hadn't dispatched several magisters to participate in the war regardless of the possibility of violating taboos, I am afraid that even the Maro Empire would have been helpless against the Kingdom of Lampali and the Principality of Drac. Then the Frankish Kingdom would have been even more unsuccessful in restoring the country by relying on its own strength. hope.
So in the final analysis, the Frankish Kingdom still relies entirely on the Maro Empire, so what qualifications does it have to talk about its own status
Complaints about the soldiers. Lieutenant Nokomo could understand, but relatively speaking, although he was a little dissatisfied, he was more grateful.
If it weren't for the help of the Maro Empire, it might be difficult for him to return to this familiar land in his lifetime.
Since a few months ago, the coalition forces of the Frank Kingdom and the Malo Empire were defeated one after another under the attack of the coalition forces of the Kingdom of Lampali and the Principality of Drake, and gave up the small town of Greenvitai, Lieutenant Nokomo stayed with him. Families in nearby villages completely lost contact.
Only half a month ago, after the Marfa coalition retook the small town of Greenvitai from the Kingdom of Lampali, Lieutenant Nokomo took the time to go back. Reconnected with family.
Because of this, Lieutenant Nokomo was certainly grateful to the Malo Empire.
But thinking about the situation when he reunited with his family, Lieutenant Nokomo felt that his gratitude to the Maro Empire was not so clear in his heart...
After meeting his family, to his surprise, not only did they not suffer all kinds of persecution from the Lampali Kingdom's army as he imagined, but they were all red-faced and full of energy, except for being a little worried because they lost contact with him. Besides, life seems to be better than before.
When talking about the situation after the Lampali Kingdom occupied this place, the family had no complaints against the Lampali Kingdom. He was even full of praise, saying that after the Lampali Kingdom occupied this place, it directly exempted them from most of the heavy taxes that ordinary farmers had to pay every year, and also sent a farmland magic mechanical harvesting team to specifically help during the previous autumn harvest. They harvest. This year's autumn harvest was extremely easy for them.
Because of this, Lieutenant Nokomo's parents and adult brother who stayed at home were able to save some time to work as part-time workers for a few months at the offices set up by several chambers of commerce in the Kingdom of Lampali in the small town of Greenvitai. And by doing so, he earned a total of more than thirty gold coins.
This situation was far beyond Lieutenant Nokomo's expectation, and it also gave him a trace of doubt.
The small town of Greenvite was originally the private territory of Earl Green of the Frankish Kingdom. When this land was still under the rule of the Frankish Kingdom, the people of the Frankish Kingdom in the territory had to pay a large amount of taxes to the lord Earl Green in accordance with tradition. Only part of the rations can be left to fill the stomach.
Although Earl Green is one of the few conscientious lords in the Frankish Kingdom who is willing to take care of the lives of civilians, almost all the people in the territory, including Lieutenant Nokomo, still live a very nervous life, especially if they are hungry. Common thing.
But when the territory near the small town of Greenvita fell under the control of the Kingdom of Lampali, most of the taxes that the civilians in the territory were supposed to pay were directly exempted, which instantly caused huge changes in the lives of these civilians. change.
Not to mention anything else, Lieutenant Nokomo's family alone harvested a total of 1,300 kilograms of wheat in this autumn harvest.
In the past, a full 800 kilograms of the thirteen hundred kilograms of wheat would have been handed over to Earl Green, and then leaving aside the part left for seed, he would only have about four hundred kilograms left.
Lieutenant Nokomo's family, except for Lieutenant Nokomo who has joined the army, and five other members, all rely on these 400 kilograms of wheat to last until next spring's harvest. You can imagine the hardships of life.
But when this place was occupied by the Lampali Kingdom, according to the new policy announced by the Lampali Kingdom, only 300 jins of wheat were paid for the 1,300 kilograms, and the rest was left to Lieutenant Nokomo's family. For personal use.
One thousand kilograms of wheat compared to only four hundred kilograms of wheat before. That was more than twice as much, which naturally made Lieutenant Nokomo's family's life much easier.
Moreover, after the Kingdom of Lampali occupied the small town of Greenvitai, several chambers of commerce from the Kingdom of Lampali, the Kingdom of Luersun, and the Principality of Drake moved in and carried out various preliminary developments in the small town of Greenvitai. Recruiting a large number of local manpower enables many people to find a job and receive several or even dozens of golden coins that these civilians could not even imagine before.
With the help of gold coins, life at Lieutenant Nokomo's family became more comfortable.
Because of the lack of food and clothing, every winter in the past was the most difficult time for Lieutenant Nokomo's family. But after winter this year, the remaining five members of Lieutenant Nokomo's family were not only able to eat well, but also bought two new pieces for each of them with the dozens of gold coins earned by their parents and adult brother from working. The brand-new cotton-padded jackets produced by the Armani Chamber of Commerce in the Lampali Kingdom no longer have to endure hunger and cold as before.
Thinking of the two new cotton-padded jackets that his younger siblings showed off to him before, Lieutenant Nokomo couldn't help but look down at what he was wearing.
As an officer, the clothing he was equipped with was of course better than that of ordinary soldiers, but it was nothing more than a thin cotton jacket under a layer of rotten leather armor that was so rough that it was almost worn out.
He didn't need to touch it with his hands at all. He could feel how light and thin the cotton-padded jacket was just by relying on his body. He could even feel the cold wind seeping directly into it, which showed how poor the quality of the cotton-padded jacket was.
But it’s this rotten cotton-padded jacket. When he was equipped with it, three gold coins were still deducted from his officer salary.
You know, his salary as a lieutenant officer for one year is only fifteen gold coins.
Thinking of this, Lieutenant Nokomo raised a wry smile again.
In the past, his annual salary of fifteen gold coins was a great supplement to his family, which allowed his family to live a slightly better life than other families in the village. This also allowed him to receive many special benefits every time he returned home. .
However, now, just by working part-time for a few months at the Lampali Kingdom's office in the small town of Greenvitai, my younger brother has already earned more than ten gold coins.
Coupled with his parents' income, his fifteen gold coins seem less important.
Even when his brother talked about it with him again. He also told him with a look of disdain that he should not be a soldier at all and that he might as well work in the chambers of commerce in the Lampali Kingdom.
Because he heard that if you do well in those chambers of commerce, it would not be surprising to even get fifteen gold coins a month.
besides. There is another obvious difference.
The new cotton-padded jackets worn by the younger siblings are thick and warm, and they look good. When they were purchased from the Armani Chamber of Commerce, they only cost one gold coin and forty silver coins.
If you buy two pieces at a time, you can even save ten silver coins.
In comparison, the value of the thin cotton-padded jacket he was wearing was not worth it.
But Lieutenant Nokomo could hardly complain. Because whether it was in the former Frankish Kingdom or the Maro Empire where he stayed these past few months, the price of cotton-padded jackets filled with precious cotton remained high.
With the thin cotton-padded jacket he was wearing, it wouldn't be a problem to sell it for two gold coins.
God knows why this damn Armani Chamber of Commerce can sell it so cheaply, aren't you afraid of losing money to them
But then I thought about it, it made sense for the Frankish Kingdom to refuse the Armani Chamber of Commerce to enter the Frankish Kingdom before.
If the Armani Chamber of Commerce comes in, all the businessmen in the Frankish Kingdom who make a fortune by selling cotton-padded jackets every winter will probably be squeezed out.
However... what does this have to do with ordinary civilians
As a commoner who wants to break even a silver coin and spend it carefully, who doesn't want to buy a new cotton-padded jacket that is cheap, very warm, and even looks better
"Brother, it would be great if this place was occupied by the Lampali Kingdom forever."
Thinking of the innocent words spoken by his eleven-year-old sister with her big eyes blinking, the bitter smile on Lieutenant Nokomo's face deepened.
These words sound innocent, but are they not what is in the heart of my sister, perhaps even of my parents and younger brother, and even of all the civilians near the small town of Greenvita? (~^~)