Early in the morning, Roland woke up from the cold. He climbed out of the cold bed, put on a wool coat, and dipped his feet into the warm water bucket.
This is the corrupt privilege that he can only enjoy as His Royal Highness. Every morning, the maid will put hot water next to his bed, in addition to a clean towel and hot milk, so that his The body instantly regains warmth.
Of course, he felt that he was restrained enough compared to the common practice of asking people to warm the bed of the big nobles. Originally, the fourth prince brought the head maid Tyr here to make this idea, but unfortunately he died without enjoying it. Roland didn't like this approach, so he gave the vacated position to an elderly and experienced old maid. In fact, this choice was very correct. At present, there are many witches living in the castle, but she still fights inside and outside the castle. Well organized.
The fire in the fireplace had long since been extinguished, and only white fly ash remained. The cold wind was blowing through the cracks behind the window, and it was biting to the bone. It was hard to believe that it was still mid-autumn. Roland wiped his feet, washed with another basin of hot water, and walked to the window to close the window that had been open all night.
Although open fire fireplaces were common in this day and age, he was concerned about carbon monoxide poisoning and had to leave a gap every night when he went to bed. In the first half of the night, the indoor temperature can still be kept warm. As the firewood burns out, it is no different from the outdoors in the early morning.
We have to find a way to solve this problem, Roland thought, otherwise he will not be able to sleep in the future.
After breakfast, he took Nightingale, the chief knight and a group of personal guards to the city wall area for a routine inspection.
The new city wall was separated from the old city wall by a large piece of grass, and now it has become a vast expanse of white. Walking on the thick snow, the soles of the shoes will make a crunching sound.
Looking up, the sky was pale gray, and occasionally a cloud of snowflakes drifted into his neck, bringing a hint of coldness. He knew that weather like this was likely to continue into next spring… or even longer.
"How is the line of defense?"
"It's much better than the last time," Carter Lannis looked relaxed. "Most of the soldiers of the First Army have been on the battlefield and have revolving rifles. Only ten guards are needed for a section of the city wall of about 100 meters. It can suppress the evil beasts living below. Moreover, the new city wall is half a meter higher than the previous stone wall, and it is difficult for the wolf species to jump directly to the top of the city. Don't even think about going over the line of defense with this group of monsters."
"That's good."
Roland climbed the city wall, and along the way the soldiers held their heads high and saluted him one after another. Judging from this spirit alone, he was completely different from the original militia fighters. At that time, although everyone stood on the top of the wall and seemed to pierce the wooden spears neatly and uniformly, it was just a conditioned reflex formed by repeated training of an action. Their eyes are full of numbness, and their movements are stiff, and if you look closely, you can find that most of them are shaking slightly in their legs.
But now the soldiers showed confidence in their eyes. After salute, they turned their eyes to the front again and continued to monitor the battlefield.
Walking along the city wall to the side of the hidden forest, it seems to be a lot more lively.
Temporary dwellings for serfs and fugitives were built in this area. Looking down from the top of the wall, I saw long slopes of earth arranged in parallel one after another, like undulating wavy lines. There are more than ten houses inside each raised earth slope, and the structure is exactly the same as that of the cave. The thick soil wall can maintain the indoor temperature, and with the heating artifact kang, the linen can keep away from the cold.
The entire residential area is divided into two parts. The part close to the city wall is called the west area, which is used to house fugitives; the east area far from the city wall is divided into serfs.
Every day, the city hall will send people here to distribute food and charcoal, and the escapees also need to provide logistical transportation for the first army guarding the city wall; as for the serfs, most of them have enough wheat they need, except for some active minds. of people go out to find odd jobs and earn extra money for themselves, while others rarely leave their warm houses.
At this moment, a loud quarrel suddenly came from the junction of the east and west districts. Roland looked around and saw a group of people arguing loudly on the avenue in the middle of the residential area. One of them was wearing a blue and white uniform and appeared to be a city hall clerk. The quarrel soon escalated into a brawl, with the two groups of people fighting together, and the scene was chaotic.
"Your Highness?" Carter asked.
"Let's go and see," Roland nodded.
The group came to the scene of the trouble, and the chief knight took the lead, rushed straight into the fighting crowd, and knocked down several of the most violent people to the ground in two or three strokes. Roland's personal guards also pulled out their long swords and yelled at everyone to stop, and the scene was quickly brought under control.
After discovering that the person who came was the Lord, the two groups of people knelt down together.
"What's your name?" Roland looked at the clerk who had been punched twice in the face and frowned, "What happened here, who attacked you first?"
"His Royal Highness, I'm Keya Harveys," he shouted, covering his face. "It's that damn fugitive who made the first move, the guy in the brown sackcloth! I'm still distributing food, he's like a vicious dog jumped up."
The fugitive pointed by Keya raised his head and said, "His Royal Highness, things are not as he said. These people and serfs colluded to blackmail us, and they charged money for every porridge. When you took us in, you clearly said this. It's all for free!"
Roland was a little surprised. The evacuees from the east have been sorted out by the city hall. All craftsmen, people with special skills or literacy have all moved to the first ring, and it stands to reason that the rest are ordinary civilians. However, from the tone and wording of his speech, it is not like a commoner can say it.
By comparison, the city hall member who is full of insults such as damn, vicious dog, etc. is really disappointing. Since it has a name and a surname... Nine times out of ten, it is a knight who is subordinate to Duke Ryan.
"I did say that before you were officially incorporated into Border Town, the porridge and accommodation were free," Roland repeated in front of all the escapees. "Now, this statement is still valid!"
"Your Highness is merciful!"
"Long live the lord!"
"Thank you, Your Highness!"
The fugitives kowtowed and shouted.
And Keya Harves's face suddenly turned blue.
"However, fighting and wounding people in the territory is also a violation of the law, especially attacking a city hall member," Roland motioned to the guards. I will judge the brawl myself."
He paused, then looked at Keya with interest, "I also really want to ask you what's going on with the charged porridge.".
(., Your support is my biggest motivation.)
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