The weather is getting warmer and the snow is melting.
The ice and snow on the highlands in the northwest melted into a gurgling stream. The stream converged and poured into the river channel, and then divided into several branches in the low-lying land south of the Jumu crossing, flowing all the way to the southeast along the terrain. A piece of fertile soil was produced, which made this place one of the largest grain-producing areas in the Holy Spirit Plain, and also made it an important place for repeated competition between the Eastern Rebels and the Kingdom Army.
The fire of war has been burning very close. It was briefly extinguished in winter, but as the weather warmed up, the haze of war returned to this land with the river rising again in the river.
The gray-haired Sam took his children to the upper reaches of the river, especially the stones piled on the "Harvest Stone" last year, but there were only a few missing, most of which were kicked away by animals passing by to drink water. Under the remaining stones, some rough inscriptions can still be seen vaguely, depicting the sacred emblems of the three gods of abundance in crude ways.
Sam stepped forward and cleaned up the old stones on the Harvest Stone with an almost reverent demeanor, then took out the red ginger grass that he carried with him, squeezed out the grass juice and smeared it on the emblem of the three gods of abundance. The son picked up new stones of suitable size from the nearby river bank and placed them on the top of the Harvest Stone in a small pile. After doing this, the youngest daughter came over, Put a green twig in the middle of the stone pile.
Sam lowered his head and murmured in a low voice: "Goddess of Spring, you are the first messenger of the Moon of Recovery, may the red ginger grass dye your skirt red and lead you to this land..."
Several children bowed their heads together and prayed together with their father.
In human belief, the God of Plenty is composed of three different goddesses. The eldest sister is Gaia, the mother of the earth, also known as the god of life and the mother of the earth. She is in charge of the entire earth and all the plants that grow on it. The goddess of harvest, Eve, is the younger sister of the goddess of the earth. She specializes in the crops in plants to protect the harvest of mortals. The goddess of spring, Flora, is the youngest of the three gods of fertility, but also the liveliest one.
Ansu people believe that whenever the moon of recovery comes and the ice and snow melt on the earth, Flora, the goddess of spring, will be the first to run out of her palace and come to the earth to find evidence of the end of winter. The attention of this goddess, the first green shoots of the recovery moon can make her happy, she will remember the position of each green shoot, and when she returns to the palace at the end of spring, she will tell the story of what happened on the earth. The Harvest Goddess farmers have a guaranteed harvest for a year.
Almost all farmers believe in the three gods of abundance, even if they are also believers in the god of light or blood, they will not ignore the worship of the god of abundance every spring.
But just by collecting an extra three to five catties of grain... can you really live with peace of mind
After the short prayer ended, Sam raised his head, looked at the green branches in the middle of the stone pile that were gradually turning into dust and drifting with the wind, and exhaled slightly: "The goddess has accepted our worship, and this year's harvest will not be bad."
"Last year's harvest was not bad, but I was still hungry," the eldest son muttered in a low voice. "The goddess can only bless the harvest, but she must be hungry."
"Don't talk nonsense in front of the gods!" Sam immediately turned his head and glared at his son, "That's because the noble lord is at war, of course we have to hand in the food!"
The two sons glanced at each other, and then the younger son said: "Father, when I went out today, I saw soldiers again. They passed by the north road and went east."
"That's Earl Thorin's cavalry," Sam said, shaking his head. He had been a farmer all his life, but he didn't dare to get involved with noble soldiers. "You didn't provoke them, did you?"
"I hid far away!" The youngest son shook his head vigorously, "They are very scary, and they all carry swords and armor that they have never seen before, and ride on tall horses, looking fierce."
"... the weather is getting warmer every day, I'm afraid there will be another fight."
Sam muttered and said, he knew what his younger son meant by the so-called unseen swords and armor. A few days ago, he also saw a group of knights passing by the north of the village. Those knights were all wearing different equipment from last year. It is said that those swords and armors all came from the south. Earl Thorin seems to be confident that the weapons made by the southerners can help him regain his territory and fortress, but these things are really difficult for the common people who plan to eat in the ground. Not easy to understand, nor interested in understanding.
He just hoped that this battle would be over quickly, or at least not continue to fight here, either the Kingdom Army would drive out the Eastern Realm people, or the Eastern Realm people would quickly drive the Kingdom Army away, it doesn't matter who wins or loses.
Last year, when the army of the Eastlanders fought in front of the giant wooden crossing, Earl Thorin said he wanted to organize a defense, so he collected a wave of food from the neighboring villages. In the end, he failed to defend and was still beaten in by the Eastlanders.
After breaking in, Prince Edmund confiscated the food, but arrested a third of the village's young and strong people to build roads, and several people died outside.
In the middle of the road repair, the Royal Army and the Crusaders fought back together, driving the people from the east out of the giant wooden crossing, but this is not a good thing. In order to support the knights and priests of the Crusaders, Earl Thorin Another wave of food was collected.
Last year was a bumper harvest, an unprecedented bumper harvest, and every family harvested 20-30% more.
Ten people in the village starved to death, and eight died from road construction.
So it is no wonder that his son would say such bold words in front of the gods.
"Go home, don't encounter water ghosts and evil spirits later." Sam shook his head, grabbed his tattered hat and put it on his head, "too many people have died recently, and the wilderness is getting worse at night." Peaceful."
The sons and daughters followed in the footsteps of their father and walked towards the village along the relatively flat rocky beach on the river bank. The youngest daughter followed behind the two elder brothers and suddenly asked curiously: "I heard that John next door was selected. Going to be a soldier, Master Knight rewarded their family with two sacks of wheat, and there is no need to pay taxes this year... "
"Don't even think about it!" Sam heard the voice behind him, and immediately turned his head and glared, "It's a real war now, and soldiers have to fight desperately with the people of the Eastern Border. You two unworthy brothers, look at their slender arms and legs, would Master Knight like them?"
The little girl was taken aback, she quickly shrank her neck and didn't dare to make a sound.
Smoke rose from the front, and the wooden fence at the entrance of the village came into Sam's sight.
A cavalryman riding a tall horse, wearing a strangely shaped armor with runes on his body, and a black one-handed long sword on his waist was stopping at the entrance of the village. After seeing Sam and others, the cavalryman immediately raised his hand The whip: "You guys, come here!"
Sam's heart tightened suddenly.
Want to collect food again? This winter has just passed... How can there be food at home? !
But he still didn't dare to be negligent, and hurriedly brought his sons and daughters to the front of the cavalry, stopped at a distance where they would not be kicked by the horse or hit by the whip, and bowed deeply: "Mr. Knight."
This is just a soldier on a horse. Judging by his fully armed appearance, he is at most a small captain among the soldiers. He is definitely different from the real nobleman "Master Knight", but even if Sam knows this You should also respectfully call the other party "Master Knight", which is very flattering to the soldiers on horseback, and even if someone pursues it, he can use his stupidity and lack of rules to cover up the past.
The cavalry was really useful. The heavily armed man raised his mouth and nodded in satisfaction. Then he pointed at the two sons behind Sam with a whip: "You have two sons?"
"Yes... yes..." Sam nodded again and again, "They are all honest young people..."
"It's good to be honest, what you want is honesty," the cavalryman raised his chin, "choose one, your son has been drafted."
"Ah... ah?" Sam raised his head in astonishment, and after a brief moment of astonishment, he finally panicked, "Master, they... they can't fight! Look at their arms and legs, and they can't even stand here!" It's a trivial matter if you die on the battlefield, I'm afraid you won't even be able to pick up a weapon, and you'll embarrass the lord!"
"Go to the battlefield? Are they worthy?" The cavalryman waved the whip in his hand and said impatiently, "They are going to work!"
Sam was startled by the sound of the whip, but he dared to ask, "Work . . . what work?"
"Build the road," the cavalryman said loudly, "by the orders signed by the Grand Duke Regent Victoria Weld, Baldwin Franklin and the Prince of Wales, repair the Kingdom Road. Your family has been included in the list by the loyal Viscount Hancall. defy!"
The cavalry rode away.
This is the 15th of the month of recovery, the Ansu traditional festival of recovery. On this day, the Kingdom Avenue, which has been abandoned for a century, finally began to be rebuilt.
Also on the same day, after intense preparations, the "White Sands Mining Company" led by Minister of Commerce Patrick Padrik finally selected the first mining site in the Eastern White Sand Hills.
The young knight Belcroren stood on the high watchtower, watching the Cecilians bustling between the distant mountains and rocks: as an envoy connecting the east and the south, as an envoy appointed by Prince Edmund The "representative" of the Cecilians, this young man performed his duties meticulously, closely following the activities of the Cecilians on this land, and watching the excavation site of the first mining site of the Cecilians was naturally his job.
For the Cecilians from the southwest, Belcroren always maintains three points of trust and seven points of vigilance. He knows what the founding duke did in the southern border: a noble who used violence to destroy the entire southern border within a year The system, the person who stormed and occupied the Rock Fortress within three days could never be a kind person. He sent a "White Sand Mining Company" here. Although it is only mining in name, who knows whether these Cecilians will Infiltrating everywhere, will the land near the White Sand Hills become the Cecils' own by gradually devouring and nibbling
After all, there is only a river and a small piece of woods separating this place from Gelenland on the border of the Principality of Cecil.
Below the watchtower is a temporary mining camp. Those Cecilians transported a lot of strange equipment through the Glen area. They laid magic nets in the mine, built board houses, and paid off Although the tools and building plans they used were very peculiar, at least until now, what these people from the southern border had done was only the necessary preparations for "mining".
"Marquis of Belk, I hope this mine can satisfy your curiosity," a voice came from the side, "After all, there is really nothing to see in such a barren place."
The person who spoke was a thin, dark man named Home. Belcroren knew that this young man who didn't even have a last name was the person in charge of the "White Sands Mining Company" and was a "mining expert" sent by Cecil. , he didn't know why it was a commoner who managed such a huge industry and commanded hundreds of workers, but he still nodded politely to Home: "I didn't come here to see the scenery, I just came to see Your mines, please don’t mind me speaking directly, but I must emphasize: Although the mining rights have been given to you, this is still the land of the Eastern Territory after all, and I am responsible for every inch of land outside the mine.”
Home nodded: "Of course, Mr. Marquis, we only mine. We are not interested in any land other than mines and roads."
In the distance, those Cecilians who were busy between the rocks finally completed some preparations. Accompanied by loud whistles and a few loud flute sounds, the miners in coarse overalls quickly ran to the mountain The rock is far away, hiding behind a boulder.
Belk looked at this scene in astonishment. He couldn't see anything similar in any mining process he knew: "What are they doing?"
Home laughed. This man who was born as a slave laborer had never had such a bright smile in his life: "Mining."
In the distant mine, someone waved a striking flag a few times, and then all the miners who were close to the rock covered their ears.
Belcroren looked curious: "Mining?"
A loud noise came from afar.
Then there were more loud noises, one after another, like rolling thunder.
The entire observatory trembled slightly amidst the continuous loud noises. Under the impact of this shock that was more terrifying than the Pyroblast technique or the Earthquake technique, the rock in the distance that required hundreds of people to dig for a whole month collapsed.
Belk had almost drawn his sword in his hand. Amidst the buzzing of his ears, he heard the voice of the person in charge of the White Sands Mining Company next to him:
"Yes, mining, we only mine, Monsieur Marquis."