In the bleak and cold late autumn, the cold wind blows across the fields and fields, and there are no birds flying in the clear sky of autumn.
Farmer Kahn bent over, picked up the heavy basket, raised his hand, and poured it down towards the wooden trough beside him. The golden beans made a satisfying clattering sound, flowing into the trough like a stream of golden water, rolling into the wooden trough buried in it. The gradually overflowing sound of the underground granary made the wrinkled man laugh, his eyes narrowed, and the corners of his mouth could not help but curl up.
"Maple carob" is one of the last grains that can be harvested in the southern region in autumn. With this batch of thoroughly dried beans entering the warehouse, all the hard work of the year has paid off.
It’s another winter where people won’t starve to death. If we’re lucky enough to catch up with the additional recruitment of workers in nearby factories, not only will people not starve to death this winter, but our family may even have meat to eat several times a week.
Kahn straightened his back and wiped the fine sweat from his forehead. Not far away, a magical car pulling wood passed by on the newly built street. Someone said hello, and there were lights and shadows flickering on the square at the end of the road. It was a holographic projection projected by the magic net terminal.
Both the magic vehicle and the magic network terminal are incredible new gadgets. It is said that they have not been widely used in some remote places, but this is a town close to Cecil City after all. Advanced "magic technology" is always necessary. more.
Kahn doesn't understand the secrets behind these magical technologies, but at least now he won't scream out in fright after seeing the magical vehicles. He knows that these incredible things are the lords, and now they should be called His Majesty. There will be more and more of these things in the future, and most of them will come in handy.
As useful as a water pump by a river and a mechanical mill at a farm machinery management station.
In the words of the scholar who often comes to the town to teach, "It's all a good thing."
Kahn shook his head, shook his slightly sore arms, and walked towards the door of the house. He could already smell the aroma of well-cooked oatmeal and freshly baked bread, which made his stomach, which had become shriveled after labor, squirm.
But his movements were interrupted by a strange sound that suddenly came from the sky.
It was some sort of low humming, with whistling air or something else in it.
He had heard birdsong and wind and rain, but nothing like it.
The wrinkled farmer couldn't help but raised his head and looked in the direction of the sound.
In the clear autumn sky, no birds flew by, but there was a machine made of steel, with a low humming sound across the sky.
"Three gods of abundance..." The farmer widened his eyes in astonishment, and stared at the "iron beast" flying across the sky with an expression that he didn't know whether it was fear or awe, or both. He couldn't help trembling, but in the end he didn't kneel down in front of the strange thing. He guessed that the thing should be a "new thing" made by the smart people in the city. In the past days, common people saw " "Master Master's creation" must kneel down, because it may be a terrible golem or synthetic monster, but today's Cecil civilians don't need to kneel to such things.
"What is that?!"
Kahn muttered to himself, watching the unimaginable machine gradually disappear into the sky. He heard exclamations from the nearby houses, and the sound of things falling on the ground came from the direction of his own kitchen. These sounds Remind him that what he just saw was not a hallucination.
It seems that in the next few days, the men in the town will have a topic in the tavern.
…
In the government affairs hall, in Gawain's exclusive office, Hetty was looking at the holographic screen projected on the magic net terminal, and Gawain's voice behind the desk came from his ear: "'Dragoon I' needs a certain amount of time before it can be put into practical use." time, but we can already start preparing for the establishment of a new type of air force."
New technology will always be used in the military field first. This is true on Earth, and it is the same in this different world. On the one hand, it is to strengthen the strength of the army. On the other hand, well-trained soldiers are always the best new technology testers.
Hetty turned around and nodded: "The selection of personnel has started in the middle of the year. Byron and Philip each selected fifty outstanding soldiers with rich experience, boldness and carefulness from their Griffin Knights. A reserve team of a hundred people has been formed. These people don't know the reason why they were selected, but the basic training on mechanical control has been going on for half a month. If the training machine is in place in time, these people will soon be able to transfer into the training phase."
"Very good. Rebecca will complete the data collation and blueprint adjustment as soon as possible. Once the blueprint is adjusted in place, Nicholas will quickly create a practical training mechanism."
"It's really hard to believe... We actually made it," Hetty still couldn't help sighing until now, "Free flight... The power of a middle-level mage has now been handed over to ordinary people through machines. What Rebecca has really done is beyond my imagination."
"I've said from the very beginning that she is a very smart child with talents that others don't have," Gawain smiled and shook his head, not mentioning Rebecca's insults on the proving ground Anyway, sooner or later, she will get angry with Heidi on other occasions, "It's just that the old-fashioned professional system and noble rules have restricted her ability, but now... let's let her do it."
"Your vision is far sharper than mine," Hetty laughed, smiling brightly like a big butler of an empire who forgot how much money Rebecca's laboratory can burn in a month, then she sorted out her expression slightly, rather Wei asked earnestly, "Another thing, ancestor, the letter from Rosetta Augustus has been delivered for almost a week... Have you decided when to reply?"
Gawain narrowed his eyes slightly, with the corners of his mouth slightly upturned: "... Rosetta's personal letter..."
There is indeed such a letter, from the neighboring Typhon Empire, written by the talented and generous Emperor Rosetta, sent to the border fort by a special envoy, and then sent to the city of Cecil by the fort's messenger, the letter It is still lying in Gawain's desk drawer, and the contents on it...
One third was warm official courtesies, one third was a tactful response to last month's border confrontation, and one third was a rosy outlook on the future of trade between the two countries.
Affable, friendly, and oozing with genuine candor, it is undoubtedly the work of a master wordmaster, and carefully polished.
Just as Gao Wen expected at the beginning, Rosetta Augustus was a difficult character to deal with. He was not only brave and resourceful, but also able to bend and stretch. When the border contest was at a disadvantage, the emperor did not hesitate. He chose to lower his stance, but he still protected Typhon's interests without any compromise.
Not only that, Gawain also learned another thing from Daniel: Rosetta Augustus summoned the nobles of the imperial capital who held military power on the second day of the Changfeng-Winter Wolf Fort contest, a closed-door meeting After that, all the military nobles kept silent
The negative impact of that border contest did not spread outside the Obsidian Palace at all, and Aldernan's noble circle was peaceful, and this tranquility has been maintained until today, so quiet that people dare not make any waves.
Gao Wen once imagined whether he could take advantage of this border contest to attack Typhon's Wendell family, at least create some domestic pressure on the young wolf general guarding the border, and loosen Typhon's huge military group a little. , but it turns out that Rosetta covered all the details that could create a crack in advance before any of this happened.
In terms of control over the upper nobles, Gao Wen could only admire Emperor Typhon's performance.
"I lowered the import price of textiles by 30% before." After a brief silence, Gao Wen shook his head with a smile, "Of course this is unrealistic. We are just showing our attitude. Tazhen agreed, but if he replied to the letter... it's better to wait. It's only been less than a week, and I believe that with Rosetta's patience, he can wait even a month or two."
Hetty looked at Gawain curiously: "Are you waiting for something?"
"That's right," Gawain nodded, "I'm waiting for news from Duke Baldwin."
…
A week ago, Baldwin Franklin returned to the West.
Now that the situation in Saint-Sunil has stabilized, and all the functions of the capital of the original kingdom are being transferred to the south, he no longer needs to stay there for a long time. In addition, the western border is the most damaged among the four borders of the empire except the southern border. The minor region was about to bear the heavy burden of "blood transfusion" to other regions, and there were a lot of affairs that he needed to handle personally, so he returned to Shilin City, the place ruled by the family for generations.
Today, there are special visitors visiting this border city known as the "Trade Capital", and Baldwin Franklin, one of the grand consuls of the empire, will personally receive them.
In the ancient and majestic family castle, Baldwin, wearing a duke's cloak, walked through the long corridor accompanied by his attendants. There was a whistling north wind raging outside the castle, as if it could soak the slightest bit of cold air into the castle. , Duke Baldwin heard the howling wind from outside the window, and couldn't help muttering softly: "I've been with Victoria for a long time, and I feel cold when I hear this kind of wind."
The close attendant next to him responded immediately: "Please don't worry, my lord, the constant temperature magic circle of the castle will keep out all the cold."
Constant temperature array...
Hearing what the attendant said, Baldwin couldn't help but lose his mind.
I don't know if Shilin City will be able to install a "heating system" like the one in the southern region next winter. The technical data are available, but it may not be easy to adapt to the specific conditions in the western region.
If it could be used, fewer people would freeze to death in winter.
He shook his head, calmed down his slightly divergent thoughts, and the door of the living room had opened before his eyes.
In the loud notification from the attendants, Patwin stepped into the living room, and his eyes were already on the figures seated by the tea table.
There are two short but extremely strong dwarves, one looks quite shrewd, a gentle human being who looks like a clerk or a consultant scholar, and one red valley man with an expressionless face and dark red complexion, Baldwin His eyes swept over these people, until finally they fell on a petite figure who was not seated and stood not far away.
The latter is seriously studying the crystal magic pendulum that is used to decorate the room on the shelf.
The figure was wearing a dark blue cloak, and his figure looked quite small. His long gray hair hung behind him, and a pair of pointed ears were exposed between the strands of hair. Since he was from the back, he couldn't see his appearance. It can only be judged from a little profile and figure that this should be a lady.
She seemed to be completely intoxicated by that ingenious magic pendulum, so that she didn't respond to the Duke of the West who entered the room, until Baldwin couldn't help asking: "Ms. Wenna, are you interested in that magic pendulum?"
Only then did the cloaked figure turn around, and a rather delicate face appeared in front of Baldwin.
Gray complexion, extremely light pupils, and elf-like ears. This is a gray elf, a gray elf from the Ogulei tribal country.
"Human handicrafts are not as exquisite as the silver elves, but they are incomparable to the creativity of silver elf craftsmen. No matter how many times I see them, I appreciate your creativity in the field of art," said the gray elf called "Ms. Wenna" He spoke, but his voice was so elegant and mature that his small size did not match, "Duke Baldwin, I am glad to see that you are still healthy. For the gray elves, there is nothing that makes them happier than seeing their business partners are still healthy. gone."
"Me too," Baldwin Franklin showed a sincere smile, "A healthy body can maintain a healthy business relationship, isn't it?"
"Frankly, I was really worried for a long time after hearing the rumors about civil war and natural disasters in Ansu."
"It should be called Cecil Empire now, Ms. Wenna."
"Ah, Cecil Empire... This legendary surname, I really want to meet that pioneer when I have the opportunity. I was still a child when he was active." Discuss further, my friend, we are here today to see the 'new business' you mentioned."
"Of course." Baldwin smiled and clapped his hands, and immediately an attendant carried several boxes into the room, "I've already prepared the samples and sincerity."
"We are looking forward to the impressive alchemy potion you showed us last time. What will it be this time?"
"Some more essential necessities of life," Baldwin's smile and words were full of affinity, "from the distant Typhon Empire, to the western part of the continent, it is truly exotic."