Chapter 552 Spring

The weather is getting warmer and the snow is melting.

The ice and snow on the northwest highlands melted into a gurgling stream, and the streams poured into the river, and then divided into several branches in the low-lying land in the south of the Jumu Pass, and flowed all the way to the southeast along the terrain. A piece of fertile soil has emerged, making this place one of the largest grain-producing areas in the Holy Spirit Plain, and it has also become an important place for the Eastern Rebels and the Kingdom Army to compete repeatedly.

The flames of war are very close, and it was briefly extinguished in winter, but as the weather warms, the haze of war has returned to the land with the re-rising water in the river.

The gray-haired Sam took his children to the upper reaches of the river. The stones that were piled on the "Harvest Stone" last year were especially missing. Most of them were kicked away by animals passing by to drink water. Below the remaining stones, some rough nicks can still be seen vaguely, depicting the sacred emblem of the three gods of abundance with crude techniques.

Sam stepped forward, and with an almost devout demeanor, cleaned up the stones of the past years on the harvest stone, then took out the red ginger grass he carried with him, squeezed the grass juice and smeared it on the emblem of the three gods of abundance, two The son picked up new, suitable-sized stones from the nearby river bank, placed them on the flat surface on top of the harvest stones, and made a small pile. After this was done, the youngest daughter came over. Put a green twig in the middle of the pile of rocks.

Sam lowered his head and whispered: "Goddess of Spring, you are the first messenger of the Moon of Resurrection. 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 abundance is composed of three different goddesses. The eldest sister is Gaia, the goddess 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. Eve, the goddess of harvest, is the younger sister of the earth mother goddess. She specializes in the crops of plants to protect the harvest of mortals. The goddess of spring, Flora, is the youngest of the three gods of abundance, but also the most lively one— —

The Ansu people believe that whenever the moon of recovery comes and the snow and ice on the earth melt, 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 goddess's attention, the earliest green shoots of the Moon of Resurrection can please her, she will remember the position of each green branch, and after returning to the palace at the end of the spring, she will tell what happened on the earth. The Goddess of Harvest - The farmers' annual harvest is guaranteed.

Almost all farmers believe in the three gods of abundance—even if they are also believers of the holy light or the god of blood, they will not ignore the worship of the god of abundance every spring.

But just relying on the extra three or five catties of grain... can you really live with peace of mind?

After a short prayer,

Sam raised his head and looked at the green branches in the middle of the stone pile that were gradually turning into dust and scattered in the wind.

"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 has to 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 nobleman is fighting, and of course we have to pay food!"

The two sons glanced at each other, and then the younger son said, "Father, when I went out today, I saw the soldiers again. They passed by the north avenue and went east."

"That's Earl Thorin's cavalry," said Sam, shaking his head. He had been a farmer all his life, but he didn't dare to get involved with the noble soldiers. "You didn't provoke them, did you?"

"I'm hiding far away!" The younger son shook his head vigorously, "They're very scary—they are all carrying swords they've never seen before, wearing armors they've never seen before, riding on tall horses, fierce and vicious. ."

"...The weather is getting warmer every day, I'm afraid it's going to fight again."

Sam muttered, he knew what the younger son meant by the swords and armor he had never seen before—he had also seen a group of knights pass by the north of the village a few days ago, and those knights were wearing different clothes from last year. Equipment, it is said that those swords and armors are from the south. Count Thorin seems to be confident that the weapons built by the southerners can help him regain his territory and fortress, but these things are for the common people who are digging in the fields. It's really hard to understand, and I'm not interested in understanding it.

He only hoped that this battle would be over soon, or at least not continue to fight here and there. Either the Kingdom's army would drive out the people from the East, or the people from the East would drive the Kingdom's army away. It doesn't matter who wins or loses.

Last year, when the army of the Eastlanders hit the front of the giant wood crossing, Earl Thorin said that he would organize a defense, so he collected a wave of food from the neighboring village. In the end, he didn't hold back, and was still beaten in by the Eastlanders.

After the attack, Prince Edmund confiscated the food, but arrested a third of the village's young people to build roads, and several people died outside.

Halfway through the road repair, the Royal Army and the Crusaders fought back together again, and drove the people from the east out of the giant wood crossing, but this was not a good thing - in order to support the Crusaders' knights and priests, ask for Earl Lin received another wave of food.

Last year was a bumper harvest, an unprecedented bumper harvest. Every family received 20% to 30% more.

Ten people starved to death in the village, and eight died from road construction.

So it is not surprising that the 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 the tattered hat and put it on his head, "Too many people have died recently, and it's getting harder and harder to go out in the wild at night. Peaceful."

The children followed in their father's footsteps and walked along the relatively flat rocky beach on the river bank towards the village. The younger daughter followed behind the two older brothers and suddenly asked curiously, "I heard that John next door was selected. Going to be a soldier, the knight lord gave their family two bags of wheat, and they don't have to pay taxes this year..."

"Don't even think about it!" Sam heard the voice behind him, and immediately turned his head to stare, "It's really fighting now, and being a soldier is going to be desperate with people from the East, and one accidentally died outside— And just your two unsatisfactory older brothers, you see that they have thin arms and thin legs, so the knight master will like them?"

The little daughter was startled, and hurriedly shrank her neck and didn't dare to say a word.

The 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 peculiarly shaped armor with runes and a black one-handed long sword on his waist was parked at the entrance of the village. After seeing Sam and others, the cavalry immediately raised his hand. The whip: "You guys, come here!"

Sam's heart tensed.

To get food again? This winter has just passed... How can there be food at home? !

But he still did not dare to neglect, and quickly brought his sons and daughters to the front of the cavalry, and stopped at a distance where he would not be kicked by a horse or beaten by a whip, and bowed deeply: "Master Knight."

This is just a soldier on a horse. Judging from his fully armed appearance, he is at most a captain among the soldiers. It must be different from the "Master Knight" who is a real nobleman, but even if Sam knows this You should also respectfully call the other party "Master Knight" - this is very pleasing 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 fully armed man raised the corners of his mouth, nodded in satisfaction, and then pointed the whip to the two sons behind Sam: "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 cavalry raised his chin. "Choose one. Your son has been recruited."

"Ah...ah?" Sam raised his head in astonishment, and after a brief stupor, he finally panicked, "Master, they...they can't fight! Look at their arms and legs, and their standing here. The appearance of not being able to stand up straight is a trivial matter if you die on the battlefield, I am afraid that you will not be able to even pick up a weapon, and you will be embarrassed by the lord!"

"Go to the battlefield? Are they worthy?" The cavalry waved the whip in his hand and said impatiently, "They are here to work!"

Sam was startled by the sound of the whip, but asked boldly, "Work...what?"

"Roads repaired," the cavalry cried, "by order signed by Grand Duke Victoria Wilder, Duke Regent, Baldwin Franklin, and Prince of Wales, to repair the Kingdom Road--the loyal Viscount Hancall has enlisted your home. Be on the list, don't disobey!"

The cavalry walked away.

This is the 15th of the month of recovery, the Ansu traditional festival of recovery. On this day, the Kingdom Avenue, which had been abandoned for a century, finally began to be renovated.

Also on the same day, after intense preparations, the "White Sand Mining Company" established by the Minister of Commerce Patrick finally selected the first mining point in the White Sand Hills in the east.

The young knight Belk Loren stood on the high lookout, watching the Cecilians bustling among the rocks in the distance: as the messenger of the East and the South, as Prince Edmund Appointed "representative", this young man meticulously performed his duties, keeping a close eye on the activities of the Cecil people on this land, and watching the excavation site of the Cecil people's first mining point is naturally his job .

For the Cecilians from the southwest, Belk Lauren always maintains three points of trust and seven points of vigilance. He knows what the founding duke has done in the southern border: one who used force to destroy the entire southern border within a year. The aristocratic system, the person who stormed and occupied the rock fortress within three days, could never be a good person. He sent a "White Sand Mining Company". Although it was only mining in name, who knew that these Cecilians would not be? It will infiltrate everywhere, and will it gradually turn the land near the White Sand Hills into the Cecilians' own by gradually swallowing and nibbling away?

After all, it was only separated by a river and a small forest from Glenland on the border of the Principality of Cecil.

Below the observation deck is a temporary mine camp. Those Cecilians transported a lot of strange equipment through the Gelan area. They laid a magic net in the mine, built a board room, and paid it out. A simple road has been established-although the tools and building plans they use are peculiar, at least until now, what these southerners have done are only the preparations necessary for "mining".

"Marquis Belk, I hope this mine can satisfy your curiosity," a voice came from the side. "After all, in such a barren place, there is really nothing to see."

The speaker was a thin, dark man named Holm. Belk Lauren knew that this young man, who didn't even have a last name, was the head of the "White Sands Mining Company" and a "mining expert sent by Cecil." ", he didn't know why it was a civilian who managed such a huge industry and commanded hundreds of workers, but he still nodded politely to Holm: "I didn't come here to see the scenery, I just came to see Look at your mines - please don't mind me speaking directly, but I must emphasize: although the mining rights are given to you, this is still land in the east, and I am responsible for every inch of land outside the mines."

Holm nodded: "Of course, Mr. Marquis, we only mine, we have no interest in any land other than mines and roads."

In the distance, the Cecilians who were busy between the mountains and rocks finally completed some kind of preparation work. With the loud whistle and a few loud flutes, the miners in coarse work clothes quickly ran to Lishan. Rock far away, hiding behind a boulder.

Belk watched this scene in astonishment. He had never seen a similar situation in any mining process he knew: "What are they doing?"

Holm laughed. This man from slave labor had never had such a bright smile in his life: "Mining."

In the distant mine, someone waved a prominent flag a few times from a high place, and then all the miners near the rock covered their ears.

Belk Lauren looked curious: "Mining?"

A loud bang came from far away.

Then there were more loud bangs, one after another, like rolling thunder.

The entire observatory trembled slightly in this continuous loud noise. Under this shock, which was more terrifying than the pyroblast technique and the earthquake technique, the distant mountain rock that required hundreds of people to dig for a whole month suddenly collapsed.

Belk had almost drawn his sword, and while his ears were buzzing, he heard the voice of the person in charge of the White Sand Mining Company next to him:

"Yes, mining, we only mine, Mr. Marquis."