Iron Powder and Spellcaster

Winters was shocked by the words of the old beggar monk, and he asked: "Then the Plateau Republic is now sitting on the crater of a volcano?"

"Absolutely, at least the newly cultivated land is like this." Brother Rhett did not refute: "Plato does not suppress annexation, and a few people control most of the land. The rich have endless fields, as is the case with the Mitchell family; the poor have nothing. In the land where the land was established, tenant farmers could not work and could only work as long-term laborers. The landlords were greedy and suppressed the poor to cultivate wasteland in order to grab more land. If it were in the Far East, the world would have been in chaos. In my opinion, there is only one reason why there was no civil uprising in this place. It’s just that the land is vast but the people are sparsely populated.”

"Old guy, are you being alarmist?" Winters couldn't help but defend the Mitchell family: "You say the landlords are greedy, but I think the Mitchell family are good people."

The old monk said calmly: "Girard is indeed a generous man, but his character has nothing to do with the desires of the entire landlord group. Just like there are good and bad soldiers in the army, but on the battlefield, no matter how good or bad they are, they will We have to kill the enemy. If we look at each landowner's family individually, most of them have average or above-average moral character. But are their land annexations fake?"

When it comes to sharp words and endless eloquence, the fledgling second lieutenant is no match for the senior clergyman.

But Winters was always a little unconvinced: "But if these things can still exist to this day, doesn't that mean there are no problems?"

"Boy, it's not about 'existing' to this day, it's about 'maintaining' to this day! Politics is not a rock, politics is a building block, and it is never something static." Brother Rhett's smile grew wider: "No one knows what will happen in the future. All things have an end, and there is no immortal monarch or immortal country. To be honest, I really want to see where this system will go in the end."

Winters sighed. The old man in front of him became nagging again. He was already used to it. But the reason why he came to see the mendicant monk at night was actually for something else, but the old magician accidentally took the topic astray.

"That's enough." Winters complained: "I came to ask you what you think about setting up a standing security force in Wolf Town, but you didn't mention anything about the business, and you told me a lot of irrelevant things."

"Let me remind you, I think highly of you." Brother Rhett pretended to be angry: "Boy, don't be ungrateful, the old man's time is very precious."

Winters' original idea was just not to disband the militia and maintain weekly training. However, Mayor Mitchell's idea took a big step forward on this basis, which made Second Lieutenant Montagne hesitate.

If it were in Hailan, Winters could go to Antonio to discuss any doubts. It was not embarrassing for him to ask his elders for advice.

There was no one he could rely on in Langtun Town, and both Bud and Andre were dozens of kilometers away. But he also wanted to hear other people's thoughts on this, preferably objective and neutral thoughts.

After much thought, he could only ask Brother Rhett for his opinion. After all, after living for ninety-five years (as he claimed), the old monk still accumulated some wisdom - Winters had to admit this, and the old monk was still an unrelated third party.

"Okay, okay, you've drank the wine, let's get down to business. Is it really feasible to organize a standing security team in a small place like Langtun?" Winters glanced at the bottomed wine bottle on the table. It was difficult to ask questions empty-handed, so Winters brought a bottle of wine to the door. Unexpectedly, the old mendicant monk became energetic as soon as he drank and started talking non-stop.

"Yes!" Brother Rhett spread his hands: "It seems that everything I said before was in vain."

"What's the meaning?"

"Do you have to explain it clearly before you can understand?" Brother Rhett said helplessly: "Of course it is possible. In a small place like Langtun, if Gilad supports it and you support it, it will definitely be done."

"I think Wolf Town is too small to support retired soldiers." Winters expressed his concerns: "Is the establishment of a security guard forcibly placing an additional burden on the people?"

"That's none of your business. Just let Gilad be responsible for the money and you can be responsible for the people." Brother Reid disagreed very much: "The military book says that fifteen men can support a soldier. You and Gilad are two people. If we work together and organize a small team of policemen, wouldn't we be able to catch them? If we can't support retired soldiers, then we'll just be half farmers and half soldiers."

"There won't be any objections?"

"Who dares to object?" The old monk raised his eyebrows: "What does the security team do for food?"

Winters suddenly remembered the Veneta Standing Army. The Standing Army was always more internal than external. He was a little disinterested: "Okay, then just follow Mayor Mitchell's wishes."

"No! It must be done according to your wishes." Brother Rhett stroked his beard and said slowly: "The key to the Guard lies in the selection. You must not choose someone else's hand. You must choose it yourself."

"Why?"

"Then you might as well think about it, what would happen if you let Gilad recommend and select people?" The old monk chuckled.

After thinking for a while, Winters tentatively answered: "Are they all from Tusa?"

"That's right, if Gilad is asked to select people, then the security team will definitely be all Dussa people." Rhett sneered: "The Dussa people are brave and fierce, and have superb equestrian skills. Even if it is a fair selection, no farmer can compare with it. Them? But you are not the resident officer of Dusa Village, you are the resident officer of the entire Langtun. The structure of the security team must be balanced, otherwise the other villages will not be convinced."

What the old stickman said was indeed reasonable. Winters nodded thoughtfully: "What should we do? Choose one person from each village?"

"Yes, just choose one person from each village." Brother Rhett glanced at Winters happily: "Dusa Village can choose two or three, so that the people of Dussa will not be able to gossip. Everyone will You won’t be satisfied, but everyone can accept it, and that’s the secret of politics.”

This kind of calculation made Winters feel very boring. He sighed: "Mr. Reid, I have one more thing to ask you."

Winters then recounted Sergei's speech at the funeral and carefully described the varying reactions of Dussa and other villagers.

"What does Sergey mean? Who is Ralph Nowovich?" Winters asked: "He seems to have only said a few words of praise. Why are other Dussa people so surprised?"

"Why do you care about the Dusa people's affairs?" Brother Red raised his eyebrows.

"Ralph entrusted me to take care of his son before he died." He was still a little sad when he mentioned the old hunter Winters: "I have to find out what Sergey means and whether he has any ill intentions towards Bell."

"That's right." Brother Rhett also sighed: "Ralph is indeed a rare hero, but it's a pity."

The old monk stroked his long beard a few times, frowned and said: "Don't worry, Sergey probably means well. Ralph Novitch means Ralph's son, and he wants to bring Ralph's son back to Dudu." Sark’s identity.”

"What do you mean? Isn't Bell a Dusan? Half a Dusan?" Winters entered a blind spot in knowledge.

"Dusa and Dusak, these are two concepts." Brother Reid explained while holding the table: "Dusa people are not a race to be precise, but a way of life. People who follow a specific lifestyle are The Dusa people's bloodline can be said to be a mess, and their ancestors are even more diverse.

Moreover, not every Dussac is a Dussak. Ralph should have been deprived of his Dussak identity, so he cannot live in Dussak Village. I am not Dusak, and my son cannot be Dusak. Sergey wants to reinstate Ralph's son as Dusak, which is a good thing for little Belle. "

"Why?"

"Because Dusak's identity is linked to the land." Brother Red asked, "Do you know about the land grant system?"

"Uh... I don't know."

Brother Reid's body became stiff after sitting for too long. He stood up and walked around and said: "In the empire on the other side of the Shade Mountains, Dusak is called the 'Emperor's Whip'. Their lifestyle is extremely special. Every Dussac male was destined to serve for life and had to prepare his own war horse. As a reward, the emperor would grant them generous land, enough to make them rich farmers and small landowners.

The emperor gave Dusak land, so Dusak would kill whomever he ordered Dusak to kill without any hesitation. Therefore, Dusak was used most of the time to suppress the rebellion. They never showed mercy when killing farmers, so they were called "whips". This is the land grant system. "

Winters listened and nodded: "Then how can they farm the land if they serve for life? What's the use of giving them land?"

"Lifelong service does not mean lifelong service in the army." The old monk said with a smile: "The land grant system is a very complicated system. Dusak will serve for six years in one term, and then he can go home and grant land. There are intervals. A second term of military service is followed some years later for three years. Lifelong military service means always being on the roster, ready to respond to a call-up."

Winters said a small "Oh."

Brother Rhett pondered and continued: "The problem is that Dusak's settlement is within the empire, and the Dusak people are all subjects of the empire. Although I don't know how this group of Dusak people came to Plato... But as far as I know, the Palatine Council treated them in the same way as the Emperor of the Empire. They also used land grants in exchange for loyalty. So for this group of Dusa people, it is nothing more than a new owner holding the whip pole, nothing else. difference.

Among the Dusas, men who serve for life are called Dussak - women are naturally not Dussak. Only Dusak can serve, grant land, and start a family. Dusak's identity is an obligation and a right. Sergey wants Ralph's son to serve in the army, grant land, and return to Dusak village. That's a good thing for that kid, don't worry. "

Winters is most worried about local snakes embarrassing the young hunter. Now that he understood that Sergey had good intentions for Bell, Winters breathed a sigh of relief.

It was already a little late, so Winters said goodbye to Red.

…

…

In the next few days, Winters and Girard focused on their affairs.

Wolf Town's wounds are gradually healing. Life still has to go on, and people gradually no longer take the initiative to mention the victims, as if this way they can forget the pain.

The animal disaster began to evolve from the vivid memories in people's minds to the faded stories told by the elderly, and Winters saw all of this.

He visited every family of the victims and experienced indifference and hatred, as well as gratitude. He can never make up for the trauma caused by the death of a loved one to his family. He can only do everything he can to comfort the families of the dead and injured.

In contrast, the task of organizing a standing militia was much simpler.

In his capacity as town officer, Winters converted Sunday archery training into militia training.

Men from each village went to the town center to attend Sunday services in the morning and received military training at noon and afternoon.

Because the original intention was only to prevent animal disasters, not to let the militia go to the battlefield. Therefore, the training subjects formulated by Winters do not include content such as queues and square formations. It was just simple weapon use training, plus some tactical training for beasts summarized by Winters.

With the old hunter gone, Winters originally wanted the militia to patrol the woodlands near the village once a week.

However, he considered that patrolling and standing guard were the jobs that required the most perseverance, and the militiamen would definitely not be able to persist in the long run. So he could only ask the militiamen who went into the mountains to collect firewood to pay more attention to the situation in the woods.

The preparations for the Security Guard were smoother, because Winters unexpectedly discovered that money was no problem at all.

Because although Langtun Town has less than ten permanent residents, it is undoubtedly a "town" in terms of procedures. Therefore, after the villages are merged to form a town, 20% of the taxes collected every year will be used as financial funds for the town government.

And the mayor of Wolf Town is amazingly incorruptible. Winters has never seen such an incorruptible public servant as Gilad Mitchell in his life.

Mayor Mitchell eats and lives in his own home, rides his own horse, and eats his own fodder. Even the clerk is served by the housekeeper Pan Weiche who brought Mrs. Mitchell when she got married.

In addition to hiring farmers from several surrounding villages to repair the dirt roads in winter, Gilad has been the mayor for more than ten years and has no other way to spend money.

Oh, except for one recent expense - paying Brother Red a scribe's salary.

Pan Weiche, the housekeeper, scribe and accountant, kept the accounts very neatly, and the use and surplus of the town government funds were clear at a glance.

The surplus accumulated over the years has turned into a moderate amount of money, which is more than enough to purchase a small weapons arsenal. Winters didn't intend to make the security guard very large. A team of ten seemed to him to be too much.

[Note: The ten-man team is full of only eight people. The ten-man team is the customary name]

What's more, as essentially a "tax collector", Mayor Mitchell theoretically has the power to collect an additional "security tax" from the people of Wolf Town.

However, given the good financial situation of Wolf Town, there is no need to resort to such measures for the time being.

After Winters discussed and gained understanding with the village chiefs of the five villages, the matter of the Langtun Town Security Guard was quickly finalized.

Langtun Town has five villages under its jurisdiction, and Winters will select one person from each village to serve as a part-time guard.

Part-time guards also receive a salary. They are not off the job and provide services as long as their services are needed. For example, helping to maintain order on Sundays.

On weekdays, part-time guards still stay in the village like other farmers and are responsible for the daily security of each village.

Winters will also select a few more people as off-duty full-time guards. The candidates for full-time guards are not limited to a certain village. Winters decides at a word.

Full-time and part-time combined, the total number of Guardsmen does not exceed a ten-man squad [eight men], which is a maximum of three full-time Guardsmen.

As the old magician said: No one is satisfied, but everyone can still accept it. So in the end no one was against Winters.

Winters actually felt that three full-time guards were a bit too much because he was usually at the town hall. There is a spellcaster officer sitting in charge, and there is actually no need for any guards at all. Lieutenant Montagne can handle everything by himself.

Even allowing for the day he returned to Veneta, the town would have been enough to have one or two full-time guardsmen, and Winters already had the right man.

…

"Me? You want me to serve as a guard in the town?" The ponyboy Angelou's eyes widened, and the bruises on his face had not subsided yet. The young man yelled hoarsely: "Sir, don't tease me!"

"I'm not kidding." Winters patted the young stable boy on the shoulder: "You can't keep working as a stable boy, right? Being a guard won't delay your farming. You can work in the town first until you are twenty. You can continue to work after you return from one term of service. I have made an agreement with Mayor Mitchell and will keep this position for you."

Winters originally liked the young stable boy in front of him who knew the nature of horses very well, because this boy always reminded him of Bud. Not to mention that the young stable boy saved his life during the bear hunt, which made him want to find a chance to express his gratitude.

Angelou looked down at his toes and hummed softly: "Actually...actually, I just like being a stable boy."

"Huh?" Winters was puzzled: "Why?"

According to Brother Rhett, the status of stable herds is not high in Dussak society. Most of the time, Dussaks who have been punished or Dussack men who are unable to go into battle are assigned to be stable boys.

"Because I can ride as much as I want as a stable boy. I'm happy enough to be able to ride a horse." Angelou whispered: "I don't have a horse myself. If I don't become a stable boy, I won't be able to ride a horse, so I don't want to be a guard in the town. ."

Winters smiled: "Boy, is it enough to be able to ride a horse?"

"That's enough." The ponyboy shrugged.

Winters thought for a while and decided to use another method to persuade the young stable boy: "You, Dussac, need to prepare your own war horses when you serve, right?"

"When I'm on duty, my superiors will give me horse money." Angelou replied in a low voice.

"Is that enough money to buy a war horse?"

Angelou lowered his head and said in a lower voice: "Not enough."

"Then what do you do? You don't have a war horse or equipment, so you can't go..." Winters paused and said, "...as an errand, can you still get the field?"

Angelou stopped talking. The young man's mind was still immature and he almost cried after a few words.

Winters struck while the iron was hot: "You won't get paid to be a stable boy, but you will get a salary as an errand in the town. You can save your salary by working as an errand in the town, although you can't just ride a horse for the time being. But when you are twenty years old At that time, the money you saved plus the horse money given to you should be enough to buy a war horse, and you can work as an errand. When you come back from the first term of service and receive the land grant, then you will be a real Dussac, with My own land, war horses, family..."

Angelou cried "Wow" and nodded and agreed to go to the town to "work as an errand".

"Why are you crying?" Winters ruffled the ponyboy's hair helplessly: "It's not like I won't let you get on the saddle anymore. I can lend you Red Mane to ride on."

"My mother..." Angelou sobbed: "...my mother was looking forward to me becoming Dusak when she passed away. I originally thought that I would never become Dusak in this life..."

Winters was also a little sad. He squeezed the ponyboy's shoulder and said nothing.

"And...sir..." Angelou wiped his tears hard: "Don't be so tired that Ryzhik is so tired, you have to take good care of him. Without Terqing, the stallion of the village's horse herd will be gone next year. Only Ryzhik...but you don't cherish it at all..."

"I don't care about Red Mane..." Winters was so angry that he laughed and slapped the ponyboy on the head: "Red Mane will be taken care of by you from now on. When you arrive in town, you will raise horses for me." !”

Winters only planned to place two full-time guards in the town. One position was taken by the ponyboy Angelou, and he had already decided on the other candidate.

The little hunter Bell was brought to the town from the forest cabin by Winters and became the second official guard of the Wolftun Town Guard.

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